Procedures for Reserving Conference Rooms and Small Meeting Rooms
In Reply Refer To: March 13, 2015
1535 (950) P
EMS TRANSMISSION: 03/17/2015
Instruction Memorandum No. ID-2015-023
Expires: 09/30/2018
To: State Office Employees
From: Acting State Director
Subject: Procedures for Reserving Conference Rooms and Small Meeting Rooms
Program Area: Administration – Conference Rooms
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) establishes reservation procedures and use policies for the Natural Resource Center (NRC) conference rooms and small meeting rooms.
Policy/Action: Reservations may only be made by the Administrative Support Improvement Team (ASITeam) or Boise National Forest Supervisor Office (BNFSO) points of contact (POC) listed in this policy (see Attachment 1, Appendix A). Employees may view the availability clicking on the links: 1) Sagebrush and Ponderosa Conference Rooms or 2) the Computer Training Room.
Small meeting rooms, such as the Clearwater, Eagle, and Mustang, can be reserved via your Bison Connect calendar. Attached is the Guide for the Conference Rooms and Small Meeting Rooms, which contains instructions for use of the conference rooms, safety, amenities, parking permits, etc. The Guide for the use of the Conference Rooms and Small Meeting Rooms will be posted on the Idaho SharePoint and will be updated as needed.
The Sagebrush and Ponderosa Conference Rooms are primarily for the use of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho State Office and the BNFSO for functions such as meetings, events, conferences, training, etc. The small meeting rooms are primarily for BLM functions, but can be used by other agencies based on availability and their willingness to reciprocate the use of their conference rooms. To avoid expenditures for renting conference spaces, certain functions will take priority such as the Idaho Leadership Committee (ILC) Meetings and Forest Leadership Team (FLT) Meetings. In some critical instances, the ILC Meetings and FLT Meetings may have to exercise “bumping rights” over such social functions as Cookie Crumbles (farewells for transferring/retiring employees) and external agency reservations.
Timeframe: This IM is effective upon issuance and replaces all existing policy and procedures for reserving conference rooms.
Background: The Sagebrush and Ponderosa Conference Rooms are leased by the BLM Idaho State Office and the other NRC agencies. In the past, the conference rooms were being reserved by external agencies which limited the availability of rooms for use by the BLM Idaho State Office and the other NRC agencies and resulted in their having to lease/rent conference space.
Historically, the Sagebrush and Ponderosa Rooms are reserved for the entire month of February for mandatory BLM training. This practice will continue until further notice.
The small meeting rooms reservation process was last addressed in the Memorandum of Understanding ID-416, dated July 28, 2003. As technology and procedures have changed since that time, the reservation process is being updated to address these changes.
Inquiries for reserving conference rooms on behalf of companies or individuals offering “free” seminars or training which may result in the sale of their product(s) cannot be honored due to possible conflict of interest or ethical issues.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.
Coordination: This IM was coordinated by the ASITeam and BNFSO POCs, Support Services Division, Resources and Sciences Division, and National Operations Center Information Technology personnel.
Contact: For questions regarding this IM, please contact Peggy Hallman, Administrative Specialist, at (208) 373-3900 or by e-mail at phallman@blm.gov. The ASITeam and BNFSO POC listed in Appendix 1 are also available to answer questions.
Boise District with Union: Management is reminded to notify and satisfy any bargaining requirements prior to implementation.
Signed by:
Peter J. Ditton
For Jeffery L. Foss
Authenticated by:
Peggy Ann Hallman
Administrative Specialist