CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending October 28, 2011

Vehicle parts and fuel cost escalation

The city’s Maintenance Garage has been monitoring vehicle and equipment parts and fuel costs, and has been seeing significant increases which will continue to impact all department maintenance budgets. To date, fuel usage and mileage are down in 2011, but overall fuel costs for January through September 2011 are $184,900.00 higher than the same time frame of 2010. Fuel prices have been significantly higher than the Department of Energy forecasts were when we developed the 2011 budget. Even though prices have dropped lately they are still $0.25 cents higher per gallon than the 2010 forecast. Significant increases are also being seen in tires (the second largest cost to fleet operations behind gasoline), and steel and aluminum, which are impacting parts prices. Please see the attached memo for more information.

Parks and Recreation Halloween activities

The Parks and Recreation Department hosted a number of activities recently in celebration of Halloween. The Special Populations Division, whose programs consist of adapted and integrated activities for all individuals with disabilities, held a Special Populations Halloween Party at Schaake’s Pumpkin Patch earlier this month. Eighty-five participants took part in the event this year, which included a hayrack ride and cookout. Each person took home a pumpkin.

The Halloween Paint-In, sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Breakfast Optimists Club, celebrated its 40th year and provided 53 participants an opportunity to showcase their artistic abilities through their paintings of the store front windows downtown. Each participant received a free pumpkin, which was provided by Earl May and a Halloween Paint-In t-shirt.

ISO Community Protection Class Report Analysis

Over the course of the 10 months, the Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical Department has been reviewed by the Insurance Service Office (ISO). Recently the City was notified of our Public Protection Classification (PPC), which was retained at a rating of 2, with an 88.13% compliance rating. This rating retains current insurance premium classifications for residents and commercial/industrial properties. Nationwide 592 communities are rated at 2; in Kansas this number is 7 (see attached list of Kansas ratings).   The ISO also provided a chart on the Distribution of Public Protection Classification Numbers.

Categories reviewed and receiving superior ratings included emergency communications, water flow capabilities, and fire apparatus and equipment. 

At 88.13%, the City’s ISO rating is close to achieving a 1 classification, which begins at the 90% compliance level.  Insurance companies look at the ISO PPC rating and each company makes a determination how they will adjust rates based on the PPC rating. There would not be a substantial rate drop community wide when changing from PPC 2 to PPC 1. 

Fire Medical staff wish to thank the Douglas County Emergency Communications and the Lawrence Utilities departments for their assistance during the review process and their commitment toward maintaining this long-held rating.

City sells 762.3 tons of compost during sale

During the Fall Compost Sale, the city sold approximately 1,386 cubic yards of compost (equivalent to 762.3 tons) and generated $5,190 from the sale. Compost was offered on a first-come, first-served basis until the supply was depleted. The sale sold out early. Lawrence community compost is made from the weekly collection of residential yard trimmings, which includes grass, leaves, and small woody debris. A total of 572 vehicles participated. Please see the attached report for more details.

Lawrence recycles 20 tons of electronic equipment at city-sponsored event

On Saturday, October 15, 2011, 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.  A total of five hundred twenty-five participants dropped off 39,614 pounds (19.81 tons) of electronic equipment for recycling.  Electronic recycling was provided by Extreme Recycling.  See the attached event report and participant survey results for more details.

DWR approves proposed modifications to Yankee Tank Dam

The Kansas Division of Water Resources (DWR) recently approved a permit for improvements to the Yankee Tank Dam, including raising the dam and primary spillway heights, extending the dam and auxiliary spillway, and replacing primary spillway components (see details in DWR news release below). The contract for the improvements is currently out for bid, with bids due at the end of November. The city’s funding commitment for the project is $75,000 and annexation of the appropriate parcels is currently in the planning process – with annexation anticipated to be complete by the end of the year.

A DWR news release (http://www.ksda.gov/dwr/content/314/cid/1860#2) stated:

DWR approves proposed modifications for Yankee Tank Dam 

Wakarusa Watershed Joint District (WJD) No. 35, Structure 24, also known as Yankee Tank Dam located in southwest Lawrence north of Clinton Parkway, had its permit for modification approved Sept. 2 by Chief Engineer David Barfield.

The permit is another milestone for WJD No. 35, which has had to coordinate studies and property easement access to obtain federal funding to rehabilitate the dam to meet high hazard standards.  

Hazard classification does not refer to the condition of the dam; rather, it reflects the potential impact on downstream properties and individuals in the event the dam should fail.  Failure of a high-hazard dam could result in extensive loss of life, damage to more than one home, damage to industrial or commercial facilities, interruption of a public utility serving a large number of customers, damage to high-volume roads or railroad lines or other severe impacts.  

Aerial view of Yankee Tank Dam in Lawrence. 

Exactly what was needed, how much it would cost and the funding source to fix the 1973-built Yankee Tank Dam remained unknown until Wakarusa WJD No. 35 applied for rehabilitation assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s  Natural  Resources  Conservation  Service.  Its  Watershed Rehabilitation Program financed a $230,000 study –  the Supplemental Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment — for the analysis. 

The study recommended raising the 44’ tall dam by 5’ and raising the auxiliary spillway crest 0.5’, extending the lowest part of the dam 60’ downstream, widening the grass auxiliary spillway by 50’, and replacing the primary spillway components. Before finalizing the study’s work plan, NRCS held a December 2010 meeting for public input regarding the projected $1.9 million repairs that will be funded by the federal government through the NRCS (65 percent) with the remainder paid by the watershed and partners. 

Construction is projected to begin soon.   More information is available from the NRCS website.