The Lawrence Times

The 85 workers responsible for Lawrence’s infrastructure, street maintenance, engineering and more have voted by more than a 4-1 margin to unionize with Teamsters Local 696. The City of Lawrence Municipal Services and Operations department follows in the footsteps of sanitation workers, who voted to join the union in August 2020 and ratified their first contract this summer that increases wages and provides strong seniority language, grievance procedures and more, according to a Thursday news release from the union. The MSO workers want better wages, fairer work rules and improved benefits, the release says. Source: The Lawrence Times

Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday voted unanimously to allow staff to seek out professional design services for a project to waterproof and repair the basement of the historic county courthouse. The project aims to fix the courthouse’s water infiltration issues. The work will involve excavation of the courthouse’s perimeter in order to get to its lowest point, testing and repairing the building’s stones, and adding waterproofing drain tile that would connect to a sump pump to collect and move water away from the building. “Back in 1904, I think when the building was constructed, they didn’t do waterproofing on these types [...]

Changes are coming to the way people get around town in Lawrence. City staff and steering committee members want to hear from the public about the future for pedestrians and transit riders. After months of work and planning, the city has rolled out two proposed scenarios to redesign bus routes. The work to gather feedback and finalize route changes by the end of this year — to be implemented in August 2022 — complements plans for a bus transfer facility coming to Bob Billings and Crestline Drive. Source: The Lawrence Times

The Sustainability Advisory Board on Wednesday will revisit, and might vote on, a proposed ordinance that would require establishments to charge customers 15 cents per single-use disposable bag for any purchase. Talks about such an ordinance began in May 2018, when concerned students of the former Kennedy Elementary School made a presentation to the Lawrence City Commission about the damaging environmental effects of plastics. The SAB’s Single Use Plastics Subcommittee presented a report to the City Commission in August 2019 and then collected further public feedback. The topic was moved to the back burner while the Kansas Legislature considered a measure [...]

Municipal Services and Operations workers are the latest City of Lawrence group to seek unionization with Teamsters Local 696. The union has filed a petition “with overwhelming support,” asking the city to conduct an election for the workers, according to a Wednesday news release from the Teamsters. “We are coming together to improve working conditions and secure better wages. We know that the Teamsters will give us the voice and strength to address the issues that matter most to us,” Dave Osborne, a utilities worker for the city, said in a press release. The MSO department includes three divisions — from [...]

A legislative audit revealing many school districts are not practicing basic security measures for information technology systems raised eyebrows Tuesday from a panel of legislators. According to the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center, security incidents at schools have increased by 18% since last year. The limited-scope audit focused on how schools were approaching IT security, which contains sensitive data including grades, medical records and financial information. Members of the Legislative Post Audit Committee expressed disappointment upon hearing that most respondents to a survey of all Kansas school districts do not have adequate IT security measures. “I can’t believe in this day and [...]

As a parent who visits the playground at Brook Creek Park regularly with her child, Jamie Benvenutti felt surprised last week to learn that BB and compressed air guns were permitted in city parks near areas where children and families congregate. “Shouldn’t there be a sign posted at each public park so parents can decide if they feel safe enough to bring their children to a place where it’s OK to shoot BB guns? I know I certainly don’t feel OK taking my child to a park where shooting guns is allowed,” Benvenutti said in an email late last week. Benvenutti’s [...]

In guidance for school families posted online Friday, the district explained how the “Test to Stay, Learn, Play, & Participate” program will work: “Students identified by school health staff as close contacts at low risk of exposure will not need to quarantine as long as they remain symptom-free,” according to the new guidance. The guidelines say that students who are close contacts determined to be at high risk of exposure must quarantine for 10 days from the date of exposure — they’ll be directly notified by the school and public health officials — but the new rules allow for several exceptions. [...]

The Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday discussed the possibility of several new ways for pedestrians to experience downtown and the Kansas River. Representatives from RiverFront & CENTER, a group comprising local architects and volunteers, presented commissioners with a design plan for the Kaw River COMMONS project. The transportation project includes improvements to existing infrastructure and several additions, including a a downtown skywalk and a new pedestrian bridge over the river with viewing decks. Source: The Lawrence Times

School and business leaders are gearing up to celebrate an inclusive playground for youngsters on Lawrence’s southeast side. Featuring wide pathways and ground-level entry, the play equipment provides accessibility, no matter a child’s method of mobility. A celebration for the William Dann Playtown will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 at the Kennedy Early Childhood Center, 1605 Davis Road. The Lawrence Schools Foundation and Lawrence chamber of commerce will host the event. The shiny play equipment features two covered areas connected by a slightly elevated pathway, as well as bars to climb on and hang from, and a tunnel [...]