CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
City Applies for EPA Showcase Communities Grant
On Monday, July 20, the city submitted an application for a grant to fund a pilot education and outreach program regarding energy conservation. The grant proposes a partnership with the University of Kansas Center for Sustainability. The project will establish a peer-to-peer network to educate student tenants in rental units about strategies for home energy conservation and efficiency and provide resources for energy reduction. The proposed three year grant totals $103,043, with a local match of $39,776. The local match is proposed to be in-kind personnel support of the program. A narrative of the proposal is attached and will soon be included on the city’s website (http://www.lawrenceks.org/energy_conservation) where many of the city’s energy conservation efforts are chronicled.
The grant program is competitive and nation-wide. A total of $10 million is available for projects. The EPA estimates that 20 to 30 grants will be awarded. Notification of award of grants is not anticipated until January 2010.
Industrial Revenue and Recovery Zone Bonds
The attached memo provides an overview of several bonds that may be used for economic development. The first, Industrial Revenue Bonds, are becoming quite common in Northeast Kansas and may come before the City Commission in the future. Also of note are two new bonds that have been authorized by the IRS: the Recovery Zone Economic Development Bond and the Recovery Zone Facilities Bond. Douglas County was awarded about $19.5 million of these bonds and they must be used by December 31, 2010. In order to leverage these bonds, the City Commission would need to establish Recovery Zones where they can be used. The memo and accompanying white papers provide more detail on these bonds, as well as debt financing economic incentives in general.
GIS and sign inventory integrated
The Information Systems and Public Works departments have completed a project to integrate the city’s traffic sign inventory with the GIS system, allowing staff to efficiently produce maps, work orders, inspection reports, and monthly and annual reports on sign installations, repairs, and replacements. The project involved upgrading server software and synchronizing and converting data points so that updates made in the traffic sign inventory or in the GIS system automatically transfer back and forth.