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.
Lee Beran 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 $25,000 a year and the recreation commission $10,000 a 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 toward 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; 35 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.