CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending April 27, 2012

Public meetings regarding Oread overlay districts and design guidelines are under way

The Planning Office along with Urban Development Services has begun the process of developing overlay districts and design guidelines for 5 areas within the Oread neighborhood. These were recommended as one of the initiatives of the Oread Neighborhood Plan which was approved by the City Commission in 2010. The kick-off meeting was held on Friday, April 13 at the Lawrence Public Library and approximately 30 people were in attendance.  A Community workshop was held on Saturday, April 14^th at the Carnegie where approximately 17 people participated.  The next workshop meeting will be held on Thursday, May 3^rd from 4-6 pm at the Lawrence Public Library Auditorium.  For more information, visit www.lawrenceks.org/pds/draft_plans.  

Ballfield usage report

The Parks and Recreation Department has prepared the attached report regarding the usage of baseball and softball facilities, at the request of Commissioner Amyx. We continue to see high use of these outdoor facilities by the Youth Sports Division (March 1 to July 31) and Adult Sports Division (April 1 through October 15), with the bulk of usage being seen in May through July when both youth baseball/softball and adult softball/kickball are running games and practices simultaneously. We currently have 30-total fields for youth and adult sports combined; 7-practice fields and 23-game fields – 7-game fields primarily used by adults and 16-game fields primarily used by youth. Twenty of the fields are lighted. 

The addition of fields to the inventory and partnering with others in recent years has accommodated the current need. Having enough practice fields for teams becomes the main concern, especially during the peak time of the youth season (May through July).  As we’ve taken over the competitive youth baseball/softball leagues, we’ve been able to adequately accommodate our current and immediate future needs, but the major thing we have difficulty accommodating are both weekday and weekend tournaments because of the amount of time devoted to both our adult recreational leagues and our recreational and competitive youth sports leagues.

City to co-sponsor Community Health Needs Assessment Community Forum

The City will sponsor, along with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, two community forums to obtain feedback on the recently completed Douglas County Community Health Assessment Report.  The report was presented to a group of stakeholders on Monday, April 23.  The following themes were identified in the report:  lack of access to affordable, healthy foods; limited access to dental services; insufficient access to health care and other services; poverty/few job opportunities; limited access to safe, affordable housing; abuse of alcohol; lack of access to health insurance coverage; disparities in health care outcomes and quality of life;  inadequate access to mental health services; limited knowledge of available health and other services; lack of physical activity; inadequate transportation linking people to services, jobs and recreation; prevalence of abuse and intimate partner violence.  Forums will be held at the Community Health Facility on May 9 at 3:30 and May 17 at 7:00 p.m. 

Fire Medical Department Strategic Plan

The Fire Medical Department completed a strategic plan that was written in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CDSE) Fire and Emergency Service Self-Assessment program. It is intended to guide the organization within established operational and financial parameters set forth by the city.  We utilized a Community-Driven Strategic Planning process to go beyond just the development of a document.  The plan, with its foundation based in community and membership input, revisits the department’s mission, values and vision and set forth a continuous improvement plan that offers a road map for a justifiable and sustainable future.