Show Establishment of housing board meets opposition by Kermit “The Olson "‘tv to lx-- ! ui sur low ost housing is through a lot al housing savs Sharon Martauthoritv Ixiard who is leading a local effort to inez rstahlish such a hoard lor Car hr - Counts Onf established the Ixiard would br ahlr to provide housing assist nice to low income persons and the d to Maitmez people who ould receive rental subsidies rnoriev lor home repairs and other tvpes ol assistance including According qualified i funds for making moihfii alums lor the hjndtc appe-The Ixiard would consist of voiunteets who se ise under a director - (( paid and others have submitted a proposal to the (lathe (lountv Commission I he immissic met s are Scheduled to sole on the m liter dur Martini c Fire by Holly 'heing next Tucsdav’s meeting tman! cannot lie established without commission approval "I he proposal is not without opposition however (Jcne Rasmussen a Logan homeowner is against the board because he- fears it will turn into wasteful biireauc rac v "In a less denselv populated area like Cac he Counts you just can't justifv the vast bureaucratic overhead it takes to run an oiganiation like that" he said Rasmussen went on to cite as an example a $r00()00 grant received bv die ntv of Iugan several sears ago to provide- low cost housuu "Ol the- original $'1(1(1 Odd Id perM) went lor administracent or tion plus another $ 'id Odd was alloc ated for c onlingeni les Iugan Ci-thas managed to provide 12 rental units with that hall million dollars" he said M artmc- - also expiessed concern Hubbard The Mate lire code requires two wavs a building I tall State L’mv ersitv 's fire marsh ill I IVwitt Birch Most students bigger ri have nevri looked for that alternate exit “It v u weie on the top floor ol the business building ami a fine stalled how would mu get 11111?" asks Birch whose lob is to enlorce the fire provisions at and building inspector c concern lor people” she said Rasmussen also said that the Ixiard was not necessary since the city housing author it v could provide The same serv ic es I)on Monison director of the city housuu office disagreed He said that the housuu office is not able to provide any more services than it does now "Ac cording to the attorney general anv further services would have to lie provided by a housing author it v board” Morrison said According to Morrison one of the advantages ol a Ixiard would be that the director would be devoted entirely to the one job instead ol having cither duties to attend to However M irrison is not entirely in favor of a board He said "We would prefer that it be handled by the private sector ” Morrison listed the family and the church as possible sources of private assistance “I think everyone will agree that it (housing assistance) is needed” he said "It’s just a matter of determining the best way to provide it” II a housing authority board was formed students would be able to receive assistance if they met the :riteria for eligibility Martinez said Martinez said that she could not relate any specifics about the program since all of the rules and regulations would be determined by the board USU housing director Lee Osborne said that if a board were to be formed USU Housing would cooperate with the board to provide assistance to those students who were eligible Martinez stressed that formation of the board would be dependent upon the county commission’s approval and that participation in the program would be strictly voluntary on the part ol the landlords Marshall Birch pushes safety at Utah State out ol has a v over this "It is extremely important that Ixiard members be chosen for their knowledge in the field and their one n I’Sl’ ‘Most students are accustomed to nding the elevator or taking the interior I heir is a smoke tower in the stairs business building It has fresh air lrom he outside and goes right down to the round Art students awire of it It's noimal lor people to go out the same wav thev i nine in I! that wav was blue keel thev ’d be in tumble According to Birch whenever going into an unfamiliar building one should note the second exit in case ol einergenc v Birth’s duties at Utah State are varied His dav begins at 7 a 111 when he repots to the USU Inc station and is in charge until the dav c revs takes over an hour later At 8 a in ’theie is often a stall meeting Later Birch handles various He might be questions and problems called to approve some potential remodeling as he must check all plans for fire ccxle compliance Another inquiry might come lrom the contractor of some new construction at ESU If needed Birch telephones the state fire marshall to verify the question He also inspects existing buildings for proper number and lighting of exits and correct corridor clearance If necessary has the power to close them down He even teaches classes on request Students in ftxid service management have learned to prevent kitchen fires He has taught over 200 girls in family housing how to use a fire extinguisher thw all got to put out a real fire cch is aided by assistant inspector Wald Percer Percer checks fire and inspects night activities °camPus for compliance with the fire "One of our biggest problems is that exits are unmtentiontllv blocked” savs Birch Because of liabililv requiremenls exits and lights must be checked before anv event that has paid attendance Dui mg the aitivitv inspection is also made lor crowding and aisle clearance As fire marshall Birch checks structures but that’s not his main concern "It’s not as much proic-- tiun of buildings" savs Birth "I’m interested in life- safety You c an replai e a building but not a person ” Birth’s record is excellent Since he tame to USU 22 years ago there has fires been no loss of life in minimal According Damage has to Both over ‘0 percent ol the tires are in housing "But when we find a problem housing is good to work with" he S S (r c rr lx-e- sav s A lew vears ago Birth detected some structural delects that could have caused fire hazards m Bullen and Merrill Halls Even though the expense to oi rec t the situation was high the problem was eliminated Other change have also been made " I he older buildings are much better now than thev were 20 veais ago” Birch savs I he Animal Silence 4 c Building anti Old Mam are two examples "People in authority have been good to back the program" he savs "Cooperation and awareness have increased greatly in the last six years ’I he rules haven’t changed — max be people are getting more interestc-- in hie saltey I hope so” Birch savs more people are making inquiries Students call with questions about violations others want to know saftey regulations before they start a d building job s "Especially after the large fires in the last two months people are becoming more fire conscious” he says False alarms are a big problem for the fire marshall Last year there were 162 at USU’s fire department Birth’s biggest concern is that the crew might be responding to a false call when a real fire breaks out life-los- ) |