Week ending April 28, 2018
Safebar
At the February 20, 2018 City Commission meeting, Commissioner Ananda inquired about whether the City could mandate Safebar training for any person applying on behalf of a venue for a drinking establishment license in Lawrence. The City Attorney’s Office has been directed to research that question.
SafeBar was created in Lawrence by the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center (Care Center) approximately seven (7) years ago and is designed to train bar staff members on sexual violence. The goal of the program, according to the Care Center, is to treat bars as an ally in combating sexual violence by providing bar staff with skills to intervene when sexual misconduct occurs. The Lawrence Police Department (LKPD) and the District Attorney’s Office previously participated in the training when the program initially started, but stopped once the Care Center discontinued the training temporarily due to its own staffing shortages.
The program restarted in 2016 and currently only Care Center staff participate in it, though the Care Center reports it would appreciate LKPD’s assistance in the training. The Care Center states that it has trained staff members at 14 local bars and that training is usually conducted at the request of the bar. The Care Center reports high interest in the program, which lasts approximately 1 ½ - 2 hours at the bar for which training is being held. A staff member from LKPD met with Care Center staff recently to discuss SafeBar. At this time, LKPD is willing to assist with the training and plans on attending the Care Center’s annual meeting this summer with various bar owners to discuss the program. City staff will evaluate the success of the training later this year once the LKPD begins participating.
As staff continues researching the legal question raised at the February 20 meeting, it is recommended that in the interim LKPD participate in the training and that such training be provided to bar staff on a voluntary basis.
Safe Routes to School, Phase 2, Tree Removal Update
On April 17, 2018, the City Commission awarded Bid No. 1807, Project No. PW1614 – Safe Routes to School Phase 2, which will add sidewalks along designated safe routes to school. This bid award was pulled from the consent agenda for public comment and staff received a question as to why trees were being removed along a portion of 15th Street.
The sidewalk alignment adjacent to the back of curb was chosen to minimize the number of trees to be removed along the south side of 15th Street, between Hanscom Road and Haskell Avenue. There are six (6) trees that will be removed. After the sidewalk construction is completed, Parks and Recreation will assist in placement of new trees within the right-of-way per the City street tree policy.
Utilities Department Annual Reports
The 2017 Utilities Annual Reports are available online at www.lawrenceks.org/utilities/annual_report/. The following reports are available:
House Bill 2597
The attached memo clarifies the role of the Mayor by amending K.S.A. 12-104. Section 3 of the bill, pertaining to Commission-Manager forms of Government, states that “…the Mayor shall be considered part of the governing body in all matters.” No action is needed to comply with this bill.
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.