Lana McPherson, MMC, City Clerk, De Soto, Kansas succeeded to the IIMC Presidency during the Organization’s 73rd Annual Conference in Birmingham, AL, on May 22, 2019. She will serve a one-year term, culminating in May 2020. McPherson has been the City Clerk for De Soto, KS, since 1998. She is the quintessential City Clerk advocate. Known as Clerk Mom - McPherson has devoted her professional career to unselfishly supporting other Clerks - as well as serving her City and community. She has been involved in her State Association’s committees and has instructed various classes ranging from Ethics to preserving a City’s [...]

The City of Lawrence is treating water from Clinton Lake for an unpleasant taste and odor caused by algae. Lawrence has two major sources for its drinking water: the Kansas River and Clinton Lake. The Clinton Water Treatment Plant is currently treating water with elevated levels of geosmin, a byproduct of blue-green algae, the city announced in a news release Monday. The geosmin poses no health risk to residents, but it may cause an earthy smell and taste in the water. The city has increased treatment to eliminate as much of the smell and taste differences as possible. Read more: LJWorld.com.

City leaders will soon consider whether to move forward with Lawrence’s first bike boulevards, even though the project is significantly over budget. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will again consider approving the final conceptual designs for the 21st Street and 13th Street bicycle boulevards and a potential $250,000 increase to the project’s budget. In June, commissioners deferred taking action on the project, requesting instead to review the project’s finances to see whether one of the two boulevards could be delayed to keep the project within budget. Read more: LJWorld.com.

Lawrence city leaders will soon consider changes to the city’s recently established rules for regulating Airbnb properties and other short-term rentals, including an option to ban certain rentals from neighborhoods. As part of its meeting Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will consider revisions to the short-term rental program, a component of which was suspended this spring after commissioners expressed concerns about how it operated. Specifically, commissioners have discussed replacing or revoking the permitting process for whole-home short-term rentals, where the property owner lives elsewhere. Read more: LJWorld.com.

We are really nice but not that rich. That is one takeaway I had from my final interview with Lawrence City Manager Tom Markus as he ended his tenure at City Hall last week. Markus noticed the Lawrence friendliness in the grocery store and other places where he was out and about around the community. Markus, who has been in public administration since 1973 and most recently came to Lawrence after serving in the top spot at Iowa City, said he had less anonymity in Lawrence than he did in the other communities he’s served. People would come up to him [...]