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MARSHALL UNIVERSITY
Higher utility costs cited as factor in MU rec center fee increase
HUNTINGTON -- Increased operating costs are behind a 13 percent increase in the student fee Marshall University is charging for its new recreation center, university officials said.
Whatever the reason, the increase -- approved just four-and-a-half months after the center opened -- isn't sitting well with some students.
Dan Slack, who is a senior who was working out at the center on Friday, said an increase coming so soon after opening seems suspicious.
"Where is it going to stop?" Slack said. "(The fee is) already going up after four months. Where is it going to stop?"
Another student offered his theory.
"It's because they keep building stuff and going over their budget," said sophomore Rick Johnson, who paid $150 to use the rec center this summer.
The Board of Governors approved the increase on June 18. The fee is going from $150 per semester to $169.50 in the fall. The $150 per semester fee was set in early 2008 as part of the bond covenants to pay for the $30 million, 123,000-square-foot facility, which opened in February 2009.
Marshall University Chief of Staff Bill Bissett said the increase was proposed by the Centers, a privately held company chosen to manage the facility.
He was not able to provide a copy of the center's operations budget after being asked last week, but said that like everything else on campus, utility rates are expected to increase. That is especially true for a building that needs lighting from early in the morning to late at night. Not to mention the 100,000-gallon leisure pool and 3,000-gallon hot water spa.
"The Marshall Recreation Center is reviewed during the budget planning process, and it was during this time that an increase was identified as needed," Bissett said. "During the budget planning process, a projection of enrollment is made, and the effect is considered when determining the fee schedule to recommend to the Marshall University Board of Governors. The $19.50 will cover the operating expenses for the recreation center."
Bissett said the project itself is in good standing and assured that no other outside forces played a part in the fee increase.
He said it is not connected to naming rights that have not been sold. As of now, naming rights are still available.
He also said the separation with Marshall Community & Technical College is not a component of the fee increase, which will still be paid by MCTC for its students.
"The MCTC will pay the recreation fee according to the fee schedule for full-time students," he said.
He also said the new intramural field being laid behind the rec center has nothing to do with the increase.
Whether those answers quell any students' frustrations will likely have to wait until the fall semester bills go out. But Slack said the university better prepare for some unhappy students.
"People that don't use the gym are helping pay for something other people use," Slack said. "I think when they realize (the extra cost), they'll be mad.
"The idea of this place was to promote fitness," he continued. "Now it's a business."
Bissett said no one wants to increase prices in times like these, but sometimes there isn't any other way to cover costs.
"Marshall University does everything it can to keep our cost of attendance as low as possible," he said. "These are difficult economic times on the national scale, so we need to be responsive to such challenges."
