The latest Quaker Park saga chapter is complete, and the next chapter may just be getting written.
As KVOE News has reported in recent weeks, the Emporia City Commission last month voted unanimously to reverse its action from earlier in the year to place Quaker Park on the city’s surplus real property list to sell or transfer the park to the Emporia land bank for housing development. The reason for the reversal was the action of local residents who organized the “Save Quaker Park” campaign, which included circulating a petition that garnered hundreds of signatures.
One of the organizers of said campaign, Eric Paul, recently joined Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking on the monthly Q&A With Trey segment to offer his thoughts on the process. He tells KVOE News he was uplifted by the city’s action saying it was exciting for him, and hopefully empowering to others, to see the city listening to the voice of the people.
Monday was not the first time Paul and Cocking had discussed the matter together as both noted they met several times during the petition period. Cocking says each of those conversations was civil, productive and constructive adding this type of engagement is exactly what city leadership wants from residents.
Cocking and Paul also noted there were several instances where individuals on social media chose to offer divisive comments and feedback on the situation, however, both stated those comments tended to come from individuals with no involvement or stake in the future of Quaker. Both credited one another for being able to “block out the noise” and not allow it to affect their interactions with one another.
As for the future of Quaker Park, Paul says the “easy part” is now over and the “hard part” now begins. He tells KVOE there is no concrete plan for what will happen at the park although residents have expressed interest in seeing the park updated including the possible addition of playground equipment and other amenities.
Cocking has said on several occasions the city cannot finance those efforts entirely as the price tag would likely be well above $350,000 and contrary to popular belief, the city does not simply have those funds laying around. To that end, Paul stated Monday that he has met with multiple individuals and entities who have expressed interest in assisting future update efforts.
Cocking also says that while the city cannot fund the entire update, they are willing to sit down for more conversations on the matter and would be happy to lend support in any way they can.
