President Alexander Gonzalez said Monday in a town hall meetingfor the proposed Wellness/Recreation/Events Center that he couldprovide $10 to 15 million upfront in private and corporatedonations, with an additional $500,000 per year, as promised forthe funding of the project.

About 20 students, University Union workers, faculty andadministrators attended the first of two town hall meetings thatserve as a question and answer session for students about the RWECin the University Union’s Redwood Room. The last town hall meetingwill be in the University Union Ballroom at 12:30 p.m.,Thursday.

When asked how the money would be raised, Gonzalez said thatindividuals and corporations would be interested and that thepromised amounts would be easier to fundraise after students hadapproved the measure.

According to the RWEC proposal, Gonzalez would have to providethat amount of funding by the time the center’s construction beginsin 2007, when student fees for the RWEC are raised to $110 persemester, eventually peaking at $162 in 2020.

When asked if he would mandate that students pay for such a feeincrease for the RWEC center if Measure 1 on the AssociatedStudents, Inc. election ballot didn’t pass, Gonzalez said,”I’ll keep you in suspense.”

“Technically, every president has the option to make itpossible. No CSU president has ever done that,” Gonzalezsaid. “I haven’t done it in the past.”

Some anticipated uses of the recreation center would beuniversity graduation ceremonies, small concerts and high schoolgraduations. The anticipated amounts for usage would range about150 events per year. There will also be 3200 space parking.

The university spends about $26,000 a year to hold graduationceremonies at Arco Arena for two days, Gonzalez said.

All money raised by the University Union stays within theproject, as dictated by the California State University withfunding for these types of projects, Gonzalez said. The funds wouldbe managed by the University Union Board.

When asked about the timing of the proposal in the midst of feehikes, Gonzalez said that the funding and construction will startwhen the economy is on the upswing. The project could take 18months to 2 years for completion.

“That’s not much time in the life of theuniversity,” Gonzalez said.

One student voiced his concerns that the process was being”railroaded” on the ballot.

“(The opposition) has no time to organize, nofunds,” the student said.

The increased awareness before the election is typically doneduring a school election cycle, Ucovich said.