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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Paul, I couldn't have said it better myself.
"Trusted advocate for the inventory." A concept worth trying to
live up to. Thank you Fred. Interesting that this is a conservation
project and the effect it may have on this CAUT's day to day
existence.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=fssturm@unm.edu href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">Fred Sturm</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, September 19, 2006 10:17
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] caut Digest, Vol
1090, Issue 3</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Hi Paul,
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-tab-span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></SPAN>Sounds like
this is a good opportunity to sit down with piano faculty and revisit the
entire piano maintenance program. I wouldn't want to "pick sides," and I think
you should make clear that your attitude is positive toward both (I like Chris
Solliday's term: you are the "Advocate for the Inventory"). Explain the
balancing act you go through even without the intrusion of a major demand on
resources. Someone else needs to make the decision, in all likelihood,
especially since you are new, but you definitely want to be in the middle of
the decision-making process. In my department, if such a request came forward
the chair would ask my advice and would almost certainly take it.</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-tab-span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></SPAN>"Special"
versus regular, on-going budget? I think I'd vote for special in this case,
but it depends how your on-going budget is set up. One doesn't want to use
operating budget for capital expense or vice versa, at least on a regular
basis. A comprehensive piano maintenance budget should have similar
categories. I would want to assign this to "capital," which would include
replacement and major rebuild, but I guess from your post that there is no
such portion of your budget, that all you really have is on-going maintenance
and tuning budget. So the real aim should be to create a capital budget, long
term. From what source? Ideally from the capital budget of the university at
large, or from a targeted endowment. Lacking those, a student fee might work
(that's what I have). </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-tab-span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></SPAN>Some sort of
compromise position may be possible, wherein you get training to allow you do
to a major portion of this rehab work without requiring quite as much money
going to the outside expert. Long term, this makes you more valuable to the
department, and saves them money (assuming the fortepiano remains important at
your institution - faculty leave and priorities change). Who knows, maybe
there is some kind of staff professional development pot that could be tapped
for this.</DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=Apple-tab-span style="WHITE-SPACE: pre"></SPAN>What kind of
rehab? Recover hammers? Restring? General action and key recondition? Or is it
more major than those?<BR>
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<DIV>Regards,</DIV>
<DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV>
<DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV>
<DIV><BR class=khtml-block-placeholder></DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></SPAN></SPAN></DIV><BR>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Sep 18, 2006, at 1:34 PM, Paul T Williams wrote:</DIV><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Hi List,</FONT>
<BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Some of my greenish hue is starting to
wear off on being a CAUT, but on budget matters with piano faculty, in
particular, I shine brighter that the emerald city!! We have 105 keyboard
instruments here at the university, one of them being a Belt forte-piano
about 25 years old. The professor who plays it primarily is demanding a
major rehabilitation to it which will require some outside help with my
assisting this outside expert. The estimated cost of bringing this "expert"
in will take over 28% of my yearly budget. The instrument is used in concert
6-8 times per year as compared to our 3 Steinway D's, 1 concert Baldwin and
3 Steinway B's which are used constantly.</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT
face=sans-serif size=2>Some of the other faculty are up in arms about using
the piano budget and insist that this is a "special project" and should use
"special funds" like grants and the like. Of course I agree strongly both
ways! It is a university instrument, so it should use university funds. On
the other hand it is used so infrequently, that I can't see using a huge
slice of my pie. On the third hand, one of my responsibilities is to see to
it that all instruments are happy.</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif
size=2>Having such a limited budget as I do, if I had to replace a good
quality grand, (not even concert level), I would be spending far more than
one year's budget, leaving all other instruments on hold until next year
whatever the need may be.INCLUDING the concert instruments.</FONT> <BR><FONT
face=sans-serif size=2>So I ask for a bit of seasoned advise from you all.
How have you handled such delemmas? Thanks for your help.</FONT>
<BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Here I am, stuck in the middle with
you.....</FONT> <BR><BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>Paul T. Williams
RPT</FONT> <BR><FONT face=sans-serif size=2>University of
Nebraska-Lincoln</FONT>
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