To all of you here at city hall, I call  this meeting to order. We will begin with   our pledge of allegiance. Do you know  what that is? I pledge allegiance 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. Madam clerk, please call the first item. Public agenda. We now come to the public  agenda. The public agenda allows for up   to five speakers to have five minutes each  to address the council. Please bear in mind   that this is not a period of dialogue with  council or a question and answer period.   This is your opportunity to address  the city council with your concerns.   I ask that you address your remarks to  the city council as a body and not to any   individual council member. 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 speak into   the microphone. 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 Faith  Martin, City Hall Parking. Uh, good morning. Uh, Faith Martin, 608  South Jury, proud member of District 2.   Um, I was a little discouraged last week when  I pulled into the lot and saw the kiosks were   gone. Not because I love to pay for parking. Uh,  but because those kiosks were just installed less   than three years ago. Um, and it made me do  a little bit of a dive into parking at city   hall. And for those of you that remember the 90s,  I remember the parking garage being built and how   it was going to be all these spots for the public  and help the handicap handicap to be able to have   covered parking and be able to get 2010. They  were like, "No security, the garage needs to be   for staff only." That left the lot out here, which  was still a good lot. uh parking attendants were   staffed by the city and it was cash only. If you  didn't remember to bring quarters, you had to get   some quarters from somewhere. Uh so I was actually  kind of a fan of the kiosk because you could push   a button to get help. You could get your parking  validated wherever you went to do business   uh in the city of Witchah. And then uh last week  I saw that those are gone and I was kind of asking   around and I learned that Park Mobile will be  running our city lot now. Prices have changed.   Ability to get validation has changed. Apparently  staff have to pay for parking now as well. And so   I was just really wondering did any of you know  about this? And when was the public going to   be informed? Because I like to think I'm pretty  informed and I had not heard anything about it.   So, it's we paid for a kiosk. We paid for whoever  was going to run that and now we're paying park   mobile. And so, if I'm running in like today, I'm  coming in just to do public comment and I'll stay   a little while. Is it 15 or 30 minutes? Because  City of Witchaw website still has 30 minutes,   but I believe it's 15 minutes. How much  is it a day? I believe it's $6 a day,   but the website says $5 a day. So, I think when  people are trying to figure out what's going on,   how are we going to handle municipal court, people  don't know how long they're going to be here,   what happens if they're here longer. They're  already struggling to pay fines and fees,   and now we're going to put parking tickets on  top of that. Is there going to be a park mobile   staff member just hanging out in our parking lot  determining whether we've been here 18 minutes   or 15 minutes? How do we, as the public that do  business, which previously got parking validated,   how are we supposed to get our parking validated  now? Does everyone have to apply for a permit? Are   staff going to have to apply for permits? Do they  have to pay for that? Is that out of their pocket?   There's just a lot of questions and I was really  like concerned that we keep nickel and dimming   our constituents to death. Uh this is a city hall.  This is a public parking lot that all of our tax   dollars paid for and now I have to pay to park  here to do even the smallest amount of business.   the meters have all been removed and you have  is it free on Sunday? Is it not free on Sunday?   There's so many different things out there. And a  lot of times for those of us that attend a lot of   Witchah events, this parking lot on the side has  been a great place to park over the weekend. Well,   now we can't park there over the weekend because  you have to pay to park there as well. So,   I would just really encourage city hall to um  talk to staff, find out what's going to be best   and maybe let's dial it back a little bit and  communicate more clearly about what's expected   because I come to city hall a lot as you are well  aware, but for people that don't come here a lot,   it could be really, really confusing and now  they don't even have anyone to talk to about   parking because there's no longer a button you  can push if you have questions or concerns.   it just uh defers responsibility to a third party  who's I don't know where not not in Witchah,   not a person that you can talk to. So uh  I didn't have a lot to say today. I just   really wanted to bring that to your attention  because I was really shocked to see that we're   already moving on to something else and  it's not being communicated. Thank you. Thank you, Faith. Would anyone else from the  community like to address the council? I see   none. Thank you for the one individual who spoke  in public comment. I have a comment myself. I want   to know uh where that plan, whether it's city  hall parking or parking in downtown Witchah,   will be presented to the council. A lot has  changed over the last year and I believe   it's important to have an update. Um, I would  recommend the evening meeting on March 10th,   which is coming up. And so, um, I would like  to see an update regarding downtown parking and   the city lot. I see no further comments.  Madame clerk, please call the next item. Consent agenda items 1 through 14.  Council members, any items to be pulled?   I see none. I move to approve consent agenda  items 1 through 14. Second. Motion. Second.   Discussion. See none. All those in  favor say I. I. All those opposed,   same sign. Motion passes. 70. Madame  clerk, please call the next item. Board of bids and contracts. Dated February 23rd, 2026. Morning,  Mayor, City Council, Josh Lber,   Department of Finance. The board of  bids convened yesterday, February 23rd,   2026 for the following items. We have for  engineering the pump station 3 6 through9   repairs. If the public's not familiar, this  is coming back after it was a protest vendor   protest process was exhausted. The uh action  was sustained. We are rejecting all bids. We   have storm water sewer number 774 repairs  13th Street North and I135 and 13th Street   North in Pennsylvania for utility maintenance  contractors LLC in the amount of 348,640. We have transportation spoils for A+  Trucking LLC for an estimated annual   usage of 270,000 per year. We have  Bare Root Trees. I told staff I was   going to mess this one up. Needles  Nursery Incorporated for $61,100. Uh, we have glass beads for traffic  line paint change order for Potters   Industries LLC for an amended amount of $53,10. And we have the Enterprise Support  Services renewal change order. Um,   this one looks looks unique or odd, so  I'm going to go through it real quick. U,   this should look familiar. So, in February, we  presented this to city council for recommendation   for the amount and vendor price. Uh the city  staff facilitated a contract agreement. We   added our terms and conditions. The corporation  signed the document and returned it to us. Uh   we presented this for a city clerk and mayor  signature executing city council's approval.   The vendor declined or um is stating that  they will not honor the agreement executed.   So I do not have a mechanism to ratify that  except coming back to you to request that we   terminate the executed agreement February 5th,  2026 and you authorize us to create or formate   a new agreement without city contract terms and  conditions. Uh this is a how to do this is how   to do business with the city of Witchah. This is  our purchasing calendar of small business resource   partner events the city's 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 recommend your approval. Can you go back to that Microsoft? Sure.  Absolutely. So this new contract without the terms   and conditions, what liability is on the city?  Sure. So for the public, I have in the agenda the   more formal bid report um standard provisions  relating to Kansas cash basis uh mediation   arbitration. Um I would not try to step outside  my lane without the law department, but the city's   exhibit standards A and B will not be included  that commonly include many of those items. And is that a Microsoft requirement? Can you  explain? Sure. So, the Microsoft Corporation has   um what I have been educated as is a  is a agreement of adhesion, meaning   um you can have the services or you cannot. Um  so, the city of Witchah facilitated our normal   contracting processes. Um we added our exhibits  A and B. Um what's really unique or odd for me   to explain is I'm I've not encountered a vendor  signing a document and giving it back to execute   it. So um that is a first. So because of that um  for us to engage Microsoft Corporation Services,   Microsoft Office sweet 365 um we could terminate  the agreement. Uh the city's belief is that is a   valid executed agreement dated February 5th.  Um and we could proceed with creating a new   agreement on Microsoft's terms. Um or uh we  could risk uh city usage of Microsoft Office   3 products. Why we So is this something new then?  Because Office 365 has been utilized by the city   for years. Yeah. So the city, the only thing that  I would say that's new this year is that the city   attempted to negotiate more favorable terms. We  attempted to negotiate our standard contractual   exhibits A and B. Um and that and that's a  standard practice for us that we always go   into agreement formation where we want to have  favorable terms for the taxpayer. Um when there   are instances where vendors have leverage or have  market power um it makes it very difficult for the   city to negotiate terms um outside of having a  decision to walk away or find another vendor.   This is a very good example or opportunity  um for the public that the city encounters   many governments encounter where our negotiating  power is limited. It's an agreement of adhesion.   um we can have the services or we cannot uh was  the professional response that we received. Thank   you very much. Josh, do you know if uh Cedric  County also is encountering the same thing?   I can't speak for Cedric County. I excuse me. I  can only speak to my experience at Cedric County.   Um these are not uncommon issues or challenges  for a public agency. Um they will negotiate the   the two parties will come to an agreement or  meeting of the minds and um either you can walk   away or you could accept the terms and conditions  but I I don't want to speak on behalf of another   agency only my personal experience. So final  question just want to know I know that they're   not going to accept A and B exhibits however  are the terms still more favorable for the city   or are they at the same as they used to be? they  would be the same as they used to be. Uh meaning   in the past there was not um exhibits A and B.  Uh this this would be a this would be a great   example of a contract agreement where the city  has little to minimal negotiating power. Um the   city in every contract formation strives to get  the best terms and conditions. We'll negotiate.   Um if that negotiation is successful, we will work  to ensure that we have those terms included. Um,   in this instance, it was an impass where we  decided either we have favorable favorable   terms and conditions or we potentially jeopardized  loss of product. Thank you. Any questions from   council members? I see none. I move to approve the  board of bids and contracts dated February 23rd,   2026. Second. Motion second. Discussion.  See none. All those in favor say I.   I. All those opposed to sign. Motion passes  70. Madame clerk, please call the next item. Council member agenda approved  that pursuant to section 2.04.090,   90. Council member Shephard's travel expenses  as estimated on the travel authorization and   expense forms to attend city leaders academy  in Salina, Kansas on April 16th and 17th   for the purpose of newly elected officials  training consistent with AR 3.1 be approved.   Upon return from travel, actual expenses shall  be reported to the controllers's office. I move   to approve that travel. Second. Motion. Second.  Discussion. See none. All those in favor say I.   I. All those opposed same sign. Motion passes.  70. Madame clerk, please call the next item. Council member appointments  and comments. Council members,   any appointments? Mayor with an  appointment for Jordy Dorn Dornboss,   uh, who will be my youth member for  the district for advisory board. Appoint Jordy Dornboss for my youth advis or  youth member for my district advisory board.   Mayor, I would like to appoint Dennis  Murphy to the cultural funding committee. Any others? Um, I just have  one for formality. I'm going   to appoint Vice Mayor Glascock to the Law  Enforcement Training Center Advisory Board. I see no other appointments. With that, I move to  approve these appointments. Second. Motion second.   Discussion. See none. All those in favor say I. I.  All those opposed sign. Motion passes. 70. Council   members comments. Mayor, I do have a comment. I'm  I'm back and I'm black. Happy Black History Month,   everyone. Uh, so I'm here with the final fact.  I promised that I would give a fact every single   week about black history. I hope that folks  have noticed the trend that in sharing the black   history uh fact. It's an opportunity for us to  look within ourselves and to ask ourselves what we   can do to not only uh reflect on our history but  embrace our history, be proud of who we are. Um,   our history is not perfect, but it certainly  has shaped our strength and our resilience. Um,   black history is American history. So, even  if you are not black or identify as black or   African-American, this is a part of your history  as well. Um, so I do want to share a fact and I   hope that all of us as council members and  representatives of the city uh take this   history serious as we come into city hall and  do this work every day. So, in the 1930s, parts   of North and Northeast Witchah were redlined.  They were labeled hazardous simply because black   families live there. This is not an opinion. This  is a fact. Um, it has been identified by research   though redlinining was outlawed by the Fair  Housing Act, the wealth gap it created, the gaps   in social determinance of health, it created, it  impacted housing, it impacted access to education,   it impacted business ownership, and it still  impacts opportunities that exist today in 2026.   One of the most alarming things that I find as  I'm driving through the city is that you can tell   which parts of this city have not had the same  same amount of economic investment as other parts   of our city. It's a problem. Black history isn't  just about the past. It's about repairing what was   intentionally broken. And as I always say from the  bench when we talk about situations from the past,   um I'm not responsible for what was done before I  got here, but I'm responsible for what I do now.   And we all have an opportunity to address what we  have inherited. Economic justice means meaningful   investment, not just in places like Northeast  Witchaw, but in Southwest Witchaw, in South   Witchaw, in the North End, and in other areas. So  my commitment and I ask that we reflect on what   does it mean to expand access to home ownership  for families who have dis been disproportionately   impacted by redline. What does it mean to support  small business and minority owned businesses and   improve infrastructure working with our developers  and our private philanthropy to ensure that we   make sure every part of Witchah is proud of who  they are and embracing their history and their   heritage. What does it mean to connect individuals  to livable wages? So, please know that when we   talk about economic justice, you may hear it in  the form of reparations. That just means writing   a wrong. I know a lot of people don't like the  word reparations, but it just simply means writing   a wrong. Know that this isn't about charity.  Certainly isn't about black people feeling bad   about who they are, where they come from. It's  about addressing the facts that this community   has a history of being one of the most red line  not just in the state but in the nation and that's   a problem. So I ask for us to correct our policy  failures and unlock the full potential of our city   especially in areas like northeast Witchaw again  South Witchaw and areas like the north end who   arguably built this city. Thank you mayor. Thank  you council member council member Ballard. Thank   you mayor. I was sad to learn late last night  that my park board member Tom Eert passed away   uh suddenly doing what he loves the most and that  was birding in Ecuador. So he will definitely be   missed not just in District 6, but he's a huge  asset to our city. So just think about Tom and   um super grateful for all of the things that  he was able to do during his time on Parkour. Council member His. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I  just wanted to offer um condolences to Melody   McGra Miller's family. Um, if you got to know  Melody, she was definitely a fighter and an   advocate for children, for her constituents.  Um, she was one of the best legislators and,   um, civic leaders I think I've seen in Witchah.  So, uh, condolences to her family and, uh,   the school board and we'll, those are  going to be some pretty big shoes to fill. Thank you council members. Uh with that  we cannot adjourn because we have two   uh executive session meetings that will  be held after the workshop. So we'll keep   the meeting open. Uh we will now move on to  the workshop. City manager Dennis. Thank you   mayor and council members. Good morning for my  first official workshop. We have a presentation   uh for you to give you an update on the Witchaw  Waterworks. Um for our February update, we said   we'd do a monthly update for you. So, I'll turn  it over to Gary Jansen and uh he'll open it up. Thank you, Mr. Manager. Gary Jansen, Public Works  and Utilities. Uh good morning, Mayor and Council.   I'm just going to be very brief here and I'm  going to turn it over to Ron Coker with Waw   Water Partners. Um so in in our last conversation  about where we're at on our new water treatment   plant. Um I think as you all know we're working  through some issues with the clarifiers making   progress. Uh we agreed at the request of the mayor  that we provide an update uh each workshop. So   this is our first one today. Ron's got a brief  presentation. We're happy to answer questions.   She's going to talk to through uh what we're doing  with temporary repairs to one of the clarifiers   so that we can get water running through the  plant again. Uh start doing some training for   our staff. We are moving forward on the permanent  repairs, making progress there and they'll talk to   you a little bit about what that schedule looks  like. So I'm going to turn over to Ron Partners. Okay. Thank you, Gary. And thank you, uh, mayor,  members of the council. Uh, it's been about five   weeks since I presented to you last. I have a  brief presentation. This is the first time we   presented in a monthly update at the workshop. So,  what I'll say to you is if this isn't the right   amount of depth, if you want more depth in future  presentations, just let me know and we'll adjust   that according to to really whatever you desire.  Uh as part of that um we just have a few slides to   go through. Uh since the uh since we spoke to you  last these are things that have occurred uh at the   plant site. So you you know when we spoke last we  were shut down. Uh we were still in the evaluation   process of the repairs for the clarifiers. Uh  we uh since that time we established safe access   into all six of the clarifiers. That doesn't sound  like a big deal, but uh just the nature of the way   these clarifiers are built and uh you have limited  access. So you were having to to be lowered in   and out of each clarifier uh to take a look. So  now we have stairs stair access uh in and out of   the clarifiers which makes it much easier for the  workers and much safer uh for the workers to enter   uh and access those clarifiers for repairs. Uh  we completed washdowns of SEC 1 and three and are   working on SEC 4 this week. It takes about a week  uh to wash these clarifiers down just due to the   size and due to the lime scale that we're having  to wash off the clarifiers uh as part of it. It's   it's a power washing operation uh to to get these  uh to get these clarifiers washed down. Uh we've   completed excuse me all of the demo uh on the  upper draft tubes for all uh for SEC's 1 2 3 4 and   six. Uh you'll remember SEC 5. We told you last  time that we were going to do temporary repairs   on SEC 5 so we could restart the plant uh and uh  and let the city get some operations experience   as well as uh optimize some of the process or the  chemical uh uh think uh opportunities that we've   been looking at through that. So uh the demo is  complete on all uh on all of those upper draft   tubes. Uh here's what that looks like with the  upper draft tube removed uh and pre uh pre uh   washing down uh this clarifier. So you can see we  talked about last time it was uh we were looking   at a diagram. It was fairly complicated diagram  to understand what was going on. I think it's a   little easier when you see it without the upper  draft tube and you can see that inner structure   uh inside the upper draft tube. And I'll just just  remind you from last time what you're looking at   the top is called the mixer. Uh it rotates one  direction. What you're looking at at the bottom is   the lower draft tube that has the rake attached to  it. It turns the opposite direction, much slower.   It's scraping solids and pulling solids toward  the center of the clarifier. The mixer is mixing   uh chemicals or additions uh to uh to the water uh  in this mixing chamber. And you can see the mixing   chamber on the a little bit to the outside.  That's not the edge of the clarifier or the   outside of the clarifier. That's just the mixing  chamber where all of this mixing and settling   uh occurs. And then the upper draft tube is  removed there. So, uh you remember last time the   failure for the upper draft tube uh really came  about because it was h it had some interference   with the mixer uh and the two C channels that  were holding it in place and some of the cables   uh ended up shifting or twisting and breaking.  So, the repair, the identified repair,   and we talked about this last time we were here,  is to remove that structure that was holding that   upper draft tube still. There's no reason for  that to be still in your clarifiers because the   water is coming through the bottom of clarifier  not through the side. Uh so that new draft tube   will be new upper draft tube will be attached  to that structure that you see that truss uh in   the middle and it will turn with the lower draft  tube. So you won't have any opportunity to have   uh interference uh or or uh the same kind of  failure occur again with that type of fix. Any   questions on that piece before I go on? I know I  said a lot and it's still relatively confusing.   All good. Okay. Uh some other things we So,  we've done initial level checks on SEC's 1,   three, and five. Remember, this is we're doing  this without water in the clarifiers. We're we're   turning the clarifiers, making sure they're level  uh and in spec. Uh that'll be done as well. When   all the repairs are completed, you'll do a final  level check before you fill the water fill the   clarifiers. Um, we're doing the mixer inspection  of SEC 1 currently. Uh, is that still ongoing,   Dan? Have we finished that? Still ongoing. Uh,  so we had told you last time that when we removed   that upper draft tube, some of the things we still  had to do was look at the underneath side of the   mixer and the and the upper portion of the uh the  lower draft tube rake area because we couldn't see   it when the upper draft tube was in place. So now  that's removed. We're doing um uh inspections of   those and if there's repairs needed, those will  be uh identified and repaired as well. Uh coding,   repair, and remediation identification going on  in SEC 3. Uh that's important because the coatings   are really the the critical path of this whole  repair process. And it's because they're weather   dependent, temperature dependent in particular.  So we've had good weather uh for the last uh few   weeks. It was a little cold this past week. Uh but  we'll we'll attack each one of these clarifiers   and look for opportunities to be working on  those uh to gain maximum efficiency of the crews   uh as weather allows on coatings and as material  allows on the rest of the repairs. Uh the upper   draft tube materials and baffle panels uh we did  release Westtech uh to make those uh or on the   repair option selected. Uh all six of those SECs  are expected to be here in Witchah the week of   March 16th. Uh so that's an improvement from where  we thought we were going to be. Uh and that's   good. Now we still remember the the material  delivery on the SEC's isn't the critical path.   Coding everything um is the is the critical path.  Those materials will come pre-coded. So they'll   come they'll be installed. The coating on the rest  of the repairs that are happening inside the basin   and any uh in any corrosion identified that needs  to be touched up. That's the coating repairs that   I'm talking about. Does that make sense? Okay. And  then finally, um, we did get the temporary repairs   to SCC5 done. So, essentially what happened there  was we took, uh, the material, excuse me, of the   upper draft tube and put in place what the repair  will look like. So, that upper draft tube now is,   uh, in 16 pieces, uh, which is the way the new  draft tubes will come to be assembled. Uh it is   mounted to the truss that's on the inside of the  the upper draft tube. So it will function like   uh the final repairs uh will function. Uh and what  that does is it allows us to restart the plant.   Uh which we did over the weekend. We started  walkdowns with city staff late last week. Uh   the plant was restarted over the weekend. I think  we're at about 18 mg of flow through the new plant   right now. We're treating to drinking water  standard again. Uh which is good. I think it's   a good opportunity to not just keep the plant up  and running. These facilities I think work better   when the the the more active you can keep them.  Uh but this is also a great opportunity to help   city staff have an opportunity to train. Um while  we're not at full scale production or testing   uh so we actually have city staff sitting in the  operations chairs. Uh we're still in care custody   and control of the facility. Uh but this gives  them a great opportunity to learn uh to learn   the plant and to learn what their uh what their  operation responsibilities will look like when the   city takes over the plant. Um, and it's really,  I think, a good way too to make use of this time   uh to to extend that training period with city  staff. So, we're already started up. We did start   up before the 23rd. Uh, and then uh and we are  in training. So, that is what I have. Is that   about the right depth for an update that you're  looking for? Okay. As Councilman Johnson knows,   I can talk a long time. Yeah. Uh, as well, I got  shortened a little bit at the DAB presentation. I   appreciate uh the presentation, Ron. I think now,  council member to ask specific questions. Okay,   great. So, Ron, when do you what's your best  guess of when it'll be up and operating? Well,   I think uh what what our plan is and we have a  letter coming to the city uh this week that will   give a schedule and a guideline of what that looks  like. We're very weather dependent on that on the   final date. Uh what our expectation though is is  if is assuming we get that material in on the 16th   that we'll have uh two clarifiers up and in final  condition in April and we will be ready to start   testing with two clarifiers. The the PTA's uh some  of the PTAs require two clarifiers, some require   three. Uh so we believe we'll be able to begin  PTA testing in April. Um and then we'll continue   uh we'll continue that PTA testing until we're  complete. Right. Right now, from our perspective,   we're going to do three PTAs. That's the three we  had agreed to retest. They're all surface water   PTAs. Um, but that's still in discussion with the  city what that testing protocol looks like. Uh,   if uh if all things go well on the coding  side, we would expect that the repairs would   be complete by June. And then it just becomes uh  the schedule really then just becomes when are you   transitioning the plant, right? What what needed  to be done before the city accepts the plant?   uh and what that transition date looks like could  be anytime from that point further. Okay. If we   have uh if we have weather conditions that don't  allow us to stay on schedule with the codings   uh because we're so limited on uh to the  weather. So going to the weather in that   uh we'll just give you we'll give the city updates  as we go through the process to see are we have we   slip back? Have we been able to pull forward?  what does that look like uh as part of so our   expectation is we'll be up uh with the first two  repairs in April. We will start PTA testing in   April. We will have all the repairs complete by  June. Okay. Thank you. Question for Gary too. Gary, if it if it all does go well, let's  say in June, when would we transition to   the new water plant from the old water  plant? So, before we get to that point,   I might just add a couple things. So, we still  have and and we're spending a lot of time between   our staff with some of our partner staff, which  is good. Um, we meet on a very regular basis,   uh, including on our side internally. We've got  a lot of things we're still working through on   um some things that need to be wrapped up even  outside of fixing these clarifiers before we   get to the point of the city taking over the  facilities. So, I just wanted to temper that   that that I agree with what Ron said. What  looks like their schedule are there's still   some things we have to work through. We still  have to agree to which tests will be completed   uh before we'll accept the facility. Um, we'll  get through all of that soon, but whenever it is   that we take over the plant, it's kind of hard  to say. Uh, we've got to make some adjustments   to we've got to get our operators running  the plant. We would uh full-time, our staff,   no more wish partners. That transition itself was  going to take some time, and that was always how   this was going to be. Uh we're gonna have to  see how things go, how the plant responds to   how we're going to operate it um through the  treatment process, through the chemical dosing   that we need. Um I don't think it's out of  the question that it could still take 6 months   probably before we're ready and feel comfortable.  The last thing we're going to do is risk taking   our old plan offline and go into the system  if we think there's any concerns at all. Uh,   one of the things I'll mention, uh, before we shut  the plant down, we had gotten to a point where,   uh, the majority of the test water we were sending  through our current plant. So, this facility had   been providing water to the system for some time.  So, uh, which is good for saving water. Obviously,   we'll get back to that point here soon enough.  So even during that period of time we take over   operations, I would expect that we're still going  to be taking as much of that water as possible   through the plant so that we're not wasting water  there. It's just hard to say at this point. My   goal, my hope is 6 months. I don't think it's  going to be any less than that. Okay. Thank you. All right, Gary. Uh appreciate that update  there. Um are we talking about 60 million   gallons a day when we're doing testing pumping  that is he was asking the capacity of the   testing. So we've got variety of performance  tests we still need to run. That's part of   the discussion we're continuing to have to  figure out which tests need to be done yet.   Um I'm certain we'll at least get to 30. I don't  know that we necessarily have any tests left yet 45 45. So at least we definitely will get to at  least 45 MGD. Okay. Yeah. Appreciate it. That's   some of the details we're still working through.  Well, we're not in a drought anymore. So, no,   but we still want to be very cautious uh  and very protective of our water supply.   So that's why we're trying to make sure we  get back to a point of getting that water   back to our current plan, getting out  of the system from there. So we don't   want to be wasting as little as  we can regardless. Appreciate it. Any further questions from council members? Uh my  question is not for Ron, it's for both Gary and   Jennifer. Um can you just summarize um because  this was the last um the last time we met was   a very indepth uh conversation regarding the  water treatment plan. Can you just summarize   um is the city still seeking damages and if so  can you just let the community understand that   that has not been forgone? Yes, mayor. The  city is in the process under the contract of   asserting a claim and an amended claim for all  possible damages that it's entitled to under the   contract. That is a process that's going on. Um we  are seeking everything that can be asserted under   the contract. And then for Gary, the question  is just uh you have mentioned that staff both   city and Witchaw Waterworks uh staff are all  working together. Can you just uh summarize   uh right now the city is not in uh possession  of this plant as Ron mentioned it's still in the   care and custody of which water works. Can you  just explain that uh one more time in summary?   Uh sure. So I think that's an important element  of the way the contract was originally structured   and it's been really critical to where we're at  now. Nobody expected us to have these issues,   but since they are in front of us. Uh the best  part about this is that the plant is still in   the possession of which water partners as it  should be uh until we work through the issues of   repairing the clarifiers. Um we have a good plan  in place. That's moving forward. That will happen.   I mentioned we've got to work through some final  details on which tests we're going to run. We're   still having some discussions about the coding. uh  the work on the codings that Ron talked about. So,   we've got a list of things we're still working  through on a regular basis and we'll get through   those items before the city takes over the  facility. We need to make sure that those all   those items by the contractor are taken care  of as intended before we take possession. So,   I think we're headed in the right direction  together. Uh spent a lot of hours, a lot of   time together as we should uh to make sure we get  this done right. Um and to To Jennifer's point,   I would add one part to that because this was a  question that actually came to me yesterday. Uh   the cost for the repairs of the clarifiers are  the responsibility of Waw Water Partners. We   won't even see what those costs are. So,  um I was asked about that, how much that   was going to be and when we would know what it  is. We we won't know what that cost is. That's   a responsibility WTO Water Partners. They have  accepted that. They know that's their cost. Um so,   there will be nothing added to the contract  related to any of the repairs. Thank you,   Ron, Gary, and Jennifer, for the update. Look  forward to the update in March. Okay. Thank you. Mayor and Council, for our next agenda item, I'm  pleased to highlight that we're going to give   you a presentation that we're calling the boards  and commissions overview. The city over time has   created more than 39 standing boards generally  as advisory boards. And so there are some   uh reviews that we've done, suggestions we  have for you. One of our management fellows,   Amari Ball, has taken the lead on this. She spent  at least the last probably six months looking   at this and so we'll turn it over to her to give  your presentation and then we'll talk about some   recommendations at the end. Zamari. Good morning,  council. Zamari Ball, management fellow in the   city manager's office for the record. Today we'll  be discussing the boards and commission's review.   So, as city manager Marstall mentioned, um we  have over 39 standing boards. All boards were   reviewed. Something that we've noticed is over  time boards have been created just because of   just priorities at the time, but we have never  done a review of what those priorities are and if   they are still in alignment with the city at this  day and time. So fundamental questions were asked,   are the boards fulfilling their intended purpose?  Do they align with today's priorities? And can   we serve the community better? And we can  always be better at serving the community. So the challenges a lot of boards  have overlapping missions that means   multiple boards address similar issues without  coordination. In addition to that some boards   have an uneven workload meaning some boards  may meet monthly with full agendas or others   struggle to achieve quorum and even discuss  issues. In addition to that we have staff   supporting 39 boards with limited capacity. Some  individuals staff more than one board and then as   mentioned strategic misalignment. though not all  boards directly support current city priorities. So throughout this I did utilize an evaluation  framework. Um so the five-part justification   matrix which is included in appendix B of  the full report. What this did was looked   at inactivity or non-compliance of each board,  vacancy duration of the board, if there's any   statutory overlap or scope drift of the board, any  redundant or overlapping missions of the boards,   and then just access and transparency  of the boards. In addition to that,   department directors were engaged as well as  some liaison. Legal did do a review and then   we looked at peer city benchmarking.  So, what are other cities doing? How   many boards do other peer cities have? and  then ways to just be in better alignment. So we categorize the boards into three categories.  So we have boards remaining unchanged. This means   they were filling a mission effectively  or legally required or just strategically   essential. In addition to that we have boards  that are recommended for restructure. This   mean this could mean consolidation, merger,  sunset and at this time these boards do have   operational consensus. So that means staff  is on board with the recommendations and   ideas. In addition to that, we do have some  boards that require some additional policy   directions. So this means some complex legal  or strategic questions and just needing action   um needing guidance from council  before any action is actually taken. So we'll start with our boards that are  recommended for some type of restructure.   Um we'll start with cultural services. Um the  cultural arts department, they have two boards.   the cultural funding committee which handles  arts grants distribution and then design council   which handles public art and civic design  review. So the recommendation is to do a   phased evaluation over 12 months and really  review these two boards in their structure.   Let's assess potential for consolidation  while still ensuring that we maintain the   percent for the art integrity and then  ensure continued community engagement. The next two boards that we have are the  bicycle, pedestrian, and transit advisory   board. The recommendation here is to create a  connected community advisory board just because we   know there's overlapping multimodal transportation  issues. So, it would be easier to coordinate bike,   pedestrian, and transit planning, especially  with where we are with this new design of   the multimodal transit facility. So, the  recommendation is to consolidate these two   boards into one. sunset the boards prior to new  appointments. Both of these boards have terms   ending at the end of March. So, if we could sunset  prior, it would help with just planning purposes. In addition to that, we have the housing boards.  The recommendations for the housing boards are the   CSBG and the grants boards. We recommend proposing  a merger. This would be pending HUD approval. So,   it's not just about us making a recommendation.  HUD does actually have to approve this and ensure   that it's in alignment with their standards.  With the Witchaw Public Housing Authority,   we do need to do some adjusting of the  meeting structure for compliance. There   is a resident commissioner that is required  to be at all meetings and be involved and we   currently do not have that compliance in place.  In addition to that, the affordable housing board,   we are actually recommending expanding the  expertise representation. So creating more   spots on their board just to ensure that  we are representing every individual in   the community in the community and those that are  directly affected by affordable housing issues. We also have the sustainability integration  board. background on this board. This board   was created for grant funded environment  initiatives as well as just sustainability   discussions in Witchah. They are currently doing  some grant distribution. So our recommendation is   to sunset following the grant dispersement.  So that will conclude around mid 2026 and   the responsibilities would transition  directly into the department's operations. Similarly, we have the storm water advisory board.  So, background on this, the original mission,   it was developed to implement the storm  water management plan. At this time,   they have fulfilled this mission and oversight is  now really internalized. So, the recommendation is   actually disbandment and staff is on board with  that since a lot of the operations are inhouse. Now we will move into the boards requiring  additional policy direction from council.   Our first board is the food and farm council. So  current status of this board is they are an active   board and recently they have been delivering  a renewed policy focus. This is a board that   overlaps with county's initiatives. So options  for council consideration is more structured   training and clarified scope for the board having  a discussion with the city coun city and county   around a coalition model or just a regional  approach um as far as food and farm goes. This I would say perhaps the most complex die  crab and ethics. Um with these two boards we   are requiring further legal legal and policy  direction. The recommendation is to potentially   create a governance advisory council con concept  with merging of the two. So die crab and ethics   there. This is a potential consolidation. There  will need to be a full workout of establishing a   framework and what this board would actually do as  far as their duties before anything could happen. Lastly, we have our land bank board of trustees.   The current status of this board, it is  a standalone board required by KSA2-5902. This board only meets annually just for  their staffing requirements in the state   statute to complete an annual report.  At this time, there are challenges   um related to legislative clarification.  So, we would need some legislative   clarification required before any  structural change is discussed. So,   we would like to require some further policy  direction and discussion around this board. So as mentioned this would with these boards this  would be a phase implementation framework. So   phase one are boards that we could do immediate  action with. So adopting ordinance changes for   restructuring, initiating sunset procedures  for inactive boards and then begin internal   staff realignment. After that phase two would be  transition and support. So operationalizing new   consolidated boards, conducting workshops for  policy directions and then developing training   for new board members which I will touch on  that training for board members is actually   currently in development. That is one of the other  projects I work on. So developing staff training   as well as board member training is currently  in the works. Phase three would be full inter   full integration. So finalizing all structural  changes, launching an annual review process and   establishing ongoing performance metrics so that  we are able to review our boards more consistently   and not just 5 10 years down the road. So  additionally as mentioned all 39 boards were   reviewed recommendations are grounded in legal  and operational analysis and the approach will   be phased in discipline. So council direction is  requested to move forward and at this time I will   stand for questions. Thank you Zamaria. Um I have  a couple of questions. First I wanted to know how   many board members are currently active. Uh the  actual number of board members I cannot tell you   because it varies depending on the board and  the amount of members that are on a board. Is there a database? I guess mayor we can get.  So I think Zamara can correct me if I'm wrong.   Say there's roughly 200 appointees across the 39  boards. Um because the board board sizes vary,   but we'll say roughly 200 citizens do a wonderful  job of volunteering as your appointees to provide   the input. So if you take those 200, we'll get  the list of where we currently have vacancies.   As many of you know, some of these terms  do come up in March. That's why I want   to give this information to you today.  Um, as well, the city manager also has   appointments to some of the boards as well  of the 39. Um, so for today's purposes,   we'll uh do the research to make sure we know  the vacancies. Um, but for today's purposes,   we want to get this information out there because  we know appointments are coming up. So, if you   wanted to have staff come back, we have the full  report for you, but if you want staff to come back   where we are talking about some of those that are  potential disbandment or whatever, you see that   we do need some more information from the state  legislature on a couple of those. So, if there   are a couple of them you want us to tackle first  or present more information, just let us know. If all of these recommendations were to move  forward from 39 to what number will there be   in terms of number of boards? Give me  one second. Let me do my quick math. We would get down to around 24 or 25 boards. Can the city manager or assistant city  manager kind of give some folks the idea   of the amount of staff time this requires?  And um I know each board is different,   but can can someone address what this requires?  39 boards. Um you also mentioned peer reviews.   Can you talk about what other cities um have  seen in terms of boards? Yes. So, one peer   city that we looked at very heavily was Lawrence,  Kansas. They actually were able to reduce their   staff savings by $500,000 when they reduced their  number of boards and staff time. As I mentioned,   in addition to what staff do, staff's main role  is not being a board liaison. They actually have   an actual role. So, they serve the boards  in addition to their day-to-day role. So,   it takes multiple hours on time developing  the agenda, handling minutes, and things   like that as well. And some individuals do  have more than one board that they staff as   well. Can you repeat how much that savings was?  $500,000. And it's in your full report as well. But that's for just Lawrence, right? Yes, that is  for Lawrence. That's what Lawrence saved. I do not   I can get um do some work with the city manager  if we want to see what cost savings will look like   for the city. And mayor, I will highlight that  um in other jurisdictions, this is a conversation   among all elected bodies. Are the appointed boards  relevant and still mission focused on what they   established? Because some of the boards do go back  to the 1970s. Some of them are statutory, whatever   it may be and even longer. Um but you will see as  was highlighted there is a lot of staff time that   does go into supporting them from a staff member  who not only is coordinating agendas working with   the chairs of each board then doing the minutes  but also um calling for quorum to make sure that   we have quorum soliciting people's agendas  making sure they know they're appointed.   So there's a lot of I'd say administrative  work that goes into managing these 39 boards. I think having a thoughtful conversation  uh knowing that a city within Kansas   um did some consolidation. Can you also  address maybe the number of boards they   had to the number they currently have? I do not  have that with me today, but I can provide you   with that and I believe I did address that in the  report, but I can get that information for you.   The other I know that um we want to have um  more board participation and we often share that   there are board vacancies each council member uh  appoints during each of the council meetings and   these boards are um their Kansas open meetings uh  act rules apply to these boards. So, can someone   just explain for someone that may just be watching  right now why the intensity of a lot of staff time   and why it requires uh much more oversight? Mayor,  from a Kansas Open Meetings Act perspective, yes,   all boards are under the Kansas Open Meetings  Act and they are subject to the same rules and   state laws that you as a governing body are. We  take this very seriously and it's an act that   requires continual diligence and of course when  there are multiple meetings every every week and   every month multiple communications um new members  coming and going who may not be as fluent as the   as you are because they don't do this all the  time who are you know volunteering um there is   the opportunity for inadvertent violations. Um  it's a meeting, you know, it's a statue that is   is rigid for a good reason, but they each one  of those boards must comply with it for every   meeting they have. And of course, it involves  not just the meetings, but the prohibition on   um violations outside of a meeting for um  a majority of the quorum having a meeting   outside of a noticed meeting. So staff need to be  diligent on maintaining making sure there's not   a group email discussion or um outside of the  meeting discussion. So I think that is a valid   um observation on your part. And mayor, if I may,  um when you think about your 39 different boards,   they all have different missions or structures. So  most of them are purely advisory where you do want   citizen input. You want to hear from grassroots  or even expertise because some of these boards   do have specified representation they're looking  for. But also some of these boards are statutoily   identified or what we call quasi judicial where  they do have weight impact that sometimes their   recommendations go to court or whatever it may  be. So depending upon the structure of the board   of the 39, that's why we have the guard rails  and it's really up to the city staff as a staff   liaison to implement these guardrails or to manage  the guardrails that they're in conformity with the   open meetings act but also as was highlighted by  the city attorney that um there are rules that   you follow as council members. I think the overall  uh point we want to highlight is this is important   work. These are on behalf of the city. They are  making recommendations to you as city council   members and they are acting on behalf of the city  and so that's why we do have I think these guard   rails but want to give this some of the attention  and focus it needs. I have go ahead. Are you sure?   Okay. Um thank you for your work on this. Um my  first I have lots of questions. Okay. Specifically   about one recommendation. Um and and I'm betting  some other people do too. Um, but first of all,   have we received the final report? I looked  through my inbox a couple times and I haven't   received it yet. Okay. It has not been sent to you  all by the end of the day. Probably be helpful to   have had like more analysis of why and and with  that um if you could go specifically to slide 30,   please. And this is regarding merging um the  transit and the bike pad advisory boards. So, just   some questions and then I'm going to make some  comments. Um, did you attend the transit advisory   board meetings and the bike pad advisory board  meetings? I have attended one one of each. Yes.   Okay, great. Um, have you when you were Okay. So,  what inefficiencies or whi what why was the you've   attended one of each. Why was this recommendation  made? Well, what's going to be fixed? What's   going to be better? How is there going to be  less inefficiencies because of it? Well, one,   it was recommended because it's in alignment  with what other peer cities are also doing. It   will what it will do is consolidate staff support  and really put more alignment when it comes to   multimodal decisions. A lot of times with these  two separate boards, bicycle and pedestrian are   making decisions and transit are making completely  opposite decisions. But if we could have them in   alignment doing things for instance when we think  about the quarter mile and the bike lanes and the   bike routes but building a connected community is  all of these boards working in tandem together.   So separating them has built kind of silo silos  around what they do and so I haven't attended   the transit advisory board meeting in a long time  because I have a conflict in with bike pet same   time as my dad but it got moved so I'm excited  about that. But when I have attended in the past,   both of their meetings usually they meet monthly  and they go two, three hours. They go the fully   scheduled time. So now if you're going to be  combining a two-hour meeting and a two-hour   meeting, you're still going to have a 4-hour  meeting. So I'm not sure I understand where   inefficiencies would be reduced. You're still  going to have the same amount of staff time,   you know, all all of that. Um I just have really  big concerns about this. I could see maybe doing a   quarterly joint meeting with both of them just to  make sure that they're aligning. But I know as far   as multimodal, bike ped already has multimodal  a subcommittee or something. And there's just   a whole lot of difference between implementing  the master bike plan and the master pedestrian   plan and the transit plan. So this is one that I  I'm not going to be supportive of combining. Um,   we've seen great success from both, especially  the bike pad advisory board and some some major   improvements in our community as far as  walkability and bike ability because of   recommendations from them. So, um, again, I have  lots more questions and lots more comments, but   I know some of my colleagues feel the same way.  So, I'll yield the floor, but I may jump back in.   Thank you. I'll hop in real fast. I'm supportive  of your recommendations and thank you for your   work on this. uh in particular, you asked for  council direction on three of them. Um I've had   uh appointees of certain committees reach out  that they believed that the board should be   um removed because they didn't feel that their  time was being uh well spent in uh some of the   boards in uh the city. So, thank you for your work  on this. In terms of uh food and farm council,   um I'm not entirely sure of the recommendations  brought since I've been on the council from the   food food and farm council that have been brought  to this body. So I'd be interested in a full recap   of what recommendations have been brought here.  If we haven't received a recommendation in three   years, then I think we should probably re-evaluate  what is the purpose of that committee. uh the   governance advisory committee I think uh makes  a lot of sense uh to be able to look internally   at the organization and how we are elevating  the things internally and then regarding the   land bank um I think it would you know maybe make  sense for a dual appointment to the land bank and   the affordable housing review board it's the same  individual serving on both I think there could be   overlap if that's allowed as well if it was a dual  appointment and you know my comment that I'll make   to that too is I was um president of my church  board when we moved from a committee structure.   We had oh gosh nearly a dozen committees and we  moved to one leadership uh board committee. I read   this entire book about how do you transition uh  boards and committees to make them more efficient.   And so I was there during the transition period  and I saw increased productivity, saw increased   congregational um involvement because they  knew where the decision was going and what the   chain of command was instead of just going to an  institution and feeling that yeah, I can say what   I want, but will that actually will any policy  direction be taken from that or will any action   be taken from that? And so what I've seen in  the transition from um our church board model is   actually strengthened congregational involvement,  more people that want to be involved um a   clear line of decision- making that I think has  strengthened the organization and made us uh more   uh versatile to large scale decisions we made.  And so I actually think this can be a positive   to encourage more engagement and encourage more  productive engagement in the process as well. So,   um I'm looking forward to seeing the full report  before I, you know, make a recommendation from the   bench. Um but I love the direction we're going  and I think hopefully that this will actually   empower citizens more in the process as well.  Thank you, mayor. Uh I would just like to share   um I'm getting some text messages now and mostly  from Bike Ped are not interested in combining with   transit. They are both incredibly important, but  the bike ped people aren't necessarily interested   or as knowledgeable about transit. I think we  all know transit in Witchah needs all hands on   deck and I certainly don't want the boards to be  watered down because we're taking on too much and   I want to make sure that they are productive. So,  I'd love to get feedback from transit and bike ped   board. Um, I think that's incredibly important,  but our goal is to of course consolidate if it   makes sense, but if it doesn't, um, I think  they're both doing great work. Um, yeah. So,   I'd just like to to share that. And, um, yeah,  I'll I'll save some of my comments for later. And,   Council Member Ballard, thank you. You just  sparked a question. Do did you go to the bike   pad advisory board and to the transit board and  discuss with them about a potential murder? No.   Okay. I I think that is really important for the  members to be able to have an say. Um, you know,   I know my me my appointee has been there for  quite a while and has lots of expertise and is   not supportive of this. So, you know, we're we're  thinking of making a structural change without   talking to the people that would be impacted  by it. So, that would be a recommendation. I   think it could be also presented to them as  you stay separate, you merge or potentially   um you stay separate but have a quarterly overlap  meeting for first for like the quarter mile half   mile issues that come up between the two of them.  But otherwise, transit and bike pad in my mind are   just very different boards with very different  missions. So just my recommendation. Thank you   council member Ballard for sparking my question.  Thank you for presentation. Appreciate it. Uh I   do I do agree with all of them. I do have a  question about the transit board and the bike   tree board because they are very different.  I'm not necessarily against it, but I think   you see input from both those boards. We can do  that. I think I think that would be important. So Maria, thank you so much for your help um  and in getting this configured. I know it took   a lot of your time and it's always refreshing to  see you up and and sharing about your outcomes.   I'm particularly um and I appreciate all the  comments from from my colleagues. I'm particularly   interested in how are we providing training um on  a yearly basis for these boards and commissions   that exist. Um, when we when we mention, you  know, that we're not seeing a lot of folks in   some areas show up consistently and or seeing a  need, I would love to to understand the why. So,   synthesizing that qualitative data that we're  hearing. Um, is it because they don't feel   supported by the city? Is it because they don't  feel that there's any teeth uh to their board or   commission that it's kind of like a transactional  check the box and you know, they say one thing,   their council member does another thing and  so they feel defeated that their voice doesn't   matter. And so I think that is a matter of culture  and it could be interesting to have a conversation   if that's the case with the city manager on  how do we how do we make sure we're having good   conversations between council members and those  who are serving on the boards. Um I always believe   in functional consolidation. So thank you for um  particularly the food and farm council looking at   how we can have a regional model. Um, we know  that, you know, there are food deserts in just   about all of our districts and so making sure we  have a regional model to address that I think is   is great in terms of functional consolidation. I  know that we mentioned die crab and ethics and I   know there was a comment by one of my colleagues  in regards to governance. I I would respectfully   disagree. I think um mattering and belonging  is separate than governance and I know that we   dismantled the DEI board because of the federal  compliance that we had to abide by. I know that   that was not something that was personally in  favor by a lot of us up here, but when we think   about what was at risk, right, that $20 million  uh to transit if we did not do that, I understand   that we had competing values that we had to make  a tough choice. With that said, I I would love to   see us still looking at belonging and mattering.  Um there are other cities who are a part of the   National League of Cities um that revised their  die boards to align with belonging and mattering.   think about all the issues and challenges that  don't sit well with me specifically as we look   at city hall. Um paid paternity leave is an  issue for me. I would like to have a board   like that look into that and see how we can offer  paid paternity leave in city hall to our staff. I   would like for us to understand what it is like to  um have economic justice um and research the areas   that have been disproportionately impacted  economically, socially, intellectually,   and what does it look like to align our policies  and our work with helping close some of those   gaps. I think that's separate than governance. And  so I think our community would greatly appreciate   knowing that though the federal compliance  has pushed us in a direction where we have to   shut down our DEI board, that the commitment  to making sure that every Witchah citizen,   regardless of who they are, the background  they come from, we're committed to making life   well for them. And I'm happy to offer my time to  support you in that as well. Thank you. All right.   I appreciate all all the work that you've done on  this so far. Um just a couple of points maybe. Um,   so when we're looking at the transit advisory  board, are we looking at separate subcommittees   for bicycle, pedestrian, transit, or is it just  going to be one big board? So once again, this   is just a recommendation. Nothing happens without  the council's direction. So I can look at other   options if that's something you would like to  look at doing, subcommittee boards and things like   that. Okay. I share the same concerns as a couple  of my colleagues on that one. um the housing board   and also the um land bank. I know there had been  some discussion I think um kind of unifying a lot   of the housing boards into one big board. I think  again that'll have to look at subcommittees on   that as well because um just housing so complex  and there was going to be two or three of them   that have statutory things that we referred to  here. Um so I would look at maybe doing that.   um seeing if we can possibly integrate the land  bank just that way they're statutoily still in   um in operation. Uh sustainability I I believe  a sustainability board I think we could stand to   give them a little more um work to be completely  honest. Um food and farm council I I my appointee   on there said things are already changing.  they're collaborating more with the county um   on some issues. So, I just like to point that out  as well. And then I agree with council member um   Shephard on diagramraph. I think it makes sense to  have a governance advisory council. I just don't   know that diagramraph is should be part of that.  I think that's just a separate issue on its own.   Yes, if we could retool it, I think that would be  the best option moving forward on that particular   board. So, Maria, if I may ask a question um  based on council member Hoousel's remarks,   have we considered maybe what gaps there are  in in some of our committees? So, for example,   we have an economic development department within  the city, but we don't have a small business or   economic development committee. And so when  I think about um embedding within the system   experts that we can lean on when we're looking at  policies or funding and like having that part of   a committee makes more sense to me is I used the  housing u ordinance before my time on council as a   great example. Right? There were a plethora of of  experts that came to the table and said we want to   share our expertise and make this policy better.  I feel like housing is something we're constantly   talking about. Economic development is something  we're constantly talking about. Small business is   is something we are constantly worried about given  that it's uh you know the backbone of our economy.   Is there an opportunity to replace one of these  committees with something that makes more sense?   Um and you know feeling the same way about the  governance piece. I would love again to council   member Glasscock's point like yeah if there's ways  for us to be more efficient that's phenomenal but   I just want to reiterate again there's a lot of  belonging pieces that we can we can tackle too   as it relates to making making every citizen in  this community feel like they matter and belong.   I just have one final comment. I was just opening  the book again because I it's a very boring book   but has a lot of good information. Um this is from  the Mariam Webster's dictionary in 2021. This will   be my decision- making throughout all this is it's  just the definition of mission. Quote a specific   task with which a person or group is charged  end quote. And if each one of these boards have   a mission, I'm there. If they don't have that,  then I'm out. And so that'll be my judge judgment   throughout all these boards as we review and see  the entire proposals. Thanks again. Thank you. Any more questions? Thank you.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,   Zamaria. Mayor and Council, our next topic is  we' had a request to talk about public art. So,   we're going to give you a little overview on  our public art process policy and then look at   um some potential ideas for America's 250th  birthday this summer on July 4th. Is there some   initiative city council wants to initiate with our  arts community about honoring our 250th birthday?   So we'll start with Mark Manning, our director  of finance, who can give a little bit overview   of our funding structure for public art today.  Mark, morning and members of the city council,   Mark Manning with the department of finance.  As the manager indicated, I'm going to kick   off with a couple slides and then we'll have  representatives of the city manager's office   that are far more knowledgeable about public art  than I am that'll do the rest of the presentation.   Uh but I was asked basically to explain the 2% for  arts ordinance and how we coordinate that with the   capital improvement program. Uh so go back to  pre20 2019 uh we had a relatively disjointed   approach in allocating and approving funding for  public art for capital improvement projects. Now,   we've always had aesthetic design criteria in our  capital improvement program, but uh prior to 2019,   we didn't really have a set amount of money. We  didn't have a strategic structure to allocate   funding, and both of those were problematic.  So, staff proposed a ordinance in 2019, which   was actually approved on December 17th of 2019.  And this is the so-called 2% for art ordinance,   and it's codified in section chapter 2.15 of  city code. And essentially it allocates 2%   of the CIP for uh public art on CIP projects. So  each year we calculate that amount. We coordinate   uh directly with the design council and uh we  develop recommendations and funding amounts   for specific projects. So the 2% for arts by  ordinance is based on local funding in the capital   improvement program. That's in the neighborhood of  about $900 million a year. Uh so 1% of 900 million   is about 9 million. So 2% is about 18 million just  to give you order of magnitude and that's going to   vary each year but somewhere in the neighborhood  of 16 to 18 million each year when we develop the   CIP and I point out that's over the 10-year period  of the CIP but it's each 10-year CIP has somewhere   in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 billion dollars  allocated for public art projects. So uh the uh   CIP will include specific allocations for specific  projects and uh each one of those will be in the   CIP but they also all will be brought back to  the city council individually for initiation.   That's how we do any CIP project. We include  it in the CIP and then we bring it back to you   for approval a second time. And the same is true  of public arts projects. So, uh, last year, uh,   a option was presented, uh, for consideration to  reduce the cultural arts funding level from 2% to   1%. Uh, that, uh, recommendation would require,  if it were implemented, an adjustment to, uh,   charter or to chapter 2.15 of city code. Uh,  that adjustment to city code has not been   proposed by city staff and obviously has not been  approved by the city council. Uh so based on that,   the the the CIP will continue to have a 2%  allocation of uh public art funding uh in the   capital improvement program. And finally, I'll  just wrap up by giving a little bit of detail   on how we actually implement that. We'll meet with  the design council usually in April or May. We'll   give them an idea of the projects that will likely  be included in the proposed CIP. Uh they will   identify ones that they think public art might be  applicable to. They will ultimately provide staff   recommendations of amounts for specific projects.  Then we will incorporate that into the capital   improvement program that you receive. Typically,  they do not allocate the entire 16 or 17 million.   Uh so you'll also see unallocated amounts in  the capital improvement program. And again,   I think they do that because that provides us  increased flexibility because we live in a dynamic   environment. And finally, I point out that each  year any unallocated amounts we roll forward again   so it's reallocated in the next CIP. So again, uh  the 2% uh ordinance provides us a very structured   and systematic way to ensure that we have public  art uh on our capital improvement projects and it   provides us a very good methodology for doing that  in an organized and budgeted manner. So with that,   I'm going to like I said, I'm going to defer to  the real experts who can carry on the remainder   of the presentation. Can I ask a question, Mark?  Before before you get started, um sir, that's 16   to$18 million. Uh is that bonded and do we pay  interest on that? Then we budget that as general   obligation funding. That's right. Now, like any  general obligation capital improvement project,   uh sometimes we pay cash for it and sometimes we  bond it. But yes, it could potentially be bonded,   but not all the time. Not all the time. No. Okay.  But how much that time do you think it is? Well,   again, our general guidelines is we bond about  50% of the time, but there are certain project   types that we typically don't like to bond. Public  art is one of those we typically would try to pay   cash for if we could, but again, it's a fluid  environment, but generally speaking, we're more   likely to pay cash for public art improvements  than we are to bond them. Okay. Thank you.   Thank you, Mark. Uh Lindsay Binova with the city  manager's office, arts and cultural services.   I'm going to start by going backwards a little  bit to just reiterate a couple things that Mark   um uh brought up. In particular, this last bullet  that u yes that we take projects to city council   to initiate just like all capital projects. Uh but  then what we did last year is we started bringing   30% design concepts to city council as well.  So you not just see the when it's initiated,   but you also see an early iteration of what the  project could potentially look like. That way,   if the the council has a different direction  that you'd like like us to go, we haven't sunk   uh a significant amount of cost into that project.  And if we want to go in a different direction,   council gives us the opportunity to make those  changes. So, uh historically, we were bringing   final designs to you all. Now, we're bringing  30% design concepts. Uh as of last year, we   just started doing that. So you see the projects  twice uh before we go into what we would call   fabrication or build process. And then one other  thing I wanted to re reiterate for Mark uh is that   majority of our public art projects I can think of  maybe two uh exceptions are complimentary projects   to other capital projects. So when design council  is looking at uh what projects get uh public art   dollars, they're really matching or complementing  other projects that exist in the CIP. public art   dollars are just separated out um from the project  itself. Hey, Lindsay. Yes. Real quick, do you have   any idea how much of the 2% for the arts actually  goes for design of the buildings as opposed to   just individual art pieces? Um I don't know if I  can answer that specifically because every project   is so unique in its scope and uh scale. I will  say the ordinance now specifies that the art is   uh has to to meet certain parameters that it's  not necessarily just the design of an overall   project is the art component design is what the  public art dollars um address. Does that answer   your question somewhat? Okay. We can if you have  a specific project you'd like us to look into we   could do that. Okay. I was just talking just in  general because I know that's what it it goes to   quite a bit as well. So I appreciate that. Sure.  I think I would be a followup to that question   interested in art pieces versus art design. Um, so  when I consider art design underneath Kellogg, the   lights underneath Kellogg and some of that design,  that's art design, correct? A piece like the water   treatment plant ribbon, I would say that's an  art piece. Those are two different things. And   so I'd like to see what the percent for art has  been allocated for art pieces versus art design.   Is there a time frame you'd like us to look into  just to narrow down the I think we're looking for   just a general idea would be appropriate because  I think this discussion really does stem from a   lot of frustration from community. I keep getting  multiple individuals on a monthly basis talking   about the art pieces outside of the water  treatment plant. And if I remember correctly,   it was $1.2 2 million dollars for those art  pieces. And so, and I would love to get a   history behind that. Um, because I know that  it was supposed to be from the percent for art,   but it was not. So, there could be an explanation.  Was it part of the percent for art or was it just   part of the water treatment plant um general  budget? I think there's confusion. And so, I   want to make sure that if it was percent for art,  then it's being appropriately disced. If it's not,   then it also should be appropriately discussed.  Sure. I I might just jump ahead here for a moment.   Um I apologize. We did some last minute edits on  this presentation. There's a lot of different ways   that public art could be funded um within the  person for our program. Now we have that that   funding set aside. It's in the CIP as a separate  budget line item. Historically, as Mark mentioned,   um, art used to be part of the overall project  budget. So, it wasn't necessarily a percentage of   a project budget or percentage of the overall CIP.  It was incorporated into the project budget. The   water treatment facility, uh, to my understanding,  this predates my employment with the city,   uh, was part was looked at as the overall project  budget. Um, however, knowing that the percent   for our ordinance was coming up around the same  time that the water treatment uh, plan was being   developed, that was taken into consideration.  Um, I'm I'm not privy to the conversations or   was before my time of how that number landed uh  but it was well below 2% of the project budget   if you look at the entire facility uh construction  project um that the number was landed on probably   in conversation with the project team design  council uh city leadership at the time uh how that   number landed. So to answer the question of was  a person for our dollars I would say no because   uh the person for our ordinance was not at the  time that that part project was budgeted. Does   that answer that does answer a very confusing  process which is one of the reasons we're maybe   since Gary is here um since it was the water  treatment plant just to clear the record um   the water treatment plant conversation started in  2019. This percent for art was also 2019. However,   they're two separate things as I'm kind of  gathering from what you're saying. Can someone   explain to me since um I was not on the council at  that time how those three art pieces were selected   and why they were selected. Does anyone have that  answer? I mean I can answer the selection process.   We did work with an art consultant. Nott was the  selected art consultant that was a a bid process.   uh they solicited uh for they did a national call  or an international call for artists to submit   ideas for the project and there was a review  committee that reviewed uh the the those who had   submitted uh to participate in the project and uh  the design council approved the the selection. So   it it was a public process. It's the same process  we use right now uh using uh call for entry which   is the industry standard in and calling uh or  doing public calls for public art projects.   Does that answer your question? It does but it  does not also at the same time. Um, again, I I   think a large majority of this uh council was not  around in 2019. And so I want to make sure that   if we're speaking about public art or the percent  for art ordinance and people talk about the water   treatment plant and that art, how do I separate  them and how do I share that information with   individuals other than I was not a majority of  this council was not there at that time? If I may,   Lindsay, if I thank you, mayor, if I heard right,  the same process used today under the public art   ordinance was used for the water treatment plant  process. So, we did have the design councils that   so this the funding may have been structured a  little bit different, but the process I would say   kind of maybe initiated or kicked off around  the same time as water treatment plant. So,   that process then has continued to today. So,  I think there's some parallel of how we did it   then to how we're still doing it today. Maybe I  would appreciate a memo uh that recollects this   historical data uh or information again because a  majority of this council was not around. And so,   again, $1.2 2 million dollars in public art pieces  were um selected, but now we're really focused on   design and public art design. So, I think there  needs to be a memo to clarify for the record   um how that happened. A quick question, too.  Uh Lindsay, I I presume the 30% design was not   presented at that time to the council. Correct.  Correct. So, they really didn't see it till it was   already approved by the by the uh art council,  right? That is my understanding. Okay. I I get   complaints on that every single week. Um my  district, not in my district, but my district   drives by it every day and I I hear about it  constantly. So, I appreciate that that 30% design   is in there now. I think maybe we could avoid  something like that in the future. Absolutely. And   we the these projects are created for the public  to enjoy and to appreciate and to be engaged   with. Um and I think that project has had a lot of  community feedback afterwards as you're all well   aware. Uh so part of that shift to bringing 30%  design out uh early is so if there are requests   for changes, we have the opportunity to do so  before a project is completed and installed. Yeah,   I appreciate that. And I know that art is in the  eye of the beholder. Sure, understand that. Um,   but if most the people around it don't like it, I  think that that should be taken into consideration   also. So, and also it's not it's not a visited  place. Only the staff goes there. So, I think your   dad goes there. What's that? Your dad goes there.  Not anymore. I don't go to Westlake Library now,   but we did. Not that it's all bad. A lot of people  like that that teardrop with the lights in it.   uh they don't like the other two pieces  as much. So, not all bad. Anecdotally,   I might offer that although I was not here when  the the decision to put at the facility was   uh made, the proximity to Central County Zoo  being the the largest attraction in the state.   uh wanted to make sure there was a  beautifification element as part of that to   make sure attraction in the state, wanted to make  sure that a major utility going next door had an   aesthetic component towards it. And additionally,  that the art that's on display uh at that facility   is really on the new bike path that's going to  be connected uh throughout that neighborhood. So,   yes, it is at the the treatment facility, but it's  also much more accessible than just that facility.   That really thinking about that whole corridor  and its future. Um, I believe that that was an   intent of the project at the time or intent of the  art components at the time. So, you're telling me   somebody will sit on those benches eventually?  Sure. I will go out there and sit on them. Okay.   Thank you. Um, with that, I think we touched  on Lindsay, I have one more. I'm so sorry,   but again, this has gotten a lot of conversation  in our community and it goes back to trust. And so   I'd like to back to the memo. I'd like the problem  that we've identified or at least a couple of us   have identified uh share what actually happened  in 2019 to 2023 and then at the same time what   has happened moving forward because I believe that  BNR is not getting public art. That would be the   sewer system or the biionutrient removal plant. Am  I incorrect in that BNR will not be having public   art? Correct. Correct. Not to my knowledge.  And I'd like to jump in here and Lindsay,   I just want to re reiterate and I was here and  I I got the reference of 2019. I'm the only one   who's was the here and part of the discussion was  the zoo and the zoo board even saying we really   would appreciate anything that you could do. I was  actually at a meeting for downtown Witchah with   uh ch with director Jansen a few months ago and  they said they wish there was more art at the   water treatment facility because it isn't  just for staff. That facility has two very   nice conference rooms. I go to several meetings  out there on a cons consistent basis. So I'm on   the Witchaw Waterworks steering committee.  I'm also on the BNR steering committee.   The decision not to have public art at BNR  was because there isn't going to be a public   conference room and a public space for people  to meet. So the decision for Witchaw Waterworks   is because we want people to come to that space  and enjoy the facility, learn maybe more about   water. Even I've been for meetings out there that  don't have anything to do with water. It was just   a convenient meeting space for us to convene. So  that was part of the rationale too. Lindsay, I I I want to take a moment to remove  my emotion and look at the facts   here. And I'm I'm going to be very  honest. I am. It's frustrating. the level of energy that we put into things  that I feel we have not taken the time to   understand. And I do hear concerns about  public art. I hear concerns or folks say,   "I love it and I want more of it." Yes, it's about  trust and it's also about education. Understanding   what this does for our community from an economic  standpoint, from a quality of life standpoint,   is also very important. And so I just want to  caution us that while we may be feeling like   we are representing our constituency base, I'm  going to challenge us to really assess who are   who are our constituents and how have we really  done the work to get out of our ivory tower and   engage to gather what the feeling is about this.  Um, I also have taken the time to understand how   we even got to the 2% and to be clear could  have been 5% from my understanding that when   we talk about process and how that happens that  there was a whole engagement process. There was   a group of constituents who came together  who worked with the city, who advocated,   who listened long before me, long before any of  us here. and and it was meeting in the middle. A   compromise to say 2% is the direction that we are  going to go. Some wanted five, some wanted less,   but 2% was the compromise to meet in the middle  because we recognized that we wanted to be a   city that when folks came and visited our city  that there was more to do, right? And whether   we call it public pieces, public art pieces, or  public design, the reality is it matters. Um,   and I hope that we take that into consideration  as I'm in a community that lives downtown. I live   downtown. I want to be able to enjoy art  and and by the way, enjoy history of our   city embedded into art because not everybody's  going to go and read a book about our history,   but some people will pay attention to art in our  community and learn about the history of our city.   And so I just want to caution us to remove our  emotion, look at the facts, and really do our job   to understand who it is that we're representing  and why this work matters. And it is on us to   educate. So if you can somehow incorporate  the educational pieces of how we got here,   um, that would be great. But I just want to say  thank you for coming before. And I really don't   like how staff comes before us and it feels  like we're putting them in a congressional   meeting hearing. It's not encouraging. So, I  just wanted to hit the pause button to say that. Thank you, Council Member Sheepard. Um I might  just dive into we we've addressed many things on   this slide already but just uh for continuity in  the presentation uh and maybe to go back to one   of your points that uh there's static art is what  we'd say or uh art that's maybe sitting in front   of a project versus design element projects.  Uh the public art ordinance it indicates that   it could be either. It doesn't necessarily have  to be both or one or the other. Um but a project   could have either. It could be permanent um or  temporary. Um, it just has to be uh visually   accessible to the public. Um, it can serve a  function, express a theme. It can commemorate   an important person. Um, but it also doesn't have  to be completely abstract and be part of a design   element as well. Uh, it can underscore or provide  a counterpart to the architecture or surrounding   site. Uh, it can serve as a landmark uh, and it  a landmark that adds definition to the community.   Um, it should the project itself should consider  the site, its context, its audience. Um it may   possess functional elements as well as aesthetic  qualities. Um it may be integrated into the site   or building or presented as a standalone uh work.  So this is where art is so incredibly subjective   which is makes my job wonderful. But it also makes  it very difficult to to communicate each project's   identity. But this is what the ordinance and how  we look at the program as as a whole that the   project itself should fit into somewhere uh within  these guidelines. an example of a project itself   uh that uh just to kind of walk through how a  project would work. Um I picked proc wetlands   or this phase of proc wetlands last year because  it's a very recent project but kind of how we   uh work through the ordinance itself or  the percent for art. So uh design council   allocated $200,000 for the art budget on this  project itself. Um that uh was allocated uh the   the art funding was allocated in 2023 though the  phase of the project began in 2022. uh and then   it was just completed last year. So, in thinking  about how a project moves from start to finish,   I wanted to kind of showcase uh where this works.  This was a local artist, Conrad Snyder, or he's   based out of Newton. Uh but we have several works  of his uh in our collection. He worked as part of   the design team. Uh so while his sculptural  elements are are reflected in the project,   he also worked on the design team to help look at  the shape structure uh and the the the bird blind   itself, he helped design that component, although  it wasn't necessarily part of the art budget by   having the artists on the design team. He was  able to help inform the overall project as a   whole. So kind of pulled this out as an example of  how a project could work from start to finish and   where the art comes in. Uh, this project, it's my  understanding, had a $ 1.5 million overall project   budget and then a $200,000 art project art budget  on top of it. So hopefully that this kind of helps   as an example. Um, I see some wheels, Lindsay.  This is a very good example of where it went   right. He did a very good job. He also did the dog  park in district 5. Very good job there, too. So,   it is beautiful. It is nice. People really enjoy  that. So, this is a good example of where it is   very good. Thank you. And the the process we used  in this project is how we've refined it over the   last few years as we've developed our team even  within arts and cultural services and working   across the organization. This example is the type  of project that we hope to move forward with the   process. Um looking at the upcoming projects.  This is a very meaty looking um slide but I   wanted to kind of give you an idea of what we're  doing right now. uh the projects are implemented   uh and or in the process of being implemented  and then looking at 2027 um or or what's on on   on the the immediate horizon. I will say many of  our projects are multi-year. Obviously projects   can move around in the CIP. I want to pull out  like first street bridge as an example. The art   budget is uh allocated across future years. Um but  that project has been expedited for a variety of   reasons. So now we're in in the position of  looking at what can we shift around in this   year's budget to accommodate for it. So uh we've  worked with public works and the finance office to   shift around some projects in order to accommodate  projects that have moved up on the list and what   can be pushed back just depending on the overall  project budget. So keep it just a reminder that   the public art projects match or complement uh  other major projects happening in the community.   Okay. Lindsay, can I ask you a question on there?  You've got 2026 two fire stations. Yes. Then in   27 you've got another fire station. Yes. Is that  three fire stations in the next two years? That   would be I will say that um and I'm looking at my  public art manager to correct me on this. Uh 2026   we have pushed back one of the fire stations. So  we'll only be doing one this year to accommodate   for first street bridge. Have northwest figured  out. I don't what I don't see on there is the we   just broke ground on police station for Northwest  and I don't see it on that list. Is that 2025   funding? That was 2025 funding. 2025 funding.  Okay. It was initiated last year. Okay. Okay.   Good. But I bring all this up and that's a great  comment of it's kind of complicated to say when   a project is happening versus when it's budgeted  versus when it's completed because they are really   dynamic uh major infrastructure projects. Okay.  Thank you. Uh moving right along then into kind   of the assignment that brought this presentation  forward to today is America is celebrating its   250th birthday. Uh happy birthday America. Uh  we've been looking at what a possible public   art project could be. Um I believe last week city  council presentation about Woodland Park prompted   the uh the opportunity to look at the unallocated  uh funding in this year's public art budget. Um,   so we have about $188,000 in unallocated  public art funds. Last week you approved   $50,000 for Woodland Park, uh, leaving about  $138,000 in unallocated public art funding. Uh,   I want to go back to something that Mark said  is, uh, if we don't spend that money this year,   it rolls forward and it has to be spent on  public art dollars per the ordinance. Uh,   so depending on where it's allocated and how it's  spent, it will always be spent on public art to my   knowledge. And Marcus is shaking his head that I  said that correctly. Um, funding can be used for   contingency to existing public art projects. Um,  it can be used for public art maintenance with the   caveat that we can't go over 10% of the overall  budget uh within public art for maintenance. So,   we are currently capped at that, but contingency  uh the unallocated funding could be used for   maintenance so long as we we're within that 10%  overall cap. Um, and I will just we're going to   go into some potential project ideas uh that any  project presented or proposed related to America   250 must follow the ordinance. So, just to get  uh some brainstorming uh in in the conversation,   I put together a handful of ideas. And none  of these are fully uh vetted or evaluated,   but just because we're already in into the  year, uh thinking about what could we do if   any within the timeline that we have and the  funding available. Uh there is a community   um cohort or community committee that mayor Woo  and Council Member Glascock, you attended that   meeting last week, uh where we brainstormed  a handful of ideas. Uh, so the first idea,   which I'll dive into a little bit more, is maybe  some sort of light or digital display specifically   at the Keeper of the Plains bridge or plaza. What  could we accomplish there? Um, and then staff came   up with a handful of other ideas. We have no  pride in authorship, but it's purely just to   get some wheels spinning of what could we do. So,  in thinking about a temporary light installation,   these are just some inspiration images of what's  happened uh elsewhere that could be patriotic   themed or uh that we think we could accomplish  something to the scale. Um, obviously, we are in   a very tight timeline to accomplish something this  year. If we wanted to accomplish something by July   4th, that makes it incredibly challenging, but  we are always up for challenges. Um, but looking   at what we can accomplish, um, I will say I don't  know how much any of these projects cost, uh, that   you're looking at, but I would say that they're  within a possible scale of what we can accomplish.   Major, um, uh, projection mapping, major lighting  displays are typically multi-million dollars. We   do not have that available in the identified fund.  Uh, so I want to keep the conversation uh, rooted   in what could we actually accomplish and afford.  But I think we could do something uh beautiful   with an a temporary lighting installation if  that's the will of council. A project that's   existed across the country is a beautifification  project with fire hydrants. I will preface that we   have not approached the fire department about if  this is even feasible or uh access accessible. I   will note that in my previous community, we had a  project like this and it was identified that the   fire department was in favor of anything that  brought more attention that was as long as it   kept the the hydrant um visible uh and public art  has the ability to help make things more visible   uh that we would want to put some parameters  in there. So possibly a communitydriven project   where neighborhoods or residents could identify uh  hydrants within their neighborhood or if there's   one on their property uh that we could pair them  with a local artist to um to adorn or maybe not   adorn but to increase the aesthetic component.  And this would be a communitywide project um that   would get public art in into neighborhoods and  be really hopefully accessible to the community.   Uh we could look at commissioning a thematic  uh work of art or possibly even time capsule.   Um lots of great uh possible locations depending  on what was desired. I pulled a piece just from   our existing collection. Um we have over 300 works  in our collection uh including Future of America:   Children at Play uh which is a bronze that's near  the Century 2 uh box office. Uh, and something   like this is a great example of something that  would be really celebratory uh that we could   commission and potentially have um fabricated by  the end of the year depending on scope and scale   of what we could do. But we could just put out a  commission saying, "Hey, we want to commemorate   this time uh and put a call out for artists  to see what we could pull off." Um, another   possible communitydriven project is a community  coloring project. Here I pulled an example of   the restaurant Chili does a St. Jude fundraiser  where you can buy a chili pepper, you color it,   and then they they they stack their walls with  these coloring pages. We could do something like   that. This is obviously a fundraiser. We wouldn't  necessarily have to do that. Uh but something that   we could commission an artist to design a coloring  page and we could adorn um a city hall wall or   windows or downtown business. We could look at  something like that that would be communitydriven.   This would be a relatively easy project to  execute. I say easy uh without looking at   my staff to to who would help me uh pull it off,  but something that could be high impact uh with a   relatively low scale and something that we could  pull off within the timeline budget that we have.   Um so those are just some ideas. We could throw  them all out the window or we could entertain   looking into any of them further. Um in terms of  what would have to happen next, uh uh again given   our our uh budget and timeline at play, we'd want  to look at our existing public art projects. uh to   to make sure that uh the unallocated funds are not  needed to execute those projects. We run a pretty   tight chip on the project budgets um as is with  not to exceeds. Uh so we would just want to make   sure that that the funding that we're presenting  as unallocated uh doesn't have another priority   need within our current project roster. Um and  then any use of the funds must be uh proposed and   approved by the design council first. their next  um uh meeting that they would be able to we would   be able to get this on the agenda is April 6. Um  unless we get really clear council uh direction   today is their next meeting is next week I believe  the first Monday of the month um might be a tight   timeline to get something to them by next week.  Um but so we're looking at April before they could   review it and then we would have to come back to  city council for project uh funding initiation.   Um so it takes a little bit of time to get the  the funds rolling in order to execute a project.   Um if a new project is coordinated all the art  components must bid be bid and selected through   our public art program uh process. So we do have  to bid out the artwork. Um as I like the proc   wetlands is a great example we bid that project  out. Conrad bid on the project and was selected to   move it forward. So there is some administrative  flow that we would have to accommodate in whatever   uh moves forward if any project moves forward  related to a 250 project. And I believe that's   all I have. Oh, just a shout out for anyone  watching that witchaw250.com is where you can   find out about all the different things happening  in the community related to to America 250. Um, a   public art project would be fantastic if we could  pull it off, but there's also a lot of things   happening across the community. Um, and I'll shout  out just within the cultural arts division, Old   Cowtown Museum has many programs in the works, uh,  including the Celebrate America event on July 4th   that will be America 250 themed. So, just wanted  to shout out that uh witchaw2250.com is the place   to go for all things related to American 250.  And I believe that's all I have. I'll stand for   further questions if there are any. Thank you very  much, Lindsay. Really appreciate uh the thoughtful   research about um how Witchah can participate  in America 250. For those that don't remember,   America celebrated 200 years uh 50 years ago,  and that's how the keeper of the planes got   uh dedicated. So the big focal point was the  keeper of the plains. And so I appreciate   uh your incorporation of how can the keeper  maybe have a second life or an um additional   biting. Um so I have a question. Maybe this is  more technical for Gary. Um so I know that the   bridge that connects to the keeper of the planes  has cables. However, there's no lighting on those   cables. Could it technically have LED lighting on  the cables? So you would have an opportunity to   coordinate with a lot of what we've been doing  around the city, which is right now all city   buildings are red uh red, white, and blue. Uh if  there's an opportunity with LED lighting. So could   the cables have LED lighting? Sure. I I don't  know what the cost would be, but sure. We could   do about anything we want with LED lighting.  We'd have to just see what the cost would be.   So I think going back to your slide uh regarding  temporary light installations, I know that those   can cost in the millions of dollars. However,  are there any cost effective um measures that   are similar to a lighting opportunity? Um is the  lighting on the left hand side and pro wetlands?   Um this is not in which the top left. I will  say we do have pedestrian light lighting on the   bridge itself. I don't believe it has any color  components currently. Um but it's comparative   to what you're seeing here in terms of the the  pathway lights. Only one of us was alive and here   50 years ago. Um I was 16 when that when that uh  celebration happened. And I do remember that the   uh the two bridges were very controversial at the  time. A lot of people thought they overpowered the   keeper of the planes. Some people thought they  were too modern. They should be lower profile.   So I think in the end it worked out fine. So  there's always going to be controversy on art.   So I do remember that a good memory. JB, you just  absolutely made my day. Thank you. Um Lindsay,   I have a quick question for you. You mentioned  the Witchah 250 committee or I'm sorry if I'm not   getting the name exactly right. Um what what is  their wish because that's a community-led or group   from what I understand. Have they said, "Hey, city  of Witchaw, we want you to go do a thing." Or have   they said, "Hey, City of Witchah, the community  is doing something and please coordinate with   us." Because I I'm not sure we have to do our  own thing if it's a community-led um and we can   accentuate that or or be a part of it. Have they  expressed any specific requests for the city or   do they want us to be a part of what's going on  communitywide? Thank you. Might say both. um are   possibly uh true and forgive me I was not at all  the committee meetings in recent history but in   last week's meeting is really looking at making  sure if something's happening in the community   uh we are uh coordinating together to make sure  there's not duplicative services or duplicative   programs where if we can uh complement projects  or events or parties or fireworks displays if we   if we can do that let's do that so let's first  make sure we know what all is happening across   the community and that we have this um clearing  house or it's housed on this website so that we   have a one-stop shop of what's happening in the  community. So I would say that that's a major   effort is just to make sure we understand what's  already happening and then trying to identify if   there are opportunities to do more things across  the community whether it's cityled or not uh that   we are taking every opportunity um and turning  over all the stones to make sure that we can   celebrate to the to the greatest extent. Thank  you. Can I ask a follow-up question Lindsay and   I I'm asking a question I don't know the answer  to and if I should I'm I'm very sorry but you   know we talked about the keeper and I do  think that's interesting and I appreciate   um council member Johnston's perspective of you  know we got it 50 years ago because of the 200 so   and and it's something that everybody identifies  with witchaw right do we have the ability to   to make enhancements on that um I know you work  spec quite a bit with the all American in Indian   Center. I mean, would the local tribes have to be  included in those decisions? I'm just trying to   think about the fact making sure that we're being  respectful for that incredible um piece of art in   our community, but then also, you know, all of  the partners that would need to be engaged. I'm   not sure if we have the final decision making or  would that have to go to other entities as well?   Um that's a great question that we want to make  sure we look at the our legal responsibilities   with the the Mid America all Indian Museum. It  is an owned city facility. The city owns that   that facility. The plaza exists across many um  city departments. Public works services obviously   um it also is connected to parks. So and and arts  and cultural services helps uh take care of the   artifacts on display and the the sculpture itself.  But we definitely would want to be sensitive to   our native partners in the community and work  with the the museum board as well. Um but from   a a legal perspective, um I would have to work  with the the city attorney's office to make sure   that we are following all requirements. Um but  it is my understanding that the museum itself is   governed by by the governing uh nonprofit uh but  the facility uh belongs to the city. The plaza is   not included with the method. So the bridge  and the plaza are purely the responsibility   of the city to program and maintain. That's my  current understanding, but I would want to make   sure that we look into that with law to make sure  I didn't put my foot in my mouth. Great answer. I   have a question. I want to go back to the the  committee piece. Who houses that is that visit   Witchaw that houses the committee? Correct. Were  they the one to also select or appoint people to   serve on that committee as representatives? Um I  would say it's an informal ad hoc group. It's my   understanding that kind of the more the marrier.  if anyone was doing 250 things or could bring on a   community partner that that's how that that group  was developed, but it's not formal appointees   from from any purpose. I I would just say and  I'm going to name this out loud again going   back to the accountability of of us up here. You  know, there's a lot of great groups represented,   but there's some gaps that are missing. So,  I I would just say like whenever there's an   opportunity to have the his Kansas Hispanic  and Latino Affairs Commission in the room,   like hopefully we invite their neighbors,  which is the Kansas African-American Affairs   Commission that also represent the part of uh  the African-American community across Kansas. Um,   as well as uh just local artists, too. I always  think that the local grassroots artists um who do   so much in our community, too, would be great.  I'm going to send a communication to them, but   happy to hear that all voices are welcome to be at  the table. I appreciate you. Uh just a couple of   thoughts here. I actually attended um a course on  this at the last NLC that I was at just late last   year and they talked about a couple of things.  Um being a lot more community oriented, maybe a   community art piece. I'm bringing out my grandma  on this one, but maybe like they talked about   quilts in every neighborhood doing a piece of a  quilt that you could patch together and display   somewhere. Um, I'm a big mural guy. I don't know.  Maybe taking uh this funding and splitting it up   district-wise. And I want to see something that's  not just 250, but it can be permanent. We can use   it going forward as well. So, murals maybe on the  side of some of our museums or city buildings,   fire stations, police stations, um maybe in a  neighborhood, some of the high graffiti areas   because those murals go untouched after that. Um  community art pieces. Yeah, I again I'm trying to   find something that's a little more permanent so  that way we have something that we can observe in   the future years and say, "Oh, yeah, that was  pretty neat. that was a 250th anniversary. And   it also gives a little more public um input.  So now we depending on how we break it down,   maybe every community or every area could go  to the front of the district advisory board to   um potentially um approve any of these uh murals.  So that that's just my thought right there. Again,   I'm a big mural guy, so like to see more of  those around the city. Well, to commissioner,   I'm a commissioner. I'm projecting in the  future. Uh to Council Member Hoheisle's point,   um I do think that it's a great opportunity for  us to work with our individual communities. Of   course, the mayor looking at maybe a larger scale,  but if that were to be divided, we we'd have an   opportunity to work with our respective districts  to see what makes most sense that's unique to our   district to honor America's 250th birthday. Um  you all know the math better than I do and what's   realistic to commission an artist. Uh, so I would  look to the experts on that, but I think the more   the better. Um, and it'd be beautiful to tell  America's story in different areas of the city.   As always, I always say this time and treasure,  right? I mean, we have to worry about funding,   but we're talking about four months. So, I  think, you know, whatever we think we want to do,   I wish we would have thought of this, you know,  six months ago or whatever, but hindsight's a   beautiful thing. But, I mean, it's pretty much  March and this is July. So, um, time and treasure   are going to be your challenge. I know Lindsay,  you said you're up for a challenge, so Godspeed.   I I think it depends on the project. I mean,  it'll be 250 for a year starting in July. So, y   um you know, I know there would be a push to have  something if we do something big to want to get it   done by July 4th, but if it's just, you know, if  we're doing murals or something that celebrates,   I think maybe there would be a little more of a a  landing lane as far as being able to get that in   time. Two things for me, Lindsay. love lights,  love murals, and when we're looking at this,   we're don't want something to just be temporary  necessarily. If we're able to leverage lights,   we're able to leverage murals in a district.  I also trust both of you. I trust Jane and I,   I trust you to be able to make this decision on  how to elevate America's 250 and uh coming back   with any recommendation that you guys are experts  in this field. I think you understand how we can   tell this story with the budget that we have and  the timeline that we have better than anybody else   up here. And so I'm excited about any way  that we can elevate um America's birthday,   but um I'm excited about any possibility. But  the more we can do that, it's not just if we're,   you know, spending the 130,000. How can we also  make that where you know versatile for future   years that we can celebrate in the future as well?  That would be something I'd be interested in, but   I know you guys are the experts. I will echo that  same remark about leveraging. I think sometimes we   think we just have to do something for the sake  of just paying for something because there's a   budget. I would say there's also an opportunity  um for leveraging the dollars. If $100,000 can   collect some interest, we have more money next  year to build it. I think that's something that   we don't often consider. Um, I've brought this up  multiple times, a giant mural, um, which actually,   uh, sits in Council Member Ballard's district,  the beautiful mural on the green elevator.   There's another giant green elevator. It is  privately owned, but it's public art pieces   like that that really bring the community to  see the importance of art. And so, I don't   disagree with Council Member uh, Sheepard when  he talks about the importance of art. However,   we need to be smart about art. And I think that's  where I get my frustration because we can leverage   dollars to make them more impactful. Actually, at  next week's council meeting, we have something on   the consent agenda that I'm going to pull because  I do believe that we need to wait. Um, and that's   the pedestal art in Oldtown. I sat on that review  board and I still have concerns regarding it. So,   I think again leveraging dollars is not a bad  thing and also thinking about tradeoffs. So if you   do spend $100,000 here, you just mentioned that  could also be spent on ma maintaining art. And so   we do have to have that conversation what is most  important. And I like thoughtful conversations and   I think that's where we should be leading. Um,  and I found out actually just yesterday, thank   you very much to the uh, cultural arts department  because what was in the basement of Century 2, uh,   not just Jon of Arc that now sits in front of uh,  council offices, the lotus flowers or the liies   are back out. Um, and so I appreciate again that  what we have in storage we bring back out after   it's been restored. And so I think that sometimes  we think we need new things, but sometimes there   are things hidden in the storage area that should  probably be uh having a new light shown onto them.   Just a quick comment on those lotus sculptures.  They've got undergone some significant restoration   to be able to put them back on public view  and looking at Janet to confirm that some   of them will be installed this week or were they  installed yesterday? They will be installation. So, we are working on it. We always try to  make sure we take care of what we have. But,   as you can imagine, we have a very large  collection. Each piece has unique specific   needs to be in the public uh view. Um, in Kansas  weather, we have a lot of maintenance needs that   we treat every every piece um to to take  care of in perpetuity as long as we can. If there's no more comments, I  might just say I'll work with   the city manager to to figure out what  the next step is on um on a project. Thank you, Lindsay, and thank you, council, for  your input on this. Our last item that we have   here is kind of two things we want to take on  um related to the fire department. But first,   I want to recognize that um yesterday we had  the announcement that our fire chief Tammy Snow   is going to retire after a very distinguished  almost 40-year career with the city of Witchah.   If many of you know that she began with the  Witchaw Fire Department in 1988 as a firefighter   and over the years she climbed the ranks hold  in various positions including battalion chief   captain lieutenant to where she was appointed  as chief in 2017. She does have a bachelor's   degree and a master's in education from Witchah  State University. Um but during her term and as   we said she became chief in 2017 but I think  with council's assistance and your support   in the last 10 years the department has added 73  positions 16% increase. The department budget has   grown 63% from a $44 million budget to nearly 73  million budget. They've increased their overtime,   but their staff has become known. And one accolade  for their innovation and for their response. And   one of the um key measures of a fire department  is what is called the ISO rating. The insurance   services office and Witchto currently enjoys a one  ranking out of 10, which is the highest. And so,   uh, Coach No, Coach Chief Snow has been  nothing but gracious since I've been here. So,   I want to thank her publicly for her  service. We've identified an August   uh retirement date and look forward to her  next six months as um I'll be working to   announce the search process going forward,  but also having her here to help with some   of the budget conversations I think will be  invaluable. And I appreciate her willingness to   extend her retirement a little bit, but I wanted  to offer my heartfelt thanks and congratulations. And so on our agenda topic today, we wanted  to follow up on one issue that we had brought   before you, council, that we've had some concerns  for our fire facilities and other facilities,   but we talked specifically about some mold  testing and discovery. And so I want to ask   Gary Jansen to come forward to follow up  from our last conversation where we talked   about station 15 in particular um to talk about  some remediation work that we're doing there but   overall with our fire facilities. So director  of public works and utilities Gary Jansen. Thank you Mr. Manager. Again Gary Jansen, director  of public works and utilities. I'm going to start   off with some information related to starting  with station 15 and then what's coming next   as far as remediation efforts and then I'll let  chief fill in the gaps if there's any needed. So   uh as you know the week before last station 15  was vacated uh so that we could dive into the   remediation efforts um for what was discovered  with our overall mold inspections. I think a lot   of it was related to the below grade duct work  related to the HVAC system. It's kind of an old   system. It's the same as at station 11, which I'll  come to in just a moment. So, we got things moving   forward. Um, you know, unfortunately, I think, um,  when we were replacing some of the ceiling tiles,   we kind of created some issues that I think led to  it that weren't necessarily um exposure to mold,   but either way, created some less than desirable  conditions for the firefighters. I think that   made sense. certainly never desirable to  have to relocate others elsewhere. But   um the equipment is in uh the contractor, we've  got multiple contractors doing things there that   have started. Um and as of this morning,  our contractor on the So we talked about   this whole idea of what's called mini splits. So  basically, it's smaller as systems, if you will,   that takes the place of a larger one that doesn't  use the same duct work system. Current duct work   has been uh plugged off. Uh the work on the mini  splits is moving forward now. Uh we expect to   have all the work completed by next Friday, March  6th. Uh we've got a third party vendor that we're   looking to get on board soon. We've reached out  to multiple ones as far as doing multiple things   for us. Uh providing expertise needed, making sure  to validate our plan for all the stations moving   forward and to do some testing, some air testing,  follow-up air testing uh before bring folks back   in. That should happen simultaneously hopefully on  March 6 as we wrap work up, make sure everything   looks good, make sure everything looks clear.  Uh, as part of that, what's happening also with   station 15, we're going to verify that there are  no leaks. Whe I'm confident if we knew about them,   they've been fixed. Uh, but we're going to check,  double check everything, make sure there's not   any current leaks, get all those repaired  and any issues associated with those before   people move back in. Uh, that's a process we'll  follow through all of the stations. We're also,   especially because of what happened with the  work on the ceiling tiles, we're going to provide   uh really in-depth cleaning of the full facility,  including some of the fire gear and clothing. So,   had a good discussion with uh Chief Snow and  her staff throughout all this last week. We will   continue those conversations and collaboration.  So what's next? Uh based on the initial readings,   error readings and kind of looking at what  would indicate a elevated level of potential   mold content, we've got four stations that our  focus is on. The next is moving to station 11   where again we've got that same type of below  grade duct work. The equipment for that those   many splits doing the same type of work for 15.  We're already securing the equipment now. We're   getting contractors lined up to make sure we  can get all of that work done, too. I think   it's likely in talking to Chief Snow and her  staff that uh firefighters from that station   will also be relocated for a period of time to get  that work done. Haven't determined what that is   yet. Likely to be several weeks once that station  work is underway. Uh more details to come on that   especially as we get this third party involved  uh to provide some additional expertise to us.   We have found as we've gone through this um  that and I mentioned to you before there are   no regulations at any level that say where mold  is dangerous and and what the potential medical   impact is. So we're doing a lot uh to talk  to to as many experts as we can uh along with   what our staff has done in the past to make sure  we're diligent uh with our plans moving forward.   Two other stations then that were in that highest  category based on the readings, elevated potential   mold readings were three and 13. Um don't have the  same issue with the duct work there in the HVAC.   It's more of what was seen as visible mold uh in  different locations uh sealing tiles with water   stains. We're going to try to get a contractor to  do turnkey work on both of those stations. One of   the things we'll look at very soon with this third  party is to determine if there might be a way to   do that work while firefighters are still in the  station. Don't want to create any unnecessary   risk. It may be just as easy as we move to  those to do the same thing. It looks like right   now because we don't have the HVAC and duct work  issues to deal with timing should go a lot quicker   on three and 13. Still moving forward on the  rest of them too. So if you if you saw the list   that we had, then we had three stations that were  labeled as the category 2. These are actually mold   readings that could be considered that there may  not be. It's no different how the how they look   at this. And this is was new to me is what the  readings are inside compared to outside. So that   gives you an indication that there may not even  necessarily be mold there, but there is something   that's reading there. There's some visual issues  that we're seeing. Uh those are three stations   8,1 17 and 22 that we'll move to next. And we are  looking ahead at all of these and making sure we   can find a way um to get to the remediation  sooner than later. We're not just going to   do all of these necessarily consecutively. It'll  take it a while to get through in the coming week   uh especially two weeks. As we focus on these  first four, we'll have a lot better idea what   the next ones look like. Beyond that, there's  13 stations plus the regional training center   uh that based on the readings were below normal.  Um there was some visible water stains on ceiling   tiles, not meaning to diminish any of that. We  plan to have remediation at all stations. Uh but   there's 13 stations that don't even necessarily  have an indication of current live mold, but we   again want to be diligent making sure that we're  following through uh to replace ceiling tiles,   anything. So you get some areas where you may see  what uh was visible black mold. It's likely in   some situations it's not live. Still want to  take care of that. We want to make sure that   we're looking for all the leaks that we can.  um had a conversation with the mayor on Friday   and I think maybe we missed on one station even  with our efforts and and what I think is a very   valuable and viable work order system. Sometimes  for whatever reason the word doesn't get to us   following back up on that making sure we take care  of the leaks. Obviously that's our first priority   is taking care of the leaks. One of the things  I mentioned before uh that we're going to really   work on going forward with standard operating  procedures and this won't even necessarily be for   fire stations but for all of our facilities across  the organization is I would probably guess in the   past and I I can look at work orders from the last  several months and see that anytime we get a leak   reported the leak gets fixed. That's usually not  the problem. We get the leak fixed in short order   as long as we know about it. We have staff out at  facilities um a lot responding to whatever also   doing preventative maintenance activities but we  can't be there all the time so we do count on the   end users to let us know but what I think probably  has happened is you don't see any in here which is   good but you can go in a lot of facilities and see  water staining on ceiling tiles I think probably   in the past we've done a good job of fixing the  leaks but maybe didn't follow up on what was   the impact of that leak Right? Did everything  get dried up? Uh just because you have a stain   on a ceiling tile doesn't mean you're going to  have mold or do have mold. We're going to have   a process going forward that those are always  going to be replaced. You're not going to be   able to clean that up on the ceiling tile. We're  going to replace those as soon as that happens.   We're going to make sure that firefighters and all  the firehouses have the resources they need and   the understanding if there are issues, if there's  a leak under a sink that's easily fixed, that   everything gets dried appropriately and cleaned  up appropriately. Those aren't necessarily the   steps that were taken in the past. Easy enough for  us to take care of that going forward. And again,   this would be across the board for all of our  facilities. So, uh, we'll keep working on that,   working with fire on what those standard operating  procedures look like. Last thing I'll say is it's   especially important for us to do that with fire.  Um, city manager mentioned this when we talked   about this at the council last week. Firehouses  are prone to moist conditions, right? for a   variety of reasons. There always going to be uh a  lot more things happening there with wet clothing,   with wet equipment. Uh the doors are open during  humid days. It makes sense. It's what they do.   It's part of their operations. It's always  going to create that environment. We need   to really take a close look at that and see what  we can do for recommendations to help with that.   Um, we've talked about the idea of looking  at dehumidifiers. As we've moved forward,   um, with upgrading HVAC systems, I mentioned  before that station one just down the street, uh,   we've been saving up some capital funds to replace  the HVAC system. Hopefully this year, um, and that   will help. Uh, you get a newer HVAC system does a  lot to help with climate control within these wet   situations is going to be a lot better for us. I  think that was the main thing I had for now and   I don't know if Chief's got anything to add. I'm  certainly happy to answer questions and I would   just tell you again we'll we'll keep you updated  the cost or the question was asked before about   cost. Don't know that yet where we're at um on  but we as soon as we have some information on that   I'll get back to you. We do have current funding  within our CIP maintenance funds that we think   can help can take care of this for now but keep  you posted on what those overall costs look like. Just uh Tammy Snow, fire chief. Good morning.  Um just uh fill in a couple gaps from the fire   department side of it. Um u one of the uh issues  that we're also dealing with uh working with   public works is just um especially at station 15  is moving forward is like uh personal belongings   that were uh needed to be cleaned uh mattresses  those kinds of things. Uh additionally been out   uh making station visits and um reiterating  with our command staff to ensure that uh to be   helpful to Gary and his team. Well, if we don't  if they don't know about it, they can't fix it.   um especially like on water leaks  or uh so went back and reiterated   um the utilization of uh how to fill out a  facility report um and um encouraging our   members to do so. Um in addition to that on these  extended time periods for example like station 15   been actively trying to um pursue um just some  times and some places that we can place those   uh two units. Uh we have the quads s  currently at station 9 and we have the   engine currently at station 20. So moving  them back into the primary response areas,   identify some places where at least for a couple  hours where we've identified um what we refer to   as the peak hours of responses back over into  their um particular primary response area so   they aren't so far out. So those are some of the  additional things that we've been working on.   uh continue to work with Gary and his team as far  as the um program moving forward and uh we'll keep   you updated and uh continue to update um WD  personnel and the union um on a weekly basis. Chief, hey Chief, I apologize. No problem. it.  Um, station 11, have we identified any possible uh   temporary spot to relocate them? You know, station  11 is one of the ones that is pretty close to the   RTC. What we've done in the past is we'll just put  some temporary beddings. We'll put mattresses down   there. It has all the other facilities. It has a  kitchen, it has showers, it has a workout area.   So, it's just matter of mattresses. So, um, we  haven't made a final decision yet, but, um, that's   probably where station 11 will reside for while  the work's being done there. Okay. The new storage   facility doesn't have those amenities. Um, not  to that extent. No, they don't have a they don't   actually have a kitchen like what we have two  regular break rooms that are actually kitchens.   They got stove, the refrigerators um at at the  RTC. Uh but no, not at the not at the new storage   facility. Okay. And those are 15 and 11 are the  only two that you think we need to take time off   and take them online offline in order to do the  repairs. Um that would be a Gary question. Sorry,   I don't know that that's necessarily true. So the  other two or three and 13 uh that have that were   in that higher category for elevated reading that  have got more work to be done. We'll know more   soon. I ideally and I know I shouldn't say it's  never going to be ideal to relocate firefighters.   I get that. But from uh uh reducing the risk and  protecting the firefighters during the work, even   for three and 13, it would be best to get folks  out of there. We're going to look as we go forward   in the next week and see if it's possible. That's  what we're doing with this third party in the next   couple weeks uh to see what their recommendations  would be. We had talked at one period of time.   There may be some of this work uh in three and  13 that could be done during a 6 to8 hour period   of time. Um so that maybe the firefighters  don't need to be out of there in the evenings,   but just during the day. We're going to do what we  can to balance both sides of that. I don't think   it's out of the question though that three and 13  may also require some short-term relocation. So,   was black gold found in station three as well?  Um, I'd have to look at the report. Uh, there was   elevated readings. Um, and so I think likely there  was some, you know, they do tape samples. It's not   just from the readings. Um likely there was some  water staining in different places, but because of   the elevated error sampling ratings was the reason  why that one was on that list of those four. Okay.   In station 11, are we talking new HVAC or are we  talking HVAC repairs? It's going to be replaced.   Basically, the system will be replaced as it is at  15. The below grade duct work will be plugged off   and no longer utilized. will bring in many splits,  smaller uh HVAC systems, if you will. Uh they just   need an air return basically. They don't utilize  a typical duct system. Uh probably have several of   those depending on the size of the facility just  like 15, but that will take place of the current   HVAC system. Okay. Um so obviously the focus is  on the fire stations right now for good reason.   Are we looking at the doing mold testing in  the rest of our public buildings, especially   where police and public works, you know, they're  around most of the day? I don't know that we're   necessarily going to look at air testing unless  we see um any type of visual concerns. That's one   of the things we'll work with on our third party  vendor going forward is a recommendation for the   rest of our facilities. One of the things we'll  do soon is make sure that we're communicating   with all of our end users, park, library, whoever  it might be, all of our public works facilities   uh to be looking for visual concerns uh and then  we'll address those. Then it's uh there's value   to the air testing. It's not foolproof uh for a  variety of reasons that we've seen. Even the way   we've categorized these if they compare indoor to  outdoor readings doesn't always that there's mold   indoors. We want to be strategic uh about moving  forward um to protect all of our end users. Also   keeping an eye on what the cost might be  for this. Air testing is pretty expensive   and it's not always conclusive. So we want to  balance on what makes sense. We'll be really   uh engaging with our end users, start taking a  closer look at any facilities that think they have   concerns and I think we'll kind of address those  as we go. I would not be necessarily doing air   testing across the board. Fire stations again are  are really unique uh in my opinion based on when   you look at the conditions that they're always  going to be in because they need to be. It's going   to create an environment where you may potentially  see mold on occasion or more often. More more to   come on that. There's a lot more to come on the  rest of our facilities. Okay. And I think it's   a good idea like you you've been indicating to  increase the training on how to report and just   encouraging people to to send those work orders  in or concerns in. So I agree and I just would   say one more time I think we're going to try  to make sure we follow up what happens after   there's a leak. That's probably uh what maybe has  been as big of an issue as anything. Gold doesn't   grow overnight. It doesn't happen in a week.  This is you know over a long period of time. Uh,   so we got to try to start staying on top of  stuff as we go forward. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, Chief Snow, I just want  to say thank you for your service over the last   several decades. Appreciate that. And just wanted  to tell you and Gary, thank you for the updates.   I think uh we all certainly appreciate and I  know the community does, too. Well, thank you   very much. I would also like to say thank you very  much. I've enjoyed working with you over two years   and so you'll be missed and uh thank you for all  the great work you've done for so long. It's been   my honor. Thank you. I join my fellow council  members in expressing the thanks and gratitude.   Uh particularly appreciated the story that uh  you shared with me during orientation about how   you even got started. And um I will give you the  luxury of sharing that at your pleasure when you   want to, but just know that I appreciated it.  And um I think there One of my chosen mothers   said that you were her teacher. So Gwen Dugen  says hello and uh thank you for your service as   well. Yeah, I remember Gwen. Thank you very much.  Same for me as well, Chief. It's been a pleasure.   As I said, it's been my honor and my privilege  to to serve this council in this city and our   department. Um I never dreamed that a that a dare  would turn into a um this journey. So, I'm going   to tear up. So, I'm going to stop because I got to  talk to I'll say thank you while you're tearing up   so you don't have to remember. Thank you for your  service. I've always enjoyed our one-on- ones and   um I find you as one of the most cons kind people  in this building. So, thank you for that and thank   you for uh all of our conversations. Thank you,  Chief. I echo the same sentiments, Chief Snow.   appreciate your service to the community uh  and leading the efforts at the Witchaw Fire   Department. And so again, wishing you good luck  in your retirement and thank you, city manager,   and sharing uh the next steps as well and that  you have uh chosen to stay on in that transition   to help with not just uh the budget season, but  also what's going to happen uh moving forward. So,   thank you to my council members and  wishing you good luck. Thank you very much. U mayor, I just want to add we did have a  second uh piece on there that I wanted just   to provide for information. There's been a lot  of media attention. I know you've been contacted   maybe by constituents and others related to this  operational analysis. It has been distributed to   you. Um so you do have that. We also added a 2023  analysis. So this is now four and two-year-old   information. Um my view on this is that council  has used the contents of that information over   the last four or so budget years as you as you  made the decisions. One to do the um negotiations   with the uh fire union as you thought about  pay increases where you chose to invest in   significant payraises for fire employees. all  in context of station needs, apparatus needs,   overall operational needs. And so to me, that's  a snapshot back then from four years ago. We will   give you that updated information to some degree  as part of the budget process this year. Again,   I can't speak to last year, but my understanding  is a lot of the contents or components when you   break it down into categories, staffing,  apparatus, stations, operations are all   a part of that. And yes, we do have modeling  software that we use um just like any other   national organization. There are um industry  quote unquote standards or benchmarks that um   buyer certainly uses in terms of staffing levels  or response time levels. Those exist I think   um our friends at the FOP will tell you there's a  staffing level for police as well and oftent time   those are broken down by region. Um you'll also  hear there are national models from the public   works association about road conditions. You'll  hear from our friends in the animal shelter world.   There are standards for euthanasia rates. Every  industry has a different standard. ISO happens   to be one for fire. So does response times. Um  so it just depends on what goals council wants   to achieve across the organization and then how we  go ahead and utilize the limited resources that we   have when we do the budget every year. So I look  forward to that ongoing conversation. But I just   want to make sure you had um that information um  that was referenced this week and I look forward   to future conversations for not only fire but the  entire city budget discussion. Thank you. Thank   you city manager. And I just want to make mention  that the onbump meeting which onbunk means city   and county governments coming together will be  the March 31st meeting. And uh Chairman Bluev,   Prom We Wise, and Vice Mayor Glasscock and I um  have determined that one of those topics will be   public safety uh fire in particular, outlining  the responsibilities for both city and county   um including maps of locations of those fire  stations, annual service calls by district,   number of fires um in those areas. Um and then  training opportunities between city and county   uh which was an which would be  an update from the last onbuck   meeting and those continued conversations  between city and county. So thank you again   uh for both the city staff and county staff for  preparing for that March 31st on bump meeting with that. Thank you city manager  and thank you to Gary and Chief Snow.   Go ahead. So workshop workshop is now completed.  However, we are still in official council meeting   uh because we have two executive session motions.  So I will read these. It is 11:30 right now.   Um, first one, I move that the city council  recess into executive session for 15 minutes   to receive information on compliance  with state law pursuant to KSA75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city attorney,  which would be deemed privileged in the attorney   client relationship regarding legal advice.  The executive session is required to protect   attorney client privilege and the public  interest. The executive session will begin.   Do we need a break before or um five minutes?  So, let's begin at 11:35. Um and it will end   at 11:50. Is that accurate? Okay. But then I  have another executive session. So, um motion   that I just read. Second. Second. All those in  favor say I. I. Motion passes. 6. Did you say   that? Okay. 6. I move that the city council recess  into executive session for 20 minutes to receive   information on multiple civil actions pursuant to  KSA 75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city   attorney which would be deemed privilege in the  attorney client relationship pending litigation   and potential litigation. Mayor, I may suggest  we may be able to do that in 10 minutes if you'd   like to make that motion for 10. We'll try to  hurry. I move that the executive session will   now be 10 minutes to receive information. Now, the  executive session is required to protect attorney   client privilege and the public interest. The  executive session will begin immediately after   the first executive session. Um, so that's an  additional 10 minutes. Uh, we will return at noon. Motion second. All those in favor say I. I.  Motion passes 70. Council members, we will   convene at 11:35 here. Just just for the record  to be clear, the second executive session will   convene at 11:55 and go till 12:05. Oh, sorry.  I apologize. We will return at 12:05. All right.