following that invocation we will have the Pledge  of Allegiance and we invite you to please stand for good morning let's pray father right now in  the name of Jesus we come before you father with   praise and thanks giv that you have given  us another year another year to glorify you   father God I thank you for these leaders presented  before us today Father anoint them for this work   give them the wisdom and the knowledge to make  wi all great father God give them the ability   to make decisions father God that will enable  us to be able to take care of all our residents   regardless of race demographics or anything father  we just thank you that this meeting today is going   to be blessed father we speak blessings over  this mayor these Council people and all those   in positions of authority in this place so that  they what everything that they do will bring you   glory and put us on the map like never before we  thank you for a prosperous year a year of bringing   attention to wiah that we impact this city this  state and this nation that all will know how great   wiah is and we just thank you and we just praise  you for everything you're doing in Jesus name amen un States of America and to the  Republic for which it stands one   nation under God indivisible  with liberty and justice for all thank you again Pastor sha Woody Madam clerk  can you please call the first item Harold schle   ICT trees I'm sorry approve the minutes  of the special meeting December 16th 2024   and the regular meeting December 17 2024  Madame clerk before we do that I would like   to acknowledge that I believe council member  JB Johnston is joining us virtually at this   moment I am thank you very much madam clerk  uh we now have the special meeting minutes I   will move to approve uh those minutes if  there are no further head second motion   and a second any further discussion point  of clarification mayor is your motion to see none Madame clerk please open the r i motion passes 70 can we make sure I meant to  abstain because I was not here on the 16th so we   have 620 with one abstention by council member  Glascock Madame clerk please call the next item   Harold schlechtweg ICT trees mayor woo members of the city council  city manager Robert Leighton happy New Year   thank you for your service to the people of witch  my name is Harold schw I live at 351 North fern   in deleno neighborhood and chare the board  of directors of ICT trees one of which it   all newest 501c3 nonprofit organizations ICT  tre's mission is to make witch dog Greener by   doing what we can to protect and expand our  Urban Tree canopy by Distributing free trees   to homeowners businesses and churches planting  trees and through education about the benefits of   trees to our community trees increase property  values and lower utility costs trees improve   air quality and when planted in significant  numbers can lower in neighborhoods outside   air temperatures by as much as 10° we view trees  as critical to our City's plans to mitigate the   impacts of climate change in short we believe that  expanding our Urban Tree canopy is a need and not   a want with the Turning of the new year now is a  good time to look back on what we've accomplished   together what a year 2024 has been in the spring  ICT trees pioneered pioneered in witch all a free   tree distribution event with our partners the  arbay foundation evergy the Park and Recreation   Department ICT Tree Huggers and the witcho  chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpa for zip code 67214 and 67208 this past fall with the help of our media  sponsor kmw we sponsored a well attended tree walk   at clap Park led by our Tree Experts certified  Arborist Roger Spear and Samuel Aisha in between   we found time to set up a popular information  table at open streets ICT a big thanks to the   volunteers who made these activities possible  years ahead are sure to be challenging but we   are well positioned to move the needle in the  direction of protecting and expanding which   does tree canopy it is important that we keep  our eye on the prize elections may impact our   work but they will also point us in new  and fruitful directions in 2025 we will   deepen our relationships with local garden  centers nurseries and professional Arbor   like us they see the crucial importance of trees  to witch alls quality of life and to mitigating   the worst effects of climate change on wi it alls  most vulnerable neighborhoods we will continue to   emphasize the importance of the educational work  we do and make sure that all of our activities are   based on the best practices and best science  available we will continue to chart a course   that makes the most of our resources our plans for  the New Year include a free tree distribution to   homeowners churches and businesses and zip code  67214 which is a challenge because it includes   which Do's lowest income neighborhoods and the  highest proportion of rental housing we also   plan for a spring Urban Tree Fest and the board of  directors will no doubt be supportive of another   tree walk with an arborist in the fall we will  also be on the look out for other opportunities   to spread our message and to put more truths  into the ground when we can be assured that   they have the best chance of survival and will  be maintained we look forward to continuing to   work with our partners including most importantly  the witw parks department we also look forward to   expanding our corporate sponsorships Partnerships  thank you and all city employees who have made   2024 such a successful year thank you for all  you do for witch all I stand ready to answer any questions vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor  Harold thank you for coming to speak and um   you know I'm a big tree lover and appreciate  all of your help um from the outside trying   to work with the city to uh take care of  our canopy restore it repair it and help   pass pass out trees to some of the the most  vulnerable areas so appreciate all your hard work Harold again thank you very much you  mentioned that you will be uh providing   free trees in the 67214 neighborhood and you also  mentioned open streets ICT I just wanted to make   mention that open streets ICT in the WSU shocker  neighborhood which is the 67214 area will be held   Sunday April 13th from noon to 400 p.m. and open  streets ICT Nar in the North End will be held   Sunday May 4th from noon to 4:00 and hope to see  you uh Distributing those trees there too thank you Madame clerk please call the next individual  Aaron Ferguson alternate view of illegal camping morning everybody my name's uh my name is  Aaron Ferguson I'm a uh lifelong resident   of witch which tomorrow marks 45 years my  personal journey to becoming homeless has   been a simultaneous journey of self-discovery  self- knowledge self-reliance and faith in God   Almighty I've heard it said before that knowing  others is wisdom knowing thyself is Enlightenment   I can tell you from personal experience there is  nothing like being broke brokenhearted homeless   alone and hungry to teach you exactly who you are  and how you'll act in any situation only the best   Among Us can maintain A Generous Heart when neck  deep in desperation but uh Pastor Pocky over here   at uh Church on the street said some words uh  on the Sunday before Christmas here that really   hit home for me but uh he talked about how um I  mean this is as they served up a wonderful meal   with all the trimmings he told us that they do  not see homeless people drug addicts prostitutes   Etc the downtrodden but they believe that every  last person could actually literally be the Lord   sitting here that they're serving and they do  do that with Smiles Grace all of them every   time all the churches at the Lord's Diner over  here by the tennis courts these Extraordinary   People fill you up with good food good intentions  gratitude and leave you feeling humble inspired faithful on the flip side of that I've noticed  over here uh although I'm grateful to be able   to go to the shelter it's much better than  staying outside and freezing to death but   uh the way the city tends to deal uh with  this problem is uh can be heavy-handed and   while their intentions seem well and they do do  some good and have faithful people working for   them and uh they do all they can to help  it's uh the difference is almost like U   like looking at the uh metal detectors when  you walk into a uh to the homeless shelter   and how they seem to not be needed at the church  but needless to say the difference is enormous but   the church's approach it feels reverent they  follow the Golden Rule you know simply they   uh the city acts more as a lord dealing with its  subjects of course you know which is effectively   the situation but I've noticed uh at times some  people uh don't honor their Oaths as much as maybe   some others do but the city imposes ordinance  rules statutes invades privacy confiscates   belongings limits access to your belongings  government dealings of any kind are notoriously   more difficult slow bureaucratic and some uh some  rules tend to be downright senseless time wasting   and frustrating it's like the government  has two tools uh to deal with this problem   a screwdriver and a hammer and if it can't fix it  with the screwdriver it tends to bash it with the hammer but it's a it's a hell of a thing though  excuse my language when you uh when the   most realistic approach to uh punishing you  know like an illegal camping situation is to   effectively give them what they want here we  are in the coldest months of the year and uh   if the answer is to uh give them 30 days in jail  and relieve them of $200 or five whatever it is   it seems like a uh giving them effectively  what they want and in some ways I imagine a   jail cell can actually be more cozy than the  homeless shelter I mean it's less roommates   it's uh less cramped probably more privacy  but uh three Hots in a cot that's the punishment it doesn't seem like that's a  punishment to me in fact it seems like a man where   do I sign up for that you pardon me bad joke maybe  but um let's see here in my personal uh situation   I don't know the numbers on this or just how  many others uh can uh could say that they have   a similar experience but to one degree or another  forceless forced homelessness is is a thing around   here I know from personal experience you know  it's kind of hard to get my story out around   polite company while allowing people to retain  their lunch and so I'll spare you guys that here   here the ugly parts of it at least but uh I  would relish the opportunity to sit down with   any legitimate investigators because there's some  things that do need to be heard and uh I realize   that right here right now is maybe not appropriate  but uh given the chance to speak with somebody who   would actually look at what I'm saying here  I can prove some things around this uh forced   homelessness situation and in the back of my mind  I can't help but think that people would do well   to until the numbers are done on this people  would do well to view every homeless person   not as an illegal camper but as somebody who may  have been forced into this situation now I know   this is true for myself to some degree or another  for others also yeah that's all I got guys thank you thanks Aaron we have three  spots left for anyone who would   like to speak please state your name  and your address and you will have five minutes Patrick Murphy 1786  South cica witto Kansas 67213 um I realize that there's a second  reading that's going to take place today   um I'm going to start by thanking each each  one of you again um for the care that you've   given to this particular item um the  homeless situation in in Witchita is   an especially dire one at this time of year  as we stand in here right now it is hovering   around zero out there and as I drive up here  I have two homeless encampments that I see   along the way there's no movement around them  I don't know if the people are in their tents   or what they're doing if they're at the shelter  um but as you drive by there you you you do wonder   and and I'm a man of faith and and I I pray  to God as I go by there that these people are safe as far as this ordinance goes I would  humbly ask this Council to reconsider tabling   the item for now and revisiting it and  redrawing a few things that are in it   what you do unto the least of my brothers you do  unto me we stand here every day and we invoke the   Lord Jesus Christ to guide us in his wisdom  and this ordinance falls short in many ways   I'm not saying that that we don't need one we  definitely need something to be done I'm just   saying that there are certain things in the in  the OR ordinance that need to be redrawn and I   believe that we should have another meeting  about this and talk more in depth about what   we can do because folks like the men gentleman  that just spoke um they should be included in   the conversation um I don't know any of your  personal histories but I would venture to say   that no one sitting on that panel has ever  been homeless I would venture to say that   coming to an understanding of something so  dramatic is very difficult for anyone who hasn't   gone through it to comprehend so realizing that I  believe that we should include these people in the conversation in 2017 there was a gentleman that  lived down the street from my house and slept   on the sidewalk I worked second shift at Spirit  this gentleman during a snowstorm laid down on   the sidewalk pulled a tarp over him and the snow  covered him he laid there for what I account to be   at least 18 hours I called the hot team the hot  team very quickly went out there and checked on   him and then they called me back it was a very  responsive thing um I was very impressed by that I'm going to say this I enjoy I I love the  idea that that Witchita has a homeless Outreach   team on our police force and in the past it has  been good I have reached out to the hot team twice   and there are other people in this room that have  reached out to the hot team in the past that have   not gotten a response from them or the response  came very late um I don't know the ins and outs   of all of it or why it was that way I just wanted  to bring that to the attention of this Council   there are certain things there are many many  groups out there that are willing and ready   to work with the hot team and work with the Mac to  help Drive these people to the help that they need   in effect this ordinance what it does is draws a  Line in the Sand between the people that need to   be helped and the help that they need my daughter  was on the street praise God last week she found   a room and she's no longer living out there I'm  very grateful for that there are many many more   people out there that need that help when I  spoke to my daughter about going to the calare   her response was is I'm not going to calare while  I was at calare I was thrown on the ground the   details I don't know I can tell you this I know  my daughter she can be very unruly so not saying   it wasn't deserved I I don't know the details  but what I'm saying is there's got to be more   people out there that have had similar experiences  there for whatever reason through their mental   deficiency or or whatever is going on in their  heads that have had those same experiences and   they're terrified of this so I think that we  need to consider that in our ordinance as well   and try to find um a good solution I'm here to  offer myself to the council to help with this   I'm not a person that comes with problems I'm a  person that comes with Solutions and I do have   some ideas and I would love to sit down with  any of you at any time to offer these ideas to   you thank you thank you Patrick we will have our  fourth individual who would like to come and speak uh my name is uh Adam green leaf and uh I  represent a nonprofit organization that uh a   team of members uh have created called Grassroots  uh Bridge Builders and uh this is one of my uh   Team Member I am shaia Aon and also homeless so  what I wanted to say was speak on something that   these two gentlemen had said uh yeah uh this sign  that we created actually Sean and Chris called we   are people not problems so like uh the question  I got to ask how how do you view the homeless   you know what I'm saying because uh what that man  spoke about is really actually factual uh I was   diagnosed with a terminal illness I passed all my  uas they didn't believe me they didn't believe the   U they said I manipulated it I do have a past  history with methan fetamines have been clean   eight years so like the mistreatment that we are  treated I got to ask you that question how do you   view the hum homeless people because see a doctor  told me that uh because of his education that he   knew what kind of person he was dealing with cuz  he see my kind every day it cost me my life they   took blood work to to to prove that I was lying to  him that the U that I was manipulating uh it all   came back negative for eight years so and about 3  to 5 years they're going to be burying me that's   why I'm up here today because I've been homeless  5 years because of this because of my Illness but   I just wanted to Dev vouch on his behalf because  uh I went through that myself and I watch a lot   of my friends die uh because of that so uh the  question is how do you view the homeless and then   the other thing I want to speak on is that uh  there are a lot of resources that are nonprofit   that do not receive fundings from the state uh  and they actually have more success rates like   churches uh sober living houses because they put  because they give us purpose we go to these places   and we're held accountable but what about the  accountability with the resources that take you   guys' fundings uh Aaron spoke about that I think  the best solution that you guys come up with an   answer is actually be is bring people in that has  been affected by your guys' rules and policies by   these resources that take your guys' fundings  I ain't saying it's a bad thing but there's no   accountability on nobody's part but ours and so it  creates fear hi I'm with Grassroots um Bridge um   dang it I'm sorry we're called Grassroots uh  brid uh Bridge builders uh we want to bridge   uh build a bridge in between the homeless and the  community um people like us as homeless out there   can reach out and we can have peer buddy systems  to show that it's all right to go into the Mac   once we get the Mac where people feel comfortable  using the Mac right now the resources that they're   using like comare like you said um I've been  through comare overmedicated uh trapped in my   head with medication um so I'm scared to use com  care uh there I was also treated wrong at comare   um there's other resources that that you have at  the Mac that has us scared to go to the Mac but if   you reach out to um Grassroots nursing um there's  other organizations as nonprofit that will help   at the Mac be better solutions for us people that  you want into the Mac so um uh so what what what   she's trying to say is that uh even though we've  been done wrong by our own community and a lot   of us that are homeless has not do not want to be  homeless but because of the fear that we have of   our resources that are available to us we refuse  to go I got a friend that lost both his legs he   you know uh because he'd rather stay outside and  take his chances so what we do as a as a nonprofit   organization is become that bridge where where  the resources that we have available to us laxing   which is uh basically the question is how do you  view the homeless so what we do is uh we try to   get these cats that want help put them in places  where they need that where they can go that that   we know that will actually help them I st at a  sober living house I've been there a couple days   and my spirit has been boosted up because of the  treatment that how I'm treated I'm not looking at   as a homeless man but as a person as an individual  and these places they provide us with purpose we   need to feel like we have something to offer  our community you know what I'm saying my life   was taken from me but now I'm giving back I don't  hold no grudges I ain't mad I just don't want this   to happen to the next person and that's what we do  thank you for your time thank you Adam and Shia um   council member hois thank you mayor um um Adam and  was it shaie sh sha have you guys had a chance to   go through the Mac yet have you guys been or what  have you been hearing from um some of your your uh   colleagues out there um I have did interviews with  different women and different people that has been   in the Mac um I have not um we do have a a YouTube  channel it's called Grassroots uh uh Bridge uh   Bridge Builders um on YouTube and we do have  videos on there how we're going around and doing   interviews talking to people but the women uh that  has been at the Mac they still um one of them said   um she doesn't feel comfortable there because um  of um seeing the past people that pass her or that   already have violated her or um being having to U  throw away the stuff that you just had bought you   know when you go in you know your snacks you're  and I understand y'all don't want uh rodents or   anything like that or you're trying to look um but  is this different things that people say that's   why they don't want to go in there you know you  just got food it ain't even open um they should   have just certain areas where they can uh take  their their stuff where you know they just bought   and be able to eat it later you know what I'm  saying you they're wasting you're not just wasting   their money or their food stamps you know you're  wasting um you're making them feel like um um what   they bought is not valuable to them you know they  paid for it I was actually currently staying at   the MAC at the overnight shter I've been homeless  5 years so I've used all the resources out here uh   so uh I was actually one of the first residents  to stay there when it first opened up in uh I   think in November uh yeah we got to throw away our  food I I used to get off at work and I couldn't go   to sleep because see I get off and come there at  3:30 in the morning see I was working I just had   to give up my job again so uh to me it's like  when I got to give up the things that's going   to help better my life because you guys the rules  and policies money I don't have but I got to but   I can't make it to the meal time shower time  I'm showing up to work dirty it's bad enough   I'm already homeless bad enough when I show up  to work everybody know what I am so like so like   you got to look at like how that would make me  feel how would that make you guys feel I don't   got no money but I got to eat and then on top of  that I'm fighting for my life I have no resources   available to me because you guys' policies I'm  not saying that wrong but I think you should   treat us as individuals and not as a whole these  rules and policies are set forth for everybody   but sometime it doesn't fit for people that  really trying to better themselves so uh how I   about it I used to go in there every morning  to and and the staff when they first started   working there they had Smiles on their face they  was happy to be there working there but because of   the rules and policies it created a lot of a lot  of friction and uh I used to ask him how would   you feel if I made you throw away your stuff that  you need to so you can eat take your treatments   because of your rules and policies they said we  wouldn't like it then why would you do that to us   and then I would uh and then I recently I got  I got removed from that facility for a couple   hours I don't like being told how much toilet  paper I can have it's a little bit Petty right   but because of that you know I I just asked for  more toilet paper uhuh it wasn't going for it   they removed me for it because I got into an  argum me I'm a grown man trying to take care   of myself but I got people that's got to walk me  to the bathroom that's got to issue toilet paper   to me and then and then humiliate me because of  it so if I'm homeless and I'm already feeling bad   about myself because where other people look at  me why would I want to better myself why would I   want your guys' help why would I even care no  more so how does that affect your businesses   and your community if you don't care about me  why would I care about you feeding your kids   that's that's that's how we look at it nowadays  on both sides so gradu is trying to change that   uh as well as these churches and the nonprofit  because we see the part problem is is that we   got things set in place that's benefiting nobody  this ordiance you're about to pass what there's   got to be a different answer to incarceration  there's got to be a different answer to giving   somebody a license or roof over the head that's  still messed up that's dealing with trauma you're   just wasting tax people taxpayers funds that's  all you're doing and you're making it worse so   I like the idea with that guy said hold off come  together as a city come together as a community   and let's figure out something different because  all you're going to do is put us right back out   on the streets and this is going to cost even  more and it's going to create more desperation   on both sides of the fences we don't want that  right we want a different answer let's come up   with something different so if I was you I would  hold off on this audience and let the M develop   a system by bringing in the community to create  different resources different answers than the   one we've been using it ain't been working council  member tole thank you um my question is for the   city manager and Mr manager last week when or a  couple weeks ago I'm so sorry when we addressed   this issue in the first reading um we said that  one of the recommendations would be that it would   go to back to also to have um thoughts from  the homeless task force is that correct May   uh council member Tuttle yes um actually we put  a staff team together to talk about how we would   enforce this ordinance and uh we're talk we've  gone through uh we put together a um um workflow   um and we have uh established training for all  of our uh staff that involves um compassionate   enforcement and uh we're also then looking at  how we get private resources to come alongside us   through case workers to accompany police officers  and um hot team members when they go in the field   so we're looking at a lot of different elements  of how um we enforce the ordinance once we have   all of that established then we plan on going  to the homeless task force actually the provider   subcommittee or committee uh to outline that  and that to refine it as they would recommend   thank you and I just wanted to highlight too one  of the speakers made mention of people who are   have experienced being unhoused homeless um having  input there are members of the homelessness task   force who have been in housed correct yeah okay  thank you so much Council M bro Heisel thank you   mayor I just wanted to respond to the speakers a  little bit um I do believe that there are plans   in the future with the Mac to have um personal  storage areas as well we're just getting this open   and going we're going to be building it out for  a little while I think there's also plans to have   kennel space as well so that way people can bring  their animals in as well so um I just ask that you   um continue to work with us on some of these too  I and um it's great that you have an organization   out there I think hearing um from your your peers  your colleagues that are out there their concerns   and then also that there there is a new building  or newish building that's being built out um and   it can be a warm safe space for people so we'll  keep working on that and just um we'll keep   reaching out and working with your organization  as well because I do think that that is one of   of the the goals of us is to be able to reach out  to groups like yours and build trust from within   the community as well and so now way you guys can  tell each other here's what the Mac is really like   here's what they're working on here's the steps  for the future we're going to continue to try and   make it a a really solid safe place that will  help people and also give people options again   to bring your pets and to have I'm not sure about  food items I'm not sure on some of that and then   we also deal with a lot of regulations that come  down from the federal level as well so a lot of   these restrictions aren't the result of the group  that's running the Mac or even city council here   a lot of it is federal regulations that we have  to adhere to as well because there are federal   dollars that are being used as well so um just  a little bit more background and we'll continue   to work with you guys and continue to build the  Mac out as best as we possibly can I will just   address two misconceptions really quick uh you are  personal belongings at the uh emergency shelter   right now you're allowed a bin for your personal  um storage and again so that's myth number one   that you cannot bring your personal items that is  false number two regarding kennels um someone from   United Way actually responded to an individual  who asked about pets and that individual said   if you see someone who is homeless with a pet have  them contact two 11 there is a resource that helps   cover the cost of boarding a pet so the person or  owner can seek shelter again that phone number is   211 vice mayor Ballard thank you just to kind of  piggyback on uh the pet situation I had several   conversations about that yesterday and which  animal shelter is willing to take an animal um   and board it while we're having these cold weather  snaps and I think I believe after that you have 48   hours to pick it up but to date as of yesterday no  one had taken them up on that because people don't   want to be separated from their animals so while  that option is out there I think there's still   some work that needs to be done um because people  aren't wanting I think um they said maybe about   30% of the call of the contacts that they made  over the weekend people had animals and they were   not wanting to be separated from uh their pet so  rightfully so I I love that that opport and option   is there but I think there's still some fine  tuning that we need to do to keep their animals   uh with their pet owners so thank you we have  room for one more individual so speaker number five good morning Phil Meyer with boffman company  I'm going be try to be very very quick today and   I know there's only room for What speaker but  if I get done I'm going to try to use half of   this time and I I know there's a gentleman from  Union Rescue that wanted to speak that Homeless   is way more important than my topic but I  wanted to see if I can do this quickly I am   here today and I've never done this before I'm  going to ask um Council and I've been talking   to councilwoman Tuttle about this to pull  item number 16 off of your consent agenda   that is a zone change request where we are  down zoning 20 acres from industrial to mf8   that is a project where the seller is Richie  development Jeff Mullins the buyer is Paul   Jackson with Vantage Point properties we had  requested when we filed the zone change um   a one-year requirement a one-year platting  requirement so that if we didn't plant the   property the zoning would never be enacted that  got missed with planning when we uh we filed   that when we did the request that got missed by  planning then it got missed by boffman company   when it went to mabcd so what's before you today  does not have that planting requirement during   that process um we've been through the platting  requirement during that process we found out we   have a water pressure issue so we may not be  able to have water pressure to serve this 20   acres at 37th in green Wich I need 30 days to  do some engineering work to see if that can   happen or not happen that was a email from your  public works department um so I'm respectfully   requesting a 30-day deferral on that if you would  want a time frame defer it to the February 11th   meeting I know that's very unusual I've never  done that to date in my career so with that   I'm going to stop and if you would let the other  gentleman speak the homeless is more important then you can keep the time going thank you I'm  David Hodge CEO of the Union Rescue Mission and   we're located at 2800 North Hillside um as I  start I want to thank you on a few things then   share a few comments but as I look at each  of city counil and a lot of the staff every   single one of you is personally engaged with us  at the mission caring for the homeless you spent   time you've been responsive in emails and shared  resources so I want to thank you I want to thank   City staff for clearing those streets they had to  be no fun and we were able to be functional it's a   big deal right now want to thank the hot team and  officer Nate for 110 contacts and weather that uh   absolutely if you don't come in you can have  frostbite or even death so the city's deeply   engaged and I'm grateful we've been engaged for  75 years providing emergency overnight shelter   for 20 years in programs that equip people to  launch and live independently again men and   engage their families we're acutely aware as the  scriptures say that God said let us create man in   our own image we're the only creation that he  said that and how precious each of us are is I   think about the speakers that I also agree with  what they've said today I think the ordinances   are reasonable in that it gives law enforcement  the ability to deal with detailed situations and   I'd urge us to move forward but with a big caveat  and I think that I'm hearing it from city council   and City management that we move forward with  wisdom and look at capacity to House people as   we U seek to point them toward the resources that  we provide now the city shelter provides we want   to um be very uh communicative and collaborative  how much space is there available at the various   providers we are giving data to the uh mayor's  office now of how much capacity we have and I'd   encourage our peers to do that so that as the  city management law enforcement are trying to   enforce the law they also have an toward how  much capacity is there to house somebody and   we don't excuse me don't outrun that capacity um  I think it's important to position ourselves to   focus on next steps the shelter's been established  thank you for the tremendous work that's been done   there and I know the Mac now planning is coming  we've got to have uh agreement of providers that   are they're going to be in the mac and provide the  services that you need to uh wrap services around   that Homeless individual and help them launch we  we've committed to have an intake office and bring   men directly into our programs and that would  help make another bed available at the Mac for   the next person also um governance I know that  a Mac board's been established you want to build   that out and you want to have a multi-year  funding plan in place so that uh the public   sector will join the private sector together in  confidence and make the funding uh available so   those are just a few things I wanted to mention  and we've also offered in addition to put an   take office uh Chapel Services if you'd like to  have that so thank for the chance to speak and   I'm excited about where we're headed and moving  forward to implement the Mac the services to help   launch folks in addition to the emergency shelter  you've established thank you thank you David I do   have a question for you can you please explain  transitional housing and how you play a role   as Union Rescue Mission regarding transitional  housing so not just Sheltering Sheltering is again   emergency and temporary but what's transitional  housing and how do you play a role yes ma'am there   are a number of providers like us at the Union  Rescue Mission we have the emergency overnight   shelter where we provide rescue and restoration  then we also have residential programs today we   have space for about we have 50 men in them  plus 20 in our uh transitional program as   United Way counts if you're in the programs  that's transitional housing so in addition to   our emergency shelter we have space for 50 today  and the program's 20 more and another set of units   so 70 in transitional housing during which time  they have case management classes and equipping   going on then you get employment and then you  have time to stay while you build out a budget   pay off any back um bills and um court costs  and things that would cause you to maybe get   arrested if you were had a speeding ticket so when  you launch the launch sticks it's a successful   well planned launch there are a number of other  providers that do that in town and I don't want   to forget to mention them but our programs are  very much focused on equipping so as you move   from homelessness in the shelter you're equipped  to be out and pay your bills and to support your   family again so I think that's important to have  as a function is the Mac gets built out not only   um the emergency Sheltering we're doing today  but wraparound services with providers that   commit to be there so that we can make successful  launches happen then the shelter doesn't have   to be large enough to house a static number it's a  moving it's a flow through mechanism to house and   launch council member ho Heisel thank you mayor uh  thank you for all your work in the community and   everything you're doing with just providing the  Lord's work out there thank you um what can the   city do to help you um well for us um stay tuned  right now we have uh the emergency shelter that   we've operated for 75 years we've just established  a new program with the Kansas Department of   Corrections and I think we can collaborate a  lot uh people coming out of incarceration that   are coming to Witchita anyway that you know are  homeless the county jail SED County Sheriff's   Office knows which individuals are homeless  Kansas Department of Corrections knows which   individuals are homeless and the federal release  facility here also knows how many people they're   releasing into which thought that are homeless  I'm actively having conversations with all three   we have a new contract with the Department of  Corrections to house men in our programs coming   out of state prisons and I'd like U to work  with the city and the Mac uh to identify the   total number of people coming out of incarceration  that are known to be homeless that are known to be   released in witto and create adequate program  space for them so they don't go in the shelter   they get launched that's the biggest thing we're  working on this year and I will call on you to   help me there thank you for that info thank yes  sir council member tle thank you I just wanted to   say thank you for being here today I appreciate  it and I'm a proud member of the Union Rescue   Mission board so I certainly will continue to be  the conduit between the city and the work that   you do but um out of all the work that I do it's  it's certainly an honor to be able to serve so   thank you for all you do to take care of our most  vulnerable thank you councilwoman total one more   question for you David can you talk about so these  transitional programs um are how long in length   and do you still have space available for anyone  who is interested we do we do have space available   and those that spoke today would be welcome to  visit with us and we've had some conversation   with some and they're precious people um the  programs that we operate we have a three-month   program that's a quick launch that a version  of that going to work well with those coming   out of incarceration if someone's uh not battling  active addictions has a low relapse list risk and   really just needs a safe place to live resources  to get a job the ability to budget and save money   get their bank accounts opened again get all their  credentials established and now I'm working I have   a budget I've saved money and now I'm ready to go  uh rent an apartment or or uh you know live with   a group we ready them in this quick launch program  and that's the program that the Kansas Department   of Corrections now is a part of I have a meeting  this coming week with uh an individual responsible   for placement out of the Sedwick County Sheriff's  Office for the county jail and also have a meeting   now set up with the federal release facility uh  placement coordinator so we're going to bring this   data to you on how many of these individuals  need help so they don't come to the Mac if   someone's battled a long history of addictive or  destructive Behavior they'll need more time so we   have a one-year program for that individual and  we equip them through a robust uh curriculum lot   of case manage for up case management for up to a  year and during that period we hope that they've   uh stabilized that the uh if there's an addiction  that they've learned to cope with it we expect   relapses the average person who's had a lifelong  history of addiction or a long period will relapse   seven times statistically so it's not a shock  when someone relapses they need accountability   but they need compassion and love and somebody's  going to walk with them that's what we do if you   help us with resources and people and governance  so that we can operate well as I hope we do we'll   stick with that person so if you'll stick with  us we'll stick with the people until they're   stabilized enough to launch we need to keep  relationships with them in the community and   churches build friendship networks isolations  deadly thank you again David I appreciate you   explaining the two transitional housing programs  a three-month program and the one-year program   I know that Salvation Army also has a one-year  program specifically for individuals battling   addictions so there are lots of Community  Resources including humankind Ministries as well   and other partners that are doing that work with  transitional housing and again that's a different   piece than Sheltering so thank you ve very much  for doing the transitional which is a much more   in-depth and more uh committed uh longer term  three month to one year thank you yes ma'am that's   where the equipping and launching occurs and we'd  like to have an intake office when you're ready at   the Mac to help invite people into those programs  thank you mayor thank you city council thank you   very much we will now close public agenda um  Madam clerk can you please call the next item   consent agenda items 1 through 19 council member  Johnson thanks mayor I'd like to pull item 10 and 12a the member Tuttle thank you very much  I'd like to pull item 16 please thank you we have three items that are pulled  items number 10 12a and 16 I will motion   to approve the consent agenda without the  three that I mentioned second motion and   a second any fur further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the role I motion passes 70 we will go in numerical order  beginning with consent agenda item number 10   thanks mayor due to a personal conflict of  interest I have to abstain from this vote I will have a question for law in  the New Year we now allow for public   comment regarding consent agenda items so  we have coun we'll start at the bench and   then go to um public comment council member  hoisel uh just a quick question for Council   if you're in a different country should  we require you to say I in the language   that the country are in I'd like to hear  council member Johnson say I in Vietnamese I'll need to get my new darn LA to do that uh well council member Glascock thank  you mayor I do have a quick question for um   I presume it's Sally regarding the contracts it  looks like the sale proceeds of 13,600 provide   for administrative expenses is this of  market value it is approximate market   value for that those Parcels right now we're  seeing Market values between 5 and $10,000 per   vacant parcel these are two Parcels that  are coming in at just over 13,000 thank you Sally I have one more question for you  regarding this item um I'm really appreciative   of uh the nonprofit witchta Habitat for Humanity  and helping with affordable housing can you talk   about um some of the other programs  that witcha Habitat for Humanity is   helping with affordable housing and how  the city is supporting that work sure the   city has supported uh habitat for many years  through the housing development loan program   so providing Gap subsidy so that they can um build  single family homes for firsttime home buyers uh   they are able to do it under their model with  Sweat Equity and donated materials um at a much   better rate than most other developers can in  addition to that they are actually purchasing   16 of the formal former public housing units on  Pate Street they all happen to be on Patt um to   do a renovation of those existing um units and  turn them into Home Ownership opportunities this   is a third project will'll be working side by  side with habitat and it is to turn these two   vacant Lots into two uh new single family homes  for home ownership uh they also partner with us   in our home repair program so often times when  uh we we have uh complicated cases where funding   isn't enough under one program we will partner  with habitat as well as men andate housing to   try and bring together the resources necessary  to keep people in their homes so very valued   partner thank you very much Sally uh we will  now open it up for public comment regarding   consent agenda item number 10 the sale contract  approval uh for the land bank any individuals   I see none we'll bring it back to the bench I  will move to approve consent agenda item number   10 second you motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll I motion passes 60 with one exstension  council member Johnson we will now move to   agenda item number 12a thank you mayor um  I just wanted to pull this item and again   express my uh disagreement with it I think  the numbers that we've seen so far with 110   contacts and 76 refusals show that we still have  much more work to do with rnh house Community   before increasing enforcement uh efforts so  I will not be supportive of this item yet again I see no further uh council member comments   will now open it up for public comment  regarding consent agenda item number 12a mayor and council members Richard Harris from  3031 West Bonnie sweet one uh sweet 200 these   proposed changes are disastrous and destructive  in many ways speaking as a former which St traffic   commissioner and truck driver's friend that  that ordinance change will if it's read strictly   forbids truckers from overnighting in their camper  cabs every night dozens probably over 100 truckers   across W do sleep in their vehicles in truck stops  and parking lots or curbside on City street city   streets waiting to load or unload the next day or  even days later this proposal explicitly Outlaws   that over 1,000 truckers a year sleep in their  vehicles in Witchita this makes them criminals   current safety research shows that more accidents  are caused by tired drivers than by drunk drivers   federal and state safety authorities have for  decades from the Department of Transportation all   the way down to the highway patrol urged traveling  motorists to pull over when they feel drowsy   and rest even sleep until safely recovered these  ordinance changes criminalize that life saving act   the assistant City attorney assured me that under  current proposed ordinances there is no place in   witto where the homeless May Camp no place you're  not just forbidding them from some places you're   forbidding them from everywhere there's no place  they can make their own shelter safe from official   attack and if the homeless person in the Dead  Winter gets up and leaves his or her shelter or   homemade uh tent to find work or food or water  or just a legal toilet the new ordinance says   that he or she can return and find everything  they own gone including their only protection   for the Winter's deadly cold if you pass these  changes some of them will die I can report from   personal experience with over a hundred wichst  homeless that most of them distrust even fear   the homeless shelters many have already come to  you pointing that out and giving you reasons even   if they do trust homeless shelter and are willing  to drag their belongings there through the cold   and ice and snow they can die in root from the  combined effects of exhaustion frostbite and   hypothermia before ever reaching the shelter which  in most cases is miles away a deadly long march in   this weather even if they know the way yet there  are many whom shelters will not take including   families with children and the crowded congregate  shelters are hell holes of violence theft bugs   disease deprivation regimentation humiliation  noise odors insanity and Chaos how could anybody   reasonably sleep in that kind of environment  homeless addict deaths are not solely due to   willful drug and alcohol abuse in some cases death  results from trying to quit abrupt withdrawal can   in some cases be fatal especially for the Cilia  addicted but to get to shelter when the weather   suddenly turns cold it is mandatory shelter policy  for the homeless to abruptly withdraw from their   addiction regardless of the consequences every  major healthc Care Organization theama the APA   the American Public Health Association even  the National Association of so social workers   and the CDC condemns forcible displacements and  warns that congregate shelters are more unhealthy   dangerous for the homeless than their own  encampments and despite despite the hyped   anecdotes out there their encampments generally do  not increase crime among neighbors and shelters do   not end homelessness instead housing first works  these Reckless ordinance changes are just that   Reckless you've not even allowed all the district  advisory boards to provide you with a review and   input you didn't hear testimony from your own  vaunted homeless Outreach team you've not even   referred this to your own homeless task force  for their input and evaluation before putting it together you didn't get the comment and advice of  the SED County EMS hospital emergency departments   addiction treatment centers mental health and  substance abuse Coalition commare the Mental   Health Association or even the SED County Health  Department the ruthless self-serving development   landlord Lobby has more say in this housing  and in this issue than the people who care   enough about the people who are going to  Liber die by it you talk about all kinds   of mitigating policies but not the law the law  will decide whether these people have a future or not if these policy changes go through you  could be committing murder vice mayor Balor   thank you mayor Mr Harris I just wanted to say  thank you for continuing to come I saw you at   the homeless Memorial and you made a comment that  um you took the opportunity to stand for the ones   that you had passed by that had now passed on and  didn't get a chance to talk to you about that but   I have thought about that more in the last two  weeks or however long ago that was uh that's a   really powerful statement um I'm sad that you had  to make it but I'm glad that you did because it   gave me a different perspective to think about um  some of the different ordinance changes that are   being proposed and just homelessness in this cold  weather alog together so thank you for being here   and advocating for the people that aren't able  city manager Leighton I have a couple questions   for you can you please address two of his con  concerns regarding overnight truckers um and if   this will Outlaw those who need to rest before  they can get back on the road and number two   regarding the actual ordinance can you please  also advise that the homeless Outreach team   was advised on this ordinance and other organ or  other departments which also helped advise on this   ordinance I'm going to ask the City attorney to  address the first item because I'm not prepared   to do that I'm looking through the ordinance  right now I'm going to need a moment to check on that thank you uh yes Sharon di gra City Law Department  um regarding the allegations for overnight um   Trucking the ordinances um provide exceptions for  those um individuals can temporarily Camp that's   up to 72 hours on private property uh with the  written per Miss of the owners they can also um   park or temporarily camp on Commercial properties  for up to 72 hours um if the area is posted in a   manner that overnight parking is allowed so we  thought about the overnight uh truckers at the   loves the overnight campers in Walmart um if the  commercial property allows that that's fine mik   can also address the second issue um the hot team  was part of the committee and group that worked   on these ordinances um the hot team law um housing  Parks um it was a collaborative effort with staff   so they were certainly um involved um with this  process thank you very much and I'll just address   this really quickly witas 247 emergency shelter  has beds available for men and women drugs alcohol   and weapons are not allowed inside the shelter  at 9th and Main Street the shelter offers three   meals breakfast is served at 7:30 a.m. lunch is  served at 11:30 a.m. and dinner is served at 5:30   p.m. storage for personal belongings showers and  clean beds are available at the shelter lights   out is from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. if you would  like to help and provide a meal there is a website   being operated by humankind Ministries that  gives individuals the opportunity to help serve   and donate food for those who are staying at the  shelter temporarily we'll continue with public comment Ben Davis live in Rockwood neighborhood  thank you so much for allowing me to speak um   like to make just a couple of brief comments um I  own a um a political consulting firm here in town   and I had reason to go into the field with uh  a poll with public opinion strategies which is   one of the top polling firms in the country I'm  interested uh in this question I went ahead and   pulled it I wanted to see where the people  of witchta are on this question and not to   my surprise but maybe to other surprise almost  60% of witton's P support this ordinance almost   60% of witton's pulled support this ordinance  um I can give you a breakdown even by party   but one of the things that stood out to me  is well over 60% of Independents register or   unaffiliated voters registered Independents  support this ordinance a majority of women   support this ordinance and there's a whole  lot of other data in the cross tabs now not   that you would want to make decisions based  on polls alone but I think it is helpful to   show that the people who support this are not in a  minority that a very small yet very vocal minority   have hijacked the narrative on this and I would  like to point out once again that if we were in   some type of Uncharted Territory here there might  be a little bit more cause for concern but we're   not we have an established record since 2013 of  this ordinance being enforced as I understand it   perhaps I'm wrong but as I understand it the most  recently voted on ordinance is an update on that   it tightens some of the restrictions  it brings down some of the penalties   and it allows a broader range of discretion for  law enforcement officials in the city of witchta   now what I have heard so far in the comments both  today and when this ordinance was was brought up a   few weeks ago are a lot of people who are either  misinformed or operating completely in bad faith   operating in bad faith on mostly the um officers  the police officers of witw you would think you   would think listening to these comments that the  officers of witw are in are doing some type of you   know homelessness raid where they're going in and  rounding people up and treating people inhumanely   nothing could be further from the truth and for  one I as as a taxpaying citizen here as somebody   whose friends with police officers are am offended  that so many of the people who have come up here   and quite frankly some of just the Inu window  that I've heard from the bench implies that our   officers are not Humane enough are not ethical  enough enough are not well trained enough to   deal with situations on an as needed basis to have  the kind of discretion that's needed to approach   people with Humanity with respect with dignity and  treating each of the situations first and foremost   for the safety of the person being addressed but  also the people around them so I wholeheartedly   support this ordinance an overwhelming majority  of witch witch itans wholeheartedly support this   ordinance and I would ask that the people who  come and speak out against it would do so with   more respect operating in better faith for our  officers and our city leaders um and actually   read the ordinance and go back and look at the  history of enforcement which is nothing nothing   close to what has been implied here this morning  I thank you again for your time and I appreciate   those among you well all of you of course but  I appreciate those among you especially um who   were fighting to get this ordinance passed and  implemented thank you member Johnson thanks mayor   Mr Davis I had uh one question for you as you  speak about polling what was the question that you   asked I simply took the ordinance put it on the  poll and said do you favor it or are you against   it so you put all four sections on the poll  put all four sections on put all four sections   on the poll yeah that's the only way to do it  because if you word it in a way that Waits the   polling then that's it doesn't it's not helpful  so you want to put it as the law is written and   then ask people there opinion on it and how many  people took the poll um close to 500 okay which   is a which is a very respectable sample size for  a poll can you tell if everyone read the entire   it was read to them so people it was read to them  so somebody read it to 500 people every page every   item every item and they agreed with it as it  yep okay it's the only way to do it okay okay we'll continue with public  comment I see none we'll bring a good morning guys um first praise everybody  got here safe and sound and of course to the   the road crew oh I'm Olivia Hayes with the local  LP sorry I forgot that um I was not fast enough   this morning for a public agenda so I wanted  to wait till the end of this it is homeless   related but I spoke to you guys before the holiday  about the inconsistency of saying we want to help   homeless and then even maybe by accident kind of  contributing to it so something was brought to my   attention at the homeless task force meeting last  time we met um we were able to view the movie that   the city commissioned um and we I asked and was  surprised by the answer that the homeless people   who participated in the movie were actually not  compensated for their time and so I wondered if   you guys were aware of that and I wondered if  something that we can do about that one of the   main people in the video that we saw get housing  at the end has actually lost her housing and I   think that maybe having even just a small amount  of compensation for her likeness and Her Image in   the movie might have helped her be housed for 30  days in December um I don't know I just find it I   the budget for the movie was somewhere around  60,000 I believe with a little bit more than   that available for the total project so if those  funds have not been allocated like I'm not not   saying Jennifer Aniston prices right but a little  bit of something if all of those funds have not   been allocated I would love to have a commitment  from one of you guys to at least look into that   um and see what we can do I'm someone who's paid  for my commentary my voice my image on shows and   stuff and even I have a hard time knowing in the  moment to advocate for the right price so I fully   understand that maybe they were naive about it  but there were professionals around them that I   think maybe could have spoken up and the Project's  not done from what I understand so I think that   there's time to rectify this at least a little  bit so just I would just love a quick um just a   quick question to if one of you is willing to look  into this and if so I can follow up with you um   one-on-one after it's member glassock Olivia thank  you for the comments I was not aware I'll uh work   on followup and try to let you know response  from Department okay awesome I'll Sho you an   email so you have my information thank you so much  vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor also thank you   for for being here I did not know that either and  um I'll work with council member Glascock to find   out some answers awesome thank you guys thank you  this is a staff directed question to Sally uh can   you also while you're doing this talk about the  number of hours spent by the social workers who   are employed by the city of witta to help each of  the individuals if you're able to do that and then   amount that to how how much that costs the staff  hours and then how much housing was uh provided   to these individuals and if so what was the cost  to to the taxpayers as well so when you give if   you're going to give an answer to these uh two  council members uh it has to be exhaustive of   also the staff hours the money spent uh regarding  uh helping an individual with housing as well   okay yeah we would definitely have to look into  those numbers but we'll provide them thank you any further public comment I see  none we'll bring it back to the bench council member glass may I just have a  quick procedural question for legal um if we   were to table this amendment or reject  this um ordinance today then the fines   would in fact remain $500 and not move  to 250 correct that's correct thank you uh with that I will motion to I will  move to approve consent agenda item 12a second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll I motion passes 4 to three Madame  clerk please call the next item actually   sorry consent agenda item number 16 is now  up for discussion thank you very much um I   first want to thank um Scott and mapd um had  many conversations yesterday I also want to   thank Gary and Public Works um thank you for  your time and um your advice I appreciate it   um also want to thank legal for working  with me and and answering all of my many   many questions I also want to state that  I have had exp partake communication with   the applicant's representative I have had no  expar communication with the applicant or with   any community members regarding this topic with  that I would move that the witcha city council   defer this item to February 11th so that public  works and utilities can assess appropriate water   access second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the role I motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call the next item Board of bids and contracts dated January 6 2025 morning mayor city council Josh  laber Department of Finance Bard bids   and contracts convened yesterday January 6  2025 for the following items for engineering   we have West Street i235 to MacArthur for Pearson  Construction LLC for an aggregate bid total of 5,   $100,100 for purchasing we have the pedc Saddles  and saddle T's contract change order for cor main   LP requesting the amended estimated usage of $  69,99 70 we have the odor and corrosion control   services contract extension for us peroxide LLC to  allow staff to complete our evaluation process we   should be bringing this back to within those four  months we have the parks point of salale system   for rec Trak LLC doing business as Vermont systems  requesting an aggregate 5-year total of 329 or $325,800 we have the intelligent  transportation system Hardware   upgrade for our Transit uh Department we have  a veil Technologies Incorporated for $271,500 we have the shredding hard drive destruction  and Box Storage contract for various City   departments for underground vaults and  storage Incorporated doing business as UV   and S we have an estimated annual usage of  $18,000 uh requesting the authorization to   piggyback the state's contract until September  30th 2025 with four one-year options to renew   this is how to do business with the city of  Witchita if you're interested in becoming a   vendor with us these are our small business  partner Resource Partners um engagements that   the city will be hosting or participating in and  these are open public opportunities out on the   street today and I'd be happy to try to answer  your questions and I recommend your approval   questions for staff I see none I will motion I  will move to approve the board of bids second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the role I motion passes 70 Madame clerk please  call the next item petitions for public improvements good morning mayor City  Council Members Paul gunan with public   works and U utilities for the record I have  a couple petitions uh new petitions for your   consideration this morning the signatures on  the petition represent 100% of the Improvement   districts and the petitions are valid per  Kansas statute South Meridian commercial   addition located in District 4 the project will  provide sewer improvements required for new   commercial development reer second edition  uh located in District 2 the project will   provide water storm water senary sewer and Paving  improvements for a new residential development   and it is recommended that the city council  approve the new petitions and budgets adopt   the new resolutions and authorize the necessary  signatures I will stand for questions questions   for staff I see none I move to approve the  petitions for public improvements second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the role I motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item applicant appeal of HPC 2024-the so as you heard uh this is is an  appeal by an applicant on a determination   by the witchta historic preservation board  and just a quick note that I'm normally up   presenting zoning cases this is not a zoning case  it's an appeal so uh public comment is allowed and encouraged now what the the appeal is being heard  today because the applicant is appealing for the   city council to approve a demolition permit to  demolish the building at 632 North TOA Avenue   Avenue the building is on the state and National  registers of historic places the witcha historic   preservation board determined that the demolition  would damage or destroy a historic B building   and Deni the demolition permit the applicant is  appealing that action this item is coming to you   because of the 2022 agreement between the city  of witto and the Kansas historic preservation   officer this agreement allows for local review  of projects instead of sending them to to here's the areial of the property you can see  it's located near the intersection of Topeka and pine it is listed as a contributing structure  in the North Topeka Avenue apartment's historic   district it is not individually listed on  any historic register the North Topeka Avenue   apartment's historic district was added to the  register of historic places both for the state and   the national register back in 2009 this building  is listed under one Criterion which is Criterion   C which is that it's notable for its architectural  design and construction so as you can see on this   graphic it's rather small but there are four  properties that are included in this historic   district it's rather small historic district  in addition about the property um I do want to   note that the applicant has submitted a structural  assessments report it was one of the attachments   as part of this case and in that report uh the  engineering company PEC found that the exterior   facade requires substantial repairs there are  other um Foundation repairs and others that are   noted in the report and overall uh in the report  they make the note that it is likely in their   opinion it is likely the cost of these repairs  will likely exceed the current value of the residents here are photos of here's  a photo of the front facade of the structure in terms of the process it's my  understanding that in November the contractor   applied for the application for the demolition  permit um as well they reached out to the historic   preservation to the planning department to  indicate that they were going to apply for   that in December the historic preservation board  uh heard uh the case and requested and indicated   that the found that the permit would to damage  would damage or destroy a historic property and   Deni the demolition permit on December 12th the  applicant submitted the appeal to the city clerk   to bring it before you all just a quick note about  the review that the historic preservation board   does when reviewing a project they review it using  the secretary of the interior's standards and in   this case uh demolition of course would have a  uh would damage and destroy the structure so with   that they the vote at the historic preservation  board was six to Z uh to make that finding in   terms of council action uh the council uh we  recommend the council accept comments from both   the applicant and the public it's my understanding  that representatives of the applicant would be   are here today in addition the council has  the option to deny the demolition permit   or to approve the demolition permit here's some  photos of the structure in the surrounding area all right and with that then uh the recommendation  coming to the council uh from the historic   preservation board is to adopt the findings of  wit historic preservation board and deny the   requested demolition permit an alternative is  that you can determine there's no feasible or   prudent alternative approve the permit authorize  the mayor to sign a letter to the Kansas State   historic preservation officer which is required  by Kansas statutes and a note about the process   that again this is not a zoning application it's  recommended the public take comment on this item   so with that I'll stand for any questions we'll  start with staff questions council member hoisel   thank you mayor um Scott is this a simple  majority 43 it is yes sir and to override   would that be a simple majority as well that is  correct yes sir okay um if if this is repeal or   if we override the staff's recommendations and  we approve the demolition are there requirements   for a new building to fit the characteristics  of the surrounding neighborhood um that's an   interesting question so at this time the property  is included in the historic district demolition of   the structure does not actually remove that struct  remove the property from that historic district   so uh if they were to immediately come in with an  application for a building permit that would again   be reviewed by the historic preservation board  now they do have the option to seek to get the   property removed um but that's another process  separate from this one okay um does the historic   preservation board May uh my appointee did reach  out with uh their concerns and their thoughts on   this are there notes that came with this from the  historic preservation board uh I do believe that   those were attached as part of the packet um yeah  I read through some of them so I I appreciate that   yeah that's I didn't know if they had a specific  but I appreciate that thank you that's all I have   mayor okay vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor  thank you uh Scott couple questions uh should   we deny the demolition permit what happens um at  that point uh the demolition permit is denied and   it'll be up to the property owner to determine  what additional actions or further actions   they'd like to seek so it's not prescriptive and  what happens after that okay um next question is   um Mike asked a couple of my questions about um  some of my concerns and concerns that I've heard   or what's going to happen next and you know one  of the golden rules is to you know preserve the   neighborhoods and make sure that nothing changes  the character and knowing that that is in historic   district um just a lot of concern about you know  what potentially could um could show up after it   gets demoed if that's the route that we take  um and just to be clear the um I know this but   just for conversation the actual structure is  not listed on the historic preservation board   anywhere it's just in a historic district it's not  listed individually so it is it is listed in terms   of being part of a historic district and so has  those same protections um but it is because it's   part of a district is seen as being a contributing  structure and that these structures Al together is   what really makes this area historic um in some  instances you can have a structure that itself   the architecture is so unique or something very  unique a person is associated with a particular   structure that maybe wouldn't even be out of the  ordinary that makes an individual structure unique   that's not the situation here it is that the  collective group of these buildings are seen as   representing um a unique place in time that's  representative of witchta and that's why this   group together is noted as a historic district  okay and then the rest of my questions are for   the applicant okay City Attorney Jennifer M thank  you mayor just to clarify there's reference to   the Golden Rule as as the planning director  said this is not a planning case and it would   not be a situation in which we would apply the  golden rules correct me if you feel differently SC council member Glascock thank you mayor I do  just have a quick followup to councilman hoel's   uh question slash maybe a comment I was looking  at the discussion for the stor preservation board   meeting minutes uh regarding the discussion  of the board it doesn't talk about any of   their discussion it just asks if they ask two  questions it doesn't talk about what discussion   was had and the entire portion is pretty small  and so perhaps in the future if we know these   cases are going to come before us as well there  could be provided more of what the discussion   was at the board yeah thank you for the feedback  sir I'll take that back to staff and share that   thank you any further questions for staff I have  just a couple really quick for you before we ask   the applicant to speak what is um what has been  determined to be the highest and best use of that   location the highest and best use of the location  um I will have to confer on I don't believe we've   got any of the zoning information on that I  will have to hang on just a moment I'm sorry I'll have to cons uh okay the property to the  north well it talks about the properties to the   north and surrounding it uh oh it's currently  zoned B multif family so at this point it would   be for apartments multif family residential the  intention of the applicant I do not know I'll   defer to them on that another question I had  was um what is the city's financial obligation   regarding this specific um property uh to my  knowledge it's none thank you very much sure   I see no further questions for staff we  will now ask the applicant to please come forward morning city council uh stranton Lang  general manager of aiset and affiliate of the   Lang companies and the applicant here in this  situation I certainly respect the witto historic   preservation board and the work they do and uh  personally have worked with a developer here in   the past on historic preservation building such  as the where the which houses the Kansas College   of osteopathic medicine and also Henry's culinary  school and uh NCH as that is branded here today   so certainly understand the preservation work  of maintaining and the character of historic   buildings and just wanted to kind of bring that  point across but also in this specific scenario   I think we're in a whole lot of a different  situation um specific to this property here at 632   North Topeka I think the primary concern from us  as the owner and developer of this site is safety   so I think probably on a weekly or bi-weekly basis  we're probably having uh interactions with witll   PD who's been great throughout this process of  our investment in this area to help us kind of   deal with some safety concerns both specific  to this building and the district that we're   attempting to create here um I think the second  piece is which we already addressed I believe   with the PEC report um speaking to a little bit  of the structural deficiency of the building as   it sits here today and uh then the feasibility to  effectively renovate and change the character of   this building in a cost-effective manner I think  that's a very big restraint in this situation and   something that needs to be considered um I think  it's also been a little bit addressed as far as   what potential uses of this site could be uh we  acquired this property back in the end of 2023 I   believe as part of an assemblage there that was  part of the the seller properties included the   cdk windows um building there that used to also  be the wonderbrad facility so that is um just a   little bit of the back history of when we acquired  this and the process we've taken to really kind of   make sure that we go through this process the  right way and do it in our appropriate manner   um I think to the point of some potential uses  of this site we're still at early stages but we   see U multif family both affordable um workplace  housing and even market rate rent type housing   uh being applicable uses in this specific area  none of that is solidified or concrete at that   at this point but it's not just a oneof scenario  where we plan to get a demolition permit and then   turn around and just sit there on this property  we plan to make some um pretty momentous changes   here in this area in coordination with via chrisy  Ascension and we have their support behind us to   help us kind of rejuvenate this area so happy to  take any questions that you may have for us as the   applicant and anything else we can address vice  mayor Ballard thank you mayor thank you so much   for all of that information um do you guys own  the other couple um apartment buildings that are   part of this historical district we currently do  not so there's four properties representing this   historic district this is the only one we own  of those for okay um do you know if there were   or are people living there currently in our  specific building not that would be there by   any legal means so I mean there's there kind of  goes back to my original point of safety concerns   even PEC the representative that came out there  to do this structural assessment had concerns   about entering the building um there's Windows  blown out the potential flooring has collapsed   in there so there's viable safety concerns just  generally around the building um and being that   it is in a historical um District have you guys  um looked into tax credits or to preserve the   building um I know you mentioned the structural  um engineering report just kind of curious um I   love old buildings and hate to see them being  down it's actually a pretty cool building um   but like you said I know safety is incredibly  important too um most of the feedback I have   heard about what is going to go thereafter  um I assumed it would be some type of multif   family which is great but I think aesthetically  is what most people are concerned about can you   speak to that at all sure I mean the property as  it sits there today as a single family property   so it's a lone residence type use um we  potentially view this it's not a scenario   where we're kicking out an occupant by any means  or removing or evicting a tenant so it just sits   there as it is today um we would we've typically  looked at um some grants or credits or tax credit   incentives to look at any sort of viability to  renovate the building uh I wouldn't say that's   been successful by any means to show anything  that would be feasible or prudent to renovate   that specific building as it sits there today um  I think we just do have higher and better uses for   what could come of that site to transition that  from single family to potential multif family type   use so obviously the cork of the neighborhoods  and things are what are important to me and I   know we can't talk about Golden rules but I would  be remiss to not at least mention that that is the   concern about are we going to get some chicken  coou looking Apartments there or I mean there   are some legitimate concerns I love that you're  interested in this area while some people are   running the other way I appreciate that you guys  are willing to make an investment in um the core   which um is wonderful um and housing I mean we  talk about that all day every day um and I know   that you don't have like the renderings and all  of that um Scott I think you said anything would   have to go through the historic preservation  board as far as renderings correct okay um I   think that's all the questions that I have for now  thank you so much council member ho heis thank you   mayor um sir do you currently know the or do you  know the current zoning is it multif family it's   multif family I believe has it exist today okay  yeah that's all I have thank you sir thank you   council member Glascock thank you mayor quick  question I don't know if you're maybe the best   person to ask or if someone else is do we know  the last time that the building was occupied uh   I am not aware of when that was uh ever since we  acquired that in November of 2023 it has not been   occupied since our ownership of that Scott what  do we know know anymore okay thank you I wanted   to know since owning this property on November of  2023 have police and fire been called out to this   location specifically inside of the building I  don't believe so but there has been some instances   of I think a shooting or something like that in  front of these buildings so there's been safety   concerns on this this Topeka block and then also  going up to the yeast andoria City Block there as   well so it's been our proper management team has  been pretty much in constant contact with wall   PD and they've been extremely helpful throughout  the process but it definitely is a drain on those   resources and we hate to see that happen as well  then um I know you said that you do not own the   other properties near this location but is there  an intention to buy or talk to those Property   Owners there has been conversations around  that nothing successful to date um something   we'd pursue in the future if it made sense for  the group it just has not been as it is today   council member Glascock sorry one final question  again not sure if you can answer this or two   regarding the other three Parcels do you know if  they have occupancy currently I believe two of the   other three do and the third might I'm not quite  sure on that properly but I know for sure that   two of them do thank you and again I'll just ask  to reiterate uh your first comment regarding the   intention for the future use of this property uh  this is again zone multifamily so can you again   talk about the intention yes we probably had  four to five different interested parties that   are within that specific use of multif family  and to the previous comment of we definitely   don't want to do anything that's a cookie cutter  type apartment type um development project there   so we're going through the vetting phase of what  that could potentially look like and by no means   are we committed to anything specific to that but  that is kind of the primary use we're betting out there I see no further questions for  the applicant thank you very much   yes thank you do we uh City attorney mag  do we ask the historic preservation board   or no no the hearing is um two parties  and then it's open for public comment if   very good thank you so we've heard from  staff and the applicant and there are no   further questions from the bench so we  will now open it up for public comment I see none I'll bring it back to the bench and this does reside in vice mayor Ballard's District this is a tough one for me um but  I think the right thing to do is determine   there is no prudent or feasible alternative  to the request override the decision of the   historic preservation board authorize  a mayor to sign a letter to the Kansas   State historic preservation officer and  approve the demolition permit second motion   and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the RO motion passes 60 Madame clerk please call the  next item 2025 State Legislative joint agenda good morning Happy New Year with New Year  comes a new session in Topeka uh sorry   I'm Jim Jonas with the city managers office  uh joined today by Marley Carpenter I hope Marley we hope yes I am here there she's on good  uh she couldn't dig out of a foot of snow to join   us this this morning uh I'm here to uh present  the uh city of wit's joint State Legislative   agenda to give you a little background and as  you know Marley Carpenter is our state lobbyist   who promotes legislative strategies that seek  positive outcomes for the city's priorities   and monitor issues of potential concern for  the city's objectives in 2025 and a bit bit   of a different approach uh the city of witto  will focus on State Legislative items that fit   with within the four key policy priorities that  were identified as the top items of residence   concern in the 2023 Community survey which are  Public Safety and crime prevention Economic   Development affordable housing and homelessness  and infrastructure and Street repair uh now when   it comes to the The Joint agenda Marley if  you'd like to speak to how we uh came to this I apologize I was muted for the joint agenda  we did meet with the partners the city the   county the chamber as well as re witto  partnership and WSU we wanted to talk   with like-minded South Central Kansas leaders  to leverage Collective Strength and voice in legislature looking at Economic Development there  are several items support education child care   and Workforce Development policies that spur job  creation and talent Recruitment and Retention in   South Central Kansas support policies that enhance  economic expansion to boost economy catalyze   local and Regional Economic Development and job  opportunities and enhance the quality of life for   everyone in South Central Kansas under housing  support the adoption of solutions resources and   policies that recognize homelessness as a growing  Statewide issue support policies and tax credit   options that encourage the development of housing  options for all South Central residents including   investment in housing affordability in urban  settings and then finally under infrastructure   support water policies that promote responsible  stewardship conservation contamination Solutions   and an abundant and healthy water supply and  support feasible passenger rail in the ex in the   proportional Ike Transportation program funding  that benefits South Central Kansas and with that   I'll turn it back over to Jim uh thanks Marley  uh staff recommends that the council approve the   uh joint legislative agenda and we'll stand for  questions you Jim questions for staff beginning   with council member hoisel thank you mayor um  thanks jam and Marley for the presentation and   your work trying to get this thing uh Coral here  um this is a parts now from past years um other   items that we've had on here so I I'm wondering  what the process is if there are some things that   are maybe finer points that we'd like to add  not necessarily to the legislative agenda but   what's the process for reaching out to the state  delegation the state legislators for things like   um we were talking the film tax credits that  falls under um Economic Development that's one   of the big ones um also there's some concerns from  the access advisory about some um some issues with   the state and how they recognize certain disabled  people and whatnot so how do we get those fighter   points um discussed with the legislators is that  solely just going to be on us to talk with them   on oneon-one or well Marley can certainly arrange  for uh direct meetings with folks as needed but   if you have a concern that that uh should rise to  the level of getting Marley and Company focused   on uh we certainly want to hear that feedback  and understand what the process is and then   we'll make sure that that council is aign before  we would do something as Council if you want to   speak to an item if you want to go to Topeka and  and urge passage of something on your own behalf   that's certainly on you right yeah I have a  actually a committee meeting later today if   we got to um get out of Council in time but yeah  okay that that's more what I'm just concerned with   or not concerned but just wondering what the the  process is to advocate for the finer individual   things even if it if it has Council support behind  it you know we're leaving a lot off of here that   we're not specifically naming that we do support  so yeah and we've charged Marley with these weekly   updates for folks to understand what legislation  is is on the horizon so that we can get in front   of it and you that we're not caught unaware okay  thank youc member Johnson thanks mayor uh much   like council member hoisel um not asking to add  to the agenda but if if we wanted to look at an   item that could go I guess to a joint agenda with  all all bodies I think the filmmaker tax credit   is a a good move I know some local filmmakers  who have some films that are on tub right now   and I think this could be a real boost for our  state not not only the state but also Witchita   so would it be encouragement for them to go to  those other groups as well and if they adopt   it then we could adopt it later yes absolutely and  and again Marley will be meeting with us on a week   basis so we can hear that feedback she can be  the conduit to those other organizations as   well on specific items that we want to raise with  them and if there is a a unanimity among uh the   the different groups we can pull that forward okay  thank you thank you Jim I see no further questions   for staff we will now open it up for public  comment I see none I'll bring it back to the bench   I will council member Johnson  thanks mayor I don't want to   expand the agenda I just wanted  to say that I definitely support this council member tle thank you I will also  be supportive I just also wanted to just give   a a shout out and some appreciation for child  care being included and I love the fact that   it's under Economic Development exactly where it  should be um and we actually have a child care   legislative agenda task force that's been meeting  and will continue to provide council with updates   of things that we think might be important  to to pursue as the legislative session   incur but thank you to Jim and his team and to  Marley for for being our eyes when we can't be   there but we'll see you in TOA soon council  member Glascock I do want to thank everybody   that prepared this there are very few times  that I think you can probably get the full   support of the city the county the chamber the  partnership University and reap on the page to   support similar issues so I think it's a win for  the community that go in South Central Kansas   pushing together um we can have more of an impact  in the state so I'm very appreciative of the work   done for this again this is about priorities and  focusing the efforts of multiple different bodies   including this Council and I'm very appreciative  that it looks like we have the support of the   entire Council on economic development housing and  infrastructure and again if any council members   want to advocate for anything specifically they  are always welcome to go to to PA or talk with   uh Jim as well as Marley so with that I will  move to approve the 2025 joint legislative   agenda second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 60 Madame clerk please   call the next item which your top  Public Library managed call center good morning Jamie Nicks with witcha Public  Library um we have a really interesting problem   ahead which is the Investments for our Branch  libraries we're anticipating will be growing   business and so our leadership team really um  needed to get creative regarding how we might   be able to do this in the most um fiscally  responsible modern and high quality manner   so with our strategic Direction it is asking  us to emphasize um gaining staff capacity so   that we can um ensure quality strong supportive  literacy programs connections with non-users   and um cultivating strategic Partnerships  in order to achieve all that a library can   for a community in study 80% of our incoming  phone calls are pretty routine are you open   oh my gosh the day that um there were solar  eclipse glasses available calls nonstop on on   availability um a lot of the calls though are  are things that we can easily train others to   do and so in conversation with our library board  they shared with us like critical elements that   this any change to this framework would have  which is that somebody on the other side of the   phone is a person and it's as though they're  talking with any of our kind Library staff   um didn't know what existed out in the world  of vendors but we did an assessment um again   looked at our data how we're being used how  phones are being used reference questions are   easily answered by Google these days so that  whole nature of our service and business has   changed um we did an RFP we interviewed the um  we did an RFP twice the first um we got a lot of   AI generated and technological um vendors which  doesn't meet the criteria that our board set so   um we're looking at unique Management Center who  we are currently working with for um returns of   materials our collection agency um they have um  trained Librarians who understand our computer   systems our policies we would do an implementation  to make sure that that's a seamless process um   the service is a one-time implementation of  $7,500 we're charged per minute um if things   are complex they'll route call calls to us we  need to do shelf checks a lot of things do have   to be done on a local basis but we'll have a a  workflow um to be able to do that um the minimum   amount we would pay is 6,000 per month um our  data we're hoping in the first year we'll see   that what we are what our data shows we have all  this call forwarding and our our it phone data   is really hard to get um the specifics So based  on this we're not we're expected not to exceed $159,450 but I think it'll be less than  that um in total and the contract has been   reviewed by law so our recommendation  is that Council approves the contract   and authorizes necessary signatur  so we can begin implementation any questions questions for staff beginning with  council member Tuttle thank you great job as   always you were just such an exceptional 21st  century leader for our city so thank you you know   I'm a huge fan um and literacy is something that  we both share a passion for I did have a question   on slide 62 and if it's in here somewhere I missed  it and I just heard you make the comment that you   don't think it would exceed that but let's say  that you know it's wildly successful and you know   whatever and what if it went up to like 162,000  or you know 175,000 because we have this is the   limit today is there a backup plan just in case  we we would potentially go over this limit I know   it's a pilot year so we're just kind of you know  we we're throwing stuff on the wall and seeing   what's going to stick but just curious I think  um we'll be really watching quite carefully all   of the statistics performance the number of calls  what the budget looks like on a monthly basis and   making some adjustments as we need to so I I know  that we'll be able to stay within this authorized   amount exact right answer thank you Jamie Jamie  I just had a couple questions number one do you   happen to know the number of Staff members that  you're allotted each of the years whether it's   2025 24 and 23 the total FTE for the library I  believe we're at 144 and a half FTE and is that   more or less than last year it's three positions  more um we shifted contracted security into the   library's budget to be able to improve um our  Safety and Security and overall experience   across our branches and then last uh question is  really regarding the 211 number that I mentioned   earlier um I know that that's the resource um  for connecting individuals to our safety net   here in our community is that something that even  this call center can refer people to and why they   would be sent to 211 yeah I think the duration  of implementation of 6 to8 weeks or 8 to 10 weeks   that's identified it's really to get into those  nuances of what we do as a library as it relates   to direct immediate service referral service  knowing who's in our community and where to refer   to thank you Jamie I see no further questions  for staff we will now open it up for public comment I see none I'll bring it back to the  bench and we have council member Glascock mayor   with a motion to approve the contract with  unique Management Services and authorize the   necessary signature necessary payments begin  implementation of the managed call center   Services second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 60 Madame clerk please call   the next item wi toall Library  Foundation funding agreement equally as exciting Jamie Nicks with the  witcha public library um we're looking ahead   to completely renovated branches by this summer  um this is really an exciting and I have to say   one of the most powerful things I've gotten to  write in a while is that this work will have been   accomplished in less than a decade way to go wiah  this is incredible um with this our collaboration   with the witch Public Library Foundation has been  long and strong um they're a committed partner to   making sure that the library is maintained as um  an Innovative and spearheaded um Institution for   the community I think um during the August 6th  meeting Council asked how the city's going to   ensure that these Investments are maintained we've  done some um exploration to identify really what   is outside of the current budgeted um equations  for witch public library and the categories   have been identified as replacement public  Furnishings audiovisual technology and technology equipment um witcha Public Library Foundation has  offered to contribute $200,000 over two years um   to designate to the Witchita public library and  making sure that we have an adequate plan for   these replacements so the financial considerations  with this contract it's to account for the donated   funds that the city would be receiving from the  foundation and establish a capital project account   the law department has reviewed and approved the  contract as to form and we're recommending that   we approve the contract with wiah Public Library  Foundation establish the project account and the   bonding and authorize the necessary signatures  so this will essentially create a plan for   future fundings questions for staff I see  none open it up public comment I see none   we'll bring it back to the bench I will simply  say that again deferred maintenance has to be   one of the top priorities when it comes to  capital projects uh that the current city   has and so I appreciate that this effort is  really to avoid deferred maintenance and so I   will be supportive of this and I will uh move to  approve the contract with witcha Public Library   Foundation the project account and the bonding  as well as authorized necessary signatures   second motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the RO motion   passes 60 Madame clerk please call the next  item 2025 intelligent transportation system Paul gunselman Public Works and utilities for  the record this morning before you is a 2025   intelligent transportation system the capital  Improvement program includes biannual funding   for optimization of traffic signals as part of  an overall intelligent Transportation its program   improvements are aimed at increase in vehicle  and pedestrian mobility and safety and critical   areas and corridors within the city  an optimized signal Network allows   for coordinated and efficient progression of  vehicles as well as the ability to remotely   Monitor and troubleshoot malfunctions  which EES The Strain on maintenance   staff and allows for more prompt diagnosis  of issues the 2025 its funding will be used   for design and construction costs for  various its projects including green   which vehicle to infrastructure pilot program  that we are working with Kansas Department of   Transportation on as well as East 2st Street  its and West 21st Street its and that would be   to install fiber along those corridors conduit  and fiber along those corridors to coordinate   the traffic signals and allow for maintenance  staff to travel shoot remotely the remaining   funds in the budget will be used for additional  its improvements and other locations as funding allows the adopted 2025 through 2034 Capital  Improvement program includes 2.2 million in   2025 for its which is funded by local sales tax  staff recommends initiating the $2.2 million at   this time it is recommended that city council  approve the budget adopt the resolution and   authorize the necessary signatures and I will  stand for questions thank you Paul we'll start   with council member poisel thank you mayor uh  thank you Paul for your work on this um what is   the the basis for the next locations as funding  allows we will I think part of it will probably   go to the east Kellog project um you know that  kot is working on now we will extend that conduit   as well so we'll have and um fiber out to that  location so we'll have a local share of that okay   so is it going to be awarded more on a basis of  where work is currently going on or future plans   for work or is it based off of traffic studies  the amount of traffic that goes through it it's   both um the East 21st Corridor was uh was selected  at the time due to the proposed improvements for   2K 96 that K do had um we thought you know as  that construction had progressed that uh folks   might be using the 21st Corridor as an alternate  route to k96 so we look at all of that um we look   at some of the corridors that have closed mostly  spaced traffic signals such as the downtown that   we had improved some its or put some Fiber in  you know to provide better coordination so we   look at it all and take advantage of construction  projects as well so is this going to be a yearly   thing that we look at the it's uh improv in the  CIP it's every two years that we have programmed   yes okay thank you I see no further questions  for staff thank you Paul we'll start with   public comment if there's any I see none  we'll bring it back to the bench I will   move to approve the budget adopt the resolution  and authorize the necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the r passes who's missing five six it's 60 now  okay Madame clerk please call the next   item supplemental agreement number three with  iteris and funding for 2025 traffic Improvement   and signalization program thank you Paul gunselman  again for the record supplemental agreement number   three with iteris and funding for tra 2025  traffic signal and traffic improvements and   signalization program on June 21st 2016 the  city council approved a contract with iteris   for evaluating and programming new traffic signal  timings in July of 2020 the city council approved   supplemental agreement number one with h teris  for design of signal optimizations along Douglas   from mlan to hydraulic and in March 2022 the city  council approved supplemental agreement number two   with highis for updating downtown signal timings  on corridors had had previously changed from one   way to two-way including St Francis Emporia  will and Williams street the adopted 2025   through 2034 Capital Improvement program includes  an ongoing project for Traffic Safety improvements   and to signalize intersections that meet traffic  signal warrants the conversion of Maine Market   to PE and Emporia and English from oneway to  two-way will require new traffic signal timings   and programming in the traffic signal controllers  Additionally the Kellog and Rock Road intersection   is one of the most congested intersections in the  city traffic volumes exceed current operational   capacity modific to the intersection will improve  signal timings to reduce congestion supplemental   design agreement number three with hiis Will  design and implement the new signal timings   for downtown two-way conversions and improvements  at the Kellog and rock intersection I wanted to   talk about the Kellog and rock intersection just  for a few minutes the uh there are approximately   12 Lanes of traffic on Rock Road and it uh that a  pedestrian would have to cross East east to west   um and in order for that for them to do that we  have to provide adequate time for them to do that   ex which extends the traffic signal cycle length  thus not making it as efficient as it could be in   comparison um again the the picture on the left  is the the intersection of uh Kellog and Rock   Road showing the median picture on the right is at  Kellog and web road where we have additional push   buttons and pedestrian traffic signal indications  in the median this allows for staff to provide a   shorter walk timing for pedestrians so that they  can cross half of the road at a time which allows   for um shorter cycle links and will improve the  efficiency of the intersection at Kellogg and Rock Road additionally some of the um other items  that the funding could be used for is similar   what we had completed at Lincoln and woodlon um as  part of the op3 program last year Lincoln Street   was uh had maintenance on it and converted  it from a four-lane roadway to a three-lane   roadway which uh um then we had made traffic  signal improvements at Kellogg and wood LA or   Lincoln and wood law modifying the traffic  signals um to provide a protected left turn   since we had a dedicated lift turn lane the current contract amount with highis is $584,000 for a total of $71,700 in 2025 for traffic improvements  and signalization which is funded by   General obligation bonds staff recommends  initiating $1 million at this time for   supplemental agreement number three designed  for modifications to existing intersections   and new intersections that may meet warrants  RightWay utility relocation construction and   construction engineering it is recommended  that the city council approv supplemental   agreement number three budget adopt  the resolution and authorized necessary   signatures and I will stand for questions thank  you Paul questions for staff I have a couple   um I wanted to know I've seen other cities have  this and I didn't know the the purpose behind it   but left turn signals that actually come at the  end versus at the beginning of a traffic signal   cycle can you explain um what that does for some  of those cities versus ours which which are left   turn signals are first rather than last that is  um it's based on um how many left turn vehicles   are at the intersection and how we can um progress  traffic through a corridor I believe on West Maple   I think when we had um coordinated those traffic  signals I think there might be a lag left instead   of at the lead as you mentioned that we typically  have the left turn comes on at the end of the Cy   um to help the progression through there so  it um there's models that we can put in um   Lane configurations um traffic volumes Etc and  then it'll provide some recommendations of how   we um program the signals so there are some and  I think West Maple has a la lag left turn phase   I would be curious if you could provide that  information the lag left um I know that one of   the concerns I've been hearing from residents is  people running red lights and again the purpose   is we don't want to see any car accidents or  car crashes at intersections and so I didn't   know of a left turn signal at the end versus at  the beginning might help with that um so we've   piloted it here in which taught on West Maple  I'd be curious how that has helped with crashes and then my second question was more uh in line  to traffic sign signals that we currently have but   what trickers the lights for low traffic areas  when it comes to left turn signals we probably   have a multiple different ways to do that in the  past we would have old induction Loops that we   cut into the pavement and as um technology  has advanced we have used uh cameras and   now I believe we are doing radar um at those  intersections that detect when vehicles are   there I'm sure snow packed roads uh sometimes  can hamper that it could um in the past if the   camera's got covered either by salt dirt  anything like that and or if they if the   Sun is at such an angle that it would blind those  then that then it would impact that um the radar   not so much anymore thank you Paul I see no  further questions for staff we will open it up   for public comment I see none bring it back to the  bench I approve I move to approve the supplemental   agreement number three budget adopt the resolution  and authorize the necessary signatures Motion in   a second any further discussion I see  none Madame clerk please open the rle motion passes 60 Madame clerk please  call the next item supplemental design   agreement number three and donation  for Crystal Prairie Lake Park phase one hello uh good morning Tim Kell's Public Works  and utilities uh here to talk to you about Crystal   prair Lake Park it's been um long process to  get to this point so very excited to to be here   uh to talk to you about it uh so little bit  of background um this has been a project and   something that's been in the works for for decades  uh so back in uh the late 80s the city acquired um   460 Acres of track Land from the kingsbery family  uh roughly located around k96 uh in East Hoover   Road or excuse me in east of Hoover Road uh you  can see kind of there on the image there that the   Brooks landfill is uh to the southeast of this  prop of this property uh in uh August of 2000   the city took action to retain that for public  purposes uh between 2004 and 2024 same mining   operations were ongoing so we provided a lease  to do these mining operations and in turn we   uh got a beautiful uh Lake out of the deal uh in  September of 20 uh 2027 or excuse me in 2007 city   council authorized funding to the for the design  of the master plan of the Future Park site and   uh in 2008 a contract was approved with RDG and  cook flax Strobel uh and applied engineering uh   ecological Services uh to design the master plan  uh so again this has been many years ago when the   master plan was designed uh kind of needed  to have the design in order to know exactly   where to mine the site uh so is this was a very  critical step for us in the in the process to   figure out exactly uh what's the vision for the  site where do we need a mine uh to make the um   uh the concepts come to life uh you can see here  that in 20 uh 2008 and 2009 that Master Plan was   developed and then presented and adopted uh or  and approved at City Council in 2009 here's a   a picture of the site uh from I took that earlier  this year you can see how beautiful it is uh this   is a sand bottom uh lake so this is much different  than some of our other Lakes uh so very beautiful   and it's definitely a great asset that we have for  the city uh in 2012 we renamed it to Crystal prair   Lake Park partly because of how nice and clear  the water is um and also just the you can kind of   see in the background there a lot of vegetation  that's out there establishing more of a prairie   trying to maintain the landscape trying to um make  sure that we're we're being good stewards of the   land as well um one thing to note is that the um  the groundwater um flows from the Northwest to   the southeast so there's 's no uh potential for  contamination uh through the groundwater being   next to the landfill so that's one great benefit  of where the site is located so we don't have any   concerns about being next to the landfill at all  um so that that's definitely a great a great idea   and great way that we designed this master plan  uh trying to provide a good relationship between   the park and the landfill and again into that just  a little bit um mining operations are complete in   the site is being restored and and is anticipated  to be fully complete by 2026 the great thing is   that um we can access the site now now that the  mining operations is done we can access the site   uh while they're still restoring the banks um  where they were doing the mining we can still be   out there like many of our other parks and things  we may have construction going on in a part of the   park but that doesn't mean we can't utilize the  whole rest of the park so that's a great benefit   to us knowing that mining operations are complete  so for phase one um I guess I I guess I'll point   out a little bit to the um on the aerial over here  you can start to see the shape that we started to   create through the master plan some of those  little fingers that you see out there are ways   to help reduce the um the wave impact from the  different uh from the wind trying to create a   safe environment not trying to get a whole bunch  of of waves out there especially if we will be   having users out there kayaking powle boarding  what have you um so that that was intentional   uh for us is trying to create those fingers and  create a unique shape while also providing uh   good ample land for in case we there are large  improvements that are out there when the master   plan was designed uh many years ago there was an  idea to put um variety of different things out   there um obviously as things involved and things  change uh visions and and realization of exactly   what will be there still yet to be determined  uh but we do have a good master plan with some   good data to help us along the way one of the  things that was talked about was just creating   and providing access to the site and right now  this phrase one is really all about providing   access uh and increasing um access primarily  above uh k96 which you can see there is in the   lower uh part of the screen um knowing that we  are moving forward with and and trying to provide   as much multimodal uh accessibility that we can  uh Pro providing a 10-ft trail underneath k96 is   a big part of this project uh making sure that  we provide a safe a safe location for people to   um to walk and bike uh right now the communities  to the north of k96 are kind of on an island uh   so providing a safe way for them to get to the  park and also South um is critical for us using   utilizing a 10-ft path we think is the best way  to do that there's an existing 10-ft Trail there   as noted on the screen uh just south of k96 um  I think one of the goals and something that uh   we've heard is that people would like to be able  to provide have a bike between or be able to a   bike between Sedwick County Park and this park  uh by putting this Trail in we are now realizing   that step by step providing that uh providing a  a an activity and I guess a bit of a destination   for those bikers and people on long trips um  because we are still trying to figure out exactly   everything that needs to go into the the master  plan and what's the next phases and and how do   we provide funding for development and all those  sorts of things we felt that a gravel parking lot   within the park would be a great way to start  off without putting in something uh something   hard service and committing that a parking lot  has to go here we felt that a gravel parking   lot would be best right now as we uh come to see  the next future phases get developed and planned   out uh so for phase one there would be the gravel  parking lot that trail underneath k96 which we've   been in conversation with K do to discuss how  to do that we think there's some good ways to   do that and there's a precedence out there for it  and then as I mentioned earlier the relationship   between the Brooks landfill and the park is is  critical providing a new fence right now there   is not a fence between the Brooks landfill and  the park um so providing that new fence will be   provide safety for the landfill and help make sure  that these two uses are are uh able to cohabitate   next to each other in a successful way and there  is a little bit of artwork 500,000 or excuse me   $50,000 Associated for artwork for this project  uh which we think will be uh used at the entrance   as we start to make our way into the park uh  you can see there in the f future phases uh   the plan I think would be to go up Hoover Road  and then start to go into the park with more Trails so as I mentioned the 10-ft trail multi-use  trail will help connect uh to the trail to the   South and will start to engage those communities  up to the north uh and then it'll provide that   long anticipated access to the park uh that  we've been planning for and and eagly waiting   for for uh for decades uh supplemental design  agreement number three is been to prepare with r   G as I mentioned earlier they've been working on  the project for um I guess about 16 years or so   luckily there's a few people still at uh RDG and  and their subc consultant uh CFS that have been   with the project from the very GGO uh so it's been  really uh incredible learning from them uh over   the years on um just the history about the site  and how things have been negotiated and changed   and how the vision has modified over the years  uh so that is what supplement design agreement   3 will be for this first will be for this first  phase the city has developed an agreement with   local developer Jay Russell uh unfortunately he  was unable to be here today but wanted to uh to   accept the donation for $100,000 to Kickstart  the phase one improvements at the park and the   donation requires the cities provide funding that  meets or exceeds the private donation supplemental   design agreement uh number three is for a little  over $190,000 and the total contract um is a   little is about $750,000 and again that was over  many years and it's been done through separate CIP   items uh so that would not be that whole chunk is  just to represent exactly what the sub the total   payment over the years has been uh but that does  not that uh whole number is not coming out of this   CIP item right now there's um we're asking for uh  $250,000 to be initiated at this time the total   budget is 200 or it's $2,570 th000 um and then  that includes that $1 million that was provided   via donation and as I mentioned earlier there is  that $50,000 for artistic elements so it recommend   that city council initiate the project adopt the  Bonnie resolution approve the donation agreement   approve the supplemental design agreement number  three and authorize necessary signatures have you   stand for any questions thank you Tim we'll begin  with council member Johnson thanks mayor thank you   Tim um great presentation I think this is going to  be awesome for the city so I had um one question   one idea okay question is will there be a zipline  I I sure hope so yes um yeah I mean we I guess   we're taking feedback so yeah I mean I like to  see it maybe that's phase two yes I support a   zipline um so my comment I preface that I have  two former colleagues who were also Park Board   presidents that don't like this idea but if we  removed Prairie then it's Crystal Lake mhm and   artwise we could put a life-size Jason statue at  the bottom of the lake it's a tourist attraction   I I like where you're do this yes we may hear  feedback from those too but I like the idea yeah Johnson you need to explain that reference  Friday the 13th council member glasscock really   that that's grounds for removal right there I  think council member thank you mayor um yeah there   is actually one I think up north they have a they  have one a statue of Jason trapped by chains under   there and scuba divers go down there so it is a  tourist attraction um just uh two quick questions   or one one clarification during your presentation  you said the donation was $100,000 um it's a it's   a million sorry I misspoke yeah million wanted  to clarify that for people online um second is um   does this is this identified as um kind of our our  biped plan is this included in that I see Allen   here and yeah they notifying me yes shaking  their heads yes that this is part of the the   B plan so I I appreciate that so thank you thank  you I just had one question Tim um wanted to know   actually two questions number one how are have we  taken into account the maintenance of this Trail   so this will now connect if approved it would  connect SED County Zoo's Trail all the way to   Crystal Prairie Lake um have we talked about the  maintenance of this Trail uh yes I think we're we   are um working through discussions with uh between  publicate works and parks to figure out exactly   Trail maintenance and things along those lines  we do have a large number of trails throughout   the throughout our system so that that is in  discussion and and being considered and thought   about I would just want that to be top of mind  since this would be the creation of something new   so the maintenance of it should really uh be taken  into account um and I see that the $1 million doll   donation would be contingent upon the city either  matching or exceeding so does that mean the city   is um putting in 1.57 million yes that's correct  and the question that um council member ho Heisel   mentioned was that the bicycle and pedestrian  Advisory Board was consulted regarding this um   not specifically for for in my part through the  park but I know that providing that connection   has been something that has been discussed I know  there's current projects along Hoover Road to help   um create that connection and that usually uh  putting a multi-use trail is so important and   I know that's something that we're considering  I know other folks probably in public works are   working on the project South on Hoover Road and  one more question just making sure that Crystal   Prairie Lake is accessible to the entire Community  is that correct yes correct it'll be considered a   public park thank you very much I see no further  questions for staff we will now open it up for   public comment I see none we'll bring it back to  the bench this resides in vice mayor Ballard's   District thank you mayor I very excited that um  we have finally gotten to this point um have had   many many many meetings and conversations with  people um adjacent to this Lake that are very   excited that we are getting something started so  um with that I will take the recommended action   to initiate the project adopt the bonding  resolution approve the donation agreement   approve supplemental design agreement number  three and authorize the necessary signatures   second motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the roll motion passes 60 Madame clerk please call the   next item funding agreement renewal  with Cedric County for housing first program good morning my name is Shelley ho and I  am a senior housing specialist with the Housing   and Community Services Department the item  I bring before you today is to discuss the   funding agreement for the witto Sedwick County  Housing first program between Sedwick County   as well as the city of witto in 2006 the city of  witto and Cedric County commissioned authorized   a task force for ending chronic homelessness  this task force met for 18 months and presented   recommendations to both elected bodies in March  of 2008 one of the task force recommendations   was the creation of the housing first program  which was then endorsed by the city council and   Cedric County Commission the rationale behind  the housing first program is actually based   on a best practice model that is to assist the  chronically homeless to secure permanent housing   first and then provide them with services  to help ensure that they remain successfully   housed the chronically homeless as defined by  the 2009 HUD definition is that a person has   been continuously homeless for at least  one year or has had four more episodes   of homelessness within the past 3 years and the  person is unaccompanied person with a disabling   Condition it's very important to point out  right now that there is the the definition   of chronically homeless has since changed and  does include families but this particular um   housing first program that we administer is  working solely with persons that are single the pro the program is designed to provide  permanent housing opportunities throughout   our community Through rent and utility subsidies  program participants meet with their assigned   case manager regularly and comply with the lease  agreement participant applications are prioritized   through the community excuse me the Continuum  of Care's coordinated entry process and are   submitted by referring agencies referring agencies  include but they are not limited to the city of   witch's housing first care coordination team as  well as our project hope teams comare substance   abuse center of Kansas humankind Ministries  United away the Plains United Methodist Open   Door witch Children's Home and breakthrough Club  referring agencies conduct case management visits   and dis discussion topics may include how to  obtain an ID or social security card how to   apply for federal benefits search for employment  um identify a doctor or establish a medical home   where and how to apply for food stamps and  even what are appropriate and inappropriate   tenant behaviors rent and utility subsidies are  provided until such a time that the individual   can live independently of the Assistance or  until some other type of housing assistance has   been deemed to be more appropriate historically  the housing first program costs have been split   equally between the city of witto and Sedrick  County with the city administering the program since the program began in March of 2009 a  total of 5 excuse me 587 chronically homeless   individuals have been placed into housing  and as of November 30th of 2024 87 program   participants were housed with this program  the length of time that one can remain in   this program is not specified but it's dependent  upon their individual circumstances however the   average length of time that a person is in the  housing first program is approximately 1 and a   half years of the 87 housed program participants  32 of these individuals remained in housing for   over one year one person has remained housed for  5 years three persons have remained housed for   4 years three persons remained housed for 3 years  nine persons remained housed for two years and 16   persons have remained housed between one in two  years um something to point out with the housing   first program is that this program accepts all  persons despite their maybe criminal background   or um credit history things of that nature why  this person has been housed 5 years this person   is actually a registered sex offender um this  person because they are a registered lifetime   sex offender will never qualify for any other  subsidized housing program such as one of the   housing Choice vouchers so um this person has  receives disability so they they are on a very   fixed income and with that fixed income without  the support of the housing program they could not   live independently so while it seems like a long  time for them to be in housing this is a great   thing that this person is able to maintain his  housing with the assistance of this program um   32 participants in the housing first program have  what we call a dual enrollment status that means   that the individual continues to receive home  visits as required by the housing first program   however their rent and utility subsidies are paid  through the city of wit's housing Choice Voucher   Program 23 of those persons that are house for one  year or more are considered to be duly enrolled   of the 285 program participants that um we have  considered to have successfully exited the program   excuse me 285 program participants successfully  exited the housing first program that is described   as a person who leaves the programs for reasons  related to self-sufficiency self-improvement so   some examples of that may be that they chose to  move closer to live with their family um maybe   they had an increase in income and could afford  to do this on their own um we even have had a   few people exit the program because they entered  a treatment facility and while that's certainly   not ideal we do feel that that is beneficial to  them and their long-term stability in 20 2022   the city council and County Commission approved  a change in the program structure that includes   a dedicated housing first case manager um compare  hired the case manager who then began starting to   work on March 28th of 2022 the housing first  case manager provides services to clients who   don't necessarily receive services from partner  agencies one of the things that we noticed in   in doing this is that a lot of individuals  we are starting to see a lot more people who   have physical disabilities and a lot of agencies  in the community do not provide Cas Management   Services to address those kinds of needs yet  they still need housing so that was a fill Gap   um that was the intent of this case manager  program clients also receive assistance with   life skills as well as referrals to other needed  Services the housing first case manager acts as a   liaison between Property Management staff and  program staff act um addressing problematic   situations in order to minimize lease terminations  the change decreased from monthly reimbursements   requested from Cedric County for rent assistance  however several housing first participants are   duly enrolled in the city's housing Choice  voucher program and offset the rent expense   the initial term of the agreement is intended  to be the first year of a 2-year funding cycle   starting on January 1st of 2025 an ending December  31st of this year renewable for an additional year   at the discretion with the approval of the  governing city and county bodies in 2026 the   award amount will be based on performance  and is subject to city and county funding availability there's no additional  impact to the general fund and the   2024 adopted budget includes rent and  utilities assistance in the amount of with half of that being contributed from the  city's count the city's general fund and the other   half being contributed by cedrick county of the  $11,367 that's contributed by the Cedric County   up to $ 59,4 is to be used to fund the dedicated  housing first case manager that is to be employed   by comare law the law department has reviewed this  and approved the funding as agreed to form and   is recommended that the city council approve the  funding agreement and authorize the necessary   signatures thank you Shelly we'll begin with  council member hoisel thank you mayor um thank   you shelle for all your work you guys at on  housing do not get enough credit really from   all of us um you're up there working nonstop um  not enough employees overloaded workload it's a   tough job that you guys are doing so I know  all of us down here do talk about how much   we appre appreciate all the work that you guys  do um two quick questions here um one you you   talked about the um sex offender um are there  any additional oversight apparatuses that we   have for people who are identified as um sex  offenders who are going through any of these programs well if you mean oversight as far as like  the case management I mean the case managers do go   out there and meet with them weekly um so that's  oversight then as a registered offender they are   expected to report to um whomever so there  are those kinds of reporting mechanisms if   that answers your question so whoever is going  out there if they do have any concerns they are   required to report any concerns on yes yes and and  I do speak as I I serve as that liaison between   the case managers as well as the landlords if  there are identified concerns then those issues   are brought to me so that we can certainly try to  problem solve those and resolve those quickly okay   um second one the is that a HUD requirement for  the weekly visit or is that that's U what we're   offering that is a requirement that we require  okay and and that also has served me well as one   of my require one of my job duties is to speak  with landlords try to recruit new landlords um   but that has served well for the landlord knowing  that there is someone that is invested in their   property as well going out to check on the  condition of that unit on a weekly basis and   by going out there weekly the hope is that some  of the problems that could occur it's going to   be lesson because we're out there more frequently  okay thank you had a list of questions and I'll   just ask them publicly so um the program had 285  participants who successfully exited the program   that's a 48.5% success rate with 144 increasing  their household income what types of jobs and   were their jobs found through the case manager to  help these individuals um increase their household   income we do not keep specific record of all  of that but it's important to remember that   the persons that are that we work with in this  program they are chronically homeless they have a   y time being homeless and they have a disabling  condition whether that's mental health substance   abuse physical disability and or developmental  disability so often times the jobs that they   obtain are entry-level job that's not to say that  that's the only kind but that is primarily the   types of jobs that persons May obtain we do work  with other agencies such as the workforce center   um we also work closely with Goodwill Industries  so the Run the gamut as to what other entities   that we are working with and a lot of the case  managers do that sort of work they have often   times their own partners that they work closely  with so again it's a multitude of different things   of the 140 participants who were terminated from  the program due to violations can you share what   types of violations um that too runs the gamut  primarily one of the main reasons for people to   be terminated is violations mostly because they  are um in violation of the terms of their lease   for allowing unauthorized guests to sleep stay  live in their home despite all of our efforts to   warn people that if they don't if they don't  stop this they could lose their housing many   times a homeless person they're grateful for  their housing and they want to help all of   their friends and continue to allow people to  come in we try we try we try but at the end of   the day it is a legal binding document and they  their name is the only name that is on that lease   and so that's a violation I think um a couple of  other answers that um were stated were failure to   maintain the unit and causing a disturbance is  that correct yes that could be true and failure   to pay rent was not common since the participation  participants rather are receiving rent assistance   that's correct the city of witto pays those rents  directly to to the landlord now there are some   individuals that because they have income they are  responsible for paying a portion of their housing   cost whether that's utilities or rent so there  may have been some times in which an individual   who was required to pay a portion of their rent  on their own because they have income if they did   not pay that that again is their responsibility  and so that would be reason for a landlord to   to terminate them do you know on average what  that monthly rent rate is or approximately um   I would say probably now about 600 650 for rent  and then you're looking at many of these units   requiring tenants to pay utilities and again  with persons in the program that do not have   income then we pay those utilities as well and we  in our um agenda packet of the 24 people who died   while house do you know what the causes of death  were that information is not typically given to   me but it is not because of Foul Play I can I can  say that but most of the time it's just natural   causes and last question um can you tell us who's  the dedicated case manager for this program and   um how big of a case load that individual has to  take currently the dedicated case manager he is   employed by comare his name is AD Coleman and he  has about 15 persons on his case load right now   thank you very much council member hoisel thank  you mayor uh just one question kind of popped up   in mind here um you talk about the additional  people living um with the the person who we   had the case on is um is that a HUD requirement  that they can't have additional people there or   is that a internal policy it's a lease it's  a lease violation so when a person signs the   lease the the leasing agent they will list all of  the allowed occupants on the lease so if there's   other people that are taking residents there  and their name is not on the lease then that   is actually a legal binding violation for the  terms of the lease does that mean the landlord   would have to file that or is that something we  identify ourselves the if the landlord chooses   to pursue legal matters then yes they would  have to file that motion um when we find this   out that there's unauthorized guests again we do  everything in our power where whether it's sending   them a letter asking the case managers to go out  there and speak with them we also have even had um   meetings with the case manager as well as myself  and my County colleague to address this dependent   upon the severity of the situation okay thank you  I see no further questions for staff thank you   shell we will now open it up for public comment I  see none I'll bring it back to the bench council   member Johnson thanks mayor just want to Pigg you  back on what council member hoisel said uh you all   do a wonderful job in that department and I know  that this job can be full of highs and lows when   everything's working out and then sometimes when  it doesn't it's a low but I just appreciate all   you all's dedication to this and and really  helping people it is a blessing for a lot of people would you like to move motion  to move this I would be happy to   um I move that the city council will approve the  funding agreement and authorize the necessary   signatures second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the   rooll motion passes 60 Madame clerk please  call the next item public housing recovery agreement good morning mayor and councel Sally  Stang with the Housing and Community Services   Department for the record the item that I have  for the actually is the uh wiah Housing Authority   Board of Commissioners today is the approval of a  recovery agreement with the Department of Housing   and Urban Development so HUD uses the F like  I needed to throw another acronym at you the   public housing assessment system and it's used to  assess the pha's performance managing its low rent   public housing programs it uses uses a centralized  system to collect individual sub system scores   with many more acronyms um using various sub  indicators and produce a composite F score   representing the ph's performance so that scoring  system it's based on 100 points uh the first is   the physical assessment subst subsystem the pass  um it provides 40 points the fast the financial   assessment sub system provides 25 the mass the  management assessment sub system provides 25 and   then they didn't come up with a creative one here  the capital fund program for 10 points uh public   housing authorities with 250 units or more are  required that are not covered by a commitment to   enter into a housing assistance payment contract  to convert its portfolio under rad are required   to complete a f um every year as uh whha entered  into a commitment to enter into housing assistance   payments contract for its entire public housing  portfolio in 2019 it was Exempted from the F   scoring until that chap was terminated in October  of 2022 for the single family homes when we were   unsuccessful in securing the financing and  HUD determined that A rad conversion was not   feasible so in October of 22 we canceled that  Chap and December 31st they scored US based on   those uh scoring criteria and the score was a 58  the PA score is determined using an independent   inspection conducted under HUD regulations and  in 2022 that was the uniform physical condition   standards upcs it has changed since then but the  property scored 17 out of 40 points uh the poor   condition of the properties is what led the witow  housing authority to attempt to reposition the   properties under the rad program to allow debt  on the properties to fund the requisite repairs   the fast score is uh determined by data reported  to HUD in the financial data schedule the fds and   we score 25 out of 25 points those scores are  based on three uh ratios the quick ratio the   months Expendable net ratio and the debt  service coverage ratio the mass score is   determined by data reported to HUD and also on the  financial data schedule um but the those scores   the biggest percentage is in occupancy and the  higher the occupancy the higher the score so   there's a maximum of 16 of the 25 points come from  uh if you have 98% occupancy or greater once you   get below 90% you get zero points this is what  hit us very hard um in addition to that there are   two bonus points and I don't even call them bonus  points because they're really for for poor things   um you get an an extra point if your Project's at  least 28 years old and you can get a bonus point   if your Project's located in a neighborhood where  40% or more of the families are living below the   poverty line um it also incorporates uh point the  additional remaining nine points are found in the   Resident accounts receivable it measures whether  or not we're actually collecting the rents from   the tenants and the accounts payable whether we're  paying our bills we scored 11 points which was all   of the points available um outside of occupancy  as we know that the occupancy level in 2022 was   41.7 six as uh we have not been releasing units  when they vacate since 2017 um because we are   preparing to sell those properties now what  first was under Rad but now under Section 18   of the Housing Act the capital fund score is also  influenced by occupancy it's a total of 10 points   but Five Points of those come from occupancy so  if you have less than 93% occupancy you do not   get any of those Five Points the other five points  is for fund obligation which means you that we are   uh timely obligating Capital funds and we received  those five points that total score of 58 places wa   in a troubled designation in accordance with the  regulations of 24 CFR 90275 and requires entering   into a recovery agreement the field office staff  reported that they appealed to HUD headquarters to   wave the recovery agreement requirement as the  score is reflective of the pha's activities to   reposition its public housing stock and terminate  its participation in the public housing program   HUD headquarters replied the recovery agreement is  statutory and therefore cannot be waved but they   did scale it back um they scaled it back to only  the requirements that are required under statute   as well as requirements to continue our efforts  to completely dispose of all of the public housing   units so in that agreement we're required to  provide progress reports to HUD commencing 30   days after execution of the agreement we've been  providing HUD progress reports um monthly for the   last five years actually so that is not new we  also share data with them through a SharePoint   we were we are updating every time there's a sale  every time there's an activity they're able to   see that information live we need to improve our  performance by 50% of the difference between the   initial F assessment score and the score necessary  to remove the troubled designation improve the   performance to achieve at least 60% of the total  points available by the next sequential fiscal   year F assessment provide a maintenance plan to  ensure OCC uh occupied units are maintained in   accordance with the National Standard for physical  inspection of real estate Inspire standards and   increase the pass score to at least 24 points  within N9 months sub submit a plan and timeline   for submitting an approved application to HUD for  disposition of the remaining public housing units   we've actually already done that and within 24  months after Hud's approval of the application   for disposition establish a not to exceed  deadline to submit an approvable financing   plan for the replacement housing so that's the  housing we're going to build with the proceeds   from the sale that's the the meat of of the  agreement there is no impact to the general fund   uh the law department has reviewed the recovery  recovery agreement and and approved it as to form   and recommended that the witcha Housing Authority  board authorize the execution of the recovery   agreement from the US Department of Housing and  Urban Development and I stand for any questions   council member hoel thank you vice mayor um thank  you Sally for this presentation and your work on   this let me know if I'm I guess breaking this  down right right we had issues we came up with   a plan to address some previous issues we've had  and now we're I hate to say like being penalized   but we're under scrutiny for sticking with our  plan to address the original issues that we had   um yeah it's it's yes the original plan though  was to to reposition under rental assistance   demonstration that proved to be infeasible the  fact that we're going back to using a different   disposition method is what is ends up putting  us under penalty um section 18 of the act for   disposition has been around for decades and so  there was no provision in that act that allows   for a waiver of the F because actually section  18 of the acts been around since before the f um   assessment has been in place uh when they did Rad  in it was considered a it is still considered a   pilot program in 2013 um they actually understood  that this is a problem and Incorporated a waiver   from the FAA requirement okay so for example  where we're under as far as the um occupany   rate we're not matching that but that's because  we're not keeping people in there on units that   we are about to put on the market correct correct  so um is this something that we maybe need to I   mean we all know Hud's on my list when we go  to DC and March to talk to is this something   that um we should put on that on on that agenda as  well as far as at least expressing Our concern and   some frustrations with that getting dinged even  though we are going through the process to to get   to where we need to be right yes it is frustrating  by the time we could get HUD to move on this I'm   hoping we're out of public housing right so at  this point um and the field office really did   advocate for a long time time as you see this was  the 2022 score and we're just they're just finally   getting to this to us in 2025 okay yeah I I like I  said we have various frustrations with them and um   when we do go up for our day on the hill in March  I think it is it's something I mean it can help   with other municipalities as well going through  this I had a little angst on a couple of the the   requirements of increasing the score knowing that  really with the occupancy penalty that that's not   really feasible they did respond back in  writing and said so long as we're moving   towards disposition we will be in compliance  so I'm like okay all right well I appreciate   that thank you I see no further questions for  staff thank you Sally we will open it up for   public comment I see none we'll bring it back  to the bench I will move to authorize the sale   of the two wit landbank propert sorry my bad I was  looking at the wrong one um I will move to approve   that the witcha Housing Authority board authorized  execution of the recovery agreement from the US   Department of Housing and Urban Development second  motion and a second any further discussion I see   none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion  passes 60 Madame clerk please call the next item council member appointments and comments we'll  start with council member appointments beginning   with council member hoisel thank you mayor um I  would like to appoint Rick Lindsay to the district   three Advisory Board council member Glascow mayor  I would like to appoint Adam Smith to the woodshaw   library board Council uh sorry vice mayor Ballard  sorry M's comments I will um also appoint he   schroer of the downtown witb uh to represent  the downtown witcha on the transit board I   see no more appointments so I will move to  approve the Slate of appointments second   Motion in a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 60 we will now have council  member comments beginning with vice mayor Ballard   thank you mayor I would just like to thank um  Public Works which the police department the hot   team the fire department and everyone else that  has worked so hard during this cold snap to keep   our roads clean and um help anyone and everyone  that has needed it council member hoisel thank   you mayor um I'd like to Second the Vice mayor's  comments um you know I stayed warm for most of   the time over the past couple of days but we had  a lot of people who work for the city out their   WPD reaching out to the the homeless also helping  with uh traffic accidents keeping our streets safe   um our firefighters never the work never stops  with them um EMS I know that's not necessarily   ours but I want to give a shout out to them too  and especially Public Works who they do not get   the recognition they deserve either they were out  there the roads are in pretty good shape you know   we've had a couple people we've had to dig out  but that's that happens with weather like this   so um also the residents out there I saw plenty  of people out there helping push cars out tow   cars out so uh just embracing um just the witch  top all around in our community so thank you to   the whole city with that um I'd also like to point  out if it's like 60° up here and we are finishing   by lunchtime um even though we had eight or nine  items on the agenda so uh staff going forward if   uh you guys really want us to move through these  meetings nobody else up here like State big Mach   I guess so I'm comfortable with this um and then  the last thing um over the holidays we did lose um   Paul Davis a Southside icon um he was a member of  dab he was a friend um he was a colorful character   and um he will be missed so I just wanted to  to recognize Paul in his years of service um   he was quite the historian he knew every single  building on South Witchita the history of it what   used to go there and he definitely made our dad  meetings a lot livelier so uh my thoughts go out   to his family and friends L member Johnson thanks  mayor funny Paul Davis story hope I don't get in   trouble for this one but I called him in 2014  when there was another Paul Davis running for   office and that was his message and he called  back and kept saying he's not the Paul Davis   running for governor and that was his thing like  the whole summer it was hilarious talking to him   about that he he was not a fan of the other Paul  Davis different political Persuasions but still   very respect respectful about it I just wanted to  add uh from vice mayor Ballard and council member   hoel's thank yous to the city of witcha Staff  including I think we often forget the airport   I know a lot of people were traveling especially  over the weekend to get back from the holidays   and the staff at the airport did a really great  job of making sure that the runways were clear   and then making sure that um guests could come  to Witchita and come back home for those that   live here in our city so thank you all very much  for your hard work unfortunately council member   hoisel we are not done with this council meeting  because uh we have an executive session oh way to   go sorry I know so I see that there's no further  council member comments so I will before we uh   can adjourn we actually have a special session or  executive session so I move that the city council   recess into executive session for 20 minutes um  to begin at 1210 so we will return at 12 12:30   to receive information on a lawsuit pursuant to  KSA 75- 4319 B2 for legal consultation with the   city attorney which would be deemed privileged in  the attorney client relationship due to pending   litigation and legal advice um this is again  to protect attorney client privilege and the   public interest again the executive session will  begin at 12:10 p.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. the   meting meeting will resume at 12:30 right here  in the council chambers oh second motion and a   second any further discussion I see none Madame  clerk please open the rooll motion passes 60