CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending November 23, 2007

Planning Commission Agendas to go Online January 2008

Please see the attached staff memo regarding plans to introduce online Planning Commission agendas and materials in January 2008. Advantages of having Planning Commission agendas online and computers available for Planning Commissioners during their meetings include:

Elimination of paper packets will save significant staff time and other resources consumed as paper packets are printed, assembled and delivered by Planning staff to ten Planning Commissioners before each meeting.
An online agenda complements the Planning and Development Services Department’s efforts to get all planning materials submitted electronically.
Online Planning Commission agendas will lead to more seamless transitions as materials move from the Planning Commission to the City Commission.
Online agendas make items before the Planning Commission more accessible to the public, creating a more transparent public process.
Planning Commissioners will be able to access other resources during their meetings, including the comprehensive plan, GIS and other city policies.

Rather than buying notebook computers for use by the Planning Commission, staff recommends installing fixed workstations at the City Commission Room dais, which could also be used during City Commission meetings. Staff will put together a demonstration set-up for City Commissioners to preview at their November 27 meeting.

Downtown Parking Lot Capacity Report

The attached parking lot capacity report is the result of weekly parking lot capacity data gathered downtown from January to October 2007, and details the number of available spaces in different areas at varying times.

Emergency Generators Installed at Fire Medical Stations

Emergency generators were recently installed at Fire Medical Stations 2 and 3, meaning that only Station 1 now lacks an emergency generator. The generators were paid for in part by a FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant of $73,696 (with a local match of $49,419). Public Works Building Maintenance staff assisted in the project by constructing screening around the generators.

Federal Transit Funding Update

City staff received notification from the Kansas Public Transit Association intergovernmental relations representative that on November 19, 2007 the House and Senate Transportation Appropriation Committee completed its work on an agreement for the FY08 Transportation Appropriations Bill which will go to the full House and Senate for approval shortly. This bill, which includes an earmark for the City of Lawrence Transit System, may or may not be vetoed. The Office of Management and Budget indicated they would be recommending a veto, but President Bush has not yet indicated if he would veto this bill.

Below is a summary of the FY08 Transportation Appropriations Bill that contains earmarks for various Kansas urban transit properties:

City of Wichita, KS (did not submit funding request)	$0
City of Lawrence, KS - Bus Replacement	$150,000
Johnson County Transit - Bus Replacement	$150,000
Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority - Bus Replacement	$300,000
Unified Gov. of Wyandotte County – Bus Replacement	$700,000
Unified Gov. of Wyandotte County - Planning & Design, Bus Rapid Transit – State Ave. Corridor	$1,500,000

Earmarks already authorized in SAFETEA-LU were funded. These were earmarks that were written into the original transportation bill. The City of Lawrence did not have any earmarks authorized in SAFETEA-LU [Note: Johnson County Transit did have an earmark authorized in SAFETEA-LU for FY08 that will funded in addition to the amount listed in the table above.]

Garage Staff Participates in Emergency Vehicle Technician Training

On October 23^rd and 24^th technicians from the Central Maintenance Garage attended emergency vehicle technician training in Wichita. This training was hosted by the HEAT (Heartland Emergency Apparatus Technicians) Association and approved by the Emergency Vehicle Technician Certification Commission. A four hour testing session was held after the electrical course ended. Terry Eaton, Jim Sparkes and Reese Nordhus all passed both the Fire Apparatus and Ambulance Electrical Certification Tests. These tests and the comparable Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) tests are required for EVT certification. All three technicians have already completed the ASE portion of the requirement and were awarded the EVT Electrical Certification November 12.

Parks & Recreation Taking Over Island Maintenance on Bob Billings West of Wakarusa

In 2008 the Parks & Recreation Department will be responsible for landscape maintenance and mowing of the islands on Bob Billings Parkway west of Wakarusa Drive. When that area first developed, the various development partnerships active in the area voluntarily maintained the islands in order to control the quality of the landscaping. As the developers have sold out their real estate in the area they no longer have reason to voluntarily maintain the islands, so Parks & Recreation staff is taking over this responsibility.

Yard Waste Collection Season Hits Its Peak

Compostable yard waste collections have hit their peak season, with 4877 households setting out yard waste for collection on November 19. Please see the attached photos of the yard waste (mostly leaves at this time of the year) at the composting facility.

9^th Street Bus Shelter Roof Repaired

The Building Maintenance division recently replaced the roof on the 9^th street bus shelter. Please see the attached photo of the completed project.