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Committee reviews East Hall records, classroom consolidation and housing capacity; natatorium/gym proposal under consideration
Summary
Committee members reviewed a 2010 record confirming East Hall’s return to campus use, discussed consolidating classroom use because of HVAC and custodial constraints, and explored options for increasing gym and building revenue while clarifying housing availability.
The committee discussed multiple facility topics: the ownership status of East Hall, classroom use and environmental-control problems in the classroom building, custodial staffing, dormitory capacity and a proposed plan to increase gymnasium (Simons) revenue through outside management.
A county staff member reported they found a 2010 letter indicating the Department of Health and Human Services vacated the parcel and that the Board of Regents had approved returning the parcel and building (East Hall) to campus use under a long‑term lease. The committee concluded East Hall is part of campus holdings and can be considered separately in future plans to generate revenue from underused space.
Campus administration said classroom use will be consolidated for the fall because only part of the classroom building can be cooled reliably; most classes will be held in the Science Building (Millville Hall) and Miller Memorial Library. Staffing constraints were highlighted: the campus is down to one custodian and one maintenance worker; two hiring attempts for custodial roles produced no successful permanent hire, so the campus intends to employ a student custodian again. To reduce workload, the campus has removed exterior trash containers and plans to lock the classroom building on Tuesday–Friday.
On housing, the campus administrator noted Dean’s Hall is used for student housing and “that holds 57” occupants; apartment‑style units across the road are run at market rate by an ownership group and their availability is dependent on owner leasing decisions. The committee discussed that if student numbers grew substantially the ownership group could make additional apartments available at agreed annual times, and the campus staff said they are negotiating an operational agreement to specify how those units would be made available to students.
The committee heard about a proposed plan to have Simons (the campus gym/natatorium manager) expand programming and booking to increase revenue. A draft proposal is being prepared for presentation to this committee and the natatorium board.
Committee members asked staff to locate lease records for farmland behind the campus and reported current rental income of $3,500 per year; staff said they would follow up to locate formal lease documents and confirm terms. The committee did not take formal action on facility changes but asked for follow‑up information and for proposals to be brought to a future meeting.
