Over the past year or so, Emporia city officials have been discussing how to proceed — or whether to proceed — with an updated skate park at Santa Fe Park and a possible new facility at Whittier Park. Residents interested in learning more about those plans are encouraged to attend a special public meeting Wednesday.
City Manager Trey Cocking says the initial goal was to upgrade the facility at Santa Fe, but Burlington Northern Santa Fe — which owns the property and leases it to the city — has changed its structure for land leases. In most cases, this means 99-year leases drop down to one year, but Cocking says the good news for Santa Fe is the lease remains in effect if the property is stil used for ballparks — and remains in effect through 2060. With this change in mind and with some conversations about possibly replacing the Santa Fe skate park with a T-ball complex, the city decided to check on available spaces at other parks like Fremont, Hammond, Peter Pan, Soden’s Grove and Walnut. At the top of the list now? Whittier.
The Rec Commission has already announced potential plans for a repositioned T-ball complex, new practice fields, renovated bathrooms and upgraded baseball diamonds.
The meeting is from 5-6 pm at White Auditorium’s Little Theater. It will follow more conversations by the Emporia City Commission as part of official meetings Wednesday.
