Students will bear the brunt of cost repairs made to parking structures by paying an extra 50 cents in parking fees every other year for the next five years, according to a five-year plan the administration presented to the Board of Governors May 5.

The BOG passed the 50-cent provisions Aug. 4 for the upcoming year, but would have to approve future hikes.

The increase for students means that by 2015, students will pay $4 each time they park in one of the structures. The plan also calls for raising faculty and staff parking fees.

After years of neglect toward Wayne State’s parking structures, the administration has found itself at odds with the Academic Senate when it comes to raising money to rebuild the parking reserve and pay off bonds issued to pay for the construction of Parking Structure 1.

Studies and reports from consulting engineers and Wayne State professors show years of poor maintenance and management on the structure that led to the $24 million repair.

In late May, the budget committee of the Academic Senate met with the administration to discuss the five-year plan, according to a budget committee memo acquired by The South End.

The memo included a list of 11 concerns the parking subcommittee hoped would be addressed, with most of it detailing the lack of management on behalf of the administration.

One example was the lack of oversight by those who understand the science of parking structures.

In 2009, Walker Restoration Consultants examined Wayne State’s parking structures and found several had damaged sealing membrane.

The membrane, according to the study, is a rubber sealant that stops water and salt that falls from cars seeping into the structures core and corrode it. The study said it appeared that the snow plows were not made to protect the membrane had been scraping the material from the surface.

It also found that improperly fitted snowplows had damaged expansion joints in some of the structures.

“What happened in Parking Structure 1 could happen to all of them,” said Lou Romano, a member of the Academic Senate parking subcommittee.

Another point in the memo was the number of people employed by the parking and transportation services.

“They told us it was in-line with other universities, but Wayne State is way above the trend,” Romano said.

He said the administration compared the number of employees with eight other universities.

“They picked eight, but they cherry picked them to make Wayne State look good,” Romano said.

Earlier in the year, engineering professor James Woodyard did a study that compared the number of parking spaces with with number of employees at Wayne State and 40 other universities. According to the results, Wayne State was well above the average.

In an interview earlier in the year, Nabelah Ghareeb, associate vice president, business and auxiliary operations, said the additional staff provided security and made students feel safe.

Romano said the list of concerns was sent to the administration three days prior to the meeting to give them time to look them over.

“They never responded in writing,” Romano said. “In the meeting they attempted to answer each question. Andrea Dickson, executive vice president, said for most of them ‘we’ll have to agree to disagree.’”

The two sides left the meeting with no middle ground reached.

The Academic Senate is asking for a one-time, 25-cent increase that they contend would pay for yearly maintenance.

But the administration insists that it is not enough.

The five-year plan pays for annual maintenance and “huge investments in major improvement,” Ghareeb said.

Currently, the two sides find themselves no closer to an agreement.
Over the summer, Dickson, and the chairman of the Academic Senate budget committee, Mike McIntire, held a meeting seeking “common ground, based on possible alternative approaches,” McIntire said in an e-mail.

“I discussed in general terms our discussion at the last meeting of the Budget Committee…, and I understand that Ms. Dickson is discussing various alternatives with the parking people and other members of the administration,” McIntire said.

Both sides worked toward an agreement before the vote, but the administration won its case in the end.

The parking increases are effective Sept. 6. Those who purchase parking plans before Sept. 5 will pay the previous year’s.