Parking fee increase to be voted on today

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by George Hatoun

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Under the proposal, put forth by Associate Vice President for Finance and Administration Neill Binford, students would pay $96 for parking in the near lots, and $12 for stadium lot spaces next year.

Currently, students pay $75 for parking in their colleges and other near lots, and parking in the stadium lot is free.

Binford made the proposal to cover an operating deficit in the shuttle bus service budget that has been accumulating for some time, said Student Association President Maryana Iskander.

Iskander and Binford met last Friday to discuss the matter. Binford justified the specific amounts of the increases to Iskander.

"These were a series of numbers that would work, and that [the combination of $96 and $12] is a number that came from the advisory groups," he said.

Binford said he was still looking into finding a more reasonable fee "for those folks that can't afford $96."

However, Binford said even the increased Rice rates will be acceptable.

"If you compare [Rice to its] environment, our parking rates are very reasonable, and when you compare our parking fees to other universities, it's low."

Binford said the stadium lot parking offers an option for those who cannot afford the price of near lot spaces.

"There is an option -- a way to park at Rice for a dollar a month," he said.

Binford said that the changes have been proposed but are still open to alteration.

"The president has indicated in every way he can that compelling arguments will be listened to -- this is a proposal," Binford said.

Director of Student Activities Sarah Nelson Crawford said that no students were consulted in the process until after the new plan was formulated.

Iskander said, "I spoke with Camacho on Monday and I do not think anyone has approached him or Binford since then."

The increase has been proposed because of confusion resulting from the federal government's flip-flop on enforcement of the Federal Clean Air Act Amendment (FCAAA) of 1990.

In response to the government's stricter guidelines to curb air pollution, the university proposed to raise faculty and staff parking fees to $250.

When the government backed down on its deadline for compliance, Rice followed suit and reversed the fee hike.

President Malcolm Gillis did not want to raise parking fees moderately after the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency decided to relax their guidelines because he feared this would confuse the Rice community, according to Iskander.

Because fees were not raised last year to cover the deficit in the shuttle bus operating budget, the deficit mounted this year.

"[Parking and the buses] have always been linked," Iskander said.

This year the buses cost $200,000 to operate, and only $118,000 was raised from the sale of parking places, Iskander said.

Binford said the shuttle system was running a deficit.

Most of the new revenue will not come from students, he said. "In fact, most of the money comes from faculty and staff."

A Senate member who requested that his name not be used told the Thresher that the parking fee increases are "a done deal," and will be approved at the Board meeting.

Iskander said at Monday's SA meeting that she favors creating a standing committee on parking to deal with the issue in the future.

"It is not the fault of a single person that we are in this situation. I think it is important to look into standardizing the process," she said.

Iskander also expressed optimism about a meeting that she and other Senate members will be having this week with Employee Transportation Coordinator Eugen Radulescu.

"After the meeting with Eugen Radulescu we can be more confident as to what should be evaluated in the shuttle bus system on an annual basis," she said.

"Neill Binford currently makes a lot of decisions regarding parking and I believe he is strongly in favor of a committee to help him legitimize his decisions," she said.

Iskander expressed hope that the committee would also have the power to set parking policy.

"I would hope that the committee would have the authority to make the final decisions on parking fees, shuttle bus operations, regulations, etc.," she said.

Iskander said the committee should be comprised of all affected members of the Rice community, including students, faculty, staff, administration "and possibly other constituencies that I am not aware of," she said.

-- Chetan Kapoor contributed to this story.

This item appeared in the News section of the March 31, 1995 issue.

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