June 7, 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 Highberger presiding and members Amyx, Rundle, and Schauner present. Commissioner Hack was absent.
RECOGNITION/PROCLAMATION/PRESENTATION:
Mayor Highberger recognized the student delegation traveling to Hiratsuka, Japan; the Mayor’s Excellence in Education Award recipients Sarah Carrtar and Paul Stuewe; and the Lawrence Arts Commission 2005 Grant Award recipients.
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve claims to 338 vendors in the amount of $1,185,324.67. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Duffy’s at the Ramada, 2222 West 6th; Paisano’s Ristorante, 2112 West 26th; the Retail Liquor License for Cork & Barrel Downtown; and the Caterer License for Krause Catering, 700 Massachusetts. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to approve the acquisition of necessary property interests from the improvement of Monterey Way and Peterson Road projects, in the amount of $525,000 from Fall Creek Farms area for both projects, and $75,000 from Monterey Bluffs for Monterey Way north of Peterson. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
The City Commission reviewed a bid for 2005 Overlay Program, Phase 3, for the Public Works Department. The bids were:
BIDDER BID AMOUNT Engineer’s Estimate $814,428.75
Kansas Heavy Construction, LLC $695,255.33
LRM Industries, Inc. $764,960.75
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to award the bid to Kansas Heavy Construction, LLC, in the amount of $695,255.33. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7889, amending Chapter 5, Article 739.2 of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2003 Edition and amendments thereto, concerning sign code regulations regarding wall signs. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
Ordinance No. 7885, establishing “no parking” along the west side of Four Wheel Drive between 29th Terrace and 31st Street, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
Ordinance No. 7886, establishing “no parking” along both sides of Wakarusa Drive within the City Limits, was read as second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (5)
Ordinance No. 7883, a temporary building permit moratorium to implement recommendations of the HOP District Plan, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously (6)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to concur with the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve the Final Plat (PF-04-11-05) for Marion Addition No. 5, a proposed one-lot commercial subdivision containing approximately 0.842 acres,(the property is generally described as being located at 2221 West 31st Street), and accept the dedication of easements and rights-of-way subject to the following conditions:
1. Execution of a Temporary Utility Agreement;
2. Execution of an agreement not to protest a benefit district for Street and Sidewalk improvements for 31st Street; (As previously recommended by the Planning Commission); and
3. Provision of the following fees and recording documentation:
Motion carried unanimously. (7)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to concur with the Planning Commission’s recommendations to approve the Final Plat (PF-04-13-05) for Habitat Neighborhood Addition No. 5, a proposed 16-lot residential subdivision containing approximately 4.197 acres, property is generally described as being located in the 800 block of Walnut Street; and accept the dedication of easements and rights-of-way subject to the following conditions:
1. Provision of the following fees and recording documentation:
a. Current copy of paid property tax receipt at the time of submittal of the Final Plat for filing;
b. Recording fees made payable to the Douglas County Register of Deeds; and
c. Provision of a completed Master Street Tree Plan per Section 21-708a.
2. Submission of Public Improvement Plans to Public Works prior to filing of the Final Plat;
3. Execution of a Temporary Utility Agreement; and
4. Pinning of Lots in accordance with Section 21-302.2.
Motion carried unanimously. (8)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to receive recommendation from the Plumbing Board concerning a change to the plumbing code that would delete the amendment restricting the use of PVC drain, waste, and vent pipe; and, authorize an ordinance to be drafted for placement on a future agenda. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to authorize the Mayor to sign an agreement with KDOT for bus shelter and bus stop amenities, bus cut-outs, and operating expenses for state fiscal year 2006, in the amount of $250,986. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
Chuck Magerl, owner, Free State Brewing Company, pulled from the consent agenda, the site plan for sidewalk dining expansion for additional discussion.
Lynne Zollner, Historic Resources Administrator/Planner, said at a previous Commission meeting this item was pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion and deferred. Staff addressed the concerns of the applicant in a report to the City Commission.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Chuck Magerl, owner, Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts Street, said there were several items on the site plan review in late April that came as a surprise. As a result, he requested deferral of action until some of the questions could be resolved.
He said several issues were considered by staff and some of those issues had been resolved, but there were still some that needed further consideration. Specifically, staff recommendations of 3A and 3C, which addressed sidewalk cleaning and bicycle parking. Both of those were items were an enhancement and a benefit to the life of downtown.
Although bicycle parking had been provided in various styles in multiple locations downtown by the city, the 600 block had not been included in that process. Many years ago, at their own expense, they had a person from Iron Works craft the bicycle racks that existed in front of their business as a way to protect the trees and minimize restrictions around parking meters. The city did the actual installation of those bicycle parking areas. Those bicycle racks had been well used over the seasons and functioned well.
He said there was a break between the design of the 600 block, particularly in regards to the city accommodations, and the rest of downtown going back many years. The parking for bicycles was very limited in that there are fewer street lights in the 600 block of downtown than the rest of Massachusetts, they were a much larger design, and did not accommodate the most popular style of bicycle locks that most people used. The things that do accommodate those locks were city trees and parking meters. Unfortunately the parking meters, in the 600 block, were much closer to the curb area than they were in the areas where there was saw tooth parking. When people actually park bicycles up on those parking meters they were providing a serious restriction for people getting in and out of their cars right at that curb area. He said they chose to address issues by crafting those particular bicycle parking racks and those racks function well both in protecting the trees and taking traffic away from the curb.
He said they had also done their part to keep downtown attractive. He said they were one of the few businesses that swept the alleys everyday. Also, it has been their practice for the past 16 years to regularly rinse their front entry way and the adjacent city sidewalk with a hose and spray nozzle from an exterior hose bib connection. Specifically in an effort to keep their entry to their business clean and attractive, two or three mornings per week, during warm weather season, they had an employee sweep the entryway and sidewalk then spray off the area with a hose. The amount of water used was typically 30-40 gallons per occasion. The water sheds off the sidewalk into the curb area of the street and the water usually pools in areas along the curb and eventually evaporated. Though, on occasion, some water might reach a storm sewer drain approximately 325 feet to the north. He said they did not use any solvents other than water in this process. Though, in the past, they would occasionally scrub the area with “Tide” once a month. He said they were mainly using the water to rinse the debris from the sidewalk of dust, pollen, and materials tracked from foot traffic.
He truly believed this effort was an enhancement to downtown and was undertaking in a classic style of a shop keeper caring for his environs. He said he did not think they were introducing any sediment into the storm sewer system that would not already occur with a Kansas rain shower.
The city had the authorization in the city code to adopt and impose “Best Management Practices,” for any activity, operation, or facility which might cause a discharge of pollutants to the storm drainage system which was wise to have in this particular situation.
He said he was convinced that their practices, regarding keeping their area clean, was absolutely safe. The amount of water they were using if they used water once a day, everyday and all of that water flowed into the river, it would be equivalent to .000005 of 1% of the flow of the river. He said they were not talking about introducing sediment to the Kansas River that was going to have any serious impact.
In discussions with Kansas Department of Health and Environment, (KDHE) they recommended coming up with some type of an agreement, working with the city for a “Best Management Practice,“ such as if there was an area of a major spill after sweeping, perhaps wet mopping one area before rinsing the rest of that area. As a result, he would like to see that recommendation taken off the site plan requirement.
Also, there were several current locations in downtown Lawrence that had sidewalk dining located 6 feet from bicycle parking and he had not heard of those locations being a problem. Therefore, he would also like that clause removed from that plan as well.
Commissioner Highberger asked when the City began initiating the no sidewalk washing requirement.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said he did not know the exact date, but it all came about as part of the storm water regulations and rules which were all part of that comprehensive management of storm water.
Commissioner Highberger asked if this issue was part of the federal regulations.
Wildgen said yes.
Commissioner Schauner said as he understood the rule, it would be a violation of EPA storm water management practices for any merchant downtown to hose off their sidewalk into the gutter which that water might find its way into the storm sewer.
Wildgen said correct. He said the water ended up in the Kansas River at some point.
Commissioner Schauner said when he first heard of that violation he was puzzled. He said if anyone wanted to wash off their driveway or the sidewalk downtown without capturing that water, he asked if those people would be in violation of some EPA standard for storm water.
Wildgen said that was generally correct. In particular case, the citation was city code.
Vice Mayor Amyx said the code was wrong. He said merchants had been cleaning their sidewalks for a long time. The only way any merchant downtown could clean off the front of their building would be to use a water hose, but those merchants would not be using that much water.
Magerl said an option would be to adopt “Best Management Practices” which gave the ability to make some distinctions in that way. He said it was not a zero tolerance law by any means.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if the City Commission had the authority to say a merchant could use straight water.
Wildgen said the City Commission could adopt Magerl’s “Best Management Practice” option. However, the general view was that the water ended up in the river and that water would accumulate a variety of contaminates, even if the water was fairly clean when it went off the sidewalk.
He said the City Commission authorized the purchase of a machine that had been very successful in cleaning sidewalks and curbs downtown. He said that practice helped offset the issue of dirt and material.
Commissioner Schauner asked if that piece of equipment was a dry operation.
Wildgen said the equipment was a vacuum.
Commissioner Rundle said in the hierarchy of possible contaminates, this was at the low end and he suggested that Chad Voigt, Stormwater Engineer, draft a report on the flexibility of that idea.
Commissioner Schauner asked how much pedestrian way would remain if the bike racks were allowed to stay in their current location and that sidewalk dining configuration were constructed with a bike or two tethered there.
Zollner said approximately 4 feet.
She said concerning water contamination that idea came from the Stormwater Engineer and staff was currently addressing that issue as part of the site plan approval.
Commissioner Schauner asked how the 4 feet or less of pedestrian way compared with the pedestrian ways from our other sidewalk dining venues.
Zollner said on Massachusetts Street all of the other sidewalk dining areas had that standard 6 foot requirement. However, there were a couple of establishments on the numbered streets in the C-3 zoning area that did not meet the 6 foot requirement.
The concern from Parks and Recreation, Forestry Division, Planning Staff, and the City Engineer, was that when you bring that area down to a narrow pathway of 4 feet that area was not adequate.
Commissioner Schauner said the staff report indicated the possibility of moving those bicycle tethering devices to the north or south. He asked if that idea was doable.
Zollner said staff had not had that discussion with Magerl. She said staff was supportive of the bicycle rack because those racks were probably the most used in the downtown area, but it came to a point in choosing between the sidewalk dining and the bicycle racks to maintain that 6 foot right away.
Magerl said the initial concern about the racks was specifically coming from Parks and Recreation in expressing concern for the trees in those planter areas. He said he would assure that those trees were better protected by the situation that existed now than what would be with those racks removed. The racks were outside the existing 6 foot, but to say there would be 4 feet of remaining pedestrian traffic way would suggest that a bicycle had about a 4 foot handlebar span because the bikes were up against the racks and that was about half the width of the bike. Most bicycles did not have a 4 foot handlebar span. It was more in the range of approximately 18 inches. He said 5 or 6 feet distance were questions having to do with interpretations. Right now, he said they did comply with the code as it was written.
He said if the city was interested in moving those racks to another adjacent planter, that was something that could be considered. He assumed the planters were city property and therefore the city could decide to move those bike racks to an adjacent location as well.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if the parking space in front of Liberty Hall that was always used as a loading zone would accommodate people who ride bicycles and the business along that area.
Magerl asked if Vice Mayor Amyx was referring to the area where everyone pulled in to drop off their videos. It did not seem like the city’s establishment of the bicycle parking in dedicated automobile parking spaces had been as well received as people willing to lock up their bikes alongside parking meters and street posts. He said people were wary of leaving their bicycles in what seemed to be an automotive domain.
Wildgen said the only bike racks remaining were in some of the parking lots, but all of those racks had been taken out on Massachusetts Street. Once the Commission made meter poles legal parking that was where most of those bikes were parked. He said in this case, the 600 block was differently designed and as a result, it was not as compatible.
Magerl said they could work with the city in trying to relocate those bike racks if that would help in the process. He also thought that they could come up with better practices and establish “Best Management Practices,” to address some of the concerns about keeping the sidewalks clean, but he did not think they should be prescribed as part of the site plan for this particular project.
Wildgen said this was part of the Use of Right-of-Way Agreement and could be removed at any time. If those bike racks became a hazard, those racks could be removed without any issues.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Schauner, to approve an expansion of non-conforming use and site plan (N-04-03-05/SP-02-19-05) for Free State Brewing Company, for a sidewalk dining area located at 636 Massachusetts, which included the removal of the bike parking provision with the understanding that the city would relocate at least as much bike parking in the immediate area and would remove the requirement for compliance with city code 9-902 with the understanding that this did not remove the requirement for compliance with the city code, and this item on the agenda for further discussion in the near future, subject to the following conditions:
(A) The City Commission grant the authority to enlarge the building devoted to a non-conforming use as the extension is necessary and incidental to the existing use of said building and the conditions set forth in section 20-1303 (Expansion of Non-Conforming Uses) are met; and
(B) Approval of the site plan for the expansion of the non-conforming use subject to the following conditions:
1. Compliance with the Historic Resources Commission conditions of approval: (a)The proposed railing not be attached to the building; (b)The height of the railing shall not exceed thirty-six inches (36") and shall be constructed of wrought iron; (c)The railing shall maintain a linear form with no curve; (e) The applicant provide a drawing detailing the proposed railing to the Historic Resources Administrator; (f) The sidewalk dining area on Massachusetts Street shall be unenclosed and shall be open to the sky; (g)Advertising shall not be permitted in the sidewalk dining area except for the name of the establishment on chairs or tables as approved by the City; (h)This recommendation is given with the understanding that the City Commission must approve the associated site plan and sidewalk dining license. Approval of this request by staff or the HRC does not guarantee the City Commission will approve the associated site plan or sidewalk dining license;
2. Execution of a site plan performance agreement per Section 20-1433;
3. Provision of a revised site plan to include the following changes:
(a) Per City Code, surface cleaning
water cannot be discharged to the storm sewer. The practice of hosing off
the porch and sidewalk into the street is prohibited. Add a note to this
site plan specifying that cleaning of the porch and sidewalk will comply with
City Code 9-902;
(b) Agreement not to protest benefit district for street lights along Massachusetts Street;
(c) Remove bike parking from tree
planters;
(d) Identify gross and net square footage including balcony seating areas;
(e) Add general note for compliance with ADA.
(f) Add note on the face of the site plan indicating the Historic Resources Commission approval of DR-02-13-05 on March 17, 2005 subject to conditions;
(g) Show designated trash storage sites;
4. The applicant shall obtain a sidewalk dining license from the City prior to occupying the public right-of-way per Chapter 6-1202; and
5. Execution of an agreement with the City of Lawrence for use of the right-of-way per Chapter 6-12.
Motion carried unanimously. (11)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
During the City Manager’s Report, Mike Wildgen said a new piece of equipment was being used by the Parks and Recreation Staff in the downtown area which had been very successful in terms of cleaning curbs and sidewalks. (12)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive public comment related to 2006 budget.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment concerning the 2006 budget
Jody Johnson, President, Partnership of Children and Youth, said the partnership had submitted two funding requests to the city for 2006. He said their alcohol tax proposal requested support for prevention planning system for Lawrence along with their outside agency proposal request in continuing funding of the community youth database as well as the grant locator services which were two services now being implemented with 2005 funds in providing helpful resources to direct service providers in the community.
Those proposals fit together providing a continuum of services for Lawrence children and youth and by implementing the Research Based Communities that Care Prevention System via the alcohol tax proposal, the partnership would bring together community groups so that the data gathering, grant writing, and program implementation were done collectively, in a timely and efficient manner. This would build on one of their most important city funded projects which were the Community Youth Database. It already provided data collection analyzed by the partnership and provided to other social service agencies to assist with needs assessment and grant writing.
The grants locator service also funded with outside agency funds provided the final component helping other non-profit agencies locate and apply for funding. Since this service was instituted there were 17 community agency requests and given 60 funding opportunities in which staff put in three or four hours of staff time into each of those request and were unduplicated funding efforts. An example was the Ballard Center that was in jeopardy of losing its backpack program for back to school in which they were able to get them together with a potential back pack program through Office Depot that they were not aware of.
He said they were asking the city to continue funding those projects, projects that formed a comprehensive process, decreasing duplication and fragmentation of limited resources, and increasing funding potential beyond what was currently available within the city alone and increasing community collaboration, collaboration that direct service providers find helpful in gathering data and searching for funding opportunities and therefore being able to spend their time on their work with children and youth.
Erika Nilles-Plumlee, part-time staff member, Partnership for Children and Youth, said the community database was a tool that was being used by the community currently and it served as a centralized repository for data and indicators of the well being of children and youth.
Since they had received the 2005 funding in January, they had performed a comprehensive public relations campaign on the database, they have had 5 data requests from the community and they were able to fill those data requests.
In addition they had disseminated information about this service at their help meetings and received feedback from the community with what was needed and useful from this database as well as technical assistance to provide information and guidance to other agencies on what this data means. She said the data helped in writing better grants for more money and provide better services to children and youth in the community. This project had gone from one path of being strictly a database to a more of a philosophy and a way of approaching other community members to look at the data with community partners in using that data in the most efficient way for their agency.
Commissioner Rundle asked if their staff was providing service to other agencies where if they were not providing that service the agency would need to hire someone for those services.
Kristen Malloy, Executive Director, Partnership for Children and Youth, said they had requests for their services even expanding beyond searching for funding. She said they had requests to utilize their grant review process and their staff had been trained and attended grant workshops to be able to provide additional support to agencies in terms of reviewing their proposals, assisting them in writing, and help those agencies utilize the data that was available in the community for their.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if the five requests for help were for grant applications.
Plumlee said those requests were for data related to indicators on the well-being of children and youth in the community. She said the community database was being designed along with their staff in partnership with an adult volunteer who had over 20 years of experience in database development. She said they were also partnering with two youth who were interested in computer programming from Lawrence High School who would be joining that process which was an opportunity for those youth to gain marketable skills related to database development.
Commissioner Schauner asked about the total budget for their partnership.
Malloy said $167,000.
Commissioner Schauner said if that money did not come from the City, would it be raised from grants or other sources.
Malloy said the grants that were currently provided were physical sponsorship services for Success by Six Coalition of Douglas County and Big Brother’s and Big Sister’s which generated revenue.
Commissioner Schauner asked what physical services were provided.
Malloy said bookkeeping, accounting and other types of services.
Johnson said their grant proposal for the 2005 funds called for the database to be functional by June 30th in which the information would be online. One of the most important issues that had shifted was people calling for information. He said having a person there to do the research, find the data, and then make sense of that data was a trend that they were beginning to see that seemed helpful to people and made a difference to the direct service provider. He said other than just a stand alone database that they might put figures into each year, they saw this issue evolving into a service.
Lois Snyder, Lawrence landlord, spoke about the Human Relations Commission. She said in 10 years being semi involved in the Human Relations Commission they had moved from enforcement to education which was a good thing. She said she understood that the Human Relations Department was requesting a half time housing director to replace one of their specialists with a technician. She said a technician would help support the remaining investigating specialist. Another issue was K.U. women who felt they were being sexually harassed which was another reason for a full-time housing director. The Human Relations Department did remarkably well in landlord/tenant issues regarding discussion groups and seminars. She said those people were experts and it was important to keep in mind.
Melissa Boysen commented on the Human Relations Commission. She said she never realized the importance of this department until she was a victim of discrimination. She said it was not always ignorance, although ignorance is part of it, politics played a role in it. She said her discrimination was at the state level. She said this department was very important for the average person. She asked that the Commission continue to support the Human Relations Department. (13)
Conduct public hearing on establishing a special assessment benefit district for the construction of street improvements along 33rd Street west of Iowa to Nieder Road and intersection improvements at 33rd Street and Nieder Road.
Dave Corliss said on May 3rd the Commission received a memorandum from the City Engineer discussing traffic and safety concerns at the location of 33rd Street and Nieder Road which followed an earlier discussion that the Commission had regarding the Auto Exchange Preliminary Development Plan. The memorandum that the City Engineer provided indicated that the intersection received a large volume of traffic from the adjacent commercial properties and did not manage the traffic efficiently and safely. There were significant delays for Nieder Road traffic trying to enter 33rd Street and there had been 8 crashes there in the past 2 years.
On May 3rd the City Commission established this date as the date to consider establishment of a special assessment benefit district. What was before the Commission was Resolution No. 6595 that would establish a benefit district for improvements along 33rd Street and at the intersection of 33rd street and Nieder Road. The benefit district included property both north and south of 33rd Street. He said the resolution did not specify what type of improvement would occur at the intersection of 33rd and Nieder Road, but it would be either a roundabout or traffic signal. Staff estimated the probable cost of the improvement at no more than $600,000, with no city financial participation recommended in this benefit district.
He said staff thought that this issue mirrored the successful benefit district at 31st and Nieder Road. The City established a benefit district in which all the commercial properties north and south of 31st Street participated with no city at large participation and a traffic signal was constructed at that location.
He said staff had received correspondence from one of the property owners from J.C. Penny’s. Staff had discussions with J.C. Penny’s last week and they were able to get a letter to the City Commission.
The action of the City Commission was to conduct the public hearing. Pursuant to state law the City Commission had up to 6 months in order to decide what to do. He said staff drafted that resolution to be adopted if the Commission chose to follow that path.
Vice Mayor Amyx said staff did not have any idea what improvements were needed at that intersection.
Corliss said correct.
Vice Mayor Amyx said it was stated that there would be no participation by the public at large for this particular project because the assessment would be placed on all those property owners in that benefit districts. He said the Commission did receive correspondence from one of the tenants in the area that they were opposed to participating in the benefit district. He asked why they would set the resolution prior to knowing what the improvements were going to be.
Corliss said one of the things that needed to be done in order to determine the scope of the improvements was to hire an engineering firm in order to analyze the intersection, look at options, look at the actual lay of the land, perform traffic counts and a traffic study, and do that level of analysis. That would require the City to enter into a contract with that firm and pay that firm. The way that the City paid firms for benefit district projects was after a benefit district was established staff paid the firm because the costs were part of the improvements costs to be assessed. He said the City could use existing funds and hire an engineering firm to make that level of analysis, but staff thought this was the preferred method.
Vice Mayor Amyx said if the firm came back with a plan and the majority of this Commission did not wish to proceed, was that money assessed to those property owners.
Corliss said those costs could not be assessed unless the improvement was done. He said staff, at one time, proceeded along a path where the design was completed and then decided not to proceed with the construction and the City had to absorb those costs.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if there was a chance that the public at large could participate.
Corliss said there was a chance that the public at large could pay for engineering/design of a project that the Commission did not want to build.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked what staff was estimating the engineering cost to be.
Corliss said he did not know if 10% was a good estimate.
Soules said approximately $60,000 to $70,000.
Commissioner Schauner said he recalled the Auto Exchange project discussion as the genesis for discussion about Nieder Road/ 33rd Street improvement. He asked if the site plan for the Auto Exchange was conditioned upon the traffic calming improvements at that location. He also asked if Corliss could refresh his memory about the connection between improving that intersection and Auto Exchange going forward with their project.
Corliss said he knew there was a condition that a median be placed, but he did not know if the condition was that there would be a temporary median that would allow for occupancy, or whether or not occupancy was only allowed with permanent median installation, but he thought it was one of those two.
Vice Mayor Amyx said in discussions a month ago, it had to do with that median extended from Iowa Street, back to the west. He said he did not think it had anything to do with the improvements to 33rd and Nieder Road.
Commissioner Rundle asked what percentage of the property was under an agreement not-to-protest a benefit district and what were the conditions for successful protest of a benefit district.
Corliss said a protest of a benefit district required two elements which were 51% or greater of the resident property owners must protest and 51% of the area must protest. If that occurred then the benefit district was killed. There would be no city expense, an engineering firm would not be hired, and the benefit district would not be allowed to proceed. He said improvements could be made, but improvements could not be assessed at that location. He said the City Commission could decide if the project was a Capital Improvement Project that the City might want to debt finance with City at large funds.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Martin Moore, managing member of 34th Street Investors LC and property owners for the J.C. Penny’s Store, appeared on J.C. Penny’s behalf to register opposition to the proposed benefit district. He said they would like to ask the Commission not to pass this resolution or consider stepping back because they had many questions such as the type of improvement had not been determined; a traffic study had not been conducted; unsafe conditions at that intersections; and questions about the process.
He said the occupants of the benefit district would like to discuss and address their questions to find out more about those improvements. He said at the very least, they would like the City Commission to take a step back and let the people who were being affected by those improvements get their questions answered.
Duane Williams, Manager, Payless Shoe Store, said this proposal could interfere with the flow of customers to his store. He said currently they were experiencing very good sales at that location, but he was afraid that flow might be interrupted. He said he used the 33rd Street and Nieder Road intersection when leaving and coming to work and he had never experienced any problems at that particular area. He said a lot of the traffic came from that particular direction. He said he would like to hear more information about the proposed improvements. He said if there was a problem with the intersection, perhaps something else could be done.
Jim Boswell, employee, J.C. Penny’s Store, read a paragraph from the letter that was sent to the Mayor which read: “Please be advised that Penny’s is opposed to the creation of this special assessment district. Penny’s believes that the modifications being proposed to the intersection will have a negative impact on Penny’s business. Additionally, that portion of Nieder Road which lies south of 33rd Street and in front of Penny’s is a private roadway, not a publicly dedicated street. Such roadway is maintained by private parties, with funds provided by those private parties.”
He said the Penny’s company believed it would not benefit their customers at all and they did not believe it was a dangerous intersection. He said there were 145-150 Penney’s employees and those employees did not see anything that could be gained by having that intersection changed.
Scott Johnson, acting store team leader at the Lawrence Super Target and also a Lawrence resident, said at this time Target was opposed to this special assessment benefit district. He said they did not have all the information that they needed for this kind of expenditure. He said their plot was significant and would make up the majority of those costs. At this time, until they received further information on traffic studies, they opposed this benefit district.
He said as a Lawrence resident he traveled that area all the time and he did not see it as a safety issue at this time, but if it was determined that this was a public safety issue then Target would address that issue because they wanted to be a good citizen in Lawrence.
Paul Werner, speaking on behalf of Auto Exchange, said they probably did push the issue when they brought their development plan forward. It had always been a consensus, they thought, from the meetings that they had with the City and the traffic engineers that something was warranted at this site with or without them. He said their plans were conditioned on an agreement not-to-protest the benefit district and it was conditioned on the installation of a temporary median.
He said the final development plan would go to the Planning Commission next month. He said Auto Exchange had no access to the site. Auto Exchange had asked J.C. Penny for permission to use Nieder Road and would share in the expense and maintenance of that road, but J.C. Penny wrote a letter denying their request.
He said this was not the route they wanted when they started approximately two years ago, but they would like to see the benefit district formed.
Aaron Hovey, attorney with Payless Shoe Source, said he had a question about the crash information at that site. He said the City might have some data that that was an unusually high number of crashes for an intersection with that much volume, but he did not hear any testimony to that affect. That seemed to be the basic issue here, but he was not sure again whether or not that intersection with this volume of traffic was any different than any intersection in this City. He said it was also fundamentally unfair to be assessed a special assessment tax when they did not even know exactly what the improvements were going to be.
The third point he raised was regarding roundabouts, he said there was a strong feeling in our community that roundabouts were not necessarily a great solution to traffic issues. In fact, in talking to their store manager, and others, there was a belief that roundabouts could possibly increase the congestion and possibly even increase the number of accidents there because of some confusion in terms of how to use roundabouts and he was not convinced that that was a solution. He said with respect to putting a traffic signal at that location, there was at least some concern that could back up traffic to the intersection to 31st and Iowa, which obviously would not work either. He suggested a flashing red light might help the intersection if there was an issue of people not stopping at the stop sign.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to close the public hearing. Motion carried unanimously.
Commissioner Rundle asked if Soules had record of what type of crashes those eight crashes were.
Soules said he did not have that information at this time, but he would get that information from the Traffic Engineer.
Wildgen said the most recent accident was 4 days ago and it was an injury accident and it was a side to side crash.
Corliss said he wanted to confirm what Werner indicated. He said on the March 1st City Commission agenda the conditions on Auto Exchange were that they would agree to participate in a benefit district for both improvements at the intersection and for the construction of a median between Iowa and Nieder Road. The other pertinent condition was that “the city shall install a temporary median at the applicant’s expense, along 33rd Street if Auto Exchange is ready to be occupied prior to the completion of a permanent median.” He said they were allowed to occupy without a permanent median, but the Commission had the mechanism to have them pay for the construction of a permanent median.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the temporary median would be yellow posts.
Corliss said probably so.
Mayor Highberger asked if he understood correctly that after closing the public hearing the City Commission had 6 months to act.
Corliss said correct.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked about the 51%requirements to challenge the formation of a benefit district given that both Payless and Target were apparently opposing this benefit district.
Corliss said there were two requirements which were 51% or greater of the resident property owners must protest and 51% of the area must protest. He said neither Payless nor Target were resident property owners.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if Auto Exchange was a resident property owner.
Corliss said probably. He said J.C. Penny’s was owned by Marty Moore’s partnership and they were also a resident property owner.
Commissioner Schauner asked if those two groups together did not comprise of 51% of the resident property.
Corliss said it did not appear so.
Wildgen said the Commission could approve the resolution, or just hold the resolution and direct staff to conduct a meeting with business owners and property owners and then have City staff discuss options and possibilities.
Commissioner Schauner suggested that staff meet with the property owners to discuss some of the details concerning the incidents of crashes at the intersection and traffic flow at the intersection. He supported creation of the benefit district, but he was not sure what the improvements should look like. There was only a traffic issue at that intersection because of the businesses that were located there and it was reasonable to expect that they share the cost of those improvements as they might be necessary, but he was not really ready to take action at this time. Again he suggested that staff meet with the property owners and bring information back to the City Commission.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to direct staff to meet with the affected property owners to provide additional information and answer questions. Motion carried unanimously. (14)
Receive staff report regarding pesticide free parks.
Fred DeVictor, Parks and Recreation Director, said on May 17th when the pesticide free park item came before the City Commission, the Commission directed staff to come up with a highly visible sight where staff could try a pilot project. The memorandum from staff explained that Watson Park be used as a pilot project to be pesticide free. He said staff would want to maintain the existing condition of Watson Park and track the types of costs. He said staff looked at Watson Park was one of the most difficult parks to maintain because there were a lot of high profile flower beds and landscaping in that area. Therefore, staff thought that park would be a good test case. In addition, they had approximately 50 sites that staff did not spray many pesticides at this time and would designate those sites as pesticide free. He said staff would rely on volunteers to help work in this pilot project
Commissioner Rundle said the predominant focus was on the application of products either conventional or non toxic products and the use of volunteers, but there was not much discussion about trying to adopt different practices that would either prevent weeds or things that would promote using native plants. He said there was also not much discussion about training and whether staff would be consulting with other sources for guidance and advice.
DeVictor said It was not staff’s intention of changing the landscaping that was already in Watson Park. He said staff would utilize any kind of expertise and staff had already tried some of those types of products. He said staff’s intention would be to use this as a test case and try to analyze this park, how it could be done, what the costs would be, how many hours it would take, and use the park as a pilot project.
Commissioner Rundle encouraged staff to add to staff’s quiver of resources, the practices of over seeding, over mulching, as well as alternative pesticides.
DeVictor said in the original proposal staff talked about the idea of seeding more often and things of that nature, and that certainly would be part of this project as staff deemed necessary.
Commissioner Schauner asked if they were setting themselves up for a false negative in selecting Watson Park. In other words, if it was already a difficult park to maintain with the use of pesticides would it become a bad place to test a pesticide free park approach because of the possible extraordinary cost associated with just Watson Park that might not be associated with some other park.
DeVictor said Watson Park was challenging, but staff felt that mainly because of that challenge, Watson Park would be one of the best places for staff to evaluate.
Commissioner Schauner said if there was a high cost associated with Watson Park pilot project, that high cost would not necessarily translate to other parks that were less challenging to maintain.
DeVictor said correct.
Commissioner Schauner said as a Commission, he suggested that be kept in mind if in fact Watson Park did become the pilot when the report came to the Commission in a year or so.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said one thing about Watson Park was that there was a very active neighborhood association next to that area that took a lot of pride in the area which was very positive aspect of this project.
Commissioner Schauner said he raised that concern because he did not want to skew the result from a cost perspective because of the challenging nature of Watson Park.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked DeVictor if there was any consideration given to Commissioner Rundle’s suggestion last time of picking one park in two different districts to give staff incentive to find ways to see who could maintain those parks the best, because he liked that idea.
DeVictor said staff discussed having two different areas, but staff did not want to get into competition among staff. He said staff looked at the Veterans Park and Hobb’s Park, but staff felt one location might be best. He said there were two sections to Watson Park, both north and south of 7th street, but there certainly could be some other sites that staff could consider, but this site was one that staff thought could work well.
Mayor Highberger asked if this proposal involved buying any new equipment.
DeVictor said it did not. He said staff would use some of the non pesticide products, but it would not involve the major foam weed equipment. Again, during this time period staff would use what means that were available.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked if staff had any idea of the cost involved in taking care of Watson Park over the next year.
DeVictor said no. He said he was not sure staff had that broken down as to what those costs were now. He said staff wanted to evaluate and try to work with volunteers and try to figure out how many hours it would take to do the kinds of things that would be needed. He said they did not feel they had the staff to meet all the standards of that park today with the park being pesticide free, so staff was hoping to get volunteers.
Vice Mayor Amyx said there was no doubt that the volunteer part of the maintenance of that park was going to be critical for this type of project to be an ongoing success.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Marie Stockett, one of three coordinators for the pesticide free park project, said she enjoyed seeing the addition of Watson Park to the list of pesticide free parks program. She also liked seeing the changes in the signs which contained all the necessary information to give the public the information needed to decide whether to enter or not enter pesticide areas. She also liked the creation of a volunteer program which would go a long way to promote the pesticide free parks program and then bring the community and Parks and Recreation to work together.
She said she still had some concerns. One concern was notification. It was her recommendation that before pesticides were applied, that at least 1 or 2 days warning was given which meant signs posted 1 or 2 days before the pesticide was applied. The current language of the new report only gave 1 hour warning and that was barely enough time for people who were already in the park to notice what was going on and choose to leave the park or not, so she thought 1 or 2 days warning was necessary.
She said after pesticide use, it was important that signs be left in place for 2 weeks and in chemically maintained parks for 1 week instead of the suggested 24 hours.
With respect to exemptions, she felt it was important for an independent body to grant or deny exemptions and this was not an attempt to lord over Parks and Recreation, but an effort for a group of people to support Parks and Recreation and provide suggestions and support for alternatives to chemicals. For pesticide free parks, an exemption would need to be requested for any pesticide wanting to be applied and then in chemically maintained parks exemptions would be needed for category 2 pesticides.
Stockett next addressed one the issue of pesticide use on playgrounds and picnic areas. She said when she first came to the Commission there was a plan to eventually become pesticide free and then there was an end date in sight, but now since they did not have a timeline to do that it was important to address the issue of continued pesticide use in areas like playgrounds and picnic areas, especially since children were very susceptible to the negative health consequences of pesticides. She suggested that no pesticide should be applied to those areas in any park, that changes should take place immediately, but definitely no later than next year.
She said at the request of Commissioner Amyx, she gathered information on other cities who were dedicated to reducing pesticides and their policies on pesticide use on playground areas and picnic areas. In Santa Barbara, CA there were 100 foot buffer zones for all playgrounds and a 25 foot buffer zone for all picnic areas. In Seattle, WA, no pesticides around any playground equipment have been used for at least 18 years and there was a new policy that established an official 25 foot buffer zone around all playground areas and picnic shelters. In Boulder, CO they had a guideline of a 50 foot buffer zone around all playground areas; and in San Francisco, CA, the practice was that no pesticides were sprayed around playground equipment or picnic areas, although there was not an official buffer zone.
She recommended that the signs be 8 1/2” X 11” or larger. In the case that an exemption was granted for a category 2 pesticide, she recommended the header on the notification signage, must include the EPA signal word for this category, which was “warning.”
She said she wanted to officially request that the pesticide record be kept up to date and readily available to the public through the Parks and Recreation website and available at a Parks and Recreation office.
She said concerning a long term plan for pesticide free parks system, she asked that the Commission encourage Parks and Recreation to continue to move forward and to expand the program over time. The same for the maintenance of right-of-ways, medians, and golf course to maintain those places without pesticides over time and explore pesticide free maintenance techniques.
Regarding golf courses, there were a few golf courses that had drastically reduced pesticides. The nearest golf course was called Arbor Links, which was sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation, and it was located in Lincoln, NE, and was also endorsed by pro golfer Arnold Palmer. She said that golf course had used native plants and grasses to reduce the need for pesticides.
She asked the Commission to consider leasing the Waipuna hot water weeder machine for 2006. She also asked that the Commission encourage Parks and Recreation to seek consultation and training from outside sources who were familiar with pesticide free maintenance, and to explore the possibility of contracting pesticide free maintenance out to professionals that were knowledgeable about pesticide free maintenance.
As prevention went, she asked that the Commission encourage Parks and Recreation to pursue maintenance methods that stress prevention so that problems were less likely to arise to begin with. Some examples were mowing high, over seeding, applying heavy mulch around flower beds and trees, planting native drought resistant plants, and putting concrete aprons or pads below fences, benches, poles, and picnic areas, and there were other suggestions that could be found in the pesticide free park project information packet as well as other organizations.
The last point was that she was excited about the volunteer programs and appreciated Parks and Recreation working with the community, but the success of the pesticide free parks program should not rest solely upon the volunteer program. The Lawrence community had shown overwhelming support for pesticide free parks and Parks and Recreation should be responsible for providing this service to our citizens, especially children. There was a wealth of information to help Parks and Recreation accomplish this goal.
Mayor Highberger asked if DeVictor had any responses to Stockett’s points.
DeVictor said they were talking about the pesticide free pilot project in Watson Park. He said staff would not spray any pesticides in Watson Park and they would not need any exemptions for that. In response to the prevention items, staff practiced those items except the last one. He said staff mowed as high as they could, they over seed, and mulch. He said staff would be happy to work with them on the signs. As far as education, that was addressed on their website. He said there had been no recommendation of using that particular machine that was mentioned by Stockett at this time.
Also, staff would work volunteers and the success would not depend on all of those volunteers, but it would help staff assess how this project could be done, the situation, and how much time took.
Commissioner Schauner had three questions. 1) He asked what specifically would DeVictor see as the work for the volunteers in Watson Park; 2) Had it been determined whether the Waipuna machine could be purchased or leased, and if was leased, what was the expense; and 3) What negative consequences would be seen, if any, in eliminating the use of pesticides around playground equipment in all of the City’s parks now?
DeVictor said regarding the work from volunteers, he said mostly helping with some of the weeding. He said there were some plant diseases, removing and pruning, and taking care of the plant materials, that expertise could be shared. In most of the playground areas there were wood chips underneath the equipment, but there were some playground safety guidelines that staff tried to follow in keeping vegetation out of existing playgrounds. The playground safety guidelines were the main concern that staff would have in making sure the kept that cushion of wood chips or mulch.
He said concerning the Waipuna machine it was his understanding that the machine could be leased or it could be purchased, but there would be a 3 year commitment to lease that machine and that cost was approximately $39,000-$40,000 over a 3 year time period.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the lease was roughly $1,000 a month.
DeVictor said correct.
Commissioner Schauner asked about the wood chipping near playground equipment.
DeVictor said staff used very little pesticides in those areas. He said they had done a lot of reduction already, but staff wanted to use this site to help determine if more sites could be done in a cost effective way.
Commissioner Schauner said if staff eliminated pesticides around playground equipment, that would be some chemicals that were not needed and could have a cost saving.
DeVictor said again, he was not sure if staff used a lot of pesticides now, but perhaps there might be some cost savings.
Vice Mayor Amyx said tonight they were specifically talking about the report that dealt with Watson Park. He said he did like a lot of the ideas that were brought to the City Commission and appreciated the information concerning the buffer zone footage around playground equipment. Concerning exemptions, the independent body should be the City Commission because the liability rests with the City of Lawrence.
He said he did not have a problem with a number of issues, but the Commission could look at other issues as they proceeded to go through the Watson Park and the conversion to a pesticide free park, how this would work as a plan, and see about future direction to Parks and Recreation.
He thanked DeVictor and City staff for taking a lead on this issue and he thought there would be a good outcome.
Commissioner Rundle said he supported the changes recommended for the signs. The whole point of the signs was to give people a choice to avoid those chemicals, so having a warning up a day ahead of time and leaving them up for the life of the chemicals served that purpose. If staff could move in the direction of eliminating pesticides around playgrounds and picnic areas that would be appropriate. He concurred with the comments made by Commissioner Amyx.
Commissioner Schauner suggested taking Parks and Recreation’s suggestion of Watson’s Park to see how it would work. He asked what type of consensus existed on the sign issue.
Wildgen said the wording. Those signs would be a least that size or larger and then if there was a category 2, staff could change that word “caution” to “warning.”
Commissioner Schauner asked about the time limit on those signs.
Crystal Miles, Landscape Supervisor, Parks and Recreation, said signage was a trip in a City vehicle to the site. If staff went a day before that it meant that when staff made spot spray at 15 different locations on one morning, they would need to take an extra 2 hours a day before to go put up signs. She said staff would not know if those signs would still be there at that location because right now downtown, for instance, staff dealt with vandalism at least once a week. So that would be an extra trip to the site for staff. If staff placed signage an hour in advance, staff felt that was enough time to verbally visit with any patrons that were at the site and explain things that might need to be explained or make considerations if staff should not be there at that particular time, and schedule a different day. She said staff was trying to balance out the cost of multiple trips to the site just to put out a sign or take out a sign at 15 different locations.
She said on each pesticide label there were two sides. One was the landscape part, and the other would be the agricultural use part. On the agricultural use part would deal with the EPA and worker protection rights, which did not apply to staff because staff did not produce products. If staff was interested in using the EPA Worker’s Protection Act as a guideline for signage, they had that information on the label.
She said staff would try to work with the public at the site and still get the job done in efficient manner without multiple trips.
Commissioner Schauner asked if it would be effective or efficient for staff to use a one hour in advance and 24 hour pick up after the application.
Miles said a lot of times staff might be working more than one day on one site and they hoped the signs would still be there after 24 hours. Two weeks later it might have rained, the signs might have blown over, but it was hard to determine.
Stockett said the problem with EPA guidelines was they based their finding on information that they receive from the pesticide manufacturers. The pesticide manufacturers either conduct or sponsor the research that was given to EPA. She said it was not really a system that protects the public. Those products were not broken down after a few hours, they were still in their original form, and there was a great chance for pesticide exposure. She said especially children in their playing habits being on the ground, getting their hands dirty and putting their hands in their mouth. There was an increased risk of ingestion of those pesticides residues.
Vice Mayor Amyx said the only way signage could be done was to put a sign out to see how long it would last.
Commissioner Rundle asked if there was any coordination such as people making reservations for picnic areas.
Miles said that was already taking place.
Commissioner Schauner supported Parks and Recreation’s recommendation and see what else would work.
Commissioner Rundle said it defeated the purposes of having the warning, because the chemicals did last much longer. He said signage was to give people a chance to not be exposed to those chemicals.
Commissioner Schauner said in a perfect world, we would not use any pesticides because he suspected there was not any safe level of pesticide ingestion, but he certainly did not have the knowledge with which to make some decision about how those interests were balanced. He suggested finding out how other communities grappled with this issue because he was sure other cities had the same problems of stretching staffing.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to accept the staff report regarding pesticide free parks. Motion carried unanimously. (15)
Mayor Highberger asked if there was any additional direction needed to resolve the notification question now.
Vice Mayor Amyx said he did not think they needed to resolve the issue right now. He suggested that staff review what other communities were doing with this type of issue. He suggested that staff follow their current practice until staff came back to the Commission with a report.
Commissioner Rundle asked if it was possible that staff place information on a website that would track whether a park was going to be sprayed or going to be sprayed. He said that might be something that staff could get volunteer help with.
Mayor Highberger preferred more than 24 hours notification and 24 hours putting signs up. He said he was not sure 2 weeks was necessary, so if staff could find some way to balance that so there were not enormous amounts of staff time being used and make it beyond 24 hours, he would like to find a way to explore that idea.
Consider adopting on first reading, Ordinance No. 7888, concerning host responsibility and minors in possession of alcohol.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, introduced one of the City’s new staff members, Scott Miller, Staff Attorney, who put together a memorandum for the City Commission. He said this ordinance dealt with essentially three different offenses. Right now, the City Code had a prohibition against minors in possession of alcohol. He said the City averaged about 300 citations a year. When the Commission had a task force in the late 1990’s on alcohol abuse, the minor in possession fine was increased above what the state law established, and was placed at $300.
He said staff was familiar with some of the recent state law changes but had not had the opportunity to make the appropriate Code changes. Miller prepared an ordinance that allowed the City to respond to changes both in the minor in possession, but also on two different offenses that staff was recommending that the Commission include in the City Code.
The first additional offense was something that mirrors state law which was a prohibition to furnishing alcoholic beverages to minors and then there was also an additional new state law that came on the books last year which was intentionally hosting gatherings for individuals under the age of 18 that possess alcoholic beverages and staff was recommending that the Commission adopt a prohibition on both of those items as well.
He said Miller put together the memorandum that indicated a number of area communities already had both of those offenses and staff was recommending approval of the ordinance that made the change in state law that reflected the driver’s license suspension on Minors in Possession (MIP’s), the change that created an offense in City Code, of furnishing alcohol to a minor and then the unlawful hosting provisions.
Commissioner Schauner asked if those changes essentially created a concurrent City penalty or enforcement.
Corliss said correct. He said those things were already against the law in the state, but what staff had observed in a few instances was that you might have the same crime of a minor in possession occurring where there was unlawful hosting. The adjudication of that offense was difficult. He said Miller spent a number of years as a lead prosecutor for the City of Overland Park Municipal court. He said this made sense for judicial economy and for the prosecutor’s ability to have it all in municipal court.
Vice Mayor Amyx said as they discussed this issue concerning party houses, this might help the city prosecutor take care of some of those issues.
Corliss said that was a possibility.
Miller said the only thing he would add was that this would make it easier for the Police Department to enforce those laws because you would not need to ask the District Attorney’s Office to file a long form criminal complaint when they were considering things that probably took more of their attention. In this circumstance police officers would be allowed to issue citations and tickets and that was a more instantaneous response than it was to ask for some sort of charging decision several months later. So from that basis, he thought the ordinance would be something that would benefit both the Municipal Court and the Police Department.
Commissioner Rundle asked why the City made that change to reset the fines higher than the state.
Corliss said that Provost Shulenberger headed a Task Force on alcohol abuse and staff looked at a number of issues, not just simply offense issues, but social and community responses to binge alcohol drinking and alcohol abuse, and one of the things staff looked at was the fine levels for minors in possession and Kansas cities had the ability to be more stringent in their public offenses for misdemeanors than existing state law. That was the impetus for putting that on the books and encouraging the Police Department to use resources to enforce that.
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to place on first reading, Ordinance No. 7888, concerning host responsibility and minors in the possession of alcohol. Motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENT: None
COMMISSION ITEMS: None
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Amyx, to adjourn at 8:50 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Mike Rundle, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Acquisition of Property Interest – Monterey Way & Peterson for $525,000 from Fall Creek Farms & $75,000 from Monterey Bluffs for Monterey Way N of Peterson.
2. Bid – 2005 Overlay Program, Phase 3, to KS Heavy Construction for $695,255.33.
3. Ordinance No. 7889 – 1st Read, amend 5-739.2, 2003 Edition concerning sign code regs.
4. Ordinance No. 7885 – 2nd Read, “no parking” W side of 4 Wheel Dr between 29th Terrace & 31st St.
5. Ordinance No. 7886 – 2nd Read, “no parking” both sides of Wakarusa within the City limits.
6. Ordinance No. 7883 – 2nd Read, HOP District Plan.
7. Final Plat (PF-04-11-05) Marion Add NO. 5, .842 acres, 2221 W 31st.
8. Final Plat (PF-04-13-05) Habitat Neighborhood Add No. 5, 4.197 acres, 800 Blk of Walnut.
9. Non-Conforming Use & Site Plan (N-04-03-05/SP-02-19-05) Free State Brewing for sidewalk dining at 636 Mass.
10. Plumbing Code Amendment – Delete amendment restricting the use of PVC drain, waste & vent pipe.
11. Agreement – KDOT for bus shelter & bust stop amenities, bust cut-outs & operating expense for state fiscal year 2006 for $250,986.
12. City Manager’s Report
13. Resolution 6595 – Establish Benefit District, 33rd W of Iowa to Nieder & 33rd & Nieder.
14. Pesticide free parks.
15. Alcohol – Host responsibility & minors in possession of alcohol.