New ASNIC President Chris Deane announced to the board of trustees that the unveiling of a Rec Center proposal is delayed until March due to large changes in the student government.
The January 30 meeting was Deane’s first trustee meeting as acting president since former president, Julie Salinas and senators Jantzen Hunsaker and Marcus Hall stepped down due to personal reasons.
Although Duncan Menzies has stepped into Deane’s previous position as vice president, Hunsaker and Hall’s replacements have yet to be announced.
Deane said that while the transition has caused delay in certain areas, senators have still been working on the project.
“We just don’t feel comfortable with [presenting] it yet, we feel like it could be so much more,” Deane said. “We just need a little bit more time.”
Deane said the proposal will largely cover logistics, such as a location in the education corridor, appearance and price.
Deane said a mid-range facility would be expected to cost the college around 15 million dollars.
“We know what the college wants to build, we know what they’re planning to out there, and we want to make suggestions [based] on what students have wanted for years,” Deane said.
A report done five years ago on student’s input for a Rec Center is the foundation for the proposal, Deane said, but ideas from as far back as 25 years ago have been considered.
“It’s figuring out what students will want in the future that has us kind of banging our heads against the wall,” Deane said. “It’s deciding how to take this to the next level that has slowed us up.”
The next level might just look a little like the college’s competition, the College of Southern Idaho (CSI).
“The pattern that we’re going off of is CSI’s [Rec Center],” Deane said. “They have a midsize one, and that’s what we’re looking for.”
Another factor in the decision to model the center after CSI’s plans was Vice President of Student Services, Graydon Stanley.
Stanley, who was heavily involved in the construction of the center during his previous employment at CSI, has been working closely with ASNIC on the proposal.
Deane said Salinas will also continue to consult on the project throughout the semester, although it will be in a much smaller, and more removed role.
