Solving the parking crunch at the Douglas County Courthouse may not be easy because some East Lawrence residents don't want additional parking encroaching on their neighborhood.
Douglas County commissioners Wednesday initially discussed leasing parking spaces from Allen Press Inc., 810 E. 10th St., which is across the street from the courthouse at 11th and Massachusetts streets.
In the proposed agreement, the county would lease 33 parking spaces at $200 each, which equals $550 per month.
County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the lot could be reserved for county employees or jurors, who have a difficult time finding parking after jury selection, which has been moved temporarily to the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds.
"Jurors come back at 9:30 or 10 a.m. and it's pretty inconvenient to find parking for then," he said.
Weinaug said some parking meters near the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., will be bagged and reserved for jurors.
Construction at the center has created a worse parking problem and will continue through early next year, Weinaug said.
Since the lease is a temporary solution, Commissioner Jere McElhaney said the commissioners should discuss turning the county-owned vacant lots near the center into parking.
"We still have a parking need and problem in this area that we need to address," he said.
Ardys Ramberg, president of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Assn., said the group's members adamantly oppose the parking lot idea, which has been discussed, but never approved, at least three times in the last decade.
McElhaney said he plans to meet with the association's members to hear their concerns.
Additional steps being taken to address the parking problem include: reimbursing county employees for using the city's transit system and possibly using parking at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1245 N.H.
More parking also will be available when part of the Lawrence Police Department moves to its new location at 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive.
In other business, the commissioners:
Denied a rezoning request for Charles Mestagh, owner of McLouth Excavating, because there was a 2-1 vote, with Commissioner Charles Jones dissenting. A unanimous vote was required for passage.
Approved a conditional-use permit for Glenn and Kim Bohmann, owners of a construction firm, to use 1.76 acres for truck storage on land near County Road 458 and U.S. Highway 59.
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