CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
KDOT Project Selections
The Kansas Department of Transportation has notified the City of the following decisions regarding project funding requests:
§ The requests for an Economic Development project at the intersection of K-10 and Franklin Road, and for a Geometric Improvement project on 6th Street from Monterey Way to Folks Road, were not selected for the fiscal year 2010 program. See attached letter.
§ The KLINK resurfacing project on 23rd Street from Iowa to Louisiana has been selected for funding and will be programmed for Fiscal Year 2009. See attached letter.
The 2007 KLINK project includes the mill and overlay of Iowa Street from Irving Hill Road to 23rd Street (Clinton Parkway). See attached staff memo.
Stormwater Division Submits Annual Report to KDHE
The Stormwater Division of the Public Works Department recently submitted an annual report (see the executive summary on page 2) detailing the City’s compliance with the conditions of our stormwater discharge permit. The report also outlines the successes and challenges of our stormwater management program. Please also see the attached map, which shows stormwater outfalls (locations where the stormwater system discharges into a receiving waterway) as well as other stormwater infrastructure.
City Initiating Application for All-America City Award
The All-America City Award is a prestigious nationwide competition honoring grassroots problem solving and community collaboration. Since 1949, over 4,000 communities have competed and 500 have won the award. Each year 30 finalists are chosen from among the applicants, and ten of the finalists are eventually named All-America Cities. City staff has begun preparing an application for the award, which will highlight ways in which the public, private, and non-profit sectors cooperate. The application will feature three efforts – downtown development and revitalization, the Lawrence Community Land and Housing Trust, and Success By 6 – as examples of the community coming together to address challenges. Winning this award, or even being named a finalist, would bring positive national attention to the Lawrence community. For more information on the All-America City Award please visit the National Civic League’s website at http://www.ncl.org/aac/index.html.
Lawrence Pipe Inspection Program Profiled in Municipal Water and Sewer Magazine
The Utilities Department water and sewer pipe inspection program was featured in the February edition of Municipal Water and Sewer magazine. The article features Project Manager Jim Stuit explaining the advantages of the City’s in house inspection program, which include efficiency, consistency, and cost competitiveness. To view the online version of the article, click here.
Airport Capital Improvement Plan Submittal to FAA
In order to be considered for funding by the Federal Aviation Administration, airports are required to submit each year a revised Airport Capital Improvement Plan (ACIP). The attached plan was reviewed and approved by the Aviation Advisory Board at their January 25, 2007 meeting. All projects in the ACIP are included in the 2001 Airport Master Plan. Staff anticipates this ACIP to be the basis for the submittal of projects in the upcoming 2008 City CIP process. FAA funding of approved projects is for 95% of the project cost, leaving 5% for the City to provide. The most recently completed FAA funded project was the construction of the partial parallel taxiway (2006) and design of the safety area for runway 15-33. This project had a $1,398,945 FAA grant with $73,629 City participation. Funding is anticipated in 2007 for the construction of the safety area for runway 15-33.
Staff Attends Kansas Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy Conference
Lisa Pool, City/County Planner, attended the Kansas Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Conference in Wichita, Kansas on January 17th and 18th. The event was sponsored by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and covered topics ranging from watershed assessment strategies and motivating stakeholders to land use/policy impacts and watershed economics. The keynote speaker was Chad Pregracke, founder and president of Living Lands and Waters, a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the nation’s major rivers and watersheds.