Hurricane Isabel's path through Central Virginia cost the University a total of about $1.5 million, according to figures released by the University.
The University lost about $1.1 million in potential revenue and was forced to pay $400,000 in damage and cleanup costs, according to Richard F. Schupp, director of the University's office of risk management.
About $1 million of revenue lost can be attributed to the Medical Center, with the other $100,000 mainly stemming from the University's business operations, such as its bookstores and dining facilities, being forced to close during the Hurricane, Schupp said.
"We basically closed the clinics for about a day and a half and had a significant loss in out patient revenue because of that," said Larry L. Fitzgerald, chief financial officer for the medical center.
Of the $400,000 spent on debris cleanup and building repairs, the majority was spent on overtime pay for police, facilities management and dining services employees who labored before, during and after the hurricane to protect University structures and students, he said. Only about $50,000 was spent on repairing damaged University buildings.
"We were pretty fortunate in that a lot of the damages were downed trees," Schupp said. "None of the trees really did any serious damage to any of our structures. The real damages were due to some minor flooding that occurred."
Schupp credited excellent preparation and cooperation on behalf of police, facilities management and business operations employees for helping the University to escape more severe damage to buildings and higher repair costs.
"I think we took a lot of precautions before it got here to prepare for it that mitigated a lot of the losses that we could have had," Schupp said.
Physical and structural damage around Grounds included a small section of Pavilion I garden's serpentine wall, the puncturing of Slaughter Recreation Center's rubberized roof by a fallen tree and subsequent water damage of its wooden gymnasium floor. In addition, 10 out of Scott Stadium's 75 outdoor televisions scattered throughout its luxury boxes were ruined, a University release said.
Statewide, the "latest, best estimate" for total public and private property damage stands at $1.6 billion as of Oct. 30, said Kevin Hall, deputy press secretary for Gov. Mark R. Warner.
Charlottesville officials could not be reached for comment yesterday about the storm's total cost to the City.
Schupp said the University currently is working with its property insurance company to determine how much they will pay for, because the Federal Emergency Management Agency will only pay for what insurance will not.
According to Schupp, neither insurance nor FEMA likely will compensate the University for its lost revenue.
Fitzgerald said he does not believe the Medical Center's revenue loss will severely impact its tight budget.
"It's not enough to create a crisis or create a lot of concern," he said.
Although Schupp said he was not certain if this storm was more expensive for the University than Hurricane Fran, which visited Charlottesville in 1996, he said the amount of lost revenue from the storm could make that a possibility.
"This storm was more of a kind of direct hit in that it came straight across Virginia," he said.
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