It is a year of big decisions and big dollars for the Lawrence City Commission.

During the next 12 months, city commissioners are expected to make major decisions about hiring a new city manager, building an $80 million sewer plant and whether downtown Lawrence needs a new multimillion dollar library.

Here’s a look at several of the larger issues commissioners will be addressing:

¢ City manager. Finding a new city manager to replace Mike Wildgen – who in March was asked to resign after 16 years as the city’s top executive – will top commissioners’ to-do list.

“I think every city commissioner would agree that this likely is the most important decision we’ll make as a commission,” Mayor Mike Amyx said.

Commissioners are well into the process. They’ve received 25 applications for the job and are in the process to narrowing the field down to five or six finalists. Amyx has said he hopes the commission will be prepared to make a job offer in the first week of October.

The vacancy is stopping the city from filling two other major department head positions. Commissioners are waiting until a new city manager is hired before they find a new director of planning and a new director of utilities. Both positions, as well as the city manager’s post, are being filled on an interim basis.

Wildgen resigned after a majority of city commissioners expressed concerns about how the city was planning for growth and maintaining its infrastructure.

¢ Sewer plant. The city’s in the process of purchasing property for a new sewer plant that would be located south of the Wakarusa River on property near O’Connell Road extended.

With a price tag near $80 million, the sewer plant is expected to be the single largest city project ever undertaken. The plant, in part, is thought to be needed by 2010 in order to accommodate the city’s expected growth in population.

Once the land purchase is completed, city leaders will begin the work of designing the plant.

¢ Library. City commissioners have received proposals from four Lawrence developers to build a dramatic new downtown library that also would be surrounded by retail and residential development. They’re also considering a plan to expand the current library at 707 Vt.

Any of the options will amount to a significant investment for the public. All of the plans – one of which is proposed by members of The World Company, which owns the Journal-World – would involve at least $30 million in public funding or financing.

¢ Streets. Improving the quality of the city’s streets was the largest item city commissioners tried to address in their recently approved 2007 budget. Commissioners added about $1.3 million to the city’s street maintenance budget after a report by the Public Works Department determined that about 30 percent of the city’s streets had reached the point that simple maintenance no longer would bring them back up to acceptable standards.