August 23, 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, Hack, Rundle, and Schauner present.
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to approve the City Commission meeting minutes of August 9, 2005.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to approve claims to 506 vendors in the amount of $2,660,054.21 and payroll from August 7, 2005 to August 20, 2005 in the amount of $1,482,296.16. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to approve the Drinking Establishment Licenses for Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 New Hampshire; Alumni Association of the University of Kansas; and the Retail Liquor License for University Liquor (New License), 3300 Bob Billings Parkway, B3. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to authorize the City Manager to execute grant agreements with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the replacement of the medium intensity runway lighting system for Runway 15-33 and the medium intensity taxiway lighting system Taxiway “A” at the Lawrence Municipal Airport FAA participation will be $256,538 (95%) with City participation at $13,502.39 (5%). Motion carried unanimously. (1)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with BG Consultants for engineering services in an amount of $28,909.85 for design and construction plans for a left turn lane on Harper Street (northbound) at 23rd Street, Kansas Highway 10 (K-10). Motion carried unanimously. (2)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to authorize the sale of a forklift and a crane through GovDeals. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to authorize the sale of surplus vehicles through e-bay. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7822, rezoning (Z-06-25-04) 1.3363 acres from A (Agricultural District) to O-1 (Office District); (the property is generally described as being located at the southwest corner of West 6th Street and Folks Road). Motion carried unanimously.
(5)
Ordinance No. 7915, adopting the 2005 Standard Traffic Ordinance which regulates the traffic within the City of Lawrence city limits, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
Ordinance No. 7916, allowing the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages at Watson Park on September 4, 2005, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
Ordinance No. 7917, allowing the temporary sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages at Burcham Park on September 10, 2005, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Hack, Highberger, Rundle, and Schauner. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (8)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to adopt Resolution No. 6607, establishing September 13, 2005 as the date for the public sale of general obligation bonds and temporary notes. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to approve the site plan (SP-06-46-05) for improvements, located at 500 Locust Street, subject to the following conditions:
1. Execution of a Site Plan Performance Agreement;
2. Execution of an Agreement Not to Protest the Formation of a Benefit District for street improvements to N. 5th and Locust Streets;
3. Submittal of public improvement plans to the Public Works Department for sidewalk and curbline improvements; and
4. Revision of the site plan to include the following:
a. Identification of the building’s proposed first floor use;
b. Replacement of the following note: “Remove existing pavement loading dock infill with dirt” with “Remove existing pavement loading dock infill with turf”.
Motion carried unanimously. (10)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
During the City Manager’s Report Mike Wildgen said he wanted to recognize the leadership of Commissioner Schauner, in leading a group of employees in helping new Haskell Students move in to Pocahontas Hall.
Tom Singleton, Lowenthal Singleton Webb & Wilson, presented the Management Letter prepared in conjunction with the 2004 financial audit. Singleton said typically a management letter could include anything from fairly significant items involving internal control weaknesses, which there were not in this case, to items that were of general interest in terms of what the City could expect in the future concerning external financial reporting. Most of the items contained in the letter addressed forward looking items related to four statements that were going to be in effect within the next few years from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Those statements were:
1. GASB Statement 40 - “Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures-an amend of GASB No.3”;
2. GASB Statement 42 – “Accounting and Financial Reporting for Impaired of Capital Asset for Insurance Recoveries;
3. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued Statement No. 44; and
4. GASB Statement No. 45 – Accounting and Financial Reporting Employers for Postemployment Benefits other than Pensions.
He said Statement 45 was a big deal and in some states it would place the bond ratings of some municipalities in jeopardy, not in Lawrence, but in other places.
Commissioner Rundle asked what the specific bond rating impact would be.
Singleton said the bond underwriters and the entities involved in those activities had already identified this as a major area for them to focus on. One, because it was a huge unrecorded liability, at this point, and particularly with the current inflation factors with medical costs and the costs of health insurance premiums. This liability, in some cases, created an enormous load on the balance sheet of the municipalities that were actually recording the liability. Secondly, the bond underwriter saw this as tremendous opportunity for them. GASB 45 only required a person to recognize the liability, it did not say that they had to fund the liability, but from the standpoint of the bond underwriting community, they were saying that this was a liability that could lend itself to issuing bonds to finance those bonds, much as the same way the State of Kansas did with the KPERS liability.
Commissioner Schauner asked if Singleton was saying that because the post employment participants in the health plan were going to, in some fashion, drive up premium costs that that was one of the methods by which actuarial study would suggest there was additional liability to the City.
Singleton said yes.
Commissioner Schauner asked if that was true even if the post retired employees paid an additional percentage, COBRA like fee, on top of the actual premium. He asked if that would offset the actuarial view of that liability at all.
Singleton said GASB and the guidance that they provided just recently issued a implementation guide which had a whole series of questions about that very complicated standard. They had indicated that it did not matter whether the municipality paid any of the costs out of pocket for the other post employment benefit.
Commissioner Schauner said he assumed that there would be an indirect cost to the City as a result of post retiree employee participation in the plan.
Singleton said yes.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said the City was self-insured and paid the entire amount. The premium was a contribution.
Commissioner Schauner said if the employees’ post employment participation in the plan were not available, that would theoretically reduce their cost of providing health insurance coverage to City employees, actuarially speaking.
Singleton said correct.
Commissioner Schauner said as a result, the difference from the bond underwriter’s point of view was that since you were exposed, i.e. had more liability for the providing of that group coverage due to the retirees participation, that would be a flag of some kind to the bond underwriter’s.
Singleton said correct.
Vice Mayor Amyx said it was mentioned in GASB Statement 44 that they would see a change in the reporting on statistics on economic condition. He asked if that would be more or less extensive.
Singleton said some of the discussion on that issue basically related to removing some disclosures that had been in the statement in the past. In particular, there had been some disclosures that had been required in the statistical section about bank deposits. Some of those disclosures were rather dated and antiquated. The attempt GASB was making with Statement 44 was that they wanted to include more demographic information that was more up-to-date and more modern in terms of the disclosures. GASB was also trying to make it more integrated in with the new GASB Statement 34 presentation in which the City had implemented the year before last. He said Statement 44 was part of the GASB process of revisiting and modernizing the disclosures that had been in place for years. The current disclosures in the statistical section were actually not GASB mandated and they were weighing in now in providing specific guidance in terms of what they believed the statistical section of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) should reflect. He said this was GASB’s input on this issue as an organization.
He said he thought that Statement 44 was one of the best steps forward in terms of disclosure changes. He said it would be a lot of work for the City’s financial staff, but in the end it would provide the Commissioners and citizens at large with better information.
Jeanette Klamm, Residuals Coordinator, Utilities Department, summarized her report on the activities associated with this summer’s land application and beneficial reuse program.
Also, during the City Manager’s report, Wildgen said the Triennial Review of the Transit System was successful. He said Cliff Galante, Public Transit Administrator and Wendy Koerner, Public Transit Clerk, completed the required triennial review of the system.
Commissioner Rundle suggested that staff keep the City Commission apprised of the timeline regarding the recommendation that staff develop a comprehensive security program.
Commissioner Schauner asked for an update on the expected completion date for the Clinton Parkway Roundabout Project which seemed to be dragging on.
Soules said the rain had somewhat affected that completion date. He thought that project would be completed before the end of September.
Mayor Highberger made note of the memo from Jim Stuit, Utilities Department. He said people in the Sanitary Sewer division helped minimize the impact of last weeks rain on the City’s sanitary sewer backups. (11)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive Farmers’ Market Report.
Barbara Clark, member of the Farmers Market Task Force, said the move the Task Force was requesting, was a temporary move that would address the immediate needs of the Saturday market for expansion.
She said with the many years with the 64 spaces that were in Lot 10 the market was at capacity. She said currently there were 76 full-time market vendors, 36 members attended all three market days and 37 members attend just the Saturday market and 4 members attend only the weekday market. There were also 17 floaters which were market vendors that had paid for a permanent stall, but they were not assured a permanent stall because of the limited space where they were currently located.
She said this year they received request for 42 vendors that had 1 stall, of those, 3 vendors would like to go to 3 stalls and 11 vendors would like to expand to 2 stalls. All of those request were denied because there was no additional space to be offered.
The move to Lot 4 had 82 spaces and their thought was that in supporting the Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday market, it would allow the Saturday market to grow. Currently in place they had room to expand the Tuesday-Thursday market which was voted on by their vendors and approved through their community of market members.
She hoped the Task Force continued on. She said their perception of the move was just a temporary move until they could come up with something that was a permanent location where the Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday market could be reunited and at some point look at capital improvements. She said this was a stop-gap measure that would help them so they would not see any attrition in their Saturday market.
The other aspect that was greatly increased with the move they were requesting would be parking for patrons of the market. That was something that they currently had limited access to. She said they heard that from many of the patrons that came through the market in that they were having difficulty finding parking spaces. She said Lot 4 magnified parking greatly up to almost 95% of an increase over what they currently had.
She hoped some day down the road that they would have cover, water, restrooms, and other amenities, but at this point, they were hoping to facilitate growth.
Mayor Highberger said the local merchants were contacted and the vast majority of those merchants were overwhelmingly supportive.
Clark said Maria Martin, Downtown Lawrence Inc., performed a survey in which 25 out of 26 merchants who responded were positive, and one merchant was in opposition.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
After receiving no public comment, Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said the Farmer’s Market Task Force would like some direction. He said given the natural tendency for people not to want to go to the ends of the blocks to cross and the tendency to cross in the middle of the street, he suggested that they look at a pedestrian crossing of some kind which would eliminate parking on New Hampshire because of the site distances.
Commissioner Rundle asked if the pedestrian crosswalk would resemble the crosswalk at the Art’s Center.
Wildgen said staff had a design for that crosswalk which needed to be narrow.
Vice Mayor Amyx asked how many parking spaces were in Lot 4.
Wildgen said there were approximately 120 parking spaces between Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
Vice Mayor Amyx said he thought it would be a mistake to use the lot on the west side of the 800 block. He said on Saturday, at 5:30 a.m., 15 to 20 percent of that lot was still full with residents that lived downtown. He said between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., 80 to 90 percent of that lot was used by people who were patronizing the downtown venues. He said a better place to move was the two lots on the east side of New Hampshire. The access to the alley between the two lots could be used for loading and unloading. The businesses along Massachusetts Street would be able to share the parking with the people who lived downtown with the lot on the west side. He said that would be a better fit all around, especially in light of the fact that they were discussing a temporary location. He said if they were looking at the ADA requirements, there would be access through both lots from the alley between the two lots.
Commissioner Rundle asked if the Task Force had a reason for their proposed location.
Commissioner Hack said they did not look at those lots because they relied on the information from the vendors of the Farmer’s Market.
John Pendleton said the vendors years ago looked at the long-term lot. He said originally they looked at that location as a possibility for the Farmer’s Market. There were some negative reaction from some businesses that were in the area so this was an attempt as vendors to try and make a move that would improve the market, but not to create negative feelings they felt they were receiving. Certainly the ability to have that much extra parking for customers was going to be a huge benefit for the vendors, but the reality was they would fill that lot quickly with existing vendors wanting to expand their space and trying to attract new vendors would keep them cramped.
Commissioner Amyx said if there was a way to share the two lots on the east side, he asked if that would be a win/win situation.
Pendleton said that idea would be fabulous.
Commissioner Amyx said parking was tough downtown especially on Saturday morning. He said by 10:00 a.m. the lot behind the 800 block was full. He said if a situation could be worked out with using the two lots on the east side of the street on a temporary basis, on Saturday morning only, it seemed to make a lot of sense and there would be that shared parking between the businesses on Massachusetts Street and the Farmer’s Market on the east.
Commissioner Hack said she liked the pick up option in the alley because that had been a lengthy discussion by the Task Force.
Commissioner Rundle asked when the Market typically closed down.
Pendleton said the sign posted stated 10:30 a.m. In a couple of weeks they would start an hour later because of daylight savings time. He said it was difficult to pack up and get away with people that would continue to show up at 11:00.
He said the past couple of weeks with the way the weather had been, vendors had been ready to leave anywhere from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., because they had sold out of their produce. He said there were still a lot of people at the market at 10:30 a.m.
Commissioner Rundle said he recalled the negative reaction when the eastern pair of lots was being looked at. He asked what that negative reaction was about.
Wildgen said part of that reaction was because of the Tuesday/Thursday issue. He said the concern about the parking would not change because people would just park on the other side.
Commissioner Rundle said people parked in the Community Building lot and in the church parking lot as well.
Commissioner Schauner said whatever the vendors were happy with, he was delighted, but during 2007 fiscal discussions, he would like to have some discussion about a permanent location and home for the Farmer’s Market. Temporary might mean 10 years at that location, but he did not think that was what the vendors had in mind. He said he strongly supported the idea of a permanent location for the Farmer’s Market.
Commissioner Hack said the idea of a permanent location could be part of the Commission’s goal setting session.
The City Commission received the report and directed staff to work with the Farmer’s Task Force to temporarily relocate the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings to the east side parking lots on the 800 block of New Hampshire Street; and requested that the Farmer’s Market Task Force continue working on long-term plans for a permanent location. (12)
Consider adoption of Resolution No. 6608 adopting on the final report of the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness and establishing the Commission on Homelessness.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said the resolution followed the general format for establishing City boards and commissions. Section 1, was the adoption of the final report and the remainder of the resolution established the Community Commission on Homelessness and set out the purposes, duties, manner of appointment, terms, and certain powers of that Commission.
During the agenda meeting with the Mayor and Vice Mayor, there was an inquiry about whether or not the resolution should include language concerning the Commission on Homelessness Concern’s ability to make recommendations to amend the Final Report. He said he was asked to prepare language that the City Commission could consider as it considered the entire resolution.
He said in section 4 where the duties were set out for the Commission, it seemed appropriate to include a sentence, “The Commission shall have the authority to recommend amendments to the Final Report for consideration by the City Commission which may adopt such amendments by resolution.” He said this language would clearly authorize the newly established Commission. The language would also indicate that if the Commission desired to make changes to the Final Report, it would be done by resolution.
Commissioner Rundle asked if those amendments were to the recommendations.
Corliss said those amendments were not to the factual findings of the Task Force, but the plan.
Commissioner Rundle said the Task Force envisioned that their Commission was going to stay in touch with the changing situation in Lawrence and would need to make sure steps were taken to address homeless issues which would change to fit the current conditions.
Commissioner Schauner asked Commissioner Rundle what it meant as to “adopt the Final Report.” He said there was language in the resolution to the effect that “The Final Report shall be the guide of the City Commission in the determination of City priorities, policies, and funding for the provision of services for homeless individuals.” He asked Commissioner Rundle if he believed that the adoption of a guide was equivalent to adopting policy on homelessness.
Commissioner Rundle said he did not think the adoption of a guide was equivalent. He said in the discussion with the Task Force, they viewed their Commission as the group that would recommend policies to the City Commission. He said it was more of a direction.
Commissioner Schauner said his concern was that the stakeholders in this process not be wrongly led to believe that by adopting that report it meant that all of the recommendations contained in it would be put into effect and sponsored financially by this City Commission or future City Commissions. He said he did not know how broad the word “adoption” was in this instance. He asked if the City Commission was adopting the report and all the recommendations contained therein or was the Commission doing something less than that.
Commissioner Rundle said in his mind they were adopting, supporting, encouraging and trying to facilitate the implementation of those steps.
Corliss said there were a number of ways to try and respond to the consensus of the Commission on how to write that resolution. He said in listening to their discussion at the study session, he did not think it was the consensus of the Commission that adoption of the report meant that the Commission was automatically without further discussion or deliberation going to implement all of its recommendations. He said he did not try to write the resolution in the negative, but the positive in that the resolution would read as “the” guide to the City Commission. He said the resolution could be written as “a” guide to the City Commission. He said the resolution was not written in a way so that someone could legally say, “thou shall now spend this amount of money because the City Commission had adopted that plan” because the resolution used the term guide. He said it was a statement of the Commission that when looking at policies for homelessness the City Commission could look at the report and listen to the Commission. He said when talking about funding, the City Commission could look at the report and listen to the Commission, but it did not mean that the City Commission was going to implement it without further discussion, but it would be a starting point. He said that would be how he would interpret the term “guide.”
Commissioner Rundle said there were a lot of other phrases such as section 3 that stated, “its goal of working with existing service providers and agencies to facilitate and make recommendations regarding implementation.” He said the whole basis followed the modeling HUD brought forward with a 10 year plan, that plan would be developed, monitored, and altered by the Commission working with existing agencies and advising the City Commission.
Vice Mayor Amyx said in the last study session, he did not think the City Commission ever said that a hundred percent of the items listed in that final report might get funded. He said each one of the Commissioners might have supported some part of that report, but not one hundred percent of that final report. He said the Lawrence City Commission was always going to have the final decision on monies that would be made available.
He said with the language that was added by Corliss, it gave the City Commission the opportunity to make changes to their own Final Report.
Commissioner Schauner said he wanted some discussion on the record about what the City Commission’s intention was in adopting the report. In other words, he wanted some legislative history about what the City Commission was doing by adopting that report so there would be some clear understanding. So they could all say out loud, reflective in minutes of this meeting, what the intention of this body was. He said adopting the Final Report as a guide was perfectly acceptable, but he did not want to mislead or be misled about the City Commission’s intention in adopting that report. He said he wanted the minutes to reflect carefully that that was the legislative history of discussion of that resolution. He said that was his point in raising that issue.
Mayor Highberger called for public comment.
Mark Cline, Lawrence, said an egregious flaw in the proposal was that it anticipated substantial participation by the Salvation Army in delivering services to homeless people in Lawrence. The Salvation Army was not a normal mainstream Christian organization. Instead, it was extremist, evangelical, and homophobic and they advertise that very freely. He said to give the City Commission an example of how those folks were blinded by their Christian light was that one individual raped a mentally disabled women and the Salvation Army, blinded by the light, hired that individual. That individual after persistently sexually harassing customers of the Salvation Army had to be fired. He said the Salvation Army was a mess beyond anything that he would have imagined.
Maria Martin, Director of Downtown Lawrence, said there were members that had served on the City’s Task Force on Homelessness for the past two years and she thanked them for their hard work. The report that was presented could serve as a wonderful guide for the Lawrence community. She said Downtown Lawrence Inc., especially applauded the City’s Task Force on recommending that diversity in the Community Commission on Homelessness. She said it was very important that it included a cross section of the community with representation from neighborhood organizations, residents, business community, homeless, and those who had experienced homelessness. She said other cities across the country had done this with tremendous success.
Hilda Enoch, Lawrence, reiterated what Martin said about the Task Force because they had done a fantastic job at setting out guidelines and they learned a great deal in the process. She hoped that the same Commission be kept when the next Commission on Homelessness was appointed because that group had accumulated experience and knowledge and it would be a shame for a new Commission to start over. She said if the Final Report was approved she hoped it would not sit on the shelf, but become a very vital guide to what would happen in this community.
Commissioner Rundle said the Task Force members had made it very clear that they were willing to help in the transition in whatever capacity was needed because they recognized the difficulty of not having any guidance. He said the Task Force was prepared to do anything that was request and they were not there to dominate or steer, but to act as a resource.
Enoch said her idea was that some of the Task Force members should be on the Commission.
Loring Henderson, Director of Lawrence Community Shelter, said he did not plan to speak, but he wanted to say something in support of its collaborative partner The Salvation Army. He said one of the things the Task Force found in performing its work over the long period of over two years was that other things were happening in the City. He said one issue that was pleasing to the Task Force was the collaboration between the Salvation Army and the Lawrence Community Shelter that had evolved. He said some examples were that the coordination expansion to provide the 24/7 shelter services which the City Commission had helped to fund. The Salvation Army and the Lawrence Community shelter submitted a joint Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application in 2005. The Salvation Army and the Lawrence Community Shelter had collaborated on common house rules, actions and consequences for the guest in the shelters and there had been strengthened communications among the staff of the two organizations on individual clients so there was more of a team approach in working with people.
Shirley Martin-Smith, Lawrence, speaking on behalf of the Task Force, said Former Mayor Dunfield did not know what a great group he would be putting together. She said the Task Force was a diverse group of people who came from a variety of walks of life, but they learned to understand what their charge was which was to make some recommendations on behalf on the people in the Lawrence community that needed their help.
She said the Task Force was very committed to plan, but knew, after 2 ½ years that plan would change, in 6 months the plan would change, in fact the plan was only less than 3 months old and there were already state and federal changes going on so the dynamics of what they were about to do was exciting. She said there was never that intent by the Task Force for the City to fully fund those recommendations. She said they had seen this as they had behaved in the past 2 ½ years and that was as partners with this community to address an issue that had been on the plate of the citizens for a decade.
In closing comments, she read a statement that was written by one of the Task Force Members which read:
“It seems to me that it would be the one moment for all parts of the community to come together in recognizing our common responsibility for dealing with homelessness. You could say that the Task Force saw this as a time to recognize what they shared and that they are united in support of the plan. We may differ along the way in the future, about implementation, but coming together in agreement on the goals of the plan is a good thing and we should be pleased with the plan. The plan builds from strengths and existing service providers and it builds in the strengths of a passionate community and as we all agreed, in recent study session, this plan is about people.”
Mayor Highberger thanked the Task Force for all their hard work and he was glad that they were taking steps to move forward. He said his understanding of the plan was that it was a framework for future work to try and end homelessness in this community. He said he certainly did not see that the City would be able to fund all of those recommendations in the plan, and a lot of that funding would need to come from private sources, but the City Commission would be doing what would be feasible. He said he supported adopting the resolution.
Commissioner Rundle echoed the thanks to the Task Force for their efforts. He said he felt that he did the least amount of work but there had been tons of work that the members did on behalf of the Task Force. He said he looked forward to seeing the Task Force as they moved forward in implementing this plan and talking with the newly appointed Commission.
Commissioner Hack said the City Commission could not thank the Task Force enough. She said the Task Force was comprised of a diverse group of people along with diverse opinions that came together to form a plan. She said the group came up with a program and a process that would help this community move forward. She said she appreciated that this plan was a wrap around program which provided relief, rehabilitation, and accountability. Adoption of this resolution and report indicated that the City Commission was in support and that it would allow for the public/private partnerships and the types of things that could happen as a result of the City Commission blessing that report and moving this issue forward.
Commissioner Schauner echoed thanks to the Task Force’s’ work. He said the plan was anything but fixed in stone and as much work that had been done to prepare this plan for City Commission’s consideration, his sense was that was just the tip of the iceberg of the work it would take to implement, fund, and make the plan a success. He said he was somewhat concerned that if their goal was to eradicate homelessness in Lawrence, they were going to set themselves up for a disappointing task. Clearly, there was a lot to be done and it would be a never ending type of process. If success was complete eradication of homelessness they would be disappointed, but that did not mean they should not try.
Vice Mayor Amyx thanked the Task Force for all their hard work. He said Commissioners took an oath to promise to protect the public, health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this community and he realized that there were people who needed help. He said there would be a lot of discussion on how to proceed in this matter.
Commissioner Rundle said as often happened, the City Commission had not mentioned and thanked staff who had also been along for the ride.
Moved by Hack, seconded by Rundle, to adopt Resolution No. 6608 (as amended), adopting the June 2005 plan of the Task Force on Homeless Services and establish the Community Commission on Homelessness (The “Commission”). Motion carried unanimously.
(13)
Consider adoption of Resolution No. 6602 concerning City policies for traffic calming devices; Ordinance No. 7906 concerning traffic rules for traffic calming devices, and Ordinance No. 7901 concerning installation and maintenance fee for landscaping at traffic calming devices.
David Corliss, Assistant City Manager/Legal Services Director, said Resolution No. 6602, concerned traffic calming devices and establishing policies and priorities as to how the City Commission would analyze and fund those requests.
He said Ordinance 7906 responded to the need that staff believed to place into effect in the City’s laws, clear traffic rules for traffic calming devices.
Ordinance No. 7901 was drafted in response to an issue that the City had this summer as far as the installation and maintenance costs for landscaping of traffic circles.
David Woosley, Traffic Engineer, presented information regarding Resolution 6602. He said this resolution combined several different items. It combined the existing policy that was already in place on speed humps and speed cushions. It added other traffic calming devices and it also put into place a priority ranking system for the installation of approved traffic calming devices.
Some of the things that had changed since the City Commission last saw the Traffic Calming Policy was that there was a concern by some residents of West Lawrence that in some cases, none of the criteria was met to 100 percent, but up to a certain percentage on several different criteria and those residents asked for wording that would cover that issue. He said in the resolution under Section 3, Traffic Calming Device Policy, A and B, staff added a lesser criteria for both that read: “Where no single condition is satisfied, but where any two of 1, 2, 3 or 4 above are satisfied to the extent of 80 percent or more of the stated values.” He said if 100 percent of the speed or volume was not met, but if 80 percent was met, then that that would be considered as meeting the criteria.
Another issue that was different was that staff had made sure that the percentage of adjacent owner that took to install and remove traffic calming devices was the same which was at 70 percent. Previously one was at 50 percent and the other at 70 percent and it made sense that if it took 70 percent to get a device installed, then it should take 70 percent to remove that device.
Also, staff made it clearer in the resolution that the City Commission had the authority to either install or remove traffic calming devices. He said those were the changes on the Traffic Calming Policy.
He said the ranking system was also added to the resolution. The City Commission had requested that ranking system be added to help the City Commission prioritize different areas downtown. He said staff tried to make that ranking system as simple as possible because they had limited staff to review that system. He said some cities had much more elaborate systems, but they had full time staff that did nothing but traffic calming. He said he thought their ranking system covered everything that needed to be looked at such as the speed of the traffic, volume, crash history, whether there were sidewalks along one side of the street or both sides, official school crosswalks in the area, or if there were other pedestrian generators such as recreation centers or something else that might be along that corridor that would make it a higher priority than another location.
Toni Wheeler, Staff Attorney, presented the proposed Ordinance 7906. She said this ordinance was an attempt to modernize the Standard Traffic Ordinance by including definitions for devices that were in use in this community such as the roundabout and traffic calming circle. The ordinance also deleted a reference to Rotary Traffic Islands which were not in use in this community and were rarely used in design today. The ordinance clarified that traffic was to stay to the right in roundabouts however, for traffic calming circles an individual could make a left turn in front of a traffic calming circle if it was safe to do so.
Commissioner Schauner said for the casual driver, he asked how one could differentiate between a roundabout and a traffic calming circle.
Corliss said the key distinction that he had learned was that a roundabout had a channelized entrance and a traffic calming circle did not. A traffic circle was only the circle, but roundabout had medians when approaching that roundabout.
Commissioner Schauner said that was a straight forward answer, but how would staff educate the public. He said he knew that there was direction on the City’s website.
Mike Wildgen, City Manager, said staff placed brochures in all of the water bills at least once this year.
Commissioner Schauner asked how that information would get to the student population who did not receive water bills. He suggested that staff find someway to get that information out to the student population.
Corliss said staff was making strides on signage. One of the key issues in the ordinance was that state law did not reflect that there were no rotary islands in Kansas. He said there were roundabouts and traffic calming circles, but state law did not respond on how to navigate through those types of traffic calming devices. He said to some extent the City would be having visitors to this community that not necessarily have the benefit of a lot of experience with this issue, but clearly there were laws.
Vice Mayor Amyx said with the language in the resolution that stated how to maneuver roundabouts and traffic circles, a person would not receive a ticket for turning left in front of a traffic calming circle.
Wheeler said that thinking was correct. She said the preference was that a person went around a traffic circle, but if it was safe and the traffic was light, a person could make a left turn and not receive a ticket.
Vice Mayor Amyx said that left turn movement for traffic circles was what needed to be advertised.
Mayor Highberger said from Corliss’ explanation was that if a person could make a left, it could be done without receiving a ticket.
Chuck Soules, Public Works Director, said a person would not be able to make a left in a roundabout, unless a person drove over the median.
Commission Rundle said he had a comment this week from a neighbor who stated Woosley’s willingness to attend a meeting with neighbors about traffic calming, at any time. He said the neighbor said that Woosley was extremely helpful.
Corliss presented proposed Ordinance 7901. He said roundabouts were likely only to appear on collector streets and were likely to be installed either by the City or through a benefit district mechanism for example. The recently approved project for Monterey Way and Peterson would have the benefit district paying for the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Monterey Way and Peterson. Included in that project costs was landscaping for that roundabout and the City assumed that continuing responsibility for the maintenance of that roundabout. As the City had begun to require traffic calming devices, as part of development, staff had the issue of landscaping of those traffic calming devices.
He said earlier in the summer, there had been an agreement on the City Commission’s consent agenda with the developer for Fox Chase South which was along Harvard Road between Wakarusa and George Williams Way and there were six traffic calming circles that were required in that subdivision. He said staff had a discussion with the developer about who should pay for the landscaping installation because it was not clear in the regulations and who should pay for the maintenance. Staff recommended, at that time, for that developer and recommended with this ordinance, that the City collect a one time fee from the development for the installation and maintenance of landscaping. Crystal Miles, Landscape Supervisor, said that the $1,500 collected per traffic circle was not sufficient to do the initial landscaping. He said the City was taking on the landscaping responsibility in perpetuity. The alternative was not acceptable in staff’s mind to require some type of Homeowner’s Association or trying to do something with a benefit district. He said Homeowner’s Association was difficult to regulate in this sense. He said the City had experience that Homeowner’s Association had a lot of staying power at the beginning of a development and then the Homeowner’s Association might not be around to try and maintain the landscaping. He said staff thought it made sense that the public accept that landscaping responsibility, the charge of a one time fee for the installation and maintenance of the landscaping.
Commissioner Rundle said if he understood correctly this requirement would only apply to a traffic circle and not a roundabout.
Corliss said correct.
Commissioner Schauner asked if the requirement only applied to traffic circles because roundabouts, being on collector streets, were considered a public improvement at a different level than the traffic circle.
Corliss said yes. He said landscaping would be required as part of the plans for a collector street roundabout whether if a roundabout was in a benefit district or privately installed and then the City immediately accepted the maintenance responsibility.
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to adopt Resolution No. 6602, establishing City policies regarding traffic calming devices and a priority ranking system for evaluation. Motion carried unanimously. (14)
Moved by Schauner , seconded by Hack , to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7906, amending the Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas Cities, 2004 Edition, enacting sections 17-103.1 and 17-107.2 of the Code of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, 2003 Edition and amendments thereto. Motion carried unanimously. (15)
Moved by Schauner, seconded by Hack, to place on first reading Ordinance No. 7901, landscaping and maintenance fee requirements regarding traffic circles. Motion carried unanimously. (16)
Public Comment:
During public comment, Al Hack, Lawrence, said he would like to thank the City Commission for their service. He said living with a Commissioner gave a unique perspective of responsibilities and time spent.
He also thanked the After School Alliance. He said it appeared that the 2006 Budget was in place and he sincerely thanked the City Commission for the wisdom and vision that they showed in helping to support the After School Programs. The City Commission had helped out immensely with the decisions that they had endorsed through outside agencies funding as well as the Special Alcohol Tax. He said on behalf of the After School Alliance which was a collaboration of about 6 or 8 great organizations, that had come together to make sure after school funding was continued.
Finally, he thanked the City Commission for roundabouts because roundabouts worked.
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Schauner, to adjourn at 8:05p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
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Dennis Highberger, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Grant Agreements – FAA medium intensity runway lighting system for Runway 15-33 & Taxiway “A”, Lawrence Municipal Airport for $256,538.
2. Contract – Engineer services for Harper (northbound) at 23rd, to BG Consultants for $28,909.85
3. Sale – Forklift & crane thought GovDeals.
4. Sale – Surplus vehicles through e-bay.
5. Ordinance No. 7822 – 2nd Read, rezone (Z-06-25-04) 1.3363 acres, from A to O-1, SW corner of W 6th & Folks.
6. Ordinance No. 7915 – 2nd Read, 2005 STO, regulating traffic.
7. Ordinance No. 7916 – 2nd Read, alcoholic beverages, Watson Park, Sept 4th.
8. Ordinance No. 7917 – 2nd Read, alcoholic beverages, Burcham Park, Sept 10th.
9. Resolution No. 6607 – GOB & Temp Note Sale, Sept 13th.
10. Site Plan – (SP-06-46-05) 500 Locust.
11. City Manager’s Report.
12. Lawrence Farmers’ Market Report.
13. Resolution No. 6608 – Adopt 2005 Plan, establish Community Commission on Homelessness.
14. Resolution No. 6602 – Adopt polices regarding traffic calming devices & priority rankkng system for evaluation.
15. Ordinance No. 7906 – 1st Read, STO, 2004 Edition, Section 17.103.1 & 17-107.2.
16. Ordinance No. 7901 – 1st Read, landscaping & maintenance fee requirements regarding traffic circles.