Portions of the University’s student union will receive a facelift this year as part of ongoing renovations, EMU officials said at a Wednesday night meeting.
EMU Director Dusty Miller highlighted several “critical issues” that the EMU Board will be asked to address, including a lack of space for programs and storage.
“This is not an effective facility,” Miller said, adding that renovations are slated to begin as soon next month.
With a price tag of more than $1 million, changes to the International Resource Center will begin in January.
Also on the list for renovation are the arcade and The Break, the
campus pool hall. Facilities Director Dana Winitzky said the arcade will be eliminated because it has shown decreased revenue, while The Break will remain.
The arcade space is designated for the Leadership Resource Office (LRO).
The kitchen in the Skylight is also slated for remodeling. Formerly an Asian restaurant, the space is currently used by the Craft Center and occupied by storage. It has also served large conferences.
The kitchen area will become two rooms, one used by the Craft Center and the other used by the EMU Marketing Department.
A price for the changes hasn’t been set because estimates from contractors haven’t come back, Winitzky said.
EMU House Committee Chairman David Goward said marketing is moving to give KWVA, the campus radio station, more room.
When the LRO vacates its current space, located in Suite 5 on the ground level, the Cultural Forum will move there. The space once occupied by the Cultural Forum will become student offices, with room for up to four groups. Goward said the ASUO has yet make final decisions on which groups will occupy those areas.
Student Government might also get changes to its digs.
“I would be shocked if the ASUO didn’t ask that their suite be enlarged,” Miller said.
Also during the meeting, board members got an inside look at areas of the aging EMU that few students have ever seen.
Winitzky led a tour of the bowels of the building, taking board members through two of nine mechanical rooms. He told members they would need to consider how much money to allocate to upgrading and maintaining the equipment in the rooms, which he said will need attention along with some of the building’s structure.
He assured members the structural problems are not a safety issue, but an age issue. Winitzky demonstrated how some cinder blocks lining walls of the EMU are easy to move.
Winitzky said equipment, mechanical and plumbing upgrades are the most pressing to the upkeep of the EMU.
“We’ll phase it,” he said. “There’s some money available now.”
A renovation that occurred in 1995 created a room called the “bat cave,” a mechanical room under the building with bare limestone walls that has been inhabited by roaches. Winitzky said the room’s equipment was in need of an update.
Maintenance is done in-house, but Winitzky reminded members they would need to “make some tough decisions” as they decide how to allocate dollars for expansion as well as upkeep.
“The good news is, we’ve got a great staff the keeps our equipment maintained,” he said.
Jean Sun, EMU business manager, told the board the EMU had a good year. Of the $86,000 surplus carried forward from last year, 70 percent came from an increase in food sales and 30 percent came from staff turn-over.
Miller said the EMU was close to budget projections for both last year and this year.
Other issues Miller addressed to the board were a need for software upgrades, upgrades to audio and visual equipment and participation in the University’s new Diversity Plan.
The board elected Chess Patricolo chairwoman, Kerry Vance vice chairwoman, Lillian Vaughan Budget Committee chairwoman and David Goward House Committee chairman.
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