What happens when there’s work to be done, but no one to do it?

Well, nothing.

A planned campus tree garden is in limbo — not because student money can’t fund it, but because there’s no one to oversee or maintain the project, Senate Student Office of Sustainability Director Bailey Kramer said.

Senate passed a resolution in support of dedicating $60,000 in SOS money to a campus arboretum, or tree garden earlier this year.

“Then facilites stopped doing anything with the project, for now,” Kramer said. “That’s because they lost staff.”

The arboretum plan requires more than money: a manager must oversee the project and a groundskeeper must maintain it. And Eau Claire Facilities Management won’t commit to either ahead of expected state budget cuts, Kramer said.

After Gov. Scott Walker proposed a $300 million UW System budget cut inside the 2015-17 state budget in February, the university decided to wait to fill both positions, she said.

Facilities Management officials were not immediately available for comment.

SOS will consider the arboretum plan as an ongoing project, Kramer said.

SOS introduced four bills at Senate’s meeting Monday that would spend about $96,000 on pro-green campus details like recycling bins and LED lights in the Towers Hall parking lot.

Kramer said after the arboretum project fell through, SOS decided to introduce projects it had planned to roll out next year.

These bills include:

• A plan to spend $6,035 on three “DERO Fix-It Stations” — recycled steel bike stands equipped with an air pump and array of hex keys and other bike tools.
• A  $21,000 project to place nine outdoor recycling bins, 37 plastic bag recycling bins and 11 pizza box composting bins throughout Housing and Residence Life.
• A $19,400 plan to upgrade Schneider Hall water fountains to “EZ fill” water bottle stations and install hand dryers in bathrooms.
• A $50,000 project to replace Towers Hall streetlamps with LED bulbs.

Bylaw changes

SOS also introduced a bill that would redefine how the commission collects student money. Currently, Senate dedicates $200,000 to SOS, in student fees, which funds Senate’s Organized Activities Budget.

Lower-than-expected enrollment this school year created Senate’s $84,000 activities budget deficit, The Spectator reported in February.

And student enrollment next year is expected to continue its decline. That means fewer students to pay fees, and a smaller activities budget.

“It’s an acknowledgement that enrollment is down right now, and it’s not sustainable economically for us to be spending $200,000 every year,” Kramer said.

The bylaw change will funnel $10 of $479 in student fees next year into SOS, instead of assigning SOS a $200,000 lump sum from total fees collected.

So, the bill is an indication that Senate expects declining student enrollment in coming years, Kramer said.

Eau Claire now sets aside a larger share of student money for “sustainability” than other UW System campuses, Kramer said. This SOS bylaw bill might change that.

In other Senate news

Senate voted 21-2-2 Monday to support a plan to renew a contract with campus food provider Sodexo.

Senate tabled the vote on the resolution last week amid complaints that Sodexo’s five-year contract with the university was too long and a requirement that student organizations spend more than $200 for Sodexo to cater an event was too steep.

“I cannot say I have always been a fan of sodexo, Senator Stephen Kahlow said during Senate’s meeting Monday. “Yeah it’s not the greatest. The eggs are a little dry, the burgers are a little stale … All things considered, this is an excellent deal there will always be dissenters.”

Student Senate also ushered in a crop of new members, voted in during last week’s Senate elections. Current Student Body Vice President Jake Wrasse will become Student Body President after last week’s election. Jordan Mabin will serve as Student Body Vice President.