Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday deferred an amendment to city code that would have allowed John Brown’s Underground to keep operating — but they want to look at ways to expand the opportunity to other businesses, too.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Business owners, housing advocates, and housed and unhoused community members filled Lawrence City Hall on Tuesday to speak out about the city’s handling of homelessness and management of the camp behind Johnny’s.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Winter is coming fast, and many Lawrence community members are unhoused. Downtown stakeholders have come together to push the city to find solutions, but city staff members say right now they’re limited in what they can do.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Megan Stuke said she’s usually frustrated, exhausted and probably a little angry when Lawrence city commissioners hear from her — but on Tuesday night, she was “simply hopeful and really happy about the progress that we’ve made.”
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider water, sewer, solid waste and stormwater rate increases, and assess possible ways to expand a program to help financially stressed residents pay their bills.
A revised draft of a city ordinance would limit general public comment during Lawrence City Commission meetings to 30 minutes total and require advance signup, and it suggests that comments won’t be livestreamed. It also adds more specific language regarding decorum and restricts the public’s ability to request that items be removed from the consent agenda.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Jennifer Adams is anxious. She soon has to relocate the tent where she currently lives nestled near a shade tree. In the year and a half Adams has been homeless, the city has swept her camps six times, she said.
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider some suggestions from staff to make meetings more efficient, including limiting general public comments or taking them out of the meeting livestreams.
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday gave staff a consensus to use federal COVID-19 relief funds to ensure that the Lawrence Humane Society will receive the same amount of funding in the next city budget as it has for the past few years.
Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday decided not to put a question on voters’ November ballots asking if they want to directly elect a mayor.
