The UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees has approved a Health and Wellness Center fee that will collect funds for the construction of a new Health and Wellness Center (HWC), which will be implemented in the 2015-17 school years.

Following the Student Advisory Board meetings that were held Nov. 12-13, the requested fee increases for the next two school years has gone through UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip Dubois, and now the Board of Trustees has given their recommendations.

The fee for a HWC was first discussed by the Student Advisory Board. It did not exist at first, but the board felt compelled to add it, taking into consideration students concerns for more recreational space.

After an hour of deliberations, the board decided on allocating $3 for 2015-16 and $3 for 2016-17. A separate fund was created for the HWC planning fee and the $3 would be taken from other programs that had requested fee increases.

However, Dubois recommended that instead of creating a separate fee, that it be combined with the Recreational Services Fee, where it could be kept safe and allowed to grow until it is needed.

Dubois also recommended that, instead of $3 each year, a fee of $2 be implemented in the first year and $3 in the second. This would keep the total amount of requested fee increases under the mandated cap of $99 in the first year and $104 in the second.

“I chose to direct the fee wanted by the students , $2 in the first year and $3 in the second, into the Recreational Services account for safekeeping until the Health and Wellness Center gets approved,” said Dubois.

In 2015-16 the requested fee increases for Athletics and Education and Technology will be reduced in order to accommodate the HWC fee. The original requested amounts were $29 for Athletics and $50 for Education and Technology.

Both the Student Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees approved of a reduction of $3 from Athletics and $4 from Education and Technology. Also, $1 is being allocated to the Student Activities Fees Commission from their original requested amount of nothing.

Recreational services will also be receiving a $1 increase from the Student Advisory Boards recommended amount of $6. Bringing the total back to its original requested amount of $7.

For the 2016-17 school year, the HWC fee would be taken from the fee increases for Athletics and Education and Technology. The Board of Trustees approved of $1 being taken from the original $30 increase for Athletics and $2 being allocated from $58 increase for Education and Technology.

Since the unit requests for the HWC are small, other programs that the money has been taken from will not be hindered by this reduction.

“The funds used were simply small reductions in the amount of increases requested for other fees, so I don’t think those programs suffer any material damage as a result of redirecting funds for Health and Wellness,” said Dubois.

If the HWC is not approved, the money that has been collecting within the Recreational Services fee will be allocated to other recreational services that are in need of additional funding. Discussion about the approval of the HWC with the UNC General Administration will begin next month.