CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending June 10, 2011

LDCBA to begin planning for Phase II BTBC project

Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority (LDCBA) provided the attached update on progress in successfully finding tenants for the Bioscience & Technology Business Center (BTBC) which opened last October. The LDCBA board of directors has recently determined that, given the outstanding success BTBC has had in forming and attracting companies in its first ten months, planning should begin for Phase II of the incubator program. LDCBA wishes to sustain momentum in building a critical mass of start-up companies.  Preliminary cost projections indicate a Phase II project to be in the range of $8 million to $10 million. The LDCBA is providing a preliminary indication of their intent to request funding for an expansion of the BTBC, specifically indicating that a $1 million commitment each from the City and Douglas County would provide the initial impetus to raise the necessary capital for Phase II.  City staff is reviewing this request as in relates to the preparation of a recommended 2012 City budget.

Kansas water use map

The attached map indicates reported water use in the state of Kansas, by type of use and by county.  A number of interesting observations can be noted:  some counties which are home to large power plants (coal or nuclear) have larger industrial uses (e.g. Pottawatomie, Linn, Coffey);  Wyandotte County has a large municipal use which represents both Wyandotte and Johnson county diversions; also significantly large water uses for irrigation in the Ogallala aquifer can be noted in western Kansas.   City Manager David Corliss serves on the State’s water policy planning board, the Kansas Water Authority, which recommends to the legislature and governor spending from the State Water Plan Fund.

Community Development staff member honored

Annually, the Kansas Chapter of the National Association of Housing Rehabilitation Officials (NAHRO) awards The Nadine Burch Member of the Year award at their Spring Conference.  The 2011 recipient of The Nadine Burch Member of the Year award is Tony Hoch, Projects Specialist for the City of Lawrence Community Development Division. The award is Kansas NAHRO’s top award, and was named for Nadine Burch, a former Topeka Housing Authority Commissioner who was a member of Kansas NAHRO.  She was a driving force in advocacy for programs and initiatives in the areas of Public Housing, Section 8 Housing, Community Revitalization and Development, and Housing Authority Commissioners. Hoch has been with the City of Lawrence since 2003 and has belonged to Kansas NAHRO since that time. In his position as Projects Specialist, Hoch administers the comprehensive housing rehabilitation program, emergency and furnace loan programs, weatherization program, first time homebuyer program, as well as other projects under the Community Development Block Grant and Home Investment Partnerships Programs.

Lawrence efforts honored by Kansas Preservation Alliance

Four Lawrence-based organizations or properties were honored on June 2 at the annual Kansas Preservation Alliance (KPA) awards in Topeka. The KPA is a state-wide organization that works to save cultural landmarks. The City of Lawrence’s rehabilitation of the Carnegie Library Building at 9th and Vermont Streets was honored as well as the rehabilitation of 1120 Rhode Island and the St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church. Judy Billings, Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Director, received the Preservation Advocacy Award. See the attached press release for more details.

Electric vehicle charging station study grant

Attached is a letter expressing the City’s support of an application by the Kansas City Clean Cities Coalition for an electric vehicle planning grant application. The city is working with representatives from Kansas City, Johnson County and Wichita on a grant submission for funding to study the possibility of installing electric vehicle charging stations along a corridor connecting these areas.  The city’s participation would be in-kind support by staff work in evaluating implementation strategies. 

Johnson County Education Research Triangle sales tax

On November 4, 2008, voters in Johnson County, Kansas, approved a special one-eighth cent sales tax.  The vote established the Johnson County Education Research Triangle, a partnership among the county, the University of Kansas and Kansas State University to expand higher education offerings and cancer and food safety research in Johnson County.  Authority to put the issue on the ballot was granted by special legislation passed by the Kansas Legislature.

Proceeds from the sales tax will fund the construction and ongoing operation and maintenance of three new facilities: the University of Kansas Edwards Campus Business, Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Building in Overland Park, the Kansas State University Innovation Campus International Animal Health and Food Safety Institute in Olathe, and the University of Kansas Clinical Research Center in Fairway.  The tax collected approximately $13 million in 2010 and is expected to collect upwards of $15 million annually.  The Triangle’s local economic benefit is projected to reach $1.4 billion in the first 20 years.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in May for the Kansas State University Animal Health and Food Safety Institute at the KSU Olathe Innovation Campus, a project funded via the sales tax.

City developing mobile-optimized web sites

eGov coordinator Eric Gruber recently developed a new mobile-optimized website for the 23^rd Annual Outdoor Downtown Sculpture Exhibition (ODSE).  By using new technology, websites are created for use on mobile devices and allow quick access to information.  The ODSE tour is the first mobile site the city has developed.  The Communications Office intends to use this same technology for other city websites as the site redesign process occurs.  The 23^rd annual ODSE tour will be unveiled on June 12; the new mobile-optimized site address is http://www.lawrenceks.org/advisory_boards/lac/m/.

Additional information regarding LED light installation

According to Public Works, the city’s use of EECBG funds to replace the existing high pressure sodium and metal halide fixtures in the 800-1000 blocks of Massachusetts Street was necessary and cost effective for several reasons.

• The existing fixtures’ technology will be out of date and unable to be maintained starting next year.  Industry standards call for replacement with energy efficient LED lighting.
• LED lighting provides a per fixture energy savings each year of approximately 50% (traditional fixtures cost approximately $70 per year in energy and LED lighting costs $30-35 per year, per fixture).  The true cost savings with LED lighting comes with maintenance.
• LED bulbs have a life span of approximately 60,000 hours versus 10,000 to 15,000 hours for traditional lighting.  Staff will not need to spend as much time replacing bulbs over the lifespan of the fixtures.  LED fixtures burn at the same illumination over the entire course of their lifespan.
• The “payback” figure that was reported by some was not a good representation because of several reasons: the city was in need of replacing the lighting due to phase out of old technology, the LED lighting will save energy costs each year over current costs, the LED lighting provides better quality of illumination and the city will save in personnel costs over time due to decreased maintenance needs with LED lights.
• The funding for this project was provided by the EECBG grant from 2009 that replaced HVAC and lighting systems at the public library and provided funds to hire a sustainability coordinator for the city and county.

The following data was provided by the manufacturer regarding the proposed savings based on our number of fixtures (115) installed:

Proposed Annual Maintenance Savings	$6,229.17
Total annual savings	$9,755.37*
Total savings to the city over the life of the LED fixtures	$165,841.35*
	*provided all costs remain constant

Parks and Recreation activities

The Parks and Recreation Department has recently been involved with various special activities, including the Herchey’s Track and Field Games, Aviation Camp (see attached report), and Rotary Youth Leadership Academy Service Day (see attached report).