Rec Commission vs. YMCA

In the coming months, city officials and others in Newton will make decisions involving who and what will be in charge of recreational facilities in the city.

Proposals have been made to bring a YMCA to the community. There also are proposals to expand the current Newton Activity Center, operated by the Newton Recreation Commission.

The activity center would be expanded to about 60,833 square feet of new facilities and 36,900 square feet of renovation. The cost of the expanded facility is about $12.7 million. About $7.8 million would come from bond financing with the remainder coming from sales taxes, private donations, the NRC’s current building fund and possibly naming rights.

NRC superintendent Brian Bascue said there are about 230,000 registrations in NRC activities (many patrons were enrolled in more than one program).

The NRC is responsible for maintenance of all the athletic facilities under city control, including the Fischer Field stadium. The NRC also maintains and is responsible for maintenance and booking of the shelters at the city parks. The NRC took over those responsibilities six years ago.

“We take care of every (city) field in Newton except what’s on the high school campus,” Bascue said. “I think the participants are very pleased. The facilities have been improved.”

The NRC has a budget of $1.5 million (2008-09 fiscal year). Of that, about $800,000 comes from a property tax levy of 3.0 mills. The proposed expansion would increase the levy by another 2.73 mills. The property tax levy for the recreation commission is separate from, but administratively bound, to the USD 373 property tax.

Because of the way the tax is structured, many NRC programs have a fee for out-of-district patrons of around 20 to 25 percent.

USD 373 uses NRC facilities on a cooperative basis at no cost. High school football, soccer, baseball, cross country and softball, as well as many middle school football games, are played on NRC- administered facilities. When Newton middle school C team volleyball and basketball teams were eliminated because of changes in Newton’s league, the NRC expanded its programs to take in those who would have participated on those teams, something Bascue said would continue.

“They come over here for after prom; they use it for after graduation,” Bascue said. “They use it for eighth-grade parties. They use them for a lot of events. We use their facilities for basketball and volleyball. It goes back and forth.”

Outside users of NRC administered facilities include the Newton American Legion baseball program, the Newton Rebels summer college baseball team, the Newton Babe Ruth baseball and softball program, the Newton Warriors football team and the Kansas Cougars semi-pro football team.

The NRC is one of the organizing groups in the Kansas State High School Activities Association Eight-Man Football Championships, held at Fischer Field since 2006.

Bascue said all of the NRC’s activity programs are self-supporting. He said the tax money is mainly used for administration and maintenance costs.

Bascue said the activity center is used by about 1,000 patrons daily.

The YMCA is a non-profit organization listed as a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Specific budget numbers for a YMCA branch were not available, but its budget comes from membership fees, user fees and other contributions.

Current proposals have the YMCA as a branch of the Greater Wichita YMCA, with eight branches — six in Wichita, one in Andover and one in El Dorado. All six locations are accessible with a Wichita Y membership. The Wichita chapter also operates a summer camp in Viola and the Farha Sports Center in south Wichita.

The Greater Wichita Y also has cooperative after-school programs in elementary and middle schools in Wichita, Valley Center, El Dorado and several area school districts.

It also could be a freestanding chapter, such as the ones in Hutchinson and McPherson.

YMCA chapters largely are autonomous and can set their own policies in relation to use of facilities at other chapters.

Specific budget numbers for a local Y were not available. The Newton City Commission is looking into the legality of using the current $800,000 recreation tax levy to fund the YMCA.

The Newton Area Chamber of Commerce and the city are exploring a proposal for a facility that would cost about $18 million, located in the South Kansas Avenue area between the Newton Medical Center and the Chisholm Trail Shopping Center.

Greater Wichita YMCA officials provided information about current facilities and activities offered, but couldn’t offer specific budget or patron numbers concerning a possible Newton branch, citing the speculative nature of the proposals.

Both the YMCA and NRC offers financial assistance for low-income families. The NRC bases its eligibility on USD 373 guidelines for the reduced and free lunch program. The YMCA uses a sliding scale based on family size and income.

“There are some people who are not on scholarship, who may have lost their job, or have some other circumstance,” Bascue said. “We work with them on a case-by-case basis. Whatever the case might be, we work with them.”

Bascue said he didn’t have total numbers of those using financial assistance, but said about 30 percent of those enrolled in the summer baseball and softball programs, and about 35 percent of those in the spring indoor soccer program, were under assistance.