[Music] you hello [Music] good morning Witchah and welcome to all of  you to city hall including our students from   Independent School we'll call this meeting  to order with us this morning is Pastor   Philip Moore with Eden Fellowship Ministries to  provide our invocation following that invocation   we will have the pledge of allegiance  and we ask that you please stand for both good morning i'd like to take this  opportunity and thank Mayor uh Lily Woo and the   entire city council for this opportunity let's  pray gracious and eternal God we pause at the   beginning of this gathering to acknowledge your  presence and to seek your divine wisdom thank you   for the breath of life for the strength to serve  and for the opportunity to lead we are grateful   for this beautiful city of Witchah a place filled  with resilience diversity history and hope today   Lord we especially pray for the members of this  city council grant each of them with clarity of   mind purity of heart and unity of spirit may  personal interests be laid aside so that the   greater good of all citizens may be lifted  high help them to listen deeply speak wisely   and act courageously we ask for wisdom that goes  beyond today wisdom that that plans for the next   generation and for the legacy this council will  leave in times of disagreement give patience in   times of challenge grant endurance and in moments  of uncertainty let faith arise we pray for the   safety and well-being of all who live in work in  this city for our children and our elders for our   first responders and educators for business owners  laborers health care workers and the unhoused   let your justice roll down like water and your  righteousness like a everflowing stream bless   Witchah with peace in our neighborhoods growth  in our economy and healing in places that are   hurting we lift up those who are struggling  today bring them comfort provision and hope   to every corner of this city and finally Lord  may everything done here today be rooted in   love for neighbor and a desire to honor and  the sacred trust of leadership we ask all   these things with humility and expectation in  your most precious and holy name we pray amen i pledge algiance to the flag of the  United States of America and to the   republic for which it stands one nation under  God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you pastor mr clerk can  you please call the first item   approved the minutes of the regular meeting May 13  2025 are there any items to be pulled or items to   be corrected i see none i move to approve the  meeting minutes rather um and second i have a   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 proclamations today's proclamations  are National Public Works Week in the   Stigma Day and Maternal Mental Health  Month please have the individuals from   the city of Witchaw's public works  department come forward at this time good morning good morning good morning the proclamation reads  "The city of Witchah Kansas founded in 1870   whereas public works professionals focus  on infrastructure facilities and services   that are of vital importance to sustainable and  resilient communities and to the public health   high quality of life and well-being of the people  of Witchah whereas these infrastructure facilities   and services could not be provided without the  dedicated efforts of public works professionals   who are engineers managers and employees from  state and local government and the private sector   who are responsible for rebuilding improving  and protecting our nation's transportation   water supply water treatment and solid waste  systems public buildings and other structures   and facilities essential for all citizens  whereas it is in the public interest for the   citizens civic leaders and children of Witchah  to gain knowledge and to maintain a progressive   interest in the importance of public works and  public works programs whereas this year 2025   marks the 65th annual National Public Works Week  sponsored by the American Public Works Association   now therefore be it resolved that the Witchah City  Council does hereby proclaim the week of May 18th   through 24th 2025 as National Public Works Week  in the city of Witchah and encourage all citizens   to pay tribute to our public works professionals  engineers managers and employees and to recognize   the substantial contributions they make to protect  our health safety and quality of life [Applause] uh thank you mayor i'm Gary Jansen director of  public works and utilities and I'm always uh   looking forward to this week each year  i'm thrilled to be here to recognize   uh the commitment and the excellence of uh so many  amazing employees over 700 strong at this point uh   touching the lives of so many people every single  day uh with me today is representatives of many of   our divisions um and and I appreciate them being  here with me just to kind of show uh the diversity   of what we do uh in so many places every single  day so wouldn't be proper for me to stand at this   podium without having something to show so we're  all about numbers and I was looking at staff with   uh what's happened in the last 50 years we found  some information from the mid 1970s and I I won't   spend a lot of time on this but I kind of wanted  to show and look at reflect what has changed   uh including what's happened with our department  at one time not long ago we were two separate   departments public works and the water utilities  so I had to kind of combine some things uh but if   you look at since 1975 to present day uh the size  of our community has grown by 75% population by   50% uh the number of employees is probably not  as much of an increase as I thought we kind of   had to take a stab of the total number of staff  back in 1975 but uh if you look at the rest of   this with facilities paved streets all of our  utilities uh they have more than doubled since   1975 probably not unexpected with what we've seen  with growth in our community uh our staff has been   dedicated since that point to the excellent things  that they do every single day to make sure that   this infrastructure uh serves the needs of our  community uh one thing I was kind of intrigued by   especially in our current situation was the fact  that our number of water customers increased by   81% in the last 50 years but the water consumption  has only increased 21% i will tell you because I   see this on a daily basis that a lot of that can  be owed to the innovation and technology of our   staff and the things that they do uh to help  save water so those are the things that they   do behind the scenes that that so much of it has  done that is unseen every single day uh I thought   this graphic was kind of telling to show uh what  the water service area was over the ch how it   changed over the last 50 years but it's not just  water it's all the public utilities uh sewer and   drainage streets public facilities uh our staff  does all the work behind the scenes um we have   uh amazing facilities for our community police  stations fire stations rec centers libraries uh   those are not in place without the efforts of  our public works and utility staff to design   and build the facilities for operations  and maintenance even after they're open   uh we have uh oversight of multiple environmental  health programs too as the city continues to grow   american Public Works Association established  a theme of people purpose and presence for this   year's uh National Public Works Week i try to  find as much time as I can to spend with uh our   numerous work groups to to really see what they do  behind the scenes every single day and I can tell   you that our staff our staff is truly about the  people working behind the scenes always present   and often under less than ideal conditions usually  24 hours a day seven days a week this group behind   me was supposed to be bigger today but we had  staff out overnight that are still out now uh   responding to the impacts of the storm on traffic  signals and a lot of other facilities so I want to   thank them for doing what they're doing today  and what they do best i'm always amazed by uh   our staff's commitment to excellence quality and  purpose uh because they truly do have a purpose   to serve the organization and the community so I  found this picture uh from the early 1970s that   there was two things that came out of this for me  and I will tell you that picture on the upper left   I think if you went to our current water treatment  plant you would probably find that wall it looks   almost like it does uh today as it did back then  the picture on the bottom uh the one second from   the right the guy in that picture with all the  hair is a guy by the name of Joe Botnelli joe   uh oversaw our water distribution and sewer  maintenance groups for some period of time joe   was actually here for probably the first 10 years  of my career so seeing this picture made me think   of two things the first was just how old that I'm  getting that a picture from the early 70s that had   a guy in it that was here for the first 10 years  of my career but it also uh made me really reflect   and realize that we've had so many wonderful staff  over the years that have dedicated many many years   to the organization and to the community i looked  at our top five tenure staff within our department   uh and collectively those five people have over  220 years of service to the organization to the   community there's two of them here with me today  mark Hall and Stormwater Group Larry Martin and   uh our engineering group uh these two guys  together approaching 90 years of service to the   organization uh I've known them since I started  my career i've known Larry Martin since the very   first day uh I started working here he spent his  entire career career in engineering work group   uh Larry's last day with the city is  actually this Friday uh going on his   43rd year of service to the community so uh it  just says so much about what our staff does uh   and in in in public service and dedication to the  community so having said all of that uh I do want   to personally thank all of our staff uh more than  700 strong as I mentioned before for everything   that they do every day they do so many things  behind the scenes they don't look for credit   uh they they truly have a purpose in what they  are doing to provide excellent service to the   community uh and so on behalf of all of them  to the mayor and city council thank you for   this proclamation uh appreciate being here  and being able to provide these words today can we please have the city  council come forward at this time yes thank you very much may I please ask the Love Like Remy  Foundation to please come forward at this time good morning the proclamation reads "The city of Witchah  Kansas founded in 1870 whereas May is mental   health awareness month and a time to acknowledge  the role models and role mental health plays in   the way we exist as individuals and as a society  to raise awareness of those living with mental   and behavioral health issues and to help reduce  the stigma of so many experiences whereas in 2023   over 12 million adults contemplated suicide nearly  4 million adults made a plan for suicide and 1.5   million adults attempted suicide over 49,000  adults died by suicide in 2023 which equates   to one death every 11 minutes whereas there is  a tremendous need for education support and care   for those struggling with mental illness and  suicidal thoughts the Love Like Remy Foundation   was established in memory of Remington Hope Young  a Witchah resident Maize High School graduate and   University of Kansas student that took her life  on May 22nd 2022 at the age of 20 years old after   battling mental health issues for several years  whereas grassroots organizations such as the Love   Like Remy Foundation can assist those in need  through awareness education and partnerships   with other organizations to provide support to end  the stigma and resources to provide preventative   care to those in need now therefore be it resolved  that the Witchah City Council does hereby proclaim   May 22nd 2025 in honor of Remington Hope  Young as end the stigma day in the city of Witchah hi I'm Amy Young i am Remington Young's  mom i don't have any powerpoints or anything so   it's not quite as exciting as the last last  one but the Love Like Remy Foundation was   established in memory of my daughter Remington  Hope Young a student a 2019 graduate of Maize   High and University of Kansas cheerleader  that took her life on May 22nd 2022 at the   age of 20 remington was known and loved by so  many anyone who had Remy in their life never   once questioned if they were loved she made  the world a better place and every person she sorry she made the world a better place and  every person's life she touched was better   thank you was love better than when Remington  found them to preserve the honor of her legacy   and the Love Lake the Love Lake Remy Foundation  was formed the primary mi the primary mission   has been to support those facing pressures  inherit in sports academics and society to   perform at the highest level we hope to end  the stigma associated with mental health and   to provide education support and resources  so that more beautiful lives are not lost   i'm so sorry thank you for this proclamation  it truly is an honor i'm so sorry [Applause] may I please ask the Kansas chapter of  postpartum to come forward at this time the proclamation reads "The city of Witchah Kansas  founded in 1870 whereas the health of women and   their families is of high priority to the state  of Kansas the period spanning pregnancy through   parenting is a universal time of vulnerability  with serious concerns including rising maternal   mortality and racial inequities and maternal  outcomes across the nation whereas at least one   in five new and expectant mothers are affected by  paranatal mental health disorder or PMHDs such as   depression obsessivecompulsive disorder anxiety  and psychosis mothers may experience symptoms   which are often overlooked and heavily stigmatized  because mothers suffering from a paranatal mood   disorder often feel confused ashamed and isolated  whereas African-American women teenage mothers   women of low socioeconomic status and military  mothers are up to four times more likely to   experience a PMHD many at risk women may not  seek help because they are not informed about   perinatal mood and anxiety disorders due to lack  of provider knowledge screening treatment and   community support services whereas maternal  health is essential for women and families   of all backgrounds collectively supporting  maternal mental health can help improve the   availability and access to effective treatment  prevention and support services for better more   equitable outcomes for all now therefore be  it resolved that the Witchah City Council   does hereby proclaim May 2025 as Maternal  Mental Health Month in the city of Witchah   and encourage all to join the Kansas chapter  of Postpartum Support International to raise [Applause] awareness good morning city  council members and fellow community members   my name is Taran Swiger and I'm a clinical  social worker and perinatal therapist at Flourish   Wellness Collective here in Witto Kansas i'm  speaking today on behalf of the Kansas chapter of   Postpartum Center Postpartum Support International  where I serve as chapter chair to express our   deep gratitude for this meaningful proclamation  recognizing May as maternal mental health month   on behalf of mothers families and advocates  across our state I'm honored to accept this   important acknowledgement the reality we face is  stark one in five women experience a mental health   condition during pregnancy after pregnancy loss  or in the first year postpartum these conditions   include postpartum depression anxiety OCD PTSD and  in the rare but serious case postpartum psychosis   that means in every mom's group birthing class or  family gathering at least one person is silently   struggling but one in five is not just a number  these are our neighbors co-workers sisters and   friends and yet 75% of those affected never  receive the treatment that they need the   silence surrounding maternal mental health has  long-term consequences for mothers for their   babies and for entire families these conditions  are a leading cause of m maternal mortality and   cost the United States over 14 billion dollars  every year but there is hope with early screening   education and strong community support we can make  a difference by issuing this proclamation our city   sends a clear message mothers matter maternal  mental health matters and stigma has no place   in our community today I want to recognize the  many dedicated professionals and organizations   working to support maternal well-being our OBGYNS  pediatricians psychiatrists therapists doulas   early childhood specialists and the countless  nonprofits that are committed to strengthening   families among them is Postpartum Support  International where families can find free   online support groups and a searchable directory  for trusted treatment providers at postpartum.net   let this proclamation be more than symbolic  let it mark the beginning of open conversations   increased access to care and a commitment  to policies that protect maternal health   for this generation and for the next  thank you city council for leading the way may I please ask the Witchaw City Council  to come forward and present this proclamation thank you very much to our proclamation recipients  i also want to acknowledge that we have a therapy   dog here at city council today uh it is mental  health awareness month the entire month of May   and we hope that it's not just one month but  throughout the year that we consider our own   mental health and physical well-being so thank  you very much for being here today miss 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 Lee Angbo the independent  school student speaking about the future of Witchah hello city council thank you for The  students of the independent school come here   to speak today i'm here to talk about  wind energy and other things I'd like   to see in the future of Witchah before I do  I like to show you my quadrant i have you know I Some facts according to the US Energy Information  Administration include that Kansas was one of the   top five states with one energy this is good but I  still think we can do more in 2022 winter turbines   equal 10.2% of total US utility scale electricity  and lastly in Kansas wind is almost everywhere   a reason why you should consider using renewable  energy is it helps the environment and keeps   keeping Witchah clean some pros of wind energy  include is a good alternative for fossil fuels   in general while there is a cost installing the  win turbines the money it makes will pay for   itself and it's cheaper than using fossil fuels  also adding winter turbines will create more jobs   some callings include some birds and baskets stuck  in winter bines then die according to the US Fish   and Wildlife Services most of the birds that are  harmed are song birds some other types of birds   and mass head die are eagles hawks falcons golden  eagles red red tailed hawks and tree roosting   bats in addition winter buns take up many acres of  space winter buns may catch on fire some solutions   to the problems of wind energy are to checking  the parts more often so they don't catch on fire   we should also look at the migratory paths and  seasons such as running winter bonds more often   in the winter to avoid birds and bats or place  winter buns or less bird about popular areas this   is important because it would save the lives of  birds and bats as well as the ecosystems and food   chains or other species finally we can try using  smaller parts to use less land since small trips   can be beneficial for individual homeowners before  I go I'd like you to consider adding some of these   things to Witchaw including adding more earth  homes earth homes mean structures built into the   earth offering natural institution and are energy  efficient these homes are made from recycled   materials such as old tires and bottles these  homeowners don't throw away their water till it's   black widget is in a drought and these kinds of  acts would help our water shortage these homes are   also shields from tornadoes wind damage and hail i  would like to have more local farms too that would   allow us to have fresher food and we can use those  fossil fuel in the process thank you for listening thank you Leo council member Glasscock leo thank  you for coming and talking today i just want to   say great job with your presentation and keep  that confidence going because there's a lot of   people that come to this bench that don't have  the confidence that you just had so thank you   for doing it um I also thought you would be  interested in information and while you were   talking I looked up how much wind energy was  being produced in Kansas at this exact minute   and 56% of the energy produced and 56% of the  energy being used to light this room is coming   from wind energy right now in Kansas and that's  a success and should be hailed and so thank you   for trying to lead the effort on this and there  are plenty of jobs in the energy sector that'll   be looked forward to your expertise in  the future so thank you for being here madam clerk please call the next  individual if I can mention council   member we actually purchase more  wind energy than the average so   we're over 90% wind energy cohen Kites the  independent school the future of Witchah hello I'm happy to speak to you today and I've  studied hydrop power benefits to hydropower are   it doesn't create air pollution it can be used in  most parts of the world and it currently accounts   for 5.7% of electricity in America according  to the US Energy Information Administration   some limitations of hydropower are that it can  hurt fish may change water temperatures and can   also change water chemistry some solutions said  the dams don't hurt fish anymore would be to   have fish elevators so the fish could get to the  top of the reservoir like at the safe harbor dam   in Pennsylvania i think that on one side of the  rivers they could let wildlife and biodiversity   thrive this might work by the keeper of the plains  where the little Arkansas meets the Arkansas River   in addition scientists need to research more  solutions to avoid changes in water temperature   and water chemistry my quadrant has hills for  recreation such as climbing hiking sledding or   grass skiing the two houses are white including  the rooftops to absorb less heat because Witchah   gets very hot during the summer i also have  a hydroelectric dam connected to the Arkansas   River i would like to see more electric cars and  I would like more bus routes train transportation   would be a good idea too so people would use less  gas and because they hold more people in cars and   are more efficient especially if we were to move  to electric trains we need to make Witchaw a more   futuristic city so more people will come to  Witchah thanks for letting me speak to you thank you very much Cohen and thank you for  moving the microphone down so that we could   see you do you want to share what's  on your display so this is the water thank you very much Cohen madame Clerk can you please call  the next individual sadi Chang   the independent school student future of Witchah thank you for allowing me to speak to you  today i chose to research biomass which   is a renewable energy biomass is a renewable  organic material that comes from plants and   animals it also contains stored photosynthesis  from the sun biomass is usually measured in units   using the process of organic waste to create  power you can create valuable energy benefits   for biomass are that in 2007 according to the  US Energy Information Administration the US   government set a goal to use 36 billion gallons  of bofuels by 2022 and as a result nearly all   gasoline now sold in the US contains some ethanol  biomass also keeps organic waste out of landfills   some limitations for biomass are that it is  really expensive and needs a certain amount of   space biomass can also lead to carbon dioxide  and methane emissions however these gases can   be inserted into the ground or the methane can be  harvested for energy some of the disadvantages of   biouels applied to low diversity bofuel sources  that are sugar cane oil palms corn and soybeans   which are traditional agriculture crops we  raise around Witchah people some people get   their bofuels from cutting down trees which  is bad though there are solutions to those   limitations like using wood pellets and charcoal  for heating and it can replace fossil fuels it   may also result in lower CO2 emissions overall  or we could harvest fast growing trees like   cottonwood trees for more biomass and separate  bad waste before burning it because it could   be important for reducing environmental issues  in my quadrant I have a river and a highway my   buildings and roads are made of recycled concrete  the roof have a garden on top for better quality   air which leaves more space for plants and  trees on the ground on my roads and highways   there are strong materials and a bridge for the  cars to cross over the big river connecting to   the highway i would like to recommend to farmers  to plant more diverse crops so we can have more   local food choices diverse farms also help our  natural ecosystem i would like to see more solar   panels and windmills to make more energy we need  to rely less on oil and use renewable resources   witchah has a tree problem more citizens in the  city need to plant more trees fast growing trees   will eco more animal habitats and better quality  air while trees use water they also produce water   for our water cycle this is also what Witched  Honeys thank you for letting me speak to you thank you Satie council member Ballard thank  you thank you so much for coming to speak i   just wondered if a city manager heard that  suggestion about trees just wondering uh no   seriously I appreciate you uh bringing  that up that's something that's been   really important to me and I appreciate  you encouraging people to plant trees as   well among all of the other things that  you shared so thank you for being here miss clerk can you please call  the next individual william   Antonios the independent school student future of Witchah hello thank you for allowing me to  speak to you today i studied solar energy   some benefits of solar power are that it is a  good source of energy in sunny places it also   doesn't create carbon dioxide nor air pollution in  addition animal except for insects are not hurt by   solar panels solar voltivic cells are used to make  all solar panels so small panels can power small   devices such as calculators and watches while  larger panels can power larger devices such as our   homes cars and sorry our homes cars and businesses  the the cons about solar are that it can be very   expensive furthermore solar panels have difficulty  collecting energy on cloudy or dusty days   another limitation is that companies  have to mine for elements to create   solar panels some solutions to these cons  are to give people that own solar panel   tax breaks to decrease the cost we should  also use proskite cells that can be built   at low cost but work very well in addition  you could save energy for cloudy days in   a storage tank and hire somebody to clean  off the dust on the solar panel if needed sorry this would help provide more jobs in Witchaw  my quadrant contains houses that are powered by   Pearl Sky cells i also have an electric station  powered by solar panels which if it was made   in real life it would be made out of recycled  materials such as recycled plastic and metals   like steel i think Witchaw should use solar energy  because there are enough rooftops to fit a good   portion of solar panels this would take up less  land space in the county and because Kansas has   a large amount of sun according to Visit Witchaw  there are more than 220 days of the year that are   sunny i think Witchaw should use these things to  make the city a better place i would like to see   more nature friendly neighborhoods with trees and  bushes so birds and insects have a place to live   having more nature friendly parks also encourages  people to be health to be happier and healthier   humans we could also have more recycling plants  for major companies and schools because then   more people would recycle the kids might also  then be encouraged to recycle in the future   we could also ban plastic bags and have  people bring their own bags this will   make our city cleaner also ABC News  ran a study in 46 states and found a   majority of the plastic bags were not  being recycled we have options and we   should use them because we only have one  Earth thank you for listening to my speech thank you William madame clerk can you  please call the next individual desa Theory   and Catalina Burke the independent  school students future of Witchah hi our names are Catalina and Desa the energy we  chose to reach is biomass biomass is capturing   heat from decomposing plants and animals  and converting that heat into energy the   main byproducts for biomass come from  plants algae and animal waste a benefit   of biomass is bofuel it is commonly advocated  as cost-effective economically friendly and it   is better for the environment than oil biogas  can be collected from landfills and livestock   many facilities that produce bio gas capture  biomass and burn the methane for heat or energy   we are grateful for the methane is being  harvested off of the landfill this makes   sense and we should also be using livestock  manure and have holding ponds one limitation   is that bio gas contains small amounts of hydrogen  sulfide and noxian and potentially toxic compound   releases carbon dioxide and particulate matter  we know Witchah has poor air quality according   to the American Allergy and Asthma Foundation  however to reduce these harmful gases we should   build a carbon capture plant to help clean our  air another limitation biouels apply mainly to   low diversity bofuel sources such as soybeans  sugarcane and oil palms there are plenty of   diverse grasses and we should harvest those prior  to burning fields and maybe this would keep the   tall grasses healthy and release less carbon  dioxide but also provide people with energy   in addition we should have citywide composting  events to increase biomass options this would   keep less trash out of landfills and  provide great soil for our surrounding agriculture we could also build a bofuel  plant this would provide people with more   job opportunities and provide cheap energy  for homeowners what is interesting about our   quadrant is that the biomass factory is made of  recycled plastics and uses the green space with   garden rooftops to help fuel the biomass factory  solar panels also help run the factory and provide   backup energy we have some concerns about Witchah  these concerns are that prices of food and energy   are increasing too fast many people cannot afford  these rising prices where community gardens could   help pe people find local food and help feed the  homeless we also support other renewable energy   resources such as solar hydro and geothermal  energy we would like to see more solar and   hydro as well as geothermal energy for homes and  businesses another concern is that we should add   at least one sidewalk to every street for walkers  and bikers to create more street friendly paths   these could be bioluminescent walkways like  they have in Copenhagen instead of using street legs citywide cleanup should be encouraged  once a month with more recycling companies   and finally an Earth Day citywide celebration  would be nice where witchins could come together   to plant trees and explore nature parks we  know we have many things we would like to   see in the future of Witchah but we hope you  will consider our request to make our city a   better place for all Witchtons thank you for  listening have a great day [Applause] thank you   Desa and Catalina council member Glasscock  thank you Mayor so so far there's been six   speakers from the independent school and there's  seven seats of this bench so I hope one day that   a lot of you replace us here because you have  a lot of great ideas for our community i just   want to give a thank you to the parents and  teachers of the independent school as well   uh it's evident that the education  there is excelling and the students   um the confidence coming from the students uh  is something that again I wish a lot of people   had had from this bench and maybe we can do a  um training for people about how do you engage   civically because I think uh Witchaw could learn  a lot from you all so thank you all for being here council member Ho Heisel thank you Mayor um thank  you to all the kids at the independent school you   got to make sure and have the the in there um  a great presentation i just wanted to give you   guys just some updates on some things that we are  doing environmentally friendly um policy on the   city council uh we are going to an all electric  fleet we already have a number of city buses that   do run on electric energy um we are planting  pollinator gardens at many of the parks that   we have including one at Clap Park that opens  up here next month um and also with our sewage   treatment plant we are um looking at putting a  biodome over one of the uh vats of human waste   to capture methane and we will actually be able  to sell that to the gas company so we'll actually   make money off of that so make sure you kids eat  your wedies and your Cheerios and we're going to   have some good good gas for the energy there  um and we're also looking at recycling water   and that can um actually account for half of the  uh water that we use every single day so there   are a number of initiatives that we are pushing  through and I appreciate your guys' support for it   i also hope that you paid attention to um some  of the speakers earlier as well because they were   talking about mental health and things that might  go on in your guys' school and with your peers in   the future and it's always a good lesson to be  kind because we we never know what other people   are going through and that's something that a  lesson that we all can take to heart so thank you   kids for coming up today i appreciate you holding  our feet to the fire on some of these issues council member Johnson thank you Mayor i want to  just say uh good job to each of you that came up   here i remember being dragged down to city hall  when I was 19 and told to go speak to the mayor   and council and I absolutely did not want to and  I was super nervous and I think I said five words   so you all the confidence that you showed um how  articulate you were was amazing i look I wrote   down the basis of what each of you talked about  wind power hydro power biomass solar power all   of that i hope that you keep that passion as you  get older sometimes you'll have adults my age or   a little older tell you not to do those things or  you see what's going on in the country today with   deregulation and pushing more towards fossil fuels  i know that you all will make our future better   you all will help make sure that we take care of  the one planet that we have and I'm glad to hear   the research that you all did and the issues that  you were pushing i just want to encourage you to   keep doing it and even if you don't see this body  or some other body make progress towards that   don't stop fighting don't stop pushing because  like you said we only have one planet so we got   to take care of it and I appreciate what you all  are doing [Applause] council member Ballard thank   you Mayor well everybody stole my notes but I  just also would like to say thank you to the   parents and teachers and students that made it  out today and I am so encouraged by our future   leaders that you guys are focusing on things that  are really really important and really difficult   um problems but I know there's solutions out there  and I love that you guys are already working on it   so keep up the good work council member Vice  Mayor JB Johnston thank you thank you Mayor i   also want to congratulate you for coming but  I want to congratulate the parents i see Dr   antonio's there and uh you may not have another  physician you might have an engineer coming up but   uh just a proud parents and the tremendous work  that you're doing raising your your children so   just a great job and keep it up and our future  leaders so thank you and last I am just going   to close out by saying thank you to the teachers  this is a reflection of what you've been teaching   your kiddos but also that you chose to come here  today every week during our council meetings we   have five opportunities for anyone to speak about  any topic and anyone can do that online you could   sign up or you could just show up and that's  an opportunity that's available to anyone in   our community including our young people and  so if you are encouraged about young people   speaking about you as an adult speaking you can  always go out to witchah.gov/city councsel in   addition I see a lot of civic engagement here and  so I encourage especially our adults to check out witchah.gova it stands for civic engagement  academy there will be an academy on June 11th   and 12th right here at city hall so  that you can get to understand your   local government and how you can engage  so I encourage you all again to check out witchah.gova as well as witchah.gov/city  councsil if you'd like to speak and again   thank you very much to the independent  school students and teachers thank you madame clerk can you please call the next item  consent agenda items 1 through 17 council members   are there items to be pulled from this consent  agenda council member Hoheisle thank you Mayor   um a number of residents have reached out asking  to pull item eight for discussion i also have   had a lot of comments and also was inclined  even before those emails to pull item number 11 any further consent agenda items to  be pulled i see none i move to approve   consent agenda without items 8 and 11  second motion and a second any further   discussion i see none mr clerk Miss Clerk  rather would you please uh call to order i I motion passes 70 we will begin with  the first item numerically consent agenda   item number eight uh thank you mayor  um I just had like I said a number of   um residents wanted to come and speak  on this item so I se the floor to them council member do you have any questions  for staff first i think just to level set is   there anyone that can just uh share because I  know that there are people right now on YouTube   watching the city council meeting that don't  know what consent agenda item number eight is i can give a brief description here it  is the purchase of police department   equipment protective equipment um including  communications um radios and um ballistic shields i see no questions for staff we  will open it up for public comment good morning thank you so much for pulling  this from uh the consent agenda uh my name   is Faith Martin i live in district 2 and the  funding for equipment included in the CIP   uh said it was using grant funding and it looks  like in 2023 council approved a h 100,000 from   the general obligation bond funding for this  equipment um so my question would be is this   completely funded through the justice assistant  grant because it's a total of $212,000 um or is   this a new ask for funding that's already been  allocated that we want to allocate or is this   something that should be pushed to the 2026 um  CIP i'm just curious like where is this money   coming from and if we knew we needed this um  was it part of the budget last year kind of it   wasn't clear on the document that was provided  where the funding's coming from and if it was   already approved was it part of this year's budget  those kind of questions because adding 212,000   when we're talking about a budget shortage it was  just something that a number of us were concerned Morning council and mayor i'm Captain  Jason Kulie with Witchaw Police Department   um the helmets is funded out of the um 100,000  protective equipment CIP funding that uh was   initiated in either September or October I can't  remember um it's on the agenda the exact date um   so that that comes out of the CIP that was already  funded the communications equipment is coming from   the 600,000 uh funded through the radio CIP  that was initiated on the same date October   or September I can't remember the um grant funding  that is referenced is the justice assistance grant   um that was federal money we asked for to replace  uh several pieces of equipment we've got funding   back from uh 2020 21 22 that we're closing out  23 and 24 is in the works of being spent right   now um we use that for various equipment  and part of that ask in that justice grant   or the JAG grant was to purchase uh ballistic  shields so the funding for the shields is coming   from the federal uh JAG grant the helmets are  coming from the 100,000 U protective equipment   CIP fund and the communications equipment is  coming from the 600,000 uh CIP fund for radio equipment i'll stand for more questions if Mayor  if I if I could and perhaps you can help me in   this the reason that this item is in front of you  is that the equipment that's being purchased is to   replace uh equipment that is past its useful life  and no longer uh provides maximum protection for   our police officers especially those that  are first responders to an active shooter   um uh incident and that is why um the  department has brought this forward   yeah we have a number of of gear that comes  with a lifespan anything ballistic rated which   is a lot of what we wear our vest our helmets  our shields um I could go on and on about the   ballistics but all that comes with a a lifespan  and has to be put on a cycle of replacement thank you anyone else from the public who  would like to speak i see none i'll bring   it back to the bench and we'll just add a  comment we just commemorated and observed   law enforcement week last week and had the law  enforcement memorial service on Friday because of   individuals who chose to answer the call to serve  our community and were killed in the line of duty   therefore this item is about safety of  law enforcement personnel that I take   uh as a top priority just like I take the safety  of our community as a top priority therefore I am   going to be very supportive of this item and so I  move to approve consent agenda item number eight   second motion and a second any further discussion  council member Hohheisel thank you Mayor i would   just like to um add on active shooters that that's  that is the number one thing that keeps me up at   night and the scope of my job and being able  to provide the protection for the officers to   not only protect themselves but also to respond  more quickly to active shooters inside schools   at mass gatherings um it's it's something that  we absolutely are looking at and I do appreciate   our chief's emphasis on this as well he's coming  in and making sure that we are doing everything   that we can to respond to active shooters in  our community so we don't want to get caught   uh flatfooted by any of these delays or  lack of equipment so I do appreciate his   emphasis on this moving forward so thank you  thank you Council Member Hohisel motion in a   second any further discussion i see none  madame Clerk can you please open the role i motion passes 70 madame clerk actually  consent agenda item number 11 was pulled   by me i would like to have city staff  address questions that I sent via email   so I will address those questions right  now so the public knows which questions I asked whom from the city will be speaking on the  behalf of the city of Witchah mayor I think it   depends on the question all right first and  foremost I would like to first address the   changes made in development deals since 2009  to avoid this similar situation mayor that's   a two um part answer um when I arrived in  2009 um I realized after looking at a few   of our development projects that were active  at the time that we had accepted guarantees   uh for tiff repayment um or shortfall uh  payments from LLC's and I was immediately   concerned because LLC's are just that  they're limited liability corporations and   uh if assets are taken out of the uh corporation  they're not available then to back up a guarantee   so in 2009 we implemented a policy that for  any tiff guarantees we would only accept   uh letters of credit um and or a personal  guarantee or some other type of security that   would not put the city at risk um since then we've  also codified that in our economic development   policies and I'll let Troy Anderson talk about  what's in our uh current economic development uh policy honorable mayor members of council Troy  Anderson assistant city manager so I'm just going   to read directly from the economic development  guidelines uh these guidelines were adopted in   2020 there's been some revisions in 2021 and  2022 but not necessarily to this language so   uh this language appeared in the 2020 version  of the economic development guidelines more   specifically as it related to TIFF projects  uh it reads "Tiff projects and development   agreements will be prepared in a way to not  place additional ongoing financial burden on   the city including operating costs of TIFF funded  improvements the developer must provide adequate   financial guarantees to ensure completion of the  project including but not limited to assessment   agreements letters of credit personal guarantees  etc guidelines continue to read uh further on   down in uh that section that developer will be  required to personally guarantee 100% of the tax   increment required to meet annual debt service  payments on city bonds issued due finance tiff   project costs letters of credit bond insurance  pledge collateral or other acceptable form of   credit enhancement will be required as  additional security for the obligation and starting last year can you address how each of  the green sheet items now have uh an explanation   regarding these economic incentives um where  again there is not a check that is provided to   a developer but rather uh pay as you go can you  explain that that that started last year putting   it in the green sheet yeah so um what you're  probably referring to is uh there's a statement   that we provide in uh a number of our reports  particularly as it relates to revenue bonds right   that that that no taxpayer dollars are being  used um in in the financing of these programs   uh that there's no risk to the taxpayer uh and so  we we've continued to try to add that language to   staff reports to make sure that uh there's no  misunderstanding the city is not giving any   money out uh there are no taxpayer dollars at risk  in these deals um and so we're going to continue   to continue to uh clarify and continue to put the  city and the taxpayer dollars first and foremost   um we went through kind of a three-part series  last year on economic development policy um we're   going to come back to you here in the next couple  of months with a revision of those guidelines   to continue to bolster the city's position to  protect taxpayer dollars making sure that you   you alluded to pay as you go right that's a term  that is used in and around the industry right that   basically the developers are self-performing  right they've got to go out and finance the   project it's very performance-based  and it's only after the performance is produced that the incentive is made  available um but it's all at the risk of   the developer property owner and that there are  no taxpayer dollars at risk that is different than   what happened in 2009 is that correct yeah that  there's there are provisions under state law that   allow cities to bond sort of the these these the  debt associated with these economic development   projects that's not a practice I would recommend  that's not a practice the city has uh exercised   in these latter years right we're really trying to  get away from using taxpayer dollars and bonding   debt associated with these economic development  projects we're migrating towards uh a more performance-based set of policies and guidelines  where the developer is responsible to finance and   perform and not use taxpayer dollars or put  taxpayer dollars at risk thank you Troy this   question I think is for Jennifer uh with law can  you provide a timeline so that individuals know   where how we got to this position right here in  May of 2025 from January of 2009 mayor Council   Jennifer McGonga city um city attorney um this  did originate with an agreement entered into in   January of 2009 uh the January 6 council meeting  it's the time that was voted on it's executed on   January 9th of 2009 um that was a development  agreement with uh HH Holdings um at that time   um the uh city entered into that and then um in  2011 there was an amendment allowing for a sale of   property and part of the property um at 13 Oliver  was sold to Walmart um then the agreement was   uh amended to reccharacterize the city's  contribution $2.5 million tiff at 3% for   semi define the definition tiff shortfall and uh  an amortization schedule on that tiff loan uh was   set for 2013 to 2029 um not hitting all the all  the dates in there but to to get to the next stage   over time um for about six or seven years the city  received uh proceeds on that loan um in the amount   of over $700,000 in uh 2019 last payment by the  city in 2022 early part of two staff pursued this   um with Mr burke and Mr wells to see where the  payments were communications had further payments   would be made july of 23 the city filed a lawsuit  against HH Burke wells to recover the amounts owed   under that development agreement this time the  case is pending mediation was had to res resolve   the complaint resolve the dispute a mediated  settlement is for you for your consideration   it can only be approved by a vote of council if  there is no resolution set for trial in district jennifer uh can you go back to October 4th  2011 there was something that was missing   from that statement and that is uh can you  address how that agreement was made between   the city of Witchah and the developers  as the city has asserted its pleadings   there was an oral agreement Mr burken Wells  and the city to pay that schedule through   i'd like to know why the city of Witchah this  would have been 2011 uh two years almost after   that January meeting would have taken an  oral agreement for a multi-million dollar loan answer that other than that was apparently  a policy decision at that time um there was an   agreement upon upon the parties um there  was later on a a letter of credit issued   um in January 2013 partially secure  future installments but I can't speak   for those those individuals who  engaged in that oral discussion can you also address that this is at the  crux of all of this is an oral agreement   that there is no paper trail that can  corroborate this well I think that's   probably something that would be further flushed  out in litigation and I want to add um so in 2011   a oral agreement was made do we do any oral  agreements now in 2025 not to my knowledge thank you for the staff uh  answers i have further questions   um there was an email that you mentioned in  2022 uh where it was addressed that there   the developers provided a certain amount of  dollars but what is the actual amount that the   developers provided to the city of Witchah and  how much is still owed to the city of Witchah $78,000 was paid um the remainder  is approximately 1 point thank you in addition um I would like to know  um there was in 2011 the property was sold   uh to Walmart were did the city of Witchaw  receive any payment when that property was sold   to Walmart no mayor so we have not received  any further payment other than the $78,000 $629 paid to the city and the city is still owed 1,881,3.94 is that correct that's correct  thank you i will have comments after public   comment are there any further questions i  see none we will now open it up for public comment good morning Mayor Woo city council  members thank you for pulling this item from the   consent agenda my name is Celeste Ret 2239 North  Ty Time Court i'm a former FDIC bank examiner and   I'm a former chief internal auditor the city of  Witchah is facing a financial deficit and yet   this proposed settlement with local developers  Dave Burke and Dave Wells is asking taxpayers   to forgive nearly $2 million owed does this make  sense does any of this development deal make sense   where is the oversight on city manager Leighton  and the economic development staff when they   make bad development deals dave Burke and Dave  Wells were given 2.5 million to purchase the   Kenmar shopping center property and to help with  improvements the city then raised 2.5 million from   temporary debt notes this debt never showed up  in the city financial statements no mention was   made in the financial statements of this special  arrangement with these two developers not even in   the temporary notes that were issued to raise  the money is there any note in the financial   statements of this special agreement city manager  Leighton then allowed these men to sell the Kinmar   property to Walmart burke and Wells kept the $2  million in proceeds from the property sale even   though they had not repaid the loan this is the  point where this business transaction becomes   completely unprofessional property securing  the temporary loan notes was allowed to be   sold without repayment if I had a car loan and  then sold my car without repaying the car loan   don't you think the bank would have come after me  for those sale proceeds but we didn't then without   the city's knowledge or consent Dave Burke and  Dave Wells went ahead and sold more property for   $1.3 million and they again pocketed the funds  without repaying the loan at this point the city's   lawsuit against the two developers should have  been filed and that was 10 years ago some of you   have been on this city council for that amount  of time but Dave Burke promised to make good on   his commitment to the city he promised to live up  to this end of the development agreement and an   oral promise was reaffirmed at a meeting with city  manager Leighton assistant city manager Scott Riby   and develop analyst Mark Elder in 2016 again there  are some of you on this city council who have been   there during this time but he broke his promise  and payments stopped in 2020 when I started Save   Century 2 5 years ago I could tell there was  a lack of financial oversight on development   projects and I asked city manager Leighton why  the city was not collecting other revenue on the   Kenmar tiff district his written response was  and I quote "Staff has been actively engaged in   seeking payments from the developer however no  payments were received in 2021." What he failed   to mention that there was no payments received  in 2020 either he also failed to mention to me   that the city was owed nearly $2 million from  the developers how many other development deals   are hidden how many taxpayers have the kind of  diligence and accounting background to ask these   kinds of questions because it appears they're  not being asked by city council in a period of   time over which this agreement was stretched  but it gets worse the city manager continued   bringing city provided incentives for seven other  development projects for these same developers   and those of you currently serving two terms on  city council approved these deals dave Burke and   Dave Wills were part of the development group  involved with the Ball Stadium land development   dave Burke was given taxpayer funds of $700,000  for infrastructure on his Riverside luxury patio   home development these individual examples show  a culture where the city manager has complete   control of economic development process with no  oversight developers are rewarded with our tax   monies without followup there is a lack of best  business practices in these deals collateral is   released land is sold debt is owed by developers  it isn't shown on the financial statements and   we're relying on an oral promise it is time for  you to start asking questions so I applaud you   for what I've heard today it is time to have  transparency on every single taxpayer funded   deals it is time to require mandatory cost benefit  analysis on these projects and it is time you show   you really care about how our tax dollars are  being spent it is time you hold staff accountable   when millions are lost on bad and unprofessional  development deals you are responsible for   supervising the city manager hold him accountable  thank you thank you Celeste council member Ballard   thank you Mayor Bob can you speak to any of her  points about um why some of these items don't show   up in the financial um part of the documents that  she's talking about yeah I I would in terms of the   debt showing and tiff I I'd have to talk to Mark  we'd have to have a response from Mark Manning on   on that piece of it we did per we do report on  a quarterly basis the performance of our tiff   districts and have reported consistently that this  tiff district has underperformed and I've been o   open regarding the um deficiencies in the original  agreement and our inability to be able to collect   from the developer because we don't have any tool  in which to do that um if you could um maybe talk   to Mark and let us know what you learn how it's  recorded um Celeste thank you for um always coming   and um holding our feet to the fire but I do just  want to make a comment and I know that many of you   know this but none of us were on the council nor  any director currently on staff was part of this   deal when these um arrangements were originally  made so I just want to make uh that point and I   do think that the current council and even before  the newest members um certainly I can speak to my   time on council um it's been import important to  me that um we do hold these developers accountable   and unfortunately sometimes that means when they  don't fulfill their obligation we have to file a   lawsuit so um anybody else would do that if if you  know as Celeste mentioned if if I had a car note   or didn't pay for my house they would you know  take that away and there would be consequences so   um unfortunately I think that's you know  part of the situation that we're in today but   um Celeste I appreciate your comments and uh  whatever I learned from Mark I'll be sure to let   you know council member Tuttle thank you um Bob  this question is for you um can you we chatted a   little bit about this when I had some questions  can you talk a little bit about the extra steps   that we have taken and I know Troy highlighted  some of it by reading our policy but in terms   of personal guarantees and things like that to  ensure that the city is being safeguarded could   you maybe just explain some of those steps past  councils have taken thank you yes yes thank you   council member um I think Troy did a good job  of indicating first of all what we're trying   to do is get out of the old traditional tiff uh  business and as much as possible go to pay as you   go tiffs which then have really no the city has no  responsibility then for the repayment um where we   there have been uh proposals brought forward where  that's not possible then the number of security   um documents that could be provided to make sure  that the city is not at risk it was outlined by   Troy and that includes letters of credit and  includes personal guarantees backed by assets i have further questions um city manager I know  you have alluded multiple times that this happened   before you the original uh contract agreement was  in January of 2009 you became the city manager   February of 2009 once you were made aware you said  there were some changes however in the timeline   that was outlined by Jennifer Magna you knew that  there was an LLC guarantee that was a problem   why did you not get a personal guarantee  when it was revised in 2011 mayor what I   was able to do was obtain letters of credit  for multiple years from them on a voluntary   basis we there was no requirement and they made  it clear that they were doing it on a voluntary   basis because they were not required to do it  legally i engaged the mayor and council at the   time regarding how far I could go in pushing  that after they I believe after a two-year   period they no longer provided the letters of  credit we sat down with them and said "We want   to renew those and they said they would not renew  it." And that's when they said "We'll continue to   make our payments but we're not going to renew  the letters of credit." I reported that to the   mayor and council we did not have any teeth in  our agreement to enforce against them because   they simply it was the LLC that was responsible  for the payment didn't they need approval to   sell Walmart they did and the council provided  that to them who was on that council at that   time sorry I don't remember the exact council  members serving at that time so that would have   been 2011 would that have been Mayor Brewer  and the same individuals who voted in 2009 i believe so Mayor so it would have been Mayor  Brewer's term and council members that are not   on this council at this current moment that's  correct so that was in 2011 again I asked and I   think the question is from that moment on after  the city was burned for not having a personal   guarantee now we do have personal guarantees is  that correct that is correct council member Glasco my question was answered i have more questions  uh Celeste also mentioned August 29th 2016   a meeting between Burke Wells Leighton Riby  Elder is there documentation of this meeting   and are there meeting minutes no there are  not just our recollection of the meeting c can I have the answer from the law i believe  there's a calendar entry um I'm aware of that   have to look further but I think there's that  record reflecting that meeting so this meeting   in 2016 the only individual who is still  a staff member for the city of Witchah is   the city manager the other two staff members  that I address Rigby and Elder no longer work   for the city of Witchaw is that correct that's  correct so when council member Ballard said uh   I'd like more information once you get it from  Mark is he obligated to do that since he's not   a City of Witchaw employee uh Mark Manning oh  sorry so I'd like to know what changes have   been made in terms of staffing um because one  of the questions that was asked by a community   member was who on city staff is responsible for  this problem and have they been held accountable mayor the all the members of the economic dome  staff that were in place in 2009 are no longer   with the city and I have one further question um  this is more to uh Jennifer can you explain how   $400,000 is the maximum that the city can recoup  at this time mayor we went through um this case   has been filed this case has been litigated  parties agreed to voluntarily enter non-binding   mediation um a mediator an experienced mediator  led the mediation the parties came with their   attorneys um throughout the mediation the process  is typically that a mediator tries to work toward   a negotiated settlement um cases are that every  case has a strength has strengths and every case   has weaknesses and and a good mediator works on  and the parties to to expose and and and and have   the parties consider those um and the the mediated  settlement is a proposal before you um subject to   council approval it is a recommendation of the  parties and the mediator at the end of a day of   mediation that's the process that was went through  that the city went through thank you Jennifer   and can you also uh address while I have you the  city is either being sued or is suing uh entities   or individuals and those lawsuits are available  on the website but can you also address that it   is difficult for us to make comments until that  lawsuit comes before the city council in public   uh comment that's correct mayor um we are now  posting all pending um civil lawsuits on the city   website with a brief summary um currently we're  working on posting the settlements as well um   while cases are pending um there are matters of  evidence and um we have to be careful ethically   on how how much is discussed in a public matter  while the government is public and the business   of the government is um lawsuits to some extent um  you know are are are decided they are decided by   the courts and a jury and we want to be cautious  about statements um in the media we can talk about   facts we just need to always be cognizant that  there is a a court process involved i don't know   if that answers your question but that's why we  are limited at sometimes you know when when cases   are pending we can say less than than we can  after the case is disclo dismissed by the court   and lastly um this situation um since  we have multiple pending lawsuits   um and also criteria for individuals that  do business with the city of Witchah I would   like to know if there how the city addresses  granting current as well as future business   dealings with entities that are being sued  by the city or where the city is being sued kadiva staff is more spe can speak more  specifically to this but you have council   policies um you can adopt and change policies on  how you want to do business and what the way you   want to provide incentives um there is um nothing  right now that is specifically in our policies   that I'm aware of that talk about cases of pending  litigation being prohibited you know those parties   with pending litigation being prohibited from  receiving i would be interested in making sure   that from this moment on or once we get it in  front of the council individuals or entities   that are suing the city or being sued by the city  don't have the opportunity to do business with the   city um that concerns me a lot that we would  be in litigation and then would provide them   um a project when again they're being sued by  the city or they're suing the city council member   Johnson thanks Mayor um if if we're going to talk  policy I would um like to kind of follow what   Council Member Ballard had talked about before  regarding um any entities that may um owe us any   significant funding or revenues um to talk about  how they might be uh either awarded or not allowed   to do business with the city i thought that was  a really good idea at the time and if we're going   to have that discussion I think we should take up  that idea so it's a since it's a policy discussion   we would like that to come probably before  a workshop uh we would like to workshop this   further um because businesses organizations or  individuals who are either suing the city or have   been sued by the city should have um repercussions  for what they're doing uh to taxpayers council   member Glascock thank you Mayor i just wanted  to correct the record um regarding the vote   uh of sell on October 4th 2011 the council at  that time from what I can do reviewing the minutes   was yes votes to sell the property were Williams  Longwell Brewer and Miller and the no votes were   Meister Glendennon and O'Donnell and so it was a  different council than the 2009 council can you   read the uh yes and nos one more time please  williams Longwell Brewer and Miller and the   no votes from Meister Clanden and O'Donnell and  I'm reviewing the minutes from October 4th 2011 thank you for the additional context uh regarding  the again October 4th 2011 meeting where again an   oral agreement was conjured up well just  to correct that was the council meeting   um that was just the council meetings the  timeline also has that same date the 2011 okay that was an amendment to approve the development  agreement regarding revitalization of the Kenmar   shopping district and authorize the necessary  signatures was the motion made thank you Council   Member Glasco you are correct mayor i was correct  thank you we will continue with public comment good mo good good morning everyone and thank  you mayor and council members for pulling those   two items they were really important to the  community and Mayor Woo you said it all thank   you um so I'm going to come from a a humanistic  standpoint and so um it's embarrassing but I owed   a a water bill and I had plenty of money to pay  my bill i just didn't pay it i forgot to pay it   and you know what happened my water got turned  off and you know what happened on top of that i   got a fee to get it restored so not only I had  to pay what I owed I had to pay more because I   didn't pay what I originally was supposed to pay  and that happens to so many in our community we   get hammered cuz we don't do what we're supposed  to do and those are everyday workingclass people   and I live in district 1 and I remember that deal  and I was we were so excited that some development   was coming to 13th and and Oliver like Kenmar was  finally getting some improvements that were needed   and just like that it kind of went away walmart  stayed for a couple of years but that's irrelevant   it didn't change very much right and so and so I  heard that we didn't put out actual dollars for   the project and so you know the city didn't really  suffer but the city did suffer because the city   budgets are comprised of tax dollars at the end  of the day it's taxes that build our budget and   when we don't get those funds back we come up like  we're looking at 26 2026 at at a budget deficit or   budget shortfall and so I just encourage the  council and and staff to really look at that   proposed settlement and say no to it let's go back  into negotiation or let's go to court and let the   uh the judges figure it out the developers owe  that money common everyday citizens are expected   to pay the city what they owe this city and and if  we don't pay we get punished and so I I expect the   same thing to happen to these multi-million dollar  investors so that's the humanistic standpoint of   what's going on so thank you for listening to  me lwanda Daser 2707 North Terrace District 1 thank you Lwanda we will  continue with public comment george Theo Harris District 3 thank you so much  Mayor Woo for unearthing where the dead bodies   are head we owe a debt of gratitude to Celeste and  please turn up the mic on the the city attorney   so we can hear what she's saying because  it's very important to us thank you so much hi council um Olivia Hayes for the record i'm  going to reiterate a little bit of what they've   said but I also want to point out um it's not  about tax dollars being at risk it's about the   fact that we're willing to lose so spectacularly  on a deal because you know that you can count   on our tax dollars in the future and while I  appreciate you guys pointing out mistakes that   were made in the past I don't want us to fall into  the trap of deflecting you guys have power now to   make it right and make it better now so two main  things that I'm concerned about i would love to   know more about how we agreed to such a low number  because it's not even really about the settlement   i don't think people are mad about that we're  settling it's about that we're settling so low   so I would love to find more information if you  guys can share um about why we're agreeing to   settle so low and if that really is the final  invest I mean go back to the drawing board   like she said go back and recoup a little bit more  money for the public on this deal and I love your   idea about if if you're defaulting if you've done  bad business with the city already you should not   be able to continue doing bad business i'd also  love to see there be clawbacks put in place for   if it's someone that has a current contract  and goes into default i just think it would   help us not get to this point in the future so  yeah my big question for you is just why such   a small number can we share more about that or  get a little bit more for the taxpayers thanks Jennifer can you just address the $400,000 one  more time mayor that is an amount recommended   as a result of mediation the mediation process  itself is is a confidential process um it is a   recommended um for your consideration after the  mediation process we have a council member who   was present at the mediation um who represents  the city um we have we had an attorney present   um that's u based on the give and  take the process of mediation led   by the mediator i think that's about  all I can say vice Mayor Johnston thank you mayor Jennifer what would be the  average cost to litigate a case like this or   a range i know you don't know how long it'll take  but what's what's a range of cost for the city   in in this case we um are litigating this with  in-house attorneys so we're not paying outside   counsel so we are paying for um court reporter  fees transcription fees i mean in hard dollars   several thousand dollars i mean it's hard  to say until we're finally done with any   appeal that might occur but in in the you know  thousands low thousands in this case if it was   outside council it'd be much much higher okay  thank you but those attorneys could be doing   something else also there's plenty of other  work to be done yeah so it does cost the city   does cost the city wages um Olivia I'll I'll  address what you said um I happen to know the   uh the judge who who did did the mediation in  this case he's out of Pratt County Pratt County   he is extremely experienced very very sharp guy  um I didn't talk to him about this case but when   you do you you you have to see if it's you have  a weak case or a strong case i think our case is   weak we didn't have it in writing so that's that's  the reason for the number um personally I thought   it was going to be lower than that i think council  member Johnson did a great job in in negotiations   um to get it to that help get it to that number  so I I think it it's a good number it's better   to get something rather than nothing um we have we  have a a very real possibility to get nothing out   of this case so our chances of winning are not  very good so that's why I'll be voting for it we'll continue with public comment i see none  i'll bring it back to the bench council member   Hohheisle thank you Mayor um we've gone through at  least in the time I've been up here on the bench   uh quite a bit of revisions as far as cleaning up  these contracts um going to pay as you go instead   of taking on debt and we'll continue to work  on that um I understand the consternation with   some people about the the price um ultimately it  just gets down to I think the public expects us   to fight on these things we are held accountable  people sue us if we're not holding up our end of   the bargain and even if it cost us I think that  signing that message that we're going to fight for   what we see as writing for our end of the contract  is um a little more important than just a monetary   vote so I appreciate that thank you Council Member  Glascott thank you Mayor i'll probably have some   concluding comments here in a minute but I wanted  to set the stage that I think public comment   matters public comment matters today and it  mattered in 2011 and also mattered in 2008 when we   had this vote and so I'm going to read some public  comment from those periods that if we would have   listened to we wouldn't be in this predicament  today um John Todd said at the meeting in 2008   when this was passed in a free market economic  system private business enterprises should have   the opportunity and the freedom to succeed and  to enjoy the fruits of their success but by the   same token they should also have the freedom to  fail and suffer whatever consequences that brings   thousands of other businesses across our city play  by these rules every day without the government   parachute or the backing of the public treasury  that is being considered for this private group   why should the Kenar Shopping District be an  exception to these rules um I think that says   a lot of what we needed to hear today and I think  looking at the I'm going to pull up comments from   October uh 4th 2011 when this was heard by this  body to sell the sell the other parcel as well and   to make an amendment to this this is from Susan  Estus susan Estus said quote we have a history   of some of our agreements not being met and now  she understands why she stated there is not one   single consequence outlined the agreement what  happens when someone does something wrong that   as taxpayers she is outraged at what she has heard  today and that this morning she had found out more   information that this is part of the promise to  the public that when we have hearings we learn   things and are told what guarantees they are and  they read that agreement and the original deal we   made now is all out the window john Todd said in  the 2011 meeting as well that if we're going to   get involved in sophisticated real estate deals we  need to start looking at this from sophisticated   and prudent manner and start looking at protecting  the interests of the public and so I want to say   from this bench I'm thankful for the comments made  in 2008 and then also 2011 from Susan Essa Shirley   Cohen John Todd Bob Weekes because those comments  reflect and because they had the prudence to see   the foresight of what situation we could be in  today so I may have a few other comments after   hearing some of my colleagues but I do want to say  that public comment matters and that if we would   have listened to the public we would not have been  in this situation that we are today council member   Ballard thank you Mayor um I would just like to  share a couple comments that um a little bit of   it is redundant but I think it's important um it  has taken a culture shift up here at the bench to   uh see some of these development agreements  through and make sure that they're being   fulfilled in the way that the original agreement  was made um and that there are consequences if you   don't and that hasn't been the culture um of  I don't know several councils ago um which is   just different than how I feel and so that's why  this has been important to me while I have been   um on council to um not continue to do business  with people that have outstanding debts um And you   know when you make a promise to the city you're  making a promise to your fellow taxpayers that   you'll pay them back if they believe and invest  in your project originally I mean we still need   a grocery store over there and the community  still needs it they still want it and um you   know I think for a multitude of reasons that  didn't work out but we have to find other ways   um and it doesn't just mean uh giving a loan you  know to somebody with with no accountability so um you know in this case the parties just  decided to stop making their agreed payments and   um personally I think it's best that um we leave  it up to a jury to settle um or to not leave it   up to a jury to decide um what the payment  should be because 400,000 I understand that   um it is extremely low um some think  it's the best that we might get but   um as Council Member Hoisel said I think  we need to fight uh $1.8 million is a heck   of a lot more money than 400,000 so um I I  think it's worth uh going going to trial so   um for those reasons today I'll be a no council  member Johnson thanks Mayor um I appreciate   sharing the information to the public about some  of what's been going on though we still are in   an active lawsuit um I will just say that  at this point from the public information   that is out there there is a business that has  no assets um there is a business that has no   um financial revenue coming in or financial worth  at the moment that is named in the suit and if we   were to go to court and even win we could win  and people would feel good about winning um but   there are no assets with that business this is an  opportunity u with the principles of the business   to receive while it is low compared to what's  owed $400,000 um that is a guaranteed $400,000   so I will be supportive of that because that  check will be written and it will be received by   the city if the council approves it um going into  court in September uh we could see what happens   if the council so decides but um if it ends up  being zero we had an opportunity to give 400,000 before I move on to council member Glassk I'm just  going to reiterate a couple of points really quick   regarding uh what I'd like to see at a workshop  soon and that is we have to hold public private   developers accountable um and I think that one  bad apple does not represent all in that cart   whether it's in whatever profession you  consider one bad does not represent all   and so I would like to see in that uh workshop  anyone who has sued the city or has been sued by   the city or has otherwise not met their obligation  to the city should not be able to do business with   the city and that includes individuals that are  um have businesses in LLC's or the businesses   that are not in LLC's um and the two individuals  that I'm speaking of right now regarding this item   um have other businesses other than their LLC's so  I'm specifically talking again about individuals   who have sued the city um have have the city  has been sued itself or have not paid their   obligations that I'd like to see that back to  this council for um policy change council member   Johnson thanks Mayor um always happy to have the  discussion i'm a little uncomfortable with saying   someone who sues the city should not be able to  do business with the city there could be something   legitimate there they tripped and hurt themselves  on the sidewalk they sue the city that shouldn't   bar them from doing business with the city i think  us suing someone makes a lot of sense because we   would only go after them for something specific  again happy to have the conversation but I just   feel a little uncomfortable with someone suing  the city um not being able to do business with the   city depending on what that would look like but  I would love to have a conversation on economic   development policies as a whole um at some point  in the workshop as we've talked about that as well   with with Troy so I know there's a lot of good  that can come from that council member Glascock   thanks Mayor i want to say the encouraging part is  that we've taken steps to make sure this doesn't   happen again and so I'm thankful for the ECODA  office for the manager to making sure we have   guard rails uh when we're vetting these projects  and that we have accountability when deals are   structured i think that is our role from this  bench and to ask questions even when things   are presented from staff to make sure we have  accountability i still believe that this money is   owed to us and it is owed to us in full and  so for that reason I also will not be voting   for the settlement not because I don't support  resolution but by I believe this is the wrong kind   of resolution it fails to hold people accountable  for a flawed process and I believe it sends the   wrong message to the people of Witchdaw again I'll  reiterate that this council did not vote for this   contract no one in this room advocated for this  contract but we've inherited the consequences and   it's our role to clean up that and with that  I believe the responsibility to stand up for   transparency fiscal responsibility as well so Vice  Mayor Johnston thank you Mayor i would just like   everyone to think about because Mayor Brewer  has been former Mayor Brewer has been thrown   under the bus here um I'm I'm sure he was trying  to do something good for a part of the community   that did not have a grocery store did not have  development um he probably tried to make something   happen and making something happen he got two  of the the larger developers to agree to to make   something happen um I think that's all good uh the  mistake was that staff did not put enough guard   rails in it so if I went south that it recover the  money so and maybe that's part of the reason the   developers did do it um because they didn't have  to put a personal gear guarantee up that could be   too if they had a p personal guarantee up they  may not have even done it who knows what'll hap   what would have happened then so I think there's a  lot of ifs and and second-guing but I think we're   to the point now where we have to make a business  decision do we want to roll the dice go to court   spend more money and possibly get zero or do we  want to take what we can get under arbitration   um and take the 400,000 so if we get zero if  we vote this down and get zero then people on   this council are going to be responsible for not  getting $400,000 of taxpayer money back so um I am   going to be voting for it because I think it's  a very weak case and I I think we just need to   get what we can get i think it's amount more than  what I thought we were going to get so thank you Vice Mayor Johnson i am going to have  to respectfully uh disagree with you   this is not a business uh deal um and best case  scenario for the city of Witchah for me it is a   principles matter it's a matter of principle and  I remember when I ran I talked about transparency   and accountability and while some things we can't  talk about from the bench because they're pending   lawsuits know that this council is working hard  behind making sure that taxpayers are the ones   that are the beneficiaries of these public private  partnerships and that there are safeguards so that   what happened in 2009 or 2011 does not happen in  2025 and beyond for me I cannot vote for this as   I cannot see myself giving up on principle um I  don't believe that the individuals are being held   accountable to the fullest extent and while  the chance of possibly getting zero could be   there as this would go to trial I don't believe  that this sends the message about how we work   with individuals who want to do public private  partnerships with the city of Witchah so I cannot   incentivize someone for doing bad uh taxpayers  deserved an explanation which is why I pulled this   item from consent we needed to know timelines as  well as how we arrived to this position but also   how the city has changed over time thanks to  council policy which is really important why   we ask that people come to council meetings  or engage with your council members so that   there is that opportunity for transparency and  greater communication at the benefit of taxpayers   and this was a bad deal back in 2009 it was then  a bad deal again in 2011 uh but now we are forced   to also clean up what has happened in the past um  and I think that there is an opportunity here it's   an opportunity to send a signal uh to developers  that a few bad apples don't represent the entire   apple cart um and so that's why I have mentioned  multiple times now already that we must hold   public private developers accountable and that  anyone who has sued the city is being sued by the   city or has otherwise not met their obligations  to the city should not be able to do business with   the city uh with that again I will not be voting  in favor of this consent agenda so I will not be   moving this item council member Glascock thank  you i just wanted to respectfully disagree with   the vice mayor's comments that just because we're  getting 400,000 you can't make that argument if we   were to get $5 that hey let's accept $5 because  that is the best we can do from this i believe   that we should fight and I think we're owed to  the taxpayers to be able to fight for this too   take any nominal amount and I don't think that's  justification for a bad settlement deal council   member Hohheisle thank you Mayor um another part  of our job is also to represent our constituents   and I haven't had a single constituent reach out  about settling this in the positive favor i think   a um just about to a person everyone has reached  out and said that they'd uh prefer us to fight   some of them have even said "I'll gamble 400,000  for 1.8 million." And I don't know if that's   actually um what we are capable of retrieving  but um it's the taxpayers's funding it's the   taxpayers's money we try to be responsible with  it but also we got to be responsive to their their   wins and wishes and for a lot of constituents it  seems like it's a gamble that's worth taking to   uh continue to try and fight this so just  offering my perspective over here as well   vice Mayor Johnston all due respect  to the mayor and Councilman Glascock   um $5 is nominal amount $400,000 for me is  not maybe for other people it is nominal for   me it's not i think we have a responsibility  to our taxpayers and we've heard from four   people maybe emails maybe four or five more  um but we've got 400,000 people in this city   and if you asked them said "Hey do you mind  take a sure deal of 400,000 or gamble?" And   I'm going to say there's a 10% probability that  we'll get more than 400,000 just guessing um I   think we need to think about taxpayer dollars  and and take take the money that we can get council member Johnson thank you Mayor i  would move to approve item number 11 second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role no all those in favor raise your hand all  those opposed same sign motion fails five   uh four to two sorry five five to two [Applause]  madame clerk can you please call the next item board of bids and contracts dated May 19th 2025 morning mayor city council  josh Lober Department of Finance   the board of bids and contracts convene  yesterday May 19th for the following items   engineering Bleley Paving and Incidental  Drainage Improvements Phase 1 for Filecat   Construction Company Incorporated for 5,135,954.80 we have the 2025 outsource pavement  preservation program CIP concrete street   repairs phase 2 for conspec incorporated  doing business as Kansas paving awarded   to the engineers estimate of $615,000  from their original bid of $513,884 we have the 2025 outsource paving  preservation program joint and crack   seal phase 2 for conspec incorporated  doing business as Kansas paving for $186,94944 we have the Pepper Tree  Street and Sand Piper Street san   Piper Circle and Pepper Tree Circle  to serve NRD edition or Conspect   Incorporated doing business as  Kansas paving for $270,880.36 purchasing we have the 13,200 gross  vehicle weight restriction cabin   chassis with 11 foot stake bed for Don  Hatton Ford for an aggregate bid total of $81,450 we have the 31,500 gross vehicle  weight restriction cab and chassis with   contractor dump body and bulkhead for  Omaha Truck Center doing business as   Truck Center companies for an  aggregate bid total of $199,551 we have the upgrade to web accident  payment processing for Selectron   Technologies Incorporated for a 5-year total of 69,637.30 we have the police  records management system renewal   for Niche Technology USA Limited for $241,46955 we have the manhole and inlet  frames and covers change order   for DC and B Supply Incorporated  for an estimated annual usage of 175,221.78 this is how to become a vendor  with the city this is a purchasing calendar   event of small business resource partner  events we're hosting or participating in   these are open public opportunities out  on the street today and I'd be happy to   try to answer your questions  and I recommend your approval any questions for staff i see none i move to  approve the board of bids and contracts dated   May 19th 2025 second motion and a second  any further discussion i see none madame   clerk please open the role yes all those in  favor say I i i all those opposed same sign   motion passes 70 madame clerk can you please call  the next item petitions for public improvements good morning council members can't hear you very good can we have staff help with the microphone i believe communications is still working on  it give us one second as we have um 97 people   watching this city council meeting and it would  be appropriate for them to also be able to hear his microphone motion to uh can we take a 10-minute  break we will come back at 11:10 our audience online can also hear  we will continue with Paul Gunman okay petitions for public improvements  uh Paul Gunsman public works and   utilities for the record the signatures  on the petitions represent 100% of the   improvement districts and the petitions are  valid per Kansas statute gosser's edition   located in district 6 the project will provide  street and sidewalk improvements required for   an existing commercial development green  witch legacy addition located in district 2   the project will provide water and paving  improvements required for our new residential development reber third edition again located  in district two the project will provide water   storm water sewer sanitary sewer and paving  improvements required for a new residential   development and revised petitions for Rever 2nd  and third edition again located in district 2 on   May 25th 2021 the city council approved water  storm water drain and paving improvements   required for a new residential development the  developer has submitted revised petitions and   revised budgets that split part of Reber second  edition into Reber third edition budgets for   drainage and paving remain as previously approved  it is recommended that the city council approve   the new and revised petitions and budgets adopt  the new and amending resolutions and authorize   the necessary signatures and I will stand for  questions thank you Paul are there any questions   for staff i see none i will move to approve the  board of petitions for public improvements second   motion and a second any further discussion i see  none madame clerk can you please open the role i motion passes 70 madame  clerk please call the next item approval of an amended  and restated operations and   management agreement with the car park honorable mayor members of council Troy Anderson  assistant city manager so uh really simply back   in 2024 uh specifically June 11th of 2024  city council approved an amended and restated   operations and management agreement with the car  park uh since then council approved an alternative   implementation strategy uh you may recall uh  option A Smid that was approved by city council   back in December of 2024 therefore amendments  are necessary to the previously 2024 amended and   restated operations and manage agreement with car  park uh very simply an amendment to the approval   date an amendment to the term of the agreement  an amendment to the annual management fees and a   new exhibit A illustrating the boundaries of  the managed premise uh you all are probably   familiar with this illustration this is the  same illustration we showed back in December   it's anticipated that implementation at this  time will generate approximately 2.2 million   over a 12-month period um under the new  amended and restated agreement Car Park   will continue to provide this is unchanged from  the June 2024 agreement they will continue to   provide comprehensive operation and management  of all city-owned parking facilities in downtown   Witchah oversight of the acquisition installation  and maintenance of all new and existing parking   equipment within the subject area and enforcement  of our parking codes across the entire downtown   parking management ecosystem similar to the  previous agreements car park will absorb the cost   for acquisition of parking meter infrastructure  and other capital investments will be borne by the   car park and then reimburseed by the city from  the city's downtown parking fund over a 5-year   period i'm not going to run through these numbers  all of these numbers are in this uh agenda report   but that's how you sort of see the management fee  and the amortized cost broken out but the total   uh annual um or by annual reimbursement um based  on the revised um management area law department   has reviewed and approved the amended and restated  agreement as to form it's recommended city council   approve the agreement subsequent budget adjustment  and authorize the necessary signatures we do have   a representative here from the car park if you  have questions for them but otherwise I will   stand for questions thank you Troy we'll begin  with council member Hohheisle thank you mayor um   will we come back and depending on what happens  with the old town C have to amend this again yes   okay yep that's the only question I have um I have  a couple of questions first and foremost since the   pause by this council to move not move forward  with the parking agreement back in the summer   of last year um can you talk about when we're  going to allow the public to see the audit that   uh we had asked to be performed on the parking  structures parking agreements in the downtown area   so I will have to get back with you on that i  know that our auditor did um perform an audit   and I know the auditor has met with you all and  talked through that with you all i have to kind   of get back with you on what our plans for i would  prefer if this was open to the public so um I know   that we have a May and a June workshop prior  to this which would take place July 1st of 2025   i think that it it is important that the community  sees why um a halt in the plan allowed us to   discover some of the mismanagement regarding the  parking agreements that were not being enforced   including this which we will approve next week  which are some termination of parking agreements   in the Oldtown District because they happened back  in 94 95 96 97 98 uh as well as 2012 12 so I would   like for community to be able to also see it so  um I would ask city manager Leighton could this   be part of either the May or June workshop where  we could also talk about the parking audit yeah   Mayor I don't think we can do it in May but we  can talk about it in June i've got to I'll have   to talk to law also because in that audit report  are delinquent accounts and I'm not sure what we   can what's public and what isn't and so I just I  haven't had a chance to visit an attorney about   that i think it dubtales with what our previous  longer conversation was about delinquencies or   um lack of payment being sued u also being  sued by others uh so I would again I would   ask staff to make that a priority for the  June meeting since this would take place July 1st um I know that the parking fund has not been  uh in the positive and this would allow for $2.2   million over July 2025 to the end of June of  2026 are these conservative numbers or are these   um numbers that are uh aspirational uh we  believe these are conservative estimates yes that includes parking structures so these revenues are part of the on street  and off streetet revenue projections based on   the roll out of um this more sort of robust  comprehensive implementation strategy right   there are still revenues that the continue that  the city will continue to realize in existing   agreements right and so these the these  revenues that we have shown you all today   are simply those revenues that are a result of  rolling out this new infrastructure on street   and in surface lots council member Glass thank  you Mayor Troy just a few questions for you um   looking at the specific language of the contract  section six item B or item A talks about the city   um has to provide storage space for these  contractors in each one of our parking garages   is that something that's currently available or  is that something we have to build out and some   of our parking garages it it is not a requirement  that would result in us incurring any additional   cost no there are there are space in existing  garages that currently the car park is utilizing   uh and will continue to utilize okay  thank you a few more questions i'll just   run down the list of them um a little bit  further on page 14 of the contract it talks   about city parking code compliance and parking  enforcement who will be offering that training   so we have been engaged with uh city's law  department um and we are walking through as we   speak right the policies and procedures associated  with enforcement i know we've talked historically   about things like oaths and those kind of things  th those are all being contemplated so as the   car park onboards enforcement personnel then they  will go through sort of the rigor of making sure   that they know and understand what the policies  and procedures are surrounding enforcement okay   i have like three more probably quick questions  earlier in the contract it says that this council   will be in charge of setting all fees for parking  later it has item L on page 19 and it specifically   talks about the pointbased redemption to parking  patrons is that something that will have to come   back before the council given that that  would maybe be a reduction of fees or is   that something that could be implemented as long  as it's maybe an incentive to be a patron and not   that it necessarily has come back to the council  it's less so some of the lang specifically that   language I we're not proposing a pointbased reward  redemption system as it exists today however if at   some point in the future between working with the  traffic engineer and the engineering department on   identifying what rates and programs could  be should be bringing those back before city   council and city council authorizing the use  of those if we so choose at some point in the   future at that point we don't have to come back  and amend the agreement we were just trying to be   uh trying to have a little foright in considering  where we might be at some point over the next 5   years making sure we've included that in the uh  contract language that we can go down that path   we're not proposing it as as we have suggested  today if we ever do bring something like that   we'll bring it back to the council okay and then  last question which probably ties in together on   page 19 of the agreement item N and item P talk  about the contractor shall be responsible for   the cleanliness of the managed premises do they  do that now and I think item P would be that if   they don't clean it it doesn't necessarily  null and void the entire contract because   we have the capital investment but it would just  be a 15% administrative fee on top of it is that   correct correct yes if um and and and they are  doing some of that maintenance today but as you   uh will recall back in the slide Dick right the  biggest part about this is now they're doing a   more comprehensive kind of system management right  um under the previous agreements they have done   some cleaning of the facilities and those kind  of things under this agreement we're approaching   it from a more comprehensive approach uh we're  really trying to come at this from a clean and   safe initiative right how do we improve the  customer experience and make sure that all   of our parking assets are clean and safe uh and  friendly to the end user and so we're going to by   implementing these yes it it's going to be a much  much more robust cleaning and management of all of   our assets and we're just purchasing the supplies  they're in charge and there's no additional fee   in their management fee for janitorial services  there there's a section in here about uh eligible   expense reimbursements for those things like  cleaning supplies and those kind of things but   um the the the actual service that they provide  is included in the management fee okay thank you   for adding a lot of those protections yep does  that include security then no we have a separate   security agreement with a separate vendor  that is currently providing security services but they would work in conjunction with this  management system because again clean and safe   is the goal I think of this management  system and so working in collaboration   with the security to make sure again all  the all of the structures feel safe for   uh those who are paying for the parking  absolutely thank you very much i see no   further questions for staff we  will now open it up for public comment i see none we'll bring it back to the bench this predominantly is in Council  Member Johnson's district as well as   Council Member Ballard's district  if I am correct would either of you Uh I would like to make a motion to  approve the agreement and subsequent   budget adjustment and authorize the  necessary signatures second motion in   a second any further discussion i see  none madame clerk please open the role i motion passes 70 madame  clerk please call the next item   ordinance amending section 1501590 pertaining to fireworks all right good morning Mayor Woo  city council jose Okades battalian chief   with the Witchaw Fire Department i am here to  present the latest fireworks amendment proposal   i will begin with the history of the fireworks  amendments before 2023 no fireworks higher than   12 feet were allowed to be sold or shot within the  city of limits in 2023 city council approved June   27th through July 4th as the dates for fireworks  to be sold and shot and for the first time aerial   fireworks were allowed to be shot July 1st through  the 4th the difference was that aerial fireworks   were not allowed to be sold during that time frame  of uh in 2023 after the 2023 fireworks season   Witchaw Fire met with three firework committees  and made some recommendations and changes for the   2024 fireworks season selling dates for the  2024 fireworks season were June 27th through   July 4th including aerial fireworks the shooting  dates were changed from June 27th through July   5th and the aerial fireworks were only going  to be allowed the 3rd July 3rd through July 5th now I'd like to share some results from  the 2024 fireworks season we had a total of 36   injuries uh reported to Witchah Fire Department  from the age of 22 months to 48 years of age   emergency communications non-emerent  line was staffed June 30th through   July 6 from 6 pm to 3:00 a.m out of  the 1,160 calls that were received   during that time period 719 were  reported from within the city of   Witchah and as you can see the 4th of July  was the busiest day of 357 calls that day i apologize the first the number of the  structure fires should be one rather than   four we responded to a total number of  fork fires that that time frame but only   one of them was related to fireworks so  in 2024 was our lowest year to date on   the number of fires and estimated loss  related to fireworks and that cause was   uh specifically from improper disposal during that  time period which resulted in an estimated loss of $10,000 this year during the 2025 legislation  session Kansas Senate Bill 199 was introduced   and approved big changes the biggest changes of  Senate Bill 199 was seasonal fireworks is now   June 20th through July 7th a total of 18 days  rather than nine days from the previous years   a permanent retailer is allowed to sell fireworks  year round and would require a annual registration   permit from the state fire marshall's office with  no restrictions on shooting dates throughout the state throughout the years Witchah Fire  coordinates meetings with three fireworks   committees we have a citizen firework committee  we have a meeting a committee with the vendors   and along with city uh committee we did meet  with all three committees to share the data   at the end of the 2024 fireworks season this  year due to the short time frame of the new   Senate Bill 199 Witchah Fire was only able  to coordinate an internal meeting but with   the assistance from the city communications  team a fireworks survey was created and is   available for citizens right now through the  end of the month to engage and give feedback   on that survey for fireworks recommendations  to city council seasonal fireworks stands can   sell June 27th through July 4th prohibit the  operation of year round sales and licensing   of permanent retailers within the city  of Witchah shooting dates and times will   mirror 2024 shooting dates of June 27th through  July 5th and allow aerial fireworks to be sold   or to be shot July 3rd through the 5th and  the hours of shooting will be 10:00 a.m to midnight witchah Fire would like to thank  City Legal the Witchah Police City Comms   Parks Department and all three firework  committees for their assistance and input   to be able to create this presentation thank  you Mayor Woo and City Council for your time   this morning and I stand for questions thank  you Jose questions for staff beginning with   council member Hohheisle thank you Mayor thank  you Chief um can we go back to slide 55 I believe yeah um just 2022 I believe um we did not get  all of the data from all of the hospitals that   year that's why that number of injured is so slow  is that correct um I believe it's either Yes 2022   we had some missing uh um reports that were not  submitted to the Witchaw Fire Department okay yeah   I just wanted to clarify that on this particular  slide so thank you Council Member Glascock thank   you Mayor only two quick questions i know in the  presentation and then our green packet says the   survey is set to expire on May 30th i guess why  is this coming maybe before the date where we get   full citizen feedback on the 30th and how many  results have we had maybe compared to previous   years to me it's just we're closing the survey  and or we're voting on this before the survey   is closed and so just wanted me and I see comms  is walking up so maybe Megan wants to answer that   hi there um so it does close on the 30th the  survey serves a couple of um purposes one is   education there's lots of tidbits about our survey  and it's also to inform future decisions with this   um ordinance i will tell you as of right now  we've had um 1,327 responses and the trends that   we're seeing have continued since we published  the survey i can kind of preview some of that   um especially in response to year-long sales um  so far I'm going to look at our unweighted data   here if you'll bear with me so um most people  who have taken it think that allowing fireworks   year round they do not prefer that 61% prefer  public fireworks display and let's see uh most   people think our violations are just right if you  just want some snapshots so far and most people   believe that shooting uh fireworks between 10 am  and midnight is too long a lot of it's to guide   future policy discussions and help maybe with  ideas future trends as well correct okay and   thank you and it is not scientific correct it  is not scientific it just gives us a snapshot   of sentiment okay thanks Megan thanks another  reason uh for us to present at this time was this   the time frame that we had to try to implement  something for the 2024 or 2025 fireworks season   um which is going to be just about within a month  time frame okay i have one last question it was   kind of answered via email to my message to both  Chief uh Snow and Chief Sullivan as well but later   on we're going to be talking about uh the use of  drone technology is this something that we could   use in the future for monitoring a firework  usage as well given that drones can probably   uh locate and go quickly to a lot of  bull fireworks especially I'm sure any   technology to be able to utilize to be able  to locate fireworks but uh we could stand on   any building throughout the city or even in  your neighborhood and you could see fireworks   um being shot even during the illegal times  of uh June 27th through July july 2nd so um   yeah technology was always beneficial  to be able to pinpoint and assist   uh firework enforcement teams possibly um so we  could always look at that avenue as another tool i see no further questions for staff thank you  Jose we will now open it up for public comment george Theo Harris District Three better not mess  with that too much um I was on that committee   uh with the fireworks and uh a lot of people  didn't want us to go with the three with the   aerial three days of aerials but then I don't know  what they're drinking up in to border please do   not send the water to or do please send the water  to them or don't ever get their water because   um it's ludicrous to think if they sell it  people will blow them up any time of the   year and we'll have to get 20 million more  firemen and policemen here it's it would   be crazy and I was watching the the uh what  um Chief Okad said and he said it used to be   12 feet used to be six feet trust me um uh so  because I knew it was at my height but anyhow   um I I also wanted to say that uh today is  my sixth anniversary and I wanted to get a   proclamation for my wife cuz she should be  a saint uh for saintthood to put up with me   for six years and I think I get a 70 vote on  that one and Chief Ramsay actually married us   six years ago today and we want him back  because he helped us in our neighborhoods   and I'm not getting that that that that help that  we need in our neighborhoods but I'm 100% behind   the fire department on this i I appreciate  them and I think it's a a no-brainer we don't   want them blowing off fireworks and selling them  because they will blow them off thank you so much hello I'm Shaia and I think it should be only a  city firework thing i think the civilians need   to stop doing the fireworks it's scaring all  the animals make it a one day thing with the   city blowing it up in the sky and that's it it  don't need to be sold all year long thank you i see no further comments bring it back to the bench council member Hohheisle thank you  Mayor um anytime this ordinance comes up   I do like to just relay our thoughts to the  city um essentially anybody who's lived here   any amount of time can go out on the 4th of  July and see that our enforcement mechanisms   just simply aren't working unless we sit out  there and wear the Gestapo at the edge of   the city checking everybody's car coming in for  aerial fireworks it's always going to happen so   um the reason we did give the four originally  four now three days for the aerials is so that   way people can have a controlled timeline to  actually shoot i do believe we are seeing some   of the results of that um we saw the complaint  line there um giving people the avenue to do   it the the concern is always the week before the  week after i hear mostly from people about it's   July 7th or it's June 27th and I'm already hearing  them so that's what the hope is with that it's not   necessarily an endorsement of aerial fireworks  it's us trying to be practical in how we address   this issue because during this time of the year  we cannot take most of our firefighters offline   to drive around looking for um violations and same  thing with WPD during this time of the year so   um this is always a work in progress um I agree  with one of the earlier speakers that if we allow   the sales in the city year round we'll have  more instances of it going off year round so   um I do support this particular ordinance thank  you i see no further comments i will move to   approve and place the ordinance on first reading  and authorize the necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role yes motion passes 70 madame clerk please call the   next item quarterly financial reports  for the period ending March 31st 2025 morning mayor members of the city council  mark Manning with the department of finance   uh today I want to present to you the first  quarter report for uh the period ending March   31st of 2025 uh just a reminder this report's  unawited financial activity uh through that date   uh but we'll use this information for a couple  purposes we'll compare it to what we thought   would happen this year uh when we adopted the  budget last uh August and we'll also use it to   kind of look forward and see if we're on track  with guidance that we provided you uh over the   workshops and and over the last several months and  spoiler alert the short version is that generally   everything is pretty much on track with the  guidance that we've been providing you over the   last several months uh but I'll go into a little  bit more detail uh today uh we have some revenue   sources that have some moderate variations  generally to the plus side which is good   uh but as I noted pretty much everything is fairly  consistent with the guidance that we've given you   in the past and just a reminder uh that guidance  is we still think that we'll have structural   issues in the future uh primarily because we think  our revenue growth will diminish primarily because   of interest earnings and our reliance there  on therein so far we also think we'll have   wage pressure in the future uh as we renegotiate  some agreements in the upcoming months and years   uh we also have talked a lot about wage the wage  base as far as our success in filling positions uh   we continue to see a lot of growth in police and  fire which again is what we would expect because   we have aggressively tried to fill all those  positions and that's what we've seen in the   quarterly report uh so far again as expected uh  it's a little bit more interesting to look at our   other operating departments you may recall last  year our performance was very good and that was   largely because of significant challenges more on  the civilian side specifically in public works and   park we are seeing some improvements there which  is to say we've seen a little bit higher level of   spending in those departments uh which indicates  to us that we're having a little bit more success   filling positions which is what we're trying to  do uh as far as uh some of the things we've talked   about we've talked about economic conditions and  the impact that could have on our forecast uh we   monitor sales tax very carefully that's usually  our first revenue source that we would expect to   see any weakness in and I'm happy to report that  actually sales tax has been a little stronger than   we expected in the first quarter uh frankly I  don't know what to attribute that to because   we didn't expect that uh but sales tax so far  is trending uh positively in the first quarter   of this year at least compared to what we expected  uh interest earnings we've talked a lot about that   so I won't go into that uh I will tell you though  that interest earnings continues to perform well   so far in the first quarter again we do expect  that to diminish at some point uh but so far   it's holding up uh pretty well uh we mentioned  court revenues probably for the last three or   four months uh actually clear back to last year  uh that trend is definitely occurring they are   significantly weaker just as we expected i think  we've estimated a $2 million decrease there and   uh you know that may be on the conservative side  but we continue to monitor that but court revenues   are definitely weakening uh let me pivot to  some of the other funds we tend to talk about   funds in which there are challenges or anything  significant to report the fact that there's only   two funds on this slide should be a good sign  that means everything else uh we'd obviously   be happy to talk about but generally everything  else is performing pretty much as we expected uh   the golf fund had a challenging first quarter uh  that was primarily due to weather considerations   uh if you remember the weather was pretty bad  in several uh weeks in February I believe and   that significantly diminished our play diminished  our playability however the golf fund is still in   very good shape nothing to worry about but  I will point out that golf revenues were   down a little bit in the first quarter uh we  talked about the landfill fund I think in the   uh Q4 report about three months ago uh it is  underperforming a little bit on the revenue   side and we do have some potential challenges  there they've have some significant capital   expenditures that they're contemplating uh so  we're definitely keeping an eye on the landfill   fund uh let's talk about our debt levels this  slide looks very similar to what it looked like   uh last December really our only growth at this  point is in our water and sewer loans as we take   draw downs from the state revolving fund uh  our outstanding bonds and loans are about $   1.5 billion dollars again that's pretty similar  to what I showed you in December i will point out   again though that the general obligation component  of that is about 75 million which is about 5% of   our total debt general obligation of course is  the portion paid with property tax uh revenues   uh just a reminder uh we still are reporting on  uh the uh ARPA as we're required to quarterly   uh that report is available online at the website  there i will tell you that we spent uh 44.7   million of our 72 million through uh the first  quarter 2025 and again we have a a very uh lengthy   and detailed report online uh that outlines the  various projects and where those funds have been   spent i will remind you of course that all our  ARPA funds have been obligated uh based on the   US Treasury guidelines uh so in summary again the  general fund is performing pretty consistent with   what we expected uh we should be in good shape  in 2025 we projected a balanced budget and we see   no reason to modify that forecast we'll have some  challenges in the future of course uh and finally   the quarterly report and the ARPA reporting are  both available online so with that mayor I'd be   happy to answer any questions thank you Mark  questions for staff i just have two of them   can you go to slide number 67 you were  discussing the sales tax overperforming   um in oops that was quarter 1 so do you have  a monthly whether you could see how January   February and March just to understand I know that  in January we had an influx of individuals come   here because of the skating uh competition and  then in March we had the NCAA um so I was just   curious because sales taxes often are from uh yes  from individuals here in our community but also   uh we would like to see more people coming and  visiting Witchah yes we do get data on the sales   tax every single month and uh the challenge in  sales tax is it usually lags about two months so   uh but you are correct in May the distribution we  get in May which we get usually on the 25th will   probably reflect activity for March so it'll be  interesting to look at that we certainly will but   uh appreciate that and then slide number 72 you  mentioned that we will have a balanced budget here   in 2025 but you said challenges in the future  can you just address those challenges one more   time uh yes ma'am again we've talked about this  now for several years uh generally our challenge   in the future is that our organic revenue growth  rates we do not believe will be consistent with   our organic expenditure growth rates and again  that's because our wage base is growing faster   than our revenues one reason that we have revenue  challenges again is because we are overrelyant now   on extraordinarily high interest earnings and  we've talked about that for several years we do   not expect that to continue indefinitely uh we  don't know when it's going to decline it's kind   of stabilized right now but uh when that starts  to decline that'll put pressure on our revenue   portfolio and again on the expenditure side the  big challenge will be what do future bargaining   unit agreements look like and how successful are  we in filling positions those are the two primary   uh variables that will drive our expenditure  side so that's that's why we could potentially   be challenged in the future thank you very much  Mark i see no further questions for staff we'll   open it up for public comment i see no public  comment i'll bring it back to the bench i will   move to receive and file the quarterly financial  reports for the period ending March 31st 2025   second motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role i the motion passes 70 madame clerk please  call the next item 2025 drone first responder program good morning everybody uh my name is  Paul Duff i'm the current deputy chief over   investigations for Witchaw PD and today  I would like to talk to you about our   uh 25 agenda review for new business for a  12-month pilot program for DFR drones first responder sorry about that um background so  Witchto PD currently operates a Scaddio based   drone program it is all Americanmade and it has  been in place since 2023 with our current Axon   contracts we currently have six drone units  that operate in the field when we have 30   certified pilots that gives us a 247 coverage in  the field for patrol officers right now they are   deployed when needed on active calls only such  as in progress crimes tactical operations for   pursuits accident reconstruction or search  and rescue so what we're looking for is the   DFR will allow a drone to be deployed in to  priority calls in about one to two minutes it   would have the ability to respond immediately to  most calls in the area and it fully integrates   into all of our current Axon systems including  evidence management there were three proposals   that were given uh with the proposal and the  one that we're asking for is the crawl option   the crawl option is three docks with what  we call one hive and it would be located at   Firehouse Station 2 which is 1240 South Broadway  and it could respond to 2500 priority calls in   under 2 minutes annually if you look at the  picture right now if you can see in front of   you you have the red dot and then you see the  outer circle with the purple around it that   is a 1.5 mile geographic radius that includes  3,300 priority calls that we have in this area   98% of those calls within the geography can  be covered with one hive which is 3200 calls   but 80% of those calls can be responded to in  under two minutes uh on that picture the little   white box is just so you all know what they are  that is a no-fly zone so for due to the airport   to the east and west side we did a calls for  service analysis and this was the best location   to maximize the DFR to respond to the most  priority calls and emergency calls in the city so an analysis the DFR program is located in  high calls for service allows for faster response   times obviously what is essential for any kind of  emergency situations that come up come up uh could   be locating a possible victim of a crime a missing  child or god forbid an active shooter situation it   does provide greater ability to assess situations  when on scene it can be used to tactically guide   responses from the safest direction for all  incoming units such as police fire EMS bomb   squad or even hazmat teams it can help reduce  the risk of harm to emergency services and the   public because the real-time information that  we'll be getting at hand and it will integrate   into the real-time information center and all  of our transparency portals that we currently   are operating so anytime you can see exactly what  drone has gone on what flight it has been on and   the reason why it was there as well it can help  other city departments including infrastructure   inspections such as buildings and bridges and the  fire department a variety of different calls if   they need it financial considerations the initial  expense is $320,000 the first year and that comes   with one hive which is the three docks and three  drones uh the funding has been identified by the   city manager's office from a technology fund  and then if we wanted to continue the program   afterwards it would be $61,000 per year the  infrastructure improvements needed for fire   station 2 would be approximately $30,000 such as  roof reinforcement the wiring electrical things   like that and that would be funded through  facility maintenance funds the legal review   the law department has reviewed and approved the  agreements this is a picture of what it looks like   it is all weather capable as you can see the drone  there it the basically the top opens up and it   will go up to the desired 200 feet and then it can  go directly to its location that it is set on it   does charge up and it is all weather capable for  all different types of weather obviously Kansas   weather we have here that was one of our big  questions was would it work so recommended action   I recommend that the city council approved the  agreement and authorize the necessary signatures   and move forward with this pilot program and I'd  be happy to take any questions at this time thank   you Deputy Chief we will begin with Council  Member Hoheisle thank you Mayor um thank you   Deputy Chief for for the presentation and your  work on this here a couple of questions here um   what is the current oversight for the our drone  program everything is tracked so uh all of our   drone pilots every drone flight that goes on  is is directed and again we've put that on a   transparency portal so if you are in your backyard  and you see a drone above you can literally get   online and find out why the the flight path that  it went on and why it will give you a case number   and a reason why as well so And I know C and  Council Member Glass will have further questions   on this but um so how how do how do we record  or the recording system if I'm not mistaken we   don't record until an actual pilot takes over so  currently that is what we have right now so it   would go up so the DFR it would leave the dock  it would get to its and basically it doesn't   start recording until it gets to its location  so it has an automatic direct flight and then   if there's a pilot on the ground the pilot could  take it over depending on what is needed uh but   at that time again Oklahoma City has a fantastic  one where they had a train hit somebody and they   couldn't get officers to it then they basically  used the drone to locate the victim and they were   able to save the victim's life by getting them  there very quickly so that is the uh that is the   capabilities of these drones and again getting  them in any situation between 60 seconds and 2   minutes is essential for the officers responding  on the ground um where will the pilot physically   be that takes over the drones they would be on  site already if needs be uh so for instance if   the drone would be the drone first responder would  be set out it can immediately get eyes on and that   drone obviously could then guide people in so  from the real-time information center or someone   like that and then if there is somebody a pilot  on scene saying "Okay I want to go look in this   field or I want to look in an area that officers  might not have located they could take it over   and they could do that at that at that time." But  if we're operating from the real-time information   center we might not need to okay uh what's the  scope of use here are there particular call is   this for pretty much any response along the South  Broadway corridor or is it So we use that corner   because that was the most uh priority one calls so  they're the one the main calls so and that could   be anything any kind of priority one emergency  that we classified through dispatch and so it   could be a missing child it could be a silver  alert i mean there's so many different aspects   that we can use the drones for we've already  used drones to successfully deescalate situations   uh people in mental health crisis and getting them  to a phone safely uh and if you guys want to look   at some of the wins that we've had with the drones  you can go to our Well done Wednesdays and see   some of the fantastic things that we've been doing  with these drones and they have been saving lives   okay um now we've based our our model on this  on other cities who have had ACLU approved um   procedures am I correct in saying that uh I think  you're talking about the the real-time information   center or are you talking about drones period  drones period so all of our policies they've I   mean the basic every depending on where you are in  the country they all have different procedures and   different operation guidelines on what they  do it but we've got again all our policies   are all online we don't hide anything we're very  transparent in everything we do and so we give you   the reasons that we can use drones and we're not  allowed to use drones as well okay can you talk   about some of the areas where we cannot i know  um inspections and ABCD that's one area that we   cannot use drones um or I think there's a lawsuit  out there that that's being worked out but I think   that's been the ruling so far in Michigan anyways  uh I don't know i'm not familiar with that one but   I know in our policy specifically we don't use  them for immigration enforcement we're not using   them to oversee uh reproductive clinics i mean  things like that so and our policy is very clear   about what we can and what we cannot use them  for so we're not going to be flying them over for   reconnaissance missions over people's homes and  things like that every time we deploy a drone it's   for a specific reason whether it be an emergency  situation or it's a 911 call for help okay um last   thing real quick um I'm really interested kind of  the capabilities especially in response to fire   because there are also a lot of fires along the  South Broadway corridor so can you talk about um   how the drones will be able to help firefighters  along the corridor so I know one of the uh the   fire and that's something we're going to have  to work out with Chief Snow obviously this is a   police department pilot project that we're looking  for but if the fire department needed it let's say   for instance there was a a fire like you could use  that drone to find out exactly the hottest part of   the fire you could use that drone to say "Okay  where do you need to these resources directed   to specifically?" Uh that has thermal imaging  so do we see people in the area do we know so   there's things like that the capabilities uh and  again we'd be more than happy to show you some of   the capabilities if you wanted to come out and see  some of that okay yeah I'm going to be interested   in seeing how it works out with the fire  department particularly along the corridor as well   so all right i appreciate it thanks Council Member  Glascock thank you Mayor i know some of this may   be covered by the policies but just uh so people  don't have to go and look uh specifically when it   comes to uh crowd monitoring at protests or public  events uh is that prohibited unless there's a   threat or a known threat at one of these protests  that's exactly right so we're not just going to be   you using them to violate people's constitutional  rights so but if there was a direct threat for   instance like we know that there's a threat of a  crowd there's a threat of violence and things like   that then yes we do obviously get them up there  so we can if needs be if that threat is actioned   upon then we could respond accordingly um and  then for the public that transparency website is witchdaw.gov1617transparency i don't know why that  port is there but still pretty easy to navigate   um if people wanted to find it um in addition will  these be um identified as police drones so someone   do they look different when they're driving  in a neighborhood so someone can delineate   them between a police drone and a recreational  drone that may be flying over their home maybe   I don't So obviously there's lots of people  who are recreational users of drones ours have   certain lights and ours are specific SkyO drones  which are primarily government drones government   contract only obviously those in the military so  uh but I can understand there might be people who   do not know the difference and so if they do see  a drone they can certainly call us and we can let   them know if it's one of our drones or if it's not  and obviously we do not want people recreationally   using drones and to spy on people or going over  certain areas and things like that as well so   that's something that people can call the police  on okay i'll set up one scenario too in terms of   a question I have so let's say um a drone goes to  a call in a neighborhood it's uh they're pursuing   somebody on foot yep so while they're in pursuit  that drone is recording looking down while they're   trying to pursue the individual as well what  safeguards to individuals obviously individuals   can know that their home might be recorded if  um they're trying to track let's say a suspect   running throughout a neighborhood what access do  the general public have then to that information   versus a homeowner have access to that information  and what would be the process for somebody obtain   that recording because on the website it just has  what the track is doesn't have the recording would   that have to be through Kora and if it's in an  active police investigation versus not a police   investigation I know that these are a lot of  specifics but just thinking of different scenarios   that this might be used so if you if we're on  an active call let's say in the situation that   you said there's a foot pursuit which we've used  drones for but it's a foot pursuit uh we obviously   don't want people who are trying to hide from  us breaking into homes or someone's house and   then 2:00 in the morning in the backyard while  like we want to be able to apprehend them as   quickly and as safely as possible for everybody  uh but that would be like an officer showing up   searching for somebody with a body camera as well  so that information is corable unless there is an   active investigation that's going to be shut down  uh and obviously depending upon the situation   then that's going to be a question for the law  department to say yes or no on whether we will   release that information or not so comparing  it to the use of the body camera acting as if   it was an officer on the scene drone correct the  officer was in bold pursuit correct yeah thank you deputy Chief I have a way to explain the  transparency portal a little bit easier i   encourage people to go to witchah police.com and  that directly goes to the police website and then   on the left hand side there's a drop-own menu and  transparency is right there and I think oftentimes   folks don't know the improvements that the police  department has made in regards to transparency so   in that transparency tab it does have the drone  dashboard but it also has postc contact data   um and a lot of information regarding public  comment and public input um so I do encourage   the community to look at that as um I know that  that's something that Chief Sullivan has really   advocated for greater transparency and again  it's on the website and available um being   part of the National League of Cities um advanced  air mobility task force i know that drone usage   uh for first responder uh type of initiatives  uh can be helpful i know that when I was at   NLC they talked about even uh helping the fire  department in utilizing uh their uh heat sensors   is that right uh to see where the hot spots  might be in regards to a fire so that could   be helpful for the fire department and seeing  where exactly a fire may be located um what are   other scenarios that you have seen that they could  be used for in first responder type of situation   so the use for them are are endless and we've  seen a lot of our officers are doing phenomenal   work with them not only for search and rescue  and looking for people like silver alerts amber   alerts missing children things like that uh but  for the fire department or EMS the fire you're   exactly right about the fire department i mean  that's one of the things that the drones could   be utilized for is what's the hardest part  of the fire where can you direct people in   and obviously if you get those you know you may  have an apartment complex you may have two or   three different fire trucks well they may need to  the drone can tell them coming from the north the   south is blocked now you're saving minutes and  getting that equipment and getting the emergency   services to the exact location that they need and  that's the same with the police department or EMS   and again if there's another emergency situation  where you need the bomb squad you need a hazmat   the drone can guide people in safely and quickly  and very effectively and efficiently as well so   uh the the uses are there and also for there's a  lot of city departments that are using them for   infrastructure they're using them in subways they  use them in for building infrastructure checking   bridges things like that that they can see uh the  water departments and so they are actually there's   a lot more uses for them than just emergency  services yeah thank you for bringing that up thank   you Deputy Chief i see no further questions for  staff we will now open it up for public comment hello Faith Martin uh District 2 um I would like  to start with I'm not anti-technology i'm just   prog guard rails of transparency um so I tried to  do some research and first I'd like to say thank   you to the uh WPD for their transparency portal  you can go on there and see just last night they   used it twice for foot pursuits um you can see  when they used it when they didn't use it uh big   fan of the witchaw.gov site for the transparency  portal um I have a couple questions though um the   funds for this are coming out of the innovation  fund which I believe is council approved out of   the general budget so if this pilot gets approved  past 2026 where will those funds come from um the   next question is or the next concern are some  privacy concerns um drones by their nature have   the ability to capture high resolution images and  videos from the air um knowing that we can see   when the drones have been used um what will city  of council city council do to create rules that   prohibit using it to capture images of privately  owned properties or tenants or occupants will   uh the public be able to give consent before those  images are made public through foyer requests   um or that drones can't take off or land  on private property without the owner's   uh permission uh drone insurance is not required  for government drones operation in Kansas uh does   that mean that taxpayers are on the hook for any  lawsuits andor damage uh from or damage to the   drones um nothing in the drone policy mentions  an altitude i heard 200 meters i did some best   practice research on that um w protecting  witchins from the noise especially since   there's a neighborhood on each side of that  police station uh 400 ft was a best practice   um to keep the noise down also I don't know which  drone we're using or how big they are um but again   FAA talks about prohibiting drones being piloted  after dark or above populated areas i don't know   how the that works with waiverss through the FAA  because this is a populated area and it looks like   the majority of the use that I looked at was at  night um I didn't see that in the policy um and   as Kansas has not elected to pass any protective  laws will witchah add to the policy prohibiting   facial recognition um because that's a technology  that could be used as well and so uh understanding   that this technology is important and has a lot of  good uses I saw some municipalities that had some   strong policies around uh first responder drones  I would just like to see the drone policy expanded   uh to include some of those concerns and  potentially brought before the citizens   review board for a extra pair of citizens eyes  to be able to look at that policy thank you i'll just Sure uh Council Member Glascott Mayor  I just have one quick question um regarding and   this was kind of hitting up my concern earlier  just my question uh so let's say it's recording   crossing vehicle pursuit well someone doesn't  want their the back of their home included in a   video that's able to be recordable are there  protections maybe this is a legal question   let's say someone requests that through or  the Kansas open meetings act or not open   I what I don't know we have so many acronyms  in this job if they request that information   um is there a way that information that's not  part of the investigation could be shielded   from the public so let's say the entire  uh recording goes over the uh somebody's   backyard can we not release that information  if it has no relevance to the investigation   good question council member the act you're  talking about is the Kansas Open Records Act   and there are at least 55 statutory exceptions  that we look through before we release any record   um there could be some that apply to this one  that occurs to me is the invasion of personal   privacy there's a high legal standard to achieve  but that's one that we would consider um we look   at all options before we release a record like  this like obviously if a suspect is hopping over   a fence in somebody's backyard that's going to be  part of the investigation but if somebody a drone   or could be part of the investigation if a drone  just goes over somebody's house and there's no   evidence of an individual there if that would be  horrible so that would be a determination of legal   department we would take the same approach we do  with these records as any other um axon records   or police um the the rec reports themselves that  contain sensitive information of um third parties   sometimes that are not involved in so we would  look at this like we do for any other thank you   for that Jennifer council member Tuttle thank you  and thank you Faith for coming i always appreciate   it and I know this is something you're very  passionate about and you always do your research   and and I really do appreciate your time but I  did think it was an interesting question um deputy   chief regarding our drone policy how is that  developed is there community engagement i know   um especially all of our departments but Witchaw  Police Department have made an earnest effort   to make sure that we're transparent and that  we're getting community feedback could you just   uh maybe provide the speaker some comfort of  of how we'll h how we'll continue to refine our   policy yeah certainly so we've actually had drones  since 2018 and so we've had policies and we update   our policies every year and I cannot remember if  it's 12 months or every two years that we update   our policies uh but again the citizen review board  has access to all our policies and they can review   any policy they want and have discussions about  whatever they want as well uh we don't have facial   recognition uh we don't have that in any way shape  or form um our licenses yes we're allowed to fly   at night and we also got the uh certification from  the FAA to do the beyond visual line of sight as   well for the DFR and the drone first responder  program so we are completely up to date and   uh doing exactly what we need to do in terms of  all the regulations as well for the drones and   if a community member wanted to provide  feedback on the said policies they could   just reach out to us as council or to police at  any time correct yeah absolutely yeah thank you we'll continue with public comment i see none i'll bring it back to the bench  i do have one question for city manager   um I know that this is a question that Faith  asked and I'm cognizant that uh we have limited   dollars but this is part of the innovation fund  knowing now that drones can be utilized not just   for the police department but for fire as well as  public works um how will if this proves to be a   successful pilot program uh where would those  funds come out of and I would challenge and   say that it is not uh going to be a drone just  for uh police officer usage but rather a really   uh collaborative and more uh forward thinking  when it comes to uh drones as first responders   utilizing these uh assets technological  assets for both police fire and public works well first of all mayor we want to see how  the pilot project works if we still have   some unresolved issues it's possible that  the innovation fund will pay for a second   year of pilot work um if or if we want to test  another location that we may roll that out and   in terms of the ongoing $61,000 [Music]  um does to be honest with you it really   doesn't matter where you charge it because  it's all general fund and so um we we would   look I don't want to make it too complicated  and charge it against multiple departments   um but if we find that it's worthwhile produces  the kind of results we think it will then I think   we would recommend that that be incorporated  in the ongoing operating budget after that time   again I I will just again challenge I know it  might be more complicated but uh knowing that   it would be utilized for not just police officer  um usage but rather also other departments that   um it could be shared in terms of their budget  thank you Council Member Hoheisle thank you Mayor   uh just a couple of points uh first uh we did  attend uh the NLC conference and that's where   I did learn about we can't use drones for code  enforcement and whatnot um so that's you know   kind of a little weird little angle to this one  that I just want to make sure the public knows um   I will be interested in any policy changes that we  need to look at and come back with regarding this   i know WPD in my conversations with them they're  not looking at ever doing facial recognition or   anything like that so they are pretty mindful of  people's privacy rights as well also this is um   along the South Broadway corridor i've talked to  many members who live along in those neighborhoods   and to a person they support this program  to a person um there's a lot going on there   um things are improving but we still can  keep our foot on the pedal and continue   to improve the neighborhood so um I just wanted  to bring that point up as well my conversations   with many members of the the corridor um they  all to a person have supported this program with that I move to approve the agreement  and authorize the necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role i motion passes 70 madame clerk can  you please call the next item witchah   Sedwick County Addiction Intervention Coalition thank you it's afternoon good afternoon Mayor  Woo members of the Witchto City Council dante   Martin assistant city manager glad to be here  with you today i'm going to be presenting a   joint resolution and ordinance establishing the  Witchaw Cedric County Addiction Intervention   Coalition uh in the way of background in 2023 the  city and county managers got together and agreed   to recommend to each of their respective governing  bodies that we address the opioid crisis through   a shared framework and the pooling of u settlement  funds that we have flowing back into our community   soon after the city and county issued an RFP  seeking a firm to conduct a community needs   assessment and help develop a strategic plan for  the use of opioid settlement funds um the Steman   Group was contracted to lead this effort and  then in early 2024 the Steman Group formed a   uh consortium of local professionals approximately  50 some odd professionals to help guide their work   uh these professionals came were  public health professionals worked   in public safety education health  care as well as other relevant areas   uh that actively touch uh substance use  and opioid use disorder um the work of   the consortium took place over the course  of 12 months and as I said earlier uh 50   community members participated once again I want  to appreciate and thank them for giving their time   um to this effort the strategic plan that was  developed by the Steman group and the consortium   uh consists of a multi-pronged approach  to address opioid use and its consequences   throughout our community the consortium developed  six fundamental guidelines to provide a framework   for decision-making um to maximize the impact  of settlement funds and to ensure long-term focus to operationalize the plan the  consortium focused on four strategic   priorities ranging from enhancing  public understanding of addiction   to building integrated care systems and  expanding treatment access governance   and accountability excuse me are embedded  throughout the to maintain transparency and effectiveness the group considered the consortium  considered four governance models for fund   administration each option was evaluated based on  transparency efficiency uh community involvement   and accountability uh these included models with  third-party or nonprofit non-governmental agency   administration advisory councils as well as direct  oversight by the Witchaw City Council andor the   Cedric County Board of County Commissioners  each of those models is listed on this slide at the April 29th uh 2025 onbunk meeting  where the Witchaw City Council and Cedric   County Board of County Commissioners received a  presentation from Assistant County Manager Rusty   Leads staff recommended um establishing the  Witchaw Cedric County Addiction Intervention   Coalition uh this body would some function as  an advisory group reporting to both the city   council and the county commission and represent  a range of sectors including health care law   enforcement and recovery uh the coalition  would review funding proposals advise on   allocation decisions support procurement efforts  and monitor the progress and outcomes of funded programs as recommended during the onbunk meeting  the coalition would consist of between 11 and 15   members who have professional experience  in fields as behavior such as behavioral   health medical care recovery support law  enforcement and the criminal justice system   uh coalition members would be appointed  jointly by the city council and the board   of county commissioners based on nominations  from the city and county managers uh staff   from both government entities would provide  necessary administrative support to the co coalition at its um May 14th 2025  board of county commissioner meeting   uh the county commission appointed uh this  these 11 individuals community members to the   um coalition that we're looking at forming um  the board of county commissioners adopted joint   resolution made the board appointments um it's  also important to note that as discussed during   the ONB meeting the coalition would include  exeicio representatives of the city council   and the county commission i believe the board of  county commissioners appointed Commissioner Jeff   Bluebot to serve as exeicio to this board as  you'll see here the board um really comes from   a variety of backgrounds uh that that touch  opioid use disorder substance use disorder   um and represent a broad cross-section of our  community you'll see judges or retired judges   excuse me you'll see treatment providers those  that work in recovery uh Reena Cole I'll highlight   I've worked with Reena for approximately 15 years  now with our drug court programs so looking at the   uh board or the nominees that the city  and county manager is bringing forward   uh I believe it well represents what we hope to  accomplish based on the work that Steman did to   date in terms of financial considerations as we  discussed during the onbunk we expect to receive   jointly $15.5 million over the next 14 years uh  to date we've received the city of Witchaw has   received approximately 2.9 million i don't recall  what the county has received to date our goal   would be to pull those funds and to uh jointly  administer uh the settlement funds with the   understanding we'll make recommendations to the  elected bodies who will actually make allocation   decisions um there is no expected impact to the  general fund once again this is solely focused on   the $15.5 million in opioid settlement funds  that we have flowing back into our community   legal considerations the city attorney's office  worked closely with the county counselor's office   to develop the joint resolution and ordinance  that's before you um the law department has   reviewed and approved the joint resolution and  ordinance as to form my recommendation is to   approve the joint resolution an ordinance  establishing the Witchaw Cedric County   Addiction Intervention Coalition appoint the  coalition members that you have in your packets   and authorize necessary signatures now with that  being said I stand for questions thank you Dante council member Hoisel thank you Mayor uh thank  you Dante for all your work on this uh just real   quick do we have anybody on this board with  lived experience you don't have to call them   out or but do you know if there is anybody who  has lived experience dealing with this i don't   know personally i I'm aware and I've spoken with  many of the people on the board as well as those   that have served on the coalition that helped uh  and form the strategic plan including some that   have lived experience i can't say for certain  whether any of these 11 have a lived experience   uh it's also important to note that this is 11  of 15 and so as the council or the commission   identifies potential gaps there's an opportunity  to appoint for additional members collectively to   fill those gaps okay i I appreciate that second  pos uh point there and it could even be an ad hoc   um position as well just as long as we have  somebody who here recently has gone through   their process and knows firsthand the  gaps out there so um that's all I got i see no further questions for staff i  will just quickly just ask one question   uh on line a slide number 93 you mentioned  $15.5 million is that an updated or a just   a previous number because I know that um one  of the reporters has shared different numbers   um whether it's from sunflowerfoundation.org  or opioid settlementtracker.com and they're   a little bit different for the Kansas figures  so that's the number we've been um following   or operating under as we developed or went  through the strategic planning process i'll   double check the mayor i will say that our  finance department submits annual reports   to the Kansas attorney general's office  we expect to receive dispersements April   by April 1st of each year um so the best  source of information is going to be our   finance department in contact with the AG's  office so I'll circle back with finance thank   you very much i see no further questions  for staff we'll open it up for public comment hello city council and city  workers it's nice to see you all again   it's been a while since I've been able  to come up and speak i'm Donna Garcia   um 621 Laramie Circle uh I am a medical  professional i've been a nurse for about   11 years now and finishing up my doctorate to be  a nurse practitioner um I'm also a new nonprofit   um executive director we started a homelessness  service um peer navigation and advocacy group um   and what we do is exactly what you've been talking  about is helping people to get through these   services that are often fractured and difficult  to navigate with people who have lived experience   um which has been a critical infusion into how  we're delivering homelessness services as you all   know a substance use disorder and homelessness  they go hand in hand it's a very complex   relationship one doesn't necessarily lead to the  other or um vice versa but what we know from our   work in the field at the tip of the spear and  being the boots on the ground is that this work   is intense and it's very emotionally draining  and it takes a certain type of person to do it   but these people are out there every day and they  are working to make big changes and they can if   we facilitate that investment that they're doing  our concern with this ordinance is that forming   the the same concerns that you had during your  meeting is the delays that are going to happen   if we're waiting on a board last comments that I  heard was 6 to 12 months before we can even get   the rules in place and if you have clarifications  or updates on that we would love to have them um   but just having the extra hands in the pot wanting  experts of course that's that's fabulous but we   already have experts in the field who are doing  this work and they're doing it without support   and they will come forward if you make funding  available and easily accessed and then you'll   find that you'll get more people in different  places that you didn't expect them to come from   if they can do this work and be supported so we're  asking that we consider whatever it looks like to   make this go faster whether that is getting the  board but we have people out there that are dying   today we do not know how many homeless people are  out there we have no way of knowing that that the   ones that are unhoused the ones that are living  in cars with their children the ones that are   couch surfing what's worse is we don't know how  many are dying every day every week every month   we've had ambassadors that we were wanting  to recruit that died from gun violence or   drug overdose within a week it's scary out there  desperation breeds violence we need to engage the   providers who are passionate about this and we  need to get them started today this is a costly   decision but it's not in numbers it's in people's  lives and we're asking that you make consider that   when you're making your decisions we can handle  homelessness and we do it with community-based   initiatives with the right people in the right  seats and we empower them and we engage that   community to heal itself from within and that is  the power that we found through our work with our   team out here and I would love to um stand for  any questions that you may have about what it's   looking like out there and the state of addiction  and and how we can start working to improve it   together thank you Don council member Ho Heisel  thank you Mayor and thank you Don for coming up   as always um I would als I would point you to  um in the consent agenda today we did provide   funding for um somebody working with WPD to  actually investigate and track overdose deaths   um in our community so that's across the board  you know of course the homeless population is   um one of the first groups that we think of but  it's it's also children in schools and so there's   a lot of things that we do have to touch as far  as how this funding is allocated uh the four   things that I um personally am pushing for is MAC  adjacent services for homeless people especially   when they are ready um to be able to go make  sure that we have those opportunities available   to them also people in jail um that is a perfect  time to actually reach out and address people and   hopefully have a landing spot for them when they  get out um education of course especially with the   children what pill can kill fit all overdose um  that's a community we definitely need to look out   for and detox for those without insurance because  that's a missing safety net there for people that   many people do not have um an opportunity for so  those are the areas I'd like to see it pushed um   you know I I think we're not going to delay if  we see opportunities come up but it's also going   to be we're going to make sure that we have a  wellthoughtout process we have been engaging   using some of this money for Narcan giveaways  um working with some of our um partners on the   streets to ensure that Narcan is available so  we'll continue to look at this i I just wanted   to also point out the um position with WPD that  we have looking into opioid overdoses thank you   don I just have one uh question for you have you  actively um engaged with multi- agency center um   I know that uh they have been trying to activate  individuals and organizations including churches   uh to all provide services in one location over at  9inth and Main Street um so they're still looking   for more individuals and organizations to help out  have you contacted Matt actually I think this is   a good example of the ways that the bureaucracy  sometimes gets in the way to immediate responding   in services that are really really good that  are being done by individual citizens um we have   reached out to the various individuals throughout  the um organizations that we've been able to get   involved in uh including the one at WSU who is  handling the hiring of the director and that   kind of thing we've provided recommendations  we've spoken to board members individually   um and we've sent out a lot of emails and  um that have been lost to followup so it's   being able to access this and getting the lived  experience that is most important in front lines   we have sat in where our members have spoken up  and they've gotten response from it which shows   how important it is to have those peer-to-peer  engagements and getting people in the right rooms   to speak on these issues because you can't fix  a problem if you don't know what the details of   that problem are that's diagnosis and treatment  101 so um yes we we have been trying but have yet   to have a response in a engagement in meaningful  conversations so but we have the same hope that   you guys do is we have a vision for this we have  a beautiful opportunity to do something and I just   don't want to see this continued delays uh while  people are losing their lives and their loved ones   since this topic in itself uh is too bold this  is about substance abuse and uh the funds i will   make sure that I connect you with the other piece  which is the multi- agency center group um because   again we really are looking for more individuals  organization uh churches to all help out at 9inth   and Main Street um because again that's where we  would uh the city now has a 247 365 shelter uh for   adult men and women and wraparound services can  be provided by organizations that can provide that   help so again thank you very much and I'll connect  you yeah and if you'd like any kind of feedback   about the experience of what's going on in the  Max Center we'd love to be able to have some   one-on-one um conversations about what it's like  to live within that center um and infuse the right   people to help make a better environment that is  more traumainformed we specialize in connecting   resources we don't refer anyone anywhere if  it's not a trauma-informed and safe place   for our people to go so thank you D yes thank  you so much we'll continue with public comment hey Council Olivia Hayes again um I guess  I missed I think county already got that   presentation and I missed that so I'll be  sure to email my um county commissioners   these same sentiments but I'm concerned with  all of the shared services conversations that   are happening right now to be quite honest  specifically with this one my concern is that   opioid abuse does not just happen in downtown  city streets opioid abuse is happening in your   rural communities and your smaller communities  i'm someone who lives way out in a township i   think it's inappropriate to pull the funds if  they're going to be pulled though please please   please have part of the plan B to look out  for those smaller communities a lot of times   it goes unseen for longer because there isn't  as many eyes on it so please just like I said   you guys and Cedric County and the members of  the board that were disappointed please do not   please don't be so tunnel visioned about solving  this problem like I said on the downtown streets   that you forget about your rural communities  and your smaller communities because we're   struggling with it in schools and our on street  corners just as much as you guys are so that's   my big concern please look out for us smaller  groups while we're having these talks thank you thank you Olivia i see no further comments we'll  bring it back to the bench i see no further   uh comments including from council members so  I will move to approve the joint resolution   and ordinance establishing the Witchah  Cedric County Addiction Intervention   Coalition appoint the coalition members  and authorize necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role   motion pass i motion passes 70 we will take  a 15minute break now before we continue with   the next item um I actually asked for us  to return at 12:50 we will return at 12:50 all those who want to power through raise  your hand okay one we lost okay so 1250 Madame clerk can you just  call again that next item   funding for water treatment plant improvements good afternoon mayor uh city council members  for the record Don Henry public works and   utilities the item before you recommends  uh funding for 12 water production items   um although the title of this item refers  to funding for the treatment plant I'd like   to call out that these are 12 projects for  the water supply system at large with only   one of the projects having anything to do  with the water treatment plant apologize   for any confusion that that may have  caused it certainly wasn't the intention the list of projects here include um they're  included in the 25 2025 through 2034 capital   improvement program and they will appear  as projects along the line items including   Wellfield communication to city hall wellfield  phase 1 river revetment cheni pumps hest drain   line hest power system coordination assessment h  switch gear lime residual lagoons water production   improvements water production variable frequency  drives water supply rehab projects whalefield   pipeline protection and finally Witchaw  Waterworks instruments and communication   equipment i won't get down in the weeds too  much because this is a long list of items but   did want to provide a highlevel summary and some  examples of projects within each of these the   Wellfield uh communication system is an outdated  radiocontrolled system it's uh prone to frequent   failures it's obsolete no longer supported some  of the radio parts are really hard to get and   uh therefore a fiber communications line from  the wellfield to city hall will ensure ongoing   effective communications and reliable delivery  of of water from the wellfield to the treatment   plant the project on the right side the  Wellfield phase one river revetment this   is actually what you're looking at here is  an ASR phase one bank storage well we have   three bank storage wells and and what they  do is they pull uh water from the bank sands   right next to the little R Kansas River when  it's above base flows and then that water is   um injected into the equis beds aquifer to improve  water quality protect against chloride intrusion   while um storing future credits for the city's  use this project will construct improvements to   um halt the bank erosion that's occurring and will  restore this site to its original um condition um   if you look at that picture you see that that's  kind of a concrete slab there that should be   a ground level and so that's how much erosion  is occurred here about four to 5 ft of erosion cheni pump station is the main high-service pump  station that delivers raw water from Cheni Lake to   the water treatment plant uh this project will  provide funding for replacement of one of the   five pumps the other pumps will be replaced in  the future um funding is programmed in different   years within the CIP as part of routine ongoing  maintenance the performance of pumps and the   motors are um gauged by maintenance staff and  uh then replacements are scheduled accordingly   the Hest drain line project will construct um  a a drain line from the underground reservoir   storage system to sanitary sewer currently  when we have to drain the tanks for inspection   cleaning maintenance projects things like that  um a contractor has to mobilize a decllorination   system it requires um careful monitoring and  sampling and testing and recordkeeping uh   because we have to keep chlorine out of the river  to protect the wildlife that lives there um it's   an expensive process and so construction of this  drain line will protect the water quality in the   river the uh the native wildlife and it will also  provide for cost savings on future maintenance projects it has pump station is the city's uh  main high service pump station that delivers   finished treated water into the distribution  system to get it to c to customers um electrical   equipment is is is kind of the backbone of the  pump station in terms of making sure that it   operates according to demands um to meet flows  and the electrical equipment um is routinely   inspected and rehabbed and so the Hess power  and power and system coordination assessment   project will provide an assessment by experts to  identify electrical power equipment that needs   um rehabilitation and or replacement  likewise the switch gear project will   rehab equipment that's already been assessed  it's equipment that protects and reduces wear   on sensitive electrical components including  um variable frequency drives and pump motors the lime residual lagoon um project will take a  look at the existing lime residual lagoon facility   um as demands have continued to grow to grow uh  the the lagoons that are in place now or are near   their max capacity and so funding for this project  will will fund a a study to look at options for   expansion on the existing property and also look  at um options on on adjacent property that's   currently vacant um if that's the option that that  we go it could also include property acquisition   for expansion onto the adjacent property water  production improvements will fund um the purchase   and installation of critical equipment for remote  facilities as well as provide parts for emergency   repair it will also address um some deferred  maintenance item um including the picture that you   have there that's the uh raw water um transmission  line at Zoo Boulevard where it crosses the   floodway and that kind of box on top there is a  air release valve and so that will be addressed   the air release valve will be um rehabbed or  replaced and uh the the proper coating applied and   so that's an example of some of the types of items  that that um this project will address the water   production variable frequency drives project will  install new VFDs at the southeast booster pump   station the southeast station um ensures adequate  water pressures in far southeast Witchah as well   as delivering water to Rose Hill uh these uh BFDs  are near the end of their useful life and so it's   time for replacement and this will um provide for  that water supply rehab projects will include um   first on the list expansion of the Cheni raw water  strainers that's what you see a picture of there   uh we need additional capacity to take care  of solids and debris that we want to keep out   of the system um otherwise uh they could pass  through reach the treatment plant negatively   impact sensitive equipment this also helps keep  uh things like dead zebra muscle shells fish and   other things that could contribute to taste  and odor problems it screens those types of   um solids out prior to ozenation so it helps  helps helps control those tastes and odors and   also reduces the amount of ozone that we have  to use the Wellfeld pipeline protection project   um it will include improvements to protect raw  water lines in the Equis bed wellfield we have   locations where um erosion has occurred exposing  the top of the pipeline it's kind of hard to tell   in that picture there but that dark spot in the  center is actually the top of a large raw water   pipeline within the well field uh this location is  in a a floodway and is prone to has been prone to   erosion over time this will restore uh the  surface above the pike provide the necessary   protections make some improvements to help help  reduce future erosion the Witchaw Waterworks   Instruments and Communications Equipment  Project will provide funding for the purchase of   um of equipment to provide uh a more  granular and precise control of the   um disinfection process as the project has  um advanced and our operations team have   been able to get their eyes and ears and hands  on the project this is one of the optimization   um opportunities that we have to take a um  already functioning asset i want to be clear   that the the disinfection system that's been  constructed and built at WW functions just fine   works great um this is an opportunity to take  that and make it even better um it will provide   for uh more closely monitoring uh a more of a  um of a data informed process take some of the   operator judgment out of the equation and also  provide for a more finely tuned um meth or more   finely tuned development of the disinfectant  molecule which will reduce chemical usage also budgets for the um projects that I just  mentioned include $700,000 in the 2025 through   2034 CIP for the Wellfield communication to  city hall item um I'm I'm sorry this this   will be reallocated from the 2024 water  supply rehab item the Wellfield phase one   river revetment project includes $1,100,000 in  the adopted CIP cheni pumps include $450,000   in the adopted CIP the Hest drain line  project includes $1,500,000 the Hest power   system coordination assessment project includes  $130,000 the H the H switchgeear project includes   $400,000 and the lime residual lagoon  project includes $200,000 in 2025 and   $300,000 is proposed to be allocated from the 2024  water supply rehab project for a total budget of $500,000 continuing the adopted CIP includes  $1,300,000 for water production improvements the   water production variable frequency drive project  includes $700,000 in the adopted CIP water supply   rehab projects includes $1 million in funding  the wellfield pipeline and protection includes   $800,000 and the Witchaw Waterworks instruments  and communication equipment $140,000 is programmed   in 2025 within the adopted CIP and $165,000  is included in the 20 in year 2026 for a total   budget of 3 5,000 staff recommends init initiating  the full funding as stated for a total amount of   $8,885,000 for the 11 projects at this time I'd  like to recommend that city council approve the   projects and the budgets adopt the resolutions  and notices of intent and authorize the necessary   signatures thank you for your attention to this  item and I'll stand for any questions that you   have thank you Don questions for staff beginning  with council member Hoheisle thank you mayor and   thank you Don uh you're quite an expert on  this stuff so um when we're making these   improvements are we doing it with the potential  water reuse in mind are we configuring things or   does any of this have anything to do with what  would be that process once we have the set up   so I would I would say that that these projects  do not directly feed into water reuse but water   reuse and other opportunities for optimization  is is always one of the filters that we're   looking through to take advantage of anything  that might might assist with that project   um what this will do is is ensure that uh  that we're addressing deferred maintenance   that we're staying on pace with maintenance  schedules and that we're we're keeping the   infrastructure in the best available condition  so that if we do have an opportunity to utilize   it as part of reuse or another project it'll  be there and ready to go okay i appreciate   that i know that's what with the BNR upgrades  we are configuring the plans in that way any   future improvements could be efficiently added  in as well so I figured I'd follow up and see if   um that was here as well so appreciate that part  of the culture you bet thank you Don the only   question I have is um I know that the subject line  right now says funding for water treatment plant   but you address that this is really for funding  for water supply system improvements and I'm   very appreciative of that yes ma'am um one of the  questions we often get and it's not part of this   um and director Jansen usually uh addresses  this so that community understands um about   the El Dredo idea can you just address that  one more time why El Dredo is not financially   feasible absolutely we looked at El Dredo in depth  after the previous drought in 2011 through 2013   and the challenge with the Elorado water is when  we're under a a regional drought although El   Elderado is in better shape than Cheni is today  our drought approach and drought resiliency we   plan for a 1% dust bowl type drought and that's  a that's that's a that's a regional type drought   and historic data shows that during those times El  Dorado will be stressed just like Cheni Reservoir   will be in that type of drought so we're looking  for solutions that address a bigger picture   um and in those cases where we're under the most  intense type of drought for a stretched out point   of time the water's just not available in Elorado  and is water available in El Dredo right now um   right now today it would be available but there's  no infrastructure is that correct that's correct   so can you just address that just absolutely  even though there might be water available   uh the availability or the water rights are still  something we would have to discuss right and then   the infrastructure to get water from El Dredo  to Witaw there's no infrastructure right now is   that correct correct correct invest investment in  the infrastructure to to handle periodic droughts   would not be of use in an extended dust bowl type  drought we really need to protect the economy and   so what we would rather do is invest invest in  those long-term protections against even more   severe drought thank you Don i see no further  questions for staff we'll open it up for public   comment i see none i'll bring it back to the  bench and again um want to say thank you to our   public works department uh water is one of those  areas within public works and we just honored   uh the public works department this morning uh  and because these are again funding for water   supply system improvements um I am happy to move  this item i will move to approve the projects and   budgets adopt the resolutions and notice of intent  as well as authorized necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madame clerk please open the role who am I missing motion passes 70  madame clerk please call the next item design concept and supplemental design agreement  number one for Second Street North St francis to   Maine good afternoon mayor city council members  paul Gunselman public works and utilities for   the record the item before you is design concept  and supplemental agreement for Second Street on   July 16th of 2024 the city council approved  an agreement with Trans Systems Corporation   now Ganet Fleming Trans Systems to develop  design concepts for 2nd Street North from   St francis to Maine on February 10th 2025 staff  presented the project to the Witchaw Bicycle and   Pedestrian Advisory Board the board supported  the project and provided comments regarding   the design in April of 2025 the district  advisory board six unanimously approved   the design concept this is an overview of the  uh project location again on Second Street st   francis is to the right of the map and Main  Street is kind of towards the uh left center some photos of the existing conditions looking  east between Topeka and Emporia this photo is   looking east at Main Street and the proposed  project design concept will include um the   existing let me back up the existing roadway is  a two-lane one-way street westbound with oneway   on street bike lane on the north side of the the  street with parallel parking on the south side the   proposed concept will reconstruct the roadway  with two westbound lanes as is now a oneway   buffered on street bike lane on the north side of  the roadway and parallel parking on the south side   we will also include curb extensions at the  intersections to reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians the existing sidewalks and wheelchair  ramps will also be replaced with the project   and we are also considering raised intersections  similar to Second Street in Oldtown and I've got a   couple photos of that construction of the project  is anticipated to begin in the fall of 2026 and   be completed by summer of 2027 supplemental design  agreement number one has been prepared to complete   final design um this is a photo of the raised  intersection there on Second Street uh through   Oldtown we are anticipating um putting two raised  intersections within the corridor we've identified   Broadway and Emporia are the two streets that we  are considering for the raised intersections we're   also evaluating um examples of buffered bike lanes  um to provide more than just a painted buffer um   we're looking at pylons um maybe some raised  planters um pylons with uh curb parking block   um as well and a few more examples that we're  looking at we will continue to work with the uh   uh GFT as well as the bike ped advisory board as  we look further into design um of these elements   the design fee to date is $135,000 the  cost of supplemental design agreement   number one is a little over $310,000  which brings the total design fee to $445,500 funding is available within the project  budget of $500,000 which was approved by city   council on February 6th 2024 and is funded  by local sales tax it is recommended that the   city council approve the design concept and  supplemental design agreement number one and   authorize the necessary signatures and I'll stand  for questions thank you for that we have council   member Johnson thanks mayor um you answered my  question as I press the button so I'll just say   thank you for the bike lanes and looking at how  to get a better delineation between the industry and just had one question back to slide 122  is the total budget for the entire improvement   $500,000 uh that is what's been um in  the uh CIP thus far for design we do have   um funding programmed in 2026  of $6 million for construction so it's uh $6.5 million for this entire  project accurate um may we start getting   that in financial considerations uh so that we  have an idea of the entire project not just what   we're approving but the bigger picture i think  I asked that last week also um but it would be   helpful to know what the total project uh cost  is okay mayor just for clarification I we talked   about park projects last time you're talking  about uh engineering projects as well sure can   I just say all projects that come before us for  consideration I think it's often we only approve   a portion of it and I think the bigger picture  in this uh particular item is the improvements   are not going to take $500,000 but rather  $6.5 million um so it would be more accurate   for community to understand also that type of  investment as again streets is critical for our   infrastructure here in the city of Witchah o over  the 10 years of the CIP yeah whatever the total   amount so this one in particular is the second  street north between St francis and Maine so   for that project I would like to see what's that  total project amount allocated for that project does that make sense yes okay thank  you i see no further questions for   staff we'll open it up for public  comment i see none i'll bring it   back to the bench this resides in  council member Ballard's district thank you i would like to take the recommended  action approve the design concept and supplemental   design agreement number one and authorize  the necessary signatures second motion and   a second any further discussion i see  none madame clerk please open the role motion passes 70 madame clerk please call the next  item pre-employment physical examinations drug and   alcohol screens good afternoon Andrew Hudsmith in  the HR department i'm going to be talking about   pre-employment examinations and substance abuse  screens this the human resources department here   at the city of Witchah uses a private contractor  for employment physicals and substance abuse   screens a request for a proposal was published in  January of this year we had five vendors respond   to the RFP and each vendor was interviewed here at  the city each job within uh the organization has   pre-employment requirements the pre-employment  physical requirements are tailored to meet   the physical demand for each job per the job  classification or job description assigned to   each position the job classification determines  if a position is assigned a level one level   two non-EP DT level two DT fire recruit police  recruit and u other miscellaneous types of exams   the selection committee uh recommended work safe  uh as the new vendor to proceed with the new   vendor's fee schedule reflects a cost reduction  of approximately 8% and the law department has   reviewed the contract and approved approved it as  form my recommendation is that the city council   approve the contract and authorize the necessary  signatures questions for staff i see none i just   wanted to commend that this is a cost reduction  of approximately 8% compared to the current rates   uh currently paid for by the city so I  appreciate you guys are looking at ways to   uh be more efficient and effective so thank  you very much i see no further questions for   staff we'll open it up for public comment  i see none i'll bring it back to the bench   i will move to approve the contract and  authorize necessary signatures second   motion and a second any further discussion  i see none madam clerk please open the role motion passes 70 madame clerk  please call the next item council member appointments and comments we'll  start with appointments any appointments at this   time i see none uh we'll open it up for comments  now council members council member Ballard thank   you Mayor i have my District 6 coffee this  Saturday from 9 to 10 and city manager is our   guest i was like "Yes you are." Um I don't know  what I'm making for breakfast yet but it's going   to be better than everybody else's and um it  is not at Evergreen it is at empower so that is   um different than normal so um I hope to see  every single one of you there any further   comments i see none we cannot adjourn yet  because we have executive session so I will   read these next two items i move that the  city council recess into executive session   for 15 minutes to receive information on the  contract negotiation process pursuant to KSA 75-4319B2 to discuss employer  employee negotiations whether   or not in consultation with the representative  or representatives of the public body or agency   sorry in consultation rather the executive  session is required to protect the city's   right to the confidentiality of its  negotiating position and the public interest motion and a second  madame clerk please open the role all those in favor say I i i all  those opposed same sign bring it in   really we have one nay okay uh 6 to one i'll read  the second motion i move that the city council   recess into executive session for 10 minutes  to receive information on a lawsuit pursuant to KSA75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the  city attorney which would be deemed privileged   in the attorney client relationship  pending litigation and legal advice   the executive session is required to  protect attorney client privilege and   the public interest second motion and  a second madam clerk please open the role motion passes 70 so this is a total of 25  minutes uh we will come back at uh 150 about 150   a quick little break okay