On Sept. 9, the Boca House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill reallocating $30,000 into the beach parking program and $35,000 for renovations to the 24-hour study center.

Beach Parking

The beach parking initiative, expected to grant free parking passes for 500 students, will give access to Boca Raton Beach, Spanish River Beach, and South Beach Pavilion.

Since there is only a limited number of passes, the people Student Government will prioritize for the program have to take at least 50% of their coursework on the Boca Raton campus, use the beach frequently for extracurricular activities or for their major, and have a history of volunteering in Boca Raton.

According to the bill, the initiative was originally going to cost $40,000 until SG canceled a project involving free printing due to “contractual issues between Toshiba and the university.” 

As a result, SG members reallocated $10,000 from beach parking and another $10,000 from the now-defunct printing initiative to the study center project.

“We budgeted $40,000 for it but I don’t think it will go over $30,000 and that’s what the bill adjusted it to,” said Chief Financial Officer Reilly Bridgers. “The leftover $10,000 was put to the All Night Study project in this bill and is now part of the $35,000 we currently have for that project.”

All-Night Study Center

The study center, located adjacent to the main library in the Hillel building, last received updates in 2012. SG aims to build further awareness and provide a major refresh to the space by making major renovations.

“We believe it will be much more beneficial because without updates to the space, Student Government could potentially lose the space to another department, meaning it is really important that the study space is maintained properly,” said Rules and Policies Chair Isabella Feaheny.

Thanks to the funding the study center project received from the aforementioned beach parking and printing initiatives, Bridgers noted the budget will be more than indicated.

“The budget for All-Night Study is higher than $35,000 but that’s what is definitively reserved by legislation for it right now,” Bridgers said. “We now have a $35,000 base to build from, and I am highly confident the additional funding required will be secured and put to good use making the SG All-Night Study Center a great place on campus.”

Richard Pereira is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.