It was developments within the city of Emporia that led to a pause on progress for a new Emporia Rec Center facility late last year. Now, it appears federal developments are beginning to play a role in the situation.
That’s according to Rec Center Steering Committee Co-Chair Erren Harter who spoke with KVOE News following the committee’s most recent meeting Tuesday afternoon. Harter says the committee is still in the same holding pattern its been since the closure announcements of Tyson Foods and Holiday Resort in early December led to them pushing pause on a special vote for a half-cent sales tax question that would have served as the project’s main funding source.
That vote was originally scheduled to take place Tuesday. Harter says on top of the local closures, the recent announcement and implementation of tariffs at the Federal level are now beginning to inflate material costs, which could mean a longer halt to the project’s timeline.
KVOE News asked Harter if the continued pause would eventually lead to higher costs for the project or require the sales tax proposal to rise in the near future. Harter responded by saying:
The steering committee is scheduled to next convene in May.
The Steering Committee’s meeting came just ahead of the Emporia Recreation Commission’s latest candidate interview for the permanent rec center director position. ERC membership convened last Thursday to interview finalists and Tuesday’s interview was a part of that same round, according to ERC Chairman Jeremy Dorsey.
With the first round of candidate interviews completed, ERC members will narrow down the list of candidates and select finalists for in-person interviews during their next regular meeting on March 11.
