Commission Board Meeting on Mon, April 24, 2006 - 8:30 AM


Meeting Information

      -Convene

      -Pledge of Allegiance

      -Consider approval of minutes of April 5, April 7, and <1/2xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />April 12, 2006

 

CONSENT AGENDA

      (1) (a)   Consider approval of Commission Orders

            (b)   Consider approval of Resolution Amending Water Ski Regulations at Lone Star

                    Lake (Keith Browning)

           

REGULAR AGENDA

      (2)    Planning Item: CUP-01-01-06: Conditional Use Permit request for an existing airstrip located at 725 N 500 Road. Approval of this request would enable the airstrip to be in zoning compliance with Douglas County Zoning Regulations. Submitted by Darrell Norris, applicant, for Phyllis Norris, property owner of record. (Paul Patterson)

 

      (3)    Consider Agreement for Design Engineering Services for the Extension of E 1326 Road in Conjunction with US-59 Freeway Project (Keith Browning)

 

      (4)    Consider approval of document management system (Jim Lawson/Jamie Shew)

 

(5)    Other Business

               (a)&nb

Johnson called the meeting to order at 8:33 A.M. on Monday, April 24, 2006 with two members present. McElhaney was absent. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Johnson moved approval of the minutes of April 5, April 7, and April 12, 2006. Motion was seconded by Jones and carried.

CONSENT AGENDA 04-24-06
Jones made a motion to approve the following Consent Agenda:

  • Approve Commissioners Order No. 06-142. Order is on file in the office of the County Clerk;
  • Note receipt of fee reports for the month of January, 2006; and
  • Approve Resolution No. 06-15 Amending the Rules and Regulations Applicable to Lone Star Lake Park to Change the Dates and Times Permissible for Water Skiing.

Motion was seconded by Johnson and carried.

PLANNING 04-24-06
The Board considered Item No. 4 of the minutes of the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Commission dated March 13, 2006. This item is CUP-01-01-06: Conditional Use Permit request for an existing airstrip located at 725 N 500 Road. Approval of this request would enable the airstrip to be in zoning compliance with Douglas County Zoning regulations. Submitted by Darrel Norris, applicant, for Phyllis Norris, property owner of record. Paul Patterson, staff member of the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Department, presented this item. This item comes to the Board with a unanimous recommendation for approval based upon the following Findings of Fact:

Zoning and uses of property nearby. The property is located on 160 acres at 725 N 500 Road. The area is zoned for agricultural use. It is developed with a rural residence and agricultural use. The surrounding area is also zoned for agricultural use.

Character of the area. The character of the area is agricultural and includes both pasture land and some wooded areas.

Suitability of subject property for the uses to which it has been restricted. A Conditional Use Permit (CUP) d s not change the base, underlying zoning. The suitability of the property for agricultural or rural residential use will not be altered. The 160 acre property was developed with a single-family home, equipment shed and aircraft hangar.

Length of time subject property has remained vacant as zoned. The subject property is developed with a single-family house that will remain for residential use. The County Zoning was adopted in 1966; this property has been zoned "A" (Agricultural) since that adoption.

Extent to which removal of restrictions will detrimentally affect nearby property. Approval of the CUP will allow the applicant to continue to operate an existing airstrip landing field at this location.

Relative gain to the public health, safety and welfare by the destruction of the value of the petitioner's property as compared to the hardship imposed upon the individual landowners. Approval of the continued use neither directly benefits the community nor appears to harm the public health, safety and welfare. The underlying "A" (Agricultural) zoning district is unchanged. This specific request is the for the continued use of an existing airstrip landing field for the private use of the property owner.

Conformance with the Comprehensive Plan. Horizon 2020 d s not directly address the issuances of CUPs or private landing strips. The comprehensive plan d s discuss Lawrence Municipal Airport and the need to keep its airspace free from encroachment. This private grass airstrip will not encroach on the Municipal Airport's airspace. The location of the existing airstrip is in conformance with Horizon 2020.

AND subject to the following conditions:

 1. Provision of a revised site plan to include the following item and notes:
  a. "The permit will be administratively reviewed by the County in 5 years (April 30, 2011);
  b. "The permit will expire at the end of 10 years (April 30, 2016), unless an application for renewal is approved prior to that date by the local governing body;" and
  c. "The airstrip is for the private use of the property owner only and restricted to the airplane registered to the applicant and may not be used for commercial purposes."
 2. Provision of a legal description of the property; and
 3. Provide a copy of the certification approval for the airstrip from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Planning Department [File CUP- 01-01-06].
 
Johnson recalled an earlier conversation with the applicant who stated that on occasion a friend might fly in for a visit. Johnson suggested that the wording to condition 1) c. be changed to read "The airstrip is limited to non-commercial traffic only which has the owner's permission to use the strip."

Jones stated he had no problem with the CUP but would be interested in obtaining an opinion from the County Counselor with regard to the County's liability should there be an incident.  Johnson pointed out that the applicant has to obtain approval from the Federal Aviation Association, so Douglas County shouldn't have any liability issues.

Jones then made a motion to approve CUP-01-01-06 based upon the above Findings of Fact and subject to the following amended conditions:

 1. Provision of a revised site plan to include the following item and notes:
  a. "The permit will be administratively reviewed by the County in 5 years (April 30, 2011);
  b. "The permit will expire at the end of 10 years (April 30, 2016), unless an application for renewal is approved prior to that date by the local governing body;" and
  c. "The airstrip is limited to non-commercial traffic only which has the owner's permission to use the strip."
 2. Provision of a legal description of the property; and
 3. Provide a copy of the certification approval for the airstrip from the Federal Aviation Administration to the Planning Department [File CUP- 01-01-06].

Motion was seconded by Johnson and carried.

PURCHASING 04-24-06
The Board considered approval of a contract for a document management solution for all Douglas County offices. Jackie Waggoner, Purchasing Director, Jim Lawson, Information Technology Director, and Jamie Shew, County Clerk, were present for the discussion. Waggoner explained that in April of 2005 the Board approved a contract for consulting services with BV Solutions Group, currently known as Electronic Data Systems (EDS) for the following deliverables: (1) conduct a document imaging needs analysis by department and provide a countywide document imaging/management needs assessment, (2) develop an implementation plan, (3) create a request for proposal (RFP) for the solution, and (4) assist in the evaluation process.

Four (4) proposals were received in response to the RFP. As part of the evaluation process, each company was invited to present their proposal and perform a complete product demonstration to the evaluation committee. Representatives from most major departments of the County served on the evaluation committee. The overall consensus from both the evaluation committee and the consultants is that Cutting Edge Solutions-Hyland OnBase provides the best solution, even though they were not the lowest cost. Significant weight was given to location of the supplier, qualifications, ability to meet the County's needs, user friendliness, and references. Their final negotiated offer is $347,782.

Lawson and Shew then conducted a power point presentation outlining the benefits of a document management solution.

Johnson asked how records were purged.  Lawson responded that purging is based on a retention system provided by State government.

Johnson then asked about management of system security.  Lawson explained that certain people can be designated to have access to certain areas. The system also creates an audit trail noting every time a record is viewed, printed, moved, modified, and who accessed the record.  Jones emphasized that he would like to see some clearly defined process to demonstrate to citizens that their privacy is protected. He then asked about virus protection.  Lawson stated that the County has multiple layers of virus protection. Backups are conducted daily and maintained offsite. Additionally, the County has the type of storage system that is redundant, which ensures that the system will continue operating during disk drive failures.

Jones asked whether there would be additional costs associated with inputting historical data into the system and whether we would need to hire temporary staff.  Lawson said that would depend on how far back we decide to go with the records; he believes that the County would gain more efficiency if the system included historical data.  Jones pointed out that the County d s a lot of things in terms of efficiency, but it d sn't seem to reduce the workforce.  He noted he would rather see monies spent on health care and roads.

In response to the issue of workforce efficiency, Shew stated that he currently has 2.5 employees that work in real estate and anticipates that at some point, following full implementation of the document management system,  he may be able to reduce the FTE in that area.  Shew stated that, for example, plat work is increasing and this system will allow him to accommodate the additional work without hiring additional staff. He noted that some areas may not see a reduction, but may stay at the current level.  Johnson pointed out that the increase in staffing levels may be slower.

Jones stated he would like staff to provide more information about the security policy in terms of internal access, to forecast some sense of reduction in the work force, and to estimate what the out-year costs would be. He questioned the future maintenance costs and whether this was something that would need to be replaced every three (3) years.  Lawson noted that the maintenance costs are included in the proposal for the first two (2) years.  After that, in present day dollars, maintenance costs are anticipated to be $45,000-$50,000 per year. Lawson also stated that he did not foresee the need for replacement.

Jones asked whether a policy decision had been made as to how far back the records will go.  Madl said the current plan is to implement the system and move forward. If a policy is made to include past documents and records, it may be necessary to hire temporary staff, and that would require Commission approval.

Johnson asked whether the system was compatible with the City's system. Madl replied that it is compatible with the On Base system being used by the City.

Jones made a motion to accept the negotiated proposal for a document management solution submitted by Cutting Edge Solutions in the amount of $347,782, noting that he would like to see the following:

  • an access/security policy that has been reviewed by the County Counselor; 
  • some kind of discussion on efficiency and out-year dollar projections in terms of efficiencies in staff; and
  • a proposal of how historical data will be handled and entered.

Motion was seconded by Johnson and carried unanimously.

PUBLIC WORKS 04-24-06
The Board discussed an Agreement for Design Engineering Services for the Extension of E 1326 Road in conjunction with the U.S. 59 Freeway Project. Keith Browning, Director of Public Works/County Engineer, stated that the planned U.S. 59 Freeway construction project will remove the existing U.S. 59 Highway access at N 1056 Road and N 1082 Road. The extension of E 1326 Road south to Route 458 to provide another access for the Berg Acres area was one of Douglas County's requests to the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). KDOT subsequently agreed to cover the cost of extending E 1326 Road to Route 458, but Douglas County must prepare construction plans and let a construction contract for this work. KDOT has agreed to acquire the necessary road right-of- way for the E 1326 extension.

Negotiations with Bartlett & West Engineers for design engineering have been ongoing. Bartlett & West is one of KDOT's consultants on the U.S. 59 Freeway Project and therefore has a significant amount of survey data acquired for this area.

Bartlett & West proposes to provide the necessary services for a not-to-exceed cost of $29,351.50. The scope of services is broken into two phases, a study phase and a final design phase. The study phase will include determining a final alignment for the roadway. During this phase, Bartlett & West is to work with the property owner to ensure the road alignment fits, as well as possible, into the future plans of the property owner. This will also include working with Planning to ensure the road alignment is consistent with possible future uses of the property.

KDOT has allowed $16,000 for design and $194,000 for construction of this approximately 1/4-mile length of road. Browning stated he was comfortable that design and construction can be completed within the $210,000 limit. Current estimates for construction are approximately $140,000.

Johnson stated that he wants to spend the time, energy and money needed to make sure this road serves our needs in the future as well as serves the needs of the property owner.

Jones asked whether another firm could perform the services for less cost. Johnson noted that this is an extension of something that Bartlett & West  already owns, i.e., survey data.

Johnson then made a motion to wave the bid requirement of the Purchasing Policy and authorize the Public Works Director to accept the proposal from Bartlett & West Engineers to provide design engineering services at a not-to-exceed cost of $29,351.50 for the extension of E 1326 Road in conjunction with U.S. 59 Freeway improvements. Motion was seconded by Jones and carried.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE 04-24-06
Jones moved approval of accounts payable in the amount of $426,963.96 to be paid 04/24/06; motion was seconded by Johnson and carried.

Johnson made a motion to adjourn; Jones seconded and the motion carried.

 

_____________________________ _____________________________
Bob Johnson, Chairman                        Charles Jones, Member

ATTEST:


_____________________________
Jamie Shew, County Clerk 

Location

County Courthouse
1100 Massachusetts St, Lawrence, KS 66044, USA