Delaware tribal elections may change discussion on Lawrence property; city wins 5k school route grant; car dealers express concern over City Hall vehicle lease

Lawrence’s police headquarters plan isn’t the only project that has been complicated by recent election results. The Delaware Tribe of Indians held its elections last weekend, and now there is reason to question whether the tribe will be as aggressive in pursuing its plans to move to Lawrence.

So, what happened with the Delaware elections? Well, the same thing I tirelessly do every Saturday at my house: A complete housecleaning. (For the record, my wife is insisting on a retraction of that last statement, and is threatening to do terrible things to me with a feather duster.) Regardless, a housecleaning is one way to describe the Delaware elections. Every tribal council incumbent on the ballot was defeated in the election.

Chief Paula Pechonick was defeated by the tribe’s assistant chief Chester “Chet” Brooks. Three of the other six members on the tribal council also lost their seats, and since Brooks was a member of the council whose term hadn’t yet expired, the new majority on the council will get to appoint a member to his seat.

I obviously don’t closely follow Delaware Tribal politics, but I did talk with tribal council member Nate Young, who was one of the members not up for re-election this time. He left me with the impression that the new majority on the council may have different views about the future of the approximately 90 acres that the tribe purchased near the North Lawrence interchange on the Kansas Turnpike. I was left with the impression that they may be inclined to do less with the property, not more.

There has been all sort of discussion and speculation about what the tribe wants to do on the site. Originally there was concern among some residents that the tribe wanted to build a casino on the site. That talk has died down considerably. Instead, city, county and tribal officials have been meeting behind closed doors to talk about ideas for the property, which is the former Pine family sod farm. The latest idea to emerge is that the tribe would use about 30 acres for a tribal complex that would include offices for the tribal headquarters, classroom spaces, an area for a profit-generating “public interface,” and a kitchen to feed elderly tribal members. The other 60 acres would be devoted to agricultural uses that could include demonstration gardens, food hub distribution, a farm-to-plate restaurant and other such uses.

City, county and tribal officials had agreed to move into a new stage of discussions and host a design charrette to further refine the idea. Whether that happens now seems to be a bit of a question. Young didn’t get into details, but he said after speaking with the incoming chief, he was confident in saying that the new tribal council will consider different directions.

“I believe we may revisit some of the policies adopted by the previous council,” Young said.

What exactly that means, I don’t know. But in reading through some campaign literature from Delaware tribal candidates, I get the impression the purchase of the Lawrence property was an issue of contention in the election. Incoming Chief Brooks in a campaign advertisement expressed concern about spending $1.24 million to buy the Lawrence property. He said in the advertisement that it was done “without an appraisal and a proper resolution of the tribal council, only to learn later that 60 plus acres is in a floodplain and the rest has drainage problems which may prohibit its intended use.”

Bottomline: It looks like this is an issue worth watching because it appears the group dynamics are changing.

In other news and notes from around town:

• The city has received a $15,000 grant to study ways to make walking to school safer and more appealing.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has awarded the grant to the city through its Safe Routes to Schools program. The grant is considered a Phase I grant that will allow the city and various stakeholders to develop a safe route plan for each school in the community.

If the plan includes infrastructure improvements, such as new sidewalks, signals or other enhancements, the city would have to seek another grant or find other ways to pay for the improvements.

In a news release the city said the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, USD 497, the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, LiveWell Lawrence and the Lawrence Schools Foundation each have agreed to contribute funding, in-kind donations or staff time to develop the plan.

• We earlier reported on a plan for the city’s fire and medical department to lease seven Ford Explorers from Shawnee Mission Ford. Commissioners approved that lease agreement on Oct. 28, but now commissioners are being asked to rescind their approval. Staff members said they have since heard from some local auto dealers who said they were not aware the city was seeking bids for sport utility vehicles.

It appears what happened is that the city was using a previously bid procurement contract through the Kansas Department of Transportation to lease the vehicles. In other words, KDOT has a set price it can lease vehicles at, and KDOT allows other governments to use that contract. Upon further review, city staff members now are recommending that a more traditional bid process be used that opens the bidding up to any dealer who is interested. Commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting are expected to rescind their previous vote.

Delaware tribal elections may change discussion on Lawrence property; city wins $15k school route grant; car dealers express concern over City Hall vehicle lease

Lawrence’s police headquarters plan isn’t the only project that has been complicated by recent election results. The Delaware Tribe of Indians held its elections last weekend, and now there is reason to question whether the tribe will be as aggressive in pursuing its plans to move to Lawrence.

So, what happened with the Delaware elections? Well, the same thing I tirelessly do every Saturday at my house: A complete housecleaning. (For the record, my wife is insisting on a retraction of that last statement, and is threatening to do terrible things to me with a feather duster.) Regardless, a housecleaning is one way to describe the Delaware elections. Every tribal council incumbent on the ballot was defeated in the election.

Chief Paula Pechonick was defeated by the tribe’s assistant chief Chester “Chet” Brooks. Three of the other six members on the tribal council also lost their seats, and since Brooks was a member of the council whose term hadn’t yet expired, the new majority on the council will get to appoint a member to his seat.

I obviously don’t closely follow Delaware Tribal politics, but I did talk with tribal council member Nate Young, who was one of the members not up for re-election this time. He left me with the impression that the new majority on the council may have different views about the future of the approximately 90 acres that the tribe purchased near the North Lawrence interchange on the Kansas Turnpike. I was left with the impression that they may be inclined to do less with the property, not more.

There has been all sort of discussion and speculation about what the tribe wants to do on the site. Originally there was concern among some residents that the tribe wanted to build a casino on the site. That talk has died down considerably. Instead, city, county and tribal officials have been meeting behind closed doors to talk about ideas for the property, which is the former Pine family sod farm. The latest idea to emerge is that the tribe would use about 30 acres for a tribal complex that would include offices for the tribal headquarters, classroom spaces, an area for a profit-generating “public interface,” and a kitchen to feed elderly tribal members. The other 60 acres would be devoted to agricultural uses that could include demonstration gardens, food hub distribution, a farm-to-plate restaurant and other such uses.

City, county and tribal officials had agreed to move into a new stage of discussions and host a design charrette to further refine the idea. Whether that happens now seems to be a bit of a question. Young didn’t get into details, but he said after speaking with the incoming chief, he was confident in saying that the new tribal council will consider different directions.

“I believe we may revisit some of the policies adopted by the previous council,” Young said.

What exactly that means, I don’t know. But in reading through some campaign literature from Delaware tribal candidates, I get the impression the purchase of the Lawrence property was an issue of contention in the election. Incoming Chief Brooks in a campaign advertisement expressed concern about spending $1.24 million to buy the Lawrence property. He said in the advertisement that it was done “without an appraisal and a proper resolution of the tribal council, only to learn later that 60 plus acres is in a floodplain and the rest has drainage problems which may prohibit its intended use.”

Bottomline: It looks like this is an issue worth watching because it appears the group dynamics are changing.

In other news and notes from around town:

• The city has received a $15,000 grant to study ways to make walking to school safer and more appealing.

The Kansas Department of Transportation has awarded the grant to the city through its Safe Routes to Schools program. The grant is considered a Phase I grant that will allow the city and various stakeholders to develop a safe route plan for each school in the community.

If the plan includes infrastructure improvements, such as new sidewalks, signals or other enhancements, the city would have to seek another grant or find other ways to pay for the improvements.

In a news release the city said the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, USD 497, the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization, LiveWell Lawrence and the Lawrence Schools Foundation each have agreed to contribute funding, in-kind donations or staff time to develop the plan.

• We earlier reported on a plan for the city’s fire and medical department to lease seven Ford Explorers from Shawnee Mission Ford. Commissioners approved that lease agreement on Oct. 28, but now commissioners are being asked to rescind their approval. Staff members said they have since heard from some local auto dealers who said they were not aware the city was seeking bids for sport utility vehicles.

It appears what happened is that the city was using a previously bid procurement contract through the Kansas Department of Transportation to lease the vehicles. In other words, KDOT has a set price it can lease vehicles at, and KDOT allows other governments to use that contract. Upon further review, city staff members now are recommending that a more traditional bid process be used that opens the bidding up to any dealer who is interested. Commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting are expected to rescind their previous vote.