Here are some of the things that I recall:

• The Topeka Shawnee County Sports Council, Visit Topeka Inc, the Topeka Hotels Association and the Expocentre concessionaire, through a variety of grants and rebates, guaranteed a significant financial savings for USAW-Kansas Kids. This additional revenue will go into the Kids' general fund and will be used for the benefit of Kansas wrestling and will help delay the need for any future fee increases for our membership.
  
• The hotels committed to fixed prices for the next three years. Here are the hotels that are participating in providing financial grants to USAW-Kansas Kids and their rental rates:
  > Capitol Plaza - $99
  > EconoLodge - $60-85 based on type of room
  > Hampton Inn - $90 in 2010, $95-105 for the next two years
  > Holiday Inn - $79
  > Ramada Hotel- $89
  > Super 8 at Forbes - $69.99 single, $79.99 double
  > Sleep Inn & Suites - $109
  > Baymont Inn & Suites - $79 for 2010, minimal increase thereafter
  > Days Inn - $89
  > Holiday Inn Express - $94
  > ClubHouse Inn - $79 first two years, $85 third year
• Parking continued to be provided at no fee. In Wichita, the parking would have started at $5/day and involved a walk of up to four city blocks.
  
• Concessions were a non-issue, since every facility had the same general pricing and the same rules on bringing food into their arena.

There were many other items that were considered in making the comparisons between the three venues, but the foregoing stick out in my mind as the issues that carried the most weight with the Council members.

And oddly enough the "silent-majority" are more likely to actually show up at the meetings.

You will find the biggest complainers are the ones that don't show up for the meetings regardless of the rules governing participation or the agenda.

I think the lack of attendance was due to a vote of confidence that the majority puts in their elected leaders to do what's right!

It is not uncommon at all for an Executive Board (that is governed by the Kansas Open Meetings Act) to limit or restrict the participation of others that would attend such meeting.

Besides, what could be said at that meeting that hadn't already been said here? This board is made up of people that have been elected by our clubs!! It was an unanimous vote ... and given the opinion of Beeson ... I doubt that a roomful of people, wanting to R&R would have swayed the vote!

The Executive Council meetings ARE NOT governed by the Kansas Open Meetings Act. USAW Kansas Kids, Inc. is a private, non-profit corporation which receives NO public (government) funding.

Should you desire additional information regarding the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA):
Kansas Attorney General - KORA

and the Kansas Open Meetings Act:
Kansas Attorney General - KOMA

I'm not necessarily talking about the Executive Board meetings. I'm talking about the district and state meetings in the Fall. If you don't show up at both of those, you have no right IMO, to get on here and gripe about how the organization is being run.

Currently I am out of State and do not have access to my records however the primary reason Topeka won the bid is the Expocentre is subsidized by Shawnee County taxpayers.

Sedgwick County entered into a management agreement with SMG which is far different than the contract between the Expocentre and SMG. The basic difference is the Wichita arena receives NO taxpayer subsidy.

SMG has agreed to absorb all losses from the operation of the Intrust Arena and will retain all profit up to a specified amount.

The Wichita bid pitted a for profit corporation bidding against the Shawnee County taxpayers.

From the get go, the Wichita group faced a difficult if not impossible hurdle to win the bid.

The comment was made earlier that Wichita did not seem to want to win the bid.

That could not be farther from the truth.

I think that Hays and Wichita both showed up with a knife to a gun fight!

Both the Expocenter and the Downtown Arena are both managed by the same group.
We were also led to believe that Topeka applied some pressure (to the corporate office) to control the bid coming from the Downtown Arena.
I think the management team for the Downtown Arena did everything they could (based on their corporate direction) to help Wichita win the bid. But to some degree their hands were tied.

I would like to know if it true that the Topeka team sent out special gifts prior to the selection?

Sport0,

Are you directing your comments at me? I had planned to drive from Indianola,IA, where I was helping with 84 Kansas Kid Wrestlers, to Salina for this meeting. Ned assured me that he had the necessary votes to get a one year deal so Scott Edwards and I elected to stay in Iowa and help with duals and watch wrestling. I have missed two meetings that I was ALLOWED to attend and I was at a wrestling event during both. I spend NEARLY every weekend from mid October until the end of July at a wrestling tournament, meeting, clinic, camp, or wrestling something. I almost NEVER go without wrestlers who aren't even mine. I spend thousands of MY dollars to help Kansas wrestlers get better. I spend hundreds of hours trying to improve wrestling. Are you going to continue to beat me up and tell me I don't have the right to express my views and opinions? Give it a rest! You have been on me for years. You are just a blowhard who says much and does NOTHING. Please do us all a favor and go away.

Sportsfan02
Not all of us have been around this sport since 2002.
As some of us try to step up and understand the processes and actual needs of everyone in the sport we would like to look to people who have been around the sport for leadership.
Not critisim & degrading comments.
So thanks anyway!

Richard,

I admit that I had been told we were coverd by the Open Meetings Act and I really don't have time to find out if we are or are not but I do know this. There is NO reason that our meetings shouldn't be COMPLETELY open. The votes should be roll call votes and the results should be accompanied by full disclosure of who voted for what. The minutes should be posted within the next two days as well. There should be absolutely NOTHING going on in these meetings that should be withheld from our membership. Secrecy creates a perception of "they are trying to hide something from us" which leads to mistrust. I feel the overwhelming majority of our organization would be in favor of 100% full disclosure.

The vote for a three year deal was NOT unanimous. At least three members voted for a one year deal. It does NOT take two years to figure out and put into place a plan which embraces change. A plan which would create more wrestling opportunities, less burden on our general membership, and more revenue for our organization. It takes passion, dedication, energy, and some hard work but it can be done and should have been done. If the people on the board were not willing to jump outside of the box then they should figure out how to jump off of the board.

Will,
I have seen sportsfan02 and he does do something. He sits at the meetings with his arms folded on top of his belly and has a comment (one that usually has nothing to do with what is discussed) for everything. Which extends the meeting by about an hour, gets the meeting off course and gets nothing accomplished.

On a side note. I've been told that someone on the Ex. Council audiotapes the meetings. I wonder if these audiotapes could be made available or if they are just private to cover someone's rear end if they have trouble.

Will the state tournament still fall on the last weekend in March...so subs, dist, and state will be the same corresponding weekends?...yes

I understand, and I was only trying to enlighten you that this board is not necessarily the place to learn all things USAWKS. As I stated, in general, many of the people who post negatively on these boards do not take the time to attend the meetings where their ideas can be properly voiced and voted on. Heck, I've even seen people who are running for state offices not show up for the meetings!

Why do you hide sportsfan02?

Jeeze dude, Type up what you really want to say! Yea, WILL COKELEY ran for office last fall and was not at the meeting. I was at a WRESTLING TOURNAMENT. I didn't win the election, most likely, because I wasn't there but my son needed me to be with him at tournament so I had to make that choice.

You tell us WHY you have to attend meetings to have credibility? What gives you the right to blast those who don't? You go to meetings, well you say you do because you have never disclosed who you are we can't really say if you go to meetings or not, so that gives you the right to attempt to discredit those who were UNABLE (not unwilling) to attend the meetings. I spend WAY too much time on the phone to find out what happened the meetings because I do care and I do want to know. I do and you type anonymous posts. Who really matters?

As much as it pains me to say it, I have to agree with the so called Cokeley on this one. He really does give of his time and money. And it sounds like he is focused with "Obama-like intensity" on full disclosure and openness which is something I know we can all agree on. I'm still going to keep my eye on him though. He sold out the west side by moving to the JO.

Oh yeah, SO called Cokeley, if you are going to call someone out with a name like hypocrit, let me know and you can buy a vowel. I will sell you an "e" so it is properly impactful with proper spelling - HYPOCRITE. And thanks for your hard work. Remember the west side please.

How many kids come out of Topeka or CLOSE towns,to state? Now how many come from Wichita or CLOSE towns in the Wichita area? That should be a huge factor. No waiting in line at resturants, looking for hotels for days on end, And #1 pretty much EQUAL drive time from east to west!!!! No I was'nt at the meeting but from the sounds of it, does'nt matter who was if you were'nt a board member. And just a question, "How big of a difference was there in the bids?"

As best as could be determined the Topeka bid was approximately $11,000.00 less per year for the three (3) year proposal. For three (3) years the proposal was approximately $33,000.00 less than the Wichita bid.

Once again, the Sedgwick County Intrust Arena in Wichita receives NO TAXPAYER subsidy whereas "Shawnee County's 2009 budget includes a $1.7 million subsidy for the Expocentre"*

* Topeka Capital Journal
"Shawnee County's 2009 budget includes a $1.7 million subsidy for the Expocentre alone, and 68 percent of that will come from city taxpayers."

What many in our membership fail to understand is the USAW Kansas Kids division runs an annual budget deficit. The folkstyle state tournament runs an annual budget SURPLUS however the other programs sucking on the Kids Division teat do not.

USA Wrestling - Kansas Kids
Revenue and Expenses
September 1, 2007 thru August 31, 2008
Executive Director (7,791.72)
State Tournament 15,474.54
Southern Plains (13,351.31)
Folkstyle Nationals (587.78)
Freestyle Nationals (2,696.79)
Schoolboy Duals (6,100.64)
Middle School Duals (1,400.76)
Treasurer 1,301.11
Official (1,013.11)
Freestyle and Districts (4,750.00)
Scholarships (11,000.00)
Districts 7,270.69
Total (24,645.77)