Associated Students Inc. President Angela Arriola filled four board positions and went over the status of construction projects ?” entitled Capital Improvement Projects ?” which includes Parking Structure III, the new bookstore, the Broad Athletic Facility, the recreation and wellness center and new on-campus housing, at ASI’s first board meeting last Wednesday.

Steve Garcia, vice president for administration and business affairs, presented design sketches and the estimated dates of completion for the various construction projects.

Student address postponed

ASI President Angela Arriola cancelled the state of the students address, which was originally set for last Thursday in the University Union Redwood Room.

The address is rescheduled for Oct. 24 in the University Union Ballroom.

Arriola said the address was postponed because she needed to time to be better prepared and that invitations were not sent out in time.

Arriola wants to get the maximum amount of students to attend and is sending out invitations to the Faculty Senate, the Office of the President, The State Hornet and other organizations on campus.

Secretary of state affairs

Miguel Cervantes was appointed as ASI secretary of state affairs, an ex-officio position meaning he has no voting power on the ASI Board of Directors. As secretary of state affairs, Cervantes, a junior government major, is ASI’s voting representative for the California State Students Association. Cervantes will report issues dealing with the association to ASI and ASI will vote for or against the issue. Then, he will report the vote back to the association.

Chief financial officer

Associate Vice President for Finance Suzanne Green was appointed as ASI’s chief financial officer, an ex-officio position. Green will act as the liaison between the university and ASI. She will present the university’s financial status to ASI.

Director of business

Shani Alford was appointed the director of business on the ASI board. Alford, a senior business major, will be the ASI representative between the Sac State business department. She was the strongest person for the job after they interviewed a number of candidates, Arriola said.

Rec. representative

Peter Masters is the new ASI representative for the recreation and wellness center committee. Masters, a junior business major, sits on the committee to ensure that student interest is considered and reports the status and decisions of the committee to ASI. Masters wants to make sure the recreation and wellness center is environmentally friendly, easily accessible and meets the needs of the student population.

Capital Improvement Projects

Parking Structure III is the first project slated to be completed by January 2007. The new five-story parking structure will add 3,100 parking spaces to the campus. The estimated cost of the structure is $39.5 million to be paid through parking fees.

The new bookstore is estimated to be complete by June 2007. Construction of the three-story building began in April 2006, but the construction “unfortunately” took away parking spaces, Garcia said. The bookstore will be placed on the first and second floor of the structure, and the third floor will be reserved for University Enterprises Inc. offices.

The recreation and wellness center’s estimated groundbreaking date was set for March 2008 and its completion date at June 2009. The two-story, 142,000 square-foot building will feature a health and fitness center, basketball and volleyball courts, aerobic rooms, indoor track and a rock-climbing wall.

An increase of on-campus housing and new campus signs were two new project ideas presented. In the first phase of campus housing, converting Foley Hall to a residence hall and adding 600 beds was proposed. The ultimate goal is to add 2,600 beds.

New signs, designed to help students find buildings and landmarks, were also proposed. An estimated completion date was not presented at the meeting. The project is estimated to cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.

Matt Beltran can be reached at [email protected]