The Lawrence Times

A city committee has reviewed the city’s advisory boards and recommends consolidating 13 boards down to five, nixing another and making the police review board the “Safe and Secure Board.” Over the last five months, the Board and Commissions Structure Committee was tasked with limiting the number of boards to 10, not counting those required by state statutes. The committee has discussed the city’s strategic plan, and the scopes and charges of all its boards and commissions, according to a Friday news release from the city. “As a result of this work, each relevant board and commission has been sorted into [...]

Each fall, as temperatures drop, people in this suburb can count on head-turning displays of richly hued maple leaves. But maples make up about one-third of the city’s street trees, and Overland Park has learned the hard way that too much of a good thing can mean fragility. So last year, the city put the kibosh on planting more maples. The emerald ash borer — a tiny, shiny green hitchhiker from Asia with a voracious appetite for a different beloved street tree — taught this city and others across Kansas and Missouri a painful lesson. Now some communities are hedging their arboreal bets [...]

Corey Lawrence would have loved the vert ramp built in his honor at Centennial Park, several attendees at the ramp’s dedication on Saturday agreed. Lawrence, from the Kansas City area, died in May 2021 after suffering injuries from a fall while skateboarding in Florida. Justin Shiney, of River Rat Print and Skate; Sean Ingram, of Merchtable; Dan Askew, of Escapist Skateboarding; and members of the Lawrence Skate Association raised funds and worked with the city to make the ramp in Lawrence’s honor a reality. The new half pipe is the only one of its kind within a 500-mile radius, project organizers [...]

Children are now allowed to stay with their parents at the city-run campsite for people experiencing homelessness in North Lawrence, according to a new policy. To stay with their children, parents must read the “family contract,” and maintain contact with their children at all times, according to the policy, which went into effect last week. Previously, the city has not allowed anyone under 18 to stay at the campsite. The city announced Monday that it is putting in place new safety protocols at the campsite, emphasizing that there are no visitors allowed other than “community outreach partners” who have been approved [...]

The Kansas Legislature passed a K-12 education package Friday that fully funds public schools but includes expansion of a tax credit for private school students and allows private school students to participate in public school sports and activities. House lawmakers approved Senate Bill 113, which provides funding for the next three years, by an 83-37 vote, despite criticism from House Democrats who felt the process hasn’t been transparent — especially with a new provision that allows the state first right of refusal over closed school buildings. The bill passed 23-16 in the Senate after lengthy debate. Source: The Lawrence Times

The Kansas Legislature sent Gov. Laura Kelly a bill bundling elements from more than a dozen bills, including a property tax exemption for fitness, restaurant and child care businesses able to demonstrate they were in direct competition with operations of state or local government. The Senate approved the package Thursday on a vote of 26-13 despite bipartisan complaints Senate Bill 8 was decorated like a holiday tree with special-interest tax policy. The deal previously passed by the House 76-43 contained 18 distinct policy changes. It now goes to Gov. Laura Kelly, and could be added to the Democratic governor’s list of [...]

Switching to a four-day student/five-day staff school week could save the Lawrence school district money and provide more plan time for teachers, according to some staff members, but it raises equity concerns for families and students. School board members said Monday they don’t believe the district in the near future will be ready to consider the switch. Jayci Roberson and Jessica Rohrberg, co-chairs of the district’s calendar committee, presented to the board during Monday’s meeting. They shared a report of the committee’s work on the four-day student/five-day staff week, which will not be implemented next year but may be considered for [...]

Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider an agreement for the final design of devices intended to slow and reduce traffic in Old West Lawrence. The first round of the “traffic calming” pilot project in November 2021 caused some frustration for many residents of the neighborhood, as some temporary barriers forced people to turn at certain intersections rather than drive straight down streets, among other confusion. But the project first came about because many residents were concerned about safety, and drivers speeding through the neighborhood. Source: The Lawrence Times

Landlords, tenants and anyone who’s interested can learn more about the City of Lawrence’s new protections for people using housing vouchers during three upcoming meetings. The Lawrence City Commission on Feb. 14 voted to approve an ordinance change that bars landlords from discriminating against prospective tenants and denying them housing based solely on their source of income. Landlords will also be prohibited from discriminating based on people’s immigration status, and against people who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and/or stalking. Source: The Lawrence Times

The company hoping to build a huge solar energy electrical-generation plant north of Lawrence said Thursday evening it expects the facility will add $110 million in property tax and business tax revenue for Douglas County over its expected 25 years of operations. In addition, an official of the company, Savion Energy LLC, said via email that the project, called the Kansas Sky Energy Center, would employ 175 construction workers to build the solar array, but just a handful of workers — two to five — to operate it. Source: The Lawrence Times