A total of $1.5 million will focus on a proposal dealing with “unforeseen conditions, design errors and omissions associated with the project,” whereas $500,000 will focus on June 3 flooding issues and $500,000 will focus on rubberized floors taken from the Events Center as a result of flood damage.

Out of the $1.5 million, $750,000 is needed to cover the conditions, design errors and omissions. Another $100,000 is needed for internal signage enhancement and $650,000 is being requested for a 30-foot-by-10-foot video board and related video equipment.

The request said the “addition of the video and graphics package will provide expanded sponsorship opportunities and the cost will be repaid by athletics from future revenues.”

University reserves would finance $850,000 of the additional funds requested and future athletic revenue would finance the rest.

The total cost of the Events Center will rise to $22.5 million if the request is approved.

Athletic department officials were unavailable for comment.

Flood damage

Three requests totaling $4 million pertain to flood damage caused by heavy rainfall that dumped water in the Events Center and other campus buildings.

Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said CMU will seek reimbursement from an insurance policy subject to the university’s $50,000 deductible to replenish the reserve account.

“We will be reimbursed by the insurance company,” he said. “That’s our expectation.”

One proposal requests $500,000 to repair damage in the Events Center that occurred during a June 3 flood in which Mount Pleasant received 1.7 inches of rain.

The water that entered the lower level of the building flooded four different locker rooms and six former racquetball courts now used to store athletic department equipment.

Another proposal requests $3 million to repair damage that occurred during the Aug. 11 flood in which the city received four inches of rain in three hours.

Lawrence said that flood impacted 39 campus buildings.

The final request pertaining to flood damage requests $500,000 to transfer disposed rubberized flooring taken from the Events Center originally transferred to the Brent Run Landfill in Montrose. If approved, it will be sent to the Environmental Quality Landfill in Rawsonville.

The flooring, which was removed after the June 3 flood, was determined to be hazardous waste and it must be relocated from Montrose.

The claims management process requires CMU pay contractors directly for their services or goods, before being reimbursed by the insurance company for its expenses.

Faculty contract

The board will also vote whether to give University President George Ross authority to ratify and sign a collective bargaining agreement with members of the Union of Teaching Faculty.

Dan Kukuk, organizer for the American Federation of Teachers Michigan, said the bargaining process will begin by the end of fall.

Union members voted by a margin greater than 3 to 1 for union representation Aug. 20 after a year-long campaign.

“Non-tenured faculty did not have the opportunity to negotiate so we worked for over a year to have that election and we won overwhelmingly,” Kukuk said. “Now we are moving on in the bargaining process.”

Temporary faculty want to bargain terms of job security, health insurance, salary and several other conditions of employment with the university, he said.