The Jones Aquatic Center kept its gates closed last summer and its full return in 2021 is still precarious due to a shortage of lifeguards and swim instructors. The problem isn’t limited to Emporia. On April 12, Overland Park reported that only three of its six out door aquatic centers would be open this summer and similar news stories have popped up all over the country. “We’re not alone with this,” said Emporia Recreation Center director Tom McEvoy. “We had our in-person state conference here last Wednesday down at [White] Auditorium and I talked to a number of director friends of [...]

The Emporia City Commission passed a resolution to set aside a tract of land for the development of new housing within city limits during its action session on Wednesday night. The land, known as the Kretsinger Tract, was designated as a Rural Housing Incentive District and has proposed building 60 single-family units for either renter or owner occupation. Passage of the resolution is the first step in the process of RHID designation. The resolution will now be reviewed and further authorized by the Kansas Department of Commerce before further official steps can be taken. “I doubt very seriously that anybody will [...]

With just six people certified to respond to any 911 dispatched EMS responses within Chase County, EMS Service Director Scott Harris says he is facing a critical staffing shortage that can only be addressed by hiring more staff. “Right now we’re down to myself — the full-time person who not only works the dayshift but covers any nightshift we need covered — and our five part-timers or ‘volunteers.’” While part-time EMS staff are considered volunteers, in this case the title is a bit misleading; part-time EMS volunteers are paid positions. Each of those five part-time staffers, Harris said, also works a [...]

The Emporia City Commission discussed updates to its Rural Housing Incentive District policy for a third time on Wednesday, focusing mostly on mitigating risk to the city. Special projects coordinator Jim Witt took the commission through the proposed changes to the policy with the intention to vote on adopting the policy during next week’s action session. Commissioner Jon Geitz supports the policy but expressed concern regarding how to protect the city’s investment in infrastructure in the event that a developers’ project failed. “The taxpayers are the ones with the most at risk and the least to gain and the developer and [...]

The Emporia City Commission discussed updates to its Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) policy to address the housing shortage in Emporia during its study session Wednesday morning. Special Projects Coordinator Jim Witt explained that about 53% of local households could afford houses priced at $150,000 and that this data point would help guide the commission in moving forward with making decisions in regard to housing. However, he also said that the variability of housing prices would be important to consider as well. “That’s the second point, I think, to be made is that the rising costs of housing — affordable materials, [...]

The Emporia Gazette received a number of questions after the Emporia City Commission’s split decision to purchase 88 acres of farmland located at 1503 E. Logan Ave. for $1 million, last week. Some residents questioned how the purchase price was reached, while some questioned the need for more land for industrial development. Others wondered why — and how — the deal was pushed through so quickly. We spoke to Kent Heermann, president of the Regional Development Association, to discuss the purchase. Heermann said the purchase is the latest in a long list of examples of the city’s nearly 70-year push for [...]

Kansas may have paid $600 million worth of bogus claims for unemployment benefits last year, a legislative audit said Wednesday, more than double an estimate from the state Department of Labor. The report from the Republican-controlled Legislature's nonpartisan auditing division suggested that nearly 1 in 4 unemployment claims paid last year could have been fraudulent amid a surge in filings during the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the Department of Labor's own data. The department on Tuesday estimated last year's fraudulent claims as worth $290 million. Source: Emporia Gazette

The Strong City Opera House has been awarded a $90,000 Heritage Trust Fund grant by the Kansas Historical Society, Saturday morning. The funds are a much needed boost for the Strong City Preservation Alliance to continue renovations on the historic building located at the corner of 5th and Cottonwood streets. "It's been a very emotional day," said Ross MacTaggart, SCPA member, of the announcement. Source: Emporia Gazette

While the pandemic is sure to continue altering plans for months to come, local officials say they’re committed to providing as normal — and as entertaining — of a year as possible moving forward. During a brief joint city/county luncheon Wednesday, officials discussed the general impacts COVID-19 has had on the community thus far, with one of the chief among them being the cancellation of numerous popular local events and celebrations. In speaking on the importance of providing residents something to look forward to, Mayor Rob Gilligan encouraged attendees to do everything in their power to promote a return to normalcy. [...]

After reviewing information on the project last week, city commissioners officially approved Wednesday a memorandum of understanding with the Emporia Country Club allowing the construction of a public pickleball facility on the premises. The six-court facility (which will be considered a city park upon completion) will be on the current site of the country club’s unutilized tennis courts, directly adjacent to its parking lot. Additional ingress and egress easements have been approved by the ECC as part of the agreement, giving the city additional access (and maintenance obligations) for nearby sidewalks and one or more ECC parking stalls for public use. [...]