Emporia City Commissioners may be set to approve a formal agreement on improvements to Santa Fe Skate Park as soon as next week.
During their regular study session Wednesday, commissioners reviewed design concepts for the first wave of improvements from American Ramp Company based in Joplin, MO. The designs were based on input from community members following a recent survey.
The proposed improvements would include a larger street run with ledges and steps and the addition of a bowl to the property amongst other suggestions. City Commissioner Rob Gilligan says he believes this is a worthwhile project that focuses on what he calls an underserved population in the community.
The total cost of the project would be $500,000 with half of the cost to be covered by a $250,000 donation from the Emporia Community Foundation last fall and the other half through park improvement fund dollars. Commissioners are also considering making this a phased project with a second wave of improvements to be focused on adding amenities for cyclists.
In other business, commissioners reviewed an ordinance update for the city’s common consumption area. City Attorney Christina Montgomery says this is still a “fairly new process” for the commission.
Few changes were proposed for the policy aside from discussions on fencing around a CCA and what options, other than traditional barricades, were available to the city to demarc the exact area where alcohol consumption would be permitted.
The Emporia City Commission will hold an action session inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium next Wednesday at 1:30 pm.
