Budget season is coming up quickly and the Emporia Recreation Commission received their first look at the possible 2026 budget during their Monday evening meeting.
Emporia Rec Director Amanda Gutierrez is proposing a budget of more than $7.9 million, a slight increase from the 2025 total of just over $7.8 million. Gutierrez anticipates that a good portion of those dollars could be spent on capital improvement projects at various facilities across town, including the DeBauge Family Sports complex.
Gutierrez says projects at other facilities could be similar to those mentioned at DeBauge, noting most, if not all, of the facilities used for rec programming need modernization.
Also Monday, the board received the latest update on the new Emporia Rec Center building from the rec steering committee. Following the committee’s latest meeting last week, the process for constructing a new facility remains in a holding pattern at this time.
Gutierrez noted a major reason for this is that the ERC and committee don’t have certain figures in hand just yet.
That said, Gutierrez reiterated the ever-present need for space at the current Lee Beran Recreation Center, saying “we can’t keep kicking the can down the road much more.”
Also Monday, ERC members received the latest pulse update and impact statement from leadership team members. The Emporia Recreation Commission will next convene on Monday, June 16th at 5:30 pm for its regular monthly meeting inside the Lee Beran Recreation Center.
