Attending: Beach, Boyd, Davis, Dodd, Farley, Fry, Hosier and Rowell

Mr. Davis discussed the current planning and schematic design work being done on the Swing Space building. He reminded the Committee that all construction and external and internal work must not exceed $1.5 million dollars. The university has planned on building about 15,000 gross sq ft. The architect’s preliminary design is for about 16,700 sq ft plus room is needed for mechanical equipment. Since most of the building will eventually be used for offices, modules of about 120 sq ft are being used in the planning process. The October specs for this building called for about 13,200 sq ft of assignable space. These specs need to be revised downward by about 1,700-2,500 sq ft so that they fall within the dollars allotted for construction. 

Questions were raised during the discussion about the use of the New Centre Drive leased space and the residence on College Acres Drive. Mr. Fry reported that zoning precludes any offices being located in the College Acres residence. By August, the Institutional Research function must move from Alderman Hall to another location that has sufficient space for additional staff. He is hoping to identify space at New Centre for his staff.

Dr. Hosier presented a new edition of the graphic he provided at the Committee’s last meeting. Ms. Farley pointed out that the Union construction period is now expected to take less time than shown on the graphic. Additional revisions were suggested including the potential movement of offices back to campus from leased space. Dr. Hosier pointed out that International Programs will be moving out the Union during the renovation project and will not be returning to this facility. Ms. Farley indicated that about 20,000 sq ft would be available in the Warwick Student Center once the Post Office and Game Room are relocated. Committee needs to consider the Center as a place to put offices that need a permanent home. Money to do any renovations in Warwick Center is not available in the bond or from any other sources identified at this time.

The School of Nursing is scheduled to move out of Hoggard Hall when this facility is renovated. School personnel will be housed in the Swing Space facility while teaching spaces will be placed in Friday Hall until renovations begin on that facility. Questions were raised about where money will come from to cover the cost of moving offices. Suggestion was made that some offices, especially those in Alderman Hall, might be relocated with divisional staff as opposed to moving them to the Swing Space facility.

If Warwick Center is identified as a “one stop” student service location then current residents of James Hall (Registrar, Financial Aid, Student Accounts, Cashier, etc.) could be moved to this site. Chancellor and Vice Chancellors could possibly use James Hall during Alderman renovation project. Ms. Farley indicated that the Burney Center offices would be used during the Union renovation period.

Mr. Davis pointed out that the time needed to do any maintenance on buildings must be included in all scheduling. Dr. Hosier also noted that increased use of campus facilities is taking its toll on furnishings. Because of increased traffic in some facilities, the life expectancy of some items is less than originally projected.

Mr. Fry will meet with Mr. Scott to talk about the short and long-term placement of the Copy Center function.

Mr. Davis reviewed some of the basic elements of the report he was giving to the Administrative Cabinet later in the day. In an effort to obtain support for some of his design functions and to gain some assistance in planning campus moves, Mr. Davis has contacted a consulting firm who is working with the Office of the President on the bon-funded construction projects. He explained why some projects are taking additional time to get started and listed the steps he has taken to move some of the activities along more quickly. New legislative requirements are adding time to most projects. On a positive note, he reported that State Construction has finally awarded a construction contract for the School of Education building to a South Carolina contractor and the new residence hall project is on schedule. The university’s Ecology Club was asked to review the School of Education Building site and provide a report on the number of trees that are to be cut down during the construction project. This number of trees will be planted at different locations on campus. This same process will be used for the Residence Hall site.

Ms. Farley raised questions about decisions being made about campus parking. She was specifically interested in the use of the parking lot on the west side of the union. Mr. Davis explained that some early drawings, which showed this space as faculty and staff parking, were in error and will be corrected in later versions.