Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks And Recreation Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Shawnee parks budget stays largely flat; officials plan modest staffing, maintenance moves
Summary
Parks and Recreation presented a largely status-quo 2026 general fund request focused on personnel, maintenance projects and an expanded summer camp; no formal council action was taken.
Parks and Recreation Director Tanya (last name not provided) told the Shawnee City Council committee that the department’s 2026 budget request is largely flat and focused on maintaining existing services and personnel.
The budget presentation Wednesday emphasized personnel costs, one-time maintenance items and modest program expansions. “No new programs for the most part,” City Manager Paul Kramer summarized before turning the presentation over to Tanya, who said the department expects to expand its Camp Shawnee program next year and is staffed to support that growth.
Tanya said the department’s summer camp licensing limits the facility to a maximum of 105 participants and the plan is to expand Camp Shawnee toward about 100 campers next year. She told the committee the department believes current staffing levels are sufficient to support that expansion and that the camp is designed to “break even or to cover its cost plus return revenue into the city general fund.”
The presentation listed several one-time maintenance items that reduce the cemetery budget compared with last year because last year’s budget included a one-time cemetery digitization project. Tanya identified planned one-time 2026 work such as replacing a park play-surface at Water Tower Park with bonded rubber mulch, repainting Splash Cove signage, and a small kitchen renovation at the Civic Center.
Tanya also pointed to contracting and utility cost pressures. She said the upcoming mowing contract will be rebid and noted the budget uses an 8% allowance for an increase this year rather than a historical 33% estimate. She said trash and utility costs remain areas of concern.
Tanya summarized staffing across parks divisions—museum, park maintenance, recreation, special events and civic center marketing—and said there are no full-time additions in the requested 2026 budget; one part-time recreation position is budgeted at half time and is not benefits-eligible. She said parks and recreation account for about 10% of the city’s general fund.
Council members asked about aquatics staffing and retention. Tanya said aquatics is “fully staffed for the first time since before COVID,” crediting staff retention measures from last year that reimbursed certification costs when employees completed training and met service commitments.
No formal action or vote on the parks budget occurred during the committee meeting; the item was presented for review and council questions.
