The deadline for proposals to be the next provider of dining services at Iowa State has been pushed back because of questions arising from interested companies.

The original deadline of Dec. 2 has been extended to Dec. 16.

The deadline was extended for companies to adjust their proposals according to the addenda, said Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance.

After releasing the requests for proposals, prospective dining providers responded with many questions and some asked for an extension, Madden said.

To answer those questions, Madden said, two addenda have been issued, one of which was released Tuesday.

The first addendum issued stated contractors are not responsible for the “white-box space,” said Todd Holcomb, associate vice president for student affairs. The space, he said, is in the new addition to the Memorial Union, which is still being constructed. Holcomb said ISU Dining is planning to fill the space with a convenience store.

Nancy Brooks, associate director for purchasing, said the second addendum answered approximately 80 of the companies’ questions. The questions dealt with financial and facility issues, she said. Brooks said she couldn’t think of any specific financial or facility issues that were addressed.

“There was a lot of clarification,” Brooks said.

After they receive the proposals, the information will be compiled for the evaluation committees and ready for the beginning of next semester, Madden said.

Since the university is in its last few weeks of the semester, he said they wanted to make sure it was possible to get feedback from the community.

“We want to have a fair amount of student input,” Madden said.

Brooks said there is no definite schedule for the evaluation, but they plan to be done by mid-February.

“That’s our target,” she said.

“It’s far from a very simple operation.”

After the information is compiled, a more definitive schedule will be available, she said.

The extension, Madden said, is not going to affect outcomes because, if changes are made to ISU Dining, they won’t take place until next year.

Holcomb said the extended deadline did nothing but help companies, including ISU Dining, complete their proposals.

“We are nearly complete,” Holcomb said.

They’re still “doing some wrap-up” because some issues still need to be discussed, he said.

Holcomb said ARAMARK, Chartwells and Sodexho are still the main companies expected to submit proposals.

FastTrack

Last we knew: Because of debts incurring from dining services, the Board of Regents asked Iowa State to look at alternatives to lower the debt, including possible outsourcing. They released a request for proposals in mid-October for dining vendors to consider, setting the final deadline for submission Dec. 2.

The latest: The possible contractors responded to the request with many questions. Since then, two addenda have been issued to answer these questions. To allow the companies to adjust their proposals, the deadline for submission has been extended to Dec. 16.

What’s next: After the proposals are submitted, the information will be compiled for evaluation. The process is expected to begin next semester and be completed by mid-February. Any changes will not be made until next year.