photo by: Matt Resnick/Journal-World

Attorney Patrick Watkins, left, and Sam Camp, economic development analyst for the city of Lawrence, are pictured on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, at the Douglas County Courthouse as the County Commission considered tax incentives for the Turnhalle renovation project.

A tax incentive package for renovations to the historic Turnhalle building near downtown took another step forward on Wednesday when the Douglas County Commission unanimously signed off on it.

At its regular meeting, the commission approved the incentives for the project, which would rehabilitate the more than 150-year-old stone structure at 900 Rhode Island St. for use as an event space and restaurant. The package had already received preliminary approval from the Lawrence City Commission on Feb. 6; now, the Lawrence school board will also need to approve it before it can come back to the City Commission for a final stamp of approval.

As the Journal-World reported, the incentives package would include a 15-year, 70% Neighborhood Revitalization Area rebate, as well as Industrial Revenue Bonds that would provide a sales tax exemption on construction materials and labor. The City Commission on Feb. 6 also approved a 20-year, 2% additional sales tax via a Community Improvement District, but the other local taxing entities don’t have to sign off on that.

On Wednesday, Sam Camp, economic development analyst for the City of Lawrence, provided county commissioners with an overview of the incentives, as well as the plans for the renovations. Camp said the renovated Turnhalle building would house 5,000 square feet of commercial and restaurant space on the first floor and 4,500 square feet of community and event space on the second floor.

Commission Chair Karen Willey said the building is “a gem for East Lawrence,” and that it was a model project for a Neighborhood Revitalization Area.

As the Journal-World reported, a Neighborhood Revitalization Area is part of a property tax rebate program that applies only to the value of new improvements made to a property and not to its base property value. In this case, if the incentive package received all of its necessary approvals, the city, county and school district would each continue to receive 100% of the property taxes generated by the property; the 70% rebate would apply only to new elements, such as an approximately 835-square-foot addition slated for the back of the building to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“I struggle with some of the larger (Neighborhood Revitalization Areas),” Willey said. But she said she thought this project would “definitely gain us a lot in terms of property tax dollars” in the long term.

“This is a great project, and I’m happy to be involved with it,” she said.

In other business, commissioners:

• Heard about the final draft of the county’s Open Space Plan during a work session. The plan deals with strategies for managing natural and undeveloped lands in the county, and in a memo to the commission, Sustainability Manager Kim Criner Ritchie said it would help the county “intentionally work with public, private, and community partners on shared priorities around land use.”

During the work session, county officials listed some possible strategies for implementing the plan, including promotion of expanded floodplain protections, agritourism and farmland stewardship agreements and using tax incentives to promote conservation, among other things.

The deadline to comment on the open space plan is approaching. Online feedback on the plan can be submitted at plan.konveio.com/douglas-county-open-space-plan through Feb. 25, and the county also plans to host an open-house-style public meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the Douglas County Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25th St.

The open space advisory committee plans to make a final recommendation for the plan on March 19, and county commissioners are tentatively slated to consider approving the plan on April 3.

• Unanimously approved the appointment of 14 candidates for membership in an advisory group for the Treatment and Recovery Center of Douglas County. The application period opened on Dec. 15, and has since included a review process conducted by the county and representatives of Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, which operates the TRC. As the Journal-World reported, county leaders were seeking candidates with backgrounds that included physician/clinical expertise; community advocates; lived experience or expertise; first responders or justice system representatives; and organizational management, human services or legal representatives. Areas of lived experience include mental illness, substance use disorders and housing insecurity or homelessness.

The selected candidates were Jim Carpenter, Paula Dupigny-Leigh, Bev Hyde, Julia Ireland, Irving Kuo, Bonnie Lowe, Kelly McCauley, Amber Rhoden, Amber Sellers, Dustin Stumblingbear, R.J. Torrey, Robert Trepinski, Sherri Vaughn and Ronald Zahorik. Appointment terms for the group are staggered. The group’s structure consists of one-third of the members serving a one-year term, one-third serving a two-year term and one-third serving a three-year term. At the conclusion of those terms, a member’s appointment could be extended for an additional three years with a one-time renewal.