photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Shannon Oury, the executive director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, answers questions from county leaders during a presentation about a supportive housing needs assessment on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.

After an assessment called for nearly 400 more units of supportive housing in Douglas County, leaders said that data would help them as they start thinking about American Rescue Plan Act funds and the upcoming budget process.

During a work session on Wednesday, the Douglas County Commission received a presentation about the assessment from representatives with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, the organization that put the study together. The commission initiated that work last September.

Supportive housing is a model that combines affordable housing with other support services that help to keep those households stable. Broadly speaking, the assessment estimates that Douglas County needs 381 total units of supportive housing, which would cost more than $100 million in capital, operating and service costs according to a 10-year financial model.

Commissioner Patrick Kelly said he was glad to have the assessment as county leaders prepare to distribute American Rescue Plan Act funds and set the county’s budget for the next year.

“This really helps us as we think about how to move forward,” Kelly said. “We have significant ARPA funds to think about, and not only ARPA funds but our budget funds, where that need is.”

The assessment has already identified about 76 housing units in the county that could be acquired and used as supportive housing.

Kelly and fellow commissioner Shannon Reid had questions about possible sources of funding. Reid, in particular, asked some questions about voucher programs that might align with a supportive housing model. Shannon Oury, the executive director of the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, told commissioners that the county had received some vouchers that could apply to some eligible categories of residents outlined in the assessment.

Also on Wednesday, the commission:

• Approved the Public Works Department’s vegetation management plan. That plan details the responsibilities of the Public Works parks and vegetation crew and lays out goals such as protecting sensitive crops, noxious weed control and promoting public education.

During the public comment period, four Douglas County residents said they’d like to see the department doing more roadside mowing than the plan called for. The plan says the county mows mostly on the area directly adjacent to roadways — roughly 10 feet wide — four to eight times per year. Other areas outside of the right-of-way are mowed less frequently, or not at all; in those areas, mowing occurs once every two to three years. Public Works Director Chad Voigt said the department doesn’t have the capability to perform a full “mow-out” of those areas on a more frequent basis.

Kelly said he was comfortable approving the plan as-is. He said he was confident the Public Works Department would consider public feedback about issues like mowing frequency in the two years between now and the next time commissioners review the department’s vegetation management plan. The next review of the plan is set for February 2024.

• Approved an increase to the daily rate the county bills each city when housing municipal inmates at the Douglas County Jail. The county uses a formula to calculate how much it charges cities, and County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said the county would soon share information with cities explaining how the new rates would work.

• Approved changes to the health care plan for county employees, which will renew on June 1. The plan “carves out” the dental plan from plan bundles and increases the annual maximum from $1,250 to $2,000; implements health reimbursement accounts as an option; and adds a fourth coverage tier for payroll contribution purposes, among other adjustments. The commission approved $7.4 million in new funding for the insurance renewal.

• Approved the relocation of the recycling drop-off location currently located at the Vinland Fair site parking lot, 711 East 1750 Road, to a county-owned Public Works operations satellite site at 1704 North 700 Road. The move will remain valid for a one-year period, starting Wednesday and continuing until March 23, 2023, with the possibility of an extension. Both the old and new sites are located in the unincorporated community of Vinland, south of Lawrence and north of Baldwin City. The current location has been closed since late February following complaints of illegal dumping.

The new site will be fenced to ensure security and to prevent recyclables from blowing onto adjacent streets and properties, which had been a complaint with the old site.

One Vinland resident, Melanie Coffman, was concerned that relocating might cause new problems. She said noise at the site could affect the nearby Church of Christ of Vinland, which is adjacent to the property, and would also be a visual distraction from nearby historic sites.

“It’s actually overrun our little town,” she said, suggesting that the commission could instead consider moving the site to a location other than Vinland.

But Plinsky said that there were few options other than the new location. She said there wasn’t a lot of county-owned land in that area that could serve as a suitable alternative.