If you’re spending a typical student summer in an overheated, run-down, and cramped Toronto apartment, perhaps you can sympathize with the Governing Council’s plight.
The Simcoe Hall meeting chambers of U of T’s top decision-making body haven’t been renovated since 1926. The facility is not air-conditioned and is visibly ageing. But a fix won’t come cheap: renovations are expected to cost $1.6 million.
In May, Governing Council approved a motion to renovate and refurbish their council chamber and board room. The plan was proposed to the Planning and Budget Committee in March. A memorandum to the committee from Ron Venter, the Vice-Provost of Space and Facilities Planning, says the chamber is in dire need of aid. “The drapery is in tatters, the furniture in urgent need of repair and refinishing, and the inadequate lighting is in need of attention.”
In addition to the upgrades needed in the chamber, the memorandum notes that the president’s office “is not adequately air-conditioned; it would be timely to include this suite of offices when the air-conditioning is added to the Board Room.”
The cost of the refurbishments is especially high because council has placed a premium on preserving the “authentic heritage” of the two rooms. Louis R. Charpentier, Secretary to the Governing Council, noted that “for many people these rooms are a very public face for the university.” As well, the rooms are used heavily by GC and its associated committees and boards. “By repairing them and bringing them up to current technology and meeting space standards,” said Charpentier, “it certainly is respectful of all members who participate in our governance system.”
When the recommendation to proceed with the project was considered by Governing Council in a May 2 meeting, Emily Sadowski, then president of the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students, complained that while the university was funding this initiative, part-time students (amongst other groups) were receiving inadequate bursary funds.
Charpentier agreed that the decision to allocate funds to cosmetic projects was not easy. “It’s true that there are a number of competing priorities,” he said, “and each year, particularly when there are monies that are directed towards maintenance, or repair, or that kind of thing, there are decisions that are made that take into account a number of factors.”
Charpentier told the Planning and Budget committee that major donors would not be likely to express interest in this “small” project, but small amounts of funding might become available once the project is underway.
