VOLUME 103, ISSUE 18
www.UniversityStar.com
WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 2, 2013
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
SPORTS | Page 5
TRENDS | Page 3
Practice Report: Texas State enters its Sun Belt Conference opener Saturday with the Ragin’ Cajuns coming off a bye week.
Wine Walk: The 2013 Texas State Family Weekend kicked off last Friday with an afternoon of wine tasting.
CONSTRUCTION
West Campus Housing Complex on track for fall 2014 move-in Special to the Star
In response to enrollment growth at Texas State, a 578bed, six-story housing complex is being built on west campus. The complex will take about three or four years to complete and is on track to open fall 2014. Juan Guerra, associate vice president for Facilities, said the building’s construction is progressing quickly because the university is using the same contractor, SpawGlass, that built the North Campus Housing Complex. Since SpawGlass has worked with Texas State before, they know which techniques to use and have a management team that is able to finish a project quickly. Each day, 80 to 100 people are working on the new housing complex, Guerra said. Proite said there are three major phases when building a new dorm. There is first a programming phase where officials decide what the rooms will look like. Then, there is a meeting phase where university representatives meet with architects and engineers to discuss designs. The third is a hiring phase where a contractor is chosen and begins building. Twenty resident assistants will be hired to cover the 578 additional students who will be housed in the complex, Proite said.
on each floor. The buildings will feature displays for student art including ceramics and jewelry. The dorms in the West Campus Housing Complex will be priced similarly to San Marcos and San Jacinto Halls, although the fees have not been made official, Proite said. Proite said students were “heavily” involved in the design process for the halls. Getting the perspective of a student was very important when designing the building, because they will be the ones living there, she said. Proite said 40 students were involved with the designs of the West Campus Housing Complex. However, students who live in the halls will not have a new parking lot, Proite said. She said no new parking lots or garages will be added for the housing complex. Proite said there are plenty of parking spots on campus, just not where everyone wants them to be. Caleb Pase, communication design sophomore, said the new dorm will add to the “ridiculous scheme” that is parking at Texas State. Pase, who lives in neighboring Blanco Hall, decided to live there again because of his positive experience as a freshman. Pase said the construction noise was a nuisance in its
Matthews St. Garage
Current debt: $1,476,000
Edward Gary St. Garage Current debt: $922,000
Bobcat Village Lot
Current debt: $400,000
PARpaT rt2 series
By Rebecca Banks News Reporter
The new dorm project, which began in 2011, will be similar to the layout of the North Campus Housing Complex with two buildings separated by a public lobby, Proite said. The dorms will be suite-style with living rooms, kitchens, study spaces and a lounge area
early stages, but this year it has decreased a considerable amount. However, Pase said they were not told about the construction before moving in. Proite said in addition to freshmen, more sophomores are choosing to live in dorms, adding to the number of oncampus residents.
Student Center Garage
Current debt: $474,000
Woods St. Garage
Current debt: $250,000
Parking Services faces deficit of a three-
Danielle Charles | Staff Photographer The West Campus Housing Complex will be ready for move-in fall 2014.
Current debt: $1,013,000
Speck St. Garage
Austin Humphreys | Photo Editor
By Kelsey Bradshaw
In an attempt to minimize a financial deficit created by debt on campus parking garages, Parking Services officials have raised permit prices and are exploring other sources of revenue this fall. During fiscal year 2013, Parking Services had a deficit of $388,000, said Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of Transportation Services. A deficit occurs when the amount of revenue raised by Parking Services is not enough to cover the expenses accrued by the department. Nusbaum said the department’s budget this year had $601,000 in a reserve fund before the deficit was paid, leaving $213,000 to put toward future expenses. “The fact that we had to use our reserves means we are still operating with a deficit,” Nusbaum said. “It means we didn’t bring (in) enough revenue to cover our expenses.”
Nusbaum said the remaining reserve funding will most likely be put toward unexpected repairs on parking garages. According to Nusbaum, the Garage Annual Debt Service, or amount required to pay the principle and interest on garages, is the biggest impact on Parking Services’ expenses. Nusbaum said the university is still paying off bonds on the Speck Street, Matthews Street and Edward Gary Street parking garages as well as the Bobcat
“The fact that we had to use our reserves means we are still operating with a deficit.” —Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of Transportation Services Village parking lot. The Woods Street Parking Garage and LBJ Parking Garage bonds will be paid off in the next few years, Nusbaum said. “So, that will free up some revenue for us, but I don’t believe it
happens until 2016,” Nusbaum said. The university still owes $250,000 on the Woods Street Parking Garage and $474,000 on the LBJ Parking Garage, Nusbaum said. The university owes more than $1 million on the Speck Street Parking Garage. About $1.4 million is owed for the Matthews Street Parking Garage, $922,000 on the Edward Gary Street Parking Garage and $400,000 on the Bobcat Village parking lot, she said. Nusbaum said raising the cost of parking permits and boot fees has provided additional parking funds to help pay for the garages. Boot fees were increased from $45 to $75 this fall, Nusbaum said. Special event parking fees have also helped raise revenue, Nusbaum said. “We do work the home games, and we do charge $10 a parking space at the Mill Street Lot and the Spring Town Lot where the old Target used to be,” Nusbaum said. “When the Performing Arts Center opens up, officially in February, we’ll be charging $5
See PARKING, Page 2
UNIVERSITY
Interviews, search for transportation director coming to close By Nicole Barrios News Reporter
The search for a new director of Transportation Services is underway and a candidate will be chosen for the role within the next month, officials say. Nancy Nusbaum, interim director of Transportation Services, said the applicant field has been narrowed to three final candidates. Before a new director can be named, Nusbaum will conduct reference checks on the candidates and the university will run criminal background checks. “Hopefully I can get that done in two weeks,” Nusbaum said.
“I’m trying to have somebody on board no later than Nov. 1.” Nusbaum said the university received about 62 applications for the position of transportation director. Nusbaum brought in three of the applicants for interviews, and she said the last ones were conducted Sept. 24. Nusbaum said she posted a listing for the position in June, but interviews were unable to be conducted until the first two weeks of September due to scheduling conflicts. The candidates for the position met with “the main administrative staff,” the university vice presidents, University President
Denise Trauth, a committee of 15 students from the Associated Student Government and the Residence Hall Association. Nusbaum said she invited representatives from Faculty Senate, Housing and Residential Life and Facilities to the interviews of the candidates. Nusbaum said she will make the final hiring decision. Bill Nance, vice president of Finance and Support Services, said the search for a new director has gone well, and the university has a “good pool of candidates” to choose from. “What we’re looking for in a candidate is somebody with a bal-
ance of parking and shuttle bus transportation experience, and it’s difficult to find somebody with both,” Nance said. Nance said many times candidates have experience in one area but not the other. He said the university prefers candidates with a background in institutions of higher education, and candidates with such experience are “not very plentiful.” Nusbaum said she looks for many qualities in a new director. She looks for someone “who is collaborative, who works well with students and can handle budgets.” Vanessa Cortez, Associated
Student Government president, said it has been interesting to meet the different candidates. She wants the new director to work well with ASG, hear students’ concerns and take action. She said ASG members hope for someone with a “fresh perspective” to help better manage and utilize the university’s resources. Cortez said she hopes the new director will “look at our campus and its unique problems and take a different approach on fixing our issues.” She said ASG hopes for someone with a “fresh perspective” to help better manage and
See DIRECTOR, Page 2