We're seeking your input for the Open Space Plan through community meetings, survey, photos

We hope you can join us for a conversation about the Open Space Plan! We're hosting two meetings to provide an overview of the planning process and to get your input.

The meetings will be:

• Thursday, June 8, 5:30-7 p.m., at Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St.
• Friday, June 9, 1:30-3 p.m., at Lone Star Lake Community Building, 665 E. 665 Road, Lawrence.

You can also provide feedback through this online survey: dgcoks.org/opsurvey

The Open Space Plan is a local effort intended to protect shared community values and county character, identify voluntary land management options and partnerships, and foster appreciation and access to nature for future generations.

There’s also a photo challenge!

We're seeking photos of your favorite places in Douglas County to recreate, view wildlife, experience nature and visit for historical or cultural connections. You could win a $100 gift card and have your photo featured in the final Open Space Plan. To submit a photo, visit: http://dgcoks.org/ospcontest

Photo credit: Derek Kappelman

Director Brandy Nichols-Brajkovic is pictured in the new District Court Legal Self-Help Office.

District Court Legal Self-Help Office is open

The new Douglas County District Court Legal Self-Help Office opened May 1. The office will assist self-represented litigants with finding and filling out necessary forms as well as providing information about court processes and available resources.

The office is open:

• 9 a.m.- noon Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
• 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays

The Legal Self-Help Office is located in the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. Eleventh St., on the first floor next to the court security screening area. 

Questions? Contact: Legal Self-Help Director Brandy Nichols-Brajkovic at selfhelp@douglascountyks.org or 785-838-2483.

Brandy provided a presentation about the office during the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council meeting in May. To view the meeting, visit: https://youtu.be/M0XLZ7Duwzg.

Douglas County Elections Office receives national award for innovation

The Douglas County Clerk’s Elections Office staff received a national Clearinghouse award for “Outstanding Innovations in Elections – Small/Medium Jurisdictions" by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. It is one of only 24 programs to receive the award.

The innovative program recognized uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to build an asset tracking system which improves security, chain-of-custody logs, and accountability for election supplies and equipment. The Clerk's office has been working on this new system since 2019, with full deployment in 2022.

News release: http://dgcoks.org/news052323

About your Board of County Commissioners

Chair Patrick Kelly

Vice Chair Karen Willey

Shannon Reid

The Board of County Commissioners meets at 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts Street, on the second floor in the Commission meeting room. Meetings are also available on Zoom. There will be no meeting today, May 31, and next Wednesday, June 7.

The County Commission took the following action on regular business agenda items in May:

• approved purchasing and remodeling property at 2601 W. Sixth St. for use by the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office with a total estimated cost of $1.69 million. 
• accepted a grant award of up to $6.2 million from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services for startup and ongoing operating costs of the Treatment and Recovery Center in state fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
• approved a conditional-use permit for an outdoor recreational facility, with therapy use, for Well Wilderness Kids, just south of 1128 E. 2100 Road near Eudora.
• approved a conditional-use permit for vacation rental use at 1017 E 1600 Road, south of Lawrence.
• approved redirecting $121,500 from the 2023 psychiatry supplemental funds to support the addition of a new child psychiatrist at Heartland Community Health Center.
• approved a conditional-use permit for a Limited-Scale Solar Energy Conversion System (LSECS) use in the northeast corner of the intersection of East 400 and North 1700 roads.
• approved a recommended financing model for the Emergency Communications Center (911).
• approved amending a community partner agreement with DCCCA, Inc. to support the implementation of enhanced access to naloxone.
• deferred a temporary business use permit from Evergy Inc. to allow a laydown yard on property at 1805 E 200 Road.
• approved a temporary business use permit from Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline for a laydown yard on property near East 1300 Road and North 1900 Road. 

** 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 upcoming work sessions; however, these may change. So, please check the agenda before attending.

• June 14 – Overview and update from Cottonwood Inc.
• June 21 – Post-crisis response system and integrated care coordination
• June 28 — Housing and homelessness strategic plan

Don't cheat! Answer is at the bottom.

Douglas County Sheriff selected to serve as graduation speaker for Kansas basic training class

Sheriff Jay Armbrister served as the graduation speaker for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center’s 309th Basic Training Class on May 19 in Hutchinson.

Armbrister, who celebrates his 25th year with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office this year after starting as a corrections officer, is a graduate of KLETC's 155th Basic Training Class. After his election, he took office as Sheriff in January 2021.

"If you do this job the right way and for the right reasons, you are going to be a changed person," Armbrister said. "It only hurts if you care, and we don't want you if you don't care."

Armbrister, who serves on the Board of Directors at Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, emphasized the need for maintaining self-care and reaching out to others when struggling. "In order to do what you do and do it well you have got to take care of you. Take care of yourself mentally but also look out for those around you."

• KLETC news release

Douglas County Sheriff's Office participating in Kansas 'Click It or Ticket' campaign

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has joined other law enforcement agencies across Kansas in vigorously enforcing Kansas occupant restraint and other traffic laws as part of the 2023 Kansas “Click It or Ticket” campaign, May 22 - June 4.

Buckling up keeps drivers and passengers safe and secure inside their vehicle, especially by reducing the risk during a crash of a dangerous ejection from the vehicle and making sure air bags and other safety features can work effectively.

Extra deputies are patrolling roads and highways in Douglas County to enforce the Kansas Safety Belt Use Act and the Kansas Child Passenger Safety Act. Deputies as part of the extra patrols also are seeking to remove impaired drivers from roads in Douglas County.

Sheriff's Office staff visit Boys & Girls Club sites

Sheriff’s Office deputies in May completed their visits to Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence sites. Since January, deputies visited members at the sites to talk with them about law enforcement careers and show them their equipment and patrol vehicles.

Undersheriff Stacy Simmons led the visit to Langston Hughes School recently, and Deputy Colton Bonner and Community Outreach and Support Advocate Morgan Haney visited Quail Run School to close out the school year.

Kristen Egan joins staff as Homeless Services Coordinator

After graduating from KU with a bachelor’s degree in social welfare, Kristen worked as a community-based case manager at a Community Mental Health Center in Kansas City, Kan. Kristen later worked at Heartland Community Health Center in Lawrence, coordinating care for patients with behavioral health needs. 

Noticing the growing need for housing and homelessness programs, Kristen transitioned into a role at the Kansas Statewide Homeless Coalition (KSHC), working with high-needs clients throughout the state to coordinate housing and supportive services with the goal of decreasing instances of institutionalization for the most vulnerable Kansans. 

We’re seeking to hire people with all kinds of talents, skills and occupational interests. Our job openings include:

• Buildings and Grounds full-time temporary laborers for mowing and vegetation control.
• Public Works full-time temporary laborers for road, bridge and park maintenance.
• GIS analyst
• Chief Building Official in Zoning and Codes Department
• Emergency 911 Communications Officer
• Sheriff's Office Corrections Officer
• Juvenile Detention Corrections Officer
• Part-time Appraiser Assistant

For more information and a full list of Douglas County job openings, visit: http://dgcoks.org/jobs

Douglas County Government’s offices will be closed Monday, June 19, in recognition of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Texas with news that the war had ended and all African American people, who were dehumanized and enslaved against their will, were now free under the Emancipation Proclamation.

Douglas County is helping to sponsor a Juneteenth Celebration in Lawrence. There will be a parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 17, on Massachusetts Street, followed by a Celebration in South Park from noon to 8 p.m.

For more information, visit: https://lawrenceksjuneteenth.org

Judicial and Law Enforcement Center:

111 East 11th Street

Lawrence, KS 66044