CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending May 21, 2010

City’s bond rating increases (added 05/25/10)

Moody’s Investors Service’s recent recalibration of bonds has resulted in a one level increase in the City of Lawrence’s debt ratings. On May 1, 2010, the ratings for all Kansas local government issuers were recalibrated from the Municipal Scale to the Global Scale. The city’s General Obligation rating is now Aa1 on the Global Scale, and the city’s Water and Sewer revenue rating is now Aa2 on the Global Scale. Please see the attached FAQ document from Moody’s for general information on the recalibration.

"Unmet Needs and Wants” Memo Updated

A memo outlining departmental and other requests for funding which have not been included in the budget was provided at the May 17 Budget Study Session.  Additional information regarding an outdoor ice skating rink has been received from Downtown Lawrence, Inc. and has been included in the attached revision to the Unmet Needs and Wants Memo (updated 05/24/10).

Housing Authority PILOT

The city has received its annual payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT), in the amount of $95,077.73, from the Lawrence Douglas County Housing Authority. The Housing Authority is a tax exempt organization, but makes a PILOT payment to the City for properties under its authority.

Riverfront Garage lighting retrofit to save energy

Maintenance employees with the Building and Structures Division undertook a major renovation to the lighting fixtures on the lower level of the Riverfront Parking Garage. Metal halide fixtures (175 W) were replaced with a combination of high output T5 fluorescent fixtures (54 W) with 20,000 hour average life bulbs. The power consumption savings is estimated to be 94,871kW per year. The old fixtures were broken down into component parts and recycled. The salvage value offset 14 percent of the project cost. The energy savings will result in a simple payback for the project in two years. See attachment for additional details. 

Lawrence recycles 28 tons of electronic equipment at city-sponsored event

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, the City’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Division hosted an Electronic Recycling Event. The event was held from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Free State High School parking lot. Participants dropped off a total of 56,326 pounds (28.16 tons) of electronic equipment for recycling. Electronic recycling was provided by Extreme Recycling, a permitted e-waste recycling and reclamation facility in the State of Kansas. Please see the attached event report and participant survey results for more details.