photo by: Nick Krug

As city leaders discuss potential location for a new transit hub, one possible landing spot could be the city parking lot 5, which sits on the east side of Vermont Street between Ninth and 10th streets. Conceptual plans for this location could include a multistory building with room for retail or residential space.

A transit center, utilities headquarters and license plate recognition system for public parking are a few of the projects in the city’s plans for next year.

At its work session Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will review and provide input on the city’s draft 2019-2023 Capital Improvement Plan. The plan includes about $75 million in projects and purchases for next year, which will be finalized as part of the city’s budget process this summer. The draft plan does not call for an increase to local property tax rates, but does include annual increases to utility fees.

This is the third year the city has done an in-depth capital improvement plan, which is meant to help the commission and city staff prioritize and coordinate projects among departments. The plan includes projects and purchases totaling about $273 million over the five-year period. Commissioners annually review and revise the plan for the upcoming year during the budget process.

The plan also includes about $68.7 million of unfunded projects over the five-year period. In order to move a project from unfunded to funded, taxes would have to increase or other projects would have to be reduced, delayed or eliminated. There are about $11.2 million of unfunded projects for next year, including $3.7 million for phase two of the solid waste facility; $800,000 for security and accessibility improvements at the Community Building; and a citizens request of $782,500 for a bike track on Naismith Drive from 18th to 23rd Street.

After receiving input from the commission Tuesday, the 2019-2023 capital improvement plan will go to the planning commission for review. A final plan will be presented for adoption in June as part of the city manager’s 2019 budget.

Below are some of the projects and their descriptions that the draft capital improvement plan has scheduled for next year. The full draft of the plan and all project descriptions are available on the city’s website.

Budgeted projects

• Police headquarters, phase one: $17 million for construction of a new police headquarters at 5100 Overland Drive. Phase one of the project will include patrol, evidence, administration, records, information technology, and the crisis intervention team. A property tax increase to pay for the headquarters was approved as part of last year’s budget.

• Utility headquarters: About $1.2 million toward a $7.36 million collection system field operations building for the utility department. Utilities staff are currently located on two sites, and the new building would house utilities field staff, equipment and inventory.

• Transit hub: $4 million to construct a transit center that would serve as the central transfer point for the city’s bus service. The first floor would house amenities for transit users, transit drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians. The upper level of the facility will be parking for students and the general public. Total project cost of $4.5 million.

• 19th Street Reconstruction: About $3.63 million to reconstruct the street from Harper Street to O’Connell Road, including building a connection to O’Connell Road.

• Automated meter reading: $4.45 million toward the installation of automated meter reading for the utilities department. The installation would include equipment, software and infrastructure improvements. The total project cost is about $10.9 million.

• Intersection of Kasold Drive and Clinton Parkway: $1 million for reconstruction of Kasold Drive from Clinton Parkway to HyVee, including improvements at the intersection and reconstruction of pavement, sidewalks, bike facility and storm sewer.

• Sidewalk hazard mitigation: $1 million for sidewalk repair program, including installation of new sidewalk ramps, repairs that are the city’s responsibility, and funding for the cost-share program for eligible low-income property owners and those with sidewalks on more than one side.

• Smart truck technology: $850,000 for hardware and software for smart truck technology for the solid waste department. Technology includes cameras on trucks, electronic readers, and tablets/computers in trucks to assist with improved work flow and management.

• Water spray park: $250,000 for a spray park at either Watson Park or South Park that would make use of existing restroom and mechanical systems. The Watson Park location would allow for an extension of outdoor aquatic center complex and the South Park location would take the place of the existing wading pool.

• License plate recognition system: $210,000 toward the first phase of a license plate recognition system for parking enforcement. The project would include stationary devices for parking garages, mobile devices on vehicles for lot enforcement and handheld units. Total project cost of $590,000.

• Downtown public cameras: $108,000 for cameras that would be installed along Massachusetts Street in downtown Lawrence. The police department is recommending that 19 overt cameras — meaning they are noticeable by passersby — be installed on Massachusetts Street between Sixth and 11th streets.

The City Commission will convene at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.