Campus parking fees to increase

By  Jason Dilg
The Metropolitan

Parking prices at Auraria are going up, possibly 50 cents per space, Aurariaâs head administrator told the Metro Faculty Senate on April 8.

The price increase could go into effect as early as summer, the administrator, Dean Wolf, said.

An increase in parking prices is needed for Auraria to have the money to make payments on debt from the construction of the Parking and Transportation Center, Wolf said.

The exact amount of the increase has not been decided, Wolf said. Parking prices for lots near classrooms and the Tivoli would rise most, he said.  The total revenue to Auraria would work out to about 50 cents per space, he said.

Wolf told the senate that faculty could expect to pay between $10 and $12 more per month in parking fees.

Faculty lashed out against the plan.  Some said the price hike was too much.  Some vented their frustration.

ãIt makes you want to break windows, or something,ä said Jon Kent, an anthropology professor.

Senate President Monys Hagen said the increased cost of getting to work would take up too big a chunk of her raise this year.  The faculty had just learned that those professors rated ãexcellentä by the college would get 3 percent raises as cost-of-living adjustments, Hagen said. Hagen said her raise would come out to about $60 per month, after taxes.  Paying $10 to $12 more per month in parking would wipe out about 20 percent of that raise. Hagen asked Wolf to ãgo back to the drawing board and not raise our parking rates.ä
Wolf responded that it wouldnât help Auraria make its debt payments.

ãIt wonât put food on our table, either, sir,ä Hagen said.

Several faculty senators complained that the campus is not providing them adequate service at current parking rates.  Some pointed to other institutions that have free, reserved parking for professors.  Others said they are buying permits for reserved spaces, but that the campus administration undermines that deal by opening reserved lots after 5 p.m. and on weekends. Closing reserved spaces isnât fair to professors who teach night or weekend classes, Hagen said. Many professors, Hagen included, often leave campus during the day to complete community service obligations, she said.  Those professors often come back after 5 p.m. to find their ãreservedä spots are taken, Hagen said.  Then they must pay, again, to park before they can return to work.
Several senators laughed when Wolf finished his comments, saying: ãThanks for being so kind to me.ä

ãIt could have been a lot worse,ä he said.