The TCC board of trustees struck down the consideration of raising certain student fees at the governance meeting Feb. 13. This was the only item not approved as a part of the agenda that the board will vote on Feb. 20.

Although some parking fines for students would not be raised, board member Gwendolyn Morrison voiced her concerns.

“Parking on a college campus can be rather intimidating,” Morrison said.

She said she hoped that better signage and more parking to prevent parking fines in the first place may be a better solution than raising fines for students.

Board member Bill Greenhill expressed additional concerns with the fine amounts for different driving offenses, saying that the offenses don’t seem proportional to the fines.

“Is that more egregious than reckless driving?” Greenhill said, comparing parking violations.

A student is fined $25 for parking in a faculty spot, whereas the fine for reckless driving is $10.

As a result of these questions, Greenhill requested table this item until the next meeting.

Director of facilities project management Chris Campbell said providing just over $2.5 million to the expansion of the South Campus welding technology lab will add more educational tools for the students since the program has grown.

“It allows us to grow the program by at least a third,” South president Peter Jordan said.

Chancellor Eugene Giovannini provided updates on the ongoing construction project on NW Campus. The project will demolish most of the existing buildings and rebuild them gradually. Some buildings will receive new facade renovations and mechanical upgrades. The construction phase will begin in Spring 2021 and continue through 2025.

“This is done in phases because we don’t want to have to disrupt the campus too much in all of this,” Giovannini said.

The board of trustees will be meet Feb. 20 to vote for all items on the consent agenda.