No action taken on Stadium/Spectrum Bond
University administrators did not make a decision regarding bonding with student fees, Thursday.
Some members of the Utah State University administration met with some Associated Students of USU officers at 7 a.m., Thursday, in a brainstorming session regarding what to do with the expiring Stadium/Spectrum Bond.
The bond, set to expire in December 2005, has provided funds in recent years for improvements to Romney Stadium and the Fieldhouse.
Renewing the bond when it expires and potentially increasing the amount of student fees put toward the bond could finance renovation of the stadium, expansion of the Fieldhouse or expansion of the Taggart Student Center.
Attendees of the Thursday morning meeting scheduled another meeting at 9 that evening to prepare a recommendation for the Board of Trustees who were scheduled to meet Friday morning.
The evening meeting was canceled.
“If we want to consider raising the student fees for whatever the students want, we need to give that a lot more thought,” said Juan Franco, vice president for student services. “What we wanted to do is talk to the trustees about the Stadium/Spectrum bond issue itself, and possible restructuring.”
With an evening meeting being scheduled quickly to facilitate getting a recommendation to the trustees by Friday morning, some students were led to believe the decision of what to do with the bond was being rushed.
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Senator Gabe White rallied students to attend the Thursday night meeting during the Brutally Honest soapbox activity in The Hub. He cited the importance of student money and student input in decision-making as reasons students should attend the evening meeting.
“I don’t think that there was anything secret about it,” said ASUSU Executive Vice President Ariel Thrapp.
Thrapp said if the decision to extend the bond is made now, it will provide more money in the long run based on low interest rates that presently exist.
“As ASUSU, I think we are in agreeance that it’s important to address a need that we see on campus and apply that money when it’s freed in 2005 to a facility somewhere that there is a need,” Thrapp said.
Franco said students have expressed a desire to extend the second floor of the Fieldhouse and expand the student center. He said there are also parts of the stadium that need to be replaced, like the press box.
“All of those things are good,” Franco said. “It’s a matter of priorities and what we can afford.”
The process of deciding what to do with the future of the bond will be delayed to allow for more student input. Franco said he made the decision to cancel the Thursday meeting.
Tiffany Evans, director of student activities, said, “Students at Utah State are fortunate to have an administration that will dialogue and seriously partner with the students to make the institution a better place. They understand the struggles and concerns that students have.”
In coming weeks, Thrapp said, students will be asked to provide input on what they would like done with money that could come from a renewed bond. Thrapp said a student forum, similar to the one held to discuss the parking situation last month, could be scheduled.
A survey conducted by ASUSU members earlier this month asked USU students where they would want to spend money from a renewed bond. Of the 33 students who participated, 66 percent said TSC expansion would be their top choice. Fieldhouse remodel and expansion received the nod as first choice from 21 percent of respondents while 9 percent said the stadium would be their top choice.
Based on the ASUSU survey, using the money for stadium improvements was the least popular choice, with 45 percent of respondents saying it would be their third choice.
Read The December 3 issue of The Utah Statesman for continued coverage of the bonding issue.
-str@cc.usu.edu