CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Week ending April 19, 2013
Leo Beuerman plaque project
On Saturday April 20, 2013 a plaque commemorating the life of Leo Beuerman will be rededicated after being restored and moved to a more visible location in downtown Lawrence. Please see the attached report regarding the project, which was facilitated by the Public Works Department.
March Building Permits Report
The Building Safety Division issued 163 building permits in March, with total construction for the month valued at $12,132,538. Total permit fees assessed for the month were $80,160.50. Permits were issued for 23 new residential projects, including 22 new single-family dwellings and one duplex. Please see the attached memo, summary report and full report for more information.
The Building Safety Division has also prepared the attached memo regarding trends for building permits compared to previous years and to other area jurisdictions. Staff surveyed the other area permit issuing jurisdictions within Douglas County, including Douglas County, Eudora, and Baldwin City as well as Topeka, De Soto, Olathe, Salina, Ottawa, Emporia, and Lenexa.
Outside Agency Funding Applications
The application materials for social service agencies, economic development agencies, and vendor provided services for the 2014 budget are now online at http://lawrenceks.org/budget. Application materials should be submitted electronically by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 3, 2013 to Casey Toomay at ctoomay@lawrenceks.org.
Creative Economy Project Support – Grant Application
The Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission’s (KCAIC) Creative Economy Project Support provides grant funding to programs that encourage dynamic partnerships between the public and private sectors to create jobs in the creative industries, generate real income, promote economic development, revitalize communities, and attract cultural tourists.
The project concept is the development of a city-wide cultural plan and marketing campaign. The City is collaborating on the project with the Lawrence Arts Center and Callahan Creek. If funded, the City would issue a Request for Proposals to hire a consultant to organize and facilitate stakeholder groups to design and develop and city-wide cultural plan. Members of the Cultural District Task Force would for a steering committee for this project, and would be involved in drafting the RFP and interviewing RFP finalists. Once a plan is developed, Callahan Creek would initiate the design and production of a marketing campaign.
The City Commission approved the City to apply for the first round of review (see initial application). KCAIC has two rounds of review. If selected to continue on to the second round of review, the final grant application will be due May 15, 2013.
1,143 Tons of Compost and Woodchips Distributed during the City’s Spring Sale
The City’s Solid Waste Division sold 1,656 cubic yards (910.8 tons) of compost and 808 cubic yards (232.3 tons) of woodchips during the Spring Compost and Woodchip Sale in April. A total of 2,198 vehicles participated during the 7-day sale and a total of $20,300 was generated during the sale. Compost and woodchips were sold for $10 per bucket load which is approximately 2 cubic yards. Small quantities were free and the sale opened early on March 30th for citizens interested in smaller quantities of compost and woodchips. Please see the attached report for more details.
Winter Street Operations Report
The Public Works Department has successfully completed another winter snow operations season. Final cost of snow operations for 2012 / 2013 was $534,257.39 with 29.6” of snow over 8 events. Pot-hole numbers continue to decrease over the past several years, mostly due to a comprehensive street maintenance program. Please see the attached report for more information.