Recreation commission discusses mill levy increase
Management agreements must be in place to proceed
By Russ Morgan (Contact)
Monday, April 13, 2009
Members of the Emporia Recreation Commission agreed that a comprehensive management agreement with the city must be in place before the commission can move forward with a request for a 2 mill increase from the Emporia Board of Education.
A preliminary draft of management agreements for the recreation commission and for Jones Aquatic Center were presented and discussed at the commission’s meeting Monday afternoon.
Emporia Recreation Center director Tom McEvoy has been working on the agreements with assistant city manager Mark McAnarney and city attorney Blaise Plummer. The agreements essentially outline the responsibilities of the recreation commission and the city in the care, management and operation of Emporia’s parks and recreation facilities.
A key point in the recreation management agreement is a call for the city to establish a separate Park and Recreation Repair and Replacement Fund in which the city would budget and fund $25,00 per year and the recreation commission $10,000 per year for the maintenance of the city’s recreation facilities.
The commission agreed that minor revisions to the agreements needed to be made, along with a review by an attorney. The commission voted to retain an attorney to conduct the review.
The agreements are an important step in the commission’s plan to request an additional 2 mills, or $355,000 annually, from the school board.
The commission currently receives 4 mills to use in its programming and in the maintenance of its facilities. Under state statute, the commission should focus those mills on programming, including administration, staffing, supplies and equipment. Over the years, the commission has taken on more responsibilities, such as maintenance and repair, but has not seen an increase in annual funding since 1989. As it is now, only 68 percent of the commission’s 4 mills goes toward programming. The other 32 percent goes towards maintenance and improvements.
“The recreation center has expanded tremendously over the years, ... so we’re doing more with the same amount of money,” McEvoy said.
Commission chairman Roger Hartsook said the additional 2 mills will allow the commission to go back to using the original 4 mills for their intended use.
“The original mission of the 4 mills was to provide services, and about a third of that money now goes to facilitation,” Hartsook said. “The additional levy allows us to use our original 4 mills for its intended purposes.”
Michael Helbert, the school board’s representative on the commission, said the commission serves a crucial purpose in Emporia.
“What a city is, to a certain extent, is having a quality baseball diamond or having quality places to have recreation for children adults,” Helbert said. “It’s part of what makes a city a city.”
The commission would use the additional $355,000 per year in three ways: 13 percent would go to make bond payments to the City of Emporia for various projects, including the natatorium HVAC project and the remodeling of the locker rooms; 33 percent would go to help offset current expenses by helping to pay for management, repairs and maintenance of the city’s parks and recreation facilities; and 52 percent would be used for future development, including upgrading current facilities to modern standards.
gg (anonymous) says...
Emporia needs to cut back on the out of control spending, the economy is in a free fall, now is not the time to splurge or ask citizens to pay more.
April 14, 2009 at 11:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
77flint (anonymous) says...
This provides activities for children when they are not at school and a place for people to enjoy healthy activities. It's not out of control spending when it benefits the people directly. Not to mention it's been 20 years since the last increase REC funding.
April 14, 2009 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
toofast (anonymous) says...
Maybe they should just raise their fees so that the ones that use the facilities pay for the needed inprovements.
April 14, 2009 at 2:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
Help protest out of control spending at the Emporia Tax-Day Tea Party.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid...
Hope to see you there!
Matt
April 14, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
77flint (anonymous) says...
Kids who tend to use the facilities regularly can barely afford to pay now. If you had ever been poor you would understand the importantance. This is like a YMCA.
Your tea party is such a joke! It is funded by republicans and big business not a true sample of the way the american people feel. One more thing, Matt Slater (son of Dan Slater County Controller for many years and one of the highest paid) (Served in the Military (thank you)) you have benefited more from tax dollars than most people ever will. So, when you talk about "out of control spending". Do you include the County in that statement? Maybe you ought to slow your roll and think about what you are saying.
April 15, 2009 at 8:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SFIns (anonymous) says...
This article sounds a little miss leading because the mill levy hasn't increaded in 20 years but property values have. This means that they are recieving more money now than they did 20 years ago. Also what about the bonds that have been issued and the city has bought stuff for the rec center in the past when a large need is discovered.
I agree the rec center needs to learn to operate within their budget just like everyone else.
April 15, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
77flint (anonymous) says...
You are so funny!! Don't quit your day job.
April 15, 2009 at 3:40 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Steve_Corbin (anonymous) says...
Why a tax increase? Let the city use the special liquor tax money now given to Emporian's for Drug Awarness and give it to the rec center, where it will really help the children.
April 15, 2009 at 5:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
josiesbar (anonymous) says...
77Flint,
No, I don't include the county in the out of control spending, because they are the one govt. entity that has everything paid off, and a surplus to boot, and you could probably thank the county controller for that. The city, on the other hand, has a debt of over 58 million dollars, and is the problem here. Next time I will clarify that. So no, I don't need to slow my roll, because I'm miles ahead of you.
April 16, 2009 at 4:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )