Glendale : College Seeks OK to Raise Parking Fees

Glendale Community College officials are awaiting final approval from Gov. Pete Wilson for a plan to hike student parking fees, if necessary, to offset the costs of building a $6-million parking structure.

The measure, written by Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale), was passed unanimously in both houses of the state Legislature last Friday, said Mike MeCey, a spokesman for Nolan. Wilson is not expected to review it until mid-August.

“We’re pretty confident that it’s going to be approved,” said Lawrence Serot, the college’s vice president of administration.

If signed into law, the proposal would allow administrators some leeway in paying off a 20-year bond issue for a $6-million, 750-space student parking structure scheduled to be built by February, Serot said. Construction costs are expected to total $3.9 million, while another $1 million is being used to build an elevator tower for the disabled. The rest of the money will go toward bond and interest fees.

Bond payments over 20 years will total $12 million, or $600,000 a year. Once the structure is open, administrators estimate that the college would have to sell 10,000 $40 permits per semester to keep pace with the payments as well as cover security and municipal expenses. If purchases drop significantly at any point, the college can choose to raise parking fees to as much as $60 per semester.

“It’ll be years before it gets to $60,” Serot said. “The $60 was the cap that the Legislature threw in. We won’t know how high we will have to go until we sell the parking permits.”

Administrators hope that most of the 15,000 students on campus will use the new structure in February.