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Board considers lower CoSquare fee for Piedmont Community College students and an MOU with college
Summary
Carroll County staff proposed a $25 monthly membership fee for Piedmont Community College students to encourage use of the CoSquare co‑working facility; the board discussed access, residency and promotional responsibilities in a draft MOU.
County staff proposed lowering the CoSquare membership fee for Piedmont Community College (PCC) students to $25 per month and presented a memorandum of understanding the county could sign with the college to promote the facility to students.
A staff member said PCC supports the effort and that the reduced fee is intended to bring students into CoSquare to use common space, conference rooms and internet access. Current regular CoSquare membership is $50 per month; under the proposed arrangement PCC students would pay $25 for access to shared spaces but would not have access to small private offices reserved for full members.
Commissioners asked about current membership counts (staff said roughly 20 paying members), operating costs, past expectations about CoSquare paying for itself and reporting requirements attached to past grants used to build or operate the facility. One commissioner suggested the reduced fee could be extended to county residents attending any community college rather than only PCC students; another favored restricting the discount to county residents who are also community-college students.
Staff said the MOU in the packet would be the vehicle to outline promotional responsibilities — for example, that the college would promote membership to its students — and that more data from a member survey is forthcoming. The board agreed the idea had merit and asked staff to return with any needed clarifications before a formal vote on the MOU and fee structure.
