Heat. Hey Heat. Good morning, Witchah, and good  morning to all of you. Thank you for   joining us for this week's city council  meeting. I call this meeting to order.   With us this morning is Pastor Karen  Smith of Bethl Life Center to provide   our invocation. Following that invocation,  we will have the pledge of allegiance. Good morning. As the mayor said, my name is  Karen Smith of Bethl Life Center and I'm also   the Hope Witchah board member. Will you bow  your head with me, please? Oh heavenly father,   I come to you with a grateful heart. Thank you for  Mayor Woo and her passion for this city. Thank you   for each council person here, God. And what you've  called them to do representing their district.   May you guide and direct their thoughts, their  actions, their words, and their steps. Thank you   for the privilege to live in a city where freedom  abounds. Thank you for the country we live in and   the rights and privileges we have as Americans.  It is in your precious name I pray. Amen. To the flag of the United States  of America and to the stands,   one nation under God, indivisible,  with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Pastor Smith. Today also happens to be Lunar New Year for our  Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean communities. So,   and fat. Madame clerk, can you please call the  first item? Approve the minutes of the regular   meeting February 10th, 2026. Council members, are  there any items to be corrected from the minutes?   I see none. I move to approve the minutes for  the regular meeting February 10th, 2026. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Awards and proclamations.   Today's proclamation is the Witchaw  African-American Council of Elders Day. Can I please ask the Council of Elders and  its supporters to come forward at this time? Good to see you. The proclamation reads, "The city  of Witchah, Kansas, founded in 1870. Whereas the   Witchah Black Council of Elders has long served  as a trusted and respected voice of wisdom,   leadership, and advocacy within the Witchah  community, drawing upon generations of lived   experience to uplift, guide, and strengthen  our city. Whereas the council has demonstrated   a steadfast commitment to preserving history,  promoting civic engagement and advancing equity,   justice, and opportunity for black  residents and for all members of   the community. Whereas through mentorship,  collaboration, and principled leadership,   the Witchah Black Council of Elders has worked  to bridge generations, foster understanding,   and encourage thoughtful dialogue on  issues affecting families, neighborhoods,   and institutions, leaving a lasting and positive  impact on civic life and community well-being.   Whereas the council's service reflects a  deep dedication to community empowerment,   cultural pride, and the belief that collective  wisdom and shared responsibility are essential   to building a stronger, more inclusive Witchah,  inspiring future leaders to serve with integrity,   compassion, and purpose. Now therefore, be it  resolved that the Witchah City Council does   hereby proclaim Tuesday, February 17, 2026 as  Witchah AfricanAmerican Council of Elders Day. Greetings and thank you. My name is Michelle  Armster and I am the presiding elder for the   Witchah AfricanAmerican Council of Elders.  I first would like to acknowledge our elder   that is with us here today, Queen Mother  uh Geneva Holloway, who where is she? Yeah,   it's where she she celebrated her 90th  birthday this this this weekend Sunday. So,   we are blessed to continue to have her in our our  midst and continue to benefit from her wisdom. and   want to thank uh thank you to the Witchah Council  of for the Witchah City Council for this esteemed   proclamation honoring the Witchah AfricanAmerican  Council of Elders. The Council of Elders was   established in 2001 and our council emerged from a  shared vision to uplift, strengthen, and unify our   community with through the wisdom and guidance  of our elders. Over the years, we have worked   tirelessly to preserve our collective history,  provide mentorship to youth and adults, and serve   as a source of values and principled compass for  our communities growth and sustainability. This   recognition affirms the importance of our mission  and inspires us to continue fostering unity,   self-determination, and the strength of our  heritage. Recognizing the present uh political   climate of anti-blackness. And as we look forward  to the future, we embrace a vision that inspires   intergenerational collaboration through  learning events, shared dialogue, roundts,   and other creative endeavors that connect wisdom  with innovation. We remain committed to lifting   up both the challenges and the opportunities  within the African-American community in Witchah   and Sedick County. Working together to cultivate  resilience, expand possibilities, and nurture the   leadership that will guide generations to come.  We believe that when elders are heard, communities   are strengthened, when history is remembered,  futures are protected, and when we stand together,   hope becomes action. On behalf of the Council of  Elders, we humbly accept the this honor and remain   steadfast in our commitment to the people  of the city of Witchah and Cedric County.   May our collective work continue to reflect  the resilience of our past, the promise of   our present, and the pol possibilities of a  brighter, more unified tomorrow. Thank you. Madame clerk, please call the next item.  Public agenda. We now come to the public   agenda. The public agenda allows for up to  five speakers to have five minutes each to   address the council. Please bear in mind that  this is not a period of dialogue with council   or a question and answer period. This is your  opportunity to address the council with your   concerns. I ask that you address your remarks  for the city council as a body and not to any   individual council member. No action will be  taken relative to items on public agenda other   than referral to the city manager for  information as necessary. Speakers will   please speak into the microphone. Please state  their name and address for the record. A time   clock will display the speaker's remaining  time to speak. Order and rules of decorum   will be observed. The first speaker is Derek  Carlton Jackson Bay. Correction to the record. First of all, I'd like to say thank you for  the opportunity to be here. Thank you for   the the gracious prayer this morning and  of the the pledge that we was taken. My   favorite part is to the republic. I'm  not political, but I am a Republican.   The purpose of me being here today, Derek  Carlton, Jackson Bay, you can find me at   2658 East A Street. We call it Mom's, which  stands for Moors of Mariah Sanctum, MOS. The purpose of coming here to see if we can  I can get some relief for grievous situation   I've been dealing with for quite some time  going on 14 years with my wife Karen Jackson.   we may be getting ready to come to uh some kind  of agreement. Um, but until then, I want to say   that I am a minister and I'm going to have to  petition the Witchaw members of Moors um to help   me with some financial situations because giving  yourself unto the most high is it's a noble and   honorable thing to do for all ministers, but we  don't actually make no money, you know, we don't   have that. So, being able to petition some people  until the um grievance is answered, I'm going to   have to do that and maybe through cash app. I'd  like to save my property, which is the sanctum   for my grandchildren and for the people that come  there to get understanding about the moors. We   mainly focus on that part. And what we teach is  just the records of the future. I mean, excuse me,   of our past. We search the records of the past.  But the purpose I'm here is today I want to talk   about Donald Trump. This message is for Donald  Trump, a man whom I admire greatly. But I'm going   to talk about another admirer, Ronald Reagan. And  he came with the American Heart Month in 1983. and   me being myself, a person who had a stroke and one  of the um people that's working with me on this   situation had a heart attack and as I expressed  to him that you know I like to bring this to a   close enjoy the rest of my life with my grandkids  if possible and with that being said the right to   bring before the government and address of your  grievances as dear cult it's not hard to find   me on the internet seeking to get some justice for  my wife Karen Lynn Jackson. I believe the attorney   is working for my wife's children will do a great  job if we presented with the opportunity for that   trial and I'll do my part in righteousness.  Um, but I do want to reflect on it. 1981,   February the 3rd, 19, excuse me, 83, the American  Heart Month. This was done in by Ronald Reagan   which I really admire him and his wife and um what  I want to just also say is in the same year 1983   it was the year of the Bible. So being the year of  the Bible I would like to say I am a believer of   inheritance. I want my inheritance. I appreciate  my inheritance. I hope to pass inheritance down   to my children. I thank you for your time. Again,  when you're looking at the clock, you start trying   to remember what is the main parts. But I would  like my issues with the city of Witchah, City of   Witchah Police Department solve resolved so we can  move on. I can move on. My grandchildren have um some things resolved with their life. I thank  you for your time. also choose to say um sanctum exemption from levy. I would like my my freedom of  speech rights. I would like my freedom of religion   rights. That's all I have to say really. That's  all I want to say. Hopefully the grievous will be   um settled and I thank you mayor. Thank you  for your time. Thank you other members of   the city council. I do not normally say  I'm a citizen because being what I am,   I know I study a lot of dictionaries, a lot of  um material and certain things I say out of my   mouth. I want to be correct and not fraudulent  in any way. Again, I thank you for this time,   this opportunity. Derek Carlton, Jackson  Bay, 2658 East A Street. I was born here,   born in Cedric County. So, I thank  you for your time and have a good day. Thank you, Derek. Madame Clerk,   please call the next individual. David  Bradock. Non-discrimination followup. Good morning, Mayor Woo, and members of council.  Welcome to our city manager. We're glad to have   you here. For those of you who don't know who  I am, my name is David Bradock. I'm a resident   of Maggie Ballard's district and my address  is definitely on file. I'm actually here as a   followup to my discussion December 15th, actually  16th, regarding the apparent failure of the   non-discrimination ordinance. I actually waited a  few weeks to actually let our new city manager get   in place because this directly involves a direct  subordinate of hers, one of which you rely on her   counsel at all times. During my last meeting,  as a follow-up, I requested that you probably   need outside counsel as an assistance to review  this matter because it's directly related to the   director of law's performance. As you may recall,  I had to file Freedom Information Act to learn   that the measurable success rate of the program.  When I got that data, there was zero positive   outcome. I'm hoping that those results have  since changed since those findings were taken.   The core problem of the ordinance is actually  structural. Under the ordinance, the director   of law wears multiple conflicting hats. She acts  as the police officer taking the report. The   district attorney deciding what cases are actually  prosecuted. She then actually hires the judge if   she doesn't do it herself if mediation fails.  Remember, this is all designed to get things   to mediation, not to binding arbitration. No one  can really simultaneously act as the investigator,   prosecutor, judge and dis resolve a dispute  between parties. It's just undoable. That's   why we have separation of powers in this country.  In my case, it was quite unusual. I was the first   case to go through the arbitration process and  it was actually a religious discrimination case.   Even more interesting, 10 minutes before the event  actually was filed under the case, Walgreens Boot   Alliance knew I was about to file and admitted  full guilt and withdrew all of their concerns,   which is part of my case. So, I went to the  case with a complaint with the opposing party   fully admitting everything they did was wrong.  It was an unusual case. Most interesting about   the procedure is the director of law has to get  voluntary participation against the plaintiff   to participate. So, she has no way to force  them into participation. That's actually what   happened with Walgreens. She filed a request to  actually hear the case. Walgreens simply didn't   pay any attention to a letter from a lawyer  from a small town in Kansas. I clearly stated   that would definitely probably happen. She then  actually did, I think, after getting a bit upset,   convince them to participate, but didn't  quite explain the ordinance itself and why   I chose to use this particular ordinance.  If you've read the ordinance recently,   you realize the main clause is not monetary  compensation. It's actually re-education. And   since this is a religious case, my case was quite  interesting because quite often into mediation,   the immediate response was, how much do you need  to get this case to go away? And I responded,   I filed this here because this is an re-education  issue. And my proposal was to have all of the   leadership read the four books of the gospel in  the book of Romans. That didn't go over too well.   My next response was once again, well,  how much do you want? My response was,   I don't think she tithed the CEO on how much she  made. And I don't want that money because it was   an offense against me. It was offense against  my God. So, how about she donate to a church or   charity of my choosing. They didn't like that one  either. Mediation did crumble shortly thereafter.   So, we have to understand it's a systematic  failure of the process. As indicated previously   to communications to Maggie Ballard, I'm planning  to file a removal of our law offic's bar license   by filing a complaint because of the data dump  that was given to me after my case. When the data   was reviewed, it was never clear what hat she  was wearing when she was having communications   with opposing council. if she's wearing the  judge hat was clearly exparte communications   which are ethics issue. Ethics issues with the  bar never expire. I don't want to file a case   against her. I don't want her to lose her job,  but she's been put in an untenable situation   by the former mayor and the city council to do  a law that she simply cannot do. If the mayor   will simply commit to getting the statistics  of proving me wrong of the success or failure,   I'll be glad to walk away. That's what  I'm really looking for. Prove me wrong. Thank you. Thank you, David. Madame clerk, can  you please call the next individual?   We don't have any other individuals  signed up. Mayor, we have space for   three individuals to address the council.  Please state your name and your address. Lavant Williams. Good morning, Mayor and Council.  Again, thank you so much for the proclamation.   I would just like to take this opportunity to  recognize a person that we lost today and that   is Reverend Jesse Jackson. Reverend Jesse Jackson  was a huge civil rights organizer and generator   during his time. He spent the majority of his life  championing civil rights. He emerged as one of   America's most prominent civil rights activists  and a tireless champion for social justice.   Reverend Jackson fought not for one particular  race. He fought for all people and for that we   should be appreciative today. So I just wanted to  take this opportunity to help people to understand   who he was, what he did, and how important  his life was to all of us. Uh at one point,   uh Reverend Jackson did come to Witchah,  Kansas, and that was during some turmoil   that we were having with one of our aircraft.  He settled and helped with that in a very   um calm and peaceful way. And so that was the  way he led his life, peaceful civil rights. And   I want to thank him today. And again, council,  as you move forward looking at the 1% sales tax,   remember the elders, remember the seniors  of our community. Thank you so much. We have room for two more  individuals. Thank you, Lavant. That was news to me. So, thank you. Good  morning, Mayor Woo and council members.   My name is Allison Fleming and I serve on  the board of the Sunflower Land Trust. Our   organization owns and stewards 27 acres directly  adjacent to the West 21st Street expansion.   located at 12630 West 21st Street. Crucially,  this property spans both sides of the Cowskin   Creek and is a vital part of the District 5  landscape. We recognize that as Witchah grows,   our transportation needs evolve. We are  in support of making this road safer.   However, we are here to ensure that specific due  diligence measures are incorporated into the final   construction plans. Our primary concerns  focus on controlling road surface runoff,   preventing private well contamination,  and ensuring pedestrian and public safety.   for example, providing appropriate lighting and  deer signage. Because the engineering requirements   for protecting this watershed are complex, it is  difficult to address in a short time. Therefore,   I have provided the clerk with a technical  attachment that outlines our specific concerns. Having walked the path myself,  um I did not feel safe. So again,   the trust does support uh making  this road safer for pedestrians. Thank you, Mayor Woo and council for your time. Thank you, Allison. We have  space for one more individual. I see none. Now, we'll bring it to the  bench. Council member Johnston. Thank you,   Mayor. uh regards the request on 21st Street,  there will be ample time to uh for open houses   and things like that. Also, our district advisory  board, they'll present it and uh you have plenty   of input on it. So, I share your concerns and I'm  I'm sure they will be addressed. So, thank you. Madame Clerk, please call the next item. Consent  agenda items 1 through 25. Council members,   are there any items from consent  to be pulled? I see none. I move   to approve consent agenda items 1-  25. Second. Motion and a second.   Any further discussion? I see none.  Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Quarterly financial reports for the  period ended December 31st, 2025. Good morning, mayor, members of the city council.  I'm Mark Manning with the Department of Finance.   Uh, today I want to present to you the fourth  quarter of 2025 financial report. Now, the fourth   quarter report is probably the most important  quarterly report that we present to you. And so,   I'll probably take a little extra time today to  go over some additional topics that we ordinarily   wouldn't talk about. Uh, and this presentation  also leads into our budget development phase,   which as you know is coming up. Uh so I'll  morph the discussion a little bit into what   our forecasts look like and uh what we can learn  from our performance this year and how that might   uh impact the upcoming budget situation  that uh that we're faced with. And finally,   uh we typically don't talk about this  topic, but I thought it might be appropriate   uh today to provide an update on star bonds.  I know we've had a lot of discussion about   that in the past. Uh so I wanted to uh  provide some information about that today. So, as I noted, the financial report reports  unodudited financial activity in this case   through December 31st of 2025. Uh, in other words,  our final numbers may be a little bit different,   but material that will be very similar to what is  in your quarterly report today. Uh, we're going   to use this to compare how we performed to how we  thought we were going to perform, which is to say   our budget for 2025. And again, I'll spend most of  my time today using that information to provide a   context for the upcoming budget development,  particularly the 2027 budget. So, last year,   we had very good performance in the general fund.  Uh I sound like a broken record, or at least I   feel like a broken record in a lot of stuff that  I tell you because we've talked about pretty much   the exact same themes uh for several quarterly  reports. Uh really the difference is just the   magnitude of those themes and the timing of those  themes. Uh but we did perform very well last year.   Uh we had some final year-end adjustments that  occurred after December that all broke into our   favor and some of our revenue streams that we've  been concerned about also generally broke uh to   our favor. Uh so that uh that's what I'll talk  about here in a couple minutes. Uh we talked about   franchise fees a lot. They're weather dependent.  They actually did fairly well last year. A little   bit better than we expected. Sales tax actually  performed better last year than we expected. Not   a lot, but a little bit. We had kind of, you know,  generally had a a assumption of a little bit of   a slowdown in Q4. This is back when we developed  our estimates about a year ago. And to to to date,   uh, sales tax continues to be very strong.  Interest earnings is probably the largest story.   The fundamental outlook is unchanged. Interest  earnings will decline at some point in the future.   The challenge we have is we don't know when that  point is. And based on Federal Reserve action,   that point keeps getting pushed out further and  further. That is very very beneficial to the city   because it means we can maximize our interest  earnings. However, it doesn't doesn't change   the long-term forecast in which we expect interest  earnings to decline, which is one reason we think   we have challenges going ahead. Expenditures did  grow considerably last year, about approximately   $20 million. Uh most of that is due to wages.  Wages are 75% of our general fund as you know.   Most of those wages are in the public safety area.  That's where we're getting most of our expenditure   pressure. Uh so that that was primarily the reason  why our expenditure growth was significant. So   this slide kind of shows you what guidance we had  provided to you in the past in previous quarterly   reports and what actually happened. We expected  property tax revenues to continue to be strong.   Uh we were correct, but they were actually even  a little bit better than what we thought. That's   primarily due to an adjustment that we made  in January based on information from Seduit   County. They always give us final current year  collection data and we acrew that back to 2025   and that broke to our benefit in early January.  I mentioned sales tax. Sales tax was a little bit   better than we expected. Nowhere near the years  that we had several years ago when we were having   10% sales tax growth, but sales tax growth was  very good last year. Interest earnings, again,   I'll show you a slide here in a second that shows  you the magnitude. Uh there were three rate cuts   in 2025, September, October, and December. At  one point, we were expecting five beginning as   early as January of this year. Uh so that is a  huge help to our interest earnings. Charges for   services were down a little bit. That's based on  activity levels and typically it's offset a little   bit by lower expenditures. So, we're not too  concerned there. But generally everything else,   and I just lump everything else into one category.  That all performed pretty much as we expected. And   this chart kind of shows you what I talked about a  little bit better. I point out the the yellow bar   on property taxes and the yellow bar on interest  earnings. Those are the two areas where the yellow   bar is materially higher than the uh than the  light blue bar uh which shows you that we're   uh we're experiencing increases in those areas. So  what do we expect on the expenditure side? Well,   we expected personal services or salaries and  wage growth uh primarily for two reasons. Uh we   knew that our wage rates were going up based  on contracts that have been approved and we   also anticipated increased success in filling  vacancies. I think I talked about that during   the third quarter report. Uh that is pretty  much uh not a problem in public safety but it   continues to be a challenge for us particularly in  public works and park. So that typically results   in underexpendures on wages. Again that's not  something that we plan for. It's not something   we necessarily want to occur, but it's a part  of the dynamic in uh employee turnover and in   challenges filling positions in some of those  areas. We told you in the third quarter that we   expected jail fees to increase considerably and  that actually was accurate. Jail fees are about   $2 million higher than what we have spent in prior  years. Uh we provided guidance that we expected   the general fund to be balanced and that if we had  excess earnings based on city council policy 40,   we would initiate transfers to the reserve. And  that's exactly what happened, which I'll show you   here in just a second. We'll talk about that in a  little bit more detail. So this shows you public   safety and all other expenditures. You can see the  growth in public safety uh there was approximately   what 14 15 million. Again, that's where most of  our growth occurs. You can see everything else is   up about $45 million. Look to the far right, the  little yellow bar there, that's $6.8 million. Uh   I'm going to go into detail on that, but that  is the effect of the property tax collections   acrual and a few other things that really  boosted our final year-end numbers last year.   So, in accordance with city council policy,  uh we did run a surplus in the general fund   of about 2 million and that puts the balance at  15% which again is in in accordance with your city   council policy number 40. And again, consistent  with that policy, uh we transferred the excess   above a 15% balance into the permanent  reserve or the stabilization reserve.   So this is probably one of the most illustrative  slides I think so that I can explain our situation   to you last year and what occurred. Again I  told you we had a very good year and these   are generally the reasons why. Now the takeaway  to me is in the comments field. Most of these we   do not expect to be recurring items. There were  a lot of one-time things that broke in our favor.   Interest earnings was considerably higher than  what we expected. Now I will tell you that we   would expect interest earnings to be higher than  what we had budgeted in the future because we were   pretty conservative in our budget. Uh but I don't  know that they'll continue at the current level   in which we are earning interest. Uh property tax  collections again that's current year collections   that tends to fluctuate a lot on an annual  basis. We've been fortunate in that current   year collections have been pretty attractive  for the last couple years and we're certainly   appreciative of that that people are paying their  taxes on time, but that doesn't always occur. Uh   unfortunately, we canceled a lot of prior year  incumbrances. We do that every year, but we had   an abnormally large amount last year, half a  million dollars. Again, that is not something   that typically happens. Uh we took a real very  close scrub on our prior year incumbrances.   These are commitments that we made maybe a year or  two or three ago. We had a contractual obligation.   We don't always spend the total amount that we  obligate for a variety of reasons. Uh so we go in   and scrub those and we basically liquidate those  and collapse that revenue back into the general   fund if we don't need it. And that's what occurred  there. And that was about a half a million dollars   uh that we picked up there. And again, we're  going to do that in January after the year end   close. We also did something we don't usually do.  We canled a current year incumbrance for about 1.2   2 million that seldom occurs. Uh that was a  benefit to the general fund. Uh that was primarily   in the the area of curb cuts. We encumber a lot  of money for curb cuts and those that activity   level just did not materialize. Uh so we canceled  that incumbrance and generated approximately 1.2   million for the general fund. We have $700,000  budgeted annually in the adopted budget for   contingencies. That's for fuel and that's for  snow removal. And we've had that in the budget for   several years. Again, when I present third quarter  report, uh I'm not a meteorologist, so we were a   little skeptical what the weather might bring for  us in December. Uh so we anticipated that we would   use that. Turned out we did not need to uh tap  into that contingency. So that helped us on the   uh revenue side. And then finally, all the  other adjustments are just a a conglomeration   of of thousands of different adjustments.  So that's how we got to approximately $ 8.8   million to the good in the general fund. Again,  we kept two million of that in the general fund   consistent with your policy and the rest of it  we moved to the permanent reserve. Uh again,   or the stabilization reserve again consistent with  your policy. Again, to be redundant takeaway is I   don't know that all these are going to occur in  the future. So, I would not expect that level of   performance in the future. Let's look at our  reserve levels. Uh that's very important. Uh   this shows you our general fund reserve. shows you  we ended the we we will end the year approximately   $51 million in the general fund. That again is 15%  again which is consistent with our policy. Let's   look at the stabilization reserve. Stabilization  reserve will have about $44 million uh give or   take. I use round numbers uh at the end of the  year. And again that was not expected. We did not   expect to transfer that much in uh but it's due to  all the activity that occurred at the end of the   year. Uh so that's a good thing. Uh we built that  reserve and I'll talk about some of the potential   uses for that reserve here in just a minute. So  let's talk about city council policy 30. I think   this was adopted in 2023 if I remember correctly.  Uh that count that policy has several objectives.   One is to demonstrate financial strength to  our rating agencies which is very important.   uh that helps us when we borrow money and we're  a fairly significant borrower and that's one   reason perhaps I would speculate that we have  a AAA rating but reserves are also possible   are important for another lot of other reasons  they provide funds for cash flow for us they   provide funds for unexpected emergencies and they  also help us smooth service delivery if we have   uh significant swings in our revenues uh I hate  to bring it up but think about the pandemic uh   our revenues cratered to about $1 million that  year, 2000 and 2001, and we were extraordinarily   fortunate and that the f federal government  passed the uh CARES Act, which uh gave us   about $12 million, but had it not been for that,  that would have been a time when we likely would   have significantly used our reserves to try to  maintain service levels to some degree. Again,   we did not have to do that. But that's a good  example of why reserves are very important to us.   So maybe at some point it might be appropriate  to talk about reserve policies. Uh so I just   uh provide this information to you. Again, this  may be a topic for us during budget development.   Uh GFOA guidance which is our professional  organization would tell you about a two-month   reserve is probably a good standard. That's about  17%. Our rating agencies, they have matrix which   is they matrixes which they use for rating. Now  ratings are very complicated and I'm telling   you about one small piece of the entire rating  methodology but reserves are very important to   them and for AAA status generally they'd like to  see somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 30%. Uh   so those are maybe two metrics for consideration.  Uh guidance on reserves as I mentioned reserves   are much better suited for one-time purposes  or for planned purposes. Uh unpredicted use   of reserves or use of reserves for ongoing  forever expenditures. Neither of those are are   best practices and those are things we would not  recommend. And again you'll note that our policy   is designed more around bullet number one and  not bullet number two. And that's the reason why   We've mentioned the investment policy briefly in  the past and given the importance of investment   earnings to our general fund portfolio,  I want to touch on it a little bit. Our   investment policy is dictated by state statute.  Now, there's some flexibility there, but it is   fundamentally dictated by the state of Kansas.  And I would emphasize that earnings is not,   repeat, not our number one priority. It's our  third priority. Safety of principle is priority   number one. Liquidity is priority number two.  and only after those two objectives are satisfied   do we focus on earnings. But having said that,  there is some flexibility within the statutory   framework in which we could consider amending our  investment policy. Now, every time you do that,   you're trading off perhaps a little bit increase  in risk for increased earnings. And again,   we may come back to you at this at some  point, but I just wanted to throw it out   there today. Some of the things we might look  at is extending the duration of our portfolio.   Duration means how long out we invest. Well,  when rates are declining, it's typically better   to invest longer term uh so that we can lock  in rates today. So, that might be something we   might want to look at. Uh derivatives, I know,  is a really bad word and believe me, we're not   going to get into exotic derivatives. Uh but we  buy bonds that are callable occasionally and we   have some very tight restrictions there. might  be some flexibility there to loosen up our our uh   restrictions on the amount of callable bonds that  we purchase. And again, we would generate a little   bit extra yield by doing that. And finally, to get  really into the weeds, and I apologize for that,   we are allowed to purchase government secured  entities. That's Fanny May, Freddy Mack, names   like that that you've probably heard of, but we're  pretty conservative on the ones we invest in. And   there's a few others that we typically have not  invested in, but would be allowed by policy at the   state. and uh that we might be able to generate  a little extra yield there. So, just put that   in the in your back pocket of things maybe to  think about at some point in the future if we   uh present to you some uh considerations on our  investment policy. And again, I can't emphasize   enough any adjustments to the policy would  likely be a balance of earnings and risk. So,   we'd want to be very careful on not only what we  proposed, but what we sought approval for. So,   let me flip back into the quarterly report. I want  to touch on a few other funds just very briefly.   Uh I won't go into detail on the tiffs except to  point out two that are performing very well which   is to say the increments considerably exceeded  our expectations last year and that's the West   Bank tiff uh and that's the center city tiff.  Those increments were both significantly higher   than what we expected which is a really good  thing. We talked about water revenue in the   third quarter and the impact of the drought and  how that was depressing revenues. Uh fortunately   uh revenues generally have recovered. I think  they were relatively flat to with last year,   but that's actually a good thing considering that  we had the drought uh during the summer and the   impact that the drought had on water revenues.  Uh golf probably one of my favorite funds to talk   about. Golf had an extraordinary year. Again,  again, I know I sound like a broken record,   but golf uh probably will transfer a million  dollars into their capital improvement fund. I   think last year we transferred 600,000 or so. Uh,  but it's just phenomenal. It's just impressive. I   can't say the other word very well. It's just  impressive the performance that we've gotten   from our our golf fund and our golf leadership.  Now, this is important. As you know, we approved   the irrigation investment a couple years ago,  and I would probably argue that some of this   is due to that investment because it improved the  quality of our courses. Uh, but this will let us,   and I I think Jesse has we've talked to him  about this. This will allow us to pay a little   bit more cash down on some of those projects to  reduce the golf debt even more than what we had   initially planned. So, it's all very good in the  golf world and we're very appreciative for that.   Landfell had a strong year. Revenue was up about  a million dollars. Uh, which is a little unusual,   but that's good, too. We'll take that. Uh, debt.  I show you this slide every time. Uh, the message   is pretty much exactly the same. Yes, our debt  is growing. It's growing primarily on the water   utility side. uh which shouldn't be a surprise  to anyone. Our general obligation at large debts   about $68 million or so and that's about 4% of our  total debt level. So let's talk about how all this   information that I gave you might be of use to  you as we develop the 2027 budget. So to do that,   the first place I need to go is to what our  current financial plan is for the upcoming years.   Uh so what I'm providing you here is our current  approved adopted financial plan which dates back   to August of last year. So take that under  consideration. It's obviously going to change   materially because that was what eight months ago,  seven months ago, but this is the basis for which   we will have our discussions. And as we've talked  a lot, we do forecast deficits in 28 and 29. And   again, fundamentally that's due to two reasons.  We expect a significant decline in interest   earnings at some point and we expect continual  upward pressure on our wages. Fundamentally,   that's why we have challenges in the future. So,  let's take the results that I gave you and give   you some very preliminary guidance on things  that we might expect to happen. And we'll give   you a lot more detail on this. I can't remember  whether our financial uh forecast workshop is in   February or March, but whenever that occurs, we'll  provide you a much more detailed outlook on this,   but if I could give you a few teasers on things  that you might see in that uh workshop with a   lot more specificity. I'll mention a few interest  earnings again, we think we'll decline, but the   key is we don't think they will decline as much  as we had budgeted in 2026 and maybe even 2027.   So, we think there's probably going to be room to  increase again interest earnings. We've done that   for several years now. And again, to be a broken  record, it's because we know the decline is going   to occur. We just don't know when. Uh sales tax  will likely will likely revise up there a little   bit. We had another good strong year and we were  pretty conservative in our assumptions there. So,   likely we'll pick up some revenue there. Uh I  don't like to align dollars to this because that's   not really fair at this point. Uh but just to give  you a little magnitude, interest earnings maybe a   couple million dollars. Sales tax may be a million  dollars. So maybe we might pick up two or three   million dollars there in those areas perhaps.  Now some of the negatives I mentioned jail fees,   $2 million higher. We don't expect that to decline  in the future. So that's an area that we're going   to have extended expenditure pressure. And  again, that number is about $2 million. Uh,   as you know, we approved a wage agreement uh late  last year, and that agreement had wage rates that   were higher than what we included in the adopted  budget. So, that's going to increase pressure on   the general fund as we do our revised forecast.  And if I remember the agenda report correctly,   I think the number was approximately $2  million in that agenda report. So, again,   ultra high level. Some things are breaking to  the good, some things are breaking to the bad.   We'll give you a much more detailed forecast  here uh in a few weeks. Let's look out even a   little bit longer term. Again, our challenge is  public safety cost. Uh those uh operating costs   are where most of our growth occurs. Uh and so we  probably will likely have some pressures there,   particularly as we try to absorb some of the  capital improvement projects that are planned   in the future and the operating costs  associated with those projects. We have   two contracts that will be negotiated in 2027.  Again, how those wage rates fall out is going to   have a significant impact on what our long-term  forecast for the general fund is. Group health,   we've had a lot of success in group health in the  last few years. We've kept rates very, very low,   but we're starting to see some pressure on the  expenditure side on group health. It's way too   early to make any conclusions on that. And as  you know, looking at group health is one of our   uh items included in our strategic plan and we're  aggressively looking at options on group health.   Uh but I would just note here that we're going to  be continually concerned about group health and   what those increases might look like uh for the  general fund in the future. And the final point I   would make is the last item. Probably the biggest  challenge that we have in providing forecasts for   you is salaries and wages. The challenge is  identifying what positions are going to be   vacated and how soon we're going to fill those  positions. And we make a variety of assumptions   when we do that based on what we see in the past.  And that forms the basis for our budget. Well,   if we assume positions are filled faster than  what they actually are, which as I noted kind   of occurred last year on the non-public safety  side, we underspend and our results are better   than we expected. Of course, the inverse is also  true. If we happen to fill positions a lot faster,   had no turnover, we'd have the other challenge.  We tend to take a risk averse approach. We tend   to be a little on the conservative side about  our assumptions. We base it on activity that's   occurred in the past and what we hope to have  happen. But again, just I point out that's one of   the most challenging estimates that we make. Now,  Elizabeth spends a lot of time developing that   forecast. It's something we take very seriously,  but it's a huge challenge for us to uh to do that.   I want to talk about uh stadium star bonds in  particular. Uh we have we had two star bond   districts. Of course, as you know, we paid off the  K96 and Green Witch Starbond district in March of   last year. So, I won't spend any time on that, but  I want to give you a little bit uh of information   on the stadium star bond project. Uh we typically  don't talk about this and it'll probably be a good   thing that we do. Uh so, I wanted to start with  just a little background. We issued about $42.2   $22 million in stadium star bonds a few years  ago. What I have for you on the left, and I   apologize the font's a little small. I threw this  slide together kind of at the last minute, but   what this shows you is the amortization schedule  for that debt, when we will pay off that debt. I   bolded 2025 because that shows you where we're at  today. We've already paid off about $12 million   of that debt. So, our debt is actually only about  $30 million on the Stadium Star bond. Why is why   did we do that? We have features in our bonds  that we have what we call mandatory redemption   feature which basically requires us to take any  surplus revenue and pay down our debt. Uh now that   that's a good thing. It's a good thing our debt  is lower. It does provide us some challenges on   the liquidity side going forward which you'll see  here in a second. But that's what's required and   so that's what we do. I will tell you a benefit  of that. If you look at the total payments column,   our total payments, I'm going to round and say our  total payments are about three and a half million   dollars a year that we need to make. Well, before  we paid off all that debt, they were about $3.9   million a year. In other words, we're going to  save about $4.3 million in interest based on the   debt that we've already paid down on the stadium  star bonds to date. And I would also tell you,   you can see the amortization schedule. There's  some zeros in 2036 and 2037 and 2020 2035 is a lot   smaller number. That's because of the methodology  our trustee uses to adjust the amortization   schedule when we do make previous payments. But my  takeaway with that would be that we're basically   two and a half years ahead of schedule on paying  off our star bonds. All those are very good   things. Now let me tell you what the challenges  are on star bonds. Uh we have two phases. Phase   one which is on the east side of the river.  That's the existing district that has been there   for quite some time. It's very mature, performs  a pretty reliable and consistent uh increment.   Uh you can see it varies, but it's somewhere  it's north of $2 million a year. Somewhere in   the neighborhood of 2.3 to$2.5 million a year.  That is very strong performance. And again, keep   in mind our bogey is three and a half million. We  need basically $ three and half million dollars a   year to pay debt service, right? So we're going  to generate, let's say, two and a half million   off the uh east bank side phase one. The West Bank  side, which is under development and is growing,   currently generates somewhere in the neighborhood  of a million dollars a year in increment. So if   you add those two together, and again I'm using  round numbers because there's a lot of timing   differences, but generally we're generating two  and a half million plus 1 million is three and a   half million. Our debt service is three and a half  million. And that's why we're in the condition   that we're in today. Now our challenge is phase  one is going to expire on October 31st of 2027.   That's when that starbond portion expires.  So we will lose the increment from phase one   which is the more material increment today. So our  challenge is to develop the increment in phase two   to the degree that it uh can sustain the district  when phase one expires. So is there risk in the   starbond district? I would affirm that yes there  is risk. There's risk in any forecast but there is   a potential risk in the starbond district. uh  and that is that we need phase two to develop   prior to the time that phase one terminates. And  again, that is approximately uh what a little   over a year from now. And again, there's a lot of  timing differences I'm not going into here. So,   I'm giving you the ultra simplistic approach, but  that's our fundamental challenge. And by the way,   I should point out that all the information I  have on this page here is publicly available.   We are required to disclose this based on  our bond covenants and it's all available   at the website that I put there. It's a little  cumbersome to get to. Uh but it is available and   it is all fully disclosed with the exception  of 2025. I have not submitted the report for   the last six months of 2025. Uh so that is not  hasn't been included on Emma yet. But all this   information here is all publicly available. But  fundamentally that's our challenge. That's our   challenge with stadium star bonds. That's why we  have risk. When will phase two fully develop and   uh will it develop in time for us to uh make our  entire debt service payment? I'll point out one   last thing on this slide and then I'll move on.  Star bonds are sort of like tiffs. We typically   expect periods of underperformance, but we have  the ability to recapture any expenditures we   spend early at the tail end of the starbond  period to make the city whole. Obviously,   there's some cash flow challenges there, but as I  pointed out on the prior slide, we're already two   and a half years ahead of schedule. So, there is  seems to be probably not there's probably a high   probability that that district will overproduce  prior to its closure. And so, if there are any   amounts that the city has to provide in the  meantime, it's highly likely that those amounts   will be recovered and the city will be made whole  prior to the termination of the starbond district.   So here's my conclusions and then I'll be happy  to answer any questions. Again, we had a good   year last year. A lot of it was in non-recurring  items. A lot of it occurred past December. Uh but   it is true that we had a very good year last year.  Most funds performed very well last year, which is   very good. Our reserve levels are strong. Uh but  I would tell you that any future use of reserves   should be considered cautiously and should be uh  consistent with our policy direction. And finally,   of course, everything that I'm presenting to you  here today is available uh online as always. Uh   couple more conclusions. This is a little bit  redundant, I guess, but what happened last year,   we don't expect to reoccur, certainly not to the  degree. It's likely that we'll revise some of our   estimates upward, which I noted, but it's likely  that we'll have significant expenditure pressure   as well. uh we may want to consider some policy  considerations later on down the process. Reserve   policy or investment policy may be appropriate  topics at some point in the future. So I apologize   for the length, but I wanted to give you a  little bit of information, more information   than I typically do on some of these topics, and  I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you,   Mark. Questions for staff, beginning with Council  Member Hoheisel. Thank you, Mayor. Um thank you,   Mark. I appreciate that. Going back to um  the star bond, the the ballpark star bond,   do we have any potential shortfalls  written into the budget projections? Now,   we do not. Each year in the budget document, we  do propose and the city council has approved an   appropriation to cover any shortfall and  that's required in our bond covenants,   but we have not used that to date and we do not  have any projection in our model uh to include   any amount that we might use. Okay. And that's  2028 when we might potentially see that happening   when the first Yeah. the east side expires. I'm  always careful about providing guidance, but I   would tell you that our risk is probably going to  increase significantly in 2028 and perhaps 2027,   but more likely in 2028. But again, it all depends  on how much of development occurs and when that   devel development occurs in phase one and it would  just be fourth quarter and 27. We make our large   principal payment in the fourth quarter of 2027.  That's right. Okay. Um, now I know the TIF the TIF   is overperforming. Um, so we just use the tiff  money to pay off the debt from the tiff. Yeah.   Okay. I could have spent a lot of time on the  tiffs and perhaps in some quarterly report I will   if you're interested in that. But fundamentally  what that means is that that's going to increase   the probability that those tiffs continue  to pay their debt service on time and that   uh that that we perform better uh and don't have  to recover all our extra money at the end at the   end of the term. Okay. So none of that none of  that can be earmarked for the star bond. No, no,   that's not not not possible. Okay, I appreciate  that. Um, so the process if we did dip into the   stabilization reserve is that council policy.  Would that take four votes, five votes? Yes,   that's city council policy. I think it just would  take a simple majority. Uh, basically the policy   is written again just to provide guidance.  Obviously, city council can take whatever   action they choose to. Uh but the policy uh says  that it should be for one-time uses or any uses   as designated by city council. So you have total  flexibility. Again, staff would recommend that as   a best practice. We use it for more of a one-time  purposes, certainly more for planned purposes,   but ultimately it's available at the discretion  of the governing body. Okay. Appreciate that. Um   now the projections going forward. I know this is  kind of a tricky one with so many balls up in the   air. Um how much consideration is being paid to  um some of the stuff going on the state level as   far as capping property taxes um any of that. Does  that affect our projections, our um bond rating,   any anything like that? That's a great question.  We typically produce the financial plan based on   everything we know at that time. And this time was  October or August of last year. We don't speculate   about what policies may occur or what may be  changed. So the short answer your question is   no. This does not contemplate any changes. But  having said that, uh, some of the stuff that   I've heard that the legislature is considering,  which would cap our AV growth could have a pretty   significant detrimental impact on the property  tax revenue. So, we'll probably provide you some   guidance on that when we do the workshops. Uh,  just to provide you some some uh context, but yes,   that would be a significant probably change to  our financial picture. Appreciate that. Okay,   last question. Um, where we where are we with  our bond ratings? We're still AAA with Yes,   we are AAA with Standard Employ, our favorite  rating agency. Okay. And then Moody's where not   far off. Where where's that one located? Double  A2. Moody's Well, I probably shouldn't talk too   much about Moody's. They just they tend to have a  little less favorable view of municipalities than   Standard and Porsche does. I'll just leave it  at that. Okay. I appreciate that. Thanks, Mark.   Vice Mayor Glascon. Thank you. Could we quickly  go to the slide about projections? And this may   be a specific department question. May not. Uh  yes, that slide. So when we're looking at 2027,   we're looking at 2028, we're looking at 2029.  We have station 23 coming online. Does the 2027   and obviously we're applying actively for the  safer grant currently that could cover the cost   of those. Let's say that we were not to receive  the safer grant. Does the 2027 projection include   the additional uh fire staff that we would need  in 2027, full staffing in 28 and staffing 29?   No. That's one of the things I was mentioning on  that slide when I talked about capital improvement   projects in the future, we do not have anything  built into our financial model for station   staffing. But generally for the reasons you noted  uh there's flexibility hopefully that we can   receive grant funding for that or perhaps there's  options to reallocate staffing but for whatever   reason uh we did not include specific amounts in  our financial forecast for that item. So, if we   were not to receive the safer grant, hopefully we  do. If we were not to receive the safer grant and   we um need full staffing, which we would at the  um fire station 23, the 2027 projections would   actually show a net loss. Uh likely a million  million two net loss. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you,   Council Member Johnston. Thank you, Mayor Mark.  Thanks for the good report on the golf system.   It's hard to get a t tea time. So, I guess that's  a good thing, right? Yeah. Um, regarding the   ballpark. Yes, sir. Uh, phase one's a pretty large  area that that's timing out here next year. Um,   phase two, can you give us like like a verbal  visual of what that area is? Yeah. Phase two,   I think, is uh is it Lewis? It's a street south  of the baseball stadium, I believe. And actually,   I think it includes a little bit of area south of  that as well. and then it extends north, I think,   all the way into Deleno. So, it's it's fairly  significant, too. There's a lot of undeveloped   area in that uh in that district. So, there's  certainly a lot of potential, but that's   what that district is. Yeah. Right now, it's not  producing the revenue to cover the full debt. It's   producing revenue, but perhaps to the potential  that it could if it was fully developed. Yeah.   Would you say the key asset in there is the hotel  that's proposed on the river by the ballpark? Yes,   I would. That that was and I think we talked about  this a lot when that was presented to the council   year or two or three ago. I can't remember when.  And we mentioned then how that project was very   important uh to begin so that it could begin  producing increment and the importance of that   project. Yes. Okay. We hope they get that started  here pretty quick. Um, lastly, I saw I noticed   a lot of bonds and CDs in that one to 2% range  are coming due in 2026. I think we only had one,   right? We had the one relatively small when you're  looking at our investment report in the quarterly.   Yeah. Yeah. We had one very small one that we  had in the 1% range if I remember correctly.   Those rates are typically set by the uh poolled uh  money investment board which is a state function.   they calculate a rate which we are statutoily  required uh to pay as a minimum amount to our   banks. We can negotiate with them higher rates  but typically that's uh not not something we're   able to do because they're well aware of the  state rate as well. But yes, we did have one   that was a legacy CD that I think was at one and  a quarter percent if I remember correctly. Yeah, I   I see some treasuries too that are due and 26 and  stuff. Quite a few of them. Yeah. Remember though,   council member, that the that the coupon rate on a  treasury uh if the coupon rate is really low, that   means we're going to buy it at a discount, which  means we're going to advertise that discount. So   on the treasuries, I wouldn't get too uh concerned  about the yield on the treasury, the coupon yield,   because again, I'll buy I'll buy a treasury  with a half percent coupon yield if I can buy   it at at a 75 or 95% discount, right? because  then I'm going to make it on the amortization   of the principal and not on the interest. So,  we're more concerned about the total yield. So,   okay. Is that an opportunity? Does that present  an opportunity to increase the yield for interest   coming up when those renew or not? Well, the  treasuries are what they are. We really can't   control what the yield on treasuries are. our  potential is to extend the duration because   uh I can buy up to a four-year Treasury today,  but my entire pool can only have a duration of   about a year and a half. So, if I load up on a  bunch of four-year securities, I have to load up   with a bunch of three month securities over here.  Uh if if I could extend my duration, I could load   up on two and three and fouryear maturities,  which would allow me to lock in higher rates   today. Yeah. Well, for the rest of the council,  I'd be interested in that discussion. So, I think   that'd be a very good thing. So, thank you. Yes,  sir. Council member Shepard. Thank you, Mayor. Um,   several people have already asked many of the  questions that I that I wanted to ask. Um, Mark,   you mentioned the jail fees that we saw a higher  or an increase in what we brought in through jail   fees. For those watching, can you explain what you  mean by that? Yeah, a lot of that is due to the   strategies of our police department, particularly  in the area of property crimes. uh they've ex   they've put a lot of focus on property crimes and  they've been pretty aggressive in uh arresting and   prosecuting those property crimes uh to the  extent that their state or that they're city   charges think of your petite shop lists of things  of that nature. If we arrest and book people on   city charges in that area then we're liable for  the jail fees. So grant again it's based on a   strategic decision of the police department  to produce better results in the clearance   of property crimes that the net result of that  is we're resting and re and holding more people   in that area. Again it's based on the outcome  that we want but it does cause us to have some   increased pressure on the expenditure side. Thank  you. As a followup to that can you explain once we   um receive those fees where do those dollars go?  Which which fees? The jail fine. Oh, we pay them   to the county. We're reimbursing Seduit County  for the operating costs of their jail. Uh maybe   this isn't the best analogy, but think of the  jail as a hotel. We're renting more hotel rooms   at the jail. Maybe that's a bad analogy, but  uh it's not a fancy hotel, that's for sure. Um is there any opportunity to utilize those  jail fees for intervention programs?   Again, that would be a strategic uh question  for our police department. Uh but yes,   jail fees are a direct result of what strategies  we use on an operating level, particularly in   the police department, and it's driven by  whatever outcomes they want to produce. So,   thank you, Mark. I I just want the record to  reflect that as we talk about public safety,   I think part of public safety is making sure  that we uh look at restorative justice. And I   think the best way that we can maximize taxpayer  dollars is not by throwing people in jail all the   time. It's by re rehabilitating them and making  sure that they have the support that they need to   reintegrate back into society. That's obviously  not a decision of you or your team, Mark. Um,   but I just want to name that out loud. Um, because  I think we can't continue to talk about this   without providing a solution. Public safety is not  arresting the problem away. It's rehabilitating   the problem and looking at restorative justice.  Thank you. Mark, I have several questions and   thank you for the presentations regarding the star  bond and also uh the budget deficit. Those were   two specific ones that I'm going to be touching  on. Number one, regarding the budget deficit,   um you have the slide that currently shows  a budget deficit in 28 and 29. However,   as you just mentioned, um this does not take  into account possible uh increases in personnel   due to new infrastructure. So, if you took that  into account, would these numbers be higher? Uh   most likely. Uh again, as council member Glascock  mentioned, we have pretty aggressive fire station   plan. To the extent that those stations require  new staffing, and to the extent that we don't   receive grant funds, uh yes, that's probably  going to have a positive influence on these. Uh   some of the police stations are materially larger,  that's a lot lower magnitude. Uh but likely when   we get into those stations, we'll experience some  increased operating costs there, utilities and   things of that nature. But fundamentally fire  stations is probably our largest challenge on   how this forecast could be impacted. In addition,  this does not take into account possible starbond   uh expenditures that we'll have to um use  from the general fund to cover. Can you   also explain that that's not accounted for? Uh  yes ma'am, you are exactly right. As I noted,   we will have increased risk perhaps in 2027,  perhaps more likely in 2028. And to the extent   that the policy direction is that the general  fund cover any of those deficits, uh yes,   that is not included in this model here today.  Can you please go to slide number 14 and 15? So these are our reserves um for the city. Can  you specifically address how much does the city   have in reserves that could cover the deficit?  Yes, the general fund reserve is shown on this   slide is about $51 million. And again, I'm going  to use round numbers. Uh so if the general fund   runs a deficit, most likely that reserve would be  diminished. But again based on our reserve policy,   we have the stabilization reserve which is  designed basically to float the general fund   at 15%. So most likely what we would do if we  have additional deficits is we would recommend   transferring in from the stabilization reserve  to stabilize the general fund at 15%. Of course   the challenge with that is that means that the  stabilization reserve fund would diminish as   you can see that we already plan for it to do  to some degree over the next several years.   Fundamentally, mayor, to answer your question,  the chart on this slide, these bars likely would   be significantly lower if we ultimately do have  deficits in the general fund. In the community,   there have been multiple numbers thrown around  regarding reserves. Can you address is it a $90   million reserve? Is it a $120 million  reserve? Can you please explain? Well,   the city has about 38 funds and each one of those  funds has a reserve level, which would be prudent.   I would hope it would be thought to be prudent to  have reserve levels in most of our funds. We have   a few that don't. A few are pass through funds,  and we we have a zero reserve level there. Uh,   but we have reserves for a variety of reasons.  I'm not even going to talk about the general fund   because we've just talked about that. Uh, we want  liquidity in our debt service fund. We've got a   balance in the debt service fund of $25 million or  so. That's very important to our rating agencies.   It shows that we have liquidity. Shows that we  can handle our short short-term financing needs.   Landfill postclosure has a reserve of $17 million.  That's because we have a legal liability for the   uh pollution mitigation at the landfills that  we operate. So, we are statutoily required to   have a reserve there. That's 17 million. We have  two tiff districts, decremental tiff districts,   Gilbert Mosley and the Northeast Industrial  TIF district. Those are very there for a very   specific reason to mitigate underwater pollution  in those areas and that's in compliance with   KDH regulations. We have reserves in both of  those tiff districts so that we can continue   to mitigate the pollution in those areas. Uh those  are some examples. uh golf fund has a reserve for   operating purposes. So we have a lot of reserves.  Reserves are very important uh and we typically   have policies that set those levels of reserves.  So I don't know if that answers your question,   mayor, but yes, we have a lot of reserves. That  is true. What would be the accurate number to   share in community regarding um discretionary  or more uh nonrestricted uh reserves? Uh, mayor,   I didn't come prepared to provide that today,  but I certainly can. I have heard it addressed   uh by some that we have reserves, I think, of  $128 million. Uh, I would suggest maybe that's not   exactly accurate. They're taking one page in the  budget book which shows a very restrictive portion   of our reserves. That purpose of that page is to  show the reserves that the state of Kansas legally   requires us to maintain. That's a fraction of our  reserve levels. And again, that's spread over a   variety of different funds. Uh so I would not use  the $128 million number or whatever was has been   reported. Uh it's likely going to be higher than  that, but let me provide that to you if I can. I   can do that shortly. I just don't have it with  me today. I would specifically like to know how   much of reserves are discretionary. Yes, very  little because as you know in a fund structure   and I won't go too much in detail on governmental  counting because I don't want to completely bore   everyone but each fund can only be used for  a specific purpose. Like I appreciate council   member's creativity on asking about whether we  could use tiff funds on the starbond district, but   the short answer is no because tiff bonds or tiff  uh funds are statutoily restricted for specific   purposes. And that's generally true of every fund  in our uh system. So if we have extra money in the   water fund, we can't hire police officers, for  example, things like that. We just can't do it.   Thank you, Mark. Um, I have further questions.  This will be for Star Bond for uh shortfall,   but I see council member Shepard. Yes,  sir. Thank you, Mayor. And I appreciate   the dialogue back and forth between you, Mark,  and the mayor specifically on this because   um you you've shared a lot and I think it  it really showcases why you are where you   are and why your team is where they where  they are. You all are the experts. And I   think sometimes information is placed into  the public um that makes it sound so simple,   right? Um there's a deficit. We have a reserve.  And the reality is yes and right. It's it's yes,   we have a reserve and there is there are things  that we have to think about credit rating,   liquidity. There are also legal liabilities and  touching that. And so it's not fair to just say   shortfall, touch the reserves, right? our job  is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and   to do our very best to eliminate any gaps. I  say all that to say, has the finance team um or   department considered any federal legislation that  may create additional financial hardships for the   local local municipalities. Um I'm thinking  about changes to HUD. I'm thinking about if   we decide to not abide by certain laws that are  passed down by the federal government to protect   um citizens and we lose funding as a result of  that. I believe it was just at the beginning or   last year um you know if we did not remove our DEI  council then that would have been a $20 million   hit to the transportation. And so I'm I'm thinking  long term about some of these things. How do you   plan for that if you can? Well, the first thing  we try to do is be cognizant of all those risks   because all those are risk as you identified. Uh  but typically again when we do forecasting, we're   going to base our forecasting based on policy  guidance from the city council and how they feel   that any federal restrictions could impact us and  the policy directions that the city council may   want to make in regard to that. And probably only  then will we incorporate it into our financial   models. But you are correct. We definitely want to  be cognizant of those risks today. So, thank you,   Mark. I would just name that as we are continuing  conversations as a council um out in the public   that we share what we've heard today um publicly  that when we hear folks talking about the reserves   um that we also include all the information that  we've been educated on today. Um because one of   the biggest problems that I see or challenges is  the misinformation that is being put out into the   atmosphere and I see it as our job not your job  to correct that misinformation. So thank you for   providing that education for us. Yes sir. Mark I  will now go to slides number 24 and 25 specific to   the star bonds. Um, the reason why I asked you for  these is because specifically I'm concerned about   the new baseball stadium and that district and  how we will be able to cover through general fund   dollars the star bond. So specifically um you said  phase two would need to start as soon as possible   really um in order to help cover this. What's  the status of phase two? Phase two includes a   new hotel. Can you tell us how many rooms? What's  the projected revenue that this is supposed to   bring in that has not broken ground. I drove by  this weekend. Yeah. Well, as I noted, it is very   important that we have development in phase two.  I'm not particularly in tune to the details on the   uh hotel project. So, if you don't mind, mayor,  I'm going to defer to Assistant Manager Anderson. Honorable mayor, members of council, Troy  Anderson, assistant city manager. Um, I do   not have the number of rooms available with me  that I'll be more than happy to get that to you.   But as you'll recall last fall, uh we city council  approved the first amendment to the development   agreement uh which provided them with uh the  ability to um secure all of their financing and   uh remobilize their contractor. So based on that  exhibit in that first amendment, uh they have   until July 31st of this year to commence vertical  construction and they have until July 31st of 2028   to achieve substantial completion, what we call  a temporary certificate of occupancy. Uh and so   those deadlines were approved by city council  back in I believe it was October of last year.   Uh I have had ongoing conversations with  uh the development team. Um everybody feels   really bullish about achieving those deadlines  and so I've not been given any indication that   those deadlines will not be be met. Thank you.  I'll have uh Mark come back up. Slide number 25.   Given the information that was just presented, if  this begins construction starting at the latest,   July 31st of this year, it's still going to take  two years before it's complete. So, tell me what's   at risk right here when it comes to taxpayers and  the general fund. Well, Mayor, let me define for   you if I if I can answer your question this way.  Let me define what the risk is that I believe that   there is to the to the city from this starbond  district probably beginning in when phase one   expires. As I noted, our debt service is in the  neighborhood of $3.5 million a year. Phase two   is pretty reliably generating around a million  dollars a year. That leaves what we would call   a gap of$2.5 million dollars a year. So if there  is zero development on phase two between now and   2028 and there's zero growth in the existing base  uh then I would tell you that it could possibly   be likely that the general fund would be in a  position to have to absorb a $2.5 million loss.   What I cannot tell you is whether that's accurate  or not because again I can't forecast what other   development will occur in that area. Uh I can't  forecast with any precision when the hotel will   actually begin uh producing an increment. And  again, there's a number of businesses already in   the district that are generating an increment. You  know, I can't tell you what their growth prospects   are or whether there'll be other new businesses  that occur. So, uh all I can tell you is what   would be the worst case, which is probably that we  would have a gap of somewhere in a two and a half   million dollars if nothing changes from today.  So, specifically, when is the city on the hook for   paying the debt service? Uh, we make two payments  a year, typically in March and then in September.   The March payment is typically relatively small.  It's an interest payment. It's in the neighborhood   of $600,000 every March. And then the larger  payment is another uh interest payment of about   600,000 and and the principal for that year. The  September payment is by far the most challenging   one uh that we make. And again, there's some  timing differences I didn't go into. All this   is ran through our trustee. The city doesn't even  receive or make these payments. Our trustee does.   And there's some stipulations where they actually  reserve amounts for the upcoming payment. Uh so   they do have a small balance which will help us  which is not reflective in this too. Uh but yeah,   fundamentally uh the fall payment is going to be  the one that likely will be a challenge if there   is a challenge. Can you explain the only thing  generating new sales tax would be the new hotel   that again would be complete by July of 2028.  Is that accurate? Well, I don't know that I   characterize it that way. Again, it's going to be  any development that occurs in the phase two. The   hotel project just happens to be by far the most  visible new development that is under construction   in phase two. But if other development occurs in  that area, that obviously will contribute to the   district to What other development do we know is  happening there besides this hotel that has come   before the council? Yeah. Again, mayor again, Troy  Anderson. Um, we know specifically as part of this   mixeduse development, uh, immediately opposite the  hotel, there is also some retail space. My memory   serves me correct, I want to say 12 to 15,000  square feet of retail space that is slated.   And so um we know that lease space will be  available. Whether or not it will be occupied   and generating sales tax at the time of opening  or not is still yet to be determined. Uh but there   is additional retail space that is also slated  in addition to the hotel just as part of this   mixeduse development. To kind of build on the the  of what Mark was describing, there could be other   projects within the West Bank district that we  don't even know about that could come to fruition   in the next 6 9 12 18 24 months that would then  also contribute to sales tax within the district.   Okay. So, nothing has come to fruition just yet.  The only thing that this council does know is that   there will be a new hotel that is to be completed  by July of 2028. And across the street from the   hotel will be a new apartment complex that will  have retail on the bottom floor. Those are all   things that have been in the public. So what  how much is that projected to generate? I don't   have that number with me. I apologize. I I'll get  together with um the development team and see what   their projections are on annual sales tax revenue.  Yep. Thank you. Those follow-up questions have   everything to do with why I'm asking all of these  questions because I see a budget shortfall in 28,   but that it has not taken into account the  star bond under performance because nothing has   happened just yet. and then in addition additional  staffing to a new facility that again has not been   put into the deficit. So these are all of great  concern to me um because they are literally on the   horizon and I think it's important to have these  discussions and have it with a clear view that   at the end of the day it will be the general fund  that will be we will have major discussions on. Is   that accurate to say Mark? Uh, yes, ma'am. I would  agree with you 100%. Thank you very much, Council   Member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Um, I mean,  I think Troy hit on one of my questions here.   Any potential room for growth within the uh phase  two of the star bond district? So, is that kind of   what we're projecting is just that steady million  dollars um over the next couple of years? Well, we   typically don't provide guidance on the starbond  district. We typically don't provide projections,   but yes, all I can tell you is the risk of this  district would be significantly mitigated to the   to the degree that the new hotel project generates  additional increment. Okay. Now, if we get to the   budget shortfall on it, just bear with me on this.  Um, so if we dig into the stabilization reserve,   pay off that 2 million, 2.5 million, you indicated  we would be able to recoup that further down the   line in the back end when um hopefully the  star bond is overperforming or at least   um hitting expectations. Now, would there be room  in there to designate that money to go back into   the reserve to pay back any funds that we pull  out for that? Yes, that's exactly what we would   recommend. And again, that's typical of economic  development projects, very typical of tiffs. They   underperform in the first few years, they over  then they stabilize and then they overperform in   the last few years and the city is made whole.  That exact model is available to us on the   uh starbond project. So any deficits that we  may have to cover in the intermediate years   uh we would likely be able to recover prior to  the termination of the district. Okay. Thank you.   I see no further questions. Thank you, Mark, and  thank you, Troy, for answering those questions.   And I look forward to the followup. Um, if you  don't mind sending it to the whole council,   that would be um, greatly appreciated. We  will now open it up for public comment. I see none. I'm bringing it back  to the bench again. Thank you,   uh, Mark, for the explanation regarding  the budget deficit that we will be facing.   in addition to the challenges uh that are  forthcoming and the explanation regarding   the star bond at the baseball stadium. With  that, I will move that the council receive   and file the quarterly financial reports  for the period ending December 31st, 2025.   Second. Motion second. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Golf point of sale and T- sheet system. Good morning, mayor, city council. Uh Jesse  Kaufman. I'm the manager of the golf division   and I'm here regarding a switch to a new point  of sale and T- sheet operating system. Okay,   a little background on this. The city of Witchto  golf division seeks a comprehensive point of   sales system with the following requirements.  Multicourse T-TOM scheduling, inventory tracking,   full integration with payment processing,  customer relationship management tools,   reporting dashboards, support for tournaments,  loyal loyalty programs, communication tools,   mobile accessibility, application program  interfaces, interfaces, integrations, uh,   offline functionality, robust security compliance,  vendor provided onboarding, vendor provided data   migration and continual support. So this system  really everything that we do goes through this   system. Um an analysis on September 10th of 25  a request for proposal was issued. We received   five responses and on November 25th of 25 uh  selection committee interviewed three firms.   Member Sports LLC as recommended as the preferred  vendor. The evaluation criteria included the scope   of services, proposer, proposer experience and  resources, functional and technical requirements,   proposals hardware and software requirements,  customer support and warranty and maintenance,   training and documentation, cost and minimal  qualifications and mandatory elements. A contract   has been prepared for the initiation of services.  The member sports point of sale system was the   best overall fit for the golf division at a lower  cost. uh clear it provided clear demonstration   that the point of sale system could meet state  the stated goals of the golf division including   customer booking, inventory and membership  control, marketing and communication needs,   tournament and event management and member sports  also met all of the IT security requirements,   financial and legal considerations and recommended  action. Staff has prepared a contract with member   sports with a fee of $25,000 annually with a  onetime $10,000 implementation and training   fee. Funding is available in the 2026 adopted  operating budget for the golf enterprise fund.   The law department has reviewed and approved the  contract as to form and it is recommended that   the city council approved the vendor selection,  approve the contract and authorize the necessary   signatures. And with the that I'd be happy  to answer any questions. Thanks. We'll go   to questions from council. First, we have Council  Member Ballard. Vice Mayor, Vice Mayor Glasscock,   get to be fancy today. Uh, thank you, Jesse. Just  a question. We've heard a lot of um complaints   about the um about the T-shin and all of that.  So, I assume that this will repair all of those   tea time availability. It will help there. when  you have way more demand than we have inventory,   I don't think there is a way to completely fix  that. Uh but this definitely will help. Um we can   control um the groups that book a lot of tea times  at once. We can we have more control with this   system. Um and then this current system we have  we have had issues um and this you know I think   will take care of a lot of those. So in a lot  of ways this will help with that situation. Um,   and I'm I'm excited once we get in and really see  the functionality of this system that we can find   other ways to to improve on that as well. Awesome.  Thank you, Council Member Johnston. Thank you,   Mayor Jesse. First of all, just thank you  for doing a great job. You and your team do   a really good job. You've really turned  around the attitude of the golf courses   and it's reflected in tea times being booked  solid. So, especially Saturday and Sunday. So,   thank you. Also, just side note, played Mac  yesterday. Hey, the new traps look wonderful. Uh,   you're going to have a big problem there, too,  because everybody's going to want to play that   when it's when it's all done. So, good. So, thank  you for all your work. I appreciate it. Thank you,   Council Member Shepard. Thank you, Mayor. Uh,  Jesse, I also wanted to echo the sentiments   of Council Member Johnston. Um, I had a  meeting yesterday with first TE and they   uh have a remarkable experience with the city  and sung your praises. And I think it's really   important for people to recognize that staff  like you are the backbone of city hall. And   um our job is to delegate. We work with you all,  but you all get the work done. And so just wanted   to say publicly how much I appreciate  you for making life a little bit easier   uh for an organization that does phenomenal work  in District 1. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,   Jesse. I see no further questions and I echo the  same sentiments for your team. We will now open   it up for public comment. I see none. I'll bring  it back to the bench. Would any council member   who has a golf course like to move this item?  Sure. Uh I'd like to take staff's recommended   action. Approves the vendor selection, approve the  contract, and authorize the necessary signatures.   Second. Motion. Second. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Ordinance  codifying the Food and Farm Council. Good morning, Mayor, council members. Nate  Very Johnson, assistant city attorney. Uh just   requesting some help today with uh bookkeeping  and our code. Um, so a few years back we adopted   an ordinance October 22 22 uh establishing the  food and farm council. It's a joint thing with   the county. They've been doing great work since  then. When we prepared that ordinance for you,   we set it in a place in the code that is in  the same place as another board. That doesn't   affect the legal effectiveness of it. Um, we pass  ordinances, resolutions, things that have effect   all of the time without being put in the code.  But we found that we can't actually add anything   to the city code to codify this ordinance without  an additional action of council. So we tried to   look a little more closely. I did. So my apologies  for picking the wrong spot before, but we have a   spot in our code now to just clarify that the food  and farm council exists in the city code. Again,   this ordinance has been effective since then.  They've been doing work. We just need an action   from council to update uh our online and continued  code. Um, so I I'm happy to kind of talk about   what the ordinance does. Again, again, this was  passed previously and it's just setting a spot   uh in our kind of board's advisory board chapter  of city code. So, it's recommended that council   place this ordinance on first reading  and authorize the necessary signatures. Questions for staff? Vice Mayor Glasco. Thank  you. Just a quick question for the manager. I   know that former manager Leighton had presented  um some maybe reformatting of our boards,   consolidation of boards and figure how to use them  more effectively. Would the food and farm council   is that in staff's presentation that we're going  to be talking about during our board retreat? I   think that's when we're going to be having that  conversation. Yes. Um we did do a review of boards   and commissions and the farm council was in there  and we will have that conversation in March. Okay.   Thank you. So, a follow-up question is, is it  appropriate to do this action if we're going to   do a conversation regarding consolidation? Yeah,  mayor, I would say yes, we do need to get it   corrected and then we can decide what to do with  it. Thank you. And for correction, I believe this   is in the March workshop. Is that accurate? Called  the board consolidations and discussion. Correct.   Thank you. I see no further questions. Thank you,  Nate. We'll now open it up for public comment.   I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench. With  that, I move that the council place the ordinance   on first reading and authorized the necessary  signatures. Second motion second discussion. Oh,   council member Tuttle. Thank you. I just wanted  to make a few comments. Um Nate, thank you for   your work in this and helping to get this cleaned  up. Um I also want to thank the staff who support   the food and farm council. Um, part of the reason  that this organ, this um, board was established is   to help address the food desert issue that we have  in our community. Um, and so we worked really hard   to get a publicly appointed board so that we could  get community input on this. I also want to thank   all of the food and farm council members. Um,  it's slowgoing when you're starting a new board,   a new coalition. Um, and so I truly appreciate  their time and their tenacity in addressing this   issue. We all know that addressing food deserts  across the nation is a huge issue and it's not   something that just immediately gets solved  because we form a board but having a board makes   us stay vigilant on this issue. And then finally  I want to thank the health and wellness coalition   of which I know they provide a lot of external  support for the food and farm council attend   all the meetings and and provide feedback to the  food and farm council but also to the board of   county commissioners and the witchaw city council.  So, thanks for all that are involved. Thank you,   Council Member Tuttle. Any further discussion?  I see none. Madame Clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame Clerk, please  call the next item. Change order number   one for biological nutrient  removal program package three. Good morning, Mayor and Council members.  Gary Jansen, public works and utilities.   Uh we've got all our portion of the next five  items. So I'm going to start the first one off   here with the proposed change order number one  for package three as part of our BNR project. Uh   the biological nutrient removal or BNR program as  we often referred to consist of six construction   packages. Uh bids for this particular package  were approved in May of 2024. This package   focuses on the new BNR structure and upgrades to  the UV disinfection system. the contractor. Uh,   as we have done with, uh, nearly all of the bid  packages, staff has worked with the contractor   upfront to identify value engineering items for  each package, including over $750,000 in savings   for this particular one. Construction contracts by  way of the original contract include a work change   directive process that allows the contractor to  begin work prior to issuance of a formal change   order. This is the same project we previously  uh discussed during the approval of the change   order for package two. Work change directives  for package three have now exceeded that value   engineering savings. Um and this particular change  order is made up of 21 work change directives.   I'll highlight a few of those where some of the  biggest costs come from. The largest work change   directive is for acquisition and installation of  an energy efficient dual core blower at a cost of   just over $500,000. Uh this particular wastewater  treatment plant operates with six blowers at the   irration basins as a pilot project in 2020. One  of those was upgraded to a first generation energy   efficient dual core blower. I know there's a  lot of technical stuff. Um the package three   itself project replaced the remaining five with  also with dual core blowers from a different   manufacturer. Uh there's a lot of value going  forward to have all of those be from the main   the same manufacturer. So this work change  directive replaces the pilot with the same so   that they all match. Other work change directive  items include duck bank modifications, demolition   of exist existing manhole and electrical changes  amongst other things. Um and while we're here,   I just wanted to give a quick update on this  particular structure process and talk about a   few other things related to BNR. Um if you look to  the left, you can see August of 2024 when some of   the original site grading started. Uh fast forward  to one year in the middle and now to the main BNR   structure that we're talking about today. Water  tightness testing will begin in early March. We're   making good progress uh within staying within the  schedule uh and generally doing a really good job   with budget wise so far. So, a lot of cool things  happening uh primary clarifier prog progress. This   is where we're going to see improvements to  odor control. Um, we're going to see uh a lot   of things happening that we will start to see an  impact for odor control, especially over the next   12 months. This is one of the uh covers for one  of three primary clarifiers that's been covered.   The other two will be coming soon. We're also  going to put covers on the sledgeolding tanks.   All of those things along with new biotickling  filters will help with odor control. It's going   to make a really big difference by the  time we're done here um later in 2027.   The cost of this change order is just over  $230,000, which is 0.15% of the package   budget of just under $148 million. A lot of things  happening here. Uh funding is available within the   overall BNR program budget, which is that number  you see at the bottom. That's just under 387.5   million $387,500,000. Just under that. So all  of the contracts have been bid for all of the   packages. Uh, again, everything's moving forward.  We're in a good place schedule-wise right now. We   currently have an unencumbered balance of around  $700,000. Keeping a very close eye on budget. We   do have some other contingencies in place for  this facility that are included in the CIP. If   we get to a point at any point at at time that  we need to start considering additional budget   for the project, as of right now, we do not  need to increase the overall budget. With that,   staff recommends the city council approve  change order number one for package three   and authorize the necessary signatures. And I'd  be happy to stand for any questions. Thank you,   Gary. Questions for staff, beginning with council  member Hoheisel. Thank you, mayor. Um, just one   question on the blower. Um, it looks like almost  a half million dollars. Are we getting reimbured?   Did we sell the old blower that we purchased?  Um, could we're working on that now. Um,   we're going to either uh find a reuse for it, but  I think it's possible that we can likely sell it   uh and hopefully be able to recoup a good portion  of the original cost. Okay. Yep. I just saw under   the budget here um minus almost half a million  dollars. Correct. Yeah. We're going to make sure   we do everything we can to to recover that cost  for that original trial. Yeah. Okay. Thank you,   Council Member Glascott. Thank you. Can we just go  back uh to the financial consideration slide? Some   clarifications. And so this will be coming from  the unencumbered balance of the 699 and then so   less 234 be what will be left over? Is that is the  699 as a result of already taking out the 234? It   is. Okay. So that's what will be left after this.  Correct. Okay. Thank you. Uh only question I have   is I know that the overall BNR schedule remains  unchanged. What is the completion date expected?   Uh it's the fall of 2027 probably. um September  to October and I can get you an exact date,   but fall of 2027 for sure. Thank you, Gary. I  see no further questions for staff. Uh with that,   we'll open it up for public comment. I see  none. I'll bring it back to the bench. This   is in Council Member Hohheisel's district. Thank  you, Mayor. Always uh good to work on the odor   control here in Witchah. Definitely a plus for  my side of town. So with that, I will move that   the city council approve change order number  one and authorize the necessary signatures. Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Design concept supplemental   design agreement number one and funding  for 21st Street North from 119th Street   West to St. Teresa. Good morning, mayor,  city council members. Paul Gunzelman,   public works and utilities. For the record, uh the  first I first item that I'll present to you this   morning is design concept for West 21st Street.  On October 8th, 2024, the city council approved   design funding for multiple capital improvement  program projects, including 21st Street from 119th   Street to St. Teresa. On April 8th, 2025, the  city council approved an agreement with Bennish   to develop design concepts for the project. And  on January 5th, 2026, District 5 advisory board   approved the design concept and the bicycle and  pedestrian advisory board approved the design   concept on January 26th, 2026. Uh, Miss Fleming  had spoke on this project on public agenda and I   had stepped out and spoke with her as well as  Mr. Michael I believe is still in the audience   um and have agreed to um look at the document  that she had provided you all and set up a a   meeting with them at a later date as we  go through the design of the project. Slide before you is project limits. Um 119th  Street to the east or of the right of the screen,   St. Teresa to the west and the northwest YMCA  west of 135th Street as well as their soccer   fields to the south or fields to the south. The  road was previously a two-lane roadway. In 2024,   it was restriped to a three-lane roadway providing  a center left turn lane or center lane. This has   resulted in a reduced number of crashes at 21st  and Tealbook and 21st and Sunridge intersections.   Traffic counts along the corridor are nearing  a threshold capacity of a fivelane roadway.   Therefore, that is what the concept will show.  Let's move through the project from west to east.   This is uh the existing in front of the northwest  YMCA. Um there was a new right turn lane,   westbound right turn lane added in 2025 as well  as the entrance um to the fields to the south. A few photos looking west from 119th  Street. Again, a three-lane roadway.   With the conversion in 2024, the shoulders were  narrowed and striped for a bicycle lane. Tubular   markers were also installed. However, most  of those markers have been hit or removed. This is the view of the Cowskin Bridge looking  back to the east of 119th Street and Sed County   will participate in the cost of replacing  this bridge as they had it in their capital   improvement program. So, we are working with  with them for an agreement for the project.   Slide before you shows the 135th and 21st  Street intersection. This intersection was   approved in 2013 with the construction of  135th Street South and 21st Street project. The slide before you shows the  existing sidewalk and path network.   The dashed blue line is the project before  you um that will propose a sidewalk as well   as a multi-use path. The solid blue lines uh  show existing sidewalk as well as path along   those corridors and the purple show existing  sidewalk on both sides of the arterial street. Currently, the multi-use path exists from  21st Street from 119th Suzu Boulevard and   continues south east to central and  mlan connecting to the R Kansas River.   The multi-use path along 135th Street after  completion of a project between Central and   13th will include four miles of multi-use path  from Kellogg 221st Street. And these will these   proposed improvements will join the multi-use  path along both corridors and extend to the YMCA. I'll step through the concept again  starting at the west end moving to   the east and this would be in front of  the YMCA. We are proposing a five lane   roadway due to to the amount of uh  current traffic volumes as well as   projected volumes especially with further  development towards 151st Street West. concept before you shows the bridge  which it will be a four-lane bridge.   We do don't need the turn lane across  it with a multi-use path on the north   side of the roadway and a six-foot  path on the south side of the bridge and looking towards just west of 119th Street  where we will tie into the existing five lane   roadway. again um show five lanes um  center turn lane where needed near   the intersections and where possible  we would um install raised medians. These are sections of the roadway. Again,  a multi-use path, 10 foot path on the north   side of the roadway, two through lanes, a  center left turn lane, and a sixoot sidewalk.   This is what a section would look  like with the raised medians. And we are proposing a couple of pedestrian  crosswalks crossings both signalized throughout   the corridor. One is right adjacent to  the YMCA. Um there is a petition on file   um from the YMCA for the signalized crosswalk.  So, we will engage the YMCA as we move   forward. And then we are also proposing  another signalized pedestrian crosswalk   um just west of Tealbrook and part of Miss  Fleming's uh discussion I had in the hallway.   She wants to uh discuss that with us a little  bit. So, I told her we would, you know, these   are flexible and can be moved around as we go  further into design and meet with adjacent owners. Financial considerations. The initial design fee  is $346,000. Supplemental design agreement is just   under $1.5 million for a total revised contract  of $1.8 million. The existing budget that was   approved by city council in October of 2024 is  $1,270,000. And we are requesting additional   um budget authorization of $1 million today.  That is 2026 funding. And then there is an   additional 11,750,000 in 2029 for the project.  And again, we are working with Sadu County for   their portion of that bridge cost. We are also  looking to submit this project for consideration   through the Witchaw Area Metropolitan Planning  Organization for possible federal funding in   the future as their next round of uh applications  are due. It is recommended that the city council   approve the design concept, revised budget,  supplementary supplemental design agreement   number one, adopt the amending resolution,  and authorize the necessary signatures. And   I will stand for questions. Thank you, Paul.  Questions for staff? I have a couple. Um,   I bring this up every time because I do believe  it's important to have this conversation about   sidewalks. So on each side you're going to have  a 10-ft sidewalk called multiuse and a six-foot   sidewalk that is just quote a sidewalk. Can you  tell me again why you have to have two sidewalks?   Remind me the ordinance and when that was passed  the ordinance. Yes, it was the ordinance and the   ordinance was passed in 1979. Um and again we also  as we look at these projects we also look at the   um 2013 and now updated 2024 um bicycle master  plan and if it shows any facilities along there   um we would recommend the multi-use path  and or on street bike lanes. So we do try   to follow that and we are connecting into  existing multi-use paths with this project.   I will ask the same question I have to the  city manager before. I'd like to revisit   the requirement rather than the option for two  sidewalks, especially one that is 10-ft and a   six-foot. All again, new infrastructure that then  will need to be maintained. I believe much of this   new infrastructure is city property sidewalk or  are they property of uh other entities? Can you   please address who will have to maintain this new  infrastructure? It it is city sidewalk. However,   the adjacent properties per statute are required  to maintain it. Um we do share in the cost of any   sidewalk that are is over six feet wide though. So  we would share that cost with the property owner. Um back to the city manager. I'd like when we do  have this uh discussion to talk about how much   it costs to maintain um both a six-foot sidewalk  and a 10-ft sidewalk. Um because again, we've been   talking about maintaining assets and when we're  building new assets, which would be new sidewalks,   uh there will not now have to be a cost  for maintaining that new asset as well.   And so again, can you please have that in  that presentation, city manager? Thank you,   Vice Mayor Glosscock. Thank you. Paul, could  you say the year that ordinance was passed   again? I didn't quite hear it. It was 1979.  1979. Okay. Thank you. With that, thank you,   Paul. We'll now open it up for public comment.  Anyone who would like to speak about this,   please come forward. Say your name and your  address, please. And you'll have five minutes. I am Tim Garut 20110 North Tilliel Brookbrook  Witchaw. So I'll be out there in that area. So   uh couple things that I was concerned with  which I had in my notes if I can just get   them back. Uh one thing one of uh I just want  to say they needed to think about what they're   going to do with all that traffic. It's on 21st  cuz uh they're either probably going to be going   to 29th Street or 13th Street. 29th at uh at um  135 and 119 is always backed up during rush hour   and I mean way back up now you start adding all  this extra traffic when they take out that bridge   uh or even the construction itself is going to  be terrible. So, those are two four-way stops at   135th and 13th is a four-way stop. And I'm not a  construction guy. Maybe they put in the temporary   uh signals like they do out on the highway  whenever there get a road down to one lane.   But we need to consider uh what we're going to do  with all that extra traffic when it can't go down   21st any longer because I mean it's like when I'm  coming out of Tealbrook, I'm sitting there waiting   to get on the 21st because it's always busy. Uh  another thing that I would like to bring up is   that I think the city should try to get with the  county on uh the bridges because that bridge at at   21st and the cowskin ain't that old. And I know  that the county has already replaced bridges on   215. I think it's 137th I think is the other one.  And they're putting in back in two-lane bridges or   maybe a threelane at the most. And I know on 135th  and u over by the uh sewage plant. That bridge is   going to have to be replaced. Why not just make  it a fourlane bridge now? And it's going to be   cheaper to do it now than to do it later when it's  going to cost you more and all that. That's just a   thought. And another question I guess off of what  I just heard. So you're going to put the sidewalk.   Who's maintaining that sidewalk? Is our HOA going  to have to maintain it or I mean that's a question   I guess for the other guy. But anyway, that's a  question we got when we're always worried about   what's going to happen with our trees. They say  they're going to replace the trees and we got a   wall. What's going to happen with the wall? You  know, I don't think that that thing will come   over that far to get to the wall. But um anyway,  that's what I have. Thank you. Thank you, Tim. Woo. Fellow council members, I wish you the best. Sorry, I can holler, but that would really be  terrible. Uh, I live at 12630 West 21st Street,   place called Naylor's Acres. It's 27 acres  of land that was dedicated to the Sunfire   Land Trust. We're a 501c3 federally  recognized and recognized the state   of Washington as a char or state of Kansas as  a charitable organ organization. Our goal is to   serve the same way as the matri consery  does. We own about 11 properties either   v simple or in conservation easements  most of them suate in central county. Mayor Woo, I want to thank you for bringing  up the topic of sidewalks because there's   a 4 foot I live on the north side of the  road. There's a 4 foot to 5 foot bike path. The gentleman was correct. Most of those little  fiberglass poles they put there have long ago been   run over. And when you walk on a 4 foot bio path  next to traffic, it's not a comfortable feeling.   It's very dangerous situation. I believe that in  the best interest we should have the bike path   widened but keep the foot traffic on the other  side. People I have a master's degree in natural   resources park design people are a lot like dairy  cows. You turn them loose. They wander all around   all all over the place. And we've had people  drive into our place, get up to the house, and   realize somebody's living there and speedily exit  the property. So, I'm concerned about trespass.   We've got 37 trees that are over 60 feet tall.  It's going to be taken out with this bike path. That's quite a chunk of ground. Quite  a chunk of visible barrier and noise   barrier. Project engineer said that  the traffic pattern in 2030 is going   to double to what it is today. But he made  a statement that it won't be any noisier. Just put the logic to that  and see how that sounds. We'll work with you. The maintenance issue is a  big issue for us. So, we need to figure out a way   to prevent people from parking their bicycle and  relieving themselves on our property. It's pretty   tempting when you're on a bicycle, I guess, and  you got a bunch of trees. So, we'll work with   you any way we can. This gentleman seems like a  very nice gentleman to work with. So that said,   thank you for your time. Can you please state  your name for us? Jim Michael. I'm the CEO   for the Sunflower Land Trust. Thank you. Thank  you, Jim. Council member Johnston. Thank you,   Mayor. Thank you, Jim, for speaking. Uh, I  spoke to your neighbor just to the west and   uh they have concerns about trees too. Paul,  can you It looks like the trees are back off   the roadway quite a ways. Are you need to take  any of those trees out? We will need to get in   design a little bit further before I can answer  that question. But we are meeting with that   property owner this afternoon at four o'clock  as well. Okay. So, yeah. So, we'll have that   discussion with them and once we get design  a little bit further along, we'll know what   truly impact trees are. Okay. Thank you. And Jim,  thanks for your comments about the the bike path   because it it is dangerous bike paths connected  to the road. Those ballers do get run over. Um,   I got two flat tires on that road years ago.  Um, just from nails and stuff being kicked over   there. So, I've changed two flat tires on that  road on my bike, not on my car, on my bike. So,   I appreciate your comments and and Paul and his  team will definitely work with you. Thank you. Good morning, mayor and city council. My name is  Ray Bachmann. I live at 12507 West Cornell Street   uh in the Telebrook Homeowners Association. I'm  actually president of the HOA. So, I've been in   communication with Sean Millies, who is, you know,  as the city of Witchaw chief engineer design. Um,   our concern with Kilbrook, we're on the south  side, is the uh tree removal. We've been talking   about trees quite a bit. I couldn't understand  everything that was said here just recently,   but the trees are of real concern. Number one,  aesthetically. Number two, noise abatement.   Although it's probably not a huge thing because  the trees are spread out, but I believe they   do make a difference. The uh and then we have a  fence along 21st Street along our entire property   line split in the middle with the entrance to  Tealbrook, which is the only entrance we have in   and out of our neighborhood. Um the uh the brick  fence is 57 feet from the edge of the road, the   current edge of the road. our trees. The closest  tree to the road is 45 feet from the road. So,   um I'm hoping that the trees and our and our  brick fence will not be affected with this road.   Uh my comments to Sean were that if the trees do  are removed and you'll notice on the graph they   put up um they showed a a red a red bar on along  either side of 21st Street for tree removal. So   our concern is is removing those trees and some  of them are quite large will not only affect the   noise abatement and the aesthetic uh value of the  of the area but also affect the fence. That's our   real concern. Remove these huge trees, big root  systems die off, what happens to your fence in   the next couple years? So I've addressed this  with Sean. He said he would they didn't expect   all the trees would be removed. If they were  removed, some would be replaced. It would not   be one for one and any impact to our fence would  be addressed by the city. So, my only point here   was to reiterate those concerns and hope that we  can come to to an agreement. Obviously, this road   improvement needs to be done with everything all  the growth that's happening on West 21st Street.   So, we understand that. Uh, we just like to work  with the city and make sure that our concerns   are addressed and we're all on the same page.  Thank you for your time. Thank you, Ray. Council   member Johnston. Thank you, Mayor Ray. Good to  see you again. And, uh, yeah, your concerns,   I'm sure Paul and his team and Sean will uh, work  with you on that. I can't see how that would ever   get to that fence. Um, I don't think there's any  way that road will get to your fence or even to   your trees. So, but they'll they'll certainly  work with you. So, thank you. Would anyone good morning and council? My name is Holly  Terrell and I serve as the executive director   of Bikewalk Witchita. I'm here today to support  the proposed design for the 21st Street West. I   want to start by saying thank you to the staff for  the thoughtful work that's gone into this project.   This stretch of 21st is already one of the most  active cycling corridors in West Witchah. You can   see riders heading out toward Cheni Lake nearly  every day. The Northwest YMCA brings regular   bike traffic and there are businesses including a  preschool along this stretch. This is a corridor   people are already using. The proposal includes  two crosswalks, a side a six-foot sidewalk on the   south side and a 10-ft shared youth path on the  north side. That common combination makes sense   here. The sidewalk provides direct access for  pedestrians to ad properties and the shared use   path provides space for people traveling longer  distances including families, youth riders,   and those who might not feel comfortable riding  in the street. I would gently offer that they   serve different needs. In a high use corridor like  this one, separation actually reduces conflict and   improves comfort for everyone. I want to reassure  you that a 10- foot wide multi-use path is not   excessive. It's the nationally recognized minimum  for shared use paths. Organizations like the   Federal Highway Administration and the American  Association of State Highway and Transportation   Officials recommend 10 feet as the lower limit.  In high use areas, even wider is suggested. So,   this design is not ambitious. It's appropriate.  When we reconstruct a corridor that people already   use this much, we have a chance to build it in a  way that supports safety and comfort for decades.   I appreciate the work that's been done and I  encourage you to support this proposal. Thank you   so much for your time. Thank you, Holly. Any other  individuals who would like to address the council?   I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench.  Thank you to the four public comment speakers   on this agenda item. This resides in council  member Johnston's district. Thank you, mayor. I   would like amend I would like to recommend that  the city council approve the design concept,   revise the budget, supplemental design agreement  number one, adopt the amending resolution,   and authorize the necessary signatures. Second  motion and a second. Any further discussion? Um,   I'm just going to add my quick comment on this.  Again, this is not against sidewalks. It is   rather talking about reasonleness as well  as maintaining new assets. The width of a   typical SUV is between six and seven feet. This  is a 10-ft sidewalk called multiuse. So, again,   it's for perspective. Um, and I'm in favor of this  project because I do drive on this street and know   how busy it can get and knowing that the YMCA  right there um on 135th is highly utilized. Uh,   this road improvement makes sense and this  construction is anticipated to begin in 2029   and end in 2030 for perspective. With that,  I will be in favor. So, we have a motion and   a second. Any further discussion? I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Design concept supplemental   design agreement number one and funding for  127th Street East from Douglas to 13th Street   North. Thank you, Mayor. Paul Gonselman,  public works and utility for the record.   Second item is 127th Street from Douglas to 13th  Street. And again, on October 8th, 2024, the city   council approved design funding for multiple  capital improvement program projects, including   127th Street from Doug Douglas to 13th Street.  On April 8th of 2025, the city council approved   an agreement with professional engineering  consultants to develop design concept for this   project. And on January 14th and January 26th, the  District 2 advisory board as well as the bicycle   and pedestrian advisory board approved the design.  The project limits again 13th Street to the north   or the right of the screen, south to Douglas. the  traffic and proposed the existing and proposed   traffic volumes. Um we believe a three-lane  roadway will accommodate those future volumes. I step through a few slides again  from north to south looking. This   is a slide looking between Douglas and the Kansas   Turnpike Authority K96 ramp connection  to 127th Street. It's a two-lane roadway. The slide before you is the intersection  improvements at Central and 127th Street.   These were believe improved in the late  1990s. Um 127th Street is a five-lane   roadway north and a three-lane roadway on the  south side of the intersection and central is   five lanes on either side of 127th Street.  This is looking north of the uh K96 or the   bridge over K96 highway. Show sidewalk only  on the west side of the roadway or bridge. and existing conditions. This is looking north  near the Crest View Country Club and we have had   um discussion with members of the country club.  Um they were concerned with tree removal uh along   Crest View. Um so staff staff met with Crest View  on site. Um, we believe that there is flexibility   to adjust the sidewalk alignment and we will know  more once elevations are set. We will continue   to coordinate with Crest View Country Club.  They also had raised concern about the timing   and construction um with the golf tournament that  they have each summer and we will we had committed   to keep that tournament in mind and maybe look  at special phasing if needed to to accommodate   traffic during the tournament as best as possible.  And as I was sitting there after the during the   other item, I wanted to remind uh the council  that we do have the tree policy in place that was   uh approved and we do with that tree policy, we  do take another step and go back to the district   advisory boards once we have um plans further  along and know the impact of the trees. So we   can present that as well and reach out to those  adjacent property owners who would be affected   by tree removal. This is a current uh lane  configuration of the intersection of 13th and   127th Street. Again, it was on it improved almost  20 years ago. Um 127th Street from 13th to 21st   had been improved and it is a three-lane roadway  with on street bike lanes to the north. Again,   um this slide, I know it's busy, but it does show  the existing sidewalk andor path network in the   surrounding area. The blue represents sidewalk  on only one side of the street, and most of   these locations are within Cedric County. They  have Cedric County has jurisdiction over Central   and 13th Street. The orange is the K96 path that  will intersect this project to the south as well   as the red butt trail there between 13th and  21st Street. The purple has sidewalk on both   sides of the street and the solid green indicates  a multi-use path on one side of the street with a   sidewalk on the other side of the street. and our  proposed project right there in the center with   a dashed green line. We're proposing a sidewalk  on one side with a multi-use path on the other. The future traffic volumes um at the intersection  of Douglas and 127th Street, we believe a proposed   or we recommend a roundabout at this location.  We recommend 127th Street B3 lanes north to   central. And the 2024 bicycle plan does include um  sidewalk or multi-use path on Douglas connecting   the multi-use path along Greenwich to 127th  Street. And that project is in the CIP in a   future years. Moving north, the concept at K96 or  the bridge over K96. Um we are proposing to again   three lanes. We are proposing to modify the lane  configuration on the bridge to provide pedestrian   route on the east side of the bridge. So we  would be taking away travel lanes. This shows   to the right of your screen a pedestrian crossing  north of the bridge to connect to the K96 path.   And there will also be ADA and pedestrian upgrades  at the intersection of Central and 127th Street.   At the north end of the project, 13th Street  has been improved as mentioned before. We will   continue three lanes south from that intersection.  However, we will have a northbound right turn lane   and again we will have pedestrian and 88 upgrades  at the intersection and the multi-use path on the   west side of 127th Street will connect into the  multi-use path on the south side of 13th Street. Financial considerations, the initial design  fee was $225,000. Supplemental agreement number   one is $565,000 for a total contract of just under  $800,000. The existing budget that was approved in   in October 2024, $700,000. The budget initiation  request today of 2026 local sales tax funding of   $500,000 bringing a revised budget to $1.2  million. And then there is an additional   budget in the capital improvement program in 2027  and 2028 for $8.6 million. And as a reminder,   we do have 5,960,000 in change um of federal  funding in this project for construction.   With that, it is recommended that city council  approve the design concept, revised budget,   supplemental design agreement number  one, adopt the amending resolution,   and authorize necessary signatures. And  I will stand for questions. Thank you,   Paul. Questions for staff? I see none.  We'll open it up for public comment. Good morning again. For the record, my name  is Holly Terrell and I serve as the executive   director of BikeWalk Witchah. I would also like  to share support for the proposed design of 127th   Street between, excuse me, 13th and Douglas. This  corridor may not look busy today as 21st Street,   but it plays an important role in the  bigger picture of bike infrastructure   in Witchah. The 2024 bicycle master  plan identifies the segment as part   of a long-term network. Moreover, one of  the strengths of having a master plan is   that it gives us guidance in moments exactly  like this when reconstruction is happening.   The stretch helps connect the end of Kennedy  6 bike path near 127th and 13th to facilities   further south. Completing those connections  is how we turn individual projects into usable   systems. The proposed sidewalk and 10-ft shared  use path are consistent with national design   guidance and with the master plan. Even if  current traffic is lighter, infrastructure   shapes behavior. When we build safe, connected  facilities, people use them. When gaps remain,   they do not. I really appreciate the engineering's  team's responsiveness and the collaboration that   has happened on this project. This proposal  reflects thoughtful planning and consistency with   adopted policy. Thank you for continued leadership  and supporting connected safe streets. Thank you,   Holly. I see no further individuals who would like  to address the council. We'll bring it back to the   bench. This is in council member Tuttles's  district. Thank you very much. Um Holly,   just thank you for being here today. I appreciate  it and truly appreciate Bikewalk Witchaw. I've   been involved with that organization since it  began many years ago and Bikewalk Witchaw and you   just do a great job advocating for the master bike  plan, the master pedestrian plan, connectivity,   but mostly safety for when it comes to active  transportation in our community. So I appreciate   your time and efforts. Um thank you to Paul and to  all of your team. Thank you for your work on this.   Um, thank you also for meeting with the community  members. I want to thank community members   who came to the open house and to the district  advisory board last month. And I appreciate your   followup and meeting with them and their concerns,  especially Crestu Country Club. So, with that,   I move that the city council approve the design  concept supplemental design agreement number one,   revise budget, adopt the amending resolution,  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please call the  next item. Storm water utility rate increases. Morning, mayor and council members, Gary Jansen  again, public works and utilities. Uh the item   before you this morning is a recommended  increase to storm water utility rates.   Uh so looking to the future of our stormwater  utility fund, especially our ability to uh be   able to fund future improvements within the core  of our community. What you're going to see is very   similar, practically the same as the uh workshop  discussion we had last November. I've got a few   additional pieces of information that came out  of that discussion to provide today and certainly   be happy to answer questions when we get to the  end of this. Uh some history on the storm water   utility which was established in 1990. Prior to  that, uh, funding for storm water improvements,   there was a period of time when it was through  our sewer fund, uh, which is not uncommon in   some communities and and general obligation for  the most part. Uh, rates were implemented to,   uh, then to fund the utility. After 1990, uh  what we call an equivalent residential unit,   which I'll talk about soon, was our original  rate structure to build, maintain, and repair the   drainage systems throughout the city and ensure  compliance with federal and state regulations.   And I would emphasize that since that time, the  focus has really been on maintaining and repairing   the current drainage system uh because the funding  hasn't allowed us to do much additional building.   a lot of the reason why we're here today. Many  neighborhoods in Witchtow were constructed prior   to current drainage standards. Uh neighborhoods  in Witchto, new neighborhoods in Witto are   now constructed with uh very specific drainage  requirements which are financed through special   assessments. During the original development of  our community, especially in the core area that   we're going to talk quite a bit about today,  portions of the city um may not have adequately   addressed drainage needs, and we know that they  didn't. And this picture is a good example of   a core area concern that we see often. Modern  drainage standards that were established in 2012   and and even some before then. Uh but there was  a countywide drainage manual established in 2012   that all new development follows at this time have  highlighted many areas of Witchaw which again were   developed with inadequate drainage requirements.  This reality is directly driving the need to   upsize and add drain drainage infrastructure in  Witchaw's core neighborhoods. Had conversations   with many of you uh over time about what we  can do to help with drainage improvements   um without doing something uh looking to the  future. Uh we're going to probably remain about   in the same place status quo as far as being  able to make really u significant improvements.   Uh but I'll walk you through what maybe some of  our options are here and what that looks like.   Uh storm water rate adjustments were last adopted  in April of 2017. At that time a monthly base fee   of $150 was added and those residential tiers  I talked about that equivalent residential unit   which I'll come to on a chart here in a little  bit were rescaled to make fees more equitable   between residential and commercial customers.  So since 2017 that monthly base rate fee of   $150 has been in place. Um and really we've been  saving that up so that we can um move forward   with the Blackley project which is underway  now. Come back to that. Also the stormwater   utility fund and expenses include operations and  maintenance expenses annually for $950,000. That's   specifically for RNR of existing assets. That's a  big part of our program. That's really the most of   what we're getting done. We do have a few storm  water capital projects only two in the current   CIP that I'll highlight in a moment. This also  includes the city share of the city county joint   funded flood control project capital expenses.  There's a lot happening on this chart. Uh the   biggest portion of those CIP projects is BLI. Um  but just our operational cost to keep the storm   water utility moving forward. Uh we're going to be  challenged in the coming 10 years if we don't look   to do something sooner than later even if it's not  today. Looking at the stormwater CIP itself, uh it   includes switchto drainage canal improvements and  the MS Mitch Mitchell floodway improvements. These   are the city share only. These are the ones  we share with Cedric County. Uh pump station   improvements Buckley as I talked about which is  a big portion of it. And the other project that   is in the CIP now is improvements at Murdoch and  Wabash. Uh and we'll look at inflation impacts   on all of these here in just a moment. Other than  Bleley, all capital projects have been cash funded   since 2016 and all of that outstanding debt pays  off in 2031. So if we look at key rate drivers   uh from 2017 to 2026 and especially what we've  seen for inflationary impacts, the Bleley project,   the scope of that project has changed. That's not  all just inflationary impact in nine years, but   that's jumped from 10 million original estimate  to $36 million. We're getting ready to move into   phase two of that project soon. Flood control  project uh with the city share that is primarily   increased due to additional work being required  by regulators where that goes from 250,000 to 740.   Obviously, we see some uh impacts of inflation  there too. Murdoch and WA Wash project has almost   doubled in cost and M cost will see an increase of  $2 million over that period of time. We do think   uh based on our decision support tool that the  dedicated renewal and replacement funds we can   still hold steady for some time. I think we did  a very good job from the beginning of optimizing   what that needed to be. So uh we have a multi-year  uh we we've had a multi-year in-depth study of   the stormwater utility fund spending strategy  using a decision support tool. You've heard us   talk about our decision support tools for other  asset classes. We've done the same for the storm   water utility. Uh I'll talk about that more in  just a little bit, but I wanted to hit on some   of the factors. So, uh those include presence  of existing infrastructure, risk, probability,   and consequence of failure, critical facilities,  and rainfall elasticity. And one of the things   I'll highlight on rainfall elasticity that's  important to note, this comes with a lot of   institutional knowledge from our staff, but there  are some areas of our community, especially in the   core where we can get a significant rain event and  we'll see the streets fill up with water. We also   see those same areas that will clear out within 15  to 30 minutes. That's a factor we need to include.   It's not ideal uh when water is ankle deep or up  to the bottoms of doors of cars during certain   rain events. It's also not practical for us  to look at million-dollar invest millions of   dollars in investments to make sure that  we can get the water out of there sooner   than that period of time. Hopefully that makes  sense. It's one of the factors we're looking at   uh knowing that we've got to stretch any funds  we have as far as we can. One of the questions   that came up during the workshop that I wanted to  hit on right now I was talking about the decision   support tool is impact of properties whether it's  insurance uh flood damage we unfortunately do not   have that record information it's not available  to us we FEMA does not provide that when there's   previous property damage we don't have information  for records for insurance we we do not know the   impact in any areas of what flooding has caused  in the past unfortunately that's not a factor   uh and looking to where the the improvements  are needed the most. But I do I do expect it   goes hand inand uh with the factors that  we've used for a decision support tool and   where we see the priorities. Looking a little  bit more at storm water utility fund expenses.   Uh then revenue and expenses over a 20-year  outlook. Uh the blue line being the revenue,   the orange dotted orange being a linear, and  then of course the dark orange being expenses.   where you see some of those drops is where  the debt service uh comes off. Um again,   we're always looking to to balance cash funding  versus debt service. Unlike water and sewer   revenues which fluctuate based on volume and are  influenced by the weather, storm water revenue   factors remain fairly constant. Expenses continue  to rise and the next slide will break those down.   So 96% of storm water revenue comes from the uh  base fee of $150 that was implemented in 2017 and   the eru rates. So looking at our fund balance and  and Mark Manning talked earlier about all of our   funds, practically all of our funds having uh some  type of reserve target, which this one does too.   It's not by ordinance, but I'll explain to you  what that reserve target is on the orange line   in just a moment. So, a healthy fund balance has  been maintained in recent years while the utility   undertook the spending strategy assessment I  talked about earlier. A large portion of the   fund balance will be used to cash fund the Bleley  project without a rate increase. At this time,   the fund balance is projected to meet the minimum  reserve target through 2033. So, approximately   seven years from now. So, you can see where  that fund balance starts to drop below the line.   Um, our reserve target is calculated as 90 days of  O andM, 90 days of principal and interest, 60 days   public safety fee, which is roughly $2.5 million  between 2025 and 2030. We have found historically   that that's we think that's a healthy uh reserve  fund, but we're going to struggle to meet that   um relatively soon uh without considering doing  something else. So moving forward uh and really   getting into what our recommendation is for  today, there are three goals. Ensure long-term   financial stability by maintaining an adequate  fund balance. Sorry. Optimize investments to   minimize risk at the lowest life cycle cost and  control rate adjustments as much as possible. Uh   there's benefit in a lot more ways. U obviously  the impact adjacent property owners is important.   uh it doesn't do certain pavements that good to  sit underwater repeatedly. So we can also extend   our pavement life uh by creating adequate  drainage infrastructure to get that water   underground and to where it needs to go to more  effectively. Three options are prepared for city   council consideration and these all focus on  the change to the monthly base fee uh which we   would recommend recommend. So I'm going to look  at this with you several ways uh to make sure   that this is very clear and makes makes sense. Uh  we do have an option to maintain the status quo,   meaning there's no monthly base rate increase  at this time. That also means there will be no   funding for neighborhood drainage improvements.  The final opportunity to revise rates before   the fund balance is depleted as 2033. And at that  point in time, we would see a lot more significant   bump in what we would need for the monthly rates  uh as opposed to trying to smooth this out over   time. Option two is a minimum increase of 15  cents per month uh per year ongoing. That would   start in 2027. And let me just say today uh we are  recommending option three which I'll come to in a   moment. Your only consideration today is for 2026.  You'll hear talk about this 15 cents per year in   2027 and beyond. This 15% on option two would be  for 2026. Anything beyond 2026, we would bring   back to the council for future consideration. Even  if it's just the 15 cents per month each year,   that would not automatic auto automatically  happen. Just like we've previously talked   with water and sewer rates, we would come back to  you with that. So, just let me go back to option   two is a minimum increase of 15 cents per year.  That's 15 cents per month, the monthly um rate per   year ongoing starting this year. that still would  not provide any funding for neighborhood drainage   improvements only for operations and maintenance  of our existing system and but that would uh   extend us out to 2024 before the fund balance is  depleted. Our recommended option is option three   uh which includes a dollar increase in 2026 to  the base rate fee. It includes the projections   we'll look at includes 15 cents annually in 2027  and ongoing. Again, this is on the monthly rate.   uh we would come back to you next year for that  15 cents. That's not part of the consideration   today. That would generate approximately $ 1.5  million annually for capital improvements. And   then going beyond this year with the 15 cents  would help us keep us in the right place for   O andM. That also extends us out to 2044 at this  time. Um so I'm going to run through some things   here I won't spend a lot of time on. I'm happy to  come back to we have talked to several of you uh   in detail about some of these but at a high level  uh utilizing our decision support tool here's what   $1 gets us uh based on our recommendation for  option three the left side of this which is   called decision support tool DST approach number  one um what that does is is we got we looked out   as far as we needed to with a $1 increase million  half dollars a year to where within each district   we ended up with an upsizing project and a  neighborhood improvement project. There's a lot of   our neighborhoods that we can't just go in and fix  the drainage without upsizing other infrastructure   that it needs to extend into that neighborhood.  So, generally, one doesn't go without the other.   So, by the time we got to two projects in each  district at a $1 increase, it takes 24 years to   get there. It's going to take us some time,  but this would be a good start. So what that   table on the left shows um ends up being fairly  equal. Our goal was not to spread the funding.   It was to look at the priority areas based on our  decision support tool metrics. Uh and I was kind   of surprised at where we ended up uh within each  district. Approach number two is district agnostic   and it looks at what we see are the highest  priorities across the community. uh over a 24-year   period, we would see no improvements in district  2 or district five. We would see a considerable   uh amount of improvements funding wise in  districts one and six and the balance in districts   three and four. We are not recommending that  option. We think it makes sense as we've done with   our pavement preservation program that we should  be looking across all districts uh with the DST   approach number one, but I wanted you to see what  that looks like. We can certainly talk about that   more. Um but let's move on to the next step that  of that again. Um then what this looks like for approach number one. This is the first 10 years  and I know it's a lot of information. So first   table was over a 24 year period because that's how  long it takes to get to the point $1 increase to   have upsizing project neighborhood improvement  project in each district. This is what the first   10 years looks like for each district. And I just  kind of want to give you some idea of the areas   we're looking at. These are blocked out areas.  Um, our decision support tool does have additional   detail within those areas of the specific  improvements we need to make. Didn't want to quite   go that far into the weeds here. We can always  talk about that more if we need to. Uh, but you   can see within each district there's some UPZ is  upsizing. N8 is neighborhood improvements. There's   a variety of different work being done. And that's  the first 10 years. The balance of what we saw   uh would come uh in years 10 through 24. Approach  number two, which again is not our recommendation.   If we don't consider districts, you can see  that this shows no work in districts 2, three,   or five for the first 10 years. Um that's why  we think it makes sense to probably stay with   our recommended option number one so that we're  doing work across the community. Even if you look   at outside the core area like in districts two and  five, we've seen neighborhoods that were annexed   in uh from the county over the years where there  was no drainage standards in place at the time.   Uh and we do see issues in those areas as well.  So here's what the average monthly storm water   bill would look like. Uh and again, I know this  is a lot of information. So I talked about the   equivalent residential unit. I'm going to set that  aside, but I would I would call your attention to   class two. That's where most of our properties  reside. And what an equival but I will tell you   what an equivalent residential unit is. This is  common across the country. Municipalities to use   this. Uh it assesses a fee based off runoff from  the property. Average runoff from the property. So   if you've got concrete, pavement, roofs, anything  that does not allow water to permeate, you're   going to get runoff to the storm water system. We  establish an equivalent residential unit. That's   for all existing properties. That's for all new  properties. Whether there's a storm water in front   of the house or not, the storm water system, any  facilities, that eru is assessed. That part won't   change. The base fee that we established in  2017, it makes the most sense, we believe, to   increase that base rate u so that it's equitable  share across the community to make improvements.   Uh we've had discussions with property owners  over the years who felt like they shouldn't pay   any fees because there was no storm water system  in front of their house. This is no different than   uh what we do with our streets. People who pay  property taxes are not just to fix the street in   front of their house. It's for the entire system.  Uh in the same manner, paying the eru and the   base rate fee for storm water improvements helps  accommodate everything downstream. uh the more   water you pick up, the further you get downstream,  the bigger the pipes get, the bigger the systems   get. Everybody contributes to paying for that.  So that makes sense. If we go back to line two,   uh option one, nothing would change. The current  monthly bill is $3.50. Uh for uh option two,   the 15 cents increase for O andM would be 365.  Our recommended option uh is option three. Again,   on class two would go from $3.50 a month to $4.50  a month. This would be for the majority of our   citizens within our community. That would be our  recommendation. I'm not going to hit on anything   else on there right now. I'm happy to come back  to that later if you want to talk about it. As we   do with our other utilities, we wanted to look at  uh Pier Cities comparison along the I35 corridor.   Um De Moines, Tulsa, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City.  These are some of the ones we've looked at before.   Witchaw fits uh again they're in about the bottom  third. Kansas City, Missouri um their storm water   funding is subsidized by their sewer to  utility funding. So that doesn't paint a   full picture of the of the cost. And Omaha is the  same way. So we think we're still in a good place   um as far as comparison to our peer cities just  as they are with water and sewer rates. Wanted   to make sure that you saw that. That was a lot of  information. So I'll walk you through a summary.   Uh and then the formal recommendation uh storm  water revenue remains flat while expenses continue   to climb. I saw some information from uh national  construction industry that showed since 2020 that   construction prices across the industry have  increased by almost 66%. Some of that is due to   what happened during COVID but we haven't seen uh  much recovery from that. So everything that we do   uh including our operations and maintenance of  our storm water system, anything that we do for   new construction is certainly going to cost  more than it used to. So even if we make no   improvements to our system, even if we don't add  any storm water improvements to the core area,   we're going to see cost increase on everything  that we do. So we need to do something we feel   like sooner than later. Incremental increases  avoids large rate spikes in the future. Again,   real quick, option one, a status quo. Without  a rate increase, the fund balance is projected   to last through 2033. The minimum increase  would be 15 cents per month. Um, starting now,   that would extend the life of the fund balance  to 2044. Our recommendation option three is $1   in 2026 followed by 15 cents annually. That's not  what you're would be recommending today. That's   not what we're asking for approval today. We would  come back to you on that. that would extend the   fund balance to 2024 and provide approximately  $ 1.5 million and annual neighborhood drainage   improvements. Um, if either option two or  three is approved, the rate adjustment would   take effect on April 1st. Okay. So, coming to  a recommendation, if option one is selected,   no action is required. If option two or three is  selected, is recommended the city council place   the corresponding ordinance on first reading  and authorized necessary signatures. Staff is   recommending that option three be approved today.  With that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.   Thank you, Gary. Questions for staff, beginning  with Vice Mayor Glasco. Thank you, Mayor. So,   the 1.5 gives us what we see on page 95, correct?  The 1.5 million annually for additional drainage   improvements. This is only for the first 10 years.  And sorry, I know that's a lot of information.   What going back one slide? So, the left side of  that is what you would see that $26.5 million   in improvements. That's what you would get over  a 24-year period with a $1 increase. Okay. Now,   let's go to the next slide. Page 95. District  4 in particular, Meridian, Cynica, Douglas to   Waterman. At the bottom, it says estimate project  initiation. Is that is just 2034 for the district   5 projects. I know the district 4 project, the  road construction is in the CIP and I believe   2028. So would this not delay those projects that  were also doing the drainage improvements in line   with when it's projected in the CIP? Yes sir. Uh  very good question and we're keeping a very close   eye on that working together anywhere we have  the opportunity to make improvements with capital   projects which will be significant in the coming  years. It's going to add to this benefit. It's   going to aid and help us maybe make some of these  improvements sooner but certainly make them more   effective. Okay. Follow-up question. I think this  might be my last question. maybe two questions   into one. So when we're looking at option three  shows the monthly base fee would increase the   dollar followed by 15 cents annually or annual  increases beginning in 2027. Today's vote is just   to extend that in 2026 2027 or is that to extend  the 15 cent increase in perpetuity? Today's vote   is for the $1 for 2026 only only that. Okay.  And so when we're looking at the additional I   mean for me makes sense that you have an escalator  every month or you would have an escalator every   year and right now I'd say that the additional  dollar only maintains the fund balance through   2044. what would be able to maintain the fund  balance in perpetuity that we could continue to   make investments that they that residents would  know every month this is what an increase would   be something that we wouldn't have to worry about  still the fund being a solivan in 2044 and just   delaying it for future councils to make a decision  what would make the fund solver perpetuity   uh I don't think I have that number but I could  certainly get that to you um I'm not sure that   we've necessarily looked at what happens to be  able to go forward uh in perpetuity but I'd be   happy to provide that Um maybe something we can  consider today is with the $1 in 2026 uh gets us   off to a good start. Uh our next discussion on  this then assumably sometime this year uh about   this same time next year. We could certainly have  a further discussion on that of what happens going   into the future to extend us past 2044. Yeah, just  when we had the water rates conversation, what can   we do to make sure that this is consistent for  the future that residents know what to expect   and that way we don't have to worry about any fund  balance running dry. I think that would be good   stewardship. So, I would be interested in bringing  that back when u we bring back the 15 cents annual   increases how we could do that later. Sure. Thank  you. Thank you. Any further questions for staff?   I have a couple. So when you're looking at uh  slide number 85, can you go back to that please? You talked about any of these new developments  particularly in districts two and five. Um they   take into account storm water uh infrastructure.  However, a lot of the core did not. Can you tell   me when uh the drainage standards were updated?  Well, certainly in 2012, uh, countywide, um,   the city and the county worked very closely  together to develop a countywide drainage manual,   um, as far as what was expected and required  of new development. Even prior to then,   I started with the city in 1995. Uh, and new  developments then, there were drainage standards   in place. They they've continued to develop. So  I would say post 1990 even um sometime in that   area we started looking at more proper drainage  standards. Um and it's evolved over the years.   2012 really formalized things countywide to make  sure everybody was on the same page neighboring   communities that's really benefited a lot.  Uh but it's been an evolving process. Um,   all of that though with those new improvements is  all funded by special assessment to the adjacent   property owners, those who benefit from the  improvements. Can you give me some background? Uh,   we were not on this council in 2017 when this  went into effect. Um, and so this was a new   fee on individuals in 2017. Can you give  us the reasoning in 2017 to start this?   I was not involved with it at the time, but  from the information I have and what I know, um,   as much as anything, we were looking to the future  then and looking at the, um, the fund itself, the   fund balance. Um, I don't know what the projection  was at that point of where we were going to meet   or be below the target for the fund balance um,  or especially for the reserve part of it. But one   of the things I do know is we really started to  look at the Bleley project then knowing that it   was going to be costly. Um the idea with that 2017  base rate addition was to start uh saving money so   that we could eventually cash fund the bulk of  that project which is what we're doing and what   we've done. So again, uh, you were talking about  in 2017 there was foresight in trying to think   about how to make improvements to Bleley, which  happens to be in district 1. Um, and remind us   again how much this total project is, this Bleley  drainage project. Our projection is $36 million.   And so if we chose options one or two, the no  change uh you can go back to I guess the slide   that has the fee breakdown. Sure. There we go.  Um so if we chose one or two, there would be   no further major um projects. Correct. Is that  accurate? There's only two projects in the CIP   right now. we would be able to finish Blackley. Uh  and the other project was the core area one around   9inth Street. And yeah, so only option three  would allow for the next slide to happen. Yes,   correct. That's the only way for us to move  forward is with option three. Um, again,   I appreciate uh what you said that the preference  is approach number one, which would allow each of   the six districts to have some sort of drainage  project um be considered. Um, so I know that these   council members get comments from their residents  regarding drainage issues. I think several of   the pictures that you showed were in district  number six in council member Ballard's district.   So, if we chose options one or two, none of  those projects would be considered. Is that   accurate? If we chose if we chose to move forward  with what's considered approach number two here,   um there would be no projects in district two  or five. And and just for what it's worth,   I know again this is a lot of information. This is  projected on a 24-ear period because we we didn't   start with 24-ear period. We started with what  it take to do an upsizing project, neighborhood   improved project in each district. I know I said  that. I just want to be clear. If you look at the   first 10 years, we actually see uh no improvements  in two, three or five for the first 10 years if   approach number two is an option, which we don't  think it should be. Thank you. So again, before   the council are three options. Um, can you go  back to the fees? Option one, no changes in fees,   but also no new projects. Option two allows you to  have a 15 cent increase, but also no new projects.   Correct. That supports. And then option three  will allow you to again go back to the next slide,   which is projects in at least all these six  districts. So, is that accurate to say only option   three, which is an increase of $1 this year, would  allow for these projects to move forward? That   is correct. And I want to qualify one thing again  while we're here, just so everybody is clear. Uh,   this is going to take some time. So, again,  looking at 26.5 million in improvement projects   based on our decision support tool where we think  the most critical improvements are needed. It   will take 24 years to make those improvements with  the $1 increase. Just want to make sure everybody   knows that. Thank you. And again, it's only it's  a dollar per month. Is that accurate? Correct. So   your fee right now is a do uh $3.50 in class 2.  If we chose option three, it would increase by a   dollar. So your now monthly fee would be$450. Is  that accurate? Correct. And that's the majority   of our citizens. But if we went with options two,  which again would only increase it by 15 cents,   I I keep getting comments about increases  in cost. So I'm just asking a fair question,   which is only an option three, which increases the  fee to an additional dollar, will actual drainage   projects move forward. Correct. outside of uh the  two projects we have listed, including Buckleley   and the one on Ninth Street. Uh right now, we  would have no funding for any other improvements.   Thank you, uh Gary. I see no further questions for  staff. I will now open it up for public comment. I see no individuals from the  public who would like to speak.   Um, I know that the staff recommended action is  to increase it by a dollar. Um, but I again have   heard from this community that they don't like  increases. So, I'm going to say that option two,   which is the most minimal, um, is prudent or um,  option one, which is don't make any changes and   then this would become insolvent by 2033. Um,  so with that, I know that council members want   to speak about this. So, Council Member  Hohheisle, thank you, Mayor. I appreciate   that. Um, normally that's where I'm at is no fee  improve um increases. However, in my district,   I see so many issues surrounding flooding. Um,  the senior citizens who have to walk through   a neighbor's yard in order to get through their  front door. Um, a number of issues like that. So,   uh, this time I am supportive of a fee increase  option three. Again, I vote against most of these,   but this one I do see the the need in my community  directly for um, additional services to address   some of these flooding issues. Council member  Tuttle. Thank you. Um, Council Member Hall,   I love for your comments and I echo them. Back  this summer um I stood in culde-sacs and backyards   angled deep in water with public works team. Um  some of it we can be responsible for some of it we   can't but just to see the devastation that water  does. Um there's an expression in construction   called water will win. And we saw that this summer  and so we had 76 car water submersions during the   rain this summer. It was a 500year rain. And we  talk about deferred maintenance from this bench   quite a bit. And this is an opportunity for  us to really be assertive in this area. And   so with that, I will make a substitute motion to  adopt option number three. There was no motion   before. Sorry, I thought you made but I will be  supportive. And if no one else makes the motion,   I will for three. Council member uh Vice Mayor  Glascon. Thank you, Mayor. I was planning on   making the motion for three now. So, uh, I would  move that the city council adopt option three,   place the corresponding ordinance on first  reading and authorize the necessary signatures.   Second. Motion and a second. Discussion. Council  member Shepard. Thank you, Mayor. I just want to   reiterate that I think um while representing  District 1, it would be very selfish of me to   say our projects are underway with with some of  the options and so um the saving the increase   while important to me would not be fair to the  entire city. and I think it's my responsibility   to look after not just my district but also to  make decisions in the best interest of the entire   city. Um, Bleley is a project that has had lots  of commentary and spirited debate to this day. Um,   I continue to hear from constituents and I think  one of the number one questions we hear from   constituents whenever we have to take on these  projects after deferred maintenance is how did we   get here? So, while I think it's important for us  to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we also   have an ethical and moral responsibility to do the  tough things so that way 20 years down the road,   we don't have another situation like Bleckley. And  with that, I will be supporting the motion by Vice   Mayor Glascock and second it by my colleague,  Council Member Tuttle. Council member Ballard.   Thank you. Um, I just echo the comments of u some  of my colleagues and will be supportive of option   three. We have a motion and a second and the  discussion is over. I will provide a substitute   motion. The motion to approve option two,  which is a 15 cent increase, not a $1 increase. And I see no second. So motion does not go  forward. We have a motion uh right now from   Vice Mayor Glascock, seconded by Council Member  Tuttle. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 61. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Funding for Woodland Park North Public Art. Good afternoon, mayor, city council  members. Uh Janna Irwin with Arts   and Cultural Services for the Record. And  the item before you today is funding for   uh 2026 capital improvement program  for Woodland Park Public Art. A little bit of background. The cultural arts  strategic plan outlines a mission for the city   to ensure that everyone has equitable access to  cultural arts opportunities by activating and   strengthening the creative potential of the  community. The plan also identifies several   strategies related to public art, including  continuing to grow and restore the public art   collection and supporting efforts to stimulate the  creation of artwork and cultural opportunities. The 2% for art ordinance requires that city staff  include an amount budgeted for public art not less   than 2% of the total amount budgeted for new CIP  projects financed from general obligation at large   funding local sales tax and or transient guest  tax percent for our funds are allocated by the   design council and are used for the selection  installation administration and maintenance of   artworks. Unallocated 2% for art funds are carried  forward into the next fund year or allocated to   design council recommended projects to ensure full  and strategic utilization of program resources. 2% for art funds may also be allocated to  projects that are not tied to a specific   CIP project such as the Woodland Park project  being presented today. Other current project   examples with this type of allocation are  the downtown sculpture purchase initiative,   art maintenance, and OJ Watson  Park murals and sculpture. So, the North End Witchaw Historical Society  approached park and recreation staff with a   request to place a history walk in Woodland  Park North, highlighting the history of the   North End neighborhood and the significant  achievements of its residents. On August 5th,   2024, the design council recommended allocating  public art funding in the amount of $50,000 to   Woodland Park for a sculptural element  as part of the history walk project. The public art project will provide a  gateway to Woodland Park North from 21st   Street that celebrates the cultural  richness of the North End community,   its history, and the residents that  utilize the park daily. The gateway   will draw attention to the park and its  amenities, including the new history walk. Here's just some visual examples of gateways that  have been done in other parks across the country. For financial and legal considerations,  the 2026 2035 adopted CIP includes $188,166 in general obligation bond funding in  2026 for unallocated public arts funds.   Staff recommends initiating $50,000 at  this time for this project. and the law   department has reviewed and approved  the bonding resolution as to form. So, it is recommended that the city council  approve the project, adopt the bonding resolution,   and authorize the necessary signatures. And I  will stand for questions. Thank you. Questions   for staff? Um, just wanted to know is 50,000 the  maximum for this project then? It is. And then   uh the remaining of the 188,000 what will  be what is what is being um allocated for   the future? In all likelihood that will be  rolled over into the 20 uh 27 funding year. I had a quick question. This is a followup to  America's 250th conversation we had several   weeks ago. So, would this be um funding that  could be used for America's 250? This funding   would be available should city council uh  should it be the will of city council that   it be allocated toward that type of project?  Thank you, Jana. You're welcome. Any further   questions for staff? I see none. We'll  open it up for public comment. I see none.   I'll bring it back to the bench. This is in  Maggie's district. Thank you, mayor. Uh Jana,   thank you so much. We're very excited for the  history walk and just all of the momentum right   now on the north end. So with that, I'd like to  take the recommended action. Approve the project,   adopt the bonding resolution, and authorize the  necessary signatures. Second. Motion second.   Any further discussion? I see none.  Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item.   2026 community services block grant application. Good morning and happy new year even if it's  in February but this is my first time. So good   morning to mayor and council and everyone on the  council this morning. Special acknowledgement to   you Mr. Joseph Shepard. Welcome to the bench and I  look forward to working with you in the f future.   My name is Michelle Williams and I currently  work in our housing and community services   department and I oversee the division  of the Witchah Cedric County Community   Action Partnership. Very long. We shorten it  to call Whiscap. So before you this morning,   I bring to you a grant budget application.  We bring this to you before you every year   um to present this um and it is for our  community service block grant application. A little bit of background in regards to the  application. Um, we receive this, like I stated   before, once a year we apply for it. Um, there are  a total of eight community action agencies inside   of the state of Kansas. We review all of that. We  receive a budget analysis from them throughout the   entire state based off of our census track. And  those funds are allocated to us based off of,   once again, the census track. The funds come  directly from the US Department of Health and   Human Services to the state of Kansas, which  is also known as the KHRC. In December 2025,   we received the preliminary guidance on funding  amounts received from KHRC. December the 12th,   our CSBG review committee completed the  funding recommendations. And then today,   I'm bringing before you the grant application for  approval. February the 28th, it is due to KHRC.   And on April the 1st of this year, our grant year  will begin. The review the review committee, which   most of you have heard about. I'm pretty sure  all of you almost have got an email from me, um,   makes up of about 12 representatives. Eight are  appointed by the council. Four are elected into   the resource neighbors. We currently have four  vacancies and that's one in district 1, three,   four, and six. Thank you guys for the feedback  in advance on getting those people placed. So,   I really appreciate that. The committee met on  once again the 12th to review those guidance,   review the recommendations, and also discuss the  budget, the outcomes, and the expenditures. The   2026 program fund is based on the committee's  recommendations. Most of you have also heard of   our IFD program. Our program over the last year  for our different accomplishments was 124 of   those individuals. We assist of assist assisted  with employment supportive services. Sometimes   that means on providing them guidance on helping  them get a job, helping them pick up a secondary   education, helping them with motivational  interviewing. We also allocate um funds to   project access which is an amazing amazing partner  with us and they provided 633 uninsured eligible   individuals with opportunities for prescriptions  and medical supplies. Our employment training   was also additioning to that which is 177 and we  paid for people to go and get their CDLs through   um Kansas Truck Driving School or Allied Health.  Our summer activity camp is a great partnership   with Park and Rex where we're able to allow and  supply scholarships for those youth and children   between the ages of six to 13 to go to summer  camp and the parents are not receiving that   financial burden and our children have a safe  place to engage for 10 weeks of summer camp.   The um the staff we have currently right now is  funded of four city of Witchah staff who operate   in those expenditures that are before you. Our  staff ministers and provide funds and we assist   a total of about 275 eligible individuals and that  is only inside of this grant not addition to the   additional services we provide for additional  services. We allocate, as I stated before,   200,000 for prescription assistance, which can  assist up to 700 of unassured citizens. The   employment training we're looking at for the  budget is $135,000 and that would allow us to   approximately be able to provide services to 75  participants to allow them opportunities to gain   better employment. We're also looking forward  to continuing our partnership with the summer   camp parks and reccks program to provide those  scholarships to those youth to pro participate   in summer camp. And then in our way to work  program, which is our summer youth program for   our youth that are 14 to 17 for this specific  component is $63,000. That would allow us 140   youth. That is a decline from what we had on 2025.  Um, but we are going to do 140 youth because we   also receive an additional $200,000 through  our community development block grant funds.   The legal consideration is the law department has  reviewed and approved the funding agreement as to   form. Our recommendation is before you today  for the review committee to recommend that   the city council approve the 26 block grant  application and the amount of 1,297,741.38 and authorize the necessary signatures and I stand  before you if you have any questions for me this   morning. Thank you. Questions for staff beginning  with council member Hohheisel. Thank you mayor.   Uh and thank you Michelle. It's always just such a  pleasure to see you up here. Um, yeah, I have some   questions on the way to work program. Do you have  any idea about how many jobs we are reducing? Um,   so we went from 175 to 140 and that is because of  the cola. So the cost of living is increased and   so we are aligning with the city's expectations  and so because we don't receive an additional   amount of funding for that we have to make those  adjustments and offer it for a little bit less of   amount of kids so that way we can still be able  to offer a quality program. Did we hit 175 last   year full employment? We started with 175. We  did. We did. We ended the um program with 156.   And it wasn't all because of they just quit. Some  of them had um basketball camps, football camps,   family things that have come up. Some of them  got other jobs so they wanted to start them.   Different family dynamics. So it wasn't all in  all in bad reasons. Okay. Yeah, that's reduction   of 33,000. So um allocating it elsewhere.  Now, if there was um a couple of companies   or public funds or private funds that could be  leveraged, they can put it into the program and   uh help us with the way to work program.  Absolutely. So, just recently we attended a   um coalition group with the Witchah Workforce  Alliance and that was one of the great things   that we talked about was recognizing that we have  received a decrease in a decrease. We've received   the same amount of funds. I should correct that.  The same amount of funds, but we won't be able to   offer as many spots to youth. So, some of our  youth who are between the ages of 16 and 17,   we're partnering more with Workforce Alliance to  be able to offer those older youth an opportunity   to work inside of different things like Textron,  Cox Machine, um not Spirit anymore, so Boeing,   um those different avenues. And so they were  available there and also came up to us at the   end and are looking a partner. So we're hoping  to be able to outsource some of those internship   opportunities to those youth so no youth has does  not have the opportunity to be employed. So it's   more redirecting them to other sources or or other  groups who are doing the same thing. Absolutely.   It's more about connecting. Um I'm a person  who's all about connecting our youth and not just   referring them over to there. We want to ensure  that we're providing a connecting opportunity so   we can ensure that there's engagement. Okay. Thank  you. You're welcome. Council member Shepard. Thank   you, Mayor. Uh Michelle, how many slots do you  have available now for the U way to work program?   We don't have any more slots. Okay. Um which is  a great thing. We opened up applications December   the 20th and were very intentional because our  youth went on um winter break and so we we knew   they didn't have anything kind of side distracting  them. So we opened it up on December the 20th and   we closed it February the 5th and at the time of  closure we closed it at 251 applications. Now I   did instruct you guys that we only are able to  hire 140. Statistics have shown in the past that   we have taken in a lot of those applications,  but we don't have that many of them show up   for roundup. In addition to that, we really,  really work hard on getting those additional   youth engaged into parks and wreck is our number  one target because they are hiring at aquatics,   the pool. So, we refer a lot of those young people  over to help fill in the gap for Reggie Davidson   and his entire team. In addition to that, helping  those young people go over to Witchaw Workforce   Alliance. So, it's not just a one-stop. We really  do look at those youth and then we don't have them   all 250 that show up for the roundup day,  which is held March the 13th at Metroplex. Michelle, I have a couple questions. The green  sheet actually says 145 summer jobs for the   way to work. Is that now 140? It is now 140. We  recently just um looked at the budget and so I met   with our finance team in our department and made  some adjustments to ensure that we weren't over   estimating. Um I am the guilty one of I believe  all kids can come in and we have a wonderful   finances but you don't have the money to pay them.  So so 2026 I am listening to what they say instead   of coming back begging for mercy later. And how  many total individuals applied again? 251 total.   We had 25 received 251 applications. So again,  we need uh more employers in our community that   would like to take in youth this summer. Um,  thank you again for participating in the forum   that we hosted with uh YMCA's job prep and uh the  program through workforce centers called YIP. So I   wanted to know um what are you guys doing? Again,  a lot of these kids, a hundred of these kids will   not have a spot here at the way to work. explain  again um if these kids do not receive a call back,   what do you want them and their parents to  know? So, we are 100% all about connecting.   As I previously stated, we communicate with Reggie  Davidson um in parks and wreck and get the entire   list of all the applications that they have and  the positions that they'll have over the summer.   and we create a list of all of the potential  positions that will be available for them and tell   them to go on to online and apply and to let us  know that they've applied so we can automatically   let Reggie and his team know. In addition to that,  we also send those information over to Witchah   Workforce because we want to become a create a  more of a transition style. So our 14 and 15 year   olds who have never had the opportunity to engage  has the opportunity to have summer internships and   once they turn 16 and 17, we can transition them  over to the workforce alliance job prep. Um, yep.   It doesn't really grow great for our 16 and  17 year olds when we put them in a camp height   because they've already did some sort of work and  so that's a oneweek program, but there are a few   of those young people between 16 and 17 who have  never worked. And so we also offer that as well.   So it's more about collaborating a lot stronger  because we recognize that there's a lot of gaps in   our community. Thank you, Michelle. Council member  Shepard. Nelle, I believe you've already said   this, but just how long is the how many weeks?  It is 10 weeks. So, we start, believe it or not,   our youth begin to engage with us beginning  in in December and January because our phones   have been flooded. So, there's been some sort  of conversation. They will start with us March   the 13th. And at that time they come to roundup  and roundup consists of interviewing taking a   picture for your badge that they go through all  of the HR steps provide their I9 documents. We   have a parent meeting with the parents um so they  begin to understand their first official work day   um as employee is May the 26th. It's the day  after Memorial Day. I mix up every year but it's   the day after Memorial Day. And that's for four  days. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.   and we will be at Witchah State Woolsley Hall for  those four days to be able to do that. So, at any   time you all would like to come and see how that  program is structured um please shoot me an email.   I'll be more than happy to add it to your calendar  um and let you know about what the program is.   If you want to come and speak, I'm always looking  for speakers. Um so, if you would like to come and   speak and engage, um please feel free to do that.  They would love to see your face. Um you guys had   your former youth um council me youth mayor um  was um Amaya Williams and she was a former TWWTW   youth as well. So it does work by just coming  and engaging with them during that time as well.   Michelle, I would just add that. I think that's  a great idea. I think having our mayor's youth   council or any youth auxiliary organizations,  anything we can do to help with that. I also heard   Vice Mayor Glascock is willing to do a threeon-ree  basketball tournament uh with with those who are   in the way to work program as well. I will  send you the invite only if he's on the team   as well. We could we could even create a flyer  if you like. Thank you. And again, Nelle, that   website is hypeanansas.com which has all three  of these summer youth programs. hyphanansas.com. So, thank you again uh for the way to work program  and look forward to having these young people here   uh throughout the city working  this summer. Absolutely. With that,   I see no further questions for staff. We'll open  it up for public comment. I see none. I'll bring   it back to the bench. And with that, I move  that the council approve the 2026 community   services block grant funding application  and authorize the necessary signatures.   Second. Motion second. Discussion. I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame clerk, please call  the next item. Conditional home program funding   for Menanite Housing Rehabilitation  Services Incorporated, Knox Court. Good afternoon, mayor and council members. My  name is Carmen Hoffine and I'm the real property   section manager for the Department of Housing  and Community Services and I'm here to present on   the conditional home program funding for Menanite  Housing Rehabilitation Services, Inc. Knox Court. On May 6th of 2025, the city council approved  allocations from the 2025 2026 annual action   plan which included approximately 11.1 million  in current year home American rescue plan ARP   and reallocated home investment partnership  program home funds. That allocation included   approximately $1.6 6 million in funding  for the housing development loan program,   also known as HDLP, which is designed to provide  subsidies for infill housing projects to support   the development of real estate that is idle  or underutilized and to provide needed housing   for underserved populations. HDLP funding  is available for nonprofit or for-profit   organizations. Loan structure is dependent  on the type of project to be financed.   Historically, the funding has been made  available within the boundaries of the city's   redevelopment incentives area, neighborhood  revitalization area, or local investments   areas. Funding requests are received on an open  application basis. Menanite Housing submitted   an HDLP application from Knox Court ahead  of the 2026 tax credit application process.   Knox Court is a proposed 46 unit senior housing  development located across two sites at 8031 East   Gilbert Street and 1511 West 27th Street South.  The project includes 11 forplexes and one duplex   with 23 one-bedroom and 23 two-bedroom units. The  development will address the critical need for   affordable rental housing in Witchah targeting  senior and disabled populations. This project   will provide highquality affordable homes in  a well-resourced community for underserved   senior households. This site is situated in a  primarily residential and retail neighborhood   offering convenient access to essential services  and amenities. The site located at 8031 East   Gilbert is near South Rock Road in East Kellogg  and is less than half a mile from a grocery store,   shopping, pharmacy, child care, child care center,  and a park ensuring residents have easy access to   daily necessities. Public transportation is  readily available with a nearby bus station,   and the site is a quarter mile from Kellogg,  providing a 10-minute drive to downtown Witchah.   The 1511 West 237th Street South site is located  between South Meridian and South Senica in a   primarily residential area with essential services  and amenities within half a mile. Menanite Housing   is a proposed property management agent for  this development. They are a Witchaw based   company with extensive experience managing litech  and affordable housing properties. For the next   several slides, I'm going to ask Byron Adrien  Adrien from Menite Hising Housing to present. Mayor, council members, I'm Byron  Adrian with Menanite Housing and we   are submitting a tax credit application this  year to KHRC for Knox Court and Knox Court   um is uh two properties currently owned by  Presbyter 8031 East Gilbert in District 2 and   1511 West 27th Street in District 4. And  I'd like to thank Council Member Tuttle,   Council Member Glascock for your support for  this project. And we've got U Bill Hendris with   um Presbyteria of Southern Kansas.  He'd like to say a few words. Good afternoon, mayor, council members. I'm Bill  Hendricks, 708 North St. Andrews. I am moderator   of the Presbyteria of Southern Kansas. These two  properties are both church properties that are   mostly undeveloped. This is never developed land  within the city limits of Witchah. Both of them   original uh congregations started in uh nearly 65  years ago. The original congregations of both of   these locations have aged out, have closed. So,  the presbyter owns these two properties. In 2023,   a group of seven elders determined what  we should do with the two properties to   provide a a complimementaryary adjustment or  amendment to this neighborhood to honor the   65-year legacy of both of these locations  and to serve additional ministry needs.   So after a lot of due diligence and prayerful  consideration, we decided to partner with   Menanite Housing to do affordable senior housing  in both of these locations. The location on East   Gilbert is currently occupied uh by the Korean  church congregation. They are a congregation   that was once several hundred members.  Today there are 10 in worship on Sunday.   We will work closely with them to help relocate  them to a suitable location for their continued   growth. We've have been able to help them secure  a new minister for their congregation that they   have not had in recent years. We believe that  these developments will assist city council in   responding to the appeals of justice together. I  know several of you were there last time when we   met together. So that will help you respond  to that and it will develop infill land that   has never before been developed within  the city limits. Any questions? Byron. So Menite Housing is a nonprofit organization.  We're located here in Witchah. Our mission   is to provide affordable housing in the  communities we serve. We have worked with   Kansas Housing Resources Corporation for  35 years. We developed 22 LTC properties,   over 900 units, and we're a Kansas developer and  property manager. Uh majority of our properties   are in the Witchah area. We currently manage  over,300 units at 35 properties across Kansas   and that includes 960 units uh at 24 properties  here in Witchah and included in those are the   four city of Witchah RAD properties 226 units at  those four properties. So we look at this as a   great opportunity for two local organizations to  come together and we have a common goal which is   to provide additional affordable housing  for seniors here in the local community.   A little bit of information about the project  again 46 units for seniors that's 55 and older   um split evenly between onebedroom and  twobedroom. Each unit includes a safe room,   onecar garage. At both locations, there will be  a clubhouse with amenities and Menite Housing   will be property manager. So, we're going to  be responsible for maintaining the properties. Here are several um renditions that show a  front view of the forplex design, side view,   and rear view. So, you can see each  has its own singlecar garage and a   front entrance and a rear uh door with a patio site plan on the 8031 East Gilbert, six of the  forplex uh buildings. Uh and also we plan on   utilizing the current church building there  for the clubhouse. and then also uh one one   bedroomedroom and one two bed bedroom for a total  of 26 units at the east Gilbert and then on the   west 27th street south five forplexes so 20 units  there and then we would uh build a new structure   for our office and clubhouse and maintenance area.  a little bit of information about the uh units,   how many are at each um income level, and this is  typical on a litec to provide various different   levels based on the applicants income. And we've  been very fortunate on this to be able to keep the   mix fairly even as we go through the 30, 50, and  60 levels so that there's an adequate number for   each of those. And we like being able to provide  a fair number of units for those that need it   the most, say at the 30% level. So 14 units at  30, 14 at 50, 14 at 60. And then we're a little   restricted. Um when we elect income averaging,  we have an opportunity to have a few over 60 at   uh 80% and below. And so we got four at that  level. And you can see the rent uh amounts   very affordable starting at 360 a month  for onebedroom at the lowest income going   up to 840 for two-bedroom at the higher income  level. And then looking at the funding sources,   the federal and state uh tax credit funding  from the investors, we'd end up with about   $250,000 uh permanent loan. We anticipate that  we'd have funding for home funds and housing trust   funds from KHRC. And then you can see the $200,000  there for the home funds that we're requesting   here. Even though that is a small number on this  sheet relatively in terms of the application,   having that 200,000 um as part of this funding  source allows the application to score better. So,   the 200,000 that we're making application for  here from the city of Witchah is a big deal and   we really appreciate the opportunity uh that we've  been able to go through so far um with affordable   housing review board and their support. And so,  um we're we're very fortunate we believe to be   able to have this opportunity for these funds as  part of this uh as part of this project timeline.   You can see the steps that we've already gone  through. We appreciate the council's approval   a couple weeks ago of the zoning change that makes  again makes our application a lot cleaner to show   KHRC that uh we have the properties already  zoned appropriately for the use and uh we've   made application already a preliminary application  to KHRC which is required. We did that in January.   Next week we'll hear back from KHRC um if they  um provide us an invitation to u submit a full   application. We anticipate they will and then that  application would be due in May. The uh tax credit   award notification is in July by the end of July.  If uh we're fortunate enough to get uh the award   approved, then we would begin construction  about a year from now and uh end construction   about two years from now. So with that, I'm  happy to answer any questions you may have. So for financial considerations,  there is no impact to the general   fund. The total project is estimated to  be approximately uh well 12,770,0001. Anticipated funding sources include  $200,000 requested city of Witchaw home   funds. Um $1,20,000 for Kansas Housing Resources  Corporation Home and National Housing Trust Fund.   $150,665 for Menanites's deferred developer  fee, $250,000 for a permanent loan, $6,544,346 for federal litec, and $4,55,000 for state litec.   On January 26th of 2026, the HDLP application  for this project was presented to the city's   affordable housing review board, who reviewed  the application and developer presentation.   The affordable housing review board approved the  application and directed staff to refer it to the   city council to approve the director of housing  and community services issuance of a conditional   commitment letter. For legal considerations,  new construction of affordable rental housing   is an eligible cost under the home program. A  funding agreement will be drafted, approved as   to form by the law department and will be placed  on the city council agenda for agenda for approval   on a future date provided Menanite Housing  Rehabilitation Services, Inc. is successful   in securing all proposed sources of financing and  meets all the terms set forth in the conditional   commitment letter. Our recommendation is that the  city council approve issuance of a conditional   commitment letter for home investment partnerships  program financing in the amount of $200,000 for   the Menanite Housing Rehabilitation Services, Inc.  Knox Court Project and authorized the director of   housing and community services to sign. And  I stand for questions. Thank you very much,   Carmen, and our guest speakers. We'll begin with  council member Hoheisle. Thank you, Mayor. Um,   I appreciate the the work and the presentation.  Sounds like you guys, I think we've met before,   have quite a extensive background with LITC. Um,  so that's promising. Um, just a quick question.   Is this uh project um dependent on LITC? Will it  move forward if we don't get Yes, it is dependent   on LITC on both the federal and the state? Yes.  Okay. So, if if it doesn't go through, then we   can recoup these funds and allow them elsewhere.  Okay, that is correct. Uh, second, real quick,   I got to ask. Um, there's not another affordable  housing project within the half mile or so of this   one that would not No, that I would have to get  back to you on that one. And I don't know. Well,   Sally may know that. I She knows. Yeah, she  knows why I'm asking. She probably knows that. Sally's saying housing and community services  department. For the record, the the regulation   in the LITC application about the halfmeer  radiance is only for 4% applications. So,   it is not um applicable to this because this is  a 9%. Okay. All right. Thank you. Any further   questions for staff? Um can I just have Byron come  back up? I'm very grateful to Menanite Housing   for providing this type of affordable housing in  our community and you have a proven track record.   Um, I know that this project is 12.7 million  and there are going to be 46 units. So,   per unit it's going to cost 277,69 per unit.  Has have those been increasing? And if so,   what can you attribute to that? Um, you know,  that's really a pretty good cost per unit.   As I look back over the last five years,  we have seen those costs go up over 300,   even to 350,000 per unit. Not necessarily on the  projects that we've gotten approved, but on others   that have been approved. So, you know, just  general um increases in costs of materials and   uh subcontractor expenses. is um one thing that's  bumped it up also here in the last couple years is   we may um you know you noticed in the funding  sources um the home that we're talking about   here but also the home funds with KHRC and the  housing trust funds by having those funds that   requires us to be in compliance with BABA build  America by America and we find in talking with   our general contractor that it's difficult to meet  that criteria and keep the cost down. So that's   added some of the cost right there by having to  meet the battery requirements, but 278,000 per   unit is really a pretty good price given what  we've seen over the last four or five years.   Thank you very much, Byron. And thank you um to  the group that is providing housing. And I really   appreciate seeing our faith-based communities,  seeing how they can utilize property that they own   uh for one of our challenges, which is housing  in our community. So, thank you for partnering up   and then uh making this a strong application. Good  luck to you on that application. I know that this   is contingent upon actually receiving these funds.  Um, so, uh, putting this in the best position is,   um, what we want to do. Council member Shepard.  Thank you, Mayor. I just want to piggyback   off of something you said. Um, our our faith  community being part of this this challenge. Um,   Sally and I have talked at great length, right?  And and we refer to NIMI, not in my backyard,   but there is Yiggby, yes, in God's backyard. And  this is an opportunity to really utilize our faith   community to address the affordable housing  crisis and the workforce housing crisis. So,   I hope others who are watching come along and  work with our housing department here at the   city of Witchaw so we can continue to close those  gaps. Appreciate that. Yes. Thank you. With that,   we'll open it up for public comment. I see none.  I'll bring it back to the bench. This is in both   Council Member Tuttles district and Vice Mayor  Glascock's district. Thank you very much. I would   love to have this opportunity. Thank you for all  you've done. We talk, I think almost every week   from this bench about we need housing. We need  all kinds of housing, but we specifically need   affordable housing. So, I appreciate you willing  to step up and address this important need. I wish   you all the best and all the luck. And with that,  I would move that the city council approve the   issuance of the conditional commitment letter from  home investment partnerships program financing   in the amount of two thou $200,000 for the Men  Menanite Housing Rehabilitation Services, Inc.   Knox Court project and authorized the director  of housing and community services to sign. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. I will  now ask for a 20 minute break   uh to return at 1:00 so that we can take a  short break uh with this council. Thank you. much for allowing us to have  a break. We will now continue   with the council meeting at 10:02 p.m.  Madame clerk, please call the next item.   business agreement. Correction, business  services agreement with NXT Incorporated. Honorable mayor, members of council,  Troy Anderson, assistant city manager,   stand before you today with a uh business service  agreement with uh between the city and Nexus. Uh   Nexus is a Witchaw based 501c3 nonprofit. Their  mission uh is really focused on early stage   startups. Uh they have three critical resources.  Uh connection to mentors and support networks,   strategies to reach customers and generate revenue  and education and access access to growth capital.   We generally refer to these or as accelerators. Um  Nexus has supported more than 70 Kansas startups   throughout its cohort since 2022 and expanded its  re its reach to nearly half of Kansas counties.   uh their accessing growth capital series has  also helped 32 different startups raise over   $3 million since 2023. Just some really amazing  statistics for this group. As it specifically   relates to this business service agreement, Nexus  has developed three programs in which prospective   companies uh can choose to participate. That  cohort um the enterprise engagement series um   and then ultimately the accessing growth capital  series. So programs run twice a year, January to   May and July through November. And then following  those uh output outcomes are to be measured and   reported by Nexus as part of the agreement.  This is a one-year agreement for $50,000. Uh we   actually had a couple of applications uh this year  for uh business support uh particularly in sort of   the small business either incubator or accelerator  environment, right? And so, um, we were actually   able to find some additional funds this last year  to make sure that we were able to provide funding   for both. More specifically, this $50 $50,000 came  from uh the sort the current former Propel loan   program. A couple years ago, there was a transfer  from the economic development sub fund into the   Propel Fund to help bolster the program. And so  this funding is uh we're going to transfer with   your approval that $50,000 back to the economic  development sub fund and then subsequently fund   this uh business service agreement. Law has  reviewed and approved the agreement as to form.   Recommendation before you today is to authorize  the bud budget adjustment, approve the business   service agreement, and authorize the necessary  signatures. And we do have a representative from   the applicant here to answer any questions you may  have. Thank you, Troy. questions for staff. Um,   just wanted to double check with you. The business  support uh that the city provides so far are for   Weeba. This would be for Nexus and the next item  would be for create campaign. Are those the three   that the city provides support regarding  businesses? Uh we we generally also include   in that conversation the agreement uh with the  greater Witchaw Partnership, but otherwise yes.   Thank you very much, Council Member Shepard. Thank  you so much, Troy. Thank you for your work on this   and um very fond of the work of Nexus and then  Korea campaign, which which I know we will be   discussing next. I'm curious, how do we ensure  that as these entities are doing remarkable work,   especially serving as an economic driver for  our economy, that we are being a good partner   in recognizing that good work and looking to  increase that funding. Um, as you mentioned,   $50,000 is great. I would like to see how we  continue to increase that funding so they can   continue to maximize their work. Yeah, absolutely.  We we plan on this is probably the first year   um during the budget process we'll we'll probably  introduce a request to at least access some   additional funding to as you know we kind of  had to go find some additional funds to try and   support both of these applications. Uh we'd love  to see that carry on sort of more in perpetuity   right in coming years. And so as part of the  budget uh conversations this year, we'll continue   to dive in to see if there are additional funds  that we can continue to to allocate towards sort   of the business service, small business support.  Um we'll absolutely have that conversation in   the coming weeks and months during the budget  process. Awesome. I'd be very supportive of of   that and supporting you and finding some of that  additional funding if it's there. Um a a followup   though in in regards to Weeba we awarded 100,000  right that's correct and Nexus and Korea campaign   receiving individually 50,000 um how do we make  that determination especially as we look at equity   and all three of them doing remarkable work all  three of them serving as economic drivers how do   we look at the equity and how we are allocating  funding to these different entities yeah so   probably the easiest way to answer that is um  number one sort of historical trends right how we   have continued to just build and forge and foster  these relationships with these community partners   uh I think number two is just the scale at which  each of these uh partners are able to leverage   those funds to support a much larger population  membership etc right and so obviously as I kind   of alluded to a minute ago our our relationship  and our partnership with the Greater Witchaw   Partnership and our ability to leverage roughly  $400,000 a year with them generates exponentially   more private funding, right? Um at a scale  of business attraction and retention and and   talent attraction and retention, right? Kind  of the the top tier. Uh Weeba, same thing,   right? We have forged relationships and they're  really kind of venturing out into specifically   some programs and services that not that they have  come to us with but what we have steered them in   right in developing a small business database  uh working with other community partners like   Witchaw State University Center for Economic  Development Business Research to really kind of   um bolster that small business database.  Uh, one of the things that they're going   to do this year is dig into gap analysis  and how do we be intentional around uh,   responding specifically to gap industries within  our community. And so there's kind of a scale   uh, perspective that we have had and the and  the number and volume of their membership   uh, is larger. And so as we kind of look at that  next tier, next create campaign, next kind of in   that accelerator space, right? uh where they're  going out. This funding helps them be able to   target what we call in industry sort of unicorns,  right? Those what are those businesses who are   on the verge of becoming the next national thing,  right? That that could be homegrown right here in   our own backyard. How do we help those businesses  accelerate and then create campaign? Like I said,   the next item on there, how are we helping  small businesses continue to um grow and thrive,   find the resources and the tools they need to be  successful? And so, it's probably a little bit of   a combination of steps we've taken in the past,  the scale at which these businesses interact with   community partners, but and any additional funding  in the future, we'd be more than happy to continue   to allocate to return the best investment. Mayor,  if I may follow up. Um, I so when when we talk   about equity, like I really would love to think  about how we are tapping populations that the data   is telling us we have the most opportunity for  ROI. And right now, I think that is Latino and   Latina based entrepreneurs and businesses. And um  certainly I think those who are focusing on local   and and I think focusing on creating the next  big thing nationally is great. Um but we also   know that small business is the backbone of our  economy. So the folks who are being able to grow   and and maybe think about how we are building  for Witchah is also going to again give us the   best return on our investment especially as we  look out. Today we heard the projection of the   deficits in future years and how do we continue  to support the small business to grow our base and   grow our economy and then using data informed  decisions to invest there. Um and I also want   to just say that I really appreciate Nexus and  create campaign and Weeba I'm sure does this too.   I've only been able to look at these two because  we's application came before my time on council,   but um what they are doing to connect their  entrepreneurs and the people that they work   with to additional funding. Um and so I know  that that's been a very important conversation   to our mayor and to us of how do we ensure that as  they grow they are tapping into other dollars to   remain sustainable. Um the money is here today and  it's great. Um but in the case something happens,   right? How are we setting them up for long-term  success? So, thank you for your work. I just want   to mention from the bench my desire to continue  to expand who this reaches, um, diversify who it   reaches and making sure we're looking at data  informed decisions so that Witchans get the   best bang for their buck long term. Absolutely.  Thank you, Troy. I see no further questions for   staff. We'll open it up for public comment. And  I know that we have the applicant here as well. Mayor, council members, Mary Beth Jarvis with  Nexus. We operate at 150 North Main. Uh I have   no desire to make this meeting longer for you, but  I uh I'm grateful for the support uh offered here   uh with this uh proposed business services  agreement. Just um a little bit of history.   Our organization is relatively small. We're sort  of a startup for startups uh or about 10 years   old. Um generally we are privately funded. Um, but  we have found in the years that I have led it that   having some small portion of our funding come from  public sector sources really helps us leverage the   idea that we are supported in our in our home so  that we can prioritize um a broad range of local   entrepreneurs that we're able to reach out and uh  and help. Uh over our history, the city of Witchaw   has provided a total of $100,000 of uh funding.  That was in the 232 24 time frame. Uh we've got   metrics that show that money spent by by some of  you and your predecessors uh was highly leveraged.   Um 84 bucks a job created um and millions of  private capital leveraged into these startups   that uh to these growthminded entrepreneurs uh  that are building uh tomorrow's great businesses   right here at home. So we're excited about that  and appreciate the trust you placed in us to   continue that work. Um we will always be majority  private funded. Um but if you see us and our peers   come back to you guys every now and then, it is  because it sends a very powerful signal that our   community is investing in these business builders.  Um the economic development world basically sort   of outsources the grow your own to us little guys  um because that's not something that uh is is easy   for a greater witch partnership or other large  organization to spend time on. And uh and we do   it's guorilla warfare. Um and we do it deeply.  We do it broadly and we build community among   these entrepreneurs because it is never going to  be an easy path but we try to make it a connected   path that connects them to peers to mentors to  resources and to capital um so that that engine   of growth can continue to to move on. So thank you  very much for your past support. hope that um this   business support agreement passes and that we we  will then knock the heck out of the ball uh in   our attempts to get another home run for economic  development for the region. Thank you, Mary Beth.   I see no comments. Thank you. We'll continue to  open it up for public comment. I see none. I'll   bring it back to the bench. With that, I will move  that the council authorize the budget adjustment,   approve the business services agreement,  and authorize necessary signatures. Second   motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Business services  agreement with Create Campaign Incorporated. Honorable mayor, members of council, again,  Troy Anderson, assistant city manager. So,   uh, this business service agreement  with Create Campaign Incorporated. Uh,   similar but uniquely different, right? Uh,  really based fundamentally around the Spark   Community Business Academy. Spark's a nationally  recognized 12-week business academy. uh they focus   on sort of that small business development.  Uh there's some really good statistics around   Spark and that program. 95% graduation rate,  59% able to access owner draw funds, 41%   uh increased business revenue over the previous  year and 24% increased household income over the   previous year. So some really good um measures  there just associated with the Spark program. Um,   as part of this business service agreement, city  support would uh offset some of the operational   costs allowing create campaign to continue  providing that high quality accessible entre   entrepreneurship education to a diverse set of  entrepreneurs. Uh this is a one-year uh program   from sort of January 1 26 to 1231 to 26 provides  alumni coaching those 12week cohorts I described   um sort of ongoing coaching and mentorship as  well as technical assistance. Uh create campaign   will record and report metrics within 60 days  following the conclusion of the cohorts. Again,   this is a one-year agreement for $50,000.  Funding is available in the 2026 economic   development subund budget laws reviewed and  approved the agreement as to form and staff   recommends approving the agreement and authorizing  the necessary signatures. Unfortunately, I don't   believe we have a representative of uh create cam  here today. I thought I saw her earlier today. I   wasn't sure whether she could stick around or not,  but maybe I'm just imagining. But um I'll be more   than happy to stand to answer any questions you  may have. Thank you, Troy. Questions for staff?   I see none. We'll open it up for public comment.  I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench.   Council member Shepard, would you like to?  I will move this item. I will move that the   council approve the business services agreement  and authorize the necessary signatures. Second.   Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I  see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk, please  call the next item. Zone 2025-61, zone   change requests in the city from single family  residential district to limited commercial and   general office district generally located on the  souththeast corner of West 51st Street North and   North Meridian Avenue. Hello, good afternoon.  Scott Wadel from the planning department.   So for this item, the applicant is requesting a  reszoning from SF5 to LC limited commercial and go   general office. There's the split there. This item  is being heard today because the district advisory   board and planning commission recommendations  are different. And first off, before we get   uh much further involved in this, I've got a  correction. Uh the ordinance that is attached   to the staff report includes an incorrect legal  description. This was discovered on Friday. So,   we have the corrected legal description and  I simply want to make a note that it is our   intention to use this corrected legal description  which was printed out and distributed to you. Uh,   and there's no need to read this as part of  your motion. So, yeah, thank thank goodness. Um,   so just know that this is the version we will  use because it's a correction. It was not the   intention to have the one that went out with it.  So, in terms of the request, the applicant has   indicated they're requesting the zone change  in order to accommodate future development.   They have mentioned that they would have entered  into a contract with a church to purchase the east   portion of the property and would like to have  two restaurants with parking on the west portion.   About the property itself, it's located at the  southeast corner of 51st Street in Meridian.   It is approximately just over 13 acres in size,  consists of a portion of one ownership parcel,   and is currently undeveloped in an agricultural  use. In terms of context, properties to the north   are zoned SF5 and developed with single family  homes. Properties to the east are likewise zoned   SF5 and developed with single family homes.  Properties to the south are zoned SF5 and LC.   The LC portion has a protective overlay on it and  is developed with an entertainment establishment.   The SF5 property is owned by the applicant and  uh part of that is a drainage ditch. Property   to the west across North Marinian Avenue is zoned  LC and within a CUP and is in agricultural use.   In terms of the staff report, the staff report  provides information about development standards,   compatibility standards, screening, landscaping,  lighting, and parking. In terms of review,   on December 18th, the planning commission reviewed  the request and recommended approval of the zone   change per the applicant's request, but with  a modification to the protective overlay,   and the vote on that was 130. The MAPC's  recommendation included modifying provision   number two of the protective overlay in order to  increase the allowable height of a sign from 12   feet to 15 feet. There were no public comments on  this case at that public hearing. On January 5th,   the district advisory board reviewed the request  and recommended the following with an 8 to zero   vote. It was approval of the LC district for the  entire extent requested by the applicant along   with the protective overlay. The PO recommended  by the DAB would limit the height of a sign to   12 feet. So the difference then between the M  and the MAPC. There was a second part to the   DAB recommendation though and they recommended  denial of the go request for the remainder of   the property. Therefore, the remainder of  the property would remain in SF5 district.   In terms of protest, no protests were received  against this application. Therefore, the zone   change can be per the MAPC recommendation can  be approved by a simple majority vote or four   of seven votes. In terms of recommendation, it  is recommended the city c city council adopt the   findings of the planning commission, approve the  requested zone change per the applicant's request   and with a modified protective overlay, authorize  the necessary signatures, and instruct the city   clerk to publish the ordinance after approval.  Again, that would require four of seven votes.   Alternatives include the following. As always, you  can override the MAPC, adopt alternative findings,   and deny the request. That would require five of  seven votes because It's an override. Likewise,   you can override the planning commission,  adopt alternative findings, and approve the   requests per the DAB, and that likewise would  require five of seven votes. Or, as always,   you can return the case to the planning  commission for additional consideration,   which would require just a simple majority. A  note about the process, city council policies   at the public hearing for planning items occurs at  the planning commission meeting. According to the   policy, city council does not typically receive  public comments on zoning items. So, and a quick   note also that I believe that the agent for the  applicant and the applicant are here today. So,   with that, I'll take you through some of the  graphics. So, again, here's the outline of   the entire zone change request area. Here's the  split that's requested between LC and go. Here's   the zoning map which was described earlier. Here's  the map from the comprehensive plan showing it's   recommended for new residential in this area. Here  are photos of the site and the surrounding area. And with that, I'll stand for any questions.  Scott, I just had one question. Can you go back   to the slide right before this? That's the new  uh Church of Latter-day Saints temple. Is that   accurate? Uh yes. Okay. Thank you. I was trying  to position um where we were at. Thank you. Sure.   Questions for staff? I see none. This resides  in council member Ballard's district. Thank you,   mayor. Um, after lots of discussion, uh, I move to  adopt the findings of the MAPC, approve the zone   change per the applicant's request and with the  modified protective overlay number 469, authorize   a necessary signatures and instruct the city  clerk to publish the ordinance after approval.   Second motion and a second discussion. I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,  please call the next item. Con 2025-157. conditional use to permit a  short-term rental on property zone single family   residential district generally located within one  quarter mile north of East 13th Street North and   within one quarter mile east of North Woodland  Boulevard located at 6845 East 14th Street North again Scott Wel from the planning department  for this case the applicant is requesting a   conditional use in order to allow a short-term  rental in the city at the site. This case is being   heard today because one, the district advisory  board and planning commission recommendations   are different and two because protests have been  submitted against the application from within the   notification area. About the subject site,  it's generally located, as you can see here,   to the north and east of Woodlon and 13th Street.  Its address is 6845 East 14th Street. A subject   site is just over a quarter of an acre in size. It  consists of one ownership parcel. It is developed   with a single family house and is zoned SF5 single  family district. In terms of the request, the   applicant has indicated that they would like to  operate the house as a short-term rental and then   later relocate to live at the house. The owner has  not provided a timeline for when they would move   to the home. In terms of context, the property  is surrounded by property zoned SF5 and developed   with single family homes. In terms of review,  on January 15th, the planning commission held   the public hearing for this item and recommended  approval of the conditional use. The vote was 8 to   5 and that included conditions which are listed  in the staff report. At that public hearing,   one member of the public spoke in opposition to  this request with concerns about the safety of the   neighborhood when the possible introduction  of a use that would have transient guests,   increased traffic, and the placement of business  in the middle of a neighborhood. On January 14th,   the district advisory board reviewed the request.  A motion for denial failed at that meeting. The   vote was 3 to three. Therefore, there is no DAB  recommendation. One member of the public spoke at   that meeting in opposition to this request with  concerns that similar to what was expressed at   the MAPC. In terms of protests, 13 protests  were received against the conditional use   application. They accounted for 76% of the total  protest area. This exceeds the state threshold of   20%. Therefore, in order to approve the request,  a supermajority is required or six of seven votes.   In terms of the recommended action, it is  recommended that the city council adopt the   findings of the planning commission and approve  the requested conditional use with the MAPC   conditions. Authorize the necessary signatures and  instruct the city clerk to publish the resolution   after approval. Again, it will require six of  seven votes due to the protest. Alternatives   include the following. You can override the  planning commission, adopt alternative findings,   and deny the requested conditional use. That  would require five of seven votes because it's   an override. Or as always, you can return  the case back to the planning commission   for additional consideration. That would require a  simple majority of four of seven votes. And again,   another note about the city council policy  that the uh public hearing takes place at   the planning commission. And a note on that  one, I believe there are at least one maybe   two individuals who have spoken on this case  before uh present here today. So with that,   I'll take you through the graphics  and images. So, here's the site. Uh,   this is the zoning map. Uh, sorry if it's kind  of faded out. Oh, it looks good on there. Um,   it's SF5 zoning all around it. Here's the map from  the comprehensive plan. It shows just a little   bit of a bubble of new residential expanding  into the area. Here's the protest map. Again,   the red uh indicates protests that were calculated  towards the protest area. Blue are protests that   were received that were outside of the protest  area. Uh here's a graphic that was submitted   uh as part of the application. And here's a  photo of the site and the surrounding area. And with that, I'll stand for any questions. Thank  you, Scott. Questions for staff? I see none. This   is in council member Tuttles's district. Thank  you very much. Um thank you to Scott and your   team with MAPD. Appreciate all of your um meetings  and answering questions. Thank you also to legal   for your assistance. Um I also want to state for  the record that I have had exparte communication   with the applicant and I've also had exparte  communication with community members regarding   this. Um I I also just want to go on record saying  this is probably one of the hardest zoning cases   that I've had. I talked to Scott again just this  morning about this case. There's kind of three   options in my head. Um and and I think all of  them could be justified and explained. Um, it   is a 76% protest rate, which is one of the highest  that I've had. I think one time I hit a threshold   of 90, but 76% protest is is significant. Also, I  know that the community members and the neighbors   have taken the time to meet with all of my  colleagues, and that also speaks to me for   something. So, I am for property rights. I'm for  essentially entrepreneurism and small businesses,   but I do believe in this case that allowing  this to happen would significantly change the   character of this small neighborhood. And also  because of the opposition of the neighbors,   I move that we override the MAPC decision  and deny the request for the conditional use. Second motion and a second discussion. I see  none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes. 5 to two. This does not pass because it requires six votes.  So Scott or I'm sorry. I'm I just want to clarify   so we all know what's going to happen next. Um so  Scott, Jennifer, can you clarify then? Will it be   then the zoning is approved since it didn't have  six? If I may, please. A because of the protest,   it would require six votes in order to approve,  but because it's a denial and it's an override   of the planning commission, it only requires five  of seven votes in order to override the planning   commission. So the motion pass. Okay. Thank you  so much. Thank you for the clarification. First   time for that one for me, Council Member Shepard.  Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. I just I just want   to share that I think it's really important as  Council Member Tuttle mentioned that being a good   neighbor matters and to her point also for small  business, also for making sure that people have   the opportunity to do what they wish within reason  with their property. But I believe that being a   good neighbor matters. I received several emails  about this and one of the questions I always ask   during my time on DAB uh for district 1 and in  this case is what has the conversation or efforts   been to converse with the neighbors to reach a  compromise and it did not seem like there was   enough conversation or efforts made and so for  that reason that is why I supported this motion. Thank you. Madame clerk, can  you please call the next item?   Public housing recovery agreement status report. Good afternoon, honorable mayor, members of  council. Sally Stang with the housing and   community services department. For the record,  the item I have for you is our monthly update   to the PA public housing recovery plan. So,  um, for some background, in January of 25,   the housing authority board entered into a  recovery agreement with the Department of Housing   and Urban Development for the low public housing  assessment score related to the disposition of   public housing, the occupancy rate and condition  of properties. HUD requires that the status,   this monthly status report be presented to the  housing authority board each and every month.   That recovery agreement includes actions related  to improving the physical condition of occupied   units, repositioning the remaining public housing  properties, and providing an update on capital   fund projects. So, as far as improving the  condition, all required maintenance plans,   inspections, and work orders continue to  be submitted to HUD as required. Uh the   REAc inspections completed in May of last year  again scored 100% and 93% respectively on the   two project prop groupings of properties. The  uh national standards for physical condition   inspection of real estate inspections conducted  by Nam McKay and Associates were completed on   all vacant and occupied properties in July of  25 resulting in no life-threatening or severe   deficiencies in any occupied properties.  Concerning repositioning, we have 7.3%   occupancy rate. Right now, there's only nine  occupied units. Excuse me. Six are being sold   occupied under the projectbased voucher contract  approved last month. That's actually scheduled to   close on March 2nd. Two are being sold to existing  residents. Those expect to close by the end of the   month. And the final resident is relocating this  week. Uh the approval of the final disposition   application was received in June of last year.  To date, 200 or actually as of January 31st,   228 properties had sold, 54 were pending sale  and a copy of a detailed disposition report was   attached to the agenda report. So our strategies  for the remaining units, the um South City units   to be sold as affordable rentals. Again, those  will close on March 2nd. And then we h have   still held some of the uh program income from the  affordable housing fund to in for an RFP related   to the units within the flood plane or units that  have environmental or other market challenges.   We're expecting that to be 25 to 30 total units,  excuse me. The RFP for country acres clusters   closed last Friday. So that'll be going to the  affordable housing review board later this month.   and then the remaining units are being placed  on the uh MLS staggered not to flood the market.   Related to capital fund projects, we did receive  that um allocation of capital funds in 2025. Those   funds can only be spent on the public housing  properties and we had an RFP close in December for   uh replacement of 19 roofs in the flood plane  area. We're still awaiting the contract on that   one. There is no impact to the general fund. The  monthly update once again is required um by the   recovery plan agreement and it's recommended that  the Witchaw Housing Authority Board receive and   file the recovery plan status update report for  February 2026. And I stand for any questions.   Thank you very much, Sally. Questions for staff?  I see none. With that, we'll open it up for public   comment. No one from the public is here. I will  bring it back to the bench. With that, I will move   um to approve um the monthly stat rec I will  move that the Witchaw Housing Authority Board   receive file the HUD recovery agreement status  update and public housing disposition update   report. Second motion and a second discussion.  I see none. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Madame clerk,   please call the next item. Council  member appointments and comments. Before we go to council member appointments, uh  council member agenda is first and I would like to   um ask the city manager uh the fire chief and  the public works director regarding Witchaw fire   station number 15. Thank you. Uh mayor, in front  of you, you should have all received a handout.   Um, we got a report this weekend of particular  station 15, excuse me, having some mold issue. We   do have a history with um some mold complaints  that have been addressed going back to last   September. So, the timeline in front of you  addresses it actually is at fire station number   one and the chief and our director of public works  will outline some more information. Um, so we've   done, uh, based upon that, taken it seriously that  there's been some concern for a black substance of   this case back in September at station one. We  did have that inspected at the end of September   and there was some discovery there. So there was  remediation work done, but then what transpired is   that if there's some mold there and keep in mind  at a fire station when you have several shifts,   it depends on how many people are also stationed  at that station, there can be multiple showers,   a lot of moisture with the um employees coming  in and out if they've been on three runs.   So just the environment I think in fire stations  may have a high moisture content compared to some   of our other facilities within the city. So that  has some unique stuff. Um but also if you think   about your own house situation, sometimes mold  can be something that can be removed or mildew   with a cleaner. Sometimes it takes a stronger  substance or a different approach. And so there   is some different um uh ways to address it. But  what was identified is that there we show last   October is that we did go out to bid to look at  every fire station to do a mold study or to do   an environmental study. And so we did do testing  of all of our fire stations as well as a regional   training center there at the end of October. So,  we did complete that and we did get the reports   back here just this January from a thirdparty  vendor and it does have some remediation plans for   where it was identified and again um also you have  things when you think about mold also is it just   dust in a crawl space is it around window is it in  a bathroom so there's different ways or different   places so they've also done air tapes and they  can get into the methods used to determine mold   because the testing was in a couple different  ways. But I also want to highlight that we talk   about preventive maintenance that there's also  been a lot of work by public works in coordination   with the fire chief about different needs in the  facilities. So for instance, we do have some roof   leaks that get onto the tiles. So our public works  staff will work on those, but they'll also change   out tiles. They'll be doing some duct cleaning.  They'll be doing other things within particularly   the fire stations and this one we'll talk about  station 15 actually the work on Thursday Friday   that triggered this concern may have been for  other work related to some of the ceiling tiles.   So we're going to get into that a little bit about  what is the mold situation there. Um so that's   just kind of set the context. This is to make sure  that the public knows that you all certainly know   that we have had this concern raised and we've  taken it seriously going back to September. And so   we've done the studying, we've done the testing,  and now we're looking at the remediation based   upon those results. And so I'll turn it over  to Gary Jansen, our director of public works,   who can talk about these results and the testing  methodology that was used and then talk about   what work was being done on station 15 last week.  Thank you, manager. Gary Jansen, public works and   utilities. So, I'm going to start with what we did  in um January, October when we hired a consultant   to complete testing. Again, this all started with  back in September. Uh there was some concerns with   some black material around some of the vents. that  particular material didn't turn out to be mold.   But, uh, there were some tape lift samples done  and some error monitoring, which isn't always 100%   accurate, but I'm not a mold expert. I've learned  a lot more than I thought I was going to recently,   which is good. But visible mold uh, is is the is  a good indicator. And also, musty smells a lot   of time within the industry, I say, is is a good  place to start. But we had an evaluation of all   22 facilities, 21 fire stations and the training  facility um and got results back on all of those   from different different ways. Uh some of the  fire stations from an air monitoring perspective   don't show the presence of mold even when there's  visible what you would consider black mold because   there's times when the mold is not it's not alive.  And so it can happen that you have visible what   looks like visible mold and no register of  air quality. One of our biggest challenges   is there are no regulations at any level of the  government and anywhere and I verified this with   Cedric County Health Department this morning  related to mold. So there's no thresholds,   there's no guidelines, there's no recommendations  that if you find mold, what do you do? What's   the risk? Um what's the what's the level? What's  significant? when should you consider occupancy or   not? So that's one of the challenges we're working  through in that regard. So I will tell you what   we're working on right now. Um the the consultant  that we hired was was to for the evaluation only.   There are environmental hygienists uh that will go  a step further than that and they are considered   the industry experts and we're trying to get  somebody on board right now as quick as we can   uh to perform a further evaluation of all the  test results that we've had and hopefully we'll   make recommendations related to risk uh and help  us prioritize uh remediation going forward. We   we've since October we've been working on  remediation. That's what we were doing at   station 15, which I'll come to in just a moment.  Uh we've done some things at station one, three,   and four already. Um we one of the things that  the manager mentioned that I think we've come   to realize and there's always opportunities  for process improvements. I think we've done   an outstanding job from my perspective, what  I've seen through our work order system is a   very robust system. This is at all facilities, not  just fire. public works and utility staff meets   on a monthly ba uh basis with fire, with police,  with cultural services, with parks, all of our end   users. We meet with them to look at outstanding  work orders, uh look at anything that would be   considered deferred maintenance, mostly from a  cost perspective. We're trying to get to a point   of getting it done. And we see a lot I've got the  last month's report just for fire only. It's 25 to   30 pages long of a lot of work orders. That's not  unheard of. uh there's leaks on there. I didn't   see a single one of them that wasn't repaired  within several days. So, first way to combat mold   and try to prevent mold is to get the leaks fixed  and I think we're doing a good job with that. What   I what I think probably has happened over time  though, uh the manager mentioned ceiling tiles   as a good example. We all know you get water on  a ceiling tile, it's going to stain. That doesn't   automatically mean mold, but I think historically  um the leak was fixed, but maybe we didn't always   take the next step to make sure it was dried out  to make sure that it was properly clean. You could   probably say this about anything. Leaking toilets,  leaking roofs, wherever the water happens to come   through. That is a definite step we're going  to take going forward uh to make sure that part   is mitigated as soon as it can. We're going to  be reaching out to all of the end users across   uh the entire organizations. As you know,  we've got 350 some buildings that are occupied   um across the community and we're going to make  sure that everybody has updated information going   forward about the things to look for look for  uh because it's not practical to to provide air   quality analysis at all of our facilities on  a regular basis. It's it's not something the   industry even recognizes should be done. But we're  going to get that environmental hygienist on board   as soon as possible so that we can take a look at  where we think the highest risks are currently at   our fire stations. Uh station 15 in particular  has got two issues associated with it. There was   uh some mold in a few of the ceiling tiles around  the women's shower. Uh but overall there was other   stained ceiling tiles where um according to our  consultant they did not suspect mold. However,   we have made the decision that we're going into  all fire stations. We're doing that now and we're   going to replace all water stained ceiling tiles.  We're on hold for just a moment and I'll explain   why. Last week, uh, we were replacing 90ome  ceiling tiles in station 15 that were water   stained. Still don't believe based on the report  that we had that those were really contributing to   any mold concerns, but I have found uh that we had  a process issue in containing um the stuff that's   above ceiling tiles. As you can imagine, there's  a lot of dust. Uh there's insulation. staff   indicated seeing more insulation than expected.  Um the the long and short of that is I don't think   we did a very good job of containing the material  when the ceiling tiles were replaced. We will fix   that going forward and we'll fix it now. We have  put a temporary hold on replacing other ceiling   tiles at other fire stations until we can get that  process right and we will get it right. I think   in talking to staff who was out this morning uh  for most of the morning during a council meeting,   public works utility staff and fire staff meeting  at station 15 to develop a plan going forward. Uh   didn't get things cleaned up the way they needed  to. It created some exposure. I don't know if it   was necessarily exposure to mold or not. Uh but  even the things that can come out of a ceiling   if they're not properly contained, not properly  cleaned, I think it can create some of the same   issues. So, we'll fix that going forward without  a doubt. The primary issue with mold at station 15   and and it's fairly unique. It's an older station  uh and I think we have two others like this is   that the duct work is below the floor. Um that  adds to the potential for condensation within the   duct work where you can end up with mold issues.  According to the assessment for station 15, that's   likely where the mold readings are coming from  in that duct work. we had already started moving   forward uh for installation of what we call mini  splits. So if you can imagine a building's got an   HVAC system with traditional duct work. These mini  splits are small uh HVAC contained systems that   don't require duct work. So in a smaller building  you can install several of those. You can provide   the same uh conditions the same HVAC conditions  and that can be done relatively quickly.   Uh the contractor had already been moving forward  uh to secure equipment. They were out there this   morning. They're doing everything they can to  expedite the schedule. We expect to get that   from them soon to know what that cost is too. What  we're looking at doing is the same thing we would   have done uh at any point in time had we known  this even back in September when we knew there was   issues at station one. We're moving forward with  that work now. Right now, they're predicting it   could take three weeks to get these uh mini splits  installed. We're hoping to beat that. Uh but we   think it probably is prudent to not reoccupy  the station until that's done. Um we're going   to do everything we can to beat that schedule.  I hope that we can. Um we've got the ceiling   tiles replaced. I think we've got that issue  taken care of. What'll happen then is once the   many splits are installed, we'll close off that  duct work. We'll cap it off, no longer exposure.   We'll have the consultant conduct air testing  again, make sure everything looks good before   we reoccupy the building. So, I I think that that  helps us with station 15. I would reiterate again   for the rest of the stations, we're going to try  to get the environmental hygienist on board as   quick as possible. We were hoping that we we had  maybe a different avenue to this uh and working   through um whether it be the health department or  whatever. and that has nothing to do with them.   But we've come to realize as we've gone through  this that there is nothing to rely on in that   manner. So that's why there's these other experts  out there. Hopefully we get somebody going on as   quick as possible and we will and and we'll we'll  know what those recommendations are. So we've got   all of our information in a good place. Uh we've  got the analysis in a good place. We're still   moving forward with remediation uh as soon as we  can on all the remaining facilities. we'll get the   recommendation of that environmental hygienist  as quick as we can um to make a determination   on safety for our firefighters because that is  obviously paramount to everything that we're   doing. Um one last thing I'll say um or a couple  things looking to the future and I'm not trying   to jump too far ahead because we'll answer any  questions you've got. Um, we have within our work   order system, Lucidity at a minimum every 5 years  going forward for detailed evaluation and analysis   of all of our fire stations. The manager mentioned  a good point. Uh, they are unique in their use   because they're living quarters. Uh, but there is  a lot of moisture that comes into fire stations   and inherent to what they do. Um, and even when  you build a brand new fire station, I was looking   at some data over the weekend that says you  build a brand new energy efficient house, all   windows and doors seal great. If you get moisture  inside that house, good luck getting it out. Uh,   and so you can actually create just as bad of a  situation in a new facility. So, we need to stay   on top of that. Um, and so we'll continue to work  with Chief Snow and Fire looking at everything   from custodial services to how everything is  reported. Again, I think we've been done a   really good job of the two departments meeting  on a monthly basis uh to talk about outstanding   work orders. I looked at that long list for the  last month. I would just say one more time and   I think we've been responsive to trying to deal  with these issues. Mold is tricky. Um, and we're   never ever going to be able to guarantee it's not  going to happen, but we're going to we're going to   we're going to take a renewed look at everything  that we can to keep the moisture out once we get   those repairs made. I'll just say one last time,  we need to make sure we remediate the wet issues,   right? Then uh so we have a better opportunity  to avoid this in the future. I think that's what   I was going to mention for now. And we Sorry, I  do have one more I made a few notes. I want to   make sure that I I got that. We're looking at air  scrubbers, too. Not sure what the cost looks like.   Pull air out, recycle, recycle it. Uh possible  that you may need to look at dehumidifiers. Again,   kind of the wet environment in these facilities is  a challenge to deal with. They've got doors open a   lot as they need to. Uh so even different times  of the year, you're dealing with the humidity   of the environment itself. Uh, so we'll look at  going forward, especially with the new stations,   any of the rebuilds, but but um with retrofitting  our current stations to see if we can do things   with air quality, which should help us long term.  Also, I think I'll stop there for now. Thank you,   Gary. Council member Vice Mayor Glascott. Thank  you, Mayor. Gary, I have a lot of questions. I   don't mean this first part offensively in any way,  but you had said that there's that we believe that   we're doing a good job at maintaining our fire  facilities. There's not one firefighter that I've   talked to at any station I visited that believes  that to be the case. And I would encourage if   that's what you're hearing from the top down to go  and talk to firefighters in all these facilities   because there is not one that I have heard that  shares that opinion. Um when we move on and this   I have a lot of questions here and there but  I'll start with the timeline that's presented   on here and the timeline presented to us via paper  too. So we first heard a report or the city staff   heard a report on September 19th 2025 regarding  this. Based on these dates there seems that there   were maybe eight opportunities for city council  to have been informed of any of these concerns.   And I can't speak for all of my colleagues,  but in all eight of these opportunities,   and I've met with the chief multiple times, we've  had multiple times from the bench, I am unaware of   any single time that I knew that there was even an  allegation of mold, that remediation work began,   that we were able to because of that obtain bids  for mold inspection, that then it went out to mold   testing, then the testing was completed, and we  saw it to which report. I was only sent from a   whistleblower. was not sent from city staff that  the reports were received in January that then   led to us beginning a remediation plan that then  led to the incident. And I don't think that I have   been informed of that any step along the way.  Has council been informed of that or the mayor   been informed of that or who's been informed of  that because I think at one point out of those   opportunities it probably should have come to  this body. I can't speak for Chief Snow and Fire.   Um from our end I would tell you I I think this is  a good learning opportunity for us and but but but   to that end I would also tell you um we have and  and I I don't I'm going to qualify this not trying   to provide an excuse to you but it's something  that I think that we need to look at further.   We recognize the significance uh and importance  of if we've got mold issues, but we also have   a lot of other issues we're dealing with  facilities on a regular basis. Just within   our facilities maintenance group, we process over  3,000 invoices a year just to contractors uh for   outsourced repairs and maintenance work on all of  our facilities. That has nothing to necessarily   do with the total number of work orders. We have  dealt with mold in other facilities in the past.   We took care of it and we moved on. I will tell  you this isn't necessarily fixing mold in one   facility and moving on. Um, and I think our goal,  I'm confident our goal was to try to get on top   of this as quick as we could and move forward.  Obviously, that got missed from our end. Uh,   and it probably should have been somewhere  along the way an opportunity to share that   with council. I know public works did and I can't  speak for fire. This would be a question for the   fire chief. Uh, Chief Seno, how long have  we known about mold in any of our stations? just when the report came back to us. Um the  public works shared the report um and so the   when they provided the report um from the third  party in January is when we officially got it   and then they also at the same time provided  a remediation. Okay. We've had mold, I mean,   over the years, uh, but has always been mitigated  to the best of my knowledge because I had found an   Eagle article from January 28th, 2017 at Station  9, and some of the quotes talked about, and   this is when it was colllocated with the police  department. Um, but the buildings are connected,   talking about termite issues, leaky roof, mold  issues, AC, plumbing, and electrical issues. Um,   there's another quote in that room. there's  a sizable crack that zigzag across the entire   block of the wall and that they put paint over to  cover it. Talked about water coming out brown. I   hope that a lot of those repairs have been made  at station 9 since then, but I couldn't find any   indication of anything that came before council at  any point since 27 that we remediated any of that.   Um, and you know, um, I I'll apologize because  I don't share that. Um, and you probably do hear   from the firefighters because they live in those  conditions and it's and you know it's immediate   concern to them. From a leadership standpoint, the  way we've always operated before is we would work   through the process and the process was our month  um facility reports would be filled out uh when   conditions uh were noticed and then we would um  we meet on a regular basis monthly to deal those   work or to address the work or orders and get  briefings on those. And then we meet quarterly to   um discuss the uh more significant projects like  the roof leaks and HVAC systems. And then we also   um work with public works uh through our  CIP process to obtain funding and continue   um to try to increase that funding to address some  of those uh bigger issues. So to that question and   I know my couple of my colleagues might have  questions as well. So, what is the current   projected cost of all remediation and what would  it cost to maybe address these moving forward   as well? Do we have a total price tag on it? I I  don't, but I we're trying to get that information   together now. Um, since the information came to  us in the overall report in January, we started   moving forward right away. Um, and we're doing  everything we can with our own staffing. In fact,   the work that was being done at station 15 was  with our staff and the cooperative labor program   uh to save some costs. Although we again didn't  go about that the right way, we'll fix that. Uh   so we're trying to balance that going forward.  Taking on uh issues at multiple stations at the   same time. It's going to take us a little bit  to get to, but we're getting there. I don't have   uh cost estimate yet, but we'll we'll be putting  that all together as soon as we can. Okay. So,   and looking at the mold report that I still have  not got from staff at any point yet either. When   I look at station 15, and I know you said there  was other repairs happening that led to this,   so it wasn't actually the mold remediation. It  wasn't set to begin mold remediation till April   of 2026. And it looks like some of these stations  aren't set to have remediation until December of   2026. Is there a way obviously we don't want  firefighters living in any condition that we   have any reported um mold particularly at station  15 13 and 11 uh there's at least um cases of black   mold. How once we find a price tag to be able  to expedite this is that something that we have   the current and this is probably a question for  chief to know the current funds to expedite and   be able to address those pretty immediately or  is that something that's not currently allocated   in the CIP? where those funds come from in your  budget. We This now is a priority for us as far   as funding and this isn't I don't want to say it's  necessarily uh out of the ordinary for us to have   situations come up. Um I think we do a good job of  looking ahead based on condition assessments and   what our decision support tool does to prioritize  prioritize capital improvements. Uh but resources   are a challenge. Uh we need to replace the HVAC  system at station one. The cost for that alone is   $1.1 million. We've been putting funding together  for the last several years. We hope to make that   happen this year. That may be something that  may be we have to think about the timing. I hope   to not delay that anymore. Um but we're going to  first and foremost um take care of as much of this   as we can. We do have uh over the years when we  have our capital expenditures, our capital funds,   CIP funds for fire facility maintenance,  uh just like we do with our other assets,   we have effectively held on to some funds for  unexpected things that come up like this. Um   I can't tell you what the number looks like. I  can't even tell you what's in that contingency,   but I feel I think we can probably take care  of it. We're going to make it the top priority.   Um, what we'll have to do is as we get a cost  estimate and see where we're at, we'll certainly   let you know what impact that could have to  anything else that may have to be delayed to   take care of this first. And obviously, I know  none of this is intentional. There's no blame. I   just want this fixed and make sure that people are  living in facilities and we're asking them when we   talk about especially what Council Member Tuttle  is doing with health and safety and wellness of   firefighters and we're making a lot of substantive  changes to address health of firefighters. I think   this should be paramount. So, thank you for,  I think, addressing this now and just further   communication to council. I think when things  of this severity arise, I would appreciate. So,   thank you. Absolutely, Council Member Hoheisle.  Thank you, Mayor. Um, kind of piggybacking on   what Dalton said. Do we we don't want to focus  on this and then also delay other needed repairs   at any of these fire stations. So, if you guys do  you have like a ballpark maybe as far as price tag   with us? I just don't yet and I apologize for not  having that. Um, again, we've moved forward. So,   so I just want to be clear about even station 15  again. Um, replacing the ceiling tiles was part of   our remediation efforts. That doesn't mean all the  ceiling tiles had mold in them. We are taking an   extra extra step. Uh, it's fairly cost effective  to replace ceiling tiles. We're doing that at   all facilities. We're going to continue moving  forward with that. We're going to develop a plan   that's safe so we don't create any extra issues.  That is part of the remediation. Um I don't have   uh there are some stations right now based on  the results we have that we're not going to do   anything. We're going to follow up with some  air testing here in the first quarter of 2026   to substantiate what we had seen before, but  there are some stations that there is not a   recommendation to make any improvements. So I I  wish I had a better cost estimate for you right   now, but I don't. We will have that very soon.  Okay. Yeah. And please include anything that we   need. Sure. Um also you you express uh some of my  frustration with some of our um ordinances and uh   health codes, black mold specifically not being  in there. Um there is a source of leak ordinance   however to where if there is a water leak and mold  can be attributed to it, we follow up on that. So   um and at least the three stations that we have  that we know there's black mold, are we tracing   are we tracking down the leaks? Are we making sure  that we have followthrough as far as addressing   that? We are. Uh I I said it before and I'll  say it again. That's our top priority. uh will   be stepping up communication and overcommunication  overcommunicating with all end users to make sure   that we know about it. I we don't have the ability  to be at all the facilities whether it's fire,   libraries, park, whatever it is. We count on  the users, the end users to let us know. We   have a I what I think is an efficient uh and very  workable work order process. Chief mentioned it,   I talked about it. We meet on a monthly basis.  We talk about open work orders. I think it works   extremely well. It hasn't always been that way,  uh, but it's been that way for several years   now. And I think we're in a good place to make  sure we're addressing those issues. For whatever   reason, at times there's misinformation, there's  miscommunication. Station 15 in particular,   just even in the last few days, we've heard that  there were roof leaks from multiple years ago   that have never been fixed. We've got work order  information showing the roof leaks were fixed. So,   we need to make sure to the point that council  me or vice mayor brought up, we do, you know,   when you've got firefighters that are there one  out of every three days, right? Certain people   see things, they may not see the repairs get made.  And so, it's fair to think that folks see things   and don't actually know that we were out there and  made repairs. So, we want to make sure we are. And   I think we are and and I'll continue to work with  Chief Snow on that that that information is being   transferred and provided that we heard you, we saw  it, we fixed it and but leaks are top priority.   I again I mentioned it before. I looked back at  all the January work orders and any of the leaks   that I saw that were on there, we have to get  them right. Request to repair a leak, they were   repaired within a matter of days at the most. So,  okay. um the other stations 13 and specifically 11   since it's in my district. What are what are the  issues there and what are the plans to remediate   that here as soon as possible? I'll get to those  details if you don't mind. Um we've got the that   information on the report, but I can get to  that specifically. Okay. Thank you, Council   Member Tuttle. Thank you. Thank you, Gary, for the  the presentation and also for Chief Snow. Um so as   and thank you vice mayor for your kind comments.  Um did a little bit of looking into this. The   international association of firefighters not the  local but the actual international association of   firefighters has some guidance regarding mold  and fire stations mostly because of floods but   I think most of it is still applicable. I I think  everybody agrees the situation you know nobody's   happy about it. What I'm ex glad to hear is that  we have a plan moving forward. Um the national   international IFFF recommends that there's  five steps you should take to inspect the fire   stations. So it sounds like we're doing that one  already. The second is to make sure that if there   is any standing water, if there's materials that  have been damaged or exposed to water that they're   addressed. Sounds like that's happening with  ceilings tiles and different things. And then also   clean and exposed areas where the visible mold  from surfaces. So if we do find that there's mold,   we need to make sure that not only we clean it  up, but we clean it up appropriately and allow   for time for drying. Dry out everything that  has been cleaned and exposed. And then finally,   keep everything dry as mo mold grows where  there's moisture. And so this is more of a   comment than a question, but um I made the comment  earlier when we were talking about storm water. Um   water always wins. Um in the case of mold, again,  water always wins. So, one step moving forward for   the fire stations we might want to consider is  having some industrial strength humidifiers. Um,   even if it's not a leak, which we will address.  I've just heard that and I appreciate that. But,   as you mentioned, you may have three shift  showering come in with wet clothes. Um, doors are   open when there's humidity outside. So, part of  the remediation for future could also be examined   as we are going through this process. So, just a  few comments. Appreciate this being brought to our   attention. and appreciate the staff's efforts on  trying to make sure that we get this taken care   of for those who serve us. So, thank you, Council  Member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Gary, thank   you so much. If you could share the information  with me about station 13, that would be awesome.   Thank you. Thank you, council members. Um, I was  made aware of this over the weekend uh from the   local fire union and when I learned about this,  I immediately sent it over to the city manager to   find out what was happening regarding mold because  I have had the opportunity to visit multiple fire   stations and my goal this year is to visit all  22 fire stations before the end of the year. And   one of the things I have noticed is water damage.  And so I appreciate understanding that replacement   of tile that has been previously damaged will be  part of that mitigation. Um, and I appreciate what   council member Tuttle just mentioned, the steps  that are supposed to be taken or recommendations   for those steps. Um, and they mirror what uh Gary  has mentioned, which is number one, seal the leak,   number two, dry it out, and number three,  properly clean it. And I think the replacement   of those tiles is again when you visibly see  something that has previously been damaged,   the thought is it continues to be damaged. And so  I appreciate knowing that there's a process. Um,   but I was not happy to have found this out over  the weekend regarding a mold situation because I   have been visiting these stations and mold has not  been brought up. I have seen leaks and I have seen   uh even in the facility buildings uh summaries  leaks are immediately uh mitigated right away   because again standing water is not good. So,  I appreciate knowing that there is a process   regarding once there's a leak, someone needs to  report it so that that leak can then be addressed   right away. Um, this is a question for Chief Snow.  Regarding processes, do all the firefighters at   each of the fire stations know that there is  no um retribution if they report issues in the   buildings. I want to encourage our firefighters  if they see something to immediately put in a work   order. Is there a process that each firefighter  knows to put in that work order? Can you explain   that to me? Yes, we have um each firefighters uh  has the ability to get on the um station computer   and um on the station computer there's a station  facility work order. um it's right on the front   page there because it's one of the ones that we  encourage that in the apparatus facility apparatus   work orders. They click on that then they can  fill it out and it goes straight in through the   approval process which ends up down at public  works. And again, if firefighters submit these   work orders, there is no uh retaliation against  them because they're pointing out something that   is an issue. Absolutely not. In fact, we encourage  them to do it because if they don't, as Gary said,   the end users, we have significant number,  they have significant number of buildings. We   have 21 fire stations and a regional training  center that we um report on. Um but uh yeah,   if they if they're not reported, then it's hard to  fix something that you're not aware of. And I will   echo what Vice Mayor uh Glascock has mentioned  and that is being aware of this um testing that   has happened and the uh remediation regarding  mold. I think all council members because each   of these council members have multiple fire  stations in their district would appreciate   getting the full report and so I would encourage  that the whole council gets that report so that   we all understand what is happening. Again, I was  not happy to see something over the weekend. Um,   but immediately tried contacting yourself and  city manager because the health and safety of   our firefighters is crucial. Uh, but also at the  same time knowing that public works has to take   care of 300 plus buildings. I know that there's a  work order process, but I wasn't we're not aware   of all of these um processes. So, it's good to  just again have these open conversations about the   status of the 22 plus fire stations and other fire  facilities. Truly, truly appreciate your comments,   uh, mayor, and totally on me. Um, I should share  that information with you. Um, I will make sure   that you get the reports. I'll make sure that you  get the remediation plan. Um, we did post it um,   on our po on our fire secure so all of our  personnel have access to it. Um, so, uh,   my fault for not sharing that to sharing that with  you. Thank you, Council Member Shepard. Thank you,   Mayor. Chief Snow, can you reiterate, and  I I feel like you answered this, so um,   who is communicating with the union, but not just  the firefighters that are in these stations and   not just the firefighters union, but I'm really  concerned about everyone who's in that space.   um those who are cleaning the space, those who  are operating in the space, who's responsible   for communicating with them? Are you are  you about the mold? About the mold. Um well,   like I said, we put out a communication goes  out departmentwide. Uh when we posted the   mold reports plus the remediation um from that  time from that since we are a par military then   it goes down through the chain of command all  the battalion chiefs. So each battalion chief   is responsible for certain stations. They go  out and make station visits uh routinely um   primarily either every shift or every other shift  and they would be the ones that would ensure that   the firefighters were aware of that particular  information. And is there annual air quality   testing or moisture testing that takes place? I  guess that's a Gary question. I'm sorry, Chief.   not necessarily on the on the air quality. Um, but  that's what we're evaluating for the future. We,   like I said, we definitely are going to put  something in place for every five years once   we get through uh this mitigation that we specific  to mold. Um, there's air quality testing that can   be done, but it wouldn't show this up if it was  specifically looking for. So, we'll make sure   that's part of the plan going forward. I might  mention too that we will make sure everybody   gets copy of the report, but I'm going to want  to create a summary uh that's very clear because   while I was sitting here had staff look a little  bit more in depth. Um the the initial information   we had is of the 21 fire stations tested 14 of  them uh the air level readings were considered   effectively insignificant for mold issues even if  there was some visible mold. So I don't think that   from from that perspective and the information  that we have uh that we've got a widespread   necessarily maybe as critical of an issue as we  had at 15 or some of the others. But I I don't   want to downplay that. Uh we're going to get some  more expertise to look at this. I'll make sure all   of you have uh specific information as possible  as we have right now of what the plan looks going   forward. We'll have cost estimates soon and we'll  find a way to make that the budget, but I'll let   you know what that looks like, too. Thank you,  mayor. If I may follow up and and it's more so   a comment and um I I think what I've heard from  both of you gets at a larger issue, which again   um shared responsibility and accountability.  Chief, I appreciate you acknowledging where   you could do better. I think we could do better.  And I think the matter we need to look at being   preventative um and asking questions like is  there air quality testing or moisture testing?   And Gary, I appreciate you acknowledging  that. We're looking into that in the future,   but we also can do a better job of being stronger  partners um and creating a culture where you feel   comfortable asking for what you need, where the  people you serve feel comfortable asking for what   you need. And when you talk about the chain of  command, identifying where the breakdown in the   chain of command might be, so that way we can  strengthen that communication. Um, and I again,   I just want to say that's not just on the folks  who lead our departments within city hall.   It is on us. It's on the city manager. It's on  our assistant city managers. And I think it there   needs to be a collective effort to figure out  where the gaps are. So maybe in the staff retreat   that we have scheduled on March 12th and 13th, we  can have a serious conversation about how we look   at being proactive instead of reactive. I think  I've been here for a month and a half. And one of   my biggest gripes is I don't like when staff come  before us and it feels like they are testifying   before a congress because it doesn't make make it  comfortable for you all to come forward and say I   need help. So how do we create an atmosphere and  a culture where people feel comfortable to ask   for help? And I think that that is on us to create  help create that culture. Thank you council member   Johnston. Thank you mayor Gary. Thanks for your  report. Appreciate that. I've heard concerns about   station number one, about the uh air handling  system there. So, over over Super Bowl weekend,   I hear serious concerns about station number  two, uh which I know there's there's plans to   uh beginning plans to replace that. And I still  remember over two years ago when Chief Snow took   us on a tour of the stations going to station  number 15 and me thinking I would not want to   sleep in here. So, that was that was two years  ago. So appreciate all your work. Hopefully we   can we can find the funds to uh take care of all  these issues. Uh it would be great. So thank you,   Council Member Tuttle. Thank you. Um this is a  question for Chief Snow if that's okay, director.   Um, Chief, I probably should know the answer to  this, but you know, I try and stay in my lane and   we are the policy makers of this organization,  but if I go down a little bit deeper currently,   is there any sort of guidance or policy within the  Witchaw Fire Department regarding mold? No. Okay.   Here's just a thought. I say it all the time. I'm  famous for offering my unsolicited advice, but we   have created a wellness committee within the fire  department or we're still working on it and it's   part of the Kansas Health Foundation $150,000  funds would just it's your organization, but   this is just a thought and I'd be happy to, you  know, brainstorm or say no, but maybe we create   a subcommittee within the wellness committee of  the fire department and we have representatives   from different stations who can better help  address, you know, I if they see water,   water is the issue here, right? That's it. And and  then how it's reported and how we respond to it.   Um but just a thought so that way our firefighters  feel heard. They're also literally the boots on   the ground in our paramililitary organization  of the ones who are sleeping and living there.   So it it might just be an interesting concept to  let the the folks who are impacted by it the most   and their health potentially impacted by it be  the ones to to be a part of leading the charge   of what we're going to do in the future. So just a  thought it's kind of timely as we're creating that   culture of wellness within the the fire department  and not just looking at cancer screenings but   all wellness. So now also living conditions and  living environment can be incorporated in that.   Appreciate it. Thank you. We'll we'll take that  uh under consideration because we've got several   different like a health and safety committee and  we're working on some other subcommittees. So   truly appreciate it. Great idea. Council member Ho  Heisel. Thank you, Mayor. Um yeah, I I just want   to make sure that we we want to we understand  just the danger of black mold. So making sure   that even if it's not active, even if it's not  growing, um that we still address it. I know you   said 15 stations or so it's not active or it's a  minimal reading that we see on the air monitoring   system. We still need to take that seriously and  remediate that. Um and to my colleagues this um   you know this goes when we were talking property  maintenance issues over the last couple of years.   um this this speaks to that too because not only  is it harmful to our firefighters, it's harmful   to a lot of the tenants who live in um substandard  housing throughout our community. Um also of note,   not just fire stations, every uh city building,  we need to make sure that we go through every city   building and any instances of mold or anything  else like that that's a potential danger,   we need to make sure and rectify that as soon  as possible. So, um, just a couple of notes,   a quick statement, and, um, appreciate the  discussion here. Vice Mayor Glascon. Thank you.   I just have really one closing comment. We will  get you what you need to be able to address this,   and we just need to know what the need is, what  the cost associated with that is. I would say for   every single person on this council, we're going  to get you that. The community wants that, and so   we just need to know what the need is, and we will  make sure to give you the resources to make sure   this is addressed immediately. truly appreciate  it. Thank you. Thank you again, uh, Chief Snow,   uh, Director Jansen, and city manager, uh, Marsel  for giving us the update regarding not just fire   station 15, but the overall communication and  strategic plan so that we know that these assets   are maintained. I've always said it from this  bench that we have to maintain what we have. And   if we have 22 fire stations, maintaining what we  have and making sure that the health and safety of   our firefighters is top priority also um has  to be what we need to know from this bench,   but also be able to communicate with residents  because they appreciate the services of what   local government is supposed to provide, which are  public safety and public work. So, thank you very   much. With that, council members, anything else on  council member agenda? Council member Hohheisel. How about uh council member appointments?  Any appointments? Okay, we have several.   Uh council member Shepard. Yeah, thank  you, Mayor. I would like to uh appoint   Dominic Saki to the Witchah Transit  Advisory Board for Witchaw District 1   and Council Member Ballard. Thank you, Mayor.  I would like to appoint Megan Dener to my dab. Very good. Okay. I will move to approve  both of those appointments. Motion and   a second. Discussion. See none.  Madam clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. Council member comments  now. Council member Hohheisel. Thank you,   Mayor. Um this Saturday 9:30 in the morning at the  Christian Faith Center off of Pony and Hillside   the best breakfast in Witchah. Um we will be  having as our guest of honor um city manager   Marst. So um anybody who wants to come down we  usually ask for a $5 donation uh but that's not   required. So if you don't have the five bucks  and still want a good breakfast, come on down   and enjoy. Do you have a breakfast every week?  because it really seems that often every other   month we're every other month. So, always looking  to collaborate with my other uh South Witchah   partner as well. So, I do brag everywhere. It is  a delicious breakfast. So, Vice Mayor Glascock,   uh thank you, Mayor. So, I've been working  with planning and zoning department regarding   uh bulk zoning of an areawide reszoning of  portions of Deleno, the central business district.   I've talked to council member Ballard about it.  I've talked to the neighbor association about it,   the business association. Every single case that  I at least get on the district foreside. I would   probably echo council member Ballard as well  has to do with moving from one type of zoning to   central business district zoning. Every single one  that's come before us has been approved. I think   what's happening with common consumption, what's  happening with other development opportunities and   really um the quality of life amenities in Deleno,  getting government out of the way. If we're just   a hurdle and we're going to approve it anyway  every single time as we have, how can we be less   of a burden for businesses working on development  in the area in particular, there's a um another   tavern that's looking at coming in Deleno and  right now they're having to go through the zoning   process which will be approved, but it's delaying  the process. And so I want to um planning and   zoning has moved forward with some maps of what  this could look like for central business district   reszoning. Uh particularly one that just follows  along the common consumption map than anything   within the common consumption map would be uh bulk  zoned as central business district and it would be   a opt out process. So if a business didn't want to  reszone they could opt out of the bulk reszoning   but it would just allow for more development  in the area. So, I wanted to bring it up during   the uh council member comment section to see if  we could direct staff to move forward the plan   of proposal to present uh before council. I'm in  favor. I'm in favor. Okay. I think we have four.   So, what do what do you officially call that?  Uh it would be the CBD reszoning map for Delano.   Okay. and Scott and I have talked about it, so he  should have the map already ready to go. We call   it B. We call it Bon. Okay. Thank you, Council  Member Shepard. Thank you, Mayor. Another week,   another black history fact. So, happy Black  History. Uh, today I'm wearing what is referred   to as the Dashiki. It is a vibrant West African  garment. It symbolizes African heritage and pride.   It became widely embraced in the United States  during the civil rights and black power movements   as an expression of cultural identity and a  connection to our ancestral roots. Witchah's own   history reflects this deep cultural connection.  former mayor and the city's first elected black   mayor, who also served Witchah's district 1  and wider community, traced his ancestry back   to Ghana, inspiring local celebrations of African  culture and identity, including the public art in   the Carl Brewer Community Center that traces back  to his Ganaan roots. Today, you can find Dashiki's   and other u Ganaan root symbols at Roslin's  International Enterprise. It is an African small   business in Witchah's District 1. It stands as a  community hub that celebrates African and global   culture. They offer goods that reflect the rich  diversity and traditions that bind Witchah to the   African culture. With that, thank you, mayor,  and I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you   for the council member comments, Council Member  Ballard. Um, will you tell us the address? Yes,   I will. It's on 21st Street. So, the exact address  of Rosen's Enterprise, International Enterprise,   is going to be 5025 East 21st Street North. They  close at 6:00 p.m., but they open at 11:00 a.m.   And if you go, you got to buy me something under  $50, right, Jennifer? Under under $50. Or you got   to report it. Just don't go on a normal Tuesday  because it will be going past six. Thank you,   council members. We cannot adjourn because  we have an executive session. I apologize. Uh   this is in regards to a lawsuit. Go. I move  that the city council recess into executive   session for 20 minutes to receive information on  multiple civil actions pursuant to KSA 75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city  attorney which would be deemed privilege   in the attorney client relationship pending  litigation and legal advice. The executive   session is required to protect attorney  client privilege and the public interest.   The executive session will begin at  3:30 p.m. and end at 3:50 p.m. The   meeting will resume right here in the  council chambers. Oh, sorry. 250. 250.   My apologies. 2:30 to 250. Motion. Second.  Second. Madame clerk, please open the role. Motion passes 70. We will go into  executive session. Thank you.