By Jessica Wind (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 27, 2013
After three months of back-and-forth correspondence between general manager Meghan McDonald and Athletics marketing coordinator David Kent, SUS has decided to fund Athletics $5000, stipulating that further discussions occur in the summer to avoid future confusion.
The thought is that the $5000 was promised to Athletics in the original 2012/2013 budget, but was one of the budget lines cut at the November EGM.
SUS interim VP finance Ryan Petersen could not confirm nor deny this.
“I never saw the previous budget before it got moved around and shifted,” he said.
Petersen was a rep-at-large at the time, and was also a part of SUS’s finance committee.
The situation came to light in December when Athletics requested the amount. Many board members were aware of the agreement between SUS and Athletics, but none were sure of the details – which interim VP finance Ryan Petersen pointed out.
“I’d always heard of this agreement in the past but then we had nothing to reference, no agreements,” he explained. “There were a few emails here and there … nothing really concrete enough for me, new to a position, to say, ‘Yes, okay, let’s move forward on this.’”
In response to the request, McDonald asked Athletics to fill out a funding request form, which would officially request the money and uphold SUS internal procedure.
“I did send a message back to David at that point simply asking him to fill out a funding request form, because UFV finance does mandate that we show a motion at board,” McDonald explained at the March 15 board meeting. “This is part of our internal processes.”
As to the lack of official history behind the promised sum, McDonald referenced an unofficial agreement that occurred before many of the present board members were in office.
“As far as I can see in terms of correspondence, there was an agreement between [previous SUS president Carlos Vidal] and [previous SUS general manager Jhim Burwell] and Athletics,” she explained. “It didn’t specify an amount but there is a historical understanding of this agreement.”
The agreement was designed as an exchange for services; SUS would fund the Athletics department $5000, and in exchange every UFV student would be granted free admission to varsity events. SUS would also receive marketing in the Athletics printed materials.
McDonald confirmed that Athletics has upheld their end of the agreement.
“I just wanted to point out that they have put a full page ad in their magazine and their pamphlets,” she noted to the board. “They have met their marketing obligations as they understood it in this agreement.”
The other question raised was whether or not SUS had the money to follow through on the verbal agreement.
Petersen confirmed that there was enough money left in the budget to fund the request, and many board members expressed concerns about tarnishing a long standing relationship with Athletics should they decide to do otherwise.
McDonald assured that the relationship remains in good standing now that the miscommunication has been cleared up.
“I think we have a really good working relationship with Athletics; I don’t think it’s been negatively affected by this,” she explained. “I think it’s simply about getting the right people in the right room.”
As it stands now, the papers have been signed and SUS is able to move forward with granting $5000 to Athletics. McDonald expects a discussion regarding a standing contract to occur in the summer months.
“I feel like this is particular to a department of UFV … and therefore it does call for perhaps a contract,” she explained.
Kent declined to comment on the situation as of print deadline.
