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Gym count an inexact exercise
LJWorld.com
KU plans for worst on state funding ——
Contingency budget covers possible drop in revenue By Matt Erickson merickson@ljworld.com
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo
REECE DOWNING, 12, OF LAWRENCE, HEADS IN TO THE BUCKET as he and other kids play a game of pickup basketball Feb. 1 at the Community Building, 11th and Vermont streets. City officials have been citing national standards that suggest Lawrence has a shortage of about 18 gyms, but that number is open to interpretation.
City’s recreation needs hard to quantify in arguments for, against new rec center By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
same trade organization also found that Lawrence already has more public gyms per capita than other cities its size. City officials, though, said the new information doesn’t change Lawrence’s need for more gyms. “The primary driver in this is, what does the community want?” City Manager David Corliss said. “We have gone through a pretty good process of what the community wants, and we certainly have heard from the public that there is a deficit of indoor recreation space.”
As the debate has brewed about whether Lawrence should build a $25 million regional recreation center, a statistic has frequently been cited by city officials: National standards suggest Lawrence has a shortage of about 18 gyms. It turns out, though, that number is a bit like the score of many pickup basketball games: open to interpretation. The national organization that created the standards the city uses says it no longer backs them as standards and Please see GYM, page 6A now refers to them as “guidelines.” No matter what they’re called, the calculation of an 18- Other cities pursuing gym shortage in Lawrence ap- large recreation centers. pears too high. Data from the Page 7A
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Today’s forecast, page 10B
By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Decision day is nearing on what could be the largest city-funded project in recent memory. Lawrence city commissioners at their Tuesday meeting are scheduled to review a set of proposed agreements that formally would commit the city to build a $25 million regional recreation center as part of the larger Rock Chalk Park project in northwest Lawrence. The project has had many twists and turns over the past year. Here is an effort to answer some of the frequently
asked questions associated with the planned complex.
Q: A:
Where would the project be built?
In northwest Lawrence, north of the Sixth Street and South Lawrence Trafficway interchange. Q: What would be built at the site? A: Think of the project as having three parts:
Part 1: The city’s portion. It would include the 181,000-square-foot recreation center containing eight Please see Q&A, page 6A
Please see KU, page 7A
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FAQs about Rock Chalk Park
If Gov. Sam Brownback has his way, the flow of funds from the state to Kansas University will stay steady in 2013-14, with the addition of some support for a new health education building. But with months remaining before a state budget is produced, KU officials are preparing for the worst, just in case. KU leaders have passed word down that deans, chairs and others should form contingency plans for the event that state funding takes a tumble again, continuing a recent patAnderson tern. Officials say they’re not predicting that funding will decline. But as Brownback and state legislators hope that increased business activity in the coming years will fill in the state revenue gap caused by the dramatic tax cuts passed in 2012, KU is starting to ponder the tough decisions that could await if funding dries up further. “Right now we don’t have any firm number to know what to plan for,” said Danny Anderson, KU’s dean of liberal arts and sciences. That means anyone budgeting for the next academic year at KU must consider a range of possibilities for what might happen when funding levels are set around May. Brownback’s proposed budget would keep funding steady for KU and other state universities, while also providing $35 million in bonding authority and $10 million in state funds over two years
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Vol.155/No.48 36 pages
Model-train lovers of all ages converged Saturday at the Douglas County Fairgrounds for the 12th annual Lawrence Model Railroad Show and Swap Meet. Page 3A
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