CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
GFOA Budget Award
Attached please find a letter from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) to Mayor Highberger notifying him that the City has received the 2006 Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This is the fourth year in a row that the budget document has received this recognition.
Another Award
The Topeka Chapter of the Kansas Society of Professional Engineers has awarded the City of Lawrence as this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award for its recent National Biosolids Partnership Environmental Management System Certification and EPA National Clean Water Act Recognition awards. Additionally, the Topeka Chapter will be nominating Lawrence for the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award at the State level.
Neighborhood Resources 2005 Accomplishments
Victor Torres, Neighborhood Resources Director, submitted a list of department accomplishments for 2005 and cited staff members from both divisions (Code Enforcement and Community Development) for their activities and efforts in achieving many departmental objectives during the past year.
Fire Station Energy Efficiency Report
Sabatini Architects provides a review of the thermal efficiency of Fire & Medical Station No. 5 in accordance with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). As per the attached, the administration facility’s building envelope is 8% better than the IECC code requires.
Lawrence Transit System To Participate in Google Transit Trip Planner
The web search site, Google, has launched a Transit Trip Planner, which provides routes and scheduling information for using public transportation. Google has invited public transit agencies throughout the country to participate in the Transit Trip Planner by submitting transit data. There is no cost associated with Google Transit and currently there is not a firm timeline for when new data will be incorporated. Google Transit service is currently only available for the Portland, Oregon area, but plans to expand the service to cities throughout the U.S. and the world.
Airport Maps Added to Website
Three new airport maps have been added to the City website. The maps depict the facility’s snow removal plan, the pavement condition of the runways, and general information on facilities located at the airport. The maps can be viewed at: http://www.lawrenceks.org/Airport/maps/
Pictorial history of Mayors added to the web
As part of the community’s Sesquicentennial celebration, the Lawrence Journal-World, took digital photographs of the past Mayor photos currently hanging in the Mayor’s office. City staff coordinated the loan of photos and requested a copy of each digital photo. Web Intern Ben Turner completed the programming to get the images organized and posted online. Those files have been added to the city’s web site as Past Lawrence Mayors at http://lawrenceks.org/city_commission/past_mayors/ .
Action Items from 01-24 -06
A report on the action items assigned to staff during the 01/24/06 City Commission meeting is attached, along with an update of previous action item assignments.