MEETING MINUTES

LOCAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE (LOC)

CENTER FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AT UNIVERSITY PLACE IN IDAHO FALLS

Thursday, December 6, 2001

 

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

Guests:     Dennis Allen, Dave Anderson, Julie Birdsong, Jim Fullerton, Connie Gomez, Greg Horton, Lee Krehbiel, Carol Spain, Nevilla Qylafku, and Gina Hartgraves

Bob Stiger called the meeting to order.

ITEM 1:    Approval of Minutes – Ann Meikle-Howell moved the minutes of August 14, 2001, be approved.  Carol Baldwin seconded.  Motion carried.  Carol Baldwin moved the minutes of October 4, 2001, be approved.  Leo Herrman seconded.  Motion carried.

ITEM 2:    Call for Additional Agenda Items – Lee Krehbiel asked to add an update on recreation programs for Idaho Falls students.  Item 6 and Item 4 were removed.

ITEM 3:    LED Sign - Nevilla Qylafku, Vice President for Programming for this campus for ASISU, and Gina Hartgraves, Vice President of Finance, requested consideration of their proposal for a LED sign in a visible location on campus.  Estimates on the cost of the sign and installation run from $13,000 to $30,000.  The Program Board is trying to find $15,000.  They are not requesting funding from LOC, only approval and suggestions on the location.  They have discussed locating the sign near the SUB main entrance or close to the CHE building.  Bob Stiger suggested a local bank may have some funding and mentioned the entrance sign and the land swap with the city.  That project was never completed.  Ann Meikle-Howell suggested they contact Jeff Benson regarding that project.  One of the problems was the cost of getting power to the sign.  Bob recommended the students continue but before purchasing or deciding on a location come back to LOC for approval.  The group that oversees the Master Plan needs to be informed.  Sharon Montgomery moved to accept the recommendation that the students continue to pursue acquiring the sign.  Ann Meikle-Howell seconded.  Motion carried.

ITEM 5:    Emergency Sign – Greg Horton reported the signs for the CHE and UP buildings were nearly complete and would be installed within the month.  Bob Stiger asked if we need to have an Emergency Plan.  Ann said she would like to move forward with it as a separate document.  Action Item:  Greg Horton will take the lead.  Ann Meikle-Howell, Bob Stiger and Greg Horton will form a subcommittee and will bring a draft back to the LOC by the February meeting for review.  Dennis Allen suggested the city be involved.  Carol Baldwin suggested using Lee Ostrom’s expertise. 

ITEM 7:    Legislative Collaborative Funds – Glenn Wilde said allocations had been made to each center.  The funds were subject to the holdbacks by the state.  Bob Stiger will allocate the funds to infrastructure and shared costs including security, SUB security, and Greg Horton’s salary.  The assumption is that the funds will continue.  No growth was included in this year’s budget.  Jennifer Fisher said ISU was using one half of the funds for infrastructure.  She asked about the funding being used for collaborative programs and requested an offline budget discussion.  Action Item:  Carol Spain will arrange a meeting to include Ann Meikle-Howell, Bob Stiger, Leo Herrman, Mark Brainard, Glenn Wilde and JenniferFisher.

ITEM 8:    Entrance Monument Sign – Greg Horton said the sign is completed and comments have been favorable.  The sign cost $1,240.  Bob Stiger and Ann Meikle-Howell agreed that parking funds should not be used to pay for the sign.  Bob asked about the flag pole.  Greg said it would cost about $1,500 depending on availability.  Since September 11, supplies have been limited.  Due to the weather, we will need to wait until spring to install one.

ITEM 9:    Vendors – Bob Stiger said a request by Sam’s Club had sparked discussion on whether vendors should be allowed on campus.  Lee Krehbiel said ISU allows entities at designated spots.  Usually they pay but this can be negotiated.  He feels a center-wide policy here is appropriate rather than building specific.  We need to develop our own rather than importing from one of the campuses.  Glenn Wilde discussed the UI technology fair where table space is rented or in-kind trades are made.  Greg Horton would like to leave the CHE building open only for student organizations and not commercial organizations due to fire code concerns.  Action Item:  Greg Horton, Jim Fullerton and Lee Krehbiel will work as a subcommittee to gather information and report back to the LOC at the February meeting.

ITEM 10:  Student Union Fees – Mark Brainard recommended we use the calculations for UI students that are comparable to ISU students and move forward.  That would amount to about $34,000.  Leo Herrman commented that part of the problem is that Pocatello students are helping pay for the SUB in Idaho Falls and $34,000 is still cheap.  Jennifer Fisher said they are willing to accept the $34,000 in the spirit of cooperation and partnership.  Bob Stiger indicated the decision was not a committee item.  He and Glenn Wilde agreed on the calculation.

ITEM 11:  Student Communications – Carol Baldwin said she has talked with Dave Anderson about how to communicate with students via e-mail and he is working on a solution.  Sharon Montgomery has talked with various people at ISU and they are checking to see if it is possible to differentiate between Pocatello and Idaho Falls students.  Jennifer Fisher is working with Bill Duggan, the Director of the ISU Computer Center, on a way to contact students by specific majors.  This may be of help here.  Ann Meikle-Howell noted the closure policy worked well yesterday.  The hot line is also working well.  Action Item:  Carol B. and Sharon will give a progress report at the January meeting.  Jennifer Fisher would like to be involved since she is working with Bill Duggan.

ITEM 12:  Newspaper Insert - Ann Meikle Howell reported the cost of the insert has increased.  It will be put out for bid and with ideas from the graphic artist they hope to get the cost back to $3700.  It has a distribution of 22,000 through the newspaper and is distributed to the INEEL, Chamber of Commerce and the Public Library.  Glenn Wilde asked if there had been any market research as to its effectiveness.  There has not.  Bob Stiger indicated it is the local schedule as well as a PR piece.  Jennifer Fisher said that when it was first started they looked at bulk mail and it nearly tripled the cost.  It was decided to continue what we are doing.

ITEM 13:  Parking Board Report - Julie Birdsong, Parking Board Chair, said the Parking Board has been very busy responding to requests.  The Tech Library concerns over patron parking has been met, a document on parking regulations has been published and is online, they are working to make sure all information going out is the same, they have worked on INEEL reciprocal agreements, and the appeals subcommittee has met and taken action.  It is a dynamic process and modifications are being made as needed.

Bob Stiger said he has been working with Dan Schoenberg at the UI on a reciprocal agreement.  They have offered both Red and Blue lots.  Since the Red lots are more expensive in Moscow than our passes here, we will have to be careful when selling the passes.  Greg Horton said there isn't a mechanism currently in place to determine that.  Sharon Montgomery suggested we only accept the Blue lots for the reciprocity. 

ITEM 14:  CHE 104 Computers - Dave Anderson said the people offering the ISU GIS classes in 104 would like to be tied to the ISU network.  There is not an easy fix because the ISU logon software makes it difficult for us to get in and UI students would be cut out from using the computers.  Bob Stiger suggested putting the new computers in one of the upstairs labs and the downstairs lab could become a walk in lab during classes.  Action Item:  Dave Anderson will work with Carol Spain to set up a meeting next week to include Bob, Ann, Dave, Keith Webber, and Bill Duggan.

ITEM 15:  Review Status of Maintenance & Operations Budget - Bob Stiger stressed the importance of having an operating budget that could be scaled up if building new buildings.  Discussion centered on what was actually needed in the budget.  Action Item:  Carol Spain will arrange a meeting with Leo Herrman, Mark Brainard, Joy Fisher, Lee Krehbiel, Greg Horton, Ann Meikle Howell, Bob Stiger, Jennifer Fisher and Glenn Wilde.

ITEM 16:  Update on Recreation Program -  Lee Krehbiel said Apple Fitness will continue the low rates for students for Spring semester.  Also the wireless computer networking equipment in the SUB will be ready in the next couple of months.  Students will be able to check out laptops at the front desk for use in the SUB.

Additional Items:        Carol Baldwin said the Campus wide Christmas Potluck had been discussed but there was a question as to using the multipurpose room for a potluck.  It is the only room large enough.  Lee Krehbiel said we would need to talk with Chartwell's via Jim Fullerton.  Potlucks are allowed in the building.

Bob Stiger said the Food Service Committee has been looking at mugs that can be refilled at a nominal price.  Ann Meikle Howell said the food service has a great product and staff and this is an effort to get people to use the service.

Adjournment: Sharon Montgomery moved the meeting be adjourned.  Ann Meikle Howell seconded.  Motion carried.

CERTIFICATION:  Motions are verbatim.  Other aspects of the minutes are not verbatim.  To the best of my knowledge, they constitute an accurate record of the proceedings of the meeting.  Minutes recorded by Carol Spain, Management Assistant, University of Idaho in Idaho Falls.