Education Act Affects Community College
James Pinick | March 3, 2006 04:00 PM | Link
An education act from 1999 continues to be felt at one local community college.
James Pinick | March 3, 2006 04:00 PM | Link
An education act from 1999 continues to be felt at one local community college.
Katherine Loeck | March 3, 2006 02:49 PM | Link
As the inmate population at the Douglas County jail continues to swell, the current space may not suffice, regardless of thousands spent last year.
Darla Slipke | March 3, 2006 01:50 PM | Link
Road maintenance is more costly this year, but that will not affect repair in Douglas County.
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Beth Breitenstein | March 3, 2006 01:38 PM | Link
A Local Jail Adds Two Doctors to the Staff to Secure Medical Safety
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Kimberly Lynch | March 3, 2006 12:32 PM | Link
The proposed increase in rental fees at the Douglas County Fairgrounds, may be helping the county, but has at least one group thinking about other options. Kim Lynch tells us more.
David Linhardt | March 3, 2006 12:30 PM | Link
City management has planned a town hall meeting March 6 to discuss the future of public safety in downtown Lawrence following the Granada shooting. But everyone agrees that there’s a problem. KUJH-TV’s David Linhardt explains how some business owners say the city shouldn’t overreact to sensational media coverage.
Matthew Doubrava | March 3, 2006 11:56 AM | Link
The Carnegie Library will be reopened to the public after it undergoes extensive renovations. However, the concern is that the proposed exansion to the north side may change the feel of the old building.
Nathan McGinnis | March 3, 2006 11:06 AM | Link
Lawrence elementary school students will see a significant change in next year's calendar.
Derek Korte | March 3, 2006 11:01 AM | Link
A Lawrence nonprofit roots music school hopes to use the vacant Carnegie Library in downtown Lawrence to accomodate its growing student enrollment.
Jennifer Denny | March 3, 2006 10:48 AM | Link
The Lawrence Transit System has experienced outstanding growth in the past few years, and ridership continues to increase as the system is recognized by the federal government.
Nicholas Nelson | March 3, 2006 10:38 AM | Link
Partners for Lawrence Athletics and Youth is nearing an end in its search for funding a feasibility study to assess whether or not the city needs more recreational space.
Bethany Bunch | March 2, 2006 06:12 PM | Link
The Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission voted unanimously to void housing developer, John McGrew, a bridge stipulation in The Woods on 19th housing complex Wednesday. The bridge would have served as a Rails-to-Trails access point.
Kelly Lanigan | March 2, 2006 05:50 PM | Link
Lawrence is a college town with a strong sense of community. K-U-J-H-T-V’s Kelly Lanigan shows how the Lawrence police department hopes that it can work with citizens to be a part of that community.
Carrie Wallace | February 26, 2006 01:58 PM | Link
Cal Santos, or “Haunted Cal”, is livid about a recent scary surprise. For over a year the house he rents at 1900 19th Street, ‘Haunted Kitchen,’ has hosted art, political and music events, and he is suddenly facing the possibility that those days may be over soon. “I feel like I’m in ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’”, he said, referring to the opening lines of the Douglas Adams novel when the hero wakes up to a bulldozer preparing to demolish his home. “Oh well,” he said, shrugging, “We’re gonna party ‘til they tear it down.”
The 19th and Louisiana intersection is the most dangerous in Lawrence, says David Woosley, Lawrence’s Director of Traffic Engineering. 31 crashes were reported between 2002 and 2004, five involving injuries. This is far above average and is near the critical rate of wrecks. If you imagine that many of these are because of young drivers peeling away from Lawrence High School, think again. Only five of these crashes, Woosley added, involved drivers under the age of 18.
During peak hours, traffic at the intersection backs up all the way to Massachusetts Street, said Terece Gorman, the City Engineer. Most of the accidents are left-turn related, and roundabouts solve this type of traffic problem, Gorman explained. The safest and best solution from an engineering standpoint, she said, was the roundabout proposal.
The City Comission rejected the $1.49 Million roundabout proposal in December because a roundabout would not continue to control rapidly growing Lawrence traffic for more than 15 years. The commissioners believed the plan was too expensive for the short-term remedy it provided.
BG Consultants, a regional engineering group paid $37,000 last month to work on this project, drafted another proposal. This proposal, centered around geometric improvements to the intersection, would cost an estimated $2.24 Million and as much as $3 Million according to a Memorandum by the Public Works Department. However, it would continue to handle traffic for years to come. Gorman doesn’t like it. “Capacity improvements don’t affect the safety issue,” Gorman said.
A public meeting to discuss the proposal gathered about twenty residents together last week. Unfortunately, those the proposal affects weren’t there.
If this proposal is accepted by the City Commisison and put on the capital improvements plan, Haunted Cal might need a new nickname, because the city will be paving over the Haunted Kitchen. Seventeen other properties would be affected, and four homeowners would have to sell their homes to the city. The intersection will also be closed for up to a year.
Todd Giles has owned his home at 1900 Ohio for two years. Giles is pursuing his Ph.D while teaching at KU. He enjoys walking to his office every day. His neighbors across the street, Yoon and Laurenza Soung, bought their home last September. Laurenza gave birth to the Soung’s first child in October.
Neither knew about this proposal, although the city will buy Giles’ home and will take almost $10,000 of the Soung’s land if the City Comission approves it. Yoon and Laurenza swear they never got a postcard about the public meeting. Giles doesn’t think he did either.
However, Giles believes the project is justified. “I could bitch and moan and say it’s stupid, but the city could really use this, and there are only four homes…the proposal certainly seems to make sense.” Somewhat sarcastically, Giles added, “It would have been nice if they would have informed the residents a little more clearly than they did.”
When asked why those who might be asked to remit property were not specifically told about the plan, David Hanby of BG Consultants explained that the draft proposal is “only a project, only drawings on paper, until it’s funded.” He said he saw no reason to tell those people specifically, and thought postcards sent to residents about the public meeting were sufficient.
While the city hasn’t funded a complete plan yet, City Commissioner Mike Amyx says that the intersection ranks as a very high priority because it is such a dangerous intersection. Because there are so few East-West thoroughfares, he said, 19th and Louisiana must be addressed.
As he surveyed the geometric improvements draft proposal for the first time, Amyx said that the Commission will look at this as they do any other project: it’ll go on the capital improvements list while the city looks for ways to fund it. Regarding the eminent domain issue, Amyx said that the city makes ‘a big-time concerted effort’ to avoid eminent domain.
Chuck Soules, the Director of Public Works, agreed. “We’ll try to negotiate anywhere we can,” he said. “We really want to avoid eminent domain.”
Shocked residents will barely have time to double-take as they prepare to comment at a City Commission meeting to discuss this proposal, which will likely happen next month.
James Pinick | February 24, 2006 05:00 PM | Link
Douglas County officials are tired of waiting. By now, they say, they should not have to pay for students attending community colleges.
In 2005 the county spent $361,177 on community college out-district tuition, said Craig Weinaug, Douglas County administrator. Even though that’s only one percent of the counties’ budget, it should have been phased out by 2003, said Weinaug.
“We are not responsible to maintain the community colleges,” said Weinaug. “We have no control or responsibility for universities or community colleges, nor do we want it.”
Higher Education Coordination ActThe Higher Education Coordination Act was passed in 1999 that was supposed to eliminate the out-district tuition counties had to pay by 2003.
Out-district tuition is defined by Tom Sloan, State Rep. 45th District, as the money paid by counties not having a community college to the community college that is educating students from the paying counties.
That phase out has not happened.
According to Sheila Frahm, Executive Director of the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees Kansas Association of Community College Trustees (KACCT), the plan was supposed to take four years to complete. After two years the plan was frozen due to a shortage of state revenue, said Frahm.
Judy Moler, General Counsel for the Kansas Association of CountiesKansas Association of Counties, is frustrated.
“It (out-district tuition phase out) was a promise made by the legislature to be in place by 2003, now it is 2006 and it is still here,” said Moler.
In Douglas County, out-district tuition is the only expenditure that the county has no control over within their budget, said Weinaug. In 2000 Douglas County was paying 24 dollars for every credit hour that a Douglas County resident enrolled at a community college. At this time, the county was paying almost $6-700,000 in out-district tuition to community colleges, said Weinaug.
Now, the out-district tuition is down to six dollars a credit-hour with 2006 “supposed” to be the last year of the phase-out, said Frahm. Rep. Sloan also echoed these thoughts.
According to Rep. Sloan, the state spent $191.1 million in total higher education in FY 2006, with $91.1 million going to community colleges. In the end of 2004, all of the 19 community colleges compiled $6,46,300 of out-district tuition at six dollars a credit hour said Frahm.
Most Douglas County residents that attended a community college went to Johnson County Community College in 2005, according to Weinaug. Of the $361,177 spent on out-district tuition to community colleges, $248, 052 went to JCCC, said Weinaug. The total out-district tuition billed to all 15 counties by JCCC in 2005 was $500,000, according to Frahm. MargE Shelley, Director of Enrollment Management at JCCC, said that currently there are 1,276 students this spring enrolled from Douglas County and the county has been billed $189,000 at six dollars a credit-hour.
Frahm said that the KACCT is supportive of the phase out of out-district tuition as long as everything goes as planned.
“If the state makes up the money than we should be fine,” said Frahm.
Frahm and the KACCT, a not-for-profit organization, watch out for everything involved with the 19 community colleges. The Higher Education Coordination Act just changed the fact that the money now comes from the Board of Regents as opposed to the Board of Education, according to Frahm. The community colleges have dealt with the loss of out-district tuition by an off-set of state aid, but the state aid has not been as much as promised due to a tight state budget, said Frahm.
The lack of state revenue has caused counties, such as Douglas County, to continue to pay out-district tuition. With this in mind, county officials are still not happy paying for something they have no control over, but one thing is certain according to Weinaug.
“We don’t think we are the appropriate way to fund community colleges,” said Weinaug.
Michelle Tran | February 24, 2006 04:29 PM | Link
Lawrence City Commissioners were divided over Delaware Street Commons request that the City pay for 90 percent of the project's public improvement costs. linktext
"This is a lot of money, it's not gonna happen," Commissioner Mike Amyx said at the city commission meeting on Tuesday.
The Public Works Department estimated the project's public improvements to total $168,000, making the request from the city $151,200. Rich Minder, Delaware Street Commons Treasurer, presented the request to the city commission. linktext
"We are pioneers of community development asking for financing and participation," Minder said, "It is a bold project and a bold request."
The Delaware Street Commons project will be the first cohousing community in the Midwest. Cohousing communities center around the idea of a collaborative living environment. They first came to the U.S. from Denmark in the early 1980s through the support of American architects, Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett. The physical layout of the community is designed by future residents of the neighborhood so that it promotes sustainable and cooperative living space. The Lawrence cohousing members purchased 2.2 acres on Delaware Street, between 12th and 13th streets, and are in the process of obtaining financing for construction. linktext
Mayor Dennis "Boog" Highberger questioned the precedence that might be created if the City were to grant the Delaware Street Commons request.
"What is the policy justification for this project, and not others?" Highberger said, "I can't find reason to spend that much money for years and years."
Minder supported his request by emphasizing how the cohousing project is so unique that it would put Kansas on a national map.
"This is an alternative model of how to do community development and urban design," Minder said, "Supporting this kind of development shows that Lawrence is open to diversity."
According to Minder, the 2.2 acres is valued at $455,000 as it stands today. After construction of the cohousing community is completed, its appraisal value climbs to $3.35 million. If the property is fully developed, Minder anticipates its value will actually exceed $3.35 million.
"We need to look at the value added to the community," Commissioner Sue Hack said, "Is it better for us to help or not help?"
While Minder's request departs from the City's development policy, the City has varied from its development policy to help with residential development in existing neighborhoods, such as the recent construction of 4th Street, east of Maine Street. According to Kansas state law, the City could pay up to 95 percent of the public improvement costs.
"My main concern are future projects of a similar nature," Amyx said, "We need to be very careful about it."
Although Highberger and Amyx voiced concern about the precedence the Delaware Street Commons request might set, Commissioners David Schauner and Mike Rundle asked if the Delaware Street Commons could be a Neighborhood Revitalization Project.
"This strikes me as a the kind of individual initiative that would inspire others," Schauner said, "These folks have got guts; they are investing their own money. We need to give them serious consideration."
Minder and the other Delaware Street Commons members hope to secure financing so that they can begin construction in the next month, whether or not they receive support from the City. While the commissioners expressed mixed feelings about the City's role in the Delaware Street Commons project, Minder is optimistic for the upcoming hearing. At the hearing, City staff will report how much tax will be generated on the property when it is fully developed as opposed to its current state.
"We will have some figures to work with that might indicate that we could participate at something like 20 to 25 percent," Hack said, "I would be comfortable with that."
According to Dave Corliss, assistant city manager, no date has been set for the hearing.
Derek Korte | February 24, 2006 04:25 PM | Link
A city department and a nonprofit music academy are competing to use the vacant Carnegie Library at Ninth and Vermont.
Each group argues it would use the space for cultural and recreational opportunities that will enrich downtown Lawrence.
“Between the Carnegie building, the Arts Center, Liberty Hall, and Watkins’ Museum, we are going to have a cultural mecca that is unique to this city,” said Thom Alexander, executive director of Americana Music Academy.
“We turn away upwards 100 inquiries for the gazebo space in South Park for weddings and receptions. This facility could help accommodate those needs. It would be a great place for receptions,” said Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department and Americana Music Academy are the two remaining groups being considered to use the building.
The city commission is considering a design for the expansion of the Carnegie Library, vacant since the Lawrence Arts Center relocated in 2002. A proposed addition would add about 1,600 square feet onto the north side of the 10,000 square foot structure. The addition of an elevator and upgraded rest rooms are necessary for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. City officials expect the project to cost about $700,000. A portion of the city budget will pay for the renovations.
Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, said the city commission should consider those public funds when selecting the future occupant.
“The city will be spending tax dollars to bring this facility back to useful space. Part of our argument is that if tax dollars are going to pay for this project, we feel that it should stay in the public arena,” DeVictor said.
The department currently has offices in the Community Building, the East Lawrence Center, Holcomb, and Prairie Park. Although the building would not be large enough to house all of the department’s operations, DeVictor said the extra space would relieve demands in other facilities around town.
Among other potential users, DeVictor recently met with a square dance group interested in the space.
The city has agreed to pay for the building’s expansion, but the occupant will be required to cover the operationg costs. Mayor Dennis “Boog” Highberger said each group’s finances are a key criteria for the city commission’s decision.
“One thing we are concerned about is their financial stability and having the resources to keep up on maintenance and operating costs,” Highberger said.
DeVictor said the city would include operating costs, such as staffing and furnishing the structure, into the Parks and Recreation Department’s budget.
“We are part of the city. From our point of view, we would request a budget from the city commission to pay for the operations,” DeVictor said.
He predicted the department could rent space to outside groups to recoup some operating costs.
DeVictor said Park and Recreation’s presence downtown would help Lawrence by bringing people into the area.
Thom Alexander believes his organization—Kansas’ only nonprofit roots music school—would help downtown in much the same way.
“Right now, I could imagine bringing 200-400 people per week downtown who don’t go down there,” Alexander said.
The academy has a staff of 39 professional musicians who teach music lessons to about 1,300 students from Lawrence and the surrounding areas. Alexander expects that number to exceed 1,500 at the end of this year.
The academy has outgrown its current location on the 1400 block of Massachusetts St. Inadequate space limits the amount of programs the academy is able to offer, Alexander said.
“We’ve had to severely cut-back on our percussion classes,” he said.
Their current location does not provide well-insulated rooms to contain the sound, which disrupts the other lessons. The academy lacks space to relocate the percussion classes, Alexander said
Despite limited space, Americana does not turn away students—enrollment has nearly tripled since Alexander founded the organization in 2002. The group has found creative, if inconvenient, ways to accommodate growing student demands. For example, instructors conduct lessons out of their homes. Alexander said his organization needs the Carnegie Library facility to add new programs and offer better services to its students.
If awarded the facility, Alexander said the academy would be able to consolidate all of its classes into one building and provide proper rehearsal space for its various music courses.
Alexander hopes to receive the building rent-free.
“In return, the city wouldn’t be required to pay for the monthly upkeep of the building,” Alexander said.
But Mayor Highberger said he would prefer that the group pay the city rent, although he did not specify a price.
Alexander plans to finance operating costs primarily through student fees, donations and grants. In 2004, the academy collected about $68,000 in student program fees. In addition, the organization has received nearly $25,000 in grants over the last four years.
Alexander said he would consider occasionally renting space to public and other nonprofit organizations that can’t afford the rental prices in private buildings such as Liberty Hall.
Mayor Dennis “Boog” Highberger is undecided about who should receive the Carnegie Library space. He said it makes sense for the city-owned building to remain public, although the public vs. private issue is not his main concern.
“Parks and Rec has identified several needs. We might be able to accommodate their needs elsewhere,” Highberger said.
The mayor said both groups would benefit the community and downtown Lawrence.
“Certainly both are strong proposals,” Highberger said.
Mike Wildgen, city manager, expects the expansion project to begin next June. It should be complete sometime next year, Wildgen said.
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department and Americana Music Academy will defend their proposals before the city commission at a study session March 9.
Marla Keown | February 24, 2006 03:48 PM | Link
Everyday, children get lost in the fun of playing at Hobbs Park. Tony Doria, Lawrence sophomore, can remember Hobbs Park being the place to play in elementary school. “Our school’s playground got boring fast. During recess we’d run over to Hobbs Park for the better playground” Doria said. While Doria’s enthusiasm for better swings and slides may have slowed down as time passed, other local residents’ passions continue to keep running.
James Grauerholz, Burroughs Creek Area Plan (BCAP) study committee member, has filed his passion for playgrounds with Lawrence City Commission. As one of the leaders of the east side neighborhoods, Grauerholz hopes to add more green space to Hobbs Park. How? With the addition of Sale Barn site at 911 East 11th St.
Lawrence’s Sale Barn site found it’s beginnings through John Speer, an abolitionist, and a founder of Lawrence. Speer established a farmstead shortly after arriving to Lawrence in 1854 and soon began publishing one of the first newspapers of Kansas, which led to today’s Lawrence Journal-World.
Speer was an avid abolitionist, and suffered greatly for his beliefs. On August 21, 1863 Speer lost two teenage sons and his entire publishing office during Quantrill’s infamous raid. Though narrowly escaping assassination, Speer’s abolitionism continued through the Civil War.
Once the Civil War ended, Speer formed a railroad partnership that became known as the Leavenworth, Lawrence and Galveston Rail Road. The tracks were built along the eastern edge of Speer’s land in 1868 and south to Ottawa. Eventually, the railroad endeavor failed and bankrupted Speer. In 1883, Speer left Lawrence and head west, spending his final years in Denver, Col.
Speer’s land was divided and subdivided after his bankruptcy. In the late 1930s, the Lawrence Livestock Sale Barn opened. The three-acre site served Lawrence-area livestock producers for 50 years before the changing market conditions caused its collapse in the spring of 1995.
The Sale Barn site became under new ownership in 1995. Mastercraft, Inc., owned by the Schwada family, purchased the land for industrial zoning. The new owners removed large amounts of soil for their company’s other construction projects. In 1996, the Schwada’s received a permit to demolish the rundown old sale barn. Currently the site is vacant.
For over three years, Mastercraft, Inc. has renewed its industrial zoning site plan. According to Grauerholz, Mastercraft, Inc “had approval for building, but they never broke ground, they just kept renewing.”
According to Michelle Leininger, Area/Neighborhood Planner for Lawrence Douglas Country Metropolitan Planning Office, continuous renewals may be a thing of the past. For now there are no statutory permits to stop owners from constant renewing, but there is a New Land Development Code coming to Douglas County. This code will provide an 18 month site plan, allowing only one six month extension. For companies like Mastercraft, Inc. this means that without breaking ground, the paper trail will have to start all over again.
The Burroughs Creek Area Plan study committee has already stopped the Schwada family from another industrial zoning extension. In Feburary of 2005, BCAP opposed Mastercraft, Inc.’s late request for a belated extension of the Sale Barn site. City commissioners sided with BCAP, finding Mastercraft, Inc. extension request past the due date. The extension was denied and is now up for sale for anyone will to pay a hefty chunk of change.
Grauerholz is hoping that Hobbs Park’s recent qualification as a historic site will influence the city to purchase the Sale Barn site. Since Hobbs Park was granted a city level historical site listing, then 250 square feet of land is allowed to be qualified. This means the Sale Barn site is well within the distance to also be apart of the historical site listing.
In May, Kansas Department of Transportation will announce the winner of the TE Grant. Many eastern Lawrence residents are hoping the Hobbs Park Expansion project will be titled the winner. With the financial help of the TE Grant, the city of Lawrence will have a higher chance of purchasing the Sale Barn site.
The TE Grant will help out Mastercraft, Inc. as well. In 2000, Mastercraft, Inc. was approved for industrial zoning, and had plans to make a warehouse. Over five years later, the Sale Barn site is nothing more than a pile of dirt. Neighborhoods took over the area instead of factories, which makes it difficult to sell the idea of a factory, office spaces, or warehouses. The TE Grant will give the city enough resources to take the industrially zoned land out of Mastercraft, Inc.’s hands and turn it into park property.
Almost a quarter of a million dollars will be granted to the winning project. For Hobbs Park, this means more than just slides and swings. The Sale Barn site could become part of Hobbs Park, adding even more history to the area. The added land is more than a playground for the children of Lawrence, it's history in the making.
Daniel Luppino | February 24, 2006 03:26 PM | Link
Libraries across Kansas are upset with a proposed state law that would prohibit the viewing of pornographic websites and circulation of R-rated movies to minors.
The bill, which won first round approval in the Kansas House of Representatives on February 8, would take the authority to make the decision on the circulation of these materials away from the local Library Boards.
“State statute in Kansas defines the local Library Board of Trustees as the governing body for the local library,” Bruce Flanders, Director of the Lawrence Public Library, said. “The Board is charged with setting policy for the local library, which is always done to meet local expectations for service.”
Flanders added that what may be a good decision in some parts of the state might not be seen the same way in a place like Lawrence or Kansas City.
“That's my philosophical problem with the proposed legislation,” Flanders said.
The penalty for violating the proposed law would be a withdrawal of state funding for the violating library. In Lawrence’s case, this would amount to about $60,000, a relatively small portion of the library’s funding, but one that Flanders said was still important.
“The restrictions would not be accepted by some public libraries, probably, who would choose to live without state funding rather than give up their local authority,” Flanders said. He did not think this would be the case in Lawrence, but had not yet spoken with the Library Board about that possibility.
The bill was first intended to deal with levies for property valuation of regional libraries, but was amended by Rep. Becky Hutchins, R-Holton, to include the restrictions.
Rep. Jene Vickrey, R-Louisburg, introduced the original bill and, although he would have preferred his bill be passed without controversy, agrees with the spirit of the amendment.
“If inappropriate material is there, we need to make sure children are protected from that material,” Vickrey said. He noted that the amendment was prompted by concerns in other Representatives’ districts which he agreed would necessitate some sort of policy.
Vickrey said that he would generally support the local Library Board’s authority and would hope that any problems could be solved without state intervention. But, he said, the law is necessary “if this is the only remedy for that situation.”
Hutchins introduced a similar proposal in 2004. That legislation was approved by the House but was not passed by the Senate. Vickrey is currently in negotiations to get the bill on the agenda of a Senate committee, but he knows that would not be enough to guarantee its passage.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if didn’t get past the Senate again,” Vickrey said.
One issue libraries have with the legislation is that they believe they are already doing enough to limit inappropriate materials.
“We basically focus on limiting access to explicit material on the Internet, since there is the equivalent of X or NC-17 rated material on the Internet,” Flanders said. “Beyond our own efforts, it is really up to parents to control the viewing and reading habits of their children.”
Flanders is also concerned with the logistics of implementing the R-rated movie policy and identifying minors at a library large enough to have automated circulation.
Flanders said that despite his understanding that the legislation is motivated by genuine concern rather than politics, he is worried about the message that would be sent if the law was passed.
“I think it has the potential to be a slippery slope,” Flanders said. “I would hate to see this legislation succeed, because it might embolden people to try to ban books."
Kimberly Lynch | February 24, 2006 03:05 PM | Link
A proposed increase in rental rates for buildings at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds is set to be finalized March 8 at the county commissioner’s meeting.
Bill Bell, Maintenance Director for Douglas County, says there are a few reasons for the proposed increase in rental rates. Some of these reasons include higher demand for renting the buildings and higher utilities.
One example of the increase in demand for renting buildings is the arena.
In 2000, the county took a gamble on building a new arena in the fairgrounds. The general feeling was that the arena would either become a white elephant, or would be a major success, Bell said.
As it turned out, the arena became a huge success. As a result the arena was quickly booked up.
“It’s very rare you won’t see an event going on in the arena on the weekends,” Bell said.
Since the arena can be booked months in advance, the building is limited in use to people who wait to schedule an event. The proposed fee restructuring is partially in response to this problem.
The deposit was increased on the arena to make people think twice before making a reservation way in advance, Bell said.
In addition, the deposit is also non-refundable if a group or individual decides to cancel their reservation.
However, if there were extenuating circumstances, such as a massive snowstorm, the deposit would be refunded, Bell said.
With the current rates, the county is getting back 25 percent of the operating and maintenance costs of the buildings. The proposed rate increases would recover 50 percent of the costs of operating and maintaining the fairground buildings.
In addition to the increased demand for the buildings, the price of utilities has skyrocketed. The utilities for the fairgrounds cost a little over $100,000 a year, Bell said.
Even with the increase in the rental rates it is still a losing business, Bell said.
Bob Johnson, Douglas County Commissioner, had a slightly different take on the proposed increases for renting the fair buildings.
The main concern of the county commissioners was that public money covers whatever costs the rental fees do not. When a commercial group such as the Swap Meet, rents the buildings, it is being used for something other than public service. In consequence, there is an extremely high subsidized rate.
The goal of the commission is to get 50 percent of the cost back of operating and maintaining the buildings that ensures that taxpayers are not too heavily subsidizing the fairgrounds, Johnson said.
After the goal of getting back 50 percent of the costs of operating the buildings is met, minor corrections might have to be made to the rental fees if utilities were to increase or other costs associated with the buildings increased.
The goal is not to cause people not to rent, but to make sure that they are certain they need the building and will not cancel their reservation, Johnson said.
Since the article about the proposed rental increases was published in the Lawrence Journal-World on Tuesday, Johnson has not heard from the public concerning the increases.
The implementation of rental fees for the fairground buildings is a fairly recent occurrence.
“It was only about four or five years ago that the county started to charge rental fees for the buildings,” Bell said.
Before the county charged rental fees, only a small deposit was required for the use of the buildings. However, since people weren’t paying they did not have as much of an incentive to take care of the buildings and clean-up properly.
When the rental fees were implemented there was a three-month period where people were upset at the new fees and did not rent much, Bell said.
Eventually, though people started to rent again.
Even with the new proposed rates, renting the fairgrounds, “Is still the best deal in town,” Bell said.
Although both Bell and Johnson tout the benefits of increasing the rental fees for the buildings, some renters of the buildings will be affected negatively.
One such person is Rosalee Rainbolt. Recently she and other individuals created a new square dance club called Happy Time Squares Dance Club. They currently meet in Building 21.
"It is a very big problem for us," Rainbolt said of the proposed increases for renting Building 21.
Currently the club is looking into other possibilities for meeting and dancing.
Since the fees will not increase for the rest of the year if put into effect, Rainbolt and her square dancing club will continue to rent Building 21.
If the club cannot find a new location, either membership fees will be increased or fundraisers will be utilized, Rainbolt said.
David Linhardt | February 24, 2006 02:45 PM | Link
A 27-year-old Eudora man couldn’t believe Lawrence Police simply seized his MAK-90 semiautomatic rifle from the trunk of his car. He thought the Second Amendment would have protected against such seizure.
The man had been trying to sell his gun at a pawnshop last Friday evening when police received a call about his rifle. It lay in the open trunk of the man's car, which was parked in a city lot at 825 New Hampshire. Police seized the weapon and cited the man for having a gun within 200 feet of a bar.
The citation came under the recent revision to city ordinance 7976. At the Lawrence Journal-World's website, the man posted his frustration anonymously on a message board.
“I would like to give my apologies to all of those people who live on Mass. Street . . . because all of their Second Amendment rights have been violated with the passing of this law,” he wrote. "I think that the comissioners, once again, passed a hasty, ineffectual law instead of the right law."
He declined to be identified for this story, citing his lawyer’s advice.
Guns, frustration, and a lack of consensus muddy the future of downtown safety. Lawrence residents, downtown business owners, and city management offer different views on increasing safety downtown and controlling weapons near nightlife spots.
Police, city managers: limit guns
On Feb. 14, City Commissions revised ordinance 7976, an amendment to city code 14-408 which prohibits possession of dangerous knives and firearms near alcohol-serving establishments. The ordinance was unclear about how close a weapon could be to a bar before it violated the code.
Scott Miller, a Lawrence city attorney, told Commissioners police had been hesitant about seizing fewer than 10 guns they had spotted downtown because they weren’t sure the weapons were in “close proximity” to drinking venues. The revision to ordinance 7976 now prohibits possession of a gun within 200 feet of a bar.
Kansas state senators passed Senate bill 418 earlier this month, which allows the state to issue licenses for citizens to carry concealed weapons. Governor Kathleen Sebelius has vetoed previous concealed-carry bills, but the Senate passed this most recent version with enough votes to override a veto. The bill is currently pending before the Federal and State Affairs committee in the Kansas House.
Rep. Barbara Ballard (D-Lawrence) flatly opposes the bill.
“Kansas has some of the most lenient gun laws in the nation,” Ballard said. “My constituents overwhelmingly are not in favor of concealed-carry.”
City Commissioner David Schauner said he doesn’t want to play catch-up when it comes to guns downtown. He also opposes concealed-carry laws.
“I think it’s a negative, period,” Schauner said.
Schauner also worries about self defense bills that allow a person to “shoot first and ask questions later.” House bill 2577, also pending before the House Federal and State Affairs committee, states that, without attempting to flee first, a person can use deadly force against to prevent “great bodily harm” or to stop someone from breaking into a house.
Some Lawrence residents favor such concealed-carry and self defense laws. Lisa Day, who lives in eastern Lawrence, has spent most of her life in northeastern Kansas. She said law-abiding citizens want to protect themselves.
“If criminals are afraid that their intended victims might be armed, they will think twice about committing those crimes," Day said. "Jail and prison don't scare them anymore. But death will.”
City Manager Mike Wildgen has invited business owners to a March 6 public meeting to generate ideas for keeping downtown safe.
“We’d like to know what their security issues are, and how downtown can be kept safe,” Wildgen said.
Business owners: don’t concentrate on isolated incidents
Eileen Strong, the owner of Strong’s Antiques and Aimee’s Coffee Shop, hopes the meeting can create common goals for increasing downtown safety.
“What I’d like to see the planners of Lawrence do is to take a non-partisan approach to improving Lawrence,” Strong said. “I think in the past we’ve seen a lot of individual agendas being pushed through.”
Commissioner Schauner has questioned continuing to approve liquor licenses for downtown bars, but Strong sees little progress on such ideas and she hopes lawmakers don’t focus merely on isolated crimes like the Granada shooting.
“I heard five years ago the City Commission isn’t issuing any more liquor licenses,” Strong said. “We constantly say we’re not going to do something, and then we do it. We don’t need Band-Aid solutions.”
At the Feb. 14 meeting, City Commissioners briefly mentioned possibly mandating closing times for bars. Jerry Neverve, co-owner of Red Lyon Tavern, said such ideas are ignorant.
“I think everybody downtown would fight that,” Neverve said. “This is a college town. If we try to curtail activity, it’s going to have a significant economic impact.”
Neverve also characterized the Granada shooting as an isolated incident.
“You have one unfortunate incident downtown, and people tend to overreact,” Neverve said. “The vast majority of places down here take care of their customers.”
Jennifer Denny | February 24, 2006 12:34 AM | Link
After discussing possible collaborative efforts between the City of Lawrence and the University of Kansas transportation systems, a feasibility study will be conducted beginning in April.
The study will outline a series of recommendations for operating public transportation in Lawrence and the University in the future.
The city’s public transportation system, the "T", is run by the city and financed by taxes, while a nonprofit board of KU students operates KU on Wheels, which is financed through student fees and fares. The study will provide a recommendation for governance of the system based on the willingness of the two parties to cooperate and the costs of coordination or consolidation, including an estimate of ridership, cash flow and capital expenditures, such as vehicles, parts, facilities and preventative maintenance, analysis, plus a five-year budget outline.
It will also provide potential operational models, identify the efficiencies and performance standards of the transit system, and identify possible fare structures and staffing levels.
“There will be public meetings to obtain feedback from the public, which includes students from the University, to make sure everyone's needs and concerns are taken into consideration and evaluated,” Cliff Galante, Public Transit administrator said.
Consultants will complete the work with guidance from the city and University’s Study Management Team made up of 10 individuals, five city representatives plus five University representatives.
“We anticipate it will take a consultant approximately six and a half to seven months to complete the scope of work,” Galante said, which means the study will not be completed until November or December.
However, the City is currently working with the University on acquiring vehicles to provide service to the new Park and Ride facility being built on West Campus for August 2006, but the service will be operated through the University.
Although the consultants will identify and quantify all the benefits, Galante said some immediate benefits are improved levels of service, such as service frequency, for riders and the city and University could share one maintenance facility to save money, as opposed to operating two separate facilities.
Other possibilities for users include joint bus passes that could be used on both systems, a reworking of routes to reduce duplication, and operational changes that could allow both systems to take advantage of economies of scale. The collaboration also might accommodate faculty and staff members better and address an ever-growing campus parking deficit.
Danny Kaiser, chairman of the Public Transit Advisory Committee, said, “If we are able to access federal funds for buses prior to the completion of the study, the city will be the official recipient of the funds and will collaborate on their use.”
City leaders have been interested in a merger since the T began in 2001, when the average daily ridership was 507 people. In 2004, the average was up to 1,061 people. On the other hand, KU on Wheels carries about 9,000 riders per day. For the T, the increase in ridership would reduce the approximately $950,000 in property tax revenue the city uses to subsidize the transit system.
Melissa Dimoush, a Lawrence resident, said, “I would want to make sure there was an equitable distribution of funds. I don’t want the kids to subsidize the bus system. If the costs were justified, I think it would be okay.”
This study is an ongoing effort between the City and the University. Community members and commissioners alike have wondered if Lawrence really needs two bus systems like the T and KU on Wheels, so in October 2005 city commissioners heard from KU officials and the Lawrence public transit administrator about ways the two systems could work together.
In 2004, the "T" started marketing to local and Haskell Indian Nations University students by allowing them to ride for half the normal 50-cent fare. For KU students who already own a KU on Wheels bus pass, they may purchase an addition "T" pass for $25.
Oswaldo Bravo, Lima, Peru, sophomore, does not have his own transportation at the University and would like to see a unified system that would help him navigate the city.
“It would be nice to have one system that could take students anywhere without having to worry about additional passes or fares,” Bravo said.
In the past, there was concern among KU officials that the University would lose too much control over how a new system would operate, but interest remains in a unified system because the University could gain money from the Federal Transit Authority to buy new buses for the campus system. The city already receives about $1 million a year from FTA, and it is unlikely they would fund two separate systems in Lawrence.
For now, Jessica Mortinger, transportation coordinator for KU on Wheels, says, “KU on Wheels will continue to operate a transportation system with the goal to get students to class on time.”
Kelly Lanigan | February 22, 2006 09:49 PM | Link
One KU student does not want to be identified. He wishes to be recorded simply as M.H.G. At the beginning of the semester, he trusted the local police. Two weeks ago, after being pulled over by a police officer for what he believes to be racial profiling, he is afraid he will be tracked down.
M.H.G. feels that the police stopped him for no reason other than the color of his skin. M.H.G. is from Saudi Arabia.
“He stopped me without my making any mistakes,” M.H.G. said.
Although he paid more than $200 in fines, M.H.G. is not concerned about money.
“It’s not about paying the money,” he said. “It’s about being afraid of driving the car.”
A newly formed Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board aims to educate police officers in order to keep racial profiling from occurring in Lawrence.
The main goal of the Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board is to advise the Lawrence police department. The board will help raise community awareness of race issues as well.
“The primary function of an advisory board is to act as a resource to the agency, lending expertise and support,” Kim Murphree, Lawrence police department spokesperson, said. “Most advisory boards assist agencies in building community understanding and awareness.”
Senate Bill 77 established the formation of the Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board. The bill states: “The purpose of the Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board is to advise and assist the city of Lawrence and its police department in policy development, education, community outreach and communications related to racial profiling.”
Required board duties include reviewing police department policies regarding racial profiling and making suggestions to the police chief about revisions to those policies. The board will also review police department’s racial profiling training, work with the police department on community awareness programs for racial profiling and advise the police department on community concerns about racial profiling.
The board was established not only to benefit the police department, but also the Lawrence community.
“The possible benefits for the community will depend upon the members of the advisory board,” Murphree said, “but these possibilities certainly could include an increased understanding of law enforcement procedures within the community.”
The Lawrence police department already offers Citizens Academy, a 36-hour course designed to bridge the gap between the police department and community members. The Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board will provide another link between police officers and citizens.
“The Lawrence police department supports community involvement and has long offered a Citizens Academy to foster education and understanding with Lawrence citizens,” Murphree said. “This advisory board is an extension of that commitment, and the department welcomes the association.”
Lawrence officials approved Senate Bill 77 last summer on July 1, 2005. The board was established as a preventative measure to keep racial profiling from occurring in Lawrence. There are no confirmed instances of this problem.
The bill defines racial profiling as, “the practice of a law enforcement officer or agency relying, as the sole factor, on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religious dress in selecting which individuals to subject to routine investigatory activities, or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial routine investigatory activity.”
The Lawrence Citizen Advisory Board will assist the Lawrence police department, which includes male and female employees of various ethnic groups, in operating without discrimination.
“The police department is concerned with conducting operations legally,” Scott Miller, city attorney, said.
Other Lawrence organizations, such as the Lawrence Municipal Airport and the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Lawrence program, have citizen advisory boards. These boards give an outside perspective to departmental issues.
“I think we need some mechanism outside the direct control of the police department to give citizens assurances about our police department,” Boog Highberger, Lawrence mayor, said in the Lawrence Journal-World last August.
Six members of the seven-member volunteer board were selected at the Feb. 2 city commission meeting. Miller said that meetings would likely begin as soon as the final board member is selected, although an exact date has not been set.
While M.H.G. believes that the new board will be effective preventing racial profiling, he is left afraid of the current police department.
“Saudis feel like the United States is the best country in the world,” he said. “It is the safest country in the world. Now I do not feel safe here, because of this situation.”