Student Center a self-supporting entity
The Taggart Student Center is unique as a business at Utah State University. The TSC is “totally self-supporting,” said Gary Chambers, director of the TSC.
According to the Utah Legislature, the TSC is by definition a self-supporting entity or an auxiliary on campus. That means the TSC doesn’t receive any funding from the Legislature, so all the money for the building and maintenance comes from student building fees and rent charged to the permanent and temporary vendors.
“Everybody who uses the TSC pays to do so,” Chambers said, talking not only about students, but the businesses in the TSC.
Chambers said rent for businesses are on two different systems depending on the business. Some are leased strictly by square foot while others pay a set dollar amount, and some have a portion of their earnings taken as rent.
Some of the food vendors like Pizza Hut and Taco Time have to pay a percentage of sales to the corporations. This percentage is worked out between the TSC and the corporation in order to acquire the brand name to bring in business related to name association.
As the businesses go, so goes the TSC, Chambers said. If the vendors make money, then the TSC makes money.
Chambers said in negotiations with banks to provide ATMs in the TSC, the deals are usually for a five-year period with increases based on the Consumer Price Index and cost of living.
Chambers said business practices in the TSC are designed to protect the permanent businesses. Two days a week are set aside for groups to use the TSC Patio for fund-raisers like cookouts, Chambers said. He said this is designed to help student organizations while protecting the permanent vendors.
The Barber Shop pays rent based on square footage, said Dick Swainston, owner and manager of the shop. Swainston has been with the Barber Shop since 1965, one year after the shop moved into its current spot in the TSC.
Honey Lyn of Zion’s First National Bank down the hall from the Barber Shop said it is good the TSC has all sorts of businesses available to students.
“This way they can do everything on campus,” Lyn said.
Lyn said Zion’s Bank has been on campus since 1982.
Chambers said he has tried to take away some of the “flea market” atmosphere by raising standards for applications for temporary vendors having a table on the first floor of the TSC.
TSC conference rooms are charged by the customer. If a department needs to use a conference room, the TSC charges the department through central administration, but if a local business or organization uses a conference room, it is charged directly, Chambers said.
All money made by the TSC goes to improvements on the building. Chambers compared the TSC to owning a house. Right now the TSC needs a new section of roof and an air conditioning upgrade. Together the cost for those runs about $450,000 and the money accumulates slowly in order to fix the problems. Because the amount of profit made by the TSC is minimal, it sometimes takes a couple of years in order to raise the money to make the needed improvements.