I’m sure you’ve already experienced this, but basketball season is rough on batteries. There are the batteries for the TV remote, there are the batteries for the electronic beer delivery device, there are the batteries for the portable nacho cheese warmer, and don’t even get me started about the batteries for the Andrew Wiggins robotron.

But, of course, you know all this because you deal with it too. What you may not know, though, is a new west Lawrence store is set to open that specializes in all types of batteries. Batteries Plus Bulbs is set to open at 6534 W. Sixth St. in the space that used to house the Blockbuster video store.

“We’re looking to sell every kind of battery,” said Ed Patel, owner of the Lawrence franchise. “If we don’t carry them, we definitely have access to them.”

When the store means batteries, it means batteries both big and small. The store plans to carry car, truck, motorcycle and golf cart batteries, for example. It plans to stock cellphone, camcorder, digital camera and laptop batteries as well. Patel said the business also thinks the store will do well with the construction industry. The store plans to carry a large selection of batteries for cordless tools, two-way radios and other such devices.

The store also will offer a battery refurbishing service, and it will recycle any type of battery for free.

As the name suggests, the store also will carry a large amount of light bulbs. Patel said the store’s bulb stock will include automotive headlights and bulbs, and all the LED, CFL and halogen light bulbs that are used in home and business applications.

Patel decided to get into the battery and bulb business after he used a similar store in Topeka extensively during a remodeling project he undertook for a hotel he owns. He chose Lawrence for the store’s location because he thought there was a niche to be filled in the market.

When I talked to Patel, he was still stocking the store, but he hoped to be open by the end of this week. Once open, the store will have hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

In other news and notes from around town:

• We may need some batteries for the electric ice scraper come Friday morning. The weather forecast is calling for some Thursday night precipitation that may turn into Friday morning ice or other wintry conditions.

At least that’s what the crews with the city’s public works department are keeping an eye on. City commissioners at their meeting last night were briefed on the city’s annual snow plowing and winter weather preparations. There will be a change to the city’s system this year, but one that officials are betting residents won’t notice: A new manager is in charge of ensuring the city’s streets are safe for winter driving.

Longtime street division manager Tom Orzulak retired earlier this year. He’s been replaced by Mike Perkins, who previously was responsible for overseeing snow removal operations for Douglas County. Perkins spent about 12 years with the county before making the move over to the city earlier this year.

“We feel like we’re in good shape,” Perkins said of the upcoming winter season. “We would like to keep the snow away, but we think we’re prepared.”

As part of its annual report to city commissioners, the public works department did share some numbers about past snow seasons. Here’s a look:

• The city spent $534,257 on snow and ice removal last season, which was up significantly from the $95,608 spent during the the 2011/2012 season.

• About 29 inches of snow fell in Lawrence last season compared with just 2.5 inches in the 2011/2012 season.

• The city used 3,462 tons of salt last season and 1,886 tons of sand. The city starts this year with 4,000 tons of salt, 1,000 tons of sand and about 2,500 tons of salt and sand mix.

• I bet you there is some sort of environmentally friendly product for removing snow — I’m thinking a team of alpacas with a plow made out of wheat straw — and I bet you that you could have found it at this year’s Mother Earth News Fair in downtown Lawrence.

City commissioners also got an update on that event at last night’s meeting and learned that there is a question about whether the popular event will return to Lawrence for a second year.

Bryan Welch, publisher and editorial director for the parent company of Mother Earth News magazine, said the event was a big success in downtown. An estimated 10,000 people showed up at Watson Park for the two-day fair in October. Based on ticket information, Welch estimated about 4,500 of the attendees had never visited Lawrence before, with many of them traveling more than 100 miles for the fair. That indicates the fair pumped a sizable amount of new money into the city’s tourism industry and perhaps created some future visitors.

Welch said Mother Earth News, which is based in Topeka, is very interested in having another fair in Lawrence next fall, but there are questions about whether an appropriate downtown venue can be found. Welch would like to move the fair to South Park, which is significantly larger than Watson Park.

“We more than filled Watson Park this year,” Welch said.

Based on experience with fairs in other communities, Welch is expecting ticket sales to grow by about 20 percent in year two. That would mean about 12,000 attendees at next year’s fair.

He said he hopes to determine in the next few weeks whether South Park is available at a time that will work for the fair’s schedule. City commissioners on Tuesday indicated they wanted to do what they could to bring the fair back to town.

Commissioners said they heard from several merchants and hotel owners across town that business was up during the fair.

“I’m sure we can be pretty accommodating with the location next year,” Amyx told Welch at last night’s meeting.