CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Week ending October 29, 2010
Draft guidelines for consulting fees for engineering/architectural professional services
In 2009 the City Commission reviewed the city’s purchasing policy related to the selection of vendors for engineering and architectural professional services. The City Commission indicated a desire to utilize the city’s current purchasing procedures for contracting these professional services with Qualifications Based Selection. However, the City Commission requested that staff develop guidelines regarding consulting fees for such services. Based on the City Commission’s direction, staff has developed a draft set of guidelines for consulting fees to be incorporated within the city’s purchasing policy. Staff is planning a meeting with the consulting community to receive feedback regarding the proposed guidelines and also requesting written or e-mail feedback (see draft letter and participant list). Additionally, staff is working to compare design costs to actual construction costs on recently completed city projects. This is anticipated to be a future City Commission agenda item.
Staff member graduates from Emerging Leaders’ Academy
Roger Zalneraitis, Economic Development Coordinator/Planner graduated this week from the KU Public Management Center's Emerging Leaders' Academy. The program consisted of 11 full days of class over 5 months, and is designed to help participants increase their effectiveness as public servants and build leadership skills.
Yard parking reminder sent to neighborhoods near Allen Fieldhouse
The attached postcard was sent to addresses in the neighborhoods near Allen Fieldhouse last week. This annual reminder explains the city’s law regarding parking in yards, which is only allowed in certain areas on KU football home game days. Parking on unimproved surfaces in front or side yards is not permitted on basketball game days.
City receives grant to finalize construction plans for the Santa Fe Station
The city has received notification that it has received an $87,563 grant from the US Department of Transportation via the Kansas Department of Transportation to complete the engineering and construction plans for both future phases of the Santa Fe Station preservation. Submittal of the grant was authorized by the City Commission in early August. Finalized construction plans would enable the city to seamlessly proceed in the future with grants to complete the preservation work on the Station and reduce the city's costs as many grant programs do not fund architectural or engineering services. The grant would require a $25,000 match from the city. Formal consideration of the grant acceptance, along with a City-State funding agreement will be an agenda item for City Commission consideration in the near future.
City of Lawrence employees United Way campaign successful
The 2010 City of Lawrence United Way campaign was a success with employees surpassing the goal of raising $39,000 for United Way. A total of $40,215 was raised, which demonstrates employees’ generosity during these difficult economic times. A celebration picnic was enjoyed on October 20 that included a drawing for several items and a chili contest. Chili winners were:
Halloween Paint In held downtown
The Lawrence Parks & Recreation 39th Annual Halloween Paint In was held Saturday October 23 in downtown Lawrence (see photos). Forty children painted Halloween murals on the downtown merchant’s windows to decorate downtown for the Halloween Holiday. This event is co-sponsored by the Breakfast Optimist Club and Downtown Lawrence, Inc.
The Parks and Recreation Department also reported that some Texas A&M fans in town for the weekend demonstrated their usual gracious Aggie Spirit by giving staff compliments on the downtown landscaping, which can be seen in the attached photos.
Lawrence recycles 29 tons of electronic equipment at city-sponsored event
On Saturday, October 23, 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 57,959 pounds (28.98 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. See the attached report and participant survey results for more details.