Concern over UMass dining expansion

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) - On any given day, you can find an average of 30,000 people walking the dinning halls of UMass’ flagship campus.  More than half of them are students, who rely on meal plans. 

“Over the last three years and going back to many other years, we’ve devoted a lot of resources to catering and dinning,” said UMass Amherst Spokesman, Edward Blaguszewski, inside his Munson Hall office Thursday morning. 

Blaguszewski says the campus is like its own city, serving the needs of an ever-growing diverse population.  UMass Dinning serves four residential dining commons, five eateries at the Campus Center, cafes, concessions, delivery services and food trucks that are open until 4:00AM on weekend nights; two hours after town bylaws force the closing of downtown businesses. 

According to the UMass Budget Office, auxiliary enterprises account for “8% of total spending and are independent of the general education mission.”  Auxiliary operations include dining, residence halls, parking facilities, and student health services. 

The Amherst Campus submitted for approval an operating budget of $939 million for FY2012; and reported $70 million in revenue from auxiliary services. 

Blaguszewski told 22News auxiliary revenues are re-invested on campus; and critical in maintaining UMass’ competitive standing in the higher education sector. 

The campus’s expansion of dining services has recently been under the public scrutiny of several area business owners.  Nick Seamon’s owned The Black Sheep on Main Street for the better part of two decades. 

He says he’s met with more than two dozen business owners, including The Amherst Brewing Company, The White Hut and The Lime Red Tea House.  Owners who feel the University is using publicly funded dollars for “for-profit” ventures. 

“How much money from the state is going to auxiliary services? That allows them to have a lower cost of doing business,” said Seamon.

Seamon says the University’s expansion and growth in spending power is dwarfing their local business climate.  The owner of a local pizza house says he’s seen less foot traffic and fewer lines, on normally busy parents' weekend and homecoming. 

Reza Rahmani of Moti says they are squeezing out business.

“I'm a UMass alum and I'm proud of the fact the University is ranked among the best dinning services in the country.  However, the University has opened their doors to the public, which means they are directly competing with small businesses,” said Rahmani on Thursday. 

Rahmani owns Moti and Lit in Amherst.  In a statement, he said “business owners are challenged with annual fees, substantial local, state and federal taxes.”

Rahmani says the University offers its student body lower prices for delivery services and keeps parents and visitors on campus with free food. 

“They're half the economy of this area and they are spending one percent off campus. So everybody should do their own judgment on that,” said Seamon, who’s considering seeking legal counsel. 

In the fall of 2012, the University celebrated record high enrollment with more than 70,000 students attending the five campuses across the state.  Meanwhile, public funding had been at its lowest level in 20 years, cut by nearly half. 

Now, 20% of the operating budget comes from the state, a figure Blaguszewski says is consumed by payroll. 

Last year, the University spent $1 million on food purchasing and catering off campus, 34% higher than the preceding three years.