The Iowa State Daily and the Memorial Union are in talks to move the student publication’s newsroom to a floor of the MU Hotel.

The MU Board of Directors received proposals earlier in the spring to consider renting out the 7,786-square-foot fourth floor of the MU Hotel.

The Daily’s newsroom is currently located in the 2,500-square-foot 108 Hamilton Hall.

The MU Board of Directors struggled Friday afternoon with the question of how much the hotel means to Iowa State and those who hold its philosophy.

“The question we’re wrestling with is: How interested are we in the hotel, and how interested are we in the Daily?” said Alex Olson, senior in health and human performance and president of the MU Board of Directors. “Definitively, we can’t answer all questions, but we need to think about how much we want to invest in the hotel and what bringing in the Daily means financially to the hotel.”

Larry Huisman, business manager of the Memorial Union, said the facility is charging competitive rates and doing well financially. He said compromising even one floor could send the hotel into debt and budgeting difficulties.

Recognizing the cramped space of the Daily’s newsroom, the board considered the option of renting out the sixth floor of the hotel, which has an area of 5,445 square feet. Hotel representatives, however, opposed this, pointing out the importance of the top floors to the viability of the hotel.

“The top floors have the most picturesque views of the Campanile and offer the most spacious accommodations,” said Laura Helmus, hotel and main desk manager. “Even offering that space could disturb guests with increased noise levels and traffic, in addition to taking away sizable rooms.”

The final consensus among the board members was to communicate concerns of the feasibility of renting the smaller sixth-floor area to the Daily with stipulations attached that wouldn’t compromise the hotel’s ability to accommodate guests. The board members and hotel representatives’ discussion of these stipulations continued fervently.

“Groups like the Daily will always want to grow, and while I think it is important to consider their space request, we depend on the occupancy availability of all our rooms to finance the hotel,” Huisman said.

In addition, many board members felt the hotel’s existence was an ISU tradition that should be maintained.

“The hotel’s unique existence and tradition is part of the Memorial Union, and we would like to stay in that business,” said Richard Reynolds, director of the Memorial Union.

Board members agreed the hotel was a pivotal part of Iowa State and should be more actively advertised and pursued.

“I don’t think we have given the hotel a fair shot,” said Martha Lagomarcino Gleason, member of the MU Board of Directors. “Some people don’t even know the hotel exists, and while drivers on the highway don’t necessarily use it, groups and visitors are common guests.”

The hotel staff feels the current space needs to be maintained for guest use.

“We don’t have the space they want,” said Kathy Svec, marketing coordinator for the Memorial Union. “The hotel needs to be the focus of our efforts, and the current floor plan needs to be kept for maximizing its use.”

The comments and feelings of board and hotel staff indicated that hotel marketing and growth would remain top priorities.

“The hotel needs to continue on and it is key to our mission,” Olson said. “However, if we are going to have that as our mission, we need to improve marketing, advertisement and renovation plans.”

The Daily’s request, however, was still a concern of several board members.

“I think the pros outweigh the cons in having the Daily here at the Memorial Union, in terms of traffic, safety and exposure on campus,” said Brian Olechnowski, graduate in ecology, evolution and organismal biology and member of the MU Board of Directors.

Others echoed Olechnowski’s sentiments, but there concerns remained about the cost of allotting hotel space to the newspaper and the mixed use of hotel floors.

“I prefer to support the hotel, keeping in mind that there is a long way to go – but I would much rather have the Daily occupy space than offices,” said Brooke Heithoff, graduate student in educational leadership and policy studies and MU Board of Directors member.

The amount of noise and traffic involved with the Daily’s nightly operation posed a significant concern.

“The most noise is experienced right next to the elevators,” Helmus said. “I would be concerned that nightly activity going up to the sixth floor would create disturbance to the guests.”

Hotel representatives said if the elevators were to be used for purposes other than hotel room access, the rooms would have to be re-keyed, which would cost up to $5,000 per door.

“We can’t have elevators being used at the expense of our hotel guests,” Helmus said.

Several proposals will be made considering renting the sixth floor to the Daily, and several MU Board of Directors committees have planned discussions of them. The proposals include having Daily employees use the stairwell at night, instituting set office hours and taking a noise inventory of newspaper operations.

The board’s next step is to discuss options with the Daily that would involve looking at the cost and benefits of having the newspaper on the hotel’s sixth floor over the span of five or 10 years.

“I think the Daily will have to know the asbestos risk in the walls and the issue of sound abatement that wouldn’t compromise the comfort of hotel guests,” said Daniel Radkay, junior in pre-busniess and member of the MU Board of Directors.

Plans to meet with representatives from the Daily will occur over the summer months.