Douglas County commissioners on Wednesday authorized County Treasurer Paula Gilchrist to pursue no-bid contracts for a computer system meant to address long lines at her office.

Gilchrist said a majority of county residents still carry out in person such transactions as vehicle registration renewals and real and personal property tax payments, despite the availability of payment-by-mail or online options. She said it was also human nature to put off those payments until near the due dates, a “money management” practice that had 60 percent of all vehicle registration renewals occurring on the last four days of the month. That led to long lines the last four days of the month at the Treasurer’s Office’s three Lawrence sites: the Douglas County Courthouse, the Dillons at 3000 W. Sixth St., and 2000 W. 31st St.

Gilchrist requested and received authorization to enter into contracts totaling $16,500 to $18,500 with the line management company QLess Line Management. The contracts would allow QLess to develop a line-management system and train staff on its use.

Gilchrist said the system would include kiosks at her office’s three Lawrence sites that would provide information about how long the lines were at each site, allowing residents the opportunity to visit the one with the shortest wait. Residents could also enter the type of transactions their visits involved, including such details as the number of vehicles, and get an estimate of how much time transactions would take.

That information could also be accessed through phones, cellphones and computers, Gilchrist said. Her hope is that residents would be able to schedule appointment times online and from phones, but Gilchrist said she didn’t know yet if that feature would be available because of cost.

The goal is to have the system operational by April 15. The system or similar ones have been successful in reducing lines in Riley, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties.

In other business, the commission

• Approved public works director Keith Browning’s request to lower the speed limit on a 1.25-mile hilly section of Route 458 from 55 mph to 45 mph. The section from East 1900 Road to a quarter mile east of East 2000 Road has several steep hills and 16 driveways to residences, Browning said. Residents have requested the county lower speed limits on the section in the past, he said.

• Approved Browning’s request to maintain fees charged for dust control on rural gravel roads at 2015 levels. Those fees are $1 per linear foot for application of dust control chemicals and water, 40 cents per linear feet for road preparation and a $60 administrative fee.

• Approved partnering with Lawrence-Douglas County Health Board in the administration of the Parent Health Literacy Training and Services Program. Since 2013, the county has worked with the Kansas Head Start Association to provide county parents the book “What to Do When Your Child Gets Sick” and training on its content. A number of health and human service agencies provide the training and books.

The program has been credited with reducing emergency room visits and unnecessary doctor visits.

The county serves as the pass-through agency of $92,000 of Medicaid funds from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which pays for half the annual cost of the program in Douglas County. The other half of the funding is from a Kansas Head Start grant.

Assistant County Administrator Sarah Plinsky wrote in a report to commissioners that the health board will help ensure the program is administered properly.