Steward's Report 4th Annual General Meeting 19 March 2008 Submitted by: Dwayne Collins Introduction Being at Sadleir House for a third year has been very rewarding. This year has had more changes than others and I feel that as time goes on, the strength and vitality of Sadleir House continues to grow. While we may have some growing pains to work out, I think that the future of Sadleir House cannot help but become brighter. The report that follows is an overview of the past year (in no particular order), while I have tried to highlight everything of note I do apologise if I have missed anything. Section I – The Site Plan Agreement The Site Plan Agreement with the City of Peterborough has been a constant in my three years at Sadleir House. As was reported last year, we have completed the requirement of a parking lot installation on the north side of the building. The City has looked at the parking lot and retaining wall and seem to be satisfied with its installation. We still have some path realignments and removals to conduct along the South Lawn, which we will be endeavouring to do this summer. It is my sincerest hope that this will be the last annual report in which the Site Plan is mentioned beyond confirmation of our compliance. Section II – Tenants & Space Usage All offices of Sadleir House are currently occupied. As announced last year, the old Porter's Lodge was made into an office during the summer of 2007 and has become the new reception office of Sadleir House. In addition, Room 307 was removed from our 'bookings' roster and converted to office usage due to its low usage (i.e. none) – this decision will be reviewed this coming summer. Working with OPIRG this past summer/fall, we also found a new home for the Emergency Food Cupboard near the Free Market, allowing the Cupboard to move out of the Library and to increase available shelf space (more information on our library activities will be presented later in this report). Our current list of offices are: ? The Free Market (B101) ? Trent Shinerama (B102) ? Theatre Trent (B103) ? The Famous Couch Theatre Company (B104) ? OPIRG (102) ? Sadleir House Management Office (103) ? The Arthur (104) ? Anne Shirley Theatre Company (105) ? Sadleir House Library & Alternative Resource Library (107) ? BIKE Community Bike Shop (108) ? Trent Women's Centre (202) ? Sadleir House Steward (203) ? Trent Queer Collective (206) ? Ordinary Press (207) ? Trent Film Society (208) ? Savour Natural Foods (209.1) ? Prof. Stephen Regoczei (302 & 307) ? Trent Annual (303 & 304) ? Trent Philosophy Society (305) ? Nanobot Recording Collective (306) Section III – Liquor License Sadleir House has held its Liquor License since October 2006 and its existence has made event management at the House far easier. In addition to the main license and caterer's endorsement we are currently waiting to hear the result of Washrooms, Hallways, and Stairwells (WHS) application. If successful, the WHS endorsement will greatly increase our ability to facilitate large multi-room events by allowing liquor to travel between rooms (note: the total capacity will remain the same as it is currently). In addition, the safety of guests should increase as they will now be able to monitor their drinks better by being able to bring their drinks to washrooms. Section IV – General House Maintenance This past year has not been without the need to conduct maintenance on the House. Here are the highlights from the last year: ? Our constant nemeses have returned. Having received a bitter defeat during the Battle of the 307 Crawlspace last year, the enemy has targeted the northern side of the building. Squirrel invasion has occurred in the joining area of the Dining Hall roof and the Northern side of the Link roof. Squirrels have been heard in the ceiling above the main Dining Hall stairs. To date, no major damage has been noted beyond the removal of insulation (causing significant ice build-up in the area). Thankfully, the cold-warm-cold cycle of this winter has prevented the ice build-up from reaching intolerable levels. Plans are underway to repair the insulation and attempt to block future entry to the area, most likely these repairs will have to wait until the warm weather convinces the squirrels to frolic outdoors. ? The Coach House boiler has been problematic this year. The thermostatic control malfunctioned at the beginning of the year, leaving us with no heat in the rear part of the building. The thermostat was disconnected and this left us with too much heating in the rear part of the building while we waited for parts to arrive. Eventually, the thermostat was repaired and the heat has been well controlled ever since. As a note, the rear boiler has had a tendency of not firing on occasion this winter and may be indicative of a need for future maintenance (most likely during next winter). ? Thanks to a donation by Cindy Manlow of Savour Natural Foods, we were able to paint the Dining Hall landing and Main Floor washroom. The paint job has done much to improve the feel and look of the space. ? Plans are underway to conduct a lighting retrofit in order to save money on energy costs. The retrofit is tied to an incentive grant that we are waiting to hear the results of. The upgrade is primarily concerned with converting our older T12 fluorescent lights to more efficient and brighter T8 units. In addition to being more energy efficient, the T12 bulb is slated to be phased out of production in the future. ? We are currently awaiting the results of an application to the Benjamin Moore Community Restoration Programme. If successful, we will be able to paint the Senior Common Room and outfit it with new furniture to replace some of the more worn pieces. ? Last year I reported that we required a fire separation door to be installed to bring us into compliance with fire regulations. I am happy to report that this door was installed during the summer of 2007. ? It has become quite apparent that at least the southern side of The Link roof will require new shingles before next winter. We are currently investigating ways in which we will be able to afford to make these repairs. Section V – The Heritage of Sadleir House As reported last year, Sadleir House participated in Doors Open Peterborough for the second year in a row. The event saw over 200 people once again touring through Sadleir House and enjoying the beautiful architecture of the building. Given that it is unusual for a building to participate in consecutive years, I do not anticipate that we will be participating again in 2008. It is, however, an important event to showcase the heritage of the building and would welcome any invitation in future years. Section VI – Communications The summer of 2007 saw the development of more communications tools such as a general information pamphlet and an information pamphlet on room rentals. Response to these tools has been positive and has greatly helped to disseminate information both about the House and how to rent/use it. It is my hope to further develop these resources further this summer, including a more specific guide to event planning at Sadleir House and information related to the heritage of the building. In addition to print resources, the Sadleir House website underwent an overhaul this past fall. A simpler and more elegant design was adopted and our events calendar was integrated with the page template to be constantly present. Website content remains something that requires further development and will hopefully be attended to this summer. The website can be viewed at either www.prcsa.ca or www.sadleirhouse.ca and feedback is always welcome. Finally, plans are underway to launch a newsletter as soon as possible, produce an update to the 2003-04 Project prospective to highlight the first four years of our operation, and to engage in stronger information campaigns. Section VII – Accessibility We are still in the planning stages for Accessibility upgrades. We are attempting to get in contact with the Trillium Foundation to discuss grant possibilities. Currently, the hope is to divide the project into two stages, the first to conduct known upgrades and plan the second stage which involves more complex upgrading that has not been formalised. Section VIII – The Sadleir House Library & ALTi Project At last year's Annual General Meeting, I announced the Alternative Libraries @ Trent initiative (ALTi) – a project to launch an online catalogue and integrated library system for various libraries in the Trent Community which were not part of the Bata Library system. The system has been online and operating since approximately February 2007 and currently boasts five participating libraries, 1,413 monograph items, 219 periodical items, 26 reference items, and 11 videos. Cataloguing has been ongoing throughout the year and these numbers increase often. Also this year, the Sadleir House Library has been launched. With the Emergency Food Cupboard moved out of Room 107, increased shelf space has allowed for the coexistence of the Alternative Resource Library collection alongside the Sadleir House collection (consisting mainly of items donated by Professors Denis Smith and John Hillman). The collections are integrated on the shelves and the new improved library layout has made the space far more appealing. Plans are always underway to improve promotion of not only ALTi but also the physical library here at the House. The introduction of wireless internet throughout the House has also increased the appeal of the Library as a place to be able to work. Section IX – Emergency Situations & Security Concerns This past year has had far more security issues arrive than in the past. This year there was one attempt to break into an office, and the theft of approximately $600 from the Sadleir House Management office. In response, we have reviewed our security procedures and have made it much more difficult for perspective thieves to locate and remove items of value. In addition, lock-up protocols have been made much more thorough. This past year has also had a few emergency situations arise, such as burst pipes and repeated incidents of no heat. Recognising that the Steward is one of only a few people that have intimate knowledge about the building and its quirks, as well as the importance of staff being able to get in touch with someone with that knowledge, we have implemented an "emergency line". The Steward has been given a cell phone and is now on-call for staff members 24 hours a day. Section X – Staffing Over the last year we have seen some changes in staffing. Jill Staveley left the position of Convenor and we undertook a hiring process which resulted in Gord DeViller occupying the position of Convenor from September 2007 – February 2008. A sincere thank you to Gord who came into the position and had to learn 'on the fly' the ins and outs of the House and keep bookings moving. Gord left the position this past February and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours. Gord's departure has left us now with the ability to rethink the structuring of the Convenor position and we have altered the job slightly and have hired a Dining Hall Director to oversee our activities in that area, particularly licensed events & sound equipment. Finally, the new Convenor position will focus on the other areas associated with bookings and will be part of a job share with the TCSA in order to help create a stable and attractive employment opportunity. Section XI – University Finances & Levies Those following the news will note that Trent University has recently announced a $10.5 million dollar shortfall, attributed partly to an enrolment shortfall (see Appendix A). It should comfort members to know that we have received all student levies owed to us by the University (according to their enrolment figures) and that this shortfall will not affect us in that way. However, we should enter the next academic year with the expectation that enrolment will continue to decline and as such be frugal in our budgeting practices. In relation to levies, it should be noted that during the 2006-07 academic year we did run into difficulties with retrieving our levy money from the University as they deviated from past practice and issued three cheques instead of the usual two. The result of this change in practice was that we did not receive all levy funds for 2006-07 until September 2007 – after the close of our fiscal year. As a result, we were required to take on a temporary loan to meet our summer cash flow. There is no foreseeable reason that this should be the case this year. Section XII – Future Projects and Plans Journal of Undergraduate Studies & Sadleir House merger. At the 2nd Annual General Meeting of the PRCSA I announced the possibility of Sadleir House launching an online peer reviewed journal of student academic work. Following that announcement the Journal of Undergraduate Studies at Trent (JUST) formed and Sadleir House abandoned its plans in light of not wanting to duplicate efforts in the same area. Since that time, JUST has found itself lacking in administrative personnel and has not been active for most of the 2007-08 academic year. Sadleir House is currently operating the journal in trust for the remainder of the 2007-08 academic year and plans are currently underway to possibly merge JUST into Sadleir House operations to establish continuity and stability for the organisation and to continue this excellent endeavour. The Sadleir House Review Following up on JUST, I am currently planning to launch another online publication devoted to showcasing works of creative writing and possibly artwork as well. The publication has been tentatively titled The Sadleir House Review and would be devoted to the creative arts. Senior Common Room Galleries Plans are also underway to make use of the Senior Common Rooms as a possible gallery space to showcase community art. This project is still in its early stages but it is hoped that it will launch sometime this Spring. Sadleir House Strategic Plan & Space Development Plan It is hoped that over the next year, I will be able to produce both a Strategic Plan and a Space Development Plan with the aid of the Board of Directors. The Strategic Plan would focus mostly on our operations and the future of Sadleir House giving guidance to the organisation for the next five years of its operations. The Space Development Plan would focus more on building maintenance and renovation – acting as a guide to building improvements as funds become available. Respectfully Submitted, Dwayne Collins, Steward & Vice-President Appendix A Posted By SARAH DEETH PtboEx Staff 15 Mar 2008 Retrieved from from Peterborough Examiner web site www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 "Money trouble at Trent; University sounds alert in wake of multimillion-dollar shortfall" Trent University faces a 2007-08 budget shortfall of $10.5 million that will likely result in layoffs for the local post-secondary institution, The Examiner has learned. Don O'Leary, vice-president of administration, said the university managed to alleviate $3.4 million of the deficit through other resources, leaving the university with a $7.1-million operating budget shortfall. University officials blame lower enrolment, government underfunding, the effects of inflation on expenses and significant costs associated with running the large Symons camps, plus the downtown campus and facilities in Oshawa, for the deficit. Trent's base budget is $85.5 million and the deficit represents a shortfall of 12.2 per cent. All department heads are being asked to trim five to 11 per cent of their budgets, O'Leary said, and in some cases more cuts will be made. Salaries and benefits account for 85 per cent of Trent's budget, he said. "When you make cuts as significant as these there are going to be some staff reductions," O'Leary said. It's too soon to comment on any job losses, he said, but that will be reviewed once budgets come in from the various departments. Trent has obligations to its employees and collective agreements to abide by, O'Leary said. Any staff vacancies will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis before being filled. The changes will have no impact on the quality of education for Trent students, he said. The cuts seem drastic, he said, but if the university doesn't deal with the problem now it will only crop up later. Alex Atfield, vice-president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3908, which represents part-time faculty at Trent, said it's too soon to tell what the shortfall means for its members. Information about the deficit has been circulating since September, he said, and it has been a topic of discussion for the university's senate. "It isn't entirely a surprise," Atfield said. But, he said, the $10.5-million number was. The deficit can mean two things for part-time staff, he said. If Trent opts not to replace retiring full-time faculty with another full-time member, he said, it's likely that job will go to a part-time staffer working on contract. "It could mean we'll have more of our members filling those positions," Atfield said. "But it could mean that we're the first on the chopping block." The deficit is to be discussed Monday at a union executive meeting, he said. Peterborough MPP Jeff Leal said the province has already boosted funding to Trent University and Fleming College. "We've certainly increased the base budgets of both Trent University and Fleming College," Leal said, adding the province has also provided significant funding for capital projects at both institutions. Leal said he realizes post-secondary institutions face increasing operating costs. The issue of funding for post-secondary institutions will be addressed by Colleges and Universities Minister Chris Bentley as the province readies for Finance Minister Dwight Duncan's March 25 provincial budget, Leal said. sdeeth@peterboroughexaminer.com In the red Trent University's explanation for its $10.5-million 2007-08 deficit: - $5 million: shortfall due to 400 fewer undergraduate students (200 intake and 200 retention). - $3.5 million: structural deficit that is managed through various one-time funding appropriations at year-end. - $1 million: shortfall in government funding for accessibility and quality. - $1 million: inflation and increased costs associated with collective agreements and annual operating cost increases. Article ID# 944958 Steward's Report – 4th AGM - Page 1 of 7