THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN
Vol. 89, No. 68
The University of Kansas—Lawrence, Kansas
Tuesday, December 5, 1978
Fambrough is new head coach
See story page six
Theft, pack rats plague KU inventories
Bv BILL HIGGINS
Staff Reporter
Beneath the basement of Strong Hall in a musty room with a dirt floor, rows and piles of sinks, toilets, cabinets and 180 dolls from the Thayer room, and a maze of steam pipes and electrical conduits.
Similar rooms in the basements of Hoch
auditorium, Watson Library, Fraser House have
other properties that are not properly
protected.
Every item lying in this forksan room supposedly is listed on the University inventory.
Some of the equipment is usable, some is valuable as a source for spare parts and some is worthless.
But much of the University's property is relegated to basements, closets and tunnels, because KU has no access.
THE RESPONSIBILITY for receiving and storing campus property is left to each department within the institution. The responsibility a little differently and the method for salvaging and disposing of property prompts some department heads.
Dwight Regnier, a storekeeper for housing and formerly a security guard for Facilities Operations, quit his job with housing at the end of last July. He left in frustration with KU's property management system.
"I've gone through a lot of buildings on the KU campus," he said. "The waste and theft is so immense that you can't believe it—a lot of it simply isn't reported."
"The University has closets and rooms just loaded
with junk and there's no room to store necessary goods."
Regnier worked as a supply chief and taught supply and logistics for 15 years while serving in the U.S. Marines. He worked nearly a year as storekeeper for housing in the basement of Oliver Hall.
"THERE WAS a laxness in the handling of tax-payees' money," he said. "A lot of the problem was that we had to work with materials that were obsolete or valueless. A lot of worthless material took up a great space of space—and
"Also, there's no salvage control. It's a pipeline of equipment in coming with no opening at the other end."
"A lot of property is lost within the organization, and when that happens, it's hard to correct the error."
Regnier said the University needed a central supply office or some sort of central logistical scheme. He said an audit of University property made by someone outside the University was also needed.
"There has to be some kind of house cleaning from outside, initiated at the top level of the state," he said. "The University will never admit that it is wrong and I don't think it can police itself."
KEITH NITCHER, University director of business affairs, is in charge of KU's property management and inventory. Nitcher disagreed with Reginer's claim that an outside "house cleaning" was needed.
"I think that the University can police itself," Notcher said. "But it depends on the management of this."
"I don't know that any outside action is needed. We do maintain an inventory record, we have spot checks of property records and I think the threat of a fire is insufficient to keep the departmental inventories true.
"We don't make the spot checks often enough—once a year or so—but we concentrate on the items that are most apt to get lost, such as typewriters and calculators.
"We would make more use of it if we had more resources to do it. We do put a lot of responsibility for the work."
NUTCHER SAID that for the past year there had been three auditors for the Lawrence campus and another who had been audited as inventories was only a small part of their job, he said. Nitcher said there probably were departments that
Nitcher said there probably were departments that stored useless equipment.
"But the equipment becomes, for control purposes, the property of each department and each department has the preoperative of whether to keep or to disarm of property."
"I'm sure, around the University, that there are a lot of things saved that are unlisted. There probably is a lot of things missing."
Regnier said that leaving the property management system up to each department also contributed to crime and that much of the crime was in-house.
"We'd call the police when equipment would come up muzzling." "Register said," and nothing would be done.
"THEYWOULD realize that the loss of property
was within the system, and there the investigation would end."
Detective LL. JJ Mullens of the KU Police said, however, that in-house theft was not necessarily a problem.
"In fact," Mullens said, "in-house theta may be easier to solve because the number of suspects is smaller."
Mulena said it was difficult to tell when a theft was in-house and therefore difficult to say how much in-hoovered it was.
However, many KU officials, including Nitcher, policemen and several departmental spokesmen, agree that the theft of University property has become worse in recent years.
MULLENS SAID that with a large institution and so many employees and pieces of equipment, a security system at KU at best could be an inconvenience to a potential thief.
Between October 1977 and October 1987, KU had
$7,638.83 in property to in that same period,
and $205,240.93 in current property.
The University's holdings are indeed large. The university inventory shows that, as of June 1978, KU property was valued at $180,772,765.94. KU is in the largest of 108 state agencies in Kansas.
KU's inventory includes 123,194 separate pieces of eminent, worth about $26 million.
Each item supposedly is checked yearly and recorded in the inventory, which is then sent to the
Mary Frances Coffman, property accountant for
the purchasing office, in in charge of maintaining the University inventory.
Coffman said state law required that any piece of property worth more than $25 and with a life expectancy of more than a year had to be accounted for by the same person. If the value of $25 also must be included in the inventory, she said.
If any piece of property is missing, the department is supposed to notify the police, who will file a report.
COFFMAN CONTROLS the inventory by watching the purchase orders that are handled through the controller's office and adding the items to the inventory.
Police say they can tell when departments are checking their inventories. Sgt. John Walle of KU has an answer: "They don't know when inventory time comes around. Everybody has stuff they can account for so they call us and say it's OK."
Nothing may be thrown away, sold or cannibalized without state annulval.
COFFMAN SAID, "The University frowns upon departments selling anything. Otherwise departments would sell equipment for funds and then request more equipment."
See INVENTORY back page
Legally, however, there is no departmental property. There is no state property, so when or if a departmental property
Ticket prices are in question
By BARB KOENIG Staff Reporter
In October 1980, football and basketball season ticket prices could be reduced.
However, the price of the tickets might increase because additional money is paid off by the fund from the KU Endowment Association for the recent renovation of Memorial
A surcharge of $5 for football and $4 for basketball season tickets was implemented in 1966 to help pay for an expansion of the seating on the east side of Memorial Stadium. The surcharge, which totals $50,000 a year, is scheduled to expire in 1980. After that, the Kansas City Chiefs have to pay $50,000 to the Endowment Association, according to the loan agreement.
Doug Messer, assistant athletic director and business manager, said the new renovation agreement with the acquisition unit unified KUAC to pay $188,000 a year. When the east stadium loan expires, $50,000 will be added for a total of $218,000 a year. In 1983, when the $100,000-a-year west stadium expansion loan is paid off, the department will accumulate according to loan terms, for a total of $228,000 a year until the loan is paid off.
The money for the $50,000 payments, which begin in 1890, supposedly will not come only from ticket sales but from other sources. That means that of ticket sales, conference shares, and
UNDER AN AGREEMENT on the 1966 surcharge between the KUAC Advisory Board and the All-Student Council, the review has not been made before its 1980 expiration date. The review, which has not been made, will determine the surcharge will be carried over.
concession and backrest sales, Messer said.
"It can't come from contributions."
"Messer said, but it can come from any other area or combination of revenue sources." The case is probably the most logical place.
"The Endowment Association says that they don't care how much the ticket surcharge is and how much the ticket premium is, just say 'we want you to buy it at $99.90.'"
"They are using $30,000 as a figure by which our annual payment will be increased by, but it has no reference to where the money is going to come from.
"OUR OBLIGATIONS are to pay certain notes on certain days for so many dollars. The only note we have right now is in to tickets from 1968." Messer said.
Messer said he could not guarantee that the tickets would be reduced by $2. He said he should have paid the loan were reviewed. That, he said, would depend on what was determined in the review, which would be done either by the KKO board, or the board's office.
"The ticket prices may increase but it's not going to mean that it's because of the ticket price changes, things remained equal, theoretically the ticket price would go down $5, but all
Messer said season ticket prices would be determined after 1980 operational expenses and total income were figured.
Football ticket revenues were used as collateral to back the $1.8 million loan. A surcharge already has been placed on student and public tickets this year to cover all of the stallments. The student surcharge is 50 cents a game for each ticket, or $3
Kansas Republicans elect Lady speaker
See TICKETS back page
TOPEKA—Republicans of the Kansas House of Representatives yesterday selected Wendell Della as speaker of the 1979 and 1800 legislative sessions.
Also elected during the day-long meeting of representatives was Rep. Fred Weaver, D-Baxter Springs, who will serve as minority leader.
Special to the Kansan
Lady, from Overland Park, will succeed governor-elect John Carlin as head of the legislative body's lower house.
Lady defeated Rep. Carlos Cooper, R-Bonner Springs, by a 37-12 vote of the Republican party caucus.
Lady was considered the top candidate for speaker two years ago but Democrats gained control of the House for the first time in 64 years. He was given a second chance this year because Republicans won back their majority by taking 69 of
Both parties also elected other house leaders. State Rep. Robert Frey, R-Liberal was chosen as mayor. State Rep. Robert Frey, R-Liberal was elected as assistant majority leader. Speaker Pro Tem for the next two sessions will be Bob Arbuthot, R-Haddam, who was elected as state representative.
125 seats in the November general election.
State Rep. Jok Hodmaner, D-Wichita, was chosen by Democrats for the post of lieutenant governor and joined Mike Glover, D-Lawrence, was chosen to be the Democratic policy leader when the legislature convenes Jan. 6. He will serve as the Democratic membership of the House.
Rounding out the selection of new leaders were State Rep. Don Mainey, chairman of the Senate and State Rep. Loren Holman, TD, who will be the party cause
Staff photo by RANDY OLSON
Abandoned
A gray box, marked "Thayer collection—180 dolls," has lain, apparently for as long as 50 years, beneath the shelf of Strong Hall. These dolls, along with some pieces of miniature furniture and other collectibles, are part of the museum collection, according to museum officials. The Thayer collection
is the basis for the Spencer Museum of Art's entire collection. It was donated to KU in 1917 by William B. Trayer of Thayer City, Mo. Dolls from the Thayer collection that have been displayed in the museum's Christmas tree in the central court of the Spencer Art Museum.
Past burglaries cause concern about property
y MARK SPENCE
Staff Reporter
"Right now, we are sitting ducks," said a KU professor who is in the department that matters most to me.
For three weeks, $100,000 worth of equipment has been sitting in a University building almost unprotected, a ripe target for hackers. The university had plagued KU for the past several months.
At the request of the professor and KU police, the professor, equipment and building were not identified to avoid providing clues to would-be burglars.
Because of the value of the equipment, Mulena said, there was concern that she would be unable to work.
"I'm surprised you know about it," Lt. John Mullens, a detective with the KU Police Department, said. "It was going to be talk until we got it ruled down to talk until we got it ruled down to talk."
'I TALKING about people from out of town, too,' he said. 'I would be worth it for you.'
No special security had been planned for the equipment, according to the professor, but recent burglaries had prompted increased concern.
On Sept. 13, and 28, there were large burglars from Jolifte Hall and the Child Museum at Jolifte Hall to purchase $9,500 worth of equipment was taken. According to KU police, there are no leads in the investigation.
These thefts have increased concern throughout the University for the security of equipment. Part of the problem, according to a survey, is that enough attention is focused on security.
"We are aware that there are people at the University who aren't aware of the burglars," Jeanne Longaker, a detective arresteed with the KU police department,said.
MULLENS SAID there were no special security precautions in either of the recent burglaries, which he said were the largest in his seven-year career at KU.
Because of the nature of the equipment, police suspect professional burglaries might occur.
"You would have to have very specific knowledge to use the equipment, or have a
The professor said his department was "very much surprised and stunned" by the thefts because it had never had problems before.
"Before the thefts, security really didn't enter our minds, other than normal security experts."
The building where the $100,000 worth of new equipment was installed is under water.
Donald Whipple, director of architectural services for KU, said security was not a priority in the renovation, which was mainly to accommodate the new equipment.
"MY FILE shows me that the department was not concerned about security until 2015."
Although only a portion of the funds that were requested for the remodeling were approved, the professor said, the only security device requested was bars for the
"I suppose one has to say we were naive," he said. "But you also have to say that in 23 B.C. the Roman conquerors had taken all."
Mullens said the department should have installed security devices before the
See SECURITY back page