From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Dec. 16, 1974:

Lawrence city commissioners were scheduled to discuss two major changes in the city codes at their upcoming weekly meeting. The commission was to discuss a charter ordinance exempting the city from the state law requiring that persons running for city commission be 25 years of age and residents of the city for three years. Commissioner Barkley Clark, who was recommending the change, said its purpose was to “put running for office on the same basis as voting.” Referring to the current law as a “needless irregularity” and perhaps unconstitutional, Clark said he had no commission candidates in mind who would qualify if the law were changed, but that the alteration would allow students to run for city commission as well as any person who had recently moved to Lawrence. The second code change slated for discussion was the removal of the requirement from the plumbing and electrical code for repair work to be done by licensed plumbers and electricians, if done by a close relative. Commissioner Fred Pence, who was recommending the change, explained that the current code allowed persons living in a home to repair it themselves, but elderly persons whose family members could make repairs were required to hire licensed plumbers and electricians. Pence said the ordinance change should not allow any unlicensed person to operate a business in the city, but that there should be some provision for work done by family members. The commission was also scheduled to discuss a recommendation from the Traffic Safety Commission to remove the mid-block crossing signals downtown. In their recommendation, the traffic commission had called the lights “dysfunctional and superfluous.”