Irv Resnick wrote:

> Here we go again! We had this same discussion a few years ago following the
> construction of the 5th St. Parking garage, which led to a large increase
> in our parking fees.

This experience at the university is so reminiscent of the way
government seems to operate at all levels.  Some expensive, usually
unnecessary, boondoggle (a new football stadium, parking garage, ...
fill in the blank with your own favorite) is proposed by politicians
and/or bureaucrats (administrators), passed, and built with very little
input from the citizens (employees), then enjoys a resounding failure
when paying customers stay away in droves.  Eventually it must be
financially bailed out at the expense of the taxpayers (employees who
drive to work).  And we, or at least the officials who approve these
expenditures of our money, never learn to say no.

> A public meeting with Richard Brown et. al. brought no
> relief, only assurances that such increases are necessary and that we
> (faculty, staff, and students) are represented by a committee that
> establishes parking fees.

And the committee members would say the same thing that Richard Brown
said ... the garage is a fait accompli, we are indebted for its
construction, we have to pay it off plus maintain the other lots, so we
felt like we had no choice but to raise your parking rates.  The problem
didn't start with the current parking committee; they are just dealing
with the aftermath of a bad decision to build a parking garage that few
people wanted to use.  A lot of money could have been saved by
accurately assessing the demand (or lack thereof) for that expensive
project.  The same is true with regard to Finley Stadium (oh, wait a
minute, Red Bank and Soddy Daisy did come close to filling it a couple
of times; maybe it was worth it after all ... NOT :)

> This may be true, although I would suggest that we are underepresented.

Agreed.

> However a remark on Raven that we pay less than
> other downtown businesses and area colleges or universities is
> ill-informed. In fact, at Chattanooga State faculty pay $11/semester;

And students about the same, I believe ... or maybe less?  I think the
parking fee is included when they register, and it is in the range of
5-10 bucks or so.  Negligible compared to what our students and faculty
pay, anyway.

> at
> Provident, I'm told by employees, fees have been about $4/month, in lots
> that provide more security than we enjoy.  Based on such comparisons, we do
> not enjoy a privileged position.

For real.  (And of course the vast majority of employees in the
Chattanooga area don't have to pay at all to park at work.  Parking lots
are simply provided by the employer as part of doing business.)  Thanks
for the straight talk, Irv.