CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending January 29, 2010

TASER use report

In 2009, the Lawrence Police Department utilized Electronic Control Devices (commonly called TASERs) on two occasions when a member of the public was using physical violence against a police officer. On 15 other occasions, TASERs were displayed without actually being deployed. Additionally, TASERs were used on 21 police officers during training exercises. Following any use of a TASER on a member of the public, a police captain reviews the reports to ensure that department policies regarding TASER use was followed. Please see the attached report for more details.

Wage floor for incentives unchanged

The attached memo is an update regarding the Living Wage requirement in the City's Economic Development Policy. Congress has authorized that poverty levels remain unchanged at least through March 1, 2010 in order to ensure that certain means-tested benefits are not restricted. Therefore, the wage has remained unchanged until further notice, at $11.44/hr.

2^nd and Locust construction schedule update

Due to some major engineering design revisions, and unfavorable and inclement weather conditions, this project has been experiencing significant delays. It is very important that the northbound lane on North 2^nd street (through the construction site) is open to traffic (no longer requiring the detour through North Lawrence) before the closure of the East Lawrence Turnpike Exit (Exit 204). In response to a request by city staff, KTA has rescheduled closure of Exit 204 on April 05, 2010 (the original closure date was March 22, 2010). With that in mind, City and KDOT staff have worked out an agreement with RD Johnson, Inc. (general contractor for the project) to complete Phase I of this project by April 04, 2010 so a northbound lane on North 2^nd street will be open to traffic before Exit 204 is closed. In addition, North 2^nd Street will be open to unrestricted traffic by mid July with the final completion of the project in late August or early September of 2010. See the attached report for more details.

City’s use of web technology reviewed by local governments

The City of Lawrence recently hosted workers from two local governments to show them how the city uses open source technology to power the web site at a low cost. Representatives from Johnson County and Shawnee County requested a tour of the city web site's content management system to learn more about how it was implemented. Eric Gruber, eGov Coordinator, met with web and network administrators from the two counties on Dec. 22, 2009, and gave a tour of the software and the process that powers the web site. The content management system used by the city was implemented and is managed by the eGov Coordinator at no additional cost to the city. There are no licensing fees to use the software.

Department of Utilities facilitates water/wastewater treatment research

The Department of Utilities is currently taking part in three research projects, which have the potential to make great contributions to the water and wastewater industries, as well as the environment. The wastewater treatment facility is currently providing wastewater effluent for two of the projects. They include (1) growing algae for the potential production of biofuel and removal of nutrients from the effluent returned to the river, and (2) a pilot project for removal of phosphorus from the effluent stream to meet coming regulatory requirements. The Kaw River Water Treatment Facility has agreed to provide raw source water for a research project that hopes to reduce disinfection byproducts, which is a regulatory requirement for water treatment. A more detailed report describes the research activities and the Department’s role.

Twitter followers reach 1,000

The City of Lawrence's social media efforts are growing. In January, the city's followers surpassed to 1,000 followers on the social networking site, Twitter. The city uses Twitter to expand its communications of news releases, awareness of city services, and can be used for crisis communication. Twitter was the 25th source of traffic to the city's web site in 2009 with 1,294 visits. The City of Lawrence Twitter account is available at twitter.com/lawrenceks.

MPO Annual Report

The attached annual report for the Lawrence Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization details accomplishments from 2009 and planned activities for 2010.

Market for recyclable materials improved significantly

A sharp economic downturn at the end of 2008 affected the paper recycling market well into 2009.  The Waste Reduction and Recycling (WRR) Division reported that the price per ton of recyclables collected by the City was at a historical low. Over the past few months, the pricing for recyclables has improved significantly. For example, the Division received $115/ton in September 2008 for Corrugated Cardboard. By January of 2009 the price for cardboard had dropped to $20/ton and it is currently (January 2010) selling for $110/ ton.

The graph below shows the price that the WRR Division received per ton of Mixed Paper (MIX), Corrugated Cardboard (OCC), Newspaper (ONP) and Sorted Office Paper (SOP) from August 2008 through January 2010.