Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
CC:	Cynthia Boecker, Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
DATE:	February 4, 2008
RE:	FY2009 Federal Appropriations Requests

Staff requests City Commission authorization to submit several federal appropriations requests. The requests are made to members of our Congressional delegation in the U.S. House and Senate, and are generally due in late February or early March. Federal funding sources are highly competitive and overall funding may decrease from previous levels, but federal financial assistance for local needs is vitally important to the Lawrence community.

Staff recommends submitting similar requests as those which were submitted for Fiscal Year 2008. Although these requests were not able to be funded for FY08, they remain important projects to the community. In addition to submitting the required request forms, staff has been and will be working with our Congressional delegates and their staff to advise them of our needs and the worthiness of our requests.

Surface Transportation

Staff recommends that we seek federal funding for two major surface transportation projects which are important to the economic development and continued quality development of the Lawrence community. The first request is for $1,000,000 for planning and necessary property acquisition for the improvement of the intersection of Franklin Road and 23^rd Street (K-10). The continued concerns about the safety of 23^rd Street and East Hills Business Park along with our desire to improve Franklin Road as an important north-south arterial make the future improvement of this intersection an important capital project. Prospects for continued economic development in this area will be enhanced with improvement of this intersection.  The second request is for $1,000,000 for planning and construction services for the improvement of K-10 and Bob Billings Parkway (f/k/a 15^th Street and SLT). Staff believes that a separate graded interchange at this location is necessary prior to City development west of K-10. The estimated cost for this interchange is $14,000,000 - 15,000,000. Future development of this interchange will likely require multiple sources of funding and it is important to seek federal financial assistance for this project.

Transit Funding

Transit Administrator Cliff Galante has submitted the attached memorandum describing the City’s transit federal financing request of $1,859,200 for fixed route vehicle replacement.  

Stormwater Funding

Staff recommends a request for the stormwater improvements at 23^rd and Ousdahl - one of the highest priority uncompleted stormwater projects from the 1996 stormwater study. Our federal funding request would be for up to $2,000,000 (1996 estimate was $1,022,880). This area is a major stormwater challenge during large rain events; impeding traffic flow on an important east-west arterial in our community. The major projects in either the North Lawrence Drainage Study or the remaining priority I stormwater projects are beyond the fiscal scope appropriate for the federal funding sources we have identified.

ACTION: Authorize staff to submit federal funding requests to members of the City’s Congressional delegation, if appropriate.