April 10, 2007
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at 6:35 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Amyx presiding and members Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner present.
The Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods presented a framed gift to Mayor Mike Amyx.
With Commission approval Mayor Amyx proclaimed April, 2007 as “Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month”; and, proclaimed April 14, 2007 – November 30, 2007 as “Downtown Lawrence Farmers’ Market Season.”
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of March 27, 2007 and April 3, 2007. Motion carried unanimously.As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to receive the Lawrence-Douglas Housing Authority meeting minutes of February 26, 2007; the Building Code Board of Appeals meeting minutes of March 1, 2007; the Mechanical Code Board of Appeals meeting minutes of March 12, 2007; and the Board of Electrical Appeals meeting minutes of March 7, 2007. Motion carried unanimously. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve claims to 468 vendors in the amount of $964,712.73. Motion carried unanimously. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Chipotle Mexican Grill, 911 Massachusetts; Chipotle Mexican Grill, 4000 West 6th Ste; 1; Vermont Street BBQ. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to set a bid date of May 1, 2007 for the 2007 Microsufacing Program. Motion carried unanimously.
(1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to set a bid date of May 1, 2007 for the 14th and Tennessee Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for 2500 tons of road salt for a cooperative purchasing agreement with the City of Lawrence and Douglas County. The bids were:
BIDDER PRICE PER TON TOTAL
Central Salt $35.49 $88,725
Hutchinson Salt $36.21 $90,525
Independent Salt $37.88 $94,700
Cargill Salt $38.49 $96,225
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to award the bid to Central Salt for $88,725, with an optional 1,000 tons for $35,490 totaling $124,215. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for one roll-off refuse truck for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Custom Truck and Equipment $119,000
KCR International Trucks $129,992
American Equipment Bid B $132,610
American Equipment Bid A $135,348
Custom Truck and Equipment $139,000
Roy Conley & Co. $140,620
Burnup Equipment Co. $143,502
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to award the bid to KCR International Trucks, in the amount of 129,992 because the low bid from Custom Truck and Equipment did not meet transmission specifications. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
Ordinance No. 8094, designating as a landmark (L-10-02-2006) on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places, the structure located at 925 Vermont Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by, seconded by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (5)
Ordinance No. 8095, designating as a landmark (L-11-03-2006) on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places, the structure located at 621 Connecticut Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
Ordinance No. 8096, designating as a landmark (L-12-04-2006) on the Lawrence Register of Historic Places, the structure located at 1646 Massachusetts Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
Ordinance No. 8085, authorizing the initiation of eminent domain proceedings to acquire needed utility easements for Pump Station 48, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt Resolution No. 6713, replacing the current 457 Deferred Compensation Plan provider and trustee with a new plan provider and trustee. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adopt Resolution No. 6714, authorizing the Mayor to sign an agreement with the Secretary of Transportation for reimbursement of costs for the 2008 KLINK Project, 23rd Street from Iowa to Louisiana. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to authorize the City Manager to enter into contracts with the Incentive Recipients of the 2007 Downtown Sprinkler Program. Motion carried unanimously. (11)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve as “Signs of Community Interest”, a request from the Lawrence Region Antique Automotive Club of America to place directional and notification signs in various rights-of-way during the Lawrence Swap Meet from May 4 – May 6, 2007. Motion carried unanimously. (12)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve as “Signs of Community Interest”, a request from Friends of the Library to place signs in various rights-of-way during the annual book sale from April 13 – April 21, 2007. Motion carried unanimously. (13)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to approve a variance request allowing a private sanitary sewer service line connection, in Cypress Park Addition Replat, to cross public right-of-way and cross over a drainage easement. Motion carried unanimously. (14)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to authorize the City Manager to enter into a License Agreement with Lawrence Freenet to install communications equipment on designated traffic control signals along Clinton Parkway. Motion carried unanimously. (15)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to concur with the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve a Special Event (SE-04-07-07) request for a downtown film festival located in the 900 block of New Hampshire Street, more specifically the southwest corner of 9th Street and New Hampshire Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. Provide barricade at south end of alley at E. 10th Street.
2. Temporary Event Permit must be displayed on site during hours of operation.
3. Temporary sign permit must be obtained from Neighborhood Resources if temporary signage is to be used.
4. Any structures must be removed within 24 hours after the cessation of the event.
5. Cars, trucks, vans, trailers may not be used for sale of merchandise.
6. Place trash receptacles shall be provided, as needed.
Motion carried unanimously. (16)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to authorize the Mayor to sign the EPA Green Power Partnership Agreement and launch a Green Power Community Campaign in conjunction with Earth Day. Motion carried unanimously. (17)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
During the City Manager’s Report, David Corliss said the City Manager’s Report indicated progress on a number of items that were undertaken by the City. He said he would deviate from that report to wish the parting Commissioners heartfelt good wishes and appreciation on behalf of City employees and also his personal appreciation to Commissioners Rundle and Schauner on everything they had done for him and his family over the past year.
(18)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive comments from Mayor Mike Amyx and City Commission.
Commissioner Schauner said it had been a tremendous honor and pleasure sitting on the Commission. He said this was a special community and someone would be hard pressed to find a community as open and caring as this community.
He read a Robert Frost quotation that read: “In three words I can sum up everything I learned about life, it goes on.” He said the same thing would apply to the work of the City Commission, regardless of who is on the Commission, “it goes on.” He read a list of City Commission accomplishments for the past four years which were:
1. Hired a new Fire Chief and built two fire stations;
2. Allowed substantial growth to the south of the City by the early stages of building a Wastewater Treatment Plant on the Wakarusa;
3. Adopted a new Development Code;
4. Adopted a smoking ban;
5. Adopted a living wage for the abated companies that wanted to locate in Lawrence;
6. Started a substantial change in repairing infrastructure, adding approximately a million dollars each of the last two fiscal years for that purpose;
7. Conducted and concluded a sidewalk inventory which would become the basis for some very substantial improvements in the City’s sidewalk transportation network in town;
8. Took up the issue of the domestic partnership registry and hoped the future Commission acted affirmatively on that issue;
9. Opened a new dialogue with the Congressional Delegation and hoped the visits continued because many of the needs of this community, the City could probably ill afford with the City’s own revenue, and needed federal and state assistance;
10. Started a serious investigation of purchasing the Farmland property on East 23rd Street which held great promise for the community as both a gateway and an employment center;
11. Started and installed a number of traffic calming devices throughout the community;
12. Started construction on a nearly one million dollar park in West Lawrence;
He said there were a number of other issues the Commission had discussed and addressed, but rather than focus on what the City Commission accomplished, he wanted to address the future of the community.
He said one decision the Commission made, which he believed would have the longest lasting impact on the community, was the hiring of a new City Manager. He said when David Corliss was hired, Corliss made a commitment to conduct a top to bottom review of how City government operated and Corliss was true to his word in beginning and continuing that process. He said Corliss would, of all the decisions the City Commission made during the last four years, have the greatest lasting legacy of any single decision the City Commission made.
He then thanked his fellow Commissioners. He said there was only one Mike Rundle and Commissioner Rundle was without equal when it came to dedication and service to this community and everyone in this community would miss him because Commissioner Rundle was as good as they get.
He said he and Commissioner Highberger did not agree at times, but he never believed that Commissioner Highberger had anything other than the best interest of the City at heart and knew Commissioner Highberger would continue to do his best for the next couple of years.
He said he valued the leadership Mayor Amyx showed and his commitment not just to the City Commission, but to the community. He said Mayor Amyx was a gentleman and a leader in this community.
He said regarding the future, the Commission was part of creating a culture in which every person in town not only had the right to talk to the City Commission, but had every person’s input valued and in many cases, acted on affirmatively. He said that commitment was to individual citizens and to every man or woman in this community, without regard to their position, income, or status, was a mark of a truly civilized and caring community. He said because the Commission acted collectively as well as individually, in the best interest of this community, he challenged the next Commissions to remember that no matter the person’s position or power in the community, everyone’s voice should be equal in front of this body and everyone’s voice should carry the same weight.
Commissioner Rundle said he was reminded when he first took office in 1987, when making the transition of a very disappointed David Longhurst, who had been turned out of office, he was making his final statement and one of the things Longhurst said was, “nobody in Lawrence loved Lawrence anymore than he did.” He said if there was anything that united the City Commission as common thread, was the love of this community. Elections were a reflection of how people wanted the Commission to reflect that love and whether or not those people were satisfied with how they were carrying on their duties as Commissioners.
He said there were a few major issues that had come up during this campaign. One issue was economic development and job creation and clearly that was a partnership in this community and frankly, the City paid quite a bit of money to the Chamber of Commerce every year to help carry out economic development and job creation. If there were serious problems with economic development, then they needed to talk because it was a community problem.
The other issue was affordable housing. He said just before he left office in 1991, he initiated an effort to bring neighborhood housing services to this community. He said there was a Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, chartered by Congress and a federal not-for-profit agency that was active in helping communities, particularly targeted neighborhoods such as the City’s community development neighborhoods revitalization. He said he was not able to put effort into that issue and for whatever reasons some of the partners that were necessary in that effort pulled out and the effort died. He said he was looking on-line at some of the other communities with neighborhood housing services, one being Hamilton, Ohio, population of approximately 62,000 and they started the neighborhood housing services program in1992 and in 10 years had permanent financing for housing in the amount of $46,263,444 and that was a partnership where a lot of that money was leveraged from conventional lenders, but it was also from sources outside the community, something they would be grateful for in this time of limited resources with all the things they knew were facing this community. He said he and Laverne Squier, President, Chamber of Commerce, had been looking into brining that effort back.
He said he often said that if throwing a rock down Massachusetts Street in Lawrence, Kansas, there was a 50/50 chance of hitting a former Mayor. Certainly, there would be a very good chance at hitting a former Commissioner.
He said sometimes there was more rock throwing in this community than was needed and more things could be accomplished if rock throwing did not take place. He said his constituents had been the target of some of those comments over the years. He said one of the names, most recently, used was “no-growthers” and no matter how many times he tried to assert it was just a matter of how they dealt with that comment, no one on the Commission did not want the City to grow and thrive. He said if there was one thing he could wish for it would be if they could let that comment die, coming as frequently as it did from the Journal World, and it seemed to reflect little respect to the people who were trying to do good for this City.
He said he appreciated serving with his colleagues and it had been a collegial time. He thanked City Manager, David Corliss and City staff who had enough work to do and through the years, had performed a lot of extra work. He said he hoped to continue to be involved in this great community.
Mayor Amyx said he wanted to thank the members of the Lawrence City Commission for his opportunity to serve as Mayor during the last year. As pointed out, the Commission had been through a number of issues. He said in going through the agendas there were approximately 2,000 items the City Commission had dealt with in the last year which entailed a lot of reading, study, and people who were dedicated to that job. He thanked staff for giving him the opportunity to grow as Mayor.
He said the Commission was a very fortunate group of people because very few people in this community had the opportunity to serve in one of those five chairs. To be able to be part of the Lawrence City Commission was something to be very proud of and he thought it was the best elected body in the State of Kansas. He said Lawrence was a community that was second to none and Lawrence was a community that did not back down to anything. He said no one could ever question the dedication of each member of the City Commission. A person could question the decisions that were made, but not the dedication and effort each City Commissioner put into their job as Commissioners.
He thanked members of the public that came before the Commission and the respect the public had shown him as Mayor was appreciated. He said he truly loved the Lawrence Community.
The City Clerk will conduct swearing in of elected City Commissioners.
Frank Reeb, Administrative Service Director/City Clerk, swore in the newly elected City Commissioners Dennis Highberger, Rob Chestnut and Mike Dever.
Conduct Election of Mayor
Mayor Amyx called for nominations for the office of the Mayor.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to nominate Sue Hack as Mayor.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Chestnut, to close the nominations for Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Commission voted unanimously to elect Sue Hack as Mayor.
Conduct Election of Vice-Mayor
Mayor Hack called for nominations for the office of Vice Mayor.
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Highberger, to nominate Mike Dever as Vice Mayor.
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Highberger, to close the nominations for Vice Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Commission voted unanimously to elect Mike Dever as Vice Mayor.
Comments of Mayor and Commissioners
Mayor Hack said Mike Amyx grew up next to, went to school with, or cuts the hair of every man, woman and child in Lawrence, Kansas and had a genuine and abiding love of this community. She said Amyx worked harder than anyone she had ever met and he had the ability to bring groups together to resolve issues that might have met with some bumps in the road to a solution. She said she would continue to count on him for advice and counsel and thanked former Mayor Amyx for his service to this community.
As with any incoming Mayor, there were a number of things every Mayor wanted to accomplish in their term. She said those accomplishments were often very ambitious goals and represented an awful lot of work on the part of our staff and the City Commission. She said her goals were no different, but hoped in a year from now everyone could look back and see great progress in various areas.
In the area of transportation, they had large decisions ahead once the Planning Commission had completed its work on Transportation 2030, a report that was to be completed by September. At that point, they would have a clearer picture of the City’s long term goals and how they could build a comprehensive transportation plan for the Urban Growth Area.
She said from her perspective, there were internal things to focus on. One thing to focus on was a comprehensive look at the Iowa corridor as it related to Kansas University and the traffic generated by university travel through a residential neighborhood. They must also look at the Wakarusa corridor and the installation of traffic lights with a coordinated approach similar to what existed on Iowa. Finally, there had to be strong consideration for a funding mechanism to connect 15th Street with the SLT. Absent that connection, 6th and 23rd Streets would continue to bear the burden of ever increasing traffic coming from the west, but the Commission would continue to make sure the traveling public would be safe on the streets of Lawrence.
Staff was working toward a needs assessment for social programs in Lawrence and in heading into budget discussions, it was important to make sure the City’s dollars were spent wisely in looking at the ever increasing needs of our community.
In connection with this needs assessment was the discussion of the homeless population which was a complex issue. She said she wanted to make sure there was continued work of the Affordable Housing Task Force and hoped to use a carrot rather than a stick approach with the building community to work together to provide additional housing stock that could meet at least some of our needs.
This was a compassionate community, but also a community that must demand accountability for programs dealing with our homeless population. To that end, she asked former Mayor Amyx to work with the Community Coalition on Homelessness and develop a long term, comprehensive program that focused on not only meeting needs of the homeless community, but also fiscally responsible.
She said there were several reports from consultants that would be addressed in the near future and were well on the way to implementing many of the suggestions of the Matrix report such as the creation of a One Stop Shop for our Planning and Neighborhood Resources Departments into a Community Development Department. She said they would provide a clear and consistent approach to not only the large projects that came before those departments, but the homeowner who was seeking to make improvements to his or her home.
She said they had received the preliminary results from the SDAT (State Department of Assessments and Taxation) work, looking how to better prepare to develop as a sustainable community, as well as the PlaceMakers report dealing with traditional neighborhood design, as they continued the work to adapt those two reports to our community needs. A tremendous amount of staff time, volunteer time, and money was expended on both of those projects and she knew they were all anxious to continue to move forward with the recommendations of those consultants.
One of the major points of discussion, during this past election, was in the area of job creation. It was her contention that Lawrence was challenged by two things, resources and reputation. This City must continue in pursuit of the Farmland property as well as ground by the Lawrence Municipal Airport to be developed as industrial parks which both of those areas were identified by the good work of ECO2. It would be a shame to lose potential employers and subsequent jobs simply because there was no place to put those employers. In addition, they needed to be mindful those two sites would not serve all future employment needs and they needed to continue to look at additional areas for industrial use.
The City’s reputation needed repair and the Commission would work to streamline the development process without compromising this City’s high standards. The Commission would visit with the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas City Area Development Council to make sure those committees knew of the good work taking place in Lawrence, Kansas. They would also be stepping up our elected officials’ visits to companies and organizations that existed in Lawrence and Douglas County. She said approximately 80% of new jobs came from the expansion of existing businesses and the City Commission’s responsibility would be to see how to help make those expansions happen for local businesses.
Economic Development depended on all three partners, the City, County and Chamber of Commerce firing on all cylinders. Working on the City’s reputation and resources would enable Lawrence to attract those jobs that were needed, in order for citizens to have the opportunity to both live and work in Lawrence. In addition, they could go a long way toward improving the balance between property taxes that came from residential and those that came from business and industry.
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the work ahead would be the budget. There were reports indicating that while enjoying the benefits of increasing income due to property tax valuation increase, those benefits would not happen at the rate of previous years. While it was a blessing to homeowners, it left the City with less additional funds to work with. As the City’s costs went up and the desire to maintain a superior level of community services continued, there were issues to be addressed.
First of all, future expenditures needed to be identified and prioritized which would take place at a Commission goal setting session, with staff, within the next six weeks. Secondly, the conversation started by former Mayor Amyx needed to be restarted regarding a sales tax increase. Commissioners were not elected by promising to raise taxes, but they would struggle with meeting the increasing needs of the community, desire for superior city services, and the community goal of keeping property taxes as low as possible. While a sales tax increase, in many cases, was controversial as a property tax increase, it allowed the City to capitalize on those people who spent money in Lawrence, but were not residents. She would like the City Commission to look at a division of the income from an additional one cent sales tax among four entities which were the library, the PLAY initiative, economic development incentives, and public infrastructure improvements. In moving infrastructure improvements out of the operating budget, there might be that possibility of a reduction in property taxes. This sales tax would certainly be subject to a public vote and she recommended a 10 year sunset with a renewable option, subject to voter approval and looked forward to Commission discussion on that matter.
She said those were some of the practical goals she had in mind, but most importantly was the healing of this community that must take place. She said they needed to find a way to work through differences in a manner that stopped the cycle of distrust. It was tragic that a community such as Lawrence was labeled by PlaceMakers as a community that exhibited more mistrust among its citizens and stakeholders than any other community they had ever worked with which was a shame.
The Commission would not be able to move forward on any initiatives until building trust among various stakeholders. Everyone must learn how to get along with each other and quit arguing over whether this community was business friendly or not, whether pro-neighborhood or not, whether east or west, whether them or us. She realized there were individuals who would remain distrustful of each other and who would continue to sling mud on the various blogs and websites that existed and those individuals would not work toward finding solutions or common ground. But in all honesty, she thought those individuals represented a small number of people and quite frankly, their opinions would not change and those individuals would continue slinging mud at each other. It was that large group, in the middle, that must engage in civil dialogue and must be willing to reach out and learn from others. Moving forward with a vision for Lawrence could not happen until beginning to build this much needed trust and Lawrence was certainly capable. If they could accomplish that trust in this community, they would have accomplished the best gift that could be given to their children and grandchildren.
It was an honor to serve as the Mayor of Lawrence and she looked forward to this coming year and all of the wonderful things that were ahead.
Commissioner Highberger said it had been a pleasure working under Former Mayor Mike Amyx and he appreciated the Mayor’s efforts in working with people all across the community in bringing people together to find solutions.
He said Mayor Hack had an ambitious agenda staked out and he was ready to go.
In terms of building trust, he hoped the Commission made progress over the last four years. He said he would not enumerate all of Mayor Hack’s qualities that he found special, but appreciated her dedication to the children of this community.
He said by his calculation, he, Mayor Hack, former Commissioners Rundle and Schauner, had attended 200 City Commission meetings together, not to mention hundreds of other study sessions and other meetings and functions. He said it was like losing part of his family because of the time spent together.
He said as Commissioner Schauner stated they did not agree with everything, but he had respected Commissioner Schauner’s dedication to Lawrence neighborhoods and appreciated the list of accomplishments that Commissioner Schauner listed for the last four years. It made a lot of work for staff, but he thought they had made a difference in the community.
He said regarding Commissioner Rundle, with the exception of some of the people on the Commission, there was no one as dedicated to this community and an act he could not follow. He said he thought most people realized the level of sacrifice that it took to be a City Commissioner, especially if a person was not independently wealthy. He said he appreciated former Commissioner Rundle’s service.
He said he received a lot of positive feedback and appreciated the opportunity to serve the community for another term and he would continue to do his best with the work that was started over the last four years. He said he would do everything in his power to ensure neighborhoods had a strong voice at City Hall and continue to enjoy a great quality of life in this community and live up to ideals of tolerance, diversity, and compassion because those were the things that made this community such a great place.
Vice Mayor Dever said he was excited to serve a community that he cared about. He said he could not wait to learn all those things he needed to provide insight and positive input into this community.
Commissioner Chestnut said being elected a City Commissioner in Lawrence was a surreal experience simply because he grew up in Lawrence. He said it was a strange experience to be seen going full circle and being part of this community in a lot of different ways. The Commission spoke well of their love and passion for this community which made Lawrence unique. He said there were so many complex issues on so many fronts. He said one thing that came out loud and clear was the City had a tremendous staff to support the City Commission. (19)
The Commission recessed at 7:40 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes.
The Commission resumed regular session at 8:00 p.m.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Amy McCarragher, Lawrence, said she lived on the corner of Trail Road and Settlers Drive where vehicles traveled at high speeds down that road. That issue was addressed at a past Traffic Safety Commission meeting where she had asked for speed cushions. She said she was not informed of the City Commission meeting to discuss that matter and that issue ended up being put on hold indefinitely. She said she would like to bring that issue back to the City Commission for discussion.
David Corliss, City Manager, said staff had been in email correspondence with McCarragher and that history was a good reflection of where the status was on that issue. He said that area was on Trail Road near Lawrence Avenue and the request was for traffic calming devices along Trail Road between Lawrence Avenue and Kasold. The City Commission received the Traffic Safety Commission’s recommendation and unfortunately, staff did not do a good job of informing McCarragher or some of the other residents along that area that issue was on the City Commission’s agenda. When the City Commission discussed the issue, it was fair to say they had some substantial hesitation with proceeding with traffic calming, not so much on Trail Road, but in general, regarding if that was the best way to respond to those concerns. He said looking at the long list of traffic calming items there was concern about how they would get at those items and therefore, the item was tabled for further study and staff was continuing to look at that issue.
He said related, but somewhat independent, were funds budgeted for debt service on sidewalk installation for sidewalk gap which was one of the issues discussed with McCarragher. He said there was no sidewalk along Trail Road immediately at Lawrence Avenue. He said one comment was made that there were school children traversing Trail Road and a sidewalk at that location would be a means, but not the sole means, to respond to some of the safety concerns at that location and the Public Works Director was looking at that issue as staff was working on their list of sidewalk gap project the Commission would be seeing in a couple of weeks.
The issue was back with staff and a policy discussion was needed about traffic calming devices, the installation of those devices within the community, and Commission’s comfort level with proceeding, understanding they had a priority listing and staff would inform McCarragher and the rest of the neighbors when this item was coming back to the Commission for disposition of that specific request and then steps forward with either installing traffic calming in some neighborhoods. Also related was the issue of sidewalk installation.
McCarragher said one other issue, in the newer neighborhoods where most of the houses were up for sale, was the number of speed cushions in those neighborhoods where traffic was not a problem yet.
Corliss said the community had differing standards for streets and sidewalks over the years such as older neighborhoods had sidewalks on both sides. He said there was also a phase of no sidewalks at all. He said the City now required sidewalks on both sides of all new residential streets. In the past, the City had sidewalks at least on one side of a residential street and both sides of a collector and recently, with new street installations, Monterey Bluff was an example where there were traffic circles. He said the standards had been changed over time, the newer developments were having that installed as those development were being built as a development cost and where they might try to retro fit existing parts of the community where there were concerns about traffic and neighborhood issues. He said staff had created a lengthy list of traffic calming projects and the City Commission had struggled on prioritization.
McCarragher said this issue could be addressed by lowering the speed limit, adding sidewalks, and speed cushions to name a few, but she was asking for a solution on behalf of the safety of her children and the neighborhood’s children.
Commissioner Amyx said when staff discussed Trail Road and whether or not they were going to proceed with traffic calming devices, the City had a ranking system and thought McCarragher’s project was number six or seven in ranking. He said staff was looking at other ways to accomplish safety whether it was through the police department running radar or other ways of addressing that issue.
McCarragher said she was not sure just having a police officer drive through, on occasion, was going to alleviate that concern.
Mayor Hack suggested Commission discussion to go over the City’s policy and see if there were other things that could be done. She said when this issue came up for City Commission discussion staff would notify McCarragher and the neighbors.
McCarragher said she noticed a number of four-way stops and asked if a three-way stop on some of the side streets would get those vehicles to slow down.
Consider a motion to recess into executive session for 30 minutes to discuss matters deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship. The justification for the executive session to keep attorney-client matters confidential. The regular meeting of the Commission will resume in the City Commission meeting room
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Dever, to recess into executive session at 8:20 p.m. for 30 minutes to discuss matters deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship with justification for the executive session to keep attorney-client matter confidential. Motion carried unanimously.
The Commission returned to regular session at 8:50 p.m.
(20)
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
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04/17/07 |
· Lawrence Community Shelter UPR · Request from Recycling & Resource Conservation Advisory Board to change its name to Sustainability Advisory Board and to adopt new bylaws. · Staff is requesting that the April 17 meeting begin at 5pm in a study session format to discuss water and wastewater capital improvements. · Water/Wastewater capital improvements and projected rate information · Review bid on the Clinton Water Treatment Plant · Authorize distribution of Request for Qualifications for the Design/Build of the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility · Consideration of Preliminary Development Plan for Mercato development, north of West 6th Street, west of George Williams Way extended. · Direct staff concerning proposed special assessment benefit districts for the improvement of George Williams Way north and south of West 6th Street, including intersection improvements · Direct staff concerning sanitary sewer improvements serving property west of Queens Road, north of West 6th Street (Baldwin Creek gravity line from pump station no. 45 to 48)
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TBD
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· Salvation Army Site Plan and Rezoning; · Retail Marketing Analysis Code provisions · TBD per applicant’s request · Neighborhood Revitalization Act proposals for target neighborhoods and downtown; NRA policy statement |
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Highberger, to adjourn at 9:30 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Sue Hack, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Bid Date Set – 2007 Microsurfacing Program, May 1, 2007.
2. Bid Date Set - 14th & Tenn Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project, May 1, 2007.
3. Bid – 2500 tons of road salt, to Central Salt for $88,725, option 1,000 tons for $35,490, totaling $124,215.
4. Bid – 1 roll-off refuse truck for Public Works to KCR International for $129,992.
5. Ordinance No. 8094 – 2nd Read, Landmark (L-10-02-2006) Register of Historic Places, 925 Vermont.
6. Ordinance No. 8095 – 2nd Read, Landmark (L-11-03-2006) Register of Historic Places, 621 Connecticut.
7. Ordinance No. 8096 – 2nd Read, Landmark (L-12-04-2006) Register of Historic Places, 1646 Mass.
8. Ordinance No. 8085 – 2nd Read, Eminent Domain for utility easement for Pump Station 48.
9. Resolution No. 6713 – Replacing 457 Deferred Compensation Plan provider.
10. Resolution No. 6714 – Agreement 2008 KLINK Project, 23rd from Iowa to Louisiana.
11. Contracts – Incentive Recipients of 2007 Downtown Sprinkler Program.
12. Signs of Community Interest – Lawrence Region Antique Automotive Club of American.
13. Signs of Community Interest – Friends of the Library annual book sale April 13 – April 21, 2007.
14. Variance – Sanitary Sewer Service Line Connection, Cypress Park Add Replat.
15. License Agreement – Lawrence Freenet, install communications equipment on designated traffic control signals along Clinton Pkwy.
16. Special Event (SE-04-07-07) downtown film festival, 900 block of New Hamp.
17. EPA Green Power Partnership Agreement – Earth Day.
18. City Manager’s Report.
19. City Commission Election – Mayor/Vice Mayor & 2 New Commissioners.
20. Executive Session.