Student Senate introduced a bill Monday to give the athletics department $1,300 from reserve funds to cover increased ice time rental costs.

The city of Eau Claire increased the cost of using Hobbs Ice Arena $5 per hour or $50 per game July 1.

Men’s hockey head coach, Matt Loen said Hobbs costs have been climbing for the last seven years.

“The city-owned facility wasn’t profitable,” Loen said. “The city felt it needed to charge more to use the ice.”

The athletic department asked for about $2,500 out of Senate’s $11,000 special reserve account to cover higher ice use fees. But Senate Finance Commission recommended Senate only grant $1,300 by a 7-3-1 vote.

Finance Commission Director Tyler Will said the commission’s decision not to give the athletic department their full request was based on a slim special reserve balance.

“During the finance commission meetings there were a couple numbers thrown around but it didn’t look like they were going to give them the full amount,” Will said. “We gave them a little more than half to show them our support.”

Hobbs Ice Center Manager Patrick Newkirk said the city had to increase ice time fees to cover rising energy costs.

Between 2012 and 2013, the cost of energy to run Hobbs has jumped 20 percent, he said.

“As energy costs continue to rise the only way we recover those cost is by charging more for ice time,”Newkirk said.

Because Senate may not grant the full athletic department request, Athletic Director Scott Kilgallon said the hockey team will have to fundraise to cover higher ice fees. But he doesn’t expect a Senate decision to cut into practice time or game time.

“We understand the student finance commission has a lot less money to work with this year,” Kilgallon said.

Kilgallon said the athletic department had to make a special request because the hockey team is operating on a budget drafted last year.

When hockey found out in July it would need to pay more to use the ice, it had to ask Senate for money because the higher costs weren’t covered in the budget passed last year.

Senate has about $11,000 in its special reserve account which is used to grant unexpected funding requests throughout the semester. It also holds about $8,000 in carryover funds.

In other Senate news

Senate will form a committee to handle tech improvements in general access labs after a unanimous voice vote.

The general access lab steering committee will help adapt labs on campus to handle more wireless devices after a campus wireless infrastructure upgrade last spring.