photo by: Bremen Keasey

From left, Brad Finkeldei, Mike Dever and Bart Littlejohn during the City Commission meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. Dever was elected Tuesday as mayor, and Finkeldei was selected as vice mayor.

After reflecting on a year as mayor that he said was “one of the greatest of my life,” Bart Littlejohn was getting ready to start the vote for the next mayor and pass on the gavel.

But, it turned out, his fellow commissioners had another gavel to present to him first.

“Sorry to interrupt you,” said Vice Mayor Mike Dever, opening a bag and pulling out a wooden plaque with a gavel mounted on it. “It’s my duty to do so at this point.” He read aloud the plaque, which praised Littlejohn’s “outstanding leadership,” and then added some thanks of his own:

“I want to thank you for taking the time out of your life to do this job,” Dever told Littlejohn. “… We appreciate anyone who does that, and I thank you again for your leadership.”

photo by: Screenshot from Lawrenceksvideo

Mayor Mike Dever, left presents outgoing Mayor Bart Littlejohn a gavel honoring his term as mayor. Dever was elected mayor on Tuesday night by his fellow commissioners. Brad Finkeldei was also elected to be vice mayor.

Dever would be the one chosen a few minutes later as Lawrence’s new mayor for the coming year, and fellow City Commissioner Brad Finkeldei took Dever’s place as vice mayor.

That’s in keeping with how the mayor is traditionally chosen in Lawrence, based on vote totals from the last election. Dever was the top vote-getter during the 2023 election, and Finkeldei earned the second-most votes in that election. Neither Finkeldei nor Dever will be up for reelection in 2025, as they are halfway through their four-year terms.

Before the vote, Littlejohn looked back on his time as mayor. He touted the work the commission has done in the past year on many of its goals, including improving infrastructure, creating more affordable housing and addressing homelessness.

“We are working towards making Lawrence a space and place for all, which only works when we work together,” Littlejohn said. “I continue to be excited to work with you all to keep pushing us forward to a bigger and brighter future.”

In other business, commissioners:

• Awarded a $7.3 million bid to Infrastructure Solutions LLC for work on the Maple Lane Storm, Sanitary and Watermain Improvement Project.

The project was first included in the city’s Capital Improvement Plan in 2022 and was initially just going to be focused on sewer improvement around Maple Lane and East 19th Street. The project will expand sanitary sewer capacity to decrease the likelihood of sewer backups in houses in the area during periods of heavy rainfall. However, the project will now include other infrastructure improvements in the area, including pedestrian and traffic calming improvements around 19th Street between Maple Lane and Harper Street that will happen after the stormwater work.

The total cost of the project was included in the Capital Improvement Plan and MSO budget.

• Approved nine projects to receive $1.2 million in funding from the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The full list of funded projects is:

• $450,000 for Flint Hills Holdings 9 Del Lofts II project that will include 51 one-bedroom apartment units in a new four-story building in East Lawrence.

• $200,000 for Douglas County’s Housing Stabilization Collaborative that provides a variety of rental, utility and other such assistance to people in need.

• $150,000 for Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Delmar Place project that will include 32 one-bedroom apartments next to the Clinton Place Apartments that the housing authority operates near Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street.

• $100,000 for Lawrence Habitat for Humanity’s Critical Home Repairs project.

• $80,000 for Tenants to Homeowners’ Affordable Rental Management program that aims to rehabilitate vacant or underutilized housing to create new affordable rental units in Lawrence.

• $75,000 for Independence Inc. Affordable Housing Program that provides funding to people with disabilities who need financial assistance in making modifications to their homes.

• $70,000 for Lawrence Tenants’ An Educator for Everyone program that aims to provide information to renters about the city’s income protection ordinance that limits when a landlord can refuse to rent to an individual based on their source of income.

• $50,000 for Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority’s New Horizon program that will provide grants to homeless families in need of rental assistance.

• $25,000 for Senior Resource Center’s Modifications & Repairs for Low-Income Seniors program that provides assistance to seniors who need to make modifications to their home in order to age in place.

• Approved an addendum to the city’s funding agreement with the Lawrence Community Shelter to provide an additional $756,550 in funding to the nonprofit.

The additional funding — $554,000 of which comes from ARPA funds and $202,550 from the city’s general fund — will help the nonprofit implement three projects: the Pallet 24 project, the Monarch Improvement Project and Amnesty Lockers Project.

James Chiselom, the executive director of the LCS, previously told the Journal-World these three projects will not only increase the service capacity of the shelter, but also allow for different types of programming for its guests.

• Set a public hearing for Jan. 21 to order a demolition or repair of a house on 1310 Prospect Ave. that had been condemned.

The city’s code compliance staff received calls in August from the Lawrence Police Department that people had been staying in the previously vacant unit. When the staff inspected the house, they found it was uninhabitable and dangerous and condemned the property. The house had no bathroom or kitchen facilities or fixtures and there had been no water consumption on the property since 2013.

• Approved a tax exemption request from DCCCA for the construction of a duplex project at 3015 West 31st St.

The nonprofit is aiming to build five duplexes to create transitional housing for clients of its First Step House, a 28-day program that helps mothers who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. The project would be next door to its First Step treatment center, as the Journal-World reported.

According to the city memo, construction is expected to start January 2025 and the facility should be open in February 2026.