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Structure

Funding Guide

Maintenance Supplies

In general, maintenance supplies (not tools) needed to keep a house up to city housing code are automatically covered by socialized ICC Maintenance funds. This includes smoke detectors, spackling, caulk, basic door and window supplies, basic electrical and plumbing supplies, and more. However, any large purchases should first be discussed with Maintenance Staff. Also, keep in mind that ICC Maintenance stocks things like standard ICC light fixtures and faucets.

See MPM Section 1 in Maintenance Policy for a detailed list of what items are covered.

See Accounts for a list of all ICC Maintenance charge accounts.

General Supplies & Tools

Cleaning supplies, light bulbs, tools, brushes, and rollers are all considered house expenses. Cleaning supplies can be ordered through your house Ordering Steward. GFS is a good source for all cleaning and kitchen supplies.

Maintenance Managers are provided with a rental tool box at the initial Maintenance Team training each term. Any extra tools (including painting tools) that a house wishes to own must be purchased and maintained by the house.

Paint

ICC maintenance funds will pay for paint needed for maintenance purposes only (covering damaged or new drywall; house work holiday projects). Consult with Maintenance staff on what type of paint will work best for your project. Rollers and brushes are a house expense.

Members simply choosing to paint their room a different color must pay for the paint and supplies themselves. Members are welcome to paint their room as they wish, but it must be done in a way that will be appealing to all future residents. Ceilings should remain white.

Carpet

If you find carpet in bad shape due to odors or stains your first step is to rent a steam cleaner. (Accounts - You must return the steam cleaner on time in order to get socialized ICC funding.) If the room has odor issues beyond just the carpet you can contact Maintenance staff about using an ozone machine to treat the room. If the issues are more about torn or worn carpet you can contact Maintenance staff about scheduling for replacement. Keep in mind that carpet installers are booked months in advance for August and September (city-wide student turnover). As a result, ICC carpet replacements must happen at times outside of August/September or be planned well in advance for turnover season.

Bedroom Furniture

Each member should have a bed, dresser, desk, and chair in their bedroom. If any bedroom furniture is missing or damaged do the following:

1. Inventory bedrooms and storage rooms for extra furniture. Make sure you have made use of all existing furniture in the house before requesting new items.
2. Make note of any furniture that is missing or any with significant structural damage.
3. Contact Maintenance Staff to obtain replacements. If during August student turnover, fill out and submit the house furniture inventory. At any other times of year fill out an RFA.
4. As to broken or old stuff, please do not dispose of any furniture before getting new stuff. This is because houses are charged for missing furniture but not for furniture with normal wear and tear. We also need to ensure that we have adequate replacement stocks before getting rid of things, as broken or old furniture is better than no furniture.
5. Maintenance staff will replace furniture as well as haul away damaged furniture. However, we do not have the ability to manage and store excess furniture from members' rooms (like if they want a couch instead of a desk). Please make sure all members know that they are responsible for the furniture in their rooms. If they remove anything, they must figure out their own storage and must return the furniture upon moving out. Any missing furniture will be charged back. This is very important for us to be able to affordably maintain our furniture systems.

Common Room Furniture

For common room furniture, houses can purchase furniture at reuse centers around town, including the locations listed below. Contact Maintenance Staff about reimbursement options before making the purchase.

• U of M Property Disposition - 3241 Baxter Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore - 170 Aprill Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48103
• The ReUse Center - 2420 S. Industrial Hwy., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
• Full list of Ann Arbor reuse centers.

Please do not pick up any furniture from dumpsters or roadsides or unknown sources. We do not want to bring bed bugs or other pests into our houses. The cost and challenge of eradicating bed bugs far outweighs the cost of furniture.

Window Blinds

Socialized maintenance funds will cover window blinds as described by the process below. Blind replacements should be addressed internally by house maintenance managers, but Maintenance Staff is happy to assist in the process as needed.

Maintenance Managers can pick up blinds from either of the two Lowes stores in town. (Accounts) You can either get the budget Project Source vinyl mini blinds or upgrade to the Levelor vinyl mini blinds. Many of the windows in the ICC have budget blinds (with the plastic wall mounts). So you can stick with that for the quickest swap out using the current mounts. However, if you're able to put in the time we recommend upgrading to the modern Levelor blinds. They have metal wall mounts and are more durable. There are plenty of other styles of blinds at Lowes but they are not covered by ICC funds.

Make sure to take measurements of the height and width of the window(s) before you go, as well as decide whether you want to mount the blinds on the inside or outside of the window frame. Lowes will cut the blinds to the right size for you.

Detailed instructions from Levelor on:

• How To Measure
• How To Install

Window Screens

Window screen replacements are a house expense. It is best to stay on top of screen replacments from year to year so that they do not build up. If missing window screens, first search the house and grounds for any stored or fallen window screens. Match up and install any screens you find to appropriate windows. Make a list of exactly which screens still need to be replaced and a list of ones that need to be repaired. If you have a simple repair or rescreen you can take the screen to Henderson Glass for repair. (Accounts) If you have a simple replacement, the best way to do this is to find a matching screen (from another window) to take into Henderson Glass and have them replicate it. If you have more than a couple it's probably best to have the screen supplier come out to the house and take measurements for replacements. This way they are liable for making sure the new screens fit correctly. If this is the case, contact Maintenance Staff once have collected a list of screens that need repair or replacement.

Appliances

Any broken appliance should be reported through an RFA to Maintenance Staff for servicing. This includes refrigerators, freezers, dishmachines, stoves, microwaves, food disposals, washers, dryers, lawnmowers, and vacuums. If the item cannot be serviced, Maintenance Staff will supply a new one. It will be covered by socialized funding as long as the preceding unit was cared for and wore out from normal wear and tear. Appliances in the ICC are coordinated across the houses for matching repair parts and servicing.

Vacuums

ICC vacuums are the Riccar brand vacuums in each of the houses. Each house is entitled to one vacuum cleaner for every 25 people. These vacuum cleaners are of industrial strength. However, any time a vacuum is shared by 25 people it is going to require regularly changing the bag, cleaning the filters, unclogging, and repair. (How To - Vacuums) The ICC has bags, belts, and filters stocked for these vacuums and can be obtained through Maintenance Staff or at the main office.

Landscaping

Landscaping should be done with the intent of maintaining, beautifying or improving the exterior of a house. Houses may spend up to their allotted amount for each FW and again for SS term on landscaping from Minor Maintenance. Escher is allotted $300. Baker, Black Elk, Gregory, King, Luther, Owen, Truth, and Vail are each entitled to $150. Debs, Linder, Michigan, Minnie's, Nakamura, Osterweil, Rivera, and Ruths' are each are allotted $100. Landscaping funds do not accrue over time.

It is strongly recommended that houses buy perennial flowers or low maintenance bushes or shrubs. Landscaping allotments can also be used to purchase things like snow shovels. Keep in mind that if you have a sidewalk in front of your house the City requires that you keep it clear. If it is not cleared the City will do it for you at your expense. See Grounds & Waste Management to find out how to get free sidewalk salt from the city.

Piano Tuning

All ICC pianos are tuned twice per year, once in the summer (~August) and once in the winter (~January) by piano tuner, David McMillan. If you need further assistance with your piano contact Maintenance Staff.

Your house can purchase things like entertainment equipment using house charges or amenities funds. Contact Finance Staff to obtain info about setting house charges or the state of your house amenities fund.

Contact Maintenance Staff with any large house projects. The staff will help guide you to the appropriate funding and/or contractors. We will do our best to find solutions that both satisfy the house and fit within budget constraints. In the rare occurrence that an agreeable solution cannot be found, members do have the option to bring a proposal to the Facilities Management Committee. The Maintenance Staff can help walk you through this process. As a member run organization, final decisions on these rare gray areas will be made by the elected members of the Facilities Management Committee.