CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Week ending March 5, 2010
2009 Year End Information
Unaudited total 2009 expenditure information is now available. For the third straight year, the City was able to manage expenditures to revenues. Attached is a 2009 Year End Review as well as a news release which will be distributed on 03/09/10.
Citizen Support Needed for Lawrence’s Google Fiber for Communities Nomination
On March 2, the Lawrence City Commission approved moving forward with an application to become a Google Fiber Community. If selected, Lawrence residents would have access to Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second, more than 100 times faster than the average broadband speeds in the U.S. Citizen participation and support for the project is crucial to the City of Lawrence’s success in this process. The city has set up a website for residents to visit to nominate Lawrence, Kansas as a Google Fiber Community. Cities across the country will be vying for this opportunity - the more residents that nominate Lawrence, the more Google will know our citizens are supportive of this project. Visit www.lawrenceks.org/googlefiber to nominate the City of Lawrence, Kansas as a Google Fiber Community. All nominations must occur by March 26. The city’s social media sites on Facebook and Twitter will be used to keep residents informed on the project’s status.
12th and Haskell Recycle Center
On February 16, 2010, the city received a letter from a representative for the neighborhood surrounding the 12th and Haskell Recycle Center. The letter expressed many concerns regarding the overall operation of the business and outlined numerous alleged city code violations. The complaint identified the current operation as being in violation of the legal non-conforming status the city had approved for the site in 2003. Based on the non-conforming land use complaint and other key issues which are under our enforcement authority it was determined that the Planning and Development Services Department would take the lead on investigating all of the complaints identified within the letter. On February 22 staff met with the property owner on site and completed an inspection. Thomas Hayes with KDHE was also in attendance as he was following up on their initial findings regarding possible soil contamination. Other areas of concern such as hours of operation, noise levels and the scattering of trash were discussed with the property owner. Staff met with neighborhood representatives on March 4 to discuss the neighborhood’s concerns. It is anticipated that staff will have a complete determination of all code violations in the coming week. Please see the attached memo for additional details.
Legal Staff Awaiting Enrolled Version of Statewide Smoking Ban Legislation
The Kansas Legislature adopted a statewide smoking ban on February 25, 2010. City staff anticipates the Governor will sign the legislation in the coming days. While the state legislation is modeled after the city’s smoking regulations first adopted in 2004, there are a number of provisions of the bill that are different from the city’s regulations. After the Legal Department staff obtains an enrolled version of the bill, staff will provide the City Commission with a comprehensive analysis of the differences between the City Code and the state law. Legal staff will prepare an ordinance incorporating any necessary amendments to the City Code to comply with the state law for the Commission’s consideration. The League of Kansas Municipalities has opined that if the Governor signs the bill as expected, the state law will be effective July 1, 2010.
Parks and Recreation Sponsorship Opportunities
The attached memo provides an update on progress to develop a program allowing sponsorship of certain parks and recreation programming and space based on City Commission direction during development of the 2010 budget. Over the past several years, between $25,000 and $60,000 has been received annually in support of programs, activities and initiatives through gift in-kind donations from area businesses. Staff has been working to identify ways to raise additional funds and has developed sponsorship opportunities for banners at our indoor and outdoor facilities, naming rights for the South Park Wading Pool, as well as sponsorships for the Lawrence City Band. Donation boxes have also been placed in all city-owned recreation centers’ weight/cardio rooms, as well as at Prairie Park Nature Center to defray operational costs.
Baldwin Creek Watershed
Stormwater Engineer Matt Bond met with the Kaw Valley Drainage District Board of Directors on February 15th, 2010 to discuss drainage concerns in the Baldwin Creek Watershed. The Board of Directors includes Michael Heck - President, Arch Naramore - Treasurer, Charles Taylor - Secretary and Price Banks - Legal Counsel. Board members raised concerns with regards to the increase in runoff from the upper reaches of the watershed in question. The increase in impervious surface in the contributing watersheds has led to the increase in surface runoff. The Kaw Valley Drainage Board Members inquired about the participation in a joint drainage study between the Board, the City of Lawrence and Douglas County. Potential topics to be covered by the drainage study would include recent development as well as potential development within the watershed, stormwater mitigation practices and known existing drainage problems. Refer to the attached map for the area of concern.
Winter 2009/2010 Snow Removal Expenditures
Since the first snow event of the winter on November 16, 2009, Lawrence has received 35.45 inches of snow in 11 events and has spent $651,826 on removal efforts. The attached documents provide more details. The Public Works Department has also been very aggressive in patching potholes, repairing 10,256 since January 1, 2010, compared to 12,898 in all of 2009.
Municipal Development Report Card Project
As explained in the cover letter, the Society of Office and Industrial Realtors (SIOR) and students at the Lewis White Real Estate Center of the Bloch School of Business at UMKC teamed up to create the Greater Kansas City Municipal Development Report Card. The report compares planning and development related fees and processing times in several greater Kansas City area communities, including Lawrence. The report found Lawrence’s approval times among the shortest and fees among the lowest of the cities compared.
February Building Permits Report
There were 157 permits issued in February 2010, compared to 136 in 2009. Permit valuation was $3,520,422 compared to $4,473,007 last year. Fees were $32,630.55 compared to $37,951.70 last year. Thirteen permits were issued for new single-family dwellings, compared to six in February last year. There were no permits issued for large projects in February. Please see the attached memo, report and summary for more details.
New Economic Development Policies for Consideration
Several economic development policy items have been added to the Future Agenda Items memo. These include a modification to the existing tax abatement language to incorporate a bonus provision for high-paying jobs; a revised IRB policy for the City; and a new Community Improvement District policy to account for legislation passed by the State last year. When these items are discussed by the City Commission, discussion of other economic development policies may be appropriate as well.
Federal Appropriations Requests Posted Online
The city has posted its federal appropriations requests and supporting documents online at http://www.lawrenceks.org/appropriations.
Progress on Public Works Projects
Recent favorable weather has allowed good progress on major Public Works projects currently underway. Concrete curb and gutter were placed last week at the 2nd and Locust intersection reconstruction, and pavement work is underway (see attached photos). The contractor on the Bowersock Dam project should be completing the work within a few weeks, depending on the weather (see attached photos).
Pothole Reporting Feature Under Development
Police Officer Jim Welsh developed a GPS driven tool that will allow police field units to electronically report potholes to Public Works. This will add an additional reporting tool beyond our web site and hotline. Preliminary testing has shown good results. It is anticipated that this reporting tool will be launched in all field police units later this month. Other possible reporting items are also being studied, such as street lights not working or sign damage. This reporting tool will not replace Police emergency calls to dispatch or Street Division responding as needed.
Right-of-way Landscaping Changes Planned Near 9th and Iowa
City staff has met with representatives of Zarco 66 at Ninth and Iowa to discuss removing the dying trees in the right-of-way east of Scooters Coffee and replacing them with several deciduous trees and year-round hedge, berms and stones to beautify that triangle. Staff will notify neighbors in the vicinity of beautification project so they are not shocked to see the trees, which were originally planted at the request of the neighbors, removed. Zarco 66 will plant a hedge on the property and construct berms and landscape stone on the city property at Zarco’s cost. The Parks and Recreation Department will remove the dying trees and plant new ones on city property. A maintenance agreement with Zarco 66 is necessary as they desire to maintain the landscaping adjacent to their property. A conceptual landscape plan is attached.
Planning and Development Services 2009 Annual Report
Planning and Development Services staff work hard throughout the year responding to customer inquiries, improving and enforcing regulations, refining departmental efficiencies, and processing development related applications. The attached Annual Report highlights efforts undertaken throughout 2009 by the department.