Mike Courtney and Kristine Polian were sworn in as Lawrence city commissioners Tuesday evening, and both took the opportunity to request additions to future meeting agendas.

The two newcomers both voiced concerns throughout their campaigns about the city’s plans to implement fees for residents to access recreational facilities, and the issue was on the minds of many voters in the November city election.

The city has never charged Lawrence and Douglas County residents to enter recreation centers, but that is changing in January as part of plans to eliminate a multimillion-dollar city budget deficit.

All people ages 18 and up will have to pay to access Sports Pavilion Lawrence and the East Lawrence and Holcom Park recreation centers starting next month. Read details about the access fees at this link.

In addition, the Community Building, 115 W. 11th St., will only be open to enrolled classes and reservations. There will be no free play or open access to exercise equipment at the Community Building for people who aren’t enrolled in classes starting Jan. 1.

Courtney asked fellow commissioners to include a discussion of the fees on one of their upcoming agendas, and Polian agreed that she, too, would like to discuss the issue. Courtney said he’d been working on a proposal, which he said he’d sent to the city staff members and commissioners last month.

Commissioners agreed to add the discussion to either the Dec. 9 or Dec. 16 meeting agenda — most likely Dec. 16, so that Interim Parks, Recreation and Culture Director Lindsay Hart can be present.

Polian also requested that city staff members bring forward a request for proposals for municipal advisory services.

Lawrence City Manager Craig Owens announced last month that he’s planning to step down in May 2026, and the city will work with a consulting firm to fill the position. Owens told Polian Tuesday that staff members have already been working on that.

Two proposals had actually been included in Tuesday’s meeting agenda right after it was posted last week, but they were removed shortly thereafter. The proposals were from Texas-based Strategic Government Resources, for a “not-to-exceed price” of $28,419, and from Illinois-based MGT, for $26,000.

Commission agendas are posted at this link.

City commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid about $22,000 each year. The other three commission seats will be on ballots again in 2027.

Courtney elected vice mayor

Traditionally, the person who receives the most votes in an election will serve as vice mayor for the first year of their term, then as mayor the following year. The candidate who received the second most votes in the election follows as the next vice mayor.

The new commission — which also includes Mayor Brad Finkeldei and Commissioners Mike Dever and Amber Sellers — stuck with tradition Tuesday evening, selecting Courtney as the new vice mayor.

Following the departure of former commissioners Lisa Larsen and Bart Littlejohn, Courtney and Polian taking their oaths of office, and a speech from the new mayor, the meeting adjourned to a brief reception.

There was no general public comment period Tuesday evening, which is unusual for the city commission.

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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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Nathan Kramer (he/him), a multimedia student journalist for The Lawrence Times since August 2024, is a senior at Free State High School. He is also a news photo editor for Free State’s student publication, where he works as a videographer, photographer and motion designer. See more of his work for the Times here.

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