Design work on the city of Emporia’s new skate park can now begin following action by Emporia City Commissioners Wednesday morning.
As part of their action agenda, commissioners approved a design and build contract with American Ramp Company for the new Whittier Park skate park. According to City Facilities Manager Kevin Hanlin, the entire project should take a little more than 60 weeks to complete, assuming everything goes according to plan.
The project has been in the discussion phase for the past several years and Hanlin says they have a good idea of the “concept” heading into the process. That being said, Hanlin tells KVOE News that can “ultimately change” as the design work unfolds.
All told, the project is not to exceed $500,000 with the cost being split evenly between an anonymous donation and dollars from the city’s Lake Kahola fund. The skate park project has been in talks for several years following local residents’ requests to see an update to the current Santa Fe skate park.
Original plans were to have the new project located at Santa Fe, however, following lease negotiations with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, the decision was made to move the project to Whittier last year.
Separately Wednesday, commissioners also approved an application to the CDBG Covid Resiliency (CDBG CVR) grant program through the Department of Commerce. The city will seek up to $150,000 to support technology updates to local businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
Word on when the city will hear back on the application’s status is currently pending. The city will be paying Western Consultants a little more than $3,700 to handle the application’s preparation.
Commissioners also approved a memorandum of understanding with Dynamic Discs for the hiring of a city disc golf superintendent who will assist with upkeep and renovations to the city’s various disc golf courses.
During their regular study meeting, commissioners had their latest review of the 2024 fiscal year budget. The majority of those conversations focused on identifying the main infrastructure projects the city is looking to tackle in the coming fiscal year.
City Manager Trey Cocking says they are currently sifting through which projects take precedence.
At this time, the city’s fiscal 2024 budget will include a half-mill decrease. Commissioners will have a public hearing on both the budget and the revenue-neutral rate as part of their regular meeting on Wednesday, September 6.
Additional discussions Wednesday included an update on the Emporia Police Department lobby renovation and the city’s transient guest tax rate.
