COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Between
CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
and
DOUGLAS COUNTY, KANSAS
RECITALS
Whereas, the City of Lawrence, Kansas, a Municipal Corporation under the laws of the State of Kansas, hereinafter, the “City” and Douglas County, Kansas, hereinafter, the “County”, desire to cooperate in the retention of a Sustainability Coordinator to assist the County, City, and the community of Lawrence and Douglas County; and
Whereas, K.S.A. 12-2908 provides that any municipality may contract with any other municipality to perform any governmental service, activity or undertaking which each contracting municipality is authorized by law to perform; and
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants hereinafter contained, the parties agree as follows:
Section 1. Recitals. The recitals are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. Authority. Pursuant to K.S.A. 12-2908, the parties hereto enter into this Cooperation Agreement as authorized by the Governing Body of the City of Lawrence and the Board of County Commissioners of Douglas County, for the purposes set forth below.
Section 3. Purposes. The purposes for which the parties have entered into this agreement are to jointly establish the duties, supervision and funding for the position of Sustainability Coordinator.
Section 4. Terms and Conditions. Under terms of this Cooperation Agreement, the City and the County agree to the following:
A. In consultation with the Lawrence City Manager, the County Administrator shall appoint a qualified individual to the position of Sustainability Coordinator. The County Administrator may include community representatives and elected officials in the selection and interview process as may be appropriate to select the best qualified candidate.
B. The Sustainability Coordinator shall be a County employee and shall be supervised by the County Administrator. The Coordinator shall receive direction from the City Manager, or City Manager’s designee, for approximately 40% of the employee’s work time on projects and tasks related to sustainability and energy conservation on behalf of the City. The Coordinator shall prepare a monthly report for the City Manager and the County Administrator providing for the accounting of time pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement.
C. The City shall pay 100% of the costs of the Sustainability Coordinator, including County benefit expenses related to the employment up to $100,000.00; provided that the City successfully
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receives adequate funding for the position pursuant to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program (EECBG) which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The County agrees to fully fund the position for the same period of time, not less than twelve (12) additional months, that the City funds the position (with the EECBG funds) after the City’s financial obligation of funding concludes. During the preparation of the City’s and County’s 2011 budgets, the City and the County shall make a determination of whether to fund the position for the budget year of 2011. If the City and the County agree to fund the position in 2011 and years thereafter, the City shall pay 40% of the position and the County shall fund 60% of the position. If the City does not receive adequate funding from the EECBG, then the City shall be under no obligation to fund the position and this Agreement shall be null and void.
D. The County will provide employee benefits pursuant to the County’s adopted personnel policy, and such costs shall be included in all determinations of the costs for the position.
E. The County shall furnish office facilities and supplies for the Sustainability Coordinator.
F. The County and the City shall cooperate to ensure that the EECBG grant requirements are fully satisfied.
G. The County and the City shall cooperate in the necessary billing and payments to comply with the provisions of this Agreement.
Section 5. Contingencies and Compliance with Federal Grant requirements. Both the County and the City agree that if the EECBG grant does not allow for the funding of the Sustainability Coordinator or is otherwise discontinued for full funding, this Agreement shall be voidable by either party with written notice to the other party. Both the County and the City shall use all reasonable efforts to fully comply with all of the EECBG grant requirements. If the work, or any portion of the work, of the Sustainability Coordinator is determined by the administrators of the EECBG to not fully comply with the requirements of the EECBG; then the City and the County shall take such corrective action as is necessary to bring the work of the Sustainability Coordinator into full compliance with the grant requirements. If either the City or the County shall have caused the noncompliance, then the party responsible for such noncompliance shall be financially responsible for such noncompliance. Upon the conclusion of the EECBG grant for the Sustainability Coordinator position, neither the City nor the County shall be under any EECBG grant requirements, unless the EECBG grant so requires.
Section 5. Termination. This Cooperation Agreement may be terminated by either party upon the giving of written notice to the other party, provided that such termination shall only take effect on and after the 1st day of January following the notice to terminate which must be provided by July 1 of any year. Upon the effective termination of this Cooperation Agreement, any equipment, supplies, etc. purchased in support of the Sustainability Coordinator, shall become the property of the County.
Section 6. Approval.
A. This Cooperation Agreement is effective upon being signed by the appropriate representatives of the City and the County. It may be periodically reviewed and amended or supplemented as may be mutually agreed upon in writing.
B. Each of the parties warrants and represents by the execution of this Cooperation Agreement, that is has been approved by its governing body and by its legal counsel as to form and legality, that
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the execution, delivery and performance of this Cooperation Agreement by such party has been authorized by resolution duly adopted by its governing body, and that this Cooperation Agreement constitutes a legal, valid, and binding obligation of such party enforceable in accordance with its terms.
Section 7. Applicable Law. This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of Kansas.
Section 8. Severability. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this Agreement should be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid for any reason whatsoever, such decision shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect; and to this end the provisions of this Agreement are hereby declared to be severable and shall be presumed to have been agreed upon knowing that the various provisions of this Agreement are severable.
Section 9. Cooperation Agreement. This Agreement is entered into between the City and the County pursuant to K.S.A. 12-2908 as a cooperation agreement and is not an inter-local agreement under the provisions of K.S.A. 12-2901 et. seq.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed and made effective as of the date when fully executed herein.
ON BEHALF OF DOUGLAS COUNTY, KANSAS.
This Agreement is approved, as authorized by the Board of Commissioners of Douglas County, Kansas on the ______ day of __________, 2009.
______________________________________
Nancy Thellman, Chair, Board of Commissioners
______________________________________
Jim Flory, Vice-Chair
______________________________________
Mike Gaughn, Commissioner
Attest:
______________________________________
Jaime Shew, County Clerk
ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS.
This Agreement is approved as authorized by the Governing Body of the City of Lawrence, Kansas on the ______ day of _____________, 2009.
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______________________________________
Robert Chestnut, Mayor
Attest:
______________________________________
Jonathan M. Douglass, City Clerk
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