photo by: Mike Yoder

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured Thursday, July 7, 2016.

The Lawrence City Commission at its meeting Tuesday will consider whether to allow a St. Louis-based construction firm to receive a sales tax exemption on the construction materials for a planned assisted living and memory care facility.

If approved, the firm — Dover Development — will be issued up to $17 million in industrial revenue bonds, and the city will forgo future sales tax revenues on project construction materials. The agenda item report for Tuesday’s meeting notes that the exact amount isn’t clear yet, but projections estimate forgone sales taxes for the project would amount to approximately $52,750.

Dover Development first approached the city about a tax break for the project last month, which the commission discussed at its Feb. 22 meeting. The city’s Public Incentives Review Committee then discussed the request at its March 2 meeting, and a split 4-4 vote resulted in no recommendation being provided for the City Commission.

The city has authorized industrial revenue bond support for various projects throughout the years. According to materials for Tuesday’s meeting, there are seven projects — including Rock Chalk Park and Standard Beverage, as some examples — with outstanding bonds. There’s a list three times as long of projects with matured bonds, such as the Lawrence Humane Society and the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence’s teen facility addition.

According to meeting materials, the city’s economic development policy actually requires applicants to pay an industrial revenue bond origination fee — provided they’re requested solely to obtain a tax exemption — that starts at a rate of 0.004% of the first $10 million in bonds, then drops to a 0.002% rate for the second $20 million and 0.001% at $60 million and over. For the Dover Development project, that would result in a $54,000 fee.

However, if a project will create primary jobs — Dover anticipates creating more than 50 full- and part-time positions — or has a primary purpose of creating affordable housing, the city may choose to waive a portion or all of the origination fee.

In other business, the commission will:

• Revisit funding for general shelter operations for the Lawrence Community Shelter. The commission delayed approving the city’s $290,000 annual allocation for the shelter last month, asking for a more detailed agreement that would specify that city funding should go to support emergency sheltering first.

Staff from the Lawrence Community Shelter will be on hand to deliver a presentation about that agreement, and the commission will consider whether to approve those funds for the 2022 budget year.

• Consider authorizing City Manager Craig Owens to enter into an hourly rate service agreement not to exceed $14,500 with Gould Evans Associates, a local architecture firm, for the development of a permanent parklet program in downtown Lawrence.

Approving the contract with Gould Evans would be the latest step in the city’s work to make permanent a program that has allowed downtown businesses to construct patios and outdoor dining areas in parking stalls during the coronavirus pandemic. The commission specified at its March 1 meeting it would want the proposed contract to come back for consideration.

• During a work session, receive a progress update on the city’s new multimillion-dollar bus station. Initial renderings for the facility were made public last month, and the project remains on track for buses to begin operating from the site in January 2023.

• During a work session, receive an update about the Connected City Outcome Team working to implement the city’s strategic plan, which pertains to supporting “accessible, sustainable methods for safely moving people and information throughout the community and the region.” The framework for that plan was adopted in October 2020.

City Commission meetings will remain remote until the April 5 meeting, the city announced last week. The Lawrence City Commission will meet virtually at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, and some staff will be in place at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. The public may attend the meeting in person at City Hall or participate virtually by following directions included in the commission’s meeting agenda, which is available on the city’s website, lawrenceks.org.