CCAL is currently seeking alternate spaces for the Trunk, the Free Heelers and the Middlebury Mountain Club (MMC) after Public Safety deemed the attic of the Adirondack House noncompliant with fire safety regulations in January.
The Trunk is Middlebury’s thrift store and the Free Heelers is Middlebury’s Telemark ski club. It provides Telemark ski rentals and tunings to students and faculty.
The Mountain Club has a membership list exceeding 800 students, and offers outdoor activities all over Vermont and in the Adirondack Mountains. The club provides free equipment rentals and hosts various workshops throughout the year designed to improve students’ outdoor skills.
Sam Hoar ’11, co-president of the Free Heelers, met with Doug Adams, the assistant dean of students and director for CCAL, to discuss the potential eviction.
Adams stressed that the move of the clubs was not intended to be a punishment. Rather, he hopes to move the clubs to more appropriate facilities that will enhance their operations. The most significant reason behind the issue, Adams said, was that a hot waxing iron belonging to the Free Heelers had been left unattended. Had the iron not been discovered, it could have caused a fire.
However, Adams did mention other problems involved with the ways the clubs have previously used the space. There have been alcohol citations issued there in the past, and reports of a Mountain Club member had been sleeping in the attic.
According to Free Heelers member Morgan Boyles ’12.5, Facilities Services also noted “the disposal of beer cans in the space and ‘general untidiness.’”
However, Boyles said, it is not clear whether the clubs alone can be held accountable for this type of misuse, as the space had previously been left unlocked and open for use to all students. From now on, the Adirondack Attic will be open only when the clubs are actively in the space and, in the case of the Free Heelers, dispensing gear to their members.
“The moves are in response to a series of violations of College policy,” explained Adams. “We had been working with some of the groups to resolve previous issues when the fire safety violation occurred. One of the great challenges of the space is its shared nature. In order to access the inner spaces you had to go through another group's space. This made it a difficult for the groups to monitor and secure.”
Adams hopes that operating out of separate facilities will make it easier for the clubs to maintain conditions consistent with campus safety regulations.
Adams, along with CCAL, are assisting in the relocation of the Trunk and the MMC. Both will be provided office space in Brooker House, the outdoor interest house on campus. The Free Heelers will be permitted to continue operating out of the space until the end of ski season, when they will be able to inventory their gear.
Hoar says that because the club is “primarily involved in loaning out telemark skis and boots [and] all our gear, tuning and maintenance equipment is stored” in the Adirondack attic, CCAL is allowing the club to remain in the space until their season ends. The group will be able to use the space as they had before, though they can no longer use tuning irons to wax skis.
As soon as the season ends and CCAL finds an appropriate space for the Free Heelers on campus, they will move out of the attic.
“While it will be an inconvenience to move and [it is] sad to lose what was such an awesome, character-filled place on campus,” Hoar said, “we think CCAL has dealt with the issue fairly well, and we really appreciate their cooperation in allowing us to stay in the space until spring arrives.”
“We will be working with Facilities Services and Space Management to determine the best use of the space going forward,” added Adams.
ADK attic projected to close
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