A meeting of the Physical Facilities Committee of the Board of Trustees convened at 4:25 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, 2020, on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana, in Hovde Hall, Room 201.
On March 23, 2020, during the unprecedented, worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Eric Holcomb issued Executive Order 20-09 which provided that all members of the Board (or a committee thereof) may meet by means of electronic communication so long as a quorum of members participated and the meeting was made available to members of the public and the media. Therefore, all members of the committee were in attendance via videoconference: Gary Lehman, chair; Sonny Beck; Michael Klipsch; and Noah Scott. Chairman Michael Berghoff attended the meeting in person, and all other trustees attended via videoconference: JoAnn Brouillette; Vanessa Castagna; Malcolm DeKryger; Thomas Spurgeon; and Don Thompson.
To comply with federal social distancing guidelines established in an effort to prevent the spread of the disease, restrictions were placed on the number of people in the room. Only these officers and administrators were in the room: Mitch Daniels, president; Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity; Chris Ruhl, treasurer and chief financial officer; Steve Schultz, general counsel; Janice Indrutz, corporate secretary and senior executive assistant to the Board; and Michael Cline, senior vice president for administrative operations. Officers Jim Almond, senior vice president, assistant treasurer, and assistant secretary, and Trent Klingerman, deputy general counsel, attended via videoconference.
Members of the media and the public who wished to observe the meeting were provided video connection instructions.
I. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Physical Facilities Committee voted unanimously by roll call to approve the minutes of the public meeting held on December 6, 2019, and the executive session convened on December 12, 2019.
II. APPROVAL TO PLAN, FINANCE, CONSTRUCT AND AWARD CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR PURDUE MEMORIAL UNION GROUND FLOOR RENOVATION
Mr. Cline requested approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contract for the Purdue Memorial Union ground floor renovation project. He explained that the project would renovate 67,600 square feet of this key destination on the West Lafayette campus and improve the retail dining space and its seating capacity. He added that the project would include renovating 3,900 square feet of space in Stewart Center to help facilitate the Union renovation work. Mr. Cline estimated the total cost of the project at $47,300,000 and said planning and design work would be completed over the next several months, with construction to be completed from September 2020 through October 2021.
Trustee Lehman described the project as a “game changer.” He said the renovation would meet modern needs but preserve the beauty and history of the building, and he expressed his excitement about how the renovated space would look. Trustee Klipsch remarked that the project was timely given that renovation of the Union Club Hotel would be completed in the fall. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Physical Facilities Committee voted unanimously by roll call to recommend full Board approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contract for the renovation. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.
III. APPROVAL TO PURCHASE LAND
Mr. Cline requested approval to purchase 225 acres of land located at North 375 West in West Lafayette from the McKinnis Farm Corporation. He informed the Committee that the parcel of land was located immediately east of Purdue’s Agronomy Center for Research and Education and the Animal Sciences Research and Education Center, and he explained that the additional land would provide uniform, high-quality soils and large plot dimensions needed for modern agricultural research. Mr. Cline was also pleased to share with the Committee that the purchase price of $3,000,000 was less than the appraised value, and he outlined the sources of funding.
Trustee Beck shared his understanding that the family who owned the land had always been poised to give Purdue first opportunity to purchase it and the additional land would allow the Centers to conduct larger scale testing. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Physical Facilities voted unanimously by roll call to recommend full Board approval to purchase the land. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.
IV. APPROVAL TO ASSIGN THE NAME OF GRIFFIN HALL TO THIRD STREET NORTH AND EXISTING THIRD SUITE SUITES
Mr. Cline requested approval to assign new names to two residence halls on the West Lafayette Campus as follows: Third Street North would become Griffin Residence Hall North and Third Street Suites would become Griffin Residence Hall South. He reminded the Board that the Third Street North facility was currently under construction and would open for occupancy in the fall, and he reasoned that changing the name of the existing Third Street Suite facility would tether the operations and functions of the two facilities.
Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Physical Facilities voted unanimously by roll call to recommend full Board approval to change the names of the residence halls to Griffin Residence Hall North and Griffin Residence Hall South. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.
V. ADJOURNMENT
By consent, the meeting adjourned at 4:37 p.m.