Present: Carol Baldwin, Mark Brainard, Jennifer Fisher, Leo Herrman, Ann Meikle-Howell, Sharon Montgomery, and Bob Stiger

Guests: Dennis Allen, Darrell Buffaloe, Joy Fisher, Ray Hart, Greg Horton, Lee Krehbiel, and Carol Spain

The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. MST/9:00 a.m. PST.

ITEM 1: Approval of minutes from the last meeting - Ann moved the minutes be approved. Carol Baldwin seconded. Motion carried.

ITEM 2: Call for additional agenda items - There were no additions to the agenda.

ITEM 3: Student Union Playground Update - Greg summarized a memo from Lee addressing concerns expressed at the last LOC meeting regarding underground utilities and ADA accessibility. The water line under the playground is very deep and there are no utility lines under the playground. The playground equipment has a built in handicapped access ramp. We just need to provide a suitable path to the ramp for easy access by handicapped individuals. Greg said he believes these two concerns have been resolved. He asked permission to install the equipment as soon as the frost leaves the ground. Darrell said he ran the concept by the State Division of Building Safety who are in charge of enforcing ADA and safety rules and they had no problem with it. Lee said an engineered wood fiber product would be used on the playground rather than gravel. That would make the entire circumference of the equipment accessible via wheel chair. Greg said that it would eliminate concern about gravel and mowing the surrounding lawn.

ITEM 4: Student Union Playground Subcommittee Report - Bob asked if Item 4 was different than Item 3. Greg said he didn't think it was. Essentially he and Lee handled the concerns. Bob said that basically the committee was defunct before it began. Aside from making recommendations to the Foundation, what can LOC do? Do we need to do something? He was not sure LOC could give permission. Greg said he couldn't remember who expressed concerns about the installation of the playground equipment. Joy said she had concerns about meeting requirements as a Foundation to take care of the property and about some of the things being done without permission. It was to clarify those things. She thought things have now been done to satisfaction and it is O.K. to move ahead. Bob said that he thought Joy's agreement was all that was required and no action was needed by LOC. Joy agreed.

ITEM 5: Campus Calendar Update - Greg said he and Dave consulted on development of the calendar. Dave has the software and it should be ready by Spring Semester. The calendar will track all activities scheduled for the SUB, the Auditorium, and the CHE. His primary concern is to provide knowledge to security personnel about outside groups being on campus. Ann said it is important for the whole campus to have access. Jennifer asked who was going to update it. Greg said we would need to designate an individual responsible for each building. Ann said there would need to be two for the SUB, one for Student Services and one for the Student Union. Bob asked if it was rigid or if anyone could call. Greg said he agreed with what Dennis expressed at the last meeting. There should be limited access to change the calendar but everyone else should be able to access it for information. Ann said she understood 4 people would have access to change it. Jennifer said if someone is not responsible it will not happen. Ann said there would be 4 responsible people. Bob asked what the LOC needed to do. Greg said just facilitate and make sure each department has a person in place. There will be a couple of trial runs before the semester starts. Dave feels comfortable with the time frame.

ITEM 6: Security Plan (Update on Action Item) - This update was not given because Glenn was absent due to illness.

ITEM 7: Proposed UI Student Fees for the SUB - Leo said this is an on-going discussion about what is a fair amount for UI students to pay for the Student Union. He has sent out several documents. They are looking for feedback and agreement on a solution. Bob said he has run different calculations but Glenn hasn’t been available to discuss them. Mark, Glenn, Dennis and he need to get together to discuss the issues. Jennifer asked if something was needed to help guide the process such as the amount of space occupied by the UI. Ann said UI occupies approximately 456 square feet in Student Services. Bob said there are a number of different scenarios. They haven’t discussed rent. Ann said the offices for the Assistant Registrar and 2 advisor offices equal the 456 square feet. Bob asked Mark if that should be negotiated with the lease. Mark said he liked the suggestion of talking with Glenn. We need to know how he feels about rent and fees. Leo proposed one set of fees and Bob and Glenn are looking at an alternative proposal. Jennifer asked if the square footage was needed in the formal piece. Bob said we need to know what they are thinking about the rate. Leo said what had been initially discussed was the rates charged in the Union would be equivalent to rates charged in University Place. Bob will try to talk with Glenn as soon as he gets back. Mark said he would be available. Action Item: Bob will get the UI Student Union Fee Proposal back to ISU via Ann within the next two weeks.

ITEM 8: University Place Oversight Council Report - Jennifer said the meeting went well. They met in advance and addressed management issues and security. She believes the Presidents feel we are talking and there is no need to micromanage. Bob said it was essentially a rubber stamp. Ann said the format that has been developed is working well. The action items were ready and all the Council needed to do was make a decision. The Facilities Management Organization was discussed and approved without changes. Greg’s position was approved, as was the budget support for the new management organization. They agree additional security is needed We will get it but probably not until June or July when it gets in the budget. The parking update was given. She asked Greg how the committee was doing. Greg said that with moving Student Services and the holidays, they really haven’t done much with it. Ann asked if the Student Services move has had an effect on the amount of space available. Greg said that the parking behind the SUB would help. There are 80 spaces that were not utilized last semester but when food service is up and running that will pull more students to the SUB parking. Dennis said we might want to consider the effect a parking fee discussion would have. Upset students might call legislators who might question our need for funding through the State Board budget requests. Leo said the $500,000 was for infrastructure. Jennifer said it is a political issue and timing may be important. What she heard Dennis saying is to be careful when we approach it. The Oversight Council was in agreement that it is just a matter of time before we need to have parking fees. Bob said there are a number of issues. We need to be sure we include the Willow Creek Building people in discussions. Greg said the worst time is 8:00-10:00 every morning. Jennifer said complaints also come in when large events are held at the auditorium. Parking is always a no win situation. We need to have a plan by next year for the Presidents. Darrell said he and Joanne Reece have talked about long range parking plans. When the CST is built that will provide more parking. ISU still needs parking for the commuter buses. They are busing 700 students per day. They are still working on a parking lot on the other side of the railroad tracks that would involve a walkway underpass. Bob said students would still be upset. Enforcement would be the only way to solve situations that arise over parking. Greg said there wouldn't be enforcement until June or July. Bob asked who would enforce the parking. Greg said security people are now. When we have security during the day, they will do it. Bob said the UI have people who specifically monitor parking. Darrell said Security or Parking handles it at ISU. Ann said Steve Chatterton had offered assistance.

Ann said a library update was given. Since then there has been a productive meeting on how to create an integrated system for Idaho Falls. ISU, UI, and EITC would connect via the system with small libraries in Idaho. There has been some progress to connect a consortium of libraries to the INEEL Tech Library. Bob asked about the white paper that was mentioned. Ann said they are working on it. Ann said they summarized space utilization and addressed the new labs and enrollment numbers. There was a marketing update. There was an update on the City Recreation Center that is not going to happen near here due to the high cost of the property.

Bob said the CST does not have to be located where we said. There are reasons to push. The CST Proposal was reviewed by legislators who have expressed concerns with the business plan. Once it is nailed down, there are buttons that can be pushed to get access to the property. He said the next project would be a new classroom building. Ann said the Oversight Council was told that 42 night classes are sent out to other locations. During the day we are only at 50-60% capacity. We need to make noise now to have it in 6 years. Bob said that we need to get the write up done for inclusion. It needs to show up on the list at both universities. He asked Mark if it would take 3 years. Mark replied that it is a cueing process. Sooner is better. Jennifer said that locally we need to include it on the agenda for January. We still teach courses with low enrollment for various reasons. This campus is costing a lot of money. It is critical we look at enrollment management issues to balance enrollment with expenditures. We need to make careful assessment of which courses to offer. Rooms are being utilized but in many cases there are only 2-3 people in a room. It is critical we look at it together. Certainly graduate courses are different and there is not a lot we can do. As we show need we also must show utilization.

Ann asked where we are with the classroom and lab modifications. Darrell said the labs would be ready by spring. The classroom should be ready by then. Leo said he thought the classrooms were done. The biology lab will be completed in mid-February. Greg said it depends on equipment arrivals and installation of cabinets. Ann asked if the instructors had been informed. Jennifer said Dr. Cook will do labs differently this semester and the February timeline is O.K. They met with the budget committee and Leo has ordered $300,000 on lab equipment. It is a wonderful space. She said they did make a modification to the former Student Services area in response to faculty and the department that would be teaching in that area who said it was not possible. The issue should have come to this group and should have gone to Joanne Reece. Faculty were talking with Darrell Buffaloe and made some communication assumptions. Ann as the Director was not in the loop. Bob was not in the loop. A legitimate concern was expressed about the modification. It was an error in our judgment, which we can’t have in the future. The modifications were appropriate but certainly the process was not. Several of us didn’t put our stamp of approval on it before it was accomplished. It will not happen again. Darrell said it was a learning process. We didn’t consult with Greg. It was our fault we acted on it too quickly. We screwed up.

Bob said the Oversight Council acted on a number of things. What is the process to follow through? Jennifer said the process is that the Secretary takes minutes. It alternates between the Academic Vice Presidents of ISU and UI. It is ISU’s turn but she didn’t see anyone taking minutes. Jonathan Lawson did mark the motions and she will get those. Bob asked if we need to provide secretarial assistance. Jennifer said perhaps that is something we can do. It isn’t working well. Bob said it needs to be captured as an addendum to the agreement. Jennifer said perhaps the Executive group could talk about how we capture the records of decisions made. Bob asked if Connie and Carol could capture the last two. Perhaps we could help the appropriate Provost get the minutes published. We can provide help at the next Oversight Council. Ann agreed. It is impossible to participate and take responsible minutes. Action Item: Carol and Connie pull the motion pieces together with help from Glenn and Jennifer. Jennifer said she does have all of the motion pieces. Bob said if all we did was capture them and mark the ones passed it would help.

Bob thanked Ann for pulling the presentation package together for the Council and Judy for publishing the information. He said they received feedback from the Presidents that they were pleased.

ITEM 9: Next Meeting Date and Time - Jennifer asked if the LOC could set meeting dates for the entire semester. Bob asked if the second Tuesday of each month was still good for everyone. A schedule of those dates could be issued. Jennifer said the last Tuesday would work better for her. Leo said earlier in the month was better for him. After discussion it was decided the next meeting would be January 30. Following that meeting, the schedule would return to the 2^nd Tuesday of each month. The February meeting will be on the 13^th. Action Item: Carol will distribute a meeting schedule. Leo asked if agenda items and handouts could be distributed together. Ann said if each person would get the items to Carol before the meetings she could get it out. Bob said if members would provide it in electronic format it could be posted on the Web for everyone to access. That way Moscow and Pocatello could have it in advance.

Mark moved the meeting adjourn. Leo seconded. Motion carried.

Meeting adjourned at 10:55 a.m. MST