Memorandum

City of Lawrence

TO:	Mayor and City Commissioners
FROM:	City Manager David L. Corliss
CC:	Scott McCullough, Chuck Soules
Date:	February 14, 2008
RE:	Bauer Farm Issues

This memorandum seeks to highlight separately some of the issues associated with this proposed development.

City engineering staff is providing recommendations concerning the access points requested from the proposed Bauer Farms development. These access points have been the subject of extensive discussion with the developers in recent submissions of the project design. If the Commission approves the requested access points, or some variation of those access points, staff will work with KDOT and the development to successfully implement the approved access points.

Attorneys for the development have submitted a proposed Transportation Development District (TDD) for this project. Staff has not completed its analysis of the proposed TDD. Staff can not recommend that a TDD be used to finance all of the public improvements for this project unless there is a guarantee that no City funds will be expended for these improvements. Given the possible phasing and variations in sales tax revenue, a TDD should not be used unless there is a separate method to ensure that the debt is serviced. There are no City capital funds budgeted for this project.

Staff and the developers are also working on the financial and technical requirements to connect this property to the recently completed sanitary sewer improvements north of this property.

Finally, unless we are otherwise directed by the Commission, staff assumes that the City is not changing its practice and policies and is not assuming the maintenance of street lights, angled parking, and snow removal in alleys. The City pays Westar to maintain street lights in the rest of the community, therefore the City does not maintain specialty street lights as proposed in the development. The City does not remove ice/snow from alleys. The alley access proposed in the residential development will not receive City snow plow service. Also, outside of the downtown area (which has a parking fund to assist in improvement costs) the City does not maintain angled parking on other public streets. If the Commission desires City maintenance of these items, and City financing of these items, staff will include these cost items in future City budgets.