RESOLUTION NO. 7172

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS, ESTABLISHING THE LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS:

SECTION 1.   PURPOSE.

In order to advance the health, safety, and welfare of all residents of the City of Lawrence, the Governing Body encourages strong multimodal transportation planning. Multimodal transportation planning facilitates access to transportation for all residents of the community and has been shown to be an effective tool in reducing energy dependency and traffic congestion. To those ends, to assist it in multimodal transportation planning, the Governing Body finds that it is in the best interest of all residents of the City of Lawrence to establish the Lawrence Transportation Commission.

SECTION 2. LAWRENCE TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION; ESTABLISHMENT; MEMBERSHIP; TERMS OF OFFICE; APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR.

(a)        There is hereby established the Lawrence Transportation Commission (“Commission”). The Commission shall be composed of nine members.[1]

(1) The Mayor, with approval of the Governing Body, shall appoint seven members to the Commission, all of whom shall be residents of the City. The Mayor’s appointees should include the following:

            (A)       one person representing local businesses;

                        (B)       one person representing bicyclists;

(C)       one person representing pedestrians;

(D)       one person representing the Public Transit Advisory Committee;

(E)       one person representing the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department;

(F)       one person, who shall have a background in planning or engineering, e.g., architecture, civil engineering, landscape architecture, city planning, or the like; and

(G)       one person who has a demonstrated interest, knowledge, or training in fields closely related to multi-modal transportation planning and engineering, such as a health profession, landscape architecture, city planning, urban design, geography, or the like.

(2)        With the consent of its governing body, the Lawrence Unified School District No. 497 School Board shall appoint one member to represent its interests.

(3)        The University of Kansas shall appoint one student to represent its interests.

(b)        Members of the Commission shall serve three (3) year terms, except when appointed to complete an unexpired term. As established by the bylaws, the terms of Commission members shall be staggered so that no more than one-third of the Board's terms shall expire each year. No member shall serve more than two consecutive full three-year terms. Terms of less than three years shall not count toward the term limits. All members of the Board shall serve without compensation. 

(c)        The Commission shall elect annually a member of the Commission to serve as Chair, who shall preside at meetings.

(d)        The Commission shall elect annually a member of the Commission to serve as Vice-chair, who shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair.

SECTION 3.   SAME; VACANCIES.

Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled by the party who appointed the member vacating the position. Such vacancies shall be filled as soon as practicable.

SECTION 4. SAME; BYLAWS AND MEETINGS.

The Commission shall adopt bylaws governing the procedures to be used by the Commission. The bylaws shall establish specific duties and responsibilities of the Chair and Vice-chair, the time and place for meetings (at least once per month), rules of order, and other rules governing procedures and operations of the Commission, including procedures for amending the bylaws.

SECTION 5.   QUORUM.

Except as otherwise provided in Footnote 1 to Section 2(a), supra, a quorum shall consist of five (5) members of the Commission. No official business of the Commission may be conducted without a quorum present.

SECTION 6. SAME; CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

All Commission members shall, by abstention, refrain from participating in the decision-making process, including discussing and voting, on any item for which he or she, his or her employer, or the entity which he or she is representing appears before the Board and would receive direct financial benefit if the item was to be approved by the Governing Body.

SECTION 7.   SAME; MINUTES.

The Commission shall prepare and approve minutes of its meetings and shall forward the same to the Governing Body.

SECTION 8. SAME; OPEN MEETINGS AND OPEN RECORDS.

All meetings of the Commission shall be held in compliance with the Kansas Open Meetings Act of 1972, codified as amended at K.S.A. 75-4317 et seq., and its records shall be subject to the Kansas Open Records Act of 1984, codified as amended at K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.

SECTION 9.   SAME; RESPONSIBILITIES.

The Commission shall operate as an advisory board to the Governing Body on all matters relating to multimodal transportation planning and related transportation decision-making. The Commission shall have the following responsibilities:

(a)        To make recommendations to the Governing Body regarding implementation of its Complete Streets policy;

(b)        To make recommendations to the Governing Body regarding the priority, location, and design of transportation facilities;

(c)        To make recommendations to the Governing Body regarding the expenditure of capital funds for transportation-related projects and programs;

(d)        To make recommendations to the Governing Body regarding expenditures of funds for the repair and maintenance of transportation projects and programs;

(e)        To make recommendations to the Governing Body regarding ordinances, policies, and programs regarding transportation planning, transportation, and transportation safety; and

(f)        To perform other specific functions and duties and to make recommendations on other matters, as directed by the Governing Body from time to time.

SECTION 10. REPEAL.

Resolution No. 2033 and Resolution No. 4346, establishing and redefining the Traffic Safety Commission, and Resolution No. 6874, establishing the Lawrence-Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee, are hereby repealed in their entirety, it being the intent of the Governing Body that the terms of this Resolution supersede the terms of those resolutions in their entirety.

SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Resolution shall be in full force and effect from and after January 1, 2017.

ADOPTED by the Governing Body of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, this 1st day of November, 2016.

APPROVED:

_____________________________

Mike Amyx

                                                                                    Mayor

ATTEST:

__________________________________

Sherri Riedemann

City Clerk

APPROVED AS TO FORM:                   

__________________________________                      

Toni R. Wheeler                                                        

City Attorney

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[1] For ease of transition, temporarily, for a period of one year, commencing January 1, 2017, and ending December 31, 2017, the Commission shall be composed of eleven members: the nine members described in Section 2(a), supra, and two temporary positions. To fill the two temporary positions, the Mayor shall appoint one person from the current Traffic Safety Commission and one person from the current Lawrence-Douglas County Bicycle Advisory Committee. For that one year, the Commission will operate with eleven (11) members and the members filling the two temporary positions shall be accorded all rights granted to members of the Commission, including the right to vote and the right to serve as Chair or Vice-chair. Also, during that one year, a quorum under Section 5, supra, shall consist of six members instead of five. The two temporary positions and the terms of the members filling those temporary positions shall terminate December 31, 2017, and thereafter the Commission shall operate with nine members as described in Section 2(a), supra.