Increasing competition in Lawrence’s natural grocery market has us all reacting in different ways. I’m undergoing training to make sure I don’t accidentally end up at a sample station for tofu bacon. The Merc, the city’s longest running natural grocery store is preparing a bit differently. It is undertaking its second major renovation in the last year.

The Merc, 901 Iowa St., began an approximately $320,000 renovation project this week that is expected to last into April. The store remains open during the project, and much of the work will be done at night after the store has closed for the day.

Among the planned upgrades:

• Wider aisles and new interior signage.

• Improved energy efficient LED lighting in the store and in the parking lot.

• A reorganized and updated meat and seafood department.

• Relocation and expansion of the bulk foods section.

• An expansion and relocation of the Main Street Credit Union branch that is located inside the store.

• Energy efficiency upgrades to the store’s heating and cooling systems.

• An updated community classroom area.

The latest project comes on the heels of a $500,000 renovation The Merc undertook in late 2014. That project included improvements to the coffee and juice bars, check out lanes and other areas of the store. Store leaders had said at the time that they planned to do a phase II renovation.

The renovation work comes as a new competitor is set to enter the market. As we previously have reported, Sprouts is set to open its Lawrence store near Wakarusa and Overland drives in the second quarter of this year. There certainly has been speculation that another natural grocery chain is eyeing Lawrence. The development group for a proposed retail area south of the SLT and Iowa street interchange has said a specialty grocer would like to be part of that project. It is far from certain whether that retail development will ever get off the ground, but it may be that the specialty chain still has an interest in Lawrence regardless. There’s been no official word on which company is interested in the market. Whole Foods always gets thought of, but I’ve heard some talk of a different chain — The Fresh Market, which has expanded into Kansas with stores in Overland Park and Wichita.

As for The Merc’s latest project, expect some refinement of the store’s product mix and pricing structure, company officials have said. I’ve got a call into store general manager Rita York Hennecke to find out more details about that and other planned improvements at the store.

The Merc said it is financing the $320,000 project from loans through its Owner Loan Program. The Merc is a cooperative that is owned by more than 7,000 community members, although the store is open to both members and nonmembers.

In other news and notes from around town:

• The Lawrence City Commission is officially weighing in on the statehouse debate about whether local elections should become partisan affairs. There is talk in Topeka of making city and school board elections partisan races that would be on the November ballots, along with races for governor, senator and legislators and other such races.

Mayor Mike Amyx has written a letter opposing the idea and has submitted the letter as testimony for a hearing today by the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections. Amyx cites a host of reasons for opposing a change in the local election cycle, which currently takes place in the spring and on a ballot that doesn’t feature statewide or partisan races. Among the reasons cited by Amyx:

• “Voters will focus on state and national races, and may not devote sufficient time to educate and inform themselves on local candidates and local issues,” Amyx wrote.

• “We don’t need or want our local elections to be partisan,” he wrote. “We prefer the voters focus on issues and individuals, not political party labels.”

• He questions whether the change to a partisan system would preclude active duty military personnel and other federal employees from seeking local office. He cites regulations from the Hatch Act and a Department of Defense Directive that both place restrictions on when government employees can serve in partisan positions.

Supporters of the proposed change have argued that combining local elections with state and national elections will produce higher voter turnout. Voter turnout in local city and school elections in Lawrence often is less than 20 percent.

• When Lawrence police officers arrest someone for a municipal crime that ultimately involves serving time at the Douglas County Jail, the city gets charged about $70 a day by the county for the cost of housing those inmates. For the last three years, the city has had a program where it tries to recoup those jail costs from the inmates who served the time. That policy is set to get a second look.

Commissioner Jeremy Farmer at Tuesday evening’s City Commission meeting said he wanted to discuss rescinding that policy. He said the city’s collections efforts haven’t been overly successful, and he is concerned it is placing a financial burden on people who have served their time and are trying to get their lives back in order.

It looks like the issue will come up for discussion by the commission in the next week or two. The topic had started to become an issue in some City Commission campaigns. Cori Viola, a KU law student who has filed for a seat on the commission, has been highlighting the issue on the campaign trail.