Week ending December 1, 2018
SafeBar Update
This is an update to the SafeBar discussion the City Commission considered at its October 16, 2018 meeting. At that meeting, the Commission considered a possible requirement that liquor licensees participate in SafeBar sexual violence training as a condition of licensure. The direction to staff at the conclusion of the Commission’s consideration was for staff to continue its discussions with the Care Center and licensees and to return with a proposed ordinance addressing the training. The Commission asked for a better idea on who would be required to attend the training—licensees or all bar staff—and to identify better the cost of the program, depending on who would be required to participate.
A request from stakeholders at earlier meetings this fall was to make the SafeBar training part of the voluntary annual compliance training conducted by the Department of Revenue in conjunction with the Lawrence Police Department. Staff recently confirmed with both the police department and Department of Revenue that tacking SafeBar training on at the end of the compliance training would be permitted, though the existing compliance training currently lasts approximately 2-2 ˝ hours.
Pursuant to Commission direction, staff is also exploring a second option on how requiring such a training would work and has been in contact with the Care Center since the October 16th meeting. Staff will meet with the Care Center in early December to discuss funding more in-depth and come up with ideas on how to most efficiently conduct the training so that it reaches as many people as possible in the most cost-effective manner. After the December Care Center meeting, staff will pitch the ideas to stakeholders in an attempt to reach an agreement, as the Commission directed. Staff anticipates returning this item to the Commission for discussion early next year and most likely by late January or early February.
Clarification of Roadway Classifications
Lawrence and Douglas County have three maps that assign street classifications. Each classifications map serves a unique purpose and streets can be classified differently depending on the purpose of the map. The three classifications are: Lawrence Major Thoroughfares Map, Federal Functional Classification Map, and Douglas County Access Management Road Classifications/Map. A summary of each classification is provided on the website.
Food Policy Council Bylaw/Structure Update Process
The bylaws of the Food Policy Council, including the Article II Goals and Article III Purposes were written at the start of the Council (2010), before any work had been done, before there was a Sustainability Coordinator, before there was a 2-staff Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability Office. They have not significantly been revisited, reviewed, or updated in the past 8 years.
On October 15, the Council participated in a facilitated discussion to consider revising the Council’s goals, purpose, and structure to see how it can best move forward given progress and lessons learned in the last 8 years. The Council reflected on challenges regarding filling very narrowly-defined positions, while recognizing need for some structure and/or guidance to ensure diverse perspectives are engaged (including different food system perspectives and racial/ethnic/class/gender/age, etc.). Outcomes of the discussion included direction on new purpose statement and characteristics for ensuring a high-functioning council, including decision criteria for considering membership and representation.
An Ad Hoc FPC working group, who has met over the past few months, will reconvene and bring a set of options to the Council in November to consider, with the goal of bringing a recommendation to the City and County Commissions for consideration.
STAR Communities Changes – Implications for Lawrence
The STAR Communities Rating System is transitioning to LEED for Cities and Communities. Implications for Lawrence include:
· There is no impact to our STAR certification with the merger. US Green Building Council now owns the STAR certification mark, but there is no change to our existing recognition.
· A new and expanded rating system is in development and will be called LEED for Cities & Communities. It will integrate STAR content and align with the current LEED for Cities system. Feedback on the changes will be sought in early 2019 from STAR member cities like us.
· The new LEED for Cities & Communities certification will launch April 1, 2019
· Lawrence’s 4- STAR Communities Rating expires in October 2020. We can recertify under the LEED for Cities banner at that point and begin data collection in the second half of 2019.
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.