photo by: City of Lawrence

A rendering of the future Municipal Services & Operations department campus. The City Commission will consider approving a contract to fund the second phase of construction for the $130 million project.

Lawrence City Commissioners on Tuesday will consider approving a more than $50 million contract to fund the second phase of construction for the city’s new $130 million Municipal Services and Operations campus.

Commissioners will consider awarding a contract to the construction firm McCownGordon for just over $57 million of work on the second phase of construction for the MSO campus. The first phase of construction on the campus, located at VenturePark in eastern Lawrence, has been ongoing since December, with the city allocating about $64.5 million for that portion of the project.

As the Journal-World reported, the commission voted in April 2024 to approve an accelerated timeline for constructing the campus. The $130 million project will bring together various city divisions, including streets, water, sewer, inspections and traffic, and will also have space for MSO administration, a fueling station and a central maintenance garage.

The second phase of the MSO campus will house the Solid Waste division and the Central Maintenance Garage building, according to a city memo. The memo also noted that funding for the project is included in the city’s capital improvement plan, and has been factored into the city’s property tax rate.

If commissioners approve the contract during the Tuesday meeting, construction for the second phase of the campus could begin in March 2026, according to a presentation. The city hopes construction on the campus would be completed in November 2027.

The first phase of the campus, which will house the majority of the MSO department’s divisions and the fueling station, is expected to be completed in spring 2026.

In other business, commissioners will:

• Consider awarding a request for financial incentives from US Engineering for constructing a new 75,000-square-foot-facility in Lawrence Venture Park.

The commission will conduct a public hearing and consider awarding an incentive package that would award two lots to the firm, a 70% abatement on property taxes for the next 10 years and a sales tax exemption for construction materials needed to build the new facility. Those terms come from the city’s Catalyst Program, which the city created in 2017 as a way to attract businesses to its business parks.

As the Journal-World reported, the Kansas City-based firm filed those plans to expand with City Hall in August. US Engineering already operates a 150,000-square-foot production center that employs around 150 high-paid pipefitters and sheetmetal workers, with average pay sitting at around $90,000 a year. The new project anticipates adding 30 jobs in its first year of operation, and eventually plans to have around 50 total employees at the new facility, according to a city memo.

The city memo said that US Engineering wants to begin construction on the new facility in October, with hopes it will be finished by July 2026. The estimated costs for the project are about $12 million.

• Consider adopting increased utility rates for stormwater and solid waste.

Commissioners will consider setting the stormwater rate for 2026 and the solid waste rates from 2026 to 2028.

The stormwater rate is calculated per Equivalent Residential Unit. According to a city memo, the new ordinance would modify the size of an ERU from 2366 square feet to 2800 square feet of impervious surface. The city noted that change came as a result of a recent survey of all single family residential parcels and will now reflect the median size of those units.

For 2026, the recommended rate will be $10.71 per month, which reflects a 6% increase in the rate per square foot from the 2025 rate. A city memo estimates that about 24% of single family residential costs would decrease, about 38% of payers would see no change in their total costs and 38% of users would see their bills increase.

The proposed solid waste rates would increase by 5.5% each year from 2026 to 2028 for residential users. Last year, residential rates were raised by 4% from 2024 to 2025. According to a city memo, residential rates would be raised by $1.25 in 2026, $1.32 in 2027 and $1.40 in 2028.

Commercial rates would be increased between 3% to 9.5% under the proposal. Because the cost varies by container size, there is no specific dollar amount for most of the units. However, the rate for commercial carts would be raised by 3% each year, making the rates $1.02 in 2026, $1.05 in 2027 and $1.09 in 2028.

The Commission meeting will take place at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.