The dismal economy is never far from the biweekly Committee for Fee Allocation meetings: the economic viability of newspapers, the increase in minimum wage for student employees and – as was pointed out in Tuesday's meeting – the weak construction market offering lower bids for construction projects.
CFA lasted almost three hours as members went over the big picture budget for Fund A, the two requests from Campus Recreation and a presentation about the proposed Ad-hoc Wellness Committee student referendum. The total request for both recreation centers is $4,966,017, an increase of $125,720 or 2.6 percent. The total request for the repair and improvement budget for all recreation facilities is $708,800, which is essentially flat from last year.
CFA voted unanimously for the final time to approve the proposed student organization (Fund A) budget before submitting it to the Association of Students of the University of Nebraska Senate. Currently, students pay $17.90 per semester to fund almost all of ASUN and UPC, a majority of the printing and distribution of the Daily Nebraskan, all of the Dailyer Nebraskan and the student discount for the Lied Center. With the approved 4.7 percent increase students would pay $18.75 per semester next year.
Stan Campbell, ASUN Adviser and director of Campus Recreation, told the committee not to anticipate a greater student yield for next year, or an increase in freshman enrollment, because of the economy. Campbell presented Campus Recreation's needs, opening with student feedback.
"Last year, we had 352 comment cards. Twenty-one comments were about the music in the weight room and MTV-U," he said. "A lot had to do with the volume of the music."
MTV-U has a three-year contract with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, set to expire in May or June of 2010. UNL gets weight room TVs and $5,000 a year from the deal said Mark Powell, associate director of external relations for Campus Recreation.
The second budget approved addresses facility improvement including renovating the 17th and Vine streets basketball and tennis courts at a cost of $200,000.
Inhabitants of Selleck, Burr and Fedde residence halls proposed installing lights around the communal sand volleyball courts and have agreed to pay for half of the cost of $12,000 at Selleck and $14,000 on East Campus respectively.
"We have $1.3 million in projects and we're receiving about $700,000 a year," said Bill Goa, senior associate director for campus recreation. "We're trying to do caviar projects with a peanut-butter and jelly budget."
Campbell pointed out the rating approval for the rec centers has been either first or second place for fee users in the last 25 years. It was second-highest last year when the debt service fee had the highest student approval.
The committee then considered the Ad-hoc Wellness Committee's recommendation and its $80 per student per semester fee increase, which students will vote on in March.
A new University Health Center in the north lot behind today's facility would cost $16 million to $17 million; renovations to the existing building would cost $11 million.
"The roof needs to be replaced, the windows are original to the building, the heating and air conditioning system causes major problems with air circulation," said L.J. McElravy, an agricultural leadership education graduate student who presented for the ad-hoc. "It doesn't meet the standards required of a health center."
A new building could have a private check-in, an isolation room, a triage area, greater energy efficiency and more handicap accessibility.
McElravy said the East Campus Recreation Center has asbestos in the ceiling, lacks central air conditioning, has no emergency or fire alarm system and is handicap inaccessible. Over Christmas break, a pipe exploded and busted a wall. The new rec would be built the site of the current center and cost $16 million to $18 million.
The City Campus Recreation Center has shortages in cardiovascular equipment and is crowded at peak hours. The outdoor adventures office there would move to East Campus rec, opening 3,000 square feet for weight room expansion which would cost $1 million to $2 million.
Brock Smith, a sophomore economics major, asked why all three construction projects were coupled together.
"We wanted the joint ticket to affect the most students possible," McElravy said. "We don't want to pit them against each other. The committee looked at what's best for students and that's to get all these things done."
Kat Farris, a senior animal science major, asked how student fees will be affected.
"Traditionally, we haven't had students pay until they can use it, but that would cost at least $2 million to $3 million in extra interest," McElravy said.
The University of Nebraska at Omaha has a tiered system that pays for services being used that year – the hiring of an architectural firm one year, the construction fees the next. UNL is considering using this system for the wellness referendum. Student fees would eventually rise by $80.
Students can vote on the referendum during ASUN elections on March 4. Chancellor Harvey Perlman then has an opportunity to reject the referendum or pass it on to the Board of Regents, which McElravy estimated wouldn't happen until September.
Still, the economy has created a golden opportunity: The time is right to build because construction costs are wavering now, he said.
"Right now is the best time to build," he said. "It's a good time to put this before students."
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