COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees met September 13 during which the Buildings and Grounds Committee met to discuss a myriad of topics.
Among these topics was the Phase I approval for the West Campus Parking Development, which is parking for school's Greek Village that was originally announced in the Spring 2016.
This plan was announced as a fix to the lack of parking for Greek Life students who are required to use their Greek house's meal plan during the school year. Therefore, the parking proposal is only intended for fraternity and sorority members associated with Greek Village facilities.
These facilities are the houses of: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Chi Psi, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Zeta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Order, Kappa Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Kappa Sigma, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Mu, Pi Beta Phi, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Nu, Zeta Tau Alpha.
Members of these organizations have been paying a fee each semester since the fall of 2016. Here is a breakdown of the fees:
Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 -- $175 per semester
Fall of 2017 Spring 2018 -- $250 per semester
Fall 2018 Spring 2019 -- $375 per semester
According to the University's website, "At this time, the fee is not expected to increase."
Originally, the plan was for a parking garage to be built on a section of land already owned by the University on Devine Street at the block between Gadsden Street and the railroad tracks.
At the September 13 Board of Trustees meeting, the University Architect and Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction, Derek Gruner, said during his presentation:
"We began to have concerns about the reality that fewer students are bringing cars, there's a lot of other actions going in play potentially in this area with other parking garages. We thought it was prudent to draw back and take another look at it. What we're recommending today is that we pursue a surface parking lot on the two and a half acres that you see there outlined in the red area."
Since the meeting, Greek life students have expressed concern about where their money is gong.
"It's fine that they're deciding to make a change to their decision, but I think they need to reimburse all of the thousands of Greek Village students that have been paying these dues for [almost] four years," said Olivia Woodman, a Alpha Delta Pi member and junior at UofSC.
In a letter from the University on Wednesday addressed this concern:
"The revenue collected by the Greek parking fee, to date approximately $7.5 million, will be used to construct and maintain the parking lots, as well as for the demolition of two university owned buildings located on the project site to allow for it to be repurposed for parking."
The Board of Trustees is expected to meet in October to approve all the final plan for Greek Village parking. At that meeting, the University will revisit the parking fee for students.