Create new position of “facilities coordinator” (name pending)
Example of GCHC: “Facilities Chair”
Merge two other positions
Perhaps Webmaster and Secretary
Rename GSG Representative to reflect the full scope of their responsibilities
Example of Lakeside: “External Relations Delegation”
Rename committee meetings to encourage public participation
Example of Lakeside: “Town hall meeting”
Playground
Old playground will shortly be removed [note – the playground has been removed by the time of the publication of these notes)
This process has been in the works for years
Possible improvements to the new playground
Water pooling
Long-term solution: drill holes, could take time
Short-term solution: place squeegees by playground
Some residents want fencing, some do not
Could speak to EHS to ask if they’d like to do an evaluation
Chris Warkala, HRES Operations Manager, is considering the problem
We can consider improving methods for feedback for major facilities renovations like this in future, but the long timeframes involved mean that often the students in a position to give feedback will not be the ones to use any resource, and vice-versa
Yoga class times in the spring
Monday-Thursday 6:30 or later [note – yoga has been set to 8pm on Mondays since the meeting]
Laundry machines
Possibility of getting change machines in?
Michael Hebditch reports that the University (both the GSG and university administration) are looking into installing new laundry machines, which may have a different payment method
For example, a phone app
Possibly get a tablet to leave in the room in case people forget their phones
“As soon as possible” – no real estimate
Transportation Update
Nothing to report
Housing Update
Composting program is officially up and running!
Food waste only, no paper products (it’s for animal feed)
Housing is monitoring the program to make sure people are doing it well
Social Events Update
First event will be a screening of the Great British Bake-off accompanied by tea and cakes
February 15th or 22th (Saturdays)
Second event not yet decided
GSG Update
Primary topic of discussion at the last GSG meeting was how to improve turn-out for the upcoming GSG election (in order to get a quorum to change the GSG constitution)
Things not on the agenda
Idea: what to do with the space where the old playground was? A covered bike shed! (like the one next to Lawrence 1)
This idea has been passed on to HRES!
The playground location may be inappropriate due to golf balls, but perhaps another location can be found.
One result of a recent housing survey was that Lawrence students feel a lack of community. How can this be improved?
It should be a regular event so that residents can drop in when convenient without needing to commit to anything
For example, a weekly coffee hour
Week day? Weekend? There’s concern that people aren’t around on the weekend
There’s a pre-existing coffee connect program with various groups on campus, but attendance is always pretty low.
If a regular event starts to gain traction, we can use some of our budget to buy coffee and cakes, and if there’s good attendance, we can start seeking money from other sources
This led to a brief discussion about how much we don’t even know our neighbors on our own floors
Kevin: the Office of the Dean is currently working on ways to gauge the success of various programming, including when is the best time for programming
Schedules are very different among all students, so consider having an event that meets regularly (e.g. weekly), but not always on the same day or at the same time, so that all students are able to attend at least some of the time
Can we consider surveying residents?
There are concerns about low turn-out, but we should still offer people an opportunity to speak