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 Heritage. Her State Association recognized her in 2010 with the Mildred Vance Clerk of the Year Award – the State’s highest honor to a Municipal Clerk. From 2005 to 2007, she served as Chair for the City of De Soto’s Sesquicentennial celebration. McPherson also serves on the Kansas Board of Directors for the Midwest Public Risk Municipal Insurance Pool and is a current member of the League of Kansas Municipalities Public Officers and Employees Policy committee.
McPherson is a past IIMC Region VII Director and an Athenian Fellow. She is a true champion of the “I” in IIMC. In 2014, McPherson was a co-winner of IIMC’s Region Director Membership Challenge and gave her complimentary Conference registration that year to one of the Organization’s International members from the Netherlands. In 2016, McPherson received the Organization’s highest honor – the Quill Award, recognized by her peers as an individual who always surpasses what is expected of them in her profession and her community. She is the consummate team player and an inspiration to many Clerks.
Founded in 1947, IIMC is a professional nonprofit association with more than 15,000 members throughout North America and 12 other countries, representing municipalities with populations of 1,000 to more than 10 million. IIMC prepares its membership to meet the challenges of the diverse role of the Municipal Clerk by providing services and continuing educational development opportunities in 46 permanent college-and university-based learning centers. IIMC offers Municipal Clerks a Certified Municipal Clerk Program (CMC), a Master Municipal Clerk Academy (MMCA) Program and other opportunities to benefit members and the government entities they serve. A 26-member Board of Directors governs IIMC.

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 often while out in public.

“It didn’t bother me, and part of the reason why it didn’t is because everybody is so damn friendly,” Markus said. “They’ll tell you what they think of you, but most people have been genuinely friendly. About the best thing you can say about any place is the people are darn nice people.”

Read more: LJWorld.com.