Student government leaders plan to work on gathering student input for Recreation Services renovations.

After a needs assessment and a feasibility study were conducted for the Recreation Services facilities, renovations have been proposed.

Brian Phillips, Government of the Student Body president and junior in political science, said out of that study, there were four “areas of concern.” Possible solutions for these problems include renovating Beyer Hall, a complete renovation and addition to State Gym, work done on Maple-Willow-Larch athletic fields, and adding air-conditioning to Lied Recreation Athletic Center, he said.

Phillips said he and Ian Guffy, GSB vice-president and senior in computer science, will be working with a number of people, including Rec Services, the Graduate and Professional Student Senate, the Special Student Fee and Tuition Committee and other administrators.

Michael Harvey, director of recreation services, said this project will be supported by a student fee. They are looking at the possible renovations in phases, with the renovation of Beyer Hall and State Gym, as well as the new construction, which will include the addition to State Gym and an elevated pedestrian walkway connecting Beyer Hall to the new addition, being the first phase. This will be the phase they will be seeking student support for in the summer and fall.

Phillips said the renovations and fees will be decided by the students. Rec Services will be doing more detailed studies as soon as more numbers are figured out.

Brian Olechnowski, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and graduate student in ecology, evolution and organismal biology-agriculture, said he and John Schmitz, vice-president of GPSS and graduate in food science and human nutrition-agriculture, will be working with Phillips and Guffy on how to go about getting student opinion. He said the next step will be determining methods to gather student opinion, which could include surveys.

“We’d like to get [student opinion] as soon as students get back this fall,” Olechnowski said.

In addition to coordinating with Rec Services in conducting surveys to determine what kind of student support there is, Guffy said there will be other methods of getting student input.

“We’ve also been talking about having open forums for students if they weren’t part of the survey to let us know what they think,” he said.

Guffy said the summer would be used to determine what the administration has in mind for this project and receiving their input.

“In the fall, again, it will come down to what students tell us they want,” Guffy said.

Phillips said the input given by students will determine what steps they will take.

“We’re not going to do it unless there’s strong student support,” he said.

Harvey said the total project cost for this phase could total $51 million, based on recommendations from the feasibility study conducted by Cannon Design. He said it had been discussed to phase in the fee, and not to have the total amount implemented until the project was finished, similar to what was done with Lied Recreation Athletic Center.

Phillips said they are continually talking to Rec Services about “how this is going to play out.”

“We want to make sure, if it is a fee, students are getting their money’s worth,” he said.

According to the feasibility study, the if the project is approved, it could be completed as early as Fall 2010.