University Daily Kansan
5
Marketing study linked to tax bill
By HENRY LOCKARD
Staff Writer
A marketing study being made on the business potential of downtown Lawrence could benefit the state of Kansas as well as the city and show the importance of a pending tax increment bill, according to Barkley Clark, professor of law and city commissioner, and Curt Schneider, Kansas attorney general.
The Lawrence City Commission authorized on Nov. 1 that £2,500 be given to Design Build Architects, 4 E. Seventh St., to make a study of the marketing potential of an area of downtown Kansas City and Pennsylvania streets and bypasses the Kansas River and Seventh Street.
Clark said Friday that the study should show how important a tax increment bill was to the improvement of the city. Clark helped draft a tax increment bill last year designed to increase the value of business property planning commission considered blighted.
THE BILL. WOULD allow the city to either purchase or condemn the blighted
KUAC...
Several board members questioned the feasibility of Leben's financial proposal and the obligation of KUAC to pay off the loan as soon as possible. If the loan is granted by the Endowment Association, loan payments will be $155,000 a year during the next 20 years.
WALKER SAID, I think the board has looked at it as everyone who comes into the stadium should pay a fair share of the renovations and not exclude anyone."
Walker also said there was the possibility that he would propose half-price student tickets for the north end of the stadium next season. The team will attend the football games at a reduced rate.
Objections to the half-price tickets arose from student members of the board, who said it would not be fair for students sitting in seats where seats were renovated or seats in the east section.
Statistics given to the board at its meeting last month show Kansas is sixth in the Big Eight in student ticket prices above $45. Alabama and $18 at Kansas State University.
WALKER SAID he thought student ticket prices are comparable to other ticket prices around $30.
The student exemption motion was voted down, 10-5, but an amendment was approved by the board providing for an annual review of the surcharge to determine whether the student part of the surcharge should be suspended.
Robert Casad, faculty representative, said "By approving this amendment, we don't commit our students to turn out that public revenues increase enough, and if it seems proper or reasonable to eliminate the surcharge on student tickets, we can do."
LEBEN MOVED that the board give the athletic director permission to go to the Big Eight to seek the maximum on public ticket prices of $1.50 so that the board had the option, when it deemed necessary or proper, to pay off the debt.
Leben's motion failed by a close margin, 8-9.
The Walker was granted permission from the Big Eight last month to impose a surcharge on all drivers.
Leben said that under the proposal passed
saturday, students would be paid less than
the previous year.
IN TERMS OF paying out our fair share," he said, "we're paying less. But in terms of ability, it still would be nice to avoid any surcharge."
After the Endowment Association meeting, Dykes said the interest derived from the loan would be used to fund other University programs.
area. Improvements would then be made and paid for by issuing bondes to business investors interested in opening new businesses in the improved area, Clark said.
"They are going to consider the extent to which it helps the University, and secondly, they have to have an adequate return of funds on their other programs," Dykes said.
Dykes agreed there was a definite need for stadium improvements.
Seymour said the return on any money loan to KUAC would have to equal what you would pay for it.
"We're convinced that the stadium renovation has to be accomplished in order to maintain the safety of the stadium," Dwkes said.
"The restrooms are in a very bad state of repair, and it is generally said that our football dressing facilities are the worst in the Big Eight," he said.
"In effect, how the renovation is paid for is by the tax increment between the taxes assessed against the old building and the taxes assessed against the new building," he said. "The new building, being more valuable, would carry a higher tax."
A tax increment bill in unlawful in Kansas, however.
Leon Graves, a former student of Clark's and an attorney in Topeka, is trying to get the bill amended into the Kansas Constitution.
GRAVES SAID Saturday that the bill appeared to have the potential to be a useful tool for environmental protection.
We Write All Risks
He said Schneider had challenged the bill as being unconstitutional.
Schneider Saturday explained in Topeka his stand on the bill.
He said that he had no argument against what the bill's sponsors were attempting to do and that the backers of the bill had factual material to show as evidence.
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HOWEVER, SCHNEIDER said he felt obligated to make a constitutional challenge because the procedure the sponsors took to pass the bill was unconstitutional.
"They haven't notified the people," he said. "They expect to just come in and pass a bill to divert tax dollars raised for one purpose to be spent for another purpose."
He said that that was contradictory to article 11. Section 5 of the Kansas Condi-
tions Act.
'A tax shall be levied in pursuance of a
"THE GOVERNING body must give taxpayers notice of how their taxes will be raised and what the taxes will be spent for." he said. "Witchita, Topeka and Lawrence didn't believe it was necessary to give such notice."
law, which shall distinctly state the object of
which object only such tax
shall be applied.
Schneider said he would make sure that when the bill was passed, it would be passed in such a way as to comply with state law. After a new hill is approved, the state constitution must be amended before that law goes into effect, he said.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled to be held in Tuppea district court in December.
Robert Gould of Design Build Architects said the first phase of the study should be completed by March. The phase is intended to expose the business potential of the area being studied and also identify additional sources of funding for the renovations.
POTENTIAL IS believed to be good. Lawrence was ranked 25th in the nation among metropolitan colleges during the next five years. Sales and Marketing Management magazine, which specializes in business trends, published the rankings in the Oct. 24 issue.
Mayor Marinne Argersinger said Friday that in addition to providing a marketing tool, the study would show which buildings would be the most desirable in each buildings the city would want to tear down.
Some buildings in the area being studied are historically important, she said.
OTHER ACTION on the downtown, also
intended to stimulate investment in the area, is the designing of a new city hall. The building will be built on the old Bowersock and Dixon streets of Sixth and Massachusetts streets.
Dale Glenn, treasurer for Peters, Williams and Kubota Architects and project manager, said the firm should have two alternatives to present to the city.com audience.
He said one model had been built and three alternatives had been designed.
"EACH NEW idea leads to other ideas and we just keep developing," he said. "We've been working with it for 20 years."
The building will have 20,000 to 30,000 square feet of space and stand on a 1.5-acre lot.
Blueberry一Nov. flavor for month
He said the Close Out Carpet building and some grain elevators near the site would be located.
"An important priority of the Chamber of Commerce is to see the continued development of the downtown area." West said. "We think the new city hall will stimulate other business investment in that area."
Glenn West, executive vice president of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, said that the Chamber of Commerce viewed the city hall building as an important project.
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