April 12, 2005
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at 6:35 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Rundle presiding and members Dunfield, Hack, Highberger, and Schauner present.
Mayor Rundle presented the State of the City Address
Mayor Rundle said, “In recent years this speech by the mayor has been pre-recorded. I've chosen to return to the days before tele-prompters. There is one major advantage to the live presentation. That is that I don't have to watch myself.
Three years ago I had the opportunity to serve as mayor of our community and to deliver the traditional state of the city address. It has been an honor to serve this second term as mayor. I hope my contributions help in some way to move our city forward to a healthy prosperous future.
In 2001 I expressed my care and commitment to the Lawrence that we all know and love—the Lawrence of which we are justifiably proud. I called upon all of us to dream of a Lawrence as the great city we can become. I believe the ideas and challenges I shared in that speech, and the hopes and strategies I expressed then are still relevant today. However, I will only repeat one point from it. That is that the great cities of the world are not accidents. People in those cities like you and me dreamed, planned and brought to life a shared vision to become great cities.
I want to keep my remaining comments brief.
Three years ago in April—at the end of my first term as mayor— we were just six months from the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. Many local businesses are still recovering from the economic setbacks that settled upon us, but we are on more solid footing today, both in the business community and in our own city budget. That is critically important as we look ahead.
We are fortunate to be a growing community. That growth has placed some great opportunities and challenges before us. Our success in meeting those challenges and in making the most of those opportunities will depend on our ability to come together, and make fresh, honest and well informed assessments of the present as we make decisions for our community and for our future.
The state of our city and the future of our city is in many ways in the hands of our city staff. That staff is made up of the most dedicated, hardworking employees anywhere in the country. We thank them for the benefits we enjoy every day in our city because of their efforts throughout our city.
The city commission provides direction for only one employee—the City Manager, Mike Wildgen. As a commission we are strongly encouraging Mike and his management team to attain higher levels of achievement. We have attempted to provide clear direction and set clear goals for addressing the issues we agree do exist. As a commission we depend on the management staff to carry out policies approved by the city commission and we expect those policies to be presented clearly and applied consistently.
We also depend on our management team for complete and timely information. That information is the foundation for our decisions and provides a starting point as we navigate the political process. Outcomes from that political process are not always predictable and the process can be noisy and sometimes messy. That is as is as it should be. It is exactly the process that we inherited and it is a sacred trust we carry forward.
There is no area where information is more critical than the city budget and the budget development process. While my colleagues may not all agree that we have as much room for improvement in the area of budgeting as I believe we have, you may be sure we will be discussing this as the next commission gets to work.
Some weeks ago we directed staff to improve our capital improvement planning (CIP) process. The preliminary efforts by staff were discussed at our last budget study session. We have just begun to bring our CIP process in line with established standards and practices. The CIP will remain on the table as we develop the 2006 budget.
A recurring theme at our yearly goal setting sessions is a comparison of city government to an iceberg. The majority of service delivery and government functions are not visible to elected officials and citizens—they are represented by the part of the iceberg below the surface. City Commissioners don't need to know all of the details involved in carrying out city services, or to be involved in the day to day functions of government. However, as a commission, we do need to continue to develop systems for measuring the effectiveness, the efficiency and for assessing the equity of the outcomes of our city government. I plan to pick up that thread of city commission conversation in the near future.
We have the ability to choose the future we want for our community. It can be that bright future envisioned in the poem by Langston Hughes that is displayed on the outside of this City Hall building, but that bright future is not something that is guaranteed.
We witnessed some dark moments during the city commission campaign just completed; they were dealt with appropriately and we are moving on. I am sure in 150 years of Lawrence history one can find many darker shadows. And, in the future we can expect to stumble many more times. What is more important is to remain committed to the bright future that we desire and can create together. That is certainly my commitment and I am confident it is your commitment as well.”
RECOGNITION/PROCLAMATION/PRESENTATION:
With Commission approval Mayor Rundle proclaimed the week of April 17 – 23 to be “Compeer Friendship Week.”
Judy Billings presented the annual report from the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of March 29, 2005 and April 5, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to receive the Neighborhood Resources Advisory Committee Meeting minutes of February 24, 2005; and the Task Force on Homeless Services meeting minutes of March 16, 2005. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to approve claims to 292 vendors in the amount of $1,324,949.96. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Papa Keno’s Pizzeria, 1025 Massachusetts (Contingent upon receipt of last 12 months of liquor excise tax returns); La Familia, 733 New Hampshire (Contingent upon receipt of last 12 months of liquor excise tax returns); Thai House Restaurant, 724 Massachusetts (Contingent upon receipt of last 12 months of liquor excise tax returns); Limerance, 1520 Wakarusa Ste: D; Chipotle Mexican Grill, 4000 West 6th Ste: 1; and Chipotle Mexican Grill, 911 Massachusetts, (Contingent upon last 12 months of liquor excise tax returns. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to concur with the recommendation of the Mayor and appoint Dan Wilkus and Jeff Hardie to the Board of Electrical Examiners and Appeals, to terms which will expire March 31, 2008; appoint Doug Dillon to the Board of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, to a term which will expire April 30, 2007; appoint Roberta Spires to the Douglas County Advocacy Council on Aging, to a term which will expire December 31, 2007; appoint Sara Taliaferro to the Lawrence Alliance, to a term which will expire November 30, 2007; and appoint Kevin Chaney to the Mechanical Code Board of Appeals, to a term which will expire March 31, 2008. Motion carried unanimously.
The City Commission reviewed the bids for janitorial services at the Community Health Center for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
LJS $55,000.00
Cardinal BG Services Solution $79,756.68
ABM Janitorial Services $83,640.00
Jani-King of Kansas City $92,160.00
Bob’s Janitorial $93,192.00
Smart Building Services $93,648.00
Shawnee Building Maintenance $101,862.00
Woodley Building Maintenance $108,729.00
BPI Building Services $122,741.00
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to award the bid to Cardinal BG Services Solution because the bid from LJS did not meet specification. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for one Knuckle Boom Crane for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Knapheide Truck Equipment $23,435.73
American Equipment Co. $23,563.00
Altec $25,206.00
Brown Truck Equipment $27,688.00
Mynatt $28,872.00
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to award the bid to Knapheide Truck Equipment for $23,435.73. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for basic/riding mower work for the Neighborhood Resources Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Vernon’s Lawn Mowing $40/hour
Nichols Mowing $40/hour
Lar-Bar Mowing Service $55/hour
Russell Hopping $65/hour
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to award the bid to Vernon’s Lawn Mowing and Nichols Mowing because both businesses bid $40/hour. The jobs will be awarded on a rotating basis. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
The City Commission reviewed the bids for brush hog mower work for the Neighborhood Resources Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT
Nichols Mowing $40/hour
Lar-Bar Mowing Service $75/hour
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to award the bid to Nichols Mowing for $40/hour. The jobs will be awarded on a rotating basis. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to set a bid date of April 26, 2005 for 6th Street (US-40) Arkansas to Massachusetts, Milling, Overlay, and Pavement Marking (KLINK). Motion carried unanimously. (5)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to receive a request for a special assessment benefit district for the improvement of Stoneridge Drive south of West 6th Street; and refer to staff for preparation of a resolution setting a public hearing date. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to receive a timetable from Neighborhood Resources for completing the building code adoption process. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, highlighted the staff report on the sanitary sewer project update and said that is generally the format future project update reports would look like.
Wildgen also recognized City staff for receiving the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003.
Lastly, he said staff provided a crash data update of the roundabout at 19th and Barker.
Commissioner Schauner asked about the issue of finances for the Holiday Inn and would it have any impact on City obligation.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said staff had talked to Randy Irey, the City’s Bond Counsel and Irey would be reviewing those documents and keeping staff apprised of the situation. He said there was not likely to be any action that the City would need to take because it was not a debt of the City. It was likely that the trustee would act on the fact that there had not been an appropriate payment and they would take necessary legal actions to either get payment, foreclose on the property, or a number of other different things that they might be able to do. (8)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive comments from Mayor Rundle and City Commission
Commissioner Dunfield said it was a bittersweet occasion. He said he had learned 10 things as a City Commissioner which were:
10. Money was fungible;
9. Design roads for the speed you want people to drive because signs were only suggestions;
8. The most important resource for human growth was water, but the most important service for a cities growth was the sanitary sewer system;
7. Verifiable facts were often no match for deeply held convictions;
6. The most beneficial growth in development for the City was never the easiest to build, but the results justified the extra effort;
5. Being a Commissioner was not as thankless as many people assumed, the rewards did justify the difficulties and he appreciated all the kind words of support he had received from many people;
4. As a politician, he had discovered his level of incompetence and also achieved it and he apologized to all those people who he had offended by failing to return their calls, emails, or letters;
3. Passionate people required patient politicians; politics was difficult in Lawrence for the same reason that life was exciting, it was because people cared deeply about this place;
2. City Officials and City Employees on all levels including elected officials did an extraordinary job for Lawrence citizens everyday;
1. Lawrence had a cosmopolitan, diverse, and progressive character. He noted however, that the three issues that created the most public debate in his six years on the Commission involved, tobacco, fireworks, and dogs.
He thanked everyone for giving him the opportunity to serve over the last six years. He said it was a privilege to be part of this organization and to have had the support of so many people, staff, fellow Commissioners, citizens, and his family.
Mayor Rundle presented Commissioner Dunfield with a desk clock from the City of Lawrence.
Gwen Klingenberg, on behalf of the Lawrence Association of Neighborhoods, thanked Commissioner Dunfield for the work he provided to Lawrence, Kansas. She said they acknowledged Commissioner Dunfield’s tireless efforts in addressing Lawrence needs to grow and yet to protect that which made Lawrence, Kansas, a unique community they could all be proud of. She also thanked Mayor Rundle for his year as Mayor.
Mayor Rundle said “This is my chance to offer reflections about the last year as Mayor of Lawrence. Serving as a city commissioner and mayor, it seems there is almost no time to reflect. An elected official has to dedicate that reflection time to the many issues that come before us—and that time is often stretched beyond what is reasonable. I will plan to look back on this year as mayor when I decide to retire as Commissioner Dunfield has, or when the voters decide they want a change. Besides, I've already catalogued many of the high points of serving as mayor in the "Top Ten Reasons to be Mayor" speech from three years ago. Those include the additional speaking engagements which provide the opportunity to discover the many, many, many ways that chicken can be prepared for large public gatherings. There is also a chance that I will have the distinction of seeing my name on a plaque at the expanded sewage treatment plant.
I would like to take this time to go off on a personal tangent.
I believe my overriding goal as a city commissioner and mayor has been to promote good government for Lawrence, Kansas and the citizens of our community. Time will tell whether I succeeded in fostering that goal.
Activities in the political arena almost always have some interesting wrinkles. When I ran for office in 1987 I received word of a whispering campaign near the end of that election cycle. For those of you who don't know, that is the act a spreading rumors through the grapevine intended to damage the reputation of a candidate for public office.
Also during that campaign or later in that term of office a young gay man and a young lesbian woman made an appointment to visit with me. That visit is now a distant memory but my sense is they were curious and perhaps hopeful, that I would serve as an openly gay elected official. I explained to them in terms that I couldn't then clearly articulate or even understand myself, that I might be able to communicate more successfully and to reach the hearts of my constituents and my political opponents as well, if I could avoid triggering the barrier of prejudice that can arise over differences whether they are differences of race, gender, sexual identity or something else. I think that may be less of a concern today than it was 18 years ago.
I have had an open invitation for an interview that would be the basis for an article in a regional publication with a primarily gay and lesbian audience since being re-elected to my second term. However, being recognized as a gay politician remained secondary to my quest for good government.
The smear campaigns in this last city commission election took some people by surprise. Those tactics were hardly new. Some of the people who participated in those dirty campaign tricks have for the last two years, provided a steady diet of commentary that has been frequently slanderous; commonly riddled with profanity; and often lewd if not obscene. Those web-based comments often alluded to sexuality with the intent, I believe, of embarrassing and exposing what the writer seemed to think was secret information.
I do not dignify all of that by bringing it to your attention, but it is a matter of dignity that motivates me to do so. The passage of the constitutional amendment along with that incessant barrage of insulting commentary already mentioned brings me to acknowledge my sexuality. It should matter no more than my religious affiliation, my hair color or my annual income.
It is with dignity and pride that I acknowledge that I have been Lawrence's mayor and in all likelihood Lawrence's first gay mayor.”
The City Clerk will conduct swearing in of elected City Commissioners.
Frank Reeb, Administrative Service Director/City Clerk, swore in the newly elected City Commissioners Mike Amyx, Sue Hack, and David Schauner.
Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor
Mayor Rundle called for nominations for the office of Mayor.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to nominate Vice Mayor Highberger as Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to close the nominations for Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to elect Vice Mayor Highberger as Mayor. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Abstain: Highberger. Motion carried. (9)
Mayor Highberger called for nominations for the office of Vice Mayor.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to nominate Commissioner Amyx as Vice Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to close the nominations for Vice Mayor. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Rundle, seconded by Hack, to elect Commissioner Amyx as Vice Mayor. Aye: Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Abstain: Amyx. Motion carried (10)
Mayor Highberger said as we all know the City of Lawrence was founded by people who came to Kansas to fight against slavery and tolerance and diversity had been important values in this City for a long time. He said he was honored to have the opportunity to serve as Mayor for a City with such a long history of fighting for justice and he was proud to be a citizen of the one place in Kansas that stood up last week and said “no” to writing discrimination into our State Constitution.
He congratulated the newly sworn in Commissioners and wished them well on their terms in office. He said there was an amazing depth of experience on the current City Commission. Between them, they had 22 years of City Commission service, 4 years of County Commission Service, and 4 years of Mayoral terms.
He thanked former Commissioner Dunfield for his time on the Commission and he said he enjoyed serving with Dunfield.
He also thanked Mayor Rundle and admired his courage and strength. He said Mayor Rundle had been a very thoughtful, energetic, and responsive Mayor and it would be a hard act to follow, but he said he would do his best.
He said getting to know Commissioner Hack was one of the real pleasures of his two years on the City Commission and he looked forward to working with Commissioner Hack. He appreciated all the effort Commissioner Hack made to make sure people received credit when a good job was done.
He said he and Commissioner Schauner did not agree on everything all the time, but he admired Commissioner Schauner’s commitment to Lawrence neighborhoods and appreciated his efforts in getting the ball rolling on the new public library project and the electronic City Commission agenda packets.
He said Commissioner Amyx had an incredible record of service to this community and he very much appreciated Commissioner Amyx’s willingness to serve on the Commission again.
He introduced members of his family, including his mother, who were in attendance.
Mayor Highberger said during his term as Mayor, he intended to resolve the question on the South Lawrence Trafficway. He said the outlines of a solution had been evident for a long time and what was needed was the will on behalf of all the parties to sit down and come to an agreement.
He said with the Kansas Department of Transportation getting ready to start construction on a four-lane U.S. 59 in southern Lawrence and with the planning of K-10 being upgraded to six lanes or even eight lanes, those of us who opposed the trafficway needed to agree that a no-build option was no longer viable and those that supported the trafficway needed to accept the fact that this road would not be built through the Baker Wetlands or next to Haskell Indian Nations University. In the near future he would convene a meeting of all the stakeholders to identify a route for a southern connection between U.S. 59 and K-10 that would meet our traffic needs for the next generation and would have the least possible environmental and social impacts. Unfortunately, that was going to be the easy part, the difficult part would be figuring out how to pay for it. He said he was convinced that if they could come together as a community behind the route, they would be able to find creative and innovative opportunities for funding and they could make this happen.
He said during his term as Mayor he planned to complete the adoption of the new zoning and subdivision codes and moved toward adopting new rules that would allow traditional neighborhood development to take place; continue to make steps to ensure that the City leads the process of growth in this community, rather than just responding to proposals for disconnected strip malls and subdivisions; encourage the building of neighborhoods with a sense of place; neighborhoods that were designed to foster a sense of community; neighborhoods where there was a mix of people of different backgrounds and incomes; neighborhoods where a car was not needed to meet daily needs; neighborhoods where your children could safely walk or ride their bicycles to school or to the park; and neighborhoods where the Commission would not need to come back in a few years to approve traffic calming devices.
He said during his term as Mayor he also intended to initiate a community vision process that would bring together people from all parts of this City to work on healing some of our long standing divisions. He said what he envisioned was something that built on some of the things that were already happening in this community, such as the workshops put on by Leadership Lawrence and the Community Housing Assessment Teams that would be brought to the City in May.
He said to bring people together, he suggested not talking about what Lawrence would look like, but what they wanted Lawrence to be and that process would help bring the community together and the outcome would help guide local decision makers as they continued to balance their increasingly greater demands for limited resources.
He said other goals were to continue to work what the previous Commission started; implement the recommendation of Mayor Rundle’s Homelessness Task Force and move toward a comprehensive approach to addressing the problem of homelessness in this community; implement excise taxes to pay for the cost of new growth as recommended by the Public Improvements Task Force chaired by outgoing Commissioner Dunfield; implement the recommendations of the Business Retention Task Force chaired by Commissioner Hack; move toward identification of site and approval of plan for expanding the downtown Library as championed by Commissioner Schauner; continue to process by identifying land for industrial growth and open space preservation as recommended by the ECO2 committee; expand their efforts to work with K.U. and the Chamber of Commerce to create and attract bioscience jobs to Douglas County and hoped to identify a stable long term funding source for after school programs in Lawrence; address the problems of affordable housing in Lawrence and work toward the goal of making it possible for everyone who worked in Lawrence to be able to live in Lawrence; continue to work on improving the facilities for the Lawrence Farmers Market and continue to work on the Burroughs Creek rail trail; and continue to do their best to provide excellent City services and to improve our budgeting for long term maintenance of city streets and other facilities.
He said there would be a lot on their plate but thanks to this City’s hard working and dedicated staff, they would be able to move forward in all those projects and more. He said this was an exciting time to be in Lawrence and again, he said he was humbled and honored to be able to serve as Mayor. He said he looked forward to working with the City Commission, staff, and the community and remained confident that together they could and would build a City that their grandchildren would love.
Commissioner Rundle said he was looking forward to working with Mayor Highberger. He said the Mayor’s sense of humor would be a great help because it brought them together in those tense moments and proved that they were really not far apart.
Mayor Highberger presented Commissioner Rundle with a plaque which included a gavel and included his dates of service as Mayor.
Commissioner Amyx thanked Commissioner Schauner, Commissioner Hack, Jim Carpenter, and Tom Bracciano and said it was a wonderful experience during the campaign, but now it was time to get to work. He thanked all the voters that gave him the opportunity to serve again. He said it was going to be a great Commission and he looked forward to working with them. He also thanked his wife and son for their willingness to share his time. It had always been a very rewarding job in the past and he looked forward to this job in the future. He said Bob and Patsy Moody had done a lot of work for him and thanked them.
He said he had always been a team player and had the opportunity to work with staff in the past. He said in the past, as a City Commissioner, Mayor, County Commissioner, Chairman of the County Commission, he had always been a part of a team. He looked forward to carrying on the work that had been already started and hoped that his input would help move the process along.
Commissioner Hack said running for City Commissioner had been a long journey and applauded what they all learned from each other and the laughter they had shared even though there had been some difficult times. She said candidates showed that they were in this race for the right reasons and portrayed that to the voters.
She thanked her family for their support. She said she had so many opportunities to meet with people and thanked them for their support. She said she also appreciated her campaign committee’s help, kindness, and advice.
She said the City had an incredible staff that was helpful and gracious.
She thanked former Mayor Dunfield for his grace and wisdom and she said he would be missed.
Commissioner Schauner thanked all of the people who worked on his campaign. He thanked former Commissioner Dunfield and also thanked former Mayor Rundle for his work as Mayor. He said Rundle had a great ability to bring people together and a person could not overstate or overvalue that work. He said he wanted to publicly acknowledge all the good work that Rundle did, not just as Mayor, but as a Commissioner.
He acknowledged that he and Mayor Highberger did not always agree, but at the same time, their basic principles were very much in line with one another and he appreciated Mayor Highberger’s commitment and thoughtful planning for the next year.
Again, he said he wanted to express his appreciation for all the support in the campaign and although the last few days were a bit challenging, he thought the community did prove that it had intellectual honesty and was able to rise above some of the tactics that were displayed in the last campaign. He said he wanted to thank his fellow candidates and community for their support and understanding and he was looking forward to the next two years.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to recess at 7:25 for approximately 20 minutes. Motion carried unanimously.
Conduct a public hearing on the establishment of a special assessment benefit district for the improvement of a west bound left turn lane East 23rd Street and O’Connell Road.
After returning from recess, Mayor Highberger called a public hearing on the establishment of a special assessment benefit district for the improvement of a westbound turn lane on East 23rd Street and O’Connell Road.
Dave Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director presented a brief staff report. He said at the February 15th City Commission meeting they authorized the establishment of this special assessment benefit district and pursuant to state law, this evening was the time for a public hearing. He said staff had notified the one property owner that would be assessed for this improvement and the property owner indicated that he would not be attending this public hearing.
Commissioner Amyx asked if this particular benefit district changed from a right hand turn lane to the left hand turn lane.
Corliss said the plat for the development on the west side of O’Connell had a requirement that an east bound, right turn lane be built on 23rd Street on K-10 and it did not specify the timing of that requirement. As the applicant began preparation of plans for that improvement, both City staff and staff from Kansas Department of Transportation indicated that their preferred improvement at this time would be the west bound left turn lane and that was more highly desired for safety purposes than the east bound right turn lane. He said staff talked with the developer about that situation and the developer said that would be fine to spend the money that he was going to spend on the east bound improvement, put that money into the west bound improvement and then have the special assessment spread on the benefit district in such a manner that the payments for those special assessments would only occur when a building permit was pulled on that property.
Commissioner Amyx asked if the right hand eastbound deceleration lane would be built when the building permits were pulled on the land that would face K-10.
Corliss said those lanes would be built as either a condition of the property that was already in the City on the west side or what might be possible was that the property on the east side developed before this remaining tract, the multi-family and the office track on the west side did.
He said that turn lane would be a requirement of any other building.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the eastbound turn lane would be a cost borne by the development or by the City.
Corliss said that would be a cost borne by the development.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
After receiving no public comment, it was moved by Hack, seconded by Rundle, to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Schauner, to adopt Resolution No. 6585, ordering the construction of a left turn lane west bound on Kansas Highway 10 (K-10) at the intersection of E 1600 Road (O’Connell Road), including property acquisition, intersection improvements, subgrade stabilization, and other necessary and appropriate improvements. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
Commissioner Rundle requested the issue of the City’s noise ordinance and construction activity be placed on a Commission agenda.
Dave Corliss said Commissioner Rundle requested that staff survey communities in regards to their noise ordinances and whether or not they dealt with construction activity in a different manner. He said staff provided the Commission with a memorandum that outlined the City’s current noise ordinance and also a chart that reflected the noise ordinances and construction activity issues for a number of different communities. He said staff did not adequately describe the situation that existed in the Lenexa City Code. In Lenexa’s public offense section, they did not talk about an exemption for construction activity, but they clearly had provisions in their development code that established performance standards for construction activity noise. He said Commissioner Rundle requested that staff supplement that information and that could be seen in some additional information that was posted on the website.
He said it was important to keep in mind, when talking about exceptions, that this City’s noise ordinance that prohibited unreasonable noise that disturbed the peace or repose of citizens. He said they then had an exemption from that noise ordinance for construction activity and what a number of communities had done was that while they might allow construction noise, they frequently established time limits when that exemption was not in place. He said he did not want to make this issue confusing, but it was an exception to the exemption that in many cases was written. He said it was also important to point out that they had not solicited input from the construction industry or others in regards to this topic, but they did talk internally among staff generally about what this issue meant and it was reflected that in some cases there was activity was going on during late hours such as the KLINK project on 6th Street. He said whether or not that project generated sufficient noise to disturb citizens, it probably did in some situations.
He said this was not a prohibition against construction during any type of hours, but a prohibition about unreasonable noise that disturbed the peace and repose of citizens. He said the Commission needed to keep in mind the various pockets that these things fall into when discussing this issue.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Bobbie Flory, Lawrence Homebuilders Association, addressed the issue as it related to residential construction. She said the primary reason that construction occurred early and late was due to weather, rain, and heat. During the summer months when temperatures were high, it became a safety factor. She said a lot of construction businesses chose to start their crews earlier and it was not to leave work earlier, but to get the work done and get the largest part of the day over with before the heat of the sun came out.
She said another reason crews started early and worked late was because of the rain. Many crews would rush and possibly work late to try and get a job to a stopping point before the anticipated rain was coming. She said sometimes the rain precluded crews from getting their work done for several days at a time and possibly even weeks at a time.
She said she did not know how much disturbance was actually occurring and that might be something that they should try and get more information about. She said reading comparative ordinances in other communities was good exercise to compare.
She emphasized that weather was the factor for working early and sometimes working late. She hoped that the community could be tolerant of those times because it was not an on-going year round early/late situation, but seasonal.
Steve Glass, LRM Industries, said the first issue he wanted to address was the work on West 6th expansion where they were working around the clock removing some rock. He said LRM Industries was not involved in that particular project, but he spoke to that contractor on that issue and the contractor felt that they did everything properly. There was a rock ledge to remove and with the blasting code requirements to use the blasting technique to remove that rock would have caused a delay of about 30 days. He said the contractor was anxious to get that project done. He said the only real alternative that they in the industry had for removing rock was to use an excavator mounted breaker which was a fairly noisy process in breaking rock.
He said the contractor went and talked to the immediate neighbors and discussed what was needed to be done for this particular part of the project. He said to keep the project on schedule the contractor needed to work around the clock. The neighbors concurred and said that they wanted to get that part of the project over with and the contractor proceeded. Obviously, the contractor did not talk to everyone within sound of that equipment because their sound carried quite a bit particularly during the night time hours, but what they told him was the contractor had no complaints from the immediate neighbors and the contractor felt that they did everything they should have done and yet, they were still talking about this issue.
He said from their perspective, if the Commission was to consider imposing some time restrictions, it would impact his businesses in several ways. First, as staff indicated there were some projects that the City and contractors preferred to do at night and 6th Street was the section they repaved last summer as a prime example as was 23rd Street a couple of years ago. He said there were three reasons why they preferred to do that kind of work at night which were: 1) It was safer for their employees because there was less traffic and traffic was a real danger when working in that type of situation; 2) It was safer and less inconvenient for the public because there was less traffic during the night time hours; and 3) By working at night, when there was less traffic, they were able to get the work done quicker then if they work in the day under heavier traffic conditions.
He said in the end everyone benefited from that type of procedure although for the people who were in the immediate vicinity, it created some noise during night. The paving was not as noisy as breaking rock, but the trucks did have engines and the equipment had hydraulic motors and all of that made noise.
He said if the Commission were to pursue this issue, the Commission needed to take into consideration the fact that there were implications for the community of not working at night.
He said they were in the ready mix concrete business and during the summer months, particularly in the high heat periods, they had a lot of their customers, residential, commercial, and industrial, who wanted to make their concrete pours early in the morning because they wanted to beat the heat by pouring early in the morning. It was easier on the crew, but it also had some implications for the quality of the concrete.
They were often times trying to make up for bad weather, lost time during bad weather or they were trying to beat bad weather that was coming in and get the concrete poured in between the periodic rains that were in Kansas. In other cases because they were behind schedule, they would try to make multiple pours in a day and they needed to start early to accomplish that. Typically, they did not see any pours of those types before 6:00 a.m., and those pours were usually between 6:00 am to 6:30 a.m. However, they did have some situations where they did pour concrete all night. Typically, that was in industrial or commercial applications where there were large slabs being poured and if it was in the summer months, they simply could not pour those large slabs during the heat of the day and get a quality end product. It was important that the City Commission if they were going to consider any requirements that some consideration be given to the fact that some of those types of pours needed to be done during the night time hours, typically in commercial and industrial areas.
He said he spoke earlier about the impact on the quality of the product and like all industries they had standards that they went by and in their case it was the American Concrete Institute that published certain standards. He referenced standard 305R-99 entitled “Hot Weather Concreting.” He said in section 4.2.1, it stated under hot weather conditions scheduling concrete placements at other than normal hours might be advisable. Pertinent considerations included ease of handling and placing and avoiding the risk of plastic shrinkage and thermal cracking. He said the document went on to describe 10 potential problems that could be encountered when pouring concrete in hot weather. The point of his comments was that early morning or night time work be it concrete placement, asphalt, paving, or other types of construction work, was often done for legitimate reasons of workers safety, public safety, expediting the project, and work or product quality.
He referenced the Journal World in the “On the street question” which was should night time and early morning hours be considered a violation of the City noise ordinance. He said the four answers that were printed from a cross section of citizens was a unanimous “no” that it should not be a violation. He asked the City Commission to listen to the public and not limit their ability to protect their employees or to ensure the time and quality of their work.
Commissioner Schauner asked if Glass had a chance to review the Lenexa performance standards language.
Glass said he did not realize those standards were posted, but he would look forward to reading those standards.
Commissioner Schauner said he would like to hear Glass’ comments after Glass had a chance to review those standards.
Mayor Highberger asked if Glass worked in any of the other neighboring communities that did have noise restrictions on construction activity.
Glass said his crews did not get far into Johnson County, but they worked in Desoto and he was not aware of any limitations in Desoto within Douglas County of any other communities having any restrictions.
Commissioner Rundle said he had been telling people for years that the norm was that construction noises were exempt and that there was no existing ordinance that restricted construction noise, but when someone proved him wrong, he felt this issue should be brought forward for discussion. He said he heard sympathy on the part of those who supported restricting construction noise simply for the construction crews and the need to be able to respond in extreme weather and other reasonable conditions that would either lead to a variance or an exemption. He said if the Commission did bring forward a proposed ordinance, he certainly wanted to see the Commission include provisions for variances or appeals for exemptions.
He said it seemed a lot of Glass’ projects if those projects were governmental related at all that there was a very broad policy for exempting government vehicles and government projects.
Commissioner Hack asked if there was a log with the total number of complaints and over what period of time.
Corliss said no.
Commissioner Hack said as they proceed forward with this issue it was important that contractors were present for the discussion. She said the discussion would need to include the residential, commercial, and industrial.
She also wanted to discuss the issue of timeliness of contractual agreements. She said there were a lot of people unhappy because 6th Street was taking so long because of the weather and if they narrow that work window down that would create another set of problems. She suggested that all the stakeholders be represented at those discussions as they moved forward.
Commissioner Schauner said Commissioner Hack’s comments were fairly representative of his views. He said what he would be afraid of was if they created such an administrative nightmare that they would create more of a problem than they solved. He said he was open to more discussion, but the Commission should think long and hard before they created something that was difficult to administer, let alone difficult to live with, if a person was in the building trade process.
Commissioner Amyx asked Commissioner Rundle when he asked to place this issue on the agenda, was there any thought of tradesmen like roofers because obviously in the heat of the summer those roofers did not need to be in that type of heat.
Commissioner Rundle said the hot weather or extreme weather restriction exemptions should definitely be part of this. He said when he looked at other communities that were growing more rapidly than Lawrence they seemed to be rolling along with those types of exemptions. It seemed that this City should be able to follow their example. He said clearly he wanted to be responsive to those special needs, but he also thought it was a balancing act.
Commissioner Amyx asked Commissioner Rundle if he had received calls about late night noise from construction and if those calls were primarily due to road type projects or construction at any level.
Commissioner Rundle said it was anywhere from a jackhammer on the building down on Massachusetts to new road construction. He said he had not kept a log, but it did reoccur all the time. He said it might be that the public also assumed that this was the norm and did not think about altering the current ordinance.
Mayor Highberger said people were not unwilling to proceed, but the Commission was not at the point of giving staff direction. He asked Commissioner Rundle if he would be willing to meet with representatives from the construction industry and staff to work out a proposal.
Commissioner Rundle asked if staff could come back with a list of options concerning this matter.
Corliss said the trades could get together to discuss this issue. The issue would be how would exemptions work, how would they read, and how they would administratively work and whether or not those exemptions would respond to the concerns that had been expressed. He said staff could provide a report back to the Commission and the Commission could direct staff to proceed with an ordinance
Commissioner Rundle said one of the cities said that the administrative staff could develop criteria. He said it seemed that this was an issue that had been worked out and the cities seemed to have good provisions for exemptions for appeals for variances. He said he would want to follow those models.
Corliss said in some of those ordinances that were referenced, they moved toward a more performance measurement guide for their noise ordinance where there were decimal readings. He said in past years staff had discussion about that type of guide. He said that was a different way to enforce a noise prohibition in a community. He said it was based on the reasonableness of the situation and the complaint nature of the citizen and as part of the report staff could provide that information as well.
He said Olathe had a very comprehensive noise ordinance and they had litigated their noise ordinance and they were the community in Kansas that had quite a bit of experience with this issue.
Commissioner Rundle said he certainly would want to hear from the trades people and citizens of Olathe to get their input on how their noise ordinance worked.
He said this issue would take community conversation before the Commission had a proposal before them.
The City Commission directed staff to prepare a staff report with additional information regarding the City's noise ordinance and construction activity. (11)
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
COMMISSION ITEMS: None
Moved by Rundle seconded by Amyx, to adjourn at 8:25p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
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Mike Rundle, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Bid – Janitorial Services for the Community Health Center to Cardinal BG Services Solution for Onsite computer training classes to New Horizons not to exceed $590 per day.
2. Bid – Knuckle Boom Crane to Knapheide Truck Equipment for $23,435.73.
3. Bid – Riding Mower Work to Vernon’s Lawn Mowing & Nichols Mowing, both bids $40/hr will be awarded on rotating basis.
4. Bid –Brush Hog Work to Nichols Mowing for $40/hr
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5. Bid Date – 6th , Arkansas to Mass (KLINK project) for April 26th.
6. Benefit District – Request improvements for Stoneridge, S of W 6th.
7. Timetable – Completing Bldg Code adoption process.
8. City Manager’s Report.
9. Election – Mayor.
10. Election – Vice Mayor
11. Benefit District – Public Hearing, W bound turn lane E 23rd & O’Connell.
12. Noise Ordinance – Construction activity.