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The Rice Thresher
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by LAURA DERR THRESHER STAFF The proposal to build a Campus Police substation in Lovett College did not make it into next year's capital budget. The capital budget allocates funds to facilities, renovations and construction projects for the year. Vice President for Finance and Administration Dean Currie said it is difficult to prioritize money allocation, and he said the Lovett substation proposal was not suggested early enough for this year's budget. "It just came on too late to make the cut," Currie said. Lovett voted yesterday to gauge the college's student opinion about a substation. Results were not available at press time. Campus Police Chief Bill Taylor said if the Lovett community supports the project, he will look for other sources of funding. "We may have to talk to Food and Housing and see how we can finagle some money," he said. "If students approve it, we'll start scrounging around." Lovett senior Jonathan Borck, the chair of the five-member student ad hoc committee on the proposed substation, said the committee has not been concerned with financial matters. He said he was not aware of a potential lack of funding for the project. Lovett's governing body, the Central Committee, voted in favor of supporting the project last semester. Last week, the CC proposed bylaws stating that Lovett has entered into an agreement with the Campus Police to set up a substation. The bylaws call for the status of the substation to be reviewed regularly and allows the agreement to be modified by Lovett at any time. Taylor said the substation would be nonintrusive and would not interfere with daily life at Lovett. He said the intention would be to convey the message that "we're here, we're available, we're not sticking our noses in other people's business." "If people at Lovett don't want to have this then we don't want to have it," Lovett Vice President Anna Witt said. However, Witt, a junior, said she thinks the proposal is reasonable and doesn't inconvenience students. If the referendum doesn't pass, the substation committee will likely ask for another vote next semester, she said. Lovett sophomore Bill Prescott said he is tired of hearing about the project. "I think the plan has been talked to death," he said. "If it proves to be adverse to Lovett, we have the stipulations that can handle it, so that's OK." Currie said he supports the project. "I'm going to try to come up with funds to do it if it's a small enough project that I can use discretionary funds," Currie said. Most vice presidents and deans have limited discretionary funds for small capital projects, he said. He said he won't know if he can use discretionary funds until he receives a firm estimate on the project costs from a contractor. "I'm cautiously optimistic," Currie said. "I'm hopeful, but I won't know until we have the facts." Taylor said if he can't find funding, the substation committee can resubmit the proposal next year because it may carry additional weight with documented student support. Taylor said the purpose of the substation is to make paperwork and follow-up interviews more convenient for officers while also adding a more visible police presence in the high-traffic area near Lovett. "Officers can stay closer to the colleges while doing their work. It says the college officers are part of our college," he said. "It's not meant to be a place they go and sit and stay for their entire shift." - back - |
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