Typically, the Emporia Recreation Commission board meets Mondays, but that won’t be the case this week.
The Rec Commission board has two meetings Tuesday at the Lee Beran Recreation Center. The first meeting will serve as a review and interpretation session for the fiscal 2023-24 budget and the revenue-neutral rate.
Immediately afterward as part of the regular meeting, the board could well approve both the budget and exceeding the revenue-neutral rate, as well as approve the employee benefit fund package for the upcoming fiscal year.
Much of the attention will go to the Rec Commission’s consideration of the recommendations offered earlier this month by the Future Funding Task Force on what’s ahead for public recreation facilities. The committee has not recommended on whether to expand the Lee Beran Rec Center, but it is recommending a facility near downtown Emporia or the Jones Aquatic Center — as well as a combination of revenue streams to fund the project. Rec Commission officials have said the Beran Rec Center needs more than double its current square footage to meet the existing demand, and a new or expanded facility needs dedicated space for activities like indoor soccer and pickleball.
The budget session begins at 5:30 pm Tuesday, with the regular monthly meeting to follow.
