CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Week ending April 24, 2015
Indian Hills Neighborhood Public Meeting:
An Indian Hills neighborhood public meeting was held on April 22, 2015 to discuss traffic on 27th Street, from Iowa Street to Louisiana Street. Staff Report - Updated 04/27/15
5th Annual Downtown Olympic Shot Put Event:
The Visitor and Convention Bureau in conjunction with the City of Lawrence Public Works Street Division successfully complete the 5th annual downtown Olympic shot put event. Video
151 Tons of Compost and Woodchips Distributed During Second Spring Sale Event
The City’s Solid Waste Division sold 155 cubic yards (85 tons) of compost and 230 cubic yards (66 tons) of woodchips during the second Spring Compost and Woodchip Sale held on Saturday, April 18th. One hundred eighty-five (185) vehicles participated during this second sale event and a total of $1,970 was generated during the sale. Compost and woodchips were sold for $10 per bucket load which is approximately 2 cubic yards. Due to stormy weather conditions, event participation was lower than previous sales.
City Recycling Activities Report – First Quarter 2015
The Solid Waste Division collected 1,270 tons of single-stream recyclable materials during the first quarter of 2015. View full report of city’s single-stream recycling program data, the city’s other recycling and composting program data, and landfill data.
Vermont Street Bridge Watermain Inspection
On Friday April 17, 2015, Department of Utilities Staff, in coordination with KDOT, performed an exterior inspection of the 20” diameter steel watermain, which is attached to the underside of the Southbound Vermont Street Bridge. KDOT provided the Department access via one of their bridge inspection “snooper” trucks. The watermain was constructed with the bridges in 1977, and until this January when the new Kaw Water Treatment Plant Transmission Main was put in service, was the only watermain linking North Lawrence to the water treatment plants located on the South side of the Kansas River. Over the last few years the watermain has developed two small leaks at the North end. Both of these were repaired using external clamps.
The purpose of the inspection was to get an overall assessment of the exterior pipe and coating condition - photos. The pipe and coating are in generally good condition with few areas of coating failure and corrosion. One location of corrosion identified on the attached photos is in the area between the two previous repairs. This location appears to be indicative of a future leak, and the Department will be installing a clamp as a preventative measure.
Department Staff are continuing to evaluate additional condition assessment technologies which show promise in being able to locate, and quantify, areas of corrosion and pipe wall loss. At this time these are largely still in developmental stages, and several are not yet available for diameters as small as this 20” diameter pipe. As these technologies become available, Staff will establish a project for a more in depth assessment of this watermain.
City to host Budget 101 meeting for outside agencies
Each year the City receives inquiries from social service providers as well as other community groups interested in applying for City funds. In order to answer their questions and educate them on the process, the city will host a “Budget 101” meeting on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at 11:00 am in the City Commission Room at City Hall. In addition to an overview of the 2016 budget process, attendees will hear about the City’s revenue and expenditure projections for 2016. Application materials can be found here.
Planning and Development Services Annual Report Now Available
Planning and Development Services completed its 2014 annual report highlighting completed development applications and other project efforts (Added 04/24/15).