MEETING MINUTES OF THE UNIVERSITY FACILITIES PLANNING BOARD

March 21, 2023

Members Present: Grant Petersen – Co-Chair, Tom Rodgers, Mike McNiel, Duane Morris, Kris Johnson, Chris Fastnow, Mike Everts

Proxy’s: Marianne Brough (for Chris Kearns), Durward Sobek (for Robert Mokwa), Mary Burrows (for Sreekala Bajwa), Tom Luhrsen (Michael Stanley)

Members Absent: Royce Smith – Co-chair Bill Clinton, EJ Hook, Brett Gunnink, Andrew Nosler, Mike Stanley, Terry Leist, Bill Clinton, Alison Harmon

Staff & Guests: Sarah Knoebl, Richard Rudnicki, Camie Bechtold

ITEM No. 1 – APPROVAL OF NOTES

The meeting minutes from September 20th 2022 were approved unanimously with an amendment to remove indication of no votes.

ITEM No. 2 – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT

None

ITEM No. 3 – CONSENT AGENDA

None

ITEM No. 4 – RECOMMENDATION – Combined State Laboratories

Presenter: Sarah Knoebl, Campus Planner

MSU Tennis Team is seeking approval for new signage located on the South side of the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center building. The new signage will consist of individually cut aluminum letters, over laid with colored vinyl. The colors and font of the proposed signage is consistent with MSU standards. The entire sign will be 24” tall and 53’6” wide.

Installation techniques follow Facility Services requirements to ensure longevity. The signage is being manufactured and installed by SCS Wraps, which had previously installed the Bobcat head just above the proposed signage.

Mike Everts questioned whether there is any lettering on the building currently. Duane Morris explained that the lack of signage contributes to community members not knowing where the Tennis Center is.

Mike Everts raised concern with the minimum of 2 holes per letter. That many holes could result in increased likelihood of leakage in the next 5-10 years, is there any drywall that could be water damaged. It was noted that there is no drywall in the tennis center. Grant explained there have been discussions on how many points of contact are needed to ensure stability of the letters. The metal cladding serves as a water screen, and it is designed to drain the infiltrated water. Richard added that the MSU maintenance team has been part of the discussion and have no concerns with the plan and added that there have been no problems with the existing bobcat head which is mounted similarly.

Mike Everts mentioned that signs with this many letters typically use a bracket to attach to the wall.

Tom Rodgers asked how people usually approach the Tennis Center. Richard Rudnick explained that most people approach from the South coming from the fieldhouse parking lots and head to the entrance located on the West side of the building. Tom Rodgers asked if there was a sign on the West side. There is standard MSU building signage located near the entrance. Duane noted that there is no real way to approach the building from the West since it backs up to the fieldhouse

 

The Vote: unanimous vote to approve proposed Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center signage

ITEM No. 5 – INFORMATIONAL – ADA Facilities Advisory Committee

Presenter: Sarah Knoebl, Campus Planner

The charge of the ADA Facilities Advisory Committee is a standing committee of UFPB and advises UFPB on the University’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as it relates to facilities, parking, and signage. In the past the committee has met quarterly.

Historically membership has included the University Architect (Chair), Director, Office of Disability Services (Vice Chair), Director, Planning, Design & Construction, Parking Manager, Director, Facility Services, ADA Leave Coordinator, AVP Auxiliary Services, Chief Compliance Officer, PDC Staff Support, Legal Counsel.

The ADA Facilities Advisory Committee has not met is about 4 years due to staffing vacancies. A planning group including Mike McNeil, Camie Bechtold, and Evan Burnett have been meeting to refamiliarize themselves with the committee’s charge and identify opportunities for it to be effective on campus. The committee Chair plans to reconvene meetings prior to the end of the Spring 2023 academic term.

Mike McNiel expressed his gratitude to UFPB and the University for their support in bringing this committee back. Mike stated that adding an ASMSU member and Faculty representative is under consideration.

Durward Sobek asked where is charge originally came from. The ADA Facilities Advisory Committee was charged by UFPB in response to ADA compliance issues.

Camie Bechtold stated that the plan is to reconvene and work to better understand what the problems are. The committee plans to provide reports to UFPB and Evan maintains the ADA Transition Plan. There is a master spreadsheet of all ADA noncompliant items on campus. While the list is long, all projects work to whittle down that list as we can.

It was asked whether it would be beneficial to categorize ADA tasks and if this committee would be taking ADA complaints. Mike and Camie responded that these are questions that committee will begin to answer as the committee reconvenes.

Chris Fastnow stated in the past there had been annual ADA reporting but was a restricted superset of classroom buildings. Progress updates were very beneficial, knowing that improvements are happening is great to see. An annual reporting cadence is suggested.

Horizon Items

Grant Street project campus community engagement will be occurring before we meet next time.

Jones Hall

Gianforte Hall

Facilities Yard

7th Avenue Utility Tunnel

Garfield St Shared Bike Way Addition