CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending October 24, 2008

ICC approves residential fire sprinkler requirements; City to review

The International Code Council (ICC) held final action hearings for the 2009 set of ICC building codes in September 2008 in Minneapolis, MN. During the hearings new code proposals were approved by the ICC membership for inclusion in the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC), including requirements for residential fire sprinkler systems for all new one- and two-family dwellings. Lawrence has currently adopted the 2006 set of ICC building codes, effective as of January 1, 2008. These codes are updated every three years and staff expects to begin working with the codes boards (building, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) in 2009 to review the newer codes for possible recommendations for adoption in 2010. Please see the attached memo for more information.

City events focus on energy efficiency and conservation

During the month of October the City’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Division hosted four educational events to inform residents and businesses how they can save money, energy and the environment.

Lawrence’s first Sustainable Business Tour on Saturday, October 11th offered participants a close look at renewable energy systems, energy efficient construction and alternative/sustainable building techniques inside four local businesses: Zarco Earth Friendly Fuels, Bowersock Mills and Power Company, The Castle Tea Room and The Community Mercantile. See attached report.
On Wednesday, October 15th, Our Energy Future: How Kansas Can Lead, a presentation at the Lawrence Arts Center by Nancy Jackson, the Executive Director of the Climate and Energy Project, a project of The Land Institute, informed attendees about Kansas energy efficiency and conservation efforts. Also, Mayor Mike Dever shared an update on the efforts of the city’s Climate Protection Task Force. See attached report.
The 8th Annual Lawrence Energy Conservation Fair took place at Free State High School on Sunday, October 19th. The Energy Fair hosted thirty-five exhibitors with professional environmental expertise: including local builders, architects, engineers, insulation contractors, and home energy efficiency specialists. In addition to these exhibitors, a line-up of guest speakers gave presentations throughout the day, which provided attendees more specific information on a variety of topics. See attached report.
On Sunday, October 19th the Lawrence Sustainable Homes Tour showcased homes and buildings using solar energy, energy efficient construction, and other sustainable technologies to reduce their monthly utility bills. The tour offered a first-hand look at earth-friendly building technologies. See attached report.

September website visitors research sales tax proposals

The top feature story at the City of Lawrence’s home page www.lawrenceks.org is a link to content about sales tax proposals on the November ballot. Pages from the sales tax proposals section were viewed 1,120 times. The entry page for the sales tax proposals section was the 20^th most visited page in September. The City of Lawrence’s website received 39,967 visits that viewed 98,832 pages.

The Top 10 Visited Pages to lawrenceks.org in September were:

Job Opportunities (16,582 )*
Planning and Development home (3,686)
Departments (3,078)
City Commission Agendas (3,021)
City Service Directory (2,229)
City Maps (1,543)
Utilities home (1,519)
Residents (1,381)
City Code(1,314)
GIS interactive mapping (1,125)

* Number of viewed pages includes combined totals from Job Opportunities home page and Job Opportunities search page.

EPA award given to City’s biosolids reuse program

The Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the City of Lawrence Biosolids Program with a first place award in its 2008 National Clean Water Act Recognition Awards Program. The award for Exemplary Biosolids Management was also given to Lawrence in 2005 (the award criteria only permit applications every two years from winning agencies). The selection for the Exemplary Biosolids Management Awards Program was based on Lawrence’s effective long-running recycling program involving the production and use of biosolids for both public distribution and land application.