Students will most likely pay a $60 fee to fund the upcoming Student Life Center, but U administrators said the timing of the fee will depend on when the U can raise enough private funds to get the project started.
U administrators said the new student fee would be used to pay off Utah State Legislature-approved bonds for construction costs, but the plan is to not initiate the fee until the center opens so students using the center would be the ones paying for it.
Right now, plans for the project — a new campus recreation center located at the base of the Eccles Legacy Bridge where the softball field is located — are on hold until the U gets the $15 million required by the Legislature to receive the bond and move forward.
Barb Snyder, vice president for student affairs, said administrators are putting together an external fundraising committee to raise the money, and they are hopeful to secure the lead gift and matching funds within the next 12 to 18 months. Administrators have been seeking a lead donor since last year. Snyder said committee members met on Tuesday to discuss matching gifts and a possible lead donor, who would provide half of the needed funds.
“Everything is aligning,” she said.
The U does have some resources to begin designing the center without charging student fees, Snyder said, and administrators have been meeting with students to get input on the design.
Plans for the Student Life Center include five sports courts, 15,000 square feet of exercise machines and weights, two pools, an indoor track, three dance studio spaces, a rock-climbing wall, lounges, meeting areas for student groups and a food court.
Mary Bohlig, director of Campus Recreation Services, is hopeful that the U will get the money necessary to secure the bond and start building within a year and a half. Once construction begins, it should take another 18 to 24 months to build the center.
“We would like to begin the design phase next summer, but we cannot move forward with anything until we have money in the bank,” Bohlig said.
The Legislature approved the $60 student fee last year so the U could pay off the bonds over a long period of time.
“We hope the fee will not go into effect until the facility is opened,” Bohlig said, noting that the situation would be similar to making payments on a house after it is finished.
Basim Motiwala, vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Utah, said it is a good idea to have students start paying the fee once the doors are open, but not before.
“They will be the ones who benefit,” Motiwala said.
He said the $60 fee is a reasonable price for students who will use the center on a regular basis, but students who might not ever use it would probably think it is too much. This is the same with other student fees, such as athletic fees or fine arts fees — students end up paying for things they don’t use.
“It’s a steal for a top workout facility,” Motiwala said.
The entire Student Life Center would cost about $42 million. The Legislature approved the U to take out a $27 million bond to pay for the center.
Paul Brinkman, associate vice president for budget and planning, said the size of the fee could depend on how much money the U raises, but Snyder said it isn’t likely that the $60 amount would change.
“The big slice of the pie is from donors and the rest is what we will borrow,” Brinkman said. “The student fee will pay of off the amount we don’t raise privately over a long period of time.”
If the U is able to raise more private money, that would just mean it could expand the center, Snyder said. But with rising construction costs, raising more money wouldn’t necessarily amount to much in the end.
“Every day we don’t break ground the building gets more expensive,” Snyder said.
Because the project will not be completed for a few years, Bohlig said she hopes construction costs won’t increase so much that they would have to make the center smaller.
“This is not in the immediate future,” Bohlig said. “It’s very preliminary.”
Snyder said student fees are a standard way for universities nationwide to pay for student unions and recreation centers. She said schools such as Ohio State University and Washington State University often charge more than double what the U does for their student fees, but the U has been able to lower the cost by fundraising.
“In most incidences the buildings are supported entirely by student fees,” Snyder said.
Some students said they didn’t need another recreation center on campus.
“We already have the Outdoor Recreation Center, the HPER and the Field House,” said Theresa Aslin, a sophomore in mass communication. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”
Robert Ellis, a senior in international studies and international business, said the fee isn’t just about the money — it’s about never-ending increases.
“It’s always something else,” Ellis said. “It sounds easy just to say $60 is too much to ask, but it’s never just $60.”
The Student Life Center fee will be larger than most student fees, which tend to increase within the 2 to 3 percent range, and Snyder said she hasn’t seen an increase of this magnitude in decades.
Snyder said administrators try to pay attention to student needs when determining fees, such as with the new study abroad fee. She said the Student Life Center will also greatly benefit students.
“We want the student money to go as far as it can,” she said.