CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending November 11, 2011

 

Thanksgiving Thursday residential trash collection moves to Tuesday/Wednesday

The Solid Waste Division is moving its Thursday residential collection day due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Only residential customers with regularly scheduled trash day on Thursday will be affected.  Thursday residential customers will set out trash on Tuesday (if north of 23rd / Clinton Parkway) or Wednesday (if south of 23rd / Clinton Parkway).

 

To help get the word out to affected customers, the division has taken a multi-faceted approach to outreach:

·          Utility bill insert

·          Dedicated web page, including a link to map

·          Newspaper advertising

·          Post-it notes for crews to place on containers the week before Thanksgiving in the Thursday areas

·          Posts on social media

·          Short TV commercial that began airing on Knology November 9, 2011

·          Standard news releases

·          Channel 25 slides

·         Neighborhood association notification

 

Burroughs Creek Trail Playground dedicated

A dedication ceremony was held for the new playground along Burroughs Creek Trail. The playground is located at 15th Street and Haskell Avenue. Donors of the playground were recognized, including Westar Energy, Black & Veatch, Electric Corporation of America, Kissick Construction, Wolf Construction, Midwest Concrete Materials, Atlas Surveyors and Hammel Scale. Not only did they provide the funds for the playground, the businesses also had volunteers install the playground with assistance from City Parks and Recreation staff. Commissioner Hugh Carter provided remarks on behalf of the City of Lawrence. Please see attached report for more photos.

 

 

 

October building permits

The Building Safety Division issued 180 building permits in October, with total construction for the month valued at $5,448,400 (down from $13,080,572 in October 2010).  Total permit fees assessed for the month were $42,870 (down from $69,063 last year). Ten permits for new residential construction were issued in October, all for new single-family dwellings.  In October of 2010, permits were issued for 13 new residential projects, including 12 single-family dwellings and one duplex. Please see the attached memo, building permits report, and summary report for more information.

 

EPA, DOE to Study Renewable Energy Potential at Farmland 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced a RE-Powering America study to evaluate the feasibility of siting renewable energy production at the former Farmland Industries property. The study, valued up to $35,000, will explore the potential for a biopower facility or a biorefinery on the site, and will evaluate the technical and economic opportunities and challenges at the site. Please see the attached press release for more information.

 

The city recently launched a webpage, http://www.lawrenceks.org/farmland, to serve as a central source for information relating the city’s acquisition and redevelopment of Farmland. The page includes links to information on grants applied for and received, as well as Frequently Asked Questions and a city contact person for the project.