Weber State petitions legislators for funds for new science lab

“Sometimes people pour chemicals outside of that trench and it drains onto our computers, from the sixth floor to the fourth floor,” Miller said. “I run around warning everybody not to touch it. It's not water.”

The Wasatch fault is a parking lot away from the top-heavy, concrete science lab building, Wight said.

“The building would collapse under an earthquake,” he said.

“Should we even be using that building?” Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, asked. “If everything's as bad as you show it there, I have some safety concerns.”

Alan Hall, chairman of the university's board of trustees, pledged $5 million to the project.

“I'm a venture capitalist and entrepreneur,” he said. “And I'm anxious to see that the building be built so we can continue to have students come out with the skills necessary to build Utah's economy.”

Hall told legislators that plans to bring in further donations are under way.

"You are all looking like candidates to me," he laughed. 

Rep. Gage Froerer, R-Huntsville, said the committee has been impressed with community support for the project.

"One thing this committee has looked at (in determining who gets funding) is the level of community support," Froerer said. "The way I judge that is donations. In this case, the community has really put their money where their heart is. It's people like Mr. Hall that make these communities great and make these projects feasible."

E-mail: rlowry@desnews.com