Douglas County is seeking applications for this year’s Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge!

The competition - open to students in grades 6 through 12 - consists of preparing a written business plan, an executive summary, an elevator speech, formal presentation and trade show presentation. Students compete for $3,000 in prize money. The students’ work is judged by local entrepreneurs, teachers and community leaders. The deadline to submit an application is Friday, Nov. 18.

Karen Willey was elected August 28 by the Douglas County Democratic precinct committee to represent the Third District as a County Commissioner. 

The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council (HCC) will host a public meeting about cultural and historic resource preservation from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Vinland Fairgrounds, 1736 N 700 Road. HCC is gathering community input for a Rural Preservation Plan.

For the election results, visit: http://dgcoks.org/election2022. The canvass was held on Monday, Nov. 21.

Douglas County Emergency Management will be hosting a full-scale training exercise on Friday, Sept. 23, at Youth Sports Complex, 4911 W. 27th St., in Lawrence.

A town hall meeting about the Wakarusa Drive extension project will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, at the Greenbush Resource Center, formerly Wakarusa School, 1104 E 1000 Road. It will be an opportunity for the community to hear about the project, ask questions and provide comments.

The City of Lawrence and Douglas County will have new leaders, Kathy Richardson and Kim Criner Ritchie, for their separate Sustainability Offices. Both offices will follow their respective priorities while continuing to collaborate on projects that improve sustainability efforts throughout Lawrence and Douglas County. Previously, Lawrence-Douglas County Sustainability was a combined office that worked on initiatives for both the City and the County. 

The Douglas County Clerk’s Office is sending 45,852 property owners a notification in the mail this week (Aug. 10-11) about estimated property taxes for 2022. It is not a bill.

In March 2021, the Kansas Legislature passed a law that requires county clerks to send a notice that explains each taxing jurisdiction’s intent or non-intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate. Taxing jurisdictions (municipalities, counties and districts) are prohibited from levying property tax that exceeds the revenue neutral rate without having a public hearing and passing a resolution.

Researchers will present findings from their examination of pedestrian and traffic stop data during a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, in the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. The data has been collected in conjunction with the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) and with Douglas County law enforcement agencies.

Douglas County has hired Katy Fitzgerald as Criminal Justice Coordinator. Fitzgerald will primarily work on justice issues, including facilitation and coordination of the Douglas County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Katy’s first day with Douglas County will be July 29.

Douglas County Commissioner Shannon Reid is joining a select group of local officials as the inaugural cohort of the National Association of Counties’ Familiar Faces Leadership Network for their commitment to improving life outcomes for high-needs residents with complex behavioral health conditions.

The Board of County Commissioners reached an agreement July 20 on an approximately $163.7 million budget for 2023. They agreed on a mill levy of 46.380 mills, which is a decrease of one mill from 2022. One mill is one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value.

The 2023 budget included growth in property values (assessed valuation) of 12.44%. This higher than traditional rate of growth allowed the Commission to reduce the mill levy by $2.2 million in the general fund. The 2023 budget does not eliminate any current county services.