thank you for attending today's city council  meeting please take a moment to silence your   mobile device if you wish to speak on  an agenda item after the mayor invites   public comment proceed to the podium state  your name and address and you will be given   five minutes to speak a timer can be viewed on  the podium screen you may speak one time per   agenda item please refrain from clapping  after other speakers thank you again for   joining us today let's pause a moment for  our television audience to join us [Music] [Music] [Music] well good morning to all of you and thank  you for joining us at City Hall and those   who are watching online welcome too we'll  call the meeting to order with us today is   detective Charlie Davidson who will help us  with the invocation following that invocation   we will have the Pledge of Allegiance  and we ask that you please stand for both thank you mayor uh if everybody could bow  their heads with me God you are a sovereign God   you are the alpha and the Omega the creators  of the Heaven and the Earth the creators of   everything and God I Thank You for Your Divine  work in your creation Lord I Thank you for this   city of witch that is a a great city right in the  heartbeat of America and Lord as we come together   today to conduct the business of this city I pray  that you would work through our mayor you would   work through our Council you give them wisdom  and insight and guidance as they make decisions   for this great City I pray for our department  directors our department leaders that God that you   would give them wisdom and insight and direction  as they continue to lead in such a great City God   we just lift this meeting up to you we pray that  you would be at work in each and every one of the   decisions that are made today and we thank you  for everything you do for us in Jesus precious   and holy name I pray amen amen I pledge aliance  to the flag of the United States of America and   to the Republic for which it stands one nation  under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you very much Charlie Madame clerk please call  the first item approve the minutes   of the regular meeting of July 9th 2024 are  there any changes are there any changes or corrections I see none I move that we approve  the minutes for the July 9th 2024 meeting second   Motion in a second any further discussion I see  none Madame clerk please call uh please open the roll motion passes 70 Madame clerk please  call the next item Awards and Proclamation   today for proclamations we have  Americans with Disability Act   celebration and Remembrance Day and 50th  anniversary of witto area Sexual Assault Center may please ask the independent living  Resource Center to please come forward good to see you the proclamation reads the city  of Witchita Kansas founded in 1870 whereas on   this anniversary of the presidential signing of  the Americans with Disability Act on July 26 1990   we recognize this state and the implementation of  the ACT has had in the United States of America   all disabled Americans are considered equal  and Equitable and should be provided every   possible means to provide comparable housing  Transportation communication education and   employment opportunities Independent Living  Resource Center has worked diligently since   1984 to provide services to the disabled community  facilitating education empowerment and providing   training opportunities to keep the disabled living  as independently as possible our community will   be resolved to abiding by the Americans with  Disability Act and following the example set   forth by The Independent Living resource center  now therefore be it resolved that I Lily woo mayor   of the city of Witchita along with the Witchita  city council do hereby Proclaim July 26 2024 As   Americans with Disabilities Act celebration  and Remembrance Day in the city of Witchita   and encourage all to celebrate this [Applause]  day on behalf of the independent living resource   center and people with disabilities all over  we um accept this and we appreciate it thank you thank you mayor we have uh come a long way  in working with individuals with disabilities   for their rights and for what they need and  how to make things better for them and we're   excited every year to ex celebrate the Ada um act  and continue to work towards the rights and um   making things again even better yet for persons  with disabilities thank you mayor [Applause] and just as a reminder the celebration  uh will be on Wednesday July 24th at the   independent living Resource Center at 3033 West  2 Street North doors open at 11:30 with lunch at   noon May I please ask the witchat area Sexual  Assault Center to please come forward at this [Music] time the proclamation reads the city of wit talk  Kanas founded in 1870 whereas in our community   sexual violence continues to be a widespread  Public Health concern affecting one in three women   and nearly one in four men in their lifetimes the  mission of the Witchita area Sexual Assault Center   is to work with individuals and communities  through comprehensive services and education   to create a culture of intolerance for sexual  violence and an atmosphere of healing for those   impacted by it the witcha area Sexual Assault  Center has been providing services to survivors   of sexual violence every year with advocacy  and support throughout their healing process   and have been providing services to survivors of  sexual violence since July of 1974 marking 2024   as their 50th Anniversary the witcha area Sexual  Assault Center serves more than 3500 survivors   of sexual violence every year with advocacy  and support throughout their healing process   and will celebrate 50 years with a golden Gala  on September 26 2024 they invite the community   to join them to become part of the solution in  ending sexual violence anyone can be a leader in   preventing and ending sexual violence we all have  an obligation to uphold the basic principle that   every individual has a right to safety a live free  of the threat and occurrence of sexual violence   now therefore be it resolved that I Lily woo mayor  of the city of Witchita along with the Witchita   city council do hereby Proclaim July 2024 as the  50th anniversary of Witchita area Sexual Assault Center thank you to Mayor woo and my name is  Mary I'm the current executive director of the   witcha area Sexual Assault Center we have board  members and staff here behind us and I think all   of us recognize that we are standing on the  shoulders of those who came before us because   in July of 1974 you can imagine how hard it is to  talk about sexual violence now imagine how hard   it was in July of 1974 and so while we've made  big strides and big changes um making um it okay   for survivors to come forward and tell their  story um we have a long way to go we still see   so many survivors who are not believed and who  are blamed for what happened to them and so we   are asking today um for the community's support  and engagement as we set the foundation for the   next 50 years thank you all for being here thank  you to the council and mayor woo [Applause] and I would just like to use my point of  privilege to recognize two young leaders   in our community Miss Kansas Teen  USA 2024 Bry and Miss ICT Teen USA [Applause] Trinity Madame clerk please call  the next item Randolph cabal donate   of a flag to the city council that  is specially designed for the blind Community good morning uh mayor woo and good  morning vice mayor Maggie Ballard and all of   you U District um City Council Members it's  a it's a real pleasure to be here today and   I wanted to say very quickly um given to um  the previous announcements especially uh the   Americans with Disabilities Act um I've been the  uh the president of the blind of the uh America   of the cansas brail transcription Institute since  it was founded in 1998 and one of the things that   we have strongly advocated for all of these years  is the rights of the blind to have equal access   to information um one of the things that um we  have done over the course of the past years not   every year but uh several years years is we  have voluntarily transcribed into barell both   Spanish and English and large print all domestic  violence uh and sexual violence information uh to   all 27 locations so you know I feel like we're  we've come a ways and we're helping U members   of our community but today I'm here to speak on  behalf of the Blind and more specifically on the   rights of the blind in our opinion and I believe  everyone would would uh agree that they should   have equal access to the American flag you know  the American flag is the most recognized symbol   in the world and when you think about that and  America having had a flag for approximately 250   years you know it is only recently that blind  Americans have had the opportunity to experience   it as well but certainly not to the extent that  they should um the purpose of V of donating this flag to the city of which youal today is so that  it would reflect that our city also recognizes   the importance and the need of all Americans  to have access to our American flag now we   have been placing these in schools in various  parts of the state of Kansas um we'd like to   start placing these in usd259 and we'd like for  the city of witch all to join us in helping to   make that possible each one of you received a  small box today and you'll find in it a letter   that sets the Precedence uh for having these  flags in each of the schools in 259 um and   also shows that U on on on a legal basis as well  not that we're here to litigate but that by law   all schools should have an American flag that is  accept ible to the blind so again on behalf of KB   the Kansas B transcription Institute I'm here to  ask the city council members um Madame mayor vice   mayor to join with us in making it possible  for all schools in 259 to have an American flag and I I've asked Mr Hernandez Bob Hernandez  to come up and say something briefly everybody   thank you for your time uh Zandy was saying the  flag is the most iconic symbol in the world and   it's inspired us in many ways whether it's  Francis Scott Key at Baltimore Harbor as   you saw in the dawn's early light the flight  was still there or the Marines hoisting flag   at top of Mount suruchi during World War II  or that iconic picture we see of George Bush   on the debris of the World Trade Center but  it's inspired us in many ways United us in   many ways in different times and as Vietnam  era veteran an Iraqi War veteran I strongly   support what Randy is doing and getting those who  can't see the flag but can certainly recognize   it and appreciate it through the use of the  American Braille flag so thank you for your time thank you for your service and thank you I  will accept this flag I'll come down oh wonderful Madame clerk please call uh sorry council  member Johnson thanks mayor uh just want to   thank Mr cabal for the flag um not to be too  technical we actually don't have jurisdiction   over usd259 um I'm happy to connect you with  some of the board members that can help you   get these into the schools but I will take  this flag to our uh Neighborhood Center and   see if we can get that put up but thank  you for that thank you and I will direct   staff this flag that was just presented we  would like to display it here at City Hall   thank you Madame clerk please call the next  item Doug Miller wi area sister Ci's cultural Outreach good morning mayor woo good morning  council members and the audience I would   like to share with you this morning a little  bit something about International commitment   through culture interesting twists but I'd like  to share a few things with you because of our   position with the witcha area sister cities and  and my particular identification with the city of   oron in France friendly developed relationships  are vital to to support Mutual understanding   respect and uh objectivity a glowing example of  this relationship that exists between witch talk   Kanas in Oro it's is a perfect example of that  is it not just understanding an objective it's   not just understanding an objectivity but one with  a history of over 80 years making today this year   the 80th year historically the relationship  began during a time of conflict and that of   final peace resolution when the Nazi domination  in Europe was lifted Kansas soldiers fighting in   the United States Army were there in oron when  it was liberated on August 16th 1944 is there   any reason to not see the historical value of  such a Liberation and to remember those people   in the events uh friends be friendships began by  extending gratitude and an understanding of other   situations so long before an official relationship  was established between Witchita and oron 51 years   ago dedication and Care were expressed in the  1950s with the gift of the little train from   chance Otway Industries um there were visits  by citizen diplomats and City officials back   and forth City to City the jonar statue that most  all of us have seen on Main Street was given to   Witchita in the early 60s then a replica of The  Keeper of the Plains was given to oron in the   early 70s so gifts celebrations commemorations  and exchanges are what promote understanding   of other personalities and cultures oron has  repeatedly invited guests from witch to the   jonov AR Festival each May 88th then there was  the Riverfest Festival added every two years in   the month of September interestingly just the last  past week Oro has reached out to host wi officials   during the 2025 oron River Festival so I hope  that some of you most of you all of you can go and   reciprocate uh likewise wiah has had many visitors  uh by citizens and diplomats from oron our friends   have invited four ladies from our sister City's  membership uh this next month to represent wiah   in the 80th anniversary commemoration of the  liberation of oron on August 16th 19 44 the   ladies will represent us from August 14th to  August uh 16th and hopefully they will come   back and give a report to the council about their  experience from diplomats citizens University and   high school students musicians dancers uh chorist  and even firefighters uh cultural exchanges have   grown and will'll hope to intensify mayor knight  uh Brewer Mayans Longwell Whipple have all visited   oron along with mayor Bogart from the 60s so the  importance is is not just political but extends   to a far greater range of interaction so the  challenges of politics economics and culture   face all of us and much that is shared uh in other  places that can influence our local perspectives   here at home so while the ladies will be with  other dignitaries a commemoration will be done on   August 19th in Witchita to highlight the fortitude  of Joe Nar and to pay homage to the witchat Troops   who fought in 94 in 19984 excuse me in the the  Allied Forces so the present please accept the   challenge and work to get to know the four sister  cities the organization of wi itau area sister   cities the importance of knowing the individuals  and then to come with us to visit these wonderful   people uh who are overseas in conclusion please  plan to name a council member who can come to   speak for us on August 16th at the commemoration  uh at the base of Jonah bark on the in the morning   and so please accept this small gift mayor woo  from uh the oron mayor s gu it's a small book   that presents hidden nuggets of fact about the  neighborhood uh little neighborhood parts of oron and thank you for so much for your time and  your attention I appreciate it have a great day   thank you very much council member glass [ __ ]  thank you for your comments Doug diversity is   our strength and I think Unity is our aspiration  and we we achieve that through cultural exchanges   and through understanding our Global Partners  so I want to thank the sister cities program   for everything you do one of my first memories  and involvement with sister cities uh was when   I was in high school and got a walk with um the  delegation from Mexico and the Riverfest and uh   I know that's continued well before that time  and hopefully will all continue afterward um I   plan to be there on the 16 and I just want  to thank you I enjoyed joining you all for   bestile day and uh I didn't have a chance to  grab a dessert before I left so I'm going to   have to go back to loga and have a dessert but  thank you um for your commitment to this and   thank you for speaking today and every time  one of you speak on the sister cities program   I learn something new about our history and  hopefully people listening do as well so thank you I'm gonna do a point of privilege and ask that   the sister cities group come forward  as the city council accepts this book okay for before we ask our next speaker I will  just say that we do have four sister   cities currently in the city of Wichita uh  one in Fr France two in Mexico and one in   China um so again we recognize that you're  a nonprofit organization that really helps   with cultural exchanges and we appreciate  your advocacy towards cultural understanding   um and continuing friendships abroad  Madame clerk please call the next item t   Molina witcha area sister City's exploration of  business opportunities with our sister cities in Mexico thank you so much for having me to visit  with you today this seems to be sister City's   day I'd like to share with you copies of the  business plan that I'll be discussing um so let me so allow me to introduce myself I'm Teresa Molina  I'm the president of wit area sister cities   and a professor of all things Hispanic at fren  University um I've discovered that not everyone   is familiar with the mission and work carried out  by which tyara sister cities a work that we've   been carrying out since 1973 here in Witchita  we're basically the S the citizen Diplomat Corp   for the city of wiah and we pursue exchanges with  other sister cities of for as mayor Wu mentioned   in the following areas of interest diplomatically  for mayor and city council delegation visits   culturally for group and individual exchanges  educationally for University programs language   development exchanges professional exchanges for  ballet music quisine judges exchanges Etc tourism   for groups and individuals but finally  and our topic for today is economically   searching out business opportunities  afforded by our sister city relationships you may have seen us hosting International  visitors uh sent to represent our sister cities   we've had a very busy year perhaps you saw us at  the kaiun Song Dynasty art exhibition donated by   our sister city of kaiun hunam Province China  at the witcha art museum or the celebration of   the liberation of Orlons at France that Doug was  speaking about which we do every August or the   hosting of the extreme cyclists of GL P Mexico  who come each year to participate in Riverfest   and bring greetings from the municipality of tanip  P to witch Kansas uh riding 200 kilom a day for   13 days to be able to celebrate with us you may  have also heard the news about scholarships given   by witch Tai area sister cities for students to  study abroad and this year we gave scholarships   for students going to Mexico and France and we  do so much more but I want to focus on a special   opportunity between the city of Witchita and our  sister city of tan P Mexico we took a delegation   to our sister city of t p deas from July 12th  through the 20th last year and celebrated 50   years of a sister cities relationship uh included  in the participants were myself as H Witchita area   sister City's president other board members witto  City Council Members the CEO of Kansas Global as a   consultant and a group of students from friend  University some of whom were Spanish language   interpreters but notably 15 of our Global  master of Business Administration Graduate   students Beyond celebrating our 50th anniversary  our goal on this trip was the final purpose that   we noted that of economic exploration and the  master's program students played an important   part their final work produced was their Master's  thesis which today I bring to you in a very very   summarized form but why you might ask would  we be interested in doing Economic Development   exploration work with our sister city of tananta  and I'm glad you asked did you know there are more   than 2700 Industries located there making Clan  pantla one of the most industrialized areas of   the country ranking first in the state of Mexico  and exports 75% of all products coming out of   the country quinting from the study during the  study I brought experience the student research   team focused on three specific Industries which  contain opportunities for Business Partnership   mutually benefit beneficial to tanip panta and  Witchita and in including the state of Mexico and   the state of Kansas so these industry sectors are  Advanced manufacturing Aerospace and agriculture   in addition to these sectors we even discovered  a potential opportunity for a boat tour service   on the AR Kansas but uh speaking of advanced the  advanced manufacturing sector um Mexico's sector   is substantially contributing 266 billion in  total manufacturing output that was in 2022 wion   Kansas companies specializing in manufacturing  Solutions may consider Tona as a prime target for   Solutions in artificial intelligence uh predictive  maintenance cyber security additive manufacturing   and automation it's also emerged as an AG cultural  Hub and as the industry continues to flourish   witch companies have the opportunity to provide  expert solutions to some pressing needs including   irrigation technology fertilizer utilization  modern machinery and other agricultural technology   the Aerospace industry is growing and the market  size is projected to grow significantly in the   next few years this growth presents an opportunity  for Witchita and Kansas companies to provide   technological expertise so as that expands  we certainly have opportunity to to discover   it's a simplified description of the findings and  there's so much more that I could say but I need   to mention that this business analysis was honored  by being chosen to present at the accreditation   Council for business schools and programs in June  2024 in Miami Florida We Stand ready to facilitate   any further exploration we'd like to discuss the  plan further with you at at your convenience and   we thank you for this opportunity to share about  sister cities and things that we do thank you so much thank you senor Molina Madame clerk please  call the next item consent agenda items 1 through 12 are there any items to  be pulled from the consent agenda I'm going to pull  consent agenda item number five motion to approve the consent agenda items  without consent agenda item number five second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the role regarding consent agenda number five  may we have Chief snow uh explain this fire   emergency communications program  so the community understands this investment good morning mayor City Council  Members fire chief Tammy snow um this is   the third phase of station alerting and uh  emergency communications and basically it   is the funding that would allow us to go  into each one of our fire fire stations   and um rewire uh we currently have outdated  wiring we have outdated systems uh alerting   systems it would then receive the communication  uh that comes over from or the signal that comes   over from uh 911 dispatch um it would allow us to  modernize our current alerting system standardize   it because um since the stations were all built  at different times um have a significant variet   of wiring um and also aging of the wiring so  it allows us to modernize it it allows us to   enhance or improve the signals that we receive  and uh uh provide a redundancy uh some type of   a backup system in case um all the communication  systems were to fail so stand for questions um   the financial consideration is arpa dollars can  you just explain that part for us yeah part of   the money is um arpa dollars that will be  utilized uh to um um we're going to we have   the opportunity to build a uh Regional storage  facility on some land that was donated to us   down south um in that Regional stor uh in that  Regional storage facility we have a dock center   it's Department of operations center um it's  an an area in which uh we can um gather when   there's significant events and uh do some planning  and so forth and the arpa dollars would then um   help us uh equip that room so that it is U uh so  we're able to communicate outside of it thank you   very much Chief any further questions thank you I  motion to approve consent agenda item number five   second Motion in a second any further discussion  I see none madam please open the r motion passes   70 Madame clerk please call the next item  Board of bids and contracts dated July 15 2024 morning mayor city council Josh laber  Department of Finance the board of bids and   contracts convened July 15 2024 for the  following items for engineering we have   the water distribution system sanitary sewer  and Paving to serve Jackson Heights Town Home   second edition uh we're rejecting all bids for  purchasing we have the waterwork supplies for   the tap of Kansas Incorporated for group one we  have core and Maine LP groups 2 through six and   Witchita wind Water Works company group 7 for  the aggregate totals listed from those unit   prices requesting a contract term of one  year with two one years to renew we have   the grit augur system replacement rebuild for  RDP Technologies Incorporated in the amount of $50,605 all very close yeah great question  um it exceeded the engineers's estimate that   staff had um specifically the developer and  the design consultant hired they're reviewing   the project to determine what could be driving  the high costs and then if we can't determine   a specific area that can be driven down um that  would be something the developer could look at   either redeveloping in a different format or  selling it to a different party okay thank you any further questions I see none Madam uh sorry I   move that we approve the board of  bids and contracts second motion   and a second any further discussion I see  none Madame clerk please open the [Music] r motion passes council member hoisel 70 madam of   clerk please call the next  item petitions for public improvements good morning mayor City Council   Members Paul gunsan Public  Works and utilities for the record the signatures on the petitions  represent 100% of the improvement   district and the petitions are valid  per Kansas statute ranic addition phase   two located in district 6 on April 23rd  2024 the city council approved sanitary   sewer and Paving petitions for renic addition  the developer has submitted revised petitions   with revised budgets to meet the current Mark and  conditions and to cover cost of a private bid it   is recommended that the city council approve  the revised petitions and budgets adopt the   amending resolutions and authorize the necessary  signatures and stand for questions any questions   for staff I see none I motion to approve the  petitions for public improvements second motion   and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call  the First new Council business item 2025 annual   operating budget and 2025 to 2034 Capital  Improvement program morning mayor members   of the council Bob Leighton City Manager I'm  pleased today to present to you the 2025 2026   proposed or recommended budget as well as  the 2025 2034 proposed Capital Improvement   program uh this may be a little anti-climatic  for you since you have been working on this   budget since January um however a lot of  things have happened over that period of   time and I think this document uh well reflects  the work that's been done to date um the budget   is brought to you uh hopefully in a way that is  aligned with our community priorities as well   as the city's Mission Vision goals and values  uh the budget and the CIP are available on our website we've actually been working on this budget  since the adoption of the last year actually the   current year budget the 2024 budget back uh  in August of 2023 after you had adopted the   budget the staff worked um on some preliminary  uh uh studies of um some of the challenges that   we were facing knowing that we were moving into  uh the potential for uh structural deficits or   structural deficiency in um 25 26 and 27 um we  also so as a result of that uh we started our   citizen survey earlier than normal normal  so in the fourth quarter of 202 24 or 2023   excuse me uh we conducted the citizen survey  and brought those results forward to you in uh January in January and February you discussed the  results of that survey uh we also started talking   about some of our projections for our financial  condition in 2025 as well as the future years that   beyond that we spent significant amount of time  talking about our engagement process and seeking   guidance from you on the issues that needed to  go to the public for further discussion before   we got here today um also um in April and in June  conducted additional workshops that uh work that   drilled down even deeper on the finances and then  June 4th we brought to you a number of budget   options and sought guidance from you on how the  direction to move with the recommended budget for 2025 just to summarize very quick quickly what  we did with Community engagement I mentioned we   did the survey uh in late 2023 we had budget uh  round tables with interested citizens in January   and March we had social media Town Hall that  drilled in on two issues that you identified   as high priorities Street Maintenance and  crime prevention had robust discussion   especially on crime prevention with our residents  we attended May District Advisory board meetings   and then also we have been using the budget  simulator which is still open until August 8th so if you look at the total budget we're  dealing with about $763 million in both   revenue and expenses uh this budget includes the  general fund as well as our utilities and that's   why if you look at our Revenue uh sources on  the leftand side you'll notice that charges   for services is actually our largest category  and of course that reflects mostly your water   and sewer fees and revenues coming into the  utilities and then um property tax represents   about 22% of the total budget 41% of our expenses  go towards salary and benefits 177% towards Debt   Service and 19% from contractuals and again that  reflects the inclusion of Utilities in in these   uh numbers you're all very familiar with this uh  chart uh or table this depicts um the results of   our citizen survey we have spent most of our time  in our discussions with you um discussions with   community and discussions at the staff level  on the two quadrants to the right hand side   the orange and the magenta with the understanding  that the magenta represent the highest priorities   for additional expenses in the 20125 budget I  do want to mention that the the orange section   again our services that rated High importance  but also of high quality and it was important   that this budget not uh provide for any  erosion of that those service levels in   those high priority areas uh not just for  25 but for the years going Beyond 2025 so   what are the main priorities of this budget or  they reflected in this budget first of all is   crime prevention and I'm going to talk a lot  about that today um also uh increased expenses   or uh spending for our pavement maintenance  programs uh supporting Economic Development   which is really job creation is what our  residents tell us and then addressing housing insecurity first of all I to start on  crime prevention I'm going to do a very   quick overview on this because you're  going to hear more information at the   end of my presentation after you've asked all  your questions on the operating budget and   the CIP we want to then have a presentation  from a number of departments about the work   that they're doing on a comprehensive crime  prevention initiative both reflecting work   that has already been budgeted and work  that will be budgeted in 2025 and Beyond   there are three pillars that are in this program  uh prevention intervention and enforcement and   Rehabilitation all extremely important in  order to get appropriate results that I   think are desired by our community in order to  reduce crime not just in the immediate term but   in long term the general fund is supporting  a number of initiatives of course we support   police patrol Services investigation work but  beyond that we uh we have work that is done   by our office of community Services uh in the  areas of housing code enforcement Recreation   library and then in other funding sources  we have special alcohol and drug programs   that help especially on the rehabilitation  side um or funnel uh or pillar excuse me and   then we have um arpa money being used for the  violence interruptor program and we have state   and federal money going into retail realtime  information center as well as some other police initiatives pavement management or pavement  maintenance has been an issue uh for the 15   years that I've been here and probably for a  number of years before that and this B this   uh Capital Improvement program and operating  budget takes that seriously we for the first   time now have a designated Concrete Street  uh pavement mitigation program $20 million   over the 10year period we are have increased  the amount of money going into pavement uh   maintenance this is the work done by contractors  for substantial Rehabilitation of our pavement at   $149 million over the 10-year period and then  the program that was introduced last year to   the dirt street pavement pavement program has  $39 million uh allocated for it in addition the   general fund has $18 million allocated for street  sweeping signs and all of our day-to-day pavement   management and maintenance efforts supporting  economic development is extremely important to   this community um we we we know how important uh  job creation and um uh talent development is and   we want to come alongside those who are really  working in this space primarily of course the   private sector we want to create an environment  for them to be able to create jobs and grow our   economy uh we do that through our Economic  Development Fund and we're recommending that   a million dollars be transferred into that  fund to maintain its uh solvency as we move   forward with some of our initiatives we also  have Partners in u the uh uh development of   the new or update of the downtown uh witto plan  uh the private sector is putting over $300,000   into that plan and last week you approved 50,000  uh to uh contribute towards that initiative the   smidth uh is responsible for beautification  and safety initiatives in the downtown area   and then the parking fund is being overhauled  uh to reflect uh the approved parking uh plan housing has grown to be a significant issue  especially the issue of housing in Security   in this community uh we the council uh when  you were designating arpa dollars allocated   $5 million for an affordable housing fund that  money will come alongside the uh remodeling   Rehabilitation efforts of existing public housing  units and as developers are purchasing those we   uh have approximately uh two and a half to$ three  million that'll be going to assist with those uh   uh Redevelopment efforts and then we're talking  about putting money into housing Redevelopment   along the South Broadway Corridor which would be  a significant initiative and one that has been   in the works for years in terms of that being an  important area for redevelopment and then probably   one of the most significant initiatives that  is provided for in this budget is the creation   of the multi- agency Center which uh is uh to  serve the homeless to serve as a um location for   all of the agencies or majority of the agencies  that serve the homeless uh we have a tenative   agreement to purchase Park Elementary and remodel  it the capital Improvement program provides for   $8 million to uh do that remodel and that would  include an emergency winter shelter as well as   uh shelter services and office uh facilities  for the uh partner partner agencies and then   we also have a provision in for permanent  housing affordable housing as part of that   we the operating budget contains $500,000  to uh assist with the operations of the   Mac on an annual basis by the way we estimate  that the total operating cost for the Mac is   $2 million so we are looking for contributions  from the faith-based community as well as from   the private sector in order to close that Gap  here's the general fund what our residents most   uh recognize as our operating budget you'll  see here here the property tax is the major   funding source for the general fund as it always  has been 36% um reminder that when you look at   the C expenditure categories on the right hand  side that 75% of our uh expenses go towards uh   Personnel expenses um and that would be primarily  salaries and benefits U that um is a reason that   balancing this budget is challenging every year  because people represent a majority of our cost also a reminder that when you look at it by  um uh program category that Public Safety and   Public Works are probably two our most important  core areas take up about 74% of the general fund budget we've been talking about the  challenges that we are facing beginning   in 2026 and I forgot to mention the 2025  budget as presented is balanced and um   so um any changes in expenditures would require  some offset uh change in revenues um if you as   you get this budget and you consider any changes  in 2025 in 2026 we know um that we're starting   to move into a structural deficit position we  have taken significant action in order to try   to position ourselves for uh balancing the  budget in 2026 already I'll talk about that   in a minute uh we know that our structural  challenges come from a um slower growth in   revenues and the fact that uh expenditures  will outpace our Revenue growth starting in 2026 this gives you an idea of one of the  factors impacting the budget and that's uh   interest earnings we have been in a a a period  of significant growth in our earnings on idle   Investments uh we will Peak and this this year  about $34 million in annual interest earnings   however that's very unusual in fact if you look  at where we were in 2021 we were somewhere in   the range of about $2 million so that will show  you how the budget has been artificially impacted   by the high interest rate climate that we're in  we anticipate for that to start to come down and   by 2028 think we'll be more to about a $13  million annual revenue in the general fund   from interest earnings wages and benefits uh we  found ourselves a few years ago in a position of um what I want to say we were not competitive  with the market um as we looked at both public   and private sector employers uh for many of  the jobs that um are uh financed or funded   in the general fund and as a result  of that we were having significant   vacancies and unable to be able to do the work  on a daily basis that is expected by the public   so as a result of that we've adjusted our wages  across the board through our Union contracts as   well for our non-union employees to be more  competitive but because of that we've seen   a significant growth starting in about 2022  in our wages and benefits we do anticipate   that that will start to level off to more  cost of living increases but that will be   something that we'll have to talk significantly  about as we start to position ourselves for 2026 so if you look at where we are today as  I said we have a balanced budget in 2025 as   recommended we anticipate right now that we're at  about a $3.6 million deficit in 2026 which grows   then to between n and10 million in the following  years now that's in spite of significant work   that has already been done much of it with  your guidance as we're looking at the tier   options uh from our last Workshop we have already  positioned the city to um reduce that deficit   by over1 million uh the original deficit that we  talked to you about much of it through changes in   expenses and then some Revenue enhancements uh as  well and then some prudent use of reserves we've   done almost we've done a little over 12 million do  in budget adjustments for 2027 and uh 12 a. half   million for 2028 so a lot of work has already  been done to position us better for the future   so what are some of the things that we have put  in for 2026 um and maybe even starting later in   2025 well we're talk talking about centralizing  um several of our financial services that right   now are dispersed throughout the Departments  would now be centralized in finance we have a   model for improved cost recovery in a number of  service areas we're evaluating the condition of   our Fleet and the life of our Fleet and um believe  that we have the ability to make some adjustments   there that will save the city money over time  uh we are um also reviewing areas that have had   significant vacancy rates for a period of time uh  started when we were having difficulties because   of our pay structure but has even continued after  we've adjusted uh pay rates so now we want to look   at what the service implications have been from  that and then determine whether or not there is   an ability here to rightsize our service levels  based on citizen expectations about outcomes we   also know that we need to on a regular basis uh  look at our employee compensation and benefits   and we want to do that in partnership with our  employees and their representatives so that's   what I have in the operating budget I'd like  to go ahead and give you the overview of the   capital Improvement program and then talk a little  bit about the budget schedule and then I'll stop   at that point and answer questions that you have  and then we'll get into the crime prevention and   crime reduction strategies after we've had that  discussion if that works for you mayor okay so on   the capital Improvement program again it's aligned  with the city's missions and goals mission and   goals excuse me it focuses on maintenance which is  consistent not only with the community investments   plan but also with the council's direction over  the last several years uh we think that it is   appropriately Guided by Community priorities and  it is designed to be fiscally sustainable and   that's why we do a 10-year plan here's a look at  the revenues that support the capital Improvement   program this is big business this is over3 billion  dollar of infrastructure improvements over a   10year period and we know from the community  that they they have high expectations for us   to maintain not just our streets but our water  systems our sewer systems um and I'll get into   that in just a second but these are the revenue  sources that we have that help support those initiatives and and then here's a breakdown  of the initiatives you'll see obviously a   significant amount of money going into streets  and into our water system um over $200 million   goes would go into the sewer system uh but  we also are putting significant dollars into   maintenance of our public facilities which is  something that I think was ignored for way too   many years and so we're now in a position  of trying to stabilize the condition of   our uh buildings and other facilities U so  that we can um avoid long-term uh high cost Replacements The Debt Service fund under the  recommended budget would increase to 7.7 Mills   our total Mill Levy rate would remain as it is  this year however we would shift uh seven 710 of a   mill to The Debt Service Fund in 2025 to allow us  to cash fund some projects and avoid debt um which   helps us with our financial position as we move  into the for uh future uh we emphasize maintenance   uh uh streets and uh uh Public Safety in this  Capital Improvement program uh our go at large   debt is consistent with the guidelines which  rely on um standard and pores benchmarks that   we uh Council adopted a number of years ago uh  and we followed those benchmarks closely and   our fund balances are maintained at appropriate  levels some highlights I've already talked to   you about what we're doing in streets I won't  repeat those numbers uh from a public safety   standpoint we putting $164 million into uh new  fire stations new police stations and purchase   of uh replacement equipment uh over half of  the CIP uh goes towards maintenance projects   which I told you is the main emphasis  of this document 33 million of that   will go for cultural facilities and those are  facilities that we own the city owns and then   leases to outside agencies and then we have 32  million that would go to other City facilities CIP um does not have maybe all of the challenges  of the operating budget uh especially the general   fund in fact if we start to see interest rates  drop we we can be uh we can see some benefit in   the uh Capital Improvement program because that  will reduce our borrowing cost and allow our   dollars to be stretched further on the capital  side so now let me just talk real briefly about   the budget process probably the most important  issue to highlight is the revenue neutral rate   which is dict by the state and it says that any  increase in taxes resulting from a budget has   to be publicized and uh uh shared with the  public and the council has to uh formally   agree to exceed the revenue neutral rate uh  during its budget hearing which is August 20th 2024 uh this just simply this slide shows  what triggers the RNR and it can be and and   unfortunately it doesn't have any exceptions so if  there's additions to your tax base if you see uh   inflationary uh impacts on your operating expenses  or if the council wanted to focus on some priority   areas and exceed um uh and use Revenue that uh is  greater than what was generated last year none of   those are considered exceptions so you have to  give notice to exceed the RNR also this uh our   operating budget anticipates a flat tax rate  unfortunately that will generate more Revenue   Vue than we received last year and so even with  a flat tax rate you have to give notice that you   were going to exceed the RNR uh the city we have  to file our intent with the county clerk by July   20th so today we'll ask you to uh give notice  that it's your intent to exceed the RNR and   that's mostly as a placeholder um you will finally  you'll make that final decision on August 20th so   you have time to continue to talk about that  but you lose that option to discuss it if you   don't today in indicate the your uh intent  to exceed if for some reason you decided   not to exceed the RNR that would result in  a reduction of in this budget of about 122.4 million and that's outlined on this slide real quickly um you have three public  hearings scheduled today is the introduction   of the budget and then you have a evening uh  uh hearing on August 8th then you have another   proposed uh hearing on the 13th and then one  final opportunity for public comment and then   adoption of the budget on August 20th so today  what we're going to ask you to do is to establish   a public hearing date for the operating budget the  formal public hearing on August 20th authorized   publication of the hearing notice authoriz the  notification of your indication to exceed the   revenue neutral rate and there specific language  that we need to make sure is included in that so   there's no question from a statutory standpoint  and then you asking you to receive and file the   proposed Capital Improvement program so with that  mayor council members glad to answer any questions   you have about the operating budget or the CIP and  there are a number of Staff members that are here   also I want to take this opportunity to thank our  finance department all the Departments that have   spent an enormous amount of time in preparing this  budget it's a significant document as you know   um if you look at the CIP it's over3 billion  dollar worth of expenses or over $700 million in   ex operating expenses and so that uh can't be put  together overnight and we're trying to do it in a   way that's strategic and reflects the community  priorities so with that as I said I'd be glad to   answer any questions thank you city manager yes  questions for your staff beginning with council   member Glasco thank you Mr manager thank you madam  mayor I have 7 two questions I'm not going to ask   them all uh today so don't worry um I only ask two  and then I'll pass it off to everybody else on the   council as well do we have a proposed budget of  not of what would it be if we didn't capture the   full 8.1% um and or even if we captured 4.1%  of the assessment or 0% of the assessment is   there any projections of what cuts we'd have to  make for the 12.4 million well I'm going to let   staff correct me if I'm wrong but if you were to  only capture half of the property tax growth I'm   going to guess you'd have a you'd have to reduce  the recommended budget by about $6 million in   the general fund is that right yes do we have  any proposals of what it would be if we didn't   exceed the revenue neutral and we did decide to  not exceed where the cuts have to be made from   that's 12.4 million I mean specifically do you  we not put a contingency budget together on what   that how we would cut that 12.4 and as you can  imagine that has a ripple effect then into 26 27   28 because you start at a much lower base so the  I'm not even sure what the compounding would be in   terms of the cuts necessary in those future years  okay I appreciate that thank you for that um do   we also have any footnotes specifically about how  specific departments have cut this budget how they   plan to cut for the next budget in this document  I didn't see anyone I was reading it this weekend   but is there any footnotes of where they've  made Cuts in this budget compared to previous years um I council member this's a good question  I don't know that we have outlined I maybe in some   of the detailed notes we've talked about program  changes but probably not highlighted significant   cuts um we have outlined 12 areas for study  that would represent um significant program   changes including cuts and revenue enhancements  that would all be considered in advance of the   20126 budget in fact Our intention is to do  all of that work in 2024 so that the we' be   providing information to the council at the  beginning of 2025 so the adjustments could be   made in the revised 2025 budget if necessary  as well as position yourself for significant   program Cuts in 26 okay um and then I have two  more questions and then I'll pass off to all   the other colleagues as well um in terms of the  budget yeah or in terms of the CIP rather South   Lakes um still has allocated $6 million in  the budget but I think we've had discussions   that we've reallocated that to other areas as  well so I just was wondering why it would be   mentioned yeah council member that's that's a  good point and that's actually that $6 million   um and I think it's just a matter of timing  as the document is being put together that's   $6 million it does that show in the recommended  budget or in the uh existing projects it just   hasn't been changed it's in the back of the CIP  and what's called existing projects but that   money is being transferred to the mac and will  help will be the prime driver for the capital   uh improvements at the Mac okay great that was  my clarification and then the last question I   have this is more of a policy question as well  and so this might be for Public Works directly   but I know we had $39 million going towards the  dirt streets program if we reallocated the 39   million from dirt streets to residential streets  how much further in terms of Lane miles would we   be able to achieve in terms ofs to residential  street so it's probably a specific question of   Republic works so the question is if you've  had between three and four million dollar   annually to add to our street program I think  it depends on the streets that we're targeting   um you could do Gary I don't know if or Paul if  you want to Hazard a guess on what that would be okay appreciate it y thank you council member  hoisel thank you mayor um just a couple of   questions here real quick so the 7 Ms that we're  looking to transfer for Debt Service that's 3 to   4 million is that about accurate as far as what  yes okay just wanted to double check my math on   that one appreciate it what are the guidelines  for the eodo fund who can we get an update as   far as who is eligible to pull from it what  programs do we run from it because if we're   making this kind of investment there I just want  to make sure that we have all our eyes dotted and   teas cross and we fully understand exactly what is  eligible from that fund or who's eligible to tap   into it yeah all of the expenses in The Economic  Development Fund are approved by the city council   so uh there's Economic Development staff that's  the permanent expense um in that comes out of   that fund and then you have the agreement with  the partnership U we have a few small business   initiatives including one with Wabba that's funded  from the program and then um we we've had uh some   studies and special projects again approved by  Council for instance the down your investment   in the downtown Master Plan update okay thank you  and usually it's 45% or 55% of property we sell um   will go into the economic Economic Development  Fund with the remainder going to the general   fund and is that because we just see a slow down  in properties that we're selling that that's a   that's a piece of it yes okay I appreciate that um  and I guess the last one is could we get a little   more um of an in-depth analysis of uh specifically  Parks maintenance and tree removal cuz if I I go   to the page and I've just been thumbing through  this and you know I any downtime we have but um   tree removal where 1.2% 1.4% 1.5% of established  trees pruned that's under our Benchmark that we're   aiming for that 5% so if we could just get a more  detailed analysis of what's going on there and um   just really look at the numbers and the operating  but budget there more than glad to do that all   right thank you council member Johnson thanks  mayor thanks Bob um quick question probably the   other side of what U my colleague asked you is  there a contingency plan for potentially raising   the mill Levy uh no there is not okay I would  like um to see some work done around what that   would look like uh mainly for Council discussion  public benefit as the M Levy continues to remain   the same um police and fire budgets are going  up as you said most of our budget is people and   people are going to continue to need uh higher  pay to to live affordable um or have be able to   afford things going on and as we continue to  try to be competitive with the market and the   private sector with paying our people what they  deserve um those costs are going to go up and uh   government we're either going to have to cut out  people or some of the services that people truly   care about to continue to pay those things and  I think a proposal of what it would look like   for a 1 mil or 2 m increase would be a benefit  for discussion asking for those numbers that   would be an additional $5 million for one mill  an additional about 10 for two Mills and as we   look at the deficit in 26 and 27 one mill would  take care of 26 and help us make easier decisions   moving forward two males would actually take care  of 26 and 27 and I know that that's unpopular but   um you know most of our Public Safety deals with  property and people and um a mill Levy increase   would impact me as well but it would help protect  people and property so I think that's something   that should be a part of the discussion  as many of us have said nothing's off the table vice mayor Ballard you here Bob have we  talked about I know we have in the past um and   probably even before I was on Council about  some type of sales tax that is specific to um   fire and police or that way we it's kind of  up to the public to vote on to see if that's   something that they want to support and while  I don't completely disagree with council member   Johnson um the price of everything has gone  up significantly in the last 32 years um so   I didn't know if that was a conversation that  we could at least put something together to   explore previous councils had that discussion a  few years ago that proposal was brought forward   by representatives are police and fire unions  and at that time the council decided not to   move forward with that initiative I do know uh  based on what's been reported that the County   Commission is looking at that same issue  and whether or not more of um um Municipal   operations should be funded from a sales tax um  I think my position in the past has been pretty   clear and that is that I have concerns about the  use of um sales tax for ongoing expenses um that   I think it's appropriate for one-time expenses or  areas that you have to some discretion so that in   downturns in the economy you have the ability  to appropriately right siiz your budget uh if   it's used to help pay for salaries for police  and fire I get concerned that uh you all of us   will be put in a difficult position if we see  another recession and I see a significant drop   in sales tax revenues but more than happy to  give an analysis of that that whole issue and   and and maybe where if you did go for a sales  tax initiative where it would make some sense   in terms of helping with the budget if that's the  at least we'll give that for further discussion   thank you I will interject uh quickly since there  are two staff recommended actions the first staff   recommended action uh that council member Johnson  brought up was increasing the mill Levy while I   heard uh council member Glascock ask if there  was a study regarding a reduction in M Levy so   if we're going to have a study um I'd like to  see all options a reduction a a a neutral a or   an increase so that we have all the information  and we can make informed decisions so um refining   the staff recommended action one the second one  was from vice mayor Ballard regarding the sales   tax uh we'd like a study on what would make  sense um if there was a discussion regarding   this I'd like to know when exactly that was  um and where that kind of it wasn't a study   it was brought forward and the mayor at the time  after consultation with the council uh decided   not to move forward we were not asked to put  anything together in that regard how long ago was that that would have been about six years ago  if I'm if I'm right is that about right it's   under mayor long okay so uh the second staff  recommended action that vice mayor Ballard um   asked I will ask also for refinement on that  to see where exactly um a possible sales tax   could um help us generate funds um I will again  allow more council members to ask questions but   I do have one quick question this is regarding  slide number 19 uh when the identified structural   challenges were first discovered or announced  was that the first time or was there a previous   time can you please give us some background uh  of whom had the information regarding structural   challenges and why just now are we talking about  um these possible changes or studies regarding the   proposed budget so I know that I think previous  years had it so can you give me back background   sure um don't want to go on too long in terms  of history but we had significant reductions uh   when we went into covid and so as we modified  expenses in 2020 and positioned the budget for   2021 we were concerned about significant drops in  our Revenue so we went through a budget exercise   at that point um and then as we started to  come out of covid um we recognized that um   our revenues were more robust than we expected  uh but then we got into this issue of salaries   and that's when I think we started to look  at so that would have been two years ago Mark   roughly two years ago is when we started to get  concerned about a a structural deficit we didn't   know what would happen with interest rates which  we knew was helping to prop up the general fund   but we knew that they would go down we actually  anticipated they would drop sooner than what the   FED has done so we've been B we've benefited  in that regard but um about two years ago is   when weed started saying we need to position  ourselves uh to deal with structural deficit   as we continue to see increases in salaries what  staff recommended action was taken two years ago   when the first concerns about a structural  deficit were first announced to the public Mark mayor it's a very good question uh as  the manager indicated for the last several   years we've had those challenges in typically  what we've done is very similar to what we did   this year uh we presented a number of Staff  options and we've uh worked with the council   to develop options to make sure that we had  a balanced budget for the uh year in which we   were required to which in this case would be  2025 and then we've had a variety of options   that we put on the list of things to study  for the out years and then staff has studied   those and then we've come back the next year  and reevaluated our position and if we uh in   as a manager indicting in some instances  our position is been better the next year   particularly because the decline in interest  earnings uh was delayed from what we initially   thought uh so we then adjusted our plans for  options to reduce the budget or did did not   impose them if we did not need to but generally  that's been our plan uh to develop options for   the current year and then more study options  for the out years and then we proceed from there also there's been a lot of fiscal restraint  over the our recommendations of the last two years   years we have not offered too many uh  new initiatives and where we have it's   they've been mostly Council driven so knowing  that we were going to hit some uh structural   deficit issues we did not look for we not did not  recommend uh increases or expansion of programs   we tried to uh hold the line in terms of what  we are doing and again prioritize our spending   in the areas that were reflective in today's  budget or today's survey which shaped today's   budget may please have have an email regarding  the council driven decisions um over the last   two years that did not expanded or enhanced um  while we knew that there was a budget deficit   looming so I'd like to know what uh did we do  as a council what did staff do by the direction   of the council um that expanded or enhanced  while we knew that there was a budget deficit looming thank you council member hoisel thank  you mayor um just real quick on that last Point   um we also took a surplus instead of spending  down the surpluses that we had and we put it in   the reserves and that way we could step down in a  responsible way over the next couple of years so   I did just want to add that in as well that's  correct um just I just wanted to piggyback on   what uh vice mayor Ballard had said if we could  get some sort of maybe an analysis of a Maps   type program like they have in Tulsa where the  public gets to have some feedback on projects and   possible sales tax funding that way I think that  would be a good way of allowing the public to have   a say in uh the taxes that to come their way and  also give us um another Revenue stream to do some   of our CIP projects that way uh it relieves  a little bit of stress off our CIP maybe our   budget in total and we can Shi some money around  to help cover the the holes that we're facing so   just wanted to add that in as well council member  Glascock I don't know why my name was up there   sorry council member tutle thank you I just um  and thank you for the presentation Bob and and   I'll have some thank yous later after the public  comment but I just wanted to provide a little   context and then also go on record for something  when you uh the vice mayor asked about the sales   tax for police and fire I remember having this  conversation my first year on Council this is   going to be my sixth budget that I've gone through  this process so um we had that discussion and we   decided not to proceed with a sales tax for police  and fire if it was not for just capital projects   as you mention mened and at the time there was  a city I think in Arizona and I can go back and   look at my notes that did it for salaries for  police and fire and then they had an economic   downturn and so they didn't capture as much sales  tax as they anticipated and they actually had to   um let police and fire go they had to you know um  terminate their positions because they couldn't   afford it so I just kind of want to go on record  that I'm absolutely supportive of a sunsetted   sales tax for capital projects if we find that we  can help ease our CIP but it would be really hard   for me at this point to look at any kind of sales  tax that would support just general operation for   that reason we never know what kind of Economic  Times we're going to go into we didn't know   before 2008 we didn't know before the pandemic  who could have predicted the inflation now so   just want to make sure if we do have a sales tax  in my opinion it should only be for capital thank you I see no further questions for staff so I'll  last just a couple oh council member Johnston I   could wait till after you too that's all right  okay um I will point out that the property tax   increases have been significant last two years  and we we're the beneficiary of of some of that   money so uh I I don't see a need for a increase  in the mill Levy but uh I think that property   people are worried about property taxes going  up significantly year over year over year thank you I will ask a couple of more questions  sorry I have a lot of them so first and   foremost I'm going to go back uh this was not  part of our booklet of items this time but it   is part of what we've had during the workshop  so I'm going to come to this because I think   it's important to look at this um this is the  2025 526 proposed budget tiered options for consideration first um I wanted to know how can  we advance some of those planned changes um so   I don't know if that's a staff recommended  a staff recommendation uh a council driven   staff recommendation um but can you tell me  how we can advance some of these changes for   2025 so that we're in a better position in 26 27  28 uh the some of the initiatives that are built   into our recommendations for 26 already could be  Advanced for instance I mentioned the streamlining   of financial operations um consolidation of  operations into the finance department that's   one area where we could um uh Implement that  earlier um we had also talked about a study   of collapsing our middle management that's  something that we could advance in terms of   our work on that um to see if that is possible  to implement in 25 there are let me look at here again we did talk a little bit about decoupling  our Cultural Arts uh funding from the assessed   valuation increase and instead to Target the  increases to our operating budget increase   that could be implemented in 25 but we'd have to  make sure that we had ample time for the agencies   to plan for whatever that reduction would be  if you remember in 90 in 26 we thought that   would result in about $200,000 in savings but  it could be up to almost a half million dollars   in savings over over time so that could  position you a little quicker in terms of savings and then I we have a number of items  that we said we would um explore uh in terms of   studies um including um the right sizing of some  of our maintenance operations but again we that's   going to take a little more time if we're we if  we're diligent in reviewing those in this fall   during the fall they could be possibly whatever we  recommend could be implemented in 25 but I don't   know that I could give you a good number  today on what you know what that would   um save in 25 so I have a staff recommended  action to look within the next month before   we come back for the actual final um vote  regarding the budget I'd like to see place   where we can advance some of these tiered  uh considerations to advance us to be in   a better position uh knowing for  sure that we will have a budget deficit my next question really quickly is  about our debt service so Mark questions um our current SNP sorry standards our Moody's  number can you tell us what our rating currently   is and how this will affect us if we did no  changes and we continue incurring this type   of um debt yeah I believe our Moody's rating is  uh AA uh two right now uh we take rating agency   considerations very very seriously uh because  they're very important to us because we do issue   debt we're active in the capital markets that's  just the way we Finance our Capital Improvements   uh the rating agencies including Moody and  standard and pores uh just simplistically   they look at uh they look at our economy they  look at some things that are outside of our   control but they do look at a lot of things  that are inside our control they look at our   liquidity and our funds and that's why the  manager mentioned The Debt Service fund and   how it was within our financial parameters uh  one thing that he meant by that was our balance   in The Debt Service fund is adequate so that we  have enough liquidity uh if we have challenges   they look at that very very very carefully uh  same with the general fund uh they look at our   operating deficits uh they do not like it when  they see our reserves Decline and we've had I   don't know 13 years in a row when our reserves  have increased which of course is very good   uh they understand and we're very transparent  with them we under we explain our situation to   them every time we have a ratings call and they  are very well aware of what our situation is uh   but if you read their ratings report they opine  on our financial management of our organization   and this may sound a little self- serving but  typically what they say is that they have very   high level of confidence in our organization  because they know that we faced challenges   consistently in the past and we always find a way  to fix our challenges and again produce budget   surpluses which again we've done for the last  12 years or so so in summary Mar I'd say it's   important that we have operating surpluses in  the general fund uh it's important that we take   our financial future seriously and take action to  resolve our issues it's important that we maintain   adequate liquidity in our funds particularly  Debt Service fund and finally I'd say it's   important that we keep our debt levels uh within  a reasonable level and again the manager mentioned   that we have performance measures in which we do  that and they they they monitor that too and we   typically keep that at a very conservative level  so does that answer your question you can you also   uh answer what our current reserves are and what  is a healthy deser reserve for a city our size   in our budget yeah very good question uh there is  no one right answer uh there's a lot of different   literature out there uh and it kind of depends on  what your reserves are for generally maintaining   at least a two-month Reserve is what's considered  uh appropriate and two months is I think somewhere   around 16% our policy of course is 15% which  is in that ballpark uh you'll see some cities   that maintain a minimum reserve of 30% or even  more again it's just a policy matter uh we as I   mentioned have a reserve policy of 15% which we  which we have uh that in our case is I believe   around $49 million again that's important to show  them and as I think the manager mentioned we also   have the permanent Reserve which the council set  up several years ago a stabilization Reserve to   help us smooth challenges into the future and  if my memory is correct I think there's $23 million somewhere in that ballpark most of  which was been set aside over the last couple   years like council member HOSA mentioned when we  had some uh abnormally High interest earnings we   put it in the permanent Reserve stabilization  fund so mayor if I can just to add to that one   of the things that one of the most important  Financial things that the council did last year   was adopting a reserve policy which and I say  that's important but especially for moodies and   standard and pores so that they know there's  policy guidance on how we put money into the   reserves and how how we take money out and what  our targets are for each of the reserve funds   that Mark just outlined and so we uh this budget  is anticipating that we will stay consistent with   your reserve policies but we have highlighted in  the document that if we continue to move in the   direction that uh without a balanced budget that  we would dip it below the reserve policies and   so that's why we have to present balanced budgets  and find a way to balance 26 and 20 or 27 and 28 thank you council member glov this goes in  line with that question too this budget to   balance this budget does it take anything  I'm sorry sir to balance this budget does   it take anything from current uh no not in  2025 no and how much are we projecting 2026   from reserves to B uh the budget has three  million coming out of the permanent Reserve   to uh improve our situation in 26 26 and is  that the same in 27 and 28 yes sir yes sir council member hoisel thank you mayor uh just one   point of clarification I believe  it's $32 million in the permanent Reserve Elizabeth 32 okay all right appreciate it to get that correct so 32 million in  the permanent reserve and 23 million in   the stabilization Reserve there was a 49 million  amount that was also thrown out earlier so I just   want to get all the numbers correct yeah mayor  uh if I could let me provide that information   to you after the meeting uh the general fund  balance is about $49 million in addition to   that we have the stabilization Reserve sometimes  also called the permanent Reserve they're one   and the same and that's the amount I'm sorry  I just I don't remember off top of my head but council member Tuttle thank you Mark you may  just want to stay there thank you and I'm going   to ask a question and please correct me if I'm  absolutely wrong always I'm I tell you all the   time you've done such a great job schooling me  up on this but I always have something to learn   but when we're talking about our credit rating  something that I know all of us are extremely   interested in and it's very important and some say  that we may have to they they believe we have too   high of a Debt Service and that is because we have  specials that many other communities don't is that   correct and could you just maybe highlight  that for us and the importance of us having   specials in terms of growth and development  of our community that other communities might   not offer uh yes ma'am the rating agencies do  consider our debt load to be higher than what   they would consider norms and when I say they  consider Norms they have a variety of empiric   parameters uh for cities it's it's it's very  objective now there is some subjectivity which   actually benefits us because they think that we're  very well managed but there are very objetive Ive   debt measures we actually should be rated lower  than what we actually are if they followed their   own metrics but again they use subjective measures  and they what they call Notch us up because they   uh believe that we're well-managed financially  but yes ma'am they think our debt level is too   high they measured a variety of ways but one  reason is is because of our special assessment   program we have somewhere in the neighborhood  165 million in special assessment debt right   now it's been higher in the past uh now that  of course is not paid by taxpayers it's paid   by uh property owners for special assessments  on their homes and we emphasize that to them   uh in fact our amount of debt paid by property  tax owners is 50 59 million very much smaller   you recall when I do quarterly presentations  I show the little pie chart of our debt and I   show you the Little Slice that's about 4%  of our debt portfolio that's our property   tax funded debt but they do look at a bigger  picture and so yes ma'am they do believe that   our go General obligation debt level is too high  high and one reason that they believe it's too   high is because of our special assessment  debt so sometimes there is good debt thank you I see no further questions regarding  this so I'm now going to move to the uh   Capital Improvement program questions um  because we are asking about two budgets   here now moving to the capital Improvement  project I have questions regarding Century 2   um the convention center and the Hyatt  prominade um I think a separation between   understanding Bob Brown Expo in Century 2 would  be appropriate at this time can we talk about that yes and I I'll rely on staff to supplement my  comments the uh CIP allows for maintenance for the   what we will call the round building the and call  that Century to itself and those are I think there   about 10 million roughly $10 million dollars  for ongoing improvements to that uh building   it includes heating and cooling and plumbing and  electrical improvements as well as and I can't   remember all the other items that we identified  a few years ago as needs for that building on top   of that um we realize that the discussion about  convention facilities here in the community is   going to be a long-term discussion um two years  ago uh maybe a year and a half ago I presented   a plan for improvements to the uh to C2 and to  Bob Brown but even at that reduced scale it was   still a sizable project and one that would have  to that would require uh a voter initiative uh   or approval of a of an initiative by the voters  in the meantime we continue to lose business to   uh not just venues and cities our size but to  smaller communities as well we're losing Statewide   conferences we're losing Regional conferences and  so uh I met with um the uh group that manages C2   for us along with visit Witchita and said what  would it take for us with our existing facilities   to be more competitive so what you have in there  in the recommended CIP are some improvements to   the area that uh is between the that includes  the prominade the the city-owned spaces in the   prominade all the way to the spaces entering  into Bob Brown so that we can put our best   foot forward what we find unfortunately is that  when uh Meeting Planners work with visit Witchita   soon as they step out of Hyatt the Hyatt into  our prominade area they're turned off and it's   it's really hard to turn them around in terms  of self that our space and in fact um I don't   want to put words in her mouth but Susie Santo  has said that for some meetings they've even had   to offer to give the building away for free and  even then could not necessarily book some of the   groups into the building so we said what would  make a difference knowing that we're not ready   to have those sizable Capital investments in  Bob Brown yet and that's when they came back   with the recommendations that the Hyatt group  is going to be up upgrading their lobbies and   their meeting space and they have asked if we  would follow suit to upgrade our meeting space   in the prominade area and then we would take that  same um uh decor and transition that all the way   to Bob Brown so that you would have a really this  seamless um Improvement that would uh I think make   it much more make us much more competitive given  the facilities that we have now that's not going   to change change the ceiling Heights of Bob Brown  it's not going to uh increase the number of square   feet that we have in Bob Brown but at least make  us more competitive for some of those conferences   that used to come to us on a regular basis where  maybe they were on a cycle of coming to witch   every other year maybe they go to Overland Park  the year you know the off year and those are the   so we're trying to be more competitive uh with  what I would say is somewhat a minimal investment   today we have also teed up for you a discussion  hopefully this year on what your thoughts are   about moving forward and what a timetable could  be for a Bob Brown uh expansion and remodel but   we have only put that in as a placeholder  we've not identified any funding source and   we know that that will be a long discussion  and probably involve Community Partners as well and according to the CIP the study back in  2017 showed a renovation total of 272 million   and a reconstruction cost of 492 million but again  these are numbers from back in 2017 right so these   numbers would be much more inflated by now no not  necessarily because I think we're going to change   scope in our work with populace a couple of years  ago we talked about changing the scope of the work   uh and the ex uh changes um at Bob Brown to try  to bring it into a number that I think was closer   to 400 million if I remember and maybe even less  than that and so we would bring options forward if   the council said you wanted to go ahead and  have a serious discussion and start to look   at a timetable for Bob Brown we would bring op  options from our uh uh project team uh for you   to consider and what the impact would be then on  on possible Revenue not just for us but economic   benefit as well so again that would only be for  the Bob Brown expo hall centry 2 Brown building   that's correct Century 2 round building we are  trying to make sure that that is in appropriate   condition to be used by the community as it  currently is today and so that's why we were're   going to take care of continued investment in  that building but we can't do anything different   for instance with the Performing Arts until you  we know what the future of of Performing Arts   Center is uh which is mostly a private initiative  at this point council member glassock thank you   my concern more than the convention space is the  Performing Art Space specifically when it comes to   Century too um in addition I noticed not in this  CIP and it could be in this year's CIP I just said   no plans in terms of the old library repair um  is that currently projected for the end of uh   2024 because it was not in what I could find in  the 2025 CIP that right now is somewhat up in   the air um we have um two proposals that we have  not reacted to yet regarding nonprofit use both   of them EXP expected that we would put money into  the building some requests substantial and that's   why this project is delayed or that process is  delayed because we're not really quite sure how   much investment we should make um there have  been proposals to um to make it available for   uh certain private uses which we have not pursued  the city has not pursued at this point and we've   talked about uh possible other public uses if  we identified a public use for that building   than we would be required to make substantial  improvements which depending on how far you go   you could get close to the number that we were  looking at when we decided not to invest in the   building and to move to the new facility which  was almost a a dollar Ford dooll offset so anyway   there's there's still a lot of work that has to  go into the ReUse of that building just in terms   of basic bait we were there this week I was leaks  in the roof concerning to me it's just basic baits   to make sure we don't I do believe that we have  contract we have plans for the that are already   I'm sorry yeah y okay so that should be completed  by ro24 yes okay um the last question I have about   um CIP because the mayor had directed let's talk  about those I sell $48 million for bike paths over   the next 10 years projected in the CIP is that  bike path separate from onroad bike paths or is   this um you know the Prairie Sunset Trail type of  path that are part from the road systems it's it's   yeah is not on roads or is is not on roads this  is 48 million for nonroad bike paths primarily   connecting existing paths to make a system that  would take you from border to border that's the   goal over a long period of time so what would  be the add in terms of onroad bike pass would   be adding those are normally incorporated into  our street projects as there's probably like   an added cost I would imagine with that though  well but that's we always at we're to the point   now where we incorporate that into the cost  of the project so if you see a major arterial   project or one that plans to have a path that  will be incorporated into that budget so 48   would probably be more for recreational usage of  bikes if you're going from IND rather than Transit   that that's my understanding you council member  Johnson thanks mayor um Bob just since you said   it I am supportive of trying to figure out what  to do with Bob Brown um going forward being on   the committee I I learned how important convention  space was to our community so I am supportive of that may I ask a couple more questions regarding  the CIP so um I see ongoing projects that have   already been budgeted for I think they're  in a design face including Bridge work is   that correct yes I see two Bridge work uh  items one that's already completed amadan   bridge manissa bridge for D6 and then the  canal Crossing for District One MH I just   wanted to double check that those were yes  um in regards to a previously asked question   regarding the uh South Lakes MH can we get  an updated just at least that sheet regarding   the $6 million that now will be used  for M the multi-agency center yeah yes any further questions for staff  I see none Bob do you want to give   the second presentation before we open it  up com thank you yes I'd like to turn it   over to Dante Martin assistant city manager to  introduce you to um a comprehensive initiative   that um frankly I'm really proud of what staff has  put together it's about a $45 million initiative   in 2025 to deal with crime prevention and  crime redun reduction and involves more   than just our police department but a number of  departments so with that I'll turn it over to Dante good morning mayor woo members of the witel  city council assistant city manager Dante Martin   um as the manager mentioned I've been working  closely with staff for the last 60 days or   so um to identify programs and services that  affect the crime rate uh so kind of going back   or rehashing what the manager mentioned earlier  the 2023 Community survey identified City's crime   prevention efforts as being low quality and high  importance in response the manager asked me to   conduct a comprehensive review of programs  and services provided by our departments as   we conducted that review we wanted to make  sure that the programs and services have an   evidence-based impact on um crime prevention and  reduction and in order for a program or service   to be considered evidence-based it must have a  theoretical Foundation uh that's supported by research as the manager mentioned there is  a $45 million investment in these programs   and services important to note this isn't  new money this is money that's programmed   in the budget Services we provide or  have provided traditionally um the 4   5 million is made up of Grant funds general  fund dollars as well as special Revenue funds   uh specifically liquor tax I know we  talk about liquor a lot about liquor   tax funding the $45 million does not  include funding for commission police officers as the manager mentioned staff did  a really good a lot of really good work and   conducted a lot of research as it relates  to evidence-based approaches to reducing   crime and through that work we identif if  I three pillars that this report is built   on prevention intervention and enforcement as  well as Rehabilitation so the primary goal of   prevention is to stop crime before it occurs uh  intervention and enforcement seeks to intervene   at the first sign of risk and respond effectively  when crime occurs and then lastly Rehabilitation   recognizes that crime will occur and it seeks  to address the underlying causes of crime provided these slides or the next two slides  as foundational information about what we've   seen in terms of five-year crime Trends  in witto uh the FBI collects data about   crime to measure the level and scope of crime  occurring Across the Nation the witto police   department submits information monthly on the  number of known offenses cleared by arrest or   exceptional means specifically part one and part  two offenses for this presentation the focus is   on part one violent and property crimes part one  offenses include criminal homicide rape aggravated   assault burglary larsy motor vehicle theft  arson and human trafficking in 2023 part   one violent crime decreased by 3% compared to  2022 the number of criminal shooting victims   and homicides reported in 2023 is below the  5-year average however the number of shooting   victims in 2023 is about 14% higher than 2022  and there was an increase in criminal homicides   reported in 2023 compared to 2022 the number of  rape cases reported in 2023 three is at a 5year   low I should mention that Captain Moses and Jeff  Vil are here with me today and can do a a further   drill down on the crime data if you like in regard  to part one property crime in 2023 property crime   decreased by 2% compared to 2022 shoplifting  experienced an increase in 2023 was at a 5year   high compared to 2022 and the 5year average part  one property crime burglary theft auto theft uh   decreases in 20 23 compared to the average of 5  years the shopping LIF shoplifting increase in 2023 so mayor as the manager mentioned this was  truly a team effort and with your permission   I'd like to invite staff to come to the  podium and highlight some of the programs   and services that we offer as an organization  So Jamie Nicks Troy halman Sally stain Captain   Moses as well as Nathan Emer are prepared  to present the next few slides and answer questions this was truly a fascinating and  important way of looking at library Services   um three areas of emphasis and programming that  we have historically provided for witch attends   um center around digital Equity family  engagement and providing a third place um   a lot of research shows that digital literacy is  um a real factor in crime rates as it relates to   overall education public Computing Services at  the library um are meeting these digital needs   by providing free access across our locations  in 2023 the use of Library digital access um   equated to $1.13 million in value to Residents um  our portfolio includes Education and Leadership   um for digital access that relates to public  Computing Wi-Fi hotspots um that circulated about   1100 times last year um to homes that don't have  um technology in the home we have training classes   our book a librarian service is an incredible  onetoone um mentoring and educational opportunity   that served over 3,187 individuals last year we  also provide public print ing faxing copying to   help people navigate um information needs and  and Communications our databases and collection   support include LinkedIn learning which is a 247  educational tool to bolster workplace technology   skills in addition we have a partnership with  the school district that's offering student   e-cards so that um all of our online resources  are available even at um registration and that's   coming up in September or actually August um our  book bus as well has a mobile hotspot to allow   15 um individuals to connect to it wherever we're  out in the community um related to digital Equity   um we have a lot of leadership that's underway  right now we hosted our first digital Equity   Summit which is gathering a lot of um energy  related to Coalition building and cooperation   to build out a larger digital equity and digital  navigation program we've just installed three um   W wifi enabled benches in key areas of the city  with plans to install nine more um by the end of   next year and expand our Wi-Fi intentionally  outside of our building so that at any point   anyone 247 at library grounds would be able to  have access um we're updating a lot of our efforts   related to early learning to fully Embrace family  engagement understanding that parents can be their   first um their child's first and best teacher um  less than half of children who live in poverty   are ready for preschool nationally if we look at  that here in Witchita there are close to 18,000   students or potential students who are likely to  struggle in kindergarten our family engagement   um efforts are a matter of equity um and that  lowincome families often don't have the types   of supplies activities and time um and even the  transportation that prevents them from coming to   a library facility one pilot program that we have  going on right now is um we have 150 book bundles   um that are being distributed through into homes  with um partnership with rainbows United we're   getting some really good feedback from them we  learned that one little girl who's receiving   some intervention services really loved a book  called peekaboo her parents bought it for her   second birthday the word boo was her first word  that she spoke and so we're seeing that language   development skills and access to materials is  a really um big gap that continues to need to   be filled based on research about the importance  of early brain development um family place is um   a program that we've um instituted at our Advanced  learning library with hopes to invest and certify   all of our libraries as family place it supports  the essential roles of parents um and addresses   physical social emotional and cognitive aspects  of Child Development and really this is just a   space and a place low-risk um informal education  that can benefit um generations going forward in   addition um I've talked about this before as far  as your Public Library really being one of the   last um places in in the city where you can go and  stay all day with the without the expectation of   spending money we know that um we're open over  177,000 hours annually at seven locations across   the city youth are using us regularly um having a  safe place with um activities or just um exposure   to a place where you aren't needing to um worry  about your health and safety is is critical um   in 2022 we simultaneously planned and implemented  Outreach Services to reach residents who aren't   coming to the library at this point and we're  also working to improve our customer experience   a lot of people don't find themselves welcome or  even interested in a library your library is more   than books now it's a safe space as well we have  a new program that's introduced Library resource   officers to support safety and public Space  Management across all seven locations which   is building confidence in our staff to be able  to help navigate the number of challenges that   occur in a public space related to people's  personal health safety well-being um and the   safety of everyone who's using the library  these are just the top of the iceberg of what   the library is doing um and has been doing  for a number of years we'll pass it over to Troy so I never pass up an opportunity to talk  about Parks and Recreation so we service all   over the city uh every single Corner every single  square inch of the city we have opportunities for   parks and recreation to have an impact on this  community uh really has an impact in regards   to quality of life and quality of place which in  turn really has an impact on reduction of crime um so a couple quick highlights I just wanted to  share with you all and I'll also talk a little bit   about the three items that's on the PowerPoint  uh parks and recreation activities are a major   resource in child development uh child education  and development of character and morals one of   the things we always talk about is Parks and  Recreation is the long term it's the impact of   a community that it's not the Silver Bullet it's  not the immediate action of curving uh crime but   it's a long-term activity of quality of place  and quality of of uh of life that really has   that impact and so giving these opportunities  to Children uh to grow and learn really has   that impact uh Parks and Recreation is essential  Public Service it's been been well documented in   regards to communities that have a strong Parks  and Recreation Department uh have lower crime   rates it's a it's one of my favorite statistics  to to talk about several examples of teaching in   our programs I'm going to get mention two of  them we have a boxing program and we partner   with first te in regards to teaching youth  golf so it's not just about teaching the sport   but it's also teaching um the leadership that's  within it it's also regards sportsmanship these   are all things that are involving uh building  and taking care of character and morals for   children another item is providing a safe and  productive environment which gives children   opportunities to grow learn and mature so having  these recreation centers having our swimming pools   having our parks and locations where that they  have access to them but also um opportunities   for them to enjoy it with their families  gives them a safe space to continue to grow   and learn our parks and recreation activities  have a huge impact in regards to health and   wellness which in turns uh reduces uh uh hospital  visits uh uh has an impact on long-term health and   wellness within the community which also reduces  health care costs couple other items I want to   point out is um we have tons of Partnerships  we don't do this by ourselves and so a great   example is recently with uh 259 which I'll talk  a little bit about with the football program but   another partnership was with the police and fire  department we hosted them at OJ Watson for a uh   camp that they helped lead but it was at one of  our facilities where we helped organize it and   uh the process with all the logistics to go with  that as well so research shows that after school   programs can reduce crime by offering constructive  alternatives to gangs and drugs during peak hours   of juvenile crime we see this every year uh right  after school lets out we see higher uh graffiti   we see more um impacts in regards to uh vandalism  and and it's because these kids have nothing to   do and so having opportunities for them to go to  camps having them opportunities to be involved   with sports takes up some of that time that's  why coven the before and after school program   uh is so successful and popular it's always full  we've always had all of our camps have always been   full we've actually turned people away quite often  so we one of the things that we're looking at is   expanding those programs there is a need to expand  and meet those needs in the community and more   focused programs that are strategic and Encompass  those that are at more risk so uh there's often   opportunities for lower income uh children to be  involved but we just have not been able to make   that connection to get them really into all of  our programs that's one thing that we can expand   on Recreation classes um it's a great benefit on  a lot of different levels but it reduces stress   it provides knowledge a sense of belonging has  an economic impact and these are some of the   things that people don't think about what Parks  and Recreation actually does we actually have   a huge impact on our parks and recre I mean I'm  sorry and uh economic impact however uh Recreation   classes one of the lining benefits is it brings  families together and has an impact on health and   well-being so I'm going to talk a little bit about  our youth football um as one example of many many   other sports programs that we have uh we are doing  a great opport we're moving forward with a great   opportunity with 259 partnering with with them  in regards to our youth football program that's   going to expand opportunities for all kinds of  folks all kinds of kids to play football so uh   Sports programs has an impact in in in each one  of the players in regards to having exposure to   mentors provides exercise teaches them teamwork  a sense of community develops respect uh builds   character empathy and social skills so those are  some of the things that we focus on when we're   working on our youth sports it goes way beyond  that um this is just a tip of the iceberg of all   the things that we do but just about everything  that we do in Parks and Recreation has an impact   in reducing uh crime across the community but  developing a a sense of community is really   really important and I think that's uh just having  the pride of having a great Parks and Recreation   Department um has that type of impact so again  one thing I just wanted to emphasize is Parks   and Recreation it's not a silver bullet it's not  a one-time effort but it's a longtime sustained   effort to improve the quality of life and quality  of place which reduces crime so when we're looking   at our future and and the vision that we're  looking at it's not tomorrow it's not next year   but what's the Parks and Recreation Department  going to do in the next 10 15 20 years um because   we're building lives now uh we're having an impact  on children now and they're going to have that   impact uh carry with them for 20 25 years so  that that was my Spiel and I'll pass it on to Sally well good morning thank you so  much for hearing us out on this as d   mentioned you know this is evidence-based there  are studies from all across the country uh UC   Irvine the F Ferman Center at NYU University  of Minnesota as well as the American journal   for public health all say affordable housing  community development and Community Services   all reduce crime in communities the Brennan  Center for justice specifically States one of   the best ways to prevent crime is to provide more  resources and support to low-income communities   well you can imagine that is the heart of  everything we do in the housing department   from uh providing rent assistance for low-income  renters to down payment assistance for firsttime   home buyers to reducing blight through home  repair as well as as um the removal of unsafe   structures we have programs that not only work  to make housing more affordable but work to   build up families to to provide individual and  family development connect families to education   opportunities to job training to build up family  wealth that is ingrained in more than three dozen   programs that um we administer through the housing  department I sat and tried to connect is there one   program we run that I cannot connect here and I  couldn't come up with one right we are working   every single day to try and and fill the needs of  of people in our community which can definitely   and proven that it can help to reduce crime  but there Aren't Enough resources and so we   are always going out and striving to find more  resources more creative ways to do what it is we   do every day um so that we can have more impact  for more families and so um that rolls into Pro   specifically to project hope so project hope  hope actually stands for homeless Outreach with   through proactive engagement this was an effort  with of the housing department partnered with   WPD and Newman University and we were looking for  more resources and we said how about we apply for   this Department of Justice grants and I laughed  the day I hit submit and I said wow doj is gonna   laugh when they say this application coming from  the housing department in Witchita um for for a   grant and it has really really embedded us to  um collab more collaboration and communication   with WPD and it is a place-based data driven  Community oriented effort to address crime in   a specific Target area so under the grant it is a  uh burn criminal justice Innovation Grant we were   required to identify a Target area of less than  two square miles that had a significant crime   issue and working with wpd's crime an analyst at  the time we identified really it's the Broadway   Corridor our Target area runs 10th down to Kellogg  wakeo to Washington it's about a one and a half   square miles and we identified that we had more  crimes related to homelessness in that area   three times as many crimes in that area as there  were to adjacent areas and we applied to doj in   2020 and to our astonishment we were awarded  now we had some um slowdowns related to co it   is community-based we had a hard time pulling  the community together in 2021 right due to   covid so we've had some extension from doj and doj  approved our um our site action plan in January of   2023 and through the grant we have actually um  aside from our neighbor resource fairs that you   see monthly going on where we're trying to connect  resources to people who need them the byproduct of   that was bringing providers together who are now  collaborating in ways we'd never seen before but   we're deploying what we call care coordination  teams that go out and try make connections with   people experiencing homelessness in our Target  area and connect them to resources and housing   and we're looking at this from both a macro level  and the micro level and we're working with WPD we   meet with them we do deep dives into hotspots  we are identifying where crime has happened in   the last month and then we come together and say  how do we launch resources to address that uptick   and crime is it do we do we need more of a WPD  presence do we need more of the case and workers   and Outreach workers going out can we simply have  a conversation with that location and say What can   you do to change what's happening at your site so  we can try and dissolve this Hots spot it has been   very very enlightening um we got to hire staff in  in March of 2023 that started to go out in teams   not just a caseworker it as a team it's a case  worker with a a a social work intern student from   WSU and Newman as well as a peer support worker  somebody who's actually has lived experience with   homelessness going out and connecting with people  in inside the target area and connecting them to   housing since that time we've housed 45 people  and it is a matter of people being willing to   engage and since we've started this we've only had  one lose their housing assistance so we are seeing   great strides in um the success of using the team  model but as I said you know we're looking at this   at both the macro level and we are watching  the macro level crime statistics it's just   now as we're hitting people who been housed for a  year where we'll be going back collaborating with   with um with W WPD and our our data Partners  at Newman University are evaluating what the   impact is for those who've been housed how many  interactions with law enforcement did they have   prior to coming onto the pro program and how many  have they had since being housed and we're going   to be able to use that data to help us strategize  and and pull together resources to have much more   more effective of of a program going forward now  we are currently have an extension request in with   the doj and they've told us verbally that they're  uh willing to extend us through 2025 but you know   we have hopes and goals that this will help us  also create those relationships not just with   WPD not just with Newman but with Community with  the residents with the businesses in our Target   area so that we can continue the great work that  they're doing so when we couple programs like that   where we're constantly going out looking for no  new resources and learning from what we're doing   we know we're looking for that next thing and the  thing after that and one thing I can say project   hope is is garnered national attention we have  been uh officer Nate swed and I have been asked   by the International Association of chiefs of  police to come to their National Conference in   October to talk specifically about this unique  way that we can come together as a community   to address a challenge that many communities are  facing now so I stand for any questions you may have mayor and Council I appreciate the time  and assistant city manager Martin thank you for   putting all this together I'm captain Aaron  Moses from the witch toop Police Department   on the ex ex cutive officer for the witch toop  police department and I'll touch on a lot of our   efforts which of course are just some of them  uh a lot of all of the work we do is related   to crime prevention and crime reduction U I'll  start by Framing our goals set forth by Chiefs   Joe Sullivan because because I think that's  important to understanding the efforts that   we we we deploy Chief Sullivan set out three main  goals for the witch toop Police Department which   are to reduce violent crime increase Community  engagement and leverage technology you can sort   of replace data driven policing Implement best  practice practices and Community engagement with   those three main goals and see how these  initiatives I'm going to going to discuss   today fit into those overall objectives uh first  we'll discuss the realtime information center   which we've heard a lot about in November of 2023  the wiah city council approved receipt of Federal   grant funding to develop and Implement a real-time  information center uh this is something that some   City Council Members have had the opportunity  to experience in other major cities across the   country uh others that are planning trips to go  see that as well this is something that's very   exciting for our community and it allows us to uh  use technology to our benefit and this would fall   under the the main goal of leveraging Technology  we've identified a location here at City Hall to   remodel into the realtime information center it  will be used for uh compstat and then eventually   to continue this collaboration between City  departments we envisioned a city stat model   where we would engage all of city government uh  related to Crime trends that we're seeing and   how we can address those together this allows  a driven approach to crime prevention the uh   information center will be a central location  for all enhanced technology at the witw police   department including the enhanced body warm  cameras which are currently being issued to our   officers automated license plate readers gunshot  detection software uh surveillance cameras drones   and other available Technologies as assistant city  manager Martin indicated we had to review whether   this was uh data driven and supported by research  uh one article in the Journal of criminal justice   found that on average real time information  centers were associated with a 5% increase in   clearance rates for violent crime a 12% increase  in clearance rates for property crime and an 11%   increase in clearance rates overall increased  clearance rates are a budget performance measure   identified for the Witchita Police Department  through the city of Witchita again as I indicated   other large municipalities also use real-time  information centers to handle calls for service   which keeps police officers available for other  activities and we've seen in other communities   where can scale an appropriate response uh one in  one example we've seen was in Oklahoma City where   they have a real-time information center officers  were dispatched to a critical injury accident   where someone was Run Over By by a vehicle  the real-time information center was able to   uh access cameras in that area and identify that  there was not an injury accident in that area in   fact there were just people walking through the  street they were able to scale down that response   keep officers firefighters paramedics available  for other emergencies uh the next thing we'll   discuss is our crime analyst positions again this  falls under leveraging technology and reducing   violent crime crime analysts are responsible for  translating crime data into actionable products uh   Jeff Veil behind me is the director of our crime  analysis section and he oversees this effort for   the witw police department crime analysts have the  specific aim of assisting in guiding patrols and   the allocation of police resources and I'll touch  on this when I touch about violent violent crime   reduction uh strategies analysts produce timelines  for major crime compute compute statistics on   crime crime trends for Community meetings and and  act as a liaison between the police department and   other law enforcement Partners again according  to research police departments that applied   preventive measures based on analytical data  were able to significantly reduce crime in   specified areas that comes out of a study uh in  the Chicago area multiple Witchita police crime   analysts have been honored on the national level  for their work on crime analysis in Witchita and   as director Stang spoke our crime analysts are  are incredibly important for those relationships   between other City departments we often times will  assign a crime analyst to work on a project like   project hope to provide data directly to the  research to the team uh for housing and for   project hope specifically for housing and the wit  toop police department and the researcher to make   sure that we're meeting the goals of that project  I'll next talk about the violent crime reduction   strategy This falls under the overall goal of  reducing violent crime we are in the process of   uh implementing risk terrain modeling again that's  an e by our crime analysis section risk terrain   modeling is a different way to look at crime and  why crime occurs in certain areas it layers uh   risk risk factors related to crime and instead of  us simply saying we have a robbery hotspot in this   area we're now able to go a we will be able to go  a step further and say there's a robbery hotspot   in this area and there's an abandoned structure  here and there's a high-risk business here and   there are other uh factors that may indicate why  that area is a hot spot for robbery not just that   robberies are occurring that allows us to engage  all of the partners behind us and everybody else   and city government to leverage that technology  and address those concerns in the community uh   again this is research based there are other large  municipalities using hotspot policing or uh or   risk terrain modeling which can also be translated  into problem oriented policing the Dallas Police   Department is one and the Salt Lake City police  department is another that we've looked at uh   related to their efforts on Hotspot policing  and they've seen positive results again using   this RTM data we intend to engage uh all of city  government and the city stat model uh to really   address issues and crime Trends holistically in  our community uh we know that often times police   are not the right answer to Pro to the problems  being seen and to the root cause of crime but we   also know that we can engage our partners with the  library and our partners with Parks and Recreation   our partners with housing and others to address  those issues uh the violent crime reduction   strategy is a two-prong strategy the second prong  is the top offender or top invol involved model   again this was this was based on data and  research it's similar to a model used by the   Milwaukee Police Department where they have seen  a significant reduction in in crime uh and this   model is used by our crime analysts to identify  people who are likely to be be involved in Spec   specific types of crime initially we're going to  be looking at gun crime as it is a top concern   for our community next I'll discuss community  service officers these are non-commissioned uh   employees that work out in the field this would  uh relate back to the primary goals of increasing   Community engagement and reducing violent crime  and I'll also discuss why this is important when   I discuss uh the axon my9 citizen survey and  some of the results that we've seen uh community   service officers respond to non-emergency calls  for service where a commissioned officer response   may not be necessary this can include uh car  accidents it can include collecting evidence from   a previously reported crime things like that where  we don't need to send a fully commissioned police   officer to go handle these calls for service  and what that does is it allows that commission   police officer to be available for an emergency  a priority call for service uh we have studied   Staffing here at the wit toop Police Department  in the past and 2017 uh sort of a a best practice   of 40% of proactive police time was identified at  in in 2016 overall police proactivity in the city   of witta was at 32.2% we believe in addition of  of these community service officers will allow us   to uh provide more time to officers to proactive  policing which of course we believe will have uh   will lead to increase in community engagement  because those commissioned officers will have   more time to make those relation relationships in  the community and it will also lead to reduction   in violent crime next I'll discuss the axon my9  survey this is under the overall objective of   increasing Community engagement understanding the  needs uh to address Community concerns in a data   driven way the witch toop Police Department  partnered with axon Enterprises to implement   an ongoing citizen survey individuals who call  911 are later contacted to provide feed feedback   about the service they received from the witto  police department since that survey began we've   received over 2,500 responses uh 83% of people  who responded felt they received the help that   they needed from the witcha police department 87%  of respondents felt they were treated with respect   and 83% felt they were treated fairly uh to go on  and and help explain some of the other initiatives   I've already discussed respondents are also asked  what witto Police Department could do to improve   their safety or feeling of safety the top three  answers are as follows 40 47% said they would like   to see increased patrol car patrol car visibility  21% desire increased Community engagement and   14% desire increased agency Staffing um we're  attempting to address those concerns by many of   the things that I've already discussed finally  I'll discuss door-to-door campaigns this also   falls under increased Community engagement  uh this is the traditional mode of of police   interacting with the community uh specifically  Chief solivan set out the over overall goal of   increasing Community engagement and instructed  all of our Bureau commanders our captains to   develop their own goals for their Bureau uh  one specific Bureau that engaged door to-   door campaigns with the patrol South Bureau they  identified that there had not been a neighborhood um Association sorry that's the word I was  looking for neighborhood association in in   a specific beat of the city for some time and  they use door-to-door campaigns to go out and   talk to people in their homes and encourage  them to engage with their fellow citizens in   their neighborhood uh to uh to come together and  create a neighborhood and recreate a neighborhood   association uh We've also been involved in  re-engaging some neighborhood associations on the   north side of town the ELO El poblo neighborhood  association for example is another one that we've   we've been involved in re-engaging we also use  door-to-door campaigns in a in a style called uh   in a process called impact meetings uh um I'm sure  some of you are familiar with that but when we do   have an incident of violent crime that occurs in a  community we go out uh a few days later we have an   impact meeting in that Community we knock door too  to bring people out to talk about what happened   uh and to solicit information from people who may  not have come forward already in fact in a recent   crime uh we identified two witnesses through an  impact meeting that had not already spoken with   police simply by going out and knocking on  doors in a traditional uh door too style of   of uh engaging with our community so I appreciate  the time I'm sure you'll have questions at the end good morning um when all you have is a  hammer every issue looks like a nail and I'm   very thankful that the court has a lot more tools  than its hammer uh most people think of jail and   costs and fines as the tools of the court but  we have a lot more in our tool bag to help uh   work with individuals as individuals on their  issues all that starts with assessing risks and   needs and to do that we use a risk needs tool  called the lsir it's an evidence-based tool   that helps us allocate our resources uh to meet  the need needs of individual probationers coming   through our system identify what they need to be  successful uh to uh not recidivate and it's also   a tool that we use to help us identify if our  programs are successful so an example would be   and and we'll talk about the day reporting Center  in a in a moment uh folks take our risk needs tool   we identify uh the risks that they pose and and  what they need to be successful but that we also   give that to them again at the end and are able  through that tool to identify uh how successful   they've been in the program and identify an  actual uh measurable reduction in risk for that   individual we also seek to intervene skillfully we  do that through our treatment courts our problem   solving courts uh we were one of the first uh  drug courts in the country uh that provides a   non-traditional theraputic approach to criminal uh  offenders who are substance abusers now the folks   who come through our program are not all there in  fact most of them are not there because they were   charged with a substance abuse crime possession of  something they come because there is an underlying   issue that they need help with uh that created or  helped create uh their interaction with the police   and interaction with the court that could come out  of our criminal courts that could come out of our   Domestic Violence Court and that allows us to uh  this court allows us to provide a non-adversarial   approach to encourage and promote substance AB  uh free Behavior Uh the program is a minimum of   one year and it includes intensive treatment  regular Court appearances random drug testing   education counseling uh and the primary mission  is is to rehabilitate the participant through   intensive drug treatment drug and alcohol  treatment accountability uh responsibility   our critical components of the program uh Beyond  actually uh rehabilitating offenders uh I've seen   in recent surveys participants thanking the court  thanking the judge for saving their lives so it   goes even Beyond a rehabilitation it actually  uh saves lives uh we also have mental health   court and that's also a specialized docket that is  non-adversarial where teams work collaboratively   to provide services th to those who go through  our court who have mental illness uh they have   different needs and uh through that Court we're  able to connect them with resources case managers   uh and a variety of other things to to make sure  and help them be successful and come out of the   program uh and not uh recidivate um once again  those cases come off of all of our dockets and   it's it is a way uh to make sure sure that these  uh people are receiving uh treatment that is   right for them right for them as individuals  uh and then we've got a lot of collaboration   within the court um our liquor tax treatment  services include uh the day reporting Center   uh we utilize the day reporting Center to reduce  our jail footprint and provide people uh resident   non-residential wraparound Services uh to to our  highest risk people uh day reporting doesn't mean   that it's just open every day people who are  involved in this program literally go to the   facility every weekday and so it is very intense  it provides uh it provides uh substance abuse uh   treatment education uh by licensed addiction  counselors it provides better intervention   program services and uh as of this year it also uh  provides resources for co-occurring uh disorders   uh so folks who have both substance abuse issues  and mental health issues uh can receive excellent   treatment through this program and that's been uh  an area where the the day reporting uh program has   struggled to provide them those uh to provide  them resources and now now they are um we also   through liquor tax funds uh fund a variety of  preven prevention and treatment programs we uh   the liquor tax Coalition uh meets to uh identif  identify organizations that would benefit uh from   Grants and then also monitors the progress and  success of those programs in delivering services   to our community in addition to those prevention  and treatment programs it also funds the Continuum   of Care which is a program utilized by the  municipal court to screen people in the jail for   what they need from a substance abuse treatment  standpoint it provides case management it provides   uh inpatient treatment followed by outp patient  treatment and so it is a a truly invaluable   resource to restoring those people who are Subs  suffering from uh substance abuse uh problems   finally uh we've got the witcha Intervention  Program that is a program for firsttime DUI   offenders where uh under our ordinance uh people  have to spend 48 hours in custody if they've been   convicted of a firsttime uh DUI well instead of  spending that uh in the county jail and receiving   no services this program allows people to uh  spend it at uh a hotel where uh they received   uh training and treatment from a license addiction  counselor while under the supervision of the city   of Witchita it's an excellent program that has  uh very success successfully reduced recidivism   among these firsttime offenders and uh it's  a program that we not only provide to our own   court but we do provide that service to courts  around our community uh We've kept the prices   very low in that to make it accessible uh  to people we have had our first uh price   increase which is a nominal increase of $50  in uh more than a decade and so we we remain   uh Revenue neutral and and very fiscally  conservative in that program to make sure   that that people can get that treatment so to  sum up I I'm so pleased that we are not simply   using the hammer of fees fines costs and jail but  we are looking at people as individuals to help   reduce crime in our community and rehabilitate  the people coming through our court thank you thank you mayor and counsel it's truly my  pleasure to have the opportunity to work with   staff on this project um the report you have I  believe is roughly 15 16 pages and and we could   be here the rest of the day if we went to depth  on each program and service that's listed in the   report um if you have any questions as far as the  research that's been done the programs that we   didn't highlight today feel free to contact me  or shoot me an email and staff and I will come   down and and answer any questions you have um  with that being said I'll stand for questions   relative to this presentation or turn it back  over to the manager thank you Dante and thank   you to all the speakers who came forward today  we have a list of council members that want to   speak beginning with council member Johnson thanks  mayor uh I don't have a question I just wanted to   say excellent work on that to to everyone um  great presentations great work happening and   I'm glad that the public is to see the the work  that's happening and looking forward to supporting   but again excellent presentation vice mayor  Ballard thank you mayor um I'd like to say   the same thing it's nice to see all of the  different departments collaborating um and   making a community effort to reduce uh the crime  in our community so I just want to say thank you   to all the different departments and people  that helped make this happen council member   hoisel thank you mayor um I I echo my colleagues  comments here I did have one question of if we go   back to slid 61 and 62 please and this might not  be something you can answer off the top of your   head but um are these crime Trends um are they  unique to us or is this kind of a reflection of   the national Trends as well right now nationally  everybody saw a spike in 2020 uh and we've all not   not everybody has fallen back down but we continue  to see a downward Trend um just earlier this week   we were able to get our part one violent crime  statistics back into the good range after we lost   uh some RMS access but uh we're seeing an overall  4% uh decrease in violent part one violent crime   compared to the five-year average year-to date for  2024 so we've continued to see uh this trend for   2024 all right appreciate it thank you council  member tutle thank you um and and Bob thank   you for bringing this forat to us um I think it's  really important for us to see um and and I'm just   going to pile on a little a little bit more I see  Jamie had to leave but when it comes to libraries   um I've said often one of the reasons that I'm  such a huge Champion for not only child care but   literacy is the number one predictor of adult  health is third grade literacy the number one   predictor of adult incarceration is third grade  literacy so the more that we can do to give people   especially kiddos spaces so that they can be safe  but also spaces where they can learn really does   help improve outcomes um as far as Park and wreck  I used to be at the greater witch. YMCA we had the   middle school after school program just like the  programs here at the city it literally just gives   kids again a place to go and to be able to not get  involved in crime so it truly is crime prevention   at the essence um and then Sally you're always  just such a thought leader thank you um I always   say about housing housing is first things first  right if you don't have a home you can't probably   get a job and you probably can't go to school  and you can't practice your faith and can't have   as many family and friend engagements all the  things we need people to do so that they don't   get into crime substance abuse Etc um and then as  far as courts Nathan um I always love how you say   skillfully intervene I think that's exactly what  you do when you were giving people a second chance   which is vital so that they don't re-enter into  the programs um and then witto Police Department   I come from a law enforcement family I've said  this all the time I'm kind of a traditionalist   when it comes to policing I love the fact that  we have boots on the ground we have community   policing we have our investigation department  but I love the fact that you're embracing   technology and new ways to do your job better  and then also embracing the other departments   that you can also you know engage with um when it  comes to crime prevention if we're going to stick   the landing with the Olympics coming up we have  to use all of the resources and the mechanisms   that we can to be successful so just thank you to  everyone who is here today to present and I know   all of the other departments in the city also  would have something to contribute so thank you   I have multiple questions um first I'll start  off by saying thank you very much for the five   specific areas where we looked at crime crime  reduction and crime prevention so $45 million   is um from our budget is dedicated in some way to  crime prevention um so I'll start off with this   graph since we have this up already I'd like  slide number 62 rather uh property crime um   I would like to see a 10year crime Trend um as  a staff recommended action in conjunction with   how much expenditure and investment we have  made in libraries Parks um those two specific areas so that's one staff recommended action  I'd like to see over time that investment and   how that Co coordinates with those two uh specific  areas which are City departments um in addition to   this is more of a comment I love the department  collaborations but I encourage more Community   collaboration um I believe that there are only  so many finite dollars in local government and   I know that there are lots of non nonprofit  organizations and organizations outside of   the walls of City Hall that also do some really  great work towards crime prevention and I really   appreciate when I see uh collaborative efforts  like Parks uh making that announcement last week   with usd259 um but I'll also uh chime in with what  um council member Tuttle mentioned with YMCA um so   one of the uh CIP items is a master plan regarding  parks we currently have 144 parks in our system um   and so I'd like to see U one of those um items as  I was looking at the CIP it said that the master   plan would be for enhancements and expansion I  also would like to challenge uh a reduction in   the number of parks uh so that we can be much  more Focus maybe on some parks and make greater   Investments towards parks that more people can get  attracted to so I'm going to make a challenge to   the CIP to not just think about expansions and um  enhancements but also um maybe focused um number   of parks um I really appreciate uh council member  Tuttle in speaking about third grade levels of um   literacy um I came to the United States when  I was a second grader almost third grade and   I do understand how important it is to have um  access to literacy opportunities I was at the   Witchita public library in South Witchita when I  grew up and I really appreciated that there was   an opportunity for me to learn outside of usd259  classrooms um so I do understand the importance   of libraries but I'd also like to challenge  um and ask if we can look at how libraries   if we're focusing more on early uh childhood  because that's third grade levels and before   that how we can utilize maybe um Rex at a later  time because I know we talk about Youth and not   all youth are at our public libraries but rather  they're looking for activities after school and I   think I challenged that question also during one  of the um Town Halls regarding crime prevention   how we can look at our recck centers maybe instead  of opening earlier opening later and staying open   later um because our youth are looking for an  alternative in the evening time whereas libraries   we see a lot of young people little kids under  uh the age of 10 that are looking for those   types of spaces in library so maybe that's  a staff recommended um I just would like a   study regarding how we can better utilize those  two assets to address um under 12 and then over 12 um and then I just again want to encourage us  to keep reminding ourselves that um our houseless   neighbors are just as important uh in our  community and so I really appreciate what Sally is   doing as a council we've made a concerted effort  towards um a multi-agency navigation Center and   we see that as a true um focal point and trying to  center a lot of our energy so that we all not just   the city of Witchita but the faith community  nonprofit organizations the business commity   Community can all Center their efforts towards one  location and I know that Sally's going to speak   about another new business item in just a little  bit but I wanted to make sure that that was said   at this moment in time because we did not have  that as one of the questions in our CommunityWide   survey but we have been hearing from our community  um and so I appreciate um that when we talk about   housing and that that is the number one thing  that the success of an individual is having a roof   over their heads um plays into crime prevention  and all the ailments and challenges that we may   have so uh thank you again to Sally and her team  and I really appreciate the project hope team   I'd like to get um that same report that you will  provide uh in October to the association of major   Chiefs uh to present to us as well because  I think that that would be uh helpful for   her community to see all the efforts that we're  already focusing on and the results of that study I see no further questions regarding the crime  prevention uh portion um I will have one more   question and that is regarding the CIP before  we open it up for public comment and that is um   the ice rink um in January we will have  uh the US Olympics championships coming   to Witchita and I saw that there was uh one of  the tiered option considerations is a reduction   in that subsidy um so I'd like to know  what we're doing between now and January   before an entire nation comes to our city  um that we're really putting our best foot   forward for these National level skaters  who will one day compete in the [Music] Olympics in terms of the improvements we  have ongoing improvements that are being   made in conjunction with rink management I'm  not quite sure in terms of specific projects   that they're going going to undertake in advance  of the Nationals and practice sessions will be   held at the ice rink the projections that are in  the budget come not just from staff but from rink   management and I believe council member Johnston  asked about that uh when they gave an update   an annual update on their operations and that they  have targeted um over time to actually get into   a surplus not a deficit position and that is by  driving through marketing and improved facilities   driving more people into the ice facility so our  numbers are based on primarily on data that we're   getting from them regarding their ability to  drive more people into the facility I can um if   you if Council wants I can get a report on what  what they're going to do in advance I know that   there will be opportunities for people to watch  these practices so that means our rink will be   looked at uh whether on a national level or not  so there are opportunities for Revenue in terms   of advertising and sales so I'd like to know  what is being done about that um in addition   to there's a big space in the ice rink that is  not being utilized at this time what type of   Revenue opportunities are there in the meantime  while uh us figure skating will be in town   I I just would like to see maybe some um ideas  on how to increase some revenue on on a facility too before Troy I I indicated during one of the workshops  that we've been working with a consulting firm   on sponsorships and naming rights um  I we're making arrangements for them   to come to this to the city to visit with  you each of you to talk about that report   um obviously there's some proprietary  information in terms of their marketing   approach but I'd like to share that with you  so you understand the opportunities they see   specifically in this case at the ice rink  for exactly what you're saying mayor and   it's important that their initiatives start  soon uh in order to be able to sell that space so we've been working with r Management  Services in regards to incremental improvements   over the past two years they've made a lot of  different improvements which includes adding   new scoreboards new netting cleaning uh a  higher level of cleaning a higher level of   actually painting the walls uh removing some of  the scuff marks so they've actually made a huge   impact in regards to some of the low hanging  fruit that they can take care of uh we have   met as a committee there's been several folks  that we've met in regards to the open space   that you talked about the old Fitness area and  we've come up with a couple different ideas I   think we kind of uh lost a little bit of steam  but I'm hoping that we will get together as uh a   committee then these are some of the stakeholders  in in the community that might have some great   ideas we talked a little bit about um what's  happening that's really successful out in the   golf course are simulators and so there's all  kinds of different simulators in regards to   golf simulators um uh airplane simulators just  all kinds of fun stuff that can happen in that   space would require a little bit of investment  would require some type of partnership but there   are some ideas that are generating in regards to  how to use that space it is a difficult space to   rent out um for a lot of different reasons uh  but there are some folks that are interested in   seeing uh some additional Revenue going through  there um also in regards to working with Public   Works they've made substantial improvements in  regards to uh the mechanical aspects of of the   ice rink and that is one reason it's probably  one of the main reasons why we were able to   post this activity in January uh they saw the  commitment that we were making in regards to   our ice shrink uh that we're going to have  two sheets of ice available for them that we   made that commitment uh and that investment to  make that happen USA figure skating saw that I   met with them several times and they were very  excited to come back to witch stop because they   know that we're making that commitment and that  investment in the ice rink so uh we've done a lot   um in regards to Mechanical we've done a lot in  regards to the low hanging fruit there's still a   lot more things we can do with rink Management  Services uh but I think we have a good partner   there and and um as we go up the tree it gets a  little bit tougher and tougher but there's there's momentum thank you my only challenge would be  to start thinking about some Revenue generating   activities as well I know that we have lots of  wonderful local businesses uh that would be a   great opportunity uh to Showcase them and sell  product they're in Kansas they love Kansas they   want to experience it um so it's just a challenge  in terms of thinking about um things that could   be Revenue generating council member Tuttle thank  you um I think everyone knows I'm a huge advocate   for walking and biking um and so when I heard a  comment from council member Glascock about $48   million for for bicycle facilities I was a little  surprised but maybe a little shocked so I kind of   looked a little bit through the SE IP um on um  page 29 and and I think maybe we need to make a   clarification just so the community understands  cuz I'm pretty sure my phone's going to start   blowing up with people being super excited that  we're going to spend a whole lot of money on on   biking paths could I ask Paul or Gary to come  forth and maybe just explain a little bit so   we can manage people's expectations probably  both ways for the good and the bad thank you good morning again yes um I think when that 48  million maybe was brought up that does include   some other items uh other than bicycle paths  it does include traffic signalization of $12   million throughout the 10year CIP and that is for  us to um signalize uh intersections that might   meet warrants um we also have the sidewalk  maintenance uh funding included within that   and that is to repair sidewalks in which we  get uh residents call in and complain about   trip hazards um we have the arterial sidewalk  program in there as well for $750,000 per year   to construct new arterial sidewalk along corridors  that do not have sidewalk already and there's a   few other line items in there with the bike pad  multimodal access that includes um funding I   think $150,000 every year other year to work with  our maintenance folks uh Crews to if it does make   sense in the Bic current bicycle plan and or the  future bicycle plan indicates um right sizing a   four-lane roadway to a three lanane roadway  with on street bike Lanes we can use some of   that for striping so there are a number of other  items within that 48 million um the true bicycle   Improvement number I believe is $6.8 million um  and that is funded in 2029 2031 and 2033 and we   utilize that funding to seek um additional  funding through wampo for bike Improvement   projects and Paul could I just ask a follow-up  question then um we are in the process we're   going to be revitalizing our Master bicycle plan  um will that I'm I'm assuming it will but kind of   asking a rhetorical question but would just like  to hear a little bit more um the CIP will be in   align with what we determine in the new bicycle  plan yes that plan is to be completed this fall   the update to the plan we have received some  initial um projects or priority routes um from   the from Tool design um firm that were based  on the public input that we received from open   houses and popup events as well as equity safety  and connectivity to existing paths so um I will   be bringing that to the council probably sometime  in November with that update okay thank you quick   question just for Council onetitle what page did  you say the line item was on 29 okay thank you   it's on page 29 under policy issues it's funding  for multimodal Investments okay I appreciate that   thank you absolutely vice mayor Ballard mayor  uh my question is for Bob um when the mayor is   giving directing staff to look into things I just  want to make sure that that's not necessarily the   direction of the council so I just want to make  sure when she's talking about potentially cutting   parks and different things like that I don't agree  with that so I just want to make sure when she's   giving you direction to look into things that  that's not taken as the direction of the council I I I understand that I mean many of the requests  that have been made have been made by individual   council members I think to feed the um Pro the  budget review process so I I didn't I don't know   that many or any of these I've I've determined  our directives today that are are I just want to   make that clear to the public as well that um this  is the first time that I've heard that potential   suggestion so I just want to make sure that that's  not um the idea that that's maybe the I mean it   could be for some of us but it's not for me so I  just want to make sure that the public knows that   well and it's a good point because this is one  of those um projects where the RFP should come   to the council before we go out for proposals uh  so that we know what the intent of the council is   in the updated master plan it would be good to  get some direction before we solicit because I   take a lot of pride in my district and I'm sure  the other council members do as well asking what   district 6 wants what is lacking in our district  for us to focus on so I have several Community   meetings getting input so it's not just ideas that  I think would be cool it's what the community has   said that they want for our district so I just  wanted to make sure that um that was clear thank you I will have a clarifier so it's page 26 of the  CIP it says projects that en enhance or expand the   park system will be considered in the future  CIP as funding allows I just wanted that to   include a an a reduction or not just enhancement  or expansion so that it allows multiple different   options and then we can weigh those options right  mayor and I think the reason that comment is in   the CIP is because it's going to be driven by  the park Plan update as you mentioned and so   that's why I believe it's important  to bring the RFP to the council and   the scope of services so that we're following  a Direction that's consistent with what you   want to review and it may be multiple options  you in the scope we may talk about expansion   of the system Contracting the system um I'm not  going to presuppose at this point but there may   be multiple things we ask the consultant to  look at council member Johnson thanks mayor   um it as we go forward with that Bob I would  also like to see the park board weigh in on that just to your comment it was the  parkboard that actually was driving   the master plan and has put in uh their  suggestions and objectives for the master plan council member Glascock I would also Echo  just because we're on the topic of it andh   ment and utilization of our system in terms of  benchmarking I know that the Benchmark we looking   at for parks and rec Recreation looked at on the  budget side um was uh Le or I was closer to 2780   in the park system and I believe per line item we  spend about 4,690 per acre and so I would also be   interested in terms of utilization and enhancement  or utilization and enhancement not expansion of   systems and I think that goes not just for parks  that goes for entire system for me we're looking   at things as how do we utilize what we have  not expand and add things uh to our project list council member hoisel thank  you mayor uh quick question for   council member Glasco could you restate  that um you the goal is 4,690 per acre   but we are currently spending let  me find the exact page it's uh 285 I don't have the exact page pulled  up right now but I can follow back   up with that okay yeah I have marked  on 285 here it's the Benchmark that um The Benchmark is 4,690 but  last year or last fiscal year   was 2382 that we spent per acre yeah sorry  I was mentioning in terms of the increase   in from 2024 to 2025 and the projected  increase and how we can better utilize   the system so I'll more clarification  we can talk one onone okay appreciate it I see no further questions for  staff we will now open it up for   public comment please state your name and  your address and you will have five minutes is it afternoon yet almost good afternoon um  celest reset 2239 North T time Court I want to   point out something real quick about the debt but  I've appreciated the questions and the comments   you've all made you're digging into the budget  which I respect as a taxpayer I want to compliment   you before I begin the debt does concern me and  one thing I want to bring to your attention on   page 48 and 49 is that the tourism guest tax the  transient guest tax for those of you that are new   it has been diverted and it is actually paying  off debt on the Fairfield in in waterwalk I don't   know if you were aware of that so you'll see that  huge balloon payment for almost $2 million looming   that you're going to have to pay for out of the  transient guest tax and I'm not sure if you're   aware of that the current city council members  should already know that because I've talked   about it before I don't know why we gave money  that goes to Cultural Arts to a developer's Hotel   tell but that was a decision that predates  those of you that are new so um we need to   pay off that debt before we hit that balloon  payment so I want to focus on um debt if you   don't mind bearing with me because it is jumping  in our Mill Lev the debt portion of our property   tax and the mill Levy is going up to cover debt  and back to the original question on the credit   rating we took a drop in Moody's credit rating  and those of you that have been on City Council   know this we took a downgrade in our credit rating  so we're paying more in interest on our debt right   now because we were dropped and so I'm going to  give you another warning something that's not on   our books that current city council members who  voted on the ball stadium know is we also have   debt that's not on our books and I hope you're  aware of that the starbond debt that was issued   on the ball stadium is not on our books so I was  trying to see where we have a footnote warning   you all and warning taxpayers that that debts  going to come out of the general fund and did   I miss it I didn't see it in here but principal is  kicking in and so that's going to increase unless   we've got revenue on the ball stadium to cover it  I didn't see a footnote in the budget and I'm also   wondering what our revenue is going to be from the  West Bank development which we sold for a dollar   an acre to help cover that debt I didn't see a  projection for that in the budget e either maybe   I missed it but I would again point out we've  got some debts that are not on the books that   you're going to have to cover that are liability  that could affect our debt rating and so I would   just caution you be more transparent let's get a  little footnote in there explaining the Fairfield   in debt let's get a little footnote in there  about the starbond debt on the ball stadium   just so taxpayers know there's more liability  than you can see right now in this budget um I wanted to point out something too about  the tourism the transient guest tax that was   created under a charter ordinance to take care  of our Cultural Arts buildings so I would hope as   promise that this year we finally fix the roof in  the former public library thank you commissioner   Glascock for asking about that I really hope as  you saw it's in disrepair it's the only building   in Kansas that's won the American Institute of  Architects designed Awards so please can we fix   the roof on that building this year because it's  not in the Sip for next year the Ice Center I love   the questions about the Ice Center because we're  owed a million dollars by the former people who   managed it for 10 years and they ripped out  the cafe counter we had a cafe on the second   floor that I love these questions about generating  Revenue they ripped the counters out they ripped   the bar stools out let's get a cafe back up and  running a restaurant selling snacks when we have   all these people using the building we used to  have a great merchandise for the Ice Center they   also privately took out everything didn't pay  their vendors let's stock that because people   will need their skat sharpened they'll need laces  they'll need to rent things when they're here   those were great pick up on that with um using  the building as it was originally intended before   we had it run down by private people and I won't  mention their names but it was it was upsetting   to me when they destroyed that building um the  last thing I want to say is I'm glad that when   we talk about Century 2 and populace that we they  need to revise those numbers because one of their   estimates for renovating Century 2 was cladding  the entire building in aluminum panels which is   so ridiculous so when you do come to renovation  make sure populace revises their estimates and   when is the hyek going to build their second  tower we sold them land behind Century 2 to   do a second tower on the hotel with the new  prominade and I'm wondering why they haven't   done that yet I didn't see that in the budget  either but anyway I appreciate the questions asked   today it's been a long meeting thank you for your  time vice mayor Ballard thank you Mayor Bob can   you speak to whatever she's talking about that's  not on the books the star bondit Yes actually if   you don't mind mayor um I there's a couple of  things I just want to make sure we're clear   on in the record um we do have a requirement uh  unstarred Bond debt to back stop for any uh debt   that is not covered through sales tax and if you  think of this as a tiff District similar to a tiff   district there may be years where there is not  as much sales tax as there is debt however it's   projected by through the period of the debt again  which is on the books of the state it's state debt   not ours but we still have an obligation to um  help back stop that debt um that by by the end   of the debt we will we should be in a positive  uh uh position not a negative position so uh   that's the first issue second issue I pardon me  what's the length of time period I I think it's 20 years it's more than 30 years  apparently we can get that information um second issue has to do with our  drop in uh credit rating for Moody's I just   want to note that I don't remember anything that  reflected City policy Financial policies that led   to that reduction in our credit rating it had  to do with the cyclical nature of our business   activity uh and our economic activity and at  that time there was concerns about the state   of Aviation related businesses and so and that we  were so so dependent on the aviation industry that   they called into question the impact that would  have on our finances going forward especially our   property tax revenues so I don't recall that it  was anything that the council had done in policy   or anything in our budget that reflected that at  that time they did encourage us to continue to   increase our reserves and our our fund balances  which the council has done now for a number of   years so actually I was hoping that we'd get some  favorable treatment by the agencies going forward   um and the last thing is I just want to make  clear that the 7 shift 7 of a m the 7/10 of a   mill that shift is to actually cash fund projects  not to increase debt um right and so I I just I   want to make sure that's clear that we're not  incurring additional debt going to Market and   incurring additional debt instead we're trying to  to to tilt the balance more towards cash funding   of projects in 2025 thank you very much yep thank  you council member hoisel thank you mayor uh that   7 mil um is that going to be targeted at any like  balloon debts that we can pay off now that way we   don't pay off more later um what exactly are the  plans with that 7 million uh yes sir short answer   your question is no won't be targeted towards  any specific projects what we do each year   and actually we're getting ready to do it here in  about a month you'll see that when we issue bonds   this fall we examine all the projects that we have  that are in progress and all the temporary notes   we have outstanding and then we either take them  out with cash to the ability that we have with   our cash balance or we're going to issue bonds so  specific to your question if we have more cash in   The Debt Service frund by Shifting The Mill Levy  for one year that just means that we can take out   more notes with cash not on I I can tell you  the projects when we do that I just can't tell   you today which means we'll have to issue Less in  bonds okay and yeah I assume you guys Target the   the most appropriate um ones first yeah I  mean we might have a hundred projects in   the in the note sale so it we'll have  plenty to choose from okay appreciate it I think this is an uh this is a comment  regarding uh our current most current Speaker   I'd like to know if we can have a it's part of  our analysis today but the Tiff districts is   page number two of our Green Sheet um I would like  a full report on these Tiff districts so East Bank   West Bank South Fork Center City Kenmar Douglas  Hillside Riverside ICT 21 and Union Station but   I would also like to add I guess the baseball  stadium to that I'd like a report on that um   so that we know not not only how long as we  mentioned I think just recently the baseball   one is more than 30 years but we don't know for  sure so if we could just have it as a report   that would be helpful I don't think it's in  the CIP as it it's on the website can we we   may mayor we we provide information on the Tiff  districts quarterly to you and we could give you   the information from the last quarter um plus we  do have information about each district I think   on the website the star bonds is what we don't  have reported that we can get you the length of   debt again recognizing it's not our debt it's the  state debt but we can so they we don't even have   I don't think we get a financial report on the  performance of that debt um is that right Mark   yeah we we'll have to work with a trustee for  that debt to see what information we can get for you maybe this is an additional item maybe  to add to the website then if we can add   that to the website again it's not our debt  and we don't want to mislead in that regard   a specific link to the state  document then I don't believe   so the trustee is careful in terms of  what information is provided even to us we will continue public comment hi there I'm Alan Kaylor I'm here  on behalf of bike walk wiah I just wanted   to follow up on the questions about the bicyc  and pedestrian uh expenditures uh Paul did a a   good job of responding to some specific questions  uh as he pointed out uh that the line item there   or the table there showing the 48 million is  for multimodal projects and in fact the three   biggest expenditures there are for things that  you wouldn't really consider as uh bicycle and   pedestrian improvements first of all the biggest  one being traffic signalization the second one   being the sidewalk maintenance uh and the third  being arterial sidewalk uh program now of course   those are we we as bike walk wiah we are in favor  of improving and maintaining the sidewalks uh but   those are not for uh recreational U bike riders uh  that sort of thing so I think that uh if there's   you know have any other questions on that I'd be  happy to uh address those as well uh but I also   wanted to just step back since I'm up I came up  here for that purpose anyway I just wanted to step   back and talk first of all that bike walk Witchita  is uh not to uh do does not advocate for people so   that people like me can race their bicycles around  the streets of Witchita the purpose of bike walk   wiah is to make wiah really a better place to  live by making biking and walking safe Equitable   and appealing aligns very well with the mission  of the city of wiah and in fact it is clear that   communities that encourage biking and walking  are safer they're safer because people are out   in their neighborhoods meeting each other walking  around getting to know each other watching what's   going on there it's also healthier communities  that encourage biking and walking are healthier   for obvious reasons people are getting activity  and so forth and it is communities that encourage   biking and walking are stronger they're stronger  socially for the same reason that I mentioned the   safe people are out meeting each other talking  to each other and so forth but they're also uh   Stronger economically because people who again  who are out in their neighborhoods or buying   things locally they're going to the to the local  stores and so forth in fact uh W the uh young the   uh young division of the uh Chamber of Commerce  I forget what was off the top of my head does a   study regularly asking uh its members and people  uh in that group what they look to when choosing a   job and when you look through the various factors  the top thing after things like obviously salary   and job responsibility things that are directly  job related the top thing that people focus focus   on and responding to that is the quality of life  and specifically the opportunities to get out and   do uh engage in activities uh in Parks walking  uh to be able to go to places uh easily from   biking and walking so it contributes to the  economic health of the city as well well as   to its safety and to its Health uh so it is not  as I said it's not to uh to allow people like me   to just be able to race around on their bikes on  on the streets it contributes to all of the goals   that the city of wiah has I hope that helps be  happy to talk to any of you further about it thank you thank you are there any additional public comments hello Twilight Purity Polo Club um you  can I don't know if you can see I really have   worked over the budget um five minutes here isn't  a lot of time first of all thank you guys for the   kind words when my husband was H in a drun drunk  driving accident that meant a lot to me so thank   you and the budget is an impressive impressive  document and this is going to sound some of these   things are going to sound critical but I I'm just  going to try to nail in um hone in on a couple of   things one of them is transparency I know uh  transparency is is important to the council   it's important to the citizens and um so I was and  transparency drives goal setting so I went through   the document the budget document and I read  every vision and Mission statement looking for   the commitment to transparency I found the word  transparent once and it was on page 280 with the   planning department so um I just wanted to point  that out some of you may have heard that from me   before and under the topic of transparency I was  also looking for and it could be in here but it's   hard to find the cost of litigation uh the cost of  settlements paid out and on litigation um there is   a reference in the vision statement to litigation  but there's not a measurement and that reference   is on page 252 it's in the uh civil legal service  of the law department so cost of settlements paid   out would be another thing the community is  interested in and these could be settlements   paid out you know for internal like HR or external  suits against police or the city for different   things um and another thing that I found missing  was well maybe hard to find might be the more   correct term income from civil asset forfeitures  how much is the city getting from that does it   change year-over-year okay so now I'm gonna any of  these comments aren't going to have any impact and   I don't expect anything on the current budget but  it's just looking ahead um when we're looking at   this future looming budget deficit and um it's  really the disconnect between the Mission the   vision and the goals and the measurements that  are available in the budget you've heard me say   before you can't manage what you don't measure  people pay attention to what's measured and I   just started just with the airport you know the  mission provide a safe efficient customer friendly   fiscally responsible Airport System that serves  airport tenants airport users and the public and   there's some great goals maintain a financially  self-sustaining Airport System Market real estate   properties and services Etc you can read the  rest of them but then the measures are benchmarks   you know average domestic itinerary Fair cost  per implanted passenger it's just hard to see   where these connect and how you can have staff  accountability for the financial efficiency of   any City department and I just use that as just  one example I've been attending city council uh   meetings for quite a while and as a businesswoman  I've just seen things where they where the city   is behind businesses um how purchasing is done in  financially uh profitable organizations and I know   but I think what's missing really is goal setting  even just today the folks who came up on the crime   stuff you know they're giving you statistics but  where are the measurements that back that stuff   up you know there's goals it's smart goals many  of you have probably heard of them they should be   specific measurable achievable relevant and time  bound that's how businesses run they have visions   mission statements they have goals that support  them and measurements that support these goals to   see if folks are on track I understand that that  is a future goal of the city to get to that point   but what I really want to implore every single  one of you these decisions when we look at a DE   deficit it's going to impact your employees if  they lose their jobs citizens if there's reduced   services so please dig in roll up your sleeves  demand accountability demand quick measurements   or that they develop these quick measurements  that really measure the um efficacy of every   Department I think you'll find there's lots  of room for improvement and the city will be   much better off phys fiscally there's a reason  businesses run their businesses based on these   really simple Concepts and I would also say that  it may take different folks or um uh assistants   from outside business organizations  or maybe WSU thank you thank you thank you any further public comment AC  none will bring it back to the bench vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor um Boba I'd  like to talk about and tell me if this is not   the appropriate time but I'd like to talk about  the golf irrigation um I would like to talk about   possibly making a one-year commitment of a million  dollar for the 2025 budget to help golf get their   irrigation started and what I appreciate about  um the golf uh Community or um is they're going   to have some skin in the game too and I think  that's important so I think the first um and   worst off golf course is Sims and the bid was 1.5  million so if we were able to give them a million   they would be able to make up the difference  and the reason why I think it's important   to add it to the budget this time is because  even if we gave them the green light today it   would take almost a year for them to start um  the repairs on the golf course and I believe to   date in the last 18 to 24 months they've  spent about 400,000 just in irrigation repairs yes I'm sorry for the CIP council member Glascock thank you mayor um I  just have a few comments uh before we vote to   I have a challenge with delaying Cuts I wish  we had a contingency of not exceeding Revenue   neutral in this as well um and I do want to see a  proposal where we would cut the 12.4 million um if   we didn't exceed revenue neutral I know that  12.4 million is uh probably a challenge that   may not be possible but if there is a few million  dollars of cuts that we can make I would like to   see where that would come from or even if it's  not Cuts how we can um get back some of uh our   Revenue in terms of user fees um for different  parts of our system I would also like a note on   each department of where each department could  cut where they plan to cut in 2020 uh 6 2027   as well just so that's in this document so we're  forward looking in this process in terms of policy   I'm also interested in terms of eliminating the  dirt street program and redirecting that that 3   to four million every single year in residential  streets and residential maintenance and how much   further we can get with that instead of uh the  dirt street program as presented I'm confident   that we can get more bang for the buck in terms  of residential streets rather than dirt streets   and then lastly um selling off property and land  that we have and making a cont Insurance uh effort   to be able to sell off land in the 2024 budget we  saw a decrease of 49.4 5% from um I think it was   actuals to budgeted or it was from 2023 to 2024  one of those two and it's only allocating about   $100,000 of recouping investment in terms of  selling off property when just this year we had   an increase of more than a half a million dollars  in just one sell of the property off opportunity   drive so if there's Parcels of land that are able  to be sold if there's property that we could sell   to recoup some of the loss and revenue I would  also be interested putting an effort on that   and then lastly in terms of the recommended action  from staff uh one of the recommended actions is to   authorized staff to notify the cedra county clerk  of the intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate I   don't know if that's required by state language or  if it's just a hearing uh whether or not to exceed   you have to we are required by the state statute  to notify the city county clerk that we intend   to exceed the revenue or we want the op option to  exceed the neutral Revenue rate so option and not   intent there would be two different things the  way the state law requires you to give notice   you have to declare your intent to exceed but it's  understood that your final action is on the date   that you established which is August 20th okay  I will have a challenge and we'll probably vote   against the proposal today or the if there is  a resolution solely because of the word intent   because I don't have an intent to do it I want  the option but I don't have an intent to exceed   Ral so maybe semantics so I would be interested  in hearing col can that be decoupled from the   recommended action it has to be voted oh I'm sorry  yeah yes you could have a separate action on the   RNR if that's what you can we go back to the slide  regarding the recommendations I mean yes you could   pull that out but if you do not notify the clerk  that you intend to not be not exceed that Revenue   base then we cannot so it leaves you don't have  to it leaves the option open so when you come   back on August the 20th you you can have a budget  that exceeds that neutral rate or does not it's   up to the council at that point that deadline is  July council member Glascock you had asked what   about if we did if we only took half of the amount  above RNR you wouldn't have the freedom to do that   either if you don't approve the notice then you  don't you simply can't you'll lose the 12.4 you   don't have the option to do something less than  that okay let me think about that I just have a   problem with the word intent when that is not  my intent and we don't know what it would look   like cutting 12 so that's my challenge today I'm  sorry and regarding the dates the the notice of   the intent has to be sent by July 20th right and  then your hearing your actual final budget hearing   cannot start before August 20th okay thank you  I appreciate the context council member ho heis   thank you mayor um just one note real quick um  my boy's over at cow toown looks like a $99,000   increase next year in the budget maybe we could  take a look at inching that up a little bit I   know we did give him a little bit of a bump last  year but we have a new director and a lot of good   things going on and just not sure Now's the Time  to take the foot off of the gas um and then also   um just to my colleagues you know we cutting the  services has an impact on the day-to-day lives   of a lot of our residents I just um everybody's  perspective is their own um you know everybody's   intent is their own but I would just urge you to  temper that a little bit because we don't know   what the revenue is going to be in the future  and these again these Cuts have a Major Impact   um we're down to essentially street sweeping once  a year now used to be three times times a year um   a lot of people in my neighborhoods they're having  issues with dead trees dead tree removal which is   a a hazard a health hazard to people as well  so um again we got to work this all out we do   have to balance the budget we did put money into  the reserve to step it down in a um an organized   strategic way so um those are my two cents on  this going forward um and we have another month   of discussion around the budget coming up so it  should be interesting thank you council member   Johnston thank you mayor and Council mayor host  Heisel I I appreciate that this is my first rodeo   and it's an interesting Rodeo so uh see how it  goes um I think it is important to to approve the   notice of a tent councilman Glascock because if  we don't it takes away one of our options don't we   can improve the budget whatever budget that is on  August 20th but if we take away that option it it   does limit what we can do today so I think I think  that is important and respect to the vice mayor's   uh Ballard's request for a golf Enterprise fund  I I would definitely uh support that um not only   because I'm a golfer and see it as I walk down the  Fairway and and there's puddles of water uh on The   Fairway are rough because there's a hasn't been  maintained over the years those systems are all   almost 40 years old very old for an irrigation  system and I think it's a case of deferred   maintenance I realize it's an Enterprise fund I I  get that um and the golfers want to invest in it   but there's also the management of it and I think  right now Jesse has done a great job with managing   it and we have to take that opportunity to invest  in him a little bit and uh and support that and   at least get one of them one of them started so  I definitely will support that council member   Tuttle thank you I just have one quick question  for Council me or excuse me vice mayor Ballard   and then just a few comments but if we're talking  about adding one point one and a half million into   one million so sorry into the CIP it's so right  now it's 3 million 3 billion 9 million so it' be   are you saying keep it the 5 3 million 3 billion  59 million or are you saying add a million to the CIP does that make sense what I'm asking yes  it Mak it makes perfect sense we we're going   to take a look at that on how that could be  funded and and bring that back okay because   I'm just concerned of um if we you know I'm  always concerned of adding it but I'm more   concerned if we don't add it and we cut where  the Cut's going to come from and how will that   be determined so that was just my concern when  I bring something back on that we'll probably   either have an option of taking something some  Park improvements amounting to a million dollars   either deferring those or eliminating those or  we'll look at our ability to finance what that   million dollars does to our ability to finance  there just I need a little time to okay great   just just because today isn't today the day that  we have to set the amount and then we can't go   over it we can go equal or under so don't we have  to know today if it's going to be adding it or   cutting out Mark's going no so Mark you always  tell me when I'm wrong and I love that so come   up and tell me I'm wrong I can handle that it has  to do with the operating budget not the capital   Improvement thank you thank you okay thank you for  the clarification thank you thank you I appreciate   that we've never had anything happen like this  before so I learned something new and I appreciate   it um I just want to take a few moments to than  a few people um I know it's been a long meeting   but I think it's important um thank you for this  process I know you've been through many many but   budgets um and it's not easy and I don't think  people understand how much work goes into all of   this so thank you for all you do and for being a  role model for staff um I also want to thank the   finance team I want to thank Mark and Elizabeth  who are in front of us but all of your team who   we don't see every day who are working extremely  hard on this and just doing a fantastic job to   help be a good Steward of the taxpayers dollars  it's not our money it's the taxpayers dollars   um I also want to thank all the Departments I used  to work at the county years ago and I was over you   know part of our budgeting process and I know how  much time goes into it from there so I'm I'm very   respectful and cognizant of the time that the the  staff puts in um I also want to thank the three   community members who were here today it looks  like a couple of them had to take off so Alan   thanks for staying strong um but then also the  community members who took the time for the budget   simulator we got a nice report on that thank you  very much Bob and then also the community service   um we are driving this budget based on the  community survey so the people who took their time   to give us their input we couldn't do this without  them and and we wouldn't do as as well as we're   doing without them um and then finally um I say  this every year this is my sixth time so I'll say   it again I I believe so strongly that this is the  most important but vote that I will make all year   on August 20th where you allocate your treasure  is a reflection of your values so I also will'll   look forward to the next month um I'm sure we'll  have lots of robust discussions and opportunities   for for more but I think at the end we're going  to be extremely proud of the budget that we have   developed in the CIP so thank you council member  Johnson thanks mayor um I just want to add to the   conversation um yet again the point I brought up  earlier and it is just me saying this the council   has not agreed to that but I would love for the  public to um truly consider the type of government   that um you have working for you and the mid  Levy conversation is one that I think everyone   should have again one mill would uh generate  approximately $5 million for us um two Mills would   generate 10 and as you hear the discussion today  about potential cuts and reduced Services that's   going to be very important and for those who are  considering what that means for every $100,000 of   valuation you have that's about an extra $1150 per  year that you would um pay more so $100,000 house   $11.50 $150,000 house $17.25 $200,000 house $23  $400,000 house $46 while that does sound like a   lot and that is real money you have to think about  the potential decisions that the council has to   make potential reductions in park and wreck Arts  potential reduced street sweeping extended times   on Mowing and our um parks and other spaces that  we own reduce Services outside of Public Safety   potential reduce Library access all of the things  that we talked about today that are great for our   community could be reduced if we have those budget  challenges and every Department that everyone   cares about has people working in it that have  to get paid and those wages will go up we have   to pay people what what they deserve we have to be  competitive so over time it's going to continue to   go up and whether this body increases a meal Levy  or not it's going to happen been saying this for a   few years now the cost of having people do these  Services is going to continue to rise and we can   be proud about not raising the mill Levy since  I was six maybe um when wuang and De La Soul and   Tupac were on the radio and we had things like  uh duck hunt and now we have augmented reality   and 5 and a qu inch floppy disc and now we have  terabyte devices uh we could be proud of that and   that's something that you know we can talk about  but the reality is the world has changed quite   a bit it's going to keep changing we have to be  competitive in public safety and looking at a mill   Levy increase is a way to stabilize Public Safety  reduce Services the the least amount over time and   yes it would be an increase and yes that would be  32 years later that we finally did it but at some   point we're going to have a government that only  does core services and gives you barely anything   or we're going to have to increase something we're  not going to be able to cut our way into better   Services uh we're not going to be able to cut  our way into cutting trees down and edging up   those things sooner um something's going to have  to give at some point so I think it's incumbent   on the public to decide what type of government  you want uh I am supportive because I see the   need there and I see the great opportunities  that were presented today and more that our   City's working on but it's a discussion that  we have to have and we can run from it or we   can run into it but I think it's time that we  have that discussion and be serious about it   council member Glascock just one quick question  for staff and I know you won't have to answer   to this today um to Echo councilman Johnson I  think what we do should just be core services   and the essential Services of government  that's the role of government and there's   a role of the private sector as well um I would  be interested in seeing a comparison of Staff   versus the city population um in terms of how  many staff we have per resident for 20 years   ago 10 years ago and now to see the size and  scope of government that have we increased the   size of government have we decreased the size  of government over the last 20 years and how   has the resulted in services so I think for me  I would just be interested in seeing Staffing in   comparison to our population and whether that's  increased or decreased the size and scope of it with that I don't see any further comments  may I I do have something first of all I want   to thank the council for getting a lot of these  issues out it's much easier for us to respond   today than if we had this three four weeks from  now so thank you so much uh uh and we should be   able I mean there's a lot of Staff work that's  going to go into responding to all of this however   there are two things that came from you Council  council member Glascock that would be substantial   efforts and I'm not sure I have enough guidance  or understand um that the Council consense on us   spending the amount of time necessary to get this  done one is to get the RNR plan in other words to   come up with $12 million of cuts for 25 and then  the core the the compounding amount going forward   so that will be a substantial effort along with  the listing of cuts by department for what I think   was 25 and 26 if I understood your request and I  everything else I know I can get done those two   things we've just spent several months putting  the budget together and I'm afraid if I go back   to the Departments without any kind of guidance  or any kind of narrowing of the focus it's going   to be a really hard initiative and I don't want to  bring something back that sets up Straw Men either   I mean I could do the you know a 10% across  the board cut and I don't think that's going   to respond to what you or the community wants  so there's going to have to be some strategic   thinking and I'm just not quite sure how to get  that done uh and if that will be the exercise   that the council wants us to go through I can  speak to that a little bit my concern is that   we're just assuming that we're going to completely  capture all 88.1% um and I don't know if I'm there   I don't think I'm there to be able to capture  full 88.1% now am I there to capture a certain   percentage yes and so maybe um not a proposal  back to us of the full 88.1% but at least what   cuts could be made made that can decrease the 81%  bur to even if it's a 4% or a lesser percent so   that would be my intention but I'm open to my  colleagues if there's no will of that then I   wouldn't have the support mayor if I can just  respond to council member Glascock the reason   I asked I went back you know we did get some  th thought to what is going to position us for   26 27 and 28 right and so that's when we offered  those that tier 3B well I could probably get you   there but I'm not sure that you're going to find  acceptable some of the things that are in 3B and   so that then I have to try to think again I'm  almost trying to guess where you're going to be   or where you want to be I could come up with maybe  a list of items that I'm concerned about like I   said I had 72 questions so I can send you uh some  of those and and and we meet you know this week   we can meet tomorrow talk well right right but I  just want to make sure that collectively that I'm   serving the council and where you want us to go  strategically council member tutle thank you and   maybe this is a silly question or comment but what  about the tiered suggestions for the budget cuts I   mean isn't that what the staff already did where  we you know the four different tiers of things   that we could potentially look at wouldn't that  kind of suffice for where departments thought   that there might be some opportun dilemma council  member tutle I we've implemented or will implement   the first three TI it's really just 3B that we  need to continue to drill down on to determine and   again those were just to help us get over the hump  with what we project as a structural deficit for   27 28 I was just trying to think of a way to maybe  streamline it so because because I understand   it would be a huge burden to you know have every  Department try and find cuts and it might you know   send off alarms that we not sure we want to do  so I was hoping for an easy button but thank you um with that I'm going to add a couple of  comments before I make a motion um first and   foremost I think we have a very robust um group  of individuals that have robust conversation   regarding the budget and I really appreciate that  because I do believe what council member Tuttle   said is this is the most important vote that we  will make this year on August 20th of 2024 because   this is again a a direction of how the city  council believes they're listening to community   in how we're going to move forward as a council  and as a city of Witchita it really frustrates me   that a budget deficit has not been the main  rhetoric in our community over the last two   years it's been an aside and that aside has been  disingenuous to community thinking that we've been   in a great position when in reality we're not and  so part of being transparent and communicating is   being honest and the honesty requires us to again  put it all out on the table and have these open   discussions because as you all know only three  council members at a time can have conversations   regarding policy or else it's a violation of  the Kansas open meetings act so having these   conversations do take time but it's because we're  trying our very best to ask pertinent questions   that Community is asking us to make um sorry to  ask and then make wise decisions from this bench   moving forward um so I really want to thank staff  because I know that they've been working very hard   I do not doubt that the 15 department heads have  been working multiple hundreds of hours and trying   to figure out how to be responsible with taxpayer  dollars and we're trying to do the same but I   do believe that when it comes to property taxes  those are to cover your core essential services   and so core essential services are police  fire infrastructure and I do believe that   we need to have a much greater conversation moving  forward of what property taxes should be covering   versus sales taxes versus um fees uh generated by  Enterprise funds so I will be reluctant to make   the the third recommended action so I'm going to  move um to re I will move to approve the first two   and the last so set the public hearing for August  20th authorize publication of the formal public   hearing notice and receive and file the 2024 2033  proposed Capital Improvement program and we can   take a different vote on the third recommended  action but I want that to be um my motion and I   do see that there are council members uh trying  to uh second for the purpose of discussion okay   there's a motion and a second mayor I apologize  I I think I may need you to read verbatim your   motion just to make sure we're covered legally  um and um okay I will do that thank you I move   that the city council set the public hearing  on the revenue neutral and proposed 2025 budget   including tax increment financing districts and  the self-supporting Municipal improvement district   and the recertification for the CID and tbid funds  for August 20th 2024 in addition I move that the   city council authorized publication of the formal  public hearing notices approve the first reading   of the ordinances for the general tax levy  for the city of witchta Tiff districts and SS smid and then and then the last I will move that the  city council receive and file the 2025 2034   proposed Capital Improvement program I have  a motion and a second um I I believe we need   you to also authorize staff to make technical  adjustments required to complate with State   Statute that has nothing to do with um okay  the the sorry in addition to after I said   SS smid I also authorize city council I I  move that the city council authorized sta   to make any technical adjustments required to  comply with State's statute and I move that   the city council set the uh sorry that the city  council receive and file the 2025 2034 proposed   Capital Improvement program I'm sorry mayor  I think you still need to establish a maximum   budget by state law because you can't you have  to do that today and that sets the ceiling for   expenses which I think I think it's consistent  with where the council is but that's required as   you're setting the public hearing date that you  establish what okay so the entire piece before   authorized staff to notify sedu County correct I  will re amend I move again to authorize staff to   make any technical adjustments required to comply  with State Statute set a maximum amount of taxes   levied for any technical adjustments required  to comply with sorry set a maximum amount of   taxes levied for the city of Witchita at 164 milon  93246 based on an anticipated Mill Levy of [Music] 32.749941 25 set the maximum amount of taxes levied for the  self-supporting Municipal improvement district at   888,246 based on an estimated Levy of 6.81  Ms and an estimated assess valuation of 13,   640,000 and receive and file the 2025 2034  proposed Capital Improvement program thank   you second Motion in a second discussion uh  council member Johnson thanks mayor May um   Ju Just a little push back over the last 2 to  three years we actually have been talking about   the uh deficit coming up that was what caused the  council former council's actions of putting money   into the reserve uh we have been very transparent  about that um I've heard many of my colleagues   who served with me at the time um as well as  um me going out and just talking to folks in   neighborhood so we we've been pretty open about  the deficits coming and took some actions to try   to reduce that um also uh I am more supportive  of the original uh action so I would like to   offer a substitute motion for the council to  set the public hearing on the revenue neutral   rate and the proposed 2025 budget including  the tax increment financing districts and the   self-supporting Municipal improvement district  and the recertification for the C and tbid funds   for August 20th 2024 authorized publication  of the formal public hearing notices approve   first reading of the ordinances for the general  tax levy for the city of wiah Tiff districts and   smid authorized staff to make any technical  adjustments required to comply with the state   statute set a maximum amount of taxes levied  for the city of wial at64 m932 46 based on an   anticipated Mill Levy of 32. 743 Mills and an  estimated assessed evaluation of 5 billi 11, 584,000 District at $888,888 based on estimated  leverage of 6.81 Mills and an estimated assessed   valuation of $3,649 70 authorized staff to  notify the cedri county clerk of the intent   to exceed the revenue neutral rate for the city  of Witchita taxing funds and the smid taxing   fund and receive and file the 2025 to 2034  proposed Capital Improvement program second   motion and a second there's further discussion  vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor I just wanted   to uh Echo council member Johnson that um it's  frustrating to hear you constantly talk about the   old Council keeping things in the dark not being  transparent um I understand that you weren't at   all of the meetings over the past couple years  so but we have talked about how Aro is going to   be getting us through the next two years and that  um the coming budgets would be uh we would have to   make some hard decisions so um you know I respect  all of the council members up here and think we   all have the best intentions and want to do the  very best job but um insulting past councils   um is uh I don't think that's the way to go to  continue to do good work for the community and together council member hoisel thank you mayor  um I second second and third the comments um I   can't remember a single budget meeting we've  had that it wasn't indicated that we had a a   fiscal cliff coming up in 2026 2027 2028 and  again that is why we put that money in there we   could have been doing individual projects within  our own District spreading it out as we wanted to   we wanted to do the fiscally responsible thing  and put it in there so we can step it down in   the future so um I I agree with my colleagues  on that one I know I've been talking about it   till my residents's um ears have been bleeding at  neighborhood association meetings and whatnot just   trying to make sure everybody knows about this  so again I just Echo their their comments there   council member tutle thank you um I just have a  comment a question and then probably a comment um   my comment is going to be that as I mentioned this  is my sixth year doing the budget and we've made   budget cuts every year that I've been here um even  in 2019 when things were pretty good before the   pandemic and then we had the pandemic and then  we had the after pandemic I don't remember a year   that I've been on Council that we haven't been  fiscally responsible transparent and and made   Cuts whenever we could so I I'm pretty proud of  that I think that we do a good job of making sure   the community is engaged I think this last year we  had during this budget process and we're not even   done we'll have 19 opportunities for Community  engagement so I I'm really proud of that I think   that's great and good on finance for making and  Communications for making sure those all happen   my question Sharon um with legal I just want to  make sure I understand exactly what's happening   so there was a motion from the mayor to have the  budget and the CIP but not the revenue neutral   rate it was seconded council member Johnson made  a motion for the budget the CIP and the revenue   neutral rate it was seconded by vice mayor is  that correct yes okay so here's my comment um   last year I remember having the same struggle  if we say today that we are going to ex vote and   tell me when I'm wrong Mark Sharon Bob all the  all the people if we vote today to exceed the   revenue neutral rate that doesn't mean we're  going to it just gives us the option is that   correct that's correct so last year if I remember  correctly and please don't quote me on this but   I'm almost positive even some of us who voted  against the budget because of the revenue ter   rate was going to be expended exceeded we voted to  allow this to happen just in case because what I   understand Mark said earlier if we don't vote to  potentially exceed the revenue neutral rate today   then we don't have an any other options it has  to be this budget and I'm on track with council   member Glascock I would like to see if there's  anything else we can cut but $12 million out of   this budget knowing that next year we're going  to have more budget cuts seems extreme I think   today if if we say and I'm not telling anyone  how to vote I'm going to say today I will be   supportive of exceeding the revenue neutral rate  I'm not saying what I'm going to do August 20th   I'm just going to say today if we don't do this  it puts us in a really precarious position where   we have no options other than to make deep  Cuts where maybe we could make cuts that are   reasonable and can put us in a better trajectory  for next year so I just want to make sure that   we all understand that that if we today do not  consider exceeding the revenue neutral rate $12   million is coming out of this budget somewhere am  I correct yes thank you council member Glascock   and this would be a question for staff before  I would have pre or subsequent comments yes   there have to be 12.8 million or 12.4 12.8 four  12.4 million of cuts could that be redirected   from CIP allocation based on what percent of  the mill goes a CIP versus the general budget as well yes the council in the past has moved back  and forth in terms of the levy so if you if you   decided to cut 12.4 and you wanted to backfill  it by reducing what goes to The Debt Service   Levy you you have the freedom to do that okay  we'd have to determine how that's done but you   know because we have existing that that has to be  paid so we have to see how what that implication   would be so it could be a 12.4 million cut  from the CIP not necessarily affecting the   general budget operations if we just reallocate  a portion of the mill the ciper right and of   course that has implications on our ability to  maintain infrastructure so I mean or create new   infrastructure that's different and we're again  we're trying over 50% of this CIP is for Main   projects so okay I think with those comments  I believe Mill is for essential Services local   government I think there is a conversation  we're talking about a sales tax component I'm   very interested in seeing what a sales tax would  look like to fund things outside of the essential   functions of government I think the conversation  that we're having today is about what is the size   and scope of government um especially when it  comes to non-essential services and I'm looking   forward to seeing how the size of government has  increased based off the size of our population I   think witon are making tough decisions um with  their budgets I think we need to as well and   sometimes I think we have to force oursel to  make tough decisions because we're not going   to make tough decisions unless we're forced  to make this tough decision so I will not be   supporting councilman Johnson's Amendment  today and I will U be voting no on the uh subsequent I see no further comments we have a  motion from council member Johnson and a second   from vice mayor Ballard oh sorry council member  tutle thank you I I just want to go on record   too today I am going to be supportive of the  motion to exceed the revenue neutral rate I am   not making a commitment to what I will do in  August 20th because I you know I want to see   what's going to happen but I do like the option  of having some flexibility originally council   member of Glascock you're the one who kind of  convinced me of that um it seems like you know   some things are shifting and that's completely  fine but I think um so I'm just going on record   saying today I'm I'm voting to um say we we  may exceed the revenue neutral rate just so   that we can have flexibility in the next month  of the budgeting I'm not making a commitment   that I will or won't on August 20th thank you  we have a motion from council member Johnson   and a second by vice mayor Ballard no further  discussion um Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 4 to2 yeah motion passes sorry 5 to2 Madame clerk please call the next item PUD 20 24-9 zone change request in the city  from sf5 single family residential district to   planned unit development to create the blackbear  bosen price residential district PU number 128   generally located one block west of North Woodland  Boulevard and two blocks south of East 13th Street North hello and good afternoon Scott wle from the  planning department for this case the applicant   is requesting as you heard to rezone the property  from sf5 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 that they are requesting the resoning   in order to reuse the existing former School  building for multifam residential please note that   during the dab meeting and prior to the Planning  Commission meeting the applicant changed their   request the change was to allow single family  residential in the undeveloped portion of the   property instead of fourplexes duplexes and single  family as originally requested so they scaled down   the scope of the residential development that  could take place in terms of the property the   site is generally located to the west of Woodland  Boulevard and South of 13th Street it is made up   of one parcel that parcel is approximately 6.69  acres in size currently zoned sf5 single family   and developed with the former School building and  Associated Open Spaces in terms of context as you   can see here the subject site is surrounded on  all sides by sf5 single family zoning district and   developed with single family dwellings as you can  see here in terms of the staff report staff report   provides information about the requested land uses  parking Landscaping screening and signage in terms   of review on June 10th the district Advisory Board  reviewed the request there was not a quorum of dab   members there so the board took no action however  uh dab members generally expressed that they were   in favor of the request after the applicant  changed their request to remove the language   uh permitting duplexes and fourplexes on the  property outside of the school multiple members of   the public expressed concern regarding increased  traffic in the uh development of duplexes and   fourplexes however again because the applicant  changed their request uh the members of the   public indicated support following that change on  June 13th the Planning Commission held the public   hearing for this item and recommended approval  10 to zero that was subject to the modified PUD   language regarding the single family development  in terms of protest uh there were multiple   protests received against this application the  protest petitions within the protest area equaled   more than 40% of the total protest area and so  therefore this request uh would require a super   majority or six out of seven votes in order to  approve it one note that I would make on that   is it is planning staff's understanding that  many of those protest petitions were collected   even prior to the dab meeting and so um it's our  understanding they they were submitted after the   mapc but signed uh with the the understanding that  that would be developed with four plexus which the   developers changed their uh their application on  that in terms of council action is recommended the   city council adopt the findings of the Planning  Commission approve the requested zone change place   the ordinance on the first reading authorize the  necessary signatures and instruct the city clerk   publish ordinance after approval on the second  reading again this would require six of seven   votes because of the protest Alternatives include  overriding the Planning Commission adopting   alternative findings and denying the resoning  request that would require five of seven votes   or is you can return the case to the mapc for  additional consideration which requires just a   simple majority and as always a quick note about  the planning process and that the public hearing   takes place at the mapc meeting with that I'll  take you through some of the graphics and images   here's the aerial showing the site outlined in  that blue green color here's the zoning map again   showing sf5 surrounding the property here's the  map from the comprehensive plan which shows it as   commercial here is the Pud uh document that was  submitted as part of the applic and you can see   parcel one consists of the school building parcel  two is everything else surrounding it here's the   protest map uh again the ones in red are the  ones within the protest area that were valid   uh with all the signatures that were necessary  here's photos from the site and the surrounding area and with that I'll stand for any  questions any questions for staff I see none   this item does not get a public hearing uh council  member Johnson thanks mayor um as Scott said uh   I originally received a lot of protest to this  the district Advisory board meeting uh was very   engaging um we didn't have Quorum because it we  moved it to the second Monday so some of the dab   members had commitments but after that meeting  and the applicant being there and agreeing to   some changes uh many of the people who had  reached out to me originally were okay with   this their main concern was the multif family  aspect on that and the traffic it would bring   the applicant solely focused on the school um and  has rehabbed a few other ones here in which at all   so they were more acceptable of that I believe if  we would have had Quorum this would have passed   dab as well uh but before I make a motion one  clarification Scott um I left that other sheet   that we had in our meeting um in my office is the  mapc language the same as um limit in the single   family it is yes sir and one thing I would just  point out in case of confusion is that attached   to this packet are two sets of PUD language  one reflects what the original application   was the second one reflects what the mapc approved  after the applicant changed their application okay   thank you Scott uh with that I will move that the  council adopt the findings of the mapc and approve   the requested zone change place the ordinance on  first reading authorize the necessary signatures   and instruct the city clerk to publish  the ordinance after approve our on second   reading second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the RO motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call the  next item lowincome housing tax credit application Commandments good afternoon honorable mayor  members of council Sally staying with the   Housing and Community Services Department for  the record the item that I have for you today   are commitments related to the low-income housing  tax credit credit applications associated with the   Mac so as you know uh the witcha Housing Authority  was unsuccessful in securing financing to convert   its public housing single family homes under Hud's  rental admin uh assistance demonstration program   thread uh HUD experts recommended the sale of the  single family homes and reinvestment of the net   proceeds into a new Section 8 subsidized project  the regulations are very specific and the proceeds   can only be used in a Section 8 subsidized  project or a new public housing project to   date five uh disposition applications covering  215 of the 352 units have been submitted to HUD   and four of them have been approved as part  of that disposition process HUD has allocated   tenant protection vouchers to offset the loss of  public housing units and those uh tpvs add to our   overall allocation of vouchers housing authorities  have the option they can choose to what they call   Project base up to 20% of its voucher allocation  plus an additional 10% for uh projects that are   for housing for people experiencing homelessness  however project-based voucher units that replace   public housing units are Exempted from the cap  altogether so an allocation of Project based   vouchers actually has no impact on our overall  cap in this particular project by project basing   voucher it it attaches the subsidy to the housing  unit rather than the participating family however   under the regulations a participating household  can request a tenant based voucher after they've   been successfully housed for at least a year  in that project-based unit so it actually has   a built-in move on strategy project-based  vouchers are often used as a strategy to   encourage development or Rehabilitation of high  quality uh affordable housing units they provide   long-term commitments of 5 to 20 years renewable  for up to an additional 20 years and the Housing   Authority May attach Project based vouchers to  certain Housing Authority owned projects without   following a competitive process when the Housing  Authority is engaged in an initiative to improve   develop or replace public housing properties so  the wah Housing Authority continues to work with   its development partner Petra Inc to develop the  multi-agency center project which we know includes   a navigation Center congregate housing or shelter  excuse me non- congregate shelter and affordable   housing units as we know housing is the path out  of homelessness low-income housing tax credits   are an imperative funding source to develop  affordable housing and we are seeking to submit   a single application that provides for building on  two sites 50 Studio units of tax credit Supportive   Housing with Project based uh voucher assistance  for persons experiencing homelessness on the park   elementary site at 1025 North Main Street and  an additional 125 units of straight low-income   housing tax credit housing with uh Project based  voucher assistance on the Via chrisy site at 10:30   North TOA and so this map shows the two sites  actually only two blocks apart outlined in Red so the low-income housing tax credit program  they're administered by the Kansas housing   resources Corporation applications are scored  in accordance with their qualified allocation   plan which is published and changed annually  currently there are 15 points available for   projects where 60% or more of the the uh tax  credit units are supported by project-based   rental assistance and a but a commitment from  the PHA is required to be submitted with the   application and the next round of applications  for 4% low-income housing tax credits are due on   on July 26th we're also uh proposing investment  of up to $6 million do in public housing um net   proceeds from the sale of the single family  homes this funding will be used to fill the   development funding Gap it also defines the  project as an initiative to replace public   housing properties and allows the attachment  of project-based vouchers without a competitive   process there is no impact to the general fund the  resolution and conditional commitment letter will   not constitute a formal commitment of federal  funds as is as it is conditioned on receiving the   low-income housing tax credit award securing all  other financing necessary a satisfactory subsidy   layering review and underwriting satisfactory  completion of the environmental review and   receipt of the authority to use Grant funds from  HUD the law department has reviewed and approved   the resolution and Comm conditional commitment  letter as to form and final Grant agreement   and the HUD agreement to enter into a housing  assistance payments contract would be brought   before back to the witcha Housing Authority board  for approval once all conditional terms are met   and so it is recommended that the witcha Housing  Authority board approve the resolution and the   letter of conditional commitment and authorize  the necessary signatures and I stand for any   questions thank you Sally first question comes  from council member glas hello thank you for the   presentation I always appreciate hearing from  you um I know we're close to the 20 6 which is   the application deadline my only concern I kind  of have two but my biggest concern is do we know   if private businesses have also applied for this  LTE I know the litech credits are competitive have   private entities in Witchita also applied for that  and are we competing against them uh we would be   competing with with any other Statewide applicants  for tax credits yes both nonprofit and for-profit   developers do we know if any and which job  applied I have not made made aware of any other   4% application in this round okay um and would  we normally be aware of normally I wouldn't would   have heard at least oftentimes they're coming  looking for other supports such as home funds and   things like that in this round I've heard of n no  others makes me feel more comfortable that we're   not competing against somebody else trying to do  the same thing um in the area as well um does it   make it harder for so let's say we receive this  does it make it harder for other litech credits or   Li people applying for litech credit in the region  to get this next year do they take a holistic like   10year view over different litech credits or is it  yearby year it is yearby year but they do look at   how close a project is to another project funded  in the last five years I guess the last question   I would have um I know we've talked a lot about  the Mac which I think everybody in the council   was very supportive of and that's why we did the  purchase of Park Elementary the addition of Via   Christie to this seems new because it wasn't  part of I know it's part of a discussion maybe   pre previous councils had regarding the Mac it's  not something that we had and one of the reasons   for Park was because there space to be able to  do that when did we decide to add the Via Christi   component to this the Via Christi component's  been in place even before the last tax credit   application okay I thought we had to remove that  when we had moved to Park Elementary verse the   Riverside option was Park so um even even when we  had the Riverside option there the V option was   still there okay thank you for that we obtained  that opt about the same time that we got the   Riverside option if I remember correctly so it's  always been meant to be part of a a comprehensive   solution I will point out and this has been born  out in cities around the country that have been   successful our Mac is only limited in its success  if we don't have the ability to hand off and   put people into housing and especially housing  projects that we have some control over and so   that's why this is to me this is just as important  as the Mac maybe even more important because I   you know I think I've quoted to some of you what  happened in Dallas and basically you know Dallas a   caseworker takes you you have a very limited stop  in their equivalent Mac and then you're right put   into a housing unit and we know that there is a a  a need for these type of affordable housing units   in the city that um if we don't step forward and  get aggressive on we're not going to meet that   need and we're not going to be successful in  getting homeless off the streets and into more   productive U uh work here in in society thank you  for the historical Contex do we have the property   currently we have an option on the property yes  an option on the property yes and it's for uh it's   it's actually a long-term lease a 99 year land  lease at a dollar a year okay fantastic more of   my concerns was about if there was anybody else  from Private Industry applying for this so thank   you for that council member hoisel thank you mayor  um do we plan on applying for the 9% loow ltech   credits for this project next year I'm hoping not  I'm hoping awarded in the 4% round honestly um 9%   are even more competitive than the 4% are and  we have not as uh you actually urban areas get   funded so much less than rural areas last year  there were 10 projects awarded in 9% only one was   in a metropolitan area they have really written  the 9% competitiv to to be pushed more towards   the rural areas than the urban area so I think  we'll have better luck under the four percents   okay so if we are awarded the 4 per that makes  us ineligible for the 9% yes yes you wouldn't   have both four% and 9% on the same project but  it doesn't mean we wouldn't be going in a future   year for another project that we might consider  doing under 9% or another 4% I think if we need   to stay ahead of this we need to make sure we've  got projects going in each year okay thank you Val   a couple questions do you have estimated cost for  construction of either of these two um buildings   and also remind Community how it's getting paid um  specifically the construction cost since the Mac   is $8 million in renovation construction sure so  so for the Mac which will be the navigation Center   and the congregate shelter I mean we're having  some rough estimates around $8 million to complete   that um the 50 now when we when I'm talking about  50 units on the building on the Mac property it's   50 units of housing that's covered by litec but  also 25 units of non- congregate shelter and   so we are actually integrating it'll actually  be 75 units in one building 50 of them litech   units layered with public housing 25 units on the  ground floor will be non- congregate shelter units   those would be funded with our St our city home  ARP funds the non- congregate shelter units um   the we're talking you know $6 million in public  housing proceeds low-income housing tax credit   at dollars the the site at um at the Via Christie  site we're looking closer to a $20 million project   all in uh and it's going to be really dependent on  whether it ends up exceeding three stories if it   once it hits four stories it it converts from  residential construction to commercial which   really pushes the prices up so we don't have  solid numbers as of yet on those um but coming   very soon so 6 million is allocated for the Park  Elementary Mac additional new building as well as   I mean the 6 million is overall between the two  sites and that's just Gap financing between both   the Via Christi and the the the Park Elementary  sites associated with the housing units because   the public housing proceeds can only be spent  on housing units can you explain how Petra the   development partner I guess uh either puts money  or how how does how do they play a role so Petra   they're our development Partners so they're Co  coordinating and collaborating everything around   construction um bringing in um the new market  tax credits as another uh Avenue for funding   towards the Mac that we're still evaluating  they're bringing in the Architecture Firm the   tax credit consultant as well as a new market tax  credit consultant so they're really the ones that   are are pulling all the strings and pulling  everything together thank you Sally I see no   further questions for staff we'll open it up for  public comment is there anyone from the public who   would like to speak I see none we'll bring it back  to the bench this resides in vice mayor Ballard's District thank you mayor I'd like to take  the recommended action approve the resolution   and letter of conditional commitment  authorizing necessary signatures second   we have a motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please   open the rle motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next item council   member appointments and comments we'll  start with appointments council members none so I will uh read off this this is  the list for um the design Council Matt   Cortez architect Chad Glenn architect Steve  vau engineer Brett lowski engineer Bill   Gardner graphic artist Brent Thomas landscape  architect Janelle King at large Armando mhar   artist for the diversity inclusion civil rights  Advisory Board Selena pharoh Josh shorter Arthur   Allen and Talia Penn for the transit board  representing the large employers Michelle gford I move to approve the appointments  second motion and a motion and a second   any further discussion I see  none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 70 council member common council member hoisel thank you mayor um  this last Saturday we had a very successful event   and um uh plane view um I just want to thank um  everybody who came out the mayor was passing out   flyers along the parade route uh Dalton made a  um a supplies run when we were running low so   I do appreciate that council member Johnson we  had um an issue getting a grill out there and   he came out and moved it back and forth for  us so uh takes all types here um also special   thanks to WPD for um keeping us safe along  the Parade route and shutting down the street   and um interacting with the kids afterwards uh the  fire department with us out there well as well and   our parks and recs staff great job getting trash  cans great job getting the stage out there great   job getting the porta potties out there so um  there's too many Community Partners as well to   thank um the violence interrupts were out there  passing out flyers as well the days before um   they really hit the pavement so we got a lot of  kids um interested in some of the resources that   we have to offer it was a nice rally afterwards  as well we found some shade and that's that makes   a pretty big difference um so I I anticipate  uh success with this uh unity in the community   program going forward and thanks everybody who had  a hand in it and thanks to everybody for coming   out so thank you council member Johnston thank  you mayor my congratulations on great event as   you were doing that I was taking my grandkids to  Music Theater of wicha and uh what an absolutely   wonderful wonderful performance it was probably  in the top five ever I've ever been to and I've   been going to them for a long long time so uh  just congratulations to mtw and the staff uh for   just a a fantastic presentation and show thank  you council member Johnson thanks mayor I just   want to highlight my colleague forgot his brother  who was on the grill I always got to bring up the   other hoisel thank you for that how can I forget  uh my brother did step in at the last minute and   he did operate the grill and uh there's one  thing hoisel know how to do it's cook so um I   do appreciate him all you know he's he's a good  guy you know he kind of conflicts with me every   once in a while but um especially given the  circumstances of that day what happened prior   to that it is something that we need to do is  reach out and come to an understanding and see   each other as human beings regardless of our  ideological differences because at the end of   the day I might have a you know a republican Uncle  who would drop anything at the drop of a hat to   come out and help me fix my car or a Democratic  liberal leaning ant who if somebody has a death   in the family she's the first one there to drop  off um a dish for the family so that's something   we need to get back to as a society is seeing  each other as human beings first council member   tutle thank you I just wanted to give my fellow  colleagues and then also the community an update   um the national league of cities has asked me to  be on a webinar tomorrow to talk about our work   in witto regarding child care um and so there  will be electeds from all across the nation as   well as city managers and other staff um and and  my the the purpose of my presentation will be to   highlight the work that the community is doing  in child care unfortunately we got a really low   ranking yesterday in a quality of life survey I  can send it to you all but one of the main reasons   that we received such a low ranking was because of  our lack of child care and our lack of affordable   child care um and so I just will take some time  tomorrow to highlight our national league of   cities initiative and what we've been working on  and what our future goals will be um finally one   of the things that I'll mention that I'm super  proud proud of and excited for us on July 27th   we're having um a community meeting for Child  Care Providers it's an opportunity for them to   learn more about being entrepreneurs because they  are um home child care providers or center-based   child care providers are entrepreneurs and so  we're not going to talk to them about being a   better child care provider and teaching the ABCs  we're going to talk to them about how to be better   businessmen and business women so that they can  Thrive and continue to provide essential services   in the community so um wish us luck wish we Lu  tomorrow at 2 um and I'll make sure to try and   represent our city well thank you I will just add  a couple of comments um I just want you to know   um just from hearing from our council members  just how dedicated they are to community and   I 100% um respect them and value each of you  for your servant attitude towards helping our   community and um when I say things about previous  councils or past leadership past administration   it is not um a direct attack at any of you it  is simply a policy discussion or an emphasis or   priority difference as individuals I respect  and value you and I want you to know that um   and I am trying my best um over the last six  months uh in getting to know each of you and   your priorities in each of your six districts  um but I also have a responsibility for the   entire city and uh the budget is one of those  major Maj issues that not only the six of you   and myself um have to be very cognizant about and  I will be very um mindful that I will have to uh   communicate uh more directly uh moving forward  about what we are facing uh in the years ahead   if we are not uh mindful again of our fiscal  responsibility to this community um so I do   talk about the budget deficit because again um  the community needs needs to know and they need   to chime in on what else are priorities to them  or what we need to continue doing so one of the   things that I really love is um as mayor I get to  represent our Council and last week we welcomed   1,000 athletes from all across the US uh youth  athletes in the soccer field and I want you to   know that this morning our own Witchita Rush team  so Rush Witchita won the championship for the 13   uh year division so 13 you Champions are now the  rush Witchita girls team so congratulations to   the young ladies here in our community with  that I will oh council member Johnson mayor   there's a council policy that you have to play  against the Champions not athletic but I will   encourage people to walk as uh Alan mentioned  walking and biking I don't do that very well but   I will walk so uh thank you for that with that I  will motion to adjourn second Motion in a second   Madam clerk please open the roll motion passes  70 thank you for staying till almost [Music] 1:30 for