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[[underline]] Major Capital Improvements [[/underline]]

Construction of the Smithsonian Information Center in the Castle is now 90% complete and on schedule for a May 1989 completion. The renovation of the Freer Gallery, including construction of the underground link to the Sackler Gallery, is approximately 9% complete; primary construction activities currently include underpinning, demolition, and asbestos removal.

Construction of the Tupper Laboratory and Conference Center in Panama is 88% complete; the scheduled completion date is June 1989, but the Institution currently projects a two-month delay based on recent inspections. Construction of the Dining and Conference Center on Barro Colorado Island is about 40% complete, and the project is expected to be finished in August 1989. The design of the Barro Colorado Laboratory is expected to be completed in September 1989, and the start of construction is projected for January 1990.

The design of the Whipple Observatory Base Camp facility is in progress, with road design expected to be completed first in April 1989. Design of the Base Camp is scheduled to be complete by July 1989. Construction of the road should begin in late summer, and completion of the Base Camp is scheduled for December 1990. Construction of the Mathias Laboratory at the Environmental Research Center is complete; the contractor will complete cleanup and minor adjustments by May.

The contract for replacement of the terrace surface of the National Air and Space Museum is 97% complete, though delay in delivery of marble wall panels has extended the project completion date to May 1989. The PCB transformer replacement project is on schedule for a September 1989 completion, a full year before the Environmental Protection Agency deadline for removal of PCBs from Federal buildings.

Planning work continues on the major renovation of utility and other systems in the Natural History Building. Within a variety of phasing options now under review is the desirability of constructing flooring within the east courtyard to serve initially as a relocation site. Estimated cost of this structure is $25 million, some of which will offset previously estimated relocation costs.

[[underline]] Implementation of the Inspector General Act [[/underline]]

The Inspector General Act amendments of 1988 became effective on April 27, 1989. As of that date, the Institution's Office of Audits and Investigations was renamed the Office of the Inspector General, and Pat Stanton, previously Director of the Office of Audits and Investigations, was appointed Acting Inspector General by the Secretary.

Mr. Stanton has indicated that he wants to retire soon; therefore, a competitive search is being launched for the position of Inspector General. It is already apparent that a number of very highly qualified candidates are likely to apply, including an encouraging number from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds. The process of advertising the vacancy, rating and ranking the applicants, interviewing the finalists, and proposing a final slate to the Secretary is likely to take a minimum of four months.