Parks and Rec director acknowledges advisory board didn't vote to disband itself

Shawnee County’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Board didn’t officially vote to disband itself but the “vast majority” of its members thought they had served their purpose, says county parks and recreation director John Knight.

Knight told County Commissioners Kevin Cook, Shelly Buhler and Bob Archer Oct. 12 that the advisory board voted to disband itself.

Commissioners voted 3-0 that day to arrange for the appointment of a 15-member Citizen Advisory/Advocate Board to replace the 15-member advisory board,

But J.R. Campbell, a former member of the advisory board, told commissioners at their Oct. 15 meeting that as far as he knew, that board never voted to disband.

Commissioners then received an email Sunday from former advisory board member Doug Reynolds, who said he had checked with fellow members Campbell, Martin Weishaar and Kevin Rooney — all of whom agreed no vote was taken.

Reynolds’ email suggested newspaper coverage of Knight’s Oct. 12 statement would cause readers to surmise “that the members of the parks and recreation advisory board are quitters, but the reality is that the county quit on the advisory board.”

Reynolds wrote that the advisory board was nothing more than a token board, with nothing of real substance ever brought before it except to assist the staff with “listening tours.”

Reynolds’ email said: “This advisory board last met in May 2014 and has not met since. Members then did receive monthly emails from the parks and recreation administration office indicating that each month’s meeting had been canceled with no explanation, and after October 2014, we ceased to receive email notices altogether.”

Knight responded in an email to The Capital-Journal Wednesday: “The previous advisory board recommended ‘disbanding,’ Vote may not be the correct word. We had completed the Master Plan and the Chair had an item discussing the future role of the Board. The vast majority of the board was proud of their service and believed their purpose was completed. An official vote was not taken. Following that meeting we were not able to obtain a quorum for following meetings.”

Knight wrote that the parks and recreation master plan crafted by a consultant working under contract with the county recommended “the development of a ‘Citizen’ Advisory/Advocate Board to replace the existing Advisory Board, which was designed for protection of former city assets and programs.”

Knight added: “We are now looking to appoint a board comprised of forward thinking members who can help develop a parks and recreation program to serve the future needs of a growing senior population and that can help us attract and retain young professionals in our community.”

County commissioners and the city of Topeka’s governing body voted in 2011 to approve a contract creating the advisory board among steps taken to implement a consolidation of city and county parks and recreation departments under county control. The merger took effect Jan. 1, 2012.

That agreement doesn’t appear to outline any procedure for disbanding the board. Rules regarding the advisory board are spelled out on pages 5 through 7 of the agreement, which can be found online at http://cjon.co/1Gl3KVf.