CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending September 4, 2009

Department of Utilities publishes revised standards and details

The Department of Utilities recently completed an update to the material specifications, design criteria, and standard details for watermains and sanitary sewers. This update formalizes material, design, and submittal requirements that had previously been undocumented or inconsistently applied. The Department of Utilities distributed the revised standards to the engineering, construction and development community for a thirty (30) day comment period. Commentary was received from seven firms (including engineering firms, contractors and suppliers) and final revisions have been completed. The finalized documents have been posted to the Department of Utilities website, http://www.lawrenceks.org/utilities/technical_resources, for general public access.

Hobbs Park renovation

The Parks & Recreation Department is nearing completion a $128,000 park renovation at Hobbs Park (11^th & Delaware). This renovation work started in December of 2008 and has included the replacement of the park restroom, installation of new sewer, water and electrical services to the park and the replacement of the fencing for the ball diamond. We have also realigned the sidewalk system in the park, which has allowed us to reduce the number of sidewalks and return more of the park to open green space. Please see attached photos of the new restroom and outfield fencing.

Parks & Recreation indoor facility upgrades

Over the past month there have been a number of improvements made in the indoor recreation facilities operated by the Parks & Recreation Department. This following list highlights a few projects (also see attached photos). Throughout the year the Parks & Recreation facility maintenance staff are constantly improving and updating the facilities to keep up with the high volume of traffic in these facilities and the ever-changing program needs of the community.   

• Community Building Gym Lights - The old metal halide lights in the gym were replaced with more energy efficient fluorescent lighting. This change should lower the monthly electric bill and provide better lighting for the facility.
• Holcom Park Center Gym Painting – Contractors painted the top half of the gym, which included all structural steel and air ducts at the ceiling. This project gives the facility a much cleaner look and covers up years over 20 years of ball marks on the walls.    
• East Lawrence Center Gym Floor – Work has just been completed for refinishing of the gym floor at East Lawrence Center. This is an annual maintenance item for all of the gym facilities due to the high use these floors receive throughout the year.
• Community Building Dance Studio – Work was recently completed to update and replace the mirror walls in the dance studio at the Community Building.
• Community Building Art Room – Work is ongoing to update the art room at the community build to keep up with the changing needs of the recreation programs being offered.
• Annual Maintenance Shut Down at the Indoor Aquatic Center – This 2 week period allows staff to drain the pools and do preventive maintenance on all of the pumping, heating and building systems that run 24 hours a day all year long. This maintenance period is crucial for the long term operation of the facility