CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Emergency Shelter Operations in Lawrence and Douglas County
The attached memo is a report, requested by the City Commission, regarding the operation of emergency shelters in the wake of natural disasters, weather events or other emergency situations.
Update on Matrix Report Recommendations for Planning and Development Services
The Planning and Development Services Department has made progress implementing a number of the recommendations of the Matrix Report to create efficiencies in the development process, including:
§ Revising the review process to include direct meetings with applicants;
§ Requiring electronic submittals to provide quicker distribution to review agencies;
§ Revising the electronic application folder system so that information can be shared easier with internal review agencies;
§ Revising the Review Comment Letter to reduce conflicting review comments between review agencies;
§ Implementing city management’s directive to transition the Planning Commission to online agendas;
§ Merging the former Neighborhood Resources and Planning departments’ websites into one website;
§ Rebranding the merged department.
Sewer Line Cleaning Project and Need for Grease Ordinance
The attached report summarizes the milestones and effectiveness of the sanitary sewer line cleaning project. Since 2003 blockages of City sanitary sewer mains have been reduced by 50% even though the system has expanded. Over the same time period the number of service calls in which it is determined that blockages and failures are in private lines has remained constant.
To further improve performance of the sanitary sewer and wastewater treatment systems, the Utility Department is working on an ordinance to more effectively keep grease (mostly from restaurants) out of the sanitary sewers. Grease causes sanitary sewer blockages, can convert to gaseous sulfuric acid, increases the organic load at the wastewater treatment plant and distorts line maintenance schedules. Consideration of a grease ordinance will be a future City Commission agenda item.
Top Destinations for T-Lift Service Identified
The Transit System tracked destinations for T Lift paratransit service during the first week of November 2007. Weekdays were surveyed because they include the full combination of employment, medical, educational and shopping related trips, whereas Saturday (with the exception of dialysis treatments) is more concentrated on individual personal trips to a variety of destinations. The following table identifies the top destinations during the sample period.
|
|
|
11/7/07 |
11/6/07 |
11/5/07 |
11/2/07 |
11/1/07 |
Total |
|
|
1 |
Cottonwood |
56 |
55 |
45 |
49 |
52 |
257 |
23.11% |
|
2 |
LMH |
18 |
25 |
19 |
19 |
18 |
99 |
8.90% |
|
3 |
WalMart |
16 |
13 |
10 |
13 |
14 |
66 |
5.94% |
|
4 |
Lewis Hall |
9 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
42 |
3.78% |
|
5 |
Sauer Danfoss |
6 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
36 |
3.24% |
|
6 |
Independence Inc. |
5 |
7 |
|
8 |
6 |
26 |
2.34% |
|
7 |
GSP Corbin |
7 |
6 |
6 |
|
6 |
25 |
2.25% |
|
8 |
Therapy Works |
9 |
|
8 |
|
7 |
24 |
2.16% |
|
9 |
Allen Press |
|
9 |
6 |
|
8 |
23 |
2.07% |
|
10 |
Humane Society |
5 |
6 |
|
5 |
6 |
22 |
1.98% |
|
|
NCS |
|
|
6 |
6 |
6 |
18 |
1.62% |
|
|
Douglas County Senior Center |
|
|
|
8 |
|
8 |
0.72% |
|
|
Haworth Hall |
|
|
|
7 |
|
7 |
0.63% |
|
|
Neu Physical Therapy |
|
|
6 |
|
|
6 |
0.54% |
|
|
KU Union |
6 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
0.54% |
|
|
Hashinger Hall |
6 |
|
|
|
|
6 |
0.54% |
|
|
Salvation Army |
|
6 |
|
|
|
6 |
0.54% |
|
|
CLO |
5 |
|
|
|
|
5 |
0.45% |
|
|
Total trips/sample day |
224 |
232 |
197 |
236 |
223 |
1112 |
|
Planning Commission Mid-Month Meetings Scheduled
The calendar of mid-month Planning Commission meetings for 2008 has been released. The City Commission and County Commission are invited to attend the following meetings:
These meetings have also been added to the City Commission calendar.
Update on Transportation Planning Activities
The attached memo is an update on various transportation planning activities by the Planning and Development Services Department and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), including T2030, the Transportation Improvement Program, MPO membership and by-laws, Intelligent Transportation Systems and various other projects.
“T” Canned Food Drive Successful
On December 20, 2007, the Transit System conducted a canned food drive on “T” buses. In place of the usual fare, riders could donate a canned good or other non-perishable food item. The drive collected over 300 cans which were donated to Just Food, a joint organization that serves three local food pantries. The food drive was the idea of “T” driver Tony Duran. Please see attached photos of the event.