ASUCLA Board of Directors recap – July 31

Associated Students UCLA is a multimillion-dollar organization that provides student services and activities that the university does not fund. It oversees the Undergraduate Students Association Council, Graduate Students Association, Communications Board, campus services and enterprises.

Executive and committee reports

• Executive director Bob Williams said a donation box is currently being built on the A-level of the student union. The box will help ASUCLA contribute to charities without deterring it from fulfilling its charitable mission, he said.
• Williams said that ASUCLA eliminated the two-tier wage system for student jobs in the 2014-2015 term to accommodate a minimum wage increase, but that the association will be reintroducing a higher wage for more difficult jobs to attract student workers.
• Graduate representative C.J. Gabbe said the finance committee revisited the Communications Board budget and decided not to revise it because the difference between expected and actual losses was marginal.
• Gabbe added that the finance committee added some room for extra expenditures in the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning upgrade budget.
• The finance committee considered budgeting automatic doors for the newly renovated Hill Top Shop, but was unsure how to proceed without wasting energy, Gabbe said.

Financial statements

• May was a strong month and the association experienced a net gain of $145,000, despite budgeting a loss, Williams said. He added that the association is ahead of where it was last fiscal year and attributed the month’s success to strong sales, despite the extra money that went toward employees’ salaries. Williams said that the association also exceeded its maintenance budget because of unexpected projects.
• ASUCLA budgeted a loss of $143,000 in June, but only experienced a $88,000 loss, making June another positive month, Williams said.
• He said the association experienced a $401,000 contribution increase this year.
• Because July ended fiscally on July 25, Williams said most of the traffic generated by the Special Olympics World Summer Games will not be accounted for until next month. Even so, he said that the association had a strong month and is $206,000 above its planned budget. Williams added that he thinks the association will end the fiscal year with a positive net benefit of around half a million dollars.

Construction

• New chairs have been chosen and approved by the service committee for the Global Viewpoint Lounge in Ackerman Union, Williams said. Next, the association will choose the carpet and its color, he added.
• The Hill Top Shop is currently operating at the previous location of Bruin Cafe while the store undergoes renovations, but should be finished before the end of this summer, Williams said. The space could not be expanded, but he added that he thinks the new floor layout will help make students’ shopping experience on the Hill more efficient.
• Kikka Sushi has finished construction, Williams said. Kikka was supposed to open earlier, but was not up to par when the fire marshal first visited, he added.

Agenda

• Board members unanimously voted to appoint Carly Calbreath, C.J. Gabbe and Agnes Warren as Board of Directors chair, vice chair and secretary, respectively.
• Members also approved the revenue enhancement ad hoc committee appointments
• The board approved the fiscal soundness of the 2015-2016 Communications Board budget. The 2014-2015 Communications Board budget assumed a loss of $130,000, but had an actual loss $82,000, Gabbe said. The 2015-2016 budget anticipates a continued decline in advertisement revenue and an increase expenses, he added. There is some expectation that some of the burden of Student Media will be integrated into student fees in the future, if a fee referendum passes, Gabbe said.
• The board also voted to approve the Undergraduate Students Association and Graduate Students Association budgets’ statuses as fiscally sound.
• Student Union Director Roy Champawat said the initial estimated cost of the HVAC upgrade was underestimated because the association attempted to budget the project before knowing how much manpower was necessary. The project would require at least another $60,000, Champawat said, even with an expected rebate from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
• Champawat said he recommended the board amend the HVAC project proposal to add an additional $20,000 of funding to avoid slowing the project down should more money be needed. The board approved the amended proposal.
• All ASUCLA restaurants will begin kitchen composting and ASUCLA will be testing a consumer composting program at Lu Valle Commons. Funds for the pilot program will cover kitchen hauling costs and the cost of compostable packaging, which is generally more expensive, said Gabbe. The board approved the proposed budget.
• The board approved an initiative to remove all products with plastic microbeads from all UCLA stores. Gabbe said the replacement of these products would cost around $1,000.

Compiled by Catherine Liberty Feliciano, Bruin senior staff.