Bottom Line

City commissioners will consider taking another step in purchasing the former Oread Labs building in west Lawrence. Commissioners are being asked to approve a lease that would allow the Lawrence-Douglas County Bioscience Authority to rent the building from the city and the county for use as a laboratory for emerging bioscience companies.

Background

Among the terms of the lease: The bioscience authority would pay the city and county rent equal to the principal and interest payments for the bonds issued to purchase the facility, plus 4 percent interest. The city and county would pay the interest costs above the 4 percent level. The lease would run until September 2034. The bioscience authority would have an option to purchase the building from the city and county, if the bioscience authority pays the city and county an amount that will cover all outstanding bond costs plus any other expenditures the city and county have made on the building.

Other Business

Executive session 5:30 p.m.

• Consider motion to recess into executive session for approximately 45 minutes to discuss possible property acquisition and consultation with attorneys for the city deemed privileged under the attorney-client relationship. The justification for the executive session is to keep possible terms and conditions of property acquisition and discussions with attorneys for the city confidential at this time. After a short break, the regular meeting will resume about 6:35 p.m.

Recognition

• Recognition of Ellie Ott, 2010 Rhodes Scholar.

Consent agenda

• Approve all claims.

• Approve licenses as recommended by the Department of Administrative Services.

• Approve appointments as recommended by the mayor.

• Bid and purchase items:

a. Award bid for hourly rate for tree trimming service for the Parks and Recreation Department to Custom Tree Care, in an amount not to exceed $44,000.

b. Approve Innoprise 2010 software maintenance agreement for $89,180.

• Receive status report from the Peak Oil Task Force and grant extension of work to present final report by Aug. 31.

• Receive letter from Health Care Access Inc. advising the city of termination of lease of city-owned building at 1920 Moodie Road; refer to staff for report on possible future uses of the building.

• Receive city manager’s report.

Regular agenda

• Consider executing a lease between city and Douglas County with the Lawrence Douglas-County Bioscience Authority for West Lawrence Labs, 4950 Research Parkway.

• Consider sending a letter to the county acknowledging that the city is willing to issue any Recovery Zone bonds that the county allocates to Lawrence for financing construction of a new distribution center for Berry Plastics.

• Consider approving rezoning Z-10-17-09 to rezone approximately 24 acres from UR (RO-1A/RMO pending) to commercial (CC-400), for the Mercato project at the northeast corner of Kansas Highway 10 and West Sixth Street (U.S. Highway 40).

• Consider accepting dedication of easements and rights of way for preliminary plat PP-10-5-09, a four-lot commercial and residential-office project on approximately 29 acres for the Mercato project located at the northeast corner of Kansas Highway 10 and West Sixth Street (U.S. Highway 40).