Wednesday night’s Government of the Student Body meeting will likely be a long one, as Senate members plan to focus on resolving a bill stating they support the $52.8 million recreation services renovation project.

GSB President Brian Phillips, senior in political science, said the issue will probably lead to a “hearty debate about the subject.”

“That will be the big one,” he said. “It looks like there are already a lot of people on board.”

Phillips said GSB will vote to either support or not support the increasing of student fees in order to fund the rec renovation. The vote will come before the student vote to be held Feb. 25-27.

“The way I see it, GSB has done quite a bit of investigation about the issue,” Phillips said. “We are fairly well informed about the pros and cons of the bill.”

Because of this research, Phillips said it was “fairly reasonable” to vote on the bill before the actual student vote.

Taleen Brady, GSB senator and senior in psychology, co-authored the bill and said having GSB vote on the issue before the student vote could hopefully influence other students.

“I support it now, and I just thought if we put up a resolution that GSB supports it, maybe that will convince other students because we were so well informed. We also hope students will educate themselves,” she said.

Brady said students worried about added fees without seeing the finished recreation centers should not worry. The first two years of the plan include a $20 increase per semester to student fees, which does not apply to students

The fee will be increased to $107 per semester in the third year of the project, and students will receive the proposed services. Brady said that even with the increase in cost, the renovation will still be beneficial.

“As much as you’re going to be getting out of rec services, it’s still going to cost less than any gym membership,” she said.

Andrew Boekelman, GSB senator and senior in sociology, isn’t so sure students living off campus will benefit from the project in the same way.

Boekelman said he is on the fence about the bill because the off-campus students he represents take advantage of the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center and will likely use the new aquatic center. He said off-campus students already pay for memberships in Ames, and being subject to paying increased fees for the rec renovation just doesn’t make sense financially.

“The cost of tuition is going up, and it’s hard to catch up,” he said. “How much is this costing students in the long run?”

Boekelman said that, although he believes State Gym and Beyer Hall are in need of repairs, he doesn’t know if the additional expansion to State Gym is worth “an extra $200 or $300.”

Boekelman expressed concerns about GSB resolving the bill before the student vote.

“The problem with this bill is – should we be telling students what they should support?” he said.