Western students are being put to referendum once again.

A referendum will be held today and tomorrow, asking undergraduate students to implement a $25 additional fee for renovations in the University Community Centre.

The Referendum

“Last year, [the board of directors] came up […] with a fairly large project, upwards of $30 million over a 20-year fee of $95,” Sacha Kumar, vice-president finance for the University Students’ Council, said. “We did a survey and heard loud and clear from students that $95 was far too much.”

If this year’s referendum passes, the additional $25 student fee will be collected for the purpose of renovating the UCC gyms and also for the maintenance of other spaces within the building.

“We took estimates of how much it would cost to renovate the newly acquired space and we also took estimates of how much we should be collecting each year for future maintenance and upkeep,” Kumar explained.

He added the fee will be collected in perpetuity and, therefore, the USC can discontinue it in the future years: “It’s in perpetuity so it will be around as long as students want it to be. [If] at any point, the council feels the fee is unnecessary, they can just take it away by a simple motion.”

If the referendum is approved by students, renovations in the UCC will begin in the summer and will be done before the start of the next academic year.

“We have a lot of concept ideas about what can happen with that space […] It is also up to council to decide what exactly will happen,” Kumar said.

He mentioned the gym would include a 24-hour study space, general multi-purpose rooms, a multi-faith worship space and a stage for any dry-programming events. According to Kumar, only the gyms will be under immediate renovations if the referendum ends in a Yes vote.

“Last year, they had the architectural firm draw up the diagrams […] for the renovations and that was costly, a cost that could not be recovered because the referendum didn’t go through,” Kumar explained as to why the USC did not have any concrete plans for current renovations. “This year, we didn’t do that. We got our colleague […] to draw us a basic drawing and it didn’t cost anything at all.”

On the other hand, if the referendum results in a No vote, the USC will consider giving back the space to the University.

“While we do see some utility from the gyms, there isn’t enough to justify paying [close to $220,000] in occupancy fees per year […] We will look into giving back that space to the University to get the occupancy off our books,” Kumar said. “They have no clue [as to what they would do with the space] because they don’t know what we’re doing with the space yet.”

“I have had no discussions with the USC pertaining to the upcoming referendum.  The University has made no plans associated with space that is designated for the USC in the UCC,” Gitta Kulczycki, vice-president operations and human resources at Western, said.

Presidential Candidates take on the Referendum

“I actually was a little disappointed with what I was hearing from some of [the presidential candidates] […] Some of their [stances were] that they don’t feel students should have to pay the fee for renovations, which is actually completely illogical,” Kumar expressed.

Kumar mentioned students will be paying for renovations either way: “Either it’s through a USC dedicated fee or it’s through tuition.”

He also explained if the USC rather than the University conducts the renovations, there would be more transparency as to where the $25 fee will be allocated.

During last week’s Town Hall debate in the UCC Atrium, all presidential candidates expressed their support for the referendum. However, some were unsure whether the USC’s renovation plans were ideal for students.

“I’m not sure the proposed [renovation] plan is the right [thing] to do,” Marshall Goldfarb said.

“I’m for the referendum […] the current plan, I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Matt Hyland said. Hyland felt more research needs to be conducted in order to determine what students really want.

“I’m disappointed for the fact that we don’t know what the University will do if they take over the space,” Matthijs van Gaalen said.

Kumar added there are no other options left for the USC if the referendum results in a No vote and is the reason as to why the USC would consider giving the space back to the University.

“We will have given [students] a fairly high-end project at $95 and another one at $25. You can’t go much lower than the $25 […] We could propose to them something above $25, but obviously they would say no to that,” he said.