The University Daily
KANSAN
Vol. 94, No.158 (USPS 650-640)
Published since 1889 by students at the University of Kansas
Wednesday morning, July 18, 1984
Local supporters of Opera House want arts center
By MARY ALICE LEARY Staff Reporter
If the Lawrence Opera House, 642 Massachusetts St., is turned into a performing arts center, big-name entertainers such as Dan Rowan, Kenny Rogers, Norm Crosby, John Davidson or Ed McMahon may serve on its advisory board.
The president of Management Alter natives, who would lease and manage the Opera House if it were renovated, told a meeting of the Save the Opera House Committee Saturday that the stars would serve on an advisory board for performers' and performing arts students' seminars.
THE ARTS CENTER would be an opportunity for University of Kansas students to get practical experience in the performing arts field and Lee Barnett, the president.
"It is a hope and dream to have KU working with us," he said. "This is a trade school to teach people to put to use what they learn at KU."
But last night the Lawrence City Commission put a damper on the plans when it voted 4 to 1 against issuing a letter of intent for selling $1.75 million in industrial revenue bonds that would have financed the renovation.
City Commissioner Nancy Shontz cast the dissenting vote.
"It's saving a historical building," she said.
Mike Relihan, of Ranson and Company, a Wichita securities firm that would have marketed the bonds, said that the commission was just trying to comply with IRB policy.
"I GET THE FEELING that they were not all against it," he said. "I's up to the city if they want to be."
The Save the Opera House Committee has joined forces with Bowersock, Ltd., of Wichita, to save the Opera House from destruction because of downtown redevelopment
Barnett said that the Opera House would be redeveloped by Bowersock, and Management Alternatives would lease the facility to other groups.
Barnett said that the firm wanted the Opera House to be used for performances by local and nationally known artists, chamber music, rock concerts, dinner theater and seminars.
To generate additional revenue, space in the building would be available for area businesses, which would be the Opera House's major source of income, he said.
"Our main concern is occupancy," Barnett said. "We're looking at the facility to be used for multiple purposes."
ABOUT 50 PEOPLE turned out Saturday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St., to hear about the planned renovation of the Opera House.
Ric Silber, 1343 Haskell, asked how often rock music would be reformed.
"Two days a week isn't enough for me," he said
Barnett said that the purpose of the center would be to meet the needs of the potential market and that there was a possibility that rock music could be performed every night.
Emory Scott, 603 W.27th St.Terrace, local
See related story p. 5
Larry Weaver/KANSAN
historian, said Lawrence was known for its musicians and talent and that heritage could be maintained by renovating the Opera House.
Because of the Opera House, "young people have been exposed to the history of Lawrence," Scott said.
"IT HAS A very personal meaning for
me," he said. "I practically grew up in the
Former mayor Marci Francisco, a member of the committee, said that renovating the Opera House was important for downtown redevelopment.
"This is the kind of thing we have been looking for," she said.
The Lawrence Opera House, 642 Massachusetts St., was once a famous performing arts center and is again the center of attention. The Save the Opera House Committee and Bowersock Ltd. a Wichita company, are trying to renovate the building.
City refuses Opera House bonds
By SHAWNA SEED
Staff Reporter
The Lawrence City Commission chambers bristled with hostility last night as the commission voted 4-1 not to issue industrial revenue bonds for a proposed renovation of the Lawrence Opera House, 642 Massachusetts St, citing inadequate information about the project's financial backing.
The commission said the developers could come back with the information at a later date, but it did not offer any assurance that the outcome of the vote would change.
MANY OF THE people packed into the chambers booed and hissed as Mavor Ernest
Angino took the vote. Some called out "ayes" along with Anne Zimmz, the only commissioner to vote.
Shontz said she was very disappointed, adding, "It's a once-in-a lifetime chance to save a really wonderful building, and now there just does not appear to be any future in it."
The representatives of Bowersock Ltd., a Wichita company that had asked for the IRBs, were clearly upset by the decision.
Mike Relihan, who is with a Wichita securities company that would have marketed the bonds, said, "We're not going to keep working on this if the city doesn't want it. The city will have to ask us back if they want us."
Angino repeatedly said that the bonds would not be marketable because a performing arts center could not be profitable. He said IRBs had been issued to the group for the Opera House before, and that no one had bought them.
"IF THIS IS such a great plan," he asked several times, "why couldn't you find investors before?"
His remarks are met by murmurs of disaparval and some boo's from the crowd.
Lee Barnett, one of the Bowersock partners, told Angino, "You and I obviously have a problem. We never tried to sell the bonds, we never even offered them. We didn't
See CITY, p. 5, col. 1
Tom Magliery, Lindsborg senior, left, and Steve Dahlberg, Wichita senior, float in the Alpha Chi Omega fountain.
Larry Weaver/KANSAN
Lawrence experts dissent over convention
By MICHELE HINGER Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
The National Democratic Convention in San Francisco starts its third day today, and at least two local commentators have little agreement on whether it has been a success.
"I don't sense the same kind of electricity being generated this year that I've come to associate with Democratic conventions," said Allan Cigler, KU professor of political science. "It seems tame, subdued. It may be because Democrats realize now what a hard task they have meeting them in the fall."
MONDALE'S RUNNING mate,
Geraldine Ferraro, seemed to be a
popular choice, however, Cigler said.
The chairman of the Lawrence Democratic Party, David Berkowitz, was more optimistic about the convention's start.
Major bones of contention are absent from this convention, Gigler said, but there was some speculation on the other two candidates' actions.
"I think the convention's going extremely well," said Berkowitz.
"Everyone's still waiting to ___ behind the party choice or hold off for ___."
The convention's beginning had appeared promising because of Mondale's apparently popular choice of a black-and-white card of New York as a running mate.
"It wasn't the greatest thing in the world for the party," said Berkowitz, "but I think it was blown way out of proportion. It did affect the convention and took some of the emphasis off the positive, but it wasn't that tragic. It's not unusual for chairmen to be replaced."
specific changes in the platform," said Cigler.
BUT BOTH CIGLER and Berkowitz agreed, to different degrees, that Monday's attempt to remove Democratic Party Chief Charles T. Manatt last weekend was a blunder marring the convention's beginning.
"It obviously made a lot of people unhappy and put a damper on the beginning of the convention," he said. "They were trying to get rid of the party chairman at a convention being held in the chairman's home state."
Mondale's plan to remove Manatt,
which was quickly abandoned when a
hue and cry was raised by party
members, was a bad move, agreed
Cigler.
SPIRIT WAS RAISED, however,
with New York Governor Mario
"Cuomo focused almost entirely on Ronald Reagan's administration and the importance of unity." Cigler said. "He touched on a lot of Democratic ideals in his speech, much like Ted Kennedy did last time by articulating the Democratic goals and putting them into a historical context."
"He made a fine keynote speech, but he's back in New York now," said Berkowitz. "He gave a good analysis of the heartlessness of Reagan and a good explanation and defense of democratic principles." The invitation, brought the delegates together and excited and encouraged them."
Cuomo's keynote speech Monday night.
Mondale had planned to replace Manatt with Bert Lance, former confidant of Jimmy Carter and director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Carter administration.
Cuomo hardly stole the show from the candidates though, Beworkit bald.
MONDALE'S DECISION to appoint Lance general chairman after rescinding his initial idea to put him in Manatt's place mystified Cigler.
"The two main issues the Democrats are addressing at this convention are the fairness and the integrity
"It's going to be hard for the Democrats to use this as an issue when their general chairman, Bert Lance, has the bad taint of conflict of interests from serving in the Carter administration." Cigler said.
of the Reagan administration, because there have been conflicts of interests within the administration, not breaking the law, but borderline.
SUCCESSFUL POLITICIANS sometimes get out of touch with the constituency, Cigler said, and Mondale probably didn't realize the repercussions his intent to place Lance in Manatt's position would have.
"It was a terrible miscalculation," said Cigler, "and a horrible way to start the convention."
Because Lance was state chairman of the Georgia Democratic Party, he had been helpful to Mondale's campaign effort in the South, Berkowitz said, which may have prompted his appointment to general manager.
The media are important factors during this convention, both Cigler and Berkowitz agreed.
"The TV coverage limits how the candidates are viewed," said Cigler. "All they can do is make sure those at the podium during prime time are articulate."
KU's payroll system changed once again
By MARY ALICE LEARY Staff Reporter
"For payroll, KU is definitely going to come off (the KIPPS system)" said State Sen. Wint Winter Jr., R-Lawrence. "We have appropriated money for that to happen."
The Kansas Integrated Personnel Payroll System will be going through some changes at the University of Kansas on January 1, but a KU official and a state senator disagree on the scope of those changes.
Winter said that KIPPS had placed KU's payroll system in jeopardy and sent it into a "tailspin."
KIPPS, however, caused some problems of its own. In April the Legislature appropriated $300,000 for computer software and hardware to the Regents institutions, so they could begin developing their own navroll systems.
Last November, when KIPPS was used for the first time to pay the University's 6,700 employees, more than 350 did not receive a paycheck. Between 800 and 1,100 employees were paid the wrong amount.
THE STATEWIDE computerized payroll system was designed to remedy the old system's problem of issuing late paychecks to about 3 percent of KU employees every month.
BUT JOHN PATTERSON, KU comptroller, said the changes planned for the payroll system would only be part of a KIPPS transition phase.
"It's the same system." Patterson said. "The difference is KIPPS will not be doing the calcuations."
With the present system, payroll information is entered directly into the KIPPS computer in Topela, calculations and prints paychecks.
In January, Patterson said, payroll information will be entered into the Human Resources Management Systems computer on the KU campus, where paycheck amounts will be calculated and transmitted onto magnetic tape.
Patterson and Winter said that a change was needed in KIPPS.
The tape then will be sent to the KIIPPS computer, which will extract paycheck amounts from the tape and print the checks. Patterson said.
KIPPS is close to exceeding
capacity, Patterson said. Theoretically, he said, a system failure could result if KIPPS exceeded capacity, affecting paychecks from the governor on down.
But a system failure is not likely. Patterson said.
However, he said that if the system continued to operate at capacity, no new programs could be added to the system.
WINTER, AFTER FORMING a Senate subcommittee last spring to study the KIPPS problem, said there were two options for improving the system.
New equipment could be bought so the system could be expanded, or the load of information on the computer would have to be decreased.
"The payroll problems of the last year are a very painful symptom of the problems of KIPPS." Winter said.
"The latter was the only feasible option," he said.
Paycheck problems plagued the system for the first four months of its operation, and while most have been resolved, Patterson said there were still some problems.
FACULTY MEMBERS WITH multiple appointments, or those who had more than one position, had problems getting paid because of pay changes that took place during different times of the month, Patterson said.
"KIPPS is not designed to handle multiple appointments, and we had to cancel some paychecks because of wrong amounts," he said.
But the Department of Administration stepped in and issued the checks on time, Patterson said.
WINTER SAID THAT he and State Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Parsons, formed a subcommittee to study KIPPS and to make a recommendation to the Legislature on what should be done about the system.
At the wrap up session in April, the Legislature approved the removal of the payroll functions of KIPPS for the Regents institutions.
Patterson said the new system should be more efficient than the present KIPPS system, because KU would have three to four more days to enter payroll data into a computer system.
"I would hope that everything we do is an improvement," he said. "I have every confidence that KIPPS can handle the transition."