CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
City Wins Financial Reporting Award
The City has received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its 2005 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). In addition, Finance Director Ed Mullins honored with the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement for his work on the CAFR. Please see the attached news release from GFOA.
Staff Attends “Deal Makers Expo” on Affordable Housing Development
Neighborhood Programs Specialist Lesley Rigney, Legal Services Management Analyst Scott Wagner, and City Manager’s Office Management Analyst Jonathan Douglass attended a “Deal Makers Expo” on development of affordable housing, sponsored by the City of Topeka and US Bank. Presentations from US Bank, the Midwest Housing Equity Group, the City of Topeka, and the Topeka Chamber of Commerce discussed topics such as the New Market Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, and other financing tools. The attached memo discusses the information that was presented.
Taxiway Project at Lawrence Municipal Airport Completed Early
The construction of Taxiway D at Lawrence Municipal Airport has recently been completed by Hamms Construction. The new taxiway is approximately 2700 feet long and 35 feet wide, and consists of five inches of asphalt, ten inches of rock sub-base, and nine inches of fly ash treated subgrade. Construction started August 28, 2006, with fifty working days and was completed on November 11 with eight working days remaining. Please see the attached photos of the project.
Stormwater Improvements Continue at Meadows Place
The Stormwater Division recently cleaned out the area east of the culvert near 31st and Iowa (see photos). The west side of the structure and the structure itself will also be cleaned out. The work will improve the overall hydraulics of the box bridge and the upstream channel. These improvements are all associated with the Meadows Place stormwater project, where overflow channels are being cut as relief to the existing drainage channel. The attached aerial photo shows the scope of the entire project. The red line represents the channel which has already been cut, the yellow line represents the channel currently being cut, and the box bridge being cleaned out is highlighted with a purple box.
Water Quality Conference
Shari Stamer, Water Quality Manager with the Utilities Department, attended the annual American Water Works Association Water Quality Technology Conference earlier this month. This technology conference offered relevant sessions on future regulations, emerging contaminants, taste and odor, and emergency response. Additional details on the information obtained at the conference are in the attached memo.
Grant Team 3rd Quarter Report
The Grant Team held its first meeting on September 6, 2006. Representatives from all City departments are part of the Grant Team, which met to begin preparing an action plan and a report to the City Commission. Quarterly and annual reports from the Grant Team will detail both the successes and shortcomings of the City’s grant seeking efforts. The attached report is through the 3rd Quarter of 2006.
Staff Attends KACM Conference
City Manager David Corliss and Management Analyst Jonathan Douglass attended the annual conference of the Kansas Association of City/County Management (KACM) in Hutchinson November 8-10. Conference sessions included presentations on STAR bonds and other economic development financing tools (such as TIF, Industrial Revenue Bonds, Transportation Development Districts, and Home Rule GO Bonds), broadband, city/county cooperation, IRS audits, ethics, and development review teams.