U.W. Baraboo/Sauk County U.W. Campus Commission

UW Campus April 15, 2010 meeting minutes (31 KB)

Members Present: Wedekind, Haugen, Huffaker, Geimer, Kolb, and Giese.

Members Absent: Mielke

Others Present: Janke, Pleger, Griffith, and Armstrong

Chairperson Wedekind called the meeting to order at 8:30 A.M. and compliance with the Open Meeting Law was verified.

Motion by Kolb, seconded by Geimer to approve the agenda for today’s meeting. Motion carried.

Motion by Geimer, seconded by Kolb to approve the minutes of the March 18, 2010 meeting, as mailed. Motion carried.

Election of Officers:

Wedekind reported that a conflict occurs annually with the election of officers being in April as required by our by-laws. He suggests changing the by-laws to require the election of officers in May in order to allow time for the Mayor and County Board Chair to appoint their committees.

Moved by Wedekind, seconded by Huffaker to change Article V, Section 2 of the by-laws to require elections in May annually and ask the County Corporation Counsel to change the by-laws.

Public Comment:

None.

Communications:

None.

Financial Report:

A revenue/expense report for the period 1/1/10 to 3/31/09 was distributed by C. Giese, City Clerk, which indicated an unexpended balance of $142,090.81 and $60,515.69 in the designated capital equipment account.

Maintenance Report, Review and Payment of Bills:

R. Griffith presented the monthly maintenance report and reviewed the list of bills with commission members, highlighting on the garage project carried forward from last year. Pleger questioned if the garage is now water tight and it was speculated that the work could not guarantee this but would be determined after a heavy rain. Motion by Geimer, seconded by Kolb to pay the bills submitted in the amount of $10,759.79. Motion carried.

Dean’s Report:

Dean Pleger reported on the following:

• The Regent’s have created an initiative to grow the number of students 30% by 2025 focusing on increasing the number of BA’s. The Dean speculates that because of this initiative, the Regents will say yes to more degreed programs offered at 2 year campuses. A concern is that there will be more competition for budget increases between the campuses with the ones that increase their students the most getting the greatest budget increases. 4 year campuses are considering offering Associate degrees and starting branch campuses to attract new students. Dean Pleger is researching branching the Baraboo-Sauk County campus into other parts of the State as well.
• The tuition for 2 year campuses will again be frozen for the upcoming year which will likely increase in student enrollment again.
• Have started the recruitment process to replace Bob Griffith who is retiring in July.
• Will attempt to add three more faculty for the fall in Botany, English and Anthropology. If all are received, the campus will be at 21 faculty.
• The Chancellor search is underway and 6 colleges have Dean position vacancies. Dean Pleger speculates that considerable change will occur in the next few years.
• Commencement is May 22, 2010.
• The Play opens this weekend and the Disk Golf Club has been very active.
• Thanked Marcy Huffaker for her years of service to the Campus Commission.

Parking Lot Improvements:

Dave Armstrong reported on his work with expanding the parking lot. He has contacted a UW building representative who advised that a site survey and engineering plans is money well spent before work proceeds. He questioned if anyone knew who had done the previous layout design. Wedekind reported that the City Engineer had recently looked at cutting into the hill and speculated that not many additional parking spaces would be gained. The City Engineer and Dave Armstrong will meet next week to review the project in more detail. Armstrong and Pleger both commented that the curvature of the present parking lot is not effective and a grid-line parking lot is desired. Pleger reported that the parking lot reconstruction/expansion was estimated at $500,000 and the group will explore using the Army National Guard to assist with earth moving.

Student Government Funding

Dean Pleger reported that the Student Government has approximately $40,000 of surplus funds that they are seeking a project for. They have narrowed their projects of interest to:

• new furniture in the common areas
• replace blinds in the cafeteria
• construct a stage on the campus lawn
• upgrade theatre lighting (project estimated at $60,000)
• improve signage on the Campus

More information will be presented at a future meeting.

Computer Lab Remodeling

Pleger reported that the computer labs are too hot and are difficult to temperature control. He receives numerous complaints about temperature from students and staff. It was noted that the current budget includes $60,000 in the budget. Wedekind reported on an estimate provided by Bob Silva last year, noting that the project needs to be bid out. Armstrong and Griffith will have a report at the next meeting and it was desired to have bids taken by the next meeting.

Update on Living and Learning Center:

There will be a meeting on the 29th to discuss the project so an update will be given at the May meeting.

Next Meeting

It was announced that the next meeting will be May 20 at 8:30 a.m.

Adjournment

Moved by Haugen, seconded by Geimer and carried to adjourn at 9:15 a.m.

Respectfully submitted: Cheryl Giese