With a petition deadline about its future fast approaching, Quaker Park will be the site of a community event Saturday.
The Save Quaker Park BBQ and Family Day is set for 11 am to 11 pm at the park, First and Sylvan. Residents are encouraged to bring food, bottled water, plasticware, plates and yard games. Petitions will also be available for signing.
The city of Emporia had opened a petition window last year as it started to consider a potential plan to turn Quaker Park into three homes, including one for Habitat for Humanity and two to be possibly sold through the Emporia Land Bank. The original petition gained just a handful of signatures, but the city decided to reopen the petition process earlier this year. The city has designated Quaker Park as surplus real property and has published notices of the proposed sale but it has not entered into any agreements with the Land Bank or anyone else to sell at this time.
The protest window ends April 15. The petition needs 462 valid signatures from registered Emporia voters for it to advance and currently has about 200. If the protest is considered valid, the city could decide not to sell the park property or it could put the topic on an upcoming ballot.
*Click here for a link to the Save Quaker Park information page.
