[Music] yeah [Applause] [Music]  [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all right good morning everyone it is uh  9:03 we'll goad and call this meeting to   order on Tuesday December 12th we ask  folks uh if you're both willing and   able those who are with us to stand for  the invocation while by the Pledge of   Allegiance uh the invocation will  be delivered by Pastor Pam welcome back good morning let us pray oh God this morning we are thankful to  witness another day during this Advent season   of hope peace joy and love we pray that we  would be able to practice those attributes   as we interact with each other we pray this day  for our city we thank God for the leadership and   discernment and guidance of our mayor and vice  mayor of the city council we pray over their   families and all support staff for the city and  every employee but God we also thank God for all   of us who are residents of Witchita Kansas we are  thankful for the things that we have witnessed   and we are praying for those things that we still  need to work on as we see us soar we ask now dear   God during this holiday season that you would  provide Divine protection but also God that   you would also help us to help someone else now  dear God guide this meeting in Jesus name we pray amen United States of America and to the repic   for which it stands one nation under God  indivisible with liberty and justice for all all right thank you again Pastor pams  good seeing you madam clerk approve the   minutes of the regular meeting of December  mber 5th 2023 as every member had a chance   to review the minutes and if so is there  any discussion if there is no discussion   that I'll make a motion to accept the  minutes as presented is there a second   second seconded by vice mayor hoisel  clerk will open a roll members cast the vote have received 6A votes that motion does pass  Madam clerk any eie concerns of turning one-way   streets into two-way streets an impact on the  handicap while we're setting up the uh the podium   for public speaking uh if you're on the list to  uh speak on the public agenda just remember you   have five minutes uh we ask you to say your name  and your address if you're comfortable uh when you   approach the podium uh and just be mindful of the  clock if you go over I will of course uh let you   finish your thought I might give you one of these  it's just a reminder that the the clock is ticking   we do want to be respectful to the people uh who  are also here to speak uh so is Miss uh Annie are   you here all right if not we will go on to the  next person Madam clerk hope Dale Transportation   budgetary constraint all right hope all right we  do good morning good morning good morning welcome   thank you so much for your time this morning um it  is a privilege to be able to speak again um with   you um my topic is concerning uh transportation  and the budgetary constraints that's been placed   on it um I Unearthed a couple of plans one  of them is the community investment plan and   under this investment plan it was proposed  in 2015 it was supposed to go until 2035 I   believe it says directly in as the root cause  of our transportation system specifically buses   is Decades of underinvestment in which to's long  established public transit system have resulted   in minimal service levels low ridership and future  Financial instability so we knew back in 2015 that   our budget wasn't really cut in the mustard when  it came to investment in that um just a little bit   below that it says that for Witchita the level of  investment should be as follows very high priority   are local streets and bridges medium to high high  priority public transit and low to medium priority   freeway enhancements low priority new bypasses  little bit underneath that it says SED County   had a different plans and those was going to be  local streets and bridges freeway enhancements   new bypasses and public transit so our County  dictated back in 2015 that public transit wasn't   high on wasn't high on the poll of priority  and if you look at our budget for the capital   Improvement program um you can see where all the  city of witta dollars are to go from 24 to 33 and   we are investing 573 million in our freeways it's  a little backwards from what we thought we wanted   to do in 2015 um I know that a lot of that money  comes from the state of Kansas specifically I know   that we invest a little bit of money to be able  to meet these projects but I urge the council to   take a closer look at this take a closer look  and see that our infrastructure for our public   transit it's failing there are plenty of things um  that speak to that um performance measures taken   from the Transportation Administration and 2022  says that the bus or transit services residents   rating excellent or good was 29% I think that  this is indicative of the Investments we have   made as a city we haven't really put it back  into public transit I'm sure there are reasons   why other projects have been considered but  with the budget from now to 2033 it looks   like our priorities back then they're not being  reinvested into our community they are being   reinvested into places around our community  how does that help our Commerce how does that   help our small businesses how does that help our  growing families in Witchita how does that help   us it helps people to get around us not through us  doesn't help our small businesses it doesn't help   all of these projects that you guys have created  that are beautiful Investments and businesses to   bring them to Witchita it doesn't help them out  it doesn't help Spirit it doesn't help a lot   of places there are a lot of things that we need  Mike Tan had made some comments about this earlier   this year and Mike Tan the director wonderful  fella he's been so nice he's been getting back   and forth with me I really appreciate his time  he cites budgetary constraints for the reason   why his department is not doing well so I urge  you to please take a closer look at our budget   going forward I urge you to reinvest that into  our community and bring vibrancy to the streets   of Witchita using our Witchita Transit System  thank you for your time thank you and I do just   want to first thank you for being here is an  incredibly important issue and I just want to   uh say I hope you come back um three of us won't  be on this board next month uh and the budget the   last two years has passed by one vote uh so um  to make this a priority with the next Council   I think they would would uh benefit from hearing  more uh about not just um uh what what the your   presentation the what what the past commitments  were by by previous bodies but also uh the impact   on our city uh I think public transportation uh  is something that that uh we need to be taking   a serious look at there is a study that that is  being done to hopefully guide us uh on the right   path but it takes political will and it's going to  take money uh so I I do hope that you also reach   out to the new folks uh who will be here um next  uh next year as well you beta in fact on December   20th I'm going going front of the witcha transit  Advisory Board I've been collecting interviews   from citizens on the ground basically explaining  why they don't use it or why they love it I've   got a few more lined up and I can't wait to bring  that to our city wonderful well thank you for your   work Madam clerk Steven cranmer stub removal or  stump removal concerns all right Stephen is here   welcome sir and good morning yes uh good morning  Mr Mayor and everyone else Council um issue I have   is the stumps the city Forestry Department comes  in and they're cutting trees down and leaving the   stumps approximately one foot tall regardless of  the size of trees now these stumps granted are on   your City Boulevard between his sidewalk and the  street that's the city's concern they say don't   like it get a permit ground it down yourself  earlier this year I was um asked by way of a   realtor to please get the stump taken down in  front of the resident had been removed back in   April and this was in July and gentleman says hey  it's causing the sale of the home to be bad okay   so I got a hold of the Forestry Department number  one uh the rig Moro you got to go through to get   hold of them one one gentleman says well you need  to speak with my supervisor step two I got a hold   of his supervisor he told me nope there's no  way we can get them taken down within the 8mon   period of time that they say it takes to get a  stump removed in the city now the situation H   was this is the district one that I'm working on  I live in Mr Blue Ball District 4 2056 South St   Clair is my address well anyway uh got a hold of  the appropriate people here at City Hall before I   went to Mr manager Mr Leighton I went to the  city hall and they said Mr blueball that is   Mr Johnson's District so I got a hold Mr Brandon  Johnson's District on a Thursday loone behold that   nine months turned into next Tuesday it was over  with they were out there with their operations   now what my concern is this city keeps telling  me that it is a financial situation we don't   have a budget they contract the stumps out once  a year they come through and take care of them my   concern is if they do that why are there so many  stumps around a city that are decaying from a year   two years three years past we're talking on the  west side we're talking east side we're talking   northeast side why does it take so long sir 8  months for a stump to be removed and how long   did it take for your something to be removed I'm  talking it we got on a right appropriate people   and they shaved off 6 months from 7 months by  way of getting a hold of Mr Johnson's office he   got a hold of it his office jumped right on it  within three days time they're out there with   the equipment now my situation is I was there on  job site and I watched that stump removal come in   he ground a stump the truck came in behind him  grabbed the The Mulch out turned around dropped   it off in a in a one truck got another truck it  came in and put soil in all within a matter of uh   probably 30 minutes per stump and they say there  were 1,200 stumps behind I don't understand where   do we stand with this what can we do about it the  the Step Up procedures well the vice mayor just   jumped on the board so maybe he'll have some  more information for us uh vice mayor hoisel   thank you mayor um currently we're over a year  behind as far as removing dead trees and and   stumps and whatnot um often times uh emergency um  emergency removals jump to the front of the line   that further pushes it back we have um we do hire  out the subcontractors in many circumstances as   well but this is the effects of the droughts that  we've had and some sicknesses that we've had over   the past couple of years as well a lot of trees  are just now showing their age and dying from   the droughts that we've had over the years so um  quite frankly it's just pretty much a backlog in   services at this time and we try to jump through  as appropriate and jump ahead but um a lot of the   the delays is also due to emergency removals as  well but you know what gets me is I've stood over   there and watched them within from 8 to 12 they  removed over 20 trees within that short amount of   time now if they can do 20 stumps a day five days  a week There's 100 stumps per week it's not going   to take very long for them to get caught up and  we won't have to look this just noise in our city   they're downtown they're everywhere and they're  they're Gody looking we have a beautiful city   that's my concern I I I appreciate that concern  sir um but again A lot of times you know you're   talking just stump removal it's also tree removal  as well the same department so but my question is   why can't they follow up within a week's time  and do it that way and it that's 1,200 I mean   that's 100 trees per week if they only did 20  trees a week I appreciate that um I'll try and   get you if you shoot us an email I'll try and  get you the stats as far as how many trees we   do have currently on the list to remove as well  well what got me was in that area that we was   concerned with on east side of town they came in  and did all the trees within a block you go block   either way right now and they're they're still  it was no emergency but why does a person have   to put his thumb on something of this nature and  this has been going on I 5 years ago had the same   situation I got a hold of you folks and you got it  taken care of because I had a elderly lady get out   of a car and there's no walkway there no sidewalk  and you cut the tree down and she ran into it she   says well get it taken care of I'm going to see  the city got it taken care of Mr Brandon Johnson   um Jeff blue Ball's District at the time his  office got on it and was taken care of but why   why why is it 8 months well that one would sound  like that would be justified to be an emergency   removal to make sure have been taken down three  four months five months prior too and and I got   someone else on the board and I really don't  want to make this a whole hearing we we hear   your concern and we want to get on it I do have  a little bit of remor I guess just I I feel for   our Forestry Department because they I I believe  are underst staffed they also um they they get we   get people here who are very upset that we're not  planting enough trees they just planted a forest   then we get people who upset they're not on top  of the limbs uh then we cut the limbs and then we   get people who yell at us because the tree doesn't  look like it used to and we haven't we haven't had   anyone talk about the stumps so I'm glad you're  here uh so we can stump I guess you can see and   and so I'm glad you're here because it shows um  you know that we're not meeting expectations uh   but but again I think it's uh it's it's important  that um we we get the information out to folks to   know know what the process is so they can at least  understand what is going uh going on behind the   scenes and I I think emailing the vice mayor and  getting hey these are the ones on the list these   are the ones that get get moved to the top like  the one you mentioned with the elderly woman who   that would be a safety issue that one's going to  get moved to the top before one that the issue   is more of its unsightly uh but I think that um  uh you know we got to make sure that uh we're   getting a job done but also communicating how that  job's getting done so that people know know what   what to expect so another question Mr Mayor is  on far as the budget as far as tree removal is   that a public record that could be seen and it is  and it's in our budget um uh booklet it's online   um if you wanted a an easier path to it cuz our  budget's quite quite uh uh detailed uh one of our   staff could could help you out definitely or shoot  an email to one of us and we can get someone on   it a bit more get you right to where you want to  be on it and I'll just mention and I know that I   said I don't want to talk about this too too long  but here are you can keep talking right uh so uh   I do want to mention that part of the backlog is  during covid when we had to cut um about I think   14 million for our budget uh it's interesting  cuz some of it was forestry it was was replanting   trees uh tree trimming that type of stuff because  we we thought that you know we rather cut that   than core Services um and then it was so you see  that we're still trying to play catch up I think   on some of that as well so just throwing that out  there as part of um as part of the equation it's   as you mentioned this didn't happen overnight  and something we're trying to get a handle on   oh boy okay thank you all right thank you Adam  clerk consent agenda items 1 through 16 Vice May   hoisel I'd like to remove um item six please for  just for a discussion a couple of questions all   right we will pull item number six from consent  agenda further discussion about the consent agenda if there's no further discussion  that I'll make the motion that we take   stat recommended action for the items on the  consent agenda items 1 through 16 with the   exception of item number six is there a second  second motion has been seed by Vice May hoisel   c will open roll members cast their vote have  received 78 votes that motion does pass we are   on item number six the chair recognizes vice  mayor hoisel thank you mayor um I just had a   quick question about this um this group that  we're um we're Contracting out with um DRC they   provide substance abuse treatment and batterers  intervention programming um I'd just like a   little bit of details about the batter batterers  intervention programming um is this the 26 week   program that that we we talk about is this kind  of the gold standard one that we're looking at here yes when we talk about batteries inter  intervention programming we're always talking   about the um the Kansas AG G approved program  so that is the 26 uh week and that's something   that is offered to this uh group free  of charge so it's uh a tool for us to   provide that to to people who need higher  levels of service uh at a lower cost okay   um do we if I could maybe at some point  get a just a number of how many people we   send through this program and over the last  couple of years I'd just be curious to see   how effective it is how often it's being  utilized absolutely okay thank you you're welcome all right um further discussion on item  number six if not then I'll make a motion to   accept staff's recommended action on item number  six to the consent agenda is there a second second   motion has been second by vice mayor hois click R  open roll members cast their vote Haven received   78 votes that motion does pass madam cler  board bids and contracts dated December 11th 2023 good morning and welcome morning mayor city  council Josh laber Department of Finance the board   of bids and contracts conven December 11th and  the following recommendations for purchasing   we have the polymer for use in Wastewater  solids dewatering facility we're rejecting   all bids we have the fuel tank replacement  at fire station 9 rejecting all bids we have   sedans SUVs car Vans and pickup trucks we're  deferring this to December 18th we have the   interior and exterior modifications of 12  single family homes deferred to December 18   we have the hydris ammonia bulk delivery for air  gas Specialty Products Incorporated in the amount   of 212,000 we have the variable frequency drive  for Consolidated Electrical Distributors for 114 $144,600 vendor with the city of Witchita Kansas  these are open requests for proposals out on the   street today and I'll try to answer any questions  and I recommend your approval all right is there   questions for staff uh council member Ballard  thank you mayor I was just curious why all of the   bids were rejected sure for the fire department  um let me go through the first one uh if we have   someone from public works I don't know this one  specifically on the polymer um the fuel tank   replacement exceeded the cost estimate so it's too  high so we need to go back out okay great thank you uh council member fry thank you  Josh I think the next slide is the   one no keep going there tell me about  these 12 single family homes are these   any of the ones that we just put up for sale  recently my understanding is and I'll defer   to housing it's part of the the housing  stock so we're going through the housing stock good morning uh councilman FR no they  are not they are part of the 45 homes in   South city where the plan was to use the remaining  Capital funds we had to rehab them prior to sale okay all right further questions for staff see   none thank you uh is there  dis further discussion about item if not then I'll make the motion to accept s  recommended action to receive and file the report   approve the contracts and authorize necessary  signatures is there a second second motion has   been seconded by Vice May hoisel CL will open  roll members cast their vote have received 78   votes that motion does pass Adam clerk repair  or removal of dangerous and unsafe structure   1239 North matthewson Avenue front and rear thank  you good morning and welcome good morning mayor   council members this is Kaylin nethercott with  mabcd um the property we're reviewing today will   be familiar to you it's one of that was first  reviewed by the board of code standards and   appeals on November 7th 2022 um it was reviewed  then by Council on February 7th May 16th August   1st and September 19th of this year and received  additional extensions until today this property   is in District 1 it's had an open housing case for  over five years the property taxes are outstanding   in the amount of $330 there is a 2023 special  assessment for board up in the amount of $626   the last water consumption was in May of 2018  the meter was removed in April of 20122 this   property was damaged by fire in September  of 2018 the current premise conditions um   do include some degree um of course winter the  vegetation has slowed down just a bit and the   Box track has been removed since since the last  time you removed this you reviewed this property   the structures are a 1 and 1 half story frame  dwelling roughly 27x 67 ft in size vacant for   at least 3 years it has missing and fire damaged  vinyl sighting and a worn composition roof the   second structure is a one-story frame dwelling  roughly 24 by 20 ft in size this structure has   a missing has missing and fire damaged vinyl  siding a composition roof with fire ventilation   holes fire damaged wood trim and framing m a 24x  12T wood accessory structure is in relatively   good condition this property is located in a  flood plane in 2020 a flood plane development   permit was reviewed and issued subsequently  building electrical and mechanical permits   were obtained but expired with no work performed  and no inspections noted recently the owner has   contacted a local construction company and both  permit applications for building and electrical   work were denied as the value of the proposed  Renovations now exceed 50% of the appraised value   the property has deteriorated significantly since  2020 and subsequently the appraised valuation has   dropped the owner has the options of demolishing  the property himself contacting a private property   appraisal company to have a private appraisal  performed or to expand the scope of renovations   to bring the entire property into flood plane  compliance it's our understanding that he's   recently made preliminary contact with a local  land surveying company and as you can see he   is here to represent the property today well all  right thanks for being here the chair recognizes   council member Johnson uh as this resides in  district one thank you mayor love to hear from   you sir yeah good morning yes yeah finally I find  a subcontractor can do my project and when I try   to renew the permits as got surprise to because  the all permiss has been cancelled for so long I   got to start do uh from zero and I have here the  contract to the survy company who is trying to do   everything what is request by the Kalin office to  put everything uh what is in requirement and it's   still going on here's a copy can I give to Ken I  have the company here uh is working probably for   the next week is given the the everything we  it's supposed to do given the um information   that we just heard I'm sure uh Miss kin told you  as well um what what path are you looking at are   you looking to bring your entire property into  compliance with the flood plane are you yes okay   so that's some extensive work that you're looking  to do how long do you think it would take you to   complete that uh okay about to the company or  about my my project the entire project well if   everything go through with my permits maybe two  months T but if my permit has been uh approval   because my contractor is ready to start it that  the reason he he put the requir for the permit uh   renew but I received to I have to start from zero  but if everything go through and two months this   project has been completed okay and and you fully  understand that now because the property value has   diminished the repairs you want to do would mean  you'd have to do that entire project and bring it   into flood plane compliance yes I agree okay um  let me talk to kayin um given the document that   he just gave you what are some next steps he would  need to take to bring this into compliance um if   I may I'd like to ask Kelly Dixon who serves as  our flood plane manager to come to the podium he   might be able to better answer the flood plane  implic questions than I would okay good morning   Kelly Dixon metropolitan area building um this  is a copy of a contract uh with seavo and Company   to do a survey however it's not signed as of this  morning I checked with seavo they had not received   a signed copy of this um this is to do a survey  to find out if the house can be removed from the   flood plane currently if the elevations around  it are high enough um if not then to bring the   house into compliance that would require raising  the lowest floor to a point2 ft above the flood   elevation this particular house I believe has a  basement which means that would have to be filled   in uh and elevated the structure at that time the  alternative would be to get uh an appraisal we all   know that private appraisal is going be a little  bit higher than what the county has uh and right   now I believe the county has it about $1,800  so so the private appraisal if it comes in high   enough and uh does not exceed that 50% Mark then  they would get a permit and move forward if that   appraisal comes in too low we're back to going  into compliance okay um what you said was some   significant work how long do you think that  would take to I don't know fill the basement   in raise the house I mean that that sounds like  pretty expensive stuff it be very expensive yes okay that's all the questions  I had all right thank you um so with that um we have given five extensions  so far on this yes sir what would it look like   if um we did maybe one more to give him  some time because he says he has a plan   to do all of this uh really expensive work  and that it would not come back to council   after that so it either occurs or it does  not that would be fine with us okay and   um given this you said 60 days would work  for you if all your permits go through yes okay so I think I'll be a little more generous  with that this holiday season you're trying to   get permits may take a little while um and get all  that surveyed and you never know what weather May   do um I would be willing to give you until um  April 2nd which gets you through the holidays   allows you to get some work done um this is  a huge undertaking uh given that flood plane   um want to give you a fighting chance to get  that done though I have my concerns with one   the structure and all the work that would be  needed for that um in that as well you would   be able to take care of the special assessment  and property tax within that time frame yes okay all right well I think I happy to make a  motion if nobody else has any questions floor   is yours all right um and Jennifer I might  need a little help it's been a while since   I've tried to put this together um I would move  that the council um give this item until April   2nd 2024 for the property owner to um INF pay  the property taxes special assessment and bring   this property into compliance um with mabcd and  if not then to close the public hearing declare   the building to be a dangerous and unsafe  structure and accept the board of building   C standards and appeals Rec Ed actions to  proceed with condemnation allowing 10 days   to start Demolition and 10 days to complete  removal of the structure that's just perfect   is there a second second seconded by vice mayor  hoisel cler roll up in a roll members cast their   vote have received 78 votes that motion does  pass just for clarification unlike the other   times this was an extension if the time if the  work isn't done within that time frame it doesn't   come back to council uh the motion it just goes  to the process uh so I just wanted to make sure   that's clear that um there this would be the  last hearing uh unless something happens so   good luck and thank you madam clerk Professional  Services for violence interruptor program imp imp implementation good morning mayor please state your name  good morning Becca Johnson from the office   of community services welcome thank you um I'm  going to be presenting on Professional Services   for violence interruptor program implementation  so you've seen some of this before but we're back   with our final contract so violent crime in which  increased from 2016 to 2021 uh in 2021 we had 74%   homicides that were attributed to gun violence  residents of these communities I'm sorry they   happen specifically mostly in Social and economic  distressed communities residents within those were   encountering gun violence at a higher rate than  the rest of the city as a whole um and the effects   of gun violence extend well beyond individuals to  families neighbors schools employers and community members back in September 2022 we you  all approved approved a contract with   cure violence Global for technical assistance to  implement evidence-based cure violence model also   known as the violence interruptor program  so that methodology applies evidence-based   Public Health academic reversal strategies to  detect and interrupt so prevent potentially   violent situations identify and change  the thinking and behavior of those most   likely to engage in violence and change group  Norms that support and perpetuate the use of violence w PD provided data on assaults murders  and manslaughters from 2019 to 2022 and using   that data uh and cure violence globals expertise  we identified two target areas within Witchita um   the first is on it's within district one the North  Boundary is 29th Street 25th Street I'm sorry the   south is 9th Street West is i135 and East is  Oliver the second one is down in District 3 the   North Boundary being ponie the East Boundary being  Oliver the West being Broadway and the river um   and the South Broadway moves significantly  around but is mainly on Galina and 31st Street in August of 2023 we released  an RFP to solicit responses from the   community- based organizations that  had credibility and capacity to stand   up a violence interruptor site in both of the  targeted areas we received two proposals and   were interviewed both the selection committee  unanimously selected witcha state university   community engagement Institute in partnership  with destination innovation in The Institute of development the witcha state university  community engagement Institute will act   as the program administrator uh  while destination Innovation will   be the community based organization who will  Implement and operate violence interruptor   sites and The Institute of development will  serve as an independent thirdparty evaluator community- based organization is going to be  setting up office spaces in both of the target   areas each Target area will have one site  supervisor two Outreach workers and three   violence interrupts working at their site  uh with a program manager overseeing both sites our current timeline is anticipation of  mobilizing this month beginning recruiting and   hiring in January and then moving  to staff training in February Financial considerations the city's American  Rescue plan act conceptual spending plan is   included in the 2023 adopted budget that plan  includes 1,500,000 over three years in arpa   funding for the violence interruptor program  the proposed contract for violent interruptor   Services is $1,270 89 for one year and will be  funded from this allocation of arpa funding the   violence interruptor program is an eligible  use of arpa funds and legal has reviewed and   approved so law department has done all that work  so it is recommended that the city council accept   the recommendations of the staff screening and  selection committee and approve the selection   of Witchita state university community  engagement Institute as the consultant   to provide the Professional Services related  to a violence interruptor program approve any   necessary budget allocations of arpa funding  and authorize the necessary signatures with   that I will stand for any questions we do have  uh Q cornelus from cure violence Global online   if there questions about that as well as Dr  Tara Parker from The Institute of development   and Marquita Atkins from destination Innovation  present all right we can open up for questions for staff they must have done a  really good job no questions   see none thank you thank you over up to  the public there's a public input on this item welcome good morning my name is Janice stacker I  live at 1537 North Hill Boulevard I'm a retired   um high school counselor art teacher and have  been involved in the community since 1969 when   I first started teaching um I think this is a  valid program but I have been trying to work   on this since 2016 I have Ruby's culture campus  I'm trying to start on 13th and green and that is   right in between the boundaries the 29th and  9th Street appears to be hard to get funding   or support from the city uh I have worked in 11  schools Italy New York retired from Blue Valley   School District worked at Emporia State for  5 years the whole thing is I have not met a   student that did not want to be successful and I  have programs that prove they can enjoy life and   be successful I really feel like it's a image uh  cultural image disconnect from the city with the   African-American community and so I'm here to say  that a lot of you don't know me some of you do   Brandon Johnson he comes to our black Educators  program and presents proclamations every year   has been very supportive but I don't know if  one person person can sway the whole ship but   that's what I'm trying to do one of my students  uh graduating 2000 from slay High School just   received $25,000 scholarship she has black student  union in the school we used to have it here where   the students can look out for each other and have  a sense of belonging and that's all I have to say   so just real quick did you apply for these for  this program no didn't know anything about it   I've been dragging students for the last uh 12  years from public school to have artwork with   the university I have artwork on Hillside and  9th because I'm also an artist and artwork on   9th and um Minnesota yeah so to to accurately  I guess reflect your concerns it's not so much   with this particular service it is you you want to  see more opportunity for other programs to also be   supported by the city that have a benefit for  our youth correct and so we have five shipping   containers and we need like 20 more to create  a culture campus so that students take pride in   the community so that we could have Saturday  school thank you okay no thank you and thank   you for being here I think you you raised a good  point is about investing uh in organizations that   are uh doing the work to to help uh our youth  uh really take advantage of opportunities that   we have in this community even if they themselves  might not see those opportunities uh so thank you   for the work that you're doing uh your concerns  are noted and hopefully um with the uh next uh   budget hopefully we this body can can figure  out ways to get more grant opportunities to to   different programs that have shown success so  thank you so much the name of our organization   is AR that touches your heart we 501c3 thank you  thank you is there further public input on this item good good morning and welcome good morning  morning Mr mayor council uh my name is Victoria   Chandler I'm with Ascension Via Christie as their  trauma Services prevention coordinator uh we have   been having meetings with the city of witto and  we are in support of this Professional Service of   violence um interruptor program in the past few  years we have seen an up uptick in gun violence   gun injuries to our hospital um so we want to  partner with the community and hopefully um have   this interruptor program and see different um  numbers go down um to support our community and   make it a safer safer place thank you excellent  thank you and we appreciate the work that uh you   and your organization are doing as well further  public input on this item all right seeing now   we'll bring discussion back to the bench for the  discussion on this item vice mayor hole thank   you mayor um I just like to just take a minute  to thank um a lot of people for their work on   this Becca Tasha Brooke I think before she went  over to uh District 4 CSR uh Denise and Austin   you guys have been great the whole time um also a  special shout out to council member Johnson who I   kind of came aboard aside this um he had been  working on this for quite some sometimes so um   thanks for you know a lot of our staff here and  uh Marquita I know you're going to do great things   with this and um just I I'm excited to see this  going and I appreciate everybody's work because   this is a big issue in a lot of these areas so  thank you for that absolutely Is there further discussion and this doesn't happen much but I I  do want to thank the uh council members who have   uh been on the Forefront of making sure that not  only this project is one that we fund but also uh   utilize our commity Community um organizations to  to really make the most impact and I say it's not   done a lot because usually I don't think the  elected officials uh sometimes get uh uh the   um the Gratitude uh that uh they deserve for  um going above and beyond with these type of   projects uh so uh thank you to the council  members who have been on this issue Beyond   just today uh Beyond just the uh even just the  last budget section have been really focused on   finding more opportunities for our young folks  who uh might wind up U making bad choices if if   if they weren't presented with a program like  this uh so with that I will recognize council   member fry thank you mayor appreciate it um just  a couple of quick comments and and this is New   Territory for us as a council to do this um you  know paying people uh to be eyes and ears in our   neighborhoods uh as violence interrupt is a new  type of program for the city of witchta I think   it's sad that we're getting to this point where  government has to insert itself in this manner   when as growing up it was my neighbors it was  my family it was my friends it was my church um   it was nonprofits that helped keep me personally  responsible and accountable and I know that's not   the same for everyone but I would encourage the  community to support this program and help us get   ahead of this because it's not getting better  and for the government to have to step in and   do this is is unprecedented and I support this  action because we have to do something different   but I just encourage our community to don't let  this be the answer it's part of the solution but   we need you to be our eyes and ears just as much  as we need these violence interrupts thank you I   should probably throw out there that this is not  a government program this is a nonprofit in which   we're providing grant money for just like we did  provide grant money from our arpa funds to dozens   of nonprofits uh and educational institutions to  try to provide more opportunity for people that   rebounding from covid uh these are not government  employees uh going out this is a nonprofit that is   equivalent to every other nonprofit that we almost  weekly if not monthly contribute grant money to so   long as they participate to the betterment of our  community uh and I think one would argue that the   purpose of local government is community safety  rather that is fire police rather that is clean   water in this case it is uh the other end of um a  public safety where you know if we're going to go   make sure that we have the best police uh in fire  in the state then we also have to make sure uh   that we're keeping our Community Partners strong  that work in prevention uh so um I I appreciate   the comments but I do want to make it clear uh  that Bob leighton's not out there as our city   manager on the ground uh uh doing this work it  is the uh nonprofits who have been there in this   space they're the ones on the ground doing this  work and we're coming alongside them on this so   with that I'll make the motion to accept staff's  recommended action to approve the agreement and   authorize the necessary signatures second motion  has made in the second but vice mayor hois cler   wolf and Royal members cast their vote have  received 78 votes that motion does pass Madam   Clerk witchta Public Library foundation and  city of witto capital campaign memorandum of understanding good morning Council Jamie Nicks  director of libraries for witcha Public Library   really delighted to bring a partnership  opportunity um as you know the focused on   community master plan um was approved by  Council in 2019 um after a comprehensive   Branch facility study that is really caring for  um public spaces in Witchita around diversity   our own City priorities Partnerships we have  stronger efficiencies being designed um and   even more critically the third place and social  connections that happen within our libraries in   addition to digital equity and access and flexible  spaces for multiple purposes the Witchita Public   Library Foundation is a nonprofit organization  whose mission is to raise funds for the margin   of Excellence for all Witchita public library  programs spaces and services they've committed   to a new $2 million Capital campaign that would  provide support um for facility enhancements in   that margin of Excellence space at the Alford Maya  Angelo Rock and Westlink libraries specifically   for um collections some technology and vehicle  infrastructure that's going to help us further   develop our outof building service model the  witcha public library foundation's Capital   Campaign Committee has collaborated with the city  of witcha to develop a memorandum of understanding   that aligns Mutual commitment to complete the  branch master plan with the foundation to fund   raise um for that margin of Excellence for  spaces equipment family engagement Furnishing   and Technology um with the goal to to improve  customer access to services wlf will pay outright   any of the funds that are received um they have  a debt level repayment terms that would begin no   later than December 31st 2025 and end no later  than December 31st 2029 um in discussion with   the the city and also WF if the $2 million Capital  campaign goal isn't met the library would reduce   the margin of Excellence funded programs um that  have been identified at this point the capital   campaign is about halfway through um it's it's  2 million and is soon to become more public in   its discussion um for opportunities to contribute  to the project so the contributions from wlf Will   will be used to supplement City arpa dollars that  have been allocated for the four Branch remodels   um the city is asked to increase the existing  Library budgets to include the $2 million from wlf   to offset um the timeline um in order to receive  annual contributions from that 5-year pledge   our law department has reviewed and approved the  capital campaign mou as to form and it's recommend   mended that city council approved the wlf  capital campaign mou and authorized the necessary signatures questions for staff see none thanks Jamie appreciate it uh  is there OV to the public on this item see no   and bring discussion back to the bench further  discussion on this item council member fry thank   you mayor I would just like to uh thank the witch  Public Library foundation for their support of our   Branch libraries uh their commitment for um what  they've done with the Walters branch and Evergreen   and the planed improvements for Westlink Alford  Etc and as well as can't forget the advanced   learning library that project would not have  happened without the support uh and assistance   from them so I just want to give a thank you to  the witw public library Foundation absolutely   well said uh counil member Tuttle being a  little bit redundant but also just wanted   to thank the Witchita Public Library Foundation  um just a great opportunity for more Community   engagement our libraries are so important to so  many um Jamie and I have had this conversation   many times it's much more than just books these  days and for many people it's Comfort it's a   place that they can apply for jobs they can stay  connected with family and friends and so I'm just   very grateful for this opportunity and thank  you Jamie for your hard work in orchestrating   it thank you council member tle would you like  to retain the floor for a motion I would love   that thank you very much for the opportunity so  with that I would enthusiastically move that the   city council approve the witcho public library  Foundation Capital campaign mou and authorize   the necessary signatures council member fry I  second motion has been made and then seconded   clerk will open a roll members will cast their  vote have received 7A votes that motion does   pass Adam clerk Capital campaign funding  agreement with the Kansas African-American Museum good morning mayor council Lindsay Baka  uh Arts and Cultural services with the city   manager's office uh very pleased to present  this uh presentation today for the capital   uh campaign funding agreement with uh the Kansas  African-American Museum a little bit of background   uh affectionately known as tcam uh is currently  located at 601 northw Street which represents   the original settlement of the African-American  community in the late 1800s uh to early 1900s in   witchta the current site presents uh several  operational challenges which significantly   affects the full scope of the Museum's activities  I would like to just point out that the museum is   currently open in programming uh and despite the  the the work that's going into a new site uh we do   encourage people to go visit it today and until  the new site does open uh the city has sought   to support the museum in securing a new location  since 2005 uh when the C City entered at that time   into a lease agreement to help the museum secure a  new fac facility and that location was at 777 West   Central as part of the river Corridor Improvement  project uh that lease agreement was extended and   then ultimately terminated upon Mutual consent uh  between both parties and and yet the city remained   uh committed to supporting the museum uh in a  future Capital Endeavor which is why we're here   today uh as an um the a new property has been  purchased by the museum uh at 2011 North Main   Street uh the museum has now entered into a public  C capit campaign for the project um it is exciting   to note that the the museum has raised over $5  million in gifts and pledges uh to date um and we   believe that they have a very successful campaign  uh ahead of them uh and they do own the build the   new property outright so we are very excited for  for them to to finish up this leg of the campaign   couple images of uh what what the new site will  look like exterior and a couple couple interior shots for financial consideration it's recommended  that the city support the capital campaign in the   amount of $300,000 in financial sponsorship  with payments of $100,000 each each year for   the following three years in terms of reporting  the museum will be uh responsible and required to   submit a semiannual and annual report through the  duration of the agreement and provide fundraising   updates and operational updates on the opening of  the new facility we believe this uh project aligns   with the city's cultural artarts priorities which  include increasing participation of residents   specifically those underserved and historically uh  uh historically underserved and culturally diverse   in the cultural arts uh we also believe that it  aligns with our priorities in stren strengthening   the capacity of cultural arts in the community  increase the number of facilities and assets   available to meet Community needs establish  witcha as a regional hub for Cultural Arts   and support efforts that stimulate the creation  of new artwork and cultural opportunities in our   community staff recommend the approval uh of  this funding agreement and the authorization   of the necessary signatures and I do want to  point out that Denise Sherman uh the executive   director of the the museum is available for  questions as well all right there questions for staff see Nan thank you is there input from  the public on this item see none we'll bring   discussion back to the bench for the discussion  on this item council member Johnson thanks mayor   um this item is exciting uh to support tcam uh  I first had this proposed I believe it was 2018   when we were talking about this I'm glad to see  that the museum has a new site it's a great site   looking forward to seeing this project complete um  it it's going to be amazing downtown and there's   so much um history that isn't even on display  right now at the Museum it's it's downstairs   uh where people can't see it so I'm uh looking  forward to uh one seeing this commitment and   then two having that ribbon cutting when it's all  done and I just want to publicly shout out Denise   Sherman and all the hard work that she has done it  is amazing with her and the board has been doing   uh for the museum and just appreciate all your  work to make this or bring this into fruition   further discussion see none the chair recognized  council member Ballard as this resides in district 6 thank you mayor um I would like to take  staff's recommended action approve the   capital campaign funding agreement to support  the Kansas African-American Museum Inc and   authorize the necessary signatures council  member Johnson second motion has been made   in the seconded clerk will open rooll members  cast their vote have received 78 votes that   motion does pass Madam clerk 2024 contract  renewal with visit witchta hello morning   back again Lindsay banaka Arts and Cultural  services with the city of W uh with the city   manager's office uh also with the city of  witchta uh the next is the annual renewal   for visit witch's uh annual contract a little  bit of background uh the tourism and Convention   fund uh TGT supports special activities and  conventions and special events in witto the   city of witto contracts with visit witto to  promote tourism and Convention activities uh   within this community visit witcha also provides  services under a separate contract uh the t- bid   or tourism business improvement district that  is directed by an Advisory Board uh I do want   to point out that Visa witchta is our local  expert in the tourism industry with Decades   of experience in marketing uh witchta both as  a regional and National destination they track   a variety of metrics which you you'll hear  about in a moment um that show tourism as   an economic driver in the community and really  lead efforts in bringing conventions meetings   sporting events to our community they're also  a partner in liaison with the hotels and track   occupancy and daily rates uh visit witw is led by  President CEO Susie Santo uh who uh is going to   take over the presentation and the ultimately  visit wit's performance is reviewed annually   um uh by the city manager's office and finance  department and with that I'll turn it over to Susie next good morning good morning mayor  vice mayor Susie Santa with visit witcho 515   South Main Street it's a pleasure to be here  today to talk about travel tourism and what's   happening in our great city um as Lindy indicated  we have several performance indicators and as you   can see on the screen we look at economic impact  which is measured by our future uh group bookings   as well as being a good Financial Steward of the  dollars that are given to us and that's measured   by return on total operating costs at T room  nights and Leisure marketing um our results for   203 for 2023 future group bookings generated  over 15 million in economy impact when we're   looking at those repeated in service over 37  million and then our Leisure visitor campaign   over 105 million um dollars and I'll talk about a  little bit more when we look at our um Financial   stewardship results again for every dollar we  spent drove over $24 back into the community   and on the t-bid side um you can see those results  as well I will tell you on the Leisure marketing   campaign we always just to remind the group we  always um do research at the end of the year   to get those final return on investment number so  that we're actually doing it right now and uh next   time I come before you I'll let to know where we  knit it out but right now we're anticipating over $46 the industry um you know last year when I  was here I was talking about we are no longer   comparing to pre-pandemic 22 is a new Norm well  23 now is a new Norm when we look at our our hotel   uh key indicators we look at the star report just  shows like how is how is the hotels doing because   that's a good indicator if visitors are coming and  spending the tonight and I will tell you um it's   been an all-time high from demand and that's the  number of rooms that are rented out all-time high   and this is through October the the uh demand  is up over 3% average daily ratees up over 5%   and as a result our revenue for our hotel years  is up over 8% so those are all good indicators   that regardless of the economy people still want  to travel and that's important to get out and uh   take these getaways some of the things we've been  working at back at the organization and I want to   take a minute and thank the entire team at visit  witchta it's been an outstanding year a few of   our highlights we're thrilled that we rolled  out um all heart all welcome on our website so   take a look uh it really um is part of our deia  initiative to make sure that all of Witchita is   included as we tell those incredible stories  about our community we are back out with yearr   round multi Channel Marketing in our Drive market  so people always ask me like you know I've told   you before like I don't see your advertising I'm  like well you're already here if you're out in   our Drive Market you're seeing our commercials in  the summer you're getting all of the digital ads   to make sure when you're thinking about a getaway  you're coming to witch talk we tested three new   markets this year we were out in Springfield Omaha  and Lincoln so for the first time they're seeing   our messages and we're anxious to see when we get  back our smar results how that fared hosted over   50 social media influencers and travel Riders and  garnered um some really good Regional and National   PR for the community to remind the council  we partnered with the city and populace back   in quarter 1 to set a a new vision for Century  2 that's a repurpose Bob Brown and and keeping   um the century 2 intact and we hope to further  those conversations next year we brought Meeting   Planners in from around the country to showcase  the city um and for site tours Etc and we also   welcome thousands of thousands of athletes and  their family through the many hosted sporting   events um I'm actually going to play a quick video  this was a sporting event that we hosted out at   shill striker this past summer um we talked  a little bit about us Ys president cup and   so we have a quick little video and if that's  okay let's go ahead and play the [Applause] video this is my time I'm on the rid can't hold  me down I'm July sh pretty cool event is coming   toward the top starting today actually it is  the US youth soccer national Presidents Cup   some of the best teams from the ages 13 to 19 in  the entire country will be vying for a national   championship at striker Soccer Complex 104 teams  from 36 states are in Witchita competing for   a national title it's the 15th year of the US  Youth Soccer president cup when BBB Pittsburgh   and other teams come to town it pays off about a  $4 million impact on the community you're looking   at you know air travel fuel restaurants hotels  shopping all of those things this is huge more   than 2,000 athletes now think about this with  their families with their coaches it is going   to be a huge economic impact on wit visit  witto work really hard our sports team to   get this tournament here it is like the big  of the big when it comes to soccer to have   that here in witto is something that's pretty  special and I know over at striker that's a   great facility and um a lot of fun [Applause]  literally anyone I've spoke to whether it's   parents coaches administrators the people  of Witchita have embraced everyone that's   come to town oh the complex is fantastic um it  definitely has been exceeded the needs that we   uh expect from uh any of the complexes we use  around the country uh it's just topnotch first   class facility for sure anytime we go into a new  place uh there's always those unknown factors uh   but this has just been exception so we we are  very happy right now anything we thought of has   been done anything we asked for has been done  this is by far the best President's Cup ever shs away the on the line there ain't no doubt  in my mind beating the buzzer like this is my time catchy little tune right um I wanted thank  the mayor thank you for coming out and greeting   all the athletes on the opening event um they  really appreciated it and you just you could feel   the excitement I also want to thank council member  Tuttle for coming out on your weekend and touring   the facility it was really uh pretty cool to see  um all those athletes in their family and and to   see Shi Striker and in you know with all the flags  so um again and that event alone brought in over   uh I think 3.6 over like close to 3.8 million an  economic impact as we got to showcase the city   and I'll talk a little bit more about that in  a moment so that shows a little bit of our um   some of the things that were accomplished also  you can see some of the events that we won that   will be coming in the future years and to kind of  put it in perspective there are times when we'll   win an event and host it in that same year but  we were also securing future events and I think   the the furthest out we secured last year was  for 2027 uh but you can again see some of those   that we'll be hosting we're excited to host the  sports relationship conf conference this is brand   new never been here and these are all bid rights  holders coming to Witchita there'll be other cvbs   across the country like us trying to pitch their  cities but the benefit is we have them in ours so   we'll be showing and meeting with them and sports  team will be having appointments Etc happy to   uh work with the airport authority to bring the  airport Executives conference here we partnered   with Village uh travel to bring the international  motor coach here and other Partnerships but again   looking forward uh to hosting these groups in  the years to come I wanted to pull out this   slide and just talk about some sports that are  happening next year not only is this great from   an economic driver because we're bringing these  athletes and their families to town but there   are some incredible events that witchin are going  to want to get out and support and again all of   these events are are here because of the sports  team back in the office who went out found them   and and brought them here if you've never seen  synchronized ice skating you are missing out you   need to head to Interest Bank in January we've  hosted them in the past but they'll be back so   thank synchronized swimming but on ice and skates  and that happens in January um we have wrestling   nii wrestling and NCA D2 men's wrestling that  we'll be hosting Major League table tennis this   is a first coming in and they're actually the best  players in the world play for teams across the US   and the teams come and compete against each other  and we'll be hosting that at WSU hosting the USA   lacrosse and I want to um thank our partners  out at SHI Striker and Larry and the team for   working with us to bring this event we're bringing  lacrosse out to shill Striker sports complex and   in June I got to talk for a moment about athletes  unlimited um soof uh softball star cydney mckenny   from those of you that Lov softball know she's  one of the best that ever played at WSU one of   the best softball players in the world and thank  you um council member B for heading out there for   the press conference we are so excited that we  are bringing women's Pro soccer to Witchita for   the entire mon month of June this is a unique  opportunity to see the best softball players   in the world they'll be out at WSU how they play  they bring in I think like 40 some athletes they   play 18 games over a two three two to three week  period but what makes it fun is that every athlete   is scored on a roster and you watch them if they  make a good play or they you know hit a double or   triple they get points and so they continue to  rise on the roster so the people that come out   are supporting for the athletes after each game  they they Shuffle it up and they get new teams   put together and they play again so it's unlike  anything we've seen here Sydney will be here and   again bringing 41 of the best women athletes  with her so I encourage we want to sell that   out we want standing room only so I encourage  witchin to put that on your calendar and then   you just saw the video from you soccer and you  heard directly from them it was the best they   ever had and that afforded us the opportunity  to win to bring them back so Youth Soccer will   be back again this summer and then we round out  the year with some um great soccer championships   with the NJCAA men's and women's and also the Nia  they were both here this year we've had them in a   two-year deal they're coming back and I will tell  you that snowy day in Saturday we woke up to snow   that was actually the first practice day for our  nii and men soccer and then weren't they grateful   that we had the indoor facility to move into so  again um we are thrilled to be able to be bringing   these events to um to Witchita and so before I  pass pass it back to Lindsay I would be remissed   if I didn't do a special thank you to council  members fry council members blueball and mayor   Whipple it has been a pleasure over the last many  many years to work with you we so appreciate your   support and your understanding of the the value  of travel and tourism to Witchita thank you thank   you and all of us at visit Witchita just wish you  the best in your next chapter thank you all right   well thank you and we appreciate the update  and also the great work that's happening over   at visit witcha is there questions for staff oh  if I could just close up real quick of course of   course please just for financial considerations we  uh are recommending the allocation not to exceed   uh 2,635 594 uh and to continue the convention  promo promotion contingency fund a reimbursement   up to $150,000 and staff recommend approval of  the visit which sh 2024 uh contract rroll and   authorize the necessary signatures thank you all  right well with that we do have a couple people   on the board uh council member fry uh thank you  and actually this is for Susie so um know the   mayor and I both serve on the visit Witch Board  and I just want to thank you and your staff for   the amazing work that you've been doing over the  last several years in rebuilding our tourism and   Convention economy after covid uh you know to  see the 1.5 billion dollars in the witw area   uh spent in 20222 and over $200,000 in state and  local taxes that's tremendous so thank thank you   please pass that along to everyone at your staff  um I love the all heart all welcome logo it it's   too bad we couldn't have Incorporated that into  the century 2 repaint on the roof that would have   been neat there's still time still time we're not  finished we're not finished so hopefully maybe we   can get a new picture fairly soon obviously you're  going to have to increase your photography budget   because you got to get all new pictures of that  roof right so maybe we should get up there and   take a picture that'd be got of cool but anyway  um thank you for everything that you and your   staff do and it is it's uh it's amazing to see  the the increase in professionalism and the   marketing materials you know when we travel and  we see it in these other markets it's cool it's   a great source of Pride as a witch tend to see  that so thank you thank you and the data also   just not to be nerdy but just to biggy back on  my my uh um colleague the uh the real- time data   that 1.5 million I think you guys broke it down  into what that does state general fund how many   jobs that creates I think it's over 2,000 uh  full-time teacher salaries at the average rate   uh so uh really appreciate your your ability  not just to uh uh do what what CER fry just   said but also how you communicate uh the success  uh for different different ways in which we we   can really uh grasp the economic impact of your  guys's work so thank you for that and I do have   more people on the board so I don't mean to jump  ahead but I just want to say thank you and I will   pass those accolades back to the team because it's  really all due to the incredible folks back the   office so thank you excellent uh council member  Johnson thanks mayor um just real quick one this   was awesome and appreciate the work that you and  your team have been doing and I wanted to offer   that I will volunteer as the council coach and the  city council can compete against all the Champions   and all of these things coming up I'm happy to  skating skating i y i I'll make sure that they   know what they're supposed to do out there and  thank you council member blueba you mayor Susie   I appreciate you know I've challenged you um more  than anybody probably on numbers and stuff and um   hopefully that has created a better business  model but I particularly want to thank you   for um years ago we said we were going to make an  emphasis on Youth Sports and bringing out to town   I did appreciate everything you've done for that  thank you thank you so much it means a lot thank   you G member Tuttle I'm just going to continue  the Love Fest but um thank you Lindsay for your   presentation and your work on this and then also  thank you to sus and your team I remember back in   2019 when the women's bowling Congress came and  we were on North Rock and Susie had the amazing   opportunity of throwing the first ball and we  were all what baited breath she got a strike so   very lucky but it really it really showed me that  you don't just get the events here when they come   you are the greater you are the one out there on  Saturday driving me around in a golf cart so I   could see all of the players and get to meet them  so this really is a labor of love for you and and   I know your team deserves the recognition and I  thank them too but the work that they do and the   impact that you have is because of your leadership  so thank you very much and I look forward to more   events at striker and more great opportunities  for people to come and see what a wonderful City   we are and hopefully they'll want to come back so  thank you thank you guys so much for the comments   I tell you we love what we do every day and I  can't tell you how much all your comments mean   personally to me but and to the team so thank you  all right further questions for staff see none as   there UT from the public on this item see none  or bring discussion back to the bench further   discussion on this item if there is no further  discussion then I'll make the motion to accept   staff's recommend action to approve the contract  and authorize the necessary signatures is there   a second second motion has been seconded by vice  mayor hois clerk will and a royal members cast the vote have received 78 votes that motion  does indeed pass Madam clerk thank you   letter to the governor requesting consideration of   homelessness infrastructure grant  funding in state fiscal year 2025 budget all right honorable mayor members of the  Council Troy Anderson assistance the manager so   we all know homelessness um in which has been an  ongoing concern for years um access to housing   continues to be a barrier postco encampments  have expanded as you all know in 2022 the   task forced and homelessness was initiated that  included elected officials nonprofits education   and the private business sector additionally in  2023 City announced plans for a multi- agency   Center also known as the Mac currently and that  project uh is to provide congregate shelter non-   congregate shelter and a resource center with  wraparound services in addition to uh upwards   of potentially 150 housing units currently there  is a little more than $20 million in local and   federal government funding that's been designated  towards the Mac uh there's a fun funding plan for   an additional 37.5 million uh in additional  funding however there is approximately about   a $22 million gap in funding for the remainder  of the project as it's currently contemplated   so two months ago meetings with uh a bipartisan  group of state senators and representatives from   the region were convened to discuss this issue  uh this same group agreed that state government   has a role to play in all of this uh as a result  the city of witto Ed County and other cities in   the region supported the creation of a one-time  fund available via Grant or other application   to assist with needed build out of shelters or  other facilities to help and homelessness and as   a result a letter to the governor was drafted uh  the letter has uh been provided to you all this   was a draft letter that was provided to us uh we  did not draft it this is the same letter that's   been distributed amongst all of the organizations  ations um we anticipate that if this grant uh fund   is created it will require a local match uh it's  our intent to utilize uh the proceeds from the   disposition of the Housing Authority Section 18  single family homes our home ARP funds our arpa   Revenue replacement funding and litech credits in  addition to New Market tax credits as that match   with that being said we recommend that you all  consider endorsement of the letter uh in addition   uh I'm reminded that there is a resolution that  has been provided to you all as well in advance   of consideration of the letter so we recommend  that you consider endorsement of the letter   adopt the resolution and authorize the necessary  findings and otherwise all stands for questions   questions council member fry thank you and sure  I appr appreciate the presentation and I've taken   part in a couple of those yep bipartisan meetings  just a question about the second paragraph of the   letter where it relates to the barriers to access  peace um I understand the grant request and fully   supportive of asking the governor of state of  Kansas to help us close that funding Gap but   that second paragraph lists legislative policy  action that we have not discussed as a council   nor is it part of our current legislative agenda  so I struggle because there's certain elements of   that when it references civil eviction records and  the I don't know what those consequences are for   landlords and how that might you know we haven't  talked to our constituents our neighbors or any   of these folks about those elements we haven't  talked about as a council so including that in   the letter I'm I'm a little challenged by that  um we didn't draft that part of the letter did   we no that's correct we did not draft that and  um obviously you're right once you all take steps   to uh set forth your legislative priorities that  will represent your legislative priorities right   we we sort of struggled with this one as well we  again didn't draft the letter this was provided   to us and so that's why we were uh careful to  present this to you in a such a way that it was   a consideration of the endorsement of the letter  and by no way did we recommend uh either one way   or the other uh but we definitely appreciate  you fully supportive of of the grant request   it's just the other part of it since we've not  had that discussion it feels a little out of   order fair enough include that so okay thank you  council member tutle thank you thank you Troy for   your presentation and for your work on this um for  those who you know don't have the letter in front   of them like we do so in the letter it states the  need and what the money would the funding would   be used for but then it also lists 38 different  entities if you will some government and then also   the cedal County Association of cities the Chamber  of Commerce G wi out partnership and then it go   goes so far as um also you know Johnson County and  city of Hutchinson so I'm just curious there's 38   different entities that are listed here how many  of them have actually signed it or agreed to sign   that's a great question I don't know the answer  to that um for my understanding it was being   distributed we may be one of the first ones that  actually may be taking this up um Mr Mayor yes   council member I've been told that a number of  jurisdictions have already signed the letter I   just don't have that number okay and that's fine  I I was just hopefully were going to say 38 I I'm   hoping that we're we're one and and then everybody  else will follow suit um the other question that   I have and I know that we'll begin the process  of our legislative agenda here soon but you know   we're sending a letter to the governor and I think  that's a great statement I did have an opportunity   to talk to some of our colleagues in the South  Central delegation and they wondered what the   next step is because a letter is a statement  and it's an important statement but um are we   are we planning to have any additional kind of  communication just just for my own curiosity   yeah absolutely I mean obviously we're going to  continue pursuit of uh the development of the Mac   as we have currently contemplated it right uh  if for whatever reason that additional funding   doesn't isn't made available uh then obviously we  may have to Value engineer the project some uh but   obviously we're going to continue to work through  finding additional funding sources additional   Partners to continue to try to take advantage  of the opportunity we've been given around the   Mac uh I think that absolutely includes ongoing  conversations with our state representatives um   to see if there's an opportunity for the state  to to contribute to the project and and I'm just   going to make one more Comon if I can I'm going  to editorialize a little bit I want to thank   Sally Stang our 21st century director of housing  you know this is one more thing that we're doing   to address this issue since I've been in Council  for the P past five years you know I see we've   developed the homelessness task force um we work  significantly with our homeless Outreach team to   be honest I can't even think a name of everything  that our housing department does and you know I   made the comment one time that if Sally Stang knew  there was one homeless person on the streets she   wouldn't sleep at night so I know this is a labor  of love not only for you but also for the housing   department so Sally thank you to you and your  team so we do have more questions uh well I will   save mind towards the end council member blba I  just want to understand on council member Fry's   questions are these the housing units specific  to what's being funded for this or is is this a   blanket overall for the state that we request  so this is a request to create a $50 million   Grant fund that uh agencies across the state  would be able to apply for Grant do to build   homeless shelter facility whatever that Community  deems appropriate uh for for our local project it   would be uh funds associated with the Mac the  non- congregate Housing Shelter the congregate   Housing Shelter the navigation Center and housing  okay so specifically the part of the letter that   addresses the cealing of evictions is that  only for people that will live in in in this   housing unit or is it for overall everybody in  the state is that what we're trying to figure   out what we're requesting yeah no that's a great  question um the second paragraph of that letter   doesn't differentiate whether it's um Pro uh  for the purposes of the grant funds it's my   understanding that was probably more of a blanket  statement um there may be organizations of the 38   organizations there may be organizations um that  want to support that legislative agenda whether   whether or not you all decide that as part of  your legislative agenda when you take those   actions here in the near future uh will be for  you all to decide um but no I don't think that   there's a connection directly okay with those  funds to the project okay council member Johnson   thanks mayor I was actually going to wait until  after public comment but the discussion started   um one I'd like to say I appreciate U bringing  this letter to the council uh I'm in agreement   with the letter um but specifically for um anyone  who might be wondering what some of the questions   were about uh on the letter it talks about  the legislature um assisting with barriers   to access of housing such as adopting source of  income discriminations protections and adopting   State statutes that will allow civil eviction  records to be sealed after a set period and the   same type of language is on the resolution uh  I wanted to say I'm a 100% in support of that   we've had too many issues with property managers  and landlords in this city deciding not to work   with people who have housing Choice vouchers  at one point it put us in the bind and even   forced us at one point to try to incentivize  and give them $1,000 just to take it and we   shouldn't have to do that and people shouldn't be  discriminated against because they have a housing   Choice voucher and again I always bring up the  article that highlighted the one person who was   responsible for a quarter of evictions in Cedric  County once that's on your record it's hard to   get another place so having those records sealed  uh is extremely important I've heard from several   people and I still have those messages from  people who have faced discrimination because   of those eviction records um whether that landlord  liked them or not and because they have a hous and   choice voucher many people who have those vouchers  there's some image of them being a bad tenant or   because there was one bad experience everyone  has that blanket view so one I'm supportive of   that and two um not to wait on the legislature I  believe this Council should have an ordinance um   an amendment to our ndo that talks about source  of income discrimination and I know we can't do   anything on um civil eviction records I wish we  could so I definitely want to encourage that but   I would love to see this Council take up an  amendment and which I've already sent to the   manager in Troy that we saw from Lawrence and we  just saw Kansas City Missouri do the same thing I   think it's Inc Comon upon us to do so and again  we've seen where there are State statutes that   Outlaw something and there's no enforcement and  I think we need some Municipal enforcement on   that and I don't think we have to wait on the  legislature we should take the lead and do so   um as soon as possible so I'm supportive of this I  think it makes us a better City if we do so and if   the state adopts it I think it makes our state a  better place as well get the amendment drafted by   the second we'll consider it council member blue  ball it's already drafted thank you mayor um coun   Johnson could you explain to me what income um  income discrimin ation means you use that term I   was just curious what that means source of income  discrimination what means you're discriminating   against someone based on their Source I I didn't  hear Source I heard income discrimination yeah you   mean because it's coming in from the whatever  source that might be if you don't like someone   who has a housing Choice voucher if you don't  like someone who's paying cash whatever that   might be is there a law to that there is no law  for that but there is that happening quite a bit   yes yeah there is case we heard that from Sally  in a presentation as well I believe at a workshop   and as well as a council meeting that it happens  quite a bit that's why we created that incentive   program that tried to pay people $1,000 to push  their discrimination to the side okay thanks   council member tutle thank you I just have one  correction and then maybe a corre a request um   I counted wrong when I said 38 it's really 40  because we have Congressman Estus Marshall and   Maran in one line so if you're going to quote  make sure you use 40 but I do think we should   make the correction when I saw this I'm sorry I  didn't catch it earlier it's Congressman Estus   but it's Senator Moran and Senator Marshall so  we need to make sure we get their titles correct   if we are going to indeed put our this on our  letterhead and send it so just a thought thanks Troy I'm always impressed with council member  tuttle's ability to to find those details um   very good uh so with that I I'm I am in support  of having the state legislature take a bigger   role uh in um in helping really with what is a a  a local and a state issue which is uh homelessness   and my question for staff uh is um frankly does  a governor have the authority by herself to give   us grant money in the tens of millions because  my understanding this is also at least when I   was there the legis control the pur strings uh  and so are we asking the governor to put this   in her budget or are we asking the governor has  something changed where the governor could with   a stroke of a pen send us the necessary funds  for our Mac program uh to answer that question   the the letter is drafted in such a way that it  requests that the governor put it into the 2025   budget so uh no I'm not aware of an ability for  the governor to provide those funds available   today uh but the request is to uh create a  fund create an opportunity for again those   communities around the state to be able to  apply for uh funds within that Grant provide   a local match we anticipate um for whatever the  local purpose is we know what our purpose would   be we know what we're what we would apply for  Grant dollars for but no it would be have to be   a program and a fund that would be established  in a future budget established and approved by   A legislature and then then the governor's um  departments would eventually handle the grant   aspect of it I just I just did want to point  that out because I I just in my experience um   there's there's not enough responsibility to go  around I don't want this to be the end where a   group of bipartison local legislators said well  we asked the governor and then they kind of wash   their hands with it the reality is asking the  governor to present this as part of her budget   each part of that budget gets broken down and sent  to committees different budget committees and then   it comes back months later uh as really the the  legislative budget uh not just the governor's   budget so I do want to point that out uh that um  while I am in support of this resolution and this   letter to the governor uh the conversation  still needs to extend to our legislative   delegation and majority of the legislators so  uh as was just mentioned by staff this isn't   just the governor's ability this ability has to  uh is given to the the Senate and the House of   Representatives at the state level uh and we will  have to continue uh to encourage their support as   well so further questions for staff see none thank  you thank you is there in for the public on this item see none uh further discussion back to  the bench council member Johnson thanks mayor   again can't harp on this enough there are too  many barriers to housing um currently there   are property managers and landlords that are  requiring people to make three and four times   the amount of rent to live there to have credit  scores above 600 if life has hit someone hard they   don't qualify and there's just another barrier as  source of income discrimination that is out there   I am glad this is in the resolution I again want  to say that we should take this up as a body and   uh do something about it in our ordinance and  continue to strongly encourage the sealing of   eviction records there are too many people that  are being impacted by that even today in this   holiday season and we need to take action so I'm  definitely supportive of this but also um calling   upon us to do more as well and not wait on session  to start in January and hopefully see some some   bills become law uh we can do things now here in  Witchita council member hoisel thank you mayor um   I share my colleagues um opinions on that one also  I'd like to just say a special shout out and thank   you to our our colleagues at County and state um  this is a state issue and unfortunately here in   Witchita we we take the brunt of a lot of um the  unhoused individuals from across the state that   come here looking for resources looking for work  work um so I do appreciate that they acknowledge   that they do have a place in this as well and  hopefully we can keep this conversation going   this isn't just a one-time thing but we can  also continue the conversation around housing   around accessibility to housing um and also just  other programs that we can use to keep people   from becoming homeless to begin with so I do  appreciate everybody's work on this council member valard thank you mayor um I actually just  saw a list of all of the different cities   Representatives senators and many other  organ organizations that have signed off   on the letter so I'm happy to share that with  any of my colleagues um afterwards but there's   um I think 41 so far that have signed off  on it it's other organizations as well so further discussion if there's no further  discussion then I will make the motion to   accept Stat or to recommend that the letter is  adopted we're going to try that one more time   uh because it's actually not a recommended  action by the staff the recommended action   is to consider this so please excuse me for  getting ahead of myself I like to make the   motion that the city council endorses the  letter adopt the resolution and authorize   necessary signatures second seconded by  VIIs CL roll up roll members cast the vote ever receiving five yay votes to two no  votes that motion does pass Adam clerk deer planning department the item before you is a  recommended Amendment to the unified zoning   code uh here's the recommended action we'll visit  this at the end of the presentation as well inside   the unified zoning code there's a use Matrix that  is also available to the public um it is a very   useful table that identifies our use categories  on the left in the rows and it tells you which   zoning classification those uses are permitted  by right which is indicated by a or those that   are need needed a conditional use in order to be  permitted in that uh zoning classification which   is indicated by a c if there's nothing indicated  in the box that means that use is not permitted   in that zoning classification The Matrix also  includes conditions listed on the far right hand   corner if there are additional supplementary use  regulations for that particular use uh which may   dictate uh additional rules or regulations that  the use has to abide by in either certain zoning   classifications or all zoning classifications  that it is permitted in one of the things that   we've noticed is that there are certain uses  in the zoning code that the supplementary use   regulations or that the section of the code  listed under conditions in the table require   specific uses to be conditional uses if certain  criteria are met one of those example is T and   drinking establishments others include event  centers nightclubs um certain things where   this example particularly if you are within  a certain distance of a church or place of   worship school park or residential zoning a  Tavern and drinking establishment requires a   conditional use when looking at the table you  see that it is listed as p in certain zoning   districts but really in reality that could be a  conditional use in those zoning districts if it   meets the criteria of the conditions and the  supplementary use regulations and so um what   what we're doing with this amendment is really  just updating the table to indicate which uses   actually might be a conditional use or permitted  by right but really more research is needed that   way if an individual in the public is looking  at this on their own and they say hey I have a   tabern of drinking establishment my property  is unlimited commercial I can just go get my   license only to find out that indeed they're  200 you know 300 ft from a park and they need   to come in and do a public hearing process to  get a conditional use there's not frustration   or miscommunication or potentially things missed  and something being allowed to happen when truly   it needed a zoning action so really it's just an  amendment to the visual Aesthetics of the table to   avoid confusion or frustration uh for the user as  well as staff or anybody using this table um just   by amending those uses to indicate that they  could be conditional uses and you need to read   further or possibly contact the department to get  more information so our process up until then was   of course we bring it to the advanced plans  for consideration we did a public notice had   the public hearing at Planning Commission um and  then going before the governing bodies yourself   as well the board accounting Commissioners  tomorrow as it is a unified code uh by both   jurisdictions and we need both sign offs to make  the amendment so the recommended action for you   guys this morning is to adopt the recommended  Amendment to the unified zoning code place the   ordinance on the first reading authorize the  necessary signatures and instruct the clerk   to publish the ordinance after approval on the  second reading and I can stand for any questions   questions for staff vice mayor hoisel thank  you mayor um so I just want to be clear all   the changes are moving from by to uh dual by  right and conditional right just to indicate   that it isn't necessarily by right there are  there could be conditions that require to be a   conditional use just clarifying it just clarifying  it correct yeah just one question this is a little   in the weeds here but I do see that we moved  it to um conditional for a church or place of   worship in a residential um could you just give  me a do we have any input what the conditions   might be for that particular item right um those  conditions haven't changed um I apologize that I   don't have that specific information um ready at  the wings uh to address on uh my understanding is   that the conditions of that were already there  we're not changing that we're just clarifying   the table in that instance that possibly needs  a conditional use in the certain circumstance   that you're addressing I apologize I don't have  that information directly in front of me with   the code but okay I appreciate that yeah I just  like I said it caught my eye so I was a little   curious about that so it's it's not changing of  the regulations that already exist we're just   clarifying the table yes sir thank you Philip  further questions for staff see none thank you m so the this is planning agenda which means  there is no public input um even though it's   not about a particular it's about a universal  change it's not about particular uh structure   or piece of land so with that uh we will  go right into discussion it's a further discussion if there's no further discussion  then I'll make the motion to accept staff's   recommended action to adopt the recommended  Amendment to the unified zoning code code   changes place the ordinance on first reading  authorize the necessary signatures and instruct   the city clerk to publish the ordinance after  approval on second reading is there a second   second seconded by Vice May hoisel  clerk W en roll members cast their vote clerk will please open the roll there we  go perfect it was mine uh having received seven   yay votes uh that motion does indeed pass Madam  clerk C council member appointments and comments   let's start with appointments do you have any  appointments up for the moment council member   Johnson thank you mayor I would like to appoint  twia Purity to fill the remaining um term of one   of my members who Reserve resigned on district  one Advisory Board all right is there other   appointments at this time if there's no other  appointments I'll make the motion to accept   that appointment is there a second second  second by vice mayor hoisel clerk roll open   roll members cast the vote having received  78 votes that motion does pass um back on   announcements there further announcements for the  good of the body if there's no oh council member   tutle thank you um I just wanted to put a save  the date um for my fellow colleagues and then   community members um yesterday I had an amazing  opportunity I was asked to go to McConnell Air   Force Base and I got to meet and welcome the  Blue Angels um so it was wonderful to be able   to meet them and hear a little bit about their  stories and then um Al also tell them a little   bit about the city of witto but on August 24th  and 25th they McConnell's going to have their   Air Show and the Blue Angels will be back um  and so they're going to um you know try do a   really big Regional promotion of the air show  and it's just such a great way to highlight   our community but again just the importance of  our relationship with McConnell Air Force Base   it's often said that the Airmen and women come  to witcho choice but they stay here they come   here by chance but they stay here by choice and  so just appreciated the opportunity so save the   date for August 24th and 25th thank you council  member Johnson thanks mayor I don't know if my   colleague knows can we get in those f18s and be  a part of the [Laughter] show further discussion   all right if there's no further announcements or  discussion for the good of the body I'll make a   motion that we adjourn the meeting is there a  second second here mayor excuse me there's a   blue sheet oh we got a blue sheet don't we does  anyone have it handy get his pack mine up one sec the moment when you think you're getting  a lunch on time all right so I make a motion   that the city council recess into executive  session for 30 minutes to receive information   on property management staff to KSA 75  4319 B2 for the preliminary discussion   of accuration um accusation of real property  the executive session is required to protect   the city's right to the confidentiality of its  negotiating position in the public interest   this will last from let's say give folks a  little bit of a break uh let's go from uh um 11:55 105 1055 how many out help me out mayor  vice mayor how long half an hour an hour to 11:25 1125 let the record show that Johnson  said it first mic just wasn't on uh so   this executive session will run from  10:55 to 11:25 in which we will meet   again in the chamber uh to finish up  the meeting uh that is the motion is   there a second second second by Vice man  hoisel click open roll members cast their vote having having received 7A votes  that motion does pass we're on a   five minute recess and then we will  meet for our executive session thank you