What are the most pressing needs of the city, and how would you address them?
¢ Attract good employers and jobs in the community The city should decide how to market itself to outside employers and continue to develop strategies to grow employment with existing employers.
¢ Improve city government Improve the city planning system to make it consistent and efficient and improve the transparency of the city budget process.
¢ Diversify the tax base The city needs to grow the commercial/industrial tax base that currently is not contributing an acceptable proportion of property taxes thereby reducing the tax burden on the residential homeowners.
The need I would say impacts every aspect of this city is the lack of high paying jobs. We loose thousands of university graduates each year simply because they cannot earn a competitive wage in Lawrence. The current practice of handing out tax abatements for industrial and warehouse business does not address this sector of the population at all. 'Surviving' wage jobs do not allow most young graduates to do what they would like to do, which is stay in Lawrence.
An innovative policy of energy efficiency and alternative sources is required to attract forward thinking, high wage companies. Programs that have worked well in other cities, such as strict energy efficiency based building codes and green point systems, combined with innovative policies such as GreenFuel carbon reclamation and solar energy requirements, will not only buffer Lawrence from ever rising fuel costs but increase our nationwide reputation and attract businesses in the high growth green and bio-science sectors.
Keeping our downtown competitive in the changing market is also a high priority. Growth restrictive policies, though well intended, must be relaxed to deal with competition in surrounding communities such as The Legends. Removing regulations like the 55% food requirements on new bars/venues, and reworking the smoking ban to be in line with the surrounding communities are necessary steps to keeping our downtown a vibrant center of Lawrence.
The city needs to attract new businesses, and encourage existing businesses to expand, by clarifying the permitting and approval process, creating a welcoming and nurturing business environment and embracing new business opportunities. Lawrence also needs to strengthen its retail sector to help minimize the sales tax lost by citizens choosing to shop in nearby communities.
Residential property accounts for almost 69 percent of Lawrence's assessed valuation.
The current percentage is both unacceptable and unsustainable. The solution to the current dilemma is to rebalance the current reliance on the homeowner with new business and industrial taxpayers who can shoulder their fair share of this tax burden.
No. 1: Increase funding for public works: Maintain existing infrastructure, roads, water, sewage, stormwater. The potholes. Potholes, potholes are coming.
No. 2. Solve the problem of the South Lawrence Trafficway. It has been 15 years and it is still incomplete. We will rethink this and possibly consider changing the route if needed. As it stands now, if you live in Ottawa and you to want to go to Clinton Lake to put your boat in, you have a really good road.
1. Managed growth-- Change our development policies to do more detailed planning ahead of growth, and adopt impact fees to ensure that new growth pays for itself.
2. Job creation-- Work with Douglas County to purchase Farmland site for a new business park/employment center, support the efforts of the local Bioscience Authority to help turn KU research into good local jobs, continue to encourage job creation by existing local businesses.
3. Build and maintain strong neighborhoods-- Ensure neighborhood participation in zoning and planning decisions, and adopt a Traditional Neighborhood Design code to allow creation of new walkable neighborhoods with a sense of place.
4. Affordable housing-- Adopt an inclusionary zoning ordinance to incentivize inclusion of affordable units in new developments, rehabilitate existing housing stock in older neighborhoods, support the efforts of the recently created Community Land and Housing Trusts to create a stock of permanently affordable housing.
5. Also, continue to provide good city services, ensure the health of downtown, be a leader resource conservation and environmental responsibility, and make sure that our tax structure is fair and doen't place too great of a burden on any of our citizens.
The most pressing needs of the city are to protect Lawrence's most basic and vital assets: our clean air, our water supply, our downtown, our neighborhoods, our diversity, our parks and open spaces, our surrounding farmland, our historic buildings.
To protect our air I would work with the state legislature to regulate automobile emissions, and promote the production of renewable energy in Kansas. I would also search for incentives to reduce our city's use of electricity, thereby reducing the burning of coal and the emissions of heat trapping gases. A tree ordinance would also offer enhanced air protection to the city.
To protect our water I would craft municipal incentives for the reduction of water use. I would also explore opportunities for affordable grey water use.
To protect the downtown I would invest in the downtown and all neighborhoods-old and new-to keep them viable, attractive and livable. I would do the same for our parks and natural areas. H2020 provides framework for protection of these as well.
Providing a permanent home with infrastructure to the Downtown Lawrence Farmers' Market would encourage healthful, regional, "niche" farming which would, in turn, help protect surrounding farmland.
What are the most pressing needs of the city, and how would you address them?
The most pressing needs of the city are to protect Lawrence's most basic and vital assets: our clean air, our water supply, our downtown, our neighborhoods, our diversity, our parks and open spaces, our surrounding farmland, our historic buildings.
To protect our air I would work with the state legislature to regulate automobile emissions, and promote the production of renewable energy in Kansas. I would also search for incentives to reduce our city's use of electricity, thereby reducing the burning of coal and the emissions of heat trapping gases. A tree ordinance would also offer enhanced air protection to the city.
To protect our water I would craft municipal incentives for the reduction of water use. I would also explore opportunities for affordable grey water use.
To protect the downtown I would invest in the downtown and all neighborhoods-old and new-to keep them viable, attractive and livable. I would do the same for our parks and natural areas. H2020 provides framework for protection of these as well.
Providing a permanent home with infrastructure to the Downtown Lawrence Farmers' Market would encourage healthful, regional, "niche" farming which would, in turn, help protect surrounding farmland.
Is now the right time for City Hall to build a $30 million library?
No. Instead a library, event center that will be the crown jewel of downtown: The 'Alexandrian Library on the Riverfront. We would dedicate this library to the Lost Library in Alexandria, Egypt. Possibly a third sister city agreement and a peace icon.
Only the voting public has the final answer to that question. A strong and viable library is an important community asset. It is critical that our taxpayers are provided with a complete financial analysis of the impact a new library would have on their tax bills. However, we must also recognize that it is not enough to know the price of a project, but equally important to know its value to the community. All good places to live and raise a family must make informed community decisions about how to prioritize spending their collective resources to create and maintain a quality community which values a spirit of working, learning and living together.
Unfortunately, the city budget is not in position to fund a new library at this time. Not only would the $30 million expenditure require an increase in the mill levy, it is still unclear how much of an increase to the $2,950,000 annual operating expense would be required with a much larger library space. That being said, a great library is important to our future and therefore we should develop a plan of how we can reach that goal in the coming years.
Based on the current economic environment in Lawrence, it appears that without some third party injection of capital into the project, the ability to pay for a new library may be beyond our means at this time. We must focus our current resources on repairing and maintaining our existing infrastructure while evaluating the library needs of our community and budgeting for any expansion in the future.
I think it would be impulsive in this time of changing media emphasis to commit to any of the library proposals currently put forward. Since the plans would likely involve a tax hike, more ideas should be discussed and put to a taxpayer vote. I do believe that the main library should remain downtown, but am not opposed to a satellite location in the west.
The library is on its knees for lack of space and resources. Our community suffers from this lack of basic, community, educational service. I want to search for immediate relief as well as longer term solutions.
I think so, but that decision will be made by the voters of the city of Lawrence. We have outgrown our current library space, and our level of support for our public library is far below that of other Kansas cities. I would like to see us move forward in a way that meets our library needs for the next generation, provides needed parking and meeting space, and helps ensure the long-term vitality of downtown. I think that when we build a public building we need to do it right, so that it remains a great public asset for many generations, as did our predecessors who built the Douglas County Courthouse.
How should the city attract more jobs to Lawrence?
Lawrence needs to take advantage of the resources at its disposal, such as the University, and build a reputation of innovation to draw new jobs to the city. The use of tax abatements to attract unskilled labor jobs is not an effective strategy to increase the quality of life in Lawrence. That strategy has led to Lawrence having lower average salaries than Topeka and driving off recent graduates. Green policies adopted before other communities in the region, along with an aggressive support for the arts will make Lawrence a more desirable city for forward thinking businesses.
Lawrence must endeavor to create more employment opportunities locally. We must create a more welcoming businesses environment and leverage all of the wonderful resources available in our community to do so. We also must (i) Evaluate the current permitting and zoning process and identify pitfalls; (ii) Create a sense of urgency within the city to attract and work with potential and existing businesses; (iii)Utilize the limitless resources provided by the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations to create an accessible and affordable workforce.
This is a complex and multi-faceted problem to address. We are lacking in the necessary infrastructure to support major industrial installations. We are limited to what we currently support, i.e. the types of businesses at East Hills Business Park and what I consider to be home-grown businesses. This not the Silicon Valley, nor are we the River Rouge in Detroit in the '50s. To change this would require the moving of many mountains. Are we ready to move mountains? Maybe not now? Tired horses never run a good race. But have a plan and it is big. Too big and too fast for tired horses. Maybe in 30 years when urban sprawl reaches its limit of infrastructure, and residential taxes burden even the wealthiest local business people. I'm not one to lie to you about this matter. Stagnation is a bitter flavor to taste. I'm not going to tell you I can bring business, manufacturing and industrial, unless you are ready to move mountains and run a race with fresh horses.
I think the Lawrence Douglas County Bioscience Authority has a great potential to help turn KU research into good local jobs, and I think the city and county need to move forward with acquiring the old Farmland plant as a site for a business park/employment center. I support the city and the Chamber of Commerce's efforts to support the growth of existing local businesses, because the research I have seen indicates that most good, permanent jobs in a community are created by existing businesses.
Our recent efforts to attract and retain good paying jobs in Lawrence have been disappointing. While recognizing that attracting new jobs is a competitive enterprise, we must also stand back and analyze what we have done that works and what has not been effective. The city will hire an economic development planner this year. Increased coordination of the community's economic development work through this position is the goal. We are working with KU, the Kansas Biosciences Authority and the Douglas Co. Biosciences Authority to encourage expansion of existing bioscience activity and marketing Lawrence as a destination for scientific research; this has the potential for incubating, growing and marketing not only scientific advancement, but also quality commercial property that helps pay for needed city services.
By nurturing those businesses and industries that are owned by people who are invested in the health of Lawrence, gives these businesses a better chance of growing and expanding with more job offerings.
By creating an Eco Industrial Park to attract the kinds of businesses and industries that will showcase Lawrence as an environmentally conscientious city. The CIVANO INDUSTRIAL ECO-PARK in Tucson, Arizona is an example.
The city also needs to do more to link university research with business opportunities.
The city needs to promote our value proposition as Lawrence to potential employers. What are we selling prospective employers? We should strive to improve city, county and university cooperation in seeking new opportunities for jobs. The BioSciences initiative is a good start, but we need a broader initiative the targets employers that represent a cross-section of industries. We must also support expansion of existing business by, among other things, creating a planning process for businesses that delivers more consistent results within a more reasonable timeframe.
How would you address concerns about the safety of downtown Lawrence?
I would require these bars that are trouble spots to do the following: Purchase a permit for the single event that requires the addition of crowd control devices which are currently being used to restrict city sidewalks during the event. This permit would be a such a cost to reimburse the city for services of police, fire, ambulance services. The presence of police as a result of this permit would be a given. This would minimize the number of events at these trouble spots. Cost-driven controls are fair because it does not restrict the event, but reimburses the city for the added cost of nuisances.
I support our current approach of working with the State Alcoholic Beverage Control to see what they can do to help us control problem establishments. If that is not successful, we should look at either 1) an assembly licensing ordinance or 2) requiring a special use permit for drinking establishments. Either way, we need to implement this in a way that imposes no new requirements or costs on the vast majority of businesses that aren't causing any problems, but allows us to quickly place necessary restrictions on establishments that are causing problems.
I believe that the best solution to any type of crime or compliance issue is law enforcement. If there is a perceived or actual pattern of non-conformance or non-compliance, it is the duty of the city to step up the inspection of businesses or establishments that are considered a risk. A vigilant police presence in an area that is deemed a concern will dramatically decrease the likelihood future violations.
Bring concerned citizens, city staff and law enforcement to the table to find acceptable safety solutions with promise for practical implementation. Safety is, perhaps, the most basic of all city services, and we need to provide adequate policing to assure downtown remains safe and attractive.
I question the underlying assumption in the question. Downtown Lawrence is a safe place. It is a vibrant, active area that is our civic square. Professional offices, local and national retailers, great entertainment venues and an authentic historic downtown are its hallmarks. However, like many places, it is not perfect. Increased police patrols during certain times of the day, more attention to graffiti removal, cleaner sidewalks and better city ordinances, with consistent enforcement, directed at those venues which have a history of attracting unsafe or criminal behavior, are some ways to improve Downtown.
I believe downtown to be very safe. Isolated incidents are part of living in a city this size but repeated incidents need to be remedied. The answer to quelling fears is not, however, new regulations that further bind the majority of downtown businesses that have never had any trouble. Enforcing current regulations and pursuing courses of action, such as petitioning the ABC to pull liquor licenses, can shut down bad seed businesses without adding new layers of bureaucracy.
Property owners need to continue taking responsibility for the safety of their patrons beyond the letter of the law. The city needs to use the tools at its disposal to resolve the issue rather than pursuing more registrations and special use permits that will not contribute to improvement in the problem.
Which type of development would you say Lawrence needs most at this time? Residential, retail, or industrial?
Lawrence needs to attract and sustain industrial development. The term industrial is defined as any development other than residential or commercial. The presence of the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University provides limitless intellectual resources for high-tech companies, bio-tech companies and entrepreneurial endeavors. By increasing this type of growth, we can retain some of the student population that calls Lawrence home. We also need to provide industrial development opportunities for those companies providing employment to citizens that do not attend college or university. By increasing industrial development and opportunities, we will automatically stimulate the need for new retail and commercial development which will also provide new employment opportunities for the residents of Lawrence.
Industrial development is the most critical need in Lawrence at this time. The vacancy rate of industrial space will fall below 5% in 2007. The city needs to add a business park for new companies considering Lawrence as a destination, and to help companies already here that need additional space for expansion. We have a chronic shortage that could threaten the loss of employers that are in need of more industrial and warehouse space.
Our current tax base is too heavily balanced toward residential property, so we need to continue to encourage job creation and industrial investment. As long as Lawrence is a desirable place to live-- and I am committed to making sure that it is-- people will continue to want to move here, and trying to unreasonably limit residential growth will only drive up the cost of housing and make it unaffordable for many people to live here. We need to manage new residential growth to make sure that we create safe, walkable neighborhoods with easy access to enough new retail space to accommodate our growth in population.
Affordable housing is a much needed development. Lawrence currently has a glut of both upscale and cheap homes left vacant. Affordable housing should not be confused with cheap housing. An affordable home built with energy efficient building codes may add to mortgage payments but that increase is more than made up for by savings in monthly energy costs.
Industrial.
Industrial - with little or no waste stream, with access to rail transport, located on public transit, and with wages and benefits sufficient to keep a single mother of two smartly above the poverty line. Industries would also include service industries.
The goal of economic development should be to create jobs that pay good wages and in turn create demand for housing and retail expansion. Unless we focus on those activities which will promote and attract a strong job base, we will not be able to create and sustain strong residential or retail growth. More choices of houses to buy or places to shop do not mean we will have more money to spend; we must get our priorities straight! Job growth and expansion should be our first priority. Housing and retail demand will follow. The city can and does play a strong role in making Lawrence an attractive employment center. The city tax levy is very competitive with our neighboring cities to the east and west. Our sales tax is competitive and we offer an unparalleled host of cultural and educational amenities in the community. Promoting these positives should be our immediate focus; while we can and will do better, first we must stand up and say, "Lawrence is a fantastic city!"
