Cypress College Asks State to Fund Piazza Retrofitting : Repairs: Officials barricade parts of the walkway to protect students in case of a quake. The school is seeking $735,000.

Cypress College officials have asked state legislators for $735,000 in emergency money to repair a vital campus walkway that could be dangerous in an earthquake.

Parts of the piazza, a distinctive piece of architecture at the college, were fenced off for safety Monday in case of a temblor, North Orange County Community College District spokeswoman Donna Hatchett said.

Cypress needs a special state appropriation to strengthen the piazza, a second-level walkway and plaza connecting major campus buildings, Hatchett said.

“All our classes are still in session, but we had to put up temporary barricades to keep students, faculty and staff away from the structures and keep them safe,” Cypress College President Christine Johnson said.

Cypress officials have asked Assemblyman Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) and Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove) to help win legislative approval for repair funds. Currently, the college is not on the state’s list of campuses scheduled to receive money for building projects in the coming year.

The north Orange County college district, which includes Cypress and Fullerton colleges, is already strapped for cash because of the Orange County bankruptcy.

“We’ve put in a formal request [for money] in both the Senate and Assembly,” said Deborah Gonzalez, of Pringle’s office. “The biggest question is whether there are adequate resources to cover the cost of retrofitting.”

The main piazza in the center of campus--a 1960s-era concrete slab deck supported by concrete columns--would be susceptible to failure if hit by a repeat of the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, a shaker notching 6.3 on the Richter scale, according to an engineering report.

When subjected to an earthquake’s vibrations, the columns may bend and the structure could move horizontally as far as 10 inches, according to a recent report prepared by Hillman Biddison & Loevenguth, a Los Angeles structural engineering firm.

“As a consequence, the shear failures indicated by our analysis could trigger collapse,” the report stated.

Under a quake, the structure would act as if it were a box with two of its sides removed, a civil engineer explained; it could collapse upon itself.

Johnson said the cheapest alternative is to demolish the largest part of the piazza structure and rebuild it. Other pieces on campus can be reinforced.

She and North Orange County Community College District Chancellor Tom K. Harris Jr. plan to take their case before the Senate budget subcommittee Wednesday. If the money is approved, Cypress could get it by August, Johnson said.

Hurtt’s representatives said Cypress’ structures appear to need repair, but they are cautious about asking for money from the Legislature while budgets are tight.

“The list [of campuses getting money for building] is extensive and there are a lot of projects people have been waiting for years,” said Kevin Smith, of Hurtt’s office. “We want to make sure that other schools don’t get bumped off that list unless this is something essential.”