photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St., is pictured on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024.

Story updated at 4:18 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13:

City leaders next week will be asked to approve an airport layout drawing that must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration as a condition of receiving future federal funding.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the Lawrence City Commission will vote on the layout, which was prepared as part of the city’s Airport Master Plan process. The master plan update has been in development for several years, and it’s meant to forecast aviation activity in the area and suggest improvements to the facilities at Lawrence Regional Airport. The drawing depicts existing and proposed facilities at the airport north of Lawrence.

A draft report on the master plan is included in the commission’s meeting agenda, too, and it recommends a variety of projects at the airport in the future, including improvements to runways and taxiways, replacement of signage and markings, and even setting aside land for solar power facilities.

Approving the layout drawing doesn’t obligate the city to move ahead with any projects in the master plan, however. Future projects would have to be considered through the city’s normal review and approval processes.

A few other airport-related items are on the commission’s consent agenda, including a $318,000 bid for runway rehabilitation, a request for new subcommittees to be created on the Aviation Advisory Board, and a contract for janitorial services at multiple large city buildings, including the airport terminal.

In other business, the commission will:

• Hear a presentation about A Place for Everyone, the city-county plan to eliminate chronic homelessness. The Douglas County Commission heard the same presentation at its meeting this week.

The commission was also originally scheduled to hear an update from the city’s Environmental Sustainability Commitment Team about environmental goals in the city’s strategic plan, and to provide input on a new climate neutrality goal. However, on Friday afternoon, the meeting agenda was updated to show that this item was deferred to a future meeting.

The City Commission meets at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.