CITY MANAGER’S
REPORT
Week ending April
29, 2017
Mental Health Team
Update
Attached, please find
an update from the development of a Mental Health Team.
Catalyst Program
Update
Attached is a follow-up from
City Commission discussion on the possible expansion of Catalyst Economic
Development Program beyond Lawrence VenturePark and East Hills Business Park.
Request from Johnson
County for K-10 Connector Funding
Attached is a staff memo
regarding a request from Johnson County to the City of Lawrence to assist with
funding the K-10 Connector bus route, which is operated by Johnson County, and
functions between Lawrence and Johnson County.
City
Receives Silver Walk Friendly Communities Designation
The City of
Lawrence received a “Silver” designation from the national Walk Friendly
Communities program. Scores range from Bronze (lowest), Silver, Gold, to
Platinum (highest).
The Walk
Friendly designation is based on community efforts to expand opportunities for
walking and to improve pedestrian safety across a wide range of programs and
activities, from planning and design to outreach and law enforcement.
In
particular, the City received high marks for:
· Inter-agency coordination on the Safe Routes to School programs.
· The city’s thorough facility inventories and engineering practices including: signal timing, road diets, crosswalk design/maintenance, countdown signals, and Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons.
· Complete Streets policy and land use ordinances that are generally supportive of walking.
· Demonstrated commitment to counting non-motorized modes of transportation.
Areas for
improvement included:
o Education and outreach efforts, including the need for better pedestrian wayfinding systems in the city.
o Enforcement, including programs to better enforce speeding controls at intersections with high pedestrian traffic.
o Evaluation, including the need to do a more comprehensive Road Safety Audit.
The City’s
scorecard with more score details can be found: https://lawrenceks.org/mpo/pedplan/
March Monthly Building Permit Reports
The
Building Safety Division issued 196 building permits in March, with total
construction for the month valued at $16,103,683. Total permit fees assessed for the month were
$106,421, and total review fees assessed were $7,567. Permits were issued for twenty-two (22) new
residential projects, including twenty-one (21) single-family dwellings and one
(1) duplex. Staff Memo Monthly
Report Year to Date Summary
Parks &
Recreation Program Highlights
Recreation programs recent
highlights involve kids building Lawrence out of LEGOs, the 15th annual
Daddy-Daughter Date Night and fitness demo classes to get people moving and
active. Photos
Lawrence Parks & Recreation,
Scouts, and community volunteers plant a variety of trees in three parks in
celebration of Arbor Day. Photos
Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget
Award
The Government Finance Officers
Association of the United Stated an Canada (GFOA) presented a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award
to the City of Lawrence, Kansas for its Annual Budget for the fiscal year
beginning January 1, 2017. In order to
receive this award, a governmental unit must publish a budget document that
meets program criteria as a policy document, as a financial plan, as an
operations guide, and as a communications device. The City of Lawrence has received the award 14
times out of the last 15 years.
New York Times Article “Is American Retail at a Historic
Tipping Point?”
Attached, please find
an article from the New York Times, April 15, 2017.
Future Agenda Items
Attached, please find a summary of future
agenda items.
Future Work Session
Items
Attached, please find a summary of future
work session items.
Follow-up
on public comment from April 18, 2017
The
attached memo and attachments are
in response to Crystalee Protheroe’s statements during the public comment
section of the April 18, 2017 Commission meeting. The documents outline the
various contacts Ms. Protheroe has had with City staff since last spring.
Accounts
Receivable Update
The City Manager will provide a verbal report.