Highlights of recommended 2007 budget
Here are several new programs, positions or projects included in interim City Manager David Corliss’ recommended budget:
¢ An increase of street maintenance funds from $4 million to about $6 million.
¢ $250,000 for Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center’s WRAP program, which puts mental health professionals in area schools.
¢ $250,000 infrastructure incentives fund to assist companies looking to expand or relocate in Lawrence.
¢ $80,000 for two new police sergeants to work as “neighborhood resource officers” with special emphasis on noise complaints and other neighborhood issues.
¢ $70,000 for a new city auditor position to do “performance audits” of city programs.
¢ $70,000 for a new economic development coordinator position to provide analysis and planning advice to city commissioners.
¢ $250,000 for a fire sprinkler incentive program that would allow Massachusetts Street property owners to apply for a city grant to cover 75 percent of the costs to install a sprinkler system.
¢ $1.6 million in improvements to Kasold Drive from Peterson Road to the Kansas Turnpike.
¢ $500,000 to consolidate entrances and improve traffic flow along 23rd Street.
¢ $450,000 to repave Iowa Street from Yale Road to Sixth Street.
¢ $450,000 to reconstruct the intersection of North Second and Locust streets..
¢ $700,000 to add sidewalks on both sides of the road to new bridges over the Kansas Turnpike on North Iowa Street and North Michigan Street.
¢ $250,000 in improvements to Clinton Parkway and Fifth and Alabama streets.
¢ $200,000 for playground equipment, shelter house and other improvements for a new park on Harvard Road, near Langston Hughes School.
¢ $300,000 for planning and partial construction of a new trail along the abandoned railroad line in East Lawrence.
¢ $50,000 to improve a skateboard park in Centennial Park.
¢ $150,000 to upgrade traffic signals at various intersections.
¢ $600,000 to replace a 14-year-old fire engine.
¢ $65,000 to improve runways at Lawrence Municipal Airport.
¢ $250,000 to fill gaps within the city’s sidewalk system and build traffic-calming devices previously approved by the City Commission but not yet funded.
¢ $200,000 to cover a portion of the construction costs of George Williams Way in northwest Lawrence.