The Open Space Plan features photos from community members who participated in the Open Space Photo Challenge. On the cover is an aerial view of the Kansas River just east of Lawrence in 2019. The photo was captured by Lisa Grossman, who was the grand winner of the challenge.

County releases draft Open Space Plan

Building on countywide input and Plan 2040, the draft “Douglas County Open Space Plan: Preserving Douglas County’s Future Together,” is now available for the public to review. The plan is a local effort intended to identify voluntary land conservation options and partnerships and foster appreciation and access to nature for future generations.

The County will host a public meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 19, in the Douglas County Zoning and Codes Building, 3755 E. 25^th St. It will also be available by Zoom. The meeting will begin with a presentation to review highlights of the draft plan. Attendees can then ask questions in an open house format. 

The Open Space Plan will also be the topic of a work session with the Board of County Commissioners at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, at the County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting is open to the public and will be available by Zoom.

Comments are being accepted through Feb. 25. To provide comment, find meeting information, and view the plan, visit: http://dgcoks.org/openspace.

Today’s news release: http://dgcoks.org/013124news

Photo Courtesy of LDCFM

Jury deliberation room in basement of Judicial and Law Enforcement Center sustains fire damage

The basement of the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. Eleventh St., sustained damage from a small fire that occurred about 10:49 p.m. Jan. 23 in the jury deliberation room in the Division 7 courtroom of District Court.

Eight days earlier, the same room had experienced water damage as a result of a frozen sprinkler system line that was damaged during freezing temperatures. The fire was determined by Lawrence-Douglas County Fire Medical to be accidental due to an electrical/mechanical malfunction of a fan that had been left running in the room to assist with the drying process. There were no injuries.

The fire damage was limited to the jury deliberation room in the Division 7 courtroom of District Court and associated restrooms. Additional flooding was experienced in rooms surrounding the Division 7 court suite.

All county services are open and available. Division 7 is holding hearings in other courtrooms, and the Court is notifying the parties ahead of time.

The Judicial and Law Enforcement Center houses District Court, Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Emergency Communications, Emergency Management, IT and Maintenance.

"I am incredibly grateful to LDCFM for their response efforts, to our staff who have been so patient and flexible as we work to repair the damages, and to our Maintenance staff who have worked countless hours during these past couple of weeks," County Administrator Sarah Plinsky said.

About your Board of County Commissioners

Chair Karen Willey

Vice Chair Shannon Reid

Patrick Kelly

The Douglas County Commission typically meets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts Street, on the second floor in the Commission meeting room. Meetings are also available on Zoom. There is no meeting today, Jan. 31.

County Commissioners took the following action on regular business agenda items in January. They:

• elected Karen Willey as chair and Shannon Reid as vice chair.

They unanimously approved:

• a contract amendment with Hernly Associates to perform design and documentation services for the above-ground masonry restoration work on the historic County Courthouse.

• a contract amendment with TreanorHL Architects for design services regarding the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center addition and remodel project.

• a contract with Paymentus for merchant card services.

• a contract with US Bank for banking and procurement card services.

• three temporary business use permits for sonic detection and ranging units in Marion Township. The permits are for a three-year period with the possibility of a one-year administrative extension.

• a temporary business use permit for a meteorological evaluation tower on property southeast of North 400 and East 550 roads. The permit is for a three-year period with the possibility of a one-year administrative extension.

** Recordings of the meetings can be found on the Douglas County YouTube channel.

Work sessions

County Commissioners also have work sessions to study and discuss various topics throughout the year. No action is taken during work sessions. If there's a work session, they are held at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays before the business meeting. Here’s the schedule for work sessions in February; however, it may change. So, please check the agenda before attending.

• Feb. 14 — Open Space Plan
• Feb. 21 — Judicial and Law Enforcement Center renovation and addition project update

Deadline to sign up for Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is Feb. 2

The deadline to sign up for the Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is Feb. 2 - just two days away! The competition is open to students who are in grades 6 through 12 and reside in Douglas County.

The event will be 8:30-noon Friday, Feb. 16, at Peaslee Tech, and it consists of preparing an executive summary, giving an elevator speech and formal presentation and having a trade show display. Students compete for $3,000 in prize money.

This will be the sixth year for the Douglas County event. During past competitions, students have pitched businesses that offer swimming lessons, resale clothing, jewelry, baked goods, pet sitting and more.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is sponsored by Network Kansas, Douglas County, and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce. For more information about the Douglas County YEC, please contact Assistant County Administrator Jill Jolicoeur at jjolicoeur@douglascountyks.org or call 785-330-2890.

Our community's plan to end chronic homelessness

A strategic plan to end chronic homelessness in Lawrence and Douglas County — A Place for Everyone — was created through the work of many community partners and organizations. It’s a living document that will be updated as needed through the Community Health Plan’s “Safe and Affordable Housing” work group.

The plan was presented during a joint County and City Commission meeting on Jan. 17. Information about the plan can be found at dgcoks.org/aplaceforeveryone.

Application deadline for user-fee dust control program is March 8

Public Works is accepting applications for the 2024 user-fee dust control program. The cost to participate is $1.65 per linear foot of roadway treated plus an administrative fee of $60 per location.

The program is available to all residents in Douglas County living adjacent to public roadways. If the road is township maintained, cooperation with the Township Board is needed to prepare the road prior to application and to protect it from blading as long as possible after treatment.

Applications are available online and at the Douglas County Public Works Department at 3755 E. 25th St. Pre-payment must be received in the Public Works Department office by 5 p.m. Friday, March 8, in order to participate in the program.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 785-832-5293 or visit the department’s webpage.

Heritage Conservation Council grant funding available; application deadline is March 7

The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council (HCC) announces that $420,000 in funding is available through its Natural & Cultural Grant Program. HCC encourages applications that focus on the conservation of cultural, natural, agricultural and environmental resources or projects that produce educational programs or products on these topics. All projects must take place in Douglas County and be completed within two years.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. March 7. Interested parties are required to discuss their project with Heritage Conservation Coordinator Kaitlyn Ammerlaan by Feb. 23 in advance of the application deadline.

News release: http://dgcoks.org/011023news

The Garden Incubator is located in John Taylor Park at Seventh and Walnut streets.

Common Ground program offers low-cost plots, communal gardening areas

Interested in joining a community garden? Common Ground, the community gardening and urban agriculture program, is seeking new gardeners for the 2024 growing season. The program provides 9.5 acres of land for community food production across 11 sites, all located in the City of Lawrence:

• Garden Incubator, John Taylor Park, Seventh and Walnut streets
• PermaCommons, 1304 Pennsylvania St.
• Penn. St. Community Garden, 1313 Pennsylvania St.
• Pearl Clark Community Garden, 639 Illinois St.
• Little Prairie Community & Donation Garden, Peterson Road and North Iowa Street
• Just Food Community Garden, 817 Oak St.
• The Lawrence Community Orchard, 830 Garfield St.
• Oread Friends Garden, 1146 Oregon St.
• Incubator Farm, Highway 24/40
• Growing Together Community Garden, Third and Alabama streets
• Broken Arrow Community Garden, 31^st and Louisiana streets

Applications for individual plots are accepted on a rolling basis and are first-come, first-served. Please contact Common Ground Program Manager Umut Bayramoglu at 785-312-2347 for the most up-to-date list of gardens accepting new gardener applications.

Additionally, several garden sites have communal gardening areas that are open to the public. Our newest community garden at Broken Arrow Park has a designated parking space, garden path and two raised beds. Common Ground welcomes individuals and groups interested in volunteering for garden workdays, which are held regularly from March through October.

District Court Clerk's Office to close early during February to process thousands of documents

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 1, the Office of the Clerk of the District Court will be closed to the public from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays to process all of the work caused by the filing of more than 23,000 documents that have been filed since the Oct. 12, 2023, security incident that disrupted access to information systems used by courts statewide. Reduced public hours are expected to continue through February. 

The Clerk’s Office will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. The Clerk’s Office is located in the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. Eleventh St.

Douglas County District Court is working diligently to update the case management system with all of the information resulting from cases filed both during the time access to the system was unavailable and the case information that continues to accrue. “We greatly appreciate the public’s patience as we work to catch up from the backlog that was caused by the security incident,” District Court Administrator Linda Koester-Vogelsang said.

On Nov. 21, the Kansas Supreme Court announced that the Kansas Judicial Branch was a victim of a foreign cyberattack that impacted the information systems used by the Kansas Judicial Branch. The attack temporarily incapacitated the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration information systems, affecting daily operations of the state’s appellate courts and district courts in 104 counties, including Douglas County.

Sheriff's Office Reentry program helps individuals obtain vital documents before leaving custody

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Reentry program staff helps individuals preparing to leave custody with the process of obtaining vital documents, like Social Security cards, driver’s licenses and birth certificates, especially if they have been lost. The documents are often necessary in being able to secure housing, employment, open financial accounts and meet other needs to help individuals successfully re-enter our community and avoid further legal troubles.

“It might seem like a very small action that we do, but it’s a really important one because there are so many things that we take for granted where we can just pull out our ID and it gives us access to many things,” said Reentry Case Manager Rebecca Sudja.

More about the DGSO Reentry Program: https://buff.ly/48SRLgE

Sheriff's Office announces changes to service hours

In January, the Sheriff's Office implemented changes to service hours for Offender Registration and Concealed Carry. Both services operate at the Douglas County Correctional Facility, 3601 E. 25^th St.

Offender Registration is available from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday (except county holidays). Reporting must be done in person. No new information will be taken over the phone.

Concealed Carry Registration is available by appointment from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Mondays (except for county holidays).

Community invited to attend free severe weather training on March 18

Severe weather can strike when we least expect it, so it's essential to be prepared and know what to do to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. 

Join Douglas County Emergency Management for Severe Weather Night, a severe weather training, at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18, at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. This free training will provide you with information about thunderstorm development, identification of important thunderstorm features, and valuable safety tips.

Unable to attend this session? Visit weather.gov/top/spottertalks for more options.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office worked with Moonblind Productions to produce this new recruitment video. It is currently running as part of a media campaign in northeast Kansas. Text "JoinDGSO" to 785-384-4482 to learn more or visit https://bit.ly/DGSOJobs

Judicial and Law Enforcement Center:

111 East 11th Street

Lawrence, KS 66044