News and notes from around Lawrence:

• For those of you concerned the city made an error when it took over ownership of the former Farmland Industries plant on the eastern edge of Lawrence, here’s a positive sign. The city already has a company that wants to locate on a portion of the old plant, even though the city hasn’t yet completed its planning to convert the 400-plus acres into a business park. City commissioners last night agreed to begin negotiations with Lawrence-based SurePoint Medical to lease or purchase up to 2 acres of property that could help the company expand.

SurePoint is an interesting story in itself. The company is basically a mail order pharmacy that currently specializes in supplies for diabetics. The company has its headquarters in leased space at 1918 E. 23rd St., but it is quickly outgrowing that space. The company has grown from two employees when it was started six years ago to 82 currently. Gordon Roll, the company’s president, is projecting SurePoint will have 150 employees — everything from medical insurance specialists to order processors — within the next two years. SurePoint next month will be expanding into nearby space at 2004 E. 23rd, which is owned by the company’s current landlord, Lawrence businessman Mike Hultine.

But even with that new space, the company won’t have enough parking for all its employees. That’s where the city and its Farmland Industries site comes into the picture. The Farmland property is a sprawling one. In addition to the old plant area that you can see from Kansas Highway 10, the property also includes “buffer ground” that stretches toward the Douglas County Fairgrounds and goes behind the building at 2004 E. 23rd. Hultine and SurePoint want to lease about 0.5 acre to construct a temporary parking lot and it wants the option to purchase another 1.5 acres so that it can eventually build a 20,000-square-foot office building.

City commissioners said they’re interested in working out a lease and an option for SurePoint to purchase the two-acre site. In addition to the jobs, the city may make some money on the deal. Commissioners directed staff to create an agreement using market rates for the property. The city has a recent appraisal that estimates the 1.5 acre site is worth about $130,000. Commissioners said they weren’t concerned about allowing the project to move forward before planning for the new business park is complete because this particular site is tucked away in a corner of the property. City officials are interviewing consultants to complete plans for the overall park. That work is expected to begin early next year. Commissioners are expected to finalize the agreement in the next few weeks.

• The Farmland property isn’t the only piece of real estate that has created questions about whether the city should own it. The old Santa Fe Depot in East Lawrence also falls into that category. Well, I expect that issue to become a topic among commissioners soon. As we previously reported, the city needs to decide whether it wants to act on an offer from Amtrak that would give the city significant money to tackle ADA improvements at the 1950s-era building, should it choose to take over ownership of the structure from the railroad. It looks likely that commissioners will put that topic on their agenda next week. But there are indications now that a new twist will be added to the issue. City staff members are preparing a report on how the building at Seventh and New Jersey streets could be used as a hub for the city’s transit system. Currently the main transfer point for the transit system is near Ninth and New Hampshire. The depot location would allow for an indoor waiting area, but would require some re-routing of bus routes. The idea previously has been brought up by supporters of the depot, but it hasn’t gotten much serious consideration at the City Commission level. That soon may change. Look for the transit issue to become a new selling point for why the city ought to take over ownership of the building.

• We’re still a long way from an ocean, but Lawrence soon is going to have a lot of salt water on hand. It is part of a new strategy the city will use this year to deal with snow and ice on city streets. The city will start the year with a supply of 10,000 gallons of brine. When forecasts call for snow or ice, city crews will begin spreading the liquid solution on selected city streets ahead of the storm. The salt in the solution will make it more difficult for snow and ice to stick to the streets. The pretreatment will be in addition to the normal spreading and plowing that city crews do during a storm. But the city is adding a twist to that process as well. Traditionally the city has spread dry sand and salt on the roads. Now, they’ll start “pre-wetting” the salt and sand. (Here is the rare example of where pre-wetting is a good thing.) The wet material will stick to the road better, and the solution also will cause the salt to start working right away.

The city actually has several other new features that it is adding to its snow and ice plan this year. Some of the new things include a redesigned Web site that allows people to see where snowplows are operating. The site also will allow users to see real-time images from a few cameras around town so that you can make your own judgment about the condition of the street. The city also has sent letters to some neighborhoods asking residents to not park on the streets when snow or ice is likely. Check back later and I’ll provide you a more complete update. In the meantime, here’s hoping the only pre-wetting you have to deal with is on your city street. (Sorry. A late City Commission meeting produces potty-humor, among other toxins.)