STAFF COUNCIL MEETING
2:00 p.m., October 17, 2002
CHAPPELL 106
Present: Barbara Monnett (presiding), Rose Murner, Ann Portwood, Neil Jones, Kim Ireland, Susan Demmon, Cindy Diaz, Carol Brown, Jennifer Brooker, Kathy Hill, Teri Hollar, Kenneth Manson , Valerie Smykal. Absent: Lynda Grable. Guests: Angela Criscoe, Virginia Simmons, Valerie Lemmon, Lurline West, Paula Jefferson, Lorianne Strawder, Jill Harper, and Susan Kukua. Advisor Quintus Sibley,
Call to Order. Barbara Monnett called the meeting to order at 2:04.
Approval of the Minutes. The minutes from the September 12 meeting were approved as written.
Benefits Fair. Angela Criscoe gave an update on donations for door prizes for the Benefits Fair on October 31. She asked the delegates who had volunteered at the last meeting to solicit donations from local area businesses to make sure they turned them in on time. Barbara also distributed a sign-up sheet for delegates to volunteer to man the Staff Council table at the Benefits Fair.
Staff Appreciation Day. We briefly discussed this idea at our last meeting. Barbara has mentioned it to the president. Dr. DePaolo is in favor of the idea, but funding is an issue. One suggestion was made to survey staff to see if they would be willing to pay a small fee to cover the cost. We may be able to distribute a survey at our table at the Benefits Fair, or we may be able to provide an online survey that could be linked to from the Info Page.
PeachCare. We talked about this item briefly at the last meeting. This is a
federally-funded insurance program for low-income families. Even though we have some employees who would qualify, state employees are exempt from this coverage. There is a link on the Staff Council web page to a sample letter that can be used by individuals as concerned citizens if they would like to send a letter forward in support of PeachCare changes that would allow low-income state employees to qualify for this coverage.
Update on Goals. At our planning meeting in August, we devised a list of goals we would like to accomplish during the year. One of these was to have suggestion boxes available for confidential feedback from staff. Staff Council delegates Teri Hollar and Kenneth Manson and chair Barbara Monnett met with Physical Plant's John Webb and staff to get these boxes built and installed. One box will be in Ennis Hall and the other will be installed at Physical Plant. Any suggestions placed in this box are confidential and staff need have no fear of reprisal from any suggestions they make. Barbara is the only one with keys to the boxes, and she assures the complete anonymity of those making suggestions.
Parking. Several guests were present to voice their concerns about the parking situation on campus. Their major concern was the distance employees must park from their work locations. One suggestion was to move staff parking closer to the main buildings and move student parking further away. These staff feel the university has a greater responsibility to those who must be here forty hours per week every week. They also feel there are several parking spaces not being used, but these spaces are too far away from the main campus to be of much use. There are also spaces blocked off for construction purposes that make the problem worse. Some suggestions from these guests were:
· Convert the old courthouse parking from student to staff, freeing up about 40 spaces.
· Convert the same amount of spaces in the Kilpatrick lot from staff to student.
· Assign numbered parking spaces nearest their worksite for all twelve-month
forty-hour employees.
· Beginning fall 2003 prohibit freshman bringing their cars on campus.
· Have more enforcement of parking on a constant basis.
· Establish a ticket committee/panel/board to decide whether or not to void parking tickets once they have been written out. One person should not have the authority to void tickets for some and not others.
· Emphasize the parking rules and procedures to parents and students during orientations. Students and parents should understand that if the student receives a ticket for illegal parking, he/she must pay it. A $15 fine is just a slap on the hand for some students and doesn't make them realize the importance of proper parking.
· Build a parking deck where the old courthouse is now and have access controlled electronically with authorization cards.
· Tow illegally parked vehicles. This was done some time ago, but is not done now.
Some guests mentioned travel time to and from their cars during lunch takes up most of their hour. As a result, they don't leave campus for lunch for fear of not finding a parking spot when they return. Sometimes employees must get to work earlier than the start of their workday just to find a parking place. For employees with small children in daycare, this might mean an increase in childcare rates. The spokesperson for the guests asked Barbara if a petition was the appropriate means to voice these concerns, but Barbara asked to get these concerns via e-mail and she would discuss them with the president. Barbara thanked the guests for attending the meeting.
Suggestions for the President's Picnic. Some delegates brought forth suggestions/concerns from staff in their areas concerning the recent picnic.
· Provide some entertainment for children. There was a balloon jump set up on front campus for a couple of days before the picnic. Why couldn't this play area have stayed for the picnic?
· There were no drinks at 5:05 when some employees arrived.
· Provide some games or icebreakers to allow employees to meet and mingle. This would have been a good opportunity to meet employees besides those with whom we work every day.
· Make the whole atmosphere of the picnic more employee-friendly. Some employees feel forced to attend.
· Have one of our bands play during the picnic or at least during the beginning of it.
· Do something to boost the attendance. It seems as though fewer people attend each year.
· Change the name of the picnic to something other than the "president's" picnic. "President's Picnic" sounds intimidating to some.
· Provide some games or activities.
· Have the president address the crowd.
Other Business.
Rose Murner is chairing the committee to develop guidelines on the use of staff development funds and will provide updates as her committee meets.
Teri brought forth a request from her area to have more computers for Ennis Hall for employees' use. There are two computers there for 40-48 employees to use. Cindy Diaz will talk to Jim Wolfgang about this.
There was a question about where we stood on the paystudy. There are no funds available now to implement the salary portion of the study, but we have moved ahead with the evaluation process that was a direct result of the study. Barbara will check on the salary portion of it and report back to us.
Announcements.
Barbara shared a note from employees in Physical Plant expressing their appreciation of the hats provided by Staff Council.
Angela gave an update on the recent training sessions she conducted. Feedback has been very positive, and she encouraged us to send ideas for future training workshops to Barbara.
Adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 14 at 2:00 in Chappell 106. (Remaining meeting dates: January 16, March 6, April 17, May 15, and June 5, 2003.)