Associated Students Inc. is set to begin $688,000 renovations on the Isabel Patterson Child Development Center and the Soroptimist House in fall 2014.
ASI Executive Director Richard Haller said the work is long overdue and will take up to five years to complete.
“We’ve tried to nickel and dime the maintenance as we could, but unless we have a huge increase in enrollment, there’s no opportunity for us to be able to afford any of these major renovations,” Haller said.
According to Haller, the Soroptimist House’s infrastructure is old and unable support modern technology.
“It doesn’t have air conditioning or heating, it’s not insulated, and it isn’t wired for anything other than electricity,” Haller said. “If you wanted to do something down there with Internet access, good luck.”
Any renovations or updates to the Soroptimist House, Haller said, must also address ADA provisions, which were passed after the building’s construction.
The Soroptimist House was donated to the university in 1957 by Soroptimist International, a charity organization, shortly after the formation of the first Associated Student Body and served as the campus’ first University Student Union.
The space is now used primarily for student-hosted events and is available to rent for private functions.
The Isabel Patterson Child Development Center (IPCDC) also needs to undergo functional repairs, according to the 2011 Child Development Center Facility Condition Analysis report.
The repairs to the IPCDC are currently budgeted at $438,000, whereas the Soroptimist House renovations are budgeted for $250,000, according to the analysis report and the University Student Union Board of Trustees Soroptimist House Proposal. Haller said that both facilities will remain open while renovations are in progress.
According to Haller, ASI will fund the renovations through a $16 increase to students’ ASI membership fees, which will go into effect in fall 2014. Students currently pay $44 per semester for ASI fees, according to the CSULB website.
Haller said the increase accounts for inflation since the last fee increase was in 2000.
Depending on costs and construction time, Haller said, the renovations could be completed in as little as three years.
ASI President John Haberstroh also said the repairs are badly needed.
“The [IPCDC] is almost 40 years old… [Its] been sort of neglected over the years,” Haller said.
Haller said students who don’t use facilities such as the IPCDC should still see the value in the renovations.
“In the overall scheme of things, it’s a good thing to have a program that takes care of the children of your students,” he said. “Even if it doesn’t benefit you directly, it has a societal benefit.”
