WRITER: Austin Hornbostel

City of Lawrence's next 5-year Capital Improvement Plan calls for $172 million in 2025 spending, nearly $530 million overall

This week, Lawrence leaders will get their first look at the city’s nearly $530 million five-year Capital Improvement Plan. At Tuesday’s Lawrence City Commission meeting, commissioners are set to hear a presentation about the plan and will be able to provide their input. The presentation is one of the first steps in the 2025 budget approval process that will be underway throughout the summer. The CIP is ...

Lawrence Community Shelter Board of Directors approves agreements toward installing additional Pallet shelters behind main shelter building

The Lawrence Community Shelter Board of Directors on Monday approved a $680,050 addendum to its funding agreement with the City of Lawrence, along with a $141,000 contract for engineering services for a set of shelter improvements and the installation of Pallet cabins outside the main shelter building. The board had called a special meeting for Monday in order to expedite the process of getting both of those ...

Lawrence Community Shelter board set for extra meetings in June and July, including one on Monday

The Lawrence Community Shelter Board of Directors is slated to take part in additional special meetings in June and July, and board members will be asked to approve agreements related to installing Pallet cabins outside of the existing shelter building and requesting more funding from the City of Lawrence. Melanie Valdez, the shelter’s director of human resources and payroll, on Friday afternoon emailed ...

City of Lawrence's draft Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy is available for public feedback through June 25

A draft version of the City of Lawrence’s comprehensive Brick Streets and Sidewalks Policy is now available for review, after more than a decade in the making. The city announced Wednesday that the draft policy is available for public review and comment from now through Tuesday, June 25. The city is also set to host a public open house about the policy during that window, next Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the ...

Instead of fireworks, City of Lawrence to host drone show as part of this year's 4th of July festivities

The City of Lawrence’s Fourth of July festivities will look a little different this year. While the city still plans to host its annual free Summerfest event at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in celebration of the holiday, an Independence Day staple will be markedly absent. That’s because instead of a fireworks display, the city is hosting a lighted drone show. Members of the city’s Parks and Recreation ...

Heartland Community Health Center to ask for $1.5 million from Douglas County to fund new building

Heartland Community Health Center is poised to ask for $1.5 million from Douglas County to support remaining construction costs at its new 8,000-square-foot building dedicated to behavioral health services. Though the Douglas County Commission will hear more about that request at its weekly meeting Wednesday, commissioners won’t be making any decisions on whether to award that funding right away. Instead, ...