Week ending April 13, 2019
Tuttle Creek Lake Potential Flooding Situation – Added 04/15/19
The City, working with Douglas County Emergency Management, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), is monitoring the flooding potential situation at Tuttle Creek Lake. The City will work with these (and other agencies as warranted) to keep Lawrence and Douglas County residents informed if necessary.
Barry Walthall named Code Official of the Year – Added 04/15/19
At the April 10-12, 2019 Heart of America Chapter (HOA) of the International Code Council annual education conference in Dodge City, KS, former City of Lawrence building official Gene Shaughnessy was elected as an honorary member and named to the HOA “wall of honor”. Gene retired from the City in 2001 after many years of dedicated service, was an active member and officer of the HOA, and is a past president of the organization. Members in attendance and voting recognized that Gene’s appointment to the wall of honor was long overdue.
Barry Walthall, the City’s current building official, was also honored as the HOA’s “Code Official of the Year”! Contributions that lead to the honor included community wide accomplishments such as regional leadership in adoption and administration of the energy conservation code, consistent code adoption process and adoption of each edition of building codes published since 2006, collaboration with Douglas County and other regional jurisdictions on inspection policies and practices, collaboration with all Douglas County jurisdictions as well as community stakeholders on review of the 2018 editions of building codes, and service on multiple HOA committees, including serving as immediate past-chair of the nominating committee and as a longtime member of the education committee. Said Barry about the award, “I was more than a little stunned about the Code Official of the Year award, which I view as a department/city/community award more than an individual honor.”
Walthall was also elected to the office of HOA president.
City Manager Evaluation – Added 04/15/19
Recently the City Commission requested information about the City Manager evaluation process. As pointed out in the Manager Evaluation Handbook published by the International City-County Management Association (attached), it is important that the City Commission and City Manager agree on an appropriate evaluation tool and what will be evaluated. The handbook sets forth various ideas for the evaluation process and issues for consideration. Given the timing of the new incoming manager, it is recommended that this topic be one between the City Commission and the new City Manager once appointed.
2018 Residential Lot Inventory
This report is an update on the status of available lots for new, single-family, residential construction as of December 31, 2018. Information is provided on supply, market demand, and inventory of residential lots. The city netted 28 single-family residential lots in 2018, a 3% increase in supply over 2017. Lot demand jumped 6.9% compared to the previous year with 154 building permits being pulled for new, single-family construction in 2018. Overall, annual inventory of single-family residential lots decreased slightly going from 6.6 years of inventory in 2017 to 6.2 years of inventory in 2018.
2018 Annual Report: Economic Support & Compliance
Each year, the City of Lawrence reviews and reports information on performance and compliance for active economic development programs, including participation in property tax abatements, Industrial Revenue Bonds (IRB), Neighborhood Revitalization Areas (NRA), Tax Increment Financing districts (TIF), Transportation Development Districts (TDD), and other supported programs. This information is summarized within an annual economic development report, published by the City, as required by City Code.
The City’s draft 2018 Annual Report: Economic Support & Compliance is scheduled to go to the Public Incentives Review Committee for review and recommendation on May 10, 2019. The report will then go to the City and County Commissions for approval.
EMS Agreement Discussion Update:
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agreement discussions amongst Douglas County and City of Lawrence staff continue. The group met twice in February and once in March. The focus during this time has been gathering budget information to get an accurate picture of the total cost of EMS. Response data has been reviewed. Also, the group identified that the City of Salina/Saline County and the City of Emporia/Lyon County have similar arrangements for shared EMS. Agreements for these entities have been gathered to examine at how the services are funded. The group is beginning to have some discussions of a conceptual funding model. Two meetings are planned for April.
March 2019 Utility Billing Report
For the month of March, Utility Billing received 2,695 calls and handled 2,259 of those calls (83.8%); the Average Speed of Answer (ASA) was 2:30 minutes in March; and 33,627 bills were sent out. Please see the attached report for more information.
Fire Market Study
McGrath Human Resources Group has completed their Fire Market Study for the Firefighter, Fire Engineer and Fire Lieutenant job classifications. As these three job classifications have an independent pay plan from the Primary Pay Plan included in the Classification and Compensation Study presented on February 5, 2019, the City’s Human Resources Division requested that McGrath report separately in a format similar to the McGrath report for the Police Officers and Detectives in June 2018. The memorandum of understanding currently in effect with the International Association of Firefighters Local 1596 governs the 2019 pay plan for this group. There are no further actions for 2019. It should be noted that the data used in the report both for the City of Lawrence and the market agencies was collected by McGrath in the spring and summer of 2018. McGrath was not asked by the City to refresh the data for this report.
The Fire Market Study was placed on the City’s Intranet with the other McGrath reports at the same time as the April 16, 2019 City Commission agenda was posted to the internet for easy employee access.
Questions can be directed to Human Resources Manager, Lori Carnahan, lcarnahan@lawrenceks.org .
Update on Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy and Lawrence Bikeway Plan
The Transportation Commission and staff has identified the need to update their Non-Motorized Prioritization Policy used as the basis to prioritize standalone bicycle and pedestrian projects for implementation. This policy provides a data-driven ranking procedure for prioritizing non-motorized transportation infrastructure projects identified in the Regional Pedestrian Plan, Countywide Bikeway Plan, and Pedestrian-Bicycle Issues Taskforce Report. However, updates to the policy are pending the outcome of the Bikeway Plan Update which is underway. Please see attached for more information.
Municipal Services & Operations General Manager of Administration reappointed to National Geospatial Advisory Committee
MSO General Manager of Administration, Amber Reynolds, was reappointed by the Federal Department of Interior to a second term of service on the National Geospatial Advisory Committee. The NGAC provides advice and recommendations on national geospatial policy and management issues, the development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), and the implementation of the Geospatial Data Act of 2018. The NSDI promotes geospatial data sharing across all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and the academic community. Amber Reynolds represents the interests of municipal government in her role on the committee, which comprises representatives from a variety of sectors and interests associated with geospatial programs and technology. Please see the attached announcement for additional information.
2018 TreeCity USA Community Highlights and 2019 Arbor Day events
On March 28, 2019, Lawrence was awarded the Tree City USA Designation for the 41st year in its commitment to effective urban forest management. The attached highlights some of our accomplishments.
Grant Application for Pedestrian Crossing Safety Improvements
City staff submitted an application for an American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Community Challenge 2019 grant to fund pedestrian crossing safety improvements at the intersection of New Hampshire and 11th street. Please refer to the attached memorandum for information.
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.