Week ending July 7, 2018
Summer Food Service Program (Added 07/09/18)
Attached is updated information from June 2018 regarding participation in the Summer Food Service Program, which offers free breakfast and lunch meals to children in Lawrence.
Update on Police Facility Phasing and Priorities
Attached is an update on the Police Facility Phasing and Priorities.
Fire Station #1/Senior Center Project Update
The renovation of Fire Station 1 and the Senior Center is now ready to proceed having received clearance from the State of Kansas Historic Preservation Office. Several modifications to the original design were required at the direction of the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The lawsuit filed by one of the bidders of the project has been resolved in the City’s favor. The lawsuit and the design changes have caused delays in the project since the project bid was awarded in December 2017. City staff has received information from the contractor indicating several change orders necessary for the project as a result of the delays (primarily increases in project material cost) and redesign. Staff is carefully evaluating these items and will be providing the City Commission with a more details report in the near future.
May 2018 Monthly Building Permit Report
The Building Safety Division issued 251 building permits in May, with total construction for the month valued at $20,497,368. Total permit fees assessed for the month were $98,083, and total review fees assessed were $9,106. Permits were issued for 18 new residential projects, including 16 single-family dwellings and two (2) duplexes. Staff Report Monthly Permit Report Year-to-Date Summary
Lawrence Featured in New Case Study: Integrating Sustainability Targets into Strategic Plans
The City of Lawrence was recently profiled in a national case study about municipal strategic plans. Lawrence was selected because of its intentional integration of metrics and outcomes from the STAR Community Rating System, the leading sustainability framework and certification program in the United States, into the City Strategic Plan.
Lawrence achieved a 4-STAR Community Rating in late 2016, just ahead of the development of the City Strategic Plan. Going through the STAR certification process revealed reliable data and meaningful measures, which aligned with the seven Critical Success Factors in the Strategic Plan. In the end, 11 of the STAR Outcomes were included in the Strategic Plan.
Lawrence’s commitment to sustainability continues to be recognized at a national level, due in part to the integration of sustainability into policies, programs, and service delivery.
The full case study is available here:
Plastic Bag Update
The City Commission requested an update from the Sustainability Advisory Board regarding its prior discussion on the topic of single use plastic bags. The Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) has discussed the topic of plastic bag bans and fees several times in the last three years. The most recent discussion was in June 2017, when a plastic bag fee was discussed at length. SAB ultimately decided that the initiative didn’t fit within the scope of SAB’s priorities around land use, water, and energy. The SAB will bring up the issue again at its meeting on July 11 and will forward any recommendation on the topic later this year.
Supreme Court Decision on Sales Tax
The Supreme Court recently ruled that a law in South Dakota that allows the state to collect sales taxes from out of state retailers was constitutional. However, before Lawrence would see any benefit from this ruling, the State of Kansas would first need to pass similar legislation to take advantage of the Supreme Court decision. Staff does not anticipate that the City would see any significant increase in taxes in the 2019 budget due to this ruling. See attached memo for more information.
Updated Advisory Board Applicant Forms
Resolution No. 7224, which adopts standard policies and procedures relating to Advisory Boards and Committees of the City of Lawrence, Kansas, identifies a goal of the City to have advisory board and committee members reflect the diversity of the community regarding income level, race, sex, religion, color, national origin, ethnicity, age, ancestry, familial status, gender identity and sexual orientation. The policy further states that from time to time, the City Manager’s Office may gather voluntary information from advisory board/committee members to ensure progress toward this goal.
In order to assist the Mayor and City Commission in obtaining the goal of diversity on the City advisory boards, the same list of questions that were submitted to all the City advisory boards in the Spring of 2018 (see attached survey) are now included on the application form for all City advisory boards, with a note that answering the questions are strictly voluntary. This will enable the Mayor and City Commission to take into account this diversity information, if provided, as appointments are made to various boards and commissions of the City.
Future Agenda Items
Attached (updated 07/06/18), please find a summary of future agenda items.
Future Work Session Items
Attached, please find a summary of future work session items.