I had a big problem trying to get the building contacts and all the teams on the same page to meet. And most of the building contacts were being very unresponsive. So I changed up the plan a little. I'll be meeting with the team leaders and any other members who can attend at the Intensive English Institute (since they were being the most accessible) and will be training them all at once. 

I went to the buildings that weren't responding and sat down with the contacts, a few are allowing me to key the teams in after 5pm/weekends to avoid interruptions and help them finish quicker. Only 1 building of the 9 has been able to elude me, I'm going to try again tomorrow. 2 others said they could get back to me by wednesday. 

A few of the teams expressed willingness to work the week after thanksgiving break too if necessary to complete all 9 buildings.

-Tom

Kim Porter has been assigned as the Purchasing contact for this project. She will help finalize the RFP, oversee the evaluation committee, and guide the contract through the approval stages.

Melvyn Skvarla provided the following information: "The area east of the Illinois Central railroad tracks to Fourth Street (extended) and from north of Windsor Road south to Curtis Road has had at least a Phase I walk-over reconnaissance archaeological survey done and nothing of significance was found to exist in the area."

see attached first draft

Also Morgan,
I forgot to copy you for a couple e-mails with Eva Sweeney. We just met today at 1pm, she had some good input. The most important was probably that the lighting retrofit project has already done lighting assessments for all the buildings on campus, she said she can send them to me once I let her know what buildings we were planning on doing. I guess they are upgrading all flourescents from T-12 to T-8 bulbs. So for the sake of not duplicating information we could remove checklist items: count total number of lights, and note wattage used by each light. But she did suggest looking at exterior lighting: if they are working, if they are bright enough, if there are dark areas that require more lighting (for safety), and what type of lighting it is. She also suggested to think about where occupancy sensors could be used.

I'm going to meet with Dean at 2:30 today to go over the checklist again as well.

Hi Tom,

Amy Allen will be our contact with the SSC this year.  She and I are sitting in my office, and sending you this email about first steps. Please do the following, and let us know if you have questions.

1)      Summarize the history from last year.  DUE 9/12/11

a.       Ask James Hoffer to give you the contact information from each of the five teams last year.

b.      Ask James for the documentation of what they were told to accomplish for the $500. - There is a concern that the work completed was not the work requested, and therefore the funding is not approved yet.  If we can get details of what James told the groups they had to do for the funds, then we could compare their final reports with the expectations.

c.       Ask James for the copies of their final submittals. - The actual reports from the teams may have had additional information, not just what was on the small excel files I have seen.  Please get a copy of those excel files, and any other materials the teams provided to James last spring.  Did they use the sample assessment form from the Training Manual?

d.      Make a list of all the buildings they did, and note if any of them do not need additional data gathering.

e.      Write a brief opinion, based on your data gathering: did the teams do what they were supposed to do for the money?

2)      Finalize the to do items for each team for each building.  Write a charge letter for the teams.  DUE 9/30/11 - but get a draft by 9/19/11

a.       Take the to-do list you created from James' manual, with Dean's notes about the F&S shop that would handle it.  Remove the items that
are not on our list of selected items to review.

b.      This is the list of selected items to review, per our notes this summer: "We're going with electronics, lighting, faucet aerators and running toilets, and weather stripping for student tasks."

c.       Draft a charge letter for the teams, based on the to do list. We can talk about this more once you are ready to dig in.  Basically, this needs to document what the teams have to do in order to earn the money.  We agreed to give them $150 per building.

3)      Solicit 4-7 teams. DUE 9/30/11 - for asking them in the first place...

a.       Take a look at who worked with James last year, and ask them if they want to participate this year.  You can let them know that the process is being revised, and you can try to avoid the question about the funding from last year.

b.      (If they want more details about last year's money, tell them you will ask me.  Then send me an email and copy them.)

c.       Reach out to other RSOs that may want to participate this year. For starters there is a huge list of RSOs on the Illini Union's website. You can grab president emails from that site somehow, and send a big email, or you could pick and choose RSO's that you think would be interested.  Amy can also give you suggestions.

d.      Draft an email explaining this opportunity.  Amy, Dean, and I will review the email before you send it.

We will have plenty more to do after this part.  We will need to hold a meeting with all the teams, Dean, Amy, you, and me.  We will need to identify which buildings each team will review, and a process for evaluating their reports such that they can be approved for the funding. We will need to get estimates of the costs, so the teams can prioritize the work to do based on the funding from Dean's office.

It would be good to make a networked folder for all these materials, if James didn't already create one.  We really need more organization this
time, and I have every confidence that you can take care of that. 

Please send me and Amy your schedule.  We would also both like to be copied whenever you send any emails about this program.  Let us know if
you have any questions!!!

Thanks,
Morgan
 

During the summer of 2011, the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) Chair, Suhail Barot, and the F&S Sustainability Coordinator, Morgan Johnston, worked with the Utilities and Energy Services Division of F&S to develop an energy conservation fund.  Discussions included topics such as:

• source of initial funds
• qualification requirements for projects
• selection process for funding
• resources needed to manage the fund and process

One comment made by the Director of Utilities and Energy Services, Kent Reifsteck, was that this is a "fund for departments to access to allow them to implement energy conservation measures in order to take advantage of the Energy Incentive Program."  The incentive program was next step#2 from the Utilities Stewarding Excellence report. 

Jack Dempsey asked ACES Dean Houser to identify approximately 30 acres of land on South Farms that could be used as a site for a Solar PV Farm.

Signs have been installed at the prairie plot on the corner of Florida Avenue and Orchard Street. These signs announce the designation of this area as a Prairie Zone. The signs also list the benefits of planting native vegetation-- which increases the habitat for beneficial insects and wildlife, saves energy and reduces CO2 emissions by not using mowers, promotes sustainable landscapes and beautifies the campus, and provides an environment for scientific observation. The signs are funded by the Student Sustainability Committee.

Battery Recycling

Call2RecycleⓇ provides free collection boxes, pays for shipping, and accepts rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium Ion, and Small Sealed Lead batteries less than 11 lbs in weight. The Physical Plant Service Building began the Call2RecycleⓇ rechargeable battery and cell phone recycling program in October 2005. Rechargeable batteries are considered hazardous waste and must be recycled or disposed of according to EPA regulations. Facilities & Services has saved approximately $7,000 in disposal costs in the last six years.