CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending January 1, 2010

Douglas County Tax Levy Sheet

Douglas County has released the 2009 Certified Tax Levy Sheet, which shows the assessed valuation and resulting mill levies for all taxing districts in the County.

HUD response to CDBG complaint

The attached letter is the response from HUD to a complaint filed against the City of Lawrence (please see the CM Report from the 12/01/09 City Commission meeting for background information). Both HUD and the City of Lawrence consider this matter closed.

City ordinances and resolutions now available online

The City Clerk’s Office has undertaken a project to digitize city records for both archival and accessibility purposes. As part of that project copies of ordinances and resolutions have been made available online at http://www.lawrenceks.org/documents/. Scanning of older ordinances and resolutions is ongoing. These documents will complement the city code, which has been available online for a number of years. The availability of ordinances and resolutions online is expected to enhance customer service (“How can I obtain a copy of a city ordinance?” is one of the most frequently searched questions on the city’s website) and free up some staff time for more critical tasks. Software Specialist Mike Coffey, Network Manager John Williams, and eGov Coordinator Eric Gruber contributed to this project.  

Traffic Engineer participates in study of HAWK Beacon effectiveness

Traffic Engineer David Woosley was recently cited in a Kansas State University Transportation Center Newsletter article regarding HAWK pedestrian beacons and their effectiveness in reducing driver delay at mid-block pedestrian crossings, compared to traditional pedestrian crossing signals. Lawrence utilizes both types of pedestrian signals at various locations, but recent installations have been HAWK Beacons.

FAQ database feature added to city website

A database of frequently asked questions is now available on the city web site at http://lawrenceks.org/faq. Visitors can search the database by keyword (example: fire) and instantly be presented with links to FAQs that match that keyword. Content for the FAQ database comes from the city department pages, as most departments have a FAQ section. More FAQs will be added to the database over time, and city staff will use web usage statistics from the application to improve content on the city web site. Below are the top five searched questions since the feature launched on Monday, Oct. 28.

1. What is phone number for non-emergency calls to the Police Department?

2. How do I keep a ticket off of my driving record?

3. What ordinances regulate common complaints/issues regarding neighborhood and tenant concerns?

4. Why do fire engines respond to emergency medical calls?

5. How can I obtain a copy of a city ordinance?

In the future, city staff will include the top FAQ searches with the monthly visitors/ pages viewed report.

Parks and Recreation winter activities

Winter is not necessarily an offseason for the Parks and Recreation Department. Various exciting activities have taken place recently, including the following:

• Teamwork Awards – The Tom Wilkerson Teamwork Awards honor individual employees, groups, outside agencies or city departments who have exemplified teamwork (see attached report for more details). The 2009 winners were:
• Bobby Wilson, administrative support at the Community Building, for his willingness to help coworkers and the general public;
• Jeff Curtis, part-time employee at Holcom Park Recreation Center and baseball scorekeeper, for being a dependable employee, consistently manning the scoreboard at baseball games, as well as providing staff with a critique and summary of games; and
• Phil Wente, volunteer DJ for Special Populations programs, for going the extra mile to get to know the program participants.
• Master Street Tree Planting Project - The recent November warm weather lead to early completion of the current Master Street tree planting project. One hundred trees of over a dozen species were planted in over 20 subdivisions in various locations around town. Rosehill Gardens, Inc. was the contractor. An additional 40 trees will be planted during late winter or spring 2010. The Master Street Tree Program has planted over 3,700 trees since its inception in 2002.  
• Gymnastics Winter Cup - Two teams from Lawrence Parks and Recreation gymnastics program achieved 1^st place finishes in the Winter Cup competition held at Lawrence Gymnastics Academy Sunday, December 3. See the attached report for more details.  

City hosts public meeting to discuss City-KU Land Use Agreement

The city is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, January 27, 2010, at 4:00 p.m. in the City Commission Meeting Room to receive comments on the City-KU Land Use Cooperation Agreement. Kansas University officials will be in attendance. The agreement specifies the city land use regulations the University shall comply with in its ownership and use of University real property within city boundaries. The city and the University entered into the cooperation agreement in April 2005. It is scheduled to renew in April 2010. The University and the city believe the agreement has benefited both entities and the neighborhoods adjacent to Kansas University and intend to renew the agreement. Representatives of affected neighborhood associations and LAN have been advised of the meeting (see attached letter). 

CAFR earns GFOA Certificate of Achievement

The city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the 2008 fiscal year has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). This award is given to recognize the CAFR’s ability to clearly and openly communicate the city’s financial story. Please see the attached news release for more information.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act web page revised 

To date, the City of Lawrence has received $9,706,945 in stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The city has revised the web page that tracks local projects and funds received. The new web page groups the projects by status (awarded, eligible, not awarded, etc.). It is now much easier to review projects and the supporting documentation for each project. The web page can be viewed at http://www.lawrenceks.org/recovery.