Following roughly two months of discussions and development, the Economic Advancement Committee has developed a new board structure for the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas to consider.
The new structure was announced Wednesday afternoon by Emporia City Manager Trey Cocking during a joint session between city and county commissioners. According to Cocking, the new proposed structure will take the board from seven to 11 members including three for both the city and county.
The Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce would also have one representative as would Emporia Main Street and Emporia Enterprises, with FHTC President Dr. Caron Daugherty and Emporia State University President Ken Hush being added as voting members. The work towards a new board structure followed two significant events over the last year: the economic development study through Vision First and a letter to the RDA from the Emporia City Commission requesting immediate changes to the structure signed and sent in December.
The city’s letter aimed to give the commission a larger representation on the board which it provides 100 percent of the funding for. While speaking with KVOE News Wednesday, Cocking stated he believes the new proposed structure accomplishes that goal while also providing additional representation for other signficant economic partners.
Audio PlayerIn addition to recommending changes to the board structure, the Vision First report also suggested dissolving Emporia Enterprises. Cocking tells KVOE News that conversation will be “left open” for at least a year.
Audio PlayerCocking says once the new board structure is approved and implemented, likely during the RDA board’s next regular meeting, the search for the next RDA president, a process that has been on hold the past few months, will resume.
The RDA Board is scheduled to meet at 7:30 am next Thursday, April 10, inside the Trusler Business Center.
