July 2025 Newlsetter
July 2025 Newsletter
President's Message
On Tuesday, June 10, 2025, eight Sertomans and three guests gathered at Six Mile Chop House and Tavern for lunch. The guests were Jared and Katarina Bednar, owners of YellowBug Collective and Luis Ruiz, the Director of Parks, Recreation, Arts, and Culture for the City of Lawrence and the speaker.
Jared and Katarina were introduced to the group as the Lawrence Sertoma Club has entered a contract with YellowBug for Marketing and Design assistance with Lawrence Lights.
Luis Ruiz was named the Director of Lawrence Parks, Recreation, Arts, and Culture in May of 2024. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida, attended the University of Miami, and worked for the university and later the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. He worked for the City of Phoenix, managing the theatrical and entertainment venues. He later worked for the City of Tempe in a similar role, and then the City of Mesa in the Parks and Rec Department. When the Lawrence position came up, he felt it was a combination of everything he had experienced thus far, and he was ready for another change in scenery, so he accepted the job.
Ruiz says he enjoys the structure and transparency of municipal jobs and even likes the communication between residents and the city leaders, noting that Lawrence residents are very vocal with their concerns. A major issue facing the City currently is the $6MM budget deficit, with nearly $2MM that will likely be cut from Parks & Rec alone. Parks & Rec fall under the General Fund, which is funded by property tax and sales tax. The General Fund also covers Fire, Medical, and Municipal Services and Operations (MSO).
The city formed two committees (one made up of city employees and one of volunteers) to look at ways to address the deficit and has used pop-up focus groups and surveys to obtain the public’s input. Because Lawrence is one of the few cities that doesn’t charge for access to its rec centers, one of the potential changes is to implement a membership fee. Other solutions are to increase the local sales tax and property tax to increase revenue. As you can imagine, most survey participants were opposed to these options. Without an increase in revenue, the Parks and Rec Department would be forced to reduce hours that rec centers would be open, the level of service available, not mowing some sections of public parks, and not being able to replace playground equipment when it reaches the end of its lifespan. Ruiz feels that residents will be surprised that the fee structure being proposed will be affordable and that scholarships or waivers could be made for those who cannot afford the fee.
The final budget will be voted on in July.
Another major event that has the potential to affect Lawrence is the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Rock Chalk Park is in the running to be selected as a training center and home base for one of the forty-eight teams who will play in the World Cup. This would bring not only a soccer team, but also family members, fans, and media from a foreign country into Lawrence. While Kansas City will host six games, including a quarterfinals game, during early June through mid-July, it is known that KC does not have enough hotel rooms to house everyone involved. The announcement of home base selections will not be made until the first quarter of 2026, but the Lawrence Unified Command Structure has already begun planning as if we have been selected. The Unified Command is formed by Douglas County, KU, and the City of Lawrence to coordinate efforts and address Safety and Security, Transportation, Economic Development, Logistics, and Culture and Experience. FIFA will only provide funding for security escorts for the teams, so other sources of funding is being explored to cover other costs, including the increase of the transient guest tax – a fee that hotels charge to non-resident guests. The Lawrence tax is currently at 6.50% but it can be increased as high as 9.00%.
Ruiz and his department are engaged in showcasing Lawrence by promoting events to give visitors a true picture of life in our city. He also noted that if Lawrence and Rock Chalk Park are selected as a home base, an army of volunteers will be needed to run things smoothly.
At the July 8th lunch meeting, we will be inducting two new members, Marvin Bredehoft and Casey Bowman.
Our speaker in August will be Jared Bednar of YellowBug Creative.
Upcoming Events
SERTOMA Club Meeting
June 10, 2025 @ 12:00pm
Six Mile Chop House
4931 W. 6th St.
Lawrence, KS 66049
SERTOMA Monthly Board Meeting
June 24, 2025 @ 12:00pm
Online
Contributors
Mary Jane Lauer
President
Mary Jane Lauer currently serves as the President of the Lawrence Sertoma Club. She joined Sertoma in June of 2022 after experiencing the club’s BBQ fundraiser and then the Lawrence Lights drive through holiday light show. Mary Jane and her husband, Jim, moved to Eudora, Kansas, in July of 2001, after he accepted a position with the Eudora School District. Shortly after the move, Mary Jane was hired by Commerce Bank in Lawrence and has worked there continually, currently in the position of Commercial Banking Specialist. She and Jim raised five children and now have seven grandchildren who all live within a ten-mile radius. She is a self-described homebody who would rather be at home with her retired husband than anywhere else in the world. She enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren and has a special love of dogs. Being a member of the Lawrence Sertoma Club has provided the opportunity to meet new people and experience the great satisfaction of giving to others.