As the Community Building is set to close to the general public in January, city staff members have estimated that it would cost $18,000 to open the building for kids up to age 17 to use for about 12 hours per week.
Lawrence city commissioners voted this year to approve a budget that adds fees for adults to access Sports Pavilion Lawrence and the Holcom Park and East Lawrence recreation centers, beginning Jan. 5. That includes the restroom facilities. Young Lawrence residents up to age 17 will still be allowed to use those rec centers for free. (Read more about that and see the fee breakdown at this link.)
However, as part of the fee implementation, the Community Building at 115 W. 11th St. will only be open to people who are enrolled in programming or who reserve the building. The building will still be in regular use, though.
Lindsay Hart, interim director of Parks, Recreation and Culture, wrote in a memo to the Lawrence City Commission that it would cost an estimated $18,000 to open the building during the school year to youths up to age 17 for free, drop-in use for after school hours.
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The building could be open to youths from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, when Lawrence Public Schools have early dismissal, according to the memo. Summer hours would be adjusted based on staff availability and program and camp schedules.
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The memo is part of the commission’s upcoming meeting agenda. But it is not an action item, so commissioners will likely not be voting on a plan to implement access.
Hart wrote that “The cost of operating at our current hours is $50,000 annually.”
The building currently sees one to five youths per day on average, except for Wednesdays, when it sees an average of 15 youths, according to Hart’s memo. She wrote that the cost to open the building on Wednesdays would be approximately $6,000 annually.
The memo does not mention potentially opening the facility for adults.
The $18,000 budget increase would “require additional service level reductions in other PRC program areas to offset the expense which could include limited access to recreation centers and further service level decreases in recreation programming and parks maintenance,” Hart wrote.
The Lawrence City Commission will meet at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
The commission accepts written public comment emailed to ccagendas@lawrenceks.org until noon the day of meetings. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.
City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. In order to watch the meeting online remotely, attendees must join via Zoom at this link, which also allows participants to provide public comment virtually. Meeting recordings are uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel the next day.
See the commission’s complete meeting agenda at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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Lawrence city staff estimate: $18K to open Community Building to kids for limited hours
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