Lawrence City Commission briefs from Jan. 4 meeting

City still hopes to save historic home

A project to save a dilapidated home at 1313 Haskell Ave. has gotten off to a slower-than-expected start, but city commissioners agreed Tuesday to give the project more time.

A group led by Brook Creek Residents Michael Almon and James Grauerholz told commissioners at their weekly meeting Tuesday that they only recently were able to take possession of the property because the previous owner had started to back out of an agreed upon sale of the property.

The deal eventually was put back together and finalized in late December. But as part of the deal, the former owner, Greg Seibel, has been given until early February to remove all his possessions from the home.

Work to restore the home — which was built in 1900 by Oliver Hanscom, who was a member of the second group of settlers to arrive in Lawrence — is scheduled to begin in March.

City commissioners have passed an ordinance that would allow the house to be demolished, but commissioners have delayed implementation of the ordinance several times in hopes that the house can be saved.

Change may speed up Kasold construction

City commissioners agreed to add about $40,000 onto a $4.2 million project to rebuild a portion of Kasold Drive in an effort to speed up the project’s completion.

Commissioners approved a phasing plan for the project to rebuild Kasold Drive from Clinton Parkway to 31st Street. The new plan is expected to reduce the project’s construction schedule by three to four weeks. The project now is scheduled to be completed in late November. The new plan will continue to keep one lane of traffic open in each direction during construction.