photo by: Journal-World

The west side of the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St., is pictured on Sept. 23, 2021.

Douglas County leaders could soon start the process of asking voters whether to expand the County Commission from three members to five.

At their meeting Wednesday, county commissioners will discuss the possibility of expanding the commission and could ask county counsel to draft a ballot question on the issue. As the Journal-World has reported, increasing the number of districts requires an election — the commission can put a question on the ballot, or the public can put a question on the ballot through a petition process.

Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, the county’s top election official, and County Counselor John Bullock will be at Wednesday’s meeting to answer commissioners’ questions about the process, according to the meeting’s agenda.

County leaders have discussed the possibility of adding seats to the commission several times over the past year. The idea arose following the 2020 election, which resulted in a commission composed entirely of Lawrence residents for possibly the first time. Some rural residents were worried that could mean the commission would be too focused on Lawrence issues.

In December, the commission held a listening session to hear public input about the possible expansion. About 20 residents spoke at that session, asking the commission to put the question to a public vote.

If the commission wanted to place a question on the ballot for this year’s general election, the deadline for doing so would be Sept. 1. The general election is Nov. 8. Shew said in December that if the public voted to expand the commission, new district maps would be established following the election. Once maps were approved, there would be an election to decide the commissioners for the new districts.

In other business, the commission will:

• Consider using up to $155,000 in state grant funding to help a nonprofit acquire a duplex for a “housing first” pilot program.

Last year, the county received a $500,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services to help place people experiencing homelessness in their own housing, as the Journal-World previously reported. Now, Tenants to Homeowners wants to use some of the grant funding to purchase a duplex that would provide two rental units for the housing first program.

• At a work session, hear a presentation from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center about its efforts to obtain Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic status. This is a special certification from the state that Bert Nash expects to apply for over the next several months.

Wednesday’s work session will begin at 4 p.m. and the regular business meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. Those who attend at the courthouse will be required to wear a face mask. The meeting also will be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.