Pepsi will likely stay the exclusive beverage provider for vending machines and fountain soda on campus.

That is just one of the items the Board of Trustees will have to decide on at its meeting at 1 p.m. today in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

“I don’t see any problem with that passing,” said Roger Krachtovil, chair of the Board of Trustees.

The administration put the beverage agreement up for bid and the lower bid prevailed.

“When looking at the relative costs, we went with the lower cost,” President Bill Perry said.

The estimated annual cost is $400,000, depending on the quantity of product. The agreement would be for five years, with the option of renewing the agreement for another five years. Pepsi has held the contract for the past 10 years.

Also on the agenda is the purchase of various heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades for campus. This project includes improvements to Old Main, the Student Services building and Lantz Arena.

“When equipment gets old and when it reaches the end of its useful life, it needs to be replaced,” Perry said. “The advantage we have nowadays, we can replace older units with more efficient units and replace control systems so that we can save money on energy.”

Another purchase item on the agenda is a contract change order for audiovisual equipment for the Doudna Fine Arts Center. Because of additional work, the approval would increase the total spent by $35,000.

A contract extension for Dianne Hoadley, dean of the Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences, will also be decided at the meeting. If approved, Hoadley’s contract will be extended through June 30, 2011, rather than ending in 2010 as previously planned.

There will also be a revision to the Board’s policies and regulations.

“In my six or seven years, I can’t remember us going through the policies and regulations,” Krachtovil said. He said some of those are outdated so board member Leo Welch looked them all over and made revisions.

The first reading will take place at this meeting.

In the president’s report portion of the meeting, various departments will make presentations.

“These reports are more or less a state of the state,” Krachtovil said.

Those giving updates include: Athletic Director Barbara Burke; Cynthia Nichols, director of the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity; James Johnson, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities; and Denis Roche, general manager of WEIU Radio/TV.

Emily Zulz can be reached at 581-7942 or at eazulz@eiu.edu.