Schenectady County Community College, which sustained an estimated $1 million worth of flooding damage from Hurricane Irene, is delaying the start of the fall semester until Sept. 8.
On Tuesday, the college had said it hoped to start classes as scheduled on Sept. 6.
While the water has drained from the main parking lot, the cleanup is continuing at the college, which sits off the Mohawk River. The campus is still without electricity.
SCCC President Quintin B. Bullock said the college will be working with the county and the Federal Emergency Management Administration on submitting a damage claim for the most extensive flood damage the college has ever sustained.
Carver Construction and Precision Construction have already started cleanup efforts.
“We’ve been able to drain the water from the parking lot,” Bullock said.
SCCC is pushing back the start of classes two days, until Sept. 8. This includes classes on the main campus, at Center City and online. Non-credit and work-force development classes will start a week from today as well.
The college will remain closed today and Friday for continued cleanup. Students can access the website at www.sunysccc.edu for updates and registration. It will be open Monday and Tuesday for registration for new and returning students.
Workers on Wednesday were checking the buildings to make sure water hadn’t seeped into any areas unknown to college officials. At one point, there was so much water it went across Washington Avenue, Bullock said.
The first floor of one portion of Elston Hall had about three feet of water, and water was up to the windows of the Begley building.
The copy and mail room of Elston Hall and the basement of Begley Hall were flooded. College officials moved sensitive equipment such as photocopiers away from low-lying areas so they would not be damaged by the flooding.
The library located in Begley appeared to be unharmed.
Water got into the elevator shaft of Elston Hall and an electrical service station, Bullock said.
The campus still had no electricity Wednesday, and college officials have been working closely with National Grid to try to get the power restored as soon as possible, Bullock said.
Also, college officials have installed a generator. “Folks worked all night to get that up and running,” said Board of Trustees Chairwoman Denise Murphy McGraw.
College officials have set up temporary headquarters at Center City so they can hold faculty and department meetings and process payroll.
Murphy McGraw was trying to be optimistic. SCCC was hit the worst of all the SUNY campuses.
“A lot still needs to be done,” she said.
Categories: Schenectady County
