At Monday’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, guest speaker Chris Hill, vice president of operations at Point Park University, discussed current and future projects of Physical Plant.
“What we’re trying to focus on is space utilization and future needs,” Hill said.
The first project was the construction of four new dance studios at the former Red Cross building located on Boulevard of the Allies next to Thayer Hall, Hill said.
The next project discussed was adding directional signage for the university. The hope is to have signs placed Downtown and off the turnpike, Hill said.
“We’re very excited because we’ve never had that, so as you’re driving in, you’re going to see our name there,” Hill said.
He also discussed a project that has already been completed: the new registrar office moving from the nineth floor of Thayer Hall to the first.
“We’re trying to get everything into that one-stop shop,” Hill said.
Putting the registrar, financial aid and student accounts all in one place will prevent students from having to travel up and down the elevators from one office to the other. Hill said they are looking into moving the advising center into the same area as those offices as well.
The final project discussed was adding a new welcome center. According to Hill, the original plan was to put the welcome center in the green building across the street from Point Perk. However, the money needed to do everything required for all four floors was out of budget.
Instead, the plan is to renovate the second floor of Thayer. These renovations would include updating the JVH auditorium to a Welcome Center by replacing the seats, removing the stage and repainting the walls. According to Hill, performances can continue to happen in JVH, because they are able to put in a temporary dance floor for performances.
“I want it to be a nicer space, so that if we do build a welcome center five years from now, we have a nice space on campus that can be utilized by everyone,” Hill said.
Another possible change to the second floor would be moving the CENT center to somewhere else. The Welcome Lounge that is currently in Conestoga would replace it on the second floor, Hill said. The plan is to have most of these projects completed by fall 2025.
A topic that was brought up by SGA is the water and plumbing issues that have been occurring in Lawrence Hall.
Hill said, “I have honestly been here since 2000, and this year has been the year of leaks.”
Hill said the likely causes of the leaks were the age of the pipes and increased water usage. To combat this problem, Physical Plant is hoping to run dye through the pipes over the summer to see what pipes need to be replaced before the fall semester.
Additionally, they are looking to hire another plumber to make the process of replacing the pipes go a bit faster, Hill said.
SGA will be holding their presidential and vice-presidential debates at 5 p.m. on March 26 in the JVH for the upcoming election of next year’s representatives.
