4
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2009
CAMPUS
Cleaning supplies cause evacuation at Watkins
At about 12:30 p.m.yesterday, a call was placed to the Public Safety office concerning a strong smell coming from Watkins Health Center.
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Sergeant Gary Wieden of the KU Police Department said it was called in as a natural gas smell, but said he thought it might be a sewer gas leak.
Sharon Rohlmeier, senior administrative assistant at Watkins, described the smell as "very pervasive."
"I was at my office and I could hear everyone in the office say 'Do you smell that?'" Rohlmeier said. "Before we knew it they ordered us out of the building."
Joe Hoelscher, division chief of the Lawrence Fire Department, said that after investigating the odor, the firemen on the scene had indications that it was sewer gas.
"Since there is no known source, we tend to err on safety," Hoelscher said.
Mike Russell, director of environment, health and safety, was
able to shed some light on what officials on the scene believe to have been the culprit behind the smell.
Armed with odor detectors known as "sniffers;" they determined that the sulfur-like smell was not at levels high enough to be considered hazardous or harmful, rather just a nuisance.
Russell said it appeared that some type of cleaning material used to clean bathrooms wasn't fully diluted when properly flushed down the drain and had reacted with material inside the sewer system.
cal reaction produced gas that could come back up through floor drains and sink drains, and could happen anywhere from campus buildings to homes.
Russell said this kind of chemi-
"People need to be aware of their cleaning materials and that when they dispense with them to make sure they're properly diluted," Russell said.
Campus Facilities Operation workers aided in changing the building's air handlers to push outside air indoors to vent out the smell.
— Derek Zarda
LAWRENCE
Apartments compete for college student market
BY KRISTEN LISZEWSKI
kliszewski@kansan.com
Two new apartment complexes have recently established Lawrence as their home. But the housing industry may face the same economic crunch students and residents are facing.
Although students will always need a place to live, some local apartment complexes are finding it difficult to persuade college students to lease their properties. The Grove, 4301 W. 24th Place, is still under construction but has increased its promotional incentives for students. Jill Dryden, assistant manager of The Grove, said they were waiving application fees and offering Visa gift cards to those who would commit to a lease.
"Our late market was what held us back from getting leases, but we are at a good rate now, especially so close to move-in dates," Dryden said.
New apartment complexes have also been competing with each other. The Exchange, 2040 W. 31st, is also still under construction and is offering promotions similar to those at The Grove. However, Dryden said she had no worries about economic problems affecting business.
Dryden said The Grove had 300 units that would be available for move-in in early August. As of now, half of those units have leasing commitments. She said she thought the Grove would be full for move-in day because there were still students out there looking for places to live.
Legends Place, 4101 W.24th Place, is a student-living complex that has called Lawrence home for six years.
Kelly Bradley, property manager of Legends Place, said the complex would be about 80 percent full next semester, which was the same number as last year. She said new leases were making up for the number of students who could not renew their leases.
"We had more contract dropouts this year than we've had in the past," Bradley said. "Due to financial struggles residents just weren't able to continue their leases."
Bradley said she thought the new competition in the area had affected the Legends' ability to be as successful as it typically was. She said there hadn't been a shortage of student housing in Lawrence and was surprised when she heard of the new properties' construction.
"From a personal and business perspective, we strongly don't feel there was any need for those new complexes," Bradley said.
Erica Collins, Lawrence junior, said that as a leasing agent for The Grove, she has been working on the promotional aspect, encouraging students to check out the complex and take tours. She said part of her job was to come up with new and innovative marketing tactics to attract student attention to The Grove.
Kyra Myers, Pratt senior, also works as a promotional leasing agent for the Grove. She said The Grove had to increase its incentives in order to get students to sign with them because the economy and competition of the Exchange had definitely affected their number of leasers.
"According to corporate, The Grove in Lawrence is struggling," Myers said. "Corporate keeps asking us why we're not doing well, and it really is just because Lawrence is a different kind of market. Our market is college students, and they're having financial problems."
- Edited by Jason Baker
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