Employee Assembly Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, March 21, 2001
12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Day Hall Board Room

I. Call to Order and Introductions

D. Darby, Chair, called the meeting to order at 12:25 PM.

Attendance:

Present: Timothy Anguish, Sharon Bahringer, Francisco Berry, Deb Billups, Dawn Darby, Joseph DeMarco, Brian Goodell, Thomas Hoebbel, Denise Howland, Dawne Martyniak, Cindy Monroe, Cheri Woodward

Excused: Marlene Reitz

Others Present: Amy Bunce, Hope Mandeville, Dennis Stein, Andy Garcia-Rivera, Dennis Osika, Todd Miner

II. Approval of Minutes

J. DeMarco made a motion to suspend the agenda and to move to business of the day.

B. Goodell seconded it.

The motion carried.

III. Open Forum

No report

IV. Business of the Day

University Smoking Policy

Andy Garcia-Rivera, Director, Environmental Health and Safety, passed out a handout on the University Smoking Policy. He asked the EA members for feedback.

J. DeMarco said that he would like to see smoking prohibited in buildings with no sprinkler systems.

B. Goodell said that there should be smokers on the committee, to get them involved with the discussion groups.

D. Osika stated that is costs Cornell $150,000 to clean up the cigarette butts.

T. Anguish asked why it costs so much?

D. Osika stated that it is due to labor costs.

D. Howland asked Dennis Osika, Director, Grounds Care, how the Grounds Department would feel about having volunteers cleaning up the cigarette butts on volunteer day?

D. Osika said that it is a dirty job but it would help out.

T. Anguish commented that there are some buildings that already have other locations set up for smoking.

A. Garcia-Rivera stated that it is up to each building coordinator to set up the rules.

S. Bahringer asked if they are forming a campaign?

A. Garcia said that if any EA member is interested in volunteering to be on a committee looking at the smoking policy to please email him at ehsdir@cornell.edu.

D. Osika stated that Harvard University is heading towards a campus-free environment.

D. Osika and A. Garcia-Rivera are working on obtaining education grants to better inform the Cornell community on smoking issues.

A. Garcia-Rivera stated that he has met with the Faculty Senate and Dean Cooke supports the program.

Resolution to Encourage Cornell University to become more involved with and further support in Ithaca area schools

Todd Miner, Executive Director, Outdoor Education, presented a resolution to the EA members in draft form. He is involved because he is the parent of young children in the Ithaca City School District. He feels that Cornell needs to get involved because of retention and recruiting issues.

D. Darby asked for questions or comments.

J. DeMarco asked if the last whereas is supposed to be in parenthesis?

T. Miner said having a task force would be helpful to be the clearinghouse.

F. Berry said that the Office Of Life Quality might be interested, as it is such a huge task that it is well advised to use other resources as an approach.

D. Stein stated that the Workforce and Diversity Office focuses more on employee family issues, day care, etc. He asked T. Miner if he was trying to form a task force or committee?

T. Miner feels that if he could hear from other parents who are concerned, the efforts would be stronger.

H. Mandeville said that the Public Service Center might be able to help out. Cooperative Extension is also looking at school issues.

T. Anguish that there is no central office that all of the outreach comes from. It is all handled by departments or individuals.

B. Goodell said that he has a concern because the resolution title says to “encourage” but in the resolution it is telling.

T. Hoebbel said that access is one of the problems. The important piece is that it is the university’s responsibility to make this happen. Get the institutional support on the idea first and then put a task force together. The whole community gains when the kids are better educated.

D. Billups said that a majority of Cornell employees do not live in Ithaca and their kids do not attend Ithaca City Schools. Other school districts should be included.

S. Bahringer agreed with D. Billups and said that it is important to remind the University of its mission.

D. Darby feels that it is important to figure out who this is addressing and to be more inclusive about working in our community.

T. Miner asked what he could do to change the resolution to make people feel good about supporting the resolution? He isn’t sure what the process is.

D. Darby said that part of the process is that the EA approves a resolution, a letter gets sent to the president with the resolution.

B. Goodell suggested T. Miner take the resolution to Work and Family to make the resolution presentable.

T. Hoebbel will be introducing a resolution very similar to this resolution. He would like feedback from the EA members

D. Darby asked for any comments. There were none.

D. Darby entertained a motion to resume the agenda.

T. Hoebbel made a motion to move on to the budget discussion.

S. Bahringer seconded it.

The motion carried.

EA Budget

D. Martyniak said that the projected expenses for next year’s budget for 2001–2002 would be $12, 870.

D. Darby asked D. Martyniak to explain the projected budget for next year.

T. Hoebbel said that if we don’t submit a letter with the budget proposal for $12, 870, then the EA would get the $9,435.

J. DeMarco asked if we get the $12,870 would that offset the regularized budget amount?

T. Hoebbel asked the EA members to look the budget over and make sure that the amounts are what they will need before a letter gets sent to Hank Dullea with the proposed budget.

D. Darby asked for any objections to the budget going with a letter to Hank Dullea. There were none.

J. DeMarco made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

T. Hoebbel seconded it.

V. Adjournment

D. Darby adjourned the meeting at 1:39 PM.

Respectfully submitted,
Amy Bunce