by Jeff Fox
It was a little over one year ago, and as students were returning to WVU Parkersburg for another fall semester, they were greeted with the familiar faces of fellow students, their instructor’s syllabus for their upcoming class and an unpopular $20 per semester parking fee.
There was plenty of debate regarding this newly imposed fee. Some of the students were just simply annoyed by having to spend another $20. Others pondered the fact that the community had already funded much of the construction costs of the school years ago, and now they were being asked to pay to park in a lot which the community helped fund. The new parking tickets being issued by campus police were also a big hit.
All of these reactions could be expected, however school officials did not just arbitrarily decide to impose the parking fee. “It has been several years,” WVU Facilities Director Dave White said, referring to any previous parking lot paving and maintenance at the main campus. And one year later students are beginning to see the end result of the parking fee, in a manner which they can use each day.
In August 2011, Brown Asphalt was contracted to resurface the east parking lot at the WVU Parkersburg main campus. Students commuting on WV47 pass by Brown Asphalt’s yard each day. When possible, WVU Parkersburg tries to utilize local area contractors for its various projects. The total cost of the paving project is approximately $160,000, and is funded by the parking fee. “I had $90,000 in the parking budget, so I put $70,000 out of my (facilities) budget with that, until the fall parking fees come in, and then I’ll be reimbursed,” White said.
Two more emergency call kiosks were also purchased out of the parking fee money. “We are putting one behind the Caperton Building and one at the JCC (West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Jackson County Campus),” White said. With the addition of the emergency call kiosks, WVU Parkersburg Campus Police also have a vested interest in the funding. “I fought for years against any type of parking fee, but as budgets became tighter we needed something,” Al Collins, director of WVU Parkersburg campus security, said. Collins feels that the kiosks are a good preventive measure, but “hopes they never get used … like that fire extinguisher at home that needs replaced from time to time due to age,” Collins said.
The Facilities and Grounds Department at WVU Parkersburg is funded by “$100 per student per semester for capital and repair / alteration projects,” White said. This means that the department budget will be approximately $400,000 per semester. If one considers the expense of the $160,000 paving project, $10,000 for the two new emergency call kiosks, and the potential $100,000 needed to replace a failing rooftop heating and air conditioning unit, the department’s budget could be reduced by nearly seventy percent in a very short time. This would leave the department with plenty of construction, maintenance and labor costs to be met for the rest of the semester on a greatly reduced budget. As one can see, the addition of the parking fee has allowed the Facilities and Grounds department to implement more upgrades for the university.
With the JCC parking lot being resurfaced last summer at an expense of $95,000 and the recent resurfacing of the main campus east lot, attention is now turned to plans of resurfacing the university's other parking areas. “The next one on the schedule after that will be the Workforce and Community Education, and then the Caperton ... and then we'll start on the west lot,” White said. An early estimate of the cost of paving the WVU Parkersburg main campus west lot is approximately $350,000, which may change due to the cost of petroleum based products.
For now, students can rest assured that the parking fee is being used to make the parking lots both structurally sound and safer. And if a student truly wants to get their money's worth, they can utilize the east lot - if they can just get there by sunrise to find a spot.
It was a little over one year ago, and as students were returning to WVU Parkersburg for another fall semester, they were greeted with the familiar faces of fellow students, their instructor’s syllabus for their upcoming class and an unpopular $20 per semester parking fee.
There was plenty of debate regarding this newly imposed fee. Some of the students were just simply annoyed by having to spend another $20. Others pondered the fact that the community had already funded much of the construction costs of the school years ago, and now they were being asked to pay to park in a lot which the community helped fund. The new parking tickets being issued by campus police were also a big hit.
All of these reactions could be expected, however school officials did not just arbitrarily decide to impose the parking fee. “It has been several years,” WVU Facilities Director Dave White said, referring to any previous parking lot paving and maintenance at the main campus. And one year later students are beginning to see the end result of the parking fee, in a manner which they can use each day.
In August 2011, Brown Asphalt was contracted to resurface the east parking lot at the WVU Parkersburg main campus. Students commuting on WV47 pass by Brown Asphalt’s yard each day. When possible, WVU Parkersburg tries to utilize local area contractors for its various projects. The total cost of the paving project is approximately $160,000, and is funded by the parking fee. “I had $90,000 in the parking budget, so I put $70,000 out of my (facilities) budget with that, until the fall parking fees come in, and then I’ll be reimbursed,” White said.
Two more emergency call kiosks were also purchased out of the parking fee money. “We are putting one behind the Caperton Building and one at the JCC (West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Jackson County Campus),” White said. With the addition of the emergency call kiosks, WVU Parkersburg Campus Police also have a vested interest in the funding. “I fought for years against any type of parking fee, but as budgets became tighter we needed something,” Al Collins, director of WVU Parkersburg campus security, said. Collins feels that the kiosks are a good preventive measure, but “hopes they never get used … like that fire extinguisher at home that needs replaced from time to time due to age,” Collins said.
The Facilities and Grounds Department at WVU Parkersburg is funded by “$100 per student per semester for capital and repair / alteration projects,” White said. This means that the department budget will be approximately $400,000 per semester. If one considers the expense of the $160,000 paving project, $10,000 for the two new emergency call kiosks, and the potential $100,000 needed to replace a failing rooftop heating and air conditioning unit, the department’s budget could be reduced by nearly seventy percent in a very short time. This would leave the department with plenty of construction, maintenance and labor costs to be met for the rest of the semester on a greatly reduced budget. As one can see, the addition of the parking fee has allowed the Facilities and Grounds department to implement more upgrades for the university.
With the JCC parking lot being resurfaced last summer at an expense of $95,000 and the recent resurfacing of the main campus east lot, attention is now turned to plans of resurfacing the university's other parking areas. “The next one on the schedule after that will be the Workforce and Community Education, and then the Caperton ... and then we'll start on the west lot,” White said. An early estimate of the cost of paving the WVU Parkersburg main campus west lot is approximately $350,000, which may change due to the cost of petroleum based products.
For now, students can rest assured that the parking fee is being used to make the parking lots both structurally sound and safer. And if a student truly wants to get their money's worth, they can utilize the east lot - if they can just get there by sunrise to find a spot.