WRITER: Sylas May

Proposal to move city, school board elections to even years could cause complications in Douglas County

State legislators are considering a proposal to move city government and school board elections to even-numbered years – and a couple of Douglas County figures are saying that could add some new complications. The proposal in the Legislature is called House Bill 2452, and it would change the timing of elections such as City Commission and school board races from odd-numbered years to even-numbered ones. ...

Lawrence leaders discuss how they plan to entertain, secure and serve an influx of World Cup guests

One of the biggest things to realize about the World Cup, city leaders heard on Tuesday night, is how much you have to entertain people. Of course, they’re there to watch the games. But there are only six of those, spread out over two months, in the KC area. And the rest of the time, the tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors are looking for things to do, said Ruth DeWitt, community relations director at ...

More than 2,250 people now have memberships to Lawrence rec centers — over 75% of Parks and Rec's goal

When Lawrence's parks and rec advisory board learned how many people had signed up for rec center memberships after the city's first week of charging for access, there were actually gasps of surprise. On Monday, interim parks and rec Director Lindsay Hart told the Parks, Recreation and Culture Advisory Board that 2,254 people had signed up for memberships so far — and “our goal is 3,000.” “Oh, my!” ...

City Commission approves $3.15M funding agreement with Lawrence Community Shelter

Before Lawrence city leaders approved a $3.15 million funding agreement with the Lawrence Community Shelter on Tuesday, Mayor Brad Finkeldei thought back to what this meeting would have looked like a few years ago. There was a time, he said, when “we would put the LCS contract on the agenda and we’d have 80 people in the room” wanting to criticize the shelter, say the city wasn’t doing enough to help, ...

99-year requirements, revolving loans and other puzzle pieces of Lawrence's proposed housing incentives policy

Here’s how affordable housing grants currently work in Lawrence, in a nutshell: In the fall, developers say what projects they want to build. The city picks some it wants to fund. And it gives them sales tax money in the form of a grant. It’s a familiar process for the city and its Affordable Housing Advisory Board. But, as AHAB member Monte Soukup admits, “if we want to try to incentivize or get ...

Before Costco construction can start, developers will need several more approvals from Lawrence planning staff

On the timeline for a Costco store in northwest Lawrence, city planning staff says the ball is mostly in the developers' court right now. The Journal-World asked the Planning and Development Services department about what approvals were still needed before Costco could start construction on its proposed store in the Mercato development just south of Rock Chalk Park. Planner Ellie Mullins told the Journal-World ...