News and notes from around town:

• A development group led by Lawrence businessman Doug Compton is now seeking financial incentives from the city to build a seven-story building at Ninth and New Hampshire streets.

The development group has sent a letter to city commissioners seeking two years worth of free, reserved parking in the public parking garage in the 900 block of New Hampshire, and also is asking the city to pay for about $280,000 worth of infrastructure improvements related to the project.

The letter is the first official request for incentives for the project, which would include apartments, offices and retail space on the southwest corner of Ninth and New Hampshire.

Specifically, the group is asking for:

• 65 parking spaces in the adjacent parking garage to be reserved for use by tenants of the building. The developers also are asking that the spaces be provided free of charge for the first two years, and then the development would pay $195 per space annually for the next 13 years. The group has asked that all the spaces be in covered portion of the multi-story garage.

• An option to designate up to 25 additional spaces in the garage for tenant use. The development would pay the city its full rate for annual parking passes for those spaces.

• $280,852 in city funding to pay for various infrastructure items such as utility relocation, stormwater improvements, sidewalk replacements, landscaping and irrigation, and street lights.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the $10 million project is contingent upon the incentives being granted. The development group already has pulled a $7.9 million building permit for the project, according to a city report. Developers previously had said they expected construction to begin this month.

City commissioners are expected to refer the request to staff members for an analysis.

We have a phone call into a spokesman for the development group. Check back later for more information.

• A spokesman with Garmin International has provided more details about the Olathe company’s plans to open an office in the new incubator building on KU’s West Campus. Ted Gartner, director of corporate communications, said Garmin will hire up to 15 employees for the new office with the bulk of them being hired from the Lawrence area. But there is a new twist. Gartner said all of the new hires will part-time employees. The company plans to hire KU engineering students to conduct research and development of Garmin products and services.

“There are a number of talented engineers at the University of Kansas, so it makes sense for us to open a location that is convenient to them,” Gartner said in an e-mail. “It also affords Garmin a valuable recruitment pipeline.”

Gartner declined to release expected average wage information for the new positions.

The company expects to have its offices open after the first of the year.

• UPDATE: At about noon on Friday, Rhett Evans, interim CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America provided the following update: Evans said the layoffs included five people at the association. He said declining revenues in the overall golf course industry forced the association to take steps to balance its budget. But Evans said the association and its future in Lawrence was still sound.

“We really do feel there are some bright spots on the horizon,” Evans said.

He said the association is optimistic about future international growth as golf will become a sport in the Olympics. He also said some U.S. courses are beginning to project increasing revenues in 2011. But Evans said a turnaround for the association was not likely until late 2011 or early 2012, at which point he said the association likely would begin to increase staff numbers again.

A round of layoffs was announced this week at the Lawrence-based Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. According to a report in Golf Course Industry Magazine, the association cut the positions of “several senior employees.” The article reported at least four executives with anywhere from nine to 36 years of service with the association had been let go. The association has undergone several layoffs during the last three years as the economy has slowed the golf industry. According to an e-mail sent to association members, the association has reduced staff from 122 to 85 during the last three years.

We have a call into the association. Check back later for more information.

• An architect for the Berry Plastics warehouse project said Friday that issues regarding fire protection for the proposed 675,000-square-foot building are misunderstood. Lawrence architect Paul Werner said plans do call for a 500,000-gallon concrete tank to be installed below ground to provide water to fight a fire at the facility.

But Werner said such a system is not that unusual. In fact, the Berry Plastics manufacturing facility inside the city limits also has a 500,000 gallon tank below ground for fire protection. But Werner did say that it was correct that Rural Water District No. 6 was not supplying the water to keep the tank full. Instead, the building will collect rainwater as it comes off the building’s roof to fill the tank. The building is large enough that about a two inch rain will fill the tank.

• A dilapidated, vacant house at 1200 Pennsylvania St. appears likely to be torn down by the city. A new report from City Hall says the owner of the property — Brent Morris of Raleigh, N. C. — agrees the house and garage need to be torn down but he is not in a position to do so. City commissioners at their Tuesday meeting will consider approving a resolution ordering the house and garage be demolished within 30 days. The resolution gives the city the authority to demolish the structures if they aren’t removed by mid December.

What town talk are you hearing? Send me a tip at clawhorn@ljworld.com.