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FACILITIES PLANNING COMMITTEE
MINUTES
December 15, 2011
Members Present: Yasser Ayad; Jon Beal; Paul Bylaska; Jennifer May; Glen Reid; Madeline
Robinson (Student Senate Representative); Deb Sobina (via conference phone)
Others Present: John Massa; Joyce Overly; Lori Sabatose; Chad Thomas
I.

Approval of Minutes – October 27, 2011: The minutes were approved as presented.

II.

Additional Agenda Items: No additional agenda items were added.

III.

Old Business
1. Facilities Master Plan – Paul Bylaska
Members were given a tentative campus master plan RFP schedule. The RFP will be
advertised shortly. The master plan will determine what buildings to invest resources
in. The facilities planning committee has been the primary group to provide
information about the master plan along with the help of the consultant. The
president wants to solicit community input on both the Clarion and Venango
campuses. Dr. Beal mentioned that the schedule noted the start of fall 2012 term to
begin work with the professional and additional meetings of the facilities planning
committee will be needed at that time.
2. Becht – Paul Bylaska
The university is still working with the design firm on the preliminary design. The
red clay tiles on the buildings roof will be removed so that a moisture barrier can be
put down in order to still use those tiles and have a warranty on the roof. John Massa
noted that spare tiles were found in storage if needed. Chad Thomas also said that
composite tiles can be purchased that look identical. The wooden beams in the
building will all be replaced with structural steel.
A geothermal heat pump will be used for the HVAC in the building; water providing
the main source of heat and cooling. This will be done for several reasons 1) the size
of the ducts are much smaller 2) there will not be a need for a cooling tower 3) less
maintenance 4) individual heat controls can be used for several areas.
PWWG are the architects for the project and the deadline is now June 2013 for move
in. Joyce Overly noted that the Writing Center had asked for office space in Becht.
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3. Tippin – Paul Bylaska
The feasibility study was completed and the university is moving into the design
phase. Clare Heidler has been assisting on the project. Design funding is $8 million.
There has been considerable community interest in the project, especially with the
swimming pool. The borough has not had the resources for their pool. University
funding comes from the state taxpayers to serve our students so that must be the
number one priority. The university will work as much as possible with the needs of
the community.
The natatorium will be taken away from the gymnasium and the existing gym (box)
will be preserved. The new natatorium will attach to the Gemmell side of the
recreation center with expanded locker rooms. This will allow for shared staffing for
both buildings and make for a better recreation center. Dr. Beal noted direct access
would be needed for events in the gym and natatorium. Lori Sabatose questioned that
the natatorium would attach on the Tippin side and Paul Bylaska noted that this was
due to the buried lines in the area. Chad Thomas said the confusion may be partly
due to a recreation center pool verses a competitive pool which needs a much larger
footprint to incorporate. Pool temperatures are set low for the competitive
swimming/diving program. It would be best to have a separate pool and that will
need to be explored. Paul Bylaska also mentioned prior discussions about relocating
the tennis courts and using that space, but that relocation would be costly.
Yasser Ayad questioned faculty and staff use of the building. Paul Bylaska said that
the natatorium will be as accessible as the current swimming facility is. Classes and
students will be the first priority. Lori Sabatose told members that day passes are
given at the recreation center at non busy times for students under 18 if they have an
adult with them. Chad Thomas said that external groups with students under 18 use
the facilities if they have a contract in place with the events office.
4. Venango – Deb Sobina
The Administrative Offices are getting new carpeting installed in Frame Hall. These
offices will be relocated for a period of three weeks for the removal and installation
of the carpeting as well as the asbestos abatement. The nursing sim lab and the storm
water project are both set for a pre-bid on January 12th at Venango. There is a narrow
window between mid-May and mid-August for the project. The sim lab will result in
the closure of Montgomery Hall during that time period. During winter break there
will be some enhancements to the Suhr Library to expand the electrical to better
service the students. There have been problems with Simplex Grinnell with the
Rhoades mechanical room and water coming into the circuit boxes.
5. Director of Facilities Planning – Paul Bylaska
Ric Taylor has been hired as the new director of facilities planning and management.
His employment will begin on January 3rd. Dan Fleming will continue much in the
same capacity to assist Mr. Taylor.

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6. Environmental Subcommittee – Paul Bylaska
FPC members were reminded that an environmental subcommittee of FPC would be
formed in the near future to provide information on and solicit ideas for recycling on
campus. After some recent complaints, the university has tried to be more diligent in
keeping the recycling separated and not allowing recycled items to go into the regular
trash. Lori Sabatose said she would be interested in recycling the tab tops on tennis
ball containers and agreed to serve on this committee. Madeline Robinson said that
she has witnessed students making the effort to recycle. Dr. Ayad agreed to forward
this information to faculty senate so that they may select a representative to serve on
the committee.
IV.

New Business
1. Emergency Weather Communication – Paul Bylaska
As has been past practice, the university typically will not close due to bad weather.
The university has a high number of on-campus residents and we must continue to
support their welfare. The emergency closing policy can be found on the website.
Glen Reid asked that Madeline Robinson report to student senate that students should
be signing up for the emergency text messaging system. Dr. Beal noted that it had
been a while since the emergency system has been tested and perhaps the start of the
spring semester may be a good time to retest. Dr. Ayad suggested the internal
announcement system in the Science building could also be used, but Glen Reid noted
that not all buildings have that system.
2. ADA – Jennifer May
The president asked that 10% of the Key 93 funding be dedicated to ADA. Carrier
and Still Hall elevators are on the list; however there is still the possibility of Key 93
funding not being available. All new building construction and renovation of old
buildings are done to current ADA code. The president’s commission on disabilities
drafted a letter to facilities to evaluate our campus on accessibility issues. Although
buildings may meet code, there are common sense items that are still problematic for
someone with a disability. For example, the lower level of Eagle Commons has an
issue with the automatic door closing too soon for a student in a wheelchair. Chad
Thomas agreed to look into the matter. If anyone has any ideas to bring forward, they
will be included on the list. John Massa said there have been some steps taken for
ADA such as the curb cuts at Hart Chapel and the new concrete at Marwick Boyd.
Dr. Ayad mentioned that the exit signs at Science Technology building are upside
down. It was also noted that the stairwells in that building have no indication of the
floor numbers.
3. Joseph P. Grunenwald Center for Science & Technology (Grunenwald Center)
HVAC – Paul Bylaska
It is recognized that there are still some temperature problems in the Grunenwald
Center. One aspect of this is that not all classrooms can be treated the same, since
some rooms are equipped with hi-tech equipment that creates a lot of heat in the room
while others are not. Dr. Ayad shared that he is working with computing services to
find monitors that generate less heat. Dr. Beal said if the lights are off, the room is
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not heating or cooling. Such is the case with room 136 for an early morning class; the
room has not come up to a comfortable temperature.
Paul Bylaska said that the master plan may be an opportunity to involve Dr. Ayad and
his students. An example may be using GIS to determine the buried lines at Tippin.
Dr. Ayad said that the campus has already served as a learning laboratory for his
students, for example a biology student collection of tree information on campus that
will be input into a database.
The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m. The next meeting of the Facilities Planning Committee
will be held on January 26, 2012.

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