Keith Shank at IDNR responded to the EcoCAT request, with the following note.  "Well, it’s hard to escape those Franklin Ground Squirrels.  In 2010, Ameren observed two FGS near the intersection of Curtis Road and Rt. 45, and ten years ago we had a road-killed FGS at Windsor Road and Rt. 45.  Ameren opined they could be all up and down the RR corridor, which the western end of your project area happens to lie against.

It may be possible the FGS are in the area around the farm buildings, but they would be unlikely to be out in the experimental plots, at the moment.  However, depending on the type of solar energy facility being proposed, they might be able to colonize the solar farm.  While that would be good for the FGS, it could complicate subsequent operations and maintenance of the facility.  Remember that they love any kind of soil stockpile, so be careful where you stack any dirt and how long you might leave it there."

There is a Chilled Water extension project planned for this summer and fall along Springfield Avenue from Mathews to the Grainger Crosswalk.  The Crosswalk pavement and ramps will be upgraded at that time, for enhanced pedestrian safety.

Met with the Parking Department and MTD about the costs for transit service and faculty/staff access for the University in the new MTD contract for FY13-15.

Met with the Zipcar partners in town about the status of the Zipcar program in the community.  Our account rep will be changing for the first time in a couple of years, and we are eager to keep the program running strong.

Finished the grant modification docs for 09-466012 DCEO Large Customer ARRA grant.

Sent additional paperwork for the ICECF lighting retrofit grant to ICECF.

Received anticipation account CFOP for FY12 EEPs DCEO grant, and allocated funding to the Lighting Retrofit project.

Working with James Scholar in Barbara Minsker’s engineering class to make recommendations related to sustainability for the Grainger crosswalk on Springfield.

Staff hosted interviews with about a dozen Rhet 105 students about various sustainability topics.

Urban Planning masters student Marcus Ricci is doing a GIS project about bike parking capacity in relationship to the buildings they serve.

The LINC U of I Bikes section sent out a bike sharing survey and had a great response rate, a summary will be available by the end of the spring semester.

Held pre-proposal meeting and site visit for the Solar Farm RFP.  Also, submitted the EcoCAT review request regarding that space.  Responded to over 30 questions from potential proposers for the Solar Farm RFP.

Engineering News Record is doing a story on the University of Illinois about green buildings/LEED certification.

Daily Illini article about campus sustainability progress.

Staff created flowcharts for sustainability themes, as preliminary step to filling in the content on the Sustainability Portal website.  Staff provided field definitions and sample data for the database tables that will be available through the portal.  Also, we met with staff from MSTE and drafted the page layouts for the website, which will be shared at the iCAP Forum in April. 

Urban Planning masters student, Marcus Ricci, will complete a capstone project about a methodology for prioritizing iCAP projects.

Spoke with Jeff Weaver at Property Accounting about developing an online system where departments can post furniture and equipment they intend to relinquish, and other departments can choose to get that item directly from the current location, rather than send the item to Surplus and get it picked up from Surplus.

IDNR staff will review the project because the Franklin's Ground Squirrel may reside there. They state they will require thirty days of review. The Franklin’s Ground Squirrel resides in culverts and areas with low shrubs and prairie grasses and not in cultivated farm areas. Most of the Solar Farm area has been farmed for years.