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By Amy Geiszler-Jones

A university task force, with representatives from each of WSU’s three employee senates and student government, will be formed to further study the parking plan proposed in July by university officials, according to President Hughes. WSU will still, however, move ahead with plans to get an OK from the Board of Regents in November to seek the Legislature’s approval to sell bonds to finance the plan from the Legislature.

And one phase of the parking proposal — the creation of play fields on land by the Metropolitan Complex at 29th Street North and Oliver — will get under way in November. Donated services by Wildcat Construction Corp. are paying for the creation of play fields there, which will replace the portion of the Heskett Center play fields on campus that will be converted to a parking lot. Work on additional spaces at the complex is expected to start sometime this year, as well, Hughes said.

Hughes announced the formation of the task force Oct. 26 during a Faculty Senate meeting. He said he had consulted with president-select Donald Beggs and had met with Faculty Senate representatives Elmer Hoyer and A.J. Mandt, as well, to discuss what he called “a compromise.”

Two representatives, selected by each of the four senates, will sit on the task force and work with Roger Lowe, vice president for administration and finance, and his staff who developed the initial plan. The group will have until March 1 to study the plan.

“We feel the plan in terms of lots and roads is pretty well firmed up,” Hughes said, noting that the plan is expected to change little in terms of physical layout.

A parking plan proposal was announced by Hughes to the campus community in July, and the topic has been discussed this fall at a number of senate and general meetings of the unclassified professionals, classified and faculty employees. A consistent concern raised at those meetings centered on the lack of involvement by campus constituents in developing that proposal. In addition to laying out a physical plan for increasing parking, the proposal calls for charging parking fees, through purchased permits or meters, to all parking users. Faculty and staff fees will be based on a sliding salary scale. The three-year parking plan, which calls for issuing revenue bonds for about $7.4 million, will provide for about 700 more campus parking spaces, reconfigure some major campus roads for better access and more parking, and major rehabilitation to aging, existing lots.

Since the original plan was unveiled and concerns were vocalized, changes have been made that include waiting until July 1 to start charging faculty and staff, adding another tier to the fee scale, and allowing any faculty or staff member to have a reserved space if they are willing to pay the top-dollar price of $390.

Inside WSU is published by the Office of University Communications for Wichita State University faculty and staff on Fridays - with an exclusive online versionevery other Friday - during the fall and spring semesters. Items to be considered forpublication should be sent to campus box 62 or amy.geiszler-jones@wichita.edu 10 days before publication.

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Amy Geiszler-Jones

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