The Emporia Recreation Commission and City of Emporia are expected to have contracts finalized for physical work on updates to the DeBauge Family Soccer Complex by the middle of next month.
According to Emporia Rec Commission Director Amanda Gutierrez, in a report to the commission Monday evening, requests for bids from contractors were sent out for the project on June 4th, with an informational meeting for potential bidders taking place at the complex last week.
Once the deadline for bids closes on July 7th, Gutierrez says the Emporia City Commission will review and potentially approve a bid during their July 15th meeting. The ERC and the city have been working with BG Consultants on the design and architecture of the upgraded facility, which is currently set to include a single turf field, new maintenance building, restroom, concessions and updated parking.
This is a scaled-down version of what the ERC, City of Emporia, and Emporia Recreation Commission had been discussing before the commissioning of designs, which originally included multiple turf fields, among other additions. However, with the City of Emporia only receiving a portion of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding it was seeking last year — $750,000 of $1.5 million — Gutierrez says the entities involved are trying to get the best bang for their buck with the funds they do have, $3.75 million to be exact.
Separately, ERC leadership received an update on the new Rec Center Steering Committee’s work just a week after the committee voted unanimously to move forward with a just under $24 million plan for a potential new facility just west of the Jones Aquatic Center, as well as upgrades to Lee Beran.
In other business, rec commissioners received their first preliminary look at the 2027 budget, which Gutierrez noted will likely come in at 8 mills, on par with previous years. In terms of dollar amounts, Gutierrez says 8 mills has historically translated to just over $2 million; however, they are still awaiting valuation numbers from the Lyon County Clerk’s office.
She anticipates the budget should be right in the $2 million range or slightly higher, so long as the valuations do not come in significantly higher or lower than previous years. In related matters, the ERC stated, but did not formally vote, its intent to exceed the revenue-neutral rate for the coming fiscal year. That vote will come at a later time once the budget has been formally set.
Staying on the topic of finances, the ERC did approve submitting an application to the state for a transient guest tax grant, which the ERC would then put towards providing vouchers for lodging and food at upcoming KSHSAA state tournaments. Gutierrez noted this is the same grant the ERC utilized earlier this year for the same purpose with the recent state basketball, baseball and softball tournaments that came through Emporia.
On that note, it was reported a few months back that KSHSAA will be moving state semi-final and finals games from Emporia and other locations around the state to centralize the activities into the Wichita area, following 2027. With this in mind, KVOE News asked Gutierrez how this would affect the ERC in the years to come, to which she noted that while Emporia will not host state semi-final and finals basketball after the coming year, it will still play host to state basketball games.
Gutierrez also stated that while they won’t host entire tournaments, the ERC would still likely continue to offer vouchers for visitors coming for the contests, noting that sometimes quarterfinal games mean more visitors, which means more chances to bring dollars to local businesses.
As for future TGT applications, Gutierrez believes the ERC should have “leftover funds” from the 2026 and 27 grants, should it be approved, to fund vouchers in 2028.
The Emporia Recreation Commission will next convene in July for its monthly meeting.
