e e e e e e e e e e e e e e [Music] [Music]   God damn it [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you City staff and welcome to all of you  to City Hall good morning witch we'll call this   meeting to order before we proceed with regular  agenda items I would first like to offer our   condolences to the families of the 67 individuals  who perished in last week's tragedy because of   that and because NTSB and American Airlines will  not be releasing the Manifest we only know the   names of the individuals uh from families that  have selfreported who those family members are   so at this moment uh we would like to ask if we  can have a moment of silence 67 seconds to be exact e thank you all very much for the  moment of silence with us this   morning is men's leader Austin Morgan of  the Ark Church to provide our invocation   we will also have the Pledge of  Allegiance following that Austin thank you mayor woo and uh city council members  for the opportunity to do the invocation today   it is an honor to be here and stand before you  let us pray Heavenly Father we come before you   today with grateful Hearts seeking your wisdom  guidance and blessing over this meeting you are   the source of all truth and Justice and we ask  that your presence be with us as the decisions are   made that affect our community great Grant each  council member Clarity of Mind humility of heart   and a spirit of unity help them to work together  for the good of Witchita May their discussions   be marked by respect integrity and a sincere  desire to serve Lord we lift up our city many   are suffering in the wake of the tragedy of last  week but we remind ourselves that you Lord are   close to the Brokenhearted not one of our tears  goes unnoticed and a bruised Reed you will not   break father we commit this meeting to you asking  for your wisdom and Grace to sustain this Council   may all they do bring honor to you  and benefit those they serve I ask   these things in The Only Name by which men and  women can be saved in the name of Jesus Amen you Austin Madame clerk can you please  call the first item approve the minutes   of the regular meeting January 21st 2025  the regular meeting January 28th 2025 and   the onbon meeting January 29th 2025 Council  council members are there any changes or corrections I see none I move to approve  the meeting minutes for January 21st   January 28th and January 29th second motion and a   second any further discussion I see  none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item the GF OA distinguished budget Award  presented to the city of Witchita finance   department may I please ask the city of  Witchita finance department to please come forward the city of Witchita has received the  distinguished budget presentation award from   the government Finance Officers Association 2025  adopted budget this is the 37th consecutive year   that the city of Witchita has earned this award  criteria for the distinguished budget award is   based on budget documents serving four purposes as  a financial plan a policy document an operations   guide and a Communications device each year the  budget is reviewed by peers to ensure that these   standards continue to be met outstanding  ratings were received on criteria such as   strategic goals priorities and issues Financial  policies long range Financial plans budget   process and the 2025 adopted budget received  special recognition for its description of   the budget process this section includes a  description of Resident engagement in the   budget process as well as how the community  survey guided decision making I would like   to thank staff who are involved in the budget  process for their dedication to developing the   budget each year I would like to invite city  manager Bob Leighton to present this award I do want to add my thanks to the mayor's thanks  to our staff it takes hours and hours and hours   of dedicated service in order to get a budget  completed but especially one that's recognized   nationally as being um obviously worthy of an  award uh but also one that's really informative   to our public and one that hopefully people  can pick up and fully understand what's going   on with City finances so with that I want to  thank Elizabeth and Mark for their dedicated   work and for all of the their staff and all of  our departments who have fed into the budget [Applause] process it's always um an honor to receive this  award every year um in addition to submitting   our budget I also serve as a peer reviewer so  that means I review budgets every month and so   it's so interesting to review other budgets and to  learn best practices from those um this wouldn't   be possible without the rest of the budget  office staff I attempted to round them up this   morning but they were all in meetings already  um so they're always listed in the budget book   and many thanks to all their hard long hours  and hard work to make this reality thanks to them well thank you again um and for  those that don't know you can just   visit the website wi.gov and if you press  on departments click on finance and then   you will be able to look at all the documents  regarding the budget and once again thank you   very much for continuing along with uh  the Communications Department in uh the   CommunityWide survey that was issued in  the fallwinter of 2024 and those results   just came in uh during our workshop last  week and we appreciate that they continue   to gain feedback from the community um and  those priorities still remain Crime Streets   Economic Development and homelessness SL  affordable housing thank you very much Madame clerk can you please read the public  agenda rules the public agenda allows for up   to five speakers to have five minutes each  to address in the council no action will be   taken relative to items on the public agenda  other than referral to the city manager for   information as necessary speakers will please  State their name and address for the record   time clock will display the speaker remaining  time to speak order and rules of decorum will   be observed Madame clerk please call the first  individual leonda gray grants or referrals for assistance time going start so I start talking correct mayor councilman and women  board members and ladies and gentlemen   I am here on behalf of the American Legion Post  273 first of all it's important that we recognize   what the American Legion stands for in the city  of witch Kansas and our community first we share   responsibilities with the oratorical society at  all levels city state and National the society   allows students opportunity to express himself  academically and the winner received scholarship   funds for college we provide School food supplies  for underprivileged families every year we provide   Toys for Tots every Christmas we provide food  for underprivileged families every Thanksgiving   we provide trunk a treat every Halloween and far  more than anything we assist veterans and monetary   assistance dependent on our ability of funds  I'm going to keep this conversation in lamus   terminology so it will not get misconstrued  taken out of context saying all that I like   to take the time to induce myself I am a retired  veteran of the Department of Defense I served a   little over 20 years as a senior non-commission  officer I served in the three conflicts which you   all call Wars Grenada Panama and Desert Storm  I am a Purple Heart recipient anab Bron star recipient I served as a drill signant at United  States Army Coral activities in Fort Riley Kansas   and at Fort Jackson South Carolina I'm going ask  adant believer that whatever you do in a positive   manner will reflect on others and encourage them  to do a positive thing now we are coming to with   all this being outside source for assistance we  are requesting assistance on how we can receive   grants or donations on the level for areas that  are strongly needed in the upkeep of our building   this is very important to the community officers  and patrons alike because you know as well as I do   initial impress is the last by you been the say  so for the W talk Kansas we as American Legion   Post 273 were asking for your assistance now it's  easy to say yay but nothing takes place looking   for said individuals to truly look at how you  can assist us in real form it is important and   to move forward as far as taking uh talking  with TV and radio stations to possibly get   assistance as well we're not asking for funds  out of your pocket we're asking for donations   and grants for money set aside for particular  situations as such when you all were elected   you made promises but the biggest promise was  that you will address issues in our communities   and deal with individual personal issues for the  betterment of city of Witchita when it comes to   responsibility it's very important that we don't  pass the buck and make it seem like the make it   seem like I'm in the wrong place this situation  doesn't stop here and I joined the military and   I had a responsibility uh to this country and my  command to follow instructs as instructions as   well as defend this country foreign or domestic  at all cost even if it cost me my life saying   that I truly believe we should afford we should  be afforded the honest effort from your board to   look at how we can they how you can assist us  in this situation now we realize that there's   limitation to certain things but at the same  token what we are requesting is within reason   the particular organization does a heck of a lot  for our community and the City of Witchita far   more than anything we plead for your sympathetic  character as a veteran to the United States of   America I am truly standing up and speaking for  those that don't and can't speak for themselves   in closing I want to say I am personally I  personally thank you each and every one of you   and pray that your request doesn't fall on death  ears and thank you for all for allowing me to come   and express my sentiments towards the critical  situation sensitive situation now that was I got   40 seconds now that was the written terminology  in our expression but I want to say this that I   know in my heart that we fought hard for this  country we had some fall and we had some stand   but far more than anything is when we ask for  assistance I think we deserve assistance thank   you very much have a blessed thank you Mr leonda  and thank you for your service council member   hoisel would like to address you thank you mayor  um sir if I could get your information I think I   speak for all of us we'd be happy to um see  what resources we could point you to and let   you know what grants are out there and whatnot  so if I could get your contact information we'll   be sure to I'll be sure to reach out to you  here in the next C couple of days thank you   very much okay thank you sir and I will ask a  direct question to the city manager Are there   specific grants or programs within the city of  Witchita that this would apply um mayor I can't   tell you off the top of my head but I'm more than  happy to visit with our staff regarding possible resources please send that email to all  seven of us and we will forward that on   to Mr leonda thank you may uh council member  Tuttle thank you and and I'd be happy to help   and anyway Mike two I serve on the greater  Witchita area veterans advocacy board um   and so that might be another resource and  and even if there isn't funding available   just for more continued networking we  have um three different subcommittees   homelessness Workforce and then community in  integration so I'm happy to help in any way Madame clerk please call the next individual  Ulisses Des shaser the direction of Little League   football organizations and a disagreement  with the current 2025 youth football proposal hello thank you for having me hello my  name is yiss co yiss coach posy shager and I have   the privilege of coaching for over 34 incredible  years in a greater witchar Youth Athletic League   today I come to you with a passionate plea  regarding the proposal put forth by the city   lead for the year 2025 we are thrilled about the  possibilities of seventh and eighth grade students   playing middle school ball but we also have  significant concerns that need to be addressed   particularly for our young athletes from first  to sixth grade the current proposal although well   intended poses a threat to the very foundation of  the lead by potentially eliminating the dedication   dedicated mentors who have been instrumental in  shaping a greater witchar athletic league and   what is today the greater witchar Athletic League  it was founded in the 1960 by Visionaries like   Papa Allan who along with assistant coaches from  the witch Coast went on to establish successful   organizations that have left an incredible mark  on our community legendary figures like Theo   Chris Jr of the witch talk bulldogs and Larry  Walker of the chosens have inspired Generations   of young athletes and their legacy continues  to be felt today our league have been built   over 67 remarkable years by countless coaches  leaders mentors and fathers who have selflessly   dedicated their s to nurturing the talents of  our youth however the current proposal put all   of that at risk by potentially displacing these  valuable individuals who have given so much to   our community one of our primary concerns is the  boundaries that the city league has proposed which   are in direct conflict with teams we have already  have in place over the years these teams have been   the cornerstones of our league for years and we  fear that we that the new proposal would create   unnecessary conflict and division furthermore we  believe that the benefits of the new proposals are   screwed heavily in favor of High School coaches  while young athletes and their family will bear   the with left to bear the cost the proposal  requires teams to pay fees recruit payers   purchase equipment and cover other expenses all  while the High School coaches reap the benefits   without being AC involved in our community this  is unacceptable and we urge you to reconsider   The Proposal in the current form form we cannot  afford to eliminate the coaching legacies and   teams that have been the backbone of our league  for so long the proposal limited scope which   only includes four high schools and is excludes  Northwest South and West that is also a concern   cause for concern we believe that the leadership  of the city League under the guidance of Mickey   Laura has fallen short of the potential over the  past 20 years rather than placing the blame on   the directors and coaches have tirelessly served  our communities we should be focused on building   a more exclusive and elal League that benefits all  shareholders stakeholders when our young athletes   go on to play for their high schools they do  so with skill confidence and characters that   developed through the participation in our little  league let us work together to build a future for   our youth for our youth on the Honors that the  legacy of the league and provide opportunities for   all that grow and Thrive I am just a part of the  directors that have been part of this for years   and we have been meeting and we have some concerns  uh we do have a meeting February 11th with Mickey   and them but we just want to address it before  that and just moving forward I like to thank you   guys for your time my name is yissa deaser 2611  East M thank you thank you Mr Ulisses council   member Johnson thank you mayor uh Bob if it's  okay I wanted to ask Reggie to come up here and   maybe discuss a little bit of where we're going  with youth football and some of those concerns so first I want to say thanks uh to coach pop  for his dedicated years of service he's been a   big support of the league over the years so in  the transition that he's referring to for this   uh particular school year uh last year we uh  transitioned where we started having our youth   football league games over at in partnership  with usd259 so we use those campuses to host   our games uh for this for last season this season  is transitioning to where we will actually have   our seventh and eighth grade teams that will  be coached by usd259 employees they're paid   employees that actually align those School the  youth football programs with the high schools   in the community and as part of that the first  to sixth grade that they're referring to will   be aligned with those high schools as well and  work with those coaches from usd259 and it will   be based on the Zoning for the schools for the  feeder program to lead up to those individual   campuses where they'll be hosted uh we encourage  those parents who have always traditionally been   involved to continue to stay involved with  those organizations there's also opportunities   for them to be paid as employees through the  school district to help with the seventh and   eighth grade program so we encourage them to stay  involved the only difference is that their names   will be aligned with the schools itself instead  of the organizations that they're referring to in   the past so I'll stand for any other questions  that you have is there any risk to the current   mentors that help out on the teams with this new  transition no risk to the current mentors they   still have opportunity to actually coach with  those teams that align with the high schools   that where there'll be zone for those students to  actually go the only difference they're referring   to is that the team name that's traditionally been  there will fall into the guidelines for those that   are zoned to the individual high school and  would you say this is maybe similar to some   of the feeders we've seen around the country that  produced some successful athletes that's uh it's   similar to what other communities are doing what  it's being done around uh the country as well and   it allows us opportunity to raise the Gap from the  middle school and high school and the elementary   schools for those students have opportunity start  learning those programs for the schools that they   will be zoned to once they get to the high school  level and also put some of those fundamentals in   conjunction with some of the volunteers that we  have in the community with some insight from the   coaches who are at the high schools thank you  council member ho Heisel thank you mayor um   just a couple of qu maybe a question for you and  then a question for Coach Pops I got a couple of   former coaches in the audience today so I better  ask some good questions or I'll have some sprawls   coming later on um what are some of the fees  associated with this that might be passed on   down to the teams the fees that are associated  with the registration hasn't changed the fees   will still be the $55 registration fee that they  pay for to actually uh participate in the league   uh they currently uh still have the uniforms that  they do through the organization itself that they   would uh normally do fundraising or the things  the parents pay for that cost and the uniforms   will normally handled the same way as well through  those organizations so that's not an additional   fee that they would incur that's something that  from my understanding they're already paying as   part of participating in the league the only cost  for the city that they require for registration   is $55 registration fee okay is equipment coming  along are we helping to provide equipment for um   the league we haven't provided uh traditionally  haven't provided uh uh equipment for the league   but we are looking at opportuni to explore  where we can look at potential vendors in   the community that we can help reduce some of  that cost for them once they actually do it   I do purchase it as for both the uniforms  as well as the equipment itself so we can   leverage buying it potentially as uh  entire organizations to get the cost   lower for the individual parents okay and Coach  pops can come up uh just one more question here sir um you you talk about the the boundaries could  you just delve a little more into it like how why   is this an issue to you and the the boundaries  uh you say Fairmont part traditionally been where   uh the Trojans participate and they have a bunch  of kids that's been there forever so the way the   boundaries are set up now is say like heights were  cut into certain boundaries that's direct conflict   with our organization other organizations and  where they going to get these kids from because   we're going to run into a problem whereas we've  been with these kids for I've been doing this 34   years so the kids that's embedded to us they  going have to make a decision do they want to   go over to the city or do they stay with these  grass rooted programs and then also he said the   the cost is $55 initially the cost is $55 in  April then it rises up to 150 towards closer   towards the football season so there is not a  set price and the closer it get to the football   season the more harder it is for parents to pay  it all right $55 it comes in April all right so   we say he says about the equipment uh we have  thousands and thousands of dollars invested in   equipment you are still responsible if you go  by the rules they saying you're still going to   be responsible for getting equipment you're still  going to be responsible for recruiting you still   got to be responsible for buying uniforms all for  the benefit of letting us play at a high school   football field it it seem like we're giving up too  much and they're getting everything now he did say   they will give us help as far as the the younger  kids learning the high school program but a lot   of the High School coaches have not invested  into the Little League programs in years it   seem like it's one-sided we've been defending  the high school programs but we're eliminating   the guys who built them up u a lot of the kids I  just went to a funeral uh one of the guys said I   attended East High but I was a bulldog coach all  right it's a difference you know so we're taking   that away and giving it all to the high school  but they're eliminating the Grassroots they're   eliminating the malls in the pops and when the  coaches couldn't get the kids right they come   to the little leag coaches and we have favor  so that's where we saying as far as going into   the districts and stuff like they cutting us  up and this is where we have a problem at we   love the idea seventh to eth grade all right  we've been asking that for for years all right   and then like even the Middle School challenge we  putting forth where we graded kids grades we made   sure they had the attendance and when they had  behavioral problems they call the Little League   coaches and we can go into the schools and and  get the kids right so we just thinking we're   just giving up too much for high school football  okay I can appreciate that and the next meeting   you guys said is it's February 11th 11th okay all  right and February 11 those will be things that   we'll be able to address some of those concerns  that they have as well and our goal is into to   not keep uh the coaches that are there involved we  want to bridge the gap between the two so that we   can make sure that we have a good transition for  we understand the value that they have with the   young people and they often are called upon when  there's challenges with them we want to continue   to build on that and be able to get those young  people in the pipeline where they can actually   be successful Beyond just you football but in high  school and opportunities for colleges Beyond okay   thank you I'll be paying attention to this next  thank council member Ballard sorry Reggie come back sorry I just wondered could you just give  a real high level quick overview of why these   changes have come forward for maybe somebody that  might not know sure so some of the challenges that   we have we have some um coach pop in the group  that's here uh do a really good job with working   with some of the young people in the community  and getting them an opportunity to participate   in Youth Sports and grow beyond that that's  uh we don't have that consistently throughout   the league where it's giving opportunities for  the greater impact for the community and with   working with the school district and looking at  opportunities that how we can expand that and   continue to get it a good opportunity for more  young people this is the direction that we went   in to be able to bridge that gap between Middle  School youth football and transition into high school council member Johnson thanks mayor um  and just to add to that council member Ballard   um we've also had a number of parents  reaching out over the years asking for   something like this and some more consistency  because not every team is like the Bulldogs   um there's a a lot of inconsistencies in youth  football and this is an effort to try to not   only help that but empower the entire league  um in many ways so it's something that um I   believe that was two years ago I attended that  coach's meeting and we talked about a potential   transition um it wouldn't be quick it's going  to take a few years and there would be some some   uh growing pains in that but this is that effort  that we were trying to make to get to that point Madame clerk we have three more spots is  that correct yes ma'am if there are three   individuals who would like to come  forward during public agenda please   state your name and where you live  and you will have five minutes to speak good morning good morning Civ uh uh uh I'm  sorry city council okay my name is uh my name is   Knox okay and I've been a part of the city youth  football for over 38 years okay and I just think   that the the direction that we're going into  is is a good direction for the seventh eighth   grade but when you go down for high school  what are they going to do for the for the   first through the sixth grade and I think those  should stay inside the the program you know what   we what we built and uh and uh uh like I I I had  a talk I'm not going to say any names but you know   but their whole deal is is to get rid of all the  directors now and then and saying that is is that   the eighth grade coach is going to come in he's  going to run everything he's going to get paid   okay we do all this for volunteering okay and and  when you got someone to come in getting paid to   do a job that we done many years for volunteering  I don't think it's it's fair to the parents you   know what I mean and you got to look at this right  here if a parent or a kid I had a kid this morning   that called me and said uh coach KNX I missed the  bus can you come take me to school and I got up I   took to school those are the special things that  we do for these youth I mean we Tred too many them   uh some of them are single parents some of them  can't uh some of them can't uh can't feed their   kids and that's what we do as that and uh you know  uh we send kids to to to the to the college level   doing doing these programs and so it's you know uh  uh I play football so we got plenty of uh of uh of   experience where we can teach these kids what  they need to know and uh and I beg you guys to   look into this and see how we can change this  you know I mean just Haven a thought about it   you know because last year you know I mean they  they they sold the program or we're gonna have   uh uh announ for the kids kids are very excited  about it you know what I mean we not have that   not one time at football game well you n kid uh  Joe Brown number 99 is playing for the for the   W Seahawks we never had that and that's what  they promised us so it's some things that you   know I want you guys to look into and hopefully  that it comes back to I thank you guys for your time thank you coach KNX we have room for two more individuals hello and good morning  uh it's Mr Kendall Dean 120 West Harry I want to start off like this I I don't  know what to talk Gator is that I'm pretty new   to the program I've been uh own of the Gator  for the last seven years um I purchased this   program for like $110,000 I know buying it was  never for personal gain it was for the kids and   I've continued since the 10,000 I probably put  another $50,000 into this program um I'm one of   the coaches that's pretty quiet and need to  speak so that being said I've had plenty of   conversations with with uh with Mickey I've had  plenty of conversations with Daniel to try to   see what they could do to help better our program  as far as having um Community uh Banquets I offer   to have um um Community drives where we provide  food and provide things to help the community and   I think it's more than the community networking  together versus Little League football I use   little Little League football as a platform to  get these kids to become young men at some point um that's how I grew up I had Little League  football I leted astray you know and I made   some mistakes in my life in which I'm back to  the root of what got me to where I'm at now so   I give back I don't have any kids playing Little  League football anymore all my kids are in high   school during they go to college I still continue  to move forward because I care I'm not only a   coach a coach is only a coach a mentor is totally  different a role model is totally different a man   is definitely totally different our younger youth  need development it's not about a high school   developing a kid that's first grade to sixth grade  it'll never happen I have kids now that are at   the fifth grade level that is really at third  grade level we're trying to promote different   things that help them become better so moving them  moving this program up is not going to change the   Dynamics of what we need to do we need preventive  maintenance how do we make these kids better   how do we more be more heartfelt I've been a  person that's paid fees every year I had eight   teams when I came in I paid ,000 to $1,200  a team to get absolutely what I bought all   new uniforms and stuff last year new helmets and  shoulder pass and now you want to take that from   me and my kids for absolutely what so that being  said you made a statement that we don't have the   coaching staff well you guys do background  checks we pay $25 per per per per uh coach   for a background check you guys put those those  those people in positions correct not us if we   pass a Battleground check that means we need to be  there that's how I look at it so that being said   I don't believe that transitioning first to sixth  grade is a good idea I think it's going to cause   confusion very very much confusion there's going  to be a lot of kids that don't even get to play   if you got a roster that's got 22 kids we  have more than 22 kids per team right now   they're going to not be afforded opportunity to  play football so I would look at that I would   look back for the last 20 plus years what's  been done from the city that's helped us no   Community drives No we should always have at  the end of the year we should have a big deal   with all the organizations that that brings us  together as a Unity you know we don't have no   Unity that's what we're fighting now the fight  is not for us as adults the fight is for the   kids our future this is they're are Legacy  so I feel like it shouldn't be taken there's   no reason to be taken and ultimately outside of  the fields what else are we giving away you take   our Fields you take our program our hands are  tied that's all I got to say Thank you Mr Dean   we have room for one more [Music] individual good  morning everyone and thank you all again for the   opportunity to listen to us about Little League  football my son started playing believe he was   five he started kindergarten of first grade went  all the way up you know eighth grade and he was   a bulldog and all the boys would go to school on  Fridays and wear their jerseys and they were just   so proud that they belong to organization and it  wasn't just the Bulldogs it was the Colts Fridays   was the day to show pride and and who they  were and the communities they came from and   that Legacy kept going my son went to Heights uh  again proud football player my son ended up going   to uh Coffeyville Community College my son got  a um academic scholarship as well as a football   scholarship hend up going to me first in college  on again academic and football had it not been for   the dorms he would have got a free ride but we  had to pay for the dorms and so all of that is   what we're trying to give to other kids you know  my my son had a great uh ride through football he   now works for the Houston Texans he's not on the  football field he's in the back office and he's   doing well and that's what we want to give to our  kids we want to make sure our kids are doing well   and you know how you do that is with relationships  you move the program under a high school you lose   the relationship because there's no guarantee that  same coach will be there year after year after   year there's no guarantee that that coach will  be in the communities year after year recruiting   kids picking up kids he's going to uh rely on  the community to keep building the relationship   to hand over to him so we asking for let's keep  Community into Little League Football let's keep   relationships you guys invested $1.2 million I  believe in curing the violence let's prevent the   violence let's keep working with our young people  so they don't go those routes and again how do we   help to ensure that is with relationships and if  we move these things from communitybased and and   we're all in favor of Middle School sports  you said it's being done around the country   it's being done in like the derbies and The Mazes  it's being done in those smaller cities um wiah   has what eight high schools I don't know how many  high schools we have so we have kids everywhere   there's 46,000 kids in our schools district so how  how do we ensure that the uh 300 that play with   the Bulldogs the 300 well the ICT do the 300 that  plays with the Gators how do we ensure that all of   those kids don't get lost we there is no guarantee  but if we make sure we keep it communitybased   and the community is working with the city  and the usd259 we can make sure we can put   more strong arms in there to kind of make sure  that we're looking out for our kids um and I   know ultimately I love working with Reggie Reggie  has been amazing to work with and so I think we   need to still sit down at the table and let's keep  working on this keep fleshing this out how do we   keep Community involved with our kids how do we  prevent the violence so we don't have to end up   curing the violence so again I ask let's just keep  these conversations going let's not put anything   in cement and then we talk about over the years  you know the relationship with the city and the   community you know we played football at Grove  Park for years scoreboards went out years ago   we didn't have scoreboards um we were told we're  going to move out to on Gren which nice Fields   it's going to be real pretty um soccer Community  said we want uh uh Striker field so football   didn't even go out there so then during Co we  said okay let's move it out to uh way outs South that South South Lakes let's move it out there so  you're moving all these kids and it was a burden   on the coaches because coaches pick up kids all  the time and some kids didn't get to play because   it was so far away you know and so we're like  let's put us at the table let's not keep making   decisions outside of the community because they  have been working really well and even when we   went to like South Lakes they would bring out  little bitty um scoreboards that you can't even   see and little clocks that kept the time you  like nobody could see those things so again you   year after year Community has been taken out of  our youth and we're asking to put Community back   in put us at the table let's let's continue to  meet with regie next week let's really talk about   these things and maybe bring some of them High  School coaches in because are they really going   to be willing to go out and recruit kids and are  they going to be committed to staying to working   with those kids so anyway look Wanda D Sher 2707  North Terrace thank you for your time thank you   leanda council member Johnson thanks mayor um I  will you made a few different points there um to   the striker and South flakes I will say that over  the years and I think I talked to you about this   as well we also had a lot of parents that didn't  want that and they wanted to stay at the fields   that they currently were at Co was a different  thing and there was a private effort to move out   to um Striker which ended up not working out long  term and then that's when South Lakes was a thing   um but I would say I think there are some Mis  misconceptions as we talked about as well that   um we're leaving coaches and the community out the  whole idea of this was working with the coaches   there's nothing in the plan that says the same  folks who are mentoring and coaching won't be able   to and in fact that was something that we talked  about at the coaches meeting um and I don't think   you were at that one two years ago but it's not  the intent of Reggie Mickey or anyone to exclude   any of the coaches and mentors because they do  such a great job this transition will continue to   work with 259 and the coaches and to talk through  how that looks again there will be some growing   pains and some things that might have to change  over time but that conversation will happen again   February 11th I already had it on my calendar  I'll be there but um there will be continued   meetings continued conversations and ways to see  how this plan can work again it's about the kids   it's not about the adults and the goal is to make  sure all of those young people have those strong   mentors have those resources and think about their  Bright Futures um and not just the athletic piece   of it much like your son I had the same path  going from Heights to West to FR University   and coaching at FR University so I understand the  impact you football could have I was a Mustang um   a panther first but then a Mustang I think we  beat y'all once but um I had to take that shot   but um the goal is the kids we want to make  sure that the kids have a great opportunity   and uh I know we will always work with the teams  and coaches there's nothing in that plan that   would say the folks who've been doing this for  30 plus years aren't good enough to continue   in fact they need to be a part of that going  forward we need those youth football coaches   so I think there's some misconceptions with  maybe some things that have been said in the   community about the plan but uh the city will  continue working with you football teams that   we currently have to make sure that there's a  successful integration and transition thank you thank you to our five public agenda speakers  Madame clerk can you please call the next item   consent agenda items 1 through 12 council members  are there any items to be pulled from the consent agenda I have one for discussion uh consent agenda  item four Sorry 4 a Carl Brewer Community Center improvements any other items I see none I move  to approve the consent agenda without 4 a second   motion and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk uh please open the rooll motion passes 70 this item uh 4 a uh Gary Jansen  will come forward there were multiple questions   regarding the budget this is U McAdams Park  Carl Brewer Community Center I know that after   the discussion regarding uh football I would  also like to hear a little bit more about the   improvements not just at Carl Brewer but also  McAdams Park and all the Investments that are   going to be made in that area can you address that  because I think we asked um budget questions last   week I can address the item specifically and  the improvements to Brewer I don't know that   I can help much with McAdams Park but I might  see if Reggie can help with that so uh we do I   did want to show you uh where we're at on the  improvements to Brewer Brewer Community Center   so the overall budget for the project is $13  million right now based on our projections uh   with the Construction and design cost where we're  at including the change order for your approval   today we expect to come in underneath within  that $13 million for sure and I provided some   information uh for the council to see uh the the  improvements for Brewer community centers you see   here uh the new building will be almost twice  the size of the existing uh it's really coming   along this Project's expected to be completed  this summer probably with the soft opening   in June and final completion in August uh this  could be a new gym a walking Track opportunity   for more programming technology improvements a  lot of things that the existing building does   not have uh the existing building is structurally  sound but there are improvements being made uh to   that also so we'll have everything will be new  when we're done here so wanted you to see where   we're at on this uh again the the change  order for request for your approval today   is uh some necessary improvements to storm who  underneath the existing parking lot other than   that I might see if Reggie wants to talk about  improvements to McAdams mayor that you asked about so there have been some uh other  improvements there on the park itself uh   the aquatics master plan allowed us to do some  improvements to the pool space there itself uh   we also got some grant funding from historical  uh Society to do some additional improvements   that's going to be taking place at the park as  well we're working with uh the orig architect   McAfee and his family were doing some of  those things to the Historical Society uh   we just recently did improvements to the  tennis court there for goose. on site as   well through some of the CIP funding that was  available there uh we also had opportunity to   do some other things with technolog in the  existing building where we were able to   expand the security system there as well as a  look at for the senior building that's behind   the spacers they on site and uh a few years  back we were able to do some improvements   with putting in new basketball goals and things  inside the gym area itself Reggie was I incorrect   in thinking that there were some improvements to  the football field as well uh there was a grant   funding that we got to uh do a new scoreboard at  the Barry Sanders field there as well as well as   some grant funding that we received to uh uh  put new uh lights on at the baseball diamond   is also and that allowed us to be able to go in  with some more energy efficient lights as well   as being able to control those remotely so the  staff didn't have to go on site to turn on and   off when we program the field there you Reggie  council member oh he he hit the other two so and   I think that there's one more Improvement uh that  was not mentioned and that is a bridge is that correct yes mayor thank you for the reminder we  are working to replace the existing 15 Street   bridge over the witto drainage canal with  a pedestrian bridge I think we would expect   and hope for construction to be completed  this year thank you for the update on all   the improvements that are happening both  at mcadam's Park um the whole premise and   then Carl Brewer Center um after seeing the  budget which was budgeted at 13 million and   the current total budget project budget is 11.7  million uh it still looks like it's under the   budget of 13 million um in addition I think  in this budget you also mentioned $200,000   in public art may I ask if that public art  is within the building or outside of the building sorry mayor should have stayed close um I  do if you'll give me just a second here I do have   some information on that um it's mostly going to  be inside the building uh there's multiple artists   involved along with the artist consultant there's  going to be mural murals uh both in the new and   existing building uh including one uh or multiple  murals of Mayor Brewer in different stages of his   life uh there's a black Educators Hall of Fame  portraits which will be included within the   building some tile mosaics uh within the new  building which is a portrait of Mayor Brewer   there's uh vinyl portraits of black athletes  in the gym and then there's going to be some   replicant of archival items provided by  Mrs Brewer uh so I think the majority of   it's going to be within the buildings and  those details are still coming together   but that's the best that I had for right now  council member Johnson thanks mayor um there's   also a large piece on the exterior and um a  Ganan artist that is providing some lighting   um whatever you call light bulbs or  I don't have the term but some art um inside I think I asked this question previously  um under other CIP projects but I know that   public art has been part of the conversation that  these are for large Capital Improvement projects   um for instance the water treatment plant this is  another major Capital Improvement can we again um   can someone please just reiterate what the  public art um dedicated funding is used for   and how how we're utilizing these dollars and how  we cannot use them for other items um within the   budget thank you mayor there are are multiple  ways that public art is incorporated into our   CIP I let Lindsay uh give you the summary of that  I'll try to tackle the question um Lindsay Baka   director of Arts and Cultural services for the  city uh so through the percent for our ordinance   2% of eligible Capital Improvement projects uh  are eligible for funding so it's not 2% of the   entire CIP but it's just of eligible projects uh  and that money has to be spent on Art Improvement   uh the design council is the approval board uh of  individuals related to the design World Architects   Engineers um we have a lighting designer graphic  designer and individual public artists as well   who determine uh the projects that are could  be eligible for for that for that funding and   then they make recommendations with the allotted  funding available for what gets applied to which   project so that 2% can only be spent on Art  uh at the dedicated projects um and I'm not   sure the this budget off the top of my head  but it would be at the recommendation of the   design Council and as far as I understand it  the art is on budget within this project does   that answer your question or anything else  you'd like to elaborate on so you cannot use   the public art dollars that are allocated to  any anything beyond public art and it can be   public art indoors as well as Outdoors correct  it has to be related to the project and I would   I would challenge kind of the the the thought  process on what is public art and it's really   aesthetic design overlay uh so it could be  integrated design elements or it could be   uh art in a traditional term which could be  a mural or a sculpture but it's integrated   design elements Lindsay I'm sorry mayor can you  also address when was the impetus of this per   perc for art um this was voted on prior to this  council is that correct uh yes and before my   employment with the city I believe in uh December  of 2019 is when it was approved as an ordinance   but the city has a longstanding I would say  several decades of inte integrated design   and public art uh within our CIP programs the  ordinance just ratified it and dedicated that   funding model versus separating it out or it's now  separated out as its own budget line item it used   to be integrated into the overall project budget  Lindsay correct me if I'm wrong but the um design   Council has the ability to allocate dollars  doesn't have to be 2% for a specific project   correct correct so it can there it's a huge  equation uh but essentially the of the eligible   funding for a project it cannot be more than  10% of the overall project budget uh it's never   really that much uh but it's not 2% of the whole  CIP it's just 2% of eligible projects that then   gets dedicated out to anywhere between five and  10 projects in a given year and then new to this   this past year uh was utilizing it for maintenance  funding as well that was the first time we've ever   had a dedicated public art maintenance fund so  10% of the 2% eligible can be used for maintenance   which we now have dedicated uh through the next  10e CIP at the design council's recommendation is   that address thank you and then last but not least  as I was looking at the budget so art is $200,000   of the total project but security is only 112,000  so I just I want to make sure that whenever we   look at new projects that security should be the  number one thing that we allocate um I know that   cameras cost money I know that maintenance of  those cameras and having uh the storage also   costs money ongoing so I would just like that to  be top of mine moving forward uh that that line   item should be first and foremost uh the security  of an asset that the city would be um investing in   thank you I see no further questions for this  item I move to approve consent agenda item 4A   second motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call the   next item Board of bids and  contracts dated February 3rd 2025 morning mayor city council Josh laber  Department of Finance I'm not going to say   this is one of the lighter agendas we've  had because I jinxed myself the last time   I did that so I'll go forward with the  board of bids meeting on February 3rd 202   five for the following items for  purchasing we have the painting   of six city of wiah swimming pools for  landmark aquatic LLC and the amount of $2,428 and we have Security Services for the  transit center the contract change order for   Smart Security Incorporated for an amended  estimated usage of $2,732 per year this   is how to become a vendor with the city this  is our purchasing calendar of small business   resource partner events that the city will  be hosting hosting or participating in and   these are open public opportunities out  on the street today and I'd be happy to   try to answer any of your questions and  I recommend your approval questions for staff I see none I move to approve the board  of bids and contracts second Motion in a second   any further discussion I see none Madame  clerk please open the role motion passes 70   Madame clerk please call the  next item petitions for public improvements good morning mayor City Council  Members Paul gunsman Public Works and utilities   for the record I have a few petitions for your  consideration this morning the signatures on the   petitions represent 100% of the Improvement  districts and the petitions are valid per   Kansas statute Brookfield South Edition  phases six and seven located in District   Six that shouldn't be that should be located in  District 2 I apologize on October 11th 2022 and   October 22nd 2024 the city council approved  Water and Sewer improvements required for   new Resident residential development  the developer has submitted revised   petitions to shift project financing from  acquisition of privately constructed ConEd   improvements to construction of publicly bid  improvements the budgets remain as previously approved and Mac Meridian addition located in  District 4 on July 9th 2024 the city council   approved water Improvement required for a  new residential development the developer   has submitted a revised petition with  revised budget to reflect current market conditions it is recommended that the  city council approve the new petitions   and budgets adopt the new resolutions and  authorize necessary signatures and I will   stand for questions questions for staff I see  none I move to approve the petitions for public   improvements second Motion in a second any further  discussion I see none Madam clerk please open the role motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item amendment of lease for city-owned  property at 307 to 309 North me Madame mayor and council members John filber  real estate administrator with the uh development   services the item before you is a um amendment to  an existing lease and some city-owned property the   300 block of North me uh we have um 17,6 163  square feet of retail space currently divided   into seven spaces and it's currently managed by  a private management company for the city one of   the units was 4384 Square ft is leased to a  restaurant tenant has been in the occupancy   since 2007 they're paying $75,000 a year in rent  uh the lease term is currently year-to-year they   have asked for a longer lease term U to allow for  them to do a better job of budgeting for operating   purposes um we have talked to several um property  management companies to ascertain what Market   rates are and we were told that the current market  rate for similar space is about 13 to16 per square   foot the proposed amendment calls for a 5year term  with rent of 6250 50 per month $75,000 so it's   unchanged from the current lease that is $1710  per square foot the proposed lease would have one   one-year option um per the um current lease the  tenant pays janitorial routine maintenance cost   and all utilities except for water trash and Sewer  um the city will receive the proposed rents um um   there is no additional expenses associated with  the amendment beyond what we're currently paying   um on the property recommended the city council  approve the lease Amendment and authorize all   necessary signatures I'll stand for questions  John I actually emailed a list of questions to   the city manager and so I will allow council  members to ask their questions first but then   I have a whole list of questions council member  Ballard thank you mayor I have several questions   as well um why would why was this pulled in  September and why is it taken so long to get   back on the schedule I believe it was pulled um  to verify the rent rates and we went and as I   said we talked to several real estate companies  to see what they felt the rates were in the area   in the meantime we change management companies  we have a new management company that came on   board in October oober and so just those variety  of items just causes to delay the item okay also um is the parking fees included in their rent  their their parking fees are rolled into the rent   and the city pays that as part of the city's cost  so the city pays the parking out of the rent well   we we we collect the rent rant um you know it's  an internal transfer I don't know if the parking's   transferred or not but the the tenants are not  paying a separate a separate billing and that   ties back to um historically this property was um  Master leased before we took over management of it   and the Tenant the master tenant did not charge  the um tenants a separate fee for parking and   we assumed several of this is one of the leases  that we assumed when we took over management of   the property and so we just continued in the same  manner will they pay a lump sum so the previous   um lease operator was paying he was taking the  parking out of the rent well he he paid a separate   check for it he collected the rent then he wrote  a check to the city and do we know how much   um money has been paid into the parking fund  from those properties I do not know does anybody know uh over the entire period that these lease  spaces have been in existence no I don't have   that information but I can tell you since 2018  when that Master Lease converted over to sort   of a Property Management type of uh Arrangement  since 2018 we have um total about $75,000 um that   uh would be owed to the parking fund from Real  Estate to cover all of those parking expenses   or those parking charges since 2018 and do we know  if that money has been transferred to the parking   fund it has not been transferred as of yet no I we  could do an internal transfer at any point right   as we've continued to evaluate the real estate  and the property management group and understand   who's been paying what where when why and how in  addition also as we continue to evaluate sort of   what the C is going to look like if that's the  direction that Oldtown goes how do we begin to   kind of start projecting what those um transfers  are going to look like in the future no we have   not transferred any of those funds to the parking  fund since 2018 just seems a little messy that I   don't know I don't know what the normal practice  would be like do do we do that monthly do we do   it quarterly do it yearly but I mean this is since  20 I mean that's six seven years that we haven't   transferred money knowing that the parking fund  is so short on money I just I'm curious and are   there any other spaces where we have pots  of money sitting that should go to parking   it it shows as a receivable for the parking  fund so we we know that it is due to the   parking fund and the you know so it's it's  just a matter of as uh Troy said when it's   transferred over okay followup question to that  so is that from the general fund to put into the   parking fund no it's I think it's received  in the Economic Development Fund yeah so as   it comes into the Economic Development  Fund and subsequently kind of the real   estate division fund then yes it would  be transferred over to the parking fund okay um I just have a couple more questions um are there any of the businesses in that strip  that have not been paying parking well the the the   parking as I said the parking is rolled into  the leases all of them so they're all paying   parking per se because it's just part of their  lease payment okay um another question um is do   those tenants pay a deposit when they move in  um we have deposits on some of them some we do   not it just depends on the lease and how old it is  and so on but maybe from a certain date forward we   have deposits I just want to make sure we're doing  the same thing for everybody and following the   processes and it it sounds a little messy but we  we have security deposits there's seven tenants   and um I'm showing security deposits for four  of them the three oldest ones that we that we   inherited we did not get security deposits on okay  um two other questions then I'll let somebody else   ask a few so I pulled the um and this is this  is just kind of bizarre and SL interesting to   me that so I pulled some of the tax records  and it looks like there we were late on our   own property tax for our properties I'm happy to  share it with you afterwards I just or well I do   know that we've only paid half of the 2024 taxes  this is for several years ago but in the last 10   years probably but it's about $1,000 and I just  curious and also with taxes going up how does   that work with um with the rent rates um well  to address address the the first question the   delinquency yes I need to see that because I don't  recall a a delinquency and if it was before 2018   that would have been when it was under the master  lace and it uh one of them is for 2019 one of them   for 2018 one of them for 2009 but I'm happy to  share it with you after yeah we'd have to take   a look at those um concerning the rents going  up currently the leases are set up as as kind   of modified growth where we pick up the taxes so  you know one thing that we are looking at because   the the property taxes have increased pretty  radically recently um couple of items one the   property has come out of the Tiff so we could  look at appealing our property taxes which we   don't do with prop properties in when they're in  a tiff um but secondly we could look at modifying   leases ongoing to have them start paying a pratus  share of the taxes they'd probably lower the face   rent sum but have them pay a pratus share of the  property taxes it's an option and the reason I   ask is because I mean we all hear about property  tax every day seems like but since 2018 to what   I have is to 2023 I mean it's increased $20,000  mhm so you know I think it's fair to try to figure   you know something out or at least make it make  sense as far as you know that just sounds like   a lot but it is our you know the City properties  I don't know I just I'm curious about what those   conversations look like or lack of conversations  I don't know and and one of and one of the   challenges is you know what will the market  bear you know what what what is what is what   is market rent but that is something that we have  talked about looking at is is as we go forward is   possibly moving to more of a tripl net situation  and I would say the last thing I want is you know   pushing anybody out of spaces especially somebody  that's been there a really long time and is really   one of the bookends of of that whole area I just  was curious on what those conversations look like   and I assume that they're having that you all  are having them I just um wanted to kind of   Point some of those things out and um and find  out what the answers were okay thank you vice   mayor Johnston thank you mayor regarding parking  going forward as long as the Oldtown Association   gets enough percent and improved by the council  the parking will be charged to a customer's   ticket of 2% of the cost in the future is that  correct that's my understanding okay thank you I have my list of questions I'll start off  with first and foremost who negotiated this   lease um these leases are negotiated by the  the management company and then they submit   the proposal to the city and we review them  internally and make a recommendation followup   question to that you mentioned that in October  of 2024 the management company was changed how   long prior to that was that management company  part of the this agreement the progam management   company they were in place from when the city  took the proper took over the properties in 2018 the group that now is managing so since  October of 2024 you're telling me that this new   lease that we're seeing was negotiated by the new  management company is that correct the F the final   agreement was yes what is the name of the property  management company Landmark commercial Rel State followup question to that so prior to 2018  can you tell us who was owning this property and   how did we give us some history of how the city  of wiad then became the ultimate landlord um   and now we're in the business of renting spaces  when the Oldtown Cinemas District was developed   um there was an agreement agement with a master  tenant to lease the retail space we built it out   to basically a vanilla box finish he finished  it he leased it and he had a lease that had a   term of 15 years upon termination of the lease  he had the option of taking all of his stuff   that he had put in or continuing to manage the  property become a property manager this was all   in the development agreement that was done  for the Oldtown Center and so we always own   the space it's just that until 2018 there was  a a buffer between us and the actual individual tenants how much does the property management  company Landmark commercial receive from the city   they receive 5% of the uh gross rents or a with a  minimum of uh believe $900 and then they will also   um on new leases not on these but if they um  we get a new renewal they'll get 3% on that if   they bring in a new tenant they'll get 6% of  the rent on that which is pretty much market   Standard what are the responsibilities of the  property management company Landmark commercial   um per per their contract they handle all the  tenant relations they handle uh negotiations   with the tenants on releasing um they collect  the rent they pay bills they um handle any   repairs that are required maintenance and so  on basically they they they do all the property management so we do not the city of wi does not  pay for maintenance of this building we will pay   for structural maintenance the tenant leases  the tenants pay for the internal any internal   maintenance and repairs but we will pay because  it is is in the parking garage we will pay for   structural maintenance and we will pay for the  other big item is um heating and air conditioning   so the maintenance of the building which is  a city asset is only structural maintenance   is the responsibility of the city of witcha then  it's actually the property management company's   responsibility regarding regular maintenance is  that correct that is correct and they and they   coordinate with City staff I mean when there's  issues because it is it it is in a garage and   one of the downsides of retail in a garage is you  tend to develop leaks and they they'll coordinate   with City staff to get those taken care of and so  on but but the main repairs the main major repairs   are handled by City staff who pays the property  taxes for this building um the city pays the taxes   okay so that's actually not the city that's  the citizens of Witchita who pay the taxes on   this building is that correct yes they'll be paid  for out of the rents received basically so you're   telling me that responsibility then does not lie  on the tenant but rather regular taxpayers to pay   the property taxes on this specific building is  that correct um mayor that's not what he said   it comes out of the rent it's so we pay it but  it's not property tax dollars paying property   taxes it's part of the lease payment we use some  of the rent to pay for the property taxes but   it's under our name if I'm looking at the contract  itself it actually does say that the city of wiah   pays the property taxes we write the check but it  we're using rent payments to pay that so but I was   just told earlier when the question was asked by  council member Ballard regarding triple Nets so   this is a standard operating procedure by anyone  outside of the city of Witchita properties that   you pay for triple Nets those would be property  taxes insurance and also so just making sure that   maintenance is taken care of so those three things  would be in addition to your square footage just   for the rent itself you then would have triple  net on top of it but you're telling me that these   properties owned by the city only pay for the  the rent itself but not for the Triple net is   that correct yeah so let me try to answer that um  in a really really sort of high level uh these are   not triple net leases these are more commonly  referred to as modified gross leases whereby   a tenant pays rent that rent is then used by the  landlord to pay for all the things that you just   described so for example really really high level  all of the rents that we receive on all seven of   these units total about $275,000 a year with that  $275,000 a year that we receive in rents on all   seven of these lease spaces we pay out about  $175,000 in expenses which include taxes which   include utilities which include management fees  so to kind of build on the city managers and it's   the rents that come in that pay for all of those  proper ta we are not using general funds so that   would not be market rate then if that's the case  because most other properties around the city of   Witchita have rent and then triple net on top of  it so what you're telling me is it's really not   Market it's actually subsidized rent um is that  not accurate to say when when you're looking at   differences between gross lease structures and  tripl net lease structures at the end of the day   you're offsetting your expenses with your Revenue  so in a triple net lease rather than charging 122   to $15 per square foot you may only be charging  $3 to5 per square foot in a triple net if you're   charging a smaller rate and you're tacking on that  the tenant has to pay for those property taxes and   all of those triple net obligations you're not  charging the same per square foot rent you charge   a higher per square foot rent in a gross lease to  cover all of those obligations so is it actually   higher than everybody else that is is in that area  right now based on similar gross lease types of   Arrangements yes that's our understanding I'd like  to see those numbers and and that was this sort of   second opinion right our our current contractor  uh Landmark is sort of in this industry they've   advised us on that between last fall and today as  we went out and kind of got a second opinion right   uh wgan Omega provided us with sort of a second  opinion confirmed that yes those are comparable   Market rents given the lease structures but to  see it for that area in addition to outside of   the area of Oldtown because what what it looks  like right now is that you're getting a a really   uh sweet deal uh here with rent that really  covers a lot more than just the rent um and the   burden is now on the city of witto which really  is the taxpayers of witto so I'm very concerned   about this so I would like more information to be  shared to the entire Council regarding comparables   in the area but also comparables of a space  similar to size outside of the area of Oldtown sure I still have more questions um both leases  are technically quote holdovers I looked at the   contract in the holdover section so they are  holdover tenants since their leases already   expired according to the contract they should  make them month-to-month leases at 1.5x the   rent called for in the lease agreement how much  and for how long have either tenants been paying   the amount from the currently expired contract  the leases is drafted the existing leases call   for a one-year term and then they have an OP  where they can continue on a year-to-year basis   um you know basically they tell the property  management company we agree and they continue   so these actually are not holdover tencies per  se but they are in a a one-year option period   so they're not paying the um the penalty rent  um you know a holdover situation would be where   somebody refuses to renegotiate and they're not  they're not not vacating and we can charge them   a penalty rent as we work out a solution  but here these These are actually in onee terms but this contract the current one that we're  currently working off of which is expired expired   in 2021 is that not accurate so I'm going to read  a paragraph according to section 2.1 base term   and again the these were all responses that were  provided in response to your questions according   to section received those responses so I this  is my first time hearing these responses number   one so I just want to be very clear that I sent  these questions yesterday at 12:34 p.m. I have   not received any responses regarding my list  of questions therefore I ask these questions   in public forum so everyone can hear them so I do  not know what those answers are until I'm here at   this meeting fair enough again I just I want to  make sure that we prepared responses so if I'm   reading here it's from those prepared responses  so according to section 2.1 base term quote the   term of this lease shall be on a year-to-year  basis and commence the commencement date on a   specific date that date varies from lease to lease  hence the response in the U email and will expire   a year later on a Subs date that date changes from  lease to lease if the tenant wishes to continue   the lease for another year or any consecutive  year thereafter and is not in default then tenant   shall give landlord a 60-day written notice the  tenant wishes to continue now it may be argued   just reading here that the tenant could continue  in perpetuity so long as they're not in default   however the county to that Arrangement right would  be that should the and this is a quote this comes   right out of the agreement should the tenant give  notice per 2.1 term above landlord and tenant   shall negotiate rent for the coming year should  tenant and landlord not agree on rent for the   coming year this lease will terminate at the end  of the current term so there are some safeguards   in place in the agreement that yes theoretically  the tenant could continue year after year sort of   in perpetuity however as we continue to monitor  sort of what those Market rents are and as we   evaluate each of these agreements annually we  can increase those rents to coincide with what   we understand to be Market rents if for whatever  reason the landlord the city and the Tenant do   not agree on those rents then we can terminate  that agreement we're not bound by the agreement   to continue with those rates and those rents in  perpetuity even though the agreement does somewhat   provide for it and remind us currently they're  paying 75,000 per year it has not increased it has   not decreased it's remained at exactly 75,000 each  of the agreements have different rents based on   their score footages and whatever those original  agree this particular agreement yes 75,000   a year thank you next question why were these  contracts not negotiated after immediately the   expiration date of these contracts why were the  negotiation process not really even started until   a new management company became part of this  entire conversation which would be October of   2024 why was there no prior conversation in 2021  well there was conversation in in 2024 because as   as Troy said these leases roll and so there was no  you know we saw no reason to change the rent rates   and so on as we went through the years um but the  negotiations for these extended terms did start in   2024 and you know as noted you know we we started  to bring them forward in September and they were   halted but they were in you know negotiated and  started before the end of the current term this   is the most poent question so 75,000 per year  is what this lease has said the tenant will pay   my question then is why were there no escalation  rents built into the currently expired contracts   which expired back in 2021 and why were they not  considered for the new proposed contract we keep   talking about about the city needing number one  to cover costs and costs continue to increase   year over-year simply with inflation why were  they not built into these contracts in the in   the existing agreement they're inherently built  in in that we can increase the rent annually we   did not because the market was not supporting  it in the case of this lease based on the um   opinions we got from the real estate companies and  the two companies we used reviewed our leases and   saw the terms so they know what they're looking  at they know they're not looking at trip net or   gross or what they reviewed the leases they felt  at $17 you know as stated in the Agenda Report the   top of the market right now that they're looking  at is about $16 so we're above Market based on the   opinions we received from the outside management  companies and so we did not build a an escalator   into this particular one that concerns me a lot  especially given that our budget keeps increasing   based off of just simply inflation and so I feel  like it's not prudent for our community to Bear   the brunt of also eating that inflation year after  year this is a five-year agreement so for the next   five years we're not going to escalate to at  the very least just meet just meet inflation   so all of this really concerns me um I don't know  how we can get this information prior to us making   a decision but I will not feel comfortable  voting on this given that I don't have all   the information council member Ballard thank  you mayor um I have a question about the year   renewals so who looks at these to know that we've  kind of been behind the mark on where pricing   should be and they just continue to get renewed  when we look at those we talk to the management   company we we talk to outside individuals um  and so it it's a decision based on what we're   seeing in the market and I apologize if you  already said this but how long did Cinema uh   manage these properties Cinema managed the  properties from uh June or July of 8 2008   18 to October of this year or 2024 and Cinema is  someone local yes um is it Dave Burke yes thank you I have a couple oh I have a couple more  questions so I was also looking at the property   taxes for this specific property and I wanted  to know what specifically changed were special   taxes in this area increased dramatically from  2023 to 2024 the special taxes are the solid waste   fees that the county assesses and they adjusted  their Solid Waste fees this year they lowered them   for residential they increased them for commercial  and so I think we went from $6 or $7 to $60 and   if you'll look it's it's similar I I took a Qui  glance and you know um oh the Old Chicago building   um the building the eagle used to be in they all  had the same increase it's a it's a set piece   increase based on the tier you're in and so that  was just an adjustment the county made and then in   addition to in 2024 I think council member Ballard  asked this question the city typically pays in two   haves um the 43,000 therefore there's a  balance of 43,000 because you have not   paid the full property taxes in 2024 is that  correct that is correct we property taxes are   build in our rears with your first billing  in December and then you have the option   of paying the second half in May and so  we we pay half in December and half in May I see no further questions from the  council we will now open it up for public comment good morning TWA Purity I live in Polo  Club District um district one we were there at   our dab last night till 11 o'clock another fun  meeting um so some observations on this lease form   I agree with an annual rent escalation uh a  couple of things that haven't really come up   in this discussion is insurance if you read the  lease um the landlord is responsible for the   fire and extended coverage insurance any of us who  has Insurance knows that goes up every year right   so um there's that uh you've talked about taxes  another reason for the rent escalation and then   common area maintenance I just was scanning the  lease there's an association an Article 19 uh like   a Business Association now they're supposed to I  don't know what this association's supposed to do   is there the association this $100 um is that $100  a month that is supposed to be paid into it by the   tenant where's that going is it used for common  area maintenance is it enough should it be more   than $100 a month I don't know I mean I think  these are question questions you might want to   ask um if I think in the bigger picture so this  is some modified gross lease is this typical of   City leases with retail uh tenants if not why  is it atypical should the city if if this is   the right type of lease then should there be an  ordinance that all leases are this modified um   gross lease or maybe it's not the right tool  for the city something to consider and look into deferred maintenance right we hear  about that all the time so the city is   responsible for the HVAC replacing the HVAC  is there money set aside is the um uh of the   company that's managing this lease are  they setting aside funds so when those   units have to be replaced there's funds  there or will it be a hit to the budget   the lease mandates that the tenant maintain  the HVAC how do you prove compliance do they   have these quarterly maintenance agreements  in place those cost right um I hated paying   for those but anyway the incentive is for them  not to pay it because if the thing goes caput   then they get a new unit paid by the city right  yeah because uh those Big Ticket items are um   required um the landlord has to replace them um  just my quick observations when scaned through   the lease thanks for your time thank you twia  council member Ballard thank you mayor uh city   manager can you speak to is any money set aside  for maintenance or do we just address it as it comes so it's a little bit of both right  so as I described a little bit earlier um   the revenues that we we receive do exceed our  expenses and so we continue to sort of grow   that Economic Development real estate division  fund to make sure that we have there's going to   be some expenses that are going to just be  [Music] un unplanned right um and in those   scenarios we're just going to have to probably  uh try to understand where those funds are going   to come from to do those large replacement costs  uh but for all intense purposes we are trying to   be proactive and taking steps to make sure that  uh we have the funds in place to do that routine   maintenance and replacement uh should the systems  need to be replaced okay one more question while   you're up there um are all of the spaces uh leased  currently yes okay thank you well we're actually   in the process of uh negoti ating one lease right  now the terms and conditions have all intense   purposes been negotiated we're going to bring that  back here in the near future thank you y I'll have   followup to that you said if basically if these  rents are currently paying or exceeding expenses   then why can't you pay for the parking fund they  can we can so for example we could today and again   we've we've calculated that since 2018 through uh  the term in which we change Property Management   hands right so we went through this exercise  a couple of months ago just to wrap our heads   around what that cost was going to be um from 2018  to end of 2024 it's about $75,000 so theoretically   we could go and transfer $75,000 today and  all of those parking fees those payment in   of parking fees that we've been talking about over  the last several months the parking fund will have   been made whole based on those again the number  is about $75,000 I don't remember I think it was   like 78,000 and some change but we can make that  that has not been made whole that's correct we   have not transferred the funds as of today but and  we're negotiating a new deal without making that   hole yet that's a concern to me knowing that  we've had had so many conversations regarding   parking and the lack of Maintenance and lack of  Maintenance funds This concerns me knowing that   75,000 is basically a whole year's rent that this  one tenant is paying and a whole year's rent of   this tenant could be paying for the entire parking  fund that currently has not been made whole just   in these properties right here or this building  so again that that concerns me number two uh the   the speaker mentioned trip net and we have talked  about insurance because trip net includes property   taxes insurance and common space maintenance so  the question is why has the city not thought about   using trip net as part of the rents rather than  the modified uh gross and I would say that for   all intensive purposes yes I would love to see  the city look at properties such as these in a   trip net lease situation right we've inherited  some of this and so there's a balance to be to   be had between this is how the original Master  Lease was set up with the tenants from 2018 to   2024 this was continued with that property manager  right and so there are tenants out there who ex   who have been good tenants the two tenants that we  are renewing these leases this tenant and the next   item on the agenda have been good long-standing  tenants right and so what does that mean for those   tenants to sort of completely overhaul the lease  structure those are just the balances that we're   trying to achieve between retaining those good  tenants and continuing to support those businesses   while still recovering the expenses that we  need to recover versus longterm conversations   of okay what does it look like to convert from a  gross lease modified gross lease now to okay in   a couple years what does it look like to change to  a triple net reducing the rates understanding that   passing on those costs of property taxes Etc it's  somewhat of an overhaul of how we're looking at   Property Management we don't have a lot of these  properties that we are managing across the city   there's maybe two or three of these properties  we are managing and so this was somewhat of an   inherited system that we are simply trying to M  maintain to make sure that we are recovering our   expenses and making sure that we're being good  stewards of taxpayer dollars and also continuing   to support those businesses and make sure that  those businesses can continue to be successful I   am not mad at the tenant I'm talking about the  people who negotiate these contracts or these   property agreements that that's what I'm upset  about the tenants I know the tenants I visit those   businesses and I'm grateful that small businesses  want to thrive in our community but the city staff   and whomever is negotiating these contracts  needs to do it in favor of the taxpayers so   anytime someone says paid for by the city it's  not paid for by the city it's paid for by the   citizens of the city so it really is concerning  to me knowing that while while the contracts   were inherited you have a new opportunity now to  negotiate something new in the benefit of both   parties I want the tenant to continue thriving but  I also want the taxpayers to be able to know that   their dollars are being spent wisely and in this  situation they're paying for things that I don't   think you're doing on the west side of town on the  north side of town on south side or east side so   to me that's subsidy and so I'm very concerned  with this negotiation knowing that while you   had an inherited contract why didn't you negotiate  something new that was in a better interest of the community thank you Troy we  will continue with public comment uh my name's Doug Bard I'm in  district 6 it's I know it's just kind   of small potatoes compared to what you're  talking about but the what concerns me is   the the late charges on the property tax that's  not an obvious I mean how do we do that how can   we can't pay the county that's just a waste of  money I mean there's a it's not a lot of money   but it's over $1,000 so what's going on on so  that's my only question there three years we wait thank you Mr Ballard  we'll continue with public comment one additional thing uh Troy Anderson  mentioned that we have two to three City managed   properties can you please send an email to all  of us on the council regarding these properties question ultimately is is that a core function  of local government and so as I'm seeing and I'm   concerned again about this specific contract  not because of the tenant but rather the way   the contracts are being negotiated are we  really thinking about fair market and fair   market without the subsidies that the city  would be helping with that specific space   those are concerns to me that that should be  addressed for the two to three City managed   properties and is that the best use of City  time all right it looks like there are no   additional folks who would like to speak during  the public comment we will bring it back to the bench count uh vice mayor Johnston thank you mayor  um I will point out that the uh lease rate of   1710 is 7% above the top of the market rate and  31% above the bottom of the market rate um so I   think that's fair but I also think this may be an  opportunity for us to look at the structure of the   leases get them more in in line with what's going  on in the market and that is a triple net lease um   you know maybe we can go back and and figure out  what $75,000 is now with with a uh a lease rate   plus a tripl net um that way when those triple  net costs do go up that lease does escalate like   the mayor said so might be an opportunity there  and uh personally I think HVAC should be on the   tenant to replace because as the speaker said  W said um there is no incentive U to maintain   those units don't have it and I've been there and  I I when we when we were leasing years and years   ago um we did not have incentive to have those  maintained and we didn't landlord had to replace   them and soon as he replaced him he changed the  lease to us having to pay for it so we maintain   him so he learned his lesson on that he we can't  hear Too those are just my thoughts uh this might   be a good opportunity to go back and and just  reframe may come up same numbers it's refram it I will add a couple of comments regarding  that I think that again everything increases   at the very least it increases due to inflation  that's about 3% and this current contract does   not build that in it also locks us up for five  years so I'm going to move something that is not   staff recommended action um so I might need some  help with legal but um I move that we go back to   the negotiating table um and look holistically  not just at this property in Oldtown but the two   or three additional properties and talk about  how we're going to move forward with not just   leasing with base rent but with triple net and  taking that into account so that would mean that   there would be an escalation naturally everyone  else who has a lease has escalations even if it's   minor so my motion I move that we go back to the  negotiating table and look at this whole process holistically May if I may I think what your  motion would also need to include is a motion   to for Action if that is your intent that is  my intent to defer action so I moved to defer   action in addition to the items that  I mentioned prior I'll second and may   I ask if you have a timeline  so we can set this for a date certain I would bring it back up  to our March 18th meeting which   is our evening meeting the very first one of the Year council member for Ballard thank you mayor uh since this is on my  district I I'm not completely against with the   deferring but I'd like to know what the unintended  consequences are of continuing to kick this can   down the road I you know I think that you know we  do need to um maybe 5 years is too long to have   a lease I don't know I'm not in that Arena so I  don't want to pretend like I am but you you know   I have a real hard time with the annual renewals  obviously someone's not looking at the contracts   there is some big loopholes um in addition to  a whole other slew but I am curious what does   that mean what does it mean for the tenant if  we push this back um and you know supporting   small local business is incredibly important to me  and I know what businesses we're talking they've   been there for you know over a decade many of  them um I know that's a real slippery slope you   know but there needs to be some accountability on  both sides so I'm absolutely fine with you know   taking a little bit of time but I would like to  know what that looks like moving forward and what   we would potentially be able to expect from staff  council member John council member Ballard if I   remember correctly they've been paying their rent  even though the expiration of this contract and   in 2021 they've been consistently paying month  to month correct right but my but my question   is if we go back and you know now hvac's going  to be on the tenant uh insurance is going to be   on the tenant like I don't know what we would be  looking at NE negotiating and already $6,200 is a   lot um per month for that space which maybe it's  comparable maybe it's not you know I also don't   want to price ourselves out of the market where  we have empty buildings on the core that we are   trying to do investments in and really beef up  so you know I'm happy to have those conversations   I just want to make sure that we're playing the  tip the whole way through and looking at all the sides uh con concerning the tenants paying rent  I think they would probably continue to pay at   the rent that that's shown in the current lease  term um what it will take to modify these leases I   I don't know I'd have to get with the management  company um see what they're seeing in the market   I mean you know they looked at our leases they did  not have a a real problem with them so have to see   what we need to do to to move over to trip net  um adding HVAC uh to it because right now we you   know the the tenant is supposed to do the routine  maintenance and the management company checks to   make sure they do or and um but adding that um  potential burden could I you know I don't know   what that'll do to the negotiations and I really  don't know where we'll come back because for   instance on insurance the tenants currently pay  for insurance in their space they pay for their   liability their insurance on their equipment and  so on the city pays the building Insurance because   we're self-insured and so it's just part of the  overarching insurance in the parking garage you   know there's not a Breakout of what the insurance  is for the retail section um so I just I I don't   know what would be involved I don't know what  kind of number you'd see coming back are there   any consequences uh per the contract to delay  it longer than it already is there's really not   um you know they've you know they're in whatever  wherever they are in the the annual lease term I'd   have to take a quick look um the one we're looking  at now the current term will end April 30th of   2025 the um the second one that we were going to  discuss um their actual term doesn't end because   they were on a first of the year basis so they're  in a ter a one-year term that'll go to 1231 or 25   you know these changes were at at the request  of the tenant because they wanted a little more   certainty but we can certainly go back and talk  to the management company and talk to the tenants   and see what we can come up with I just don't  know how long that'll take do you see a benefit   um switching to the trip net as opposed to what  we're doing now um you know there there's gross   leases there's modified growth there's trip net  throughout the city so I mean the the um I mean   the benefit to the city is a direct pass through  of some expenses um you know um negative will   be lower rent in all likelihood because of the  uncertainty so but I I don't know what the exact   impact will be what do you think a reasonable  time to defer would be like I said I really like   a month two months six months don't know I would  have to talk to the management company and see   because we this would involve drafting an entirely  new lease form I don't think we have any I don't   know that we have any true trip net leases right  now so we'd have to come up with a new lease form   and that involved the formula for I mean it's just  detail but it's you know how how how to calculate   the expenses how to notify the tenant when the  tenant has toay pay and so on because there will   be an annual on a triple net there's normally an  annual um you know balancing out after you get   your taxes and your insurance and everything and  how long has it taken you to negotiate where we   are now um these leases it's been well these are a  little different but I know we've got one that we   were going to be bringing in that's in a similar  lease form to this that we've been working on for   about four months okay thank you John follow-up  question you said this particular lease ends   April 2025 as I'm reading this contract lease term  is currently month-to-month after the expiration   date is that inaccurate yes the the section two  that Troy read allows the um the tenant to say   they want to continue for another year and then  if we accept it it just rolls for another year   and then you know the caveat is that if we  you know thought that the the rent needed to   be adjusted we could adjust it and negotiate but  yeah these leases are running year-to year right now thank you John council member John son thanks  mayor um I wanted to know if you would consider   a friendly amendment to move that to April first  and my only reason for that is when we had talked   about those evening meetings we talked about  larger public interest things and this the lease contract I will take that off that friendly  Amendment council member Johnson so that   motion is to defer this item to the April 1st  regular meeting in addition I would like to   see all the questions we asked being addressed  prior to um and sent out to the entire Council   for review uh including but not limited  to the two to three city of which sha uh   manage properties and how we can holistically  look at this uh contracts moving forward um   in addition to that um I just want this  to be public though so while the council   will get that information I believe it's  prudent that the community also gets to see that uh council member Glascock yeah thank you  mayor just one brief comment before we vote I   think this probably Sparks a larger conversation  that maybe we could discuss in a workshop is what   is the role of the city and being a landlord  and in the real estate business as a whole and   in general we've got ourself out of it or getting  oursel out of it in housing and maybe this is a   path for that we can look at getting the city out  of being landlords in um these ecoo projects as well can that city manager Leighton can that  be part of a work sh conversation as well or   as part of this discussion as when we come  forward there's no doubt we do not want to be   in the landlord business we just recently looked  at a business deal regarding office space that   would have required us to become an owner of a  building and a landlord do not want to do that   and um this is an unfortunate position that we're  put in because we have retail space in an existing   garage and excuse me so I'm not sure how we could  creatively get out of that sure L something we can   look at um I don't know if anybody would buy that  space from us but I'm with you I prefer not to be   in the real estate business and we actually over  the last 15 years or so we have switched positions   previously the city was aggressive about buying  property owning property even thinking about   redeveloping it and all things that the private  sector should be involved in not necessarily us   yeah that would solve this entire conversation  and if I recall correctly city manager last year   we sold a city-owned building for instance to  a nonprofit which a Habitat for Humanity so we   the city is trying to get out of the property  management business that is not a core function   that's that's correct mam thank you uh so I have  a motion and a second from vice mayor uh Johnston   any further discussion I see none Madame clerk  please open the role yeah defer until April 1st motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call the next item amendment to lease for city-owned property  at 303 North me m mayor and council members this   is a very similar item John yes quick question  since we just deferred this item uh on the prior   business and it's very similar and it's the  property right next door to it um I'm just   going to save you the time um because I'm  going to motion I will move to defer this   item yet again to April 1st council member  Ballard oh thank you I was just going to make   the motion second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame cler please open the r motion passes 70 thank you John   Madame clerk please call the next item  funding for 2025 sanitary sewer lift station Rehabilitation good morning mayor uh city  council for the record Don Henry Public   Works and utilities the item before you would  approve or authorize funding for um work on   the city senary um sewer lift stations SE  maintenance division I'm sorry the sewage   treatment division um operates and maintains  68 sanitary um lift stations this is routine   renewal and replacement of critical assets that's  required year to year to keep these assets up and running every day we have U maintenance mechanics  that are out in the field doing the U preventive   maintenance making routine repairs to make  sure that these assets are up and running   um part of the work they do is to uh perform  routine inspections and record information   and data that's are relative to the performance  and the condition of the lift stations and then   we have an established methodology whereby  we um prioritize the scheduling of the work   the renewal and the replacement um based upon  the age condition and consequences of failure   um some of the consequences include the size  of the lift station of the flow capacity that   it's responsible for and how that relates to the  number of homes and businesses that may be served   um because the larger the lift station lar of the  flow um the more structures uh could be impacted   by back flow into them on a failed station  we also look at their proximity to surface   water bodies such as Rivers um and streams  and ponds and then those decisions are made accordingly the 2025 program um includes work  planned for five lift stations um the information   on the slide before you is I identical to what's  included in the Agenda Report um so I'll just add   the locations to that since we don't have a  map included here um lift station number 22   is located at 2528 South Monument um station  number 30 is located at 3210 South Hydraulic   5142 West 40 um 7th Street South is the location  of station 57 lift station 42 is located behind   Century 2 and then finally 730 39 West 10th  Street is the location of lift station number 55 the 2025 through 2034 Capital Improvement  program includes funding in the amount of   $1,200,000 for this work um this work as  as well as just like other um projects   in the capital Improvement program have been  included in the cost of service analysis and   um authorization of this will not impact sewer  rates therefore staff requests approval of the   full amount at this time and recommends  that the city council approve the budget   adopt the resolution and authorize the  necessary signatures but thank you for   your attention to this item and I'll stand  for any questions that you have thank you   questions for staff I see none thank you  very much we will open it up for public comment I see none we'll bring it back to the  bench given that this is already funded or   budgeted for funding through revenue bonds  as well as the sewer utility cash reserves   I move to approve the project budget adopt  the resolution and authorize the necessary   signatures second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 70 Madame clerk please  call the next item Starlight Drive-In loan morning mayor and council members I'm Tim  good pasture with the city manager's office of   development services for the record the item  before you today is a request to amend the   Starlight Drive-In loan Amendment uh the Starlight  Drive was originally named the Rainbow Drive-In   and opened October 1 of 1953 the very first  screening was Fort Defiance starring danne Clark   at the time it was a single screen uh theater with  a 600 car capacity the theater closed on October   13th of 2018 and the projectors there were two  at the time were subsequently sold a local real   estate partnership bought the drive-in facility  in December of that year they reached an agreement   to lease the facility to Blake Smith who owns  and operates the Admiral Twin Drive-In in Tulsa   Oklahoma Mr Smith opened the uh star for the 2019  season in advance of that he needed to acquire two   new projectors and related equipment as part of  the background the after the sale of the Hyatt   Regency in September of 2016 each city council  District was given1 Million to invest in community   projects District 3 chose to invest 200,000 of  its million dollars as a lwin interest loan for uh   Starlight to acquire the new projection projectors  and reopen the star St light Drive-In these are   just some pictures of the facility Mr Smith has  requested to restructure the existing loan uh he   is proposing that he would pay down of the $  200,000 he would pay $50,000 down in February   and then beginning July 1 he would make monthly  payments of a little over $2,100 a month through   June of 2031 so that's a six-year repayment of the  $200,000 loan the loan proceeds would be returned   to District 3 for Community Investments Mr Smith  will sign a personal guarantee and a promiser note   and will provide a letter of credit through his  Bank in Tulsa therefore to staff's recommendation   that the city council approve the contract  Amendment and authorize the necessary signatures   I believe Mr Smith is on uh Microsoft teams and  can answer any questions specific to the facility   and I would be happy to answer any questions as  well thank you questions for staff or for Mr Smith   I will begin since Mr Smith is joining us uh via  Electronics uh Mr Smith can you tell us um thank   you again for your investment into Starlight  drivein I know that this community was very   passionate about uh keeping the Starlite Drive-In  can you tell us how your business is doing um as   well as your future plans in the next few years  as you continue to uh bring down that that debt   uh you know we're doing pretty good um at the  whole industry um the motion picture industry   you know has there's not as much product as  there used to be we had Hollywood strikes really   the pandemic changed everything um streaming  there's just more product going streaming so   you know we're probably looking at about half the  movies being released that used to be released uh   and so when I came into the situation sorry I'm  hearing an echo when I came into the situation   I based everything on the previous five or  six years see if I can fix that Echo I can't concentrate my apologies there um and so I've  been having to sort of rework uh a few items   to you know keep the place viable um you know  it's an interesting business and that we don't   control the product so um you know witon have  been great to support that drivein for a number   of years and uh they still do come out but we  have to have movies and we have probably about   half the movies that we used to have so instead  of you know running we're probably about half   the attendance that it was before the pandemic um  and you know I don't know if it ever completely   comes back but I would say that as a whole for  the industry not just for the drive in itself   we're we're we're all in a situation in theater  exhibition of unfortunately having to raise prices   you know to combat the smaller attendance um with  that said uh it's still a fun business I still   like doing it and um I believe that um we should  be able to service this agreement that uh I've   closed and um you know I think people will  keep coming out there and we're trying to   get open in February in a couple weeks  here and and get the 2025 season going   thank you Mr Smith and again when is  the start of the Season uh February 14th thank you Mr Smith um I just had one more  question I don't know if it's for city manager   um obviously each of the six districts  received $1 million so it's a total of   6 million can you address how  much money is left with those funds mayor I I've got that number but not in  front of me I think I have provided it to you   also um I can't remember many of the districts  have spent their full million dollars they did   primarily for capital projects uh districts one  and three have some some discretionary I think   funds left that are Community Based um and in  the case of District 3 also money that is being   replenished for instance this 50,000 would go  back into the district but I know that all of the   money for District Two was uh spent on capital for  district four for District Five and District Six   thank you very much I see no further questions for  staff we will now open it up for public comment   I see none I'll bring it back to the bench this  resides in council member bois's district thank   you mayor um first I'd like to thank Blake and his  real estate Partners um for essentially saving the   drive-in stepping in when we needed you um this is  something near and dear to my heart that's how my   family and I Saw movies growing up the ohis van  packed up with all the the bag kids that we had   and uh um parked out there but um it's a great way  to see a movie um carload passes that's definitely   a highlight for kids and for families that don't  necessarily have the means to go to the theater   um and also when you have bad little one and twoy  olds who like to just run around all the time you   can kind of keep them contained in the car um a  lot of great memories here at the drive-in and I   want to make sure that uh we preserve it for as  long as we can there's only a handful of these   left and we really have an award-winning Drive in  here in Witchita in South Witchita particularly   so um this is just I I go there seven or eight  times a year especially during the scary movies   uh that they put on around September and October  so um this is just a a great deal here to help   preserve the drive-in and uh help our partners uh  continue with one of the great amenities in wiah   so with that that um I will make the motion that  uh city council approve the contract Amendment   and authorize the necessary signatures second  motion and a second any further discussion with   council member Johnson thanks mayor um you didn't  sing the jingle as a part of the motion staright   ding gives you more call 5242 424 giving you  a little ex that good that was impressive   Motion in a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item PUD 20249 amend the Crown Uptown  Theater planned unit development number   55 to allow occupancy to be set by City Fire  Marshall generally located souths side of East   Douglas Avenue Avenue within 100 ft east of  North Hillside Avenue at 3207 East Douglas Avenue good morning Scott W from the planning  department so as you heard the applicant is   requesting to amend the existing plan unit  development which is custom Zoning for the Crown   Uptown Theater at 3207 East Douglas this item is  being heard today for a number of reasons one is   that the district Advisory board and the planning  commission's recommendations are different another   one is that protests have been received against  the application and a third is that of course   this item was deferred at the December 3rd  city council meeting in terms of the request   uh the applicant has modified their request the  applicant is requesting to increase the maximum   number of people allowed at the facility and  they're requesting to amend the Pud text to   allow for that for the occupancy to be set by  the fire marshall and that is different than   what you heard the first time which was that they  were requesting to increase it to a set number of   2,66 persons uh the applicant has indicated they  are requesting the rezoning in order to allow for   a more viable business at the property in terms  of the property the site is generally located to   the south and east of the intersection of  Hillside and Douglas it is made up of two   ownership Parcels it is just over half an acre  in size and it has plan unit development uh PUD   zoning it is also developed with a theater and  with a parking lot that has 17 parking spaces   the Crown Uptown Theater is listed on the witch  historic preservation plan appendices inventory of   wit's undesignated historic resources the witto  municipal code provides that the preservation   planner May Place immediate but temporary interim  controls prohibiting alteration or demolition   of any building site or structure identified on  that list there is a notice requirement and the   interim control cannot exceed 30 days except if  extended by the city council there is an appeal   process to the director of planning and the city  council for that in terms of context properties   to the north are J zon GC General commercial and  developed with commercial stores properties to   the South are zoned LC limited commercial and  B multif family and are developed with multif   family dwellings and a duplex property to the  east is Z GC and developed with an art gallery   and property to the West is Zone GC and developed  with a commercial storefront in terms of the staff   report the staff report provides information about  the Crown Uptown Theater building the parking and   the existing plan unit development zoning in terms  of review on October 24th the Planning Commission   held the first public hearing for this item and  recommended approval for the staff recommendation   and that vote was 6 to2 there were two members of  the of the public who spoke regarding the request   one one member of the public stated he was in  favor if long-term written agreements could be   procured by the applicant the other individual  indicated that they were opposed citing concerns   of alcohol consumption by patrons and overflow  parking into the neighboring area in addition one   member of the public sent in written communication  was opposed to the request citing concerns of lack   of on street parking in the area for such a large  number of people attending events on November 4th   the district Advisory Board reviewed the  request and recommended denial their vote   was 6 to2 10 members of the public spoke at that  meeting nine members spoke in opposition of the   request citing concerns the lack of on street  parking increased pedestrians walking through   neighborhood properties noise pollution concerts  and increased traffic one individual spoke in   favor of the request 16 protest petitions were  received against the application the protest   petitions within the calculation area equaled  46 . 46% of the total protest area since that   exceeds the 20% threshold any approval will  require a super majority vote or six of seven votes on December 3rd the witto city  council reviewed the case and sent it   back to the Planning Commission for further  consideration the council requested further   consideration regarding the following points  the applicant stated he wanted to fill up to 60   full capacity shows per year the city council  wanted the applicant to consider a balance   between full capacity and half capacity shows in  addition the city council requested consideration   of how the amendment to the to the Pud could  be impacted by the currently unfinished College   Hill Neighborhood plan and proposed zoning  overlay in addition the city council wanted   consideration of if the applicant could provide  parking agreements in written form as opposed to   verbal and also the city council requ requested  to have staff examine the difference between the   applicant's requested occupancy and the occupancy  that the city fire marshal set on January 9th the   Planning Commission reheard the case and  recommended approval of amendments to the   Pud with modified language which is attached to  the staff report the vote was 9 to4 the planning   commission's recommendation included text to and  changes to item 3A in the Pud text that the Event   Center shall be limited to the occupant load  dictated and enforced by the fire marshall six   members of the public spoke in opposition to the  request citing concerns of parking also that the   applicants clients Park were parking trucks  this is uh semi- trucks for the purpose of   unloading gear in neighboring non applicant owned  parking lots and extending out into the right of   way of Hillside and also they express concerns  with the potential for increased crime in the area in terms of the city council's requested  considerations I'd like to just provide a quick   overview of those so one again was the balance  of full capacity and half capacity shows the   applicant did not provide information in writing  regarding this item but did speak to it during the   review process at the dab meeting the applicant  indicated he would like to have up to 60 full   capacity shows per year at the second Planning  Commission meeting the applicant indicated that   60 events is a hopeful full number and that  not all of them will be at full capacity many   will be at less than full capacity based on  the experience of similar venues there was no   commitment or offer to limit the number of full  capacity shows at that time another one was the   impact of the College Hill Neighborhood plan  at this time a draft of the plan has not been   finalized for public distribution and review  the current draft elements of the plan are   included in the staff report but again they are  very draft and we do not have a good handle on   whether they will accurately reflect where the  community wants to go that will be determined   after public openhouse and additional public  consultations in terms of the parking agreements   the applicant provided two written parking  agreements totaling an additional 53 parking   Spa uh spots those Agreements are attached to the  staff report in terms of the occupancy capacity so   any lower limit imposed by the witch fire code and  witch building code would supersede any occupant   limit imposed through the zoning the occupancy  limit imposed by the witch fire code and witch   building code can change over time depending  on physical safety modifications made to the   structure including but not limited to exits fire  suppression systems Etc currently the official   occupancy limit imposed by these codes is 860  persons this was determined after review at a   witcha building fire code review variance  committee in terms of council action it is   recommended the city council adopt the findings  of the Planning Commission approve the Planning   Commission recommended Amendment to the Pud place  the ordinance on the first reading authorize the   necessary signatures and instruct the city clerk  to publish the ordinance after approval on the   second reading that would require six of seven  votes Alternatives include the following you can   override the Planning Commission adopt alternative  findings and deny the Pud amendment that would   require five of seven votes because it's an  override another alternative is that you can   override the Planning Commission adopt alternative  findings and approve different amendments to the   Pud that would require again six of seven votes  because of the protest petitions so just a quick   note about the process city council policy is  that the public hearing for planning agenda items   occurs at the Planning Commission meeting and  according to the policy the city council does not   typically receive public comments on zoning items  so with that I'll take you through the graphics   real briefly so here's the aerial here's the  zoning map that that was described earlier here's   the map from the comprehensive plan showing that  new residentials recommended in the area here's   the graphic that was submitted as part of the Pud  application here's the protest map again showing   over 46% and zoomed out a little bit further away  because we had protests that came in from some   distance away here are photos from this uh site  this is property to the east there's the theater   looking to the north again to the east there's  some containers uh that were in the parking lot   at one time I've been informed that they have been  the applicant indicated that they have since been moved and with that I'll stand for any  questions thank you questions for staff I   have a few of them so right now the occupancy  is 860 is that correct that is correct and   the original request was for 266 well  I have a clarification real quick um   it is set at 860 per the fire code and  the building code however the zoning   uh for this property limits it to 850 so  there's a 10 person difference between the two and again the original request was 20066 is  that correct that's correct but that has since   been modified by the applicant that is correct  they modified their request at the second Planning   Commission meeting to the amount of uh they did  not specify an amount uh their uh proposed change   would have it established uh by the fire marshall  out to the fire marshal questions so currently   according to the Fire Marshall the occupancy is  860 is that correct uh that is actually per the   fire code so um as I understand it it is the code  that actually establishes it and it is the fire   Marshall that enforces it so there's a little  bit of a Nuance there but it is the code that   uh establishes that and there is a variance board  that uh said that can we have the fire marshall   explain that and also while you're up here can  you explain the A1 and A2 building designations   and the requirement for water sprinkler  sure um yes Mar so I'm Chris Dugan Fire   Marshall ww fire department um as Mr wle briefly  discussed currently the most restrictive occup   conceived limit is 850 that was established by the  Pud itself after the Pud was um adopted by Council   the variant committee um adopted a limit of 860 so  the variant committee met approximately six weeks   after the PED was was established and enacted by  Council um the Fire Marshall himself does not set   occupancy limits mbcd would do that calculation  um as far as the fire sprinkler system that's   really the the corrects of the issue for the fire  department is for an A2 which this structure is an   A2 at this time a sprinkler system is required  once the occupancy limit exceeds 300 persons   and they serve alcohol so that's really the only  invol involvement of the fire department or the   Fire Marshall would be the fact that it's an A2  exceeds 300 um that would enact the requirement   for sprinkler system so the sprinkler system is  not in place right now correct yes ma'am but it   should be because it's an A2 building over  the Capac or over the OCC occupancy of 300   plus alcohol is being served so water sprinkler  is currently required yes so they received a   variance in 2018 from the variance committee that  allowed them to exceed that 300 per that agreement   at that time um for from this point forward  any future increase would automatically enact   the language in the fire code that requires your  sprinkler system over 300 council member Glasco   thank you mayor I just have a quick question um  you had said that the fire marshall does not set   occupancy correct correct so the item before us  says that the plan unit development number 55 to   allow occupancy to be set by the fire marshall but  how can we move forward with it if it's not set   by the fire marshall but that's what the request  before us yeah and I would not be in support of   that request um as written personally I know the  Planning Commission approved it but I personally   would not be in support of that of adoption of  that request okay thank you council member Ballard   thank you thank you for being here um can you  explain what happened in 2018 the variance in so   in 2018 the previously established limit I believe  was around 500 or 550 the Varan committee allowed   for an increase once they upgraded their fire  alarm system um and also they have plenty of exit   ESS path the upgrades to the fire alarm system so  at that point in time the variance committee felt   comfortable with allowing them to up their number  up to 860 and like I say that was back in 2017   2018 um and now the issue's coming up again with  an additional request to increase um again that   was before my time in 2017 18 but basically they  were allowed it to increase and kind of waving   the sprinkler yes portion okay thank you thank  you Fire Marshall I see no further questions and   this item does not get any public comment so uh  this resides in council member Brandon Johnson's   District okay thank you thanks mayor um again as  I said the first time this came before counil I've   had expart communication with both the applicant  and uh many in the neighborhood several people in   the neighborhood um this discussion has went  on quite a while I have a number of concerns   personally um I've driven by there and seen some  of what the neighborhood talked about as far as a   semi blocking part of the parking area um parking  agreements were provided to staff there were two   um that did not account for all of the parking  that uh the applicant said that he had one of   those is actually a property that's for sale right  now so that agreement may or may not still be um   good if that property sells here pretty soon um I  also have concerns with the language MPC approved   Fire Marshall already said it I love our fire  marshall but I don't think that decision should   reside in the hands of the fire marshal there  no accountability to the neighborhood and then   we would also be hearing from that and it doesn't  allow Council to adjust um so with those concerns   um I would move to override the mapc and deny  the requested PUD amendment in support of this   motion offer the following findings the Pud  Amendment would have detrimental effects to   nearby properties the proposed amendment would  allow a more intense use and would would have   detrimental impacts to neighboring properties and  those impacts also include parking and congestion   in the area second motion and a second there's  discussion council member loock thank you um I   too also want to say had expart communication  with the applicant also neighbors um in the   community and um I'll will be supportive of  councilman Johnson's motion more for the fact   that what the request is to allow occupancy set  by the city Fire Marshall cannot be done and so   the requests that's coming before us and um The  Proposal we have can't be done and so I'm going   to be supporting Johnson's recommendation council  member tutle thank you I just wanted to State I   also have had experte communication with um the  neighbors around the area um and and I just wanted   to thank our Witchita Police Department excuse me  our witch fire department thank you and and the   metropolitan area building and con construction  Department um and certainly council member Johnson   I know a lot of time and effort and and meetings  went into this so um thank you to everyone who's   been involved I will add a couple comments as  well I also have had exp partake communication   with both parties two questions really before  I make um a final decision number one has the   applicant done Outreach to the surrounding  Community if so have there been a lot of uh support I think that was an item of discussion  and uh different perspectives on that one so   I'm not sure that I have a clear answer for  you one way or the other but I can tell you   I I don't believe that we received any invitations  or notices of any formal public meetings and the   second question is um you've obviously talked  to the applicant what will happen moving forward   with this um building as right now number  one the capacity is 860 but even with the   fire Marshall's comments um something about the  fire sprinkler system can you address I guess   some of the concerns now moving forward with  this building if or if it does not pass okay   um well the applicant has one the applicant has  indicated multiple options that they may pursue   uh in the future one of those is to demolish the  building um there is a process that was described   as part of the staff report uh for addressing that  and considering that the second thing is that the   applicant has indicated there are some alternative  uses that they may uh choose to pursue uh one that   I can recall is uh storage uh at the site um I  think they even mentioned uh maybe like a shelter   uh at some point so there's been a variety of  uses that have come up in discussions and have   been presented by the applicant thank you council  member Glascock do have a quick question if denial   today how long does the applicant have before  they can bring back another application sure uh   the standard is 12 months so one year unless there  are substantial changes to the application if it   is substantially different then uh they have  the option of bringing it back in six months   so could the applicant if they install you fire  suppression if they address maybe some of the   concerns bring back would that be substantially  different who determined substantially different   application is that you or is that law um  you know if there's a question about it   then it would go to the Planning Commission for  determination about whether or not it qualifies as substantial thank you I see a motion  and a second any further discussion   I see none Madame clerk please open the RO motion motion passes 61 are you trying to I I'll fix it uh do you need to change your  vote sorry uh we can redo that Madam Clerk   you can just give me your verbal  vote I'll fix it yes okay thank you I think motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item council member appointments and comments yes uh any appointments from  Council Members I have one I would like to appoint give me one second I would like to nominate uh to the  Animal Services Advisory Board Susan Richardson second motion and a second any further   discussion I see none Madame  clerk please open the role motion passes 70 council member comments I vice mayor Johnston uh I I would  like to thank the uh Community for coming   out for the prayer service I think it was  very good I think it was uh very healing   for people and I tell you what that g  gentleman that sang the art father it   sounded like God was singing it he was really  really good so like to thank everybody for that   and continue to keep the the victims and  their families in your prayers they still   need it they'll need it for some time second  thing I'd like to thank is uh the turnout we   had last night at our district Advisory  board meeting uh mainly regarding golf   carts so we got a lot of good input on that  so thanks to everyone who turned out for that council member Ballard thank you mayor um first  I apologize for um not pushing the right button   um second of all um I've had some discussions  with some uh of the members of The College Hill   um neighborhood and Association and discussed a  potential moratorium for home home demolitions um   except in the case of an emergency for purposes  of parking so I'd like to ask staff to bring   forth a resolution um that would put a one-year  moratorium on home Demos in the College Hill Neighborhood council member Johnson thanks mayor  um and I'm also good with what council member   Ballard said I've had those same conversations  um from members of College Hill who are concerned   about homes being torn down for parking lots so  I'm definitely supportive of that I also wanted   to shout out um Scott and all our um city team  that stayed up with us at dab last night until   I think it was 1103 when we got done and they're  all back today so definitely want to shout them   out and appreciate them being there thank you all  I will now move to adjourn this meeting second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the r stop it motion passes 61 have a great week everyone e