photo by: Mike Yoder

Located at 746 Kentucky, Fire Station No. 1 was constructed in 1950.

County Administrator Craig Weinaug will present Wednesday to the Douglas County Commission a cost-sharing proposal with the city of Lawrence to renovate a downtown fire station.

The arrangement proposes a cost split for the renovations to the building at 746 Kentucky St., which is home to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical’s Fire Station No. 1 and the Douglas County Senior Services. The proposal would have the county paying $978,185 (25.64 percent) of the renovations to the part of the building the fire department occupies with the city of Lawrence providing the remaining $2.86 million, plus the cost of issuing bonds for the project and bond interest. It is also proposed the county provide $806,000 for the upgrades to the Douglas County Senior Services section of the building with the city providing $1.713 million, plus bond costs and interest.

The county will reimburse the city for the county’s share of bond and interest costs when those numbers are known.

In a memo to commissioners, Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug also wrote of the possible need to relocate Senior Services during renovations to the former county public works office building at 1242 Massachusetts St. He proposed the county and city evenly split the cost of readying the building for that use. The county would then provide the space rent-free while the city paid the utilities, he proposed.

Weinaug writes that if commissioners find the cost-sharing proposals acceptable, the county and city will prepare a formal agreement.

In other business, commissioners will consider a conditional use permit for a Verizon Wireless tower at 1287 East 1200 Road on property owned by Wesleyan Church Inc. The property is just south of the Kasold Curve, which is where 31st Street turns into Kasold Drive in southwest Lawrence. The application for the 199-foot tower comes with a recommendation of approval from the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission.