The official minutes of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees are maintained by the Secretary of the Board. Certified copies of minutes may be requested by contacting the Board of Trustees’ Office. Electronic or other copies of original minutes are not official Board of Trustees' documents.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees met on Friday, October 5, 2001, at 3:15 p.m. in the Board Room of the Carolina Plaza.

Members present were: Mr. Miles Loadholt, Chairman; Mr. James Bradley; Dr. C. Edward Floyd; Mrs. Helen C. Harvey; Mr. William C. Hubbard; Mr. Toney J. Lister; Mr. J. DuPre Miller; Mr. Herbert C. Adams, Board Vice Chairman; and Mr. Mack I. Whittle, Jr., Board Chairman. Mr. Alexander English was absent. Other Trustees present were: Mr. A.C. Fennell, III; Ms. Darla D. Moore; Mr. Michael J. Mungo; and Mr. M. Wayne Staton.

Others present were: President John M. Palms; Secretary Thomas L. Stepp; Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jerome D. Odom; Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J. Lyles Glenn; Vice President for Student and Alumni Services Dennis A. Pruitt; Vice President for Human Resources Jane M. Jameson; Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William F. Hogue; Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard W. Kelly; General Counsel Walter (Terry) H. Parham; Vice Provost and Executive Dean for Regional Campuses and Continuing Education Chris P. Plyler; Dean of The Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health Harris Pastides; Dean of the Moore School of Business Joel A. Smith; Assistant Dean of The Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health Cheryl Addy; Associate Dean of Administration of the Moore School of Business Robert E. Markland; Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Moore School of Business Rodney L. Roenfeldt; Associate Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics Roger H. Sawyer; Director of Business Affairs Helen Zeigler; Director of Governmental and Community Relations, Office of the President, Shirley D. Mills; Director of the Department of Student Life, Division of Student and Alumni Services, Jerry T. Brewer; Director of Facilities Planning and Construction and University Architect Charles G. Jeffcoat; Director for Planning Services, Facilities Planning and Construction, Donna Collins; Assistant to the Vice President for Business and Finance Ken Corbett; Director of Periodicals, University Publications, Chris Horn; and Director of Public Affairs Russell McKinney.

Chairman Loadholt called the meeting to order and welcomed those present. Mr. McKinney advised that no members of the media were present.

Chairman Loadholt stated that the agenda had been posted and the press had been notified as required by the Freedom of Information Act; the agenda and supporting materials had been circulated to Committee members; and a quorum was present to conduct business.

Chairman Loadholt stated that there were contractual matters which were appropriate for discussion in Executive Session. Mr. Bradley moved to enter Executive Session and Mr. Lister seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

The following individuals were asked to remain: Dr. Palms, Mr. Stepp, Dr. Odom, Mr. Glenn, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Jameson, Dr. Pruitt, Dr. Plyler, Mr. Parham, Mr. Jeffcoat, Ms. Collins, Mr. McKinney, Ms. Zeigler, Ms. Tweedy, and Ms. Warren.

Return to Open Session

1. Moore School of Business - Renovations: Mr. Jeffcoat noted that a project had been established to evaluate the usage of the Moore School of Business building, to determine the existing condition of its facilities, and to plan a general upgrade of the building. The initial phase had been funded with $150,000 from the school's private funds. The architectural selection process had been completed and five firms had been interviewed; the selection committee had chosen LS3P Associates of Charlotte, North Carolina. Once the scope of the work had been fully defined, a budget established, and funding identified, the project would be presented to the Committee for consideration and approval.

   Chairman Loadholt stated that this report was received for information.

2. Request to Establish Project for Wade Hampton Mechanical Upgrades: Mr. Jeffcoat provided background information about the Wade Hampton dormitory explaining that this dormitory had been originally constructed in 1924 and had been the first women's dormitory on campus. The current facility contained 59,000 square feet of space and housed 178 women students.

   University Housing had requested that a project be established to upgrade the mechanical systems in the Wade Hampton dormitory which would replace approximately 100 fan coil units and upgrade other related mechanical equipment.

   Mrs. Harvey moved approval to establish a project for the Wade Hampton Mechanical Upgrades with a budget of $500,000 to be funded with Housing Funds as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Hubbard seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

3. Request for Approval of Site Location - School of Public Health: Mr. Jeffcoat advised that the Committee had previously received information regarding a proposed new facility for the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health. During a report to the Committee about the master plan update for the campus in May, Mr. Jeffcoat explained that the master plan consultants and the architects for the School of Public Health project had studied several site options. The northwest corner of Assembly and College Streets, adjacent to the Carolina Plaza, had been the preferred site for the proposed new Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health facility.

   Initial plans envisioned a four-story building containing approximately 70,000 square feet of classroom and laboratory space. Faculty and staff offices had been proposed to occupy the existing Carolina Plaza facility. The project work would be performed in phases and would include green space as well as a possible parking deck.

   Before final approval of the total project could be requested, issues such as parking, relocation of current Carolina Plaza occupants, and the total project budget would need to be resolved.

   Mr. Adams inquired about the number of floors which the School of Public Health would occupy in the Carolina Plaza facility. Mr. Jeffcoat advised that only the second floor meeting space would remain; current occupants would be relocated to other facilities and the architects would assist in this planning process.

   Dr. Floyd moved approval of the site location for the Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health building at the corner of College and Assembly Streets as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Hubbard seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

4. Request to Increase Budget for Jones Physical Science Center: Mr. Jeffcoat advised that in June of 1994, the Board had approved a project for the renovations of the 6th and 7th floors of the Jones Physical Science Center. Originally, the project budget had been $3.8 million, but had been reduced to $3 million because of the lack of availability of funds. The project had been put on hold due to a physical limitation during the construction of the Graduate Science Research Center.

   With the completion of the Graduate Science Research Center, a study of the Jones Physical Science Center project had determined that the cost to renovate the facility fully would be more than $40 million. The project renovations would be implemented in phases and would be contingent upon available funding. The project budget would need to be increased by $2.6 million using Asbestos Trust Funds to allow for the renovation of possibly three floors, and an increase in the scope of the project to include the renovations of the entire facility would also be needed. The current project budget would total $5.6 million funded with $800,000 in Institutional Tuition Bonds and $4.8 million in Asbestos Trust Funds.

   Dr. Floyd expressed concern about the cost of the renovations to this facility. He asked whether it would be more efficient to build another facility rather than renovating the current one. Mr. Jeffcoat discussed the implications and expense involved in tearing down the old structure and building a new one.

   Mrs. Harvey moved approval to increase the scope of the Jones Physical Science Center project to include renovation of the entire facility and to increase the budget for this project by $2.6 million funded with Asbestos Trust Funds as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. This increase would result in a total project budget of $5.6 million funded with $800,000 in Institutional Tuition Bonds and $4.8 million in Asbestos Trust Funds. Mr. Hubbard seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

5. Request to Increase Budget for USCS - Hodge Drive Parking Lot: Mr. Jeffcoat advised that this project had been originally approved by the Board in February, 2000 as part of the Annual Permanent Improvement Plan. The project budget had been established at $340,000 using USC Spartanburg Parking Funds. The project, which would be implemented in phases, included the construction of surface parking, access roads, lighting, landscaping, and storm drainage. Phase I would provide 126 parking spaces, as well as the infrastructure for the entire project.

   The final cost estimate had determined the need for an additional $72,000 because of unexpected storm drainage requirements. This increase would result in a revised budget of $412,000 funded entirely with USC Spartanburg Parking Funds.

   Mr. Mungo inquired about project budget estimates which were lower than actually needed to complete the project, thus requiring a budget increase request. He believed that budget projections should be higher allowing for underages and fewer requests for increases. Mr. Jeffcoat explained that the South Carolina Budget and Control Board and other agencies required prior approval of state projects before any project work could be conducted, including any planning work. Tentative project budgets had to be established based on preliminary cost data which excluded various expenses such as site surveys and soil borings, thus reflecting lower project budgets. Mr. Jeffcoat thanked Mr. Mungo for his suggestion.

   Mr. Lister moved approval to increase the project budget for the Hodge Drive parking lot by $72,000 funded with USC Spartanburg Parking Funds as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Miller seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

6. Other Matters: Pendleton Street Property Project: Chairman Loadholt noted that the Pendleton Street property project had been discussed earlier in Executive Session. The University of South Carolina and the Development Foundation had proposed a land purchase/swap agreement which would secure the property for the University's new Law School project and would provide land resources to the Development Foundation for future development. The transaction would involve the purchase/swap of real estate owned by the University Development Foundation bounded by Gervais, Pickens, Senate, and Bull Streets and the property owned by the University of South Carolina bounded by Pickens, Pendleton, and Henderson Streets, and an additional cash sum of $1,780,000 to address the difference in property values. Existing State Capital Improvement Bonds allocated to the Law School project would provide the funding.

   Mrs. Harvey moved approval of the swap of real estate owned by the University Development Foundation and the purchase/swap of property owned by the University of South Carolina, plus the sum of $1,780,000. Funding for the project would be from existing State Capital Improvement Bonds allocated to the Law School project as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Hubbard seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

There were no other matters to come before the Committee, and Chairman Loadholt declared the meeting adjourned at 3:54 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Thomas L. Stepp
Secretary