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Commissioners propose new oversight, lease talks for Memorial Hall after trustees report shortfall
Summary
County commissioners discussed bringing Memorial Hall into county facilities management, negotiating a lease with the Action and Rec Commission and holding a budget workshop with trustees and the recreation commission to resolve operating shortfalls.
At a meeting on April 15, the Atchison County Board of Commissioners expressed support for drafting a clearer management and funding structure for Memorial Hall and asked staff to schedule a workshop with the facility’s superintendent, trustees and the Action and Rec Commission.
County staff told commissioners that current arrangements — under which the Action and Rec Commission receives roughly $10,460 annually to manage Memorial Hall staffing and payroll while rentals produce about $5,000 — produce a shortfall when compared with estimated annual building costs. The county’s internal spreadsheet cited by staff put total annual costs at about $48,006.83 when insurance and maintenance were included.
County staff proposed bringing Memorial Hall into the county’s facilities inventory (so it would be managed like other county buildings), with the county maintenance director handling capital and repairs and a lease back to the Action and Rec Commission for programming and event booking. The staff recommendation would keep the trustees as local stewards while formalizing responsibilities in a written lease.
Commissioners said they expected a budget workshop with Memorial Hall superintendent Nick, representatives of the Action and Rec Commission and trustees to draft a proposed lease and a funding plan. Commissioners noted past denials of a Kansas Department of Commerce grant that listed a 2008 county resolution guaranteeing $30,000 to Memorial Hall as a potential complicating factor to some grant applications; they asked staff to pull historic resolutions and previous agreements for review.
Why it matters: Memorial Hall is a county-owned facility that trustees and the recreation commission manage informally; commissioners said a written lease and clearer financial accounting would protect programming and define maintenance obligations.
Ending: The board supported exploring a formal lease and asked staff to schedule a dedicated budget workshop (proposed dates discussed) with Memorial Hall trustees, the rec commission and county maintenance staff and return with a draft lease and budget options.
