Staff Council Minutes
August 2, 2007
2:00 – 3:00 pm

*APPROVED*

In Attendance:  Sara Punsky, Jen Matos, Toby Davis, Pattie Lumbra, Barbara Pliska, Rick Rubin, Sandy Bycenski, Chris Gentes, Trish Mailler, Janet Spongberg, Ken Molnar, Merrilyn Lewis, Bill Sheehan, Linda DallaPegorara

Minutes from July 12 meeting were approved with changes.  Sara will note changes and send to Becca for updates.  Minutes will be sent to Chris for Staff Council Webpage.

No general announcements.

Activities Committee Update:

• Linda LaFlam will be President of the Committee until Sabrina Marsh’s return in October. 
• Happy Feet had approximately 100 people in attendance.
• The Six Flags trip is scheduled for August 18, and 25 will be attending.
• Upcoming Events…something every month!
• Staff Social, September
• Hayride, October 27
• Mountain Day
• Will serve apple crisp with vanilla ice cream in front of College Hall
• NYC Trip, December 1
• Holiday Hoopla, December 13

Communications Committee:

• Parking Stickers
• We would like statistics on parking
• Resolve park and ride issue at the VA location in Leeds
• Non registered car issue, not eligible for $200 benefit
• E-Digest
• Meeting with Kristen Cole, Laurie Fenelson, Judi Marksbury
• Sam will formally invite people mentioned above
• Faculty vs. Staff Listserv
• Is it needed?
• Is there ever a time when faculty list serv announcement would go out and staff wouldn’t get the same info? (i.e. The Dalai Lama)
• If so, we need to find out who is putting out special announcements only to faculty.
• Is there ever a case where staff would only be notified of something and not faculty?
• What about special announcements that are buried in e-digest? (i.e. the Parking Policy)
• Is there a way to enable preferences on e-digest, perhaps indicated your personal interests and only receive that information?
• Brown has the ability to sort what you receive through their version of e-digest
• Follow up with Kristen Cole about Brown’s system
• Can it be used sparingly?
• Use for Staff Council event reminders, i.e. Mountain Day activity
• Who decides what would go out and what wouldn’t?
• Is there a better way to notify all staff?
• Not all student employees have email/internet access
• The Grecourt Gate
• We encourage everyone to make the Gate your homepage. 
• If you are interested in putting something on the Gate, contact Eric Weld
• When should we use the Gate vs. E-digest?

Diversity Committee:

• No meeting since last Staff Council Meeting; had to be rescheduled.

Nominations and Elections Committee:

• A few Staff Council members are not on Committees yet.

Personnel Policy Committee:

• Meeting scheduled for August 7
• Meeting scheduled with Human Resources in September
• Does Human Resources have a prominent presence on the Gate?
• Could we add a link to Human Resources from the Gate?
• Could we have a session on efficient Internet use; where to find important information
• College Relations has hired a new web designer and will possibly be looking for another
• Some staff don’t want to use computers.
• Send any issues to Merrilyn

Old Business:

• Please make sure that everyone has picked a committee

New Business:

• Paul Ominsky will be attending the September Staff Council Meeting
• Questions for Paul formulated during the meeting
• Are you planning to make any changes to the parking policy?
• Are you interested in what we have to say?
• Please explain the difference between a $10 service sticker vs. a $50 regular parking permit.
• Stickers can be moved, but the location is inconvenient.  Perhaps we could hang a permit from the mirror?
• Who receives blue “get out of jail free” tickets and who doesn’t?
• Please explain the carpool sticker.
• How do you encourage carpooling?
• Is there a way for each carpooler to have a pass?
• Who can we direct questions to?  Who is the point person on parking?
• We get the impression that it is not figured out internally.
• Why can’t you opt out if you already don’t own a car?
• The language on the opt out form is confusing.  You pledge to not bring a vehicle onto campus, but you have to register a vehicle in order to opt out.
• What if having to live on campus is a requirement of your employment?
• Can there be an exception?  Case by case considerations?
• Should your department pay for your parking if they require you to live on campus?
• Additional questions should be sent to Rick and Sandy. 
• Answers to questions should be posted on E-Digest.

• Parking meters are being added on Dickinson Lot spaces, compensating for lost spaces on Belmont.
• There is a potential safety issue on Belmont when trucks begin coming in and out of Green Street. 
• Should there be an alternate route identified when construction is in full swing?

Open Discussion:

• Staff Council will work on three projects this year:
• Meetings with offices across campus
• Steering committee and Staff Council Members will divide and attend department staff meetings around campus to talk about why we’re here and what we do.
• A few departments should be reached each month.
• Diversity Forum in April
• Discussion on Transgender and minority issues, pertinent to our own campus concerns/issues.
• We all need to be more educated
• Would this need to come out of Student Affairs?

Related Discussion:

• Will we bring back the Green Forum? 
• Can we get a permanent alliance with the Green Committee?
• Staff council must do a Fall and a Spring Forum.
• What will our Fall Forum be:
• One hour discussion
• Could we do something informational on student resources for certain issues; on things like medical resources, counseling resources, etc.  Should be about things we need to know to support student life.
• This would have to be marketed well

• Employee Excellence Awards
• Continue to recognize individual groups as we have
• Does it exclude anyone?
• Some groups don’t/didn’t want to be recognized
• Make smaller, more frequent awards to give out to a larger pool?
• Spotlight awards for 50-100 people?