[E-minutes] September 2, 2003 City Commission meeting minutes
Lisa Patterson
lpatterson@ci.lawrence.ks.us
Fri, 5 Sep 2003 13:22:05 -0500
September 2, 2003
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at
6:45 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Dunfield
presiding and members Hack, Highberger, Rundle and Schauner present.
With Commission approval Mayor Dunfield proclaimed the week of September 7 -
13, 2003 as "Lawrence Literacy Week"; the week of September 15 -21 as
"Pow/Mia Recognition Week"; and Friday, September 19 as "Pow/Mia Recognition
Day."
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by, Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve City Commission meeting minutes of August 19, 2003. Motion carried
unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve the Public Transit Advisory Committee meeting minutes of August 21,
2003; Lawrence Sesquicentennial Committee meeting minutes of August 25,
2003; and the Public Health Board meeting minutes of June 23, 2003. Motion
carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve claims to 863 vendors in the amount of $9,367,116.42. Motion
carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
concur with the recommendation of the Mayor and reappoint Les Hannon to the
Board of Zoning Appeals/Sign Code Board of Appeals. Motion carried
unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Alumni Association, 1266
Oread; Louise's Bar Downtown, 1009 Massachusetts Street; PaPa Keno's
Pizzeria, 1035 Massachusetts Street; Tanner's Bar & Grill, 1540 Wakarusa
Drive; and the Caterer License for Jayhawk Catering, 2223 Haskell Avenue.
The City Commission reviewed the bids for the 2003 Concrete Repair Program
for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Engineer's Estimate $412,657.00
Kansas Heavy Construction, LLC $285,287.00
LRM Industries, Inc. $316,906.65
Tompkins Paving, Inc. $345,063.00
Meadows Construction, Co., Inc. $346,856.95
D.F. Freeman Contractors, Inc. $398,279.30
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve the bid from Kansas Heavy Construction, LLC, in the amount of
$285,287.00. Motion carried unanimously.
(1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7674, regulating traffic within the
corporate limits of the City of Lawrence, Kansas; incorporating by reference
the "Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities," edition of 2003, with
certain omissions, changes and additions. Motion carried unanimously.
(2)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7690, amending Chapter 3, Article 2
concerning animals at large and amending Chapter 3 Article 3 concerning
procedures and requirements related to the ownership of dangerous dogs.
(3)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7691, permitting Douglas County
Resolution No. HR-03-7-3 to apply within the City limits of the City of
Lawrence, Kansas. Motion carried unanimously.
(4)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by
Hack, to place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7692, establishing the quorum
for the conduct of the Mechanical Code Board of Appeals as four.
(5)
Ordinance No. 7686, rezoning [Z-06-16-03] 0.595 acre from I-2 (Light
Industrial District) to C-4 (General Commercial District), located at 962
North 3rd Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it
was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to adopt the ordinance. Aye:
Dunfield, Hack, Highberger, Rundle and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion
carried unanimously. (6)
Ordinance No. 7687, annexing [A-06-09-03] 0.595 acre, located at 962
North 3rd Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it
was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to adopt the ordinance. Aye:
Dunfield, Hack, Highberger, Rundle and Schauner. Nay: None.. Motion
carried unanimously. (7)
Ordinance No. 7688, rezoning [Z-05-14-03] 0.827 acre from RS-1
(Single-Family Residential District) to C-5 (Light Commercial District),
located at 1918 E. 23rd Street, was read a second time. As part of the
consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to adopt the
ordinance. Aye: Dunfield, Hack, Highberger, Rundle and Schauner. Nay:
None. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
Ordinance No. 7689, rezoning [Z-06-17-03] 1.44 acres from A
(Agricultural District) to RS-2 (Single-Family Residential District),
located at 962 North 3rd Street, was withdrawn for corrections.
(9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
adopt Resolution No. 6486, authorizing general obligation bond authority for
the Belle Haven stormwater improvement project in the amount of $200,000.
Motion carried unanimously.
(10)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
adopt Resolution No. 6487, authorizing the public sale of bonds and notes on
September 16, 2003. Motion carried unanimously.
(11)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve continued operation of UPR-10-11-99 - Community Drop-in Center,
located at 944 Kentucky Street. Motion carried unanimously.
(12)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
approve the site plan (SP-07-48-03) for Rivers Edge Addition to 311-317
North 2nd Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. Execution of a site plan performance agreement per Section 20-1433;
2. Execution of an Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Future
Benefit District for Street and Sidewalk improvements per Section 20-1433.1;
3. Submission of a revised site plan to indicate an ADA accessible
pathway from the handicap parking stall to the entryways of the buildings;
4. The following Board of Zoning Appeals conditions of approval shall
be shown as a note on the site plan;
a. Board of Zoning Appeals Variances for parking lot surface and
concrete curb and gutters are valid until such time that Locust Street is
improved. Upon completion of Locust Street improvements, the applicant
shall have a period of two (2) years to bring the on-site parking area into
compliance with City Standards; and,
b. All Board of Zoning Appeals variances shall expire at such time that
the structure is demolished and the property is redeveloped.
Motion carried unanimously.
(13)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to
authorize the issuance of a right-of-way permit for various locations for
sales by artists during the Jayhawks on parade Artist's Day, September 20,
2003. Motion carried unanimously.
(14)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by
Hack, to authorize the Mayor to sign a Release of Mortgage for Made Arta
Yasa and Katrina Mowrey, 2714 Ponderosa Drive . Motion carried unanimously.
(15)
As a walk on item to the consent agenda, the Mayor recommended that
the following individuals be appointed to the Public Improvements Task
Force. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Rundle, seconded by
Hack, to appoint David Dunfield, Ron Durflinger, Phil Struble, Ed Tato,
Melinda Henderson, Bob Johnson, and Rich Minder. Motion carried
unanimously. (16)
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
During the City Manager's Report, Mike Wildgen said staff had provided the
City Commission with the minutes from the quarterly Goal Review Session. He
asked the Commission to let staff know if any items needed to be omitted
and/or misinterpreted.
Wildgen also informed the Commission of a media conference related to
cryptosporidium. The State Epidemiologist was at that meeting to answer a
number of questions. The Health Department answered questions on
preventative measures that the public could take. He said the City water
was safe, but staff would be testing the water for the people who were
concerned that it wasn't.
Commissioner Schauner asked when the water testing results would be
available.
Wildgen said they started testing today and it took approximately two days
to do the test and then depending on the scheduled of the certified firm, it
should be late next week. He said the testing might reveal that there was
some cryptosporidium in the water, but it did not mean it was the source.
He said it was not unusual to find in the water source, but whether it was
the active cause of this situation, no one knew. (17)
REGULAR AGENDA
Receive request from Immanuel Lutheran Church to allow alcoholic beverages
to be sold and consumed at the third annual "Oompahfest" at South Park on
September 6, 2003 from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Declare an emergency and
adopt Ordinance No. 7693 on first and second reading.
Vern Bartels, Immanuel Lutheran Church, requested the temporary
license on behalf of the church. He said that he started working with the
City Clerk's Office and the Alcoholic Beverage Control back in June, but
that the Alcohol Beverage Control would not issue a temporary license until
fourteen days prior to the event. He said that was contrary to City
requirements.
Frank Reeb said this was a situation where the Church did not
receive their State License until August 22, staff did not have time to get
it on the agenda for two reading as it would normally appear on a consent
agenda, that combined with the fact that the City Clerk's office didn't
track this issue as closely as it should have. He said this temporary
license could have been placed on the consent agenda, contingent upon the
receipt of the State License. This was in no way any fault of the Church
because they notified the Clerk's office in early July if not earlier.
Dunfield called for public comment.
After receiving no public comment, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by
Highberger, to declare an emergency and adopt Ordinance 7693 on first and
second reading. Aye: Dunfield, Hack, Highberger, Rundle and Schauner. Nay:
None. Motion carried unanimously.
(18)
Conduct public hearing on proposed vacation of a portion of right-of-way of
North 3rd Street, located north of Pleasant Street and adjacent to Lot 25,
Walnut Park.
Mayor Dunfield called a public hearing on a proposed vacation of a portion
of right-of-way of North 3rd Street.
Chuck Soules, Public Works Director, presented the staff report on the
proposed vacation of a portion of right-of-way for North 3rd Street, located
north of Pleasant Street and adjacent to Lot 25, Walnut Park. He presented
a drawing of the proposed vacation. The existing structure was encroaching
into the existing setback, but not in the right-of-way. The intent was to
vacate a portion of the right-of-way such that the set-back line would be at
the front of the house. This came as a result of a replatting that happened
after the structure was built and now the owners would like to sell the
property.
He said there were some utilities in the area which was Southwestern Bell,
Westar and a sewer line so they would need to maintain an easement for
utilities if the portion of right-of-way was vacated.
Mark Andersen, attorney for the applicants, said this matter came up when
the applicant wanted to sell the applicant's home. He said a survey
disclosed the encroachment. He said they had asked as buyers, one of two
things, which was either this encroachment went away, or they would not
close and it would add to a substantial discount to the purchase price of
the property. He said they were asking the City to vacate 8 1/2 feet of
right-of-way, but in doing so, they would be reserving an easement for all
public utilities. All the utilities that were there would stay there and
that would not change. All they were doing was changing the semantics for
this from right-of-way to easement.
He said when this subdivision was laid out many years ago it was laid out
with all those lots running north and south. After the applicants built
there house, and built it in conformance with all of the Subdivision
Regulations, including the setback, the property owner who owned the lots to
the north came in and replatted. He said when they replatted, they
replatted east and west and by doing so, it changed the configuration of
rear yard to rear yard from a side yard to rear yard, thus putting the
applicant's property into non-conforming status.
The variance options were not acceptable to the buyers. A variance was not
something they could request right now. A variance could only be requested
if there was a casualty damage to the home or if they wanted to build on an
addition to home which would require a building permit. The property would
then need to go through the variance process with no guarantee that it would
be approved. A fire, if it destroyed the home, placed the potential owner
of this property in the position of not being able to rebuild or
reconstruct. This was a permanent fix without prejudice to the City and
without costs to the City that fixed a dilemma to the applicant. He asked
for the Commission's support in approving their request.
Vice Mayor Rundle said the Order of Vacation mentioned that the Governing
Body reserved an easement. He asked if that easement was filed with the
Register of Deeds.
Soules said the Order of Vacation was filed with the Register of Deeds.
Mayor Dunfield said it looked as though the houses both to the north and
across the street to the west were setback a similar distance from the
street as the applicant's property.
Soules said yes.
Commissioner Highberger asked if there were other properties that might have
the same problem.
Soules said no because of the way the setback was.
Finger said Anderson was referring to the side yard setback. That width was
determined by what the property backed on to. When it backed onto a rear
yard, then you duplicate the side yard. She said when they changed the
orientation of lots and made them back onto a side yard, than it became a
second front yard as far as width of setback which was a difference of 10
foot.
Mayor Dunfield said it appeared that the Commission was being asked to
acknowledge the pattern that existed and if there was no damage for the
City's ability to service the area then he did not see any harm.
Commissioner Schauner asked why this would not have been seen at the time
the replatting occurred when the replatting created a non-conforming setback
of this property.
Finger said it probably should have, but so often plats were myopic in that
they only show lot lines and not structures on adjacent properties. Not
knowing where that structure was located, you would need a surveyor to
locate the corners of that structure. It wouldn't be apparent that this
would be in violation.
Commissioner Schauner asked if this was something, as a matter of policy,
ought to be asking on replat applications in terms of what other properties
were adversely or turned into non-conforming properties.
Finger said staff should be asking more of a question of where that
structure sat on the adjacent property if you were changing orientation of
lots. She said if they were side by side, it was apparent. Because of how
this lot was oriented and without looking at the structure, it should have
been something that should have been caught, but you would need to go to an
aerial to do that because you would not get any information on a plat
submittal that would show you that.
Commissioner Schauner asked if that could be a requirement in the policy to
look at adjacent structures to look at orientation.
Finger said yes. That requirement could be placed in the Subdivision
Regulations as an ordinance.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to close the public hearing. Motion
carried unanimously.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to approve the order of vacation of a
portion of right-of-way of North 3rd Street, located north of Pleasant
Street and adjacent to Lot 25, Walnut Park. Motion carried unanimously.
(19)
Receive staff report concerning Adequate Public Facilities recommendations.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said after the study session in July, the
Commission asked staff to come back with comments on several of the Adequate
Public Facility recommendations.
He said the first issue was the wastewater line capacity water pressure and
water flow criteria. He said the Commission could initiate a text amendment
to place that type of review in the Preliminary Plat review process and that
would make sure those standards were looked at during that review process.
Mayor Dunfield asked if that would essentially be reviewing an issue earlier
in the process than when it was currently done.
Wildgen said yes, it would be part of the formal review process.
Wildgen said the next issue dealt with an accounting system to deal with
reserve capacity in water and wastewater systems and administrative fees to
recover certain costs. He said staff was not sure they had the capacity to
do that. He said staff wanted to do some research with Black and Veatch.
He said the Commission would see the Master Plan for water and wastewater in
the next week and it would be a good point of discussion during that time
period.
Vice Mayor Rundle asked when the Commission would be reviewing that Master
Plan.
Wildgen said September 10, 2003.
Wildgen said another question from the Commission was the impact fees for
new fire facilities and parks. He said with the work on the Public
Improvement Task Force, staff thought that was a good topic to get some more
direction from that group. He said they did not see a lot of examination of
fire impact fees in that general area.
Mayor Dunfield said the plat excise tax was a similar situation and it
should be part of the public improvement task force discussion.
Wildgen said this document should go as some of the background to the task
force.
Mayor Dunfield said there were a couple of things to consider on a shorter
term basis. The identifying of the neighborhood park service radius and the
water and wastewater issues for a fairly quick implementation by initiating
a text amendment as part of that discussion with Black and Veatch to see
where the Commission should go.
Mayor Dunfield called for public comment.
Commissioner Schauner asked when the Commission could have a text amendment
to review on those two items.
Finger asked if the Commission would like to see wording first, prior to
initiating it or would the Commission like to initiate the concept and have
staff draft language and take it to the Planning Commission for comment.
Commissioner Schauner said he would prefer to initiate the concept and have
staff daft language and take it to the Planning Commission for comment.
Finger said in that process they could take it to the October Planning
Commission meeting. If the Commission would like to initiate it tonight,
staff could schedule it for October. She said staff could get that to the
Commission to see if that was what they had in mind.
Vice Mayor Rundle asked if staff would be modeling this after other cities.
Finger said yes and they would make it adjust to Lawrence.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Schauner, to initiate text amendments on the
wastewater and water review requirements and the parks service area
standard. Motion carried unanimously.
(20)
Discussion of the proposed Carnegie Library Re-use Proposals and establish
procedures for consideration.
Mayor Dunfield presented the proposed Carnegie Library Re-use Proposals. He
said the Commission's principle aim was to arrive at procedures that they
could use to evaluate those proposals and arrive at a decision to the use of
that building. He said one of the factors that was driving this issue
forward at this point was that they had selected a contractor for the
stabilization project which would put a new roof on the building along with
new windows. Once that work was completed they would need to look at how to
adapt the building for future use.
Commissioner Schauner asked who was awarded that contract.
Wildgen said Penny Construction. He said work should be started this week.
Vice Mayor Rundle said the previous Commission discussed this issue very
informally when they were looking at the building and considering the
renovations and scope. He said the Commission, at that time, had a
consensus that they wanted to see a continuation of the type of public use
that was a legacy of that building which was the Public Library and the Arts
Center. Both of those uses brought a cross section of the community in. He
asked if the Commission wanted to identify some type of broad criteria now
or did they want to do it in a study session.
Wildgen said they had a request for proposal. He said most of them did to
some degree. He said the Commission could do interviews or a study session.
He said there were several questions that needed to be asked.
Vice Mayor Rundle said maximum community use and a high level of
collaboration across the community was what were most important. He said
the previous Commission's goals emphasized community building and public
celebration. Those goals could be put in as criteria and then go through
the proposals and evaluate them. He said whatever they agreed upon as
criteria should include those goals.
Commissioner Highberger said this was an issue that deserved a study
session. He said they needed the time to develop the criteria and also
review the proposals in more detail. He would have more questions in terms
of financial liability. He said his preference would be a study session
format.
Commissioner Hack asked if it would be helpful if the Commission had some
time to look through those and generate questions for staff. Staff could
funnel those back to the appropriate people or did the Commission want
representatives from each of those organizations at a study session.
Wildgen suggested that the Commission invite those organizations to the
study session.
Commissioner Schauner said he would envision a study session that was cut
into two parts. This would be an opportunity for the Commission to have
some discussion and gather some general information and also an opportunity
for applicants to be available for specific questions as a second half of
the study session.
The broad strokes that Vice Mayor Rundle outlined certainly sounded like the
right direction to take the discussion, but he thought they needed more time
and more information before they made a decision about what to do with the
property.
Vice Mayor Rundle said it would be good to have a broad outline of
Commission consensus on goals and then do the interviews.
Mayor Dunfield said he would imagine that one outcome of that study session
might be the formation of a committee to do the actual selection process if
that was the direction the Commission went. He would want some financial
and legal backing from staff and what other skills the Commission might want
involved in such a committee to help make a sound decision.
Commissioner Schauner suggested a Solomon like approach because there was
interest from competing groups that some would have good merit.
Commissioner Hack said it was such an important part of the City's downtown.
She said people who had applied were a little impatient with the Commission
to get going with a decision, but she hoped they would indulge the
Commission to make sure they were doing it right. This was too important of
a facility not to make sure the Commission did it right.
Commissioner Schauner said it was clearly an important landmark anchor for
downtown. He said the Commission wanted to do everything right to make a
reasoned and good decision about its adaptive reuse.
Mayor Dunfield said it seemed that the Commission now had open study session
date on September 24th.
The Commission agreed to a September 24 study session.
Mayor Dunfield called for public comment on the issue of the Carnegie
Library.
After receiving no public comment on the Carnegie Library, Mayor Dunfield
called for regular public comment.
(21)
PUBLIC COMMENT
Greg Robinson, Lawrence, addressed the topic of the police chase. He said
he was a former Police Officer that served in 1994 through 1995. He
resigned to attend the University of Kansas Law School and he was currently
an attorney in Lawrence.
He gave his condolences to the family. He hoped his comments were not
construed to condemn the Lawrence Police Department or to lay any type of
comments that would alleviate the responsibility of the driver, but to
address the pursuit policy in general.
He said staff and the Police Chief said the pursuit policy was appropriate
and it was followed to the letter. He somewhat respectfully disagreed. He
said the policy that was printed in the newspaper indicated that pursuits
were outlined if the vehicle refused to stop. The police vehicle in it of
itself was an emergency vehicle when it operated its lights and sirens. He
said when he was trained as a Lawrence Police Officer there was another item
and that was the definition of an emergency vehicle. An emergency vehicle
was one that was using it red lights and sirens and was acknowledged as
such. Another part of that policy was that emergency vehicles should not
exceed the posted maximum speed limit by more than 10 m.p.h. He said the
general orders of the Police Department were living documents and they
changed as the times changed and technology advanced itself. He did not
know if that policy was still there or not. If so, then that 10 m.p.h. over
the posted speed limit would have been definitely violated.
He asked what precipitated that pursuit. He said they learned about some
issues about the driver in Kansas City, but that was not known to the Police
Department at that time. At the time of that stop that person was in the
wrong lane of traffic in the 1400 block of Massachusetts. The Police
Officer saw a vehicle that matched the description on West 9th Street going
50 m.p.h. At that time they had a misdemeanor, perhaps reckless driving, on
Massachusetts Street. Then they had a potential reckless driving on West
9th Street at 50 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. speed zone. The speed itself did not
constitute reckless driving. He said the Police then initiated their lights
and sirens and the vehicle did not stop as it went westbound.
He said the Commission was fully aware that the bottleneck would be
immediately approached at Emery Street. It was hard enough to negotiate the
particular stretch of road when it was 30 m.p.h. and there was a limited
site distance. He suspected that the maximum design safety of west 9th
Street probably did not exceed 40 m.p.h. He said usually the posted speed
limit was anywhere from 5 to 10 m.p.h. below the maximum design safe speed.
He said somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 m.p.h. was going to be the
maximum speed on west 9th street for a safety factor.
He said when you go up Emery intersection which was a congested
intersection, it was a ramp which was steep and dropped off on the other
side. He said no one knows what was on the other side of that hill. He
said the pursuit was on and it went immediately up hill and turned into and
s-curb before getting to Iowa Street.
He said the paper indicated and quoted from the Police Department that this
guy would not stop. He asked at this point in time, what was an officer
supposed to do. The policy said that the initiating officer had the
obligation to terminate that pursuit if the safety conditions clearly
override the necessity of their pursuit. He said there was a school
district coming up and there were a lot of access points coming onto west
9th Street. He said when getting to Lawrence Avenue there was a four way
stop and went up hill immediately with limited sight distance and the speed
limit dropped to 20 m.p.h.
The road continued on and turned into west 8th Street onto Kasold at that
point you were already running "hot" chasing a vehicle to Kasold during a
busy time. He said at that time it would be considered a felony because he
would suspect it was reckless driving. He said the felony happened after
the pursuit was initiated. He said Kasold Street was an opportune time to
chase a vehicle because they were on a divided road. He said the Police
keep chasing and at that point they go to 15th Street to 22nd Street which
was the entrance to Hy-Vee. He said the Police probably put out the stop
sticks and while he maneuvered around those and busted through Clinton
Parkway and Kasold where the pursuit was allegedly terminated. The Police,
at that time, had the perfect opportunity to continue the pursuit because it
was the best road to do it because it was a four lane road that was
improved.
He asked the Commission to review this policy and to take a look and see
what they could do to institute the policy for the Police Department. He
said there were a couple of things that would help in this investigation.
One was that there would be police dispatch tapes of this and all those
times would be stamped on that dispatch tape. He asked the Commission to
review the digital time stamps of when the officers were calling out their
positions or the 10-20 locations. Chief Olin advised that the Officers
followed it to the letter, but if they followed it to the letter then those
locations would be on that tape and the Commission would be able to see the
time called out.
Another issue that would be the best evidence of this issue that had not
been implemented by the Police Department was the use of videotapes in the
cars. The Sheriff's Department used them, but the City did not use them
because there was no policy. He believed that the pursuit of that vehicle
for misdemeanors down west 9th at such a high rate of speed with limited
site distance was not appropriate under any policy. He asked the Commission
to look into this and take appropriate action at it deemed fit.
Mayor Dunfield said the videotape issue was discussed during the budget
discussions. He said the question of the pursuit policy and whether there
was a specific directive about the speed not to exceed 10 m.p.h. of the
posted speed limit was worth looking into. He was interested in knowing
about that and also whether there were any comments about the notion of
using the dispatch records as a way of getting a better grasp on what speeds
actually were experienced during that pursuit.
Corliss said in talking with Robinson, Robinson indicated the issue about
the 10 m.p.h. on emergency vehicles. He then talked to the Police Chief
about that issue. The Police Chief indicated that while that was a previous
policy of earlier general orders of the Police Department it was not
currently a Police Department Policy.
Mayor Dunfield said it might be useful to have comment on that change in
policy.
Wildgen said the second part of this review included looking at the policy
and reviewing it and comparing it to other policies in other regions. He
intended to have more information that he would share with the City
Commission.
Commissioner Schauner asked about the time stamped on the dispatch tapes.
Mayor Dunfield asked for comment back from staff on that issue at another
time.
(22)
Chuck Epp, Lawrence, Kaw Valley Living Wage Alliance, said they were
grateful and heartened by the extent of consensus that was shown in the last
meeting by members of the public as well as members of the Commission and
the Mayor on what they thought were the core aspects of their living wage
proposal. He said many comments were made that it was a remarkable meeting
and they were grateful for their support in general on the living wage
principle.
He mentioned some other issues that they were grateful for as an outcome of
that meeting. He believed all of the Commissioners spoke in favor of their
proposed living wage floor of 130% of the Federal Poverty level for a family
of three plus health benefits. That of course was at the core of their
policy proposal and they had very specific language that addressed that. He
also believed the Commission spoke in favor of applying this to all workers
of tax abated firms. Again, there were some technical issues there, but as
he understood the consensus was that it would be extended to include
temporary and part-time workers as well as most subcontractors with some
reasonable exceptions for the proverbial pizza delivery driver. He said
their ordinance specifically addressed those types of issue and they were
working on revisions to deal with legitimate concerns that were raised with
regard to what that specifically meant.
He also believed that the Commission spoke in favor of ensuring that the
living wage policy was legally enforceable in a meaningful way. He said
their ordinance specifically puts that into effect with clear language.
He said they were also grateful for the extensive public comment in the
meeting August 19th which as aimed at clarifying their proposal. They
believed some additional clarifications were merited and they were working
on carrying out those clarifications. He said they would be communicating
with City staff in the near future to deal with those important issues. He
said they were ready and willing to work with staff to clarify aspects of
their proposal that were concerns to the City Commission. He said they were
grateful for Commission support for the core aspects of their proposal. It
was their understanding that they were moving ahead with their core proposal
with some appropriate revisions as they were working on them.
Mayor Dunfield said staff was working on several of those issues that were
ambiguous or needed further clarification and definition. The format and
forum of the living wage issue was one that would come back to the
Commission for discussion and resolution sometime this month.
Commissioner Highberger said it was appropriate for the members of the
Alliance to contact Corliss directly.
Corliss agreed .
Commissioner Schauner concurred and encouraged the Living Wage Alliance to
communicate what they considered to be the core pieces of their proposal to
Corliss and to work with him to see that those were incorporated.
Vice Mayor Rundle said the draft revisions would alleviate some of the
concerns both in the public and for the Commission.
(23)
COMMISSION ITEMS
Commissioner Schauner commented about information the Commission received
about Lift Station failures and associated backups. He said after reviewing
that information and looked at a couple of photographs provided, it was
worth noting that they had some City staff that had jobs that a lot of
people would not like to do. He said City staff did a tremendous job during
the last four or five days in maintaining lift station operation and working
in conditions that were difficult. He thanked City staff for their good
work in keeping the system up and running.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Rundle, to adjourn at 7:50 p.m. Motion
carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
David M Dunfield, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________________
Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
CITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES - September 2, 2003
1. Bid - 2003 Concrete Repair Program to Kansas Heavy Construction for
$285,287.
2. Ordinance No. 7674 - 1st Reading, regulating traffic within
corporate limits in the STO.
3. Ordinance No. 7690 - 1st Reading, amend animals at large concerning
procedures and requirements.
4. Ordinance No. 7691 - 1st Reading, permit Douglas County Resolution
HR-03-7-3 to apply within City limits.
5. Ordinance No. 7692 - 1st Reading, establish quorum for Mechanical
Code Board of Appeals.
6. Ordinance No. 7686 - 2nd Reading, rezone (Z-06-16-03) 0.595 acre
fromI-2 to C-4, 962 N 3rd.
7. Ordinance No. 7687 - 2nd Reading, annex (A-06-09-03) 0.595 acre, 962
N 3rd .
8. Ordinance No. 7688 - 2nd Reading, rezone (Z-05-14-03) 0.827 acre,
RS-1 to C-5, 1918 E 23rd .
9. Ordinance No. 7689 - 2nd Reading, rezone (Z-06-17-03) 1.44 acres,
from A to RS-2, 962 N 3rd.
10. Resolution No. 6486 - GOB for Belle Haven stormwater improvements
for $200,000.
11. Resolution No. 6487, Note and Bond sale on Sept 16.
12. UPR - (UPR-10-11-99), Community Drop-in Center, 944 Kentucky.
13. Site Plan - (SP-07-48-03, Rivers Edge Addition, 311-317 N 2nd.
14. R-O-W Permit - sales by artist during Jayhawk's parade Artist's Day,
Sept 20.
15. Mortgage Release - 2714 Ponderosa, Made Arta Ysa & Katrina Mowrey.
16. Appointments - Walk-on item for Public Improvement Task Force.
17. City Manager's Report - Goal Review Session/Cryptosporidium.
18. Oompahfest - temporary alcohol sales.
19. Vacation - R-O-W for N 3rd, N of Pleasant St. & adjacent to Lot 25,
Walnut Park.
20. Adequate Public Facilities - Water & wastewater review requirements.
21. Carnegie Library re-use proposals.
22. Police Chase.
23. Kaw Valley Living Wage Alliance.
_____________________________
Lisa K. Patterson
Communications Coordinator
City of Lawrence
PO Box 708
Lawrence, KS 66044
(785) 832-3406
fax (785) 832-3405
lpatterson@ci.lawrence.ks.us
http://www.lawrenceks.org