University Daily Kansan / Thursday, March 2, 1989
11
Group will contact owners to try to stop BID conflict
by Carrie Harper Kansan staff writer
Every downtown business owner will be contacted by a member of the Downtown Lawrence Outreach Committee in the next few months in an effort to increase the ongoing controversy concerning the Business Improvement District.
The approximately 25 members of the committee at a meeting this morning were scheduled to be held by businesses to contact. Vieux said.
The members also will discuss the activities of Downtown Lawrence. A Kansas Corporation, said Mike Winters, director of downtown Lawrence Board of Directors
The BID, established by the City Commission in 1987, is a city-sponsored program to raise money for downtown improvements by assessing downtown business owners a fee based on location, square footage and type of business. Assessments were first made in 1988.
Retail businesses on Massachusetts Street are assessed $15 for each foot of street-front space, to a maximum of $1,250. Retail businesses on other streets in the district are assessed $8 for each foot.
Service and professional businesses on Massachusetts Street are assessed a flat fee of $100. Those off Massachusetts Street pay $75.
In a presentation at the Lawrence City Commission meeting Tuesday night, Vieux outlaw the objectives of the Outreach Committee and the Bureau of the City Main Street Program, a program run by Downtown Lawrence.
The Main Street Program is sponsored by the State of Kansas and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in downtown centers, Vieux said.
The city of Lawrence contracted with Downtown Lawrence to use the BID funds to run the Lawrence Main Street Program.
Les Blevins Jr. is a representative of Douglas County Home Guards, a group organized because of a perceived trend in Lawrence city government to take away citizens' rights to vote on important issues.
Blevins said the BID was only one
The BID, established by the City Commission in 1987, is a city-sponsored program to raise money for downtown improvements by assessing downtown business owners a fee based on location, square footage and type of business. Assessments were first made in 1988.
or about six issues that pointed out this trend.
"The program was designed to help downtown, and it is working against it," Blievens said. "Who benefits it, but the business owners, themselves?"
Blevins said the best solution would be a community vote or at least a downtown vote on the BID. He said that the mayor should be voluntary, not mandatory.
According to a year-end evaluation by National Main Street representatives, the Lawrence Main Street project progress during its three years.
Jim Bateman, a member of the Downtown Lawrence Board of Directors, said the Main Street Program is effective in the cities that participated.
Batman said he thought that some of the people who objected to the BID wanted to reap the benefits of the BID without paying for it.
Charles Boyd, chairman of the Pro Downtown Committee, said that the people who benefited most from the BID-funded programs were the businesses in the 800, 900 and 1000 blocks of Massachusetts Street but that the perimeter businesses were being forced to pay for them.
He said that the committee $\textcircled{1}$ primary objection was that the BID was a voluntary organization and that the business community opposed it.
The Tia Pro Downtown Committee will present an alternative budget for the management of downtown activities to Downtown Lawrence and the City Commission by the end of March, Boyd said.
A formal work plan for Downtown Lawrence, A Kansas Corporation, will be released later this month, said the board. Lawrence Board of Directors Lawrence Board of Directors
Downtown plan will be released
The plans for 1989 include the Outreach Program as a means to inform and include downtown business owners in Downtown LA activities. A newsletter also will be sent to all downtown business owners.
The Action Statement: 1899, based on the Main Street approach, is divided into organization, economic restructuring, design and promotion
by Carrie Harper Kansan staff writer
The economic restructuring plans include putting together a market study for downtown and using it to encourage retail expansion and retention, Vieux said. Downtown Lawrence also will work toward inspiring confidence among the owners, connecting downtown with the Riverfront project and providing more traffic access to downtown.
The design plans include replacing street lights and improving public areas such as alleys, Vieuxau. Downtown Lawrence will also continue to work on parking, as well as programs for establishing more historical markers and planning facade improvements.
The promotion plans include 11 general downtown promotions including two new ones. One will be in coordination with Independence Days in July, and the other is the Celebration of Cultures in October, which was conducted last year at the Holcom Park Recreational Center, 2700 W. 27th St., Vieux apart.
The promotions committee will work to coordinate advertising and store hours among downtown merchants, and coordinate and address visitors Bureau and the University of Kansas, Vieux said.
A basketball fan holds a sign that announces her gratitude for the work of the men's basketball seniors. A capacity crowd watched the Jayhawks play Nebraska at their last home game last night.
Senior sign-off
Office of student records tries to trim transcript delays
Kansan staff writer
bv Michele Logan
Lauren Huang had to wait $2^{1/2}$ weeks to get her transcript in the mail.
It arrived two days before Huang, Goodland senior, left for a job interview in Denver.
Lisa Shouls, St. Louis senior, had to wait three weeks before receiving notification that her transcript had been mailed to three different graduate schools.
And one transcript didn't make it the first time.
KU students are finding themselves frustrated with the process of obtaining transcripts from the University.
Gary Thompson, director of student records, said that during slow periods, a transcript was mailed within three to four business days after the end of peak months, such as February and May, to working days may be required, he said.
A transcript can be mailed for overnight delivery if the student files a request by 2:30 p.m. with an Express Mail package, which costs $8.75 at the post office.
Federal Express offers overnight delivery for $11, and United Parcel Service offers overnight delivery for $20. By mail, by e-mail, or by envelope and does not have to be delivered on Saturday or Sunday.
"The post office does not require transcripts to be sent in any certain way," said Bill Reynolds, Lawrence postmaster. "We have no control over the situation on campus."
Reynolds said that once a letter was mailed, it would usually take one day for delivery in the same city, two days for delivery to other cities, and three days for delivery anywhere else in the United States.
The office of student records will ensure that the transcript gets to the post office but will not give the transcript to the student directly.
Recent backlog
The recent backlog was caused by a large number of requests the office of student records received after classes resumed this semester. Thompson said.
"The job is so manual that backlog is going to occur" he said.
Pat Arguea, office assistant, said, "Students were requesting transcripts in December with their last semester's grades on them, but those grades hadn't been turned in by January 1st until January 4, so students had to wait a long time before we could fulfill their requests."
Huang was one of those students who had to wait a long time.
"I filed my request three weeks in advance because I knew it would take awhile, but I was lucky," she said. "I was lucky just to get it before I had to leave for my job interview."
to serve for you today.
Argentea said that between Jan. 18 and Feb.
9. student records processed 4,431 transcripts. That's 370 transcripts a day, 30 more than are usually processed.
Transcripts can be requested in person at Strong Hall or ordered by mail. No transcript can be processed until all holds have been cleared. Each transcript costs $2.
First come,first served
Thompson said that to be fair to all students, those requests received earliest were filled first.
To fill orders as quickly as possible, the office employs three full-time workers and 10 part-time student awners. During peak times, additional employees are hired. He
Thompson said two problems resulted from that system. Employees sometimes gave transcript pickup dates that allowed extra days in case processing took longer than expected. Also, if transcripts were not ready when the employee had completed their job, they had to check on their transcripts. That took up time because workers had to stop to look for the requests.
The office of student records used to allow students to pick up their transcripts in person. The student could fill out a request form and the employee would tell the student when the transcript would be ready.
"The system was evaluated a year and a half ago, and we decided to switch to mail delivery." Thompson said.
Moving to computers
KU is the only school in the Big Eight that does not process transcripts by computer. But that will change in the next 15 months.
but that will change. "We will be moving to an on-line system where everything will be on a computer." Thompson said. "When this system is set up, it will take about five minutes to process a transcript."
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