[Music] [Music] good morning Witchah and welcome to all of you  here to City Hall we'll call the meeting to order   with us this morning is Reverend Ben Staley of  Chapel Hill United Methodist Church to provide   our invocation following that invocation we ask  that you also stand for the pledge of allegiance let's pray together lord we are  grateful for the days of celebration we're grateful for all we have to celebrate but we also and those who are unemployed we also pray your guidance help our community grow and   go forward in ways that are your city we pray  this for me and for us all in Jesus name amen stands thank you Reverend Staley mr clerk can  you please call the first item approve   the minutes of regular meeting June 3rd  2025 council members any changes i see none   i will move to approve the minutes of the  regular meeting for June 3rd 2025 second   motion and a second any further discussion i  see none mr clerk can you please open the role just in time motion passes 70 mr clerk please  call the next item awards and proclamations the   award this week is a service award for Larry  W martin Jr may I please ask Larry Martin and   his family along with public works and utilities  director Gary Jansen to come forward at this time good morning good morning this is a special recognition to one of  our 3,000 employees at the city of Witchah   this individual has served the city of  Witchah and its residents for 42 years [Applause]   this recognition states "Distinguished service  citation awarded to Larry W martin Jr presented   in recognition of dedicated and notorious service  rendered to the community and citizens of the city   of Witchah Kansas in his 42 years and six months  of service Mr martin has served as an engineering   aid 1 and is retiring as an engineering  aid 2 congratulations Larry W martin Jr public Works and Utilities Director Gary Jansen  has a few words thank you Mayor and appreciate the   opportunity to say a few words um I've known Larry  since the very first day I started work with the   city of Witchaw and you know it's always amazed me  uh this organization in particular and especially   our department to see so many people like Larry  uh who have literally spent their most of their   lives dedicated to service to the community to the  organization uh and Larry's certainly done that   when he not to make you feel too old Larry but I  started I've got 30 years in when I started here   Larry had already been with the city for almost  15 years so I didn't realize that at the time but   thank you so much Larry for all you've done um  I have never met a single person and and through   the course of of what we do what our department  does and particularly what Larry did with our   uh construction engineering group uh spending time  primarily on a survey crew you see a lot of people   uh a lot of folks in the public deal with  contractors design consultants uh really out there   every single day representing the organization  never met a single person had anything bad to say   about Larry always has a smile on his face always  a positive attitude larry's been through a lot of   things over the years uh but he's really been an  inspiration for a lot of people and I heard that   uh at his retirement party uh when we were  at the central maintenance facility but   uh he's brought so much to us we're definitely  going to miss him uh the time that Larry has   spent on a construction survey crew uh it's  a lot of people wouldn't know even what that   was or what they do but uh there's so much that  happens with public infrastructure getting built   around the community every single day and and  those guys especially Larry are our last line   of defense to make sure that everything gets done  the right way gets put in the right place gets   uh built to specifications and he's done such a  wonderful job for us over all that time and being   a critical part of it i just can't say enough  about about everything he's done for us and   uh we're certainly going to miss having him around  uh I I could go on and on saying so many wonderful   things about Larry i do want to mention because  I'd be remiss if I don't say it one last time   larry has one significant character flaw and  that he's a Dallas Cowboys fan so I wanted to   get that in one last time i'm surprised he's  not wearing a Cowboys jersey today but Larry   thank you so much for what you've done and I don't  know if you have anything you want to say or not good morning i just want to say thank  God for allowing me to be here today   i want to thank my dad my nieces nephews  and my daughter for being here being my   support because if it hadn't been for God I  wouldn't be here thank you again [Applause] again thank you very much Larry Martin and  his family for coming here today for   the special award mr 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 Arthur Stokes Black Mold good morning everybody mayor Woo city council  members uh I'm Arthur Stokes Jr and uh I presside   at 2614 South Pico apartment 202 and uh my concern  is with uh Black Mold not just now in the city   we're talking about the whole state of Kansas uh  residents you know anybody that pays taxes can be   uh a victim to this and this morning uh I  I don't know why I don't really you know   feel like doing a lot of talking first  of all I want to go to like a 30 second   uh moment of silence for uh sliding  the family stone sylvester Stewart i come up in the 70s and uh he was one of my  favorite uh savings stars when I was at Oyola   Middle School this morning I'm going to do it on a  topic and uh I want to look at some of the the the   flaws in the system so I wanted to use this story  from the Titanic and I found it in Reader's Digest   it's called the Titanic's Final Secret beneath  the great ship's rich trembling lays a fatal flaw   it says uh and this was in 95 this issue it says  that late August in Canada Department of Defense   lab in Halifax I held in my hand a p a a pie  piece sized piece of the ship's hole plugged   from 12,612 ft under the sea now a small team of  researchers was about to cut off a section and   smash it the results the men hope would help solve  an 80year-old mystery exactly what happened to the   Titanic that sent her to the bottom of the ocean  on her maiden voyage the Titanic nearly 900 ft   long more than 40 46,000 tons was the ultimate in  turn of the century ship design first class suites   rates ran $50,000 in today's dollars when she  sailed from Southampton England from New York to   for New York City with stops in France in Ireland  her most more than 2,000 passengers included the   cream of the industry society men such as John  Jacobs Astra Isador Stratus and founder Macy's   Thomas Andrews the ship owns designer built with  compartments that could be easily sealed off the   Titanic was supposed to be virtually unsinkable  if the hull was punctured only the ruptured   compartment would flow the builders figured that  in the worst case which two or three compartments   flooded the Titanic would take from two to three  days to sink plenty of time for nearly ship help   on that April evening in 1912 at about 7:30 the  Titanic's wireless operator held a message from   the streaming stream of California which was the  in the facility the Lodge Berg 5 miles southward   of us it was one of several ice warnings in  Titanic received that day but the ship continued   to rush through the darkness high in the darkness  i'mma stop right there i'm going to have to you   know to use this as an example because we're  trying to set uh a gold standard i mean the state   already don't have laws to protect me and that  that includes we us you know all of us so that's   why I trying you know trying like my mind kept  coming to this and I I can't I can't really rush   through this there's so much involved in it and  uh it really covers flaws you know our system is   flaws thank you this morning thank you Mr stokes  council member Hohheisel thank you Mayor uh thank   you Mr stokes for being an advocate um for change  a lot of the things that we do need to change um   last or two weeks ago we did have the workshop um  on some proposed ordinance changes um I please go   back and check out that workshop and share uh  I'll get there your thoughts with us okay yeah   and we still have some work to do with the state  um to try and make sure that we can get in and   uh do more inspections but I think we're on the  right track to doing as the best that we can do as   a city see it's not just the inspections because  you can go in a place and inspect it but sort of   like what's happening here is so much things  happen behind uh an inspection okay my house   that I was living in flooded from the neighbor's  toilet up i come in about 11:30 one morning and   uh the light fixture had water in it and that's  where everything starts everything doesn't start   because you come in there and everything looks  all hunky dury it it don't work like that i'm   sorry but uh they didn't prep really prepare that  situation they didn't they didn't you know they   just scammed over it see and uh you know that was  just one of the that's that wasn't even the major   problem with that complex they didn't even have  uh a custodian that uh did things on a regular   basis they was barring Peter to pay Paul they  was borrowing custodians from other uh realators   uh other properties so you can inspect all you  want you have to listen at that person telling   you "Hey it didn't all start right then." And  then I started seeing signs of everything going   wrong and I called everywhere around here and  I had broken error in war broken error means   we don't have a plan all hell broke loose yes sir  um like I said check out the workshop share your   thoughts workshops with you guys i I promise you I  missed that one all right thank you sir all right   have a blessed day council member Johnson thanks  Mayor mr stokes just real quick in addition to   uh reviewing the workshop this item is actually  going to every district advisory board as well   oh this month and next month so also join in  that conversation i think you live in district   three if I if my map is right so uh the District  3 district advisory board definitely attend that   you can give input not only hear what we're  talking about doing but also give input and   it goes a little further than inspections we're  actually looking at adopting the International   Property Maintenance Code which means it'll give  us a little more um ability to address some of the   issues that you're talking about and we've seen  some of those same terrible situations this this   is overwhelming i mean it's caused me y'all don't  want to really know for round for round buck for   buck it's it's it's really eating into my lunch  but you know I'm going to try to make the best out   of it that's I'm gonna give y'all a shot july 2nd  july 2nd at the water center at Herman Hill Park   at 6:30 is our Write it down district advisory  board i will okay appreciate y'all mr clerk   can you please call the next individual janette  Peterson experience with the animal advisory board janette Peterson 3522 North Lake Court several  months ago I became concerned with the animal   shelter and negative opinions of WPD since  they are responsible for animal programs as I   researched the issue I became aware of the animal  advisory board and attended my first board meeting   unfortunately my observations there left  me feeling that the citizens concerns were   not taken seriously or were not welcomed as an  advocate supporter of the law enforcement and a   proud mother of a soon-to-be officer my of my own  I have always defended and advocated for them to   receive our respect and admiration this is why  I was surprised and caught off guard the other   day when seeing officers walk into a restaurant  brought a much different reaction to my mind i   realized that my opinions of these public servants  had been negatively influenced by the things I had   learned about the shelter how it had operated  and our leadership's reaction to those that are   advocating for positive changes in today's  environment law enforcement fight an uphill   battles with public opinion and I found many  people were feeling the same as me so even though   my experience had shown that I had been a that it  can be a hostile environment I decided to speak   at the May 21st animal advocacy board meeting my  hope was this that citizens and the board could   work together to come up with ideas on how to make  changes that would better not only the treatment   of animals but citizens views of the shelter  in WPD as I began my remarks I made it clear   that I wanted to share the opinions and feedback  I was receiving from both online postings as well   as those I had been given directly and that I  had a tour scheduled with the shelter later on   in the week so that I could better understand the  challenges they face each day upon concluding my   remarks Nancy followed by Ellen began to verbally  attack that went on for several minutes and until   George finally broke up the comments with a  light-hearted comment that calmed them down i   was completely humiliated embarrassed and in tears  and found myself wondering why I even bothered   trying to be a part of an interaction between  our leadership and the citizens you represent   fortunately I received a lot of support  from others that were equally shocked at   the events of that meeting and as badly as  that went I decided to continue to try and   advocate for change this is why I've come here  today i understand the difficult task given to   those that run the shelter and there are difficult  decisions that must be made every day but I have   also recently taken the time to visit shelters in  other communities where the same challenges exist   but are often tempered by the active participation  of concerned citizens and advocacy groups our   shelter has a higher euthanization rate hidden  by our calculation methods our animals have no   blankets no toys and no opportunity to be taken  out of the cages or for walks or taken outside   in many cases I hear the words neglect and  abuse used to describe the conditions even   people outside of Witchaw area have shared  negative comments about our statistics and   what they have heard and experienced occasionally  I do not I do hear positive feedback but those   are few and far between with the treatment  of animals in the shelter and the policies   that drives these decisions the confidence in  our leadership and our enforcement agencies   is reduced as the number of happy people unh  as the number of unhappy people grows daily   i have noticed recent events and meetings where  shelter animals have been brought in to bring   attention to them which is great and it may help  save a few of the lives but the citizens are   requesting for the needed long-term changes at the  shelter and that the promises that have been made   have to be kept we want to be able to have pride  in our shelter and how the animals are treated and   in the organization that runs them these issues  and others related to them have caused people to   move out of Witchah and the growing sentiment is  continuing to affect how our leaders are viewed i ask you to please consider these things and to  take more seriously the concerns and viewpoints of   those that make the effort to come to any of  your meetings the boards were set up for the   citizens to have a way to voice their concerns  to you as our leadership and these message if   these messages are not getting back to you I ask  you consider changes to the board these are the   lines of the communication that tie you elected  officials to the people you represent witchai is   a good city filled with good people that want to  have pride in where they call home but that is   only possible when they are allowed to become a  part of the process and can see the efforts that   are efforts they make reflected in the actions of  our leaders thanks thank you Miss Peterson i will   start off by asking Assistant City Manager Dante  Martin to help address a couple of the concerns   regarding the Witchaw Animal Shelter which is  under the leadership of Witchaw Police um can   you address just a couple of things regarding  some of the changes that have occurred in the   last six months good morning Mayor Woo members  of city council thank you um for your question   um unable to provide details as to the changes  of what have occurred over the past six months   and I appreciate the concerns you've expressed  during the public agenda today i've taken a   few notes and intend to follow up with Chief  Sullivan as well as Captain Purscell i know   that there have been staffing changes at the  shelter um we've seen a campaign not only the   um animals that are brought in for the mayor's  briefing on Thursday but a Facebook campaign   to help facilitate adoptions at the uh increase  adoption rate at the shelter as for more details   as to what's happening at the shelter maybe you  and I could have a conversation following this   meeting and I connect you with Captain PCEL to  talk in detail um I can't stay after this meeting   but I can email you and maybe we can get together  i have your information i'll email you okay email   me and yeah I would love to sit down and talk  about that thank you and Miss Peterson thank you   for addressing um I have a weekly Thursday mayor's  briefing and it just started about two three   months ago where we started bringing in animals  that have not been reclaimed by their owners that   then are up for adoption uh to be featured each  week so people can adopt these animals um so that   started just recently in the last three months in  addition to um I did tour the animal shelter of a   couple of months ago also uh with the new staffing  changes and I know that under the leadership of   the shelter manager um Emily she has been trying  to make a lot of changes um that have been not   only to interact with community but also to take  care of the animals under the care of the shelter   itself um so I am hoping that uh assistant city  manager Dante will connect with you were you able   to do the tour that you mentioned you said you  had a tour scheduled at the shelter i took a 2   and 1 half hour tour and spent two and a half  hours with Emily um we went through it all and   I took a tour and that's when I noticed that and  her and I even talked about the fact that you know   the animals are staring at a wall they're not they  have no enrichment they have no toys no blankets   and I understand her there are reasons why that  that is as far as the blankets go but you know   um having maybe a volunteer program that has  been promised you know where volunteers can come   in and take these dogs just even outside walk  around the parking lot is better than sitting   in a kennel from the time they come in until the  time they're euthanized and die you know we treat   criminals better than that and so just Yes but her  and I did have a two and a half hour meeting her   and I she is more than willing for me to message  her with ideas and and is open to ideas it just   um it was more the animal advisory board and  the experience that I had there no citizen   should ever go to a board that is supposed to  be for the citizens and have that experience thank you for sharing your experience at the  animal advisory board um and I apologize that   um individuals again you felt that you were being  disrespected um so I'd like to know from assistant   city manager can we all um I think there are  more than 20 boards that the city of Witchaw   um has available can can we send out a mass email  about decorum and matter of respect um at these   advisory boards uh they are an extension of who we  are as council members on this council um as mayor   as well if we can just have a nice reminder to  um all advisory boards about a matter of respect   um uh and also just what the rules are in regards  to when public wants to come to these uh advisory   boards they're always welcome we want individuals  Thank you again for taking the time to attend   uh an advisory board meeting but the idea is  we want to hear from residents and advisory   board members then are supposed to take that  feedback and then share it with us so again   thank you for attending your advisory uh meeting  but uh we will send out or assistant city manager   and his staff will send out a reminder about the  quorum and respect all right thank you thank you Council Member Ballard thank you  mayor um PCEL or Emily I'm not sure   um who would have the proper answers for  these i just wanted to know if you could   address the staffing question i know that uh  we put more kennel texts in the budget um so   if we could just address where we are with that  and also if we could address the kennel space is that to me no sorry oh thank you for being here ma'am um yeah so we the council I do believe it was  last budget cycle that they changed our kennel   text from four part-time to four full-time we have  yet to be able to Oh I'm sorry is this better yes   do I need to repeat myself okay um we have yet  to uh be able to fill all four of those however   I do be I do hope to be able to fill them in the  next couple weeks we've had some great interviews   that'll make a really big difference for us in  the ability and number of people we can care for   them uh as far as kennel space it is in great um  the when I was there this morning we had about 152   cats and I think it was 148 dogs and um as you  guys may know that changes by the hour both in   animals leaving and animals coming in that does  put us um pretty much at max capacity so I have   fewer dog kennels open than I have the number  of average dogs coming in on a daily basis and   significantly fewer cat kennels i only have two  available cat kennels and an average of about I   think I was at 19 cats coming in per day and so  we are working really hard um day and night with   our rescue partners with the adoption partners um  trying to get animals back to the owners anything   we can do so that we can find positive placement  for the animals but the summer months we knew were   going to be difficult and we're just we got to  get through it what is your average intake of   dogs right now per day daily is um yes now I know  you're testing me i think it was 14 okay um if   I'm off a number or two it just changes daily so  yeah um my only other question thank you so much   for that um just for some clarification is there  anything that we can do or um ask the community   to do for toys or blankets or any of the things  that she suggested i don't know if there's like   rules what we can and can't do but what can we do  to try to help in that way absolutely we have been   requesting um both treats and toys for cats and  dogs and so those would be super helpful uh those   are not a part of our budget right now and um we  haven't received uh very many um but what anything   that it needs to be dishwasher safe something that  they can't shred apart because of the drainage   system and the kennels um that makes things that  are full of fluff difficult on our systems so   uh again anything dishwasher safe cats or dogs  and treats would be great because then as our   uh co-workers are feeding and walking through  the kennels daily they can try to provide some   interaction with the animals and just  any treats is fine there's And honestly   the softer and the smellier the happier  they are okay thank you so much absolutely council member Glasscock thank you Mayor um  Miss Peterson thank you for being here thank   you for coming and being an involved citizen it's  very tough to get people that want to care and so   I can't speak to what happened um at the board  meeting but I know that all of our board members   are also volunteers people are passionate i  know they care as well and I know you care   and sometimes when um passions run high um  people maybe communicate in different ways   but I hope that you feel heard uh from this  bench as well and got some of the answers uh   to your questions today and uh thank you for  being involved citizen because it's difficult   process yeah and can I just go back to the treats  thing one of the confusions is as as a citizen as   a public member there is a lot of confusion about  the difference between the Witchah Animal Shelter   and the Kansas Humane Society so I know recently  the Kansas Humane Society asked for treats and I   can guarantee you a lot of the community thought  when they were giving those treats to the Kansas   Humane Society they were also going to the W  the Witchaw Animal Shelter because I've lived   here 24 years and it wasn't until I started  this two months ago I realized those were not   even the same two businesses so there is a lot of  confusion there that those traits were not given   to the Witchaw Animal Shelter so when the Witchaw  animal shelter is asking for things people I mean   I've talked to numbers of peoples and like oh  I drop stuff off at the Humane Society all the   time that's not the Witchaw animal shelter so  there's a lot of con confusion that was one of   the reasons why I went to the board meeting is  because there's this big confusion that normal   citizens that are not in rescue don't understand  and don't know so Emily can you just address that   so that folks who are tuning in right now so they  do understand that there is two separate entities   despite a campus that is shared absolutely and  uh that it's a that's a common item of confusion   as we have almost identical buildings that are  on the same campus together um and it is a bit   more difficult uh we are very thankful for our  partner the Kansas Humane Society and they do   hold animals a bit quite a bit longer than us and  so we don't want to deter of course any treats or   support they do as a nonprofit they are dependent  on um all kinds of donations in kind and monetary   and animals stay there for um months at a time  versus a few days at a time such as our shelter   but yes they as citizens uh can see when they walk  into our pavilion underneath the um underneath the   pavilion on the sidewalk there are two facilities  one's to the left which says Witchaw Animal   Services and then one is to the right which says  Kansas Humane Society and donations can be dropped   at both um we don't typically share those types of  contributions so if they can make sure that they   head to the left that will donate to the Witchaw  Animal Shelter the Kansas Humane Society does take   the majority of our animals so they will get  your treats one way or the other can you just   also address the shelter itself when you go to the  left um these are animals that are stray animals   animals that have been dropped off can can you  address the shelter piece versus Oh yes uh which   uh sorry Kansas Humane Society yeah um no problem  uh so yes the the design of the partnership was so   that we could help more animals and get them saved  so we u minimized what the two organizations did   and had them focus on those so at Waw Animal  Services we are animal control which means   um enforcing ordinances and taking in stray and  lost and found pets so that can be rather whether   an animal is running at large or found one of  our animal control officers can come out and pick   that up and that will come into Witchaw Animal  Services or if you have found a lost or stray   animal you can bring that to us at Witchaw Animal  Services they then stay there for their legal   strayold period which is three business days and  that's why we really encourage citizens to look   um we do have a revised web page on 24 Pet  Connect which you can find on our website and   on our Facebook which will show you all of the  animals within that shelter after those three   business days then we've reached out to one of our  adoption partners like the Kansas Humane Society   where the animals will be transferred over for  adoption if the Kansas Humane Society is full   um or some of our rescue partners can take them  they also go out to different rescue partners   in our community and out of state thank you very  much Emily council member Hoheisel thank you Mary   or Mayor I'm sorry and uh thank you Janette  for showing up today um we need people like   you to constantly speak up about things that are  going on in our society so please don't let any   negative experience uh deter you from continuing  to advocate for your passions here uh and just   one other point I do regularly communicate with my  uh animal advisory uh member um so I I just wanted   to put that out there maybe a little too much  even so I was thankful that he made the comment   and got things under control because I don't  know how long things would have gone on had he   not kind of made a light comment to kind of make  them step back and realize that the the way they   were going was not appropriate well I'm glad to  hear that thank you thank you Miss Peterson and   thank you Emily and again also thank you to your  son who's going to join the police department mr clerk can you please call the next  individual lauren Hirs Witchdaw Public   Library System good news challenges and budget  considerations good morning and thank you all right i'm Lauren Hirs at 3823 East Funston  i've lived in Witchaw my whole life which turns   out to be one year less than Larry W martin Jr  has been employed for city public works i'm a   volunteer on the library board of directors  currently serving as chair i live in district   three right near our newest library branch  named after Dr ronald W walters a Witchin   known for his significant work in civil rights  and world politics i believe Witchah can be one   of the country's great cities i'm here to share  good news and an invitation to shift thinking   in 2017 Witchaw adopted a plan to address what's  needed to be increasingly employed educated safe   and connected witchah looked at different  geographical areas of the city and the more   prominent needs of each of those specific local  then designed a smart people focused plan for how   the Witchaw libraries can directly address those  needs i'm excited to share with you the good news   that I hope you will share abundantly with your  constituents the commitment is coming to fruition   by the end of this summer with the completion  of all branch remodels witchah has a set a fresh   set of libraries to be proud of and they are  responsive to exactly what's been identified to   help economic resilience employability connected  families increased reading and digital literacy   access to services and safety and simply a  healthy lifestyle and happiness libraries are   a bright spot for this city exactly what you can  proudly promote to your constituents as evidence   of the city's efforts please invite them to  explore the excellent programming and learn   about all the benefits that will save them money  and enhance their lives one aspect of that plan   was not kept however the plan adopted by council  included a recognition from the city that more   staffing would be necessary to safely run these  libraries and delivered that targeted programming   these new exciting spaces and materials are  practically useless without staff who are the   pivotal piece turning that city's investment to  real actual value people our staff are truly what   deliver the value for families people in need  people applying for jobs learning to navigate   a digital world and now more students with library  cards than ever before the rest of the branch plan   came together it's amazing everything is going  well and looking good and still Witchah libraries   are funded at a lower level than other cities like  ours i absolutely respect the complex challenge of   running my favorite city i ask that the library  cuts proposed recently absolutely not go through   there are no more meaningful efficiencies  or offset revenues to find the 5% cut as   has been suggested will effectively make libraries  further understaffed meaning less physically safe   to illustrate the impact it could look like  a 70% reduction in our collection resources   amounting to 30,000 books a 5% budgetary cut to  this system would realistically look like reducing   the footprint of our branches meaning two fewer  branches including the one right by my home named   after Ronald W walters it's the city's role to  provide an adequate basis of reliable operational   funding i do look forward to collaboration with  you and other library affiliates on how we can   partner to bring long-term consistency to the  budget if you're considering adding any staff   members at all anywhere in the city budget I hope  you'll match it by adding the promised support   that was already made to your library system and  certainly not cutting that budget i ask that you   instead consider how to leverage more value from  the public investment that's already been made and   how the libraries meaningfully impact our other  important priorities in this city like public   trust personal and civic empowerment homelessness  safety and city vibrancy we have data on all of   these how libraries support each of those things  and it makes sense it's proven that libraries   directly reduce crime that they're a positive  prevention strategy let's think holistically   now about how improving people's opportunity  and access actually raises their capability for   success but also proactively prevents homelessness  and critical health issues also joblessness i'm   proud of the steadfast vision and creativity  staff have applied as a Witchaw taxpayer I'm   satisfied with their approach to using funding  as meaningfully as possible and always looking   to serve more people and better our libraries can  be the hub of partnership leading collaborative   efforts toward building literacy which is a proven  anchor for healthy individuals families capable   workforce and economic stability according to  the citizen survey the libraries are the most   positively regarded and trusted aspect of the city  rather than deflate all that momentum the very   moment that we should be celebrating what we've  created over the last several years let's instead   use this positive energy to activate more Witans  to receive that benefit and use the services that   we've already invested in thank you thank you  Miss Hirs council member Hohheisle thank you   Mayor man I got the best board representatives I  believe at on on I'll put them up against anybody   so I appreciate you coming up and advocating and  it's not falling on deaf ears um there is a lot   going on as far as the budget trying to work  it out um but safety is definitely a concern   um for the librarians and the people there and it  is an investment um council member Tuttle often   talks about third grade literacy being the most  in important indicator of a child's whether they   succeed in life or not so um a lot of moving  parts please keep us keep us informed on your   thoughts and the um library board's thoughts and  we'll keep working the budget and see do the best   we can to protect the services that we possibly  can council member Johnson thanks Mayor i guess   it is district 3 day um I agree with everything  you said and appreciate your advocacy we had a   wonderful presentation and I think that was last  year from Dante working with all of our directors   looking at crime prevention and what we could do  and what we can invest in to help that and library   is a big part of that um I agree i'm supportive  of working with my colleagues to see what we can   do to hopefully not have that cut i think the  investment in libraries is a real investment in   our city and our future and just again thinking  about my own experience growing up I used to love   going to the library and just sitting there and  having an opportunity to learn and library staff   helping me and like you said if we if we cut those  folks it just makes it um not as good and we don't   follow through with the word that we gave years  ago so I am supportive of that i appreciate your   advocacy um and I'm hopeful that we won't have to  make those cuts and that we can actually make more   of an investment in our libraries because it's  necessary council member Ballard thank you Mayor   i would just mimic Council Member Hohisel and  uh Johnson's comments we recently have invested   um a lot of money to improve um and upgrade all of  our libraries and it would be detrimental to have   to cut staff after we have um made investments  and modernize some of the library technologies and   um I mean I've spent a lot of time at the public  library the Munissa library i'm probably dating   myself because it's not there anymore but there  the library is incredibly important and it's   incredibly important to everyone um and I just  think that we need to try to get creative and   during a really difficult time try to figure  out how we can protect our staff so that it's   available for our community so really appreciate  you coming and and advocating for the library i   think it's important for us to all get the same  information as well so I appreciate your time   council member Glascock thank you Mayor Lauren  thank you for speaking last year when we were   looking at proposed cuts from the manager the  one cut that I didn't recommend to this board   that was proposed by the manager was cuts to the  library there's not a private sector equivalent   to the library it's a public sector amenity  that isn't met in the private sector and so   I'm interested as we go in budget conversations  obviously we're going to have very difficult   discussions and I know all my colleagues are um  trying to figure out ways that we don't have to   um have some of these serious conversations  and I think we have to look systemically how   do we government differently and so I think all  of us would be interested in recommendations   um from the library board as well we're seven  people we're not going to solve all the city's   problems up here but I know our community has  the answers and so helping us in the process   especially as budget allocations happen over the  next few months would be critical and making sure   that we um tax some of the current amenities and  lastly I see director Jamie Nicks over there um   this is more of a maybe a future staff question  i'd like to see data on when the utilizers of the   library actually uh attend or visit the programs  can we get data on times of day which branches   that would be helpful in also staffing and so  um maybe Jamie has information already okay um I think just as cander our door counter  technology is from 1983 it counts the number   of people not the times of day so it's outdated  it's part of a project we have looking um forward   at some different technology but I can definitely  provide you um statistics on how branches are   used um from programming to circulation to um  meeting rooms etc i'll get that to you soon council member Johnson thanks Mayor and just a  disclaimer for my Andrew Library um until this   year with the extended hours the library would  close at 6 so if we look at attendance to justify   uh any investments attendance may not be high  because the library would close at 6:00 people   get off work at 5:00 unless kids walked up there  um it was utilized during the day by folks looking   for jobs and using the library but it won't it  will not have the attendance numbers as other   spaces so hopefully just that caveat as we look  at investment it did close at 6 it now closes at   8 temporarily so usage will be up but um that  is one thing that we would have to consider i   will add one more point of discussion that would  be helpful i attended um Tabernacle Bible Church   this past Sunday and one of the things they  mentioned was uh the idea of having a community   uh center and I've heard of multiple others near  the area are there any collaborative efforts that   we can have where maybe the library space can be  utilized for group um meetings or youth activities   so that again instead of having one space here  how about utilizing a space that is already   um available with lights and staffing yep we have  um encouraged that we'll continue to encourage   that we have a lot of public spaces available um  one of the concerns or critiques especially about   the MayAngelou library is it is the smallest of  the branch libraries so that meeting room I think   at the time held 15 or 20 it has expanded there's  a sun room there um so it it's getting there and   we'll continue to encourage partnerships jamie's  been doing a great job with that and the library   board um but that was just one of the critiques  from some of the groups was just it was a little   bit smaller so we're still working on building  out partnerships and programs there could I add   one thing um I think a an interesting piece of  data would also be to look at the usage after   the moment that we were able to increase  um a professional library position rather   than something like a clerk at um at two of our  branches including Walters because I think you'll   see that that does demonstrate that when you make  that change it's not it's actually compared to the   same same hours just barely increased and you  can see how that increased the quality of the   programming and the usage council member Ho Heisel  thank you Mayor and to Lauren's point I was at   the library yesterday uh for a meeting and there  were families outside waiting for it to open so um   there's a lot going on there um and it is kind of  a hard thing to really quantify with some of the   data but um extended hours does help so I I just  wanted to bring that up because there were three   or four families kind of waiting around for the  library to open yesterday so all right thank you thank you very much thank you Mr clerk  can you please call the next individual council member Johnson thanks Mayor just  one more thing I always bring up with the   Walters branch um when we opened it was very  excited for that um I still would love to see   um working with the family of Dr walters and  Howard University on some collaborative maybe   sharing some materials there um we had that  conversation and then it kind of got lost when   you know the pandemic and everything but  would love to kind of see that revisited   i think that would be an awesome opportunity  for folks to learn about the amazing work of Dr   walters um who he was what he stood for  and I know his wife would love that as   well we talked about that when she was here  so just want to always throw that back out it looks like we don't have any  more scheduled individuals we   have two more spots for individuals  who would like to address the council diana Tedlock and I'm in Baggie's district um want  to touch on a couple things that Janette talked   about if you guys really want to see what happened  at the meeting I would encourage you to watch   the video those are online now for the animal  advisory board and I would encourage you all to   watch the entire section of the public comments  so if you want to see what really took place I   would also I guess suggest that you address the  problem not the whole some of the individuals   that make these meetings contentious there have  been I have written personal emails on some of   the same individuals i know ethics complaints  have been filed on some of those individuals   so it's due to the whole maybe address the problem  um also and on the donations as far as the wish   list I know on the Witchah animal shelter site  at the very bottom there's a section that says   wish list and I brought this up last fall in  animal advisory control but the link doesn't   work to it i mean it's just an easy fix i did tell  Emily about it just I think last week or the week   before we are opening up communications there but  I mean it was known and it was stated in an animal   advisory board meeting and that just seems like a  pretty simple fix that it's six seven months later   the kennel space I would like to address the  maintenance of the kennel space i know there's   some repairs that we've known about needing  since November and now the contractor wants   to show shut down two hallways at a time the city  you know we should be directing how many halls can   be closed at a time we should be directing that  work statement it's summer it's the busy time   of the year you got Fourth of July coming so we  need to direct that work not have the contractor   tell us what they want the next thing I'd like  to address is the budget the police have 40%   of the city's budget and yet when Chief Sullivan  was asked to provide input of reductions to help   offset the forecasted deficit in the years 2026  and 27 the best he could come up with was the   elimination of the animal control animal control  field services and the shelter in its entirety so responsible leadership would have submitted  at a minimum the following tactics and goals with   detailed costbenefit analysis a volunteer program  promised for years the was occupancy for the last   two months has been 40 to 45% of kennels have  been empty we need to get that up to at least   the 75% that they've talked about for care to  capacity we don't have enough people in the   shelter already to do the job we can't even  fill the positions we have my understanding   there's two animal control positions and two  to three kennel techch positions open what do   we need to do to get those filled does that need  to be a higher rate what what do we need need to   do to get people in there um enhanced cleaning  protocols kennel cough isn't ramp rampid in the   community i mean I think I've heard that Emily  had said you know they're hoping that they can   get better power washers you know and and one of  the benefits or the initiative she talked about   was the volunteer program um talked about getting  kennels outside so the animals can get play areas   um training for the officers the shelter doesn't  have enough staff yet not one of those tactics   was included in the budget discussion not one  just a complete defunding of an entire function   needed by the community that's not responsible  leadership on any level no collaborative efforts   have been made with the county at this point so  for that to even be put um on let's see to make   any Yeah there's no betterments at all there's  no tactics just a complete elimination and a   responsible city manager finance department  would never have even accepted that as input   as a plausible option to incorporate into any  presentation to the city council at that level   if I would have done that when I was at Spirit  and Boeing it would have been shut down at first   level management it would have never got to the  executive level i don't know how that happened   how do you think you can go in and just defund a  complete function i It just amazes me that that   could would even be brought up but that's it for  now any questions council member Ballard thank you   i'm not sure and I thank you for being here i'm  not sure if this is um a question that staff knows   or Emily but can we speak to the contractor's  suggestion about closing down um two holes um yes that actually wasn't necessarily the  contractor's suggestion i mean oh yeah thank   you that wasn't exactly the contractor's  suggestion we have a time period in which   we need to get these repairs completed and so um  in order to be able to do that in a manner that   um I guess works with the high populations that  we are doing um and being able to get the work   done within that time period this is this is the  schedule and which we need to follow because the   cure time of the product um the time that it  takes to actually cut out the existing cocking   and replace the new put in the epoxy floor and  then when animals can have access back to those   kennels and then the time it takes to physically  move the 20 animals from one set of kennels to the   others on top of daily operations the two kennels  um at a time was the minimum number um that we   could accomplish and still meet that schedule is  there something that we can do or that we could do   to try to help i mean I feel like every time's  a busy time i know you guys are extremely busy   and there's probably never a time that is ideal  to do this work but is there something that like   temporarily we could do or is there anything  to do to help um I um I don't want to have   to put down more animals or not take animals  or something you know drastic right yes yeah   i mean we don't want to do any of that um it's  it really is just a matter of of bad timing it's   um and resources that we have available um to be  able to provide the hum humane care like somebody   was like "Well can you just put up temporary  kennels in a room somewhere or something like   that?" and you really can't do things like that  and um provide humane care and so I think that   um what internally with our existing staff  that we have available to us um it's still   even a stretch to be able to provide care for  all of those animals as it is um especially just   with and not that we can address the volunteer  program and the um total capacity that she was   discussing separately but um we are working with  owners that we can't so we could get drop reduced   fees anything we can do to get the animals back to  the owners because that's really these aren't wild   animals these are people's pets and um figuring  out how we can get these people's pets back to   their owners is going to be the most effective way  to be able to save as many lives in this scenario   so staff is authorized to be able to reduce fees  and any capacity that we are capable of try to   we're trying to contact owners as fast as we can  we're proactively working with our rescue groups   and the Kansas Humane Society to try to get those  animals that are unlikely to be claimed um out the   door or with some type of placement it's just  it's just an intense season for our staff and   it's something that's part of our job i don't  I haven't been able to figure out alternative   solutions to be able to meet our requirements  well if you think of something or come up with   something please let us know because you have  suggestions you would like incorporated into the   budget by or staff and things like that i didn't  see any of that coming through to city council   so that's where my concern is you have the person  running the shelter saying "I need these things."   you have her boss coming to you say let's defund  it in its entirety complete disconnect no support   at all I wouldn't want to work for that kind of I  wouldn't work for that kind of Thank you Emily and   thank you Miss Tedlock Miss uh we have one more  spot for another individual who would like to   speak I see none Mr mr clerk can you please call  the next item consent agenda items 1 through 16 are there any items to be pulled from the  consent agenda i see none i will move to   approve mayor consent council member Johnson  thank you Mayor like to pull item 14 and 16 any others i see none i move  to approve the consent agenda   without item number 14 and item  number 16 second motion and a   second any further discussion i see  none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 we'll go in  numerical order agenda consent   agenda item number 14 council member  Johnson thanks Mayor actually for both   items due to a personal conflict  I have to abstain from voting consent agenda item number 14 is in regards  to the home program 2024 housing development   loan program Witchah Habitat for Humanity  Inc funding allocation in district number   one i see no questions from the bench we  will now open it up for public comment i   see none i'll bring it back to the bench i move  to approve consent agenda item number 14 second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 60 with one abstension consent  agenda item number 16 what council member has   stated i see no further questions from the bench  we will now open it up for public comment i see   none i'll bring it back to the bench i move to  approve consent agenda item number 16 second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 60 with one abstension  mr clerk please call the next item   board of bids and contracts dated June 9 2025 morning Mayor City Council Josh Lober Department  of Finance Board of Bids and Contracts convened   yesterday June 9th 2025 for the following items  for engineering we have the 2025 outsource   pavement preservation program CIP Concrete  Street Repairs Phase 4 for PPJ Construction   Incorporated awarded within the engineers estimate  of $442,500 from the original bid of $368,781.50 we have the 2025 outsource paving  preservation program joint and crack   seal phase 4 reject all bids we have the for  purchasing the structural firefighting boots   for Ed Mfeld Equipment Company Incorporated  doing business as Feld Fire for 72,761.50 estimated we have the water meter test bench  for Municipal Supply Incorporated for 127,492.3 we have the mechanical screening  of street sweepings and finished   compost for Brooks Landfill reject  all bids we have the license track   software annual renewal for progressive  solutions incorporated for $68,3326 we have the engineered wood  fiber safety surfacing for   various playgrounds for Rocky Mountain  Distributors Incorporated for $65,99357 this is how to become a vendor with the city  of Witchah this is a purchasing calendar of   small events with our resource partners that  we're hosting or participating in and these   are open public opportunities and a little bit  back to normaly as we go from five slides to two   i'll be happy to answer your questions thank  you Josh questions for staff beginning with   council member Hohheisel thank you mayor uh  Josh can we go back to slide six please sure did we How many bids did we have for this um  yes we did have bids we did have process but   the issue was a change of scope requiring us to  rebid it um so we don't want to complete the bid   have material changes in the specifications  to have a vendor protest risk so to avoid   that entirely we are going to modify the  specifications retool it and put it back   out for the public opportunity okay thank  you good question Josh same question but   for slide number nine okay uh this one there  was an error in the scope and I want to say   um don't quote me on that but I but we are putting  it back out to rebid it again there was an issue I   think and this is the part don't quote me please  um I think there was an issue with the estimated   quantities where our customer the requesting  department listed the annual usage as the   aggregate total five years instead of one year  so it was very um overstated so we need to put   it back out thank you and then slide number five  um in this situation streets is the second most   um high priority for this council uh can you  talk about this specific item why the lowest   bid was not taken instead sure this is a  great question and and can look misleading   in our processes so we did take the lowest bid  because the original bid of PPJ was $368,781.50 lower than the Prao construction bid  um we utilize that uh low placement   to then negotiate or award them within the  engineer's estimate above the original bid   by the city engineer requesting  this that mean more street will   be repaired i'm going to have to have  the city engineer help me with that one good morning mayor city council members paul  Gman public works and utilities for the record   um to answer that question not necessarily um as  we get into the blocks more work may be needed   than we had initially anticipated when we did  the um estimated quantities to be repaired so   that gives us some flexibility to do a little  bit more work still staying within the $442,500   budget and remind us again this is concrete  street repair is it in one specific district   or in this one is probably in multiple districts  thank you very much i see no further questions for   staff this does not get public comment so I will  move to approve the board of bids and contracts   dated June 9th 2025 second motion and a second any  further discussion i see none mr clerk please open   the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please call  the next item petitions for public improvements   paul Gunsman Public Works and Utilities for the  record I have one location for your consideration   this morning the signatures on the petitions  represent 100% of the improvement districts   and the petition is valid per Kansas statute  brookfield South edition located in district   2 i apologize for the typo on October 11th 2022  the city council approved paving improvements   required for a new residential development the  developer has submitted a revised paving petition   to move the project financing from acquisition  of a privately bid constructed to construction   of publicly bid improvements the budget remains as  previously approved and it is recommended that the   city council approve the revised petition adopt  the new resolution and authorize the necessary   signatures thank you Paul can you go back to  that slide it's slide 21 right it's district   number two is that correct yes okay thank you very  much i see no questions for you again this does   not get public comment so I move to approve  the petitions for public improvements second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please  call the next item public hearing   to consider establishing a community  improvement district for SOC corner honorable mayor members of council Troy Anderson  assistant city manager um so previously uh you all   approved a resolution setting today as the public  hearing to establish uh this community improvement   district just a little bit of background on the  company though uh Soci Economic Development Group   LLC or SOSI is the owner of multiple mixeduse  buildings located at the subject property   on the southwest corner of Lincoln Street and  South Broadway they plan to make investment to   redevelop that corner to include some retail  office as well as some multif family space   uh they have requested the use of uh establishing  a community improvement district to assist in the   development and construction of the project  um as the one and sole owner of the property   uh the C petition is signed by 100% of the  land owners no taxpayer dollars are at risk   the estimated value of the project's about $2.6  million um the eligible expenses total about   $450,000 uh and so the applicant is requesting the  use of a C sales tax 2% for up to the 22 years as   you may recall either the cost cap will be met or  the 22 years will be met once the cost cap or the   22 years is met then the C district is retired  um developer will pay all construction costs   associated with the project uh the city will not  use uh debt for the project and then the proceeds   from the sales tax will then be uh rebated back to  the developer to rebate uh to reimburse them for   those eligible expenses up to that $450,000 law  departments reviewed and approved the ordinance   as to form it's recommended city council hold  the public hearing close the public hearing   place the ordinance on first reading and then  authorize the necessary signatures we do have   representatives here from the applicant to  answer any questions that you may have but   otherwise I'll stand for questions thank you Troy  questions for staff beginning with council member   Glasscock thank you Mayor i just have a few  questions it talks about the C project will   include parking lot security improvements but then  the subsequent line says that improvements will   just do roof facade interior work to renovate the  building so what will be the security improvements   i will defer to the applicant to tell  you a little bit more about the project good morning adam Barlo Thompson uh live at  11:21 South Waco about five blocks from the   uh where the location is for the C uh we'll  have several parts of this that include   uh improved lighting on the corner uh security  system with cameras and some fencing to uh   especially for the part that includes residential  space so that folks can get in and out of their   spaces and feel safe on that corner so any more  questions for you uh looking at the basis for up   to 22 years for the CI that typical um I was board  understanding it was 20 years but it's a 22 years   for all the C projects yeah uh C can carry 22  years carry up to 22 yep and so most applicants   will ask for the 22 years just in the context of  depending on how sales tax proceeds come in and   how those proceeds are then rebated back um if  for whatever reason sales tax do not realize as   may be anticipated that gives them the entire  shock clock so to speak to try to recover as   much of that of those eligible reimbursements as  possible but if they come in greater than expected   once they meet those cost caps then the district  could be retired early okay two other questions um   regarding the developer has proposed uh these to  be used at Lincoln Park regarding the 10% of the   CI for eligible costs for uh public improvements  i was trying to scan through the entire document   and I just didn't see any like contingency that  they're used for Lincoln Park is there a separate   um uhou that we have be or did I miss something  in the contractual agreement so these will be used   at Lincoln Park so as those sales tax proceeds  come in uh there's a provision talks about the   origination fee the city will capture the 10% of  those sales taxes as they come in as part of that   origination fee and then the city can allocate  those dollars towards the project as described   and then do we capture in the first 10% or is  it throughout the entire life of the project or   is it the first 45,000 that directly goes towards  these improvements so let's say they don't collect   the total the total 450,000 over the course of  22 years let's say it's less so let's say it's   300,000 over the course of that well then we're  only going to spend 30,000 is that spent up the   upfront or do have to wait 22 years explain that  project the in most scenarios we capture just 10%   right um until either that cost cap um is met  and the district is retired or the 22 years and   the district's retired we we just capture 10%  of whatever proceeds come in um now one of the   things we could do is we can always city can bond  upfront for those public improvements and then use   proceeds to reimburse ourselves over that period  of time right or we've seen in other scenarios   whereby the city builds up those proceeds over  a period of time and then uses those to pay for   some that that was more my question we're going to  build up the proceeds over the course of the time   so when do we are you going to wait full 22 years  so let's say we're at the halfway mark and they're   you know at 200,000 we implement 20,000 worth of  improvements versus waiting the full 22 years what   have we done in other projects that have allowed  the full investment of up to 45,000 so so we've   seen any number of scenarios right it depends on  the community project that has been identified   at this point in time we don't even know kind of  exactly what those improvements look like right   and so um as we continue to work with the district  representative and the community on what those   improvements could look like should like we'll  have to go get cost estimates on what those are   once we develop a project right then we can better  ascertain um whether or not again city wants to   bond that out front or it could be a project we've  seen in some scenarios there was a a project a   couple years ago um and there was some some uh  trail connections trail work that they wanted   to do right and so we'd slowly just been putting  those monies sort of in an escrow account until   such time as the trail gets widened to a certain  point and so we knew that was a sort of a a future   forwardlooking project that we could just build  up the proceeds until a project identified itself   um in this case we have a project so most likely  we'll just work with our our finance department   understand the costs perhaps go out bond finance  to get the project work done and then use those   proceeds as they trickle in well it could be  difficult to bond the project up front if we   don't realize the full,000 because at risk  for spending more money C and that's where   it's just a balancing act of in timing right once  we get better cost estimates we can continue to   evaluate the risk of how the project is coming  it might be a year it might be two year we can   always monitor how the project is coming along  before we make that kind of public investment yep any further questions for staff i just have one  for the U developer and group uh the neighboring   movement has done a lot of great work around that  area can you just tell us what the big vision for   this area is absolutely thank you and thank you  for considering this proposal we uh have are   celebrating our 10th year as a nonprofit this week  actually and for over that time period have been   working in the neighborhood to connect neighbors  on a blockby-block level and one of the things   that we realized is that there is a structural  barrier to the community building trust in the   vacant properties that are in our community so  in 2023 we uh recruited a group of neighbors we   called them the property team and we just started  brainstorming about what we could do about these   uh vacant properties abandoned properties  underutilized properties in the neighborhood   about that time we had a fire in the neighborhood  and the person who owned the properties across   the street from our office put them all up for  sale and we were able to utilize some of our   uh our our most faithful donors to go in and  purchase those properties which are the ones   that are in this project one of the things that we  know about our neighborhood is that South Broadway   for generations has been an issue in Witchah that  people said,"I wish somebody would do something   about that." It took us a while 10 years to  realize "Oh they meant us we're the ones who   need to do something about that." And so this is  our effort to reconnect a historical neighborhood   to the city of Witchah our goal is to link this  to downtown the properties that we are in this   uh the rental income that will come from these  will go into a community a fund that will be   directed by the neighbors to continue to improve  the neighborhood and we really want to use that   south Broadway corridor as a way to reconnect to  the economic engine that is downtown Witchah uh   this is less than a mile to the new uh um health  center that the KU uh and Witchaw State Health   Center that's being built so it's not it's not  an outlandish thing to imagine that we could   be a part of a neighbor to those those those  facilities and that our neighbor the people who   live in the community would be able to direct  those funds we envision our neighborhood as a   workforce neighborhood it's the neighborhood where  people who work downtown as maintenance folks as   uh in the restaurants those people need a place  to live where and a place they can be proud of   that's what our neighborhood is going to become  uh and we want to make this a central hub of the   community where people can come and and be proud  of this is my neighborhood's space and so we're   excited to to see what happens with that it's also  exciting to me that this is a partnership between   um public uh support with with this C a nonprofit  we have representatives here from the Witchaw   Foundation and the Kansas Health Foundation  who are are helping us with funding as well   as Fidelity Bank who has been a generous um donor  and also will hold our loan for this project and   so it's it's a partnership i mean none of this  would happen without incredible collaboration   there's a reason why developers haven't done  anything on South Broadway in a long time it   takes a lot of effort and a lot of partnership to  go into a space like this make it sustainable make   it something that we can then project into the  future um I'm very excited to have all of these   uh these people in our corner because you know I  was not trained to be real estate person and so   I needed all of their support as we as we did  this project so thank you thank you very much   Adam and I appreciate the collaboration that you  have gathered not just amongst neighbors but then   spreading it out and seeing how public dollars  can help through donorship and then now leveraging   uh public dollars or public assistance really  um because you'll have to make the investment in   uh this property and as the generation of  sales taxes comes through then you will you   will get repaid but in the meantime you'll  have to pay for the improvements first and   again that's why no taxpayer dollars are  being used in this so again thank you for   uh trying to revitalize South Broadway and I  appreciate all the efforts that you have gathered   through the neighboring movement and uh really  in collaborating with more partners so thank   you Adam i see no further questions from this  bench we will now open it up for public comment morning mayor city council my name is Tim  McQuary i live at 10002 South Broadway   i'm right in the middle of this area um thank  you for the opportunity to show the support   for this community improvement district which  I and many other residents believe is a pivotal   step in uplifting the South Central neighborhood  the approval of a C is a critical step forward   transforming our neighborhood into a more vibrant  state vibrant safe and economically prosperous   place and will breathe new life into the area the  neighboring movement is ready to move forward on   its redevelopment project this is a group that is  not only just talking about improving the area it   has actually stepped up and started the process  as a neighbor it's great to see someone investing   in a project south of Kellogg there's currently  significant development along the south along the   Broadway corridor in the downtown area but sadly  it stops at Kellogg we'd like to see that change   the C is one piece of a larger revitalization  puzzle so many of us are working to toward here   my partner Amy and I are tackling the nuisance  reporting side of things we have a neighbor who   is championing for Lincoln Park a group of us pick  up trash weekly we have several active churches   and schools many residents run small businesses  here and are working towards opening them we have   a group that maintains a community garden we also  have many fantastic residents who own their own   homes some of which are historic included on  the local state and national registries the C   will help rework a corner of the neighborhood that  is currently blighted and turn it into something   we residents can all take pride in i urge you to  consider the immense benefits that a C will bring   and to support this initiative wholeheartedly soc  is a gem that needs to be repolished support from   the city can help make this happen thank you any  questions thanks Tim any further comments i see   none i'll bring it back to the bench council  member Hoheisle thank you Mayor Mayor um thank   you all for the work that you're doing it's been  a pleasure to really get to know you over the last   four years and see the good work that you guys  are doing i did want to give a special shout out   to Karen Cren who's been um really working  as on Lincoln Park and activating that park   um once a month i think you're you're trying  to hold events there and um I've just been   able to see it increase over the past couple of  years the attendance there so um that is a very   special thing that you're doing and we're going  to continue to work to make sure that that is a   special park that the neighborhood can enjoy um we  we got a lot of work to do on South Broadway but   we've also made great strides and you guys have  made great strides over the past couple of years   so I did want to um just tell you guys how much  I appreciate it also to the other investors um   the Witchah Foundation the Health Foundation Aaron  Bastion um it's great to just see more focus down   uh south of the Great Wall of Kellogg as we like  to refer to it so uh we're going to continue to   move forward and again thank you for investing in  Lincoln Park as well again we're going to continue   to make sure that that is a very special place um  the fire is now the state firefighter memorial so   um we're working on our end too to to help fund  raise for that that effort as well so um unless   there's anybody else that would like to speak I  would go ahead and entertain a motion um I'd like   to go ahead and move that the city council close  the public hearing place the ordinance on first   reading and authorize the necessary signatures  second motion and a second any further discussion   i see none mr clerk please open the role motion  passes 70 mr clerk please call the next item   public hearing in request by Clemson Aviation  LLC for approval of a letter of intent to issue   airport special facility revenue bonds honorable  mayor members of council Ian Troy Anderson   assistant city manager uh so this is a project um  that is going to be conducted by Clemens Aviation   uh they're a fixed base operator out at Jabara  Airport um they have a number of facilities out   there already they're continuing to just grow and  expand and we're really really excited to have   them as a community partner uh so this project  specifically is yet another 1,800 square foot   facility at Jabara to support charter operations  aircraft maintenance and more they're requesting a   letter of intent to issue airport special facility  revenue bonds in an amount not to exceed $2   million again Newfield facility will be in similar  size and nature to the existing six hangers that   are already out there there is no property tax  abatement being requested as the property is on   land owned by the airport authority and in essence  is exempt from property tax sort of in perpetuity   the approximate value of the sales tax exemption  though is totaled at about $82,000 with the city   share being approximately 6,200 $6,300 standard  disclaimer revenue bonds are a mechanism for   achieving a sales tax exemption and or property  tax abatement in a revenue bond city's not lending   any money bears no risk owner developers  required to achieve all of its own financing   again no taxpayer dollars are at risk clemens  Aviation or their subsidiaries agree to pay all   costs of issuing the bonds and agrees to pay the  annual origination fees bonds will be purchased   by Clemens or a related entity upon issuance bond  documents as the bond documents are uh prepared   uh they'll be prepared by outside bond council  but ultimately the city's law department will   will review and approve all of the final forms  prior to issuance of any bonds with that being   said uh staff's recommendation city council hold a  public hearing close the public hearing adopt the   resolution and authorize the necessary signatures  um we do have representatives from Clemens   Aviation here today to answer any questions you  might have otherwise I'll stand for questions   questions for staff i see none we'll open it  up for public comment i see none we'll bring it   back to the bench this resides in Council Member  Tuttles district thank you very much Troy thank   you for the presentation and all of your work on  this i also want to thank Clemens Aviation um it's   so exciting to see what's happening on that web  corridor i always say that orange cones and cranes   make me happy and there's lots of orange cones  and cranes in that area right now with WU Tech and   things that are going on but also with Clemens so  with that I would enthusiastically 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 mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please call the next  item public hearing in request by Garver LLC for   approval of a letter of intent to issue  airport special facility revenue bonds   honorable mayor members of council again  Troy Anderson assistant city manager this   request comes from Garver LLC um they are an  employeeowned mult multidisciplined engineering   planning architectural and environmental firm  they've got over 1500 employees across the US   uh locally though we are proud to uh have  the team in our community representing our   community they've been a good partner on a number  of projects um and so this particular project um   while not new construction is a renovation of an  existing facility and therefore we're preserving   some of our existing infrastructure um the address  1935 Midfield Road um adjacent to the Eisenhower   Airport the renovation will include reconfiguring  modernizing the existing 7100 foot building to   provide for a second professional service office  uh and again excitingly Garver is investing   uh because they anticipate continued growth  in their organization uh they're expected to   grow from roughly 60 to 100 employees within the  next five years uh therefore they're requesting a   letter of intent to issue airport special facility  revenue bonds and an amount not to exceed $1   million again the bonds will facilitate renovation  furnishing and equipment and equipping uh the   project uh there's no property tax abatement being  requested as again this is on airport authority   ground approximately value of the sales tax  exemption is about 37,000 uh with the city share   being approximately $2,800 standard disclaimer  revenue bonds are a mechanism for achieving a   sales tax exemption or property tax abatement in  a revenue bond transaction city's not lending any   money bears no risk developer owner developer  is required to achieve all of its own financing   and no taxpayer dollars are at risk uh Garver has  agreed to pay all costs of issuing the bonds and   uh the annual origination fees bonds will be  purchased by Garver related entity upon issuance   bond documents will be prepared by outside  council but ultimate authority will lie with the   uh law department for approval of final form that  being said staff's recommendation city council   hold a public hearing close the public hearing  adopt the resolution and authorize the necessary   signatures uh we do have a representative from  Garber here today to answer any questions you   might have and otherwise I'll stand for  questions thanks Troy questions for staff   i see none we'll open it up for public comment  i see none we'll bring it back to the bench this   resides in Council Member GlassCox's district  thank you mayor seeing nobody else on the board   um thank you to Garver for their investment in  Witchaw um it's going from 60 to 100 over the next   5 years is pretty incredible nearly doubling their  workforce and so with that I am happy to move that   we close the public hearing adopt the resolution  and authorize the necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 mr clerk  please call the next item first reading of an ordinance authorizing the  city to issue industrial revenue bonds for the   bulk conveyors project honorable mayor members of  council again Troy Anderson assistant city manager   um before I jump into this one I want to just kind  of set the stage a little bit typically these show   up on consent right because we've already done the  LOI uh now the project's complete this is sort of   just that formal process of issuing the bonds uh  associated with closing out the project um but   here's an opportunity to really just continue to  celebrate the ongoing investment in and around our   community right so uh bulk conveyors as a global  provider of conveying and elevating products um   they design manufacture chain conveyors bucket  elevators supported conveyors chain breakers parts   for conveying equipment uh they experienced  rapid growth over the past several years and   uh previously in the issuance of an LOI with the  intention of constructing a 150,000 foot facility   to support their growth we are proud to and  that project is now complete right and so we're   standing here in front of you today again kind of  celebrating the ongoing continued investment in   our community this again is just the issuance of  the bonds to close out the project uh but wanted   to take an opportunity to uh just thank Bulk  Conveyor for their continued investment but uh   back in 2024 city council adopted the resolution  for the letter of intent not exceeding $13 million   previously we had shared with you all uh that they  were qualif qualifying for 100% tax abatement we   provided the numbers uh as part of the costbenefit  analysis i won't read through those those are all   in the staff report uh again the project is now  complete parties desire to close out the project   so Prestige Worldwide Holdings LLC has agreed  to purchase the bonds again as you heard in the   other two items right the applicants required to  obtain all of their own financing um required to   pro connect with somebody who will ultimately  purchase the bond so in this case prestigious   worldwide holdings standard decla disclaimer  around revenue bonds so financial considerations   the purchaser agrees to pay all costs of issuing  the bonds and agrees to pay the city's annual   origination fees so bond documents have been  prepared in this case um by outside council law   department has reviewed and approved them in final  form with that being said it's recommended city   council place the ordinance on first reading and  authorize the necessary signatures i will stand   for questions thank you Troy 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 this resides  in Council Member Maggie Ballard's district thank   you Mayor i am uh very excited about this project  um it is giant and incredible growth for um the   North Broadway Corridor so um with that I would  um move to place the ordinance on first reading   authorize the necess necessary signatures second  motion and a second any further discussion i see   none mr clerk please open the role motion passes  70 mr clerk please call the next item an ordinance   amending chapters 2.76 and 2.77 of the code of the  city of Witchah Kansas pertaining to requests for   open records good morning Sharon Degraph City  Law Department uh the Kansas Open Records Act   better known as Kora establishes a process to  request copies of public records in response   to the state statute uh the city has adopted  ordinances which established the process to   request records and the costs that can be assessed  for these requests recently the Kansas legislature   limited the amount of fees that could be assessed  for core requests the proposed amendments comply   with the two with the new law and require a couple  things um first only actual costs may be assessed   secondly staff time must be build at the lowest  cost category of staff necessary to provide the   access or the documents and staff time must  be based on the employees actual salary not   including benefits the provisions um are changed  regarding staff time costs fees for general staff   time are reduced to $5 per quarter hour from $6  per quarter hour attorney time has increased from   $9 per quarter hour to $10 per quarter hour  and it time remains unchanged at $9.50 per   quarter hour um those fees are less than actual  staff time to prepare these document requests   the Kansas legislature also provided that if the  invoice is greater than five hours or $200 um   custodians are required to contact the requesttor  um to attempt to mitigate the cost of the request   and we historically have done that in the past and  tried to help the requesttor um come up with terms   or options to to limit the scope of the request  um the new bill in the proposed language in the   ordinance um provides that if the requesttor  does not respond to the custodian's request   within 3 days then that request can be closed or  considered withdrawn um the recommendation is that   you approve the proposed ordinance and place it on  first reading and I would stand for any questions thank you Sharon thank you any any comments from  the bench councilman Glascock thank you Vice Mayor   quick question it looks like we are required  to do this by state law um but how much do we   expect this to affect on the budget i imagine  pretty nominal but is there going to be any   large effect on the budget given the it it will be  pretty pretty nominal okay thank you any further   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 will move to approve the proposed  ordinance and authorize the necessary signatures   second motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please call the  next item 2025 arterial sidewalk program good morning again mayor city council members  paul Gunsman public works and utilities for the   record the item before you is the 2025 arterial  sidewalk program the adopted 2025 through 2034   capital improvement program includes an  ongoing project to install sidewalks and   wheelchair ramps on arterial streets proposed  locations for this year are Synica from 63rd   Street to 55th Street South 55th Street south  west of Synica to Charles and 45th Street North   from Hoover to Bridgeport and if funding is  available we will add additional locations   some of the previous arterial sidewalk projects  we have constructed in recent years is on North   Meridian North 58th Street as well as 53rd  Street northwest of Meridian the proposed   um one of the proposed 2025 locations is um there  on South Synica the the north is to the right of   the screen um there is an existing sidewalk um  north of 55th on Cynica we propose to extend   that sidewalk south to 63rd Street as well as  um from 55th and Synica west to Charles and   that would tie into some sidewalk that is has  been constructed there in front of Campus High there are a few um conditions that we need  to work around or challenges uh there is a   drainage structure just south of 55th and Synica  um when that Synica was constructed years ago the   box culvert was wide enough just to accommodate  the travel lanes so that box would likely need   to be extended to accommodate new sidewalk and  then the picture on the right is a picture taken   um looking east from 55th and Vine um again  some rideaway challenges and there's limited   space along the existing roadway with uh  trees in the existing ditch so with this   um again I mentioned the design challenges  narrow rightway um may need to look at   obtaining some sidewalk easements and then  working around utility structures as well the other location I will highlight today  is um on North Hoover um couple projects   we have there the red is the existing  path that was built in recent years the   the Crystal Prairie Lake path project shown  in yellow will be constructed in 2026 that   will extend the path network through  the K96 interchange up to 45th Street   and we had a request for sidewalk along  45th Street to the west over to Ridgeport um these are a few pictures of the existing  conditions looking west on Hoover um on the left   um we will evaluate a crossing there  at 45th Street as well and then the   picture on the right is looking  um southwest of 45th and Hoover financial considerations the adopted 2025 through  2034 capital improvement program includes general   obligation bond funding of $750,000 in 2025  for design and construction of sidewalk and   wheelchair ramps at this time staff is  requesting initiating the full amount of   $750,000 and we will most likely um look for  design services from a consultant to help us   with these projects with that is recommended the  city council approved the project and locations   adopt the resolution and authorize the necessary  signatures and I will stand for questions thanks   Paul questions for staff beginning with Council  Member Johnson thanks Mayor thanks Paul um just   a quick technical question are these our 4ft  sidewalks or the 10 foot like walk they these   will most likely be six feet along the arterial  road if we can fit that in okay and just one   question it's more about the total budget for  these three different projects what's the total   budget for each of these three that is not um  we have not identified those we have $750,000   for the all projects for the arterial sidewalk  in 2025 so those would se be separated out once   we have design underway um we don't know how much  that box extension will cost at this time but we   will take the money as far as it goes council  member Johnson thanks Mayor um on the Crystal   Prairie Lake edition is there any way we can stamp  the concrete in the form of like a Jason mask i don't know about that council member Johnson you just won't  stop about that well there are no further   questions for staff we will now open it up  for public comment i see none we'll bring   it back to the bench this is in multiple  districts so any council like to move it council member Ballard thank you um I would like to take the  recommended action approve the projects   and locations adopt the resolution and  authorize the necessary signatures second motion and a second with now comments from council  member Glott it's a motion and seconded i'm very   supportive of this i want to especially uh give  a shout out to Mayor Kesler of Hazesville who's   also the chair of WMO um him and I have had a lot  of conversations about Senica from 63rd to 55th   Street South to make sure that we're connecting  our communities um connecting this to the Hazville   community also Ruth Clark Elementary campus and  then South Lakes is um incredibly exciting uh   this is I want to thank Paul as well this has  happened faster than I think um the mayor and I   expected and I'm thankful for your work on this as  well and uh just connecting our communities should   be one of our top priorities when we're looking  at sidewalk expansion so very supportive of this   and I'll be voting in favor motion in a second any  further discussion i see none mr clerk please open   the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please call the  next item 2026 sewer mains for future development paul Gunsman public works and utilities for  the record the item is 2026 sewer mains for   future development the adopted 2025 through 2034  capital improvement program includes funding for   projects to construct new sewer main extensions  to provide service to currently underserved areas   unserved areas sorry the projects will primarily  serve new development with sewer availability as   needed as the city grows proposed projects  are requested by by developers and evaluated   by staff to make sure the project is in the  best interest of the utility and the city of   Witchah this account is run on a first come  first serve basis and the projects proposed   projects for 2026 are courtyards at Jacob's  Farm Edition as well as Yellowstone edition   and I have a map on those here in a another slide  the adopted 2025 through 2034 capital improvement   program includes $2,262,500 for the extension of  sewer mains in 2026 the collection of main benefit   fees in the amount of 071 cents per square foot  will reimburse the utility 50% of the main cost   as smaller mains are extended staff has requested  approval of the entire budget at this time and the   projects will be funded from future revenue bonds  or sewer utility and water utility cash reserves   if revenue bonds are issued an additional 8% will  be added for financing administrative cost here is   a map the two locations jacob Farms located there  northwest of Central and 135th Street and part of   the 2025 um surains for future development um paid  for the design of this as well as the Yellowstone   edition down near souththeast of Ponyie and 119th  Street it is recommended that city council approve   the budget adopt the ne adopt the resolution and  authorize the necessary signatures thank you Paul   questions for staff i see none we'll open it up  for public comment i see none we'll bring it back   to the bench this is in district four and district  5 i'll make the motion uh recommend that the city   council approve the budget adopt the resolution  and authorize and necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please  call the next item property and   evidence rounds and porter facility improvements morning mayor and council captain Jason Kulie with  Witchaw Police Department this is the uh property   and evidence um also rounds and porter it's  kind of got a double name facility improvements   uh where we keep our evidence over at third in  Waco uh the rounds and porter building is located   uh just west of city hall it serves as our  primary facility for the police department   for our property and evidence operations uh in  the adopted uh 2025 to 34 capital improvement   uh budget it includes just over $1.2 million  in general obligation bonds uh to fund various   facility improvements necessary to meet uh the  current evidence handling and storage standards   uh separately on May 7th of 24 uh city council  approved 750,000 in additional geo bonding funding   for fire suppression these were two separate  projects that brings the fire suppression   um funding to just over or at two million uh  however uh staff identified uh some uh language   errors in that so that uh bonding uh  resolution has been amended and so both   of them will be brought today uh the analysis  on the property and evidence improvements is   uh elevator improvements there are two elevators  one is the main for property evidence the other   one is a backup in case that goes down um that  is just over 400,000 to renovate those new   storage rooms and furnishing just under 300,000  uh the combination of HVAC cameras lighting and   electrical improvements for all those there's  a lot of refrigerators that can't shut off   because they're you know they've got samples of  different stuff in there it's just over 500,000   then there's some miscellaneous components uh  security improvements um in the lobby there's   some security improvements that's roughly 18,000  uh that's brings the total project to 1,265,86 for the uh rounds and porter improvements uh the improvements will uh allow WPD  to meet the current industry standards   uh for their accreditation to handling evidence  um the the facility needs these improvements to   clarify funding perimeters for the approved rounds  and porter fire suppression improvement projects   so staff recommends the following actions initiate  the one point I'm sorry a,26586 in the adopted   CIP funding uh to allocate the uh property and  evidence improvements and approve the amending   bonding resolution for the rounds and porter fire  suppression improvements funding to correct the   previous omissions uh financial considerations  is uh the uh just over 1.2 2 is already uh in   the 2025 to 2034 CIP funding and go bonds uh staff  recommends initiating the full amount at this time   and again on May 7th uh the city council approved  a revised budget of 2 million for fire suppression   um we've made those uh legal changes that were  needed and so there's no changes to that fire   suppression budget our recommended actions are  approve the projected budget adopt the new and   amended resolution and authorize the necessary  signatures and with that I'll stand for questions   you questions for staff i see none we'll open  it up for public comment see none bring it back   to the bench council member Johnson thanks Mayor  just wanted to say I appreciate the presentation   uh after the audit of PNE I know many  of us toured the facility and these are   definitely some necessary improvements so I'll be  supportive of that and glad to see it happening i will move to approve the project and budget  adopt the new and amending bonding resolutions   and authorize the necessary signatures second  motion in a second any further discussion i   see none mr clerk please open the role motion  passes 70 mr clerk please call the next item safe Streets and Roads for All SS4A grant for  Broadway from 37th Street to Pony paul Gunsman   Public Works and Utilities believe this is my  last item for you this morning um on June 6th   2023 the city council approved a contract with  Trans Systems for design services for pedestrian   corridor safety improvements on Broadway from  Third Street to 13th Street North we have put   that project on hold for a while as we were um  working on the downtown street two-way conversion   as well as Broadway being kind of blocked off  with the biomed center so been put on hold   um on March 28th 2025 the United States Department  of Transportation issued a notice of funding   opportunity for Safe Streets for All and the  program provides up to between 2.5 million up to   $25 million for implementation grants on corridors  with high vehicular and pedestrian crashes   broadway corridor from 37th Street north to Pawne  has several intersections that rank in the top   10 in the region for vehicular and pedestrian  vulnerable road user safety concerns proposed   improvements include ADA and accessible pedestrian  signal improvements upgrades to pedestrian   crossings lighting traffic signals intersection  geometry and pavement replacement as needed   this 2025 NOFO is the last anticipated round  of the SS4A funding and the grant application   is requesting $20 million in federal funding  with a local match of $5 million for a total   budget of 25 million the state of Kansas may  cover up to 4.75 million of the $5 million   match through the Build Kansas fund program if  approved with the city covering a minimum of   $250,000 funding is available in the 2025 traffic  signal improvements and signalization program   approved by the city council on January 7th of  2025 and it's funded by general obligation bonds   the grant application is due June 26th and we are  obtaining letters of support for the application   to be submitted um and with that it is recommended  that city council approve submittal of the grant   application and I will stand for questions  thank you Paul questions for staff beginning   with council member Hoheisel thank you mayor um  Paul do we have an expected day of when we would   find out if we get this grant or not my ex I don't  know that we have that true date but my experience   has been if we if it's uh if the applications  are due in June it would probably be later this   year probably takes about six months to get a  response back okay appreciate that uh second   question is how much of this do we currently have  in the CIP well um not we could have a different   few different projects but we do have the funding  in the the traffic signal program um we do have   some funding in in uh neighborhood improvements  that we might be able to utilize as well as there   is still some funding in future years in the  downtown streets implementation but if we did   get this grant then we'd probably identify it  in CIP okay regardless I would like to see us   um try and get in CIP at some point because  a lot of these things are safety concerns so   just making sure we keep our community as safe  as we can council member Tuttle thank you um   thank you for all your work on this Paul i also  wanted to recognize um our friend Kim from the   Witchaw Area Metropolitan Planning Organization  is here so thank you for also being a partner and   then also thanks to KOT for potentially being  a funding source i just think it's a fantastic   opportunity and and I'm really really glad that  you're seeking out grant funds whenever possible   and then also looking for other partnerships so as  always great job Paul and your team i want to back   up to council member Hohisel's question as well  and we did we do have a a project in the capital   improvement program that was that was presented  to district 6 last night and that was the 29th and   Broadway intersection improvements and we'll  make sure this is all coordinated together council member Ballard thank you Mayor uh  thank you Paul i was just going to mention that   um there's lots of discussion about um North  Broadway actually from 21st all the way to 37th so   um excited that there might be an opportunity for  some grant funding to move a little faster and a   little more at one time so thank you very much  any further 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 am really excited   about this grant um and it is because it really  addresses more than one district in our community   with safety concerns that could be um addressed  through federal dollars not only federal dollars   but leveraging the state as well in this uh  grant application so my challenge to staff would   be would uh it be beneficial if there are more  letters of support uh that would come along with   this grant i know that this affects district  3 um we just had the SOC neighborhood right   here today um and I could see them benefiting  from this uh district 1 and the biomed campus   right there at U Maine and sorry at Douglas and  Broadway uh and then Midtown as well as Nomar in   District 6 so if we could get letters of support  uh from these specifically and then maybe others   would that bolster this grant application uh  to get us granted the dollars any letter of   support that we could get would be helpful and  I believe we have reached out to a few of those   um folks that you had mentioned um we we did  receive a letter of support from the um bicycle   and pedestrian advisory board last night as  well so we are seeking what we can i will add   the mayor's letter of support with this and would  encourage other council members to do the same i   think again when we can leverage um nearly $20  million of grant funded dollars from the federal   and state and then just a local match of about  $250,000 i say that this is exactly what we need   to do coming together and really speaking in one  voice and focused uh Council Member Johnson thanks   Mayor um like your suggestion but um we could  just have one letter and we all just sign it and   that way it just comes from the council i would  love that i will um ask staff to draft a mayor's   letter with the council signatures um and then  we'll encourage again more community members that   are along this Broadway corridor from 37th Street  all the way south to Pawne to provide letters of   support as well with that I move to approve the  recommended action to approve the submittal of   grant application second motion and a second any  further discussion i see none mr clerk please open   the role motion passes 70 mr clerk please call the  next item pud 20255 amendment to PUD number 78 to   an illuminated building sign greater than 15 in  in height generally located on the east side of   North Fairmont Avenue and within 350 ft south of  East 17th Street North 1728 North Fairmont Avenue good morning scott Wadel from the planning  department so as you heard the applicant is   requesting to amend an existing PUD or  plan unit development which is custom   zoning in order to allow for an illuminated  building sign that is currently not permitted   by that custom zoning this item is being heard  today because the district advisory board and   the planning commission's recommendations for  approval are different in terms of the request   as you heard the applicant has indicated they  would like to install one 4 foot by 50 foot LED   illuminated sign on the north elevation above  the third floor windows and I have a graphic   to show you what this looks like an important  note that this is not an LED electronic message   sign which has different messages on it this is  static letters that are back lit by LED lights   the existing and custom plan unit development  zoning for the site currently limits signage   to signage that is allowed in the B multifamily  zoning district in terms of the property as you   can see here subject site is generally located  to the south and east of the intersection of   17th Street and Fairmont Avenue the address is  1728 North Fairmont the subject site is made   up of approximately three ownership parcels and  is approximately 0.43 acres in size zoned plan   unit development and developed with a multifamily  residential building in terms of context property   to the north is zoned B multif family i can look  at that here we go and is developed with multif   family dwelling further north are parking lots  for WSU property to the east of this site is zoned   PUB and is developed with multi a multifamily  dwelling property to the south is zoned B and   developed with a group residents properties to  the west across North Fairmont Avenue are zone B   developed with a duplex and that also includes  parcel two of PUD78 and is developed with a   surface parking lot terms of the staff report  the staff report provides information about the   existing PUD zoning requirements the recommended  PUD text and amendments uh are attached to the   staff report in terms of review on May 5th the  district advisory board recommended approval 7   to one of the amendment with the condition that  the building sign shall not be illuminated one   member of the public spoke at that meeting seeking  additional information on May 8th the planning   commission held a public hearing and recommended  approval that vote is 1301 of the amendment per   the applicant's request which would allow the sign  to be illuminated again one member of the public   spoke at that public hearing seeking additional  information no protest petitions were received for   this case therefore the zone change requests can  be approved with a simple majority vote or four of   seven in terms of council action is recommended  city council adopt the findings of the planning   commission approve the requested zone change  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 of course this requires a 47  vote alternatives include the following you can   override the MAPC adopt alternative findings and  approve the amendment to the PUD as recommended   by the DAB that would require five of seven votes  because it's an override likewise you can override   the MAPC adopt alternative findings and deny  the request that would require five of seven   or as always you can return the case to the MAPC  for additional consideration which requires just   a simple majority terms of process city council  policies at the public hearing for planning items   occurs at the planning commission meeting and the  city council does not typically receive public   comments on zoning items so with that I'll take  you through some of the graphics and images so   here's the aerial showing the subject site here's  the zoning map which was described earlier here's   the image of the sign uh the one on the top  is during daylight the one on the bottom is   uh during the afternoon or early evening and so  you can see that it's again static letters that   are there and it just would be back lit behind the  letters so here's what it would look like during   the day uh here is the map from the comprehensive  plan showing uh residential and employment mix   recommended for this area here's the PUB graphic  and the text that goes along with that here's the   protest map and notification area and again no  protests were received here's a photo of the site   right now this is look this is the property  immediately to the north here's the property   I believe to the south and this is looking uh  this is to the east looking from the north to   the south this is similar to the image that you  saw this is the existing conditions this is the   uh unit the property to the west across the  street there's the parking lot just to the   south of that here it is in the evening these  were photos that were provided by the applicant   uh showing the illumination that takes place at  the WSU parking lots a little bit further to the   north of this site in the WSU campus and with  that I'll stand for any questions questions for   staff i see none this resides in council member  Johnson's district thanks Mayor um just for   openness there were no protest filed there was a  bit of a lively discussion at DAB of course about   some of the lighting um I appreciated the work  of the DAB to try to find a middle ground upon   visiting the site at night i feel like there is  quite a bit of illumination already in the lights   behind the letters will not um add to that in any  significant way so therefore I would move that   the city council adopt the findings of the MAPC  and approve the requested zone change place the   ordinance on first reading authorize the necessary  signatures and instruct the city clerk to publish   the ordinance after approval on the second reading  second motion and a second any further discussion   i see none mr clerk please open the role motion  passes 70 mr clerk please call the next item   non- congregate shelter and permanent supportive  housing development sub agreement projectbased   voucher award and funding allocation good morning  honorable mayor members of council sally Stang   with the housing and community services department  for the record the item I have for you today is a   subdevelopment agreement for the next phase at the  multi- agency center so little bit of background   on August 22nd 2023 the city of council approved  a master development agreement with Petra Inc for   the development of the Second Light multi- agency  center and its associated affordable housing   the vision for the Second Light um multi-  agency center is to provide a one-stop shop   for per people experiencing homelessness a place  for programs to collaborate for ease of access   into various services including congregate  shelter non- congregate shelter housing   navigation housing housing case management benefit  enrollment assistance and employment assistance   public consultation and due diligence led the  city to acquire the former Park Elementary School   located at 1025 North Main Street from USD259  since then we've been busy act on September 3rd   2024 the city council approved a subdevelopment  agreement in the amount of $2,252,250 for the renovations and expenses necessary  to prepare that site for the emergency winter   shelter last year and since that time all  of that work has been completed with the   exception of the wall and paving of the access  drive following that on November 5th 2025 the   city council approved a subdevelopment  agreement in the amount of $6,373,756 for the renovations and expenses  necessary to renovate the property   for a permanent buildout of the Second  Light multi- agency center for yearround   low barrier emergency shelter and space for  agencies to provide supportive services and   uh a little bit of that demo work is underway  the uh plans are still being finalized um but   there are aggressive plans to have most of  that construction completed by end of year   the vision for the Second Light multi- agency  center has always included not only the congregate   shelter and supportive services provided inside  the Park Elementary School but also the plan for   non- congregate shelter and permanent supportive  housing units built on the properties for people   experiencing homelessness who will benefit from  the supportive services provided at Second Light   this conversation actually started with the  allocation of the the home funds under the   American Rescue Plan Act which were very  specific funding made available for the   development of housing and non- congregate shelter  for people experiencing homelessness the original   uh site plans actually show this building directly  next to uh the the one story behind the existing   structure so even from the beginning this has been  part of that conversation so the plan construction   of 25 units of non- congregate shelter and 50  units of permanent supportive housing this is a   slight actually a slight increase from the numbers  in the home ARP allocation plan from 2023 so this   is good news that the numbers are up it was 15  and 40 we're believing we can do 25 units of   non- congregate shelter and 50 units of permanent  supportive housing installation of access controls   throughout the building resident laundry rooms on  each floor rooftop solar to keep uh operational   costs down site improvements including parking  outdoor space and pet areas furniture fixtures   equipments architectural and engineering soft cost  compliance contingency and the development fee   right now typ typical middle market apartments  are averaging about 135 to $150,000 per unit   this particular project though has has components  that are going to escalate those costs including   a hardened internal shell of the units because we  expect these to be heavyduty use fully furnished   units with built-in components so platforms  for the beds desk and storage furniture that   can't be picked up and taken or are necessarily  broken um an elevator which is not necessarily   standard in a three-story apartment building again  separate laundry rooms on each floor and then that   efficiency of the building that solar installation  the uh envelope to focus on heat transfer   etc and lastly Davis Bacon and section  3 labor standards requirements because   this is contains federal funding davis Bacon  uh prevailing wages are going to be required   from day one the development agreement sets  forth Petra's responsibilities for engineering   design construction management infrastructure  improvements the budgets the schedules reporting   and responsiveness staffing and accounting and  compensation funding in the amount of $15,182,117 has been identified for this  project from the following sources   $10 million in public housing sales  proceeds for the housing component   those sales proceeds are limited and must  be used for a section 8 or public housing   development project 1 million in CDBG funds  for non- congregate shelter and the 4,182,117 in home ARP for the non- congregate shelter  little wrinkle to this about 20 minutes ago   we were notified um that our COC has selected  this project to potentially to apply to HUD for   a newlyannounced grant called the COC builds grant  we're going to continue down this path and apply   for that new funding source at the same time um if  we were to be awarded that funding it would offset   the public housing sales proceeds which then  could be used for another project that could be   um combined with projectbased vouchers that is a  very competitive grant there the HUD is estimating   eight projects in across the country but our and  our original scoring shows us hitting every point   available under that grant so we are going to be  we just found out like I said 20 minutes ago um   we are going to be hurrying because that grant  application is due at the end of June we'll be   bringing it unfortunately on a consent agenda on  the 24th because it's the soonest we can get it on   but again we're going to continue moving forward  with the funding we've got outlined the million   dollars in CDBG and the 400 4,182,117 in home art  funds were allocated for this project through the   community development programs annual action plan  that the city council approved on May 6th the   $10 million allocation maximum from the public  housing sales proceeds must be approved through   this process the law department has reviewed and  approved this uh development sub agreement as to   form any again any project funded with public  housing sales proceeds must be public housing   which we know we're not continuing or projectbased  voucher assistance in accordance with HUD notice   PIH 202023 so it is recommended that the Witchah  Housing Authority Board approve the allocation of   $10 million in public housing sales proceeds  the award of 50 projectbased vouchers and the   development sub agreement with Petra  in an amount not to exceed 15,182,117 as a sub agreement under the master development  agreement for the development of 25 units of a   non- congregate shelter and 50 units of permanent  supportive housing at the Park Elementary School   location at 1025 North Main Street and authorized  the necessary signatures that was a mouthful uh I   stand for any questions and Tylen Dyer from Petra  is also here should you have any questions for him thank you very much we'll begin with Council  Member Glascock thank you Mayor Sally i like a lot   of things about this and I have a few questions  as well i don't see anybody from Second Light   here because those would be probably a majority  of my questions um and so regarding first off I   want to say thank you for the use of the public  housing funds the 10 million i think that's a   great use i'm glad that we've been selling our  public housing units to move towards this project   and I think that's a win for our community and  so these are more questions about the future   operations less of the upfront investment that  we're making right now received an update from   Second Light uh just a couple days ago and there's  a lot of updates but there was no update regarding   long-term funding streams and so I have somewhat  of a concern moving forward with an expansion   of the project that eventually will probably be  turned over to them in an operating agreement oh   no entire structure okay so can you answer those  questions yes um this particular project won't be   turned over to the the MAC board this one has to  be managed and maintained in accordance with the   requirements of projectbased vouchers etc which  for which they have absolutely no experience okay   great clarification um so regarding that what is  our permanent funding stream to make sure that we   can maintain these properties is that budgeted in  the future and allocated so one of the beauties in   being able to build this with absolutely no debt  is the fact that the rental stream so they'll be   we'll be able to collect the voucher rent on 50  of those units which will cover the operational   costs of the housing with some excess to help  cover the cost on the non- congregate shelter   now there is the expectation that supportive  services and and other services related to   non- congregate shelter will be a collaboration  with Second Light um but that housing piece is   absolutely separate okay great news thank you for  adding that uh to the presentation i think that's   very important as well i know you mentioned  one thing in the presentation i would just be   interested in the justification you said it's not  typical for a threestory unit to have an elevator   i know elevators have a lot of cost especially  the maintenance of elevators in the future i   imagine the first floor would be able to have ADA  compliant rooms so what is the justification is   it a federal requirement or is that a cost savings  that we could have it is not a federal requirement   but the housing units have to have ADA units and  the non- congregate shelter units are going to   be on the first floor so there are going to be  ADA units on the second and third floors which   um we we expect many of the people that would be  staying in these units that need those intensive   wraparound services are going to have mobility  issues and so having an elevated reding it also   helps us with control as we see with you can  control access to different floors for different   purposes so the elevator helps with that well  thank you for your answers to my questions i   feel much more comfortable answers so thank you  council member Johnson thanks Mayor i just had   a technical question um the council approved  originally some home funds for this project   so this project is tied to home funds it is home  ARP funds which is it they are home adjacent and   you're wondering if you need to abstain i don't  believe you do because this has no connection to   um the activity we do with Habitat and the uh  funding that is available for home ownership okay   well in that case I love this project great work  and I am really excited about it and just seeing   this vision come to reality so Council Member  Ballard I pushed it for Council Member Hohisel   because this thing's not working okay yeah so I  I appreciate that thanks Maggie and thanks Mayor   um so we are retaining control of these units  we are okay is there like a certain timeline is   it kind of like 15 years with the other affordable  housing yes the home funds and then if this we get   receive the COC builds money that's going to add a  whole another level of compliance but the home art   funds will require that both the non- congregate  shelter units as well as the housing units be in   um affordable for at least 15 years we don't have  any intention of ever changing that um the project   based vouchers can be awarded for a term up to 20  years renewable for 20 years so we could have 40   years of rent assistance tied to these units okay  second question is there a goal for like a length   of stay in each of these types of shelters or um  units i I mean so the the non- congregate shelter   units really the and some of the brilliance in  the design is the units are going to be identical   whether they're an affordable housing unit or non-  congregate shelter unit they're going to be small   they're going to accommodate one individual um  but in non- congregate shelter there's no lease to   sign and that is a place for people particularly  people who have vulnerabilities whether that's a   medically vulnerable um as a respit until we can  connect them to housing so that is definitely very   short term and to be able to stay into non-  congregate shelter they have to be working   towards that housing goal whereas with permanent  supportive housing similar to what happened   um with the studios these are deliberately being  designed as small but being on site where there   are services someone who uh stabilizes isn't  likely going to want to stay at that location very   long but as permanent supportive housing they're  going to have a a a lease and going to comply by   that lease now we're not going to force someone to  move but someone who's stabilized is likely going   to want to move and the beauty of project-based  vouchers is anyone who successfully completes   their term is eligible for a regular voucher  to move into any unit of their choosing okay   um and what are the qualifications to to um to be  awarded one of those vouchers so those vouchers   are tied to the units and per our homepocation  plan the uh the the referrals into those units   will come through the coordinated entry process  and they're really going to be targeted towards   those people who have vulnerabilities who might  have a challenge in staying in congregate shelter   um because of their medical con condition  or their their tra trauma background okay   thank you council member Ballard thank you um  Sally thank you for all of your hard work and   everybody else Troy and uh Tylen and the whole  crew um at first I thought it was a little bit   um premature to go ahead and start with um  phase three but everything takes longer than   uh than we expected to or we want it to so I'm  really happy that we are keeping you know moving   the ship on this um phase three or project three  while we're still um in the middle of two or   wrapping up two or you know all of the things  um but I'm really excited about this we know   um how much our community needs both congregate  and non- congregate and so I'm really happy that   we're able to provide um these units and looking  forward to seeing this project through so thank   you for all your hard work because I know  it's very hard thank you council member Glasco I think I'm accidentally on the board but one  last comment that I forgot to mention earlier   uh regarding the rooftop solar I'm glad that we're  including that as an investment i hope that we   do that on future projects in the city and making  sure while we construct projects we're also being   good stewards of the environment and our resources  so just thank you for that and I forgot I would be   remiss in not saying that vice Mayor John Stunn  thank you Sal you mentioned that elevators will   help with security uh will there be security  building like there is at the uh second light   that's part of that collaboration with Second  Light especially on that non- congregate shelter   in a general apartment complex you generally  don't have on-site security for that so that   that's part of that expected collaboration that  the security guards associated with with Second   Light are going to be there patrolling related  to the non- congregate shelter that's a benefit   to the people who live upstairs okay and then  we can keep the firearms and drugs out of that   correct that's the goal okay thank you and I  just want to say thank you very much for your   work you're very good at your job and really do  appreciate it and this is another example of that   so thank you Sally i have a couple of technical  questions um I'll start off with slide number 130 backwards sorry yes i know this is a clerical  error but it is November 5th 2024 that this was   approved um but I wanted to make mention because  last week on Wednesday we had our first town hall   meeting between the city county and USD 259 uh  elected individuals and again um one of the things   we talked about was homelessness and so I'm just  going to read this portion because I want it on   the record um that this council has dedicated  a lot of resources regarding um homelessness   uh it is one of the top four priorities and um it  does take collaboration and this is an example of   that collaboration uh between multiple entities  so um in that handout it says homeless services   and second light multi- agency center since 2023  the city has devoted significant resources to   addressing the shelter service and housing needs  of the community's homeless residents from 2023   through 2025 the city allocated $1.1 million for  the emergency winter shelter operations cedric   County joined in this effort in 2023 2024 with an  additional $194,000 the city also contributed $8.7   million for the remodeling of USD259's former Park  Elementary School into a multi- agency center now   called Second Light this facility will provide  shelter services needed amenities and support   services for Witchah's homeless population the  city has also provided $5 million to support   the operation for two years cedric County  will provide behavioral health services in   the center through Comare during the upcoming  year the city will invest another $15 million   to construct 50 units of supportive housing  and 25 units of non- congregate shelter space   so again thank you because I know that this took  a lot of effort and it took a lot of partnership   and a lot of um many meetings to get us to this  very place where we are seeing phase one phase   two and phase three coming before the council um  so first I just want to say thank you for that   um the technical questions that I have now come  to from slide number 133 so in these um I know   that there's a lot of confusion amongst community  members between what is congregate non- congregate   and then permanent supportive housing yes can you  please start off by addressing so that individuals   who are maybe tuning in for the first time  understand the differences between these types of   sheltering slhousing sure congregate shelter is is  truly that people congregate in sleep in a shared   space there isn't a lot of necessarily a lot of  privacy um oftentimes separated between sexes etc   non- congregate shelter really came out um through  co 19 it really came into light as uh communities   were trying to separate people when living in a  congregate setting the spread of CO 19 was rampant   and a lot of communities moved to non- congregate  shelter many communities use motel rooms as an   example of non- congregate shelter each person has  their own individual space and the de definition   by HUD says they must have their own private  bathroom but not necessarily kitchen facilities   um we've and what came out of after that is they  saw much greater um improvements in people's lives   faster recovery uh as people of those people  who came from non- congregate shelter permanent   supportive housing is just that it's housing it's  an apartment complex the permanent supportive   around it means that there are supportive services  that come with that and those supportive services   can range they can be intensive clinical case  management services that people get connected   to whether that's mental health or substance abuse  or if that's you budgeting and housekeeping it can   be it's really tailored to the individual's needs  um to try and help them stabilize so permanent   supportive housing is in fact housing  um with services that come along with it   thank you for that distinction between the three  separate um sleeping uh types that we have now   I'm going to ask about permanent supportive  housing you mentioned this is much like humankind   ministries the studios yes can you address how  long usually people are staying at the studios   um that is a tough question because people  are often I've seen people who've been there   as long as three years um I've seen people who  unfortunately aren't successful in two months it   really is a variable based on person's individual  needs we've had many people who've moved from the   studios into other housing um resources and  once again when I compared it was really about   um the idea that the units are small they come  with intensive case management and once somebody   stabilizes it's you usually themselves who are  saying you know what I can move into something   in a different neighborhood or a unit that's  larger than the one that I'm in um another   technical question uh before permanent supportive  housing I think that there's something in between   that we have not discussed which is transitional  housing mhm can you address that as well as I know   that Union Rescue Mission has transitional housing  which is a program that's either 3 months or one   year can you address the spectrum of this type  of sheltering to housing so actually we don't   tend to see transitional housing in three-month  increments usually that's like a rapid rehousing   scenario most transitional housing is 18 months  to two years um it's usually got tremendous case   management and other services that are provided  one of the biggest gaps we've seen in transitional   housing is there's no exit plan if someone doesn't  have the the financial wherewithal to be able to   pay rent on their own when they leave transitional  housing they oftentimes cycle back into   homelessness um because unlike our our project  based voucher scenario um we're able to give those   people who have successfully uh stabilized the  ability to take rent assistance with them simply   because they stabilized doesn't necessarily  mean they have the ability to pay full market   rent at that point and um that voucher gives them  that ability hud actually um stopped supporting   transitional housing deeming it the most expensive  least efficient means of addressing homelessness   now mind you Union Rescue Mission takes no federal  funding so they they um you know can create any   program they want um I often talk to my staff  and say there are people who absolutely need that   tremendous structure that Union Rescue Mission  provides it's not for everybody but for the   people who actually who need that it is a great  connection to be able to to connect uh you know an   individual to that level of service if that's what  they feel that they need in order to be successful   so there's a place for it all unfortunately um  with our HUD funding we are unable to voucher   units that are transitional housing and the COC  um funding has actually eliminated transitional   housing as an uh eligible activity um in talking  about permanent supportive housing these will   be projectbased vouchers correct um how much are  these vouchers typically price range oh yeah you   asked me a good one now remember the HUD converted  us to small area fair market rents as of January 1   so the uh voucher cap depends on your zip code  so I don't happen to know that number off the   top of my head um but on an efficiency apartment  brand new construction um fully furnished with   on-site supportive services we would expect those  rents to be somewhere between 650 and 750 again those dollars um from the vouchers will then be  able to um maintain and operate that specific   building i'm not talking about the two separate uh  second light buildings but just the housing piece   correct and then just one last time just to wrap  it up because I think um again there were a lot of   uh terms that were utilized and I really believe  that we have um we need to explain the spectrum of   the um opportunities for individuals correct me if  I'm wrong if an individual is facing homelessness   right now they would have uh not non- congregate  sheltering available through Second Light   congregate shelter sorry congregate sheltering  through Second Light with this housing piece   there could be a possibility for non- congregate  housing for 25 individuals correct then um rapid   rehousing transitional housing through programs  like Union Rescue Mission whom do not take federal   dollars can have programs that achieve some sort  of uh graduation at 3 months to one year but this   is not what we're talking about here no and then  lastly the whole point is that you want people to   come from sheltering to go to actual housing  and this is independent housing whether it's   uh voucher housing or just independent housing  uh through your means by being employed etc is   that correct in terms of the spectrum it is a  it is a spectrum but people aren't required to   go through every step of that spectrum right now  we have an initiative where we have a case worker   who's going out into new encampments and trying  to connect people to housing resources and have   people go directly from encampment to housing  if if available to help reduce the strain on   the shelters that are there there's a reason  they're not going into the shelters to begin   with right um so even though there's a spectrum  of resources and everybody's needs are different   there is the ability there is not a requirement  to start at A and end at Z right someone could   start at C and end at at V who knows it really  is tailored to that individual's needs and we   want to make sure that people are connected to  the right type of housing resource that's one   of the challenge challenges our continuum of  care is looking at is um you know do we have   resources in the wrong buckets when I say that  do we have enough permanent supportive housing   rapid rehousing shelter beds those are all  things um that we're evaluating and hoping   to get to better numbers with the new HMIS system  so that we are using the res the you know scarce   resources we have in the best way possible to  serve the needs of the individual thank you   very much Sally i see no further questions for  staff we will now open it up for public comment hello city hall nice to see you all again um  I'm here with the grassroots bridgeuers and   um we're really Donna Garcia you guys know me  um we're really excited to hear this uh housing   piece uh we've been having conversations with the  housing um department and other service providers   talking about the importance of this transitional  period that we have um stabilizing people off of   uh the streets and getting them ready for homes  um I did have a couple questions and a couple   concerns and a couple highlights that I would  like to bring up with the plan as it stands um so   uh the programs operations referrals the leasing  the controls that kind of thing just wanting to   verify is that going to be a partnership is that  going to be the city is that going to be um the   people at uh Second Light who are making these  kind of decisions providing that oversight and   that accountability and then we have to talk about  the barriers um that our clients are facing and   that we're finding out there on the street um at  the tip of the spear we are having a lot of issues   operating within the COC and the HMIS system when  we're trying to get these referrals placed you can   only get a referral for these vouchers and this  rental assistance if you go through a COC provider   which there are only a handful one of our clients  has a um a manager from the health department and   is not able to get any kind of assistance though  she's a great candidate for it so we can't access   these things so if this is in place with this  new shelter and the congregate non- congregate   and supportive housing we may continue to run  into these issues um if we don't have really   good collaboration um and then we also want to  talk about what are the requirements because if   it's funded by HUD and it's funded by the COC um  that's going to come with rules it's going to come   with limitations so we're looking at individuals  with criminality we're looking at individuals who   haven't been homeless long enough there is a  complete list of things that will keep people   from accessing these these housing resources um  and I think that we need to discuss contingency   plans for those if I'm sure they've already been  discussed but um just to let the public and the   rest of us know so that we can start planning with  our clients on how we can address some of this uh   if we have families if we have couples if we have  medically complex how are we going through and   addressing these issues um and making sure that  everyone who is homeless has an access are we   talking about looking forward and extending beyond  this because we're going to have individuals who   can't participate or have access things like um do  we have a men's annex where we can have people who   have criminal backgrounds where they can also  rebuild their lives and have access access to   society um you know moms with kids and couples who  take care of each other people who need 24-hour   caregivers there's a lot that needs to go into it  and we would like you know from um the boots on   the ground to give that perspective and make sure  that everyone is aware that there are significant   limitations that we're going to be facing and  just have open robust conversations about that   um and then you know we're really curious about  how this application process is going to go and   just making sure that we have as much opportunity  for anyone else so um I would love to maybe hear   back get some feedback um clarifications or  answer any questions that you guys might have   of us of what we're seeing and what some  of our barriers and limitations have been you can have a seat i'll ask Sally to come forward  thank you thanks Sally can you address a couple   of the things that she mentioned sure um  so specifically this particular project   um those units are designed to be single occupancy  we do see no that's an issue and a barrier it's   going to be an issue for people who want to be  housed or in non- congregate shelter as a couple   um or persons with children that is actually  done by design uh the minute we open it up to   more than one occupancy you have to take children  in housing or it's a fair housing violation so   um because other services we don't want  to put restraints on people being able   to access the congregate shelter or the non-  congregate shelter because we've built it in   a way that um requires us to have be housing  children on the site definitely a challenge   um the requirement to take individuals referred  through the the coordinated entry process that   was actually instilled as part of the home ARP  allocation plan and a requirement from at um from   the fair housing and equal opportunity office um  the best thing I can say is other organizations   who want to be able to make referrals become  part of that the continuum of care it doesn't   take much to be a member of the continuum of  care it it it takes engaging in the meetings and   um training and understanding of the documents  and the confidentiality etc and then following   through and actually providing that supportive  service that you're committing to do when   you make a referral is there any uh any other  particular Thank you any further public comment hey guys hello again um my name is Sarah i'm  homeless i'm kind of I'm also with Grassroots   Bridge Builders and I missed the first part of  the conversation because I had a screwdriver in   my bag and I like when you live out of a bag it's  really hard to get into places because you have   everything you have and didn't even realize it  was with your pins so um I do I don't know exactly   but I've been following you guys a lot um I know  we've talked on different levels and I just wanted   there's a couple things that I've been wanting  to like speak out on about because right now I'm   at the frontier which is the Harry and Broadway  area which associate they were just talking about   that area too and one of the things I think up  here and people like just being differentiated   like being communities and being that stigma  or that that you know like to the people and   talking like because I talk a lot and I talk to  everybody i mean like my friend my there's not   anybody that I really don't know and if I don't  know them I make a point because everybody is   valid and for that I don't see like class I don't  know like somebody down I used to run a parenting   ministry and like we have our ups and downs but a  lot of the like one thing that time time and space   I mean we have all of these people like just  on where I live because that whole I'm trying   to find out like where we go for changing the  guidelines for head because like being homeless   and the guidelines that like most people um we've  talked to people as far as staying on this topic   i'm sorry i'm still learning how to talk to  you guys and focus but um but my question on   this like we're looking at this projected date  and we have that now right now these people are   out out and like um tent city i was just out  there where um well the sticks wherever like   there's a large community and just in that area  there's probably over 100 people and so to think   like the housing and that's a huge $15 million  for like space and um just like I said focus   um trying to find things like the biggest part is  like falling into those guidelines the mentally   the mentally the criminally you know we have  on Broadway so many people sleeping outside   and there still we have the people that are in  this area but how do we reach out and like make   a bigger impact because to me it seems like  we're still being herded to one location you   know and that's just going to be most of us have  been in so much disappointment to get our hopes   up to have something projected for a couple  maybe a year and a half off to find out that   they're spending so much money on that that these  people out here people are going to jail people   are dying people are and it's necessity people  are it's not criminal behavior it's desperation   you know when just all we need is an ID and we got  the municipal ID coming out but they're waiting   for a certain how do we get this more aligned that  it's not so much red tape because I mean all the   effort that's out here and all I've been to a  lot of meetings and I've a lot um but right now   my daughter is in foster care because I'm homeless  and they want to know what's going on and I can't   even get a job till I get an ID i ordered a birth  certificate but that urgency we're sitting here   talking about projected time next year meanwhile  my 14-year-old hasn't been home in a year you know   I've tried to get the services i've done as far as  gone to a nonprofit agency started my own because   I I've tried all the other avenues just to get  what and I'm not the only person out here we have   those people and that stigma well if you're  homeless you know I immersion you know start   having more of the people their opinions weigh in  on like what you guys need because people want to   be heard that's we I think we would could reduce  a lot of things if we took a public speaking class   and we could learn how to translate our thoughts  into things that you guys can turn into actions thank you Sarah council member Hohheisle thank  you Mayor and I appreciate the the comments there   Sarah uh honestly this is something that should  have been done possibly a generation ago so that   way we would have this set up now um so this  is a process that we're all working through and   trying to come up with the best results i have  heard about the U municipal ID so I'm wondering   if I could get an update on where we are with  that process and when we could expect that to   uh get up and going i think we're a little behind  from our target day on that um thank you Council   Member Hohisel we are within weeks of being able  to issue municipal IDs so we've actually printed   our first mockup just late last week we've  installed necessary software and hardware   we've worked through workflows necessary to  store the information uh the last thing is   staff training and then marketing before we'll  be able to issue IDs um two components to that   um municipal court will take the lead on  issuing IDs here at city hall um Sally could   provide more detail in terms of how housing  plans to issue IDs whether that be at the   MAC i think I've also heard excuse me second  light i've also heard conversations around   potentially issuing IDs through mobile  services okay yeah I'd appreciate that so our challenges of issuing IDs at the MAC is  the is the construction schedule so by the end   of June or beginning of July they are going to  have such a compressed area so all services we   there's just not space to do it at the multi-  agency center um during construction for sure   and then there's been some challenges around the  mobility of the equipment i've been told that the   jostling of the printers is going to make that a  bit of a challenge so we're still working our way   through that process um obviously you know once  we're able to be issuing them here from here in   city hall we'll limp through that process in  the end once the multi- agency center is set   up the problem is I don't have staff that just  sits at a desk and waits for people to come in   um it may end up being by appointment over at  the MAC when we are at the second light when   um when we can schedule someone to go over and  assist folks we also want to be able to to look   at the demand once these things roll out and  people are made aware and that marketing gets   um gets out there what is that demand so we can  rightsize that because that would be again a   waste of resources if we sit someone and they're  only seeing two or three people a day if we set it   up by appointment is there any way we could like  if we're printing them out here at city hall is   there any way we could one day a week provide  transportation from the shelter or from Second   Light to City Hall to get that worst case scenario  and the the application will be mobile that's not   a problem we can connect with any laptop with an  air card it's the printing so if staff had to get   go there set them up come back here print and take  them back that could potentially be an option too   but we're still working through those logistics  we don't want those logistics to slow down the   ability of courts to be able to start here okay i  appreciate that thank you Council Member Johnson   thanks Mayor um I just wanted to say uh you  don't have to apologize for how you advocate   you advocate perfectly as is and I appreciate  you using your voice and speaking up and if you   ever feel a little nervous about it you're doing a  lot better than I did when I started so just keep   it up um public speaking courses are fine but you  articulated yourself perfectly so just keep it up we'll continue with public comment my name is George one of the things that I've  noticed is that yes you can put people into   those housings but at the same time help  provide them jobs because with me I aged   out of the foster care system in 2008 every  place that I've applied at because he used a   homeless shelter's address I've gotten lumped in  as a drunk or druggie being told that I wasn't   needed or wanted and has been hard and that was  back in 2008 and I'm now 36 i aged out at 19 all   I ask is yes help us with the get the IDs up and  running help us get into these places but have it   where give us an opportunity to grow a garden  that way we can do something to actually maybe   do some work take that garden sell the vegetable  fruits and vegetables to get it where we can grow   flowers sell the flowers so then that way we can  start getting some form of income to the point   of being able to maybe help pay back the city  but also at the same time help us actually get   our foot in the doors of various jobs including  maybe telling these temp agencies and what okay   if you send this much money out we'll give  you this much in a tax break or whatever   because I have noticed that if a person doesn't  have transportation of their own like their own   vehicle or driver's license they're almost stuck  at the at the temp agencies twisting their thumbs   until noon then they're told that there's no more  jobs to come back the next day then it's over and   over and that's from my experience some of the  others manage to get sent out on a daily basis   but with someone like me that has little to no job  experience it's that much harder and it's like if   I can just get my foot in the door of housing  then maybe I can get my foot in the door in   a job or even if I can get my foot in the door  in a job then I can get in some um housing and   there's churches around like with my home church  Community Baptist Church my pastor underneath   three different pastors every single pastor has  told me that if I can get myself into an apartment   they'll help me furnish the whole apartment so  I know there's groups out there that are willing   to help it's just why can't we just all get them  together and it's like instead of trying to have   the city fund it all all the time see if the  city be willing to say "Okay we're gonna see   if we can use this parking lot over here and have  it where these groups over here come together to   do various fundraisers like car washes throughout  the summer or and then have it where some of those   proceeds from the car wash go towards paying  for the city to help pay for the water bill   the electric bills but also have it where some  of that money go towards the various nonprofits   that was there to do so because I think it when  more people coming together then more things   start to happen and and so it's like because it's  always I've always felt like I was the bottom of   the barrel because with my situation because of  an accusation that got me charged and convicted   of something I didn't even do but I was always  told that I could not qualify for section 8 i   couldn't qualify for HUD and so and I know I'm not  the only one that was put on it and I even have   come to find out one of my younger brothers who  was actually adopted into the Scott side of the   family is also now in DOC i'm not sure exactly  why at the same time I don't want him having   to face the same problems if he has to parole  here to Witchaw that I've been facing since 2008   hey when I aged out of the foster care system  started dealing with the Judas system I want   to be able to actually be able to take his hand  and guide him through and have it give where he   has a better experience at it than I do even if  I have to reach out to him once he pars if he has   to parole to Newton but I don't necessarily  want him to parole to Newton i'd rather have   him parole here because of the bigger city more  opportunities and it's like what we need is get   companies that will come together and say "Hey  look okay we'll hire this many homeless as and   it's like they need to focus on trying to get the  homeless hired because once you get the homeless   working as they're working then offer that them  a financial literacy course." Because then once   they learn how to do a financial literacy course  then they can work and save their way up and out   of being homeless to the point of eventually  renting or even buying their own house or even   eventually taking the time to invest in themselves  to the point of owning their own company one day thank you very much George um I know that  there are multiple organizations here in   Witchah and I'm sure Sally knows them um that  can assist including Goodwill Industries yes   our careare coordination teams actually  have anou with both Workforce Alliance   and Goodwill Industries um they meet once or  twice a month uh making referrals of people   who are interested in in employment to try  and connect them to either job training or   uh employment opportunities so yes definitely we  can um try and connect um him to those resources   for sure thank you Sally if you don't mind  connecting him to Workforce Alliance or   Goodwill it would be appreciated any further  questions or comments from the public i see   none i'll bring it back to the bench council  member Johnson thanks Mayor i did quickly want   to say I love Georgia's suggestion of a garden  i've always loved gardens so if there is a way   with Second Light or any way to maybe have a small  one there I think that would be great for everyone with that uh this resides in  Council Member Ballard's district thank you Mayor um I would like to take the  recommended action approve the allocation of   $10 million in public housing sale proceeds  the award of 50 projectbased vouchers and   the development sub agreement with Petra  and the amount not to exceed $15,182,117 as a sub agreement of the master development  agreement for development of 25 units of non-   congregate shelter and 50 units of permanent  supportive housing at the Park Elementary School   location at 1025 North Main Street and authorize  the necessary signatures second wow motion and a   second any further discussion i will just  add one last thing i did find it george   uh if you look up on Facebook Second Chance  Services ICT they came to speak at a council   meeting before offering jobs to individuals  and again second chance services ICT with that   uh Mr clerk please open the role the motion  passes 70 mr clerk please call the next item council member agenda council  member appointments and comments i will begin with uh appointments and then  comments um actually before that council   member agenda i do have one item uh that's  not on the agenda but I did bring it up during   um this last uh item i just wanted to say thank  you to those who attended last week's town hall   between the city of Witchah Cedric County and  USD 259 i wanted to thank um Chairman Batty and   president of school board Diane Albert for coming  here to these chambers to have an open discussion   moderated by the Kansas Leadership Center um  it was a great opportunity to share ideas and   talk about priorities um and there the Kansas  leadership center is still gathering all that   information that um was captured in the 2hour  meeting so once that is available I would like   to have an agenda item just to go over uh what  had occurred again uh it was a re-imagined way   to do a town hall which was very productive and  it allowed individuals to start off with their   ideas and then from their ideas they had to share  with uh a partner and then from the partner they   shared with a group and then to the greater group  so I thought that that was very productive and I   appreciated that and so again uh Kansas Leadership  Center is still gathering all that data and we   will have that back at some point and then um this  the next step would be to actually talk about what   um occurred last Wednesday so I just  wanted to mention that during council   member agenda with that uh we will have  council member appointments at this time i have appointments and I will read  them um I would like to approve for the Cedric County Witchah Addiction  Intervention Coalition Council Member Mike   Hohheisle i would also like to appoint to the  Witchah Airport Advisory Board Bob Raspberry   nominated by Commissioner Pete Mitner i see none  so I will move to approve these appointments   second motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes seven 70 now we will move to council member comments  council member Hohheisle um thank you Mayor   and thank you for the appointment um I hope to um  serve well and honorably and do a good job on our   behalf and the behalf of the community it is a  deeply personal issue with me so I do appreciate   that um two other things real quick clap Park  the opening was great if you have not been down   there to check it out please do you you you won't  believe it until you see it and see all the kids   out there i've been going by daily and the parking  lot is full every single time and a ton of kids   out there playing um we did have the flood the day  before and there was quite a bit of clean up to do   and um council member GlassCaul has reached out  to a community group to actually help so tomorrow   and Thursday um they will be out during the day  doing the cleanup helping with some of the cleanup   uh around the bridges so I I appreciate this group  they've done a couple of cleanups for us before in   the community um so if you're not doing anything  grab a trash bag grab some gloves we're going to   go out there and uh clean up around the trails  and the bridges um the second thing I do have real   quick is this Saturday we will be having um Cedric  County Commissioner Jim Howell as our guest at the   um District 3 breakfast but the location is still  up in the air come to find out our usual location   is double booked so uh we are currently putting  that out there but we will get that information   out as soon as we can so I I appreciate the offers  and going to other districts we'll consider that   but we'll try and find something down home first  thank you Council Member Johnson thanks Mayor um I   wanted to shout out Steve Dixon with Second Light  coming to the District One breakfast on Saturday   um great discussion great presentation but also  some heartbreaking stories that we heard from   some folks in attendance that just continue to  highlight the necessary work systemically to do   um not just with Second Light but all over and  some of the challenges uh faced out there with   federal funds and restrictions and and all of that  so appreciated him coming out great discussion um   but definitely a lot more work to do throughout  the community and uh just wanted to highlight the   documentaries in the audience went to their  celebration um of all the work that they're   doing and the meetings that they sit through and  they actually were sitting through some of our   10-hour meetings so appreciate your service and  what you're doing to get information out to the   community council member Hohheisel thank you Mayor  um I'd be remiss if I did not also um give a great   big shout out and thank you to our public works  department they got out there four hours early the   crack of dawn um on the day of the ribbon cutting  to help with the cleanup um the playground looked   great all the area around there looked great they  really put their work in so I want to make sure   to give them a shout out too because I really  appreciate it a lot of times they're the unsung   heroes of um just daily maintenance and just the  daily life around Witchah so big thank you to   public works council member Johnson thanks Mayor  council member Hoisel reminded me that we should   also thank one week ago fire department was out  pulling people out of water and the the newly   formed rivers throughout the city um they did a  incredible job and were all over saw pictures of   them in different spaces and did some great work  around Bleckley and some of the other flooding   areas so definitely appreciate their service  and I was talking to a member of the department   who kind of joked that they don't always get to  use their water skills they have a lot of them   but they all did last Tuesday so appreciate the  work that they did for our community again thank   you council members one last one i just wanted to  say thank you to the thousands of volunteers who   made River Festival possible this these last nine  days um for Riverfest 2025 i'm very appreciative   and again full disclosure um I was a schooner mate  back in 2002 and that's why um I believe that this   festival does bring community together because  I've seen it firsthand from being a young teenager   to now being uh the mayor of the city and I'm so  grateful to have seen um the entire council at   uh the start of Riverfest through the parade uh I  got to see Vice Mayor JB Johnston uh with his wife   enjoying Fiesta Del Rio night and many others and  so thank you again uh for making Witchaw Riverfest   possible i do want to say a special shout out  though to our first responders uh police fire   and EMS all did a great job in making sure that  everyone was safe and uh look forward to next   year's Riverfest but with that I cannot end this  meeting i'm sorry uh we have executive session i   know I wanted to end on a positive note so uh  there will be two motions and so I will begin   right now with reading the first one i move  that the city council recess into executive   session for 20 minutes to receive information  on contractual issues pursuant to KSA75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city attorney  which would be deemed privileged in the   attorney client relationship with potential  litigation and legal advice the executive   session is required to protect attorney  client privilege and the public interest   the executive session will begin after this  meeting um and will resume thereafter second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none mr clerk please open the role motion passes 70 i also move that the city  council recess into executive session for   10 minutes to receive information on  civil actions pursuant to KSA75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city attorney  which we deemed privilege in the attorney client   relationship pending litigation and legal advice  second sorry I'm not done this executive session   is required to protect attorney client privilege  and the public interest the executive session   again will begin after this meeting second  motion and a second any further discussion   u mayor oh you need times yeah we Yeah we  need times at least on one of the motions   that we will return from both executives we will  both we will return from both items which which   which is 30 minutes in length we will take a  5 minute short break so 12:15 at 30 minutes   12:45 is when we will return perfect thank you  motion and a second any further discussion i   see none mr clerk please open the role motion  passes 70 we will return at 12:45 thank you