October Meeting Minutes

October 13th 2025
North Lawrence Improvement Association Neighborhood Meeting Minutes
Attendees: 10
Meeting Start Time: 7:04pm
Minutes: Ted welcomed all to the meeting and offered the floor to Bob Schumm. Mr. Schumm addressed everyone and encouraged all to get out and vote and notified the attendees that there will be a transitional care housing forum on October 30th. He expressed his desire to serve and awareness of the needs of the North Lawrence Community that involves always being on top of storm water flow and drainage and the need for an additional pump station. Ted voiced that the North Lawrence Neighborhood need tp have representation that is aware of the special needs of the neighborhood. Mr. Schumm stated that each neighborhood has its own unique needs that need to be recognized and acknowledged. Ted spoke of the need to ensure that the transients not be allowed to camp in the parks and voiced evidence that the numbers are increasing along the river and in the parks. Ted spoke of the extreme amount of items, left by the campers that camped in the past behind Johnny’s and that those items had to be extracted by the truck load. Ted voiced that instead of items being extracted from Burchum Park a huge hole was dug and filled with a large amount of bikes, syringes and other hazardous items left by campers rather than hauling the waste away to a dump site. Ted shared that Parks and Recreation have always given NLIA 3 free uses of the Depot annually. Ted stated that this year Parks and Rec were requesting payment for the use of the Depot for the Pot Luck. the request for payment was withdrawn after lenghty discussions. Ted stated Parks and Rec are requesting payment for the annual Sandrat Reunion and that this should be considered one of the three free uses. Ted stated that Fire Station number one “is a great one”. He continues to advocate for the North Lawrence neighbors being remembered when the bridge is congested with traffic that cause the first responders to be delayed. Ted went on share that the pedestrian bridge is still in the works and the NLIA have found the money through a grant that can pay for the bridge but it requires endorsements from the city and the county. The Railroad has approved the pedestrian bridge project, that involves a quiet zone and all we are waiting on is the city to support the grant and project. Ted explained that the city will not have to pay for the pedestrian bridge as it will be funded through a grant. The plan for the pedestrian bridge needs to be presented to the Governor and we are waiting on the city to support the grant. The city wants to do a study on the corridor and the flood plain is going to have to be taken into consideration when doing the study. Ted reminded everyone about the potential of flooding due to storm water not river water. Neighbors discussed the paving of the streets and the concerns about the incompletion of the paving of North Street. Neighbors brought up the concern about the solar farm causing flooding. Neighbors discussed which neighbors in the county have city water. Ted is going to get an answer for the neighbors. Ted shared that the pot luck was very well attended and it was great to see a lot of new faces. Neighbors talked about The Orchard and fellow farmers that are doing such a great job in the community. A neighbor asked who maintains the spur line that is next to the silo and how to get it maintained. Neighbors shared that you need to call the number that is on the sign next to the track. They also shared that they are all calling the number requesting the 3rd street crossing be repaired. Ted took note of this neighbors concern. Neighbors discussed concerns when there are detours through the neighborhood cars/drivers get backed up across the railroad instead of keeping the railroad clear. They are concerned there may be a tragedy.
Adjourned: 8:15pm