The steering committee set to oversee the direction for a new or expanded Emporia recreation center is set.
The USD 253 Board of Education appointed its members, the final members needed, to the committee during its regular meeting Wednesday night. Board President Jami Reever will serve as the board’s representative with Dr. Anna Lasota chosen to serve as the board’s community at-large appointee.
Per the memorandum of understanding approved by all involved entities the steering committee was to consist of the following members:
*One member of the Emporia City Commission
*One member of the Rec Commission who is not a member of the city commission or board of education.
*One member of the school district
*One member appointed by the Lyon County Commission
Section E of the document states the committee will also consist of “three (3) members-at-large, one of whom shall be appointed by the Emporia City Commission and one of whom shall be appointed by the Rec Commission and one whom shall be appointed by the Board of Education, to represent the community.” Members of the Emporia Recreation Commission and USD 253 Board of Education took this to mean a member of the community and not a member of any of the aforementioned boards.
As such, the board of education chose to appoint Lasota while the ERC appointed Deon Morrow. Meanwhile, the city commission chose to appoint two commissioners to the committee, Erren Harter and Susan Brinkman. The decision drew some criticism from both the board of education and ERC with Reever saying she was “surprised when the city chose to go a different path that I thought did not reflect the spirit of the memorandum of understanding.”
KVOE spoke with Brinkman recently and asked why two commissioners were appointed rather than a commissioner and a community member. Brinkman responding saying “Commissioners are also community members.”
Wednesday night, USD 253 Board Member and Chairman of the Emporia Recreation Commission Jeremy Dorsey stated he felt the argument that “commissioners represent Emporia” was simply word games.
Former Lyon County Commissioner and county appointee Scott Briggs echoed Brinkman’s statement saying commissioners do represent the community. That being said, Briggs says he is not concerned with the “politics” of the committee, he is focused on the work ahead.
With the committee now set in stone, the first major task for the members will be to develop a Request for Proposal (RFQ) to acquire an architect who can begin design work on the new or expanded recreation center. The current timeline has that work being completed by mid-March.
