Emporia Recreation Commission operations dominated discussions at an Eggs & Issues forum Saturday morning during the last in a series of forums sponsored by the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and the Emporia League of Women Voters.
Members of the board of education, plus school Superintendent John Heim and Assistant Superintendent for Finance Rob Scheib, made up the panel for the meeting, held in the Mary Herbert Education Center, 1700 W. Seventh Ave.
Board member Mike Helbert, who represents the board on the Emporia Recreation Commission, talked about the unsettled situation concerning the recreation commission.
The commission wants a 2-mill levy increase, above the maximum 4-mill levy the state currently allows the commission to request.
The commission cannot levy its own tax, but must pass its requests through an entity that has taxing authority. The ERC uses the school district to levy the tax.
The district can approve an increase in the recreation commission’s mill levy, Helbert said, and the public has the ability to file in protest of the levy.
The city, which owns most of the recreation facilities, and the rec commission have been working under a cooperative arrangement that is not delineated by a formal contract.
City Attorney Blaise Plummer has drawn up a contract on behalf of the city, and attorney Larry Putnam is working on a similar document for the rec commission.
Helbert said it also has been suggested that the city give its facilities to the rec commission to operate and maintain, including the baseball diamond at Soden’s Grove, which cannot be used by the public.
Two softball fields at Santa Fe Park have been closed because they are unusable.
Bill Barnes, a member of the audience, said he believed the recreation commission should be put under authority of the city, as other communities have done, instead of mandating responsibility to a commission that is not able to levy taxes.
“The state legislature has created a monster of micromanagement,” Barnes said.
“I think there’s a lot of merit to that,” Helbert said. “… You’ve hit the nail on the head. But that is the structure we’re having to deal with.”
Recreation director Tom McEvoy said that he expects recreational needs to increase as baby boomers age.
“They’re very active. They want to stay active. They need programs,” McEvoy said. “We also have an obesity problem with kids. We’ve got to get kids away from exercising their thumbs at home” and get them exercising their bodies.
Audience member Joel Phipps said that financing recreational programs are “extremely high” on his priority list, but he lacks the ability to vote directly on how the programs are funded.
Children and adults from towns surrounding Emporia use the recreation center and its programs without contributing to the tax base, he said.
“We’re paying for that,” Phipps said. “I’m tagged with that as a taxpayer, but I can do nothing to change it.”
• For more from Saturday’s meeting, go online to www.emporiagazette.com
rabblerouser (anonymous) says...
Why are they not investigating how Sante Fe Park field got contaminated with chemicals. Could it be from the white empty chemical barrels that were blowing around from the Sante Fe yards? These chemicals were used by contractors spraying grass and weeds around the yards. Grass Killer?
Also, as I ask the Mayor in todays questions, why do we have a Parks Commissions AND a Recreation Commission? Most Cities have only one, A "Parks & Recreation Commission" saving money on duplicate services and dupicate administration. If we save some money maybe we could fix the seriously substandard sewer system in this city.
May 12, 2009 at 6:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )