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City approves tougher rental regulations
Ghosts of Christmas past
By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photos
ROBERT MORGAN SR., A CITY OF LAWRENCE SOLID WASTE DIVISION EMPLOYEE, WORKS WITH HIS DRIVER to place Christmas trees in rows in an old city landfill on Monday. For about a decade, the city of Lawrence has been hauling Christmas trees to a landfill that shut down decades ago. It’s a way to recycle trees and provide habitat for nearby animals.
City collects trees for wildlife habitat By Christine Metz
THERE’S STILL TIME
cmetz@ljworld.com
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The ghosts of Christmas trees past rest in an old landfill several miles north of Lawrence. For about a decade, the city of Lawrence has been hauling Christmas trees to a landfill that shut down decades ago. It’s a way to recycle trees and provide habitat for nearby animals. On Monday, the latest crop of trees, still smelling of pine, were dumped next to a long row of the skeletal remains from the trees of yesteryear, their brown branches barren of any holiday cheer. This Christmas tree graveyard is actually a second life for the trees. Foxes, deer, coyotes, rabbits and eagles all roam the former landfill. Less than a quarter of a mile away from a bend in the Kansas River, the site is surround by land that has been reclaimed by cattails, native grasses, elms and cottonwoods. Behind the row of decaying Christmas trees is a stack of debris from the 2006 microburst that hit Lawrence. The piles of trees that were dumped Monday will be spread out into long
For anyone who hasn’t yet taken down their Christmas tree, the city will do another round of collection this Friday. Trees need to be on the curb by 6 a.m. and should not include any artificial items including tinsel, lights or tree stands. They also shouldn’t be wrapped in plastic bags or other material.
CITY SOLID WASTE DIVISION EMPLOYEES Jeffery Moten, left, and James Parson collect trees Monday. rows to provide space for animals to burrow. “I’ve seen all kinds of wildlife here,” said Robert Morgan Sr., with the city’s solid waste division, who helped unload the trees Monday morning. As Morgan drove away, geese could be heard honking in the distance. The tree collection began last Friday as the city’s solid waste operators cruised the streets of Lawrence picking up more than 1,200 trees that were set out on curbs. For Ann Basel it was a good day to go to work. “The smell is very pleasant,” said Basel, who was operating the garbage
truck. “It smells like you are in the woods.” On the back of the truck were Jeffery Moten and James Parson. With one hand, Moten would swoop down to pick up a tree and toss it into the truck. A hydraulic lift pushed the trees farther back, crunching branches and releasing that distinctive pine scent. “This is quite pleasant compared to the regular trash,” Moten said. On Friday, the trash crews dumped the trees off at the city’s composting facility, where on Monday they were loaded into Dumpsters that could hold 40 yards of cubic waste. At least four of those boxes carried trees to the old landfill site. In the past two years, more than 4,400 trees have been collected. — Reporter Christine Metz can be reached at 832-6352.
Landlords who create problems for Lawrence neighborhoods may soon have their own problems to deal with, courtesy of Lawrence City Hall. City commissioners at their Tuesday evening meeting unanimously agreed to a new enforcement system that could lead to some Lawrence homes being declared ineligible for use as rental units for up to a two-year period. “We have to take steps to maintain our city,” Mayor Aron Cromwell said. Commissioners at their weekly meeting approved new language that specifically targets single-family homes that are used as rental units. For more than a decade, the city has had an ordinance that prohibits more than three unrelated people from living in a single-family home. Neighbors have expressed concern that enforcement of the ordinance has been lax, and overcrowding “We have to has created problems with noise, take steps to parking, litter and other issues. maintain our The new language approved city.” Tuesday, among other things, gives more teeth to the city’s rental - Mayor Aron licensing program. Specifically it Cromwell directs the city’s enforcement staff to automatically deny applications for new rental licenses if the applicant has had a rental license revoked by the city during the last two years or if the property being applied for has been the subject of a revoked rental license within the last two years. Applicants could appeal their denials to the City Commission, which would be allowed to use its best judgment in determining whether a license should be issued. The new ordinance also gives the city’s enforcement staff the ability to revoke an existing license once a property has been found in violation of the any one of the following city codes: the noise ordinance; the anti-litter ordinance; the Please see CITY, page 2A
Chamber, Kochs target moderate Republicans in Kansas Senate By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
Dems’ school finance plan: Just restore funding By Scott Rothschild srothschild@ljworld.com
TOPEKA — Kansas Democratic legislators on Tuesday unveiled a plan that restores cuts made to schools, provides property tax relief and stands in stark contrast to a proposal by Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, to overhaul the finance formula. “Cuts to schools have gone way too far in the last few years,” said House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence. “But the problem has not been the formula. It has been the lack of funding.”
Davis Hensley Under the Democrats’ threeyear plan, the Lawrence school district would see an increase of $3.7 million in state funding. That would include increases of $933,839 in the next school year, $933,839 the year after that, and $1.868 million in the third year.
posal, Douglas County would receive $1.7 million. The additional school funding and tax relief dollars would come from the current $350 million that the state has received above earlier projections and expected future gains in revenues, Democrats said during a news conference before students and teachers at Lowman Hill Elementary.
Spending the surplus or cutting taxes Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley framed the
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Democrats said the goal is to restore funding that has been cut during the recession and get base state aid up to $4,492 per student. Cuts in base state aid over the past several years have dropped that level to $3,780 per student, which is the lowest mark in a decade and has led to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. The plan would pump an additional $45 million in the 201213 school year, $45 million more in 2013-14, and $90 million more in 2014-15. In addition, the plan would also allocate $45 million to local governments to reduce property taxes. Under the pro-
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TOPEKA — Two business heavyweights, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Koch Industries, have targeted eight state senators for defeat in the Republican Party primary. “During the difficult economic downturn, while businesses were tightening their belts to survive, some in the Kansas Senate opted for tax increases instead of responsible spending cuts,” Chamber Political Action Chairman Ivan Crossland said Tuesday. “Bloated state budgets, increased taxes and growing union and trial lawyer support are not the ingredients for private sector job creation. The candidates we have chosen to support are willing to do what it takes to turn things around in Kansas,” Crossland said. The Chamber said a majority of Republicans in the Kansas House and Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, support a pro-business agenda. The Chamber PAC’s campaign finance report filed Tuesday illustrates the effort by Brownback’s supporters to wrest control of
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COMING WEDNESDAY Gov. Sam Brownback delivers his State of the State address, and we’ll be there.
Vol.154/No.11 26 pages
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