ASUSU funds Equestrian Center renovation
The ASUSU Executive Council allocated $23,500 toward renovations of a USU-owned building near Bear Lake and $10,245 for facility improvements to the USU Equestrian Center.
Both allocations were announced at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled council meeting and com from the Capital and Support Fund, which accumulates money not spent during the previous fiscal year. The funds will not be allocated from this year’s student fees.
The $23,500 allocation will be used to renovate a small building near the Bear Lake Training Center so that the building may be used by student groups and other USU organizations and personnel.
According to the bill’s Capital and Support Funding Request, the training center is used as a retreat and to train student leaders. The building to be renovated is beside the training center and was formerly used by graduate students from the College of Natural Resources; however, the building has been vacant and in disrepair for years.
According to the funding request, training center management turns away many requests from groups each year because the training center is fully scheduled. The renovation of the smaller building will provide more opportunities for USU organizations to train staff and provide retreats for them, the request states.
The $62,500 renovation project will create two sleeping units in the building, which can accommodate a total of 16 people. Along with the funding from the Capital and Support Fund, the project will be funded by the College of Natural Resources, which has promised a $21,000 contribution, and USU Campus Recreation, which has promised $18,000.
The cost of renting the building has not yet been fully determined, said Kirsten Frank, ASUSU executive vice president.
“(The project organizers) have been very reasonable,” she said. “They don’t want to charge more than they have to.”
The project should be finished and available for use by the end of the summer, said ASUSU President Erik Mikkelsen.
The $10,245 allocation will be used by the USU Rodeo Club to make the Equestrian Center fit for rodeo events.
Currently, the Equestrian Center does not have rails high enough to accommodate livestock other than horses and is only used by riding classes, Mikkelsen said.
Renovations will provide new panelling and other equipment to accommodate a wider variety of animals, the request states.
The rodeo team currently practices at the Cache Indoor Practice Arena, which costs the team about $200 per practice session, Mikkelsen said. This money could be better “utilized to offset some of the other club expenses currently being paid directly out of the student-athletes’ pockets,” the request states.
The full cost of renovation will be about $36,000. The Rodeo Club originally requested $17,000, but that figure was reduced to $10,245, the total remaining in the Capital and Support Fund, Mikkelsen said.
The College of Agriculture will be required to provide the the remainder of the needed funds, he said.
In other news, the council also passed a resolution that requires any student fee increases of more than $30 to go to a student referendum.
The former student fee policy did not specify the maximum amount by which student fees could increase without direct student approval, said Jason Russell, student advocate vice president.
“The student fee policy hasn’t been updated in years,” he said. “The ASUSU constitution changed, so the fee policy changed to reflect that.”
The ASUSU Executive Council amended its constitution in February to reflect changes in the graduate student and distance education representation.
– rouchellebrockman@gmail.com