Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1940 [PAGE 294]

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1939]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

291

BIDS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF I L L I N I U N I O N B U I L D I N G (26) The Director of the Physical Plant Department reports that bids for construction of the Illini Union Building will be opened at 2:00 p.m. on May 16 at the University a t Urbana. In accordance with University Statutes, a representative of the Board should be present at this opening. In the event that the Board does not meet shortly thereafter, authorization should be given for the award of these contracts. O n m o t i o n of M r . W i e l a n d , t h e f o l l o w i n g r e s o l u t i o n w a s a d o p t e d : Whereas, the United States of America, through the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works, has made a grant of funds to the University of Illinois to aid in the construction of a Student Center Building (Illini Union Building), PWA Project No. 111. 1745-F; and Whereas, bids for the superstructure of this building will be received on May 16, 1939, and construction should begin promptly thereafter; now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the Board of Trustees hereby authorizes the President of the University to award the contracts to the lowest responsible bidder; and be it further Resolved, that the Board authorizes its President and Secretary to execute such contracts as are awarded.

Mr. Adams and other members of the Committee on Buildings and Grounds were designated to be present at the opening of bids on May 16. At this point, President Mayer returned and resumed the chair.

RIGHT-OF-WAY EASEMENT ACROSS EXPERIMENTAL FIELD IN HARDIN COUNTY (27) The Southeastern Illinois Electric Cooperative has requested an easement across the University's experimental field in Hardin County. The Department of Agronomy and the Dean of the College of Agriculture see no objection to granting this request, providing the poles are set along the public highway passing through the field. If the poles are set across the field at other points they will interfere with the experimental work. An easement has been prepared with this qualification in it, and I recommend t h a t the Board of Trustees authorize the President and Secretary to execute it.

On motion of Mr. Adams, the execution of this easement was authorized.

DEMONSTRATION-TEST PROGRAM BY STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR DETERMINING COMMERCIAL FEASIBILITY OF BRIQUETTING, COKING, AND BURNING ILLINOIS COAL (28) There has been introduced in the General Assembly of Illinois a bill appropriating $300,000 for a two-year demonstration-test program for investigation and experimentation with Illinois coal products. (See Exhibit A.) One item in this bill is "for construction of applied research laboratory adjacent to the new Natural Resources Building," to cost $95,000. Other items in the bill provide for experimental briquetting machines, preheaters, ovens, stokers, boilers, and other equipment, and a technical staff. The bill expressly states that the funds are provided "for determining the commercial feasibility of the Geological Survey's briquetting process on a capacity scale of one hundred tons per day," and again in the case of coke "for determining the commercial feasibility of methods having commercial promise." Because of the very fundamental and important considerations of public policy involved in this project, it seems to me that the matter should be brought to the attention of the Board of Trustees. If this bill becomes a law the Board will have to accept responsibility for the approval of plans and specifications for a building on the University campus devoted to commercial development work financed by public funds. The University of Illinois is constantly being called upon to undertake scientific as well as technological (i.e., basic as well as applied science) investigations for the benefit of industries. Where the problem is one to determine the basic scien-