[Music] [Applause] [Music] he [Music] all  right good morning and welcome everyone   uh today is Tuesday January 2nd 2024  and we will call this meeting to order   we ask that folks who are with us if  you're both willing and able to stand   for the invocation followed by the Pledge of  Allegiance the invocation will be delivered   by Pastor Philip Moore of Eden Fellowship  Ministries Pastor thank you for being with us Happy New Year to everybody dear heavenly  father as We Gather here on this auspicious   day the dawn of a new year we come before  you with hearts filled with gratitude and   hope we acknowledge your presence in our midst  seeking your guidance and wisdom as we convene   for this first city council meeting of 2024  as we stand at the threshold of a new chapter   we humbly ask for your blessings upon our city  and its leaders grant us the strength to make   decisions that will Foster Unity prosperity and  well-being among our community members May our   actions reflect your love and compassion for all  Lord bestow upon each member of this counil the   discernment to navigate the challenges that lie  ahead and the courage to make choices that honor   Justice and fairness May our deliberations be  marked by a spirit of cooperation and mutual   respect recognizing the diverse perspectives  that contribute to the richness of our city   in this new year Inspire us to work together for  the greater good putting aside personal interest   for the benefit of the entire Community bless  the efforts of those who strive to make our   city a better place and guide us in creating  an environment where every resident can Thrive   as we embark on this journey into the unknown  of the coming year may your light shine upon   us Illuminating the path of righteousness and  understanding grant us the serenity to accept   the things that we cannot change the courage  to change the things that we can and the wisdom   to know the difference we offer this prayer with  hopeful Hearts trusting that your divine presence   will guide our decisions and discussions  in your most precious and holy name we pray amen flaged States thank you Pastor and happy New Year to  you as well Madam clerk approve the minutes   of the regular meeting of December 26 2023  as every member had a chance to review the   minutes and if so is zing discussion  if there is no discussion that I'll   make a motion that we accept the minutes as  presented is there a second second seconded   by vice mayor hois clerk will open a roll  members cast their votee have received 78   votes that motion does pass Madam clerk  Awards and proclamations we did have a   last minute add-on Proclamation for Mobius  syndrome awareness day if you're here to   receive the proclamation for Mobius syndrome  awareness day please make a way towards the front come on over here come on over here so I'm Brandon what's your you growing up on to stay I'm going to  read the proclamation and then uh let and then   um if you want to say a few words you can okay  proclamation of the city of witch Kansas founded   in 1870 whereas mous syndrome is has an estimated  incidence of roughly two to 20 cases per 1 million   births occurs equally in all populations the  condition occurs in all ethnicities there is   no gender bias males and females are affected  equally AA Buck an 8-year-old in our community   lives with this condition and whereas mobus  syndrome is a form of facial paralysis combined   with outward to the side eye paralysis individuals  with Mobis syndrome T typically cannot make facial   expression such as smiling frowning squinting  or blinking and whereas MOBA syndrome awareness   day is an annual event celebrated globally each  year on January 24th the birth date of Professor   Paul Julius mobus the Doctor Who first diagnosed  the condition in 1888 and whereas mobus syndrome   Awareness Day encourages all communities to extend  kindness Elevate inclusion and advocate for people   who wear their differences on the outside side  and now therefore be it resolved that I Brandon   Whipple mayor of the city of Witchita Kansas along  with the Witchita city council to hearby Proclaim   January 2nd 2024 as mobus syndrome Awareness  Day in the city of Witchita and encourage   all citizens to recognize and celebrate each  other's differences with kindness advocacy and   inclusion would you like to say a few words  no you want to say thank you for coming you [Music] ask turn the lights on the lights  on the building on the building I think we   can make that happen let me ask the council  when with this the uh yeah that that would   be great do do you want to say anything  else now we can do pictures everybody   for coming are you ready it's okay no  you don't scared you're doing awesome   this is great when also you're going  to get a hot mic in front of everybody you don't have to if you don't want it but you are  okay you don't want it that's great thank you guys so yeah it looks like AA has a lot of friends  here so come on down uh also if you're taking   pictures feel free to utilize this space you  don't have to do like super zoom or anything   and normally we just have F this is a big crowd  normally we have folks who uh uh with a group   this big just come on back here if we need to  yeah case we're probably gonna have to utilize   this area every has a lot of [Laughter] friends  all right let's try to squeeze it in the best we can we're going to put Ava in the mayor's  chair so if everybody just kind of stand the all right awesome yeah we just squished much sority squat whatever  that means over there all wowbody okay so the gavel you go ah and you just give   it one of [Applause] these  that girl's got heat [Music] yeah thank you so much thanks a lot to uh Ava's friends for coming thank you thanks Ava all right Madam clerk Awards KU Community  Health Alliance which if you're here to receive   the reward for KU Community uh Health  Alliance please make your way towards front to follow guys all right so we're going to get into our uh  award section um I am going to read off the   award for uh KU Med and then hand it over to Dr  Paul uh to say a few words and but everyone's   getting certificates I'm just uh going to  make sure Dr Paul gets you your certificate   instead of me trying to read everyone's  names because I normally not very good at   that so be it hereby known the city of which  is in appreciation of KU School of Medicine   witch issues this certificate of recognition  of your partnership with the International   Rescue committee to help refugees understand  the US healthc care system and improve their   health outcomes positively impacting the  resettlement of newcomers into the Witchita Community if you would please  uh feel free to address the the group thank you Mr Mayor and and City Council  Members um these remarkable students uh here   today and others from the organization who could  not be uh with us um are trained to become medical   doctors and from their curriculum they're learning  how to care for sick patients uh in critically   ill settings uh Hospitals and Clinics but what  these students in this interest group understand   uh innately uh is that Health requires much more  than this and I think we just saw that from Ava's   Army um they understand that health comes from  how we live together from security and knowledge   and from belonging and from Human connections I  may be their teacher uh in in the hospital but   they are teaching me and all of us through their  dedicated work in the community it's my privilege   to briefly introduce uh Karam Hamada who founded  the Community Health Alliance and Hassan zabib who   led the work with the RC that's being honored  today K and Hassan hello everyone my name is   Karam Hamada uh I was born and raised here in  witto Kansas and I am the co-founder of the Ku   Community Health Alliance uh in both the Kansas  City on and the witw campuses this organization   was created after noticing a growing disconnect  between the medical community and members of our   own community and increasing distrust that  was further Amplified by the covid pandemic   our organization seeks to uplift ongoing current  efforts in the community rather than create new   things that might not be sustained able we are all  about sustainability with our organization and we   we seek partnership and we seek collaboration  with everyone in the community for everything   that we do uh we've done a lot of great work with  the International Rescue Community with local CHD   boxing club with Mare with food drops with a lot  of other stuff like that and we're only trying   to grow from this point on uh and I just want  to invite you all to collaborate with us going forward thank thank you Dr IG and thank you  uh kutam for that introduction U my name is   Hassan um I'm I was also born in witto Kansas  and raised here as well um and I just want to   thank you from the bottom of my heart uh most  of all for your attention and your interest in   a in an issue that we've been trying to tackle uh  with a recent project that is what prompted our   invitation today and this issue is that um there  are hardships and there is pain in Far Away lands   and there are people who at moment's notice by no  fa no fault of their own um must leave everything   behind they get displaced from their homes and  they seek security and safety in our neighborhoods   our neighborhoods that are safe and secure um our  neighborhoods that we are more than happy to share   because we know just how much more enriched  um our communities become um educationally   uh culturally and and economically as well um  but regrettably there are several hardships and   and obstacles that are faced throughout this  process which is why the uh the International   Rescue Committee of witto the IRC is instrumental  they've been such an amazing group of organizers   and leaders who have been working tirelessly to  help Foster a smoother uh resettlement process   for our new neighbors and uh it has just been an  honor and and a privilege to to partner with the   IRC and help them with um various needs that  that arise look my classmates and I we're not   the the experts on this issue we can't be the  spokespeople for the IRC but we figured as as   as medical students and Future healthc Care  Professionals the best thing we can do is   like what kamam hameda said is to just uplift and  support the work that's already being done on the   ground so we've been able to do that with the IRC  through um you know providing transportation for   their clients um helping them with that building  and and Furnishing uh homes before their arrival   to our city and supervising their their kids  while while their while their parents um attend   English class and and attend vocational training  and then being able to to work closely with their   health and wellness access Specialists to build  health literacy and improve uh health education   for and healthc Care System navigation for these  uh this population so again we're really proud of   this partnership and I can't thank you guys  enough for the invitation really appreciate it on you look one more step this way I still have you  perfect there now you don't have to reach perfect I'll get everyone your work Madame clerk Lindsay Fleming genocide currently  happening in Palestine all right we're rolling   into our public agenda again uh we ask folks  if you haven't been here before uh just uh   we ask for your name and your address as much as  you're comfortable to share with us uh also just   be mindful of the uh timer it's supposed to be 5  minutes I've never cut people off unless they're   Tak advantage of it but I might give you one  of these uh which just means that uh the time's   coming up but five minutes is an eternity uh  but I just wanted to get that out there um just   in case you go over but welcome and thank you for  being here thank you so much um my name's Lindsay   Fleming and I am um live on the west side of  wiah on the I my name is Lindsay Fleming and   I thank you I live on the west side of Witchita  um I am here today speaking in solidarity of the   Palestinian people as of today it's estimated 21,  978 Palestinians have been murdered at least 9,000   being children 100 journalists have been killed  according to the government media office in Gaza   and 326 healthcare workers have been killed  according to the United Nations that does not   include the more than 8,000 people stuck under the  rebel all within an 88 day period before October   7th around 500 humanitarian Aid trucks per day  were let into the Gaza Strip for the 2.4 million   Palestinian civilians and refugees living there  now up to 100 trucks are able to enter due to the   constant bombardment Israel is still continuing  the extreme decrease in humanitarian Aid has led   an already scarce food supply to be reduced to  an unimaginable level according to a statement   made by the World Health Organization at least  one in four households are facing catastrophic   conditions experiencing an extreme lack of food  starvation and resorted to selling off their   personal possessions and Other Extreme Measures  to afford a simple meal along with a severe   lack of food other necessities to life have been  restricted or completely cut off including but not   limited to clean water which 96% was deemed unfit  for human consumption access to medical supplies   fuel electricity and safe shelter as these things  are being restricted so are the people who need   them the lack of fuel has led to the the shutting  down of desalination plants and disrupted all   solid waste collection both of these are pertinent  to the overall health of the Palestinian people   without this infrastructure there has been an  increase in infectious diseases according to the   World Health Organization since mid- October over  33,5 51 cases of diarrhea have been reported over   half being children under five to compare they  saw an average of 2,000 cases per month being   children under five throughout 2021 and 2022  that was written on November 8th of 2023 the   lack of electricity has caused the nine remaining  hospitals in Gaza previously 36 to resort to doing   surgeries by flashlight and limiting their ability  to use the life-saving devices like ventilators   incubators and dialysis machines the catastrophic  lack of medical supplies has led to doctors having   to perform amputations and C-sections without  anesthesia they are unable to give their patients   proper medications to help fight infections not  only are they forced to work without the proper   supplies they are forced to work with the constant  fear of the hospital being bombed or raided Israel   raided alifa Hospital in mid October of 2023  breaking international law on December 17th 2023   Israel attacked the maternity ward of nir Hospital  killing Donia Abu mosan a 12-year-old girl and   wounding three others genocide according to the  United Nations is defined as any of the following   acts committed with the intent to destroy in whole  or in part a national ethnical racial or religious   group as such killing members of the group causing  serious bodily or mental harm to members of thep   the group deliberately inflicting on the group  conditions of Life calculated to bring about its   physical destruction in whole or in part imposing  measures intended to prevent births within the   group Force forcibly transferring Children of  the group to another group today I I am here   requesting that each of you publicly denounce the  atrocities happening in Palestine and all other   occupied territories and for this substantial  continuous uninterrupted humanit Aid be sent into   these areas as well please end this genocide  free Palestine thank you thank you for being here Adam clerk consent agenda items 1 through 19 does every member had a chance to  review the consent agenda and if so is   there any discussion council member Johnson  thanks mayor I'd like to pull item 678 and 9 678 and N will be pulled  for further discussion further discussion if there is no further discussion  then I'll make a motion that we accept the   consent agenda items 1 through 19 with the  exception of items 67 8 and N is there a   second second motion has been seconded by vice  mayor hoisel Clerk in a roll members cast the vote have I received 78 votes that motion does  pass the chair recognizes council member Johnson   for discussion on item six thank you mayor  uh to make it easy on the council I have a   personal conflict of interest on items 6 7 8  and n and we'll be abstaining Is there further   discussion if there's no further discussion  then I'll make a motion that we accept items   the staff's recommendation for items 6  7 8 and n on the consent agenda is there   a second second motion has been seconded  clerk roll up and roll members cast their vote have received 68 votes to one abstention  that motion does pass before we get on to council   business um and before I forget I would like to  make a motion to turn the lights on the outside   of the building uh purple uh for Ava and as  we know normally this goes through a bit of   an email process it does takes four of us to do  so I thought the request uh was uh timely uh and   therefore uh we can supplement the traditional  process by having a vote of the council now uh   so with that I would like to make a motion  that we instruct staff to turn the lights on   the city building purple uh in recognition  of for the request from Ava in recognition   of Mobius syndrome Awareness Day Mr manager mayor  is that that's a specific day isn't it January in   recognition of the day yes but let's is it January  2 24th January 24th do it on January 24th there   discussion if not motion has been made is there  a second second motion has been seconded by Vice   May hoisel click R roll members cast their vote  have received seven yay votes that motion does   pass uh hopefully someone can inform Ava uh that  uh her request has been fulfilled uh through a   unanimous vote of the council and on the 24th of  January uh the city will be lit up purple uh in   recognition of Mobius syndrome awareness day back  to the printed agenda uh Madam Clerk ordinance   creating chapter 20.2 of the code of the city  of Witchita pertaining to retaliatory evictions   War Sir honorable mayor members of Council Troy  Anderson assistant city manager uh so I will run   through a brief background of uh this ordinance  uh this ordinance was previously presented to you   if you'll recall uh consideration was postponed to  to uh give staff an opportunity to take it out to   the dabs uh and receive feedback and input from  the uh from the dabs so included in your packets   today is the original ordinance uh that I'm about  to kind of walk through uh And Then There are a   handful amendments I'll get to here in just a  second but so a little bit of background again   cities historically receive reports of retaliation  by housing providers in the rental market um those   reports are generally based around uh the idea  that a complaint of housing conditions are lodged   and as a result uh tenants are being uh wrongfully  evicted since August of 2022 uh representatives of   the city have met with Community stakeholders uh  these issues have been brought up in conversations   uh at neighborhood meetings at District advisory  boards not necessarily in any official capacity   uh but these conversations and these issues uh  have been uh discussed over the last year and   a half uh one consistent recommendation that  has been made is that uh the city consider   the introduction of a retaliatory eviction  ordinance so the ordinance that was drafted   um and presented to you is a an ordinance that  was modeled after an ordinance that the city of   Topeka adopted earlier this year generally  state law governs the issue of retaliatory   evictions this takes the process one step further  and establishes sort of an administrative process   the proposed ordinance uh supplement state  law by instituting fines for conviction based   on retaliatory eviction as similar definitions  the state law also applies to manufactur mobile   homes and um clearly identify actions that are  also not retaliatory by a landlord proposed   ordinance institutes an administrative process  modeled after the city's non-discrimination ordinance the ordinance that you have  in your packets the original ordinance   has escalating penalties but as a result  of some of our feedback I'll go through   here in just a second uh there is  an alternative to those escalating penalties so historically the ordinance was  uh presented to City Council on November 21st   again it was postponed to December 19th to allow  staff to go out and present it to the dabs receive   feedback staff did that uh on nove excuse me on  December 19th staff requested that consideration   be again postponed until today January 2nd to  compile and evaluate input we have since uh   evaluated that feedback and have prepared uh a  couple of amendments for your consideration so   the first Amendment amendment number one revises  subsection 20 124e requiring notification also be   sent by certified mail return receipt requested  expanding the notification list to include the   address listed for the landlord on the lease  the address provided on the complaint formally   lodged by the tenant if it's different than that  on the lease and the address of the lease premise   and also requiring that the city provid provide  the complainant with information on Community   Resources upon receipt of a completed complaint  the Second Amendment revises subsection 2012 40K   uh providing for a portion of the fine to be  awarded to the complainant as direct damages   wherein the judge's discretion and upon a good  cause the Civil violation of the chapter is found   and making records of any conviction under the  chapter available through a Kansas open records   act request amendment number three revises  subsection 20126 presenting somewhat of a new   fine structure striking the previous escalating  penalty structure and increasing the maximum   fine to not exceed $2,500 this is consistent  with um misdemeanor charges as well as uh is   comparable to uh two to three months worth of  rent maintaining that each day of violation of   the chapter continues a separate offense may  be found punishable as a separate violation   there were a couple of amendments that were not  considered uh we heard feedback from uh folks   in the community uh there was a a recommendation  that perhaps an additional inspection be required   by mabcd we felt as though um the process is  inherently based on the fact that a complaint   or an inspection has been conducted given housing  conditions and as a result of that uh a tenant is   evicted so this is really the result of the  EV eviction and not necessarily part of the   complaint process and so therefore again didn't  feel as though an amendment um would be warranted   at this point the second uh party sharing the  cost of mediation again just overall premise   of the ordinance is that um creating a process  the idea is generally that tenants don't have   uh the means of the resources available to uh  pursue uh a more legal option in trying to to   contest uh an eviction and so therefore by forcing  parties to share in the cost of mediation or sort   of Def defeating the purpose of the ordinance  as it's been presented to you all uh penalties   for false reports again just understanding  the process right uh there's not really an   opportunity to really in introduce penalties  for false reports if a complainant uh files   a claim and through the investigation process  excuse me uh it's determined that a retaliation   type EV vition is not warranted then the case  is sort of dropped and no further actions are   pursued uh therefore short of participation in  the investigation or mediation there's no harm   to uh the landlord in this case and then the  last one recourse for landlords when tenants   cause damage to property this is already spelled  out under state law landlords can pursue uh legal   action against their tenants for damage as a  result of an eviction so with that being said   the financial considerations are likely minimal  as the ordinance as currently drafted has been   been presented to you likely requires Contracting  for certain investigation of mediation services   Meda mediation costs are estimated about $750 a  complaint investigation costs cannot be reliably   predicted and potentially offset by civil  penalties again we also believe that these   cases are probably fewer than most and so again  we believe that as it's currently drafted uh the   financial impact is minimal the original original  ordinance was drafted by law this is consistent   with state law with supplemental penalties we  want to make a point with the three amendments   that are being presented to you all here today  the staff is neither recommending nor opposing   any of the amendment ments and that the amendments  may be taken up individually or collectively with   that being said staff recommendation that City  Council Place the ordinance on first reading   authorize all necessary signatures otherwise I'll  stand for questions questions for staff Council   me council member buba do we not have any state  law that covers any of the retaliatory evictions   right now yes retaliatory evictions are covered  under state law this takes this takes the ret   atory eviction process one step further um and  establishes an administrative process right now   if a if a tenant is evicted and uh they feel as  though they were evicted wrongfully uh they can   pursue legal course through the system uh as  it exists today under state law so it sounds   like there's state law for retaliatory evictions  and there's state law for damag tenants do so it   seems like we're why are we you know we're  addressing one issue but not addressing the other I'm gonna hand it over to our legal counsel uh thank you Tre and I guess maybe the  idea is the state law provides a defense to an   eviction action and then also a possibility for  actual damages suffered by the tenant which may   be somewhat difficult to establish so this  provides uh penalty or fine structure for a   retaliatory eviction or diminished rent or  Services when it's established through our   administrative process and it seeks to potent the  idea is to balance then also landlord interests   in a similar way to state law by specifically  identifying the types of actions that are not   considered retaliatory so when there's an eviction  or you know diminished services or an increase in   rent when it's done consistent with the lease  or because of non-payment of rent or some other   basis for eviction that would be maybe in legal  Parliament a defense to a complaint to retaliatory   eviction under our proposed ordinance here so  it seeks to kind of try to strike the balance   in a similar way to state law and follow that  model while adding a local penalty to that for the discussion uh council member Johnson  thanks mayor excuse me further uh questions   for staff my apologies yeah thanks mayor I  think it's also important to add um to the   previous question that the majority of the people  who are being evicted are poor or Working Poor   and even if you're not you have to think if you  need to move immediately you're paying anywhere   from $600 to $1,300 just to get your stuff  moved out of one place into another so it's   less about the there is State Statute there  is no state enforcement more so of allowing   people who can't afford actual legal counsel  who continue to be wronged an opportunity on   the municipal level to address those things  um I had a few things on the Amendments uh   the First Amendment um first I appreciate all  the work that you and uh staff did to address   what came up at the district advisory boards  um I do have a concern on Amendment one that   it doesn't seem like it enough is there and I say  that specifically meaning that if the uh landlord   has 30 days to respond to the certified mail but  then they don't then we're going to potentially   hire an investigator to try to reach back out  but then what and I say that because if I'm   a tenant and I miss eviction Court I'm evicted  and that ruling is against me and in any other   court where the accused used um doesn't show up  doesn't respond there's some form of penalty and   in this case it just seems like it may go on  for a while um I don't know what that penalty   should look like uh whether it's a ruling for  the defendant um or something but I would just   hate to see people get slow played out for 60 90  120 days maybe more on that haven't figured out   a solution to that been thinking about it but  I feel like something more uh should be there   on Amendment two I like Amendment two but rather  than the um making things available through Kora I   really think that should be posted on our housing  site to make it easy for people to understand if   they are uh without naming that person if they  are going to rent from a particular person who   we all know to be someone who will retaliate  or maybe deemed a slum Lord if their record is   there publicly uh what they are doing to the  public is public anyway I think it should be   posted somewhere on our housing site um and then  for Amendment Three I like that we've increased   the fines but the way I read that uh upon any  conviction of f not more than $2500 means that   someone who just kicked someone out ruined their  life or at least temporarily could potentially   get $100 fine because there's no minimum on that  um for that I would actually like um that wording   to change to upon any conviction a fine of not  less than $1,000 and not more than 3,000 so an   increase of 500 on that but a person who would  retaliate a get someone would would know that   they have at least $1,000 fine coming if convicted  and I think that real money uh may change real   behaviors those are the only thoughts I had on  um what I read again I appreciate all the work   that you all did and I'm glad that council member  fry suggested that this go out to dabs because   I think this has been made stronger from that  public feedback so thank you for your work on that further questions for staff council member  blue I have one other question how do we actually   help the grieve party if they were retaliated  against because it sounds like like the Fin's   going to go toward the administrative cost I mean  they're going to be out you know they're going   to be out quite a bit and they're really I mean  what's in it for them to go through the process so   if you're referring to the tenant yeah the person  that has been retaliated against so uh which is   amendment number which is amendment number two  right so if you walk through the process and law   has determined that there is justification for  taking a case to an administrative judge uh that   there is some evidence of retaliatory eviction  if the judge in his or her discretion approves   or um um findes the that the eviction was in  retaliation could award all of those fines to   the uh complaintant so it's entirely up to the  judge at that point in time we're not mandating   that those damages go to but it's it's up to  the administrative judge and it could be Case by   case do we have an estimate of how many cases we  predict we might see in a year and what the cost   would be if it's $750 for each case man that's  hard to estimate if if I said six to 12 cases   I think I'd be airing on the side of of caution  very few very few I've never got this complaint   before um in my district so I would happy to  hear from anyone else that has and if they could   give us some kind of number as to how many cases  they think we're going to council member Johnson   further dis excuse me uh further questions for  staff yeah thanks mayor um just to clarify Troy   thank you for doing that but amendment number  two uh States halfway through and the judge's   discretion and upon could cause awarding a portion  of the fine to the complainant as direct damages   so the judge could award those uh to the person  with the claim um speaking to the complaint the   reason that I've continued to push for this is  because I continue to hear from people I think   folks will reach out to individuals that maybe  they see speaking about a particular issue or   going to these different places I was pretty known  for doing that so I've heard it quite a bit I   would agree with Troy um maybe a little more maybe  up to 20 it really depends because when folks come   out and speak um there's retaliation the majority  of the people who have um shown me their um   apartments or homes have been evicted and it was  because they either talked to me or they made the   news um for treating people wrong to include um  some of the folks that the vice mayor and I talked   to over at um public at Emory Gardens um some of  those folks have been evicted so um if they are if they feel safe enough I think they'll  come forward um but also some of these   folks tend to talk and they may feel like  if they speak up and win a conviction they   may not be able to get housing somewhere  else if you know that person knows the   other person so I think as we see some  convictions we'll see more people come   out and hopefully these fines will stop that  type of behavior and hopefully we can drop   down to less than five but I think at least  at the moment those numbers may be up to 20 potentially vice mayor hoisel thank you mayor  um I guess I consider myself staff in this one   just a a reply to council member blueball um uh  council member Johnson was right about the Emory   Gardens plenty there um there was an article  um about a year ago in the beacon yes um and   it was focused around a lot of my my constitu  in plan view who also have the same complaints   including a window that got cocked in using uh  concrete so um there were some there as well   and I also did have one reach out to me just  before Christmas she has been pretty vocal on   this issue and she feels like maybe that was  what um induced the the landlord to kick her   out because she has some had some issues with  infestations in her place as well so I couldn't   give you an exact estimate but I do know that  I've had more than a handful in my district   so further questions for staff very good thank  you uh for being here we'll Now open up to the   public for public comment on this item all  right see none we'll bring discussion back   to the bench further discussion on this item so  again this item uh is not just the underlining   bill but also three proposed amendments for  uh this bill uh I do want want to thank the   uh council members Johnson and also vice mayor  hoisel who worked on this uh and also uh coun   member fry with his suggestion to go back out into  ensure that the final product represents the will   of the community uh with that I I I would open  up to uh one of the council members to lead on this council member Johnson thanks mayor I did  not have action on one just yet although I   think more should happen on that but I'm not the  attorney um well maybe let's do it separate so   amendment number three I do want to change  to those specific words um so I would move   that amendment number three be amended to  read um punishment for violation of section 202.350 th000 so that is the proposed amendment it is  to three an amendment to the third amendment   that was presented so if you're following along  he's adding language to the third amendment that   we're considering but we're considering Third  Amendment first yep three a instead of that the   way it's written right now upon any conviction  of fine of not more than 2500 I would like that   to read upon any conviction a fine of not less  than 1,000 and not more than 3,000 I'll second   the amendment and council member Johnson would  you like to uh lead discussion on your Amendment   on what is the you already touched on this but  just to clarify what is the thought process of   uh your Amendment to the proposed uh printed  Amendment uh my thought process is I want to   make sure that there are no small fines for uh  removing people from their homes um just for   complaining about the needs that they actually  have and I believe that not less than $1,000   uh sends a message and by going up to $3,000  if a judge does have discretion to give funds   to the uh tenant there's more opportunity for  that tenant to try to be made hold from the   moving cost that they would incur excellent so  what this amendment does is not only have a um   a uh maximum amount that could be but also a  minimum amount if someone is found guilty of   violating uh this law is there any dis further  discussion on the amendment Excuse me yes mayor   if I may course sorry um would recommend we stay  at $2,500 to retain jurisdiction we're not sure   that the city has jurisdiction over $2,500 um  I think it'd be safer legal process to keep   it at 2500 is that because State Statute  says 2500 um as a municipality we believe   that it's similar to Mr Deeter and it's while  civil violation we think $2,500 would be more   consistent with our jurisdiction okay I will  accept that Amendment and change that language   to upon any conviction a fine of not less than  $1,000 and not more than $2,500 my second still   stands and ladies and gentlemen that's why we  invite legal staff thank you Gennifer there's   no further discussion motion has been made in the  second clerk will open a rooll members cast their vote with a result of six y to One n that  motion does pass that Amendment does uh   does pass pass council member Johnson thank  you mayor um before going to the full thing   I have a question for Jennifer on the um  Second Amendment when I suggested putting   that on the housing site would that need to  be a motion or would staff understand from the discussion suggest it be a motion  okay as part of this ordinance process all right um well taking up  amendment number two the on the Green   Sheet uh it reads uh the amended part records  of convictions under this chapter shall be   available through the Kansas open records  request I would move that we change that   to records of convictions under this chapter  shall be made available on the city of witch website Council M Tuttle for a discussion thank  you just a question council member Johnson do   you still want it to be through Kansas open  record are you striking that part or you just   add are you just is just the website and not  kaora because they could kaora it anyway right   right I was I'm just put in the website because  they could just cor anyway so but do you want   to keep the core apart or you just asking to  have that stricken and just have the website   that's find either way I'm just curious that's  a great question actually let's keep that on   there but add also published on our housing site  whoops so I'll repeat it CU I know so records of   convictions under this chapter shall be made  available through the Kansas open records act   and published on the city of witchar website  council member fry for discussion about the   proposed amendment thank you this is probably  more of a question for legal but obviously that   wasn't part of the recommendation from staff  um it only listed creating an additional layer   of administration what does that look  like and were there any other concerns turns morning um that was just consistent with how  other Mr other convictions are treated in the city   system they're available on your Municipal Court  website and it was just based on consistency with   how we treat other convictions so by posting it  does it open us up to any possible complaints or   litigation I'm not aware of any I think it's  public record it's just another step that in administration I'll second the motion motion  has been made and seconded Is there further   discussion on the motion and again from my  understanding uh this motion would make it   so if someone is convicted of breaking the  law uh with retaliatory um practices then   not only will the results of that be available  through the open records act but also be posted   on uh our city witch website yep council  member remember FR and so would that be a   forever record I mean if this is a one-time  conviction does their name get marked there forever posted on the website or could it  become off after an extended period of time   if there's no other violations I'd hate for that  to continue to be punitive if it was a one-time   mistake or or someone made good and then lived  to an exemplary Life as a landlord after that   right yeah uh definitely understand that I don't  know what our process is with our new system for   koras I do know that koras are maintained publicly  in those documents on the site so if if there is   a time period where it would roll off of our  new system I'd be amable to adopting that as well but I don't know what that time frame is  if we have one it's interesting um I I love   love getting a little bit more down in the weeds  it's interesting because what does constitute   publication to our website could be for a day or  does it follow the the standards of the Kora uh frankly unless there's some slick word smithing  of the amendment I I am I'm okay with leaving   that somewhat open and letting staff uh look into  it because our folks who update our website might   do so on a yearly basis or uh there might be some  other process that that we're not as aware of uh   however again I'm I'm I'm open to discussion but  council member Johnson you do have the floor oh   thank you mayor um what about a fiveyear window  on that goes away of after some time and then   that way of someone's looking there's a 5-year  look back to see you know if um if there were   a bunch of convictions and then it stopped  and then that kind of shows progress being made we all right and chair recognizes Bob Mr  Mayor the um the concern I have about that is   just the practicality of the administration five  years is a long time to ask someone to monitor   monitor if it was a year you know I I would  feel more confident the staff would be able   to remove that um and and especially if there  are no additional violations five years is a   long time you'll have change over in people that  are administering the website and I just I and   listen we know how often we've had problems with  the website being updated appropriately and and   in this case you've got somebody's livelihood  that could be impacted if they've you know not   had any other violations so um that would be  my concern about a five years so if and if we   leave it open my my only suggestion to the maker  of the motion uh is to leave the language more   open uh so something along for no less than five  years uh instead of or no less than one year uh   instead of which means it could go on for five  years it could stay up it also leaves it I think   a little bit more on the administrative side just  just throwing out thoughts as we're making policy   thanks mayor I would accept that and amend it to  no less than two years no less than two years okay   I will um my my second still stands so before we  vote on an amendment uh Could you um go ahead and   uh restate the amendment as discussion we know  that uh discussion gets more confusing uh so   let's let's make sure sure that everyone knows  exactly what we'll be voting on yep it would be   records of convictions under this chapter shall be  available through the Kansas open records request   and published on our city of Witchita website for  no less than two years that justification um even   with the point that the manager made um for me is  there are organizations that are also recommending   places and um sometimes people are not aware  of maybe the reputation as folks look to buy   a home home or rent they always kind of want to  know what they're getting themselves into and so   having this on the site for two years could show  um the beginning of a trend of a landlord doing   the right thing um and also maintain that record  and then to council member Fry's point it won't be   an extended amount of time uh where someone would  have to worry about that on their record all right   so motion has been made in the second end and  articulated well as far as the thought behind   the motion to amend the current bill so with that  we'll ask uh clerk to open a role members can I   I'm sorry I I second it my apologies yes uh so we  ask members go ahead and vote I received six yay   votes to one nay that motion does pass so back to  council member Johnson for discussion of our final   proposed amendment to this ordinance proposed  ordinance thank you mayor that was actually all   of the actionable Amendments again with um the  amendment number one that was proposed I don't   have more thought to what that language could be  at the moment so I am fine with going on um with   this proposed ordinance as amended today if you  are ready for a motion I believe that the what   was presented to us as the first First Amendment  still would need to be voted on in order to be in   the underlining ordinance draft is that correct  or is it baked in it's correct mayor okay okay   so council member Johnson you do have the floor if  you would like to make a motion for the amendment   that was presented as Amendment one as presented  uh please feel free to do so I would move that   we approve amendment number one as revised and  presented to us today motion has been made to   speak to the motion council member blueba mayor  um I just want to say I believe the retaliatory   evictions are completely wrong um landlord should  never retaliate against somebody but I cannot be   supportive of the ordinance because we are  not addressing the issue that I hear a lot   and that is the property damage that's done  by tenants and um houses just torn apart by   someone that's being evicted and I just I feel  like we need to address both issues that's why I can't I'll second the motion uh council member  Johnson thanks mayor um just to address that I   definitely um appreciate that perspective I  think the biggest difference here again is   when you look at lowincome folks who will be  renting or retaliated against the conundrum   that they find themselves in even in situation  like this where you have as the vice mayor saw   a working family with an apartment can't  afford to go get a new place immediately   um you know they get kind of put out and they  don't have the resources to do anything what   a landlord has the resources to do because  legally they're required to get their rent   anyway is they can go get attorneys they can take  legal action that's property damage and some of   that might be felony property damage there's  way more things that Stack Up in favor of the   landlord to take action and they typically  have the resources to do so whereas tenants   don't that's why we're kind of going this  route today but I definitely appreciate that perspective for the discussion on the  amendment if not uh we'll ask staff to   uh open the rooll and we're voting on the  amendment having received 6A votes to one   nay that motion does pass so therefore  we're on the final ordinance draft as   amended unless there's some off the  cuff Amendment uh further discussion   if not the the chair recognizes Vice  May hoisel for a motion oh I appreciate that I move that the city council Place  ordinance on first reading and authorize   the necessary signature do I have to add anything  for the Amendments or is that baked in the okay   all right so just for clarification place the  ordinance as amended on first read as amended   on the first reading yes sir um council member  Johnson second motion has been made and then   seconded clerk will open a roll members will  cast the vote have received six CA votes to   one nay that motion does pass Adam clerk  an ordinance amending sections 25630 of   the code of the city of wtad pertaining  to campaign Finance rules for political   contributions by corporations and limited  liability corporations to candidates for City elections good morning welcome good morning mayor council  Jennifer M City attorney the item before you is   an amendment to existing city ordinance um  that would amend our City's campaign Finance   ordinance the Kansas campaign Finance act I can  get the quicker here we go um establishes caps   on the contributions any person with certain  exceptions can make to a candidate for state   or local office this act applies to cities a  first class and a separate act applies to other   cities the ACT requires appointment of campaign  treasurers and detailed reporting by candidates   for local office for violations of state law  the Kansas governmental ethics commission is   responsible for investigation and state law  caps the amount of contributions um it um   the city ordinance Mir currently mirrors state  law except that we have an additional reporting   requ requirement for reports to be filed with  the city clerk and uh the city ordinance as   proposed addresses contributions directly to the  candidate the proposed ordinance would supplement   the Kansas Finance act Kansas campaign Finance  act by prohibiting contributions from foreign and   domestic corporations and limited liability  companies in city of witcha Elections other   entities such as sole proprietorships professional  associations Partnerships and packs would continue   to be permitted to make campaign Finance campaign  contributions in city of w witto elections and if   approved this amendment would be more restrictive  than State campaign Finance law violations would   include both intentionally contributing  and intentionally accepting contributions   that would violate the city ordinance and would  make it a misdem meter ordinance with penalties   up to $2,500 or six-month um jail sentence  recommendation is for the council to consider   this proposed ordinance Amendment I'm available as  well as assistant City attorney Nate Johnson for   questions on this ordinance questions for staff  see none thank you input from the public on this item just coming up so I should probably clarify that if  you're here to speak to an item uh you   just make your way towards the front or'll  pause until you make your way towards front   uh excuse me whoa and then also you get five  full minutes we ask you to say your name and   your address if you're comfortable doing so um  and if you go over I'll give you one of these   um but that that's pretty much how it goes  welcome thank you uh my name is Jessica car   I'm a resident of Witchita on the East Side  in uh a council member Johnson's District I   speak on behalf of women for Kansas Witchita  chapter uh we are a nonpartisan group group   focused on equity and rights and Common Sense  policies uh for all canons and uh we support   the proposed ordinance we would like to close  the door to extravagant amounts of outside   money entering our local Municipal elections  thank you thank you for the comment from the public good morning and welcome my name is Carl  denet I'm a resident of uh gusta Township   in Butler County so I don't have a direct I do  have an apartment in Miss Ballard's District   my worry here is that outside groups outside of  witto outside of the state even outside of this   country could give Anonymous contributions  and affect City policy now I know we can't   go against citizens V united but at least these  contributions could be uh not Anonymous so that   we so that the voter at least knows where this  money's coming from otherwise I think if we   don't disallow Anonymous LLC contributions we're  opening ourselves up to a lot of corruption so   that's all I have to say thank you thank you for  coming to Witchita uh make sure you spend lots of money further import from the public see n oh yep morning good morning my name is Janice  Bradley and I live in Midtown and uh Council   uh person Maggie Ballard's district and I uh  I support this uh chain uh I was here and at   the meeting when it was changed from what  it was before I think it was n 2015 uh and   uh it's just ridiculous we're this is  the low lowest level of this is local   government and we need to have a situation  where Ordinary People can win elections and   not uh money candidates so I support this and  I hope the council votes to go back to a more   sensible uh campaign Finance situation  in witch talk Kansas thank you forther input welcome I'll be quick guys uh Esau Freeman  601 North Terrace witto um I support changing this   ordinance as well but I would ask if I could the  legal department um are you really doing anything   if you're saying that foreign countries and  and other people outside can't donate but still   accepting money from packs because it appears that  a person from a foreign entity could just slide   some money into a pack and in fact I think that's  a lot of what happened in the last uh cycle so is   is this got enough teeth from the perspective of  the legal department or are we just putting out   a fluffy ordinance thank you thank you further  input from the public oh uh Jane before you take   I guess council member hoisel jumped on the board  I apologize so I'm gonna let him respond I think   to uh possibly to uh Mr Freeman's comments uh  sorry sorry jay forgive me uh vice mayor hoisel   uh thank thank you mayor um I appreciate those  comments we have looked at including Paxon this   that's what I think a majority of the council  also was wanting to look at as well um it gets   a little more muddled when you get into packs cuz  certain packs are allowable certain packs are not   so that is a discussion that we can have further  on up the line I do appreciate that um again I I   I would support that but we got to make sure that  we do that in a manner so that way we can really   untangle that web as far as what the rulings are  so thank you uh thank you vice mayor uh Miss birds   thank you for your patience thank you my name is  Jane Burns I live in Brandon Johnson's District   I'm just here to thank you for considering this  important precedent for our local um democracy   thank you so much um for for each of you who who  uh will consider that objectively I appreciate it   as a citizen thank you so much thank any questions  I think you're good further iner the public all   right see none we'll bring discussion back to  the bench uh as this uh I believe since May   that uh this ordinance when we had our I think  there was a and correct me if I'm wrong a um a   workshop in which this uh was idea was proposed  and I believe the driver of this was vice mayor   hoisel and therefore uh I will give give the floor  over to vice mayor hoisel for discussion to lead   discussion thank you mayor um this is something  that I have heard from the community quite a bit   this is something that I've also heard or ran on  as well um it it's been a long journey on this one   going back and forth I think I had the frequent  flyer miles built up with uh our legal department   and I might officially be the biggest pain in the  neck that they have currently anyways um so thank   you Jennifer and thank you Nate and Sharon as  well who's been in on this for giving advice and   guidance as to how we could come up with a policy  that um that will work that we think will stand   up to challenges and it's also written so that  way if something is struck down at a later time   we can remove it um I understand the the thinking  of removing this in 2015 with the citizens united   ruling since then we've had a number of cases and  it seems like they have ruled that we do have a   a place to properly um give oversight as far as  llc's go that swings both ways and this is part   of the concern is how far are we going to allow  it to go the other way and I I don't want to be   an alarmist here but I do want to bring bring up  that Delaware had a bill here this last session   that would have allowed llc's to vote in local  elections you can go and look this up there was   a case in Seaford Delaware and this is what they  were trying to propose this is a concern of mine   I I believe that as a working person I should  have the same um rights and the same influence   as somebody who maybe they they do have more skin  in the game in terms of Finance but this is our   city this is all we all have skin in the game  as far as how we want to see our city ran and   the idea behind America and democracy is we put  the ideas out there and we debate the ideas and   we hopefully the strongest and the best ideas are  the ones that survive and I feel like if there's   an overabundance of money that goes in on one  side that that drowns out the true purpose of   America so um that was the impetus for pushing  this I understand that there are issues with um   how this process is going and I appreciate that  and I understand that but um it is important   that we get this done I believe and continue the  discussion going on in the future and I do just   want to I see that we have councilman Tuttle on  the board but before uh we we get to her I do   want to put the vice mayor's conscience in mind  at ease I think I was uh the biggest pain uh in   the butt to our legal department my first year  being here uh and so uh with that uh I I think   that your work probably doesn't compare uh to the  um I think the the issues I caused them that first   year we were trying to get through Co so uh rest  assure my friend fair enough uh council member   tutle thank you um I first of all do want to thank  council member H Isel um I know this is something   this is a noble effort and I know that this is  something that you've been very passionate about   we talked about it your first week here two  years ago um and you and I have had some very   robust discussions over the last couple weeks and  so I I do appreciate that here are my concerns I   think that this opens the potential for a lawsuit  for the city of Witchita and that's a concern to   me um I want to make sure that our our city is  protected especially as we're heading into more   unstable Economic Times in 25 26 and 27 I also  believe firmly that this will make it less trans   trans arent I think now somebody mentioned that  Anonymous LLC contributions contributions from   llc's or campaign contributions from individuals  are not Anonymous they are listed in our campaign   reports and so I think that in some ways this can  open up the potential for instead of an LLC giving   an a a candidate that they choose money it could  instead have money given to other people who give   the money to the campaigns and so I I just think  that the potential for Less transparency becomes   evident If This Were to pass I also believe firmly  that businesses should have a say in who runs our   city businesses pay property tax they pay sales  tax I don't think they should get to vote but I do   believe that they should have a say they are the  the backbone of our economy and how our economy   and our city grow I think every agenda item in  this packet today has a need or an issue tied to   it except for this one I spoke this morning with  the a acting ethics officer and she said we've had   no complaints from anyone either on this Council  or in the community making accusations that an   elected official has been unduly influenced by a  campaign contribution we have state law we have an   Ethics policy those seem to be sufficient guard  rails for me that we don't need to have another   layer of government involved in this process  I believe with the what we have now we have   the proper amount of balance if we have seen that  there's been ethics complaints made to our ethics   Advisory Board then it would seem that there would  be a need or an issue for this additional level of   government but we don't have that I think also  with all due respect to council member H heisen   we talked about this this is rushed at the last  minute and this is not an emergency um I do want   to make one quick final thought um I received one  email regarding this issue from a constituent of   mine I've received I think two or three others  but I will not read the the constituent's name   but she said I am writing to strongly object  the public emergency campaign Finance reform I   fail to see how this is a public emergency covid  was a public emergency as a result I would hope   that you will vote against camp Finance reform  at this time as a constituent I would like the   opportunity to vote on this issue through a public  election I can only assume many others would want   their voices heard in this matter so as my final  thought I don't think we've had enough opportunity   for public engagement topics that are much less  weighty than this have gone out to our dabs we've   had Community forums and this just seems like  we haven't had enough constituent engagement so   with that will not be supportive thank you thank  you I I do want to just add a little context to   the discussion the public outcry of influence  uh by Bad actors in our business Community is   actually what led to the ethics reform uh in fact  uh we had uh because of the contributions uh into   the political discussion uh of 2019 we had the  district attorney uh begin uring proceedings for   two elected officials uh we saw two other ones  lose at the B Ballot Box uh we saw for the first   time in possibly decades a censorship of a member  of this body at that time so I'm not surprised   that the year year and a half that we've had an  active um uh inactive uh uh board that that ethics   board that we might not have seen complaints but  do you want to alliterate the embarrassment that   the city suffered uh which affects us economically  uh the years before uh we were able to stand up   a working ethics board so I just want to add  that context that this is uh in addition uh to   not just the short history but the entire history  of the last four to five years uh council member   buba thank you mayor I've been reelected to this  SE three times the first time I ran for election   you could not take money from PS and you could  not take money from businesses um under that   when I when I first ran um I self-funded myself  about $3500 and I had less than $1,000 in outside   contributions it is not the contributions that win  these elections and I believe there are three or   not four of us that have won our election with a  lot less contributions than what our competition   had what I do believe is there's more transparency  today with the businesses because you you can go   to the Secretary of State's website you see who  owns that business and you can at least have some   trackability to that money the the way it was  before businesses had employees or their kids   preschool teacher or daycare provider or something  else writing checks and I believe it's it's a lot   more transparent today than what it was vice  mayor hoisel thank you mayor um I I did uh skip   over one or two points um at first I I do agree  with you I think that who who has the money does   not necessarily directly impact who's going to  win an election but part of the concern is and   I don't want to cast aspirations because I think  everybody on this bench is a moral person who is   doing what they honestly feel is in the best  of interest of the city but it's about the the   influence that that could generate on particular  votes or pushing forward to particular projects   as well so that that's part of the concern I also  wanted to say um I I've seen some chatter about   the last election having to do with this um this  is something I had been working on before we knew   who the candidates were in the last election so  I want to make that clear this isn't in response   to anybody in particular I did speak with the um  incoming mayor a couple of weeks ago and and um   expressed this to her as well so I did want  to make that point because I do see a lot of   chatter out there in those regards so uh that's  all I'll point out that council member Tuttle   just confirmed that you spoke with her about this  the first week you were elected so I think that's   pretty pretty powerful statement to disprove any  misinformation out there council member Johnson   thanks mayor um I just wanted to say I'll be in  support of the proposed ordinance um I played by   the rules in my election so I did take LLC money  that was the rules on the table I've long said   publicly that I I always think it's good if if we  have to go talk to people therefore I preefer to   change the rules that way those are the rules and  if businesses are um trying to skirt that and give   people money at least their name and address and  their occupation is listed on the report I think   that will encourage candidates to go talk to more  people people um I stay out of all Municipal races   so I don't know what everybody else is doing  um but I made it a point to go talk to as many   people as I could and ask for those $5 and $10  again I did have some larger contributions but I   don't see this as being a um negative real change  and again we'll get more people talking to more   folks and you'll be able to see who those folks  are on the um contribution list of course there's   going to be people who don't want their name to  show up just like is now so they may not give to   candidates but ultimately If U anyone who wants  to be in one of these seats is knocking doors   and talking to people and trying to do the best  they can to represent them um they'll be able to   fund raise they'll be able to be in these seats  and make a difference in our community so I'll   be supportive I appreciate you vice mayor for U  bringing this up as well as the work that you did   as well mayor council member tutle thank you um I  appreciate everyone's call comments I appreciate   the thoughtful discussion I do just want to go  back and reiterate one more time because this is   very important for me and it's very important with  people I've had discussions within the community   that this is not an emergency I don't think  anyone would think that this is an emergency   and as a public health professional before I was  elected to this position I am just concerned of   deluding the word emergency this is something that  we have been chattering about but it didn't come   up up until the last minute and so I just have  grave concern again that we're we're using kind   of a loophole if you will to be able to get  this passed today without having constituent   engagement and without having transparency in the  community thank you I'll just say again this has   been discussed for years there was a workshop on  this if council members chose not to have this as   part of their dab board it is up to the council  member to bring it to their dab not up to the   council or the mayor is up to the council member  to reach out to their constituents and if they   chose not to do this do that for the last seven  months uh then I'm not sure if that is a reason   to stop the progress in the face of the council  members who have been working diligently on this   council member fry thank you um let's start with  um that issue first on foremost yes you can have a   discussion over the last two years seven months  but without an actual draft of an ordinance   to know what the ultimate item that's brought  before this body it's tough to have that complete   discussion um you can talk in theory and policy  but until you actually have that draft ordinance   it's not fair to the public um especially under a  emergency situation so I agree with council member   Tuttle and as I stated on Friday Friday I don't  understand what constitutes an emergency in this   case um secondly lawsuit yes Supreme Court ruled  that this is a freedom of speech issue uh citizens   united when this 2015 ordinance was changed that  was the prevailing discussion that corporations   have a freedom of speech and the opportunity  to uh donate to campaigns uh as we've seen the   most money doesn't always win Jeff Longwell won  in 2015 with less money yourself won in uh 2019   with less money council members Ballard and hoisel  I believe won with less money so it doesn't mean   having the most money is always going to win it's  the strength of the candidate and the Outreach   that they have in the community and getting  people to vote for them I'm concerned just   like my colleague that this is going to create  more uh or less transparency because you'll see   money directed to packs Isel like you mentioned  you'll see money directed to C4 organizations   and we've seen that in elections uh not only  locally but Nationwide so it'll be harder to   track who's donating and who's um contributing to  a candidate and what's really driving it finally   each one of us is accountable for our actions and  our votes up here and I don't believe any one of   us has ever been bought or um made a vote because  someone donated $500 or 1,000 or 1,500 or whatever   the amount is to our campaigns at the end of the  day we are held accountable to the voters and we   have to make our decisions based on what is the  best policy and in the best interest of this city   and for someone to accuse or make a statement  that I'm going to be unduly influenced because   an LLC or Corporation donated to my campaign  it's insulting and that is why we have the   ethics board that is why we have uh an Ethics  uh investigation the Kansas Bureau all these   agencies to look over our reports and figure out  where there could be opportunity or influenced by   campaign donations so again I just think for all  those reasons I cannot support this effort I think   it's important for the community to continue  to weigh in on this and not a rush decision council member buba mayor and I was on the  election I was on the campaign on the C on   the um Council in 2015 whenever we made the  decision to allow businesses and packs on   here part of it was we'd mov the elections from  Spring to Fall we'd added about six months on onto   the time and we were just trying to parallel our  campaign Finance with the state campaign Finance   I I realize the public um we've already already  went out to the public but mayor would you give   permission to Chairman of the County Commission  miter to come up and speak on this because he he   was part of the council at the time and he could  kind of um go through what what what led to that   action to be honest uh although we're glad the um  chair is here uh public comments over uh and I I   think that um we went through what the past um  Council based their decision on throughout the   workshops and the research that has been done so  in the interest of time I'm hoping we could just   continue to move forward with the bill that's on  the table and not so much the historical context   of the previous time the council Revisited  this council member Johnson thanks mayor um   just to add uh won't say the individual's name  but there um is at least one indiv indidual in   the city of wital that owns 30 plus businesses  um each one could give $500 to a candidate um   if this individual so chose to do so uh that  individual told me that this should change   and that was probably four years ago U when they  said that and have maintained that point um and I   think for those in the public who are concerned  who probably don't know who this person is um I   think that's what they would look at is you  know you have 3035 $500 contributions um and   they may not know it's one individual I think to  some of the concerns about using um super packs   or others that could come into our city um that  could happen regardless and ultimately I think   those with a lot of money would use those anyway  because you can only give $500 worth of business   um but that individual and there's another one  that has continued to say they really shouldn't   be able to do that so so it's another reason  why I'm supporting the rule change um just makes   it um more work for a candidate which I always  think is a good thing excellent chair recognizes   council member hoisel for a motion thank you  mayor uh could I get a little help with this Jennifer um all right I would like to move that we pass the  proposed amendments declare an emergency and adopt   the ordinance on first reading I'll second motions  made and seconded to speak to the motion council   member fry thank you I'd like to make a substitute  motion to remove the Declaration of emergency from   the reading second so there's been a motion in a  second to substitute motion um I will ask folks to   join me in voting against against the substitute  motion so that we could put this uh forward on   emergency action the reason for emergency action  is because every New Year the campaign Finance uh   limit resets which means that on the December  30th your business could have given your 10   llc's could have given 10 checks of $500 to a  candidate directly to the candidate and then   on the new year they could do so again because  yesterday most finan institutions were closed uh   today is why we're having as a emergency action so  that we can get this done before people can start   bundling into their accounts now if that's not a  problem then support the emergency action in the   past this body has supported emergency actions to  give incentives to business friends uh so what we   want to do is continue to make sure that we  have the Integrity of the intention of this   ordinance which means that you can't bundle this  new year uh when everything goes back to zero it   all resets so if you gave tons of money last  campaign you now can do it tomorrow if this   doesn't pass today so we want to make sure this  passes today and therefore I ask you to vote no   in the substitute motion which would return us  to the original motion which is to pass this   as worked on and uh presented by legal speaking  to the motion council member blueall um first oh   speaking to his motion council member fire thank  you so I checked with our election commissioner   and there are no currently declared candidates  for the next City municipal election cycle with   no Treasurer filings either so the idea of  someone all of a sudden bundling between now   and then uh is not a POS is not possible because  there's no declared candidates so it could afford   to wait one week to allow the next Council to  weigh in and for the community to weigh in so   again I encourage my council members or everyone  on this Bo to do the right thing pause and allow   the public to weigh in on this and allow the next  Council to weigh in on it so not to rebuttal my   colleague and friend but I think it's important  to know that every one of us up here because we   haven't filed a termination report can now get  money into our account uh and every person who   ran for El last election is open for money going  back into their account in the new year new donors   or or new money from the same donors that's  why this is an emergency Now new new council   members uh people who are new to the process  who haven't filed okay but what this does is   if you're currently filed which everyone on this  body is and everyone who's taken over uh next week   are all currently filed this prohibits them for  double dipping from the contribution list that   they utilized last year including the LLC bundling  loophole that allows individuals to give multiple   amounts of the minimum uh in order to enhance  uh their favorability with the council council   member blueba mayor and and and every argument you  made on your rebuttal is completely true of PS and   I believe there are two people on this Council  that have packs themselves who has a pack in this Council you have a Pack so okay so council  member vice mayor hoisel says that he has a   pack and it's been shut down I think that  was active like five years ago yeah never   raised a dollar okay so who's the other  person on this Council that you say have a pack okay so one person had a pack  at one point in time that raised a dollar okay so let's uh click R roll  this is for the substitute motion you   vote no on this motion it allows us to  go back to the original motion let's roll having received four nay votes to three  yay votes that substitute motion fails back   in the original motion which is to pass the  ordinance out as a uh as presented and under   a declaration of emergency council member fry  I make a substitute motion that we defer this   item to January 9th second motion has been made  to delay this item to January 9th please join me   in voting no so that we can continue the work  of the council and get this done today CL open roll haveed four nay votes to one to three yay  votes that motion again fails back in the original   motion we ask that clerk will open a roll so we  can cast our votes in the original motion to pass   this important reform out declared emergencies  so it's put in place today have received four y   votes to three nay votes that motion does indeed  pass thank you madam clerk ordinances amending   Charter ordinance 237 and Title 11 of the code  of the city of witto Kansas pertaining to parking all right now we're getting  into the controversial stuff parking I'm sorry okay oh you um honorable mayor  members of Council Troy Anderson assist city   manager um so this has been a long time coming  um better part of probably 14 years uh and uh   we are really excited about presenting this  to you today as we know and understand what   um uh what we all have been working for over  the last several years all right so first and   foremost some really really high level 30,000  foot background right Central cities throughout   the United States have long experienced high  demand for public parking spaces going all the   way back to the early 20s right the response of  cities has always always been to either number   one install parking meters or two establish off  street parking minimums or in the case of many   metropolitan cities some version of both right  unfortunately generous parking requirements and   low parking prices tend to discourage infield  development and encourage urban sprawl as a   result it tends to increase per capita vehicle  ownership and use and reduces the vity viability   of other modes such as walking cycling and  public transport this is a quote from um a   professor Aon Ben Joseph uh he was MIT Professor  uh wrote a book rethinking a lot the design and   culture of parking continues to kind of put it  into conversation these are not my words these   are words of of Professionals of their Industries  uh cities Across the Nation and and in fact even   our our general public here in Witchita in  Witchita traditional development regulations   are geared towards Suburban scale audio oriented  development requirements such as parking setbacks   density landscaping and screening this is taken  right out of plans that city council has approved   previously more specifically going back to even  2009 and I can tell you even before 2009 we were   talking about this stuff but in 2009 City adopted  the Downtown parking and Mobility master plan to   establish parking and Mobility management a year  later City adopts the project downtown plan and in   that plan quoted locate parking to improve access  and stimulate reinvestment by implementing the   2009 Downtown parking and Mobility master plan to  improve utilization and Institute Transportation   demand management decade later in 2019 City  approves a grant agreement to develop a more   comprehensive parking and Mobility plan after  years of community and stakeholder engagement   City approved the 2019 parking and Mobility plan  this Council approved that plan unanimously on   March 21st of earlier this year excuse me March  21 2023 I guess I got to say that was last year technically okay so because parkings a limited  resource with ongoing costs for operation and   maintenance it's important to manage public  parking effectively using a variety of tools   including time limits paid parking signage permit  programs and activ enforcement parking management   allows people to find Convenient parking spaces  reduces congestion helps accommodate new growth   and development and insures consumer choice so as  a result of that 2019 parking and Mobility plan   and all of the community stakeholder engagement  that went into that much of the feedback from the   steering committee and the public Outreach efforts  were consistent the general opinion is that witto   would benefit from more consistent policies new  technology that allows users to conveniently   locate learn about and pay for parking as well as  other multimodal Transportation options today's   introduction of amendments to the city's municipal  code is simply implementing those strategies that   were identified in all of those plans that I've  suggested here those implementation strategies   include again utilizing technology to improve the  customer experience improving parking enforcement   operations addressing parking shortages by  linking parking fees to occupancy working to   eliminate taxpayer and general fund subsidies  for regular operations repairs and maintenance   and using strategic Investments to support  private development and investment to the   benefit of the community so the draft ordinances  that are presented to you today include some of   the following amendments amend the definition  of parking meter Zone authorize independent   contractors hired by the city to enforce the  city's parking ordinances require non-employee   parking Control Officers to carry Insurance  appoint the city traffic engineer to establish   and designate no parking Andor restricted parking  meter zones designate the times dates and times   allowed and appropriate fees for parking  and parking meter zones authorized the the   city traffic engineer to install or caused  to be installed modern parking technology   including traditional individual meter heads pay  stations regulating a group of parking spaces   monitor self-operating access gates and remote  computerized computerized monitoring utilizing   the operator's smartphone technology also expands  where possible the operation of meters to include   operations for paper bills credit cards debit  cards smartphones or other Internet payment or   validation in addition to to or as an alternative  to coins this also increases the minimum fines   currently parking violation fines are a minimum  of $10 this will increase it to $35 and for all   other parking violations increasing from 35 to  50 and then there's some other house keeping   revisions such as removal of redundant sections  of the code so the financial considerations um   it's anti anticipated that these changes will  generate approximately $2.7 million annually   we don't anticipate that Revenue to be realized  until 2025 this is going to take the whole of   2024 to roll out right there's there's significant  um acquisition of meters and other infrastructure   that will be necessitated there will be ongoing  communication with neighborhood associations and   Property Owners throughout 2024 to specifically  identify when and where and how this technology   and this infrastructure will be installed with  an anticipation of probably a January 1 20125   that this all goes into effect with that being  said it's anticipated that the costs for the   acquisition of the infrastructure and other  Capital startups in 2024 will be about half   of the annual operating expenses about 650,000  with annual operation management and Debt Service   of about 1.3 million beginning in 2025 any  adjustments to the budget will be presented   to the city council in the near future enacting  the described parking program requires approval   of two different ordinance types so included in  your agenda packet there two different ordinances   one is uh amendments to some sections of Title  11 this is a simple ordinance and uh requires   a majority vote of a simple majority of City C  council members and would take a a excuse me take   effect upon publication the second ordinance is  a charter ordinance Amendment which will require   an affirmative vote of five council members the  charter ordinance does not become a valid until   60 days after its final publication and if a  petition is filed with the city clerk within   the 60 days signed by 10% of the voters who voted  in the last city election the ORD must be placed   on a ballot for approval with that being said  it's recommended that City Council Place both   ordinances on on first rating and authorize  all the necessary signatures I also have uh   representatives from the Law Department here with  us today uh with that being said um I'll stand for   questions council member fry thank you uh Troy  appreciate the presentation and I know this is   something you've been working very hard on for  a long time and you know as a frequent user of   Downtown parking um to get with the times and get  modern equipment is sorely needed so I'm grateful   for that uh it seems like every time I'm downtown  I I see parking meters that don't work or don't   accept and so and when I travel in other cities  and see the updated technology you it's about   time that wiah is getting with that my concern on  slide 37 going from a $10 fine to $35 how are we   going to communicate that because that is a big  difference for a lot of people is it going to be   published on the meters themselves to let people  know the increase or is there going to be another   communic how are we going to do that yeah so  not only will uh this be published on the city's   website this will also be published on meter  heads or other traffic control devices in the   area to inform the user not only of what the rates  are that they're responsible to pay while parking   but also what the uh fine and penalties this is  also going to be communicated to the court system   so the court systems will know this so if somebody  does receive a violation uh citation ticket then   as they approach the courts courts will have that  information available to them as well okay uh and   then on slide 38 where you talk about the the  budget for it and the first year startup costs   about 650,000 that's not annual that's one-time  startup cost but then going forward you're looking   at about a million3 in operation management but  2.7 in Revenue correct so where does that 1.4   go that profit does it go back into acquisition of  land or parking garage building or what what's the   plan with that annual Surplus yeah so our intent  is to function uh very similar to an Enterprise   fund right that all the revenues that are received  from this will go back into supporting the parking   fund we have significant deferred maintenance on  existing assets uh that we need to start planning   for it's going to take years to generate Revenue  to to respond to deferred maintenance uh we want   to increase security and safety and cleanliness  of our facility we want to improve and beautify   the area surrounding these and we want to improve  the overall customer experience we're not going to   be able to do that without starting to generate  Revenue um as a result of passing the cost on to   the actual user and I'm glad you brought that up  because I believe that too much parking negatively   impacts the downtown it makes it uh unattractive  um the key being you make it safe and comfortable   to walk in your parking situation takes care  of itself and having this idea of one stop and   then be able to use other transportation services  whether it be trolley or Bike Share or you know   whatever um making it safe and comfortable Walkin  will increase the livability of downtown and make   it more attractive and therefore hopefully  increase property tax values so uh thank you   you council member Ballard thank you mayor Troy  thank you for um the presid presentation I have   a couple questions about the businesses in  Oldtown they pay um significant parking fees   in coration with the capacity for their clubs or  restaurants so how will this parking plan impact   um the parking fees that they're already paid sure  so um so we have met with representatives of the   Oldtown Association we've also presented to the  downtown board we've also presented to uh visit   Witchita board right we're we trying to begin to  communicate uh the roll out of this plan right uh   the two ordinances that are before you today are  um just foundational to being able to take that   next step right uh as I indicated this is going  to take all of 24 to roll out the payments that   you're referring to are um agreements that those  businesses have in Oldtown to pay for parking   spaces that they would have otherwise had to  have provided if their business were located   anywhere else right so for example if a a retail  business according to the zoning codes required   to provide 50 spaces right those businesses  have to pay a fee it's a very nominal fee and   I'll tell you over several years that fee has  not been increased um they pay a fee for every   parking space that they would have had to have  provided otherwise right so over the course of   2024 we'll continue to work with those businesses  renegotiate those agreements generally where we   see these uh contract negotiations go are one  of two ways right um and there's probably many   Alternatives but they versions of this right  so one option is that business owner rather   than just paying a fee per space that they would  have added to otherwise now all they're having   to pay for option one would be maybe they take it  upon themselves to pay for the parking associated   with a handful of employees that they employ  right um they'll negotiate directly with the   city hey we need to we need to find parking for  six employees or 12 employees or whatever that   and so now rather than having to pay for the  parking based on an occupancy they're now just   paying parking for their individual employees  a lot of employers will take it upon themselves   to pay for um parking for their employees as an  incentive to their employees for talent attraction   Talent R uh retention right um the other option  we tend to see is sort of option two right and   that is uh those uh employers right allow their  employees to go find parking on their own right   um often times we um see that in a in a tiered  rate structure right where there is a premium   for parking in close proximity or adjacent to the  place of employment and maybe two or three blocks   away it's a more moderate rate maybe three to  five blocks away it's economical right and so   by allowing the employee to make that decision  of what's in their best interest that employee   can work directly with the city and try to  find parking that fits their budget right and   so we're willing to work with employers all not  only in Oldtown but throughout the downtown as   this rolls out out over the course of 2024 we'll  continue to work with all those businesses to try   to figure out what arrangement makes sense for  them and their employees okay thank you for that   um I think I'd just like to see if somehow we can  get this message out specifically to the bars and   restaurants like of the Oldtown area because  I've gotten three um emails just today that   they're just learning about it so I think the  Oldtown Association does a good job but I think   um we need to not just depend on them to get the  information out because this parking will or could   significantly impact um their businesses their  employee safety all of those different things so   absolutely okay thank you yeah vice mayor hoisel  thank you mayor um thank you for the presentation   Troy and all your work on this um do we have a  target number of stalls that we're aiming for or   that we feel would be appropriate for the area  so it's somewhat of a moving Target and let me   try to answer that right um parking is not only  on street but off Street and uh structured right   so parking garages um so if you're just referring  to like on Street meter head meter parking right   that number ranges I want to say I don't have the  number off the top of my head I want to say like   4,000 Mish right throughout but again if we're  talking about parking lots and perhaps a kiosk   that folks who are parking in a surface lot might  have to go pay uh and and again structured parking   um the target's constantly moving uh in addition  you know we have a number of surface lots that our   goal and intent uh is to uh return to productive  use right uh there's an abundance of parking as it   exists today in fact 60% of all Parcels in the  downtown today are considered surface parking   that's a pretty significant percentage of our  downtown property environment um now not all of   those are owned by the city right there's only  a handful of those that are owned by the city   so if we're kind of mixing and mingling what's  public what's private um it's kind of hard to   pin down a very specific number but there are  some numbers available in that parking plan and   I'll be more than happy to share those with you  you uh our intent is to minimize those number of   parking stalls to maximize the occupancy more  specifically if you look back at the plan um I   think there was a total of like 12,000 stalls  available in the entire combination of public   and private um making up that 60% that I just  described unfortunately the occupancy of those   some 12,00 is only 30 to 40% which is which tells  us industry standard we should be looking at about   an 85% occupancy rate which tells us that we have  grossly way too many parking stalls to serve the   demand uh that exists out there today and so  we want to try to right siize that so on the   one end of the spectrum 12,000 stalls depending  on exactly where you're kind of going with that   questioning could be some 2 to 3,000 meter head  type of stalls on street okay and you said 60% as   far as lot space essentially um for on street  parking as well so that 60% is just is just   property outside of the RightWay so if you look  at all of the property that encompasses Oldtown   to deleno and everywhere in between right that  of all of the real property not including the   RightWay 60% of all of that property is some sort  of surface law or structured parking in some form   of fashion or another is there a Target for that  one as well that we're looking at that other   cities do they shoot for 40% or um obviously we  would like to get that number as low as possible   because the lower we get that number the higher  real estate potential exists right if a parking   lot today is vacant or underutilized that's a  lot that could be utilized for housing or for   other retail or Commerce right and so we want to  try to Siz that in a way that I'd love to have   that number zero right that all of the property  in downtown is occupied by some form of housing   or Commerce or or otherwise right um probably not  realistic right uh man if we got that number down   to 20 30% I'd be really excited okay um I I look  through here they you refer to having options for   coin operated machines yep what does that look  like is that going to be every meter most meters   so the technology the uh meter heads that we're  looking at right now um will and there's a number   of different manufacturers right and so I'm not  zeroing out any one type of meter head but these   meter heads will take coins they will take credit  cards and they will also work with uh a mobile app   right being able to have a meter head take bill  pay uh becomes really really expensive right but   at a minimum we want these meter heads to be able  to work with that smart technology these parking   mobile apps to be able to take some sort of credit  card debit card payment if that is what the user   wants to use or at least coins now in other  locations where you see uh there might be a block   face uh Oldtown might be a good example right that  rather than proliferating the landscape with meter   heads right uh you find Convenient locations  for kiosks um then those kiosks might take bill   pay right and so we're trying to create as many  opportunities to improve the customer experience   and make it convenient for the user to pay for  parking that's what we hope to accomplish over   the course of 2024 is continuing to work with the  businesses continuing to work with associations   Property Owners tenants to specifically idea when  where and how we have a really good idea what that   looks like um that was rolled out in the parking  plan approved uh last year um but we'll get down   to a very granular level uh over the course of  2024 appreciate that um last question uh how does   handicap parking figure into all this will they be  metered as well or will it just be um open spots   for handicap parking so uh we're going to continue  to work with the traffic engineer uh the city's   engineer ER and engineering department to identify  where the best possible locations for handicap   parking is we're going to try to provide as much  as possible right uh no uh handicap parking will   not have a meter it will be made available uh  to those individuals um who are handicapped who   have the appropriate tags stickers plates Etc no  there will not be meters associated with handicap   parking okay thank you council member Ballard you  mayor sorry um um I just wanted to make a comment   that I I believe that with Sentry 2 some of the  new meters over there do not um have the coin   option and so I really appreciate that you are  looking at still allowing coins I wish my dad was   here he will never put his card in or download  the app so I think with that transition would   be really important to be able to offer both I'm  barely ever going to have change so that I'm good   with the app or something like that but I I think  it's important that we um have all of the options   so thank you thank you and I if if I could the  kiosk that we're looking too right it used to be   you'd have to go up to a kiosk you'd have to get  a ticket and you'd have to go back to the car and   put it on right the new technology allows you to  enter in your license plate right so you can walk   up to the kiosk pay it recognizes your plate and  then as enforcement is driving around they have   mobile license plate scanners right and they'll  immediately know whether or not you pay it or   not so again our goal is to try to make this as  painless as possible as convenient as possible   and truly improve the customer experience  by assisting them and finding the parking   that they need in close proximity to where they're  trying to go and make it as convenient as possible   for them further questions for staff see none  thank you is there UT from the public on this item he me again saw Freeman 601 North Terrace um  so when I went to the gun show this last weekend   down at Century 2 and it was just cold as could  be um it was very inconvenient for anybody to   stand outside at a kiosk and most of the people I  saw going in the door just got out of their truck   and walked right past the sign you're supposed to  scan and went in and went to the gun show and came   back out I think you probably missed a whole lot  of enforcement at that point in time but I see a   few problems with the ideas that are going on here  one we're going to privatize another city service   we're going to take something that this city and  the council and management has control over and   we're going to pass it off to another entity  so when something goes wrong the city doesn't   directly take care of it they've unloaded their  obligation and I don't think that that's a good   service to the citizens of Witchita secondly I  heard that we were going to create a class system   for who could afford to park the closest and I  don't think any employee should ever have to pay   to park to go to work I think that's absolutely  ridiculous and beyond that you know as citizens   who already pay taxes for the property that we  hope to go down there and park on I don't think   it's a very good idea to raise it from $10 to $35  for a parking ticket um because if I get a parking   ticket downtown for $35 I'm going to quit going  downtown to shop and I'm just going to drive out   to Walmart or Target or Home Depot or someplace  where I can get the product that I want and not   be charged for parking so if you guys are trying  to draw people to downtown you might rethink this   because you know that Nifty parking system that  you guys put out out front here I don't have my   little scan card but you know if you don't keep  that scan card perfectly flat when you try to   leave City Hall it won't work so you know we  have Technologies where we no longer have a   human being where we can talk with about this and  have them help us or deal with us as people we've   got robots doing human jobs and we've got the buck  being passed and I for one don't really like it   so um thanks for hearing me out and I hope you  consider some of these things when you make your decision all right further public input Andrew crane um just uh making sure  that uh you guys uh you know hear from the   disabled community and the blind community  too um on the U um Ada um on the uh parking   um and and that so please um and uh also buses  too thank you all right further input from the public welcome good morning mayor and council members  Twilight Purity Polo Club um I 100% back the   comments of the first gentleman who spoke you  know part of how I'm wired is to think about   the little guy right when I come down here  I guess my bottom line is that I don't want   this privatized parking to be one more burden  on the backs of the poor people of wiah a lot   of times when I come here to City Hall the folks  who are coming here to do business they aren't   necessarily the ones who could afford like a $35  or $50 fine if their parking meter is expired and   they're here for important business I don't  know everything that goes on in this building   but I can see that there could be reasons for  people to not be able to go out and feed their   meter right so another area of concern is the  plan to limit the number of parking spaces is   only going to make parking more expensive and  then the privatized company I mean it's a uh   supply and demand right so then the privatized  company I don't know what the agreement looks   like I don't know if you've seen drafts  of those agreements but what's going to   be their incentive and if they are incentive  incentivized to target areas where there are   more folks who aren't able to feed their meter  or understand a more complex meter system then   those are the folks who are going to further  be burdened by the additional fines I don't   know what happens when a person gets X number  of fines you know parking fines you know and   that's something I guess I need to look into but  will this impact their driver's license which is   already an issue for PE poor people in Kansas  you know having to pay Their fines and so forth   to keep their um keep their driver's licenses  but to summarize it in general I think the   plan could use a little more work and a little  more fine-tuning considering how it may impact   um folks of um uh lower economic lower economic  people thank you thank you further input from the public morning good morning mayor uh uh vice  mayor uh city council city manager first of   all happy New Year uh we're getting off to a  really good start this year moving forward but   again uh thank you for the actions that you're  taking I mean it's important we're a growing city   we're a city under transformation you as you've  heard us talk about a lot and I think today's   topic the one we're talking about right now is  dealing with that um my name is Jeff flure I'm   president of downtown Witchita uh in the greaty  wiah partnership 505 East Douglas Avenue and we   do want to express support for this item before  you today um we have seen considerable progress   in our downtown's development you've been a big  part of that uh in the last uh since 10 2010   1.6 billion we're set this year to see almost a  half a billion dollars so again we took us from   10 to just here this last year 1.6 in one year  alone we're seeing almost a third of that which   again I think constitutes why we need to have this  topic that we're talking about today um one of the   largest projects in downtown history will start  this year and that is the biomedical campus has   an incredible opportunity for growth so again  how is it we manage parking this asset that's   owned by the community is extremely important  I know that one of the things is is that this   is a complex project or topic there's a lot of  different things to take into consideration I   think the assistant city manager has done a great  job and as he's noted this has had been has been a   conversation since going back to project downtown  in 2009 we do believe the proposed plan moves us   forward in a very constructive way uh it does put  together a system that we believe will complement   the visitor but also the businesses that need  to secure parking in this downtown area for   the employees that work for them um one of the  things I would note that with C2 the technology   that has been implemented around C2 thank you  um I have had to dive deep into consoles of my   cars to find quarters typically I find pennies  uh which I cannot feed into the meter uh now I   can do the code and I agree uh Council some  people will want the coin operations but for   me having that technology is welcome um the  other aspect of this is that we as as a board   the downtown witow board uh Troy has been on to  to several of those board meetings to talk about   this proposed plan they support it one of the key  things that was brought up uh is what councilman   fry was just talking about is as we generate the  revenue we feel like it does need to go back into   the area that is generating it and for that we  have deferred maintenance on G garages uh the   streetscape areas that we have the connectivity of  our downtown all of that could help I think move   that forward to where our garages are safe they're  well lit and we're going to have to build more in   the future to accommodate the development so we  do believe this is a way to feed back into that   in a responsible way to move our city forward  um we also do believe too that investing in the   parking system uh we are setting the stage for  long-term sustainability again I think one of   the issues that we've had to date is the Revenue  to maintain the assets this does create a revenue   stream to help make sure that is plausible so  again sustainability I think is important as   well the other part of this is I think that with  what Troy had noted 60% of today's real estate   downtown is some form of parking lot well it's  just we haven't elevated the uses uh of the real   estate downtown we are now doing that with what  I've already talked to you about so those those   lots are going to go away little by little so  I think how is it we really think about parking   and trans Transportation uh cohesively is really  important and that will lend into the vibrancy of   our downtown I also don't think this is a stretch  to say this is a talent thought uh as you think   about those who are here but also those that we  want to attract from other cities they've seen   other cities really apply these type of things  to parking as far as the management of it they   expect it they don't expect to come into a city  and not have some type of system this again I   think helps us connect even to Talent initiatives  so with that said I would say from downtown witch   the partnership that we're committed to work  with the city I know Troy has said this will   be a multi-month layout as far as making it work  we are there to help communicate uh Council Valor   working with Oldtown we will be we work with  them to help communicate it as well but we are   committed to work with you as a partner to make  this seamless in the transition and again we   appreciate the opportunity to express the support  today thank you thank you forther input for the public welcome thank you I'm Alan Kaylor I'm speaking  here on behalf of bwalk Witchita at 325 North St   Francis I spoke to you a few weeks ago about the  17th Street Bike lanes and I mentioned in that   talk that one of the things that needed to be  done to continue to attract Talent as Mr foror   said was to adopt many of the plans that have  been adopted in concept but not been implement   one of those that I mentioned was this parking  plan I didn't realize that it was already in   process uh thank you for acting so quickly on  my suggestion there so uh now you may wonder   why bik walk Wichita is up here speaking about  a parking plan for Motor Vehicles of all things   um actually the reason that the parking plan  is important is because it will make the city   the downtown area more walkable more attractive  more appealing and a better place to live a few   years ago Jeff tumlin a nationally recognized  expert on urban planning and particularly on   parking spoke here in Witchita I know some  of you were there um and if you've not seen   it I would urge you to watch it on YouTube he  made several points that are relevant to this   plan survey after survey shows that more and more  people want to work in places that emphasize walk   ability not exclusively but give that option uh  biking and walking generate Economic Development   he said making a place walk friendly is the  starting place for any great place focusing   specifically on parking he said that witcha  especially downtown has twice as much parking   as it actually needs it just needs to be better  managed uh it's really really important important   to supply parking but overs supplying parking  is more of a problem than not having enough   by managing parking the goal should be making  sure that there is one or two spaces available   on every uh curb face the key is the flexibility  the point of charging for parking or putting a   parking Management in plan in place is not to  generate revenue from that parking the point   is to maximize the use of the public asset you  don't necessarily have to charge for the parking   if you're not meeting uh the goal of the capacity  the 85% that Mr Anderson mentioned then you don't   need to charge if you start to um have that  not have enough space available maybe you put   in time limits if time limits are you still  don't have enough space available then you   can start charging but it needs to be flexible the  system that we have now doesn't allow that kind of flexibility as I said the parking is a  public asset that needs to be managed properly for practical purposes the only  way to do that is to contract that out to   a third party but that third party does  need to be managed effectively by staff   needs to be closely watched they can't just  be given cart blanch to manage it however they   want and the fees as I said really in many  cases will be either should be either none   or minimal uh minimal uh so on behalf of bike  walk Witchita I ask you to adopt this proposal   as one more step to making Witchita a better  place to live more walkable more attractive   to talent and more economically vibrant  thank you thank you further input from the public Carl DN welcome here I am again I feel like Al  paccino I'm getting sucked back in when I parked   downtown I used to park in the public library  space put my quarters in and then walked to   where I was going now I park in that free parking  in River Vista on the second floor which I don't   think people know about and walk because when  I'm walking and I'm not paying for parking I   feel like I'm sticking it to the man if you know  what I'm saying or in this case Mr Leighton here   uh so but now I'm going to be 68 this month and  I can still I'm still in enough shape to park and   walk and I'm all for walkability but let's think  about our elderly people you know on fixed incomes   have to pay pay for parking and I'm not sure what  this plan is it's all new to me I just I'm just   here for the library so elderly people are going  to have to on fixed incomes are going to have to   pay more for parking to I guess a private company  and because those people can't afford are not able   to walk you see what I'm saying and they may not  be able to be able to get a handicap sticker so   anyway that's my thoughts on the matter thank  you thank you for their input from the public   all right see now let's bring discussion back to  the bench further discussion council member fry   thank you and I appreciate all the comments  today and I've gotten some emails and texts   from folks that are concerned about this overall  parking plan it's it's change and it's difficult   to accept that what we've been doing over the  last few decades needs some tweaking and some   adaptation um we've certainly seen more demand and  surge uh parking with downtown is it's gotten more   successful with the uh the addition of Interest  Bank Arena and just other growth in our downtown   as Mr Flur commented so the key is going to be  making sure that we have a flexible system and   that can adapt for those demand and those surge  pricing and those opportunities when parking's   at a premium and I know Troy gets that and but  and then having strong management with um staff   oversight is going to continue to be key making  sure that what we're hearing from our neighbors   is then reflected in how the system is managed but  the one thing I keep hearing over and over again   and this is something that we have to get right  is communication communication communication we   have to continue to tell people what's happening  how these changes are going to affect them um   where there's available parking like Mr Dennett  said second floor River Vista most people don't   realize that is free for the advanced learning  library so continuing to make sure that we are   stressing our parking plan how the changes are  going to affect people what needs to happen we   got to do this right we got to and we got to  really make sure our communication is on point   so that's the biggest encouragement I have for  staff going forward thank you council member   Johnson thanks mayor council member fry keeps  taking my notes uh did to what he said um having   served on the downtown streets committee parking  was something that always came up and I appreciate   uh Esau's comments in regard to uh the fines but  when we've talked to several downtown businesses   parking management has been probably one of the  things they've been frustrated uh about whether   it's folks parking too long in front of their  business or um lack of enforcement all manner   of things and in my time on Council I've had a few  businesses uh reach out and work with Public Works   to change twoh hour parking to one hour parking so  they can keep people coming and going um to Troy's   point this is going to be pretty tough to um or  not tough complicated to implement just because   with all the different needs and changing downtown  but I also think that this is a step in the right   direction I'm always the supporter of trying to  get master plans done rather than continue to kick   them down the curb and as long as we do keep in  mind having um coin options those are important   for people who uh may not have apps or refuse to  get apps like some of some folks I know um and   when I was I think at a city to City trip was the  first time I saw an opportunity that you didn't   have to run out of whatever building you were in  to the meter to put a coin in you could just use   the app I thought that was fascinating and I'm  glad that wiah is now considering that because it   saved me a lot of uh I was out of shape still am  saved me a lot of extra steps so I think as long   as we work on that balance to make sure there's  options for coins and apps uh we're good like   council member fry said a lot of communication  for sure if there are ways to look at maybe   some did you know signage like again a lot of  folks don't know about the River Vista having   something out that says did you know you could  park over there I think is a is a big deal and   to the point that um Esau made we might consider  looking at where those kiosk are if it is a day   when it's like 27 degrees out like it was this  morning maybe people are trying to rush past that   so if there is a way to use some of our current  um facilities whether it's private or public to   have a kiosk either enclosed or somewhere out of  the elements I think that's something we should   consider as well council member blueo thanks  mayor um had a lot of constituents reach out   to me about this uh lot a lot of them are asking  you know trying to drive more people to downtown   but yet you know we're going to make it harder  parking is going to be harder a lot of people   um feel like the system we have right now is  not user friendly um said they spend several   minutes trying to get logged into the app and and  having issues with it so um I have not received   any positive feedback about it I I I've realized  it it's a part of maintaining the parking lot and   keeping good parking downtown but I don't know if  we just haven't communicated it correctly or what   but I I I haven't heard anything POS all right  further comments or discussion I I just want to   Echo what my colleague uh council member fry my  other colleague uh council member Johnson have uh   said council member Johnson talks about balance  I think that in master plans one of the problems   with Master plans is there's a lot of what ifs  right like where we have folks in the background   who have been working on this you run it through  different people who are stakeholders uh and now   it's time to uh make significant change and of  course one of the problems with that is you can't   really I guess see everything that could come  your way that could be an issue uh and frankly   at this point in the process it's really hard to  predict that uh so I want to just uh uh Echo C   member fries uh word of communication where not  just communication would be important but in the   city of saying hey where there is free parking or  or uh where there is low lowc cost parking I had   no idea that the second floor visit Witchita this  my last meeting as mayor and I had no idea that   that was open to the public so even communication  I think um for people who should know hasn't uh uh   actually been there uh but also the communication  to come back and tell us uh not not all of us but   for the next Council what are some of the issues  that actually played out uh if this passes and we   are going to have uh more chaos and we're going  to have a more what we're consider modernization   of our parking and anticipation of downtown  growth um what what are the main issues are   we actually will we be seeing more low-income  folks who have uh higher amounts of parking   tickets uh or will we see less because now people  can actually up there parking utilizing the appos   going out and feet in a meter uh so I think that  uh where I'm going with this is I hope that this   discussion continues and I don't want folks to  assume that if this passes this is it and we're   this is where we are uh and there's no changing it  because one of the beauties of our government is   the ability to continue to make improvements based  on people's experiences so communication from the   city of course can go better uh but also we want  to encourage communication uh to our um electeds   and to our city so we can uh continuously improve  the experience of our residents uh so with that   I I will make the motion to figure out where the  item is um to accept staff's recommended action to   place the ordinance on first reading and authorize  the necessary signatures is there a second second   motion has been made and then seconded M Mr Mayor  I believe it's ordinances there's two ordinances   that's to that's definitely what I said uh to  place I make the motion to accept s recommended   action to place the ordinances on first reading  and authorize the necessary signatures is there a   second second motion has been seconded by council  member Johnson clerk R and Ro members cast their vote I received five yay votes to two nay  votes that motion does carry and the item   passes and Mr manager thank you for cor I'm  a little stuffed up so thank you so much for   uh making sure that the record uh is clear  Adam Clark plane View Park Community Center [Music] construction good morning mayor council Troy  hman director of Parks and Recreation morning   also would like to recognize uh Becca Johnson  she's worked really hard on this project the   item I have for you today is in regards  to blame View Park Community Center uh   and Construction in District 3 a little bit of  background uh the playground neighborhood was   built in 1942 primarily as a temporary housing  and is currently home to about 4,000 residents   coven neighborhood Resource Center also known  as NRC uh is approximately 3,000 square ft it   was built in the 7 7s and it's connected to cvin  elementary school there in the plane view area uh   the culvin NRC houses the district three offices  uh community service staff also performs a lot of   programs partners with a lot of neighborhood  folks and host events as well as uh partners   with the Parks and Recreation staff on many many  programs and events uh the covin NRC serves an   average of about 600 residents each month uh not  counting the families that they serve and also the   before and after school program that we have at  that location uh that also has a summer camp at   that location that's run by Parks and Recreation  currently the facility includes three offices uh   a 10p person conference room and six cubicles uh  partners that we've organized with in the future   uh they've been turned down or turned away uh  for large scale programming events and classes   due to the lack of space residents of the plan  view neighborhood um have been requesting youth   targeted programming uh that goes beyond just  our before and after school programs and our   summer camps but many many other activities  have been asked and uh and is desired by the   neighborhood as well a little bit of analysis in  February of 2020 I'm sorry in February of 2022 uh   discussions were held about the opportunity for  moving the district neighborhood Resource Center   that would allow to expand programming efforts in  March of 2022 Community stakeholders brought the   idea of a new building uh to joint with the as as  a recreation center and the neighborhood Rec I'm   sorry and the neighborhood Resource Center in PL  view to staff to expand uh the need a committee   of the city analyzed the potential sites that  would keep the center near the plane view area   and selected an underutilized portion of the plane  View Park Park adjacent to the current NRC and   the school serviced by The Parks and Recreation  programming um in that area further analysis in   June of 2023 uh WSU completed an architectural  survey archaeological survey and determined the   desired site that was viable for use that was  near this area in September of 2023 conceptual   designs of the facility was undergone uh with  an on call architect resulting in initial design   concept for a joint neighborhood resource center  and a recreation facility or a community center   the initial designs for a single story structure  of approximately 18,500 Square ft incorporating   a full gymnasium computer labs Fitness facilities  classroom and offices was received and approved by   the board of Park Commissioners um in December  so this is the fun part uh this is a site view   of the area as you can see on the top of the of  the slide is coven Elementary and that's P that   portion over there is where our current Resource  Center is at uh there's the existing parking lot   and I'll use the uh uh the little arrow here this  was where the new proposed location would be at   for the recreation center um which would also have  additional area for uh in the green area which   is a future gym if needed that we could actually  build that out um also some other additional areas   can be built out through that uh that building  and a new parking lot to service this area this   is a little bit more of a floor plan you can  see uh the gymnasium here and then again as I   mentioned a future gym could be built out in this  location a future addition could be built out in   this location as well as up here on the top left  hand side um offices a conference room um support   areas uh as you come in there's there would be a  flex area the computer labs a classroom Fitness   area and this meeting room would have movable  walls both of these would have movable walls and   of course storage to support all this um of course  I'm most most interested in the gym because I know   we could host a lot of different activities here  um that the community is really interested and seeing another rendering um of the  location Financial considerations the   estimated project is about $10 million uh  breaking it down site development which is   about 1.5 million the building construction  7.1 million approximately uh architectural   engineering fees approximately uh  600,000 with a contingency of about   3/4 of a million all that adds up to $10  million Excuse me while I take a sip of water so for the financials to support this  facility there's going to be reallocation of   CIP funds that will occur to support this plan  View Community Center project uh These funds   are going to be coming from several different  projects and we had scheduled uh CIP dollars   for Watson Park in 24 and 25 those dollars  would be reallocated to this project uh same   thing with the plane View Park we had dollars  scheduled for 27 and 28 um uh 2030 we have some   dollars that were scheduled for clap Park and  in 31 and 33 uh dollars that were scheduled   for the park maintenance facilities all these  would be reallocated to this project so so it's   recommended that the city council approve the  project concept and design of the plane View   Community Center authorized the project budget  as presented adopt the bonding resolution and   authorize any necessary signatures um I'm  available for any questions questions for   staff council member fry thank you uh Troy could  you go back to slide 52 please because I'd like   to get a little more understanding about each  one of these CIP projects is the Watson Park   uh uh or that is that deferred already from one  that we had earlier this year or is this a new   project that was at this is from $224 that would  be reallocated to this project and 2025 right what   was the project the Watson Park project that's a  million dollars we don't have it it's 660,000 no   but there's two projects here 24 and 25 all most  it's a million dollars so what were those separate   years um so if you recall we had a master plan for  Watson Park that every year we would come up with   some additional projects whether it was making  improvements to um the irrigation system uh to   the playground which we've done uh improvements  for the uh miniature golf these are all projects   that we've done throughout the years and this is  kind of uh the same uh process that we're going   to be moving forward in the future but it would  be real allocating these dollars away from those   type of projects to this project so you didn't  identify what those projects were in 24 and 25   that's correct we haven't done it yet okay so does  it just get moved out to later years uh as we find   a demand or we find a need yes um we would work  with our budget office we would work with Council   uh to prioritize those years is the plane View  Park monies were that was that dedicated to a   community center or was it some other project  within plan view it was geared towards the   park itself so we were looking at in the future  making some improvements to the ball fields out   there making some improvements to the roads or the  parking lot or the restrooms uh those were some   of the so those get delayed as well those were  some of the ideas that we had thought and clap   Park was just part of the overall master plan  that's correct how much was that total master   plan if I remember correctly um we got 7 million  going this year and next year no five million and um I can't recall off top of my head but rough  about $12 million so then that just gets deferred   until later in the CIP as well what were the  park maintenance facilities was that specific   to District three Park maintenance or was it  for the entire city it's for the entire city   it's the park maintenance facility building where  we house our staff and we have our our equipment   there um a study was looked at what can we do to  make some improvements there um improvements to   the building improvements to the overall yard so  by deferring those that could impact the entire   park maintenance system it could minimally  yes okay thank you Vice May hoisel thank you   mayor um just a point of clarification council  member fry are you asking about the total plan   for clap park or are you talking about what  we have allotted it was a near $30 million   Plan before inflation and Co took over so since  then we've kind of redesigned it around what is   workable and what is feasible so I just wanted  to offer that point of clarification Council M   fry you on the board thank you um I forgot  a question so when we heard the Carl Brewer   Community Center and the reallocation of funds  for that at that time I asked for a master plan   related to recreation centers we still do not have  recreation centers in districts 2 four and five   and I don't know what the long-term plan is for  that but kind of concerned that we're just just   kind of cherry-picking projects and reallocating  CIP dollars that have a greater impact than just   the district I know with the Carl Brewer Center we  delayed the police substation uh in North Witchita   in order to allow that and now we're talking about  delaying Park maintenance facilities that could   impact the entire system so I'm worried about  the precedent this is setting and going forward   about how we structure CIP dollars benefit  the entire Community rather than just one   individual District I appreciate the creative  financing to get us there but I worry about   the greater impact it has and again not seeing a  master plan for recreation centers still bothers me so we haven't got out to the public yet I don't  want to jump right into discussion uh thank you oh   I know yours were questions right I'm just saying  in general let's let's uh go out to the public so   we can get all the the uh information uh before  we have uh robust discussion because I believe   that there will be more discussion forther  imper public see none now back to the bench discussion U council member Johnson  thanks mayor uh before my comment   Troy I did have a question on that site  plan room J what was that there was a   men's restroom women's restroom family  restroom and then Jay was like on the   other side probably should have asked you  when you were up there see if we can find it right below the family restroom it's the janitorial closet okay I was I  was asking cuz I didn't see a lactation space um   and I always bring that up just because I I know  that um some women would prefer not to be in a   bathroom breastfeeding um so if there is an option  in one of those spaces I think that would be um   helpful and then um lastly I am excited about this  project I know that council members from time to   time will look at projects within their district  and sometimes that have an overall impact but um   seeing a potential Community Center in plane  view I think is a a really big deal appreciate   the vice mayor for really pushing for that that  was something that I would always I had always   hoped to see as well down in South Witchita  and especially in that Community uh I think   this would be a real benefit to the area and  especially if uh we can find some ways to also   raise dollars for those potential future additions  I think that Community definitely deserves it um   again appreciate leadership on that hope to see  a lot of Art in there as well it's one thing   that I I love to see but again appreciate all the  creativity on financing uh and hard work put in on   this and looking forward to seeing it the only  thing I didn't see was more pickle ball courts   I have to talk to you about that there there is  a space outside for possibly in the future what   what were you you Soul foot s buts all buts all  okay so a mini soccer from what I'm told or or   other activities as well that's not necessarily  uh have to be that but it could be that that's   one of the suggestions that's come up because of  this neighborhood uh really enjoys that type of   a sport so so why don't we divide up the tennis  courts and make part of them pickle ball courts   just kidding that would could imagine getting  into tennis vers pickleball politics right at   this moment but uh anyways my colleagues who get  emails know know where I'm going with that so uh   further discussion if not I I do live in District  3 I do want to just add that I I think this Center   I want to thank the vice mayor for focusing  on this uh and really modernizing our plans   looking forward uh we're hoping that this Center  helps close that that um opportunity Gap uh that   we've seen in certain places uh where this is a  center where people cannot only go for resources   but also enjoy uh right there in their Community  I will point out um that I I can't think of a time   where we had something significant uh in in PL the  plane view area uh one of my colleagues mentioned   that there's really not a lot of uh um community  centers south of Kellogg uh we used to have one in   District Four it was O Ag and I I think it's I'm  not sure if it's really doing much right now uh   but uh it it shows a need for it and I I'm really  proud when you think about the uh initiatives that   we were taken we're out west we have a new Branch  Library uh that's being developed we have uh new   fire stations new Police substations uh we are  seeing uh in the Northeast that we have uh more   uh uh investment into the Brewer Center uh and  into the ballpark the fields um it just feels   that way out out South we're going to have a new  uh Tournament level pickle ball uh complex and now   to continue to uh ensure that all of which is out  the place of opportunity uh it seems that we are   finally investing uh in areas like plan view uh  so with that again I just want to thank the vice   mayor for taking leadership on this and being  willing to shake up uh plans uh a little bit so   that uh we can um move forward uh with a modern  perspective of what the community needs uh so   with that I I will give the floor to vice mayor  hoisel for potenti Mo motion thank you mayor and   before I go I'd just like to say I appreciate all  my colleagues you guys have given me advice on how   to navigate this again nothing's ever going to be  perfect but my heart's always been in plain view   and if you go down there and sit um you'll come  across plenty of kids and plenty of families that   that need help and this will give us the ability  to help them and even more um thank you Troy   and thank you to the park staff especially for  helping uh push this along um I know programming   especially for the kids is in your heart so I I  think we're going to do great things with this um   to csr's current and past um Becca Johnson Maddie  Campbell and um Janet Johnson especially this has   always been a goal of theirs as well because they  they sit in the office every single day and they   see the need that comes into this community so  um this is going to be a great thing to help a   lot of people um in a lot of different areas and  just putting this out there in case there's some   uh well off people that I have not totally  just angered today um we are still looking   for um some money to to add on in the future and  oncoming months and years as well and if anybody   has um connections or would like to to donate  possibly to this project um just reach out to   us and we'd be glad get you on there as well and  um I uh one last thing before I make this motion   um I do think that we are going to have one room  here named for CJ Lofton and it will be a place   where kids can go especially teenagers who if they  are going through some things in their life that   they do have resources available to help them  through the issues that they are facing so I   do think that that's appropriate to keep that  in mind as well for all all of our children   going forward so with that I move that the city  council approve the project concept and design   of the plan View Community Center authorize a  project budget as presented adopt the bonding   resolution and authorize the necessary signatures  I'll second the motion motion has been made and   then seconded to speak on the motion uh council  member fry thank you and while I appreciate my   colleague's passion for this project and I  certainly understand the the desire to have   a Top Flight Facility for the kids in plane  view and and and District 3 for the reasons   I asked Troy earlier I can't support the motion  because I am very uncertain about the economy and   going forward and how we're manipulating the CIP  budget um I just don't think it's responsible I   I'm don't have a clear picture on the future of  our Park and Recreation specifically recreation   centers and until that is vetted out it's hard  for me to support this project so uh again I   understand your passion and I appreciate it and  I would like to be able to support it but I just   can't because of those reasons understandable  thank you further discussion see none a motion   has been made and seconded uh clerk will open  rooll members cast the vote have received five   six yay votes to one nay that motion does pass  Madam clerk ASR phase three recharge Basin project morning good morning for the record Don Henry  Public Works and utilities um the item before   you at the moment is in regards to the city's  phased water supply plan and in particular   staff is seeking approval of the budget and  a contract for Engineering Services related   to um design work on three recharge basins the  phase water supply plan is a critical component   of the city's drought initiative um with the  goal being able to sustain a 1% % dust bow   type drought with minimal impact to our customers  um this uh the phas Water Supply plan includes um   construction of these three additional recharge  basins as well as Rehabilitation of the city's   local wellfield to fully utilize those existing  water rights um our local wellfield is a group   of Wells that the city owns in the vicinity of  the existing Water Treatment Plant um near the   AR Kansas River in Sim Park um that project will  be presented as a separate item at a future date   the plan also takes advantage of the flexibility  that's been strategically designed into the new   Witchita Waterworks treatment plant the ability  to treat 100% groundwater or 100% surface water   independently of the other not only um greatly  enhances our flexibility and optimizes the use   of those resources through drought but it  also limits the investments in the the the   additional infrastructure that we'll need an  ASR this particular project takes um advantage   of existing ASR infrastructure including the  river intake structure and pump system the   settled water basin and Pump Station Associated  piping and valving the membrane filtration system   Advanced oxidation treatment process and the  treated water storage and high service Pump   Station system the proposed improvements um  allow for strategic post drought recharge in   areas of greatest depletion shortening the time  for o for Recovery um this is true not only in   drought but through time um by recharging in  strategic areas of the O field where depletion   or Draw down occurs the most this will allow for  higher aquifer levels Through Time higher aquifer   levels um pre-drought during a drought and post  drought this will hold down pumping costs um the   basins are easier to maintain and we'll have um  um lower maintenance cost on our wells and then   um water quality is also protected because the  higher oer levels help slow down the migration   of saltwater contamination into the area of the  city's Central wellfield and then finally the city   does re um receive recharge credits for the water  that will be recharged through the basins and and   those credits um provide supplemental Supply um  on the tail end of a designed drought I should   mention here that the city council previously  approved a funding assistance agreement with   um the United States Department of Interior  Bureau of Reclamation um for a cost share on   this project the city's staff screening and  selection committee entertained two proposals   for Engineering Services on this project uh wsp  USA environment and infrastructure Incorporated   was selected based upon their project approach  the schedule provided their staff assignments um   experience with previous similar project across  the country and the depth of expertise that they   have on their assigned team um work under this  contract will include the necessary geotechnical   um exploration and soil analyses in order to um  find the optimal locations for the three basins on   property that the city already owns in The Equis  beds wellfield um work will also proceed to um   obtain the uh necessary environmental clearances  uh the Neary permitting work and um preliminary   design um through this process staff will continue  um to be engaged with the groundwater Management   District number two which that work is already um  proceeding as well as with the Kansas Department   of Agriculture um Division of Water Resources  and the kdhe Bureau of water um as the permitting   agencies on the Project funding for the project is  included in the 20 24th through 20 uh 33 adopted   Capital Improvement program has been included  in the most recent cost of service analysis and   will not impact rates um staff is recommending  initiation of the full amount of $3 million for   Engineering Services at this time um keeping in  mind that this first phase of engineering work   the contract is is will be um capped at $1,650,000  uh the bo assistance agreement will allow for um   funding to offset up to 25% of the approved  project costs and with that I'd like to make   the recommendation that city council approve the  contract with wsp for Engineering Services approve   the budget adopt the resolution and authorize the  necessary signatures thank you and I'll stand for   any questions that you have questions for staff  see none thank you is there aov to public on this   item see none we'll roll right into discussion  further discussion on this item council member FR   thank you um I don't know if this is intentional  or not but um the timing couldn't have been better   uh nearly 10 years ago when I first uh declared  that my candidacy for city council my main issue   was water infrastructure and so for you to put a  water infrastructure project on my last meeting   thank you council member Johnson thanks mayor um I  just wanted to say that the ASR um project how it   works and all of that I don't think it'ss talked  about enough nowadays I know it did when when it   started but um that's pretty amazing to see I was  able to see that before I was on Council uh when   I was working on water uh issues and I just hope  that uh more people pay attention to to this it's   pretty incredible to see uh in person and know  that this is how we uh can help with long-term   water security so just wanted to put that out  there F the discussion if there is no further   discussion and chair recognizes council member  fry for a motion ah thank you um I make a motion   that the city council approve the consultant  selection initial budget adopt the resolution and   authorizing necessary signatures is there a second  second seconded by Vice May hoisel cler will open   roll members cast their vote please there we go  have receiv 78 votes that motion does indeed pass   Madam clerk funding and public art approval for  Commerce and St Francis streets from gug Avenue   to Waterman streets welcome good morning mayor  good afternoon it's still morning uh Paul gunsman   Public Work utilities um I will be presenting  funding and public art improvements for Commerce   in St Francis streets um I will go over a brief uh  history of the project and I will turn it over to   Lindsay to uh cover the public art components of  the project on January 18th 2022 the city council   approved funding for a design concept to improve  Commerce in St Francis streets from Kellogg   to Waterman on July 12th 2022 the city council  approved a design agreement with trans systems to   develop Design Concepts and on March 14th 2023 the  city council approved the design concept on May   23rd 2023 the city council approve supplemental  design agreement number one to complete the design   and on October 2nd 2023 the design Council  approved the public the proposed public art features proposed concept for commer Street  includes a two-way roadway with sidewalk and   a mixture of parallel and perpendicular parking  on the east side of the street as seen in the   photo this is looking South towards Kellogg  and a couple other photos of the proposed   improvements on Commerce Street sidewalk will  also be included and the on street parking um   will be concrete while the driving surface  will be brick to proposed improvements along   St Francis Street include sidewalk on each side  of the street with diagonal parking on the west   side of the street and parallel parking on the  east side again the driving Lanes will be brick   that would be salvaged with that is currently  there with the proposed on street parking that's concrete project also includes a cross  connection for vehicle and pedestrian   access between the two streets and the  project also includes aesthetic elements   such as trees benches trash receptacles bike  racks and public art components construction   as anticipated begin in early 2024 and be  completed in early 2025 prior to the NCAA   tournament with that I will turn it over to  Lindsay to go over the proposed public art features all all right Lindsay welcome these are  your designs is that correct uh that is incorrect   sorry to make a quick correction uh we have three  proposed uh art features uh for this project Lind   spaka director of Arts and Cultural Services  uh there are well let me re reiterate that are   already make a correction on myself we have 17 art  installations or features for this project uh to   which are series and one Gateway project that you  can see kind of uh dotted throughout this map of   the project the first one uh is concrete cloud  and installation by Eric Schmidt concrete cloud   is a series of sculptural benches exploring  physical principles of aerodynamics and the   motion of electrons uh there are eight proposed  benches that will dot the landscape of Commerce   and St Francis providing Gathering areas for  reflection and a further Discovery many of the   benches will be paired with other Public Works uh  of art along this Corridor uh further reinforcing   the connections between functional and aesthetic  landscap components uh and these will be created   with cast concrete and we'll have led under  lighting below the benches the pictures here   are just stainless steel molds of the the cast  concrete themselves so these are the forms that   the concrete is being cast inside uh pictures of  the an aerial view and a side view the artist uh   initial illustrations on the Le hand side  here along with a proposal on the the side   that is kind of I think the best way to kind of  uh Envision what they will look like the second   art feature is by Art duo duo uh John Harrison and  Megan Miller electri Electric chameleons uh this   is an interactive art installation created from  salvaged Civic infrastructural equipment that is   morphed into nature uh they're going to be adorned  with colorful Rocky additions that are inspired by   native Windfield limestone a highly textured Stone  uh full of holes and fossils by merging equipment   and stone the artists hint at it the at an  impossible event the collision between two points   in history millions of years apart the sculptural  elements will include motion activated sound and   Light Elements uh that uh will be activated when  you walk past them and they'll be interacting with   one one or another um and we're still exploring  what those will actually look like in terms of   which sculptures we'll be talking to which ones  throughout throughout the area here are some   inspiration photos of what the salvageable Civic  infrastructural equipment uh could be uh including   gas meters and parking meters and some renderings  by the artists of of what the activations will   look like you can see them both at night and  during the day with some different lighting components and another image and the final art feature proposed is  Highwire a Gateway project by Kent Williams   uh this is a gateway sculpture that landmarks  the district's north entrance at the corner   of Commerce Street and Waterman Street  it animates place and engages visitors   the sculpture is an engaging play on the  historic Highwire infrastructure of the   district reflecting and extending the visual  context of Commerce Street's existing power   poles with luminous birdlike characters purging  35 to 40 feet in the sky the sculpture is going   to be made of weathering steel polished  stainless steel polychrome and will have   custom and program program uh LED Lighting  systems that can be programmed uh and you   can see a spec of what it's going to look like  on the left side uh and then the hints of the   existing infrastructure of poles that  that Adorn Commerce Street additional images up close um I will note that the bird   uh Birds on on Highwire will  be static they will not be in motion and I'll pass it back over to Paul the existing budget of $710,000 was approv  by City Council on May 23rd 2023 the adopted   2024 through 2033 Capital Improvement program  includes an additional $4.75 million funded   by local sales tax and $400,000 for public  art funded by General obligation funds bonds   staff recommends initiating the remaining 4.75  million for construction RightWay acquisition   and project management and $400,000 for public  art for a revised budget of $$ 5.86 million it   is recommended that the city council approve  the revised budget public art change order   limit adjustment adopt the amending resolution  and authorize necessary signatures I would   stand for questions questions for staff see none  thank you is there input from the public on this item me again I would say yes please uh  you know I'm very proud of this group of   artists um they made it fun to come downtown  when nobody was coming downtown um when this   area was pretty desolate and sometimes  a little scary to be at they used to   have some of the biggest Gatherings of  people to come and see art in Witchita   and there're some of the people that made  the art movement in witch talk what it is   so I really appreciate their efforts and  I hope that you guys will unanimously pass   this thank you all right further public input  bring discussion back to the bench for the discussion if there's no further discussion then  the chair recognizes council member Johnson for a   motion thanks mayor um happy to make a motion  on this uh this is one of the things uh the   improvements to Commerce Street and St Francis  that I believe I heard about when I got elected   and some frustration from some of the business  is there that this continued to get pushed off   so I'm glad that it's here glad that we were able  to engage I want to thank council member fry for   helping with one of the businesses there that  had some concerns um in arranging meetings with   staff and Gary and Paul all that you have done  on this and I'm excited to see some new artwork   down there as well looks really good with that I  move that the council approve the revised budget   Public public art change order limit adjustment  and adopt the amending resolution and authorize   the necessary signatures is there a second second  seconded by vice mayor hois cler will open a roll   members cast their vote have received 78 votes  that motion does pass Madam clerk deer 20 23-18   Amendment to the witto cedal county unified zoning  code regarding nightclubs in the city good morning   or afternoon think it's afternoon welcome Scott  hello Scott wle from the planning department so this item this is a recommended update  to the zoning code in order to help reduce   confusion about future cases the Planning  Commission recommends that you adopt the   Amendments place the ordinance on the first  reading authorized necessary signatures and   authorized publication of the resolution  terms of confusion multiple stakeholders   residents businesses officials and others have  expressed concern and confusion about how the   term nightclub in the the city is applied in the  unified zoning code in terms of background uh in   the unified zoning code nightclub in the city  consists of two parts entertainment and alcohol   which sounds like a lot of fun but if you have  that combination then you meet the definition   of a nightclub in the city and will need to get  a conditional use if you are within 200 feet of   a church place of worship public park a school or  residential zoning District in the unified zoning   code the following AC activities fall under  the definition of entertainment uh you'll see   dancing as one might expect live music concerts  but you also will find hypnotist pan panamine   comedian dance act karaoke Etc so um the current  application nightclub in the city has resulted in   some confusing situations the confusion largely  comes from folks receiving a formal notice about   a nightclub case in their area and expecting  a large dance hall with alcohol but later on   finding out that this isn't necessarily the  case so here are a few examples in one of the   examples we had many people joined in for a  Planning Commission meeting because they were   concerned about a nightclub potentially opening up  next to them in this instance we heard an audible   sigh from the audience and questions when they  discovered that it was really about karaoke rooms   in a bowling alley that served alcohol instead  of an actual nightclub with hundreds of people   so in terms of analysis the recommended changes  would update the definition of nightclub in the   city to only apply to uses with a capacity  of 300 people or more uses with alcohol and   entertainment that have a capacity of less than  300 people would be considered an entertainment   establishment so that is what people would see  on the letters and notifications that they would   receive for those cases the recommended  changes would also update entertainment   establishment so that it matches the current  conditional use process for nightclub and the city so again 300 people persons at a location at  a use would be the the break above that nightclub   in the city below that entertainment establishment  in terms of review here's an overview of the   review process for considering this potential  update to the zoning code it's been one that's   been a long time in process um so goes back even  be before 2022 but in terms of this concept about   what to do um so it's it's been to the Planning  Commission Advanced plans committee it's been   to the district advisory boards we had an an  openhouse event uh for uh people who operate   and own uh bars and nightclubs and and so  forth and again the recommended action is   that you would adopt the recommended Amendment  and the um the related actions in terms of the   process I have a note about that the city council  policies at the public hearing for planning items   uh occurs at the Planning Commission meeting  according to the policy city council doesn't   TP typically take public comments on items that  have been considered by the commission however   because this is a text Amendment to the zoning  code the item has been placed on new business   so that members of the public and stakeholders  have an opportunity to comment so with that I'll   stand for any questions questions for staff  council member Ballard thank you mayor I just   want to say thank you for doing this because  it has been really contentious at some of my   dabs and um people just getting really confused  because the word nightclub freaks them out with   like the event centers and neighborhoods and  things like that so really appreciate that we   looking at this and should hopefully clear a lot  of things up further questions for staff C none   thank you is there input from the public on this  item see none we'll bring discussion back to the   bench further discussion on this item council  member Johnson thanks mayor I had to beat my   colleague to the button uh just want to thank uh  Scott and council member Tuttle for helping out   with this much like council member Ballard I've  had some contentious uh dab meetings around the   um misunderstanding that just because the term  was nightclub that didn't mean a nightclub was   coming so I think this will uh hopefully help out  in some of those spaces where folks just wanted   to have a different type of venue uh rather than  an actual nightclub and I I remember the emails   about uh specific business in District 2 we all  got um so I'm glad to see this actually clearing   up a bit and want to say thank you to both of  you for the work that you've all done on this   council member Tuttle thank you and thank you  for those kind words I appreciate it and sorry   about all the emails you all um I I just want to  thank Scott um and and your team J for helping to   make this come to fruition this is something that  I'm I'm really really excited about and not only   because you know it's just a good modernization  of cleaning this up but our goal is always to   communicate with residents but we want to make  sure we communicate with them well and when they   were receiving notification of this they weren't  getting good accurate information that we strive   to provide them so so that they can know what is  going on with the city so thank you for your work   and your tenacity it's taken us a while to get  here but we got it so thank you further comments   if none then chair recognizes council member tutle  for a motion thank you so much I really appreciate   that I am going to move that the city council  adopt the recommended Amendment to the unified   zoning code changes place the ordinance on first  reading authorize the necessary signatures and   instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance  after approval in second reading I'll second the   motion motion has been made in the second  cler will open roal members will cast their vote have received 78 votes that motion does pass  Madam Clerk PUD 202312 zone change requests in   the city from B multifam residential district  to PUD planned unit development number 117 to   allow commercial uses for an existing building and  allow shared parking among all the Lots generally   located within one block south of East Douglas  and on the east side of South Kansas Avenue and   the west side of South Minneapolis 104 South  Kansas Avenue 115 in 119 South Minneapolis Avenue welcome hello again Scott wle from the  planning department in this case the applicant   is requesting to rezone the property as  you heard from B multifam to plan unit   development which is custom zoning this item is  being heard because protests have been received   against the application in terms of the  requests the applicant has indicated they   are requesting the rezoning in order to allow  for commercial uses on the property properties   and for shared parking among all of the Lots the  applicant is indicated they intend to demolish   the duplex at5 South Minneapolis in order to  develop a parking lot on that site in terms   of the property the site is generally located  south of Douglas Avenue between Kansas Avenue   and Minneapolis Avenue it is made up of three  Parcels as you can see here on the graphic and   is just under half an acre in size is zoned  B multif family and developed with two single   family houses and one duplex building in terms of  the context to the north are multiple properties   zoned Central business district and developed one  with an auto repair center and one with an office building in addition one property oh to the  north yes and on the west side one property is   z b multif family residential and developed with  a single family house it's the one shown here with   the white roof to the east the property is z PE  UD 159 and developed with the Kansas food bank to   the South our property Zone B multifam residential  and developed with single family dwellings and an   apartment building properties to the West are Zone  B multifam residential and developed with single   family dwellings and a parking lot the staff  report provides information about development   standards including land use setbacks and building  Heights also lighting signage parking screening   and Landscaping in terms of review on November  30th the Planning Commission held the public   hearing for this item and recommended approval  unanimously 12 to0 and again that was subject to   conditions one member of the public spoke in  opposition to this application at the public   hearing with General concerns about lighting noise  traffic a decrease in property values and possible   future commercial uses on the site on December  4th the district Advisory Board heard this   item and recommended approval 5 to3 for the same  conditions recommended by the Planning Commission   valid protest petitions have been received for the  requested zone change the valid protest accounted   for just over 8% of the protest area this does not  exceed the 20% threshold therefore the request can   be approved by a simple majority of four or  seven votes in terms of council action it is   recommended the city council adopt the findings of  the Planning Commission and approve the requested   zone change subject to the conditions indicated  place the ordinance on the the first reading   authorize necessary signatures and instruct  the city clerk to publish the ordinance after   approval on the second reading again this would  require four of seven votes Alternatives include   the following you can override the Planning  Commission adopt alternative findings and deny   the zone change request that would require five  of seven votes because it is an override or as   always you can return the case to the Planning  Commission for additional consideration just a   quick note about process of course city council  polic is at public hearing for planning agenda   items occurs at the Planning Commission and  according to that policy Council does not   typically receive uh public comments on zoning  items so with that I'll take you through some   of the graphics real quick here's the map of the  subject area again it cons it consists of three   Parcels here's the zoning map for the area showing  B multif family here's the comprehensive plan for   the area showing employment and residential  here's the Pud uh that was submitted as part   of the application process it lists the condition  that would apply to the property here's a close   end of the graphic showing the two existing  houses and a parking lot to the north this   is the map for the protest area and also the  notification area you can see the properties   that protested uh colored in red and blue here  are photos from the site and the surrounding properties and with that  I'll stand for any questions [Music] questions all right questions for staff see none open up for discussion chair  recognizes council member Johnson as this   item resides in District One thanks mayor um  I hit my button a little bit too late Scott I   did have a question for you sorry about that um  after we talked about this I did have a couple   residents reach out um not necessarily opposed  but with some concerns around uh screening and   Landscape could you tell me what um the staff  recommendation was for Section 4B of the U uzc   what type of screening is that so for screening  screening typically consists of a uh at least a   six foot high wooden fence um there are standards  in terms of how much of a gap can be in there and   what materials can be used it's the same screening  that would be required uh for uh uses other than   residential that AB but uh residential uses so  it's a fairly standard screening that you see   around town okay and then if um just going off  the green sheet if they decide not to use those   current single family homes as businesses then  they would not be required to have that screening   is correct um because this one is a little bit  unique in that um it's it's got existing houses   uh they wrote it in a way that if they continue  to use it for residential that it would not be   required to have screening which is consistent  with what the code is uh but then that if it was   to be if the properties were to be used for  commercial that that is when the screening   requirement would come into place and again both  of those Provisions are consistent with what we   see on other properties per this the unified  zoning code okay if so if they kept a single   family for now nothing changes in two years  they choose to make those businesses how will   we enforce that or really know about it you know  um that is an excellent question I think that that   would come down to number one them operating  on good faith and number two if there was a   complaint or an issue that was uh Rose to our  attention Okay that's all the questions I have all right further questions for staff see  yes if I could sir um additional detail   that Jr shared is that if they do convert  those properties to commercial there will   be an additional additional plans and review  that they will have to go through with mabcd   and at that time the screening would be uh they  would be subject to the screening okay but we'd   still be operating on good faith for that no  uh because they would have to have their plans   reviewed and approved by staff that would be  the opportunity to catch it on staff's part   okay well just getting real specific so if if  they said you know hey I'm going to open up a   a hair salon in this space and they don't  come to us about that and we just noticed   that now there's this new traffic what happens  let me defer to the expert you want to come on up Mr mayor council members good morning  J.R Cox Metropolitan planning that'd be a   violation to be an Enforcement issue should  they choose that route okay thank you yes sir council member the floor is yours for   a motion it doesn't seem like  there's anyone on the board for comments I'll make a motion but Jennifer I  may have to have some help toward words Smith um I would move that the city council adopt the findings of the well before I  say that I can't remember if we changed an item in   dab from mapc or was it the same recommendations  no sir it's the same for both I would move that   the city council adopt the findings of the MPC  um with the screening requirement as proposed by   staff for Section 4B of the uzc um and approve the  requested zone change place the ordinance on first   reading and authorize the necessary signatures and  instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance   after approval on second reading is there a  second second second by vice mayor hoisel clerk   will open the rooll members cast the vote have  received 78 votes that motion does pass Madam clerk PUD 2023-the corner of West 9th Street North  and North St Paul Avenue sorry welcome back   Scott thank you Scott W from the planning  department in this case uh the applicant   is requesting to rezone the property as you  heard from sf5 single family residential to   plan unit development custom zoning as item is  being heard for one reason and that is because   the district Advisory board and the planning  commission's recommendations for approval are   slightly different and by slightly different that  is actually one condition that they're different   on in terms of the requests the applicant has  indicated they're requesting the resoning in   order to allow for the property to be developed  with six dwelling units the custom zoning would   allow for the density on the lot and a slight  reduction in parking off Street requirements   in terms of the property the site is generally  located as you can see here the northwest corner   of 9th in St Paul it is made up of one parcel it  is 0.31 acres and size Zed sf5 single family and   it is currently vacant and note that the single  family house on the site was demolished earlier   this year in terms of context properties to  the north south east and west are all zoned   sf5 single family residential district as you  can see here properties to the north east and   west are developed with single family dwellings  property to the South is developed with a place   of worship property to the southeast is z tf32  family residential district with an approved   conditional use for multifam that property is  developed with three duplexes which are six   dwelling units in total in terms of the staff  report the staff report provides information   about development standards including parking  density height and setbacks also screening and   Landscaping in terms of review on November 30th  the Planning Commission held the public hearing   for this item and recommended approval of the  zone change request subject to the recommended   language on the report uh including screening  and Landscaping no members of the public spoke   on this item on December 11th the district  Advisory Board recommended approval of the   request to zone change unanimously 8 to0 this was  subject to the same conditions that the Planning   Commission recommended and with one additional  recommendation which was an added provision that   any roofs that are constructed on the site cannot  be single plane and must be gabled or hipped which   means that they would have like a peak or a point  on them no members of the public spoke at that   public hearing uh with any comments no protests  were received for this case therefore it can be   reproved by a simple majority in terms of council  action is recommended the city council approve   the findings of the Planning Commission approve  the requested zone change place ordinance on the   first reading authorize necessary signatures and  instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance   after approval on the second reading this would  require again a simple majority of four of seven   votes Alternatives include the following you can  override the Planning Commission adopt alternative   findings and approve the zone change request  subject to the dab recommended changes that   would require five of seven votes because it's an  override of the Planning Commission you another   option is that you can override the Planning  Commission adopt alternative findings and deny   the zone change request that would require five  of seven votes or a third option is as always you   can return the case to the Planning Commission  for additional consideration which would require   four of seven votes and just again the standard  note about process and comments at the Planning   Commission meeting with that I'll take you  through the graphics and then we'll stand   for questions so here's an aerial of the site  again the single family house that shown was   demolished we I believe earlier this year here's  a zoning map again showing sf5 in the area with uh   caddy Corner the tf3 with a uh with multi multif  family because of a conditional use here's the   map from the comprehensive plan recommending  uh residential in the area here is the Pud   that was submitted as part of the application  process here's a zoom in of the graphic showing   uh the proposed layout of the site here's the  notification and protest map again there were   no protests received for this application and  here are photos from the site and surrounding area and with that I'll stand for any questions  all right questions for staff see none thank   you open up to discussion if there's no  discussion the chair recognizes council   member Ballard as this resides in district  6 thank you mayor I'd like to make a motion   to override the mapc adopt alternate bindings  and approve the zone change request subject to   dab recommended changes there a second to the  motion second motion has made in the seconded   clerk R and rooll members cast the vote have  received six yay votes to one day that motion   does pass Adam clerk city manager performance  evaluation right this I believe is our last item good afternoon mayor  council uh I am Jason Hood   the HR Director I'm here presenting um  the recommendation for the city manager evaluation on December 18th 2008  the city council entered into an   employment agreement with Robert Leighton  to serve as city manager pursuant to the   city code and the terms of the agreement the  city council has the discretion to evaluate   the city manager's performance and authorize a  salary increase based on annual Merit and salary reviews the mayor and the city council recently  evaluated the city manager performance covering   the years 2021 through 23 the evaluation  process involved written evaluations   completed by each elected official and  executive session discussions with the   city manager about his performance the  city manager's performance evaluation   is essential for promoting effective  decision-making throughout the city organization over the past two years the  mayor and city council has required that   the city manager carry out numerous projects  and programs the city manager and staff have   achieved several significant accomplishments with  positive outcomes including there several listed   here but I'll just read a few arpa funding and  Direction opioid strategic plan realtime crime   Center funding in tree policy direct flight to DC  and City Licensing and ordinance updates based on   these accomplishments and the overall strength of  the organization the mayor and city council have   determined that timing is right to increase the  manager's compensation the compensation increase   recommended by the mayor and city council is 7.5%  of the city manager's current salary retroactive   to January 4th 2022 representing representing a  general pay adjustment increase of 4% and a merit   increase of 3.5% funding for the city manager  compensation is included in the 2024 adopted   budget pursuant to state law city ordinance and  the city manager employment agreement the city   council has a legal authority to evaluate and  determine the city manager's compensation the   recommendation uh it is is recommended that  the city council approve the city manager's   performance evaluation and compensation increase  and that's it all right there questions for staff   see none thank you do we go out to public comic  on this one yes mayor you do all right open up to   public [Laughter] comment hello again everyone um  I uh I went ahead and talked to representative uh   Tuttle a while back and I you guys what we talked  about last time uh some chapstick for I'm going to   I'm going to goad and just interrupt for a moment  going to need to quum uh so make sure that we are   sir being professional and we we absolutely I  get thank I get you um I I bought seven tubes   of ChapStick for you guys and uh you guys can  do with them what you wish um I'm here to speak   about how disgusting I think it is that the city  manager get a 7 and a half% pay increase and that   it be retroactive um you know I know when I come  up here a lot of times um I have positive things   to say and sometimes I have negative things to  say and they're not always taken the way I mean   them but in this particular situation I think that  you guys really need to dig deep and think about   how your employees feel because I understand that  Bob's done a great job for you guys um from your   High View okay um he does a good job of presenting  things to you he helps make decisions and frankly   he makes your job a lot easier by the things that  he presents but from the union that I represent   and the employees that I represent which are 800  of the employees in the city of Witchita which is   a greater number than any of the other departments  or any of the other unions that you guys represent   however the employees that I represent also  get the smallest amount of raise per employe   in fact uh I got several phone calls last week  and got cussed out and called several different   names and told that our Union was a horrible  organization because of the contract that had   been negotiated so understand that your employees  don't really think think that Bob's done a great   job in negotiating contracts he feels they feel  like he's given him peanuts and I don't want to   say anything about about police and fire because  they deserve the money that they've received and   I appreciate the council members stepping up for  those employees because we've been way far behind   for a long time and it was interesting that  the term right-sized was used earlier thank   you for using that um because that's what Bob's  done for the last several years is right siize   our community and we've lost a lot of jobs we've  privatized a lot of City uh you know properties   City ways that the city does things have been put  off to other people under Bob's watch and so I'm   going to ask you guys to consider to give Bob  the 1.5% the classified employees got and maybe   a 2.5% step increase because he thinks that  that's all the employees are worth that show   up in the middle of the night and keep your water  going that's how that's how a apparently he feels   about the employees who go and make sure that  the water mains are broke they get fixed repair   your streets make sure that things are running  in this city and it's a real slap in the face   to those employees when they see you give him a  7 and a half% pay increase knowing that many of   those employees have had their raises deferred  because their managers can't seem to get their   evaluations done on time I've got employees who  wait 180 plus days in order to get the raise   that they're supposed to get on a particular  day of the year because their managers don't   think it's important to get their evaluations done  on time these are the types of things that Bob's   in charge of so while he does well for y'all I  would expect you to look at some of these other   things because the employees that work for you  the biggest majority of employees that work for   you feel like they're mistreated they feel like  they're mistreated through compensation and as   a union I have some difficulty with the narrative  being put out by staff I wrote a letter to HR and   Troy halman a while back acknowledging that  SEIU believes that employees should be able   to get two-step pay increases and we've asked  for this several times in negotiations but the   city are the ones that defer to it all the time  however when employees ask their supervisors how   can I get a two-step raise I just completed a  college degree how do I get a two-step raise I   just want to of and Beyond you know what they say  they say well that's your Union's fault that's   the union contract's fault and folks that's an  unfair Labor practice for them to have a false   narrative about why they can't get extra money  to feed their families and quit working their   second jobs because Bob makes enough money he's  not working a second job and if you give him a   7.5% pay increase that is a gross amount of money  for one individual in the city we should start   sharing things more evenly amongst the people that  really make this city work and I hope that you'll   take these recommendations into consideration  thank you very much do you stand for questions   I'll be happy to so you're aware that Bob didn't  get a raise last year uhhuh and so the 7.5% pay   increase is reflection of last year and I think  the year before I do mayor and I appreciate that   information and well I just please go ahead I  just want to s out okay your recommendation is   basically to give them a 4% increase as your uh  the contract that you negotiated and ask us to   vote for would have done and if we combine that  then you're actually advocating for him to have   a total of an 8% increase instead of the five  7.5% that we're offering him today is that that   up I no I think you're misunderstanding what I'm  saying um you know I would tell you don't give   them a pay increase at all if that's what you're  asking um because what what the employees that   work for you and for him are concerned about  is we've been underst staffed the people who   who you walk through that are your security guards  every day we're underst staffed there if somebody   calls Animal Control it takes 12 to 15 hours to  get an office job I just want to say focus on   this item though I so you as someone who works in  organized labor and believes that people should be   paid their worth would recognize that every year  employees should if they have earned it should   get a race as your employees I hear where you're  going with your argument mayor but the problem is   is the employees that I do represent have had  it with everybody at the top getting loads of   money and they work second jobs I want you guys  to understand that you're going to go ahead and   pass this I have no doubt about that I don't have  any feeling that you're going to listen to my   recommendations but I'm here to make them because  I fight for working people I don't fight for the   Leisure Class Bob's the Leisure Class working  people get up every day and they make the world   happen and they're not being treated equitably  or we're now debating and and you're in a talking   point I'm trying to clarify your statement your  statement was yes that you agree that our workers   in our organization should get yearly increases if  they're performing well I just want to point out   that this is retroactive because for the last few  years our has not gotten uh a increase understand   and I just want to make sure that that's clear  we're not jumping him ahead and in fact if we   put him on the same schedule as what you presented  we he would actually be making a higher increase   don't think I presented a particular schedule  I understand what you're saying and rather than   putting words in my mouth please just understand  correct me that the people that I represent are   going to be furious about this race because yes  because when when when we get to talk talking   about this and this is one of the problems in  the United States mayor Whipple is everything is   done on an upward slant and we try to tell people  that things are Equitable when you give 1% to the   person at the bottom and 1% to the person at the  top but it's not and we need to take a stronger   look at having fairer compensation and not having  corporate compensation or management compensation   so much higher than the average workers that's  what I'm getting at here I'm saying that when they   see the amount or calculate the amount of what  his raise is going to be they're going to lose   their minds and I don't mind getting cussed at or  getting angry phone calls you guys know I'm a big   boy and I can take that but what I'm saying is is  you really need to think about the working people   in this city because they're fed up and they're  tired there are a lot of careers that have been   ended during the tenure of Bob Leighton based on  right sizing and everybody's bragging because we   haven't raised any taxes but we've housed out  all of our part parks department so you guys   don't have enough people to run snow removal we  bring people in and I feel like we're we're off   topic though and it sounds like the conversation  if I'm taking it too far I don't need to debate   I'm tell I mean you waited and I'm just trying to  make sure we're on the same page okay and again   it feels like this conversation is about overall  salary structure well it's about a lot of things   and I wish that we had that conversation two weeks  ago when we passed the ordinance for overall and I   was frankly surprised you weren't here and before  we pass that I asked the manager has he been in   contact with you he shot out emails saying that  uh you're interested in um and what did you say   one second that you're interested in bonuses  in addition to the bonuses you negotiated in   a contract uh and we we were open to that um the  feedback I got was uh it's something that they we   will look at in 2024 which is what 2024 is what  we're doing so I I understand your argument now   I think it's more a global argument about salary  structures and frankly I wish I could help at this   point this is my last meeting I wish that we were  working on this last month weeks ago when I first   got the email um and I appreciate that and I'm  I'm not going after you in fact I believe I sent   you an email and thanked you for bringing that  up last meeting um I was tied up someplace else   and was unable to be here however um you know  when we're having those discussions you know   Bob may have said that he contacted me but I was  contacted by Jason and told they'd get with me in   little while and until I called Andrew hudspeth  and told him that if I didn't get a response from   somebody I'd be bringing my little big mouth down  here and my little big mouth's here now and the   reason that it's here is because they pushed me  off to the end of January they didn't respect me   they didn't say yeah let's get together and take  care of this this week because your employees are   important they said well usually we negotiate  around June so let's start talking in January   which means when we get to financials and talk  about bonuses it's going to be July before we   ever have this conversation because we talk about  money last so while they look like they're dealing   with me they're not they're putting me back in the  corner and they're saying ah we'll take care of   it when we can and that's what I want you guys to  know is going on and that's what I want to stop I   want you to take care of the 800 employees that  keep your water running keep your streets going   and make Witchita the great City that it is  and let's quit just praising all the the bad   moves that we've made please I just want to take  this opportunity to three of us will be gone next   week okay I hope that you make time to go through  the process because even if you came to us today   and you're let's say you're right and we're all  in agreement there is no item on the table that   we can do to help you or those employees at this  moment because we're way outside the process we're   talking about I get it the city manager finally  getting an evaluation for the last two years and   so I hope as you shot me an email when you were  traveling a few weeks ago and I said start the   process um and I hope that like the other union  leaders who have been able to take advantage of   this moment of our budget uh and they have been  able to get their stuff through I hope that this   next year you're able to do the same I won't be  able to be on a bench to be an assistant but uh   assistance to uh uh those efforts um but again  I hope the strategy goes beyond as you mentioned   coming here and speaking to us um because I think  that you're going to be a lot more successful with   that well thank you and I won't scratch that old  scab and I'll take all the thoughts and prayers   that you give me and trust me I will be back down  here to talk to the newly seated Council and say   the same thing because I think it's extremely  important that you guys hear this but that   that's my point it's not to come here and to yell  at the council please initiate the same process   that fire and police did with staff so that we  can vote on something at this point I you don't   want me to get into that let's leave that alone  because I have initiated the same process and I   hope that every council member that's up here will  take the time to sit in on our negoti negotiation   process and in fact I'm very hopeful that it will  be much better now that we have a new HR director   who seems to be doing things much better than the  last yeah I just point out just if they don't our   ordinance doesn't allow us to physically negotiate  contracts and I believe that goes into in into the   negotiations of Labor I think legal would have to  come up with that uh for ethical stipulations uh   but you can worry about that the next Council but  yeah in general like I said I I hope that we can   go beyond these discussions I think I've seen you  here a few times usually it's it's about an item   that we're already decided on it's already reached  the Finish please help us with that process before   something like this comes here I would have loved  to have last week have had something or two weeks   ago that's going to help your employees and to  have been working on that behind the scenes and   then when we got here it didn't seem like there  was much much to to to work with and so as we   move forward I I I just want to say I I hope we go  beyond just the council and asking the council to   frankly negotiate contracts uh we really need  our organized labor to step up into negotiate   those contracts do what you guys are professionals  at doing right well thanks for putting that back   on labor but the last thing I'll say is the  employees that's your purpose right your purp   togot employees that I represent would like to see  Bob's Rays delayed and deferred the way theirs is   I think you missed the point about the managers  not taking seriously when their evaluation dates   happen and there are 180 days where these people  are waiting to see that new amount of money on   their check because they want to do something with  it and the City of witcha still hold Holden it so   why when those things are going on don't don't  make it about the Union's fault and the Union's   problem what I'm saying is they'd like to see this  happen to Bob period end of it and if you need the   last word go ahead I'm going to sit down so our  our evaluations happen in February if you come   in a year later and say the process is wrong  I can't help you then I I need I need better   communication with people who are supposed to be  negotiating these contracts because instead we we   get folks who come up say vote for this contract  and then you attack us when the contract wasn't   what you wanted it to be but you were the one who  negotiated it so again I'm not going to be here   after today I know please just uh go through the  process uh so hopefully you convince a majority of   the council to support that process but we're  not going to hold everyone else hostage until   you get your contract negotiated because again  there's nothing that we can do at this moment   because it's 2024 I can't go back in time uh and  I wish that we could have talked about this weeks   ago like I suggested to you and we didn't have  that opportunity you were traveling so here we   are yeah so thank you for your input well thanks  public input is there anybody else who would like   to add to this conversation if not we'll bring  discussion back to the bench fur the discussion is it frozen again now try council member fry there we go um thank  you um just to be clear the narrative that Mr   Hood read was not from staff but from this  Council uh based on the evaluation that we   completed as a council uh drafted the comments  and asked for the presentation to be made and   I'm grateful that we're in a position to not  only fairly treat our manager but all of our   employees um because of his leadership you know  just a couple weeks ago we passed um significant   raises across the board um maybe not everyone  got exactly what they wanted but because of the   position and the strength of the fiscal policy  of this Council and this organization we were   in a position to increase salaries across the  board and that is one of the key tenants of the   manager's responsibility and I'm grateful that  we've got someone who's got that ability that   capacity and that leadership um it's been an honor  to work with you thank you for everything you've   done for this city you deserve this I'm sorry it  took us this long to get here um but it's uh I   believe it's the right amount and I'm glad that  we're going to able to take this action today coun vice mayor hoel thank you mayor uh just a  couple of quick points um when you're sitting up   here and when you're actually working within the  city government you see things a little different   than you do from the public view um and with this  I I look over what we've accomplished the last two   years here and this is It's a group effort and  it's something that everybody on Council should   be appreciative of and it's also been Council  that's been pushing this so the city manager's   job is not to make policy the city manager's job  is to follow our our guide in creating policy um   the some things beforehand yeah I can see people  um having issues with I did when I was in the   public as well um but the last two years um it's  been pretty easy to deal with this and get things   on the right right track and some of this I'd like  to point out um one of the the bullet points that   we don't have on here is putting 18 million into  Century to including 5 million for the roof that's   currently uh just about being finished so a lot  of the blame that people put on the city manager   should go to us and as a council as a whole so  I I do want to bring that up um the other point   I'd like to make um is I do agree with Esau I do  agree that we do have issues with employment I I   think people should be paid their value and so I  hope that over the next month or so while we're   negotiating with SEIU on some of the early issues  we're going to negotiate and then some of the   things we're going to negotiate later in the year  with them that we do take that into account and   that we do um adequately um compensate people for  their work because Esau is right there are people   out there in the middle of the night um to get our  water back on or or you know a lot of the issues   that they do face so we do need to make sure that  we are adequately um compensating our employees so   I I do hope that's part of the conversation and  these negotiations coming up I stand with SEIU   just like I do with the other unions and um just  look forward to any opportunities we can have to   uh up that pay and fill those positions thank  you absolutely uh council member tutle thank   you um Ju Just So the Community knows if there's  folks watching her go back and watch this this   is a process that we follow and and again as my  colleague mentioned I'm sorry that it took us a   little bit of time to get here but the seven of  us have the opportunity to review the manager's   performance in five different areas and we can  give a score from one to five and then all of   those scores are combined and averaged and that's  how we came to the decision that we did so um you   know there is a formal process just like every  other employee within the city of Witchita is   evaluated on a formal process and I believe in the  system and I think we worked well together to make   get to this point um I also wanted to thank mayor  Whipple and council member fry we were the three   that were charged with developing the action  plan um and so it was a pleasure to work with   you on that and and thank you for your time and  effort especially during the busy holiday season   I also want to thank the HR staff um thank you to  your team for making it easy for us to be able to   navigate through this process I I take this  process very seriously it's one of the things   that um I say often I miss the most of being in  this job versus my other job of being a supervisor   or being supervised by people I I did reach out to  other electeds and other Administration in other   municipalities and at the county I reached out to  decision makers in the city and key stakeholders   and asked for feedback and input before I was  able to complete my evaluation and I heard the   universal theme of how much you are Bob you are  respected and appreciated and so thank you for   your um service to the city of witto I've told you  this for the last five years that I've worked with   you the impact that you will have on the city  of wit will be felt for generations to come so   thank you council member Johnson thanks mayor I  was going to joke about this date calculator I   just did and saw that you were here for 15 years  and 15 days 5,493 Days um no in all seriousness   I I just want to say I've always appreciated  this process um I want you to know personally   I appreciate you and your leadership I know  that sometimes there are loud criticisms but   not everyone realizes that you have seven bosses  and um sometimes we agree sometimes we don't and   you make the best out of that to move our city  forward I think you've done a really good job   of doing that and trying to balance all of the  things that we all want to accomplish and and   this list um as I brought up in the review this  it's a partial list there's a lot of great things   that have happened that are not on this sheet um  that we'll probably continue to think of later on   uh in the day I'm appreciative of your leadership  on not taking a raise the last couple years and   um being that example not everybody in the public  realized that um but like council member fry said   I I definitely believe you deserve this uh you've  continued to exude leadership and throughout the   country every time I go to NLC someone talks about  how awesome Bob Leighton is so I just wanted to   to let you hear that from me I appreciate you  don't want to just say it in the not in the   public so I think you've done a good job you  deserve this and I'll be supportive further comments all right with that uh first off I want  to thank Bob for putting up with me for the last   four years this is my last meeting this is our  last um uh I guess business official business   we doing before we swear in the next Council uh  so thank you for that you've been someone who I   I've been able to uh work with and also learn  from and someone who has challenged me uh with   with ideas uh to make sure that we are uh on the  right path moving witp forward um I do want to put   out there because I I I feel that uh and by the  way I I just I get a little IR when people attack   staff uh and one of the reasons uh is because  frankly staff doesn't swing back there's not   much staff can do uh and so I I I apologize that  my tone was um was confrontational with the last   speaker uh my goal frankly is is to help them  be successful uh I want them to go through the   process and be able uh to um uh work with uh  uh staff so that everyone can get what they uh   feel valued by working for the city of Witchita  that's some we've been working on for the last   uh few years um and just to throw this out there  in comparison I I hope that folks if you want to   compare what the city manager in the city of  Witchita makes uh to other um organizations   uh make sure you're looking at wiah State's  president uh wiah uh Tex or WC Tech president   uh the USC 259 superintendent um that's going to  give you a bit of a I think a a perspective on   what this type of executive level public sector  folks typically make uh so with that I I do want   uh folks to know that if this conversation  uh uh continues to make sure we're comparing   Apples to Apples and uh not just uh I guess um  getting upset that our manager finally gets a   raise after years uh so with that uh is there a  further comment if not I'll go ahead and make a [Music] motion did you put your hand up  the button working no we're good okay the   uh so I'll make a motion to accept step  staff's recommended action uh to approve   the city manager's performance evaluation and  compensation increase as described uh the 2023   increase is retroactive to January 4th 2022 is  that the right motion should be City council's   recommendation not staff does say city council my  apologies um council member fry for a motion no   you know what I'm done go for it uh you sure  okay uh make a motion that the city council   approve the city manager's performance  evaluation and compensation increases as   described above the 2023 increases retroactive  to January 4th 2022 and I'll second the motion   motion has been made and then seconded  clerk will open a roll members cast their vote I received six yay votes to one nay that  motion does pass Madam clerk council member   appointments and comments all right are there  uh comments or well let's start for appointments   vice mayor hoisel thank you mayor I'd like to  appoint tone W to District three dab there other   appointments there's no other appointments  then I'll make the motion to accept those   appointments is there a second second seconded by  Vice mayis will click R open roll members cast the vote I think we stressed out the system  today there we go have received 78 votes   that motion does pass we're back on comments  uh for announcements for the good of the body   we do have a blue sheet uh so just when folks  know that council member Tuttle thank you um   I just would like to take the opportunity  to thank mayor Whipple and council member   fry and council member blueba for your service  sorry I've learned a great deal from each of you   but during that process I've also learned about  myself um we must be tracking because I also did   a date calculator today and in 1,462 days from  today it will be my last meeting on witto City   Council on January 3rd of 2028 and I hope that I  am as proud of myself as you all should be today   so thank you for your service sorry and um mayor  I'm going to ask that we break decorum and can we   give you a round of applause as a team thank you  all for your service council member fry council   member blue and mayor whle thank you council  member Ballard thank you mayor I would also   just like to say thank you to council member  blueba fry and mayor Whipple um I appreciate   the last couple years I've learned a lot from  you and hope that I can lean on you guys if I   still have questions that you're just a text or  call away thank you council member buba mayor   um appreciate working with each and every one  of you I I have learned from all of you and I   appreciate that I I do have a business issue I  want to address um Bob we announced the pickle   ball park down in South wit in 2021 um in 2023 I  believe we came back and staff recommended we make   it bigger we make it a regional park and I'd like  to get a status on where we're at with that right now mayor course um don't know if I have all my  staff support here away it's on you so um bids   were received for the project and the low bidder  um did not submit appropriate bid bond that matter   has been referred back to the uh Board of bids and  the board of bids will be reviewing it at its next   meeting which is the 8th and then they'll make a  recommendation to the council about how to proceed   there were two other biders and they did submit  appropriate security when did we find out that um I'm going to say three weeks ago possibly um  that it was not originally caught by staff and   then it was a after a review of it after the  council had approved it staff went back and   discovered the error you know when they discovered  the error I'm sorry I don't but I've been involved   in the issue probably the last last three weeks  okay does that put the property or the um project   in Jeopardy then well I don't know what the board  of bids will recommend and so and I'm trying to   stay neutral on that process Council will have  to approve it again is that correct Council um   it depends on the recommendation of the board  of bids right the board of bids where I may need   laws help if the board of bids decides to take the  second low bidder I'm not quite sure how if that   goes back to count Council I don't know I believe  the board of bids action would then have to come   before Council as a regular Board of bids action I  I think and be approved as a board of bids action   so it will need additional Council action I  think if they if they have another item to to   to prefer to to move on I believe it comes back  on the board of vids agenda I will follow up on that vice mayor hoel thank you mayor um I'd  just like to to Heap on I'm trying to hold   myself together I might break down in tears  like council member Tuttle here I have a soft   heart too but um I do appreciate all of your  work over the years you guys have gone through   some historic times over the last four to 10  years I believe on the bench um and you have   left your mark on the city for generations to  come so thank you all for your service thank   you all for uh helping to guide us and Maggie  and I coming on these last two years and just   thank you for everything that you've done for our  city council member Johnson thanks mayor uh I was   going to wait until next week but I'll jump on I  want to appreciate uh my colleagues to the left   for um all that you have done Brian when when I  got on Council um I've always looked up to you   and respected your um deep knowledge base and your  work on numbers and keep the council informed um   with accurate information I've appreciated the  uh friendship that we have grown since serving   with you um mayor Whipple uh your term started  in in the midst of uh man so much with 737 and   Global pandemic and George Floyd and everything  I'm surprised you don't have more white hairs   what do you mean more see it in the beard but  I've appreciated you know serving with you all   and and learning from you and working with you  um as we've challenged ideas and made things   better uh we've all won some we've all lost some  but I've appreciated being able to work with you   over the years um I still have your cell phone  number so you still will get calls from me as   we're working on stuff but again thank you for  your service uh not only to the city as a whole   and your District but just for um being good  council members thank you thank you council   member fry thank you and I'm going to be brief  because I'm not going to be able TOA get through this you all have made me a better person thank  you um I also want to thank lont Williams jenet   Miller Jeff Longwell Pete Mitzner James Clint  Denon Cindy Cleo all colleagues that I had the   opportunity to work with as well as all of you  um I'll save the rest for Monday but thank you   all and just I'm also going to save a lot of my  comments for for Monday but uh for the record   I I couple things I I want to uh acknowledge um  first I want to thank my wife Chelsea who's here   this is our last council meeting and she said well  what time is it what's going on I would love to be   there for your last meeting uh so thank you we've  gotten some updates from the kids and so far the   house is is okay but thanks for not only being  here but uh to uh uh be supportive on frankly   this wasn't a soft meeting uh it was definitely  the type of meeting we normally have uh where we   have robust discussion on all sides so thank you  for being here I do want to thank uh Jeff blueba   um I want to thank Brian fry um for challenging  me uh when I need it uh and you know sometimes   when I don't but you know overall to be honest I  never had big brothers and I sometimes get those   vibes from you guys when we are talking about  policy but also joking around uh you guys have   made me a better legislator a better citizen  a better mayor uh so thank you for that um I   want to thank Brandon Johnson during the worst  of our Ci's my time as mayor through some of the   darkest times of our city uh Johnson was really  one of the only people I knew here uh he was I I   kind of I don't joke CU this chew he was my only  friend and so thank you for uh being at Stone at   anchor uh that kept us moving during that time I  needed someone to lean on there and for council   member Tuttle I feel like I every time I talk to  you I should apologize for something because I   feel like uh we we've had a rocky uh relationship  but up until probably about the last year year   and a half and for you instead of thanking you  for being a good friend or thanking you for uh   making me a better legislator uh legislative mind  policy mind uh I want to thank you in addition for   making me a better person uh you're the type and  this happens more than I like to admit where if   if I go a if we're angry with each other and I go  a little too far with my bickering back and forth   you will use a a softer Tone and say be nice be  kind and it reminds me of U of uh the women of   my life who I hold really sacred the ones that I  go to for guidance and that voice it's the same   voice my my mother uses my wife uses my friends  use uh even Casey uses uh to bring me back to the   center and so I want to thank you for that even  in our heated discussions rather in private or   in public uh you've always kept me grounded as a  person and not forget that uh debates have a place   but uh we're we're better off um ensuring that  we look at each other as people and uh through   through a a lens of humanity so I want to thank  you for that uh council member vice mayor hoisel   uh thank you for helping me redo my floors uh no  uh thanks for um also being that that uh reminder   to stay grounded in what the public needs and what  the public wants and being that constant reminder   of why we do this work uh even though I kind of  give you and also at a council member ballot to   this I give you both a little I think um uh uh  I jokingly do it a little grief with some of the   um uh projects you work on and the folks that  are we call them like frequent flyers they're   always here they're always uh but you guys always  take those meetings and you guys are always there   looking out for um for for folks who want to make  our city better and they do so by communicating   with you all uh so thank you both for reminding  me on a daily basis why we do this work and how   it's not about us it's about the community uh and  I look forward to seeing where you two go uh as   this next as you finish off the second half of  your term and just know that I am always a phone   call away uh to not only hear what's happening  and try to be a voice uh of um opinion but also   uh just if y'all need a vent because I get it  and not many people get what it's like to do   what we do uh so with that uh thank you all and  hopefully I have a little bit left on Monday uh   so with that I moved the the city council recess  into executive session for 20 minutes to receive   information on civil action pursuant to KSA  75439 B2 for pinning litigation and uh legal   advice the executive session is required to  protect the attorney client privilege ining   public interest the executive session will begin  at 1:15 and end at 1:20 excuse me uh 1:35 it's   20 minutes uh and we will resume back into Council  chamber right after the executive session is there   a second second motion has been made and then  seconded uh click open roll members cast the vote have received 78 votes that motion does   pass we're in executive session  about 5 minutes oh and is [Music] pizza