I pledge allegiance to the flag of the  United States of America and to the republic   for which it stands, one nation under God,  indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. City Manager Leighton. Thank you, mayor.  As I mentioned in the preview last week,   we've got a pretty long agenda coming up here for  next Tuesday. Um, you've got three proclamations   and right now two people on the public agenda.  On the second page, excuse me, uh, number one,   a new business would approve a letter of intent  for a multifamily housing revenue bond project uh,   with 60 uh, apartment units in District 6.  Number two would approve $7.2 million grant   application to the Kansas Water Authority for a  water learning center at Botanica. Number three   would approve a contract for false alarm program  management services. Number four would ratify the   results of this week's GEO bond and note sales.  We would receive favorable rates again. Uh number   five would approve health, vision, and dental  insurance premiums for 2026. Number six would   approve the 30% design concept for the public art  components for the West Bank improvement project.   Number seven would approve the 30% design concept  for the pedestrian bridge on the Red Bud Trail at   Rock Road. Um, there's another item that showed  up as a new business on the preliminary agenda   I shared with you last week. It was moved to  consent. I'm moving it back to new business and   that's approving the revised 30% design concept  for the public art on Douglas Avenue from Senica   to Meridian. It shows right now as consent item  number 12 and we'll move that to new business.   I figured you'd want to see that presentation on  what that revised order looks like. So, will that   be item eight or slip between? Yes, it will be  eight. So, we've got the three public art items   in all in a row. Okay. Thank you. But I'm going  to continue to reference the old numbers. Okay.   Uh number eight here is park and recreation master  plan and that would approve the contract for the   development of the park and recreation master  plan as recommended by the selection committee.   Next page number nine would approve home funds for  the construction of seven single family homes by   Menan Menanite housing. Is this in addition  to the ones that we just approved for menite   housing? Yes. Number 10 would approve the annual  consolidated plan performance report. Number 11   would approve the revised airport hazard zoning  code and map. Next page number 12. This is uh   been added since you saw the agenda last. We  have a an appeal. Uh so you would consider   an appeal uh of a Delano design review committee  finding for property located at 1301 West Douglas. Um non-consent planning agenda number one would  consider a conditional use request in district   4. There's a difference between MAPC and DAB  recommendations. Next page, uh, approval of,   uh, Council Member Tuttles's trip in October.  Next page, item four would approve a supplemental   design agreement and KOT funding agreement for the  Red Bud Trail project. Next page 5A would approve   a change order for the OP3 project or program  the reflect to reflect final quantities. Number   seven would approve an additional grant award for  special traffic enforcement activities by WPD.   Number eight would approve the administrative  permit process for daycare use and residential   zoning districts. And Bob, if I could just add, um  I was accompanied by um Adrien Lad, uh supervisor   of child care licensing on Wednesday. We went  to the board of county commissioners and this   is and Scott can obviously speak more of a just  administrative. We've already passed this once,   but the county was so excited about it that they  wanted it to go beyond the scope of just the city   of Witon be all of the county because we do do  childcare licensing for the entire county and not   just the city. And so on Wednesday, I was able to  make comments at the board of county commissioners   and it passed um 50. Thank you. Next page number  nine would approve a funding agreement with KOT   and the construction agreement with AT&T for the  Douglas uh project from Senica to Meridian. Number   10 would excuse me number 11 would approve the  multifamily housing bond ordinance for the market   center apartments. And then all the way to the  last page number 21 would approve an agreement for   wildlife management services around Eisenhower  and Jabara airports. So that's all I have for   the se September 16th agenda. Um very little  to highlight for September 23rd since that's   your consent agenda. Um page 4 3A would approve uh  seven contracts for on call engineering projects.   Um and 4 D would approve a supplemental design  agreement to prepare flood plane map amendments   for FEMA related to the BLE drainage improvements.  Next, how is are we still on um on time regarding   the BLY drainage? I believe we are. When would  it be complete again? Well, we have multiple   phases. Um, late 2028. We have multiple phases.  Working on phase one now and then phase two will   be utility relocation and then we'll do the  bill. Thank you. Next page number six would   approve an agreement with the FBI to participate  in the Central Kansas Safe Streets Task Force.   And then uh the last page number 10 is the sale  of another public housing authority home. Mayor,   that is all I have. We do have a department  uh presentation today from the library. [Applause] Yeah, this is happen. They don't realize  what we got to do, right? Read a novel, but I can't say anything because  ever since I started this job,   I just read garbage for novels. I don't have  the mental capacity to take on anything serious. technology. Not a lot. Thank you. That's beautiful. here. It's really awkward. mater. access. So did you go to share it? just one. Let's do that. I promise it will be worth your time. Let's  get one of those old screen projectors,   right? Still have those. We do. Actually,  we're starting a memory lab where you can   take those old technologies and be able  to transfer them into a digital space. So,   Is there a chalkboard? I know, right? I'm just doing Getting closer. How long were you up here today? check 12:30 after depending on how long this takes, but  otherwise me or we can talk. We can talk later.   Yeah, it's not immediate or anything.  Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, of course. different stuff. We'll need to go, I think, to just for fun,   just to check it out. Oh my god.  So I would go crazy. I try not to. You know, I want to be mindful of everybody's  time. Maybe can we switch this to the next   uh agenda? I'm about to get there.  Um I can get started and then we can   navigate to the video that I'll be showing.  Um thank you so much for the opportunity to I apologize. Um, thank you so much for the  opportunity to speak with you today. I think   we need to celebrate the fact that Witchah  this week has had a win. The Rockwell branch   has reopened. Um, we've Yes, we've completed  the remodel, relocation, and expansion of   seven branch libraries in addition to a a book  bus in just under seven in under eight years.   It's definitely not a small feat and it's one  that's well on its way to positively impacting   Witchah's generations to come. Um, now you can  see all my email. I'll get navigated here. But,   um, we need for today's presentation. I really  wanted to share some library success stories   with you. Starting with my own. Um, I grew up  in Emporia, Kansas in a home with really limited   means but strong values around education. My mom  didn't quite know how to um feed my curiosity and   she really chose a winner. She started taking me  to the public library. I was a really overweight,   chubby, highly sensitive and painfully shy child  and often teased unsure of myself. I was overseen   because of my body size. But I was never really  seen as a person. Like many, I internalized and   believed what peers and adults said about me. And  that went away when I jo when I started using the   library. It was a place of security and wonder. I  wasn't judged there and I was invited to discover   other identities through stories. In high school,  I began working at my library, not because I saw   it as a career path, but because it felt like  home. That's where I met Katie, a librarian,   and she told me that my mind was beautiful. That  changed me. I entered librarianship at a time   when people said libraries were obsolete, when the  internet was supposed to be just enough. But that   doubt really became my motivation. The power of  libraries is not as a vault of of knowledge, but   it's an inspiring public service engine that fuels  social infrastructure, greater knowledge, and a   sense of belonging. Witchah Public Library became  my training ground. The leadership I developed   here took me to Washington State. And now I'm  back as the library director for your library   in my home. And I lead today with a perspective  rooted in possibilities and an empathy born from   knowing what it's what it really feels like to be  unseen. And now as the director of library that's   full of incredibly generous, smart, unique,  and kind staff who too believe that education   achievement is a pathway to empowerment. But  this storytelling isn't just about me. It's about   what's possible when public institutions serve  people with this strong mission for education.   The library makes our community limitless. And  I'm really grateful to share some of our community   stories today. Shall I find the video? Let's take  a let's take a watch. Um just today. Here we go. Hello, I'm Roma the third with STEM music and I'm  asking you to love your library. And I just wanted   to share the impact the Waw Public Library system  has had on me as an entrepreneur, business owner,   and full-time musician with children's music and  my company, specifically STEM music. It was at   this library right behind me where I actually sat  and wrote the business plan for Stim Music. So,   this library provided a space for me to be  creative, to be an entrepreneur, be a business   owner. But better than that, once I created Stim  Music LLC, this is the library that booked me to   do my very first library show. And I don't know  if you can tell, but I'm wearing a shirt that says   Stim Music in Kansas tour. I just finished my Stim  Music in Kansas library tour this summer, 2025.   And that would not have been possible without my  first show here at the Advanced Learning Library a   couple of years ago, which proved that I could do  a library tour. I'm in such support of our public   library, not only getting to showcase the music,  but also getting to see the resources our library   system is providing our community. My name is  Laura Barry and I am retired from commercial   banking. What I love about having the library here  in Witchah is that it gives many, many people,   whether they're small children who are learning  about the library and learning that it even exists   and learning what's here or whether you are a  student in high school or a college student or   maybe you're an entrepreneur trying to research  some things for your business. You have this   wonderful resource at your fingertips. Personally,  I still use the library. Hi, my name is Aubrey   Noir and I am a Witchaw artist. The Witchaw Public  Library means so much more to me than I can ever   condense into one short video, but I think it  could be best summarized in two words: community   and advocacy. This year, the library's big read  event featured a book called Sitting Pretty,   which is a book about a woman's life as a disabled  person. I'm physically disabled myself with a   debilitating permanent condition called complex  regional pain syndrome. As part of the big read   event, I was invited to participate in a library  panel that featured local marginalized artists.   This was the first time that I'd ever had the  opportunity to talk about my experience in the   Witchaw community as a disabled artist. And people  showed up. They asked questions. They listened.   I felt like I was being heard in a way that I had  never experienced before. And this was just one of   the constant and credible events that the Witchaw  Public Library puts on. Our public libraries are   providing a platform to people who are so often  silenced. They're giving us ways to come together,   speak, and listen to one another. They're  giving local artists visibility. I truly   cannot think of a place that's doing more for  the Witchaw community than our libraries. They're   a vital filler in our city. Jeff Turner and I'm  retired. I grew up in North Riverside. My sister,   who was 2 years ahead of me in school, brought  all her books home and we would sit on the couch   and she would read her books to me. Well, I guess  I and everybody else thought I knew how to read.   She would open the book and I would look at the  page and I would say the words. And it turned   out I did not know how to read. Went through  the third grade at I mean I still to this day   remember a miserable third grade experience.  But at the end of the third grade my mom,   God risked her soul, just determined that she was  going to make sure I knew how to read. Starting   with the basics and going up. the fact that  those resources were there, readily available,   the programming was there. I mean, if my mom were  here today, I know she she'd say, "I don't know   how I would have done it without the library. Had  I not learned to read, there's no way I could have   done my job. There's no way I could have gone  to college. I could have faked some things,   but you can't fake not being able to read. You  have no idea about what things in your life are so   important until after the fact. But that year was  so pivotal. I was talking to an educator one time   who who was shocked that I couldn't read and I  was in the third grade. um shocked that I actually   had a successful career because I guess that the  statistics say you can read by the time you're in   the third grade the chance to be learning to read  after that school. But thank God for her mother   who took the initiative not just here who took the  initiative and thank God for the library system.   Today I have six grandkids and two of them that  are they're 13 and 11 and they love to go to the   library. My wife tells me that when she takes the  two grandkids to the library and if they have a   friend or somebody that ran along, these two kids  are like the ambassadors for the library. They   show them everything in the library cuz they're  they're so pleased with the new new library.   That's my library story. Hello, my name is Tara  Trager. I'm 16 years old. It's going to be my   fourth year on the teen advisory board this fall  and it's my second summer volunteering for the   summer reading program. Being at the library makes  me happy. It gives me a sense of community. I   love that I get to meet teens from all around the  Witchaw area, not just the ones in my school and   in my neighborhood. The library staff are always  welcoming and it gives me a sense of community.   I'm so thankful that the Witchaw Library has given  me the and so many other teams the opportunity to   find my place in the Witchaw community. My name  is Monique Garcia. I'm a lifelong Witchin and   uh just super excited to share about my uh story  about Witchaw Public Library. My grandma Connie   Lopez in 1963 started Connie Mexico which is just  around the corner from Evergreen Public Library.   I'm really excited to share that my mom is a  um you know just a loyal patron of every public   library. She shared a story with me just a few  days ago that she loves to look in the newspaper   uh at the New York Times bestseller list and  then she'll scan through what particular books   she might be interested in and then she  will come here to the library and seek   um help from the library staff uh to about  the the large print books to so she can   uh read some of the New York Time bestsellers  but large print. My mom always tells me how   welcoming the staff are, especially Karina  and the entire team at Evergreen. That warm,   consistent presence makes the library feel like  a second home. Evergreen is personal. My sisters   Carmen and Nadell, who now run Conniey's Mexico  Cafe, are featured in beautiful mural on the east   wall of the Evergreen branch, which celebrates  many other local community trailblazers.   I have a tremendous amount of respect for the  Witchaw Public Library for uh truly bringing   accessibility to the forefront for for all folks  um regardless of socioeconomic status um because   it's really important to um recognize that not  everybody has Wi-Fi access, not everybody has a   smartphone that has those features. And so when  you have when, you know, thanks to the Witchto   Public Library and the investments that are made  just around the corner, there's a Wi-Fi bench   uh where folks can, you know, have access to that  and you don't have to have a library card. I mean,   there's the low barriers are important because  it really encourages everybody to access that.   It's a welcoming space. It's a safe space. And I  just can't say enough about um how grateful I am   to have such a treasure um library system in our  community. I'm Ryan. I am 16 years old and I have   always loved volunteering at the library and in  my community. There's always such a good community   and vibe and there's always a project to do. feel  that the library is such an important space for   teens because being able to have knowledge and  stories as they begin to enter adulthood can make   them really wellrounded. I'm so glad I've gotten  material in the library for so long and I can't   wait to keep up with these experiences. Can you  guys tell me your names again? And I'm telling   about your favorite time of the library. What's  the number one thing that sticks out to you?   My favorite time at the library was about reading  books, making your adventures come. Story time   was my number one favorite of my mom cuz we  that was a time that we got to sleep together,   have fun together, read books together, just it  was so fun. So we started with few books and that   created a passion like she took up the challenge  of reading thousand books in my garden. So she was   so passionate to do that and every day was like  it was a mission. So she's like okay mom we have   to even if we are tired let's say we do one book  but then it was like a special bond a special time   we had where we would read three books of poems  every night and that was a fantastic time that we   spend together and what I also realized that her  vocabulary increased tremendous like her language   skills her communication skills were amazing um a  lot of times she would um read the words and she   would like ask new mom what does that mean so new  words which could be always invisible so we really   enjoyed that time with reading books. How do you  feel when you learn something new in a book? I   feel so proud. Nice. How do you feel whenever you  got a prize for your reading? I felt so excited   that I just wanted to scream. It's okay to do it  on the screen. We don't shush you in the lab here. Thank you. And thank you for your patience  while I pulled that up. Um, in summary,   I wanted just to share a little bit of data about  some things that happened over the course of the   summer. We have a sevenperson youth services  team who planned and executed our entire summer   reading program. They removed some registration  barriers and we were able to experience 6,626   young people who came to pick up a reading log.  4,447 set personal reading goals and close to   4,000 met those goals. So we had an 88 and  a half% completion rate which really shows   that participant designed service works. We know  summer is a critical time for youth and it's also   when reading loss and risky behavior spikes.  This summer we had 794 teen finishers at our   summer reading program as well. We expanded access  in our book bus to have a mobile access and that   reached 650 children who might not otherwise have  been able to participate. It's a real high impact,   low barrier model and quite scalable. But really  most exciting to me was that we partnered with the   United Way for a new summer literacy league  program where 35 young readers received 162   one-on-one reading sessions with volunteers over  a course of eight weeks. 50% of their parents saw   improved reading confidence as the end of that  program. and 100% said that their child is asking   to come to the library more, which we love. So,  your library did all of this with a small team,   a tight program budget fueled by philanthropy.  And the summer alone, nearly 4,000 young readers,   met a personal goal, and we engaged 6,500  community members um through our programming   and nearly 5,000 minutes of targeted literacy  practice was. So, one one last thought before   we get to our Friday afternoon. Um, part of the  complexity of library work is that we we operate   on a micro level, on the onetoone, but we're  continually designing services and systems that   can be scaled and impactful at a macro level. We  don't do it alone. We have strategic partners,   dedicated staff, and dedicated city leaders  like yourself. And as we continue this work,   we ask you to imagine what more impact can your  Witchah Public Library make with your shared   vision. We're really excited about our future  because we're not just moving books, we're moving   people forward. And I thank you for your time and  your continued support for Witchah Public Library. Do you have any questions, Jamie? I just  have a few comments if that's okay. Um,   thank you for sharing your own personal story  and that took a lot of bravery, but you know,   um, I used to be a counselor social and worked  a lot with social workers. Social workers say   that stories are data with soul. And so when  we hear stories oftentimes some people make   decisions with their head, some with their  hearts and hearing stories such as your own,   you know, really just gives it a different  context. So that thank you for that. But then   also thank you for all you and your team  does. Um, I know I say it all the time,   the importance of third grade reading level. Jeff  Turner again, you know, shared his personal story   and I'll reach out to him and thank him for  that. But it really does matter when 18% of our   community is functionally illiterate, right? And  and that means it it hampers their ability to get   a better job, to provide for their families, to  use transit, also to help break the the cycle of   illiteracy. they're not as able to help their own  children or family members. So, what you're doing   truly will impact generations to come. So, thank  you. Thank you. Have a great weekend. Thanks,   Jamie. Thank you, Bob. Any comments, council  members? I will be not present at the meeting,   but I will be trying to tune in when I can. I  will promise to keep the questions to a minimum.   Um, we'll see if that speeds up the meeting by  a half an hour or so, but um, I I do plan on   when I am available calling into the meeting  and still trying to attend as best as I can.   We're going to pass a bunch of stuff in District  Three on Tuesday. I I I can feel that coming. Thank you very much. Have a nice weekend.