photo by: Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council

Volunteers planting native plants for a research project at Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Park.

Douglas County commissioners will consider approving grant awards to organizations supporting natural and cultural heritage conservation projects.

The Natural and Cultural Grant Program provides community organizations and businesses with a competitive funding opportunity to carry out heritage conservation projects across Douglas County. Established in 2011, the program received $210,000 in funding from county commissioners in 2025 as part of the county’s annual budget.

In this year’s grant cycle, the Heritage Conservation Council, or HCC, received 26 applications from three cities and four townships across Douglas County, with funding requests totaling over $1 million. According to a letter to county commissioners, this marks the highest number of applications and the largest total funding request since 2014.

The HCC recommends funding 12 projects for the 2025 Natural and Cultural Heritage Grant Program, citing their alignment with its heritage-preservation mission. County commissioners will review the proposed projects and consider funding amounts on Wednesday.

One of the proposed projects involves the University of Kansas’ Museum Studies program, which plans to use $27,500 in funding for a graduate student to work at the Haskell Cultural Center and Museum during the 2025-26 academic year. The student would help document, rehouse and digitize around 3,000 Native American artifacts, photographs and artworks, making them more accessible to the public and scholars while preserving the physical collection.

Another project would award $25,000 to Haskell to address accessibility issues in the Haskell wetlands by developing a boardwalk. The university plans to hire a project manager and partner with a firm to survey the area and create the official design for a 420-foot ADA-accessible boardwalk.

Another proposal seeking $27,500 in funding is the Elk Creek Wetland Restoration project, which would revitalize 181 acres of wetland at the Clinton Lake Wildlife Area.

Led by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks in partnership with Ducks Unlimited, the City of Lawrence and others, the project would improve water quality flowing into Clinton Lake and enhance drinking water for residents. It would also seek to boost outdoor recreation for bird watchers, nature lovers and hunters, while ensuring a healthy wetland ecosystem through strategic restoration efforts.

Other projects recommended for funding are an effort to document the arrival of African American and Native American families to the county, proposed by the LRM Foundation, and the creation of a network of historical landmarks to be used in a driving tour in southern Douglas County, proposed by Baker University.

The HCC also shared in a memo to commissioners several projects that are not being recommended for funding at this time. One of those is the wildlife panorama at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum at Dyche Hall. As the Journal-World reported, that exhibit recently received a $2 million gift to begin preservation efforts.

Additionally, funding is not recommended for the Cardinal Housing Network’s proposal to educate the community about “A Place for Everyone” — an initiative aimed to raise awareness of housing challenges, share stories of resilience, and highlight partnerships addressing homelessness in Douglas County.

In other business, county commissioners will:

* Consider a charter resolution to amend the appointments to the Douglas County Fair Board. The board currently consists of a representative from each township and a member from the City of Lawrence.

A memo in the agenda states that the board has spent several years trying to find a representative from Grant Township, but no one has been willing to serve. To address this, the proposed resolution would modify the appointment process to allow an additional “at-large” representative when a township-specific appointee cannot be found. Passing a charter resolution requires a two-thirds vote from the County Commission.

* Consider entering into an agreement with P1 Mechanical for upgrades and repairs to an HVAC system for a building at the Public Works facility. The building uses two Daikin Variable Refrigerant Flow units, which are designed to be more energy-efficient than traditional systems. However, the systems typically only last about 10-12 years, and the building is now 10 years old, according to a memo in the agenda.

* Consider approving recommended health care plan changes and employee contribution rates. Key changes include no increase in employee contributions or out-of-pocket costs, expanded chiropractic benefits, enhancements to wellness and mental health programs and more. A memo in the agenda states that sufficient funds are available to accommodate the changes to the plan in the employee benefits fund.

* Consider approving a contract with Deere & Company for a 2025 John Deere 6M Cab Tractor and John Deere FC10R Flex Wing Rotary Cutter for a total cost of $203,119. The equipment will replace a roadside mowing tractor and rotary mower used by the Public Works department.

* Hear an update on the activities of the Kansas Legislature from Little Government Relations. The presentation is for informational purposes only; no action will follow.

* Hear an overview of the Douglas County Maintenance, IT, GIS and Administration departments. In the first quarter of 2025, county departments present updates on their operations and services to the county commissioners during work sessions, where no action is taken.

The County Commission’s work session will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Commission meeting room at 1100 Massachusetts St. The business meeting will follow at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will also be available via Zoom.