Commission discusses post-sunset future of quarter-cent sports tax and options for Atchison and Effingham complexes
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Summary
Finance staff reviewed fund balances for the quarter‑cent sports tax; stakeholders, including Atchison Recreation/ASAF and the YMCA, discussed maintenance needs, new requests from USD 377 and options for managing funds after the tax sunsets. No binding decision was made; commissioners asked for follow-up analysis and stakeholder collaboration.
The Atchison County Commission and stakeholders met July 1 for a midday discussion on the quarter‑cent sales tax that funds two county sports complexes and the fund's status after the tax sunsets.
Finance Director Mark Seltner reported balances held by Exchange Bank (trustee) as of May 31: roughly $1,878,008 across four trustee funds, with payments remaining on bonds totaling about $337,001.70. The county has an 80/20 split arrangement between the Atchison facility and the Effingham facility under the current program. Seltner reported remaining allocations from the $500,000 initial allocation: Effingham had about $39,002.19 remaining and the Atchison complex had about $77,009.40 remaining at the time of the meeting.
Seltner said he had received a list of capital requests from the USD 377 superintendent that included items such as shade structures, dugouts, press boxes, conversion of a baseball field to turf, concrete pathways, perimeter fencing and replacement of a mower; he estimated the total requests likely exceeded $1.9 million. County and stakeholder participants discussed priorities and timing for such projects.
Stakeholders at the meeting included representatives of Atchison Sports & Fitness (ASAF)/Atchison Recreation (the entity that manages the Atchison complex) and the local YMCA. YMCA representative Lauren said the YMCA can bring program resources and stated the organization is not interested in owning additional property but could operate or program at the site; ASAF representatives said they have invested in maintenance and programming for many years and described the complex's usage (ASAF reported more than 1,200 kids participating in programs and roughly 101 teams this year, including travel teams and camps). ASAF also said it would be prepared to run the complex if the county chose to transfer ownership.
Commissioners and stakeholders discussed whether the county should retain the remaining funds in a county-held account for maintenance after the tax sunsets (December 2027) or transfer funds to the entities that operate the facilities. Commissioners noted prior legal advice from bond counsel that the trustee funds could not be converted to an endowment in perpetuity and that the funds must be used for construction and maintenance consistent with the original sales-tax vote; additional counsel and treasurer guidance were requested.
No formal action was taken. Commissioners asked finance staff and county counsel to prepare options and legal guidance on (1) allowable investment vehicles, (2) limits on transfers to outside entities, and (3) whether the county could structure a controlled distribution to the facility operators while preserving restrictions required by bond counsel. Commissioners also encouraged stakeholder collaboration through ASAF (which includes multiple user groups) to develop a prioritized maintenance and capital plan for presentation to the commission.
