10/08/2013

All IPS Knoxville-area staff,

I’d like to share with you what I know, what I don’t know, and our plan to move forward.

What I know:
· The University is purchasing the two University Avenue buildings, but we do not own them yet.
· IPS Knoxville-area staff will be moving to the larger building.
· Staff will continue to pay for parking at the surface lot price. I believe that is $30 per month.
· We will make “tours” available as soon as the University owns the buildings and the current tenants are completely moved out. No tours will be available once renovations begin.
· We will have several teams helping us prepare for the move.
· Safety is a concern for everyone. Check the facts at:
http://www.knoxnews.com/data/crime-map/ . Crime in the area is similar to crime around campus in the Fort Sanders area and crime downtown.
· We will pay a small fee (about $1 per sq. ft.) to cover part of the maintenance and operations of the building.
· We will have card swipe security for access to the building.
· We will have the same telephone system and IT system that we have on campus.
· We will have the same maintenance and housekeeping service that we have now.
· We will make some limited renovations to the building, but we have a relatively small budget.
· We will get new paint and carpet throughout the building.
· We will move a good bit of the furniture and equipment that we have now, hopefully not too many of our paper files.
· Anything that we want, we have to pay for out of our own budgets. There is no pool of money for us to draw from.

What I do not know:
· Timeline. It will be determined in the next few months. The move likely will not occur before January 1.
· Who will be in which office?
· Who will be in cubicles and who will be in offices.? (there will be both office types available)
· Who will have windows and who will not? (we will have substantially more windows than we do now).
· Who will pack and move us?
· And, a hundred more logistical questions.

How will we proceed:
· I have appointed (with Jim’s recommendations) five teams to oversee this task. You will have the opportunity to submit your issues, questions and suggestions. If you don’t know which team to send them to, send them to Steve Thompson who will serve as the overall project manager.

I look forward to this exciting opportunity for us. I ask that you exercise patience and respect for these teams as they make the many decisions that are ahead of us. Jim and I will exercise final decision making authority if the teams cannot reach consensus on any particular issue. I hope this addresses some of your concerns. Steve will share regular updates with you as the project progresses.

Thanks,
Mary

Move to University Avenue
Project Manager - Steve Thompson
	Team Lead	Central Office	MTAS	Team Assignments
Planning	Rick Whitehead	Susan Robertson	Stephanie Allen	Renovations/space assignment
		Steve Thompson	Macel Ely	Painting/carpet
		Beth Phillips	Margaret Norris	Furniture
		Jill Marling	Doug Brown
Logistics	Judie Martin	Gary Peevely	Nancy Gibson	Parking/signage
		Walter Idol	P. J. Snodgrass	Mail/ID cards
		Jane Davis	Brett Ward	Packing/Moving
Business office	Gail White	Thad Grace	Sherri Brown	Files, etc.
		Pat Frost	Dale Wolfe
IT	Scott Gordy	N/A	Justin O'Hara	IT, telephones, equipment, security
Library	Frances Adams-O'Brien	N/A	Becky Smeltzer	Library operation

Mary H. Jinks
Vice President
Institute for Public Service
The University of Tennessee
Suite 105 Student Services Bldg.
Knoxville, TN 37996-0213

Mary.jinks@tennessee.edu
865-974-8278

www.ips.tennessee.edu

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