MCC committee hears parking fee proposal

A proposal to consider parking fees at McHenry County College got mixed reactions from the college's finance committee, whose members asked the staff to do more research.

Parking fees could fund the improvement of parking lots at the Crystal Lake college, or even one or more parking garages, said Vern Manke, MCC's interim vice president for administrative services, during Thursday's meeting.

“If you drive around the parking lots you can visibly see the fact that they are distressed. They should have been refurbished probably five years ago,” Manke said. “We need to think about doing something about parking lots pretty soon.”

There are different options for fees, such as either $1, $2 or $5 per-credit-hour fees, or a fixed fee per semester, Manke said.

Based on 2011 enrollment, charging $1 per credit hour fees would have yielded $154,758, while a $5 fee would amount to $773,790, Menke said. The average parking garage costs $16,000 to $18,000 per space, he said. Rebuilding the surface of parking lot A, which has just more than 500 spaces, would cost $628,000, according to estimates provided by MCC Director of Physical Facilities Gregory T. Evans.

“It's cheaper to put asphalt down in beginning, but in the end I believe the garage is the most economical way to go,” Manke said, adding costs like salt and snow removal would be greatly reduced.

Among the 37 community colleges across Illinois that Manke surveyed, only two — City Colleges of Chicago and Southeastern Illinois College — charge a parking fee to students. Southeastern also charges faculty and staff members for parking, while John A. Logan College only charges staff.

Trustee Carol Larson said she was in favor of parking fees, and believes the board should take another look at building a parking garage. “In past the garage was cost-prohibitive, but I think they are worth looking at again,” she said.

Trustee Dennis Adams, however, said this is not the time to plan a parking garage. “We have a tight budget as it is,” he said.

Adams said he might be in favor of parking fees as part of a comprehensive plan to include carpool and electric car parking, and greater Pace access to the college. “We're not an urban area. Typically when you have fees you're encouraging people to walk, carpool or bike,” he said.

Trustee Linda Liddell also said she doesn't like the idea of imposing parking fees, while trustee Barbara Walters pointed out that a per-credit-hour fee would only affect students.

A per-credit hour fee would have to be tacked onto tuition, Adams added. “Call a spade a spade. If we need more money just raise tuition, don't try to hide the parking increases as fees,” he said.

MCC President Vicky Smith said another idea is to charge for premium parking closest to school buildings.

The college has 2,366 parking spots for cars, plus 25 motorcycle spaces and 13 bicycle spaces.