Good morning, Witchita, and good morning  to all of you. Welcome to City Hall. I   call this meeting to order. With us  this morning is Pastor Debbie Garrett   of Greater Deliveries Ministries to provide  our invocation. Following that invocation,   we will have the pledge of allegiance.  And we ask that you please stand for both. Good morning. Father God, we call upon you this morning  to say thank you for watching over us,   allowing us to rise fully clothed  and in our right minds. Father,   we invite you into our city council meeting. Let  there be joy, love, and peace among us. Father,   today we lift up to you our mayor, Mayor Liy Woo,  and her family along with the city council leaders   of Witchah. It is our prayer that they work  together with all integrity and transparency,   showing respect for each other  as they serve our communities.   We also lift up to you our police chief, Joseph  Sullivan, and our police officers, firefighters,   and other frontline workers and their families. As  they put their own lives on the line to help keep   our city safe. As we move closer to the Christmas  holidays, let us never forget why we celebrate   Christmas. Let his love be in our hearts for our  family and also our most vulnerable citizens,   our seniors, Witchah's children's home, and the  homeless in our communities. All these things we   ask in Jesus mighty name I pray. Amen. I aliance  to the flag of the United States of America and to   the republic for which it stands. One nation under  God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.   Thank you. Thank you pastor. Madame clerk,  can you please call the first item? Approve   the minutes of the regular meeting December 9th,  2025 and corrected minutes of the regular meeting   August 26, 2025. Council members, any items to  be corrected? I see none. I move to approve the   minutes for the regular meeting December 9th, 2025  and corrected minutes for August 26, 2025. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Mayor, uh, could I use  a point of privilege, please? Thank you. I'd like to ask my colleagues to  come down here with me as well.   And I want to invite up our friend  Kathy Ston and her friends as well. Thank you, Council Member Johnson, Mayor,  Council Members. My name is Kathy Ston and   on behalf of the Kansas Association of City County  Management, we're here today with colleagues from   our area communities, Sarah Gooding from City of  Towanda, city administrator, and let me find them   all here. Brent Clark, formerly Valley Center  city administrator, Jenny McCoslin of Andover,   city administrator. Nick Gregory May's  city manager, Sean Fox, Park City Manager,   and I got them all good. I want to thank these  colleagues for joining me. Um, a couple weeks ago,   we had our annual conference of the Kansas  Association of City County Management in Emporia,   and Bob was not able to be there, but so  we brought this home for him. This is their   recognition of him for his many years of service  in Kansas and to our communities. He has been a   leader and a guide to many um fellows, interns,  um young people in his classes that he teaches   at WSU. So for growing the profession as  well as serving the people of Witchaw,   we'd like to recognize you. Bob, if you would come  up, please. [Applause] It's nice that I have to   get to the end of my career to get a plaque. Um  that's my I I thank um the Kansas Association of   City County Management for uh recognizing uh my  retirement. It has been a true pleasure of mine   to be associated with such great professionals as  you see here uh who every day um work hard uh are   diligent in trying to make their communities a  better place for people to live and work. And   uh I uh it's been a noble profession to  be associated with um but uh it's all of   these people here that make a difference  along with the staffs that they represent.   So thank you so much to the association for this  recognition. Thank and thank you for being here. Bob, if I could ask you to join us again.  [Laughter] Good morning. Good morning.   Thank you. A resolution honoring Robert Leightton,  city manager on the occasion of his retirement in   recognition of his outstanding service to the city  of Witchah. Whereas Robert Leighton has served the   city of Witchah with his dis as the distinction of  city manager since 2009, demonstrating unwavering   dedication, visionary leadership, and deep  commitment to public service. And whereas   Robert Leighton has consistently exemplified  the highest standards of professionalism,   integrity, civic responsibility, carrying carrying  earning the respect and admiration of colleagues,   elected officials and residents alike.  Whereas during his tenure, Robert   Leighton has overseen numerous transformative  initiatives and accomplishments, including strengthening talent development through  the Witchaw Management Fellowship Program,   personally mentoring 35 fellows, leading  Witchah to be named an all-American city twice,   advancing major public facilities and  amenities, including Equity Bank Ballpark,   the Witchita Dwight D. Eisenhower National  Airport, the advanced learning library,   and multiple master plans such as the  aquatics, downtown, bicycle, pedestrian,   and library branch plans. Implementing a reserve  policy approved by the city council and increase   general fund reserves every year from 2009  through 2024. improving the city budget   process to enhance engagement opportunities  and alignments to strategic planning processes   and implementing an improved CIP process that  developed debt metrics and enhanced strategic   alignment which contributed to the city reaching  a tripaa bond rating from standard and pores and guiding major infrastructure project  projects including East Kellogg, the I13547th   Street interchange, the North Junction  I235 and Central and numerous arterial up   upgrades. Expanding sustainable transportation  through the introduction of electric buses and   construction of the new transit bus barn  and the under construction hub multimodal   facility and enhancing mobility with 70 miles of  expanded bike and pedestrian paths and trails. and leading the city's response to significant  challenges including historic droughts,   the CO 19 pandemic, and a major cyber attack.  Delivering critical storm water and river   improvements such as the Blakeley Street drainage  improvements and the Lincoln Bridge and Dam. implementing transformative changes in firefighter  hiding hiring by eliminating the pre-employment   EMT certification requirement and shifting  training inhouse significantly expanding   the pool and reducing economic and geographic  barriers. investing in modern fire facilities,   including three new fire stations with a fourth  underway designed with advanced health and   wellness features such as decam decontamination  spaces and individual sleep rooms. Supporting   public safety through completion of  the law enforcement training center,   the patrol east substation, and the  real time information center and expanding animal services through improvements  to the animal shelter and animal control facility   and leading park system revitalization, including  the transformation of Napsker Park and Clap Park,   creation of five dog parks and  development of Proc Wetlands Park and leading the transformation of Park  Elementary into the Second Light campus.   based on his beliefs in long-term solution over  short-term fixes, which will serve the community   for decades to come, making thousands of lives  better because he dared to think bigger and   facilitating the city's cooperation with Witchaw  State University and the University of Kansasoop   uh and WSU Tech on the construction  of the Witchaw biomedical campus. steadfastly supporting the United Way of the  Plains by leading the city organization to   repeatedly be in the top 10 corporate supporters  through employee contributions and serving on   its board of directors. Whereas, Robert Leighton  has been a steady and thoughtful leader through   times of both challenge and opportunity, always  placing the well-being of the community at the   forefront of every decision, especially during  economic challenges and the COVID pandemic.   Whereas Bob Leighton has been a steadfast advocate  for childhood literacy, libraries, and public   education, and strengthening the role of the  public library in helping residents connect,   discover, learn, and thrive, and inspiring  the development of the brand new Family Place   initiative. Pardon me, now being named in honor  of Robert Leighton, the family place on all seven   Witchaw Public Library locations. Be ready  for seven ribbon cutings. Whereas the city   of Witchah wishes to express its sincere gratit  gratitude for his years of dedicated service and   celebrate his legacy of consistent leadership. Now  there, now therefore, be it resolved the Witchah   City Council, that we hereby honor and commend  Robert Leighton for his exemplary service as   the city manager not only in Witchah, but also  in Urbandale and De Moine, Iowa, Kansas City,   Missouri, and North Syracuse, New York, in his  46 years of public service career, and extend   our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for  fulfilling a welldeserved retirement. [Applause]   Thank you so much. Um, I didn't really need  to be reminded about COVID and the droughts,   but other than that, greatly appreciate  the comments. Um, and thank the mayor and   council for um, their support. And I have  to thank the entire city team. Obviously,   the city manager doesn't do all of the things  that you heard. It takes an really professional   team to be able to accomplish things on a daily  basis. And I thank those who have been with us   uh since the time I arrived. Um it's been a  wonderful career. Um and it's uh been nice   to reflect on some of the accomplishments  not just here in my other communities as   well. and I'm looking forward to staying here in  Witchah and working for community improvements   uh as I go forward. And uh I thank again  the mayor and council for this recognition. We we are having fun this  morning. But wait, there's more. So behalf of the Witchah City Council,  in recognition of 16 years of steadfast   leadership and 47 years of dedicated public  service, the city of Witchah honors Robert   Leighton for his transformative impact  on our community. Under his guidance,   Witchah witnessed the realization of  major civic and infrastructure projects,   including the Dwight D. the Eisenhower National  Airport, the Advanced Learning Library,   Equity Bank Park, the Hub Transit Center, and  state-of-the-art water treatment facility. Mr.   Leightton championed initiatives addressing  housing and security, mental health, literacy,   and public safety, embedding social responsibility  into the city's framework. His commitment to trans   to transparent governance and community engagement  has left an indelible mark on Witchah's evolution.   With gratitude, we present this key to the  city as a symbol of our appreciation for   his unwavering dedication and visionary  leadership. Congratulations. [Applause] Well, just I I'm I'm really humbled by this.  Thank you so much. I I mostly am humbled to   be associated with the people who have received  this key in the past. It's not something that is   easily given out and and I appreciate that  uh show of respect and honor. Thank you. Congratulations. [Applause] Nice job. Thank you again, city manager Leighton,  for your 16 years of service to the city   of Witch. Madame Clerk, can you please  call the next item? Public agenda. The   public agenda allows for up to five speakers to  have five minutes each to address the council.   No action will be taken relative to items on  the public agenda other than referral to the   city manager for information as necessary.  Speakers will please state their name and   address for the record. A time clock will display  the speaker's remaining time to speak. Order and   rules of decorum will be observed. The first  speaker is Andrew Crane, affordable housing. Well, good morning, city council and mayor and  uh city manager. Uh, also, um, I wanted to, uh,   you know, address the, uh, also the downtown  apartments that are not section 8, uh, housing   and, uh, what you guys are going to do about the  big long list of disability and blind community   uh, people that are on the section 8 voucher. Um  because the the downtown area is where the buses   are at and it's where you know a lot of stuff is  at. Um and you know if you want uh the disability   and blind community to move around your city,  you're going to have to put a uh section 8 housing   downtown. and uh and that um I just wondered  what you guys are thinking um to help out the   disability community. Um you know, I am all for  the disability and blind community. I've been   standing with them for a number of years and I  will be standing with them for a long time. um and   and that. So, um I I want to ask each and every  one of you to look and to think about your family   members, think about, you know, the disability  community, how hard it is for them to get housing   in this city and and that. So, um, what what are  you guys going to do about that and address that? Mr. Crane, would you like to finish up your  five minutes and then the council will respond?   You guys can go ahead. I'm done. Thank you,  Mr. Crane. Council member Ho Heisel. Thank you,   Mayor. Um, we had the groundbreaking of 75  new units last week outside the multi- agency   center. I believe 10 of those are all access  um built for accessibility. Also in January,   we will be having a workshop on uh  potential affordable housing fund   and requirements like that could be built  in in order for people to get some of the   um economic benefits um as far as affordable  housing goes. So that is something that is very   much on our radar. Um just trying to make sure  that these units are set up because you're right,   there's a lack of affordable housing um especially  for people who have disabilities. We can't force   people to do that, but if they are taking part  in our incentives or some of our programs,   that's where we have the ability to uh make  certain ask and requirements of them. Good. Thank you. Thank you, Mr.  Crane. Yes. Madame Clerk,   can you please call the next individual?  Bridget Eie. Supreme Court case. You guys ready? Am I good? Can I drop these off  to you guys? Oh, sorry. Sorry. Okay. I've never   done this before, so bear with me. Can I drop one  of these off to you guys? December 21st, 2023,   my ex used WP in Kansas legal services as well  as as well as a few judges. I was taking my ex   to court for his abuse. Our court date in Salina  was December 18th. December 1st, he filed a PFA.   Detective Pyramid helped him. Then I was served  before I had the PFA hearing in Witchah. I had   um before I had the PFA hearing in Witchah, I  had court in Salena and the judge in Salena. My   ex went down there and he's like, "Haha, I filed  a PFA. PFAS override family law. The whole case   is being transferred." Before I even got the PFA  served to me. Kelly Hogan says, "Must change the   venue. Must change the venue." So I hire Vincent  Garcia December 21st, 2023. And I'm ambushed.   Kansas Legal Services and Randy Hubert, they take  me out to the hallway and they tell me if I don't   sign temporary orders that I will never see my  child again. I still don't sign those temporary   orders because I refuse. So, my lawyer did  it for me, but I didn't do it. I filed PFA   after PFA after PFA after PFA, and every single  one of them, 40 to be exact, was denied. So,   I told myself it was my God-given right to be my  son's mother. In the Bible, it says the words of   King Lemio, the prophecy that his mother taught  him. How can I teach my son biblical principles   if he's being ripped for me to protect abuse? So,  here's where you guys come in. I promised myself,   my son is, his dad is Vietnamese, and as you can  see in those packets, he pretty much owns WPD. I   recorded so I have documentation in police reports  that my son was begging for help. He was begging   for therapy. Okay? That's why I was taking my ex  to court the right way. Lying about abuse in a PFA   is abuse. Okay. So, here's what I got. I hired  a family law lawyer. Every PFA was denied. Um,   the judge took away my 2-hour supervised visits.  Judge Owie Dewey is what I call him because I   was fighting the PFA and because I refused  to conform. I promised myself. In the PFA,   it says that the only thing I have to do to get  my kid back is not call the police on my ex. The   problem is not me calling the police on my ex.  The problem is his behavior. And it is crazy   that the law will write in a PFA, change  the venue and don't call the cops. That's   crazy. So that should be your sign one. There's  a crap ton of corruption. But here's the thing,   okay? You cannot legally keep somebody's kid for  over 700 days off of a lie without it all being   corrupt. I I I I was at the courthouse. I didn't  even get a single inperson or court hearing for   17 months. The only thing I got is a 9-minute  video of the CCI at the CCI investigators,   the C the Aaron Newman. I recorded it because  after one full year separated from my kid and   $10,000 in legal fees, Aaron Newman told me  that she lied because the judge assigned to   her case told her to lie. That is criminal. That  is criminal. I recorded it all. Also, I've already   had the Topeka down here. Okay. I am in the first  person in Kansas to get a judge as a defendant.   So I promised myself that if the evil that took  my son kept my son for the full two years till   he turned 18, hell hath no fury like a scorned  woman. And honestly, Lily, he's Vietnamese. He   bragged to me that he owns Witchita. I have police  reports. Also, I set everybody up, too. I filed 40   PFAS. You see all those photos of my ex with Judge  Phil Jurnney? Okay, I have videos of all of this.   I recorded everything. Everything. You guys think  that police officer getting kicked in the balls   is funny? Wait till people know the lengths that  you guys will go to protect, abuse, and rob people   of their god-given right to be a parent. Nobody  has done this before. I filed over 40 PFAS. The   Joanie Wilson emailed me the process for PFAS.  Okay, there's five family law judges. journey   after he saw all those photos with my ex after  he signed three PFAS. He said, and I recorded the   advocate coming out telling meself. He said,  "Oh, I guess I have to recount myself now,   huh?" I recorded it all. I recorded it all. Now,  here's the biggest thing. I only got 20 seconds.   In the Bible, it says, "Behold, I show you a  mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all   be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye,  at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound,   and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we  are alive and remain shall be caught up together,   but the Lord in the air. You guys might find this  funny, okay? But I have prayed my whole life for   God to use me. And the only way I know how is to  take all the corruption and all the lack of and   shove it back in Witchah police. I was arrested  twice. Why? Why was there no investigations? Huh?   I have literally the cops telling me it doesn't  matter how many police reports you file, they will   all be turned into miscellaneous. Yes. What are  we doing about all of this? You got hotlines. Your   five minutes is up. What are we doing about it?  You may have a You may have a seat. You may have   a seat. I really wanted you guys to know that God  comes back as a thief in the night to those that   are not ready. The signs of the times are here,  you guys. The Only thing that I will just say is   um asking law when individuals have complaints  regarding any city employee, what is the procedure   that they're supposed to go through? They didn't  follow it. You're supposed to be when you're   making a professional standard. Miss Eie, Miss  Eie, why are we miss I I asked that you continue   with the quorum in this boardroom. Madame um law  mayor um I don't believe this is a municipal court   case. I don't believe we have jurisdiction. If  there is a complaint against Witchtop Police   Department, any citizen may file a complaint with  the Professional Standards Bureau. Thank you very   much. Madame Clerk, can you please call the next  individual? Ronald Magle. the proposed sales tax. Mayor and council members, I'm Ron Nagel, 2242  Lindberg Street, Witchaw, and I'm here to address   the um recently disclosed sales tax proposal.  And I'm kind of wondering um what is the rush? It seems to me well let me just read my remarks.  I liken the witchaw for proposal to a child's wish   list sent to can Santa. In my analogy though, we  the citizens of Witchah are being asked to swipe   our credit card before entry into the store or  any decisions to made about the specificity of   the things we might purchase. As a parent, which  many of you I'm sure are, would you prepay for a   future unknown expenditure? Then why would we make  the same mistake as citizens? Why would you make   that decision to put it on the ballot with the  possibility that it would pass and then we have   ultimately $840 million and then we decide how  to spend the money. I mean the roundabout figures   that Witchaw Ford put are just pie in the sky.  Almost all of them are divisible by 25 million.   Seriously. Is that really a proposal? I doubt if  Fidelity Bank, one of the principles, if someone   walked into their institution and slap down that  that they would accept that as a proposal for an   $840 million loan. The only real benefactors  to this plan are the banks, the builders, and   the developers. They would receive $600 million  plus of future capital improvement construction   dollars and sizable property tax deductions. Why  the rush? The three principles of Witchaw Ford are   Fidelity Bank with $3.2 2 billion in assets.  The builder Hutton, which is completing a $6   million apartment building and also owns a $24,000  foot headquarters, a 10,000 square foot building   for its own support services, the former American  Legion building, the former CW's office furniture   building, and many additional properties. The  third principle and developer is Thrive Restaurant   Group which owns the local franchises of Carlos  Okeellis, Homegrown, Kudoba, and Applebees. One   can only speculate about how much of the property  relief the principles of which Ford will reap. The   Witchaw Ego estimates commercial taxpayers will  save $100 per 100K in value. The Witchaw Eagle   also estimates that a residential um citizen will  save $46 per 100K in residential savings with an   average household spending of additional $352 in  sales tax. Thus, if your house is worth $765,000, you will break even as far as the taxes  go. If it's worth less, you will actually   lose money on the tax burden transfer. And  that's what it is, is a tax transfer. I'm   personally a property owner who would welcome  property tax relief. This proposal though would   simply transfer tax dollars from the more  affluent to the less affluent. I consider   that personally unethical and would hope that  our council persons would share similar values. What's the rush? Many of us have went shopping for used vehicles.  Typically, a salesperson person guides one to a   vehicle. You describe and quote surprise. If  interested, you make a lower offer. Then the   salesperson confers with the manager and together  they pressure you to purchase the lemon of a car.   They tell you if you leave, their offer is off the  table. The whole timing of this pro proposal seems   engineered similarly to the used car scenario.  It was presented to council persons just a few   weeks prior to last week's first public unveiling.  Witchaw City Council, you are being manipulated   into prompt action, but prompt action is not  necessary. If this is a good plan in March, it   will still be a good plan in August. I would hope  saving the $150,000 by not having a March election   would be a consideration. It is our money. Thank  you, Ron. I appreciate it. What is the rush? What   is the rush to even have me quiet down? Thank  you, Ron. Thank you, Miss Will. I have noted your   dissent on um the item, which is a new business  item coming up next. Thank you, Madame Cler. Can   you please call the next item? Joseph text doer.  A few thoughts on recent happenings and hypocrisy. How do y'all Joseph text doer u first off want  to thank you all for the opportunity to speak.   I signed up today um after what I heard during  the council meeting last week thinking that this   was going to be on the consent agenda and uh is  the season I last week I didn't want to be at the   council meeting. I would love to have been on the  road to see my meet my wife and see my si sister   and niece in a Christmas play, but similar to  feeling like I had to show up on October 21st when   we had the landlord tenant issue, feeling like it  was being rushed through, I saw this happening yet   again with an issue that really culminated in a  pattern I've seen continually um over the years   serving on the district 1 advisory board and as a  citizen. And I say these remarks, as I mentioned   last week, as someone who began their political  career working with the Sam Adams Alliance,   which is a state policy network think tank that  specialized in ballot initiatives. So the site   Balipedia, a lot of the the things you saw on  there I wrote um I contributed to. And so I've   seen a lot of sales tax proposals and this I've  never seen anything quite go through like this.   Um there's a few issues here that really bother  me and in large part I believe that comm the   community should drive political will and as  much as I respect the intentions of probably   many in Witchah Ford and obviously the intentions  of everyone here who wants to see Witchah grow,   I have some grave concerns. Um, and I will use the  probably the time during the the new business item   to go through specific language that we is since  y'all are pulling it, we have a chance to update   today to ensure that future councils and future  mayors can have then the guidelines and guardrails   that we've seen so successfully proven in places  like Oklahoma City because as much as Witchaw Ford   says they followed maps and they even mentioned  that in their survey, their survey didn't even   do the things that maps did which is looking at  pri prioritizations of funds and there's a number   of things that is incl are included in the MAPS  programs that we can learn from that are dra for   some reason missing in our proposal um that we  will be voting on. One of the more fascinating   things is I pulled up this morning the primary  dogs looking at the actual last maps for that   passed with 71% in Oklahoma City. The voters voted  on one single sentence and it was ratifying the   proposition that the council and mayor voted on an  ordinance, a detailed ordinance. And I brought it   today because it has a number of things that our  ordinance doesn't have. And I also brought the   language um from what will be on our ballot which  misses a lot which does not include mention of the   ordinance and does not mention a number of other  things. And I understand why a lot of Witchans   are frustrated because there's the optics of 17  thou over 17,000 Witchens from diverse political   backgrounds sign a petition to save Century 2 and  are slowwalked and sued by the city. And then the   optics of a banker, a businessman, and a builder  walking into city hall and having a proposal they   put forward fasttracked and moved forward,  that doesn't look so good. And in maps, you   have a 30-year history of a mayor with their city  council, but really a mayor leading an initiative   with vision and over a multi-year process to get  feedback from a community on what they want to see   before the language even goes onto the ballot.  And one of the things that really bothered me   last week was there was mention um there's mention  last year of we're going to have a deficit. And so   some some on the council pushed for an increase in  the mill levy, the property tax. And instead the   council decided to reduce our mill levy for the  first time in decades. And by reducing our mill   levy, they took 2.7 million minimum out of the  budget each year. And last week, may I respect   you, but you you mentioned on record that because  of the looming deficit of a few million in a few   years, we need to it was one of the reasons  we need to address this now. And it also was   mentioned is the second light funding which will  ARPA funding ends in September. But the idea that   we just then cut tax, we just then cut property  tax and are pushing at at 2.7 million a year to   and then using that as a reason to push a billion  dollar tax increase is a reality. And I I'll I'll   continue my remarks during the other other portion  of the session of the new business. But the other   thing that really stood out to me and bothered  me the most was when I came here in October 21st,   there was a clear clear understanding that  we needed to wait and pause and not rush   something that quote affects so many people  in the community. As the mayor said, the idea   is not to have closed door meetings and create  ordinances that affect everyone in our community.   When I learned that it was only the six district  advisory boards engaged in this process before   it came to us at the council, I know I could not  support this. I am a big component of getting all   stakeholders at the table. I'll finish my remarks  during the new section new business. Thank you. Thank you text. Madame clerk,   can you please call the next individual?  David Bradock. Non-discrimination ordinance. Good morning. I think my address is already  on file. If you need it, please let me know.   First of all, mayor, congratulations again. This  is the first time I've seen you at that chair.   I met you before at Witchaw State this morning.  Uh, represent or Miss Rice helped me get all my   documentation to all of you this morning. So,  you should all have it in an email box from   me. I'm not going to read it all because it's  quite lengthy. And I do want to let you know   um I'm very used to litigation. I don't like  litigation. I hate litigation. God tells me not to   take people to court, but I've had to in the past.  And if for any of the things I've disclosed in   that document seem to be offensive to any of the  other council members or I've misstate anything,   you feel it's appropriate to file charges  of slander against me or anything like that,   please go forward because as I said this  morning in our prayer, we want integrity   and transparency. And so if I misstate anything,  the correspondence went to you. There's currently   a news embargo to the media until five o'clock on  Friday, but we'll be released with them along with   a multitude of other documents provided by our  city attorney and district mayor, I'm sorry, our   law director when she handled my case previously.  Last time I was here, I was suing Walgreens Boots   Alliance. Uh the mayor was extremely hostile and I  apologize for any disrespect I gave to that chair.   I respect the offices all of you hold greatly.  I don't vote for most of you honestly,   but I pray for each one of you because that's  what I'm called to do. So, I will cite one small   thing regarding the discrimination ordinance.  The primary purpose of my email is to revisit   the ordinance we regarding and I was the  first case ever filed under that ordinance.   My case involved Walgreens Boots Alliance revealed  critical flaws in both the litigation framework   established by the city council and the procedures  implemented by the law office who of which I   cceeded on the original email. The arbitration  process collapsed without any agreement.   What followed was an unexplained delay appearing  to stem from exparte communications between her   and opposing council which resulted in the  statute of limitation somehow mysteriously   expiring and preventing me from filing a civil  case. My request for you is to actually review   the process. There was an at there was a pastor,  Pastor Dion Gates, who voted against the amendment   ever going to place and he explained why that  we shouldn't bring a judicial matter into the   executive branch. He says if we really want to do  this to protect anti-discrimination we should hire   parillegals. My case and all as well as all the  disclosure I felt to see all the other cases to   the best of my knowledge there's not been a single  case litigated through that process has resulted   anything meaningful in terms of a settlement but  instead we've grandstanded continuously and added   additional things that were put on a wonderful  new anti-discrimination ordinance. If you want a   PR stunt, that's great. But instead, I'm asking  for financial accountability and for asking for   transparency. I really hoped I could put all  this behind me. And for some reason, this came   up again this year. Uh, someone once said, "When  can we finally put this behind me?" I said, "Well,   let's see." The CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance  resigned mysteriously and never announced another   job she was pursuing because an outside board  member talked to her about this. Our mayor who   was expected to be reelected somehow didn't get  elected. All the other parties documented in this   piece, their things have come up. They've either  confessed what they did and said was wrong and   tried to make amends for it, which is what I hope  this is all about. I really don't want any of you   to quit or resign at all. But as things come to  light, they need to come to light. So, if there's   any misgivings about why this ordinance was ever  introduced, possibly for financial windfall of   council member or if the city attorney really did  have expartumations because she was thought she   wasn't sure what hat she was wearing. Am I sitting  as a city attorney? Am I sitting as the judge?   Am I sitting as a prosecutor? That can't work.  Judges can barely handle all that. An executive   branch procedure. We attempted to create a whole  new court system in the law office can't work. I   would hate to know how much you spent on my case  alone. I know it was a lot. Nothing happened from   that. Somehow they interviewed Walgreens Boots  Alliance with the attorney that she appointed   to address my case. Had a complete interview with  her and then somehow after all that discussions   just with them decided my case had no merits and  threw it out. and never talked to me personally.   That seems a bit odd, but there's a lot of things  are a bit odd. So, my only reason for coming here   today was to bring things to light. Um, I repres  I recognized in the email my thanks to Maggie   Ballard. Uh, she really did step up and I really  appreciate it. Uh, we don't agree on many things   politically here. Uh, but she stepped up and said,  you know, I don't know why we're concealing this,   why we can't show you these things. And that's  what I'd like to do. Let's try and bring this   more to transparency. Thank you for your time.  Thank you, David. Um, as a point of clarification,   the NDO was passed in October of 2021. Um,  and I just want to know, I think you emailed   all of us this morning. Yes, this is Rice Rec.  Every council member received your great uh,   email. So, thank you. I appreciate it. Um, law,  is there anything that um, Mr. Bradock can do? Mayor, council, um you know that anybody  can continue to file a complaint under the   non-discrimination ordinance. It is in effect. I  don't have um any other um comments at this time   about his particular case. Mayor Woo, could  I respond to her statement? Can you email? I   will be glad to. There will be certainly response.  Thank you very much, Mayor Woo. Have a great day.   Thank you to the five speakers. Madame clerk,   can you please call the next item?  Consent agenda items 1 through 28. Council members, any items to be pulled from  the consent agenda? I see none. I go I will   go ahead and move the consent agenda  items 1 through 28. Second. Motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Board of bids  and contracts dated December 15, 2025. Morning, mayor, city council. Josh Lober,  Department of Finance. The board of bids and   contracts convened yesterday, December 15th  for the following items. For engineering,   we have Douglas Avenue, Senica Street to  Meridian Avenue for Conspect Incorporated,   doing business as Kansas paving for 10,629,347.16. We have pump station 3 6 through9 repairs for JMG  Ventures doing business as Huzier Engineering LLC   for 172,760 subject to approval of the new engine  new engineers estimate and budget authorization   you just approved. We have the 2025 sanitary  sewer reconstruction phase 1 Dunham edition and   Dunham second edition for Dutton Construction  Services LLC for $158,520 subject to the new   engineer estimate budget authorization on  consent. Today we have the Redbud multi-use   path woodlon to K96 phase 1 for prao construction  LLC for an aggregate bid total of 3,480,2786. We have the sidewalk improvements to serve   Brookfield South phase 6 and phase 7 for  Rosten Construction LLC for $146,24045. We have the water distribution system sanitary  sewer paving and incidental drainage improvements   for Swany farm edition phase two for NAK  construction company incorporated for1,534,2725. We have the water distribution system sanitary  sewer improvements for Cottonwood Creek Estates   phase 2 for Apex Excavating LLC  for an aggregate bid of $277,119. We have the water distribution system oak tree  edition for PSC contractors LLC for $219,730. We have the water main improvements for Bettson  edition for Apex Excavating LLC for $127,965. We have the storm water drain number  547 improvements to serve Clear Creek   third and fourth edition phase 8 for  PSC contractors LLC for $452,760. And for purchasing, we have the interior  and exterior modifications of single   family home at 1601 East Delmare for Rosson  Construction LLC for $115,000. We have the   tree and stump removal of Sim Golf Course  for Witchaw Tree Service LLC for $63,810. We have tree and stump removal  citywide groups 1 through six   for Witchah Tree Service LLC for $25,562. We have the construction of Witchaw  Police Department West Patrol Station   for Don Linger and Suns Construction Incorporated   for an aggregate bid total with the  alternate selected of 8,366,500. We have the self-propelled  tricycle type street sweeper   for Barry Tractor and Equipment Company  for an aggregate bid total of $422,91. This is how to become a vendor with the city.  This is a purchasing calendar of small business   resource partner events the city's hosting or  participating in. And these are open public   opportunities. I don't think I've seen it  this brief in a while. So, I'll be happy to   try to answer your questions. We are in full  endear swing and I'll be happy to answer your   questions. Thank you, Josh. Questions for staff  beginning with Council Member Ballard. Thank you,   Mayor. Actually, it's not a question.  I just need to pull item on page 18. And I also have a question actually on um  Douglas Street Cica to Meridian. I think   it's the first item. There we go. Um is  this the total for the entire project   or just the street improvements?  Need the city engineer on that one. Paul Gonzan public works and utilities. This  is for the entire construction of that project   includes street, sidewalk, etc. And can you remind  us um this stretch of the street will be how many   lanes? This will be three-lane roadway with on  street parking with shared lane use markings for   cyclists. You said sidewalks on both sides. Yes,  there sidewalk exists. Um, we would be replacing   it with a wider sidewalk. And does this include  the public art? It does. Yes. Thank you very much. Council member Ballard, do you  want to just pull that item?   I will go ahead and move to approve the board  of bids and contracts dated December 15,   2025 without the item regarding  Patrol West. Second. Motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Council member Ballard.   Due to a conflict of interest, I'd  like to abstain from this item. I will go ahead and move and approve the board of  bids and contracts that includes the Patrol West   um item. Second motion and a second. Any further   discussion? I see none. Madame  clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 6 with one abstension. Madame clerk,   please call the next item.  Petitions for public improvements. Good morning, mayor, city council members. Paul  Gman, public works and utilities. For the record,   I have one location for your consideration  this morning. The signature on the petition   represents 100% of the improvement districts and  the petition is valid per Kansas statute. Green   witch legacy edition located in district 2. On  April 8th, 2025, city council approves sewer   required for a new residential development.  The developer has submitted revised sewer   petition to remove the acquisition fee. The  budget remains as previously approved. It   is recommended that the city council approve the  revised petition, adopt the amending resolution,   and authorize the necessary signatures. And  I will stand for questions. Thank you, Paul.   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. Madam clerk, please open the motion. 70. Madame clerk, please call  the first new item. Ordinance calling   for special election question to impose 1%  sales tax. Uh mayor, members of the council,   uh Bob Leighton, city manager. I believe this  is my last presentation formally. Um I'm here   to speak on the second reading of the ordinance  calling for a special election to impose a 1%   sales tax. Council gave first reading to this  at its last meeting. I'm going to go quickly   through this. Just a reminder that Witchaw  Forward uh community coalition uh brought   to you a proposal for a 1% sales tax referendum.  It had five items that that were included in the   uh plan. included uh funding for public safety  improvements, homeless and housing services,   Century 2 and Convention Center  improvements, property tax relief,   and the development construction of a new downtown  public performing arts center. Um, as I mentioned,   the council considered this um at its December 9th  meeting, gave it gave the ordinance first reading,   and uh if this council were to approve  the second reading today, the uh sales   tax assessment would begin on July 1st, 2026,  terminate no later than June 30, 2020 or 2033,   excuse me, based on Wish Forward's financial anal  analysis. It's predicted that a 1% sales tax for   seven years would generate revenue streams uh in  the amounts that are shown on the screen. I won't   read through each of those. Um we have discussed  this at length at a last council meeting. Additionally, the ordinance calls for the  creation of an oversight committee within 90   days after the passage of the sales tax. Uh this  is a citizen committee that would be comprised   of 15 members appointed by the city council.  Committee would meet at least two times a year   and would provide an annual financial audit  of the sales tax expenditures to be prepared   by an independent auditor. Oversight committee  cannot make any funding determinations but can   make recommendations to the city council. Scope of  the committee's role is to verify projects funded   with sales tax revenue as consistent with  the purposes and uses that were approved by   the voters similar to what was done with uh the  oversight committee for in trust uh bank arena. 1% sales tax is estimated to generate about $850  million over the seven-year period. Um during your   uh debate at the last council meeting uh you asked  staff to look at the possibility of providing   some kind of sales tax uh relief for lowincome  residents in the community. Um, until recently,   Kansas uh offered a sales tax credit program  and it would have been if that program had   been in existence, it would have been easy for  us to piggyback with that uh which would have uh   really reduced any kind of administrative burden  with a rebate or uh payment program. However,   we have come up with one uh possibility for the  council to consider if you wanted to move forward   with some kind of relief program, and that  would be an annual payment of approximately   $50 or of $50 to Witaw residents who qualify  for the lowincome energy assistance program. There are about over there a little over  24,000 households in Cedric County that receive   uh LEAP assistance. Our census data indicates  that uh over 27,000 households in the county   are below the poverty rate and that about 94%  of those households actually are located in the   city of Witchah. Uh more than 23,000  households would be eligible for the   proposed rebate at a cost of approximately  $1.15 million depending on the number of   applications that are received. But as you  can tell, uh, LEAP has been a popular program,   uh, to provide some kind of utility  assistance for our low-income families. If, uh, the council were to move  forward with the ordinance today,   uh, the special election would have a cost  of 150 approximately $150,000. Um, sufficient   funds are available in the city manager off city  manager's office budget of to cover this cost. So with that um bringing to you second reading  of the ordinance to call a special election   on the and also to approve the proposed notice  of special question election. With that I'd be   glad to answer any questions questions for staff  beginning with council member Hoheisel. Thank you   mayor. Um Bob do we have any idea how many people  are currently signed up for leap in Witchah? Yeah,   I'm gonna ask Sally Stang to come forward. I  figured there would be some questions on LEAP,   so uh maybe if you could take advantage  of Sally B. All right. Appreciate it. Council member Housele, Council members, Sally  Sting with the Housing and Community Services   Direct uh department. For the record, I reached  out to uh DCF who runs the LEAP program because   we only have the 2024 numbers. I was quite  surprised when they emailed yesterday afternoon   to say there were under 10,000 applications  from city of Witchah residents for 2025. So I   can't explain the the big jump down from the year  before. I would hope that's because people are in   a better financial situation. Um but they did  not provide any background as to why it would   have dropped so significantly. Okay. So it would  fall on us to make sure to get the word out,   get people signed up. What is the funding source  from the state for LEAP? Is it through DCF? Is   it It comes through the Yes, the DCF manages that  program. That program comes through federal funds   um related to energy efficiencies that comes  to to the state who then awards it through   DCF. About how much does the state put into  this? That I don't know off the top of my head,   but I can get it for you. Okay, I'd appreciate  that. Yeah. Um this is a start. you know,   we can look some at some other programs over the  course of the next couple of months too to help   alleviate some of the burden of this on the lower  end of the economic spectrum here. Uh, mayor,   if I may um jump in, we're not recommending that  LEAP funding pro be the funding source here. That   would not be eligible. Uh, instead, this would  come from uh the property tax. All right. All   right. For Yeah. Yeah. for the funding of this  program, right? We'll take it out of the funds   from the CIP program, right? I just Exactly.  I just want to make sure that that was clear.   Okay. Yeah. Yes, sir. Appreciate that. Um Okay,  that's all I have for you, Sally. Um are there any   um agents for the uh Ford Witchah that'd  like to come up and um have anything to say?   Can can we go through more questions and then  put forward? Uh, Vice Mayor John St. Thank you,   Mayor Sally. Can you come back up, please?  We want to get your steps in today. I would just like to know, this this concerns  me too for poor citizens. Uh, what what's the   process? How hard is it to go through this process  to get this $50? We've been contemplating that,   too. So, um, we were able to re get a copy of  the eligibility notice that DCF provides. Um,   and we would be able to use that notice,  um, as the verification. Um, and our staff   actually logged in and was able to obtain that  verification from DCF's website within a couple   of minutes just logging into their account. So,  our discussions internally would be that there'd   be an online application where someone could fill  it out, submit the DCF verification of LI lie,   and then we'd be working on the back side  to be able to issue payments. The biggest   challenge is going to be getting through the  process to issue checks. Yeah. So online,   how long would that take someone to do? Two  minutes. It depends on their skill set to be   honest with you. Uh less than two minutes for  most. Um but of course we have um self-s serve   kiosks at all the neighborhood resource centers.  We figured that application would be something   that we could put on those kiosks there. We have  the kiosk here at city hall as well as staff   um at all of those locations that could assist  people in completing that application. Okay. What   documentation did the dena show that? It would  be the award letter from DCF showing their live   benefit and it would need to match the name and  address of the person who's applying. Okay. So,   if they don't have an award letter, they wouldn't  be able to get this. Correct. Okay. Is it only for   documented assistance or undocumented assistance?  You know, I would have to find out from DCF   whether is limited to um documented, whether they  have a process and go through the the verification   or not. That I do not know. But we can find out.  Okay. Okay. Thank you, Council Member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Bob, this is  a question for you. Can you explain   the food tax and why Witchah why we  can't just exclude it from Witchah?   Or is that a I think I'm going to  turn it over to Sharon Dick Graph. And I'm also going to look at Mark. Um when  we contacted the dep department of revenue   or actually when Mark contacted the department of  revenue um the state is part of a inter interstate   compact on taxes and the department of revenue  and I think some legislators have also provided   information that that to single out witchah is not  something that they maybe aren't willing to do. Um   but it would have effect of multiple cities if we  wanted to have just food tax overall um exempted   from any local sales tax. So so so it's a matter  of if if they went in and changed it that it would   have consequences on other uh sales taxes that  had been approved and I don't think that there   was enough buy in to have that happen. But I'm  gonna look at Mark and see if I did anything.   Thank you. Council member Glascott, just a quick  question for um Sharon for clarification. Witchah   is the only first class city in the state that  doesn't collect a full 1% for municipal sales tax.   Is that correct? I believe that is correct. Okay.  Thank you. Questions for city manager Leighton   now. Um can you go back to the slide regarding  the various amounts that would be allocated?   First question is, can those be changed? Uh,  mayor, at this point, uh, any changes in those   amounts would require, uh, a new first reading on  the ordinance? Second question, um, regarding the   new performing arts center, is there a mention  on there that this is a onetoone match? If not,   how do you add that in? In other words, um,  according to the presentation from this group,   they would have to, uh, find private dollars  to fund this and the public dollars would be   a match. Um, is there anything that could be  written in there that they have to find those   private dollars first before public dollars would  come in? Mayor, that's a good point. And that was   the intent from the very beginning that our  dollars would not be committed until there   was a match from private sector. I don't know  if that is an allowable change in the ordinance   or whether that would be considered significant  enough to push this into first reading. Again,   I I believe that under the ordinance we we are on  second reading today and only minor amendments can   be made today from the bench. I would consider  that more than a minor clarification. I I don't   think it's minor. I think we we're not able to  make a significant I'm not comfortable with this   if it does not first mean that public dollars come  into play next not first private dollars need to   be raised first then public dollars can come in  however if it doesn't allow that to be written   in and I don't think it's a significant change  it's rather this is up to 75 million but the   wording would say you have to build those private  dollars first. Council member Glasco, this would   be a question for legal. While that may not be  able to be changed in the ballot initiative,   that can can that be changed in the ordinance  that is attached to the ballot initiative? Yeah, the ordinance is the ballot question.  So, I'm sorry we can't we could do something   separately as a statement as a resolution of  intent um outside of the ballot question. I   think if that's of interest. Okay. Thank you.  I would need that in order to approve again   allowing the community to vote because I  don't want the city to be on the hook on   of these dollars if they cannot raise the funds  privately first. So, so I'm hearing that you can   accomplish that through a resolution when you if  you approve the ordinance, the ballot question,   you can also do a separate resolution indicating  your intent on administration of these funds   if once if this is adopted. I would want that  wording available. Uh, Council Member Ballard,   thank you. Uh, Bob, I know there's been a lot  of chatter about the potential performing arts   being on city land. Is there I mean is that  still part of the conversation? I understand   there's a conversation like that in the community  downtown public performing arts but I assume that   that's because it would be our our facility but  I want to talk about the actual land. I know we   have some stuff but no site has been identified.  I do know that the downtown master plan draft   has I think has some language. I just started  reviewing that document last week and there's   at least one site that's the city owned that the  was highlighted and I'm not all the way through   the document so I'm not quite sure what else was  looked at but no that this the ordinance does not   talk about it being located on city land. It just  in downtown. Okay. That's going to be incredibly   important to me and I think it is to many of my  constituents that have mentioned that as well. Council member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Um,  along the same uh route, if we wanted to split   this vote up and vote on the just the different  items, uh, their different pots of money spread   split into four different votes, is that something  we could do from the bench today or would that   require No, that would require a new ordinance.  Okay. So, if we did that and we still wanted to   get it published by the 19th, would that mean  we could have a Could we emergency that today? I'd advise against doing an emergency  ordinance. You'd have to have a second   meeting for a second reading. So, we  could have a special meeting scheduled   in the next two days. I'm going to have to  call on Sharon. She's been working with the   election commissioner and we're on a special  exception right now in terms of her timetable. Oh, Laura, I saw her in the audience. I thought  she she was she was gone. So, thank you,   Laura. I wasn't here just for you. Although,  good morning, mayor and council members. First,   I want to say congratulations on a remarkable  career. Incredible. I was pleased and honored   in to work for you. So, um, UAVA ballots go out  January 17th if this election is called. There   can be no changes today. It's an all ornone. I  originally gave Sharon a deadline of the 15th   of December. She asked if we could extend it to  the end of the week and we graciously did. We   are down to the wire, guys. So, I'm sorry that  it's a rush rush rush, but if UACava, which is   overseas ballots go out the 17th of January, we  have to have time to do programming and all of our   logic and accuracy testing on all the equipment  for over 70 sites. That's a lot of work and you   got the holidays in there, too. So, anyway,  I'm sorry. Don't have better news for you. So,   the the deadline is the 19th. We have to have  the ordinance in our possession by this Friday.   by this with the wording of the language. So if  we did have an emergency meeting tomorrow for the   second reading, we could still have that language  to you by Friday. No, we have to have the language   by Friday. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Yeah,  we could still have the language to you by Friday   if we had an emergency tomorrow. Yes. Okay. Okay.  Thank you. Appreciate that. Council member Glasco, I have a couple questions for  the election commissioner. Um,   so we just got clear clarity regarding Friday  being the true deadline. So I know that this would   require this is right now on second reading,  which usually is in consent agenda. However,   we wanted to make sure that the public had  an opportunity to speak. So we pulled it and   ma made it into new business. If this had any  significant changes in terms of its wording,   it would become a first reading again. And if we  asked for an emergency second reading tomorrow, um   maybe that's not really an election question. It's  more a city manager question. Is that allowed? You can call a meeting, a special meeting under  city ordinance um with reasonable notice. Again,   I have concerns regarding the performing arts. I  want to make sure that private dollars are raised   first before public dollars come into play.  That's a a concern of mine. I've also heard   from multiple individuals regarding some of these  funding sources. So I wanted to know um so grocery   taxes right now are not exempt and so one of the  criteria as it reads it does still require us to   charge for groceries. Would there be anything in  our ordinance that could exempt groceries? No,   mayor. Under state law, you cannot with the local  option sales tax. That's why um there was some   discussion at the last council meeting about  asking the legislature to make a change so that   um that could it's not exempted. It would take it  down to zero. I think that's a technical language   uh for the state law. Um again because of the  interstate compact that the that Kansas belongs   to but there's nothing you can do locally  to exempt at this time under Kansas law. Now, this question is for the election  commissioner. Um, there has been some confusion   regarding the cost of a special election. Can you  address the cost of a special election? Okay. Yes,   I can, and thank you for allowing me to do so. An  in-person election on March 3rd will cost the city   about $150,000. An all mail ballot where every  eligible voter receives a mail ballot in their   mailbox would be about 450,000. If you wait and  hold this election in either August or November   of next year, it costs the city of Witchah  nothing because it is a countywide election   for both the primary and general elections next  year. There was also some confusion last week.   If you have an in-person election, everybody that  makes application for a mail ballot still will get   a mail ballot. And we do have people that are on  the permanent list that always get a mail ballot.   They will still get a mail ballot. It's not doing  away. It's not saying you have to vote in person.   That's just the type of election. That's what we  call it. So the cost is $150,000. This question   now is for the city manager. Can you address  again where these dollars will come from? Yes,   mayor. comes out of a contingency fund that's  in the city manager's budget. There's about   $288,000 that's in that fund and $150,000 of that  amount would be used for the election. And can you   address what contingency fund usually um addresses  annually? Uh it's really for unexpected um program   expenses. Uh there are many years that we don't  use any of the contingency but it allows us to do   uh special projects or special initiatives  usually uh uh initiated by the city council or   from city council action but uh also it can be for  special studies uh or consistent something to that   nature. Can you give some examples of most recent  years? Um I'm going to ask Mark for help on that. Good morning, Mayor. Mark Manning,  Department of Finance. Uh, yes,   ma'am. I understand your question, and I  actually uh did a little research a couple   weeks ago. Last time we spent any out of  the city manager's contingency was many,   many years ago. And I cannot answer your question  because I couldn't even find the last time we've   spent any money out of it. It's probably been  eight or 10 years ago, but like the manager said,   typically we'd have it available for uh special  purposes. Typically, those are designated by   the city council, but I'll have to go back and  look more mayor to answer your question better. Thank you, Mark. The other question I have maybe  Mark, please don't leave. Uh property tax relief.   Can you talk about the um amount  of mill levy that will be reduced   um if this passes? Uh yes ma'am. I can't answer  that precisely because as you know the city does   not control the mill levy. The county does. We  control the amount of taxes that we choose to   levy which is uh converted into the mill levy  by the county in November each year. However,   we can come up with a pretty good estimate based  on our assessed valuation. And generally speaking,   uh each mill uh for the city of Witto generates a  little bit north of $5 million. So, for example,   I think the sales tax that's being proposed would  throw off somewhere north of $20 million annually   for property tax relief. So, you know, doing  the quick estimate based on what I've told you,   that's approximately four mills that  would likely be reduced each year.   Thank you, Mark. And one more question for you,  Mark. Um, regarding public safety, that's the   other, um, major bucket. Can you address again  cash funding versus debt funding? Uh, yes, ma'am.   Uh, our capital improvement program uh, for all  the categories that we fund, but including public   safety, uh, we ti typically cash finance roughly  50% of what we spend, and then we typically debt   finance the other 50%. That's going to vary  by a number of things, but generally speaking,   that's what our target ratio is. What would happen  to those dollars that are freed up then? Well, uh,   they would be available for other purposes within  the capital improvement program or they would   be available for us to drastically reduce future  debt in other areas, not including public safety.   uh or I would suppose at some point they would  be available to uh further reduce our city mill   levy. I would point out however our debt you  know it it's issued over time so the relief   would not be immediate but it would occur over  time and it would be fairly dramatic as as time   went on. Thank you Mark. And then this question is  about homelessness. So maybe Stally. Um the city the city has utilized federal temporary  ARPA dollars to operate what is known   as Second Light. Is there a plan for operating  dollars moving forward after those ARPA dollars   uh cease to exist? Um well, I'm not aware of  a significant plan other than um you know,   looking at philanthropy and and the community  coming together to be able to fund the operations. And can you remind us again the operating  cost of the Second Light shelter? Sure. uh   in conversations with uh the the oper or with  second light executive director Dan Clifford,   he stated it's about $4 million at this time. Thank you, Council Member Glas. Sally, quick  followup to that. So, if we were not to secure   another funding stream, a few options, let me know  if there's any options outside of this. The city   would have to look at reducing services. you'd  have to allocate from other services in housing or   the city budget as a whole or the city would have  to look at increasing the mill levy to support   um the infrastructure of second life. Would  that be correct? Yeah, it's what I would be   aware of. Yes. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.  And the last question is now bullet point   number three which is Sentry 2 city manager  Leighton. How much is in the CIP to currently   um revitalize Centry 2? Um, and what are the  still needed uh improvements for century 2? We're double checking, mayor. I think it's  11 million over a 10-year period. How I'm 12   I'm 12.1. Thank you. 12.1 over a 10-year period.  And this proposal is more than the 12.1. Is that   correct? Yes, that is correct. Maybe now it's the  right time to ask questions for Witchaw forward,   but I see council member Johnson. Mayor. Thanks,  Mayor. Uh, just real quick technical followup on   something the mayor asked about. If um if  this were to pass and there was a suggested   resolution or vote to get private funds before  the tax dollars are spent on performing arts, how   does that work with the citizen approved money?  Like, so say 75 million is now sitting there,   but the private sector does not raise money and  we've passed something that says that they have   to have that first. What happens to that 75  million if they do not raise the funding? Is   that what you're saying? Uh first of all, it could  re it could backfill for any shortfall in any of   the other categories until you reach that not to  exceed amount, I believe. And then at that point,   uh you would have uh you'd be able to terminate  the sales tax early if the 75 wasn't used and   you didn't need it for back fill. Wow. Okay.  So then that would just be a resolution or   would that be a new ordinance that the council  would have to vote on in subsequent weeks? Oh,   in terms of the which now in terms of the  So we would vote if they did not raise the   funds. Yes. So if we voted today to put this  on the ballot and the voters did say yes to it,   would an ordinance be drafted maybe January,  February that would then say if this does if it is   successful then the private sector dollars would  have to be raised before any public dollars. Um   I know that's super in the weeds, but I was just  Yes. I'll have to turn that over to an attorney. If we're going to have it by resolution, you  could have a resolution that would come back   either next week, and I'm going to get some  evil evil looks. Um, next week or the first   part of January. I also know that there's  a discussion going on that we may make   some sausage from the bench of the ballot. Um,  and if we do that, then it could be included.   Although I know Jennifer and my comfort level  is not great on completely re revamping this,   but we will do whatever the council wants us to  do. Okay. I'm more supportive of a resolution   to what the mayor said, not necessarily  today, but to define that whole thing. Council member Glascott. Thank you. I want to  correct the it's on page 24 of the CIP. It's   12.66 million over 10 years to Century  2. Council member Hohheisle. Thank you,   Mayor. Along those lines, uh, if we were to act  on the LEAP funding today, is that something that   we would do by resolution of intent as well?  I'm I don't know if you even need resolution,   but if you comfort more comfortable doing that,  I think you could do that through resolution   asking. But what you're doing is asking staff  to put a program together that that utilizes   LEAP criteria to be able to provide a a rebate or  a payment program for low-income residents. Okay. I see no further questions for staff. I will now  ask questions for Witchaw Forward. Um Witchaw   Forward, the question was regarding Sentry 2. Can  you address um again I know several of the numbers   the CIP has a lower amount versus what WA forward  is projecting. Can you address why there was such   um there was a difference? Yeah. uh mapper chat  which off uh we had recommended 25 million be   allocated to revitalization of century 2  alongside the city's 12.1 million uh in   an effort to address all deferred maintenance and  revitalization projects and when it came to public   safety I think the dollars were 197 million or  so but public safety here shows at 225 can you   address why there was that discrepancy also in  our conversations with uh Witchaw fire and waw   police the recommendation to uh give a little bit  of extra to 197.5 is currently in the CIP which   was determined about a year ago and that knowing  these projects would happen over seven years we   anticipated both increase in cost associated with  construction or uh uh the purchase of various um   items associated with their safety and efficiency  as well as um dollars built in to do revalization   of current assets. Thank you, Council Member  Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Uh just real quick,   I know that there are some folks in the public  that feel the public safety number is nebulous and   I know that you based it off the CIP. Did you have  a list of specific items in the CIP? Not everybody   reads that document that you were looking at  based upon what we approved already. Yeah. Now,   we looked at all the specific items in the CIP  which came up to the 197.5 over a 10-year window   in this proposal. the resources to revitalize  current assets, purchase the new assets,   do the current and new builds um associated with  the public safety initiative. Um uh uh and again   in conversations with the Waw Fire Department and  the Police Department um we believe that number   accomplishes those objectives um to its fullest.  And then I think you had I've been at I think two   other presentations, not the one last night. Well,  there was also a maintenance item in there so that   we wouldn't just make these new purchases and not  maintain them, but also maintain those as well.   What has been shared to us by the WT Fire and Wall  Police is that there are currently needs to both   maintain current facilities and build new ones as  well as maintain current assets and and purchase   new assets for their safety and well-being.  Okay. We heard a complete presentation last   night of Witchaw fire which is particularly  compelling uh that aligned with that. But we   do want point of clarification in that um the  225 does not address any personnel needs. Okay. Council member Hoisel. Thank you, Mayor. Um  appreciate you coming up here. Did you work   on these projections with our city finance  team? We did not work directly with the city   finance team. We did utilize the numbers  that were made publicly available. Okay.   So you feel has it been vetted through our  finance department? So these numbers we can   we feel are achievable with the sales tax right  now. If there's a grocery exemption in there um   how does that impact the overall uh numbers that  we have here? I'm going to ask Mark to come up. Oh he's gone way downtown. Good morning, council member. Uh, he is correct.  I have not worked with them on their revenue   estimates. Uh, we obviously provided revenue  estimates like that in the past, particularly   last year. Uh, I would tell you that they are  pretty consistent with the numbers that we have   uh, previously developed. Okay. And um again,  if sales tax taken out of the equation, how   does that impact the overall revenue estimates?  Uh that's an excellent question. Uh I've tried   to determine that. It's very difficult for us. We  just don't have that granular level of detail. Uh   I've looked at what the state estimated whenever  they exempted the uh food and grocery from the   statewide sales tax. Uh even that's a little bit  nebulous. I think it would be relatively minimal.   uh maybe in the several percent range. Uh but  I can't tell you with any level of precision   what it would be. I don't think it would be  hugely material, but it it would be, you know,   several millions of dollars. Okay. Appreciate  it. Uh question for the uh representative here. So, we've had discussions where you guys  have talked about the first pot of money   that's going to be filled with this would  be homelessness and affordable housing.   uh making sure that that is the first pot of  money. So, could you tell me uh ranking an   order and then also I don't know if this is  another resolution we would have to do from   the bench as far as making sure what pots of  money are filled first in what order. Um but   could you talk tell me a little bit about that?  Yeah, in our recommendation, we recognize there   are a number of budget items that have urgency  um including the investments in public safety,   which that CIP takes in effect in 2026 budget  and then obviously the uh expiration of the   current ARPA funding in October of 2026 for  second light or homeless related services.   And so in our recommendation, we had frontloaded  those two investments knowing that those are two   uh immediate budget impacts that will go into  play and knowing also or with the belief that   uh any of the uh construction projects or big  capital improvement projects would be further   down the line after community engagement and  opportunity for the oversight committee to have   a voice in those processes. And so the belief that  we could frontload those two projects and then   free up dollars later on in the seven years for  the major construction um feels like a reasonable   approach to us. Matt, also property tax relief.  Oh, and sorry, property tax relief as well would   be a more immediate effect. Okay. As a followup  question really quick on the property tax relief,   would that take into effect in the new 2027 budget  that would be discussed in the summer of 2026? Yes, ma'am. Mayor, I think it would. As you know,  this August you will set the taxes levied for the   2027 budget, but if this referendum is successful,  we would know by then what would be available. So,   yes, we would be able to incorporate it in the  2027 mil levy rates. So, it would be a 4 mil levy   reduction in the 2027 budget. Is that accurate?  Well, I don't want to speak in absolute terms,   but yes, it would be very close to an estimated  4 mil levy reduction in 2027. Okay. Mark. Yeah.   Since I got you up here, uh that's also open to  interpretation, right? So, council sets the policy   for the reduction because it's just an overall  property tax. So, if there are certain property   tax um items or avenues that we have that we would  want to such as the homestead tax that I keep   harping on, that could be included in property tax  relief as well. Uh again, you're going to set the   taxes levied for the 2027 budget. So whatever  policy direction you provide for the amount   of taxes levied will ultimately drive the amount  of mill levy reduction that's available in 2027.   Okay. Well, I'll just say from the bench right  now that that is something we could call them   the whole tax cuts at this point. But um the mill  levy or the um homestead tax rebates is something   that I would definitely push for because that has  a direct impact on seniors making under $41,000 a   year. So, um I would fully encourage my colleagues  to consider that when we are talking property   taxes in the future. Um okay, last question  for you. Uh you guys, it does not appear that   uh you will be releasing the polling after all.  Is there what's that? You have a question or No,   no, no. I just wanted just confirmation. Yeah.  Um I just a warning. It's something I think the   public does want to see. Um transparency, there's  issues that everybody has with the speed of this   thing right now and just kind of theclarity  of it. Um I really think that um dampens the   prospects of this more than anything else. I can't  force you to uh release anything. Um but I I it's   just not a good look. I will say that. So just  wanted to put that out there. Thank you, Council   Member Tuttle. Thank you. Um, thank you for being  here today. You mentioned it briefly, but I just   want to confirm and want to make sure that I go on  record. The public safety portion of this is just   for capital expenses. You said no personnel,  but no operations at all. No operations,   no no ongoing expenses. Thank you. And and that's  something that I've said consistently for the   seven years I've been on this bench that I do  not support a sales tax for anything operational   because sales tax can fluctuate depending on the  the you know the economy at the time. So just want   to go on record it is for capital projects only.  Thank you. Council member Glasco. Thank you. Uh   just for um colleagues and also the general  public when we're talking about the specific   items. Page 72 and 73 of the CIP talk about the  detailed project listings for uh fire and police   or for fire. Page 74 and page 75 uh talk about the  detailed project listings for police. In addition,   um page 72 uh offers the preview for that. Um if  we look at page 108, it talks about C2 that's in   the general fund. Look at page 24 of the CIP. It  talks about the amount allocated towards Century   2. Page 17 talks about the 400 million allocated  towards a new convention center in parenthesis   which it says for which funding is not yet  identified. And then I think for my colleague   um as well about where the I think the data  came from in terms of projections that was in   a report on May 27th, 2025 presented to the city  council. It's an eight-page document. It's titled   2025 2026 proposed budget consideration of a city  witchto local sales tax which particularly talks   about the property tax component and then also  uh talks about the funding or the public safety   aspect in August 7th 2025 we did um we again had  that information October 20 or October 14th 2025   and then on June 30th as well. So that's just data  points for anybody looking for information about   when we've publicly talked about this from the  bench or the data points and maybe proposals and   how Witchto Ford came forth the recommendations.  Council member Johnson. Oh, she came up. Um,   just for discussion with what council member  Hohheisle said if we were looking at rebates. Um,   LEAP is great, but I think it misses a few people.  And I would wonder if staff could look at multiple   programs cuz you also have uh other folks  who are lower income and the Kansas property   tax relief for low-income seniors, the Kansas  homestead refund program, the Kansas disability   or disabled veteran relief programs, SNAP can  care free and reduced lunch. Like trying to catch   as many people who are paying into this sales  tax as possible at that lower income rate. So,   it's not everybody, but I think you get more of  the folks who would need that rebate in multiple   programs and not just maybe one standard. Council  member, the more programs you add to the list,   the harder the administration will be because you  want you you're going to need to cross reference   to make sure that you don't duplicate payments.  So, um we can and I think that's you will have   a lot of duplication on that list. I I just want  to make sure that we don't create an expectation   that would be difficult to meet. Maybe it's um  maybe I didn't phrase that right. Maybe it's   looking at the standards that make you qualify  for each of those and then seeing if there's   a way to set a standard based on those programs  that reaches the the most amount of people. So,   it's not saying that if you qualify for each of  these, but if we look at, you know, if there's a   certain income requirement for two of those that's  a little better and farreaching than the rest,   then maybe that sets the income requirement. if  there are some other basis in those programs. So   trying to put together a formula that will  reach about as many people as all of those   programs without necessarily saying you have  to be a part of each program. I don't know   if that would make sense. Like what is the base  income that we're looking to help in that sense? We we picked LEAP because it seemed to be the most  inclusive. But um and we if I remember right when   we did the property tax rebate program, we had a  smaller number of people that participated in that   versus what we think would happen with the LEAP  eligibility. Okay. I'm I'm just concerned with   hearing that there might be 10,000 we can identify  like I know that it would be more than that   impacted and that that rebate going to more of the  folks who are lower income would be more helpful.   Well, and we don't know what the final numbers  what the numbers would be. I because that's a   significant drop from where it had been in 2024  and we're again we have to figure out what caused   that but if we're back up at that 24 25,000 number  27,000 that's pretty significant in terms of the   family's touch. Okay, council member Tuttle.  Thank you. I just wanted more of a statement. Um   I just wanted to correct myself something I said  before. I've gone on record saying no operation   funds from a sales tax for police and fire and  public safety. I do understand that we would   utilize these funds for operation for Second  Light, which I know is is very important to the   community. So, just wanted to I as soon as I said  it, I knew I needed to correct myself. Thank you. Any further questions for Witchaw Forward? Um I  have one question. Um now you've had two public   hearings regarding uh Witchaw Forward. um can  you summize what happened yesterday and has that   changed any of the viewpoints um from hearing  the community? Yeah, so yesterday we hosted   a meeting uh where we presented the the plan as  we've been presenting over the last month or so.   uh uh what we had heard from the community  that we they want additional details   um related to some of the major projects and  so we had presentations from Second Light and   presentations from the Witchaw Firefighters Union  um relating to specifics to those two projects. Um   uh what we had hoped for is that in greater  detail an understanding of the impact of   uh either not having those resources ongoing  or not having those resources at all would   have on the operations of those two  very significant public services.   um would help to clarify any uh um uh uh concern  they would have about those specific investments.   One more question and it's a dual question.  It's also for the election commissioner   um or maybe law. Um there has been  questions from this community asking why   can't witch forward pay for these this special  election. Uh can law address why or why not? Can you repeat that into a microphone, please? Mayor state statute prohibits the contribution of   uh election funds uh from a private  entity or corporation for an election. Thank you. And again um the 150,000 comes  from the city manager contingency fund. Um   and this election would be simply to let the  community make the decision. Is that accurate? That is accurate. Yes. Thank you. Anything  else from Waw Forward? Thank you for your   time. Thank you. Okay. No questions from this  bench, which now means we will open it up for   public comment. Please state your name and you  will have five minutes to address the council. I promise not to take five minutes. Good morning,  Mayor Woo, council members. I'm Tony Porter,   vice president of government relations and  military affairs at the Witchah Regional Chamber   of Commerce. Thank you again for the opportunity  to speak on behalf of the business community and   the chamber. I'm here to today to reaffirm our  support for giving voters the opportunity to   decide on the Witchah Ford initiative. However,  we again urged the city council to allocate a   larger share of sales tax to property tax relief  and to pursue additional sustainable strategies   that provide meaningful relief. Property  tax burdens remain a significant challenge   impacting affordability, competitiveness, and our  ability to attract and retain a strong workforce.   We also believe that clear details  on the oversight committee structure   and accountability are essential to ensure  transparency. Thank you for your leadership.   The chamber values being a trusted community  partner and looks forward to working together to   ensure this initiative reflects the priorities  of both residents and businesses. Thank you. Good morning. John Whitmer. I live in district 4.  Many of you, we know each other. Uh I'm here as   a private citizen and not in any other capacity.  First thing I want to thank you for your service.   Thank you for your work and wish you a merry  Christmas. Um, I have significant concerns.   First and foremost, the rushed nature of this  ordinance. Let's look back if we can. Um, a   banker, a businessman, and a developer come to the  city council for a billion dollar tax increase.   It sounds like a bad joke and frankly it is.  There are no details to this plan. If you think   back to 2010, the speaker of the US House famously  said, "We have to pass the bill to know what's in   it." And that's what we have here today. We don't  know what's in this plan. Where are the details?   Where are the schematics? You're asking Witchah  voters to commit to a seven-year plan that by the   time inflation factors in will be over a billion  dollars. We don't know what the design looks like.   We don't know what the new performing arts center  looks like. We don't know what the renovations   will look like. We've not seen a design. Even  here today, you asked a very good question.   Where are they going to build the new performing  arts center? Which, by the way, if it was a   standalone plan, I'd vote for. We don't know if  it's going to be on a piece of property where a   church is currently located that's owned by  a private businessman here in town. We don't   know anything. And yet, you want to commit a  billion dollars in taxpayer money? There's just   too many unknowns. And yet, we're going to commit  seven years. And don't let anybody fool you. This   will be a permanent tax increase because at the  end of the seven years, if they don't renew it,   and you won't because most of you won't be here,  but in seven years, if they don't renew it,   that's a massive property tax increase. Do we  really want to create a massive slush fund for   new spending? This is a 30% increase in spending.  It's a doubling of the sales tax on food.   Why put each one of these issues? Council member  Hohisel is right. Let's vote on each one of these   separately. I voted for the interest bank arena  because it was in out and done in three years. If   you put the performing arts center on the ballot  as a single issue, I'd vote for it. If you put   Century 2 on as a century as a single issue, I'd  vote for it. You put a couple of these up further,   I'll vote for it. Why do we have to do this  all at once rushed like this here today?   You all have asked questions about in individual  elements of this. Why rush it? From an entity that   is cloistered. From an entity that at their first  public meeting told the voters, "We don't want to   hear from you. We don't care what you want  to say." At last night's meeting, they said,   "We're not even going to hear from you." At a  public meeting, they took no questions last night.   They don't want to hear from us. They just want us  to shut up and vote. That's not democracy. That's   not the process. It's easier to find the Epstein  files than it is to find the details to this plan.   This is not democracy. This is not how this is  supposed to work. Heck, they can't tell you if   it's 1 cent or 1% because they don't want to tell  you. This is not democracy and it doesn't need to   be rushed. And it's because they don't trust us.  If they trusted us, they'd give us the time to   actually look into this. But they don't want us to  look into this. So, I'm asking you to wait. Let's   have some discourse. Let's look under the covers  and let us look at it and think on it and analyze   on it and strategize. I sit on a dab. The dabs  have never even looked at this plan. It doesn't   need to be rushed. Merry Christmas. Here's a  billion dollar tax increase. It doesn't work   that way. Give us some time. The devil is in the  details. and this devil bites. Thank you and merry   Christmas. Thank you, John. Council member Glasco.  Thank you, Mayor. I don't have any comments for   the speaker. I do have um just confirmation from  the city staff. Um I think the speaker had said   that this could balloon larger than what is  currently in the ballot initiative. Can we   explain to the general public and the speaker what  an amount not to exceed means in plain language? Are you asking for me or law or Bob? You would  be great. I'd love to hear from you on your last   meeting. Thank you. Um that language is clear  and that is that for each of those categories,   you cannot spend more than the targeted  amount and that if we were short revenue,   there would be a proportionate reduction in  the amount of money that went to each of those   categories. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Manager. Council  member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I would   just like to ask somebody from Wish Forward.  Did you guys accept questions last night or that's a little concerning to me and I just  curious why. Uh in the presentation last night,   we allocated time for Witchaw Fire and for  Second Light to do presentations which took   us beyond the hour and we agreed to stay up front  including those representatives in those areas to   take questions and so we were there for another  hour and a half till 8:00 answering questions of   citizens. Thank you, Council Member Glass. Thank  you, Mayor. I will just say to my colleague as   well, I know that there's a few representatives  of the council. I know Councilman Hisel is there,   Councilman Johnston, and then myself. I  personally stay till 7:42 um to answer   questions from constituents and when I left  representatives of Witchaw for were still   present answering questions from everybody  that wanted questions answered in good faith. We'll continue with public comment. Hello uh Faith Martin, District 2. Um, besides the  comments I made last week, I received innumerable   messages, emails, and phone calls, and I don't  even sit on the bench. So, I imagine many of you   received the same type of phone calls, emails,  and messages. And not one single person said,   "This is a great idea. We should go ahead and do  this." Everyone was concerned. concerned with the   opposition online, concerned with the opposition  in the media, concerned with the opposition from   trusted activists that care about this community.  Um, public perception matters. Four of you don't   have to worry about three re-election. Three  of you do. I want you to think about passing an   unpopular ordinance that has had so much push back  could have on the future on your future at this   council. Um, when we sit on dabs, we ask really  detailed questions about drawings and plans and   uh how this land will be used and all these other  things. I haven't seen any of that. I see more   to get an accessory dwelling unit in someone's  backyard than I have any of the plans for this.   Um, I also am really concerned that public  safety is being used as a reason why we have   to do this when not all of you, some of you are  fairly new, but since 2009, we haven't met fires   needs and we've irresponsibly, in my opinion,  allocated lots and lots and lots of money to   Witchaw Police Department every time they asked,  but we can't build a new fire station. That's not   the taxpayers's fault that the money hasn't been  allocated appropriately. So using that as a reason   to have a sales tax, it feels irresponsible. Um,  also second line, I've worked at many nonprofits.   We don't call the government and say, "Hey, we  don't have a plan for how we're going to fund our   organization. Can you put a sales tax on?" It's  up to the nonprofits to build a plan and to work   with donors and to work with grants to fund their  organization. I care very much about homelessness,   but this is not the way. um bundling just like  uh John said earlier, if this went up for a vote   tomorrow and it was only about Second Light, I  think you get a much greater you get much greater   support than you will putting all of these  things together. Um, I'm concerned about the   proposed rebate uh because nothing for the working  people of Witchah that are not eligible for LEAP   but still work sometimes multiple jobs with no  insurance that live paycheck to paycheck. They   won't qualify but the sales tax will impact them  greatly. Instead of cart before the horse, we need   to focus on the horse and that horse is in Topeka  and it's a law that we need to change before we   even consider doing something like this. The  questions that you have are all great. I really   appreciate a lot of the questions. These are  questions that should have been thought out before   we're on second reading. I strongly oppose this. I  don't know why it's rushed. I said last time, good   ideas don't require force. And this feels forced  upon me. It feels forced upon everyone that I've   talked to. If this is such a great idea, why can't  we get plans? Why can't we look at survey data?   Um, I just I strongly oppose this and I hope that  you think about the average Witchin that doesn't   own 37 restaurants, that doesn't run a bank. Uh,  we need our sales tax dollars to be spent wisely.   40% of Witchans are renters. You think they're  going to see lower rents because we give property   tax relief? I doubt it. I doubt a single renter  is going to see any impact except to their wallet   when they're paying a higher sales tax. Please  think about who you represent and make a good   decision today. Halt this. Put some more thought  into it. Get some data and let the city of Witchah   be partners in this decision and tell you what  works best instead of you telling us how you're   going to govern because that's not how government  works. You lead for the people and by the people.   Thank you, Council Member Hoisel. Thank you,  Mayor. And thank you, Faith. I agree with most of   what she said there. Um I would just say one thing  about um fire services. Um we have made it a point   to support them over the last couple of years. We  did take the money from the Crystal Lake project   and put that directly into um fire um firehouses,  fire stations in our CIP. So it's it's still, you   know, it's a couple of years out. That's how the  CIP works. It's unfortunate, but um We have been   making that a priority. So, I just wanted to say  that. But I thank you for sharing your thoughts. Good morning, Lana D. Shaer, longtime resident  of Witchah and most famously of District 1. So,   John Whitman, where are you? You stole my line.  A banker, a builder, and a developer walking to a   city council meeting. Boom, boom, boom. Right. The  boom boom is on the taxpayers because they want   us to pay almost a a billion dollars in taxes.  That has to be a joke, right? So, we talk about   a rebate for maybe 27,000 people maybe. But like  Faith said, my friend said that there are so many   other people that are living like right above the  uh the poverty line. The poverty line is based on   the federal level. So, no matter what program you  look at, the same people will be impacted. And so   many more people than that have to buy groceries.  And to be honest, a $50 rebate is a slap in the   face. That that won't do anything. So I'm I'm  not sure about that idea. And then we looked at   the the numbers were gotten from the CIP project.  That's what we were told. But then we see public   safety numbers were padded by $27 million. either  the numbers come from the CIP that have been   identified as needs by the city or they were  not. So a padding of $27 million is another red   flag for me. And then we talk about intent versus  what would actually happen. So earlier this year,   Councilman Johnson said little league football  would be free for 415 kids or something like that.   Well, my organization paid $4,125 for something  that we were told would be free. So actual versus   intent are two different things. So that's why we  have to have a ranking order if we move forward.   We have to have a ranking order of what projects  will be funded and in what order will they be   funded. And then also um I just want to say that  this was rushed and the question of the day is why   is it being rushed? Faith said it uh perfectly  well. Most of us are not developers. We don't   own 30ome businesses. We don't have uh a bank  that we reside in. We're regular we're regular   everyday workingass people. And this feels  rushed. The burden will be on our back. And   even when you talk about property tax rebates,  the business owners will get a bigger rebate   than the homeowners. That doesn't make sense  to me. So again, slow down. Maybe do something   different like we vote on each item individually  and or go back to the table and let's get the   public involved before we present something  like this again. Lwanda D. Shaer. Thank you,   Council Member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Uh, since  my name was brought up, uh, two things, Reggie,   you might correct me. When it came to youth  football, and I don't have any questions for you,   when it came to youth football, just everybody  for the record, we talked about paying for uh,   youth football and it being free. What was  also mentioned, and if you go back and look,   was there was a $25 deposit that was for  every player that would be in there. Talked   about that. We talked about that at the coaches  meeting. The number that was shared was a little   north of 400. I believe we had over 700 players.  So, it would depend on when you got into that,   whether or not your things were paid for. But  again, that information is out there. It's still   out there. You can go look for yourself. for the  padding conversation. I believe Witchah Ford has   talked about this, but what you're looking  at in the CIP is today's cost and over time   there's things of inflation. Some of those costs  go up. There's a padding that was added to that.   You heard that during the presentation earlier.  Believe that number was 197. They added additional   dollars to that because costs can go up. One great  example is some of our CIP projects over the last   several years. Inflation made those costs go up.  So there's a padding in there to help make sure   those projects can still get done and it won't  be 2025's rate. If that project happens in 2028,   it may cost a little bit more. So that's why  that was in there. Witchaw Ford has been very   um transparent and talking about that padding  and the presentations I've been in. I would   encourage everyone again to continue to engage,  ask those questions. You'll hear those specific   answers. But again, all the information about  youth football, it's out there. You can look it   up right now. You'll see about deposits.  You'll see what was paid and you'll see   what the council allocated. Councilman O'Hazel,  thank you, Vice Mayor. Um, I agree, Lwanda. Um,   the leap is a start, but it's not enough to  really take the burden off of people. Uh,   Council Member Johnson had talked about other  programs and ways to look at addressing it,   and that is something we will continue to push on  over the next couple of months. I wish we had the   time to have it outlined here. I've expressed my  uh angst over the timeline, but it is something   we will continue to define over the next couple  of months. Hopefully, we will get the support   of the state to actually uh be able to bring our  sales tax on food down to zero. So, that that's   the hope. That's what we'll keep working for, but  we'll also keep looking at these other programs   as well to take the burden off as best as we can.  Thank you. We will continue with public comment. Good morning, mayor and city council members, city  leadership. My name is Dr. Donna Castillo Garcia,   and I'm the executive director  of Grassroots Bridgebuilders,   a local nonprofit that provides peer-based  homelessness navigation, trauma-informed outreach,   and community stabilizes services here in  Witchah. As the city continues its second   reading on the proposed sales tax which may be  considered for public vote in the upcoming year,   I want to share an example of the type of  programming that could be developed under   the portion that's designated for homelessness and  affordable housing. That's it's not a request for   adoption today, nor is it a finalized plan or  proposal. It's an offer as a communityinformed   example of what might be possible if Witchah  chooses to address these issues in different ways.   Witchah is facing a housing reality that many  residents know firsthand. Um there's not enough   affordable housing. And for many working  families, seniors, and let me find my spot,   um and individuals rebuilding after homelessness,  home ownership through traditional means is   simply out of reach. People can work full-time,  contribute to their communities, and still find   that rising housing cost, credit barriers,  and limit inventory uh leave them with no   realistic path to owning a home. For those exiting  homelessness, these options are even narrower,   often limited to short-term rental assistance  or long-term subsidized housing with no clear   path to independence. Programs like the one  I'm des describing today matter because it's   an attempt to address a gap that currently has no  solution. How to uh move people from instability   into long-term unsubsidized housing security while  also strengthening neighborhoods and that have   been impacted by vacancy and disinvestment.  Grassroots Bridgebuilders has developed a   preliminary framework called the Community Housing  Restoration and Ownership Pathways Program or   CROP. This concept uses the Kansas abandoned  housing act which allows cities and qualified   nonprofits to acquire abandoned or unsafe  properties and restore them for productive use.   CROP is designed to connect two challenges Witchaw  continues to face. First, abandoned residential   properties that weaken neighborhoods and place  ongoing strain on public safety, code enforcement,   and nearby homeowners. And second, individuals  exiting homelessness who have no access to   permanent unsubsidized housing despite having  reached stabilization, secured income pathways,   and demonstrated um path uh availability to move  forward. Crop is an example of how these issues   could be addressed together in restoring abandoned  homes, converting them to affordable entry-level   ownership opportunities paired with supportive  services to help ensure long-term success.   It's also important that we acknowledge the  concerns that many community members have raised   about the sales tax proposal more broadly. There's  a real mistrust in our community, often rooted in   past experiences where deals between city hall and  developers may not have delivered on the promises   to everyday residents. Some people are concerned  about the rust nature of the proposal or the   perception that special interests may benefit  more than neighborhoods that are carrying the   greatest burdens. Others are worrying rightfully  so about the lowincome residents who will shoulder   disproportionate shares of the cost. While greater  benefits may flow to the city's highest earners or   to large-scale projects that feel distant from our  everyday struggles, these concerns deserve to be   named and taken seriously. Ignoring them now only  deepens this division. What makes concepts like   crop different is not just what they do. It's  about how they are built. They're grounded in   lived experience. They prioritize local contracts  and small businesses. They reinvest resources   back into our neighborhoods. And they're  designed with transparency, accountability,   and long-term stability in mind. Grassroots  Bridgebuilders has developed this framework   as a starting point, not as a finished deal.  We're actively circulating it among community   stakeholders and would be happy to share with  council, city staff, and other nonpart partners,   business leaders, and any interested resident.  This is an invitation to refine, challenge, and   strengthen ideas together rather than receiving  them after decisions have already been made. As   Witchah considers the broader implications of the  sales tax, I encourage all of us from city leaders   and nonprofits to businesses and residents to  remain active participants in sharing what comes   next. The strength of this community will not  come from perfect plans or unanimous agreement.   It will come from our willingness to be honest  about what is not working, to listens to the   concerns without dismissing them, and to build  solutions that are rooted in trust, equity, and a   shared responsibility. Our community is strongest  when we're not passive recipients of initiatives,   but engaged contributors to the future that we are  collectively investing in. So, I thank you for the   opportunity to be here to speak today and for your  continued efforts to serve Witchah's long-term   well-being and our resilience. Thank you. Thanks,  Donna. Council member Glasco. Thank you, Mayor.   First off, doctor, um I want to be the first to  congratulate you on achieving your doctorate and   thank you for bringing and elevating the stories  of people with lived experiences to the bench.   Um I think the work that you've done over the  past year. I know what tomorrow is your year   anniversary, I think, of speaking to us the first  time. So, thank you for engaging the process. I   really enjoyed my conversation with you and Sarah  yesterday and uh look forward to uh continued   conversations in the future um and elevating  your guys' voices in the process, too. So,   thank you for being here. Absolutely. Council  member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. You stole my   line. I just haven't seen you since. I wanted  to tell you congratulations, doctor. Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. Good morning. I'm Heather Schroeder,  executive director of Downtown Witchah.   Downtown Witchah is committed to a strong, vibrant  city center. At our annual meeting on December   11th, the Downtown Witchah Board of Directors  voted to support the 1% sales tax and join the   Witchita Forward Coalition. The downtown board is  made up of downtown property owners and business   leaders who recognize that Witchah's future growth  depends on a strong urban core where residents,   workers, students, and visitors can thrive.  The 1% sales tax would provide revenue that   supports several priorities of direct concern  to downtown. First, it would permanently fund   homeless and housing services, helping our  most vulnerable neighbors. We have seen an   uptick in people needing not just shelter, but the  services that address root causes of homelessness,   including addiction, mental illness, and access  to affordable housing. were encouraged by the $125   million commitment the sales tax would make to  Second Light's shelter plus services model, which   would provide permanent funding of $4 to5 million  annually to operate this key community resource.   Second Light is just getting started. But with the  federal ARPA funding set to run out in October,   it's the community's turn to step up and address  a communitywide issue. Providing sustainable   long-term funding through the sales tax can help  stabilize the system of care and ensure consistent   support for housing, mental health, and wraparound  services. Second, the sales tax initiative would   provide the performance and event facilities that  our community deserves. Our current performing   arts and convention facilities are functionally  obsolete. I'll never forget hearing the story that   when Yoyo Ma performed in Witchah, he had to take  his break on a stair landing of Century 2 because   our current performing arts facility lacks a green  room where our talented performers can relax and   prepare. Quite frankly, it's embarrassing,  especially for a top 50 US city. While our   peer cities have invested in soaring performing  arts centers and separate convention centers   to meet modern demands for shows and meetings,  Witchah has settled for the status quo, costing   our community tens of millions of dollars in lost  revenue each year. Over the past year, downtown   Witchah has hosted conversations with more than  10,000 community members to learn their vision for   downtown's growth over the next 10 years. By 2035,  Wittens told us they want to see a new performing   arts center in their downtown. They want our local  actors, singers, dancers, and musicians to have   a performance venue that matches the incredible  talent we're fortunate to have here in Witchah.   We have explored sites downtown and are pleased  to report that numerous public and private   sites can accommodate the footprint of a modern  performing arts center based on actual performing   arts centers built in Salt Lake City, the Eckles  Center, and in Fort Worth, the Bass Center. The   1% sales tax provides half the funding required  to build that new performing arts center with the   understanding that philanthropic contributions  will provide the rest. It provides funding   for a separate convention center that meets  modern trade show and meeting needs. A timely   upgrade as we look to the potential for biomedical  conferences and innovation right here in Witchah.   And it preserves the iconic Century 2 building  for adaptive reuse, meeting local community   priorities. If the March referendum passes, it's  our understanding that revenue collection would   begin in July, providing much needed investment  in our community by Wittens and visitors alike.   Thank you for voting to give Widgets a say  this March in how we can invest in our future. Thank you, Heather. I have a  follow-up question to that. Um   I know that we will be receiving the  master plan um proposal next month.   you have it in your hands. Um can you address you  mentioned numerous private and public sites and   that goes into the question that council member  Ballard had regarding where should performing arts   um a new performing arts center be located?  Can you address that please? Sure. So this is   a conversation that you know needs much more  um exploration but we wanted to see first can   downtown Witchah sites that are already assembled  accommodate the needs of a new performing arts   center. Um, we worked with Fischer Dax Associates,  um, who is a consultant that works, I think,   solely on performing arts centers, and they shared  with us, um, the footprint from the Eckle Center,   uh, which was an urban infill, uh, performing  arts center in downtown Salt Lake City. Um,   we were interested in urban infill because  that is the most, um, kind of efficient use   of sites. um in order to accommodate a 140,000  square foot performing arts center. Um you know,   it's it's kind of a tricky configuration. And  so the question we posed is, can we fit this   in our downtown? Um they showed us no fewer than  eight sites um in our current configuration where   this could fit. Um some were public property,  including City of Witchah and Sedwick County land,   and some were private property um with the  expectation that that would likely be donated. Will you be able to address um where those  eight sites generally would be located in   downtown Witchah east of the river? Um I can I can  tell you the sites that we looked at. Sure. So,   and again, this is not an exhaustive list. This  was just to get the ideas flowing. I can't tell   you how exciting it is to see the footprint of  a new performing arts center actually doable in   our downtown. Um, so the sites that we looked  at are, let's see, we looked at first in Waco,   um, which is a city-owned site. It's currently  under contract. Um, the developers have not   executed that agreement and I believe the their  agreement expires in two years. Um, which would,   um, kind of renew the opportunity for the city  to explore redevelopment of that site. Um,   Broadway and Waterman, which is a privately  owned site, uh, near the arena. Waterwalk,   we already know a lot about that site. Uh, the  Coleman lot, which is a a county-owned site,   um, there's been a lot of  discussion about, you know,   whether future development is feasible on  that site. I'm I'm pleased to share that   based on conversations I've had with the design  community, um, they have not ruled that out. Those are the four sites and they're all east  of the river, correct? Yes, in downtown. Thank   you. I see no further questions. We'll  continue with public comment. Thank you. Good morning, city council. Celeste set, former  bank examiner and for former fraud investigator.   I'm a Witchita native. I was raised in Witchah at  a time when city council and mayor were business   people. They made thoughtful decisions across the  political aisle for the betterment of Witchaw.   They listened to opinions for and against  their proposals and then brought those vetted   ideas forward. Developers has obviously hijacked  this decision-making progress. They have poured   millions into local political campaigns for mayor  and city council and now they are pushing forward   their own agenda. Of my 53 questions, I only  had 10 answered, though I was promised to get   complete answers. In talking about the performing  arts center, it's so interesting that Waterwalk   was one of the uh East Riverbank areas mentioned  because Waterwalk is tied up right now with Jim   Corks. He is the estate holder for Jack D'Vor. We  were foolishly signed a contract 99 years for a   dollar a year that was supposed to generate 70  million a year. We're getting a dollar a year.   We supported Jim Corks Fairfield in. We still  have the debt on the books. So, it's so ironic   to hear someone talk about Waterwalk being a site  for the new performing arts center. It won't work.   This reminds me um actually Becky Tuttle was on  city council when we passed the new ball stadium   in a rush emergency ordinance and we had blank  exhibits and I brought those forward to Mayor   Longwell and said why are you rushing this  with blank exhibits. This might as well be   the exhibit for the new performing arts center  because there's no blueprints, there's no plans,   there's just a lot of people coming up here.  And as a matter of fact, I played on Century   2 stage when I was concert mistress at East  High with the Witchaw Area Orchestra. And   I know for a fact that we could rehab Century 2  for 10 cents on the dollar and get a green room,   upgrade the rehearsal spaces, and also upgrade  the bathrooms in exhibition hall for a lot less   than what I'm seeing in the blank exhibits  for this proposal. developers have mislaid   us over the past few years. So there is a lot  of distrust. So I am absolutely stunned because   I have supported you new members of the city  council in particular and I have served on the   bipartisan committee that was formed to look at  finances, efficiencies and savings and we worked   really hard on that. John Whitmer was on that  group. Deb Lucia was on that group and we have   yet to have a meeting established by city manager  Leighton for those savings and efficiencies. And   yet here we are barely into the process. Witchaw  Forward was formed in October. Two months later,   here we are. You're rushing a vote. In another two  months, the voting begins. I am absolutely stunned   that I have put so much faith into things being  different. And here we are again doing the same   things we did. I'm wearing the same shirt from  the ball stadium facing the same people and we   still have blank exhibits that we are supposed  to vote on. I'm just so disappointed. I I I'll   just repeat that. I am extremely disappointed that  in the amount of time I have spent to talk before   you all to hold up documents. These are a third  of the folders I have in my office where I have   talked about failed development deals. I'm again  talking about something I have no idea what the   blueprints are. I don't know where it's going, but  I must trust you all to do the right thing. So,   in the time remaining, I'm going to list the  failed development deals that I have folders on,   and I can substantiate anything I say. Witchaw  Water Partners failed in the construction of the   water plant. It's not even going to go live next  year. Water rates have skyrocketed 26% and we are   20 million over budget in county. This contract  was rigged over a free golf trip. Shame on you.   Ball stadium revenue projections were grossly  overstated by city manager Leighton even above   the consultants numbers. You allowed him to  ignore those projections and now we have 42   million in star bond debt that will pull out of  the general fund. We have 13 million in C did that   is also escalating. So we are not meeting revenue  projections that you all allowed to be overstated.   Witchah Riverfront LP was released from their  obligation to develop land around the Ball   Stadium and this was given to EPC. EPC was given  an additional 11 million in incentives to build.   We are still waiting on that development to  go forward. Town Street Partners George Lam   was one of those quietly bought up 18 homes in  the Deleno neighborhoods before news of the Ball   Stadium reached taxpayers. Then he flipped those  properties back to the city and made $3 million   off of that development. Riverfront Village is  another projection that we are still on the hook   for. It was supposed to have restaurants,  apartments, and that land on the West Bank   development has been sitting vacant for six years.  I'm I'm out of time. I have a complete list of   failed development deals, and I cannot believe  you're asking us to trust you, but not verify.   So, we've started a group save taxpayers vote  no and we will fight against this rushed,   vague, too big project. I'm putting you  on notice and I hate to say that because   I have really had high hopes things  were changing. Thank you. Thank you,   Celeste. Council member Hoheisle. Thank you,  Mayor. And thank you, Celeste. I as always,   I appreciate you even when you're kicking  us in the rear. Um Bob, you had talked about   um potentially meeting further down the line.  Could you just expand on that just a minute? So   staff has prepared a majority of its responses.  They were still waiting for a few. What I uh   intended to do was uh either I think probably at  this point what I wanted what I was going to offer   is to meet with that with her group along with  the incoming manager because he'll be responsible   for implementation of some of the things that  I'll be outlining in my response. So um we're   uh we'll probably wind up doing it towards the  you know sometime in January when it fits into   his schedule. But I've offered my time so that  we have a smooth transition on that. Okay. Thank   you. As a followup to that, can I make sure that  that gets on the new city manager schedule for   uh Celeste and her group along with the new city  manager and you will volunteer your time to come   back uh to provide perspective. Um, I'm looking  forward to seeing all the recommendations from   staff on how the um, recommendations from  the group can be implemented in the city   of Witchaw to again be more efficient. And I  believe that there were several recommendations   from the group. Council member Ballard. Thank  you, Mayor. Uh, Celeste, would you mind uh,   sharing your list, either emailing it to us  or making a copy of the questions that weren't   answered or of the failed development deals  that I was trying to present today? both if   you're off. I'd be glad to. Thank you. Yep. Thank  you, Celeste. We'll continue with public comment. Hello, my name is Benny Bowman. I uh have  been a resident of Witchto for 68 years   and I'm not sure I'm going to survive this uh  the duration of this tax. But one of I guess   the first speaker was John Whitmer. He and  I both have served in the state legislature and we both tried to vote. What would motivate  our votes were to make sure the people,   at least as far as we could, keep the  money in the hands of the people because   the people knew better how to spend their  own money. And this I still believe that   this should be done in this area. and it just  appears to be just sort of a slush fund to to   uh cover about anything and everything.  But u aside from that, you you uh excuse me, you have to realize that when you  take this money, I mean there's only a certain   amount of money in the economy in Witchah and  you can't take this amount of money out of the   economy without affecting it. So when you shift  money from the public's arena to the government   then that that unbalances things many times and  it's can have disastrous consequences. Uh there's   um I take the Epic Times newspaper  and they have an opinion section,   the last paper I got. It says the antisocial act  at the heart of socialism. And that's what a lot   of people don't understand what socialism is.  Socialism is where you give the money to the   government and the government will well somewhat  in some ways give it back to the people with   uh taking most of the money and then the people  get only a very small portion back. But anyway,   he's he's talking about how that the uh in  philosophy wise especially Lud Ludwig von Mo Mises   who's a famous philosopher on the economy and he  mentioned in this article how that people like to   have free things you know like to get everything  free. Well, you can get free things sometimes,   but then uh most people don't want to give away  things for free. They have some investment in it   on their own. Uh, of course, there's another way  to get things free, and that's go out and steal   it. But then we've decided that unstabilizes  society. So, uh, we make laws against it. But   then there's another way, and I'm going to  read just one paragraph. He says, "However,   human societies have allowed for one giant  loophole in their prohibition of citizens taking   wealth from fellow citizens. We call it government  taxation. Prosperity can continue to grow both   in terms of overall wealth production and an  increasing number of individuals partaking of   the growing prosperity. When government taxation  remains limited, think of the United States for   for 150 years of history and is not weaponized  by one class of citizens against another. I   hope you realize what you're doing and I hope  that you would rec reconsider this. Thank you. Thank you, Dean. We'll  continue with public comment. I guess that's the problem with getting older. I  have to keep putting glasses on. I hate that. Uh,   Mayor Woo. Um, members of the city council,  uh, good morning or good afternoon,   I think we are almost. Uh, my name is Greg  Kite. I'm a local attorney. I'm president of   the Historic Preservation Alliance of Witchaw,  Cedric County. Uh, I am treasurer of the Save   Century 2 committee. Uh, my law office address  is 129 East 2nd Street North. I've recently moved   after 40 years of practice at 230 North Market.  Uh, thank you for this opportunity to follow up   my comments from your last prior meeting. Um,  last week uh at the firstformational meeting,   Matt Burchett of Witchaw Forward stated, quote,  "We only want your questions. We don't want your   comments." End of quote. That's from the Witchaw  Eagle, December 12th, 2025. Yesterday evening,   I attended the secondformational meeting sponsored  by Witchaw Forward. The format was changed. There   were two expanded presentations, and during the  course of the one-hour meeting, no questions   were to be taken, and the reason was they didn't  want to have any grandstanding, quote unquote.   Now, I did take the liberty of getting a hold of  Matt after the meeting and I visit with him for   some extended period of time and I appreciate  that, Matt. Um, but the key question I had,   and I only had one for him, was what was the  approval rating for a new performing arts? We   certainly had the approval rating for Century 2,  60%. And we had 77%, I think, for police and fire   and uh the homeless, but what about this wonderful  performing arts? nothing. In a recent interview,   Aaron Bastian said, "The arts are what makes life  interesting. If I could if I thought about my life   without music and TV and movies, gosh, it just  takes a lot of the fun out of it." Witchaw Eagle,   November the 28th, 2025. Is Mr. Bastion precluded  from attending and enjoying our fabulous Century 2   performing arts facility? I don't think so. After  all, it's simply across the street from Fidelity   Bank. Let's think about what we have in Century  2. It's the home for Witchaw Symphony Orchestra,   Witchaw Grand Opera, and Music Theater Witchah.  What's its capacities? 200,000 square feet of   continuous exhibit space as opposed to 140,000.  I think it was just mentioned. 20 meeting rooms,   concert hall seats 2197 people. Mary Jane Teal  Theater seats 650 people. The convention hall   seats 4,700 people. I have yet to hear Witchah  Forward explain why they think they need a new   performing arts facility. Nothing. What else  have I not heard? What about the performing   arts facility? We don't know what what  it looks like. No plans, no drawings,   how large, how much seating? It's interesting  how you can come up with 75 million times two   for 150 million and you don't even know how  big it is or how much it's going to seat,   where it would be located. That's amazing.  They don't know where it's to be located.   Wow. That's planning. If you go to the  Witchto Forward website and click on a link,   you can finally get to Century 2 uh on a plan  that shows it as an empty shell. The the idea,   of course, let's not pull punches, is to pull out  Witchah Symphony and Music Theater from Century 2   and make it irrelevant. That's where we're going  with this. Mr. Sebastian like John Ralph is one   of three self-appointed proponents of this  initiative. John Ralph as you remember was   a member of the riverfront legacy master plan  where four or five five proposals required the   demolition of Century 2. Similarly, Mr. Bastion  does not appear to acknowledge Century 2 as a   performing arts facility. What is the common  goal? The eventual divi demise of Century 2.   Let's not forget 17,000 petition signatures will  translate into 17,000 votes just for starters.   At its prior meeting, the city council  repeatedly stated that it realized there   is a mistrust of city government. If the city  council believes that rushing this 1% sales tax   initiative through without proper planning will  decrease mistrust, it has gravely miscalculated.   It will only increase and confirm that mistrust.  Including a new performing arts building,   which the majority of Witchans are not in favor  of, particularly to the detriment of Century 2,   will doom this entire initiative to failure.  Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you,   Greg. Council member Hoheisel. Thank you, Mayor.  And thank you, Mr. Kite. I do appreciate you   coming up. Um, since I've been here, we invested  $18 million more in the Century 2, including the   new roof. Um, it's my intent that if this passes  at 25 million, we'll go to make sure that Century   2 is modernized and stays an effective um, place  for us to gather, plays, concerts, and whatnot   um, for the foreseeable future. That's my intent  with this. We'll continue with public comment. Good morning, mayor and city council. My name  is Aaron Bastion, and I'm here today as part of   Witchaw Forward to advocate in favor of the public  being able to vote on the sales tax proposal that   you all are considering. I support the sales tax  proposal and the opportunity for it to be put to   a public vote because improving Witchah matters.  The issues that the proposal recommends addressing   have been discussed across our city by a wide  range of residents for at least a decade. These   are not new issues. They're common pain points  voiced by Witchans. And this is our chance to   make critical investments in Witchah. We need  solutions. This proposal is a solution. An   investment in us by all of us. It's an investment  in a safer Witchah. helps to fund infrastructure   that supports those experiencing homelessness  and recommends affordable housing solutions.   It's an investment in jobs and economic growth by  modernizing our convention center and constructing   a new performing arts center and makes continuing  investments in Century 2. These aren't just   facilities. They're magnets that studies show  could attract more than 50 million per year in   new spending dollars that are currently flowing to  other cities. All this investment can happen while   also making it less costly to invest in a home in  Witchah. This plan isn't perfect. It doesn't meet   or address all the needs of our city, but it does  set us up to solve many of the challenges before   us as identified by Witchans. That's one reason  why the timing is important for this to go to   a vote. The proposal would be the spotlight on  the ballot and it provides voters, all voters,   time to clearly understand the opportunities  that come as a result of this decision.   This proposal represents a shared solution  with shared investment that will improve   Witchah for decades to come. We appreciate  residents raising their voices, asking   for greater understanding about the proposal  and for caring enough to engage. Ultimately,   Witchah deserves our investment and  I believe that the benefits of this   plan would last for decades. Thank you  for your consideration of this proposal. wait to reset the clock. Well, first  I want to welcome uh Mr. Leon to the   retired community. I've been retired  for four years and as I like to say,   I have nothing to do, but I don't  have enough time to do it all.   So, first I would like to say move this to the  August primary and break all these areas up into   individual votes. I did support a 1% sales tax,  but in order to pay off the baseball diamond debt,   and I want to talk about democracy and the public  will, we had a vote on the interest arena and the   city voted it down. So, what happened? the  county came back and said, "We're going to   build it anyway, but if you don't vote for a sales  tax, we're going to tax you on your property tax."   That doesn't seem to be representing the public  will. Then we also had a 17,000 plus petition to   support a public vote that if anything's done  to Century 2, there'd be a public vote on it.   That was quashed. In fact, the city even sued  Celeste and uh Carl Peter John. So now we have   the Kansas or Witchah forward is basically a  riverfront legacy master plan redo. This would   normally be termed what used to be called a smoke  fil room. So we're going to spend 800 we're going   to raise $850 million in a sevenyear sales tax.  400 million pertains to visit Witchah. Basically,   the plan was expressed, as I've said before,  in the November 22 board of park commission   special meeting. They want to move, as Mr. Kite  said, the Symphony Hall, a music theater out of   Century 2. So, they have a reason to demolish it.  So, there's no reason to have Century 2 anymore.   And if you go to Witchaw Ford's website, you  can look at a link for the Greater Witchaw   Partnership downtown Witchaw master plan. They  removed the roof from Century 2 and inside is a   park. Then if you go and by the way that downtown  Witchah meetings that they had, I was procluded   from participating because my zip code is in  Butler County. So if you look at another link,   the visit witchaw master plan and I quote there's  they're saying space inside existing C2 round   building needs to be transformed to appropriately  complement new convention center investment. Yeah.   What they want to do is jackhammer the whole  interior of Century 2 and make it a ballroom. So, it's my belief that and assertion that the  59% of their poll, which is not released to the   public, does not support gutting the interior of  Century 2. I would also like to mention that the   planning for this involves Wilner Auditorium  at Witchaw State which is to be demolished for   a parking lot because they say the amount of  deferred maintenance has made it too expensive   to remodel Wilner Auditorium. Does that sound  familiar? So in I advocate instead of divorcing   the symphony and music theater from century 2, the  city should divorce visit witchah from century 2   and stop requiring the s witchaw symphony to  pay rent. You want to bring business into town,   you have to have a symphony. If you don't, what  are you going to say? If business want to move   here and they go, uh, do you have a symphony? know  we were too cheap to have one. I notice everything   that benefits a workingclass person has a very  strict return on investment strategy where some   of these developers don't. As I mentioned before  that the Bartlettsville Civic Center is almost   identical to Century 2. It's only a two and a half  hour drive to Bartlettzville. While you're there,   you could look at the Price Tower and you could  see what Bartlesville did with their uh community   center. And Century 2 could be exactly just like  that. So in the 60s, the Witchaw city government,   which would be the greatest generation, bequathed  a daring futuristic downtown library in Century 2.   And I believe this legacy is now being squandered.  And now I have 15 seconds. Convention center   uh follys. These plans that these guys propose  all the time are wildly optimistic and way off   target. For instance, Visit Witchaw says if they  do what they want, they'd go from three national   conventions to 20. All right. Thank you for your  time. Thank you. Do you mind saying your name,   sir? Oh, I'm sorry. Carl Dennett. Thank  you. I'm a resident of uh Butler County,   Augusta Township, and I have an apartment  in uh Miss Ballard's district. Thank you.   All right. Thank you. Thanks, Carl.  We'll continue with public comment. Hello. My name is Sarah Call. That's loud. Um,  I'm actually the other half of Dr. Donna and um,   I'm in district four now and I was just I was I  had a couple questions because I had like with the   1% I didn't know if it was 1% or 1 cent taxation,  but I just I know like this isn't I'm glad that   it's not being like voted on right now because  I think it's a really good outline for something   like something that can be bigger on that. like  just listening to some of these people's ideas   like having that like I think that like of course  I think that anything that has to do with helping   the homeless and the unhoused is beneficial but  I also think that the performing arts are a huge   part of like most of like our children growing up  like I moved here in '89 and I remember going to   Century 2 to the Netcrack and I know that was  a huge thing and I just think that you know   like with the 1% I think a lot of people are  getting I'm hearing a lot of like resistance   about having to have that forced upon them. But a  lot of people that when you have uh when you have   money coming in, I mean, what are you going to  spend it on anyways? The thing that I would like   to see is that if we're maybe have an opportunity  to pick like I think somebody said um just before   me that you know like he wanted he would like to  see something on the stadium you know have like   part of a ballot like on the voting for us to pick  which you know what we would like to see that 1%   or 1 cent whatever it is um pushed towards. I  mean, I would hope that like we'd have enough   through everything to cover because I really  really really like the idea that everybody's   kind of responsible and everybody trying to think  um I just I' heard a lot of things. I came in   wanting to say one thing and then I heard things  and I wanted to say another thing and I just I So, I guess I just sorry. Um, I guess like I I  like the transparency in this. I like the fact   that, you know, I don't think I don't think I've  ever like had where we could actually pick and   choose like when since I've I don't speak well,  but I I haven't been in government for very long   either, and I've never really paid attention to  what was going on in here. And in the last year,   we've kind of taken over um and I've sat in  here. I've sat in civic engagement. I tried   to get acclimated to wherever I was. And I think  that Witchaw is one of the only places that I've   ever lived that has had the potential to in  like invol like all the people that are in   this town has a right and a voice. So, I just  I'm glad that you guys are kind of putting it   back and I hope to see more of this though.  I mean, I know it's feels like it's a forced   thing when they say because I don't know why  there's so much resistance to it, you know,   but um there's nicer way to say, "Hey, we'd like  one cent voluntarily to put towards something to   make Witaw better." I guess that's what I'd ask  for. Thank you, Council Member Glas. Thank you,   Mayor Sarah. Hopefully, you'll have the chance to  vote on this March 3rd. I appreciate you coming   forward again. and I enjoyed our conversation  yesterday. Um to talk about 1% or 1 cent mark,   please let me know if I mess up on anything.  It's 1 cent of every dollar, which is 1%. Um   and so for example, if you have a $20 purchase,  1% of that would be one cents for every dollar.   So a $20 purchase would be 2020. Um so that's the  clear math for it. Mark, anything to add? So 1% is   the same as one cent for every dollar. And so it's  really semantics um when we're talking about one   cent or 1% uh when it comes to this. So can I ask  a followup question? Yeah. Okay. My So this would   be on sales tax, right? Correct. So this would be  something that it wouldn't be proportionate but   necessarily to what financial class you are. It's  however much money that you would spend in the   city and it would also bring in a lot of revenue  from people that are visiting our city that would   be helping pay for our local places. Correct.  20 to 30%. So, and that's that's Yeah. So,   I agree with it a little bit more. Okay. Thank  you, Sarah. I appreciate Yeah. your advocacy. Uh good morning. Um, my name is Bob Bowwi. My wife  and I own the Spice Merchant here in Witchah. And   uh, I hope it nobody goes to sleep because this  is not going to be as vibrant as all the other   information you've had this morning. What I'm  concerned about first thing is is that we have   the good fortune of caring for a national historic  landmark building at the corner of Cleveland and   Douglas and that's the Mentholatum Company  building and I must say that we sought that   uh designation uh probably 30 years ago now from  the state and what's happened recently ly is a   proposal to re I don't know what you call it  rework Douglas Avenue from uh Washington uh   west to Grove Corp pasta East High School. Uh  and we I I don't understand why the traffic   moves fine the way it is. We have the stupid angle  parking which is dangerous to anybody who tries to   park there or get back onto the street. And it  would be nice to have it repaved. And no thank   you. I don't want any flower pots in the middle of  Douglas. We have 27 employees that get paid every   week. We pay 100% of their health insurance  for them. And I don't want to change that.   And if we don't have access to our building, uh,  that's going to be imposed upon. Also, a lot of   our deliveries because we're coffee roasters  and we roast 150,000 pounds of coffee a year, the trucks that bring us that coffee cannot  get off of Douglas, depending on where they   put the turn lanes. And I've talked to a  couple of the truck drivers and they just   shake their head and they say, "We don't  know how we're going to get there." So,   uh, that should be a consideration somewhere. I've  yet I've talked to a couple other people that have   businesses on Douglas today. They've all received  information in the mail about what's the proposal   is. I've yet to see one item in my mailbox about  any of the plans. And I I don't know who is doing   the planning. Uh anyway, uh that's my concern. Uh  it's not uh earthshaking, but uh I am concerned   about Douglas Avenue and easy access for our  customers. Uh we contribute to this community approaching $200,000 a year in gifts and uh  donations to different organizations in the city.   And that I don't want to say it's going to  go away, but it would be impacted with the   lack of access for our customers because all that  money essentially comes from our customers. So,   thank you very much. Go Shockers. Shop at the  Spice Merchant. Thank you, Bob. I have noted   your opposition to item number two on the agenda.  So, um, I want to make sure that those comments   go along agenda item number two. Um, but we're  still on agenda item number one. Council member   Ballard. Thank you. Mayor Shenita, could we make  sure that um, Bob gets the information? I don't   know if it's coming from Gary's office or Paul  to make sure that he's getting the information   about the pictures or redesign or if Gary if  somebody wants to talk to him to make sure that   we have his address that'd be awesome. Thank you,  Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor Bob. You do   such a wonderful job. Um Vice Burchin is a is a  Witchaw legacy to one of our great businesses in   the city. You do so much for the community. Thank  you very much. Um I think you're your customers   will climb over walls to get to you. So, they  love your place. So, uh thank you very much. My wife goes there, so don't tell her that. We'll   continue with public comment  on agenda item number one. Good morning, Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Council,  Mr. Manager. Uh Jeff Flur, president of the Grey   Wall Partnership, 505 East Douglas Avenue. Uh  appreciate this opportunity just to voice the   partnership support of uh this proposal for  the 1% sales tax. Uh the organization joined   the coalition uh placing this request on a firm  for ballot uh in March. As I think about what's   being proposed, uh the allocations, they they  really do address several things in our community,   needs in our community, things that we've already  heard about the critical funding for Sack Light,   I think, the modern public safety infrastructure  needed for business confidence and I think too   for neighborhood vitality, property tax relief  for families in our community. And then a lot   of conversation today around the high impact I  think high impact quality of place projects like   the performing arts and the convention center. One  of the things that we have to do as we're thinking   about this proposal is that concurrently we have  to grow our community. We can't keep cannot do   that as well. This is both of these things are  really critical. We've done had a celebration   yesterday of NAR uh 40 years huge investment  in our community over four decades because of   that type of investment because what we've been  investing with our WSU WSU tech it's positioned   us to take aerospace because one of the things  that we we heard when the partnership was created   was how do we grow well we take our industry  sectors and we create depth within them but that   requires us to make investments in ourselves  to do that we've been able to see success   in defense and space companies now a part of  our ecosystem that's created jobs. It's also   I think added security for our supply chain  uh of companies that support aerospace. The   reason I bring this up is that as I think  about the new Witchaw biomedical campus,   there's a connection to the convention center. One  of the things that we've been learning uh as we've   been diving deeper into the opportunities that  this new campus is going to be able to afford us,   we're already seeing benefits of it uh  with Heartspring Comare and other private   investment around it. But as we're diving deeper,  there's opportunities to even be in multi-states,   national, even global opportunities. But one of  the things we've heard is that the lacking of our   convention center is a huge concern because you've  got to be able to bring people in for the exposure   of what we have underway in our community and  in this particular health care industry sector.   This is going to be very transformational for our  community. So all these things are connected. Uh   they're not independent of each other. So that's  part of when we think about the sales tax really   taking care of Second Light that it is not a  question in the future is really big for our   community. And I think so also too freeing up the  CIP. I I think that understanding the model where   it's 50% cash capital and then bonding. I mean  there's a lot of capital that could be freed up   to hit some other needs in our community which I  think would be incredible for us to be able to do.   This is also an avenue for us to accelerate.  We often talk about peer cities. Pure cities   are investing in themselves heavily. We don't  have to look very far to see that. OKC, Casey,   De Moine, they're all Omaha, uh, all along  the I35 corridor. But this is actually a   situation. We're a global city and there's  a lot of opportunities with that. So again,   we appreciate you taking favorable consideration  of putting this on the ballot so the community can   determine the answer to this question, but we also  see it being very fundamental as far as how it we   move forward as a city to be able to realize a lot  of opportunities not only in the private sector,   but also the public sector as well. So thank you  for the opportunity to express the support from   the partnership. I have a quick follow-up  question. Maybe it might not be for Jeff   or anyone who might be able to answer the  question regarding convention. Um the space   currently um which is the rectangle square  building next to Centry 2 the round building   um we have heard um anecdotally that that space  is not big enough for some of these conventions.   I know that yesterday I met with um Special  Olympics Kansas and the opportunity to possibly   um bring the law enforcement torch run convention  to Witchah, but the space might not be big enough.   Can can someone address the space needs  for the convention portion? Yes, thank you,   mayor. It's a it's actually multiple factors based  on the most recent study that's been done of the   facility. Um for some conferences we do not have  enough uh space especially clear space to meet uh   uh current uh needs for conventions. Uh we also  don't have the ability in the in a new or a   um a modern convention facility to host multiple  events and so that limits our ability. Uh the plan   would be to uh remodel the space that has the  highest clearance now and to add approximately   60,000 square feet if I remember correctly  to the facility in order for us to be able to   meet those needs of today's conventions.  uh but um uh visit Witchto could speak   uh with more clarity regarding the limitations  of the facility and the number of events that we   have lost out on as a result of our inability to  have uh to meet the modern needs of a convention.   So this proposal would be adding on to the  current Bob Brown building onto where that that   is correct. Uh to the east of the building so that  it would still continue to be Bob Brown facility   but extended with more space. It also would have  an upstairs ballroom area and some additional   meeting rooms added to the space. And then it  would remodel the existing space both the with the   low clearance as well as the uh higher clearance  space or does that mean the parking lot uh a   portion of the parking lot would be sacrificed  um in order to be able to make this extension. Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. Joseph text doer. Um I said I I this  was unprecedented in how I've seen   this process go about. Uh it is further  unprecedented seeing a second reading with   so many detailed questions when we're talking  about changing the entire struct tax structure   of our city with the largest tax increase in  the history of our city at the highest level   the state legislature allows you to go to.  It is important to not repeat the mistakes   of past councils which is the pattern that I  was mentioning before where I've seen them be   especially the former mayor tonedeaf to the voices  of the public and then also then rushing to try to   get something through. I I can't we can't help  it that you know I'd love to seen Witchah Ford   build a very large grassroots coalition before  launching. I would love it if we could we we had   uh leadership that would would have said pump the  brakes. Let's actually take this as a framework   and and let's come together over the next year if  we want to do this as a standalone election and   put something together with feedback from the  community. That's why October 21st was such an   important meeting I felt because I had seen that  pattern continue and it was one of those first   times where I said oh we can be different now  where even a issue that had gone to the district   advisory boards council member Glascock asked to  go be be pulled and not have a vote on because   of concerns that there was language involving  things related to it that we hadn't had a time   for the public landlords and others to voice on.  Vice Mayor Johnston, you called for a task force   with that that proved very successful and we heard  uh last week the fruits of that. I think we also   need to be clear that there's some problems with  the ballot language property tax alone. If you   don't do certain additions today to this ballot  language, you have now for a second time approved   on record to force a vote of a guaranteed new  tax with optional tax relief. Let me explain.   You need language if your pitch is actual property  relief. You need languages that will say quote   city mil mill mill levy shall be reduced by  x mills or quote city property tax dollars   shall not exceed the revenue neutral rate. If  we don't correct this error before it opens   the door including that there's not a floor or  prioritization of where the when the relief will   come and how much will come. One of the problems  with the language here on the ballot is that it   only covers ceilings not minimums. There's no  mentioning of cap reallocations. There's no   mentioning of that for the oversight committee.  And vagueness, the problem with vagueness in   something like this is it it breeds more conflict  and chaos later. And I've seen enough distraction   and division from lack of leadership and from  gotcha politics and rushing things through that   has kept this city from being able to do better.  And Ben Hutton's right, we are a decade behind.   Why are we fumbling the bundle yet again? We  need to get serious. I I I serve on a county   advisory board and we talk about exploration  place 2.0. We talk about the zoo. We talk about   um so many things we could invest in tangibles.  We can look at that interest vote that failed   twice and on the third time 52% voted and it  was a 2.5year term. Why can't we do something   very tangible, very step one for our own unique  Witchah way? Because the Witchita way isn't that   division and distraction. It can't be. We have  to get serious. Um I think about the fact that the community should drive the political will  and the community has been fully left out. Also   on the the ballot language, I'm troubled  that the ordinance is not referenced here.   um pay as you go is not referenced actually  in what the voters are voting on and these   buckets are so large the language that I'm really  worried about it says and other purposes related   there's only other purposes related what are  the other purposes in each of these categories   and only one of these categories actually puts  in operating and maintenance costs there's no   mention of staff for handling this Oklahoma  City they have dedicated staff page one on   the ordinance remember they voted on one sentence  pay as you go citizen an advisory board mandatory   subcommittees with each with each area detail  the resolution details allocations of certain   identified operating funds and a new trust  will be established. I believe that we can   do better and I believe when when we  come together as a community and unite,   we can see what the priorities are and we we can  see when there's a rugpool being done. We have   potentially a looming fiscal crisis and I'm having  seen so much games professionally for so long,   I'm tired of seeing suffering under it now  personally and I know we can do better and   we must do better. Thank you. Thank you. text.  Council member Glasco. Thank you, Mayor Tex. I   have no uh comments. Thank you for spending 15  minutes offering public um over the la or public   input over the last uh two weeks regarding this.  Um this is a question for city staff, not for the   presenter. Um when we look at the actual uh city  ballot language, I just want to confirm what the   um language when it says shall not exceed means  when it comes to property taxes and that each   one of these buckets has to be allocated as the  ballot language states. So Mark legal somebody pro   I will confirm that council member of glass clock.  Okay. Thank you for the confirmation. In addition,   I want to correct one thing from the speaker's  record that this is the most that cities can   allocate in terms of municipal sales tax. In  the presentation presented to this council   on May 27th of this year, it actually outlines  on page two, exhibit one, as well as exhibit 2   and exhibit 3 what each municipality can allocate.  I'll just read a couple of those. Andover has a 2%   uh sales tax currently. Um, Augusta has a 2% sales  tax. Currently, Coffeeville, Kansas, actually has   a 3% and I believe that by state statute is the  highest that could be levied. But the average   for all first class cities in the state of Kansas  is actually 1.47% in terms of sales tax. What's   being presented um today on a ballot initiative  is 1%. So, just to correct the record, thank you. Thank you, Seth. We'll  continue with public comment. Good morning, mayor and council members. My  name is Steve Dixon. I reside at 14300 East   13th Street North here in Witchah, Kansas.  I want to speak a little bit about like a   canary in the coal mine to all of you about our  homeless situation here in Witchah. Just last   Thursday, we were notified at the Coalition End  Homelessness uh meeting that federal HUD funding   under the current NOFO has the potential to be  reduced from $2.7 million to under to roughly   $900,000 in the next year to two years. Also,  that with that change in funding comes a change   in how those funds can be allocated. At risk is  over 200 persons that are currently in housing   being supported in permanent supportive housing.  This is a title wave that potentially will hit   our city that we are not prepared to deal with  at this point in time. If we want, what the city   needs and why I advocate as a personal citizen  of this Witchah city is a consistent stream of   funds to work with our homeless service providers.  Yes, I'm the board chair for Second Light. Yes,   I sit on the board for the coalition to  end homelessness in Cedric County. However,   as a private citizen, my concern is for my  fellow citizens that are most vulnerable.   What we see is that our community is pulling  together, our provider community is pulling   together to address this in a communitywide um  system. We see that with the 16 providers that   are currently operating inside of Second Light to  provide services to our unhoused population. What   we need and what we have is a clearly defined goal  for our city. Our community has come out and said,   our provider community has come out and said,  we are seeking and striving towards reaching   functional zero because as a community, we value  all citizens. We value those most vulnerable   citizens in our community and we want to reduce  and actually increase number of people housed   while reducing the number of people that are  being impacted u by homelessness. I apologize.   I'm a little passionate about this. wrote this  last night and I'm still trying to work through   it. All I'm asking tonight today is that our  community be willing to support the work that's   already being done. Second Light has been up and  operational now for roughly a year. We are housing   currently 300 persons within the shelter emergency  winter shelter in addition to the 175 170 persons   that are currently in shelter plus service  beds. We saw 97 persons just the other day.   We know it was cold. It was not a great day, but  the shelter was open. The shelter was receiving   guests. The shelter housed people. They fed them.  They gave them a place to sleep that was safe and   secure. All I'm asking and I'm all I'm urging you  to do is to give our community the opportunity to   lean into this work that is already being done.  Support our most vulnerable neighbors. Thank you. Thank you, Steve. We'll  continue with public comment. Hi, I'm John Ralph, uh, lifelong citizen of  Witchah. I love the smell of democracy in   the morning. I think the real question we're  all wondering is when do you guys eat lunch?   I don't know how you do this. Um, yeah, so  I'm in the way of that, aren't I, right now?   Um, hey, obviously I'm here in support of this  and um, I was a film major in college and wanted   to change the world through story. And so, even  as I lead our business, I think about stories a   lot and I think about some of the stories that are  being told here and I think about the environment   we're in politically now, right? It's tough. You  guys have to face it every day. Um when I was on   the board of regents, I uh had some siblings and  knowing what it felt like to be a a policy maker   and and a governing body. Um even you know  our own businesses already are being harassed   uh you know by some of the folks in opposition  to that our team members and things like that.   Uh stories I think about it. You got you got three  multi-family multigenerational family businesses   in Witaw that are looking at some of the crisises  that are ahead, some of the opportunities for   this city and uh just inviting the community to  have a discussion over the next few months and a   vote on whether one sales tax is a tool that this  community should be using to invest in itself or   not. And if it is, are these the projects that we  should be doing? We live in a political era when   even seeing isn't necessarily believing. I know  I've been mentioned by name a few times about   wanting to tear down Century 2. This plan invests  in Century 2 and complex. It also takes steps to   try and uh not waste any more time where we lose  convention business and visitors to this town year   after year. Um when uh you look at this plan, as  we are looking at uh raising money and running a   a uh positive campaign in favor of this uh sales  tax and as we think about in seven years whether   or not the community would trust this process  and look at this investment tool again for other   projects, it's going to be important that there's  oversight. It's going to be important that there   is continued community interaction through this  and that's why you have the citizen oversight.   uh structured how it is that this body continues  to make decisions as it hears from people as it   looks at the individual projects. For instance,  when you think about performing arts, it'd be a   very similar process to what you saw with the  arena. when the community voted on the arena,   we didn't have a site, we didn't have a design,  we knew roughly what it would cost, and then once   we were able to do that and uh WTO Forward is  willing to go out and try and raise other $75   million on this thing and Mayor Woo, I hear what  you're saying uh about wanting the private dollars   first. If we're not able to raise that money, uh  the 75 million public dollars won't be able to   build a new performing arts center. It'll be moot.  It'll be uh not be able to done anyway. So, I hope   as you're looking at the stories of all this, uh,  you're remembering, as we heard last night from,   uh, fire representatives, as we've talked to  police, the bravest individuals in our community,   coming up and and giving them the resources they  need to win, uh, when we, uh, think about paying   with cash instead of debt and being fiscally  responsible. Um, all those are part of this   story. And so when I think about Witchah, I  mentioned this just a little bit last week,   but we are a city with the wind at our back  right now. If you think about where we were   15 or 20 years ago when we lost Boeing, when we  were so hard hit during the last financial crisis,   we've been able to rally, come together, diversify  our economy, track new business, uh continue to uh   accelerate our place on this planet as one of the  destinations of advanced manufacturing and pushing   forward. Um when you think about the biomed campus  going up and all the opportunities that are there   um a friend of mine when he was speaking about  this said it's go time and please look at all   the people and the organizations have lent their  support to this plan and that believe that now is   the right time to put this in front to allow our  citizens to make the choice of whether we want to   invest in ourselves in this way with this 1 cent  sales tax at this time. So thank you very much   for your attention. Thank you very much for being  willing to serve and um I'm done with 48 seconds   to spare. John, I have one question. You mentioned  that some of your staff has been harassed um and   that is not acceptable being harassed. I I just  want to know um I think a lot of people are are   interested in why you three um families have come  forward with trying to move this project, this   plan. And I'm curious also why now? And and you  said right now it's go time. Why now? Well, um so   you know the three of us spoke at the uh I forget  what the name of the event was. It was a business   journal event and uh you know we're super involved  in the community. Um we're we're three businesses   that give back of our time of our resources of  our team members encouraging them to be involved   out there. And so we're constantly aware of this  conversation about how to solve these problems   individually about the opportunities around a  sales tax. I think we left that time and started   engaging with people in the community and saying,  you know, is now the right time. Uh we knew that   you guys were discussing it and were looking  at it as we looked at the landscape of what was   coming up and some of the priorities that would  need to be on this uh and speaking to the timing   of it. as we looked at Second Light, knowing  the funding was going to run out in October,   knowing that that's right before the cold months,  um, and understanding what a prior priority uh,   our attention to the homeless community is. Uh,  something that all three of our organizations   give back to, I think we said, hey, it feels like  the right time. And then we went and tested that   idea with the community, went and tested it with  different organizations to see if they felt like   it was right. Uh but I think when you see the  three of us, you need to know there's several   other business leaders that are with us. Uh you  know, they're on the coalition. We're the three   that have been willing to, you know, stand up and  be coming to the city council meetings and do all   that. Uh but there's a great coalition behind  this. There's a great coalition that believes in   this town right now. And that would be as far as  timing goes, Mayor Woo. Uh there's a high amount   of belief in Witchaw right now. the highest that  I can remember uh since moving back. Uh that we   can go places, that we can do things, and that  makes us feel like it's the right time for this   community to have a conversation whether or not  we want to hit the accelerator or if we want to   continue if we want to uh ease off of that. And  we recommend that we push into the accelerator   if that wasn't clear. Thank you. Yeah. Anything  else? Thank you. Continue with public comment. I see I see no one else from the public who would  like to speak. I would like to say thank you   to the 17 individuals who spoke during public  comment and the two additional individuals who   spoke during the public agenda regarding this um  second reading. We will now bring it back to the   bench. Council member Glascop. Thank you, Mayor. I  don't want to reiterate what I had said last week   and I appreciate everybody engaging publicly. Some  residents have had over 15 minutes to speak to the   council uh with their thoughts. Uh some residents  have sent 56 questions. Um and I am thankful   for the public engagement that we've had in this  process. Again, I shared my thoughts. I don't want   to repeat all that today. What I do want to say  is that I believe the people of Witchah deserve   a choice and deserve a choice for themsel. This  is not a decision that should be made from this   day alone and whether you support this proposal  or oppose it. I think there's justification for   both. The question before us today is about is  larger than one project or any vote. And it's   about whether we trust our residents to weigh  these facts, ask the questions over the next   few months and decide the kind of future that  they want for the city. I know what kind of   future I want for this city. And a vote doesn't  force um this vote doesn't force the property or   vote the force the public to vote for the first  property tax decrease since 1985. It does not   force the public to invest in our firefighters.  It does not force the public to help us solve the   homeless crisis. It just gives the public a voice  if they want lower property taxes, if they want   to help our first responders, and if they want  to help solve homelessness in their community.   And I believe that voters deserve that choice.  Witchaw has always moved forward. We're unwilling   to invest in ourel and safety and infrastructure  and opportunity and places to build community.   And we owe it to our residents to let them decide  what the path forward is. I'm voting today to let   the witch people of Witchtow be heard because  I believe democracy works best when we trust   democracy. So with that, and I know there's going  to be a lot of discussion, um I move that we place   the ordinance calling for a special election on  second reading and approve the notice of special   election question. Second. motion and a second.  We'll continue with comments from the bench.   Council member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Uh, I was  going to reread my speech last week, word for   word, but since Council Member Glascock didn't,  I won't. Um, I do want to clarify, uh, just a few   things that were said earlier. I've been looking  I think I printed these, so I may not have them in   my email. As we look at one of the items on here  around performing arts, some names of groups were   mentioned. There was an opportunity back in 2019  as we talked about plans um around performing arts   where the groups that were mentioned actually  submitted letters to the council in support   of having worldclass facilities. It wasn't a  knock on um the current round building per se,   but just saying that we have worldclass performers  and talent. We deserve worldclass facilities for   them. Those groups um that we celebrate  wanted a new performing arts facility.   There was also mentioned that council has ignored  a petition and previously that petition actually   was not just to save one building. It would  have impacted 190 structures here in the city   of Witchah. That was why we pushed back on that.  It wasn't around one specific space. All of that's   in the public record. We've talked about that.  So, just wanted to clarify those things. I have   seen historically sitting here where some of that  misinformation is shared and it becomes a part of   a public narrative and it's not always completely  accurate. Aside from those things, um, as I said   last week and as council member Glascock said,  I too support each of you, each Witchah resident   having an opportunity to support or not support  this sales tax. There are some um, great things in   the plan as far as public safety. I do think and  I'm hearing public comment. I do think some of the   items that council member Glascock referenced  in the different pages in our CIP, we maybe   should compile that in one area so people can see  what those items are. If you don't want to skim   through that whole thing, the CIP is available  online right now, you can look through that, but   maybe looking at that so people understand which  apparatuses and um stations might be impacted   by that. I think a discussion about all of these  opportunities has been happening for a number of   years. Maybe not packaged in this way, but we have  been talking about those things and I think this   gives people an opportunity to say they want to  support it or not. We've heard about some of the   uh protections as one of the things the mayor  brought up is having private dollars first. We   know that if the private dollars won't be raised,  that money won't be spent. Those things I think we   should continue to talk about again to make sure  more people know about it. um whether that's witch   forward or people reaching out to us because we  would be voting on this but ultimately I think   that folks deserve an opportunity in the public  to say yes or no uh to the whole package. I don't   think it's perfect. I don't think there's ever  going to be a package that just has everything   that each of us wants. But there is something in  this um that benefits everyone. And there's also   something in this that I think people may disagree  with. But I have seen over time as well that when   you get to a space like that where some people  really love it, some people kind of love it,   you're in, I think, the right space. So I will  be voting in favor of putting this on the ballot   and that way the residents can say yes or no to  if they want it or not. Council member Hoisel.   Thank you, Mayor. Um, I might need a little help  with this. Um, I'd like to make a substitute   motion that would break this ballot up into five  separate votes on the same ballot um in March. Uh,   one for public safety not to exceed 225 million.  One for homeless and housing services not to   uh exceed 150 million, one for revitalization a  century 2 and convention center improvements not   to exceed 250 million. One for property tax relief  not to exceed 150 million. and one for development   and construction of of a new downtown public  performance arts center not to exceed 75 million.   My reason for this is I am afraid because a lot of  these are very much needed in our community and to   Mr. Dixon's point um the safety and security  especially of um our homeless population and   people who are interested in seeing um a lot of  the homeless people end up finding housing. Um,   so I this is my proposal. I have questions about  that. So is this maybe a question for the election   commissioner or uh law um how that would show  up on a ballot since there are five different   initiatives and the first question really is the  sixth question really is whether or not to have   a 1% sales tax and then the allocation. I think  that's what council member Hohheisel is asking.   Mayor, I believe that that is a significant  change today and this would not be within   the scope of what a second reading is allowed  under city ordinance. I would advise that any   action taken today stay within a second reading  to maintain compliance with our procedures.   I do believe we could have an emergency  before the the question is due on the 19th. I would advise that we operate within a second  reading today to maintain consistency with our our   ordinance um to maintain procedural consistency  and make sure that you know the election is   called properly um and any sales tax complies with  state law. Um I think we are on a tight timeline.   Today's a second reading and I think that we need  to operate within the ordinance which allows for   minor adjustments today. Vice Mayor Johnson, with  all respect, Councilman Hisel, um we would need   a first reading for a special meeting. We need a  second reading for another special meeting and we   have to do this all by Friday. So, I don't think  that's doable. Um I do think we need to follow   legal advice and and vote this up or down and  and let people decide. Um, if we did not get it   done by Friday, we could not do it by in March and  we we'd have to do it in August. August it would   be too late to fund second light. So, the timing  just doesn't work out, I don't think. Appreciate   Council Member Tuttle. Thank you so much. I just  want to offer a few comments. Um, same as Council   Member Johnson. And I said most of what I was  going to say last week, but I did want to again   thank staff for all of their work on this. I know  many departments have been involved and also thank   you to the community members who have reached  out, the folks who sat there through the long   meeting last week. They're sitting here through  the meeting today. Um there's been many comments   today about trust and the community saying that  they don't trust this body who is representing you   as your city council and mayor. And I say I trust  the community. they deserve the opportunity to   vote. Um, if we voted this up as a sales tax or we  voted it down as a sales tax, people wouldn't be   happy. But this way we have an opportunity for the  community to weigh in and make the decision. Um,   someone a couple people made the comment about  democracy and this is people letting people in   a representative republic have a say in a vote. A  special election such as this is also is sometimes   called direct democracy. Direct democracy is  the will of the people. And that's what we're   voting on today is that we would let the will of  the people decide if we should have a 1-centent   sales tax to fund projects that they think are  important. Um I have said many many times from   the bench in the last seven years, Witchens are  very smart. Witchins make good decisions. That's   how our great city is so great. Wishians are  also incredibly passionate and I think that they   should be allowed to vote on March 3rd of 2026 to  share their thoughts and their passion. And then   finally, again, I said it last week, I say it all  the time, Witchah needs to grow. We have to grow   to keep up with our peer cities. We have to grow  to attract and retain talent. We have to grow to   attract and retain businesses. And I think this  is the opportunity to let the residents in our   community decide if this is how they want us to  grow. Thank you, Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you,   Mayor. I I too do not think this is perfect. If I  was doing it myself, I would provide more property   tax relief. I think people want that, but it does  previde provide some. So, I think that's good. I   I admire the leaders who brought this forward. um  they're they're putting themselves out for target   practice. Um not easy to do because you're going  to get shot at. Uh especially when your businesses   might be affected by people not coming to them.  So I feel bad for them for that. Um they just want   the best for the city. This will fund the homeless  shelter, which is the reason that I ran for city   council was the for the homeless and and housing  also. So, it will fund that. Um, it will help with   the budget deficits, looming budget deficits  in 28 and 29. Um, the money freed up from cash   funding the the fire and police free will free  up some money to pay the fire and police. Uh,   we gave them all big raises including public  works um with no clear path to pay for that. So,   it will help pay for those raises. Um, it will  care for Centry 2. I am a supporter of Centry   2. I love Centry 2. I think we should take  care of it. I am extremely disappointed in   the Save Century 2 group that apparently will  be against us. I don't understand it. I think   it's because of past um contracts from EPC,  baseball stadium, the the dollar for the land,   the water plant. I get all that. I get all that,  but that's not this. What we're talking about here   is looking forward. We can look back and see what  mistakes were made and we can take care of them,   but we also need to look forward and move  ahead. I think that's very very important. Um, this will get the people a chance to to vote and  I just hope they know what they're voting on and   that'll be the responsibility of Witchaw forward  to put that message out to let people know what   they're what they're voting on. If they vote it  down, they vote it down. If they vote for it,   I think that'd be great. It'll move us move  us forward. So I will be supporting this. Uh   I admire the people that brought it forward.  I thank you for that. It's it's a it's looking   forward to the city and which is named Witchaw  forward. Um I think that's what we need to do is   look forward and like council member Tuttle said  we need we need to grow. So you can't cut your way   to its prosperity. Thank you. Council member  Hoheisel. Thank you mayor. Um I still have a   motion on the floor. I don't know if there's  a second or not. Second motion. Substitute   motion and a second. So I have multiple  questions. Uh but council member Ballard,   go ahead. Um I want to know so now we have a  substitute motion and a second. This if this   was to um be on the March ballot, how would that  work out? Sharon, I'm going to ask you to come   forward and help me sort this out. Um, that's  something we just have haven't contemplated. I think what the motion would do would be to  essentially craft or draft an entirely new   ordinance with an entirely new ballot, which would  put us back in that realm of are we now having a   first reading on what Councilman Hohheisle has  presented, which would then require a second   reading in a special meeting as um Vice Mayor  Johnston had outlined. mind. So, if the motion   passes, we're essentially reddrafting or have  staff reddraft a a new ballot. You would need   to figure out what percentages you wanted for  each of those. So, if you want 0.025% of 1%,   I mean that the sales tax doesn't have to  be a 1% or 2%. Um, it has to be in 0.05%.   05% increments. So you would have 0.05% for  property tax, 0.25 for homeless, and I'm just   throwing out numbers here. Um, you would have  to provide additional clarification as to what   you wanted those breakdowns to be because you  would still have to assess an amount. You can't   just say we want a sales tax and it will be up to  250 million for a without some sort of percentage   for the department of revenue to collect. And I'm  going to ask Mark for confirmation of that. Yes. So I mean it would be  essentially copying. Okay. Let me It's a It It's a different way  to to get to the same place,   but you're going to have to allow staff time  to figure out what those percentages are,   whether it's a 0.05% of whatever gets you to 250  million. And I am not the math person here. Um,   but it would take staff and some analytics  to get you what that new ballot is,   which is part of the problem of we're we're  essentially starting this process over, right? Couple more questions. um because  I had the concern regarding the   um new performing arts center and making sure that  there's language um that says private dollars must   be raised first before public dollars even get  kicked in. And I know that someone had mentioned   that if those private dollars were not raised then  that this would be a moot discussion. Therefore,   what would happen with those uh funds  that would have been raised? So,   how can we craft that into either the  substitute motion or the current motion? If you want to engraft that onto either  that motion or the current motion,   you're creating a new ordinance. And I think  Jennifer had responded to that that it it might   be cleaner to have that as part of a resolution  which we could bring back either next week or or   the first part of January that it's the intent of  the council in passing the ordinance that the 75   million would not of public tax money would not be  paid until private funds were raised. And hold on.   I'm trying to find I drafted some language kind  of in my head here, but I just got to find it. Go ahead. I can maybe answer another question.  I'm trying to find the what I sent. Thanks,   Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor. I I'll speak  to your concern about raising the money first.   um done a lot of fundraising in the last decade.  You do when you fund raise, you always want to   raise half of it before you go public. Uh if you  don't, you're going to fail. So to raise half of   it would be the sales tax. The people raise going  out fundraising, they would already know they've   got half of it. It would help them raise the other  half. I would not be in favor of that. So if that   is truly the case, then I would be not in favor  of this because I want to make sure that private   dollars need to be raised first before taxpayer  dollars come and supplement. So I would not be   in favor if that was to happen. That's for the  record. Some potential language that I had come up   with earlier this morning regarding and it would  be section E of the ballot and this could be put   in in a resolution form. Public funds shall not  be expended until such time a matching amount of   private funds have been raised for the development  and construction of a new downtown performing   public performing arts center which I think gets  where you want that we're not going to expend any   of this money um until that that other matching is  done regarding the performing arts center then I   think the manager had explained that if we don't  get those then that amount would shift into one   of these other categories Is that Yeah, I don't  have a problem with that, mayor. Not at all. So,   but it's not a reason to not do the sales tax.  Now, I want to make sure that that is solidified   and a resolution either comes to us next week for  sure. Uh not possibly next year. I want to make   sure that it is in something that we can vote on  a resolution that does say private dollars must   be raised first. Council member Tuttle. Thank you.  I would also be in support of a resolution. It's   my understanding that I think funds have already  been committed. Um so I I don't think that that's   a probably going to be an issue. I think the  private dollars will be raised and then we   can utilize public dollars. I just a logistical  two logistical questions for for Jennifer andor   Sharon. Um is your microphone fixed? Okay. I let  comms know that you needed to have it fixed. Um,   so we would have to have a resolution drafted by  Thursday because we have a council policy that   says anything that goes on the agenda has to be  um available to the public by Thursday at 5 for   the Tuesday meeting. And then my second half of  that question is next Tuesday is consent only. So   do we have to do anything logistically  to change that meeting? And then Bob,   that means that it won't be your last meeting um  of a regular meeting. So two questions. Um can we   have a resolution by Thursday at 5 so we follow  our own policy because I don't want to break one   policy trying to get something else. And then  what do we have to do to change the format of   the meeting? Thank you. Sure. To um council  member to answer your first question, yes, I   believe we can draft a resolution by Thursday. To  answer the second question, next week is a consent   only agenda. Um to vote on a resolution would be  a typical new business item. I think you'd need to   change that meeting to a regular meeting if you're  going to take up an item of new business. Somebody   can correct me if they are wrong. Maybe there's  another way to do that, but that's the way I see   it. If and if that's correct, you would need today  to vote on making next week a regular meeting as   that's what I wondered. Thank you. I would be in  favor of that. And everyone else seems to agree.   So it could change into a regular meeting where we  can have a resolution regarding those um that new   resolution about performing arts. Council member  Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Um first I do believe   that we do have something on regular business  next week. Um we do have an item I believe. No, the only thing you may be thinking of the  municipal judge. Okay. And that's on as showing as   consent. Oh, that's consent. Okay. Okay. I thought  that was Okay. Uh and also to the current motion,   I think if it passes, um that would mean we could  have an emergency tomorrow with cleaner language,   an emergency Thursday, and then get it on  the ballot to the ballot box by Friday.   Yeah, I I definitely think you've heard from the  law department. You can't do it today because   we can't put that language together in a  way that would be transparent, right? So,   I I I I know there could still be issues with  that, but in theory, I guess you could have a   meeting tomorrow to review a new ordinance  and approve the first reading, but again,   that's really varying significantly from your  normal process. Yep. a lot of maring from the   process here lately. Council member Tuttle.  Thank you. I just have a quick question to   make sure I understand. For us to need to have  an emergency meeting tomorrow and an emergency   meeting on Thursday, Council Member Hullheisle's  U motion would have to carry. Is that correct?   We're not going to have I'm just a little  confused. I'm sorry. I got in the the weeds   a little bit or the mud or I don't know what,  but I'm confused. I believe that's correct. If   that is the only way that we could accomplish what  council member Hallisel's motion would would ask   for. I believe if follow-up question for legal  if the motion doesn't pass then we don't have   to have two emergency meetings. Correct. Yeah.  And I'm not opposed to having special meetings,   but um you know, we're getting hit that  we're not being transparent and having two   emergency meetings that people aren't going to  necessarily be aware of brings me some pause. So, we have a substitute motion from Council  Member Hoheisel, seconded by Council Member   Ballard. This would allow for an emergency meeting  as well tomorrow and Thursday. Is that accurate?   That wasn't in the wording of the motion,  but I I think we'd have to have that called.   Um council can do that in the motion if that's  the will of the I'll go add that to the motion. So, I'm going to do a couple of things.  I don't know if this is going to pass.   This is a substitute motion, but I will  say that I do want more opportunities to   um fine-tune the language, which is why a  resolution regarding the performing arts   is something that will for sure come to us  on Tuesday. However, if there's a new draft,   I would want that draft to also include this  um performing arts uh portion. Because of that,   I will be voting in favor because this would also  allow the performing arts question to be on there.   With that, we have a mot substitute motion and a  second. Madame clerk, please open the role. Mayor,   technically, I think that has to be accepted  as a friendly amendment because he did not   have that in his motion. So, am I right on  that? Yeah. Okay. So your language that is   what Sharon had asked had offered would  have to be then accepted in his motion and it's been accepted by council member Hoheisle.  So we have again a substitute motion and a second   with the additional language regarding uh  private dollars having to be raised first   before public dollars would kick in. Can I have  a point of clarification? I'm sorry. I just want   to make sure I completely understand. So, we're  voting on council member Wholeheisel's motion to   break it into five chunks and have two special  meetings. Is that correct? And then you added in   the resolution. If his doesn't pass, will you  offer the resolution for the original motion?   So if if this motion does not pass, we go back to  the original motion by council member Glascock,   seconded by Vice Mayor John Sten with Tuesday  having a new resolution regarding the performing   arts. I just wanted to make sure because I  don't think the resolution was maybe part   of glass council member GlassCox, but we'll  get there. Let's get through this vote first,   I guess. I just want to make sure we're clean.  So thank you, Madame Clerk. Please open the role. Motion does not carry four to three. We're back to  the original motion from council member Glascock,   Vice Mayor Johnston. Any further comments  regarding this motion. So this motion again   for clarity is to put it on the ballot in March  with the specified language as is with again on   Tuesday the understanding that there will be a  resolution regarding private dollars having to   be raised first before public dollars can kick  in. Council member Ho Heisel. Thank you Mayor.   I'm sure everybody's tired of me talking but I  did want to share my thoughts. Um, I just want to   go on record talking about this sales tax vote.  I have many issues with this process, including   the timing, the lack of public input, and some  of the projects listed to be funded. I wish we   had more time to look at this as a community and  gather the buyin from our community. Not only does   this harm the trust from the community, but it  also puts the potential funding for many programs   that I care about at risk for not passing.  However, I can't see any other way with the   intent of council to come up with funding for the  issues that are most pressing to our community,   namely homeless services and affordable housing.  I struggle with this decision because inaction on   these issues will only exacerbate the problems we  face down the line. Homelessness among seniors is   projected to double over the next decade, and  this is an opportunity to get out ahead of it.   There is a saying, don't let the perfect be the  enemy of the good. But I don't think that applies   here. I think it's more along the lines of we  can't afford to not act on these issues. I've   been racking my mind as to how to get these issues  addressed without the sales tax. And with the with   the current makeup of council and our diverse  opinions on the role of government, I'm not   sure there is one. As someone who has constantly  tried to direct needy people to shelter services,   I'll let you know that right now shelter for  abused women are full and family shelters   are full. This is an issue that needs immediate  attention. We've been working hard over the last   four years and have laid a great infrastructure  for homeless services, but there is still work   to do. These issues are too important to ignore  or to continue to put be put off. That's why I'll   support putting this on the ballot for March. This  doesn't look like what would come out of council   if it was a council of one. Me being that one,  but that is the way our government is set up. This   isn't the popular decision. I understand that. But  that's the burden of the office that we have saw   it. I hope we can continue to move this discussion  forward over the next couple of months in a open,   honest, and serious way. Thank you. I will  just add a couple more comments. Um, again,   thank you to the individuals who have addressed  the council and know that I'm taking down notes   and highlighting the portions where we will  continue to ask for further clarification.   And as we fine-tune these discussions over the  next few months, um, I want to make sure that   there will be ample time for community to have  a say, especially on the oversight committee.   text. Thank you for reminding us about the  minimums, reminding us to see how we can   make this better. I also understand that this  community has asked us to bring vision a vision   forward. While this is not my vision or my plan,  I believe in the citizens of Witchah and I believe   that the citizens should have the final say on  what should happen to the city of Witchah. And so   my vote will be in favor of letting the community  make that decision and it will be in the hands of   the community to make that final decision. With  that, Vice Mayor Johnston. Mayor, if I may, um,   before the motion is finally voted on, I would  like, just for the record, the motion to be   clarified with the language about the resolution  and then at the same time, it would be appropriate   for the motion to include changing next week's  meeting to a regular meeting. If that could be   done in one motion, um, if not, that's okay. But  I just wanted to have that clear for the record.   Can that be a friendly amendment to the current  motion? as long as it doesn't um mess up the   ballot language, I accept all of that. So, okay.  Thank you, Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor.   One thing I did forget to say, I think something  that Waw Forward did right this time is have the   oversight committee. I think that independent  oversight committee to watch over things to make   sure it gets spent on what it is, it doesn't go  over. I think that that's a a very good thing. And   I think that's something that uh we should really  be proud of if it goes through. Thank you, Council   Member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. I just want  to echo some of my colleagues comments on this   plan is certainly not perfect. I have a lot of  questions myself. Uh if it comes up to March and   you still have questions that are answered, you  always has you always have the option to say no.   I think this is an option for us to consider. Um,  and like I said, I have lots and lots of questions   myself. I want to see renderings. Um, we still  have a lot of work to do, but I do think uh this   is not a decision that I want the seven of us to  to make. Um, I think it's important to put it in   the hands of the public. So, for that, I will be  voting yes. I see no further comments. We have a   motion and a second with some friendly amendments  that include a regular meeting next week and a   resolution uh regarding the um performing arts.  Madame clerk, can you please open the role? Motion passes 70. We will take  a 15 minute break at this time. for the city council meeting. We have  five council members now in the room. So,   we will resume our council meeting. Madame clerk, can you please call the next item?   design concept for Douglas from Washington  to Grove. Thank you. Good afternoon, mayor,   city council members. Paul Gunzelman, public works  and utilities for the record. This afternoon,   I will be presenting on the design concept  for Douglas from Washington to Grove. Douglas Street has a a lot of history to it.  um almost 25 years. Starting back in 2000,   Douglas was improved um from Main Street to St.  Francis. That improvements included repaving   Douglas, new sidewalk, curb extensions, and  landscaping. Project that is not bulleted   on this list is improvements to Douglas through  Delena completed in 2003. That project converted   the fivelane section of Douglas to a two-lane  section with diagonal parking. It also included   curb extensions, landscaping, and new sidewalk. In  2010, the project downtown had recommended Douglas   as a primary corridor of expanded Q-ine services  along with Main Street. A Douglas Avenue corridor   transit development study was completed in 2012.  And in 2014, curb extensions were constructed from   Main Street to Washington as recommended by the  transit development study with new bus shelters.   In 2017 and 2018, the Douglas and hydraulic  intersection was improved to reduce crashes   at the intersection that was funded by highway  safety improvement program funding through Kansas   Department of Transportation. And in 2018, Douglas  was restriped to its current configuration with   diagonal parking on the south side and angled park  and parallel parking on the north side. Douglas is   a major east west roadway through downtown and it  could be considered a gateway connecting Deleno,   downtown, Oldtown and East Douglas. And as you  approved the contract this morning for Douglas   from Senica to Meridian, the next phase of Douglas  is the project today from Washington to Grove. As we have held some meetings in the last  eight weeks, there has been some confusion   regarding the budget for the project with  some folks believing the project is between   seven and 8 million. The capital improvement  program has $3,450,000 programmed in 2026 for   Douglas Washington to Grove. And then there  is approximately $7,450,000 programmed for   Douglas from Maine to Washington in 2031 and  2032. I will get back into some more total   project budget later in the presentation  as I talk about financial considerations. Slide before you is the project  limits. As I mentioned before,   Douglas from Washington to Grove. In the next few  slides, I'll go over existing conditions. This is   uh looking east on Douglas at Ida Street where  it is a five-lane roadway. parallel parking on   the north side with diagonal parking on the  south side. And again, that was completed   in 2018. And you can see there is uh a lot of  pavement from building front to building front. This slide is looking west from Douglas  hydraulic intersection. The as you can   see the posted speed limit along this corridor  is 30 miles per hour. That was changed in 2020   from and reduced from 35 to 30 miles per hour.  Traffic speeds within the corridor collected in   November of 2025 show an average speed of  31 miles per hour with an 85th percentile   speed of 36 miles per hour. And again, the 85th  percentile speed is defined as a speed below,   at or below at which 85% of their drivers  are going under favorable road conditions. Turning around, looking east from hydraulic. Um,   this is switches to four-lane roadway with  parallel parking on both sides of the street. And then this is a view looking west from Grove  Street or just west of Grove Street showing the   um lane configuration in front of East High  School. Um it is a four-lane roadway with   uh the introduction of the left turn lane,  westbound left eastbound left turn lane at Douglas   and Grove. Currently there is no parking on the  north side of Douglas between Grove and Spruce.   Parallel parking does exist west of Spruce on the  north side and the sidewalk is narrower along this   uh block throughout the rest of the corridor.  There are currently two eastbound lanes. The   outside lane is wider accounting for bus parking  or staging during arrival and dismissal times.   However, the lane narrows near the intersection  of Grove causing weaving issues and I'll show   that as a picture later in the presentation.  And the proposed design concept will will   clearly mark a space for buses and will provide  a separate travel lane for eastbound traffic. In the uh background, there is also  a signalized pedestrian crosswalk for   students of East High that will  be improved with the project. Bit of background. On February 6, 2024, the city  council approved design funding for multiple   capital improvement program projects, including  Douglas from Washington to Grove. In July of 2024,   the city council approved an agreement  with Bofman to develop design concepts   for this project. On October 30th, 2025, an  open house was held to discuss the project.   And on November 3rd, 2025, the proposed design  concept was presented to the district 1 advisory   board. The board deferred taking action on the  item until to gather additional public input. Subsequent to that uh meeting on November  10th, the design concept was presented to   the bicycle and pedestrian advisory board  and there were two public open houses,   one on November 17th and one on  November 24th to talk about the project. Here's a list of concerns that we had uh heard  that were mentioned at the district advisory   board as as well as previous open houses. Traffic  flow and lane configuration. We believe that that   threelane roadways um can handle up to 17,000  vehicles per day. There are some studies showing   that that can be from 10,000 up to 20,000 vehicles  per day for three-lane section, even up to 25,000   vehicles per day. concerns regarding East High  School traffic during arrival and dismissal times   bus facilities on Douglas truck turning movements  at specific intersections as well as medians and   and emergency vehicles. And I'll go through each  of those a little bit here. The traffic volumes   um are shown on the slide before you. traffic  volumes in in black are from 2017 and we took   some recent traffic counts that are labeled in  red. And as you can see um in in 2017 there was   13,700 vehicles at the west end of the corridor  um decreasing to 12,200 vehicles towards the   east end. new counts um showed 13,000 um near the  west end, 13,300 in the middle as well and then   13,400 towards the east end. So traffic counts  have been pretty consistent um throughout the   corridor in the past eight years. And then the  um highlighted in blue, I mentioned it before,   the 85th percentile um is 36 miles an hour  throughout the corridor. We had also heard   concerns with the future traffic generated by  the biomed center campus. Folks going to and   leaving the biomed campus have numerous options.  If they're coming from West Witchah, they most   likely won't even enter this corridor. Coming from  the east side, I135 and First and Second Street   might be used to get to and from the the campus  in addition to some of the north south streets. as well as traveling down Kellogg to the campus  and again using north south streets. I won't   deny that a percentage will use this portion  of Douglas to get to the campus. However,   with the data we have now, we believe  a three-lane roadway will accommodate   future growth downtown. Even with the 25% growth  along Douglas regarding vehicle traffic volumes,   if my math is correct, that's another 3,250  vehicles per day. That is still within the   17,000 vehicles that we feel can be  accommodated by a threelane roadway. I know there is a lot on this table before you.  Um, I just wanted to highlight that many cities   across the United States have converted  four-lane roadways to threelane roadways   with minimal impact traffic volumes. Streets  with volumes as high as 20,000 vehicles per   day were converted and many of the traffic  volumes remained the same. A few went up,   a few went down, but pretty pretty um  stable from a four lane to a three lane. Some additional benefits of a threelane versus a  four-lane roadway. Pedestrian safety. Three-lane   roadway decreases the number of lanes that a  pedestrian needs to cross. It also offers a refuge   in the center, allowing pedestrians to focus on  crossing one lane direction of traffic at a time.   The proposed concept, you'll see later, also  constructs curb extensions at the intersections,   thereby shortening the crossing distance  pedestrians have to travel to cross Douglas.   The speed limit on Douglas, as I mentioned  before, is posted at 30 miles per hour. The   speed data collected show motorists are  traveling 36 miles per hour. However,   we believe a three-lane roadway normalizes the  speeds or reduces the variability of the speeds,   thereby calming traffic. We have done four-lane  to three-lane conversion in other parts of the   city. Um, specifically, I drive Lincoln Street  between Woodlon and Rock. It was converted from   a four-lane roadway to a three-lane roadway  last year. And I've noticed as I drive at more   consistent speeds as well as even lower speeds  as I travel down the roadway. Crash reduction   is another important benefit of four lane to  threelane. And red we nationwide there's reduction   of approximately 40% of crashes along a corridor  that have been converted to threelane roadways. A three-lane roadway allows vehicles turning  in opposing directions to see past each other   as shown in green. It also re reduces rear  end collisions because the current left turn   vehicles would have a space to enter. And it  reduces sideswipe crashes caused by left turns   stopping in the inside through lane and a car  behind them quickly trying to move to the outside   through lane. Staff has reviewed crash data. In  2024, 10 crashes occurred between I135 and Grove.   Four four rear-end collisions, three side swipes,  and one eastbound right turn vehicle that turned   from the inside lane, striking a out a traveling  uh eastbound vehicle on the outside lane. In 2025,   six crashes occurred within this section.  There was one rear end, one sideswipe,   and two left turning collisions in which the  driver did not see the approaching vehicle in   the outside lane. Many of these may have  been avoided with a three-lane roadway. This is a picture taken um in the morning  during school arrival time. And you can   see that silver car in the front that's  turning left into the student parking lot   or to the uh school itself. You can see  a queue of cars behind them. Um again,   this kind of functions as a three-lane roadway  in the morning. Creating a a dedicated left turn   lane for these vehicles turning left will free  up the through lane. Motorists who drive Douglas   daily learn to drive in the outside lane as they  realize they will most likely get stopped behind a   vehicle entering their school property. And I had  witnessed that. I'd driven Douglas a few times uh   even before this project. and I quickly learned to  drive in the outside lane to come into city hall. This is an aerial photo of the school um buses  staging along the south curve line of Douglas.   I want you to make notice of the uh white truck  in the outside lane as well as this black SUV   I believe or car in the the inside lane. The  eastbound lanes of Douglas shift over to create   the eastbound left turn at Grove, making the  outside lane impossible to continue east in,   as shown in the picture in front of  you. This causes a weaving issue,   forcing cars to speed up to merge into the  inside through lane. as the truck and or vehicle,   you know, in the previous picture had  shown, that truck would have to speed   up and weave over to get into the through lane  before that outside lane tapered out. Again,   the concept that you will see in the  in soon will provide a dedicated space   for bus staging and provide one eastbound  through lane, making it safer for all users. We went through multiple alternatives with this  project as we went through some open houses. The   uh picture to the top is one of the first  concepts that we had proposed and this is   in front of East High School. Some of the issues  that were expressed by East High School were the   relocation of the driveway. We were going to  line it up with Ash Street. There was also some   um queuing of the buses that were moved and some  raised medians put in um throughout that corridor.   USD259 had sent a letter expressing their  concerns with the project in front of East High   prior to the December district advisory board.  Unfortunately, prior to that advisory board,   USD 259 had been reviewing a previous concept. I  have met with representatives from USD259 since   that meeting and discussed the latest concept  which shows keeping the drive approach where it   is to their parking lot and further south around  the school. Medians were removed in the bottom   picture we had where this is hatched out. We  had a raised median there um and another one   back to the east. We have removed those due  to the request at the request of the school and the bus storage has been moved east to  reflect the current conditions staging at the   beginning point which is near a bus shelter  west of Grove. For bus traffic, arrival and   dismissal times should operate as they do now.  And again reducing the one to one eastbound lane   will make it safer and thereby removing the  weaving dis weaving issues and it still will   provide a dedicated space for the buses to park  to address some concerns from area businesses in   the original concept. If you look at the again the  top picture towards the left side or Ash Street,   we showed a curb extension along the side street  of Ash. We have since removed that in the concept   shown below. Um there was concerns about truck  traffic um maneuvering Ash Street. There are a lot   of trucks that uh utilize Ash Street. So we had  removed that to accommodate as trucks are turning   as they do now. The alternatives looking at uh the  west section from Washington to Grove again we had   made some median modifications um shortened to  accommodate movements um into the drive approach   east of Matthew. The median east of Mat shown in  the top was a landscape median. We have revised   that to stamp concrete to provide visibility for  pedestrians that may be utilizing the proposed   raised crosswalk. And between these two concepts,  shared lane use markings were added for cyclists.   We did discuss the median placement with Chief  Ocadis with Witchaw Fire, Captain Miller of the   Witchaw Police Department and Director Feist  of Transit. And after reviewing these concepts,   they said they could navigate the proposed medians  and police and fire. They've navigated some prop   uh medians around town that  are within a threelane section. I want to also point out that the one  of the previous concepts or earlier   concepts had diagonal parking on both the  north and south curb lines of Douglas. On December 1st, 2025, the district advisory  board recommended a three-lane roadway option   with on street bicycle lanes and parallel  parking on both sides of the street with   the desire to maintain existing diagonal parking  on the south side of Douglas east of Washington. So that brings me to the current concept  for your approval today. After obtaining   public info from multiple district advisory  board meetings and open houses, the Douglas   corridor from Washington to Grove is con planned  to be converted as a three-lane roadway with on   street bicycle lanes, curb extensions to shorten  the pedestrian crossing distance at intersections,   parking as it is now with parallel parking on the  north side of Douglas and diagonal parking on the   south side of Douglas and additional raised  crosswalks. space throughout the corridor. Want to get my bearings here because I wanted  to so I wanted to address um Bob from the spice   merchant had spoke earlier on the project and  in the lower left corner of your slide. Let   me back up. So this is a section from Washington  at the top to Cleveland and then it wraps around   from Cleveland to the bottom left to hydraulic  on the right. We had modified we had shown a   extended curb into Cleveland as well. We have  modified that to be a straight curb um so that   that that curb width on Cleveland remains as it is  to help accommodate the truck traffic and we also   shortened the median there um there at Cleveland  as well. I I did give him my card um earlier this   morning and I said we could stop by and talk  to him um sometime next week if he's available. going in a little bit closer because I know this  is hard to see and some of you might be squinting   to see it. Um, we'll get you a better uh close-up  view of this. So, I can start um let me start on   the south side. So, we would have a a dedicated on  street bike lane on the south side adjacent to the   curb. Diagonal parking, eastbound through lane,  two-way left turn lane, westbound lane, parallel   parking with a a buffer, and then on street bike  lanes adjacent to the curb. We also propose curb   extensions again to slow traffic, define parking,  and to provide a shorter crossing distance for the   pedestrians to cross Douglas Street. We also show  um throughout the project, additional improvements   within the corridor will include lighting,  landscape beds, bike racks, trash recepticles,   and street furniture. We will work with the  adjacent property owners to discuss planting   areas to see if you know this this concept shows  is you know probably the maximum that can be put   in there. But we will work with the uh individual  property owners to make sure that you know that   they're okay with those that they're not blocking  any any signage that trees were installed etc. Moving further to the east, this  is from hydraulic to I135. Again,   the same concept um with the exception of of that there would be parallel parking  on both sides of the street. So, I want to   uh draw your attention to the Kansas Food Bank  is uh located here just west of I135 on the on   the south side of Douglas. I did meet with the  Kansas Food Bank as they had also provided a   letter to folks. They were concerned about truck  moving traffic. Um I had discussed that with him.   Um so we might we probably might need to make a  few more tweaks to that, but uh I did reach out   to him and discuss some of that. He also talked  about having some no parking signs um put up on   Minneapolis so that uh adjacent to his driveway so  trucks could get in and out of there as well. the   uh median here. We're proposing a median on the or  a curb extension on the west side of I135 on the   south curb line to um keep motorists from driving  in the inside lane and not create an additional   lane as they enter um into East High School  where the bus parking will be um identified. And then this is the section in front  of East High. The there's not space,   you know, as we create this space for the  bus staging. Again, it starts at the east end   um near that bus stop where they can currently  start staging. um in order to accommodate the   cyclists, they will be able to we will  stripe it as a shared lane use marking   um that they can use while the buses aren't  aren't staging there. Um during bus staging time,   they can either enter and share the lane with the  eastbound through traffic or dismount and walk   uh the sidewalk adjacent to East High. Again, um  we had removed some raised medians at the school's   request in front of East High. However, we are  keeping the signalized pedestrian crosswalk,   adding a median to provide a refuge for  pedestrians crossing the street as well   as a curb extension on the north side to  make it safer for pedestrians to cross. Financial considerations. Um, on January  8th, 2019, the city council approved   $800,000 of general obligation bond funding  for the project. In February of 2024,   the city council approved $220,000 of  local sales tax funds for total project   budget to date of $1,20,000. The total project  budget programmed in the CIP is $4,770,000. Before I get to the recommended action, I want  to mention that I did present the concept,   the revised concept that you'd seen today to  the Witchtop Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory   Board last night. And they approved the  revised concept concept unanimously. And with that, it is recommended that the  city council approve the design concept   with a six-month pilot project with pavement  markings, um, tubular markers or, um, flexible   post to identify the bike lane parking to begin  in spring of 2026. And with that, I will stand   for questions. Thank you, Paul. Questions for  staff? I have a few. Um, so I asked the community   for feedback on this because the website had not  been updated. Um, this happened over a weekend,   right about uh Thanksgiving weekend, and our email  boxes started getting inundated with messages of   people that didn't even know that the plan was  coming before them. And so I immediately um shared   the latest renderings that were on the website  which obviously had been modified since then but   that's all we had in terms of public documents.  What will be done moving forward to make sure   that renderings that are up todate are updated  on the website so the community actually knows   what is the latest including the council. We will  work on that mayor. Um yes that was our fault. We   um but we will make sure that's completed in  the future. Uh for those that don't know that   website is witchah.gov/ east douglas. There are  two options there and one of those will be um   this design. And again all I wanted was feedback  from the community and I think there was confusion   that this was um a mayard driven idea and it was  not. And so again, I feel like community wants to   make sure that they get the latest information and  it's updated on the website for full transparency.   Thank you. I see no further questions u from  this bench. We'll open it up for public comment. Hello, my name is Rick. Uh, I own property uh in  between hydraulic and 135 and I um recently found   out about this and I have some concerns that  I've been following the letters that I've been   receiving speaking with uh Sean Melly's But and  and I've raised some concerns. One of the concerns   is that whenever we we have three buildings  down there and one of them when we remodeled   it six years ago for a pet vet, it required an  ADA space up front. Um I'll give these to you. So ADA required us to put this space for handicap  which is used frequently and uh that space is now   being taken away with parallel parking. We have  about five spots, if you look in that picture,   we have five spots up front that are frequently  used for people um in wheelchairs or also elderly   people. And there's no other practical way  for them to be able to access the businesses   there. Um if there was parallel parking, the  the plan, which let me back up a little bit,   the plan is to take away those five spots and  put take away the five spots and replace it with   three parallel parking spaces. Um, and so that  that's one of our concerns. We've also talked to   our tenants and they have the same concerns.  There's also our concern about the impact on   the property value. With commercial properties,  parking is the thing that really drives the value   for them and it allows us to rent for higher  amounts and it increases our um our value and   subsequently how much we pay in taxes. And we've  had many commercial properties and the ones that   don't have parking, they don't rent. Um, so in  the second picture you'll see we actually bought   a parking strip next to the building at 1815 and  that has five spots. Now that is also being taken   away for two parallel spots. So we're trying  very hard to solve this issue as best we can,   but it it feels like it's being taken away. And my  biggest I wouldn't say my biggest concern, but one   of my concerns is that all of a sudden we didn't  know that these spots were being taken away until   uh one of our neighbors uh here in the audience  here sent us a um proposal that shows the parallel   parking being put in place of our parking. So  we'll no longer be able to access the spots   that are currently there. So, uh, what now we've  been making good faith efforts to try to resolve   this. Um, and we do have another meeting scheduled  for January, but now I'm here and I'm hearing that   it's asking for approval. And what I would like  to see is some more time so that we can work out   some of these issues with the stakeholders who are  right along Douglas. I don't want a decision to be   made rashly without getting our input because  until I had seen this, I'd received no input.   uh no one asking me from either the consultant or  anyone at the city as far as what would impact us   and what would work for us. So that's uh  that's all I have. Thank you. Thank you,   Rick. Council member Johnson. Thank you, Mayor.  But quick question for you. Um the recommendation   was actually approval with a six-month pilot. So  you'd be able to see the markings happen and see   what that impact would be. How do you feel about a  pilot and not necessarily just going out and doing   it? Uh I would actually like to see a pilot first,  but I think before I get I got to that stage,   what I would like to do is to have a meeting  uh for someone to have a meeting with us,   whether it's the consultant because when I've I've  spoken to Sean Millies, it seems like he takes it   back to the consultant uh and the consultant is  making the decision on this. Um, so what I would   like to do is have a meeting with our tenant uh  so that we can kind of work through things and see   what's possible because as I've spoken with him,  he's told me that the front door parking where the   elderly and the maybe people who aren't uh they  don't have the the hang tag, but still, you know,   they're maybe unable to walk. They use that. He  said there's pretty much nothing we can do. And   so I would like to get those things resolved first  and then the pilot project. Okay. I think um Sean   goes back to the consultant because they're doing  the design work. But we can make that happen. You   the tenant, Sean and the consultant. Yeah. Um  since he has your information if you just reach   out to him or you can talk to Paul real quick and  we can get that set up. Yeah. But like I said,   I'd like to have that worked out before we do  the pilot project. So maybe push this thing   back a little bit so we can get some of this  stuff worked out. Okay. Thank you. Thanks. My notes say uh good morning, but it's good  afternoon now. So, uh thank you. Uh this is   Jeff Bro, District 2. I own a lot of business on  Douglas. Um it's not often that Dion Leler from   the Witsto Eagle and I are in complete agreement,  but this is sure one for the edges. It proves that   road diets aren't a Democrat Republican issue.  They're a common sense issue. Mr. Leler wrote   an article on this push to restrict traffic  on Douglas November the 28th. The title of   the article included the phrase city hall's not  listening. I hope and pray that on this one he's   wrong and that you will listen and not continue  on this misguided mission to radically change   one of Witchah's iconic thorough affairs. East  Douglas is the front porch for downtown Witchah.   A downtown that this body spends a huge amount of  money and time trying to draw people to. We can   surely spruce up the look of our porch without  cutting down the chairs on it to view. I and   dozens of b of Douglas business owners have been  screaming at the top of our lungs since 2018 that   we believe cutting down the lanes from 4 to 2 will  be hugely detrimental to our business activities.   In fact, July 19th, 2018, I or organized a  meeting with Councilman Johnson and as many   business owners as I could pack into a conference  room to express those same views. Mr. Johnson,   I remember you seeing the crowd and and expressing  surprise that so many people were against the plan   at that time. Well, we still are. This is a  a road diet is a proposed fix in search of a   problem that doesn't exist. Yes, road diets can be  shown to be safer than four lanes of traffic. And   if there were actual safety issues on Douglas,  all of us business owners would be down here   with pitchforks demanding you fix it. But that's  not what happened. That's not what is happening.   The accident rates on this stretch have not been  shown to be a problem. In fact, they're the same   as the other streets. And in no uh meeting has the  city, anyone presented that this is a big problem.   It's been presented that it's a desire to make  it look nicer and have bike lanes and all of   that can be done without artificially restricting  traffic. And if our goal is to slow down traffic,   there are many ways to do that. In fact, there's  not even a school zone in front of East High. I've   never understood that one. Uh city staff keep  saying that their studies show that this road   diet will handle up to 20,000 cars a day and that  everything they're doing is data driven. Well,   where's the data and whose data uh are you using?  I've got two studies from a couple of flyby night   entities. One is the Michigan uh Department of  Transportation and one is the Minnesota Department   of Transportation. Both of them say unequivocally  that their operational analysis shows that road   diet conversions result in significant delay when  average daily traffic exceeds 10,000 and peak hour   volumes exceed a thousand. I left an event last  week at the arena and headed east on Douglas just   like thousands of others. And it doesn't take a  traffic engineer to know that a 50% reduction in   lanes going each way would be a disaster. And I've  repeatedly asked, "What's the plan for increased   traffic when our new campus opens downtown?" Uh,  the the WSU KU campus and no one really knows. We   just Why would we restrict the traffic though  before that's open? Uh, the city's pointed to   Delano as an example of how this road diet works.  Well, unfortunately, Mr. Jansen even said at a DAB   meeting that Delena was a desert before the road  was constricted. No one is saying that Delena was   not a great place filled with many fun things  to do. But respectfully, I think an $80 million   ballpark had something to do with that, plus many  other housing additions. The street being so small   keeps you from going there unless you want to go  to one of those many fine businesses. And those   businesses are completely different than this  stretch of Douglas. And we maintain that Witchans   will alter their driving habits. they'll find  an easier way to go. Once those traffic pattern   changes, the businesses along this stretch will  lose out. Myself and other business owners have   met with a couple of you leading up to this  meeting. One of the answers to my comment that   we invested in East Douglas because of the ease of  travel was, did anyone guarantee me that access?   And I said, "No, of course there are no guarantees  in any business, but we certainly thought that any   city as great as Witchah wouldn't try to fix  a problem that doesn't exist." While this plan   has been cussed and discussed for many years, it's  still being done on the fly. We're changing it at   every meeting. Just the other night at the DAB  meeting after getting huge push back from the   bike community that that was changed right then  to get rid of some parking that had gotten some   uh business uh u to think it was great but now  his parking is gone. I think not. And Mayor Wuru,   you put on your Facebook page that you hadn't  seen this 17 days ago. I don't think this is   a way to do proper planning. Thank you. Thank  you, Jeff. We'll continue with public comment. Uh Adam Styles, Superior Signs at 2130  East Douglas. Uh Jeff, you know, he did   uh already talked about a lot of  stuff that we've talked about,   so I'm not going to go on on all that. Uh  something that was just brought up earlier   today was there was confusion about the budget.  Uh this is from the advisory board meeting   December 1st where it says the adopted 26 to 35  capital improvement program includes 6,187,500 for the final design and the total budget being  7,489,000. So I there was no confusion. That's   the numbers that were just put out to us December  1st. So the new numbers that were presented today   are completely new numbers. uh coming from  somebody uh and in talking to a lot of our   customers and it was brought up uh it's going to  make it a lot harder. Uh currently right now when   people travel down Douglas heading into downtown  in front of our business people usually use the   inside lane reserving the outside lane for people  parking or pulling out into uh getting back into   traffic or people turning off of side streets.  Um, our biggest issue and in talking to a lot of   our customers will be the parking when there's  only one lane of traffic. One, let's face it,   a lot of people can't parallel park. Uh, what's  that going to do to traffic? It's going to stall   traffic. You know, what's FedEx going to do?  What's UPS going to do? If there's no parking   there for them to parallel park, they're going to  stop in the lane of traffic holding up traffic.   And it was also discussed at the last advisory  board meeting towards the end of the meeting uh   that it was advised that if a vehicle is stalling  traffic to just go ahead and use the turn lane to   pass them. Uh I question that and I have talked  to quite a few state officials uh police officers   that are current sheriff's officers and there  is a state statute that forbids driving in the   center turn lane except to prepare for a left turn  and that there is no passing straight traffic. So   for a city official to stand up at an advisory  board meeting and suggest that people drive   illegally is not real not really good. Does  it happen? Well, I'm sure it does. But that   doesn't mean uh he did make a comment that more  than likely yes it is illegal or not fond of but   more than likely they won't pull you over for it.  Um you know in talking to a lot of people and how   this got passed I don't think the bike in the  pedestrian community I don't care that I don't   think they care that it's three lanes versus four  lanes or however many lanes. They just want a bike   lane. I think in 2019 there was a plan that was  a four-lane road with bike lanes. Why don't we go   back to that? That appeases the businesses that  appeases them. It it's it's good for everybody. Also, we had questions about who is going to take  care of all this landscaping and tree wells and   anything else that's going to be planted along  here. If you look at the hydraulic intersection   right there at Douglas, it's not appealing  to anybody that goes into that area. There's   actually one flower bed that is completely dirt  and has been for quite some time. So, if they're   going to do this, who's going to take care of all  the landscaping? What are they going to plant? You   look downtown. Yes, that's privately funded and  it looks great. Native grasses aren't appealing. So, I'm going to suggest that we stay in at  fourlane. And I think a lot of the biggest problem   with this is the buses that are on East at East  High School. That is the biggest issue that we   have here. They say we can't move them. We don't  have anywhere to put them. They do. They just   don't want to. When they did construction uh on  the east side and south side of their buildings,   uh they moved a lot of that parking to  a temporary crushed asphalt parking to   the west of the school. They could currently  pave that, make that a permanent parking lot,   remove all that parking from over there, and  there would be a perfect bus staging lane just   on the south side of the school between the  VOTE school. That gives them easy access. You   get everything off of Douglas out of there, out  of that lot. You have a lefthand turn lane to go   north on the Grove and obviously you can  go south on the Grove to dist, you know,   to distribute the buses at the end of the day.  Um, so I think if we are going to continue this,   I think there needs to be a whole lot more  thought put into this. Um, you know, we found out,   we thought this was dead in 2018 until right  before the November DAB meeting where we found   out on a Tuesday that there was an information  night on a Thursday and they wanted to vote on it   on Monday. This is very rushed project. there's  been very little input from a lot of the people   in the area and I think we just need to not go  through with this concept. Thank you. Thank you,   Adam. I do have a follow-up question for  staff uh regarding the numbers that he just   uh provided at the December 1st meeting, the 6  million and 7 million which are different from   our green sheet. Can you please address that?  I would have excuse me, mayor. I would have to   look to see what those were, but I am confident  that what I presented today with the 3,450,000 is what is programmed in the adopted capital  improvement program for this section of Douglas. And then if you add the 1,ion20,000 that has  already been approved. We're at the four,470,000 for this project. So the total  project is 6.5. Then the total   project is the 3,450,000 plus the 1,20,000  that was approved already for the project for a total of 4,770,000 which is what's on our green sheet. However,  again, the gentleman just mentioned the numbers   that he received at the December 1st meeting  being the six or 7 million. Right. I'm confident   this what is programmed in Kepler improvement  program and what has already been allocated is the   $4,770,000. There must have been misinformation on  the staff report for the district advisory board.   We want to make sure that that information  is correct then whether it's the minutes   or what was presented to individuals.  So the total right now is 4.7 million.   Is that accurate? That is correct. Thank  you. We'll continue with public comment. Uh my name is Randy Eaton. Have been a property  owner since 1990. uh starting at 1330 East Douglas   1328 we sold that and we now reside at uh Douglas  and W uh W Bash. So I've watched the traffic for   35 years. Uh the street has not been changed. Uh  where I'm at in my end of the street compared to   the uh other end of the street completely  different is a racetrack. Uh my concerns   are uh the motorcycles uh as they have evolved  technology they're on one wheel a lot of the   times in big groups my tenants customers employees  are scared. Okay. So I'm in favor of slowing down   the traffic at whatever needs to be done. So um  I like the traffic. I like the crosswalks. Um,   I like I like the decorative part. I think it's  another piece to the city compared to the the   uh project uh previously uh in this meeting. Seems  small to me, but uh it's it's another piece to the   economic development of Witchaw, which I think  you're uh your city council is uh pretty good at   uh developing those projects. Uh my  recommendation is to move the project   forward. Uh there's not everything that I  agree with on the project. Uh but uh we've   been working on this thing since uh 2009 and uh  it seems to slip out from underneath us. Finally,   we're here. We've got funding approved.  We've got a a plan in place. I think the   city engineers have done a really good job putting  things together, taking every all the input from   all the different people and uh putting a plan  together that uh I think will work for everybody. Thank you, Randy. We'll  continue with public comment. Good afternoon. Bruce Rowley. uh reside at  143 North Rock Island in Oldtown. Um I own   I've owned a couple pieces of property along uh  the stretch of Douglas between Washington and   Hydraulic. Right now um I have one that we'll  begin development on next year to a boutique   hotel. Um we've been really excited to see the  plan here and to follow it along the way. I think   I would echo the previous gentleman. There's  been great communication. I think um there's   been a lot of of changes made to it, but change  is not a problem. That's the whole point of the   process is to get all the input and make changes.  We're excited about slowing things down. You know,   if you've spent any time on that stretch  of Douglas, east of Washington, it it it is   crazy. the motorcycle groups, the cars racing  uh up and down that particular stretch. Now,   I will say it's interesting to look at this whole  stretch because it's really a different street in   those different sections. when you're down uh  on that western portion between Washington and   Hydraulic, it's a very different street than what  you're seeing east of hydraulic between hydraulic   and Grove. And I I can't really speak to to that  portion of it, but I will say from our standpoint,   from an economic development standpoint, we're  very much in favor, when I say we, I guess me   and my partners in our project of creating much  more of a welcoming, pedestrianfriendly, slower,   safer, and frankly more interesting environment  in that that stretch, really big wide stretch   concrete between um hydraulic and and  Washington. Um I again I just go back to safety,   economic development and and and I guess the  last thing I would point out is I've spent   a lot of time working on historic buildings  downtown and involved in in that. And if you   look at this stretch of Douglas 40 years a well  okay not 40 years ago I'm 50 years ago maybe 60   It was exactly like this. It was built and  designed for all those buildings that were built   along alongside it. And if you look at all those  buildings, we're talking low structures built for   retail because that's how the street was designed  to be. Today you have a lot of those buildings   are not being used for their optimal use because  they can't be used for retail given the current   layout of the street. They can't effectively  be there and and be used for that. And I think   it's really exciting to look at a design  that brings the street back to a purpose   that matches the architecture that runs on both  sides of it that entire entire way. With that,   I appreciate your time today. Thank you,  Bruce. We'll continue with public comment. Hello everybody. Uh, I will keep this brief  as I was planning on being out of here this   morning. Um, listen, my name is Tim Develin. I own  Delin Roden Customs at 1611 East Douglas Avenue,   which is right on the uh southwest corner  of Douglas and Hydraulic. I also have some   investment property along Douglas. Um, this has  been a frustrating experience from the get-go,   and I'll go all the way back to 2009. Um, it seems  like every step of the way, we've had roadblocks   to what should happen, what should this look like.  Um, there's never been a good consensus on what   this was. You know, when my corner was rehabbed  back in 2017, there were a lot of promises made.   I'm the gentleman that gets to stare at that that  pile of dirt in front of my showroom every day.   Um, you know, that was promised to me by the  Douglas Design District through the city in   a contract that they would maintain that. None  of that stuff happened. Douglas Design District,   I don't even know where the hell they're at  anymore. Excuse my language. I don't even know   where they're at anymore, right? But I've got a  dirt pile sitting there. I I think my problem with   all of this is how we've stepped through this  without having any community engagement with   the actual stakeholders that are down there, the  businesses that have been through there. You say   that everybody wants this. Let's w let's take this  down from a five lane road. It's not a fourlane.   It's a five lane road of traffic down to three  lanes of traffic. I've been down there and seen   plenty of problems, but not all that we're talking  about. I six accidents in the stretch of Grove,   six accidents in one year. That is very few. So,  if we're talking about safety and numbers, we're   just not seeing it. Yeah, there are there some  some bad figures down there riding motorcycles,   whatnot, there definitely are. But in the end,  it's not the dangerous place that we're making   this out to be in the sense that we need to have  all these safety protocols. I I'm down there every   day. I've been down there for 21 years and it's  just not happening. Um, do I want to see something   happen to our area? I absolutely do. I invested  in it and so did these other gentlemen and other   business owners that have spoken and we want to  see things improve. But I don't think we need to   have a road diet to make the economy of Douglas be  better. I think we need to allow the convenience   that this town loves. And you got to admit that  Witchaw loves convenience. We want to be able   to park up front. We want to be able to get out  of games and events as quickly as we can. If we   narrow this down to three lanes of traffic, we're  not going to be able to do this. All right? It's   not going to flow. We've talked about the studies.  We've looked at them. I was with the group looking   at the Michigan studies and the others that say  10,000 is the actual number that we should have on   daily volumes, not 20,000. So, if this is really  about statistics, what's the actual statistic to   prove this out? I'd really like to see that. Um,  and so that's really all I have to say today,   but I appreciate all your guys' time and your  consideration in this. Thank you. Thank you, Tim. How do y'all? Text Doer, District 1 Board  Advisory Chair. Um, I'm here today and   I'm sorry you're getting tired of me. But,  uh, unlike the the prior two times I spoke,   which was about the not getting a chance to  do due diligence and due process, this one's   a little more unique because I don't think the  minutes from our meeting maybe captured what all   happened. And as you heard already, there's some  diverse views even amongst the business community   on Douglas. Uh so the I will confirm that the  higher number uh that was mentioned earlier   um was prop proposed presented to the DAB. Um but  uh we ended up having only one no vote. There was   a lot of compromise. Um there was shock at first  when this came in front of DAB because they had   remembered a 2019 plan that showed bike lanes on  both sides. Um it was mentioned that the delays on   this was because of COVID and the city assistant  uh manager that was on this turnover. Um there was   then it was then it was disclosed that because  of the way they're doing the intersections to   provide more safety for pedestrians, we could no  longer utilize that plan or go back to it. The   uh works proposed a plan that did all angled  parking. Um we I personally am open to angled   parking that reverses which allows you to have  bike lanes on both sides and gets rid of the   um traffic risk of accidents when pulling out. Um,  however, work said that drivers would not be able   to utilize that even though it's seen successful  in other cities. I mentioned it just in case   that's something in the future I would encourage  council to look at. Uh, one of the interesting   things that happened during the meeting was the  public works recommendation was for the angle   parking during public comment especially after a  couple of commuters that uh showed up who don't   bike said that they were in favor of the road diet  works did something I hadn't seen them do before.   They revised the recommendation to be um parallel  parking with uh the bike lanes. Um roundabout way   we started talking. It seemed like there was  a majority support for road diet from the dab.   Um however, I was concerned because some of the  businesses had cited uh their the liking having   the angle parking spots. I was also concerned  about on the south side of Douglas. Think about   the new owners of the anchor who are expecting  to pro it would probably be caught off guard   if suddenly the angle angle parking that they  bought into and have is not there. Um and so we   then compromised and came to a a hope that we can  preserve the angle parking on the south side while   still having parallel parking. Um this is not  maybe my ideal preference. Uh my ideal preference,   especially looking at the cost of this, was to  provide funding on first and second to protect   that bike lane. Um and and maybe keep and for the  time being maybe keep Douglas as is based on some   feedback from neighbors that I got as well. I  understand that there will be alleviation of   uh traffic issues um to an extent because there  are sections of Douglas there where there's not   a turn lane and that causes backups that  I know annoys some folks who are in that   um more center lane. And so that will help as  well. But I would I think though the the other   other speaker mentioned something that is critical  and I would I would want to really emphasize that   the council can help on. They the there was a stat  that said in the wider swath of Douglas there were   39 accidents last year and the majority were  right in front of the school. Um and that none   of our high schools have school school zones. And  so maybe if just that separate from this issue can   can something can come of that that could be a  very big positive very big win. Um so in the end   uh this was one where the dab said they couldn't  vote on it unless there was additional time for   feedback. Um I feel bad for those who who feel  like they weren't being able to be a part of   the discussion. We felt this was maybe the best  compromise um to do. Uh the one thing that I will   say is my vote as well as I know the vote of a  couple others was in part contingent on works   saying that the WPD there will be an understanding  will not sight you or pull you over if someone's   having a difficulty parallel parking or there's a  delivery and you use the center lane to go around   them so that traffic flow can continue. And I and  I had him had him had works state that on record   twice and I'm stating it here in case that needs  to be cleared up because that is something that's   out there now and it's something that I know made  people more comfortable and addresses a concern   of other business leaders. Thank you. Thank  you, Tex. We'll continue with public comment. Oh no, it's Jane speaking for the people. I do  respect so much input from the business community   for sure. I'm chucking the remarks that I was  going to make in favor of young people. First   of all, yes, Douglas is our front porch. We are a  good city. We don't have to rush through our good   city. The 85th percentile on Douglas right now is  36 miles per hour. You know, at 30 miles an hour,   a person has a 10% chance of survival. At 40% at  40 miles per hour, a person is 90% likely. Tada. I chuckle, but that's serious. Uh, I have welcomed  the red redesign of Douglas, partly because I live   close to Douglas, but I see it as trendy. When  you all go on vacation, you're walking around good   places. This is a good place. This is the front  porch of Witchah. Douglas is especially at at   East High, one of the largest high schools in the  state where at at the end of school, thousands of   students 14 to 16 to 17 years old are are flooding  across Douglas. Um it's a view of our future. Um,   in this year there are 64 schools, lots of them  are elementary schools in the in the Witchah area   that are doing safe routes to school instead of  having to have chauffeers um for uh twice a day.   Children get to walk to school with some safety  safety. uh protection and and they get what's   really important to me as a mom, a grandma,  and a health professional. They get physical   activity. They get something to do instead of  screen games to entertain them. That's health.   Um, uh, I'm glad that this is a pilot project  that, uh, it appears that it's going to be   paintbased, so you can try it out. We're talking  about it now. We can see it with paint and we can   evaluate sort of long term. Is that right? He  says that's right. We need to respect physical   activity. Those folks that are strolling down  Deleno are enjoying Witchita instead of the   people who are maximizing speed through Witchita  through our front porch. Um, I'm I'm grateful for   h for having a couple of months couple of weeks  to talk about this and it sounds like we've got a   couple weeks more couple of months more. Thank you  so much for considering people their air quality,   their physical activity and their enjoy their  um protecting youth. Thank you very much.   Are there any questions? Thank you, Jane.  Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. Good afternoon, mayor and council members.  My name is Holly Terrell and I serve as the   executive director of BikeWalk Witchah.  I'm here today to speak in support of the   Douglas Avenue redesign that includes a lane  reduction and parking protected bike lanes.   This project concept is not about taking something  away. It's about making the streets work better   for everyone who use them. Douglas Avenue is  not a highway. It's a city street that runs   through neighborhoods, businesses, schools,  and homes. People walk there. People bike   there. People drive there. And today, the way  it's designed prioritizes speed over safety.   Road diets are one of the most wellocumented  safety tools used by cities across the country.   They reduce speeding, lower crash severity,  and make outcomes safer for everyone, including   drivers. When lanes are right-sized and space is  clearly defined, people drive more predictably.   Predictability is what prevents crashes. Parking  protected bike lanes are especially important   here. They create a physical buffer between  moving vehicles and people on bikes. That puff   buffer protects the people on bikes. It reduces  conflict between drivers and cyclists and actually   makes everyone driving a little bit easier because  everyone knows where they're supposed to be. As a   driver myself, I want to be clear. Bike lanes do  not slow traffic. Uncertainty does. When someone   is biking in a general travel lane, drivers  hesitate, pass unsafeely, or grow frustrated and   become aggressive. When the person biking is in a  protected bike lane, traffic flows more smoothly   and with fewer conflict points. That's safer for  me as a driver, that's safer for families, and   that's safer for businesses along the corridor.  This redesign is also not a new idea. It aligns   with past Douglas Avenue redesign concepts. the  downtown Witchaw action plan concept, the College   Hill neighborhood plan, and the 2024 bicycle  master plan adopted by this council. In other   words, the design reflects years of planning,  public input, and professional guidance. I   understand that change can feel uncomfortable, but  maintaining a design that encourages high speeds,   wide lanes, and unpredictable interactions is not  neutral. It actively increases risk. Doing nothing   is a decision and it's not a safe one. A safer  Douglas means fewer crashes, less severe injuries,   more pe people be able to access businesses, and a  street that serves people who live and work there,   not just those who are passing through. I want  to thank the city staff for their willingness   to listen and revise the plan concept. And I want  to thank the council for the responsibility you   carry in making decisions that protect human  life. I urge you to support the Douglas Avenue   redesign with lane reduction and park parking  protected bike lanes because it's proven,   practical, and it puts safety first. Thank  you. you. We'll continue with public comment. Good afternoon. I'm Alan Kaylor and I'm live in  district 5. I'm the vice chair of the bicycle and   pedestrian advisory board which as you heard  has unanimously approved and recommended this   proposal. I'm asking you as the leaders of this  city to do what you know already is in the best   interest of the city just like you did on the  previous vote. You've seen all the presentations   by the city's engineers and by city planning  department over the years showing the benefits   of this type of change and you've experienced it  yourself here in Witchah. You know that this is   the right thing to do. Above all, you know that  reducing the number of lanes on Douglas will   help keep your first priority to keep Witchah  safe. It will make it safer for motorists. It   will make it safer for people walking and biking.  It will reduce the number of crashes and it will   reduce the severity of the crashes. They've seen  this in cities across the country, both large and   small. And as Paul explained earlier, we've seen  it in Witchah, on MLAN, and on Lincoln, and on   the other streets where this has been done. You  know that making Douglas safer and more attractive   will grow our economy by increasing the economic  activity and property values and be a benefit to   the businesses along Douglas and downtown as  Bruce Rowley explained. They've seen this for   example in De Moines in Athens, Georgia and we've  seen it in Witchah in Delena. you know that this   proposal will not adversely affect the traffic  flow or the number of cars that use the street.   They've seen that in Duth, in Helena, Montana,  in Little Rock, in Li Lewon, Pennsylvania,   and as again we've seen it in Witchah where  it's been done. I don't know what the Minnesota   and Michigan studies that have been referred to  say, but all of the 25 or so examples that Paul   presented in his presentation had traffic volumes  well over 10,000 10,000 vehicles per day, some of   them over 20,000. You know that this proposal will  help Witchans live well. I was encouraged by the   mayor's comments in her September 2023 candidate  debate at the Roxy when she said quote another   thing that I was really excited about was just  two weeks ago when open streets ICT was around.   Seeing more people activated and being a part of  a community are important. So we need to continue   thinking smart from reducing those lanes from  four to two. And also, I think that one of the   things that we don't share enough about is how do  we attract young people? And young people want to   see a walkable city. They want to see a city that  makes sense. And when we communicate with our   community, why we're doing certain things, that  breeds better communication with young people and   just residents in general. She did also say, "I  believe it's important to really engage you all,   making sure that we're listening to you and  then moving forward with the decision that   city hall makes." And I agree that good public  engagement is necessary. And I know that you've   heard a lot of comments objecting to this type  of concept, most of them without having really   seen the actual drawings. But I would point out  that the city has engaged the public many times   on this issue. And I ask you as the leaders of  this city to pay attention to the opinions of the   thousands of people who have sat down, looked at  the specific plans, considered the alternatives,   and determined that this type of design is in the  best interest of their neighborhoods. such as,   for example, the literally thousands of people  who looked at the who considered the downtown   streets conceptual plan and provided input which  the council adopted in 2023 or the 1500 businesses   and residents who participated in the College Hill  neighborhood plan that recommends essentially the   same kind of design design or to the downtown  business owners and the over 1,000 Witchons who   have already shared their priorities for the next  decade of downtown in process of uh developing the   downtown action plan and concluded that downtown  Witchaw should be a connected, welcoming place   where people can easily navigate to shopping,  dining and cultural attractions on foot, by bike,   car or transit and are proposing the same type  of design for the core of downtown. So I would   ask you to listen to the overwhelming public  endorsement of this type of plan in all those   cases and as leaders of the city do what you know  is the right thing to do for the city. Thank you.   Think smart and continue reducing those lines.  Thank you. We'll continue with public comment. I see no further comments. Thank you to the 10  individuals who spoke on this and the nearly 40   different emails that we received or I received  personally uh 3 to one uh were against and the   hundreds of comments that I received on social  media. So again, thank you for engaging in this   topic. We will now close public comment and bring  it back to the bench. Council member Johnson.   Thanks, Mayor. Um text reminded me of something  that was committed at DAB. So Gary, if you could   speak to the ability to pass in the turning  lane, the comment that you had made at DAB. Uh yes, uh mayor and council members Gary Jansen,  public works and utilities. I will admit that I   didn't do the best job following up on this. The  uh comment from the other speaker was information   I had provided and I should have circled back  to them because I knew we had talked about   this before while I was sitting here. I double  and triple checked with our traffic engineer   uh Witchaw police traffic section and our city  attorney's office. So state or city statute city   ordinance and I'm just going to give you a quick  reference number. Sorry, I had that handy and   then it went away on me. So, this is state statute  8-1514, city of Witchaw Ordinance 1138190. I won't   go into the details. It does allow specifically on  a threelane roadway uh to use the center turn lane   to pass a vehicle that has stopped. If there's a  hazard in the roadway, meaning a stopped vehicle,   as long as that center turn lane is clear,  you can pass with caution around that vehicle.   We have talked to there was a reference to a  threelane conversion we made on Lincoln from   uh Woodlon to Rock that came up then that was  a lot of the part of the discussion. Council   member Tuttle probably recalls that from DAB 2.  Same question was asked. Can you do that? Yes,   you can. You can't pass a stop school bus that has  stop sign out. That is specific in the ordinance,   too. But other than that, you can safely pass  in the center turn lane. I apologize that we   didn't clarify that just a little bit sooner.  We did talk about this. We've talked about in   the past. Uh I knew that could be done, but  I wanted to put a finer point on that. So,   thank you for asking. Thank you. I might add one  more quick thing while I'm here if you don't mind.   We did have the wrong number in the DAB agenda.  I looked at that while we were sitting here,   too. I'm not sure why. I think staff might have  just grabbed the wrong budget number. There's two   Douglas projects in the CIP. As Paul showed, the  numbers that showed up in that DAB agenda report   were for the other project. What Paul showed  you now is accurate for this budget. Just to   reinforce that, Council Member Tuttle, thank you.  Just a few comments for me. I I totally appreciate   this is in Council Member Johnson's district, but  I talked to him and told him I was maybe going to   say a few things. And I think Douglas is kind  of the corridor for the whole city, right? So,   we all are invested in it. But I just want  to thank Paul and Gary and public works,   you've been incredibly tenacious through this  entire process and I I know there's been multiple   meetings, multiple opportunities to get community  feedback. I also wanted to point out to the   business owners on Douglas, thank you for meeting  with Vice Mayor Johnston and I, not last Friday,   but the Friday beyond before that, um, we  met until 5:24 on a Friday afternoon. So,   you know, you're you're passionate and you care  and I appreciate your time and the opportunity   to listen to you and ask questions. Um,  thanks to BikeWalk Witchaw. Great job,   Holly. I appreciate it. The Health and Wellness  Coalition, I know they had to leave. And all of   the Bike Pet community who spoke. Um, I just want  to say I really like the idea of the six-month   pilot. I think it gives us an opportunity to look  at safety. Safety was mentioned several times to   make sure that there isn't an economic impact to  businesses that I know you're concerned about. So,   um, I'm excited to see that that could be a  possibility. Um, I'm not sure if I feel this   is rushed because I think we've been talking about  it since 2018 maybe or something. So, it's been a   continual conversation. I know things had to stop  because of COVID, but um I'll be interested to see   where the conversation goes. But, I just wanted to  make sure that everyone knew how grateful I am for   their input and that I I am going to be supportive  if it's proposed of a pilot project. Thank you.   I will add a couple comments before Council Member  Johnson since this resides in his district. Um,   first and foremost, thank you to everyone that  has engaged in the topic whether you're here in   person, sent an email or commented on uh the post  that I had. I really believe it's important to   hear the different viewpoints and we saw we heard  even here the various viewpoints and I appreciate   Allan bringing up um how I do like walkability.  Um I actually ran Douglas Street this Sunday   uh in 24°ree weather and I appreciate what I  saw. Um I actually was disappointed though in   what I saw. There were broken sidewalks. um there  were areas even in the intersections that really   needed to be repaired. So I think that there needs  to be a prioritization regarding um a lot of our   road projects. So, um, I know that there was a  lot of confusion, especially on social media,   that this was my plan or the mayor's plan. And I  want to be crystal clear that the Douglas Street   redesign concept was not my vision and not  my plan. And I believe the city has much more   pressing street issues that should be addressed  first and over a hundred individuals who seem to   agree with that comment. So, I will be voting  no to this project um moving forward. Council   member Johnson, actually, Council Member Ballard.  Thank you, Mayor. Just a quick question. Is there   anybody here representing the school district?  Okay, this is just the second fairly big item   that we have discussed in the last six months  that has revolved around one of our schools and   nobody has been here. I know they've been part  of the conversation along the way, but I know   this is a long day, but it would be nice to have  their uh presence in these meetings to make sure   that we're understanding their vision as well. So,  thank you. I will add that council member Ballard,   I think USD259 sent us an email uh regarding  this project. Um I think it got sent to all   council members. Thank you, Council Member  Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Um, happy to make a   motion on this, but um, first I um, wanted to  say the actual ordinance number is 11.38.240 that, um, Mr. Jansen was referring to. And then  also, um, I like the idea of going forward with   this as a pilot as well. When we did the  restriping in 2019, I think that started off   uh as a pilot to see how traffic would be  impacted, diagonal parking would work and   it worked. And so we we saw proof of that going  from there. So much like that, I think this is the   right thing to do uh moving forward. So I would  move that the city council approved the design   concept with a six-month pilot, the pavement  markings to begin in the spring of 2026. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 61. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Public hearing and request by   301 Meridian Partners LLC for approval of a letter  of intent to issue multif family housing revenue   bonds. Honorable mayor, members of council,  Troy Anderson, assistant city manager. Uh,   I stand before you today with a request from  301 Meridian Partners. Uh, they are a Kansas   limited liability company that was specifically  formed to construct this 32 unit workforce housing   apartment project. Consists of about, excuse me,  24 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units.   Um, right now the property is currently unimproved  vacant adjacent to a former Metro Meridian High   School. Uh, Meridian Partners is requesting  the issuance of approximately $3.4 million   in revenue bonds to facilitate the acquisition,  construction, and equipping of the project. So,   based on our review, the project qualifies  for a 40% property tax abatement based on new   capital investment between$1 and $5 million.  The estimated 40% property tax abatement   uh for the first full year is about $33,000.  I won't read um each of the jurisdictions,   but it's on the screen in front of you.  Project is also eligible for a sales tax   exemption. Approximate value is a little more than  125,000. City share being uh just under 10,000.   A costbenefit analysis was performed uh on the  screen in front of you showing the 10 and 20-year   periods all exceeding the uh one to one ratio.  Our standard disclaimer, revenue bonds are a   mechanism for achieving a sales tax andor property  tax abatement and a revenue bond transaction.   City's not lending any money. Bears no risk.  Owner developers are required to achieve all   of its own financing. Again, no taxpayer dollars  are at risk. Meridian Partners agrees to pay all   the cost of issuing the bonds and agrees to pay  any annual obligation fee origination fees. Bonds   will be purchased by Meridian Partners or related  entity. Bond documents will be prepared by outside   council but ultimately reviewed and approved by  the law department. Um lastly, it's recommended   the city council close the public hearing, adopt  the resolution, and authorize the necessary   signatures. And we do have a representative from  the applicant here that can answer any questions.   Otherwise, I will stand for questions. Thank you,  Troy. Questions for staff? The board is not clear. I have a couple questions. I'd like the applicant  to come up. Um, I like seeing workforce housing   um being proposed. Can you share what the rents  will be for these onebedroom and two bedrooms?   Yeah, absolutely. Uh, good afternoon, mayor and  councel. Jeff Engler, um, one of the members of   the ownership and the developer. Um, what we're  proposing or what we're expecting on the rents on   a onebedroom is going to range probably in the  900 to 950 a month range. Two bedrooms going   to be about 1,200 to 1250. And just kind of give  you an example of kind of the necessity of these   incentives to make these work. We built um Plazio  Place Apartments are out at 13 and Green Witch in   the Plazio development. Uh built those last year.  What we're building here, what we're proposing,   the new construction portion that'll be facing  along the street there is virtually identical   to what we built out at Plazio Place. Those  rents are um 1,50 a month um on the onebedroom   and 1350 a month on the two bedrooms. That's what  we're achieving now on virtually the same type of   um exact same project. Um really when you're  looking at um infill development and mature   areas compared to northeast um new development,  your rents are going to be 150 or so lower. So   I mean it makes this project feasible. We're  able to achieve the rents that are achievable   in this market and still get a a similar  return because of the incentives. Thank you,   Jeff. Uh can you also just share uh your desire to  provide more housing in the community? This will   be our eighth development project and most of what  we've done has been in our infill development um   and historic rehab. Um we like the projects that  have a little bit of different character to them.   Um we we initially bought the building um and  we're just so we're clear we're under renovation   now on the existing school building. This is new  construction in front of it. We bought the pro the   property with the intent to move forward on the um  renovation of the existing building that's going   to be done and toyed with the idea of building  new construction out there. So um it just it works   well to have more units together. It's just this  is the way it works better. So that we'll have the   um existing building renovation done probably here  within the next about three four months. And if I   get the math correct, about um $16,000 per unit is  what from the numbers that are currently provided   in the green sheet. The reason I bring that up  is because last week we had a project uh where   people were asking why is it costing so much more  uh per unit to rehab uh historic buildings or even   um housing that requires federal dollars. Sure. Um  so again, these are private dollars. Yes. You're   asking for um an economic incentive to provide  workforce housing. Yes. But your per unit rate   is much lower than the 200 plus thousand that  we've seen in recent uh weeks. 200 200,000 plus   seems very high to me. I'll leave it at that. I  agree. Council member Hoisel. Thank you, Mayor. Um   I appreciate you coming up here and answering. Um  do you have any plans for the school? Do you guys   own the school? Oh, yeah. But we own the school  and we are currently renovating the school now,   converting it into units. 23 units there, then  there'll be 32 new construction units there if   this passes. Okay. Um, so on the 5-year look back  for this IRB, what are we going to be looking   back on? Just that they built the number of units  essentially. Is that it? Yeah. I mean, it's going   to I mean, if you're asking if they will be built,  I mean, yeah, we I mean, if this moves forward,   we plan to start construction in 26 and be  done in 27. Okay. Thank you. Thank you again,   Jeff. Thank you, Troy. I see no further questions  from uh the council. We will now open it up for   public comment. I see none. I'll bring it back  to the bench. This resides in council member   GlassCox's district. Mayor, thank you. Thank you  for investing in West and Southwest Witchah. Um   this was coming to my neighborhood and I'm looking  forward to having some new neighbors at a great   intersection in town that needs development.  So, thank you for investment. With that,   I'll move that the city council close the public  hearing, adopt the resolution, and authorize the   necessary signatures. Second motion and a second.  Any further discussion? I see none. Madame clerk,   please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame  clerk, please call the next item. Public hearing   and request by Fagrron Compounding Services  LLC doing business as FRON Sterile Services for   approval of a letter of intent to issue industrial  revenue bonds. Honorable mayor, members of council   again, Troy Anderson, assistant city manager.  Stand before you with uh this request from FRON   Compounding Services doing business as FRON  Sterile Services. For simplicity, you'll hear   me refer to them as FRON throughout. Uh, Fagran  is a drug enforcement agency and food and drug   administration registered provider provider of  highquality sterile medications for various health   care providers. Um, we have representatives can  probably better articulate what that means. Um,   but with that being said, FRON's largest and most  advanced facility is in Witchah currently located   at 8710 East 34th Street North. However,  FRON wants to expand um and uh expand their   footprint in their campus and therefore  uh would like to include some renovations   uh located at 8835 East 34th Street North.  Project will increase operational efficiencies   and production and post-production areas as well  as support an estimated annual capacity by more   than 17 million units. They're requesting issuance  of approximately $39 million in revenue bonds   to facilitate the acquisition construction um  particularly equipping of the project. So based on   our review project qualifies for 100% property tax  abatement based on new capital investment greater   than $10 million 40 net new jobs over the next  five years with averages wages of uh $50,000. And   just to uh elaborate on that a little bit further,  um I know that their intent is to hire probably   much more than the 40 net new jobs, but based  on our evaluation and the costbenefit analysis,   we wanted to take a conservative approach uh and  assure uh their success in this. So the estimated   100% property tax abatement for the full first  full year is about $450,000. project is also   eligible for a sales tax exemption totaling about  2.2 million city share about 175,000. Uh this   shows the 10 and 20year costbenefit analysis  all of them exceeding the one one meeting or   exceeding the one to one. Our standard disclaimer  revenue bonds are a mechanism for achieving both   that sales tax exemption and or property tax  abatement. City is not lending any money. Bears   no risk. The owner developers required to obtain  all of their own financing. Again, no taxpayer   dollars are at risk. FRON agrees to pay all costs  of issuing the bonds and any annual origination   fees. They'll be purchased by FRON or a related  entity. Bond documents will be prepared by outside   council ultimately reviewed and approved by law  department. It's recommended city council close   the public hearing, adopt the resolution, and  authorize the necessary signatures. And we do   have representatives from FRAN to answer  any questions you might have. Otherwise,   I'll stand for questions. Thank you, Troy. I  would like the applicant to come forward and just   uh share with us what FRAN actually does. And I  know that their headquarters, global headquarters   are in Roderdam, Netherlands. Um, and I know  someone mentioned being a global uh city. So,   we have global businesses that are investing here  in our city. Um, thank you, FRA. Sure. Absolutely.   Thank you for the opportunity to be here. Um,  Councilwoman Tuttle and Jonathan actually came to   our um, facility um, they've been there multiple  times, but they came by um, recently just to see   the operation. So, what we are as for in America  is the number one compounder by volume. Um,   we produce medication that's made here in Witchah  that's distributed to all 50 states um, and also   Puerto Rico. We um are a company that's owned  we're owned by FRON like you said based out of the   Netherlands. Um but it they it's a multinational  where we operate in 35 different countries but we   are the most here in Witchah is the most important  plant to the business. So they are willing to   invest in us 30 $39 million expansion for us. What  we're looking to do with this money is to build a   clean room um in one of the facilities that we  currently lease and we're going to manufacture   IV bags and syringes for operating rooms across  the country. We're already contracted out with   Cleveland Clinic, NYU, Boston Mass General. This  is going to allow us to have a higher level of   service to them, but also help protect against  market shortages. Thank you very much again for   your investment, Council Member Hoheisle. Thank  you, Mayor. Um, I see on the sheet here you guys   are also committing to maintaining your current  employment level of 550 to 600. Uh, this is Go   ahead. I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt. Go  ahead. Oh, no, no, go ahead. I didn't know. Yeah,   we um uh I was talking to our HR department  this morning. We're at 598 employees right   now. We have nine starting on Monday. We have 67  openings right now at this minute, not including   what this new expansion would bring. So, um, like  we said earlier, this, um, job estimate is very,   very conservative. Okay. Well, I appreciate that.  Um, Troy, is that part of the five-year look back,   too, or is it just strictly the jobs highlighted  by this project? So, during the five-year look   back, we'll look at that job creation. Again,  assuring that they've created at least the 40   jobs that we did the costbenefit analysis on. Once  the project is complete and we issue the bonds,   we'll know that they have made the investment and  that'll check that box. So, yes, at the five-year   review, primarily what we're going to be looking  for is whether they created those 40 jobs. Okay.   Thank you, Council Member Tuttle. Thank you so  very much. Um, I thank you for bringing you for   a tour with my background in health and public  health. I had many many questions but the one   that I thought was probably the most interesting  to me if you could just highlight for council and   for the folks who are joining us today. How many  patients do you directly serve on an annual basis?   You told me the number and it was quite impressive  but unfortunately I'm old and don't sleep well or   often I can't remember. Yeah. So here in Witchah  we produce I'm estimating we'll end the year at   about 19 million doses produced. Those are doses  that doctors will take into operating rooms to   administer to the patients. Um it's all across  the United States from California all the way   to Massachusetts, but it's also here in town.  We supply medication to Ascension Via Christi   um and um all the HCA. And so all the big  players are purchasing from us right now,   but we I like to bring it back to our employees to  make sure they understand how critical it is what   they're doing. We need to make sure that we're  creating drugs that are safe and effective for   use. So knowing that they're impacting that many  millions of Americans lives is very important.   Thank you. I see no further questions. Thank you.  We will now open it up for public comment. I see   none. I'll bring it back to the bench. Council  member Tuttle. This resides in your district.   Thank you so very much. Thank you, Troy, for  all of your work on this. Thanks, Jonathan,   with the Greater Witaw Partnership. Appreciate  you going along with the tour and answering all   my questions. Thank you to Fargo and I really  appreciate you investing in Witchaw. Thank you   again for having me for a tour. Happy to come  anytime. It was fascinating and um I've told   many many people about it, but truly you could be  anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world and   you're choosing Witchah, Kansas. And that's not  lost on me or my colleagues. So thank you very   much for for choosing Witchah. And with that, I  will enthusiastically move that the city council   close the public hearing, adopt the resolution,  and authorize the necessary signatures. And thank   you for sitting here all day. Second motion and a  second. Any further discussion? Due to a potential   conflict of interest, I'll be abstaining from  this vote. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 60 with one  abstension. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Approval of the  development agreement with Witchaw Maple LLC. Honorable mayor, members of council, again,  Troy Anderson, assistant city manager. Uh,   stand before you now with a request  for a development agreement. Uh,   so you may recall earlier this year, we stood in  front of you, uh, really exciting project. uh so   the renovation revitalization of the former Town  West Mall um and into a into a state-of-the-art   business park. And so this particular application  um uh request for a development agreement   uh involves not only the issuance of those bonds  but really kind of taking the next step, right?   We laid out this process earlier this year uh  saying that we would sort of be back asking for   the creation of tax increment financing district  and subsequent redevelopment plan and so wanted to   lay out all the terms and conditions by which uh  we will bring that district plan uh and plan back   to you. So this particular development agreement  also includes issuance of revenue bonds. We   already went through that earlier. Uh they're  making substantial improvements to the site,   interior demolition, painting, lighting, other  site work improvements. Um again, they wanted to   uh at that time indicate that they would  be coming back with the creation of uh tax   incremental financing district and subsequent  plan. City staff has neg negotiated all of the   terms and conditions of the development agreement  in front of you. more specifically uh in addition   to redeveloping the town west square into a  business park. Uh they are going to agree to   meet certain milestones specifically completion  within four years and then obtain 50% occupancy   within five years. So we modeled this after the  city spec program uh assuring that not only are   we going to see renovation but the ultimate goal  and objective is occupancy. With that being said,   uh the city agrees to offer the following  benefits. Again, uh establishing a pay as   you go tiff district with a maximum reimbursement  of $13 million in eligible tiff costs. Uh you'll   hear me refer to that as the tiff cost cap. Maple  Wit Maple intends to return in 26 to formally   propose that district and uh request approval of  the project plan. We don't generally get a chance   to talk much about tax increment financing. So I  we've got this slide thrown in here if folks have   some questions around sort of how tax financing  exists, but I won't belabor you all with that here   today. Uh again, it is all pay as you go and so  there's no risk to the taxpayer in that regard.   City's law department and outside bond council  have both reviewed and approved the agreement as   to form. With that being said, it's recommended  city council approve the development agreement   with Witchaw Maple and authorize the necessary  signatures. And we do have a representative from   Witchtown Maple here to answer any questions you  might have. I'll stand for questions. Thank you,   Troy. Questions for staff beginning with Council  Member Glascock. Mayor, um thank you, mayor. Quick   question, Troy. You briefly mentioned it, but it's  been um such a part of our business practice from   this bench that we're not issuing projects that  have a risk to the taxpayer. So can you articulate   again is there a risk to the taxpayer with this  project? No, there is no risk to the taxpayer. As   indicated, this is pay as you go and so any debt  that the owner to developer incurs uh will only be   repaid to them through the increase in the tax  obligation uh that is created and subsequently   rebated back to them to retire that debt. Again,  city's not loaning any money uh or providing any   any back stop. This is entirely on the owner  developer for risk. Quick um thing. Could I   have the applicant for the Witchaw business park  or Witchaw Maple just come up here real fast? Good afternoon, mayor. Good afternoon, council  members. Chris Salada. I'm one of the partners   uh with the ownership of Witchdaw Business Park.  Chris, thank you for being here. I know I had the   chance to visit the Witchaw Business Park a couple  weeks ago and it is completely transformed from   what it used to be to what it is now. Can you  talk a little bit about what's happened at the   um former mall and how it's turning into  a business park and any developments that   you guys have made since coming before us a  couple months ago? Absolutely. We appreciate   you coming by and that invitation remains for  the rest of council and and and mayor as well.   Um we are well along the way on the interior  demolition of the mall. So what you saw that day   um does not resemble a shopping mall anymore on  the interior. All those small shops have been   uh removed. We're actually we started on the J  C Penney end and have made our way around to the   former Sears where the food court used to be.  So we anticipate that that interior demolition   will be completed by year end. Uh we were excited  to announce that we've uh signed our first major   tenant. Uh a local Witchaw business here. Uh  Protect will be moving into 42,000 square feet.   Construction on their space has begun uh in the  suite that's located uh directly next to the J C   Penney. Uh Protek will be bringing 50 to 75 jobs  to this location. We'll be consolidating two other   locations. Uh they are the fourth largest revenue  producing company here in the city of Witchah. So   we're thrilled to have them as a lead tenant for  the project. Um in addition to the demolition um   we have started to um the interior paint job has  begun as well. So what what you saw in that in   that model suite that you tooured um very clean  uh almost aneseptic uh feel when you when you   go into the new space. Um we have polished the  concrete floors. We will be um installing brand   new LED light fixtures throughout the facility.  And then as businesses sign leases, we will be   doing turnkey build to suit projects for them um  for their for their uh corporate opportunities.   Thank you. It's uh great to see new life breathed  into an old building. So, thank you for your   investment in Witchaw. Welcome, Chris. Um I'll ask  this question also. I actually drove past uh the   former Town West yesterday and saw that there was  a lot of construction uh equipment outside. Um,   can you share why you decided to invest in  Witchah? Well, number one, it's the uh we do   a lot of due diligence on the city itself before  we we enter a community. Um, understanding kind   of the the state of the existing property and then  the surrounding community uh particularly the the   metrics of the commercial and industrial market.  And we were extremely excited to to find uh what   we did here in in Witchah. Obviously, there's a  very um large uh presence here from the aerospace   and aviation industry industries, but uh we were  pleasantly surprised at the at the amount of   industrial space here in the market. There's over  66 million square feet of industrial space here in   the indust in the greater indust Witchah market.  Uh we're bring we like to bring on less than 1%   of that in these types of projects. Um after we  uh were check after we checked that box, I think   understanding the physical infrastructure of this  location, it's close proximity to a 13.5 million   uh square foot submarket. It's about a quarter  mile from the end of the airport's runway. Uh   and the access that we enjoy with the confluence  of a couple of major freeways. Um it it made all   the sense in the world. And then I think and this  is kudos particularly to Councilman Glascock and   our initial outreach to the city uh the enthusiasm  and the support that we felt both from Councilman   Glascock and the rest of council and and yourself  mayor uh made this a very easy decision for us to   make this sign significant investment in this  community. Thank you very much Chris and thank   you Troy. I see no further questions. We  will now open it up for public comment. I   see none. I'll bring it back to the bench. This  resides in council member GlassCox's. Thank you,   Mayor. Witchaw is open for business, particularly  South Witchaw is also open for business as well.   So, thank you for this and I enthusiast I'll  make a motion that the city council approve   the development agreement with Witchaw Maple  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Approval of a development agreement   with Family Destination Development LLC. Honorable  mayor, members of council, again, Troy Anderson,   assistant city manager. Uh, this request is the  culmination of this particular project um, up to   this point. And so, uh, it's been in the forefront  of a lot of our minds over the last several weeks.   Uh, I won't belabor you all with the background.  We've talked about that. Uh this has been an   ongoing uh project for for several years now.  Um incredibly successful and uh hence the reason   why uh this phase three of this project uh is  advancing. So we've already previously presented   to you as part of the workshop the actual plans.  Uh we then stood in front of you with um the   amendment to the redevelopment plan. This is now  the development agreement that would allow the   uh development partner family destination to  actually go out and deliver the project. As you   can see there on the slide in front of you, the  area there in yellow. We've already highlighted   that previously. Um just to touch on a few of the  numbers, total estimated cost of the project about   $192 million. Uh there on the right hand hand side  of the screen shows all of the eligible expenses   that have been identified to be reimbursed or  that could be reimbursed through Starbond proceeds   uh totaling about $86 million based on all  the um feasibility study uh communication   correspondence with Department of Commerce.  um as well as where we believe probably the   underwriting will go. Uh star bonds are proposed  to be issued an amount sufficient uh to render at   least 73 million in proceeds. Actual amount  we always make sure that we uh communicate   this is still subject to again department of  commerce and indepart independent underwriting. Included in the development agreement are some  milestones. So family destination agrees to meet   these milestones set forth on the schedule in  front of you. Primarily rule of thumb this is   uh the same schedule as identified in the  feasibility study. We've also given them   about a 12 month uh extension on all of  those just to assure delivery of each of   those projects. But this is all still  consistent with the feasibility study. That being said, Family Destinations committed to  construct infrastructure improvements consistent   with the project plan as well. Initially,  these will be built as private infrastructure   improvements. Uh they may get dedicated, they may  petition the city to to accept those dedications   in the future. One of the things we want to make  sure everybody's aware of, city will be under no   obligation to approve any petition to dedicate  or accept that infrastructure. Uh particularly   initially, all plans are that the infrastructure  improvements will be designed and constructed   in accordance with city standards and inspected  by the city engineer. Therefore, in the future,   should they petition to have those dedicated or  accepted by the city that we know that they would   have been constructed to city standard. So,  but there's some language in the development   agreement about initially all of those will be  private. We just wanted to daylight that a little   bit regarding financial considerations. Star bonds  will be issued as special obligation bonds solely   from the incremental sales tax and other eligible  revenue. There will be no general obligation debt   of the city to backs stop any of this debt. I'll  just read this just to make sure we're all on the   same page. Incremental state and local sales tax  generated within the star bond district will be   captured by the Kansas Department of Revenue and  forwarded periodically to the bond trustee. Again,   no risk to the taxpayers. City law department  and outside bond council have reviewed and   approved the agreement as to form. It's  recommended city council approved the   development agreement with family destinations.  has to authorize the necessary signatures and   we do have representatives from the applicant  here to answer any questions. That being said,   I'll stand for questions. Thank you, Troy. Um,  I just had a couple of quick questions. Um,   first and foremost, um, I see that the ice  skating facility and the hotel will not be   completed until December of 2028. It's the last  project. Can that be explained as to why that   is the last project? Maybe the applicant can  share that. I'm g defer that to the applicant. Mayor Council Marty Corno, Family Destination  Development. Yeah. The answer to your question   is the hotel that the resort hotel. We don't have  a flag at this point. We've talked to many at this   point in time. So, we're still out scouring  the market to select the right one to bring   to this property for the resort hotel. So, we've  again traveling the country doing our homework   and making sure we make the right choice. Um,  infrastructure is always the first to come. Um,   the Witchah State tennis is pretty much teed up  and ready to go. So, we've kind of did it based on   um what's ready and and able to go. So again, I'm  I'm very particular that we what we bring in is   successful and uh basically we're doing  our homework on the on the resort hotel,   if that makes sense. And Marty, another question.  One of the um criticisms people have had of   Starbond projects or projects in general is not  meeting those deadlines. Um can you address how   what sense of urgency you will have and also the  prioritization of these projects? the urgency for   us to to hit deadlines is pretty important.  Um and and my reputation means everything. Uh   it's not all about the the ultimate dollar and  the project and how pretty it looks, but it's   hitting the deadlines. So, uh that's first first  and foremost the most important thing we do is hit   deadlines. And we spent quite a bit of time with  with with city council and or city legal and the   state to go over these deadlines and spend a lot  of time making sure that we were able to do so.   Um, so, uh, we do do not disappoint. Then  another question I have is why are you making   this investment into Witchah? That's a really  good question. Uh, you know, particularly I've   I'm out in the area. I live on the east side and  I've watched the Starbond District and area grow   from the beginning from from Top Golf to Striker  and always been intrigued. I never thought I would   be a part of it until the time came when there was  a piece of property owned by the Going family and   asked me to join forces to develop it. And uh  we we did and u I'm I'm a longtime Witchon. My   family's here. My father's business is here. My  grandchildren are here. And and it's something   that I just want to put my name on and be proud  of. Thank you, Council Member Hoheisel. Thank you,   Mayor. Um thank you, Marty. I appreciate your  investment in Witchah. This is one of the few   star bonds across the state that's actually paying  off. Um it'd be a little more difficult for me to   vote to start a new Star Bond, but seeing how  this one is successful, it makes it a little   easier. It It's been successful and I I'll be  honest, I was reluctant and I learned a lot   about Starbond's crash course in the last couple  years and this truly checks all the boxes for the   for the Starbond program. Um so that's why I'm  here. So, what happens if you do miss these um   projected dates that you have? Does that simply  mean that you're missing out on the additional   revenue to help pay for the project? The sooner  we get things going in in generating sales tax,   the better we will all be. So, that's uh that  is my goal. And I believe it's four years out   before property taxes look like they may be  compatible to um any missing revenue that the   city may have. That's correct. and and the  property taxes hadn't get talked about much,   but the amount of property tax that we'll generate  as soon as development starts is is astronomical   and I think you'll be very pleased at those  results. Yeah, that's the good uh ROI that I've   seen. Thank you. That off. All right. Appreciate  it. Thank you. Thank you, Troy. Thank you,   Marty. No further questions from the bench. We  will now open it up for public comment. And I want   to use my point of privilege to recognize that uh  Cedric County Commissioner Pete Mitner is here. I think I'm the only one that has an opinion  on this one. My name is Grant Dailyaly. I'm a   resident of District 4. Um, and before I proceed  with the ancient civic tradition of publicly   shoving my foot in my mouth, I thought I would  start with a piece of gratitude. Uh, thank you to   the developers who invest into our city. Uh, thank  you to the council who give their time to our city   and thank you to the city staff who always has the  information that it seems like we need. Uh, I know   these roles and jobs can often come at the cost of  time with family, friends, or even some cases your   reputation. So, I'm grateful that you all are  willing to step out like that. Uh, to step off   a little further here, uh, and to talk about the  purpose of governance in a way, there's a lot of   opinions on that. Some would say it's to provide  service. Some would say it's provide protection.   And if this morning taught me anything to a great  deal of witchins or at least people around here,   it's for government to do nothing in their  preference or opinion. But if I could offer one   more perspective to hang on the Christmas tree of  government, I would argue that an additional role   of all of us here is to facilitate healing for our  community in a way. To dive in a little further on   that, I plan to speak on behalf of a surprisingly  large and significant voter base dependent upon   the publications you read. Uh the voter base I'm  talking about are the dead. For me, I guess more   particularly I'm talking about how am I going to  honor my father in this process. This project is   to take place just north of an active cemetery.  It's where my dad was laid to rest almost 20 years   ago. And for that entire time since I was eight  years old until now, I have visited this plot of   land multiple times a year. It is the one space in  Witchah that I'm still able to grasp and hang on   to a relationship I never really got to have.  And before I begin to weep too much or before   I begin to get a little too emotional up here,  there's a few things I'd like to clarify. One   is what eight-year-olds know right now. Looking at  everyone in the room here, I'm pretty sure you all   were eight at one point. Uh, but something that  I understand eight-year-olds not really know a   whole lot about, it's star bonds, right? It's  feasibility studies. It's zoning laws. I mean,   these things even baffle me as a seasoned  adult. But what they do typically understand   is where their dad is. And they can understand  when somewhere is special and when the ground   should be hollowed and remembered and protected. I  say this with the caution and the additional view   that the Kosine family which has sought over this  land for a long time has done nothing but honor   and dignify my family along with many other folks  who have relatives, family or friends out in that   area. And so my comments to come come in no way  disparaging to the Kosines who spent a great deal   of time with me yesterday to assuage some of my  concerns or the Cornos who value our city or the   Murphans who have done a lot for our community.  But let me go ahead and still state that I I have   some concerns on this. I have some concerns about  uh the noise or the traffic or a lot of things   that I've heard a great deal about today that  other Witchtons feel and and are concerned about. So, I'm in a bit of a difficult spot here because  on one side, I really respect this family and far   be it from me to prevent a Witchin's god-given  right to serve within our city limits. But at the   same time, I want to be able to honor my father in  this way of of my own concern and that make sure   that at least on some sort of record, someone said  that, hey, there may be an issue here. Probably   not, but there may be one. And so with that idea,  I come with a few suggestions that maybe either   we could consider together or the developers could  answer as I'm sure they've already ideated a great   deal of solutions to these causes. So the first  one that I have in mind is the idea of a buffer,   right? Uh as I understand it, there's going  to be a beautiful row of hedges and shrubs and   trees to protect the privacy of the cemetery  post development. Now, I can't really judge   someone else's green thumb off of my lack of green  thumb. But what I do know is that noise has a way   to wake work its way through forest still. That  wandering goofballs who may had may have had too   much fun at a bar in this district may wander  onto the cemetery. So, I would ask that instead   of just trees and shrubs that there's an actual  physical border put in place here to allow people   to grieve in peace and in solace rather than have  to figure out who's coming on the cemetery and   what are they doing there. Another thing that  I'd like to address or bring up is the traffic   concerns I have. Now, don't get me wrong, K96 is  busy. 21st Street is busy. There's not much I can   do about that on my own. But what I could ask for  is instead of having multiple entrances into this   new development district, that the vast majority  of that traffic get directed off of Green Witch   rather than 21st Street. I think these are kind  of easy solutions to aspire for. I think these are   things we could talk about further. And I didn't  realize five minutes could go so fast. Thank you.   Thank you, Grant. Council member Glascock. Grant,  first off, thank you for sharing your story and   especially honor your dad's legacy, and I think  you did that from the bench. So, thank you for   that. Um, I would like probably representative  from the Cozine family just to come talk about   some of the things uh maybe to mitigate a lot of  Grant's concerns and also honor um the families   that are located really near the facility. So,  if you could maybe address the concerns about   fencing, landscaping, about traffic, and I'm sure  you guys have considered that as part of this as   well. So, thank you. Hi there. Good afternoon,  Mayor Woo, and members of the city council. My   name is Hillard Kosine. I'm the fourth generation  of my family's business, Cozy Memorial Group,   which owns and operates Kensington Gardens, the  cemetery adjacent to this proposed development.   I want to briefly address the concerns that  have been raised and reassure the families   who have loved ones buried there that my dad and  I are giving this a great deal of consideration.   Kensington Gardens is a beautiful and peaceful  place and maintaining its safety, dignity,   and sense of privacy is very important to us.  This is also personal. We buried my grandfather,   Bill Kosine, the second generation in my  family's business there this time last year.   I understand firsthand how meaningful that space  is for families who come to honor and grieve   their loved ones. Our track record reflects  that care as well. Along K96 and 21st Street,   we've developed tree barriers that create privacy  and limit visibility from surrounding roads.   Our plans along the west and north borders of  the cemetery will continue the same approach,   utilizing tree barriers, fencing, burming,  and gates that will be locked at night   um into the cemetery entrances. We believe these  efforts go above and beyond what is typical in   the city as many cemeteries are directly adjacent  to public roads and without the kind of buffering   and privacy measures that we are intentionally  putting in place. I'm happy to elaborate further   if there are any other questions, but I want  to assure everyone that we've put significant   thought into this already um into addressing  these concerns and we are committed to keeping   Kins and Gardens beautiful, private, respectful  now and into the future. Thank you. Thank you,   Hillilary. Council member Ballard. Thank  you, mayor, so much. Just to the speaker,   did you ask all of the questions? I know  you were you were in the kind of in the   middle of your story and your time cut off.  I just wanted to make sure that you asked. Okay. I got a little more than I mayor. Do you want to give him a couple  more little bit more to finish? Grant,   is that okay? That is okay  with me. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And sorry, Mr. Corno and the cozines  for being the rusty wheel on this one. I don't   intend to stop or pause or slow you down,  but yeah, you know where my heart's at. Uh   that notwithstanding, the other kind of areas of  concern I had were around the noise uh that may be   developed out of the amphitheater. And forgive me  if I'm mistaken, but go-karts can be pretty noisy   as well. Uh at least last time I was on one, it  was fairly noisy. And so I was curious if there   was going to be any restrictions from the city or  the development to limit either the performances   that are at play because I don't know if you've  tried to grieve to Snoop Dogg, but it's not a   particularly easy venture to partake in uh or try  to cry while holding back uh a sense of joy as   people scream their heads off while playing tennis  or go-karting or whatever else. And then the last   point of concern I had was actually around the  construction schedules which I believe represent   or Councilman Hohisel also raised. I'm concerned  that this is going to be really drawn out. I mean,   development is an enthusiastic process. It's kind  of like my my nephews, right? They come over for   the weekend and by the time they leave, they've  started small home improvement projects while   screaming their heads off and next thing I know,  I'm running a backhoe and giving them my wallet   and grabbing a nice large drink for myself to make  sure that we can just get through things together.   But I don't think that excitement around  development should come at the cost of   protecting some level of peace. And I I just  don't know the answer to that question. That   may be an impossible venture, but I would be  shocked if it doesn't create complexities. You Grant. Thank you, Marty. Grant, I console and understand all your  concerns and I want to hopefully answer and   and work with you through the process. Um,  regarding the go-karts, we're all electric,   so you won't have the engines. Um, so total  electric from that standpoint. I will tell you   on our construction schedule, there's extensive  penalties that I think maybe staff or legal   can tell you about should I not hit these  deadlines. So, my feet are to the fire. Um,   and I can sit here and tell you that uh I'm  a go-getter and I'm not going to let my that   grass go under my feet. So good concerns and  I will work with you through the process and   I don't think you will be disappointed know  your father. So I understand your concern try so I'll answer the construction timeline in  two ways. uh first and foremost, right? Um   the sooner that the developer gets to market,  the sooner they start generating sales tax and   repaying themselves for their investment. There's  a shot clock and so any delays in construction   are only going to compound their ability to  obtain sort of that return on that investment,   right? So it it would behoove the ownership group  to put every effort into advancing construction   of the project and deliver the facilities to  market as soon as possible in order to achieve   the maximum sort of reimbursement to their bottom  line um and and ultimately assure their investors   um success in the project. Right. Um secondly,  as uh the applicant Marty alluded to, right?   If all of a sudden, for whatever reason, um we  start seeing sort of uh some stagnation in the   development timeline, there are some terms and  conditions in the development agreement to start   to address uh how the city can respond, what sort  of the city's rights and responsibilities are,   uh rights and privileges are in assuring that  the taxpayer dollars, those sales tax dollars   are ultimately going towards towards reimbursing  the developer for construction of the actual   facilities and not just sort of land costs and  infrastructure that we're actually achieving the   facilities that are then going to generate the  property taxes and the sales taxes that we have   all modeled. So not we're we're sort of belt and  suspender. Not only is the model intended to be   successful to help get to market uh and achieve  success in in their return on investment knowing   that there's a shot clock involved but also we  have put some safeguards into the development   agreement to continue to try to encourage that.  So then I think the two additional concerns were   regarding further noise. Um any consideration  to further noise beyond the go-karts that would   be the tennis uh facility. And I think the other  question that was uh or suggestion that was raised   uh by Grant was uh the traffic concerns uh can  you address how flow will go into 21st Street or   uh Green Witch? Sure, Mayor. I I think the  main entrance will no thinking about it. The   main entrance will be off Green Witch and those  improvements will come from Green Witch all the   way in where there's a current traffic signal. So  there's improvements from there all in. There will   be roundabouts throughout the development which  will keep traffic at a great pace. Um, so we won't   have the issues that we talked about early on the  Douglas project with the racers going up and down   based with with uh roundabouts and and and if  need be, there could be, you know, speed bump   processes, but I don't think that's necessary.  So, I think we'll control that. The noise I   think we all haven't envisioned what the noise  will be like. Um, I do think that the cemetery   is far enough away. I don't think there'll be an  issue. Most of the noise will probably be more   in the evening hours where there's probably not  visitors. And I assume the cozines that's the time   the gate will be shut. Uh which is a nice gesture  on their part. A certain time the gates will shut   so there's nobody nobody you know leaving the  development rushing into the into the cemetery.   So I think that alleviates all them issues. Um I  hope there's a lot of screaming and yelling. That   means they're having fun and spending money  and paying them sales taxes back in a good   way. In a good way. Thank you. Thank you. Thank  you, Grant. We'll continue with public comment. Hey, good afternoon everybody. Um, mayor,  council members. Um, Pete Mitner. I am a county   commissioner at Sedu County. Was formerly sat in  your seats. And uh also want to congratulate Mr.   Manager on your Is this your last meeting?  Yeah. One more. Okay. All right. Well,   then no congratulations. I'll wait till next.  Anyway, um I actually uh was here last week.   Uh and you guys have been through a long day,  so I'll just try to do real quick. Uh last week   uh and I was going to start off celebrating uh  the Carl Brewer uh that happened Saturday. That   was a great what's it called? The Carl Brewer  Gav Center. Anyway, congratulations Brandon and   everybody on that. And just in one week I you you  all have been through a tough day, but just in one   week from the Carl Brewer celebration yesterday  was the 40-year celebration of Nai and hundreds of   millions of investment dollars in our region. Huge  deal. followed up by not in the city limits but   Phil Ruffen opening $180 million uh investment up  in the Park City area. So there's a lot of really   good momentum which dovetales into this event and  I just want to I was around when we did the first   Starbond in 2013ish and it's just amazing that  and and Mike you hoaza you mentioned the success   of the star bonds and it is like the second  most successful other than the racetrack but   36 million could be paid back over 20 years and it  was paid back in six or seven. I don't know Mark   Manning can help but that that was accelerated  huge and that was an interchange as well. was   a highway project along with the uh sports forum  and the shopping center. And then we quickly moved   uh in into expanding into the striker which  isn't really retail stuff but we were able to   put I think it was 70 millionish into the striker  and the top golf deal again another 20 years to   be able to pay gets gets settled you know way less  than that whatever seven or eight years from that   seven years so and then now now we are here today.  So, um, th this is, uh, and you're with a great   team out of partners, Cozines, Marty, uh, and I  haven't heard a lot, but the WSU and, and Kevin   Saul's here from WSU, but having their investment  or their participation in this for a national uh,   tennis center, you you've just got an incredibly  u positive things that you all should be proud of.   And I think today we get uh you and we you as the  city, me as the county, we split about seven or   $800 in property tax annually on that land. That's  going to be just add add the zeros to that when   when that's going to happen. So, um I just want  to congratulate you. Um it's financially sound.   Celebrate it. celebrate not only this but but  the successes that you've been a part of in in   recent history. This will be another stamp of of  wonderfulness. So, thank you for letting me say   a few words. Thank you, Commissioner Meister,  Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor Pete. I   don't think they put the clock on you because I  thought you were going to be brief. Not the case.   Okay. Well, I just want Thanks. Absolutely. Yeah.  Thanks for coming. I appreciate it. you know, uh,   2001, I still remember Bill Cuisine coming in to  Johnston's and and, uh, thanking us for buying the   land cateer from this. Oh, yeah. And, uh, there's  nothing out there then. Bill Kazine and myself   and, uh, and Maglin church was just starting back  then. And to see what it's come to now is is truly   amazing. So I still remember going to visit the  land and mowing it myself and if I saw one car on   K96, it was a big day. So now the traffic is is a  lot. So that area is really developing and maybe   we can get something on the west side like this  too. You know what? Driving up Greenwich Road just   this weekend to go into Sketchers or Total Wine.  One of the two. I can't remember. But probably   total lying. But there was the traffic was kind of  stupid and cars were swerving and I'm going can't   you drive? And I started looking and all license  plates all around me were from another state,   other counties. I didn't see a seed county license  plate. So it's it's attracts a lot of a lot of a   lot of stuff. But you're right, it was vacant. It  was it was kind of a risk. A little bit of risk,   but we put good discipline around it and it's been  paid off nicely. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Good afternoon, Madame Mayor, council members.  Thanks for the uh honor to be with you this   afternoon. My name is Kevin Saul, and I'm blessed  to serve as the director of athletics at Witchaw   State University. Just wanted to follow up  briefly on Commissioner Meisner's uh comments   surrounding momentum. Uh Witchaw State University  is honored to be an invited partner uh to expand   entertainment and tourism in Witchaw. This is  an exciting and and a highly impactful project   uh that reflects both the state and local vision  that if approved would elevate um our community,   Witchaw State University and our Shocker tennis  programs. Um, in addition to the numerous   community benefits that have been discussed,  this facility represents a top 20 collegiate,   uh, facility in the country for tennis, uh,  that would result in elevated recruiting,   enhanced student athlete experience, and expanded  programming. This facility would immediately be   in contention to host NCA preliminary rounds,  regionals, and national championships, along with   numerous opportunities for local, regional, and  national USA, and ITA events as well. So, I want   to thank you for your time and consideration for  this transformative project and certainly answer   any questions that you might have. Thank you,  Kevin. I see none. We will continue with public   comment. I see none. I wanted to say thank you to  the applicants, um, the cozines, Hillard and also   Marty. Thank you for answering those questions  and answering Grant's concerns. Um, I appreciate   everyone's feedback regarding this, uh, project.  This resides in Council Member Tuttles district.   Thank you very much. Um, I wanted to thank  County Commissioner Mitner for joining us   today. I know you were here last week, too. So,  um, welcome back, right? Um, I also want to thank   Bob and Troy. I know you spent a lot of time on  this. And I want to thank the state of Kansas,   the Department of Commerce. I know that they've  also been very helpful. Um, I want to thank Family   Destination Development LLC. And I also want to  thank Mr. Mr. Cornnejo and Mr. Kosine for being   so compassionate today and your responses and  your thoughtfulness. I I truly appreciate it and   it's a true reflection of your character and your  investment in our great city. Um I appreciate you   both being here uh all day last week and all day  this week. So we'll look forward to seeing you   next Tuesday around 9:00. But it surely does show  your dedication to this project. Um I'm extremely   extremely grateful for your investing in Witchaw.  could do this anywhere and you're doing it in   Witchaw and that's wonderful. I made comments  last week, but I think this is too great of an   opportunity not to be a little bit redundant. Um,  last week I did say that I felt like this project   will make Witchah a better place to live,  learn, earn, play, and pray. The connection   with WSU provides the education we all know that  it's going to just increase our quality of life,   which we need to attract and retain businesses and  talent. Um, I again, we're going to have more jobs   come from this. We're going to have more sales tax  come from this. We're going to have more property   tax comes from this. And all of this benefits  not just the city of Witchah as a municipality,   but our entire community in the region. So, the  best part also is there's no risk to the city. So,   thank you for what you're doing. I truly  appreciate it and I wish you all the best.   Good luck. And with that, I will enthusiastically  recommend that the city council approve the   development agreement with Family Destination  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. 2026  salary and classification ordinances. Good afternoon, Mayor Woo and city council  members. Um Jonathan Jones here with the   um human resources department. Um I'm here  to present for your consideration the 2026   salary and classification ordinances. So the  salary classification ordinances establish the   city of Witchah's job classifications and  corresponding pay ranges. Um there's two   classification ordinances. one for exempt um  salaried positions and one for non-exempt or   hourly positions. For most ranges, the pay rates  are set by negotiated union agreements and are   reflected in the salary ordinance itself. General  pay adjustments. Um so these are kind of the   proposed revisions. So general pay adjustment  of 6% for all service employees international   union number 513 represented employees. General  pay adjustment of 3.5% for all employee council   and non-represented employees and other exempt  management pay ranges. General pay adjustment   of 3% for all Teamsters local number 795 transit  employees and general pay adjustment of 4% for   all Teamsters local number 795 airport employees.  General pay adjustment of 3.5% for all IIAFF local   number 135 employees and general pay adjustment  of 2% for all fraternal order of police lodge   number five represented employees. Most employees  will also be eligible for a 2 and a half% merit   performance based of course um increase in  2026. So, it's our recommendation that the   city council place the ordinances on first reading  and authorize the necessary signatures. And I'll   stand for questions. Thank you, Jonathan.  Questions for staff. I have one question.   I just wanted to ask legal the question. Can the  mayor's salary be exempt from this increase? Uh,   mayor will that has happened before for certain  council members. I don't know that the mayor's   ever done it. Um there is a an ordinance that sets  salary and compensation um to be established tied   to the the uh exempt city employees, but I believe  it has been done. So it can happen as long as I   move the item. Is that accurate? Believe a motion  would be in order if that's the will of the board.   Thank you. I see no further questions. Thank  you. We will now open it up for public comment.   I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench.  Council member Tuttle. Thank you. Thank you,   Jonathan. Appreciate your work on this and  thanks to all of the HR team. Um, we are   and I think I think every year that we've had the  opportunity to reward our our welldeserving staff,   we are in the service business, right? We don't  the only thing we make is water. Otherwise, we   don't build or sell anything. Um, and so customer  service is what we do and much of what we do isn't   appreciated except in the absence of it. you know,  the first time somebody turned on their faucet and   the water didn't come out or they're trying to go  to their grandparents for the holidays and they   can't get there because the streets haven't been  plowed or the fire department doesn't come when,   you know, we they have they have an emergency.  And so, it's so much appreciated what the staff   does and I wish I could thank each and every  staff member personally for being part of the   city of Witchah team. It's an honor to work with  and serve with all of our City of Witchah staff.   Um, so just kudos to everyone and this is one  small way that we can thank them and we can reward   them for the exceptional work that they do every  single day in our city. Thank you. With that,   I move that the city council place the  ordinance on first reading and authorize   the necessary signatures with the exemption of  the mayor's salary. Second motion and a second.   Any further discussion? I just want to put it on  the record that again this is the the reason why   I'm doing this is because I promised this on  the campaign trail. I did this last year and   I'm doing it again and I appreciate the second  by Vice Mayor Johnston. I appreciate all of our   non union city employees that will be getting a  raise rightfully so. Um but I will not be taking   that raise. With that we have a motion and a  second. Council member Tuttle. Thank you. Um,   I have pause with this because we are a unified  body. Um, and and we all um represent the same   constituents. We all have, you know, the same job  of representing our constituents. Um, but I don't   want to um do anything to that would impact other  council members who may not um be able to not um   you know and uh have this raise as cost of living,  goods and services, everything has increased. But   um I will just go on the record that every  year that we have received a raise, I donate   my raise to charitable organizations within our  great city that are important to my family. So,   um, even if this passes and and I am given a  raise, I will make sure that the money goes back   to the community. Thank you. And again, just  for the record, this is only for the mayor's   salary to not have the pay increase. It does not  exclude council members from receiving that pay   increase. With that, we have a motion and a  second. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Transient  guest tax charter ordinance amendment. Good afternoon, mayor, members of the  city council. Mark Manning with the   department of finance. Uh today I want to present   to you a recommendation to amend our  transient guest tax charter ordinance. So the city of Wawau has had a trans and guest tax  since 1995 which was the year in which the state   legislature passed legislation authorizing such a  tax. Uh the city chartered out of state statute in   1980 and we did that primarily at the time so that  we could raise our rate to 4%. Um, since 1980, the   city has amended our charter ordinance on seven  different occasions uh throughout the years uh   for a variety of reasons, but typically to adjust  our rate or to amend the spending priorities. So,   our transit guest tax is collected by the Kansas  Department of Revenue and has since 1975. Uh they   collect it and they remit it to us quarterly. Uh  the Kansas Department of Revenue, as you know,   is very adept at collecting taxes and uh for  example, they collect the sales tax for us   as as you know. Uh they are very efficient and a  very effective tax collector. Uh we receive about   $10 million a year from the transient guest  tax. Uh by the way, our current transient guest   tax rate is 6% and that was based on a charter  uh ordinance amendment that occurred in 1998.   So earlier this year uh some issues were  brought up about the non-ongruence of   our charter ordinance with state statute and  recommendations were made that we should align   our charter ordinance with state statute. Uh so  that's essentially what we're recommending today.   Uh specifically legislative post audit a branch of  the Kansas legislature reviewed transient gas tax   expenditures in several cities across the state  and provide a report to the legislature on July   21st of 2025. Uh there were three minor findings  regarding the city of Witto in that report. Uh   one thing that they discovered was that again that  the state statute was not specifically aligned to   our charter ordinance and that KOR was collecting  based on these state statutory provisions. They   uh opined about a couple other very minor issues  regarding uh the expenditure of funds from the   city for administrative charges and for our  audit expenses. Uh those are best practices.   We've been doing them for decades. Uh but the  legislative post audit staff uh were concerned   that those uh were not specifically identified in  our charter ordinance. Again, order of magnitude,   that's maybe $5,000 a year out of our $10  million that we spend. Uh but uh to address   the issues that can Kansas legislative post audit  identified and to uh keep our tax collector which   is Kor happy uh staff is recommending that we uh  make some adjustments to our charter ordinance to   align them to state statute as a best practice. Uh  some of the recommendations and they're detailed   in a lot more detail in the agenda report.  So I'll be a lot briefer in my presentation.   Uh we would like to amend charter ordinance uh to  allow the collection of the transient guest tax   from accommodations brokers. Now accommodations  brokers think of verbbo or airbnb. Those are   accommodations brokers. They broker rooms on  behalf of others and uh collect the uh rental   and the appropriate taxes. Uh so that's what the  uh that's what state statute allows. Uh another   uh issue that can that legislative post audit  identified was our charter ordinance identifies   a lodging establishment as having more than eight  rooms. Again, that definition dates to 1992. Uh   the uh Kansas statutes were changed uh several  years ago to define a lodging establishment as   more than two rooms. And again, KOR, we believe,  has been collecting under that definition uh for   a while. Uh so we think it'd be appropriate  to align that to again the state statutory   definition. Uh a couple other minor things. Uh our  uh due dates on taxes remitted to KOR are a little   bit different. Our our charter ordinance says to  remit by the end of the month and KOR standard   is the 25th of the month. So and our penalties if  you don't pay which I would guess are very rarely   if ever enforced or applied but our penalties  are slightly different than state statute. So,   we would recommend aligning those again with  state statute. And finally, uh to uh satisfy the   concern of post audit staff, we would recommend  uh amending our charter ordinance to allow us to   continue to pay administrative charges and audit  fees from the transient guest tax fund. And again,   that's maybe $5,000 a year, $6,000 a year. So,  what is the impact of the recommendation today?   Uh the primary impact is that it will facilitate  the continued collection of the transient guest   tax by the Kansas Department of Revenue. Again,  they are much more efficient than we are on   collecting of this kind of tax. They're much more  effective at collecting this kind of tax. So,   we believe it's in the city's interest to continue  our relationship with KOR and uh let them uh   continue to collect this tax. Again, we would  change the definition of a lodging establishment.   We believe that this would have a minimal, if  any, impact on what is actually being collected   because again, our understanding is that KOR is  collecting from accommodations brokers now. And   they're also collecting under the definition of a  lodging establishment of more than two rooms. So,   we believe this will have virtually no impact. Uh  but again we we're not privy to those records so I   can't say that with absolute certainty but that is  our belief that it would have virtually no impact   on those uh entities. Uh just a reminder charter  ordinances require twothirds majority vote which   is five affirmative votes. And another reminder  charter ordinances are subject based on state   statute to a 61day protest uh period following  publication. So even with your action today,   this would not take effect for you know at least  61 plus or minus a few extra days for publication.   So that's our recommendation that you approve  the charter ordinance and place it on first   reading and I'd be happy to answer any questions.  Thank you Mark. Questions for staff beginning with   council member Hoheisel. Thank you mayor. So  my following along here um short-term rentals   will now be subjected to the 6% transient guest  tax. Well, city code doesn't define short-term   rentals based similar to the definition in a in  our chart or charter ordinance. But I think the   answer to your question is yes, short-term rentals  typically probably have less than eight bedrooms,   at least the ones I'm familiar with. But I would  also tell you it is our belief and this is coming   from Kador that they are currently paying the  transient guest tax in Witchah based on the   fact that most of them go through accommodations  brokers. So yes, it would restrict our definition.   Yes, it's possible they are not paying. Some  may not be paying today based on our charter   ordinance. But again, we believe the impact is  extraordinarily minimal because we believe the   truth is most of them are probably remitting that  to KOR today through their accommodations broker.   Okay. Is the information for their broker um in  any information whenever they are applying for   short-term rental? We do not have any reason to  communicate that to the state. Again, it's the   state's relationship is with the accommodations  brokers and our STR ordinance I don't think has   anything to do with whether or not they use an  accommodations broker. So, I can't align the two,   I guess, is what I'm telling you. But more than  likely, they're the same population and more   than likely they're already paying the transit  guest tax. Okay, I appreciate it. Mark, one quick   question. So the eightbedroom to the twobedroom uh  definition. Why was there that discrepancy? And it   took what was it 1992? Uh yes ma'am. It's because  we in 1992 we changed our charter ordinance to   align with state statute. The state legislature  changed their statute and uh we were not made   aware of that and we kept our definition. In  fact we weren't made aware of it until June 21st   of this year. So, uh, and Kor been using that  other definition unbeknownst to us. Thank you,   Mark. I see no further questions for staff. We'll  open it up for public comment. I see no questions   or comments from the public. We'll close public  comment and bring it back to the bench. With that,   I move that the city council approve the charter  ordinance and place it on first reading. Second.   Motion in a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role.   Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Year in budget adjustments and Nick   Tiff ordinance. Good afternoon again. Mark Manning  with the Department of Finance. Uh today I want to   present to you uh our recommendation for year-end  budget adjustments and the adoption of a Nick   Tiff ordinance. And uh as you've noted uh today's  the manager's I guess second to last meeting. Uh   uh likely this will be the last budget agenda  item that he ever has to sit through. And I'm   uh honored to be able to present it. And it's  ironic because I think I probably presented   to him his first budget discussion item two days  before we actually hired him with a couple other   finance staffers on February 1st of 2009. So I may  have the distinction of presenting the first and   the last budget items that the manager has had to  uh listen to. So hopefully I you're always welcome   to come back if you want to listen to another one  sometime. Uh so uh as you know our budget is large   and complex. We go over that during budget  preparations. I won't reiterate that. Uh but   uh we have one guideline based on state statute  on our limiting of our expenditures and that is by   fund. All the state statutes require us is to keep  our expenditures within the amount approved by the   state at the fund level. That is not an issue for  the city of Witchaw. we will have no issues with   the state guidelines. However, here at the city,  we control our budgets at a much more granular   level. Again, that is our determination. Uh but  typically, we like to control budgets at the   department level and sometimes even uh at lower  levels, salaries and wages and things like that.   And when I say control, I just mean that we  have computer systems that will alert us if   expenditures occur that exceed amounts that we had  previously programmed in as the budget amounts.   Again, that's more just like an early warning  system. So, we have some indication of what's   going on. It doesn't mean things are occurring  that are inherently bad. It just means that things   are occurring a little bit differently than what  we had planned in the budget document. And so we   want to be aware of those and uh be able to figure  out what's going on and determine an appropriate   uh mechanism to fix that which is primarily why  I'm uh here today. And all this is important so   that we can close out our financial activity and  our financial reporting for this year. So you may   recall I presented third quarter financial  report to you in November. I don't remember   the exact date but I think it was in early  November. All the guidance that I'm giving   you today is virtually identical to the guidance  that I gave you in November, which is to say,   we expect to be balanced this year. Uh probably  have a a slight surplus of some degree. Our public   safety expenditures are increasing significantly,  and you'll find out that's where our primary   challenges are today that I need to address.  Uh jail fees are trending over budget. Again,   that's another item that we uh need to address  today. and uh most of the other adjustments   which again I won't go into all of them in detail  but they're generally things where we have higher   revenue and a little bit higher expenditures or  in order to achieve what we wanted to achieve   we spent money on contractuals or instead of uh  commodities. I will talk briefly about the last   item on this page. Uh we have one decremental tiff  remaining that still collects a increment and that   is the north industrial corridor tiff. We don't  talk about that much. Uh but it's a decremental   tiff to clean up pollution up north. We include  that in the adopted budget. Uh but we do need   approval of an ordinance uh uh approving that uh  decremental increment so that we can uh provide   that to our partners over at Seduit County to  facilitate their implementation of that. Uh so again, I I I can go through the adjustments  if you uh want me to. They're identified in   the agenda report. Uh fire and police  are a little bit over on wages. Again,   not uncommon. Uh we expect them  mostly to be under in other areas   of the budget. Jail fees are going to be  probably materially over budget. Again,   we talked about the reasons why in the  quarterly presentation. Uh so we will have   to make an adjustment there. And then we have  a couple other ones that we need to address. That is the uh end of my presentation.  Recommended action is to approve the   recommended budget adjustments. to approve the  first reading of the North Industrial Corridor   TIFF district ordinance and to authorize staff  actions to close out uh the financial activity   for 2025 consistent with city council action.  Thank you, Mark. Questions for staff? Um just one,   you made a comment that said public safety  expenditures are increasing significantly,   which leads to a question I had for you  last week regarding the budget deficit.   Can you address that for me? I know that each  year the budget must be balanced. Um and you   just mentioned that there might be a slight  surplus. Can you address um the actual budget   deficit that's incoming? Yeah, I think we've  mentioned it before. I think uh the initial   year we would expect to be about $3.9 million  uh out of balance, which I believe is 2028. And in 2029, I think we would expect that to be a  little closer to about uh getting close to eight   million dollars. But part of the challenge in  public safety is staffing. And that's this is   a you know, it's a constant challenge to manage  effectively and make sure we have appropriate   staffing and to balance uh scheduling of recruit  classes with overtime. So again, this is not an   uncommon challenge that we have, but again, it's  based on the staffing needs of our public safety   agencies. Would you say that the majority of the  reason why there's going to be a budget deficit   is because of increasing costs due to salaries in  public safety? Yeah, I'd say there's two reasons.   You're right. Our wage base is increasing uh  significantly for a lot of the reasons that   we noted I think last week. And then the other  challenge we have which we've talked about a lot   is our revenue portfolio will likely diminish a  little bit in the future primarily because our   interest earnings that have driven a lot of our  growth in the past years are plateauing and likely   will decrease. So those are the two primary  factors that are causing us challenges in the   future. Thank you Mark. I see no further questions  for staff. We will open it up for public comment.   I see none. I will bring it back to the bench.  With that, I move that the city council approve   the budget adjustments, approve the first reading  of the ordinance for the Nick Tiff district,   and authorize staff to take appropriate actions  to implement the city council action. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame Clerk, please call the  next item. 2026 special liquor tax allocation   agenda report. Good afternoon, Mayor Council.  Nathan Emory, court administrator. For the record,   and also in this role, I'm the chair of the  special liquor tax coalition. The special liquor   tax uh coalition policies uh were established in  1999 and reaffirmed in 2005. In 2025, this year,   we put out a competitive request for proposals  and received 16 proposals from 10 agencies,   which resulted in a requested total of 2,822,77. Uh the available budget was less than that. So  as uh a panel, we sat and developed recommended   recommendations uh for the 2026 grant year. All  16 proposals were recommended to receive funding   and the substance abuse center of Kansas  SAC agreed to do the outpatient treatment   portion of the continuum. Now these proposals  cover really three categories of services.   prevention, treatment, and the continuum of care.  The continuum of care is something that actually   services municipal clients as we take high need  individuals from the jail, screen them, place them   in inatient treatment, move them to outpatient  treatment, and provide case management throughout.   So, it's a really important aspect of municipal  court and uh creating success for individuals with   extremely uh significant needs relative to their  substance abuse. The chosen proposals were all   outcomebased and those uh proposals contain  measures that are in the contracts and will   be used to monitor performance in 26, 27 and 28  should the contracts be recommended for renewal.   uh the review committee uh looked at each program,   identified uh programs that didn't meet all  the critical dimensions of the RFP and uh allocated uh money to those programs accordingly.  This virtually unreadable spreadsheet   uh represents the allocations both uh if they are  if the if the organization is receiving current   funding, what that funding is, the request and  the recommendation and at the end you've got   uh the total. If you have any questions about  this, I'll I'll leave it up. Uh I don't have a   whole lot more to present after this. Uh the uh  the liquor tax budget contains uh money to uh to   handle the recommendations. It's been reviewed  by legal and I'd make the recommended action.   I'd recommend that the council approve the special  liquor tax coalition funding for uh 2026 funding   recommendations and authorize provider contracts  be developed for the recommended allocations.   authorize the necessary signatures and approve  the necessary budget adjustments. And of course,   I'll stand for any questions. Thank you, Nathan.  Questions for staff, beginning with Council Member   Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, uh,  Dr. Nathan. Um, couple of quick questions. Uh,   so in years past, have anybody else, um,  have any other organizations applied for the   outpatient treatment? Yeah. So, we've we didn't  have anybody apply for the outpatient treatment   of the continuum this year. Uh, Comare provided  that service this year and in the past year. Uh,   we had another vendor provide that service in the  prior year and chose to step away from it. Uh,   so we didn't have any vendors and and SAC when  they found out we didn't have any vendors.   uh raised their hand and said, "Hey, we'll step  into the gap." And so we're very thankful for   that because of course with a continuum, if you're  missing a piece of the continuum, it's no longer   a continuum. It's a pretty big piece. Yeah. Yeah.  So, uh in in the past, you know, we typically get   a vendor for that piece. Didn't get a vendor  this time. Any idea why Comare didn't apply?   uh they just looked at at their portfolio of  activities and and decided that's one they didn't   want to continue doing. And so we we actually met  with Compare on that and said, "Hey, you know,   talk to us about what you're seeing and what what  can we learn from your experience?" And you know,   is there anything that would change it? We  didn't feel like there was anything that would   change their their desire, but we certainly  learned from their experiences. Okay. Um,   is this just alcohol treatment for sack? Oh, no,  no. It's it's uh substance abuse treatment. So,   it it it's it's it relates to anything that that  person comes with. Yeah. So, when we're looking   at substance abuse treatment in the continuum,  whatever whatever substances the individual is   dependent on is is what they're looking at. Okay.  We also have the opioid settlement funding coming   down the pipeline. this won't conflict with sack  being eligible for any of that funding. I couldn't   speak to that. I certainly don't believe so. We  don't really coordinate run in parallel. So I know   that those that are considering those that funding  are are doing their thing while we do our thing   and then of course uh the decisions are made by  the council as to who receives funding for these.   So these are just our recommendations to the  council. Okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. Y Nathan,   just quick question from this um one slide. Uh two  of those prevention organizations are Kansas Big   Brothers Big Sisters and Prime Fit. Um I wanted  to know was there consideration for other youth   mentoring programs such as um Youth Horizons as  well as Heroes Academy? No. And that's because   they they didn't provide a response to the  RFP. So we considered all responses to the   RFP and in fact all folks who all organizations  that applied to the RFP received a recommended a   recommendation of an allocation. So we we couldn't  consider those that didn't apply. Um I do have a   question regarding that as a followup. Um I  know that there are multiple organizations   here in our community that provide youth mentoring  programs and I often get questions about funding.   um and I try to remind them that there are  uh purchasing um opportunities. Uh can you   make sure that the other uh nonprofits that  are providing youth mentoring um are aware of   these dollars that are available at the next  cycle? Sure. And and what I do is whenever I   have an interaction with an organization that  I think would benefit from this when the RFP   is not out there, of course, I encourage them  to uh keep track of this and give them the,   you know, kind of the timeline of the cycle,  right? Because they're we're not going to open   this up for another three years. But there's  it's really important to get that out there.   and and of course anyone who wants to put that  out there, I encourage that as well because this   is great funding helping directly the people of  Witchah. And so it's it's very exciting to me,   but like like you're getting at, I also would love  to see more participation and more applications.   I'd like harder decisions from the coalition  on what our funding recommendations are. Um,   could I ask that you please email the whole  council maybe the RFP uh request that was put   out so that uh we can then forward it to  for instance youth horizons and um Heroes   Academy as well as uh Masters and Mentors  uh that that opportunity did exist. However,   that deadline passed but be on the lookout for  future. Do you mind emailing all of us and we'll   forward it on as information? Absolutely. Thank  you, Nathan. 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. With that,   I move that the council approve the special  liquor tax coalition 2026 funding recommendations.   Authorize provider contracts be developed  for the recommended allocations. Authorize   necessary signatures and approve necessary budget  adjustments. Second motion and a second. Any   further discussion? I see none. Madame clerk,  please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame   clerk, please call the next item. Operating  partnership agreement with Botanica, Inc. Good afternoon, mayor and council. Here  before you to talk about the operating   partnership agreement with Botanica, Inc. In uh 1917, the city received a restricted  donation of land from the Coler and uh Nelly Smith   uh which included Sims Park, Symph  Golf Course as well as Botanica   uh the Witchah Gardens. Uh the city entered  into a public private partnership in 1987 to   develop and operate Botanica. Uh the the city last  updated operator agreement for Batanica in 2009.   Uh negotiations for an upgraded agreement continue  to define the expectations performance as well   as the measures for annual reporting anticipated  funding for the organizations have been completed. In 2024, Botanica had uh 352,852 visitors from  300 unique uh zip codes. According to the arts   and economic prosperity study calculator, Batonica  impact uh community in 2024 with 19 million483,585 and the organization supported 95 full-time  equivalent jobs in the community. Botanica   is nationally ranked by US uh today  Readers Digest as a top 10 botanical   garden with the fifth best holiday  light display in the United States. So next goes into the responsibilities for the  city uh to provide for it uh four staff positions   for which would include the executive director  uh director of horiculture and two gardeners in   con support from the parks and recck department  and public work and utilities and major system   repairs property insurance capital improvement  support as well as as the budget allows.   uh appoint four board members to uh  which include a mayor city council   appointee who is a voting member uh city manager  appointee which is non- voting park and wreck   uh appointee which is non- voting as well as  a park board appointee that's non- voting as   well and the responsibilities for Bratannica is  uh general operations of the facility including   but not limited to staffing guarding exhibits  utilities program and administration minor   systems repairs and provide an annual report  to city council which showcases performance   and measures. And here's a site map that  shows which the area that was in the yellow   imprint is the actual botanical gardens and  you'll see to the north of that is where the   sim golf course and the other area there that  has been donated by the sponsor back in 1917. So agreement updates that we made, we updated  responsibilities for each party, updated   maintenance and capital improvement procedures,  as well as updated performance measures to   connect directly to the 2024 to 2028 cultural arts  strategic plan. Performance measures for it align   with the cultural arts strategic plan and are  comparable with to other cultural institutions.   Performance measures include, but are not limited  to, stability of financial operating reserve,   demonstrated average annual growth in attendance,  community outreach and programming, collaborative   partnership, attended zip code tracking,  as well as paid opportunities for artists. Uh the final consideration, the city uh provides  uh no direct financial contributions to Botanica,   Inc. The city fund and staff positions are  budgeted budgeted at $458,154 for fiscal   year 25. In kind contributions from  public works and public and parks and   wreck and capital expenditures for 2026  include $700,000 for pgola structure,   a boardwalk replacement and flagstone  replacement. The law department has   reviewed and approved the agreement and uh and  approved the operating agreement authorizing   and I recommend that we approve the operating  agreement authorizing necessary signatures and   I'll stand for any questions. Thank you  Reggie. Can you clear the boards? Um I do   have one question. Our green sheet actually  says that the budgeted amount is $450,046. However, slide number 162 says 458,154, which is accurate. So, from my understanding,  the amount that's in the actual presentation   should be the correct amount, and that may have  been up oversight in the uh green sheet. Can we   make sure that the green sheet reflects the  correct amount on the website as well? Yes,   we'll make sure that's updated. Okay, with  that, I see no further questions for staff.   We'll open it up for public comment. I see none.  I'll bring it back to the bench. With that,   I move that the council approved the operating  partnership agreement with Botanica, Inc. and   authorized the necessary signatures, which amount  to $458,154 for the four positions. Second motion   and a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Fiscal year 26  activation grant recipient recommendations. Good afternoon, council members. Jesse Kosa,  cultural arts administrator from the Division   of Arts and Cultural Services. I'm very excited  to share with you today the cultural funding   committee's recommendations for our new activation  grant opportunity. Uh to remind you the our   current 2024 2028 cultural arts strategic plan  was approved by city council on May 14th, 2024,   so a little over 19 months ago. The division's  mission is to ensure everyone has equitable access   to cultural arts opportunities by activating  and strengthening the creative potential of   our community. And our vision is that Witchah  is recognized as a community where artistic   expression is an integral part of the city's  success, arts thrive, and cultural heritage is   preserved and celebrated. Uh some of the strategic  objectives in the cultural plan related to uh the   program are listed below uh the bottom of the the  slide there. I would draw your attention to the   first and third bullet points. Increase funding  sources and resources for the cultural arts and   revamped the allocation structure of the cultural  funding program to support growth, creativity,   and accountability. We've revamped part of the  allocation structure through the creation of this   grant uh which in turn has created new funding  sources for some members of our community.   I just wanted to take a moment and update you  on what we're looking forward to in 2026. You   might remember uh our arts thrive grants which  city council approved. Two of those projects   have been completed uh both in summer 2025 and  we've got the third one by Ballet Witchah coming   up in the first half of 2026. You've already  approved operational grants for 31 organizations   helping our creative economy continue to grow  next year. And today we'll be discussing the   final piece of the 2026 grants puzzle, the 17  recommended recipients of our activation grants. Since this is a new grant opportunity for the  division, I wanted to make sure to capture as much   of the process as possible. I have cut out a lot  of that since we're very late in the afternoon.   Um, first, we accepted applications between  September 5th and November 3rd of this year.   Uh if you're watching this later and you  weren't aware that this grant was open, I   would encourage you to sign up for our newsletter  at witchah.gov/arts. Uh ultimately we received 82   applications for funding. Staff reviewed each  application that came in for completeness and   alignment with the guidelines and in the end 72  applications made it to the committee for review.   The the members of the cultural funding committee  scored each application based on three different   criteria. alignment with the cultural plan uh the  project itself and the uh application's budget   timeline for a total of 15 possible points. As  part of the review, the committee members also   voted whether to fund the application and if so,  how much they recommended funding for it. Uh so   an application could be recommended for any  amount between $0 to uh full funding of their   request. There were three applications where one  member needed to recuse themselves from uh review.   That means all but three of the applications we  received were read by all eight committee members.   Those other three were read by the remaining  seven. Overall, we had 573 data points to   uh figure out our funding recommendations. Staff  then took that data and averaged each application   scores and uh their re those recommendations.  As you can imagine, figuring out who to fund   across 72 applications is not an easy task. Uh  they went through several different iterations   trying to figure out the best way to uh determine  that and their first uh decision was to recommend   fully funding the applications receiving  receiving majority votes for full funding.   Then they went down the list uh of applications  starting from the highest score and recommended   partial funding for those applications until the  pot of funding was empty. Uh they then adjusted   their recommendations slightly until they had  what they felt was a solid, defendable group of   applications and awards. Ultimately, the committee  ended with 17 recommendations for funding. All of   them scoring 11.125 out of 15 or higher with a  handful of those applicants being recommended   for their full request. I'm sorry, I'm a big fan  of data, but so I'd like to give you a little bit   of it before we move on to the recommendations.  First, uh, you'll see that we had a really great   spread of applicants between emerging artists,  mid-career artists, and organizations. Uh,   and I've highlighted mid-career artists there  because the cultural plan uh, specifically   directs us to help increase paid opportunities  for mid-career artists. You might remember in the   previous presentation, the Botanica performance  measures also mentioned artist opportunities.   That's part of the same thing. U, so it's quite  encouraging to see our mid-career artists applying   for this opportunity. Uh we also pride ourselves  on the number of applications we've received for   these recent opportunities and that requires a  consistent number of firsttime applicants. For   this opportunity, 61% of the individual artists  who applied were new to this program. Um for   organizations, that was a little over half.  Uh, and I'd like to note that over the last   four funding opportunities that the division  has offered to individual artists, we've had   over 140 different individual artists apply.  Um, and so in the six or seven years previous,   that number was about 25 um, total. Uh,  my hope is that that's a sign of increased   trust in the division, our process, and the  community that we're hoping to strengthen uh, these grant opportunities. Uh essentially the  nonoperational grant opportunities continue to   be highly highly competitive. As you can see, the  percentage of applications were able to recommend   for funding continues to shrink. Arts Thrive is  a little bit of an outlier there because we knew   going in we were only going to have three awards.  And that final bullet point just drives home   um one of the uh things holding holding  that number down. Uh the ideas are there,   the desire is there. Uh so the division is going  to keep looking for alternate sources of funding   so that opportunities like the activation grant  continue to grow. Uh we will likely reapply for   funding from the NEA for 2027. Uh that's what  funded our activation or excuse me our arts thrive   grants. Um and speaking as the person who has to  do all that paperwork that pains me to say but uh   I will get it done because our community deserves  the opportunity that that funding would provide.   Um, one more slide before the recommendations,  but uh, I wanted to tell you about it before   I move over. Um, if I can be a little less  professional uh, with all of you for a moment,   uh, I love this community. Uh, if you were to  read even a handful of these applications, it's   astounding. I know every member of city council  knows, but the people of Witchah are the best.   uh almost every application spent time talking  about how they wanted to improve the city or to   help their fellow residents uh or they just spent  a couple moments being silly in the middle of it   uh and just gave our readers a smile. You know, if  you're doing 72 of these and you find one that's   funny, it's helpful. Uh, I can't present all of  this to you without recognizing just how lovely   and caring all the members of this arts community  in our city are. I've got six very short anecdotes   for you, but honestly, I probably could have given  you 60. So, these are all direct quotes from their   applications. Witchans are so strong. They just  need to be reminded. This project represents   a healing journey for the entire city. If I  can make a difference in these communities,   I will do it no matter the challenges. This city  has always understood the value of honest work,   quiet resilience, and human connection.  This project reflects Witchah's commitment   to creativity, access, and community healing.  And it is worth taking the time to document the   moments that make Witchah so much fun to create  in. And then finally, after receiving the grant,   I would turn it loose on the unsuspecting public.  Sorry, that one is from a project called Florida   Man. And if you get a project called Florida  Man, you are ethically required to quote it. So,   here we go. The recommendations for the activation  grants for 2026 presented in alphabetical order.   I've written a short description of each project.  Uh, and I hope our applicants can forgive me. It's   hard to do them justice in just a few words. So,  Aaron Patton for his Americans Project portrait   series, uh, we're recommending $4,000. Emanuel  Campos Perez for a mural series, uh, featuring   historical figures, uh, $5,000. Empty Bowls  Witchita for social media capacity development,   $3,500. Ava Cummings for development of a multi  multi-ensory public mural, $5,000. Friends of   the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit, uh $2,000 for a jazz  concert series at Riverside Park. Jordan Curtley,   uh $1,150 for assistance with portfolio work and  additional professional development. Uh Kate Van   Steinhouse, $5,000 for the development of a Zen  that will help artists understand economic cont   uh concepts, potentially help them uh  get paid more money. Cassennia Gersstein,   and that should also say Elellanar Keepy. That's  our one group of artists. Uh they're for a project   called Creative Lives Kansas. Uh it's a series  covering local artists, $4,000. Melissa Long   for an exhibition of various fiber art styles  and workshops. Uh it's $4,000. Maria Angelhart,   uh $1,000 to continue developing her skills,  which will improve the fle the free classes   that she offers to groups such as seniors.  uh Shane Carter uh $2,000 to take a tour of   um various uh museums in the country to continue  his education in best practices uh and to attend   a conference. Spoken word productions which uh  will offer poetry shows and workshops $4,000.   Sydney Hawkins Menant Dance Celebration uh $5,000  and that stands for Middle Eastern, North African,   Helenic, and Turkish. Uh Ted Adler online ceramics  materials workshop $900. Uh the real education   project will be doing some public listening  sessions of their audio drama, The Real Education   of TJ Holly. I think I might have gotten that  last word wrong. Um and then discussions following   those uh public presentations. United Comedy  Academy, a series of all female improv shows,   $2,500. and the Witchaw Library Foundation $6,700  for multiple Big Read 2026 events. Now, to remind   you, most of these grants are recommended for a  percentage of their request. It is just those four   with the asterisks totaling a smidge over $5,000  that are receiving full funding, and it is because   they received majority votes for full funding from  the committee and zero do not fund votes. Overall,   the grants total $56,650, which as you can see at  the bottom of the slide is about 10% of the total   amount allocated for our cultural funding grant  opportunities. As you'll recall, uh the other 90%   of those went the other 90% of those funds went to  our 31 operational grant recipients. Um and just   uh two more notes, cultural funding committee has  identified a few things about this process that   they'd like to try to improve and staff also have  some ideas. So, we'll be starting that discussion   at the committee's January meeting uh to improve  the next round of these. Uh and then finally,   I just wanted to give some love to a couple  ideas that received high scores from one or   two committee members but didn't average high  enough to uh receive overall funding. So, we   had one applicant who wanted to purchase a lot of  doulamers and uh teach uh how to play the doulamer   and early American uh folk music to elementary  classrooms and public workshops and senior   centers. Um, we had one local artist who wanted  to create along with members of the public a large   hourglass sculpture made of plant material while  uh helping normalize talking about grief. Um, and   we had so many other excellent capacity building  ideas with so many artists looking to attend   residencies to increase their abilities then come  back and share those additional skills and on and   on and on. We just have uh a wonderful community  bursting with uh creative people. Um there were   easily 40 ideas that could have received funding  from this program. So, financial considerations,   the cultural funding committee recommendations  are aligned with the budgeted amount. Uh,   legal considerations upon city council approval  of re of the recommendations, division staff will   draft contracts for the recipients which the law  department will review and approve as to form.   And, uh, I recommend that the uh, city council  approve the funding allocations recommended by   the cultural funding committee and authorize  the necessary signatures. Uh, Dominic Ghana,   chair of the cultural funding committee,  is also here and we stand for questions.   Thank you, Jessie. Questions for staff? I see  none. We'll open it up for public comment. I see   none. I'll bring it back to the bench. I wanted to  say thank you to Dom who has sat through multiple   of these meetings now. Um, but has worked on  the committee for multiple uh iterations and we   appreciate your volunteer service. With that,  Council Member Tuttle. Thank you. Thank you,   Jesse. And thank you for stepping in for Lindsay,  who is, by the way, watching online and said,   "You did a great job." And little baby Arthur  is taking a nap during all this. And so, you'll   have some fun when you get when you get back to  your phone. But we miss Lindsay. And but Lindsay,   you're in good hands. Jesse did a wonderful job.  Thank you for this. Thank you to the cultural arts   um funding committee. I truly appreciate it.  I've been a grant maker and I've been a grant   seeker and I understand sometimes that giving  away money is harder than applying for money.   So truly appreciate your time and effort. And  to all the artists that are receiving funding,   congratulations to all the artists who applied,  thank you for applying and thank you for   contributing to the vitality and the vibrancy of  our community. I am a proud member of the Witchaw   Arts Council Board of Directors and I talk about  the arts in Witchaw every day. So thank you again.   So excited to see this item. Appreciate all your  work, Jesse. Thank you, Council Member Johnson.   Thanks, Mayor Dom, Jesse, Lindsay online,  everyone involved. I just want to say I am   um continually more impressed and excited about  the work that you all do and these opportunities   you are providing. This has gotten better every  year I've been on council. I'm supportive of this,   but I just wanted to say thank you. I continue  to to love seeing these opportunities. The arts   are amazing, and I'm glad that we are continuing  to expand those in Witchah. So, thank you. Thank   you. With that, again, uh, congratulations  to all the recipients and thank you to the   entire staff and volunteer group. I move that  the council approve the funding allocations   recommended by the cultural funding committee  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please  call the next item. Proposed 2026 outsource   pavement preservation program and 2026 capital  improvement program funding for bike path repair,   paved alley repair, and traffic signal  detection replacement. Good afternoon,   mayor, members of the city council. Hello,  I'm Maron Henning with the Department of   Public Works and Utilities and today we are  seeking your approval of staff's proposed   2026 outsource pavement preservation  program and three additional maintenance   related projects that are new to the CIP  or capital improvement program in 2026. As a reminder, the city of Witchaw  owns and maintains more than 5200   lane miles of paved streets.  To put that in perspective,   that's roughly equivalent to a 24 foot wide  two-lane road stretching from LA to New York   City as the crow flies. In order to maintain  that vast network of pave assets, the city has   for many years allocated funds to leverage the  resources and expertise of private contractors.   Each year's corresponding outsource pavement  preservation program or OP3 as we like to call   it supplements but does not replace the critical  and highly reactive work performed by city crews. While the OP3 has been around for decades under  various different names, about 14 years ago   we made a very concerted effort to evaluate  and improve the way the program is managed.   The resulting changes have proven highly  successful and we've achieved very good results.   One of the most significant things we did was we  moved away from a purely pavement conditiondri   driven approach to one that's more focused on  returns on investments. Along the way in 2013,   we began extensive piloting to make sure  that the sorts of alternative treatments   we were contemplating were going to be  successful and effective in in Witchah.   We also early on identified thermal crack repair  as being probably the single most effective action   we could take to very rapidly improve conditions  across the entire street network. Thermal cracks   are those very wide, sometimes bone jarring  transverse cracks that span the full width of some   of our older asphalt streets. So, in addition to  the pilot projects, we also aggressively targeted   those thermal cracks over a 4-year period from  2014 to 2017. Around the same time, we also began   developing and refining a computerized decision  support tool to help guide future investment   decisions. and the proposed 2026 program today  and all programs since 2018 have been completed   using that tool or compiled. Sorry, they've been  compiled using that tool. To further explain our   transition from a pavementdriven approach to one  that is based more on returns on investments,   shown on the slide is a typical idealized pavement  degradation curve. On the y- axis is the pavement   condition index or PCI, which is a rating we  give every street in town from 0 to 100 with 100   representing a street in perfect condition and  zero representing a street that has completely   failed. On the x-axis is time in years. The curve  illustrates that as a street degrades over time,   we have opportunities to intervene using different  types of treatments depending on its condition.   At the top of the curve, treatments tend to be  very low cost and high yield in terms of the   life gained. But as a street degrades over time,  treatment options become sometimes exponentially   more expensive and the life expend extension  you're able to buy with those treatments is much   less per dollar spent. So when you're focused on  condition and your program is driven by condition,   you tend to focus on your worst streets and the  streets that are at the bottom of that curve. And   what you can miss are the needs along the curve  toward the top of the curve and the opportunities   to make really good investments when roads are  in much better condition. And that's what our   modeling has focused on over the years. Uh we're  presently at a 60/40 split. Uh through modeling   uh different uh combinations, we're at a 60/40  split with 60% of funds invested in preservation   treatments near the top of the curve and 40%  in mitigation treatments near the bottom of   the curve in an in an effort to optimize the  balance between those two competing needs. Next year's OP3 funding totals 16.35  million in the adopted CIP. It includes   $250,000 in grant funding awarded by the state  of Kansas via its connecting link program,   $14 million in uh street pavement  maintenance funding, and I do apologize   for the error on the slide. That should  be 14 million rather than 14.25 million.   and the remaining 2.1 million is from supplemental  concrete street pavement mitigation funding.   Overall, that represents an $850,000 increase over  this year's $15.5 million budget. As proposed,   the program will continue piloting color matched  crack seal on concrete streets. It will also   conduct a limited firsttime pilot of chip and fog  seal preservation on select residential streets. This is a summary of proposed expenditures by  district. It's divided into two components of the   CIP for the top half which is are traditional  street pavement maintenance and cclip street   rehabil rehabilitation items in the CIP. It's  important to note that those funds have been   allocated in proportion to the amount of all paved  streets in each district. This is also the funding   to which the 6040 preservation mitigation approach  specifically applies. For the bottom half,   which is the newer supplemental concrete  street pavement mitigation item in the CIP,   we are once again proposing that those  funds be allocated in proportion to the   amount of concrete streets in each  district. And selections for this   funding have been made using a worst  first approach within each district. We did examine an alternative approach  that would allocate supplemental concrete   mitigation funds on a worst first basis  citywide. Using that such an approach,   the work would be highly concentrated in  just two districts as shown in the table.   In terms of modeling, a fundamental kind of  underpinninging assumption in our DST is that   when the remaining acceptable service life of  a street reaches zero, the value of the street   also reaches zero and the PCI can continue  to degrade beyond that point, but but the   value and the remaining service life is remains at  zero. So because all of the the concrete streets   that would be worked on with with this funding  in each district presently are all at that RSL   equals0 mark already. Both of these approaches  yield equivalent results uh through the model. Uh, in 2026, as proposed, we'll be touching about  347 lane miles of the city's network. That's   far from the highest numbers on this chart,  but it's still nearly five times the amount   we were touching back in 2011 before we began  implementing the changes previously discussed. Here's a map showing the locations and  treatments proposed for 2026. Pending   your approval of the program, this map  will be posted online as a dynamic map   that will be searchable by our customers. We  will also post online the proposed document   that was included in your packet.  Toward the end of that proposal,   there is a street by street location listing for  each district. Uh so our customers will be able   to really drill down and see what might  be upcoming uh for their neighborhoods. talk a little bit about the treatments that  we'll be using in the 2026 program. They're   by and large the same ones we've we  used in 2025 because they've proven   uh very effective proceeding from least to most  invasive. We'll start with preservative seal   which is probably the least invasive treatment we  employ. It's performed on newer street surfaces as   early as about a year after they're constructed.  There's a component of asphalt called the maltting   fraction that imparts flexibility and adhesion  properties to the asphalt. And it actually   begins to diminish immediately after a road is  constructed. And as it diminishes over time,   the pavement becomes increasingly brittle and  you start to lose fines from the surface and   you start to see cracking develop. With  this seal though, we're able to restore   that molting infraction and keep the surface  flexible and more resilient for longer. So,   we like to get in as early as we can and and  get with this treatment because it serves to   greatly extend the life of the pavements.  There isn't a visual difference immediately   after this is applied, but there is  a noticeable dis difference over time   compared to services compared to surfaces  that do not benefit from this treatment. Next is pavement joint and crack seal. This  is arguably arguably the single best and most   cost-effective tool in our toolbox. It goes down  quickly. It has minimal impact on traffic and it's   highly effective at keeping water out which is  the number one enemy of our pavements particularly   here in Witchah where we can experience multiple  freeze thaw cycles sometimes in a single day. Next is a microing surfacing seal. This  treatment is used on both the preservation   and the mitigation sides. It's a thin lift  asphalt surface treatment about 38ighs of   an inch thick. It can be stacked in multiple  lifts if we need to. It performs best on lower   volume collector and residential streets  where we use it quite extensively. I want   to emphasize that applying microsurfacing is  a two-step process. The first step involves   making any necessary structural repairs  before the surface treatment is applied.   The during picture on the slide is representative  of a street that has received these structural   repairs in step one and is now awaiting the step  two surface treatment. There's typically a gap,   often a few months between those two  steps. But once the surface is completed,   the end result is aesthetically pleasing and we  get the benefits of reduced water penetration,   the correction of minor surface irregularities  and extended useful life of the pavement. Ultra ultra thin bonded asphalt surface or Ubass  is another thin lift asphalt surface treatment   similar to microsurfacing but more robust. It's  on the order of about 3/4 of an inch thick. It   goes on top of a special asphalt membrane that  provides a superior bond to the underlying   pavement. Consequently, it performs very well  on arterial and high volume collector streets.   It also involves the very same two-step process  with structural repairs typically occurring in   the spring or early summer and surface surfacing  typically following in the late summer or fall. For 2026, staff is propo proposing limited  pilot testing of chip and fog seal on select   residential streets. It's another thin lift  asphalt surface treatment that combines the   layers of liquid asphalt above and below a layer  of fine aggregate. Like crack seal, chip seal is   a tried andrue staple of the industry, but it's  sometimes problematic in urban environments due   primarily due to its macro texture and  application errors leading to aggregate   displacement during or after construction.  However, staff believes that combining a chip   seal with a fog seal and strict application  controls can preclude those issues and afford   the city an additional and highly costeffective  treatment that provides a superior seal against   water intrusion and extends the useful life of  low volume residential and collector streets.   This will also likely involve the same  two-step process that we discussed   before with a lag between structural  repairs and the surfacing to follow. Localized repair is a relatively small  but important component of our program.   It can really involve any number of things, but  essentially targets streets that are otherwise in   pretty good shape except for some isolated area  that is just problematic for whatever reason.   Typically, those relatively small areas  command an inordinate amount of attention   from our in-house in-house resources  to keep things safe and traversible,   but their size isn't sufficient for the  greater street to qualify for mitigation.   normally in the program. Localized repair  allows us to go in and strategically make   those limited repairs that ultimately benefit the  greater street as well as the overall network. Brick crosswalk improvements. We started this  several years ago as a pilot and it has proved   uh highly successful. When we started, we  had a number of severely deteriorated brick   crosswalks around town to the point that it  made sense to go in and fully replace them   with stamped colored concrete. It allows us to  retain much of the aesthetic appeal of brick,   but with the greater longevity of concrete. We've  reached the point now, though, that some of our   poorest brick crosswalks no longer warrant  full replacement. So, we're now performing   a combination of replacement with concrete for  some and partial repair with brick for others. Finally, full depth concrete repair. This is by  far the most expensive thing we do. It's on the   order of four or five times the cost of our  most of our most expensive asphalt mitigation   treatment. Many of the concrete streets in  town are more than 50 years old, so they   are increasingly becoming a bigger subset of our  poorest conditioned streets. But because they are   so very expensive to repair, it takes a long time  to get to and to get through them. Fortunately,   your inclusion of supplemental concrete street  pavement mitigation in the CIP last year and   this year has nearly doubled the pace at which  we will be able to address concrete streets. We have a few metrics that we use to track and  measure impact on the entire pave street network   over time. I will note that uh projections which  are represented by the dotted red line in these   charts are based on funding presently allocated  in the adopted CIP. In terms of as asset value   specifically, we're projecting that an upward  trend will continue and by 2032, we anticipate   our asset value will be about 14% higher than it  is today and in the vicinity of $1.14 billion. We also track remaining acceptable service  life. That also continues to trend upward.   We expect it to increase by about by  about 8% over the next several years. And finally, we track the number of lane  miles with remaining acceptable service   life above zero. That also continues to  be on an upward trend. We're expecting   about a 1.9% increase over the next several years. In addition to the 2026 outsource pavement  preservation program, we are seeking your   approval of three additional maintenance  related projects that are new to the CIP   in 2026. The first is for traffic signal detection  replacement which is allocated $256,000 in 2026.   This project will begin to replace  obsolete camera detection equipment   with serviceable radar detection  while sim simultaneously replenishing   our stock of working cameras for  emergency repairs down the road. Bike path repair is the first of two new CIP  projects created as part of this year's budget   savings effort that is allocated $78,000  in 2026 and intended to maintain levels   of service for bike path pavement repair  barring a need for emergency repair. staff   proposes to simulate formally insourced  reactive repair by utilizing a worst first   approach based on PCI and outsourcing  repair of the worst sections of the Ad   Astrobike path north of 14th Street North  between Green and Shitakqua and District 1. A paved alley repair is the third new CIP project  and the second one created as part of this year's   budget savings effort. It is allocated just  over $44,000 in 2026 and intended to maintain   levels of service for alley pavement repair.  The funding supports mitigation of existing   paved alleys only. It does not fund the paving of  unpaved alleys or the repaving of paved alleys.   staff proposes to simulate this formally insourced  reactive repair by utilizing a complaint driven   selection process prioritized based on severity.  Barring a need for emergency repair elsewhere,   staff proposes 2026 funds be used  to address the failed sections   of the alley located between Emporia,  Topeka, Dwey, and Lewis in District 1. So the adopted 2026 to 2020 2035 CIP  includes the following for 2026. 14   million for street pavement maintenance,  2.1 million for supplemental concrete   street pavement mitigation and 250,000 in  state reimbured Ccl rehabilitation funds.   The projects are recommended to be combined in the  2026 OP3 for a total budget of $16.35 million. The   adopted 2026 through 2035 CIP also includes  the following for 2026. 256,000 for traffic   signal detection replacement, 78,000 for bike  path repair, and 44,200 for paved alley repair.   Staff recommends initiating all three of those  projects at their full amounts. And finally,   staff recommends that the city council approved  the projects, adopt the resolutions, and authorize   the necessary signatures. And I'll gladly stand  for any questions. Thank you, Aaron. Questions   for staff, beginning with council member Hoheisel.  Thank you, mayor. Thank you, Erin, for that very   detailed uh presentation. Sorry for the length.  Uh, can we go back to slide 187 real quick? Okay. Um, so do you is this more I mean I know  we're putting more money into this. So is this   just the rise in cost of materials? Yeah, I would  say from you know from starting around 2020 we   had there the inflation has been crazy and that  I think that is mostly inflation outpacing the   increases. Yes. Okay. Uh and these numbers um  and I see the asteris next to there. So that is   including the extra $3 million that we're putting  in um for the supplemental concrete mitigation.   Yes. the 2.1 million. Yes. Okay. Yeah. 2.1. And  then prior to 2018, those numbers were impacted   by that arterial thermal crack repair effort  that we did uh on arterials and residential   streets. That really ballooned those numbers up  over that four-year period. Erin, these numbers   should start to creep back up though because  of the increased amount that we're putting in.   We're increasing the annual amount over the  next several years to the point where we get   to like a 20 $21 million program. Thank you.  Yes. Yeah. Okay. Appreciate that. Um, so the   list in here does not in include I mean the money  that we're putting in includes a supplemental   concrete mitigation, but the list in here does not  include it quite yet. The extra money that we're   putting in for residential concrete repair. The  list of locations or Yes. No, they're in there.   Okay. This is including that list. Yes. Okay. Um  the last question I have is I I get this quite a   bit. People asking when's my road getting paved.  Um, so do we have a tool that we can point to,   something that we can send them to on the website  to point at that, or is it kind of up in the air   until we get a little closer to uh, it's kind  of somewhere in between, I would say. But   um we are able to make projections and we do get  calls asking when is my street in the works and   we're typically able to look in the model and  give a two or three year range during which the   model is prioritizing repair of that particular  street that it's subject to change depending on   how things you know happen over time but we  are able to give at least that guidance. So   just keep sending them to you. Yes, sir. Okay.  Thank you. Before I go to Council Member Johnson,   can I have a follow-up question to this very slide  187? I think um city manager alluded to this,   but that jump in 2017, the thermal crack repairs.  Um can you address where were those dollars coming   from? Because that seems like a huge jump and then  it uh cuts in half. Can you talk about the um how   that was funded, the thermal crack repair? Sure.  Yeah. That that that was not representative of an   influx of additional funding. It was a a very uh  specific effort that we made. Um and it was very   inexpensive to do. We were looking looking for  the you know looking to have the single greatest   impact we felt like we could on the network over a  short time period. So we identified thermal crack   repair as being that and with this effort we  addressed just the thermal cracking. We did not   uh cover it with a surface a new surface which  dramatically reduced the cost of doing that. Uh   it went pretty pretty good through the residential  streets. Uh once we got onto the arterials though,   uh there was uh public reaction wasn't the  greatest. I think it wasn't aesthetically   pleasing. And so we had made a commitment back  then to no longer do those standalone thermal   crack repairs, but rather always incorporate them  with a surface treatment. Mayor, if I could maybe   supplement Erin's comments. Um, that jump is  also due to the sale of the Hyatt and the use   of the Hyatt proceeds. We had $10 million that,  if I remember right, it was $10 million of the 20   million that went to uh streets and I think it is  in that period as well. Maybe that is reflected in   those numbers. Yep. I apologize. So, there was  an increase in funding due to the sale of the   highend, right? sold in uh 2016 and so uh some of  the 2016 jump as well as the 2017 jump would show   the increases and I believe those thermal crack  repairs a majority of them were in district number   five, wasn't it? The thermal crack repairs were  really citywide. They're they're on really they   those only impact streets that were constructed  before the mid 1990s. Construction change city   changed the way it constructed streets around that  time and we're no longer seeing them be an issue.   But those older streets are all across town and  the thermal crack repairs that we did back then   uh we we expected to last you know 7 to 10  years. So they're all uh beginning to come due.   And if you know if we if we don't do a standalone  effort like we did before, it's going to take a   lot longer to to get around to address all those  when they do resurface. So those specific thermal   crack repairs back in 2017. You said 7 to 10 years  of a lifespan. They will now need to be refilled   or resealed again. They Yes, they will. They will  begin to resurface now. Yeah, they'll begin. Yeah,   council is what we anticipate and we're seeing  we're seeing it happen to a certain extent. So   again, if people have specific concerns in  any of the six districts regarding specific   areas of neighborhood, street or even arterial,  keep on sending them to the council members who   then will send them to you. Is that accurate?  Sure. They can contact us directly at 268413. Thank you, Eric. Council member Johnson. Thanks,  Mayor. Um, two things. One, in honor of Bob,   I think all of the stamped concrete should be  yellow, so it'll look like yellow bricks. Um,   the other one, I forgot to write the slide down.  Um, but my question is with the council action   today, there was two approaches, a district  approach and a city-wide approach on concrete.   Are are you asking for um a recommendation in the  council action or is there already a recommended   direction? Sorry, we we've proposed the district  the proportional by district and worst within the   district approach simply because it's consistent  with the traditional program. Okay. if the   citywide approach happened and the it looked like  it was just again I forget the slide number but   it looked like district one and three kind of  had like the worst citywide. So if we took that   approach and knock those off, what would be  left? Just the rest of the districts at those   lower levels. Does that make sense? So if the the  worst absolute worst citywide if we just went and   looked at it like that and then we just knocked  off district one and district three. Well, not   really. So there I think district one we're still  we still have maybe a few one or two streets,   not very many that are a PCI of 39. And then there  are streets that are PCI of 40. and district three   starts to come in then because district three  has streets with PCIs that are 40. And then as   you move up that the other districts come in and  you're looking at basically they're all the same   across the board and and the the PCI difference  when we're talking about one or two first,   you know, PCI points, it's it's really  within the margin of error. Uh you know,   most people aren't going to notice a difference  between those two streets for what it's worth.   Okay, thank you. Erin, could you go? Yeah. Um,  what's the next one after this? Or the what's   the one? No, the one before that, I'm sorry. I  just want to talk about what a change we've had   in our performance by based on not just what this  council has done, but the last few councils. When   we first put this model together, and Gary can  help me with this, we basically had a plateauing   and then a drop off. Um, so that we were we were  losing remaining acceptable service life and the   next one I think showed a similar the asset value  um I think was a slight increase or stable. No,   actually it dropped as well. Yeah, all of them  did. Yeah. And Aaron was actively involved in   preparing that. So we have really turned the  corner in terms of our approach and the amount   of money that has been invested in our street  assets and this was our very first um modeling   that we did um in terms of our our assets. So this  is I think a really significant story to tell for   I think a concern that has been expressed by our  residents for probably at least 15 years. So,   I I commend all of you for making a hard decision  to put this kind of money into our street network.   City Manager Leighton, a followup to that,  seeing this slide right here from 23 on the   jump goes even higher. And we have heard from the  communitywide survey, the number two top priority   is streets, which is really infrastructure. Um,  can you just address what are the policies that   got us to this place where we are putting much  more emphasis on street infrastructure? When I   arrived in 2009, we were putting about $4 million  into contractual street uh repair work. We're at   now 14 million, if I remember, going to rise to 20  21 million, something like that through the next   10 years. And it's so a it's a matter of the money  that is being put into it. B it's the techniques   and what the modeling does in terms of how what  streets that we are designating for repair. Um I   think those are two of the the major components  here that allow us to get to this point. Um I do have more questions. Sorry.  Um can you go back to slide number   191. I wanted to know the cost of some of these.  Um, one of the suggestions was uh when we have uh   signs that share that it's a two-part process  that it also shared uh with the community the   type of investments. So the dollars into those  investments. Can you address uh slide 191, 192,   and I think 193 approximate costs for something  like this uh from micro surfacing and then ultra   thin bonded asphalt surfacing? Can you give  an approximate amount? Uh like on a square   yard basis or Yeah, I'm sure. Can you give me  those roughly? I don't have them right here. And I think the next slide is chip and fog seal,  right? What would that cost? We're expecting that   to be roughly the same as the microsurfacing. But  hoping to get maybe a little more life out of this   treatment than we do microsurfacing. But we'll see  what happen. And this would be a pilot program,   right? Box seal. So it'd be about $14 per square  yard, very similar to microsurfacing ceiling.   Um, going back to slide number 191, I think again  I would encourage that there should be a sign that   shares not only that part two is coming, but  rather also what type of dollar amount that   means for the community. Um, because I know  that the city is very wide. We have over 5,000   lane miles of street that the city of Witchaw  must maintain. And I know that oftentimes your   neighborhood street becomes your priority, but  it has to be balanced between six districts. Um,   can there be maybe signage that not just says part  two is coming, but how much of an investment that   is? We can explore that. Uh, that it does seem  like that would be possible on the arterials in   particular. Well, yeah, and I think we're doing  a pretty good job on the arterials. Um, it's the   residentials where you're you're using uh where  I think you're using more microsurfacing seals,   right? That's true. This specific So, we probably  have to figure out is there something we can do   in terms of a move a removable number a gap  on a sign that we could adjust for each of   the neighborhoods. We'll we'll we'll have to  figure that out. And the challenge with the   neighborhoods in the past too has just been the  number of signs that would be required to get all   of the entry points. I think that's why for now  we've just been signing primarily the arterials   work on arterials. Even just for the arterials  again it's a reminder that again this council   um has really put an emphasis on street uh repair  and maintenance. it is the second highest priority   and when a street is being um invested in what  type of investment that actually is sure would   be helpful. Yeah, we will absolutely pursue that.  Thank you. I see no further questions for staff.   We will now open it up for public comment. I  see no public comment. I'll bring it back to   the bench. Council member Tuttle. Thank you,  Erin. I just want to say great job. I really   appreciate it. Um this is one of the things that I  hear about the most. Um and if you go to the city   of Witchaw website, you go to public works, you  go to streets, this document, the now it's 2025,   but the proposed if it I assume it passes today  will go on there. I keep a a copy in my office.   Um I refer it to it often. I refer to residents  to it often. It's just a great way for them to   be able to see what repairs are coming and where.  um especially if I can't get a hold of you know   someone in public works right away. So just a  great presentation today and thank you for all   your team does. This work really matters and you  know when people come home and um they have crack   seal and you know sometimes they're upset but  now maybe some great crack seal is coming. It's   just great to have you on speed dial. So thanks  for all your work. Thank you very much. Erin,   can you go back to slide number 204? I just want  to make sure that we have the accurate number. Um, our green sheet shows  for bike path on this slide   it says 78,000 but our green sheet says 82,000. Which one is accurate? The 78,000. Can we make sure that the green  sheet online reflects the accurate amount   also? We will. Thank you. With that, I will  move that the council approve the projects,   adopt the resolutions, and authorize the  necessary signatures. Second motion and   a second. Any further discussion? Council  member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Um, just a   minor technicality. I still um would prefer to  see the citywide approach on concrete roads. So,   I'd like to offer a substitute motion to approve  the projects with the city-wide approach on   concrete streets, adopt the resolutions,  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second substitute motion with a second. Uh can  we go back to the slide so that everyone is on   the same page regarding what was proposed  by council member Johnson? Council member   Tuttle. Council Johnson, what exactly are you  proposing? I'm sorry if I It's been a long day.   I maybe I don't The slide will show it. Okay.  So, you are prop your substitute motion is to   do what? Um it'll come up on the slide to  take the citywide approach which is right   there at the bottom. Where's first citywide?  Okay. I just wanted to make sure I understood.   Thank you, Council Member Johnson and staff  for putting this slide. I've always said that   equity matters and there are six districts  in this uh city of Witchah and it's important   that all six districts feel like they are getting  something when it comes to investment especially   when it comes to infrastructure. And again, this  approach, the current supplemental um motion or   the substitute motion would only look at worse  first citywide for only district 1 and three,   which then would not show district 2, four, five,  or six getting any investment regarding concrete   mitigation. So, I won't be voting yes on that.  Council member Tuttle. Oh, I'm sorry. I just   moved through. Council member Hoheisle. Thank you,  Mayor. Um I'm just pointing out that those are   that's where the worst streets are. So um equity  does matter. Um and making sure that people who   live outside the worst streets in in the city make  sure that they actually get taken care of before   people who have streets a little better I think is  equitable in my opinion. So just offering my two   cents there. Thank you. Can I have Aaron address  that? These are also the worst per district.   Is that accurate if you went with the yellow  approach instead of the red approach? Yes. Yes.   Council member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. I agree  with Council Member Hohheisle. Um I would also say   um even if District 1 was not getting all of that,  I would still feel the same way. I said the same   thing on dirt streets and District 1 was number  four on that and I supported doing that. also   um looking at being equitable. I know that um  Erin kind of talked about the scores, but if   you have a street with a crack and a street with  um a number of cracks and structurally is bad,   I would always prefer to do that one more than  just a street with a crack. Not saying every   district just has streets with a crack, but if  you have something that does score the worst,   I think you should take care of those no matter  where they are citywide. So that is why I made   the substitute and why I will support my motion.  Mayor Johnston, thank you. Obviously, it doesn't   matter much to me because it's only $27,000, but  I doubt if it even takes into a street by Brown   Park. I don't know if it does or not. You know,  Erin, I don't believe so. I would contend it's   as bad as anything in the city. It's completely  failed. So, I know we've got on the list for years   down the line, but it it's as bad as anything.  So, I I think we should do some in each district. With that, we have a substitute  motion by Council Member Johnson,   seconded by Council Member Hoheisle.  Madame Clerk, please open the role. Motion fails 4 to three. We're back to  the original motion. Motion by the mayor,   seconded by the vice mayor. Any further  comments? I see council member Johnson. Thanks,   Mayor. I'm voting for this. Um, I just  thought the other approach was better. I see no further comments. Madame  Clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Funding for 2026 dirt street paving   program. Good afternoon, Mayor Paul Gunzelman,  public works and utilities. For the record,   the item before you is funding for 2026 dirt  street paving program and the dirt streets in 2026   are located in district 1 and district six. There  are approximately 155 lane miles of dirt streets   in Witchah, many of which are in established  areas developed decades ago. Historically,   residential dirt streets have been paid paved  following a valid petition for public improvements   initiated by adjacent property owners. These  paving improvements have been financed with   special special assessment taxes levied against  each property within their improvement district.   The adopted capital improvement program includes a  dirt street paving program to gradually pave dirt   streets and established neighbor areas. There are  two priorities determining the order by which dirt   streets will be paved. The first priority is to  pave streets near schools and the second priority   is make paving improvements in disadvantaged  neighborhoods. All dirt streets within one block   of schools compose approximately 10 lane miles and  are expected to be completed in 2026. This is a   map showing the locations. As I mentioned before,  most are within district 6. There is one block uh   within district 1 that actually is not adjacent to  a school. So, we're we're moving on beyond those   in 2026. The 2026 through 2035 adopted capital  improvement program includes $2.5 million in 2026   for dirt street paving which would be financed  with local sales tax. Staff recommends initiating   the full amount at this time. And to take that one  step further, of the $2.5 million budgeted in 2026   for dirt street paving, approximately $200,000 is  budgeted for three street sections that are not   within one block of a school. The city circulated  surveys to determine adjacent property owner   interest in the paving of the street sections, and  there are three of them. The city received 100% of   the distributed surveys for each street section  in favor of the paving improvements which meets   a minimum 80% of property owner consent  required by the city council. With that,   it is recommended that the city council approve  the project and budget, adopt the resolutions,   and authorize the necessary signatures. And I  will stand for questions. Questions for staff? I see none. We'll open it up for public comment.  I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench. A majority of these reside in Council Member  Ballard or Johnson's district. Council member   Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. I'm very excited to  see District 6 being represented on here. Um,   I remember right when I got on council,  I think either Gary or Paul said that   district 6 has 40% of the unpaved roads,  which is still mind-blowing to me, but I'm   uh very excited to see so many of these roads  finally uh get paved. So, with that, I would   like to take staff's recommended action, approve  the budget or approve the project and budget,   adopt the resolution, and authorize the  necessary signatures. Second motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see none.  Council member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. I just   want to add one. I support the majority of those  being in another district. Um the other thing is   can we make sure that Senator Fa finds out  that 22nd Street will get paved because she   has let us all know about that for a number of  years now and I know she'll be happy about it. I see uh a motion and a second. Any further  discussion? I see none. Madame clerk,   please open the role. Motion passes 70.  Madame clerk, please call the next item.   Amendment number two and funding for First Street  Bridge over our Kansas River. Paul Gunzelman,   Public Works and Utilities. For the record, the  item before you, amendment number two and funding   for First Street Bridge over our Kansas River.  In October of 2024, the city council approved the   initial budget for multiple capital improvement  program projects, including the first street   bridge over the R Kansas River. In December of  2024, the city council approved use of progressive   design build project delivery for the project.  And in May of 2025, the city council approved   the selection of and initial agreement with  Doninger and Suns for design and construction. The project was presented to the Witchaw Bicycle  and Pedestrian Advisory Board on August 11th,   followed by um city council on August 19th, 2025,   approved the design concept and  contract amendment number one. public open house meeting was held November 3rd  um as well to present the updated concept. Um this   is an overview of the bridge. The bridge will be  replaced. Um it it it the concept includes a new   threelane bridge on street bike lanes and 11 ft  multi-use walkways on each side of the bridge.   This is a little bit closer up view  of it showing the two lanes eastbound,   one lane westbound, and a street section including  the 11 foot walkways on each side of the bridge,   buffered bike lanes, one for each direction,  two eastbound lanes, and one westbound lane.   Phase one of the first street bridge agreement  included bridge pier, beam and deck design,   utility coordination and relocation, public  engagement, and artist selection. Efforts   to date have reached the 60% design  stage. Scoping meetings and market   pricing exercises have resulted in a phase  2 guaranteed maximum price of 11,636,960 to complete design and construction of the  bridge. The GMP includes allowances that if   not used return to the city as project savings  upon completion of the project and construction   is projected to start after the first of the  year. Amendment number two has been prepared   for this work and the it the uh slide before  you show some of the conceptual drawings of   the bridge and the project will be returned back  to city council with uh the public art component   at a future date. During construction, we  propose a road detour. Um, south on Waco,   west on Douglas, back north on MLAN, and vice  versa. If you're going the other direction,   we had coordinated with our emergency services  to ensure that the road closure would not affect   response time negatively, and they had responded  that there will be essentially no difference in   current response times. We have also evaluated the  uh proposed bike path detour as the path will be   closed under first street during construction.  Um you can see that for each side of the river. The existing contract amount  with Doninger is 1,317,700. The cost of amendment two is 11,636,960 for a revised total contract  amount just shy of $13 million. The 2026 through 2035 adopted capital improvement  program includes LST funding in 2027 and 2028 for   a total of $12 million. In order to fund  the amended contract and revise budget,   staff recommends the following adjustments to the  CIP based on current project schedules for the   Second Street Second Street project from Maine to  St. Francis. In essence, we would like to move the   funding in 2028. Um, I'm sorry, we Yes, we would  like to the funding in 2028 for the first street   bridge needs to be moved up to 2026 and we intend  on offsetting that with the second street project,   still leaving $2 million in 2026 for the Second  Street project to move forward with design. The   proposed change shifts the funding between the  projects to ensure that the total annual capital   improvement expenditures for LST funded projects  remain as adopted in the 2026 through 2035 CIP. Additionally, we recommend doing  the same thing for the public art   through general obligation bonds  in 2027 in the amount of $400,000. And in 2028, $200,000 are programmed  for the First Street Bridge. In order   to fund the amended contract and  revised budget, including art,   staff recommends the following adjustments to  the CIP based on current project schedules for   the bridge and funding allocated for fire  stations public art. The proposed changes   to shift the funding between projects ensure  that the total annual CIP expenditures for   general obligation funded projects remain  as adopted in the 2026 through 2035 CIP. As mentioned before, the existing contract  amount with Doninger is $1.3 million. Phase   two amendment a little over 11.6 6  million for a total of 12,954,660. the existing budget approved earlier  this in October 2024 of $ 1.5 million   the local sales tax funding in the 2026  adopted budget of $12 million plus the   general obligation bond funings for a  total project budget of 14.1 million. It is recommended that the city council approve  amendment number two, budget adjustments and   revised budgets, adopt the amending resolution  and authorize the necessary signatures. And   as mentioned before, we plan to or Doninger  will plan to begin construction of the bridge   um after the first of the year. Um they  had submitted for some permitting that   u as the core reviewed those they had a few  items to address. Those have been addressed and   have sent back to the core for final approval.  And once we know their start time, we will let   um folks that use the R river um know um let  them know when we plan to lower the river so that   activities will no longer be allowed. And with  that, I will stand for any questions. Thank you,   Paul. Questions for staff, beginning with Vice  Mayor Johnston. Thank you, Mayor Paul. Thank you.   appreciate it. Uh, this bridge is used by my  wife and I as a turnaround point for our bikes.   It's really hard when it's only about three feet  wide, easy to fall. So, I appreciate that. Um,   the public art, is it part of this the  dollars you mentioned here? It it will   be that is part of their their contract. Yes.  Okay. I I would just like to encourage that as   I go to other cities over the river, there's  some really cool uh LED lighting on bridges   and stuff and structures on bridges. Just art  council look at that and uh consider it. So,   some really good opportunities here since it's  so prevalent right in the middle of our city. I   actually want a follow-up question to that. What  is being allocated for the $600,000 in public art   for the bridge? That is yet to be determined. Um I  think they have um the artist looking at that now,   but it hasn't been determined what what type of  art will be utilized yet and that's part of the   project, part of the process we are going through  at this time. I'm a little concerned about that.   Um there is already public art um on the Douglas  Street Bridge. Uh, one of the questions that was   asked when this was presented months ago was the  cohesion between what's at the Douglas bridge with   this first street bridge or um if there would  be a new idea. However, I feel like the 600,000   that includes a consultant. Is that correct?  Correct. Yes. Is this an out ofstate consultant? No. So, I have heard ideas Um again this is  abudded next to exploration place and the new   exploration place EP2 playscape. So my question  then is how can you bring cohesion into what is   already being u a multi-million dollar investment  um with this first street bridge which is another   $14 million investment right and we have been um  in coordination with EP expiration place as well   um as you may notice that we on that portion of  the bridge itself um we're you know how we connect   into the paths Um, I believe we're going to have  stairs going down instead of paths going up. So,   we have been coordinating with the adjacent  property owners. I understand what you're saying   about public art. We also have the, you know, the  art along um along the river adjacent to River   Vista as well. So, throughout that whole corridor  um we need to look at all of that to make it   understand your your um request for cohesiveness.  Yes. And I think in addition to the cohesion of   you can stay on the river maybe the bike path um  proposal. The next one this is fine. Um I think   that what Vice Mayor Johnson has alluded to is  there are other opportunities for public art that   include lighting um that should be explored.  And I don't know how far in the process uh we   already are regarding public art. Um but again  I feel like oftentimes people won't know about   it until we come to final approval of the actual  art. I want the process to be now where people   are engaged in it and one of those stakeholders  literally is right there which is exploration   place. Um so I want to make sure that their voice  is also being um heard at the table. um slide. Oh,   we have multiple questions. I'll come back to my  question. Council member Ho Heisel. Thank you,   Mayor. Uh can we go back to the slide where it  shows the walking paths on both sides? And yes,   this one. And I think I brought it up last time  as well. Is this the reason that it's a three   lane is to make sure that we have both walking  lanes and bike lanes on there? Part of that as   as uh Doninger was doing some investigative work,  we had done some traffic counts. We had done a   pilot project or um you know as they were doing  the work, we we had reduced um first re bridge   to one lane each direction. Um there is a heavy  southbound to eastbound movement in the morning   and we believe we need to have the two eastbound  lanes to accommodate that. In the evening,   it's the same movement, but they're westbound  to northbound. And if you look at this, we can   carry the one lane across. There are the heavy  right turn movements um that return back to the   northwest part of town after um in the afternoons  after their work days. We have one lane. It's not   shown on this, but as you cross MLAN Boulevard,  um, First Street narrows down to one lane as   you approach Synica as well. So, we believe one  westbound lane across a bridge will serve serve   the amount of traffic that is going across there.  Now, I have I have a bridge just like this in my   district. Yes. Yeah. But it's also one of the more  um the ones that I get more of the complaints on   the Harry Street Bridge. So, right. Um yeah,  I'm just I'm looking at it and just wondering if that's the best move for this particular  bridge. Um just want to point that out that I get   quite a bit of complaints about the Harry Street  bridge out there and it's designed similarly. So,   can you address more of those concerns, Council  Member Hois? Um, confusion. There's a lot of   confusion with it. I know I've talked to Gary  about it quite a bit. Um, that that's really kind   of the main thing. It does narrow down because  I believe Harry is two lanes both ways. So,   it does narrow down going across the bridge, which  I think this might be a little different. I might   but Sorry. I wanted to butt in real quick because  we've had conversations for a long time about that   and I wanted to add something to that. Sorry,  Paul, if you don't mind. Harry Street is a true   threelane bridge. This is a little bit different  because we've got two lanes in one direction,   one in the other. And I don't know if you  recall the first time Paul talked about this,   he explained really well and he did again of  the reason for that. It's not traditional.   Harry Street is a traditional three-lane bridge.  It's like a three-lane roadway. We've talked about   we have watched traffic and monitored traffic  since the very beginning. As you know, when we   were talking about the design concept, there were  folks that were concerned that we were going from   a five lane to a three lane. I would tell you uh  just to put a little bit of a finer point on this,   if you go east of that bridge, uh it's either four  or five lanes. It does not need to be. That's the   other part of it. We're not planning to narrow  that down anytime soon, but the traffic counts   aren't there. That bridge has been in service  for quite a while. We have watched traffic. We've   monitored traffic and it's working extremely well.  In our opinion, from a traffic safety standpoint,   I don't doubt that you still hear some concerns,  but from our standpoint, it's working really   well. I can appreciate that. And maybe just  my colleagues take a drive down there sometime   between MLAN and and uh Broadway essentially or  crossing the river there. Just see what you think.   Council member Johnson. Thanks, Mayor. Um, I was  just going to add I like the idea of encouraging   some lighting to whatever artists might do some  work. And then also, um, looking at cohesion, what   I think I heard from the mayor and vice mayor is  since there's a playscape there, having a zipline, council member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. I just  wanted to add that there is quite a significant   group that has uh been working on the art for this  um project and making some really good progress.   So I think they've been in contact with everybody  in the area to include them in the conversation.   Thank you. I just want to make sure I know that  Exploration Place is literally right there. Um, in   addition, there are a lot of improvements that are  happening in that area. So, the more conversations   and collaboration with those individuals would be  very beneficial. Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank you,   Mayor. Council member Hohheisel. I do use that  bridge quite a bit from the clinic when I head   south. It's my preferred bridge and the traffic  moves really well there. Um, I I don't see any   problem with it. I think it's it's a good design.  So, might be confusing to some people, but I think   it's a good design. And now I just want to  go back to slide number 232. Um, since you're   moving some dollars from one project to another,  can you explain this second street Maine to St.   Francis project? Yes, we have that uh in design  currently. um that would reconstruct second street   um from Maine to St. Francis. It would the concept  included a more a robust let me say or safer   on street bike lane as it's only on one side of  the roadway now. Um but this would be a complete   uh pavement replacement, sidewalks and um bicycle  lane and it would remain as a oneway. Yes,   it would remain as oneway. Yes. On secondary on  Second Street. Yes. And again, you're allocating   dollars basically just moving it from one year to  another. We are. Yes. Correct. And then as we go   through the CIP process this year, if there's an  opportunity to move that back up, we will look at   that. But we have been working with our uh finance  department as we as we prepared this. Thank you,   Paul. Um, and one final question. I asked  this question of the city manager. Um,   what is the city's investment into exploration  placecape? Mayor, we don't have a direct um   contribution for the playcape itself. However,  in support of the project, I believe in 2024,   the city council approved a million dollars to go  into sidewalk improvements and uh improvements to   the parking lot, expansion of the parking lot.  Uh that uh was I think originally programmed   for 2025, but it's a carryover in our in our CIP  and I think that's planned for Yes, we we have   a consultant working on design on that project  right now. So, yes. So a million dollars towards   basically in support of the project. So the city's  contribution to exploration place playscape or   EP2 is sidewalk improvements and parking lot  expansion of a million dollars. Yes, that was   negotiated with the director and and the board.  Um they actually asked for significantly more   contribution and we said that it was probably most  appropriate for us to help with uh infrastructure.   Thank you. I see no further questions for  staff. We will open it up for public comment. Good afternoon. I'm Alan Kaylor and I still  live in district 5 and am vice chairman of the   uh bicycle and pedestrian advisory board. I wanted  to come actually and just uh commend uh the staff   uh Paul and uh James Wagner who worked on this  uh for their work on this. Uh they originally   brought this to the bike ped board and uh they  their original proposal was for the three traffic   lanes. My understanding was that was based on the  motor vehicle traffic flow not on a consideration   for the for the bike lanes. uh and the bike ped  board had frankly probably some pretty confusing   uh comments and thoughts about uh ways to improve  it. Uh Paul and James came back with what I think   uh is some significant uh safety improvements for  everybody using it, motorists as well as people   biking and walking. And uh I fully support uh  the uh the proposal as it stands and the bike   ped board unanimously recommended it. So, thank  you. Thank you, Alan. Any further public comment?   I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench. This  resides in Council Member Ballard's district. Thank you, mayor. I move to approve the  amendment number two, budget adjustments   and revised budgets. Adopt the amending resolution  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please  call the next item. 2026 insurance program. Good afternoon, mayor, city council. I'm Heather  St. Pierre, Department of Finance, and I'm here to   present the 2026 insurance program. Finance staff  are responsible for protecting city assets by   identifying and mitigating risks and appropriately  ensuring all of our assets against loss. City code   authorizes the purchasing manager to negotiate  the purchase of insurance coverages subject to   ratification by the city council. Risk management  began preparations for renewals this summer   by collaborating with departments regarding  insurable interests and appropriate coverages.   The city works closely with IMA,  our local brokerage partner,   to identify potential insurance carriers,  negotiate rates, and advise on terms most   beneficial to the city. Most policy coverages  remain unchanged, and many have experienced   minimal rate changes. Cyber coverage, group  health stop-loss, and workers compensation   excess have cost increases. Rate changes are  due to insurable values, market conditions,   and the city's experience. With regard to  excess liability, the city will maintain a   $2 million self-insured retention with coverage  limits remaining at $10 million. Using a tiered   method with Safety National and Obsidian, the  2026 premiums have been quoted at $779,917. With regard to property, the city ensures over  $1.6 billion in property assets and maintains a   $350 million loss limit spread in layers through  several carriers. New utility infrastructure and   building improvements reflect the largest changes  for 2026. Coverage is provided through a layer   appro layered approach again um for cost reduction  purposes. Travelers Insurance will continue to   provide the primary $100 million in policy limits.  STAR, CHUB, and HICOX will provide the other   layers to the $350 million loss limit. Combined  premiums for 2026 will total nearly $5 million.   And with that, staff recommends the city  council receive, file, and ratify the 2026   insurance program and authorize staff to make  any necessary final modifications to secure the   coverage. And I'm happy to answer any questions.  Thank you, Heather. Um, from this presentation,   it looks like one, two, three, four, five, six  items, seven, eight, eight items received a   cost increase. So, insurance increased. We  get this a lot from our community members,   whether it's property taxes, insurance, yes. Cost  of living. Uh can you address the is this what   you're seeing year-over-year these increases?  Some of them are doubledigit increases. Yes,   as with most things, especially where property is  concerned, it's hitting us all. Um the property   market is still pretty hard. Um we have made some  significant investments into some of our current   infrastructure which has increased the costs um  with regard to like workers compensation excess   um maybe liability wage increases can affect those  because they increase carriers potential risk and   so the reward for us for that is incre an increase  in premiums. Um, so we were we were expecting some   increases this year. And you mentioned one  of them being the property insurance that   increased by 34%. Is that accurate? Um, and can  you address, you were saying that it's because   we have new facilities. Yes. And at the time that  all of this was written, I will tell you that the   five million the nearly $5 million premium does  include the cost to ensure the new water treatment   center that now that will not be coming on board  126. So we will see some savings because we will   not be insuring something that the city doesn't  currently occupy. Um, so that number is elevated,   but that's where we were at when we were getting  ready for our presentation. So the city will not   incur the insurance cost of a building that is  not currently under the ownership of the city.   That is exactly right. So only when the city takes  ownership will insurance then be levied on that.   Absolutely. Thank you, Vice Mayor Johnston. Thank  you. Quick question on the cyber insurance. Yes.   uh up 17%. Yes. Any any related to our cyber  incident? It's it's possible. Possible. It's   it's possible. Okay. Did we recover maybe for  the same manager? Did we recover anything from   that incident? We absolutely did. We did.  Okay. I do not remember the exact number. It's roughly I don't want to give you the wrong  number. I think it was about 80 to 90% of our   claim. If I It was We did We did well. Okay.  Good. Okay, thank you. One more question um   regarding lawsuits against the city of Witchah.  Yes. Um which one would that fall under and how   much of an increase that receive? That would be  um the federal excess liability and it looks like   10%. Yes. Yes. Um again the city has a lot of  employees and also a lot of equipment. Um And   so can can you address if that's normal 10% or is  that due to more lawsuits or claims? I would say   it's pretty normal year-over-year. Um it kind of  all because insurance is all interrelated. It's   kind of worldwide, nationwide, and it will also  be reflective of things that are happening maybe   in other communities. Hot button topics. All  of the same carriers basically work out of the   same markets. And so we'll we might see smaller  increases while larger entities will receive a   larger increase based off of their experience. Um  but I would say the 10% is within industry norms   and industry standards. Mayor, can I add something  onto that? Heather, correct me if I'm wrong,   but this is for excess excess coverage and we  didn't get into excess coverage in 2025. That's   correct. So there were no claims under this  policy that would have I think affected it. Thank you. I see no further questions.  Thank you again, Heather. We'll open it   up for public comment. I see none. I'll bring  it back to the bench. I will go ahead and move   that the council receive, file, and ratify the  2026 insurance program and authorize staff to   make any necessary final modifications of  coverage details to secure coverage. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item.   State Legislative Lobbying  Selection and Agreements. Good evening, Mayor Council. Uh Jim Jonas  here with the uh city manager's office here   to present on state legislative  lobbying selection and agreement.   Uh, as you know, the city worked closely with  expert legislative and lobbying professionals   in Topeka uh to help us closely monitor and  shepherd legislation and policies of interest   both during the legislative session and year  round. And to this end uh on October 1, 2025,   the city released a request for proposal for state  legislative consulting and lobbying services.   There were six responses and the staff screening  and selection committee uh which a few of you   sat on reviewed the submissions and interviewed  two firms on November 25th, 2025. Based on the   interview, the firm's experience, qualifications,  understanding of the objectives and best valuers   public affairs LLC was recommended by the SSSC.  Among other duties, the services to be provided   by Jener Swatti include working with the  city council staff, department directors,   and regional partners to build and manage a state  legislative agenda, monitor state legislation   affecting the city's interest, and serve as  a liaison among the city, state legislators   in the governor's administration. Fees for the  state legislative professional services contract   are not to exceed $90,000. That's 84,000 in fees  and 6,000 for administrative fees uh expenses,   sorry. Funding for the project will be allocated  from the 2026 adopted budget and the contract is   for one year with four one-year options to renew.  It is recommended that the city council approve   the selection of Jen Kurswatti Public Affairs  as the city state lobbyist and approve the   associated contract. and I'm here for questions.  Thank you, Jim. Questions for staff? I see none.   I will have one question. Um I know that we get  usually a weekly uh recap um of what happens in   the legislative session. Will we be receiving that  as part of this contract? Um can you also address   um this is only for state issues, not federal  issues. Is that accurate? That's correct. and   we have a federal lobbyist in addition to these  folks. Um, and for the record, I know that council   member Hohheisel and I talked about this regarding  the grocery sales tax and the exemption of it um,   being one of the items to be discussed and  added to the legislative agenda. Absolutely.   Thank you. I see no further questions. We will  open it up for public comment. I see none. We'll   bring it back to the bench. With that, uh, council  members who sat on the, uh, selection committee,   would you like to move it? Council member  Glascott. Mayor, I'll make the motion the city   council approve the selection. Um, is the state  lobbyist and the associated contract. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Con 2025-136. Conditional use requests  in the city for group residents limited   in the single family residential district  generally located on the west side of North   Oliver Avenue and 1,00 ft north of East 21st  Street North at 15 North Crestview Lakes Drive.   Hello, Scott Wadel from the planning  department. So for this case, as you heard,   the applicants requesting a conditional use  to allow group residents limited. This case is   being heard tonight because the district advisory  board and the planning commission recommendations   for approval are slightly different. In terms  of the subject site, it's generally located to   the north and west of the intersection of Oliver  and 21st Street. It's just over one acre in size,   consists of one ownership parcel, is developed  with a single family dwelling that is currently   boarded up, and is owned SF5 single family. The  applicant has indicated they would like to use   the property for a home plus group home, which  is a resident or facility for care of not more   than 12 individuals who are not related and need  personal care and/or supervised nursing care to   help with limitations in daily activities. A draft  site plan was included as part of the application   and is attached to the staff report. It shows  that the access to the site would remain off of   Oliver Avenue. In terms of context, properties to  the north, south, and west are all zoned SF5 and   developed with single family homes. Property to  the east across Oliver is zoned SF5 and B multif   family with a CUP and is developed as an apartment  complex. The staff report provides additional   information on parking. On November 3rd, the DAB  reviewed the request and recommended approval.   That vote was 70. The DAB recommended conditions  are listed in the staff report. At that meeting,   one member of the public spoke on this item  with concerns about early trash pickup and   proper screening. On November 13th, the MAPC held  the public hearing for the case and recommended   approval subject to the conditions listed in  the staff report. At the MAPC meeting again,   one member of the public spoke on this item  with similar concerns to those expressed at   the DAB. The MAPC and recommendation is similar  to the DAB recommendation, but differs in the   following ways. The MAPC recommendation would  require that trash collection could only occur   between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. And the  MAPC recommendation would allow commercial trash   service. The DAB recommendation limited it  to would limit it to residential service,   so no dumpsters. No protest petitions were  received against the application. Therefore,   it can be approved with a simple majority.  Recommended action is that city council adopt the   findings of the planning commission and approve  the requested conditional use with the MAPC   conditions, authorize the necessary signatures,  and instruct the clerk to publish the resolution   after approval. Again, would just require a simple  majority of four of seven votes. Alternatives   include overriding the MAPC and denying the  requested conditional use. That would require   five of seven votes. And alternatively, you can  override the MAPC adopt alternative findings and   approve it per the DAB. That would require five  of seven votes. Or as always, you can return it   to the MAPC for additional consideration. So,  and note about process. city council policies   at the public hearing for this item has occurred  at the planning commission and the city council   does not typically receive public comments  on zoning items. So with that, I'll take you   through the graphics. Here's the aerial. Here's  the zoning map. Again, was described a little bit   earlier. Here's the map from the comprehensive  plan showing that this location is recommended   for both employment and residential. Here is a  map from the Northeast Heights neighborhood plan   that was developed and it recommends residential  in this location. Here's a site plan that was   submitted as part of the application. Here's  the notification and protest. And again,   no protests were received. Here are photos from  the site. This is looking across the street. This   is the structure on the site. This is looking at,  I believe, the rear of it. Actually, I take that   back. Yes, it is the rear. This is looking to  the north side of the structure to the south. This is the front. And with that, I'll stand  for any questions. Thank you, Scott. Questions   for staff? I see none. This resides in Council  Member Johnson's district. Thank you, Mayor. Um,   we had really good discussion at DAB about this  and since then I have talked with the leadership   of the Cresby Lakes uh HOA. Um, which is leading  to one small change in what I will move to do. Um,   again, there was a lot of good communication  between the applicant and the neighborhood. So,   I think everybody's happy in this case. Uh,  with that, I would move that city council   approve per the DAB recommendation with um  some modifications to override the MAPC,   adopt the findings of the district advisory  advisory board with the exception of number six,   which is the fencing. They are working that out  together. Approve the current conditional use   with the DAB recommended conditions again with the  exception of number six with a modification that I   will describe in a moment. authorize the necessary  signatures and instruct the clerk to publish the   resolution after approval. In addition to the  DAB recommended conditions, I would like to add   uh the following condition. Any group residents  limited use at the site must be licensed with the   state of Kansas as a home plus. In support of this  motion, I offer the following findings. The DAB   recommended conditions will help mitigate possible  noise impacts adjacent and two adjacent neighbors   and the additional condition will help mitigate  potential impacts to neighboring properties by   limiting any group residents, limited use to a  facility licensed by the state of Kansas for care   in a small group setting. This would prevent  the property from being used for fraternity,   sorority, or many other uses that fall under the  definition of group residence limited. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. PUD 2025-22 zone change request in the city  from single family residential district and   limited commercial district to PUD number  151 to create the Trinity Park PUD generally   located on the northeast corner of South  Hoover Road in West 47th Street South.   Hello Scott Wadel from the planning  department again. So, as you heard,   the applicant's requesting to reszone the subject  site from SF5 to planned unit development,   which is custom zoning. This item is being heard  because protests have been received within the   notification area and also because this item was  deferred to the state. In terms of the request,   the applicant has indicated they're requesting  the zone change in order to allow for duplexes   and non-standard setbacks on the subject site.  In terms of the property, the site is generally   located to the north and east of the intersection  of 47th and Hoover. The subject site is made up   of multiple ownership parcels which were platted  for residential development. It is approximately   36 acres in size and currently undeveloped. In  terms of context, properties to the north are   zoned SF5 and currently being developed with  single family homes. properties to the south   across 47th Street are located in the county  unincorporated county zoned SF20 and LC. One   of the properties developed with is developed  with a single family house. The others are in   agricultural use. Property to the east across MS  Mitchell floodway is zoned LI limited industrial   and developed with a Cedric County public works  yard. properties to the west across South Hoover   are located in the unincorporated county and  zoned SF5 and LC and are in agricultural use.   The staff report provides additional information  about the proposed custom development standards.   In terms of review, on October 23rd, the planning  commission held the public hearing and recommended   approval of the zone change request. Per the staff  recommendation with an additional provision that   all the lots in parcel one that front West 46th  Street South from South Hoover Road to South   Door Street shall be limited to single family  dwellings. The vote on that was 13 to zero.   Two members of the public spoke in opposition to  the request with concerns of increased traffic,   pedestrian safety, and increased density. On  November 5th, the district advisory board reviewed   the request and recommended approval of the zone  change request. Similar to the MAPC, the vote was   5 to three. Five members of the public spoke in  opposition to the request with similar concerns   expressed as at the MAPC meeting with the addition  that they were concerned about the transient   nature of rental homes. 30 protests were received  against this application with 17 of those in the   calculation area. The protest petitions added up  to 33% of the total protest area which exceeds the   state threshold of 20%. Therefore, any approval  of a zone change will require six of seven votes.   In terms of council action, it is recommended  that the city council adopt the findings of   the planning commission, approve the planning  commission recommended PUD, place the ordinance   on the first reading, authorize the necessary  signatures, and instruct the city clerk to   publish the ordinance after approval on the  second reading. That would require six of seven   votes. Alternatives include the following.  You can override the planning commission,   adopt alternative findings, and deny the PUD.  Another one is that you can override the MAPC   adopt alternative findings and approve  the PUD with modified text. Or as always,   you can return this case back to the MAPC for  additional consideration. That would require four   of seven votes. And again, the same note about the  process and the public hearing occurring at the   MAPC meeting. So with that, I'll take you through  some of the graphics. So here's the aerial. Here's   the zoning map which was described earlier.  Here's a map from the comprehensive plan showing   that new employment is actually recommended  for this general area. Here's the layout uh   and the graphic for the PUB that was submitted  by the applicant as part of the application.   Here's the protest map. You'll notice there's  red showing a valid protest. There's yellow   indicating that there was an invalid protest that  was perhaps missing a signature was submitted   late. And then there was blue where there were  protests outside of the calculation area. Again,   it exceeded the 20% threshold. Here are  photos from the site and surrounding area. And with that, I'll stand for any questions. Thank  you, Scott. Questions for staff. I'm actually just   curious because there were some protests um  next to this land which were the residents.   Um, can you explain what some of the major  concerns were? Um, yes. I believe uh traffic   and also the presence of uh duplexes as opposed  to single family development are the ones that   uh resonated the most or came up the most at the  MAPC meeting. Thank you. Council member, I have no   comments. I will have an a amended motion after  public or I guess we don't have public comment.   So, okay. Um I have spoken with the applicant  and I've also spoken with the neighbors. Um we   had like a neighborhood town hall over on 46th  Street a couple weeks ago. And if we go back to   the let's go the first slide maybe. Yeah. To give  a better view. And so the MAPC recommendation as   presented by them would be create a buffer of  single family homes along 46th on the south   portion that's facing the current single family  homes. And then when working with the neighbors,   the number one concern that I heard was traffic.  So a a few years ago or last year, there was a   death of a child over on 44th Street. Um and so  the neighbors are very concerned about increased   traffic in the neighborhood. Um right outside of  the um view of this map is a elementary school in   the Hazville school district. And so in working  with the neighbors and working with the applicant   um and with the buffer my you know concern would  be traffic in the area. If you look to the right   that's one of the city's uh parks. It's Alice Wall  Park. That's where um one of our tree orchards   are. And so uh the intention is that in the future  other residents could also be visiting this area   um to visit the kind of a nature preserve  right along there. And so in trying to reach   a compromise with security as the main paramount  concern, it would be to pave 47th Street and the   development cannot happen unless 47th was paved up  to Clara Street. Um the justification for that is   currently if you lived if you're let's say moving  on South Clara Street there would be no incentive   to go to 46th Street all the traffic additional  traffic would come down 46th Street. This would   allow the opportunity for traffic to come along  47th Street and maybe reduce congestion within   the neighbors or the neighborhood currently um  as platted. And so, uh, with that, and I think   I hit all the points that I had on here as well,  um, I would move that the city council adopt the   findings of the MAPC, approve the PUB amendment as  recommended by the MAPC with modified conditions,   which I'll list in a minute, place the ordinance  on first read, authorize the necessary signatures,   and instruct the city clerk to publish the  ordinance after approval on second reading.   My motion includes the following modifications to  the PUD language. The following general provision   is added to the PUD. It would state that no  building permit shall be issued for residents   in this PUD unless 47th Street is paved from  Hoover to Clara Street. Support of this motion,   I offer the following findings. The additional  requirements will help reduce the potential for   detrimental effects to nearby properties.  The additional requirements will also help   to address some of the public input received  in opposition to the zoning change. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the roll. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Zone 2025-49 with con 2025-140. zone   change from single family residential district to  two family residential district with a conditional   use to permit multif family development generally  located on the west side of North Arapjo Avenue   and within one quarter mile north of West Central  Avenue at 749 North Arapjo Avenue Scott Wel from   the planning department again so for this case as  you heard the applicant is requesting two things   first is a zone change from SF5 to TF3 the second  is for a conditional use to allow multif family   site is being heard today because protests have  been received against the application. In terms of   the request, the applicant has indicated they're  requesting the zone change and conditional use in   order to construct a duplex on the rear of the  westmost portion of this property. In terms of   the property, it's located at 70749 North Arapjo,  which is generally to the north between, sorry,   generally to the north of Central between the MS  Mitchell floodway and I235. The subject site is   approximately a little over a half an acre in  size, consists of two ownership parcels. The   east portion of the property is developed  with a house. The west portion is vacant.   In terms of context, properties to the north,  east, and south are zoned SF5 and developed with   single family dwellings. Property to the west is  the MS Mitchell floodway. And a note that there   are three TF3 zoned properties within 800 ft of  the subject site. In terms of the staff report,   it provides additional information about  screening and landscaping. In terms of review,   on November 3rd, the district advisory board  reviewed the request and recommended approval   of both the zone change and the conditional use  subject to conditions listed in the staff report.   That vote was seven to zero and there were no  public comments at that meeting. On November 13th,   the planning commission held the public hearing  for this item and recommended approval the same   as the DAB and that vote was 13 to zero and  again there were no public comments at that   public hearing. Three pro protests were received  against the application with one being valid and   within the protest area that equaled 7%  of the protest area and does not exceed   the 20% threshold. Therefore, the request  can be approved with a simple majority. So,   the recommendation is that the city council  adopt the findings of the planning commission,   approve the requested zone change and conditional  use, authorize the necessary signatures, and   instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance  and resolution after approval. Again, this   would require four of seven votes. Alternatives  include overwriting the planning commission and   denying the zone change and conditional use.  That would require five of seven votes or of   course you can always return it to the MAPC for  additional consideration and that would require   four of seven votes. And just a same note about  process and that the public hearing occurs at   the planning commission. Here's the zoning map  which was described. Here's the comprehensive   plan showing residentials recommended. Here's  the site plan uh that was submitted by the   applicant as part of the application. Here's the  protest and the notification areas shown. Again,   the protest was equal 7% and there were a couple  of invalid protests that were received. Here are   photos from the site and uh the surrounding  properties. This is looking to the rear of   the property where the duplex is proposed.  And with that, I'll stand for any questions.   questions for staff. I see none. This is in Vice  Mayor Johnston's district. Uh thank you, Mayor.   Uh by the way, this is just a few houses from the  best Halloween display in the Witchah on Arapjo.   So, side note there. Um I I this is a great place  for a duplex and back of a lot because it's a deep   lot. It backs up to the big ditch. Um, I think  we've seen one of these before. Um, the second one   we've seen, we'll probably see more of them. So, I  have not from heard from any of the neighbors. So,   with that, I'll recommend that the city council  adopt the findings of the MAPC and approve the   requested zone change and conditional use, also  authorize the necessary signatures, and instruct   the city clerk to publish publish the ordinance  and the resolution after approval. Second. motion   and a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. PUD 2025-17 zone change requests in the   city from multif family residential district  and general commercial district to plan unit   development to create the 944 Southapa planned  unit development number 149 generally located   one block east of South Broadway Avenue and  three blocks south of East Kellogg Avenue at   944 South Topeka. Scott Wadel from the planning  department. Um you've seen this one a number of   times so I'll try and give you an abbreviated  presentation on this one. So um this is the   site again and as you heard uh they are trying to  attempting to reszone it from B and GC zoning to   custom zoning PUD. In terms of review on August  28 the planning commission held the hear held a   public hearing for this item and actually deferred  it. Ultimately the MAPC recommended approval of   the request per the staff recommendation but  with an additional condition of approval and   that additional condition was again that the  storage containers would be required to use   shiplap sighting in either wood or composite uh  as illustrated by exhibits that were distributed   at the MAPC meeting. uh two members of the public  spoke against the application at that meeting with   concerns of having storage containers as dwellings  and not enough parking in the area. I would also   state that uh at a prior planning commission  meeting, five members of the public spoke   against the application with cons similar concerns  and uh also questioning the completeness of the   application as well. Then on October 1st, the  district advisory board reviewed the case. They   did not approve a motion. They had a tied vote.  The motion was to deny and the vote was tied 55   and there was no substitute or alternative motion  that was made. Two members of the public spoke   uh regarding the application. One was against  uh citing concerns with crime and design and   the shipping containers and parking. And then  one of the individuals was in favor citing that   having indicating that having the vacant buildings  occupied was a greater positive. On October 13th,   the Historic Preservation Board uh heard the  case and their recommendation was to approve   the request. Again, there the board limited  their review to the existing church property,   so they did not look at the shipping containers  nearby. 20 protest petitions were received   against the requested PUD. 13 of the properties  were within the protest calculation area and   totaled 34 roughly 34% of the protest area  that exceeded the 20% threshold. Therefore,   supermajority or six out of seven votes required  to approve the zone change. The um case has been   deferred a few times for additional comments  and consultation. So, just want to reiterate   that the applicant was able to meet with MABCD  and go through uh any answer any questions   about permitting that they might have and learn  what that process would look like. In addition,   um following the last or most recent uh city  council meeting, we did reach out to the agent for   the applicant about any new graphics. The agent  indicated that they did not have any additional   or new graphics for us. However, uh earlier this  week, I believe it was on Monday, we did receive   an email from the applicant with graphics, and  so those are not included in the staff report,   but I've included them into the PowerPoint. So,  we'll see those in just a moment. In terms of the   recommendation, recommendation comes to you from  the planning commission. to adopt the findings of   the planning commission, approve their recommended  PUB, place the ordinance on the first reading,   authorize necessary signatures, and instruct  the city clerk to publish the ordinance after   approval on second reading. And again, that  would require six of seven votes. Alternatives   include overriding the planning commission,  adopting alternative findings, and denying the   PUD. That would require five of seven votes.  Or you can override the planning commission,   adopt alternative findings, and approve the PUD  with modified text. that would require six of   seven votes or as always you can return the case  back to the planning commission for additional   consideration. And again, just a quick note again  about the process and the public hearing occurs at   the planning commission. So with that, I'll take  you through the graphics. Here's the uh here's the   aerial showing the site again. Here's the zoning  map. Here's the comp plan showing recommended for   residential. Here's a site layout that we received  as part of the uh application and the one that   was recommended as part of the PUB document by  the planning commission. Here is the map of the   protest and I would just want to iterate that  there were no protests that were withdrawn. Um   so there were no changes to the map between the  last city council meeting and this one. Again,   it exceeded uh 20 the 20% threshold. Now in the  materials that the applicant submitted on Monday,   uh there is a document where they indicate that  there are supportive neighbors and they provided   this list with addresses and signatures. Again,  none of the protests were withdrawn. Uh and then   there's a map that illustrates this. Uh there  was also uh graphics that show the shipping   containers and what they might look like on the  interior as well as an exterior illustration. And then um I've included the other graphics that  we had with the previous city council meeting. So   I can flip to those if you'd like. But with that  I'll stand for any questions. Is the twotory what   is being proposed? I thought that that was a  safety fire hazard. Um the twotory is proposed   is my understanding. If they exceed uh more than  two units being connected uh then they would it   would require fire suppression systems. So uh my  understanding is that they are limiting themselves   because of cost factors of really looking at more  of a duplex like this. So two units they they can   be stacked. They just can't be stacked back  to back. Thank you. Any further questions for   staff? Um, I'll just add one comment, I guess. Um,  again, housing is what we need in our community   of all types of housing. Uh, this is an idea to  provide housing for individuals aging out of the   foster care system. It is a population that we  know can become homeless. And so this is again   um we heard from the applicant several meetings  ago and I'm in favor of housing in our community   of all different types. So um I'm interested in  hearing what council member Hohheisel will be   proposing. All right. Thank you, mayor. Um just  to be clear, I have had exparte communication   with the applicant. I think most of us up here  have as well. Uh this is a tricky one because   A lot of the concerns that the neighborhood has  pertaining to storage unit storage container   homes is already granted by right  of this the current zoning here. So,   um this is a tough one to thread the needle  and try and come up with protections for the   neighborhood. Um I think we all agree  it's a worthwhile project to to try,   but you got to also protect the neighborhood  long term. So, um, with that, I move the city   council adopt the findings of the MAPC, approve  the requested zone change as recommended by MAPC   with custom conditions, place the ordinance on  first reading, authorize the necessary signatures,   and instruct the city clerk to publish ordinance  after approval on second reading. requires six   requires six of seven votes uh for the custom  conditions to be added to the MAPC recommendation.   My motion includes the following requirements.  Off- street parking shall be provided at a ratio   of one parking space per dwelling unit for  residential units um uses and per the unified   zoning code article for a off- streetet parking  standards for all other permitted uses. In order   to mitigate the visual aesthetics of containers  from the properties to the east, additional   screening and landscaping are required. A six-foot  screening fence shall be installed within 20 ft of   the Emporia Avenue right away and extending from  the shared property line with 939 South Emporia,   45 ft to the north. An evergreen tree landscape  buffer shall be planted along the east side of   the screening fence at a rate of one per 20 ft.  A landscape plan must be submitted and approved   by the planning department prior to building  permits being approved. In support of this motion,   I offer the following findings. The additional  requirement will help reduce the potential for   detrimental effects to nearby properties and help  address some of the public input received. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Conditional commitment of  eight projectbased vouchers. Good evening, mayor, members of council. Sally  staying with the housing and community services   department. For the record, this final item I  have for you today is a conditional commitment   of projectbased vouchers. Unfortunately, project  basing vouchers is kind of complicated. So,   um, we'll walk you through. So, HUD allows a  housing authority to project base some of its   voucher allocation. Um, and what that does is it  allocates fundings to particular units rather than   to individuals that allocate. In order to do  this, we have to have a competitive process.   So we did it requires we either piggyback on an  existing one or do a request for applications.   There is the only exception to that is when the  housing authority itself is developing properties   um and is replacing public housing which is what's  happening with the housing at Parkland. So we're   able to project base vouchers there because we  own them and we are replacing disposed of public   housing units. um we're allowed to go to actually  20% of our allocated units to project base. We've   done one of these in the past. It was 11 units  um that was tied to the affordable housing fund.   Um and all of those units have been renovated  and have tenants. So that has been successful.   uh to be eligible for um households to  be eligible for projectbasing units,   they just have to be the same eligibility as on  the tenant based program, but they do apply to a   separate waiting list. We've already established  a separate um projectbased voucher waiting list   for that previous project. We don't receive  any additional funding for doing this. This   is just a tool in our toolbox to try and  encourage development in our community.   So, the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation  publishes their qualified allocation plan. So,   that is their RFP for for low-income housing tax  credits. And one component of that allocation   uh that scoring for that is units that have rental  assistance assigned to them and they can get an   additional 15 points on that LITC application for  having um rent assistance. So, we strategically   um designed an RFP to go out or a request for uh  applications to go out about three months prior   to when the 9% LITC applications are due, which  they're due January 16th. Um that whole process   of that competitive selection was handled by  Carmen. I'm going to let her take it from here. Thank you, Sally. Good evening, mayor and  council members. My name is Carmen Hoffine.   I'm the real property section manager of the  department of housing and community services.   And I will continue with additional information  regarding the background. So on October 17th,   2025, the Witchaw Housing Authority released  the projectbased voucher competitive application   process, which we refer to as CAP. The CAP  accepted applications for new construction   projects located within the Witchaw Housing  Authorities's jurisdiction, applying for 9%   lowincome housing tax credits, LIITEC, in 2026.  PBV awards are contingent upon the developer   receiving the LITC award, securing all financing,  completing underwriting, subsidy layering review,   and meeting all National Environmental Policy  Act environmental requirements. CAP materials,   including application requirements and the  review process, were made available online   to applicants. 50 PBVS were made available  under the CAP with applications due by   November 17th of 2025. Qualified applications  were scheduled for review by the affordable   housing review board on November 24th, 2025.  One application was submitted by Bodie Witchah,   a partnership of Breakthrough Witchah, and the  Vino Bond Group. The proposed project consists   of new construction of a 49 unit multifamily  residential building. Bodie Witchaw located   at 11:30 South Broadway is a proposed 49 unit  integrated supportive house supportive housing   development. 12 units will serve breakthrough  witchaw participants exiting homelessness   and living with a severe and persistent mental  illness. The remaining 37 units will be affordable   to households at 60% area median income or below.  On-site property management will be provided by   the mental health association. Bodie Witchaw  is requesting eight PPVS for the supportive   housing units with the remaining four units  expected to receive rental assistance through   the continuum of care. Breakthrough Witchaw  will provide comprehensive supportive services.   Services include community integration, housing  stability, and economic self-sufficiency. Shared   community spaces include a community room, fitness  area, and dedicated service provider offices.   The development aims to address Witchah's  critical need for affordable rental housing as   identified in the US Department of Housing and  Urban Development HUD comprehensive housing   affordability strategy which identifies more than  28,175 households with unmet housing needs in the   area. This project will provide high quality  affordable homes in an underresourced community   supporting families who are currently underserved  by the local housing market. The 1.6 acre site is   in a primarily residential and retail neighborhood  with convenient access to essential services and   amenities. It is within 1.5 miles of a grocery  store, shopping, pharmacy, childcare center, and a   park ensuring residents have easy access to daily  necessities. Public transportation is readily   available with a nearby bus station and the site  is less than 0.5 miles from Kellogg. The property   is immediately east of a vacant church. The  project is designed to complement the surrounding   neighborhood by providing muchneeded affordable  housing without disrupting the area's residential   character. Its integration into a well-resourced  community is expected to support long-term   stability and well-being for its future residents.  So for the next set of slides, I do have Andy   Holtberg from Breakthrough Witchah here and also  Heather Bradley Giri with the Facino Group. She's   actually going to be presenting remotely. I don't  know if there's a way I can check and see if she's   online yet. Do I just I don't know. She says she's  in the waiting room. Okay, wonderful. Thanks, Hello, Mayor Woo. Council members, thank you  so much for this opportunity to share. Many of   you are familiar with this project. So, I don't  know this is brand new news for you. Uh this is   an incredible partnership between the Vino Group,  but also um not mentioned yet is the neighboring   movement which is in the associ uh neighborhood  and um Edinar Edin Barlo Thompson couldn't be here   but I do have a comment from him to in support of  this project. Nationally uh one in 20 adults live   with severe uh severe mental illness. In Kansas,  that equates to about 111,000 individuals and   in the state. In Witchaw or Sed County, it's  about 25,000 adults. With the right supports,   people can and do thrive with this diagnosis.  But without those supports, many of us know the   devastating effect. reduced life expecties of up  to 20 years, increased isolation, hospitalization,   incarceration, and homelessness. Breakthrough  Episcopal Social Services runs a clubhouse   model. Many of you have been to our facility.  You've seen what we do. You know our work. Um,   it is an evidence-based practice. Uh, it's  a mental health supports for people with   mental health diagnosis. We work side by side with  colleagues. Uh we call on members and colleagues   uh to build meaningful lives through shared  work, educational goals, employment goals and   social connection. Me me me me me me me me me me  me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me   me me me me me me me me me me me me me me members  regain confidence, reduce uh rediscovering purpose   and experience a sense of belonging. There are  over 370 clubous worldwide. Many of them are in   the United States. There are six in Kansas. Our  organization runs four of those. And we've been   running the breakthrough clubhouse here in Witchaw  for over 40 years. So we have a lot of experience   running this model. We've seen the efficacy.  We know it works. The reason I talk a little   bit about this is because when you approve these  projectbased vouchers, you're not just approving   housing. You're also approving the our commitments  to bringing this community uh to to support those   who are staying at the residing at the Bodie  House. So please uh I will make it short because   this has been a really long meeting and I've been  here since 1 and I can't imagine how you are all   feeling right now. Um but here I'll read the  comment uh the the support from Adam just so you   know that we are in full partnership with them.  He said the neighboring movement is is excited   to share this partnership with Breakthrough  and the Ceno Group. This project is in line   with our large vision of the neighborhood and it  has been vetted by the neighbors. Adding housing   to this area of the t of town will add strength  to our community and support the development we   already have begun. Thank you. And I'll hand it  off to Heather somewhere in cyerspace. You there maybe Yes. Thank you so much. Thank  you. I will give a short of doing good. We love that other  developers affordable housing that   further housing supports that are exiting  homelessness. So since 2011 has buil last year across the country and we know that for more than two years  permanently their likelihood of going   back home. So that number is 584  households that stayed for years. So we're super excited to be working in Kansas City. This will be our first  time working in Witchah. before you requesting eight of those projects that have based vouchers homeless programs  also. It's really important to note that they will break through what it's really ownership and then adding all the services too. excited and honored to present you today. There are some additional sides  that I will go through that show   the proposed building site, the  concept site, first floor plan, and then next is the second floor plan.  And then there are the unit plans. And the next set of slides  are some of the work examples. Okay. So, next we'll talk about the  analysis. So, on November 24th, 2025,   the Bodie Witchaw application for this project was  presented to the affordable housing review board,   which reviewed the application and the developers  presentation. The affordable housing review board   approved the application and directed staff  to refer it to the city council to approve   the director of housing and community services  issuance of a conditional commitment letter.   There is no impact to the general fund. Issuance  of the conditional commitment letter states that   PBVS will only be issued if all the necessary  funding sources are obtained. Provided Bodie   Witchaw is successful in securing all proposed  sources of financing and meets all terms set   forth in the conditional commitment letter,  Witchaw Housing Authority and Bod Witchaw will   enter into an agreement to enter into a housing  assistance payments contract. It is recommended   that the Witchaw Housing Authority Board approve  issuance of a conditional commitment letter for   eight projectbased vouchers to Bodie Witchaw, a  partnership of Breakthrough Witchaw and the Facino   Bond Group and authorize the director of housing  and community services to sign and I'll stand for   questions. Thank you Carmen, Sally, Andy, Heather  for this presentation. Uh we'll begin with Council   Member Hoheisel. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, this is  the last year for the 9% or is this a federal? No. Oh, the 4%. And just further clarification, this is  the last year that the state tax credit is   layering on top of the 9%s. Okay, thank you for  that clarification. All right, that's all I have.   My question is uh for Heather, this 49 unit um  building, what is the cost of this project again? I think Andy does. Yeah. Yeah. I think right  now is 17 million. So just just shy of 20. Yep. Thank you for that. Um again, I appreciate  more housing in our community, especially   um helping our individuals who are severe mentally   ill um and have supportive systems. So, I  just wanted to make quick math. So, per unit,   is this accurate? For a 17 million project,  49 units, each unit will be about $347,000. Yeah, that's Go ahead, Heather. But an exact maybe Sally can address this. Can you address  why it's so high? Um earlier this morning when   we were or I guess afternoon we heard a project  that is privately funded but they did ask for   um I incentive uh of property tax abatement but  their per unit cost was about $100,000 per unit.   LITC projects are always more expensive on the per  unit cost. There are a lot of expenses related to   the partnerships and uh there's a lot of legal  expenses. 4% projects have bond issuances that   really raise um the cost associated with those.  A lot of legal expenses. It's not uncommon for   uh tax credit projects to run much higher than  a cash funded or um other funded project. In the   end though, because many of the um of that  investment comes to the project as equity,   that's what helps to make it affordable in the  long run. And I did want to add one thing too.   So their application came in prior to um all of  the craziness around the COC NOFO. So I'm just   putting it on your radar because you know their  original plan was eight units of projectbased   vouchers and expecting another four units to be  funded under the continuum of care funding. Um one   another tool in our toolbox should this project  move along and that not be available from COC. Um,   the HUD regulations allow us to come back to  you as the housing authority board to add more   units of project-based vouchering within the two  years after the project were to be stood up. So,   the fact that we know that there's an issue  related to that COC funding, it is possible   we could add additional units in the future  after your approval, of course. And again,   Sally, can you address this? These are federal  dollars coming through to Witchah, so it's not   your property taxes. Can you explain that for  us? Sure. So the uh you know it's actually   funded under IRS code and there's an allocation  that goes out to each state based on population.   Um the state for the state of Kansas those  credits and they truly are tax credits um are   are allocated through the Kansas Housing Resources  Corporation. So when you have a project like this,   Breakthrough doesn't need tax credits, right?  If they get awarded tax credits, they go out and   they sell them to an investor partner who then  generally doesn't pay dollar for dollar. Now,   in my career, I've seen where a dollar tax credit  they were getting a$1.15 or$120. Those were the   great days of housing development. Um, now we're  glad if you get 90 cents on the dollar. Um,   but they the investor partner then purchases those  tax credits. They receive 10 years of tax credits   in exchange for the funding that they're giving  up front. well throughout construction. So it it   is definitely um federal money that's coming  through. It's flows through the state to and   then the state uses that qualified allocation  plan in order to determine which projects to   actually award those credits to. Then they're  sold in the private market generally to big   uh oftentimes they're big banks or other uh uh  investors pulled investors that purchase them   because they need tax credits. we had the great  period where the state was matching the federal   tax credit. So, they were providing a state  credit on top. Um, and of course, you would   have to find an investor for those state credits  who had a Kansas tax liability, but that they've   now going to take that away um as it proved to be  very expensive. Thank you, Sally. I see no further   questions for staff or the applicant. Thank you  very much. We will Open it up for public comment. Good afternoon, good evening. I'm Steve Faly.  I'm the president of Crestu Lakes HOA. I have   been asked to speak on this item, but I work  very closely with Adam Barlo Thompson's wife,   Reverend Ashley Prescott Barlo Thompson.  I've known the family for five years.   There are no finer people working in  South Witchah. Um I I just want to put   a plug in for Adam and all that they are  doing with the neighboring movement and   working with Breakthrough. Um it's very  good, admirable work and they're doing a   great job. Thank you for staying past uh it's  almost 6:30. I appreciate your public comment. Yeah, Christopher Swanson. I live at 1200 South  Market Street um in the SOC neighborhood as well.   Also work at the neighboring movement. Thank  you all for running the marathon that is this   uh city council meeting. Um as everyone said, but  I'm also just speaking in support of this. Um we   are super huge fans of this. I'm a huge fan of it  as a neighbor, but also again uh representing the   neighboring movement as well. Um Father Andy and  these folks have clearly put a lot of work into   this. There's a proven track record behind this  nationally. Um so we're huge fans. Obviously,   the Christian Faith Center property, Broadway  Christian, has been a a big puzzle in the   neighborhood for a long time. It's really hard  uh to figure out what to do with such a massive   space to do with a building that's a maze.  And so, we're really excited to see this be   uh used creatively and to provide housing. It's I  think it's a win-win for for everybody around. So,   huge fan of this and would ask for y'all to  to approve this as well. Thanks. Thank you. Good evening. Tim McCory 102 South  Broadway mayor council. I'll be really   quick. Uh this group through the  neighboring movement reached out to   neighbors in around surrounding area and  has involved us from the very beginning.   We've seen this plan and we are in full  support of this going forward. Thank you. I see no further public comment. I simply want to  say thank you to the three individuals who stayed   until almost 6:30 to provide your public  comment on this item uh for the council to   consider. This resides again in council member  Hohheisel's district. Thank you, mayor. Uh,   I move that the Witchita Housing Authority  approve issuance of a conditional commitment   letter for eight projectbased vouchers to Bodie  Witchah, a partnership of Breakthrough Witchah   and Vino Bond Group and authorize the director  of housing and community services to sign. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please  call the next item. Council member   appointments and comments. Council member  appointments. Sorry, I do have one. Um,   I want to say thank you to council member Johnson  who has served on the exploration place board.   um he will be leaving the council which means  there's a spot open um on the exploration   place board. They have asked the mayor to  serve on that board and I have accepted. So   um I would like to move that I get appointed  to the exploration place board. Second motion   and a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Council members, any comments? I just have one. I Oh, Council Member Johnson.  Thanks, Mayor. I was just going to say I should   have attached my support to getting a zipline  on First Street Bridge. You're joking. And I   have one thing that I just want legal to just  address really quick. I know that the 1% sales   tax was approved for the voters to decide. Can you  just address what the council can and cannot do? Mayor, um, in Kansas, um, there are no real cases  that specify this, but there is a doctrine called   the public purpose doctrine, which limits the use  of public funds of governments for um, anything   but a public use. that has been considered as  a basis to um say that cities, municipalities,   government should not advocate for an outcome in  an election. But um there is sufficient basis for   the governing body, the government to educate um  and provide resources about an election. So as   council members um you um wearing your elected  official hat should just pro provide neutral   information. um as individuals you have in your  personal capacity you have the ability to to state   your beliefs and feelings um on an election issue.  I hope that answers your question. Okay. Thank   you. So in our official capacity we must stay  neutral and provide only educational information   regarding the vote. And that's correct. And  that goes for the use of city platforms,   city social media. Um all that should not be used  for advocacy but it can be used for information.   Thank you. I see no further comments. With that, I  move to adjourn this meeting at 6:33 p.m. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 52. I said 636. I win.