Meeting Minutes

Tuesday, October 29, 2002
4:00-6:00pm
33 W. 11th Avenue, Room 101

The meeting was called to order at 4:05pm by Chair Cormier.

Members in Attendance: Kelli Barker, John Berry, J. Briggs Cormier, Theresa Early, Ann Farrelly, Kerry Hodak, Rich Hollingsworth, Janet Laster, Libby Marschall, H.G. Parsa, Rebecca Price, Melissa Rocco, Maurice Shipley, Tracy Stuck, Karen Weise.

Members Absent: Raul Herrera, Rick Prescott, Tammy Maltzan, Todd Armen, Lauren Loughrey, Bill Hall, Harmon Vredeveld.

Guests in Attendance: Doug Auschenbach, Steve Sterritt, Mike Dunn, Diane Jensen, Don Stenta, Katrina Liebst, Eric Busch.

Presentation

RPAC – Recreation and Physical Activity Center

Diane Jensen and Mike Dunn presented the current progress and plans for the RPAC. This will be a two-phase project. The program design has been in planning since 2000 and the RPAC is a joint project between the Department of Athletics, PAES, and the Department of Rec Sports. The project is joint because it will be a shared use facility, and therefore funding will be shared as well. There is state funding support for the educational use, athletics funding for the aquatic space and Rec Sports will contribute through a student fee that will begin when Phase 1 opens. The total project will be near 100 million dollars.

The RPAC will actually be in multiple locations. There is space on West campus that will be used for an Adventure Recreation Center. It will probably have an advanced opening and will include a rock wall and outdoor ropes and adventures courses.

There are currently two bids out for the project and are due back on November 15. The demolition bid is in and came in under projected cost. Bids open for Phase 1 in December. Fall 2004 is the hopefully opening of the new Rec Space and Phase 2 being complete in early 2006. Larkins Hall will remain open during the construction of Phase 1 and upon the opening on Phase 1, Larkins will close for Phase 2 construction to begin.

The women’s field house has been moved and will become a building to control the outdoor fields. There will be social space in the upstairs for students and restrooms and equipment storage in the rest of the building. A new outdoor field is being installed and will serve as the band practice area. Many different campus groups are assisting in the financing of that project.

Dunn also expressed his appreciation for the support from Student Life, especially Molly Ranz-Calhoun’s Facility Management & Logistics group.

Questions began with Shipley asking about the increased Athletics department involvement in the project and what support the Department of Rec Sports will get from Athletics and also how will club use of the facilities be affected by the construction? Jensen replied that the facility would continue to be rented to the public, as we are the only facility in central Ohio to offer many of the types of aquatic facilities that Larkins currently has. However, students, faculty, and staff will always have priority over renting to the public. Dunn also replied in regards to the first question that the need of Rec Sports and Athletics were well anticipated and therefore the needed support from Athletics is there. Busch also added that Athletics will be contributing their fair share of the operating costs due to their use of the facility. Laster asked when students will begin paying the fee and what will Rec Sports do to make them excited about paying that fee? Dunn replied that the fee would begin when Phase 1 opens in the Fall of 2004. As far as getting student excited, Rec Sports will get them to look at the old facility and get excited for the new facility. Also, they have been going to any group that asks to hear about the new facility or the fee, but they will begin a big push the year before the facility opens. Busch added that a message will be added to new student orientation so that all incoming students are aware of the changes and new fee. Shipley added that he is very excited to see this happening. Dunn added that they are very excited as well. Currently there is about 7,000 to 8,000 square feet of space in Larkins and when the new facility opens there will be 25,000 in the RPAC alone and 4,000 in the satellite facility. Berry added that this project has come a long way and the project looks great. He also asked if regional campus students would have access to Larkins? Dunn replied that the membership plan is still being worked on and will not be final until winter. It is possible that a fee option will be available such as that offered to faculty and staff. Faculty and Staff will not be required to pay the fee, but if they want to use the facility, they will need to pay the fee. Also, only students that are taking 4 or more credits have to pay the fee, any student taking less credits can chose to pay the fee in order to use the facility. Liebst asked what would happen to gymnastics, fencing, and wrestling when the exhibition gym closes. Dunn replied that Athletics has a new facility in Kinnear that they are moving some of the groups to, but there is no agreement between Rec Sports and Athletics to allow shared use of that facility.

Dunn concluded by thanking everyone and sharing his excitement about the project. He also expressed excitement to see the Ohio Union project progressing because with the new Larkins and a new Union on campus, it will create an incredible atmosphere on campus for students.

Ohio Union

Tracy Stuck and Molly Ranz-Calhoun spoke about the Ohio Union project. This summer a Request for Proposal (RFP) was put out on the project. 22 groups applied and the field was narrowed to eight. The final eight were interviewed and a team was created. Currently a feasibility study is underway. There were recently 19 focus groups conducted in a 2 and a half days and 12,000 students will be surveyed. Some of the interesting things that were heard in the focus groups were requests for a bowling alley, a program that allows students to rent laptops and roam through the building using wireless internet, different types of food, and a classic, “collegiate” building. The final data from the focus groups should be in on Friday, November 1. Ranz-Calhoun talked about the goal of the feasibility study, which is to study the needs and the space and to come back with a vision of what is needed and how much it would cost. By March, a concept should be in place. A major consideration of the Ohio Union project is how to complement the other major projects happening on campus. For instance, as Dunn implied, how can the Ohio Union complement the services offered by Larkins on the other end of campus. Also, looking towards the gateway project, how can the Ohio Union complement what is happening along High Street.

Stuck also announced that the Ohio Union has began a development campaign for the Ohio Union. The first reception was held before the Penn State game and over 100 people attended. Alumni were targeted who had the union in their heart. Barbie Tootle and Peter Voderberg spoke at the reception and did an outstanding job.

The Council was also asked what building they would choose to represent Ohio State as an Icon Building. University Hall and Orton Hall were named by the group.

Stuck also asked the Council what strategies should be used to get the concept of the new union out to the campus and community. A cover story in the Lantern was suggested, Hodak suggested to inform students of a website and to offer incentives to students to check out the website by offering drawings and giveaways. Barker suggested having smaller incentives in the union now such as free food. It was also suggested that people from the Ohio Union go to departmental and college meetings and ask faculty to announce information in their classes. Weise also suggested that something be done in new student survey courses to get the word out to students.

Gateway

Steve Sterritt and Doug Aushenbach spoke to the Council about the progress of the Gateway project. Ashenbach begun by talking about the long-term goals of Campus Partners and that the long-term strategy is to lead revitalization efforts on campus. Gateway is the flagship project of Campus Partners, but is not the only effort being made. Demolition of the properties along High Street was completed over the summer and the land is ready to develop. A major change was made when the project was moved from a private developer model. It did not make sense to have a private owner on the project and therefore Campus Partners will maintain control and guidance of the project. A few key elements of the project include the acquisition of Long’s Bookstore and the OSU bookstore by Barnes and Noble. They will open a large bookstore in the new Gateway. Also, the Dean of the Law School has expressed interest in having designated law student housing in the project. Also, the move away from a private developer allowed the project to be eligible for tax exempt financing. Most recently an RFP has gone out and they are reviewing the entire concept of the building. Early work should begin in January. The target opening date is August 2005. There will be 210,000 square feet of retail space, of which 50,000 will be the new bookstore. There will be 70,000 square feet of office space, including OSU Human Resources. There will be 175 apartment units.

Questions began with Ran-Calhoun asking about the budget for the project. The original budget was 125 Million dollars, but that is being validated. There is also 25 Million coming in from the University endowment. The new location of the bookstore was asked. It will be on the northeast corner of 11th and high. Long’s was originally located at that corner and will be celebrating the 100th anniversary at the original location. Also, when the new bookstore is constructed, a satellite location will be investigated potentially related to the business school or new architecture school.

Approval of Minutes

Hodak moved to approve the minutes from Tuesday, October 15. Price seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.

Old Business

Student Impact Grants

Rebecca Price reported that the Allocation Committee reviewed the new grant process being established to replace the Coke 450 grants. Allocations recommended maintaining the committee structure and process of the grant allocations, and the new name suggested by Allocations is the Student Impact Grants. Price motioned to accept the new name of the grants, Hodak seconded.

Hodak asked is departments can still apply to get money. Price replied yes and that the name was created to emphasize that the grants must make an impact for students.

The Council unanimously approved the motion to accept the name Student Impact Grants.

New Business

Athletics Council Proposal – Hodak introduced the idea that CSA should appoint a person to the Rec Sports Council, not the Athletics Council because CSA has oversight of Rec Sports, not Athletics.

Dunn gave a history of the Rec Sports advisory group. Rec Sports used to have an advisor Council that was run through the faculty senate. This group however did not meet the needs of the students. He sat down with the Vice President of USG at the time and did benchmarking of other advisory groups throughout the country and the Big Ten. A structure with six undergraduates, appointed by USG, serving two year terms, two graduate students, also serving two year terms, appointed by CGS, one Professional student, appointed by IPC, two faculty members appointed by Faculty Senate and 2 staff members from the University Staff Advisory Council. This group is called the University Rec Sports Committee (URSC). The chair is a student and the Committee reports to the Vice President for Student Life. They review issues such as the use of recreational space, the use of fees, and the needs of the community. The Committee is not recognized in the rule of the University Senate or CSA, but it works great as is.

Cormier asked if Athletics Council appoints members to URSC? Dunn replied that there are six ex-oficio members of the Committee from all over campus. Discussion of the previously standing rules about the Vice President for Student Life being involved in Athletics and therefore the rule is probably left from the time and has not been revised. Shipley asked if the chair or URSC is meeting with the Vice President for Student Life, do they need to report to CSA or should the chair of URSC report to CSA? Discussion continued of oversight by CSA to groups and whether committees should report to CSA if they are already reporting to the Vice President. Stuck pointed out that the Ohio Unions Council reports to CSA and this is a similar situation.

Reports

1. Chair – J. Briggs Cormier – no report.
2. Student Life – Rich Hollingsworth – Bill Hall sends his regrets for not coming, he is working on two projects for the Board of Trustees.
3. Subcommittees:
   1. Allocations – Rebecca Price – Everything is going beautifully in Allocations. The total amount of funds was split into thirds to allow equal amounts of travel and activity to occur in each quarter. Allocations will also be reviewing the process and procedures this year.
   2. Committee A – Theresa Early – The committee is currently looking at the web dependency of the University and will be meeting with the registrar in the middle of November. Cormier added that this is an elevated issues since the University is eliminating HomeNet and therefore there is no free internet access for students.
   3. Committee B – no report.

Announcements

H.G. Parsa asked about the credit card email that was sent to the University and asked if the Council would be reviewing that issue. Cormier responded that the Council looked at the credit card issue and agreement extensively in the past and therefore would not look at it in the near future. Busch added that there will be an extensive press release coming out soon about the credit card agreement.

Barker congratulated Tracy Stuck on the success of the focus groups.

Price announced the potential USG Legislation encouraging Ohio State fans to dress in red at the football games.

Adjourn

Price motioned to adjourn the meeting, Hodak seconded the motion and the meeting was unanimously adjourned.

Last modified on: Monday, July 07, 2008 1:34:01 PM

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