March 4, 2002
Members Present: Don Batson, Craig Edmonston, Tim Freeman, Amy Farmer, Gloria Fry, Reggie Houser, Jay Huneycutt, Carol Lane, Lorraine Lorne, David Martinson, and Gary Smith. Also present were Jeff Velie and Ed Gbur from Agriculture Statistics, Angie Squires from Agri and Extension Education, Alicia Minden from Agri Economics and Agri Business, Miles Sonstegaard from Economics, Sandra Wickizer from Plant Pathologhy, Cindy George and Audrey Bernatti from Alpha Delta Pi, Sylvia Taylor and and Katy Burford from Chi Omega, Mary Noel and Nancy Huddleston from Delta Delta Delta, Jessica Burke and Connie Williams from Zeta Tau Alpha, Henry Wendel and Richard Broughton from RIC, Dio Tsitouras, Randall Lotthes and Stephanie Gosnell from ASG, Rebecca Lewis, Amber White, Corey Walter, Heather Murphy and Jenniann Cuiray from Pomfret, Tracie Dungan from the Democrat-Gazette, and Elaine Quinn, acting secretary.
Craig Edmonston opened the meeting at 1:30. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved after corrections were made.
Old Business
1. Lot 36: This past December the committee voted to redesignate lot 36 and have the Faculty/Staff section be on the south part and On Campus parking be on the north part of the lot after many faculty and staff complaints over the lack of parking. Several alumni and members of nearby sororities voiced their concern today over safety for their members because of this change. A petition containing 115 names supporting switching the two areas was given to the committee. Tim Freeman made a motion to have the north section of the lot be Faculty/Staff and the south section changed to On Campus. The motion was seconded. Gloria Fry made a friendly amendment to add that safety issues for that lot be addressed. It was seconded and passed. The vote on the main motion passed with one abstention. University Police Department has conducted a security survey of the area. The survey recommended that the two existing lights be redirected more toward the corners of the lot and suggested adding a third light. It also suggested adding a fence on the north and east sides of the lot. Warnings will be given for a week in the Faculty/Staff section. Building Executives will be notified.
2. Update on Phi Delta Theta Parking: The Phi Delts had come before the committee in the fall and had requested more Resident Reserved parking for their members. Two options were being checked into: a) Reggie Houser was going to check into Resident Reservedzone 3 parking spaces and see if any were available and b) the KA house is empty and the Phi Delts were wanting to use that area for parking. Reggie said that Housing felt like until the lot 55 issue was resolved, that Housing couldn’t give up any spaces. The KA situation still hasn’t been resolved.
3. Update on South Deck: We are now looking at building a parking deck on the southwest corner of Duncan and Williams Streets. It has been suggested that a 2000 space deck is needed but the existing space won’t hold that large of a deck and the road capacity in that area also needs to be considered. Campus Planning has been involved in another project and then they will return to work on this project to see what options are available. The hope is to break ground before Christmas.
New Business
1. Permitting Oakland and Lindell: The University now owns almost all of the property on Oakland between Maple and Douglas Streets, except the house that belongs to Alpha Delta Pi. It has been suggested to have that part of Oakland be On Campus permit parking. Gary needs to meet with the private owners on Lindell before a decision can be made concerning that street.
2. Lot 67: Lot 59 by HPER has been closed for construction of the gymnastic facility. The lot had consisted of Reserved, Faculty/Staff and meter spaces for a total of about 180 parking spaces. HPER still needs parking spaces for its employees and for its customers. Tim Freeman presented a resolution that ASG passed unanimously stating that taking lot 67 away from student parking and making it part
3. Faculty/Staff and part meter would cause great inconvenience. It also is a safety concern for those students living in Pomfret Hall and affects its retention rates. Gary Smith said that when lots and designations are changed on campus, especially for construction, everything is affected. Transit and Parking is pursuing plans to build two additional parking lots at Pomfret. These lots would provide about 210 additional spaces. August would be the earliest that construction could begin on these lots. A suggestion was made that HPER, Pomfret and Women’s and Men’s Athletics gather the necessary data and meet to decide needs for lot 67 as soon as possible.
4. FY03 Budget and Permit Fees: Next year’s budget and the proposed permit fees were handed out. If the committee continues increasing fees by 5% a year, that won’t be enough revenue to build future parking decks. Gloria Fry said that the committee needs to convey the message “this is what your money is working for and one day you will reap the benefits”. It was also suggested to look at restructuring the types of permits for FY04.
5. Special Event Parking Plan: More revisions have been made, including lot 55. Once approved by the committee, it will be forwarded to the administration with the recommendation that it become University policy.
6. HPER Advisory Board: Craig Edmonston said the student Intramural/Recreational Sports Advisory Board had met and passed a resolution that deleted lot 67 from Women’s basketball game parking.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:14 p.m.