Downtown SRC Project to be delayed.
While the post office renovations’ plans passed unanimously at the Joint Committee on Capital Review meeting, the Downtown SRC project was kept off of the JCCR’s agenda for the last meeting.
This setback will almost certainly delay starting construction of the Downtown SRC project.
Architects originally hoped to begin construction early next semester and finish no later than May 2013.
Co-chair of the JCCR Rep. John Kavanagh had an issue with the use of student fee money in the construction of the complex.
He said it isn’t fair to ask all students to pay a fee for a facility most students at ASU will never use.
“Times are tough. Students are having trouble paying for school, so why should we make all students pay for something only a few students will use?” Kavanagh said.
Kavanagh suggested only students who use the facility pay for the facility, similar to membership fees at the YMCA or Gold’s Gym.
But, President of the Downtown campus Joseph Grossman said this idea is flawed because the Downtown campus hasn’t built the complex yet.
There is no other way to get enough money to build the recreation facility without using student fee money, Grossman said, as there is no reason for private investors to pay for the building and the city doesn’t have the funds to give ASU enough money for the project.
“How do you expect then to get enough financing?” Grossman said. In “theory it sounds great, but realistically it’s not.”
The SRC plan will likely go before the JCCR after the new year, possibly with a new payment plan that will combine the student fee money with a membership fee.
The post office will also use student fee money for its construction, but Kavanagh said the difference between the two funding-wise is the number of students who will use the student engagement area in the post office and what a university really needs in tough economic times.
A community center “is a legitimate part of the university experience. A fitness center is not,” Kavanagh said.