UH-Hilo charges for new center

Students at the University of Hawaii at Hilo will pay a mandatory $78-a-semester fee starting this fall to use the new $21 million Student Life Center after Board of Regents approval last month.

The 22,600-square-foot recreational facility includes an indoor Olympic-size swimming pool; fitness, recreation and weight rooms; and locker rooms.

Faculty, staff and alumni will also be able to purchase memberships to the center at an estimated cost of $460 per year or $250 a semester.

The university is also hoping to generate nearly $48,000 a year by renting the facility for special events and through locker rental fees.

The UH-Hilo student government supported the fee increase and had lobbied the Legislature for years for the money to build the Student Life Center.

The new fee will pay for the cost of operating the facility, estimated at $1.1 million annually.

Regent Marlene Hapai questioned whether people who take just one class should also have to pay the fee.

But student leaders and administrators said they would also be able to use the facility and that the cost was spread over all students to keep the fee as affordable as possible.

The regents also increased the penalties for disabled-parking violations on the UH-Hilo campus at its meeting last month.

The fine had been just $25 but was increased to $250, the same amount as a violation off campus.