Butler Committee Meeting Minutes
May 8, 2007
Submitted by Jane Phillips (Secretary)
Committee members present: David Inglis (Community Room Coordinator), Juan Melli (Webmaster), Laura Soltesz (Social Chair), Shannon Hughes (Chair), Nicole Jui (Garden Co-Coordinator), Patrick Ross (Bugle Editor), Jeffrey Dwoskin (Housing Rep), Dante Ricci (GSG Rep), Jane Phillips (Secretary).
Community members present: Tara Kitley, Joshua Podolak, Brownwyn Smith.
Meeting called to order at 9:34pm.
David Inglis (Community Room): nothing new.
Shannon Hughes (Chair): There is an issue about whether we need to hire a Public Safety officer for our future social events. Apparently Princeton University worries about underage drinkers for parties over 50 people where alcohol is served. Lisa Schreyer has decided that for now, this policy will not be enforced, so it should not be an issue for the May social event, but a standard policy will be formulated soon between members of the Housing Office and Public Safety. Public Safety charges between $44 and $64 per hour for an officer, who needs to show up at least 30 minutes in advance. Jeff asked if the social budget from the Grad School would increase accordingly, and Tara said that she would try to follow up.
Laura Soltesz (Social Chair): Laura just found out that she is leaving Butler for at least one year, and wants to know if she can hold onto her housing spot until she gets back, which may be in the Fall of 2008. Shannon says that the by-laws say that for a person to be elected to the Committee, he or she must be a Butler resident who has attended 3 meetings, or if there is no one who fits those criteria, anyone can be elected. One alternative is that we let Laura keep her position, the other is that we allow her to rerun after her move out of Butler for the Social Chair position. David mentioned that we should check with Housing to make sure that someone who has lived off campus can have a priority spot upon his or her return. Tara will follow up. Jeff suggested that we announce the position to the community and see if people come to determine whether Laura could be reelected. It was decided by show of hands that we would have Laura rerun for her position in July 2007. David will be done by early July, so we could have both elections at the same time. Community member B. Smith mentioned that she thought that all members of the Committee should be Butler residents, and that non-Butler residents should not be members of the committee. Shannon will put advertisements about the open positions in the email for the next monthÕs meeting.
It was decided that we would have beer and margaritas at the May 24th social event. Tara thinks that there were about 250 people at the last big event. Tara suggested we get a keg, which costs ~$80 (Yuengling) at Varsity Liquor. Laura suggested that we have games, including volleyball and sprinklers. Tara has water balloons, waffle ball supplies, etc. Laura: Is BYOB an option? Tara says that it is a possibility for the future. Tara will put information for the May 24th event on the events bulletin.
Nicole Jui (Garden Co-Coordinator): The garden is full, and there are three people on the wait list for garden plots. Nicole mentioned that the Garden Co-Coordinators are waiting on money being put into the garden account. Need ~$150 for garden supplies, including a wheelbarrow, and the water spigot may need repairing. Nicole and Agatha want to have a barbecue and use up some of the money in the garden account. Patrick mentioned that one of the gates in the garden is broken. They are leaning toward putting a lock on the garden because it has been done in previous years. Josh Podolak mentioned that sometimes on June 30, the end of the fiscal year, we use Princeton Account money to pay for garden supplies, etc. Nicole agrees that if we need more money for the May event, the money ($150) can come from the garden account, which should have $1011 this month. New budget for the May event is $650.
Dante (GSG Rep): GSG is giving us $350 for the May 24th social event, so we should mention them on ads.
Tara: DamienÕs receipts from the Wine and Cheese were just submitted, so we may have an extra ~$300 in the Princeton account. Tara looked ito the Princeton account and apparently we now have -$167.07 (negative funds) after DamienÕs receipts were reimbursed, and after the $500 was taken away for the social event. We have ~$200 left including the money from the GSG. Coke machine is gone. May get new one and vending machine in computer space. Shed in Halsey Court has been emptied, but not yet moved. Patti Smith may want to replace the couches in the Community Room. Tara says that according to the fire code, a smoke detector is not needed in this space (many exits, etc.). Tara says that the shuttle stop will stay where it is for now, but in January it may be moved.
Patrick Ross (Bugle Coordinator): Patrick has ~$100 in receipts for the Bugle.
Juan Melli (Webmaster): Has set up the Butler survey on a new survey site, which charges $20 per month to host the survey. Juan plans on having the survey completely finished in the next month. Shannon suggested that Committee members should have 48 hours to get Juan comments on the survey, after which time it could be sent to Butler residents.
Josh Podolak: Mentioned that laundry carts are disappearing. Jeff suggested that we send out an email to ButerRes, and Shannon will follow up.
Jeffrey Dwoskin (Housing Rep): The shuttle committee has proposed new shuttle routes that would result in more frequent stopping by shuttles. The new shuttle route would go along Faculty and up to Nassau St. Jeff has a map of the proposed routes. One of the proposed changes is that there would be two stops in Butler, and that shuttle would take people to shopping centers. Funding is still needed for this proposal. Summer shuttle schedule will be coming out soon. Many 4th years were successful for 2-person housing, but some were not, so it is possible to remain in two-person units through 5th year.
Meeting adjourned at 10:44pm.