Loud parties, public drunkenness and deteriorating rental homes aren’t new issues for the Oread Neighborhood.

But leaders of the neighborhood adjacent to Kansas University are looking for some new solutions from city commissioners.

“I think we have a jewel here that is in real jeopardy,” Candice Davis, vice president of the Oread Neighborhood Association, told commissioners during a study session Wednesday afternoon.

Neighborhood leaders said they would like the city to seriously consider a new rental registration program that would require inspections of rental properties in their neighborhood.

City commissioners briefly discussed that item during last year’s budget process but determined the startup costs were too high to tackle during the city’s tough budget times.

But Mayor Sue Hack said the city is interested in addressing issues related to deteriorating homes.

“I do think there is a big concern on the commission regarding demolition by neglect,” Hack said. “We think that is a heartbreaking situation when we lose a home simply because it hasn’t been maintained.”

Staff members are preparing a report on how to better deal with demolition by neglect cases.

Other issues that city commissioners said they were interested in receiving more information on included:

¢ The feasibility of increasing police patrols in the neighborhood to deal with large parties.

¢ An update on the efforts of the Lawrence Community Shelter – a homeless shelter in the Oread Neighborhood – to find a new location.

¢ The ability of the city to create a neighborhood plan that would provide more direction on issues such as the conversion of homes into boarding houses and ways to address parking issues.