UACC Meeting Minutes – 03/8/07

Ramesh Sagili (Vice President): Greeted everyone and welcome all to the meeting.

Speaker Presentation:

Kate Kiernet – Commented about the new side walk that was added on Candy Hill.

Dee Donovan – Advised residents to use the cross walks while crossing intersections. She also commented about bicycle safety and an upcoming engraving program.

Budget Update – Ron Sasse

The budget was submitted through VP office proposing a rent increase for the fiscal year 2007-08.

Questions from the residents with regards to the rent increase:

1)         Why is rent for the UA above any other private complex around Bryan/CS area?

Ron Sasse: Alternatives are being explored to subsidize the expenses being    incurred. The current rates are on par with the market prices.

2)         Quality of the apartment is very low compared to the outside apartment. A comparison of a single bedroom (outside - $400, UA - $600) alone has a huge rental difference?

            Ron Sasse: We recognize the necessity to have better apartments

3)         Electricity charges have been going up - $200 for Avenue A compared to $60 outside? Why is it expensive? Glass insulation is very poor. On average the charge in Avenue A has been $150-220.

            Ron Sasse: The cold front in the month of January was a factor for higher charges.

4)         New construction of Apartments? A 2-bedroom apartment is $810. How is this affordable to the residents where majority of the students residing in the UA are married with families and not single individuals?

            Ron Sasse: Dean of graduate college establishing a university wide committee to address these issues. Being a auxiliary unit, university is currently not subsidizing the costs of maintaining the apartments.

5)         Can we get a receipt for the electricity charges applied indicating the consumption?

            Kate Kiernet: Meter readings are done every month and records maintained. Residents can verify the records. The charges applied reflect the expenses incurred by the physical plant. These are the overhead costs and single most largest expense incurred. It is impossible to get the supply from private sources.

6)         Any alternatives to fix insulation problems?

            Wandalyn Shanklin: Last year a session was conducted to enlighten students about energy conserving tips.

            Ron Sasse: New apartment complexes will not have such problems.

7)         Why are current residents burdened when the new complexes will eventually not serve the purpose? New complexes are good for new bachelors and do not fit for families

            Ron Sasse: We will explore alternatives

New Business:

            Kate Kiernet: Advise of some new policies. A charge of $30 will be applied for all returned checks which was previously $25.  New contract needs to be signed by all residents from April 1^st.  Rent is due in the first 7 days in a month rather than 5 days.

Mike Krenz: New Clauses added to the contract:

Married person can have a roommate and each student will be required to sign the contract individually.  Four adults will now be able to reside in a 2-bedroom apartment.

Raghu Jana: VP for Information Technology – Presented an online demonstration of the newly constructed UA website.

Ramesh Sagili: (Vice President) GSC membership update – stated they are awaiting a reply from Shari Hilding-Konforst (President of GSC)

Wandalyn Shanklin: Advised that elections for the executive board for the year 2007-2008 will be conducted in the month of April. Any current student resident can run for a position.

Maintenance Updates:

            Sign posted for bicycle air-pump were installed.

Internet Availability: The Internet service has been experiencing problems for the past six months there has been frequent disruptions and distortion and local cable channels are unavailable during extreme weather conditions.

Mike Krenz: Please continue to turn in work orders to CIS helpdesk. Additional equipment might be need and rewiring of cables to fix the problem.

Award Winners:

Mahesh Padanand: Winner of Eppwright Scholarship for the year 2007. 

Ramesh Sagili: Winner of Buck-Weirus award for the year 2007.

Congratulations were offered to both for their achievements.

Final Remarks by Ramesh Sagili: (Vice President) – Thanked everyone who attended the meeting.