Economic Analysis

A major aspect of this issue are the economics. The dollars and cents associated with whichever alternative is considered play an integral part in whether that alternative ultimately will be chosen. There are two ways in which a project proposed to Lafayette can secure funding. One, the bottom up, approach is through the process of completing a capital project request form. This gets the process rolling, and gets the proposed project on the list for consideration. The other method is more of a top down approach, and is if the president of Lafayette, or a board member proposes the project at a board meeting (Wilford-Hunt, 2014). According to Mary Wilford-Hunt, Lafayette’s Director of Facilities Planning & Construction, the most effective and common way for a project to receive funding is the through the capital request process, the deadline for which has already passed (Wilford-Hunt, 2014).

It is clear Lafayette is not afraid to spend money on improvements to its campus. As mentioned throughout this project, the school is currently in the midst of a multi-million dollar expansion of the arts campus (Third Street Campus). This is part of the aforementioned 400 million dollar “Live Connected Lead Change” fundraising initiative launched by the school for improvements to the Lafayette Campus and Community. Of this 400 million, 20 million is slated to go to the expansion of the arts campus (Lafayette College Office of Development, 2014). The most recently completed project of this expansion is the new Film and Media Studies building on Third Street, and the department is anticipating another addition to its facilities with the construction of the 219 Third Street property, which will include among other things a box office and black box theater. With all this development taking place and the increase in volume of visitors to this area of campus, it seems to only make sense that the access to and from this expanding part of campus be invested in as well.

This aspect of the project was somewhat difficult because of lack of transparency regarding Lafayette’s contract with Palmeri and the fact that step renovation and inclined elevator costs were both rough estimates that are difficult to ascertain due to the access challenges presented by the hillside. The alternative which is already in place, the LCAT shuttle service, has the smallest initial investment, the value of the contract with Palmeri Transportation, which they would not disclose to us. Though the periodic costs associated with this alternative would occur more frequently than the other alternatives, from a purely economic standpoint, the LCAT alternative makes the most sense. However this is isn’t a purely economic situation and though this is the alternative the school already has in place, considering the sustainable agenda the school is pursuing, this isn’t a viable long term option. The vehicles used by Palmeri are not efficient getting 12-14 mpg, and maybe less considering the terrain. On a continuous loop at that mpg, taking 76 trips a day on a 1.2 mile loop assuming $3.00 per gallon for gas the rough cost in gas per day is $21, $105 per week (weekdays), $420 per month and $1,600 per semester. Assuming a multiplier typical to this type of contract used by Palmeri for overhead and profit, this is still a reasonable price to pay, especially considering the anticipated costs of the other alternatives and has been a good “bridge solution”. In the long term, however, the conflicting messages the school is sending by continuing this contract, along with the negative externalities associated with low-efficiency fossil fuel burning vehicles, are things the school should not want to be associated with.

The inclined elevator alternative is one that ultimately becomes unlikely after the economic considerations. Because it is so uncommon in this country, usually limited to ski and golf resorts, reputable vendors are hard to find and would likely come from out of state. Considering talks with Lafayette’s Project Manager Nadda Pavlinsky and ‎Mary Wilford-Hunt , the school is currently not even considering any major action regarding the transition between the two campuses (Pavilinsky, 2014). Knowing this, we deem it highly unlikely the school would approve any project that would require the capital needed to undertake an alternative of this magnitude. Past groups looking into this issue have all deemed the inclined elevator (funicular) as unfeasible given the costs associated with overcoming the terrain and grade of the hillside. The Tech Clinic group of 2004 collaborated with Hill Hiker Inc. out of Minnesota and were told a project of this magnitude would cost in the range of $380,000 to $450,000 initially with expensive maintenance required periodically. When we described the site to a representative from a funicular vendor out of Ontario, he scoffed at those estimates, stating a project with this kind of change in elevation, rocky terrain and access challenges would require an initial investment of at least $950,000, in addition to periodic maintenance. Maintenance costs from similar projects range from $2500 to $5000 a year and considering the reasonably harsh climate the elevator will be exposed to, one would expect for those costs to be on the higher end. Though some of the benefits of this alternative can’t be measured in a monetary sense, money from the school is what would ultimately get the inclined elevator built and that kind of investment is unrealistic at this time.

The step renovation option wouldn’t necessarily be cheap, but would be far less expensive than the elevator option in the long run. We’ve discovered that one of the reasons the school hasn’t dealt with the steps already is because they are afraid any work done will mean having to bring them up to the appropriate modern standards. The steps were built in the early 1900’s at the latest, and a lot of work would need to be done to give them the correct rise to tread ratio, to add more landings as well as any ADA concessions that may be necessary. However according to the ADA website “Alterations to buildings or facilities that are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) or are designated as historic under State or local law, shall comply to the maximum extent feasible with this part.” Though the steps are not on that list, these guidelines still give us a good idea of how the ADA would treat this situation. The ADA determined that feasibility is constituted as being a cost that is within 20% of the overall cost of the alteration (Americans With Disabilities Act). We assumed the addition of a ramp would be at least 20% of the overall renovation cost and noted that the sidewalk on the side of College Avenue closest to downtown Easton is Handicap accessible. In addition, the school is currently having a campus wide ADA study done by a 3rd party consultant. Their interpretation of the act is that though it required handicap accessibility between handicap parking and a building, it does not have requirements for the pathways between buildings (Wilford-Hunt, 2014). Also the practicality of a ramp traversing that kind of dramatic change in elevation is unfeasible. Based on this information we have operated under the assumption that ADA disability requirements would not need to be included in the scope of the renovation of these steps.

At this time Lafayette has not gotten an estimate on how much the renovation of the steps would cost. This is mainly due to the potential scope for this project being widely varied. At one end of the spectrum the school could seek to just replace the risers and tread that are damaged, something that they have already been doing. However this is more like putting a Band-Aid on the problem, and similar to the LCAT alternative, this is a “bridge solution” and a continuation of the recurring costs that are already associated with the steps. In fact in just the couple months since we initially reached out to Lafayette’s Plant Operations, one step was repaired and at least two more have disintegrated to the point where they will soon require repairs as well. The harsh weather of the upcoming months only accelerate that process, as water seeps into the numerous cracks and crevices on the steps and expands as it freezes. Though it would be much cheaper for the school to continue to just repair the steps on a as needed basis, as the steps continue to erode, the costs associated with those repairs will continue to increase. In addition, in the midst of the lawsuit the school is currently involved in, it’s not in Lafayette or it’s students best interest to continue to let this erosion take place. At the other end of the spectrum would be a complete replacement of the stairs which Mary Wilford-Hunt predicted would cost close to a million dollars (Wilford-Hunt, 2014). However, the recurring maintenance costs associated with this alternative would be almost nonexistent for a long time. That being the case, out of the two viable long term options, this alternative is the better one economically, especially considering the steps are already the most popular method of transportation.