It has been six months since Scott Cronk announced his retirement as Emporia’s police chief, effective at the end of last year. It has also been about three months since coronavirus began impacting city operations.
With those two things in mind, especially with a phase-out of COVID-19 restrictions possible in the next few weeks, City Manager Mark McAnarney says the process for selecting a new chief will get a fresh look.
During KVOE’s Morning Show on Thursday, McAnarney did not say whether the city would move forward with initial plans for a nationwide search. Ed Owens has been leading the department on an interim basis since Cronk’s retirement.
McAnarney says city leaders are watching several things closely as the pandemic continues, including infection trends. They are also watching revenue trends, which have fared better than other cities across the state so far.
McAnarney’s comments on KVOE followed the City Commission meeting where commissioners moved forward towards final approval of three fully-funded transient guest tax grants — Granada Theatre, Emporia Arts Center and Red Rocks State Historic Site — even with a possible $400,000 shortfall for the fund this year. Commissioners had already funded requests through Emporia Main Street and Welch Stadium.
The city manager’s perspective also followed word the Peter Pan Park splash pad would open, perhaps as soon as this upcoming weekend, and the annual fireworks show was canceled. McAnarney says the fireworks show brings at least 1,000 people to the Emporia State campus along with the number of people helping to organize the show, so it was responsible to try again next year.
