Meliorist (January 6, 1994)

              UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
<^_       ^_- VOLUME 27, ISSUE 15 JANUARY 6, 1994
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Operations Manager dismissed
By Tara Elder
On Tuesday, January 4, ()pcrations Manager
of the Students' Union, Bob Harkness was presented with a letter of termination, although SU
Council will not offer a comment as to the
reasons behind such a move.
Harkness was given two weeks plus holiday
pay as required per his contract of employment.
and the duties of the position will be filled by
existing staff and council until such lime as a
new Operations Manager is hired.
Upon accepting employment with the SU,
Harkness signed a contract stipulating that SU
had the right to terminate employment with
either two weeks notice or two weeks pay.
"SU is exercising its rights in the contract,"
stated SU Vice-President Administration Brian
Stewart.
Concerns regarding Harkness \s performance
were raised and examined by council members
prior to Christmas break, and it was decided that
SU President Poul Mark and Stewart would take
control of the situation and make whatever moves
deemed necessary.
More SUB renovations
By Tara Elder
The Students' Union Pub and Service Center
have both undergone changes ewer the Christmas holidays. The layout of the pub. as well as
the menu and service offered by it, have altered
for the coming term, and the location of the
Service Center has changed in order to provide
students with more adequate services.
The pub has undergone major changes. Recognizing the fact that the Zoo is noted as an
inexpensive place to socialize, a portable bar
setup will be utilized in order to decrease lineups, as it changes from a serving facility to one
of strictly bar service. There will be no wait staff
in the Zoo, although a food runner will be utilized at lunch time. Night food orders will have
to be picked up at the bar.
The reason for this changes, according to
Pub manager Mike Pyne. is that "on busy nights,
serving staff does little of the percentage of
sales—most people come to the bar."
Pyne also stated that with the margins of
price (as compared to other pubs|, we cannot
afford the luxury of servers."
The pub will continue with the house parly
theme, and is setting up the decor with patio
furniture complete with umbrellas. The tables
and chairs currently used in the pub will remain,
and all of the new furniture was previously in the
possession of the SU.
The pool tables have been moved, and lights
have been suspended over them, in order to
provide patrons with better service and increasing usable space. The new layout provides more
seating.
r
The menu has changed, but there will be
approximately the same number of items offered as were last semester, with weekly specials being advertised in the Meliorisl.
The Zoo will continue to provide live music
for the students and. according to Pyne. they will
be "instigating, in conjunction with CKUL, a
Zoo music project."
Pyne said that there was "almost nothing in
|renovation | cost," because most of the materials were already on hand. The portable bars were
built with existing materials.
There will not be a lot of lay-offs among pub
staff, as some of the wait staff have left, and
others will be transferred to fill other duties in
the pub. Most of the current staff members will
continue to work at the pub.
The changes in the Zoo have, at least in part,
been due to the losses that the pub has suffered
since last May. The pub is working in a "hole" of
about $131,000, and Pyne hopes that using
"more realistic goals for a pub this size" will
result in a turn-around.
'The bulk of the money was lost in the
summer," he said.
A factor in the large losses that the pub has
suffered is that there was "no accounting system
put into place at the start of the year, and it was
not caught up with until two weeks before the
end of the semester," Pyne said.
"The philosophy of last year was based on
running at the full capacity o
6(H)," commented Pyne. This
was not being accomplished.
Pyne hopes that "by im
proving service and getting rid of the frills," this
situation could be turned around. As a student
co-op it is important to keep the prices as low as
possible.
"If students at the U of L want us here, we'll
be here," Pyne explained. Also changed is the
entrance policy, which disallowed LCC students
from frequenting the bar. "We are inviting LCC
to come back as customers," said Pyne.
The Service Center, located on the second
level of the SUB, has been moved in order to
make more adequate use of available space.
Randy Ockerman. manager of the Service
Center, commented that the "location was bad."
The new location, immediately behind the old
position, allows for more space for tables and
greater access to existing services.
Basically, the same services will be offered
by the Service Center, but it allows for future
additions.
This was "not a big cost by any means, and it
should save in the long run, because of more
seating and more space," said Ockerman. The
old materials were reused in all possible cases.
Also improved in the Service Center is the
ventilation, with overhead fans and ceiling vents
reducing the heating problem.
The store's new layout remains about the
same size, although it is more open and looks
significantly larger.
The decision was made on the advice of SU's
lawyer.
A possible factor in the decision was that the
Zoo has lost a significant amount of money over
the past year. However, this was not the reason
which prompted action.
SU may operate without a general manager
for 60 days, after which time the University will
fill the position with a temporary person. At
press time, there are no indications as to who
might fill the position.
As well, the duties of the future Operations
Manager may be somewhat different.
In his position, Harkness's duties included
such particulars as: coordination of efficient and
effective daily operations of the union, and to
assist in the long term planning of the union; the
management of the financial affairs of the employer as directed by the Council or its delegates; arranging the disbursement of Students'
Union fees; and overseeing operations of all
union entrepreneurial activities, including but
not limited to the Pub, Service Centre, Food
Court. Concession, etc. The Manager is required
to regularly evaluate these activities and to make
recommendations for improvements and new
ventures, ensuring that proper financial control
is established for each venture. Many other duties are included in the Operation Manager's job
description.
The termination of Harkness's employment
was "not in any way hostile," Stewart stated. "|lt
is j not the Zoo's losing money, let's get rid of the
General Manager" situation.
"Terminaling someone's employment is not
an easy thing to do. but emotions were kept out
of the situation," said Stewart.
This "is very much of a surprise." according
to Harkness, and although he said he will miss
working among the students, he "enjoyed being -
a part of afl the positive changes that have
happened at SU over the past year."
Fiscal restraint
strikes again
By Patti Macdonald
Two employees of the Athletics Department were notified
Tuesday, January 4, that their positions would be terminated
effective March 31—another cost-cutting measure in this
time of fiscal restraint.
Dean of Student Affairs Keith McCurdy said, "this is not
a reflection on their abilities or contributions to the University." The decision was approved by the Board of Governors
and was a "done deal" by Tuesday.
Seamus O'Shea, Vice President Academic said in a press
release that "our goal in Athletics is to protect the participation by student athletes as much as possible and the only way
to do that is to reduce administrative costs quite sharply."
However, in another circulated document, it was stated
that "priorities for which Canada West teams the University
should continue to have will be established by General Faculties Council at its January 10th meeting, when program
recommendations will be coming forward from a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Interuniversity Athletics."
Athletics will revert to being under the auspices of the
Recreation Department, as it was several years ago. Athletics
is targeted for a further $95,000 in reductions over the next
two years.
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