CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending October 24, 2014

First week of residential recycling collection

The city’s Solid Waste Division began recycling collection service for single-family and multi-family residences on Tuesday, October 21, 2014. Since most of the 24,000 recycling carts were delivered in September, city crews are prepared to see full recycling carts and extra recyclable materials outside the carts during the first few weeks of collection. The first day of collection the city collected approximately 100,000 pounds (equivalent to 50 tons) of recyclable materials from residences in the Tuesday week #1 service area. The city’s outreach for the new program continues as residents are reminded to check the cart lid for the list of recyclable materials accepted, to place their recyclable materials loosely in the cart (not bagged), and to set out their recycling carts at least three (3) feet from other carts, mailboxes, parked cars, and any other items.  Photos

Kansas Forestry Service Assessment of Douglas County Forest Resources

The Kansas Forestry Service conducted an assessment of Douglas County’s urban and rural forests in the summer of 2012 as part of an ongoing project to assess the forest resource along the I-70 Corridor. The Kansas City region was assessed earlier and the Douglas County field work was completed in the summer of 2012. Data from 190 random plots were analyzed using the U.S. Forest Service’s i-Tree Eco model to quantify the functions and values of the trees in Douglas County.

The report which was generated from this assessment, Assessing Urban Forest Effects and Values: Douglas County, Kansas is available at the following link:  http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/46031 While the title refers to urban forests, the entire County was included in the assessment and analysis.

The report explains the methodology of the assessment and provides a review of the tree characteristics of Douglas County Forests, the ecological functions these trees provide, as well as potential insect and disease impacts. Some of the results of the report include:

• Douglas County contains approximately 14 million trees.
• Approximately 25 percent of the county contains tree and shrub canopy.
• The most common species are America elm, northern hackberry, eastern redcedar, Osage-orange, and honeylocust. 
• Trees with diameters less than 6 inches account for 66.8 percent of the population. Trees with diameters greater than 18 inches account for 4.7 percent of the population.
• Trees in Douglas County currently store about 1.7 million tons of carbon (6.4 million tons CO2)—valued at $124 million. In addition these trees remove about 82,000 tons of carbon per year (300,000 tons CO2) –valued at 5.8 million per year, and about 3,870 tons of air pollution per year -valued at $17.7 million per year.

The Kansas Forest Service assessment provided information on  the composition of the forest resource, and ecosystem values associated with trees and woodlands in Douglas County which will be useful not only in meeting the education and outreach policies and strategies of the environment chapter of the Comprehensive Plan, but will also provide a framework for future policies, incentives, and regulations. 

920 Missouri Street Update

City staff and the owners of 920 Missouri Street have met to discuss options to develop the property given the neighborhood’s concerns for its development.  The attached memo provides an update on the owner’s plans.