Douglas County Commission to consider 5-year Capital Improvement Plan that includes funding for extending Wakarusa Drive

photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

The Douglas County Commission at its meeting Wednesday will consider whether to adopt a draft version of the county’s next five-year Capital Improvement Plan that includes funding for extending Wakarusa Drive south of Lawrence and building a bridge over the Wakarusa River.

The proposed CIP calls for $9 million to fund the project in coordination with the Kansas Department of Transportation. The City of Lawrence previously was set to contribute funding to the project, but the Lawrence City Commission elected to remove that commitment while discussing the city’s 2023 budget in late August. Since then, the county has indicated that it’s poised to move forward without the city’s support, and it hosted a town hall to gather public feedback in late September. Commissioners in recent weeks, though, have also asked county staff to seek clarification from city leaders about whether the city’s decision is final.

The Wakarusa project is one of five major road safety improvement projects in the proposed CIP. Commissioners at last week’s meeting awarded the contract for one of them, a $3 million project that will add safety features to a stretch of County Route 458 south of Lawrence near Wells Overlook Park.

Outside of roads and bridges, the proposed Capital Improvement Plan includes a number of notable projects . About $4.5 million that was set aside for downtown space-needs projects in the last CIP is being split up and allocated to projects remodeling all three floors of the Douglas County Courthouse and expanding the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center. Another large chunk of funding — $5.4 million that was previously intended to be used to reallocate space at the Douglas County Jail — would be spread across eight to 10 other proposed projects, such as a project to restore stonework at the courthouse.

In other business, the commission will:

• Hear an update on the Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County.

No presentation or any other details are included with the agenda item report for this week’s meeting, but the report does note that county staff and representatives with Behavioral Health Partners — the nonprofit currently charged with developing and managing the center — will be available to answer commissioners’ questions.

• Consider approving a resolution commencing the minimum maintenance designation process for a portion of North 1075 Road in Wakarusa Township.

The half-mile road segment, located near Greenbush Resource Center just south of Lawrence, crosses two large streams that are both categorized as “low-water crossings,” meaning they’re frequently submerged during and after rain events. The existing crossings aren’t suitable for residential use or emergency access, according to Douglas County’s Public Works Department, and designating the road segment between those two crossings as a minimum maintenance road would eliminate the potential for residential uses along that segment.

Any future development of that type would then be contingent on the construction of a county-maintained bridge to serve the area. For the west stream, the estimated cost for a bridge would be $1.6 million, and for the east stream it would be $700,000.

• Approve a statement identifying a set of priorities and issues Douglas County plans to share with legislators in key leadership positions ahead of the 2023 Kansas legislative session convening in January.

Because of water damage in the courthouse’s commission meeting room, Wednesday’s business meeting will instead take place in the Division 2 courtroom at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St., at 5:30 p.m. Normal Judicial and Law Enforcement Center security protocols will be followed, and members of the public will be screened at a checkpoint upon entry to the building. The meeting will also be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.