e e e e e e States one nation under God  indivisible with liy and thank you very much Reverend Staley Madame clerk can you please call the   first item approve the minutes of  the regular meeting of July 23rd 2024 do we have any corrections  or changes I see none I will move   that we approve the minutes for the regular  meeting of July 23rd 2024 second motion   and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 70 Madame clerk  please call the next item Awards and   proclamations tonight for proclamations  we have National Health Center week trash   free ICT month and awards we have  a service award and Leadership wiah 2024 council member Becky Tuttle is joining me  as we Proclaim uh this National Health Center   week we please H ask Hunter Health Grace Med and  Health Corp to please come forward at this time the proclamation reads the city of witchta  founded in 1870 whereas for more than 50 years   community health centers have provided highquality  affordable comprehensive primary and preventative   health care in our nation's unders underserved  communities delivering value to and having a   significant impact on America's Health Care System  community health centers are the critical element   of the health system serving both rural and  urban communities and often providing the only   accessible and dependable source of primary care  in their communities Nationwide community health   centers serve one in every five residents of rural  areas every day community health centers develop   new approaches to integrating a wide range of  services Beyond primary care including oral health   Vision Behavioral Health and Pharmacy Services  they provide comprehensive care allowing each   Community member to thrive Health Centers  have more than doubled their behavioral health   Workforce in the last decade to meet America's  growing need for Behavioral Health needs the   community health center model continues to prove  an effective means of overcoming barriers to   healthc care access including geography Inc come  and insurance status improving Health outcomes and   reducing Health Care system costs now therefore  be it resolved that I Lily woo mayor of the city   of Witchita along with the Witchita city council  do hereby proclaim the first week of August 2024   as National Health Center week right here  in the city of Witchita encouraging all   citizens to take part in this week by visiting  their local health Health Center to learn more   about the important partnership between America's  community health centers and the communities they serve good evening on behalf of federally  qualified Health Centers I want to thank   mayor Lily woo and the Witchita city council  for this Proclamation during National Health   Center week since the nation's first  Community Health Center was founded in   1965 community health centers have understood  that where we live work worship and play   impacts our health with roots in the Civil Rights  Movement The Visionaries who founded the earliest   Health Centers believed that we could fight  poverty and Empower communities with health and opportunity today community health centers play  a vital role in enhancing access to essential PR   Primary Care Nationwide we increase access to  crucial Primary Care by reducing barriers such   as cost lack of insurance distance and language  in witch itah the federally qualified Health   Centers Have Been instrumental in serving  over 80,000 individuals annually providing a   comprehensive array of services including Primary  Care Dental Behavioral Health Vision and Pharmacy   Services every August we seek to increase the  awareness of the 1400 community health centers Nationwide this year the theme of National Health  Center week is powering communities through caring   connections community health centers in every  state US Territory and the District of Colombia   serve as a beacon of strength service and care  in our communities by serving all regardless of   their ability to pay as we celebrate our employees  board members and supporters we want to extend our   heartfelt appreciation to Mayor Lily woo and  Witchita city council for their recognition   and support of the significant contributions made  by community health centers in Witchita thank you more again thank you to our partners here  in our community our next Proclamation   will be for WSU trash free ICT  month can you please come forward the proclamation reads the city of witcha  Kansas founded in 1870 whereas the Environmental   Protection Agency EPA estimates that 8 % of  plastics pollute are oceans or uh originate   from Rivers streams and other waterways that  flow through urban areas the environmental   Finance Center at witcha State University  in partnership with the Great Plains Nature   Center the Kansas Alliance for wetlands and  streams Backcountry Hunters Witchita Park   and Recreation will pilot a project that  uses an instream trash collection device   and community volunteers to count and catalog  the trash pulled out of Chisum Creek whereas   understanding what kind of litter pollutes wit  toss streams can inform policies and procedures   for proper disposal of trash and ultimately  reduce water pollution and whereas monthly   cleanups will help reduce the trash flowing from  Chism Creek into other waterways and storm water   systems now therefore be it resolved that I  Lily woo mayor of the city of Witchita along   with the Witchita city council do hereby Proclaim  August 2024 as trash free ICT month in the city   of Witchita and encourage all witch itans to sign  up to volunteer to help count and catalog litter data thank you to the council and to the mayor  and to to those that have supported the health   and cleanliness of our river system and our  Urban tributaries for decades now we're excited   to start on a project that's not just cleaning  litter out of the river at a big onetime event   um each April but to start at the headwaters  of the Aransas River here in our urban areas   those tributaries those small Creeks that flow  in this project is built off of a program that   started in 2021 and so we're building on data  that we collected at that point the purpose as   was mentioned is to count and catalog the trash  that is collected by a floating boom in Chism   Creek Park um that is stretched across one of the  waterways there um we would like you to check out   our project by going to wit.edu uhrf free ICT  this trap does hurt any of the other Critters   that you might see in the park there at Great  Plains Nature Center and it is a collaborative   effort between the environmental Finance Center  Great Plains Nature Center the Kansas Alliance   for wetlands and streams and Backcountry hunters  and Anglers thank you so much for this opportunity may I please ask David fing  to please come forward at this time we will ask city manager Bob  Leighton to please present this award I will read um this special service award  David fing has worked for the city of witch's   water resource recovery division  just three months shy of 42 years throughout his career Dave worked as a laborer  and equipment operator before being promoted to   a plant operator a position he has held  for more than 35 years during his years   of dedicated service Dave's expertise has  been critical to the success of many major   water plant upgrades and special projects  Dave's passion and dedication for water   quality has resulted in the division's  impeccable comp liance record for over   four decades Dave we would like to thank you  for your many years of dedicated service and   we wish you the best in your retirement  and I know everyone will greatly miss you do you want thank you very much Dave may I please ask   leadership wiah class of 2024 to  please come forward at this time council member Becky Tuttle is also joining  us as one of the trustees of leadership   Witchita which is part of the greater  Witchita uh Witchita Regional Chamber   of Commerce I will read a little bit about  leadership wiah H and then ask one of your   members to please tell us um a little bit more  about this class of 2024 leadership Witchita   was introduced in 1983 with more than 1,000 local  business Community government and military leaders   graduating from the program with a commitment  to becoming strong leaders right here in our   community we would like to congratulate  the class of 2024 for leadership Witchita so I'm Erin wano I am the recruiting Sergeant  with the CED County Sheriff's Office um and   one of the things that's pretty cool about  all of us is we were selected out of a group   of about 200 applicants we have to be nominated  and apply um and then there's a process that we   go through and it's incredible to get to meet  all these amazing people I may have searched   you already so I apologize um it's what we do um  but it it's a huge opportunity for us to network   with the businesses and really to further the  partnership within the city of wiah so I'm excited for our guests who were here for the words  and Proclamation you may sit and uh continue   being part of our city council meeting  we will have public comment uh later on   uh regarding the budget so you may stay  and voice your opinion at this time it   is public agenda Madame clerk please call  the first person George Theo Harris mabcd mayor vice mayor city council city manager City  legal Georgia's agenda we had a house in the me   neighborhood where there was a double homicide  two years back good neighbors were talking about   moving mabcd had been involved for several years  at this property try as I might I finally talked   the owner to sell and found a buyer willing to rid  us of this eyes saw on the morning of the eviction   the 21-year-old buyer asked me to be present I  got there and saw three illegal pit bulls so I   called animal services and a woman who is a rescue  I also had our VP of communications walk down as   he has been involved directly the the occupants  took their Treasures to the front easement the   mabcd and inspector told me she was coming over  to board up a property on the next street over   I asked her to come explain to the evicted people  that they just couldn't go break into into another   house in the area or leave their things in the  easement she came by and I'm not sure what she   told them I am aware of what she told us and at  worst we were complying with our first amendment   rights to peacefully assemble she told us  to leave a city street her exact words were   I never said you shouldn't be there but clearly  stated that all those people shouldn't be there   yet she did personally tell me to leave when  someone with police Powers meaning if you don't   mow your lawn and the city contractors mow it it's  a $250 assessment and $350 the next time in each   subsequent mow now that is some far-reaching  police Powers so when an mabcd employee tells   a citizen to do something I'm pretty sure I was  supposed to leave the area to make matters worse   her boss said I couldn't talk to her anymore  her boss told us moving forward I asked that   you submit all complaints through mabc D's portal  or the city's reporting issue and to advise your   Association members to do so as well please do  not email me or staff directly the mabcd portal   in particular is the most efficient way to  conduct business she said they have violated   they have violated our first amendment rights  and now my neighborhood has been handcuffed   further by mabcd Bravo I have said good things  to this Council about this inspector in the past   no more later in the budget portion I won't be  asking for money for more inspectors but maybe   for better training back to my agenda the next  moop neighborhood speaker will explain what we   are seeking call an agender of sorts with ag  genders such as mine witchar neighborhoods   would be much nicer and appealing to live in  one last item we weren't getting resolutions   on neighborhood complaints that we needed from  the community policing section of our Patrol   East the CP officer kept telling us he did what  his boss has told him to do after years I finally   realized I should contact his bosses which I  did to include the mayor and lo and behold the   heavens opened up and dropped Larry Lieutenant  Larry Carlson to our doorstep talk about helping   us would be an understatement he has been a  complete blessing I'm guessing Chief Sullivan   Sullivan told him to shut Theo up and I'm  definitely shut up on the police end of the   equation now if this Council can help me get  the mabcd piece working with us we might have   neighborhoods we're feeling good about heck one  more shout out to our new forry supervisor John   bacon for his timely actions on drop branches now  these are agendas in in by the way Gary who thank you madam clerk please call the next individual  Alan Edington new neighborhood position with mbcd hello all thank you for the opportunity  to speak my name is Alan Edington I've accepted   the role of mop maintain our properties for the  Grand View Heights neighborhood association I've   lived in Grand View Heights for over 20 years  in this time I've have seen our neighborhood   spiral out of control as the mop I aim to mop up  the violations and avoid being out of compliance   like surrounding neighborhoods I need the  help of mabcd namely to work directly with   them to accomplish this recently kayin nethercott  attended our neighborhood association meeting and   encouraged us to report violations through the  report and issue on the witch to.gov website I   went home to report six violations within  a matter of days I received emails that   the violations had been closed without any  action one of these was a repeat offender   it took three weeks to get a hold of the  supervisor for my area and get an answer   when contacted mabcd had no answer as to why  this was closed without any action they went   to that offending address that day and opened  a new case this violation was stalled why did   it take so long to take action I want to be able  to talk with the inspectors and keep up toate on   actions deficiencies and priorities as the mop  please let us use open communication directly   with mabcd instead of using report an issue or  the portal I ask the city council to allow us   to use this Mop as a pilot program per se to  be more efficient in our community thank you thank you George and Allen Madame clerk please  call the next individual Robert Foster drought plan good evening um over the last several  months the city council has addressed the   tree canopy heat islands and now the drought  with all three of these topics I believe that   the current policies are reactive rather than  proactive currently the city is following a   drought plan codified 11 years ago and I believe  it does not currently fit our current conditions   there's several changes that I would like to  see but I'll give you two examples currently   we're at 60.7% at cheni and conservation does not  begin at 61% or 69% conservation begins at 99.9%   unless we are in Surplus conditions um it is  difficult to justify any wasteful water usage   at 99% I believe all sprinklers for irrigation be  should be prohibited during the heat of the day   from 10: a.m. to 8 pm. and it should have been  implemented years ago it's wasteful wellwater   should also have the same time restrictions  although usage volume is not regulated by   Wells it should not be wasted by water during the  day if everyone is on the same time restrictions   imple implementation compliance and enforcement  becomes easy I believe a 12-month rolling average   is ineffective in late may cheny drop below 69%  in July there's a workshop in August the plan   takes effect we have delayed the implementation  of this plan through the hottest months and the   highest consumption because decisions are  being made based off of historical data from   12 months months ago currently we're at 60.7%  and our 69% trigger is finally being activated   halting tree planting is alarming to me this  is also reactive rather than proactive cheny   modeling indicates that we could be regressing to  a new drought stage in 12 to 18 months since the   current policy halts tree planting and there  are expectations of the drought worsening it   opens the question of when tree planting would  be allowed by the city and recommended for the   public when a tree is harvested from a tree farm  it can lose up to 50% of its root mass it is cut   out of the ground and put into a plastic pot  and sold at a local box store or garden center   since a large portion of the root mass has  been cut from the tree it struggles to stay   alive trees like this are watered with hundreds  if not thousands of gallons until the roots can   become self-sufficient after two or three years we  need to completely change our approach to planting this is a 4month old red butt tree at 7 months  it'll be ready to go into the ground I grow uh   several of these every year and I give them away  and I just made a mess up here I noticed tonight   that uh several people had drinks or bottled  water with them each one of these trees I grow   requires one bottle of water a week next year  they're going to need two bottles of water a week   third year they're going to need the equivalent of  one toilet flush per week for watering the water   required to grow thousands of these trees is more  of a rounding error than a measurable volume of   water let's talk money the city is increasing  revenues with this drought plan through fines   for violations and potential penalties based on  over usage the parks department budget is also   being slashed a year ago the city spent $600,000  to have 1,000 trees planted that is $600 per tree   this year 700,000 was spent for 1,200 trees I  commend the city for taking this initiative but   with the drought conditions how we do things  must change one-year-old trees like this one   are readily available through multiple sources  for $3 each as an example if the city were to   purchase 20,000 of these seedlings for $60,000  away $60,000 and give them away to Residents   they can plant them in their yards and that  would be the first step of being proactive   rather than reactive the dollar figure is a small  fraction of the new Revenue stream and the budget   cuts if only half of the seedlings survive um  the city will have incurred a $6 expense per   tree which is 1% of the $600 trees that you've  been purchasing in the past City generates tax   revenue based on real estate valuations according  to Arbor Day a house with mature trees is worth   15% more according to the Department of energy a  shaded home saves 25% of their Heating and Cooling   expenses trees create rain produce oxygen store  carbon create shade saves energy increases home   values and reduces temperatures all of which our  city desperately needs thank you for your time thank you Robert Madame clerk please call  the next item consent agenda items 1 through 14 do we have any items to be pulled or discussed with a motion to approve  the consent agenda items second motion   and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the roll motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call the   next item Board of bids and  contracts dated August 5th 2024 good evening mayor city council  Josh slobber Department of Finance   the board of bids and contracts convened August  5th 2024 for the following items for engineering   we have sanitary sewer improvements for lift  station number 16 for Wildcat Construction   Company Incorporated in the amount of $284,700  we have sanitary sewer improvements lift station   number 23 for Wildcat Construction Company  Incorporated in the amount of $310,100 we have the sanitary sewer main extension to serve   Area 151 Edition for Noak Construction  Company Incorporated in the amount of $977,500 Incorporated in the amount of 9,272 we have the 66,000 gross vehicle weight  restriction cabin chassis with 40 yard dumping   chipper body for Omaha Truck Center DBA Truck  Center companies for an aggregate bid total of $171,636 we have two 31,000 gross vehicle weight  restriction cabin chassis flatbed wench   trucks for Omaha Truck Center DBA truck  cter and companies in the amount of $330,900 we have the polyphosphate bulk  delivery for cars LLC for the   aggregate total per year expected $ 42,1  35 we have the fire hose with couplings   for whis fire and safety equipment  LLC in the amount of $ 287,213 190 we have the video surveillance system  for new East Patrol substation for   sand of for engineering and Controls  Incorporated in the amount of $78,400 33 when we have the polymer for use and Wastewater  solids dewatering facility for poly Incorporated   we requesting your authorization for an extension  of 120 days this will bring us into alignment   with another contract that we'd like to bid  out two compounds historically separated   this is how to become a vendor with the city uh  please note for the public we are transitioning   our new procurement software so we have been  directing our public and interested vendors   to our wi.gov purchasing site um all engineering  bids are being processed through our new bonfire   system August 1st um and we're attentively moving  toward a October first deadline for everything   this is the open request for proposals out on  the street and I'd be happy to try to answer your   questions I recommend your approval questions  for staff beginning with council member Tuttle   thank you and I'm but Vice May and I probably  have the same question could you go to slide 10 could you and first of all Josh thank  you for your presentation you always do   such a great job and I know there's so much  work before you get to this point so thank   you for all you and your team does but um  can you just explain why the lowest bid   wasn't select Ed for this great question  and thank you for the opportunity um the   reason that the low bid was not responsive  in this case they were nonresponsive and they excuse me I don't have it for memory  that's okay so when you say non-responsive   we we reached out to them and they just didn't  reach back didn't answer back or or what does   that mean great question so non-responsive in  public procurement means that we solicited a   stated stated list of specifications we stated  specific requirements that they had to fulfill   to be able to respond in this specific instance  um Shannon Chemical Corporation they bid the   wrong chemical mixture um so they did not bid the  actual chemical composition that we're requesting   um they are non-responsive non-responsible would  mean they didn't have a capacity or or ability   to perform the work that's not the case in  this instance the other thing we typically   is non-responsive which in this instance they  didn't meet the specs okay thank you so much vice   mayor Ballard thank you mayor that was going to  be my question too thank you any further questions   for staff I see none I motion to approve the board  of bids and contracts for August 5th 2024 second   motion and a second any further discussion I  see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes 70 Madame clerk  please call the next item service   employees International Union SEIU memorandum of agreement evening mayor and Council um I  am Jason Hood the HR Director I am here to   discuss the recent collective bargaining  agreement that was negotiated with with SEIU okay the SIU tentative agreement duration is  of two years between 2024 and 2026 it was ratified   by SEIU members July 12th of 2024 the agreement  covers 774 employees across most Departments of   the organization and the agreement Provisions will  be incorporated into the revised budget highlights   of the agreement 2025 there's going to be a 6% GPA  and a 2.5% Merit step for those employees that are   eligible and in 2026 there's going to be a 6% GPA  and a 2.5% Merit step for those employees that are   eligible other note other notable language changes  language in the contract was amended to clarify   the senority list posting requirements uh language  in the contract was amended to clarify when bement   leaves should be taken additional language was  added to provide guidance on the use of vacation   leave in combination with bereavement and language  was added to outline a process for mandatory furlows our recommendation is that  you approve the 2024 2026 memorandum   of agreement between the city and  Service employee and international Union any questions questions for staff  beginning with council member ho Heisel   thank you mayor uh what was the  percentage on the SEIU vote the   percentage Yeah the approval percentage  I'm not sure just says the uh let's see here it doesn't say just says that the SEIU  members uh voted in favor of it on July 12th   okay uh Esau Mr Freeman do you have uh that info  um it was and and I was going to get up and speak   to this afterward but um I I would say that it was  only 65 to 67% in that range and um the reason for   that wasn't necessarily that people didn't believe  that we had negotiated good items but there was a   rather large concern with those employee groups  that they didn't get the same 133% that police   and fire got and they felt like you know as the  people who keep your drinking water clean and   keep your streets up and snow removal and things  like that that they're equally important and they   expected to see some equity in that so that's  why the workers were split and we know you guys   are in a budget shortfall but I would be remiss  and not doing my job if I didn't share that tibit   okay uh how many members voted um I would have to  get that number for you okay yeah I'm curious yeah   no I noticed we were talking about having 774  uh represented employees um one of the things I   will say is when I started this job 10 years  ago we had uh close to 860 some people that   we represented and so you know uh the workforce  that is controlled by the city has consistently   been downsized year after year and you know we  need to really take a look at that and invest   in ourselves invest in our workers because  every time we downsize the city resources   and the employee numbers there that takes out of  control out of the city council's control when   you subcontract work to somebody else or you  put it to another organization um one of the   things that would come to mind is snow removal um  and when the parks department got rid of several   people with lawnmowing jobs probably 10 years ago  I remember Janet Miller said that it was the worst   decision she ever made on the city council um so  that you know there's a lot of things that play   into this but a lot of this employee group feels  overworked and under resected okay appreciate it yes council member Johnston quick question  um how many what percent of the employees   qualify for the 2% 2.5% Merit stepping I  I don't have that information but what I   can tell you is that everyone um that  is a member of the Union at the time   the contract is R ratified that is not at  the max of their um Range will receive it   okay so that'd be8 and a half% 8 and a half  percent so 17% over two years correct okay you any further questions for staff I see none thank you we will now open it  up for public comment are there any individuals   who would like to speak please state your name  and your address thank you hello mayor thank you   and vice mayor um and council members my name  is Esau Freeman I live at 1203 North 2 Street   Sedwick Kansas I am the business representative  for service employees International Union Local   513 and um I do want to say that um we had some  really great conversations uh during negotiations   I want to say thank you to all of the people who  engaged in it um because although we didn't agree   on everything um we really did dig deep on some  issues that are important to the employee group   and so I appreciate all of the managers that  engaged in that um I was a little disappointed   that we didn't get city council members to sit in  with us in the way that police and fire got but uh   Jason and I talked about that and I understand the  city's reasons it's just it's one more of those   things that plays into my work group feeling that  there's not Equity across the board um whether it   be Financial or the type of interactions they get  um things like that so um but I did want to tell   you that the discussions were great and um we we  really did work for things I told you before that   it only passed by 65% and there was one thing  I wanted to correct that Jason said um I wish   it was just the members of the Union that got  the pay increase because those are the people   who were paying into the employee organization  those are the people who are fighting against   Right to Work For Less in our state and so one  of the things that I think is extremely important   to say there is is that all 774 employees uh Mr  Johnson uh council member Johnson are uh going to   receive that and unless they're on a disciplinary  probation or have some type of reason that they   don't reach their Merit they will all get that 2%  so I I just wanted to make sure that was clear um   beyond that I did still want to say something  about privatization I know that we're talking   about parks and you know how what we're going to  do with those things guys our parks are one of   the things that make our city so great um it's one  of those places that if you don't have any money   you can take your family and enjoy yourself and  I've seen over the years our swimming pools turn   into SL splash pads um you know when I was a kid  we had a lot more enmities and and city workers   and people taking care of our city so I just want  to say to the citizens and the council I know you   guys are in a hard position I know that because uh  businesses uh you know Dillan prices went up their   bags got smaller the boxes of Serial got smaller  we're all feeling that but I don't want anybody to   be mad at the city council because they're doing  the best that they can but we need to keep in mind   that we have to invest in ourself and constantly  asking for tax breaks on this that and the other   um gets us to a position where we have less staff  we have less items in our city we have big cracks   in our sidewalks and holes and so I just want to  put it out there to the citizens that when we're   thinking about these things remember that the  employees that keep your drinking water fresh   every day and keep you from getting sick and  keep your roads moving during snowstorms um   and the mabcd people that I represent that have  a hard job because sometimes they have to tell   people things that they don't like those people  are important and we appreciate the consideration   that you've given to them so um you know those  brownb back deficits uh you know I I really   feel like we're kind of making the same cuts to  Prosperity that the Brownback Administration did   and I have to tell you that is not going to work  and we've already seen it fail once so let's not   dig oursel in a hole let's not privatize our water  our Parks any of those things we want to be proud   of the workers of Witchita and the things that we  have in Witchita and you guys are all great smart   people so I hope that you will take the time to  come up with ways that we don't have to lose jobs   that we don't have to put things out to private  organizations and we the citizens we the people   of Witchita the workingclass people that make the  world run every day we don't get the things taken   away from us that we need because of cost that  businesses or you know other people don't want   to pay we all have to pay our fair share death and  taxes folks the only thing you can count on thanks Sharon O'Neal 400 South Roosevelt I've lived  in Witchita most of my life I'm a retired   psychotherapist who spent over 40 years  helping people solve problems I'm also a   sedio county Master Gardener I've lived in  the College Hill Neighborhood for over 30   years I walk my dog in the park two to three  times a day I've met friends in the park and   we walk our dogs together daily this is an  example of how Parks break social isolation   and create a filling of community most College  Hill residents have lived there for 30 or 40   years sorry to interrupt you we're speaking about  the SEIU contract if if you have further comments   regarding the budget we will get to the budget in  the next item I thought they were talking about Parks okay I'll come back I'll come back  yes again uh we'll have public comment   right now this is item regarding the service  employees International Union memorandum of agreement I'm William leor glander I live at  235 North Elizabeth coming with a dart I am   a former city of witchta employee I took pride  in doing snow removal I took pride being able   to say I worked here but with the increase of  my house going up my bills and all that I was   not making enough money I wound up getting  a part-time job out in gard and got offered   a job that I wanted that I've been trying to  get with the city as a mechanic they offered   me more money and they offered me a better  retirement where I could retire in 15 years   and so I wound up taking it but the problem is we  need to take care of our city employees like Esau   said the guys that take care of the streets  because none of you could get to work safely   get to where you need to be safely without  them doing their job they wake up at odd   hours and they get on call get a call at one  o'clock in the morning they got to wake up they   got to go and respond we got to take pride and  letting them know we respect those guys thank you any further comments regarding this  this item I see none we'll bring it back   to the bench council member tutle thank  you um I don't have a comment regarding   this item I just wanted to take a point  of privilege and welcome Senator Mary   wear for joining us this evening so thank  you for being here and thank you for your service uh count council member hoisel think I be a council member Johnson to  the punch um representative Miller is sitting   next to uh Mary wear as well so uh thank you  for being here I'm representative Miller as   well and also um to all our workers we we do  value you we do appreciate the work that you   do every day um keeping our roads going keeping  the water going um I hope that we can continue   to show more appreciation in the future and  just let you know just how valued you are council member glov I just want to thank HR  I want to thank Esau and the union for this   I think this is a fair negotiation I think  it takes care of our workers and again I   just want to Echo the support and thank you for  everybody um that uh doeses the work we get a set   of the bench we have the easy job everybody  else that works for the city has the tough   job and has to get out on the street so thank  you for negotiating this and I um am happy to   support it council member Tuttle thank you just  a little pylon also want to thank HR for all your   work on this and thank you to to and you city  employees we certainly appreciate you this is   one small step I I say all the time when  we when raises or bonuses are given I've   received them in the past I never remember what  I spent the money on but I always remember that   it made me feel appreciated and respected and  I hope that's how the employees feel so thank you madam mayor with a motion to approve the  item as presented second we have a motion   and a second any further discussion I  see none Madam clerk please open the role motion passes 70 Madame  clerk please call the next   item 2025 annual operating budget  and 2025 2034 Capital Improvement program mayor members of the council   I'm pleased to address you tonight regarding  um the 2025 annual operating budget and the   2025 to 2020 2034 Capital Improvement program um  and uh welcome the everyone in the audience to   our first public hearing appreciate their  uh engagement in the development of this budget um as we've discussed before the  uh recommended budget is based on our   community priorities as well as the goals  that have been established previously by   the city council the budget and the CIP are  available on our website at www.wichita.gov U up until tonight I think we've had a pretty  robust public engagement process already and I'm   looking forward to the feedback that we get during  our public hearings especially tonight and on the   13th uh we've just a reminder of everything that  we've done we started this process actually in   2023 when we had the community survey uh we also  had started the council workshops which we had   almost on a monthly basis starting in January  we had uh budget roundtables with residents in   January and in March we had two social media Town  Halls specializing on in Street Maintenance and in   crime prevention and then we presented the uh  preliminary or proposed budget uh Concepts to   the district advisory boards in May and then we  also had a budget simulator that ask public the   residents uh and members of the public to try  to help all of us balance this budget and I I   want to talk just a minute about that because  it proved to be an interesting experience for   those that actually got involved in the process  we had about 250 people that participated uh and   uh gave us guidance on how we could or should  balance the budget uh I will tell you that many   of the comments that we captured through this  process was that they recognized what a difficult   uh procedure or processes is and frankly most of  them are not envious of the decisions that you   have to make uh based on what they told us two  things that I do want to highlight uh when we   asked them to balance the budget that mean that  they had to make Cuts in many service areas the   two areas that received the fewest number  of cuts were in our street repair program   and our city parks I did mention that we started  this process with a citizen survey and actually   that has guided a lot of our public engagement  process and helped us identify the key principles   or priorities for this budget and those are and  the mayor you could probably go along and recite   this for me but it's h prioritizing uh crime  prevention increasing funding for pavement M   maintenance supporting Economic Development and  addressing housing insecurity just a real brief   reminder of some of the programs that um are  uh being initiated in the 2025 budget to uh   address these priority areas in crime prevention  we've talked on a couple of occasions now about   this not meaning just more police officers on the  street but actually a three-pronged approach one   that is geared towards prevention another piece  that's involves intervention and enforcement   which are officers on the street as as well as  a few other programs but also Rehabilitation   uh giving folks an opportunity to have a second  chance and uh to actually uh move forward as uh   uh productive members of the community the 2025  uh operating budget contains approximately $45   million for uh the initiatives in those three  priority categories uh again for crime prevention   general fund of course uh has funding for on  street services in the police department but we're   also involved in Housing Programs as well as uh  early intervention programs for our youth in Rec   ation and Library we also on the treatment side  are putting money into uh various alcohol and   uh drug abuse programs we are the council using  arpa dollars is moving forward with a violence   interruptor initiative in order to reduce uh uh  our violent uh to address violent offenders in   the community excuse me as then finally I think  we're looking at a game Cher in terms of how we   go about policing in this community and that's  the introduction of the real-time information   center and that's where we're hoping to  leverage technology and data for better outcomes terms of pavement uh maintenance the  council not only um if they were to approve   the 2025 budget would not only endorse what has  been done by previous councils but actually take   it one step further we're now to the point where  there's a brand new program we're introducing $20   million for concrete Street pavement maintenance  uh that has seems to be one of the most difficult   programs that we've had to get off the ground  because of its expense and we're introducing   that in this uh Capital Improvement program  that I'll talk about in a little while uh we   are upping the amount that would go into payment  M maintenance over the next 10 years up to $149   million significantly different than where we  were even 10 years ago and then uh maintaining   $39 million in the budget for dirt street Paving  the general fund also has $18 million for Street   Maintenance efforts on a daily basis performed  by our staff terms of Economic Development   we're recommending that a million dollars be  transferred into the Economic Development Fund   that fund excuse me finances many of our Economic  Development initiatives especially those that are   targeted small business and update of the downtown  uh master plan we've talked a little bit about the   uh business improvement district downtown the  smid and the Downtown Development efforts that   are funded through that program and that funding  mechanism and we are now starting to work towards   the initiation or the implementation excuse me of  the uh Downtown parking plan affordable housing   is an issue that has really I think moved to the  Forefront uh with this Council uh the uh Council   has allocated $5 million in arpa funding for the  affordable housing fund that is coming alongside   our uh program that is trying to redevelop our  former public housing units and I think we'll   have some great success in terms of uh seeing  those units redeveloped and uh on the tax roles   and then probably the one of the biggest  initiatives this council's taken on is the   creation of the multi- agency Center to deal in  a comprehensive way with our homelessness program just briefly I it wouldn't be a budget  presentation I didn't show you the pie   charts uh the total budget is 763 million almost  $764 million um on the Le hand side of this chart   you'll see our funding sources since this is our  entire budget includes the utilities and therefore   charges for services represents a significant  chunk of our Revenue uh property taxes uh comes   in second at 22% uh 41% of our expenses are for  salaries and benefits and 17% for Debt Service   contractuals represent 19% which again is a little  bit High because we're including our utilities so   now the rest of my comments I think will be pretty  much focused on the general fund which is what I   think our residents cons consider to be the the  true budget because it supports our ongoing daily   operations in our key service areas on the left  hand side you see our Prime Revenue sources uh   property tax represents the largest revenue to  the general fund at 36% uh and then you'll see   that sales tax and Franchise Tax uh revenues then  come in behind and help prop up the our general   fund I will note that 10% of our uh our excuse me  of our Revenue in 2025 will come from investment   earnings which is unusual if you look at our  past pract or past per performance in the last   10 years unfortunately if you followed what's been  going on at the FED uh level we'll probably start   to see the that Revenue drop because we'll see um  drops in uh the interest rates uh by the FED which   will reduce our earnings on our investments on the  right hand side you'll see how we spend our money   uh and as you know 75% of our Pro general fund  expenditures go towards salaries and benefits   if you look at the categories of our  expenditures you'll note that about   74% of our expenses go for what you would  call Basic city services probably what our   residents would call Basic city services that's  fire police and Public Works maintenance of infrastructure there's been a lot discussed  and written about in terms of our um funding   challenges that will begin in 2026 and I just  again want to note the 2025 budget that's being   proposed to you tonight is balanced however  in 2026 we anticipate that we will start to   see our expenditures outpace our revenue and  this is a structural deficit one that uh it   will be difficult to address it's not just  a one-time uh difficulty and it's happening   because of the declining interest rates that  I talked about U also what we anticipate to be   a leveling off of the property valuations uh in  our community and then uh our uh growth in wages   in order to be able to fairly compensate  our employees and to be competitive in the marketplace um as it's being presented to you  tonight as I said we have a balanced budget   in 2025 however we're projecting a small  deficit in 2026 that would grow to near   10 million in 2027 and 2028 and that is after  you have already done some some heavy lifting   through our uh monthly workshops just a  reminder that so far uh you have trimmed   about 11 million uh in the 2026 budget 12.2  million from the 2027 budget and 12 a half   million from 2028 and yet we're still looking  at this these deficits projected for 26 27 and 28 some of the things that we are looking at  uh addressing uh to help close that Gap we're   looking at centralizing some of our financial  services which have been decentralized for a   number of years we're looking at trying to  improve our cost recovery for many services   especially where the user has the ability to  pay and gets a special service from us uh we   are looking at uh our Fleet practices also  uh focusing more on outcomes and performance   measures looking at areas where we have high  vacancy rates and have for several years and   maybe right sizing some of those operations  and sitting down with our employee groups and   talking primarily about uh some of our benefit  programs focusing on health insurance especially   so that's it on the operating budget on the  capital Improvement program a reminder this is   our 10-year infrastructure plan um it too follows  the city's mission and goals and it is primarily   based on maintaining the infrastructure that we  have in place there are some enhancements uh some   growth in our infrastructure but the primary uh uh  expenditures in CP are for maintenance of existing infrastructure you'll see here that we have  a very diverse Revenue Source in in terms of   funding the CIP especially over the 10 years  it's a big document and you're talking about   a sizable investment in this community  over3 billion dollars over the 10 years here's how we're spending those funds uh  water is a significant investment for us   uh but so are streets and this was not the  case as I said 10 years ago but you'll see   that our we have over $572 million invested in  our streets over the 10y year periods of the CIP we have a one-time movement of uh  dollars into The Debt Service fund that's   that are recommended for 2025 that would  to be allow us to cash fund some of our   projects that would have been debt funded  otherwise and that gives us capacity in   the future to be able to tackle some of our  infrastructure issues we're prioritizing uh   maintenance especially in our street system  and our public buildings as well as Public Safety um I've already talked about the  uh Street expenses uh that are included   in the CIP I won't really go into  that again we have about 164 million   for Public Safety infrastructure which includes  new police stations and fire stations as well   as equipment uh we also have about half of  the total CIP that's going into maintenance   projects including 33 million for cultural  facilities and 32 million for other City buildings we do have challenges with the um  budget uh or with our Capital Improvement   program but they're not as significant as what  we are experiencing in our general fund and   primarily because we benefit when interest rates  drop we actually benefit from our borrowing of   money to help fund our Capital Improvements and  so um our do our debt service dollars will go farther just a reminder at uh when I introduced  the budget to you last month you gave me about   20 homework assignments and those uh we were  slowly getting that information out to you   we gave you some this morning that dealt with  CIP improve improvements at the golf courses   we answered some issues you had regarding  the park master plan and funding for the   multi-agency center uh talked about uh what the  impact would be of a mill Levy rate increase uh   also um provided you a little bit of information  on our Park maintenance and Forestry activities   and then there were questions you had about  starbs and Tiff districts and we've answered those U there'll be another set of um  documents coming out to you tomorrow   to again try to get all 20 of those issues  addressed reminder that after tonight you   have two more public hearings uh August 13th  next Tuesday and then the final hearing and   the adoption of the budget on August 20th um  as we talked about before I encourage members   of the public if they really want to make an  impact on this budget tonight and August 13th   are the best times to do it it's very  hard for this Council given the limit   ations that are placed on You by state law to  really make an impact the day that you're adopting   the budget so with that um I would be glad to  answer any questions before you solicit public input questions for city manager L beginning  with vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor um   Bob you mentioned about the um Public Safety  infrastructure can just for the public for if   they might not know can you talk about the new  stations uh the um new police stations that are   in the works just so people kind of know some  of the things that we have going on I'll talk   about just the in the near future and I'd say  that's over the next three years or so U we um   are almost completed with the East substation for  police and we are um in our design process for   the West substation so those two police stations  will be replaced um we also have purchased land   for a Southwest fire station and we are hoping  to close on a site by the end of the year or   early next year for the uh a Northwest uh fire  station and those to address service concerns or   uh service um uh difficulties that have been  identified especially in terms of response   times for those two uh Western uh areas in  our community and then the station um out   by the by 96 will be moved that will be  moved and then that will be funded by the   state because it's because of improvements  to k96 that they'll that station needs to   be relocated okay great thank you yep thank you  council member Glascock this could be on one of   your follow-ups tomorrow but I know we had asked  um Public Works in terms of the dirt streets of   39 million that's allocated towards dirt streets  if that was allocated towards just residential   existing roads if there be a better Bing for  the buck is will that information be following   up as well that'll be in my third batch if I  remember correctly sounds good thank you thank you I see no further questions for staff at  this time thank you we will now open it up   for public comment please state your name and  your address and you will have five minutes Sharon O'Neal 400 South Roosevelt I've lived  in witcha most of my life I'm a retired   psychotherapist who spent over 40 years helping  people solve their problems I'm also a SED County   Master Gardener I've lived in the College Hill  Neighborhood for over 30 years I walk my dog in   College Hill Park two to three times a day I've  met friends in the park and we walk our dogs   together daily this is an example of how Parks  break social isolation and create a feeling of   community most College Hill residents have lived  here for 30 or even 40 years because of the park   and M mature shade trees couples families and  children are frequently seen walking and biking   along the streets the park is filled with people  doing different activities many schools bring   their tracker tennis teams to practice groups of  people can be seen playing basketball baseball   soccer football frisbee kids are seen sledding  the hills in the winter after a snow and kids   are at the swimming pool during the summer people  can be seen picnicking or reading a book under a   shade tree and occasionally a tight RPP Walker  or a person relaxing in a hammock one neighbor   that lived on the park even had outdoor concerts  for everyone in his backyard Parks encourage play   and create improved physical and mental health  research shows that money spent on Park is the   most coste effective way to lower long term  health care costs people choose to live in   College Hill despite the houses being old and  needing updat repairs because of College Hill   Park and the atmosphere that it creates parks and  green space improve property values research shows   that Parks and Recreation create three times the  economic benefit for every dollar spent wiah needs   to focus on providing more Parks even if they are  small within the city wiah has less parks parks in   Green Space compared to other low density cities  lowincome and disadvantaged kids need parks and   outdoor recreation activities close to where they  live research shows Parks reduce juvenile crime   one person in jail cost tax pay payers $100,000 a  year I believe everyone needs a park with mature   Shea trees within a 10-minute walk of their home  do not close any parks with global warming and the   dangers it poses for Witchita residents Witchita  needs to protect parks and green space due to the   important role that green infrastructure plays in  controlling flooding and urban heat control I have   included a newspaper article on the extreme heat  the US is experiencing and the negative impact on   mental health for the elderly and poor access to  a close park with large shade trees could be the   difference between life and death during a heat  wave if they do not have air conditioning scrap   the plans for the 420 acre Crystal Prairie Lake  Park in Northwest witcha which is projected to   cost over $25 million Witchita worked with NASA  to identify heat islands in the city and needs   to remain focused on these remedies Pittsburgh  Pennsylvania has developed a way to even help   Street trees thrive thrive for decades in harsh  conditions there's a problem of wichan maintaining   its public parks and spaces Century 2 and a  price Woodard Park are centrally located downtown   between Broadview and the Hyatt Hotel in 2022  Lowe's donated $115,000 of landscape materials   and wages for 20 employees to work a full day at a  price wooded park Landscaping many other citizens   also volunteered their time in this cleanup effort  I have a couple of pictures of what it looked like   afterwards in 2022 when families could be seen  relaxing and enjoying the park this is a vision   of concrete and the three dead trees in 2024 since  Witchita has not turned on the aration in the park   or water for the large cooling waterfall no one is  currently using the park in its present condition   I do not understand Wah's refusal to maintain  Beauty in its public spaces especially when   located next to the convention center and across  from the Chamber of Commerce witchat is wasting   every dollar it spends on marketing and visit  Witchita if it will not maintain its parks and   public spaces this kind of neglect discourages  any future donations or Community involvement   from other corporations the city park department  needs to hire a full-time volunteer coordinator   Grant Rider that could coordinate volunteers  to assist in maintaining Beauty in parks and   public spaces much like New York City does with  Central Park or the Highline another example of   an enchanting pocket park in downtown Phil  Philadelphia is the John F Collins Park it's   between two ball bu tall buildings it's locked  at Night by Whimsical art Gates it's exclusively   maintained by volunteers and even rented out  for special events what pictures don't show   is the soothing sounds of the birds in this  enchanting green space thank you for your time vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor I just  wanted to say thank you so much for being here   sharing thank you council member Glascock  yeah a quick question I Echo the concerns   about supporting existing Park facilities and  making sure that they are up to par um I know   that there it wasn't the the previous speaker  but a previous speaker I don't remember who I   think there's a misconception in terms of page  286 and 287 of the budget that there is a cut   to Parks could we Mr manager talk about the  move from culture arts and services to the   city manager's office that it actually isn't a  budget cut to parks and we're actually adding   three new positions in the proposed budget yes  thank you council member um that is true um we   were we had Cultural Arts um services that  were provided they actually had been moved   as a division over to Parks and Recreation in  anticipation that we were going to have a merger   with uh the county that has not moved forward  and and we believe that the better home for   that service those Services right now is in the  city manager office and so uh we have moved the   cultural services in 2025 into the city manager's  office so there's no cuts to parks and they're   actually adding three positions in the proposed  budget there I'd have to go back and look at the   positions but there are no program cuts that  are anticipated at this time in the proposed   budget thank you council member hoisel thank you  mayor um Crystal Lake is still cut from the CIP right the vast majority of the improvements  for Crystal Prairie Lake are not in the capital   Improvement program the recommended Capital  Improvement program does fulfill a commitment that   was made to Residents in that area that we would  try to get a complete path system so the pathway   is in shown in the capital Improvement program to  get under k96 and to get an extension up um Hoover   Road okay thank you for clar yeah most of that is  cut already for the Crystal Lake Project thank you council member Johnson thanks mayor just  wanted to tell my colleague it's Crystal   Prairie Lake I I like Crystal Lake but we got some   push back about that okay we'll we'll  put Crystal Lake up there with poetry Park we'll continue public comment please   state your name your address  and you'll have five minutes my name is Harold schlee I live at 351 North  Fern Street in the deleno district I am chairman   of the board of directors of ICT trees the  401 C3 nonprofit whose mission is to promote   the maintenance and expansion of wit tree canopy  which has diminished over the past several decades   I wish to thank you I want to thank you for the  opportunity you've provided for citizens to speak   about their concerns with the upcoming City budget  for those of you who may have read my commentary   in yesterday's witto Eagle I do not believe that  there is a war about to commence over witch all   parks H but I didn't write the headline for the  commentary I stand by what I wrote but not the   headline using the word war is a mistake because  it sorts everyone into camps for and against I   think we all support witw system of parks but  I believe we should all support them more the   trust for public land publish is a survey of city  parks every year this year they surveyed 100 of   the largest cities across the United States which  are rank below the median in almost every area   for example the amount of land set aside for  Parks but we're not alone Tulsa and Oklahoma   City also rank below the median of cities in our  region only Omaha scored above the median ranking   but in one area witch all did score above the  median according to this report 68% of lowincome   households live within a 10-minute walk of a city  park these neighborhood parks are important to the   people who live near them we should cherish  them and add to their number the manager's   budget message talks of the hard decisions to be  made for the 2026 budget those decisions are also   an opportunity for this Council to reaffirm  witch Do's historic commitment to city parks   to the maintenance of those parks and to the Park  forestry division I would also like to express my   concern regarding the city's decision to suspend  tree planting which may be as much a budgetary   issue as a drought issue there are millions upon  millions of dollars of federal money available to   cities that choose to repair and rebuild their  fractured tree canopy there are many thousands   if not millions of dollars available in private  grants available to nonprofits with a proven track   record in 202 to the city of witcha partnered with  NASA to study the relationship between heat trees   and environmental justice NASA's final report  identified 17 census tracks at elevated heat   risk to vulnerable citizens due to the inequitable  distribution of the city's tree canopy beginning   this past spring the city's depart Park department  and forestry division embarked on a vigorous   program of planting trees in or near these Urban  heat Islands the small but measurable progress   the city has made I fear the small but measurable  progress the city has made on this issue can be   jeopardized by what happens in our 2026 budget ICT  trees this past spring conducted a successful free   tree distribution uh program in zip code areas  67214 and 67208 we were assisted by a grant from   everg ever's Green Team the forestry division at  the city of witto the har the Arbor Day Foundation   and wit's local chapter of Kappa Alpha CPA and  I don't know if any of those ladies are here I   apologize for for forgetting the name of the local  chapter and we had other volunteers involved uh   we wanted to do the same thing again this fall  narrowing our Focus to 67214 and expanding our   community outreach and the numbers of trees that  we would distribute to homeowners in that zip code   but we've had to put those plans on hold because  the city is recommending that homeowners should   not plant trees trees use far less water than  Fescue Lawns it may be true that some homeowners   water trees using home irrigation systems that  is wasteful there are better ways and we have   literature and training to offer home owners about  how to care for their new trees so I'm leaving you   with a couple of questions one does this budget  for this year for this coming year 2025 permit the   city to carry out activities in the spring of 2025  as this past spring uh planting trees Street trees   that's one question will the Forestry Department  be there uh in and helping with that and then the   second question is can ICT trees count on the city  to continue to support our activities especially   those addressed to mitigating the fearful impact  of climate change on our Urban environment can   we count on the city to help this spring and  next year so those are those are two questions   U I would like the city to help us this fall I  would like to see us be able to do that but we   can't suck it out of our thumb we have to go into  these communities and speak to people churches   neighborhood organizations these are especially  67214 is 80% rental housing we plant homeowners   plant those trees not not rental companies so  we have to find that 20% we can only do that by   talking to people in those communities and that  has to stop start now thank you Mr Harold thank   you vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor uh Bob I  have a question you know we've talked about uh po   potentially suspending any planting for the fall  and I guess I kind of have mixed feelings on it   you know we've really taken some initiatives this  year to to repair and focus on our tree canopy and   I think for the first time in I don't know how  many years we've replaced equal or close to the   amount of trees that we have removed which I think  is amazing um but my question is if we're not   going to plant this fall do we hold the money over  and double down on the spring and hope that we are   out of the drought by then to plant next year or  I believe last time I asked me were more than a,   work orders behind on tree maintenance so I also  wonder if this is an opportunity to work hard and   try to catch up on some of our tree maintenance  because some of the last couple rains that we've   had I know uh Diana and the in the audience um  just more big limbs are coming down um for trees   that were slated to be removed close to a year  ago so I just have kind of mixed feelings and   just kind of curious on what the best move is  ultim Ely the council will have to make that   decision about priorities um if the if you were  to follow the direction from the 2024 uh if you   were to follow the direction we were given from  the 2024 budget we would keep uh funds available   in 2025 to make up for the trees that weren't  planted this year uh because of the drought um   Troy hman can talk a little bit about the backlog  we have and also I think we may have entered into   contract already for some of the tree planting  that would already have Commit commit us to to   fund that H whenever the drought is we have some  drought relief but I don't want to assume that   it's okay for the city to plant and water ex  but then you know say that the public can't   do that so I just want to make sure that we're  not talking out of both sides of our mouth but   I don't want to delay the canopy I don't know  I just kind of have mixed feelings on it y mayor and Council Troy hman director of  Parks and Recreation um council member   Ballard a couple numbers I wanted  to share with you so you had asked   in regards to the backlog in regards  to the uh tree removal and we have uh 2580 uh work orders that need to be completed  to catch up on that backlog a couple of items   I wanted to share with you as well is that tree  removal and maintenance or just maintenance all   together tree removals yeah um couple other items  in regards to the questions that you asked and I   also want to share some numbers from the public  comment is this past year we actually planted   800 be root uh trees and we planted 1300 of the  bar uh ball and bar laap trees as well so the   the idea that we're moving forward with using uh  smaller trees trees seedlings is something that   we're putting into our plan for future plantings  so that is happening as well as we're working   with the school district in regards to planting uh  some smaller trees but also developing seedlings   with their seeds and their work so that is still  happening as well um see a couple other things we   we do have uh 415 trees on hand that are bare root  trees in gravel and we're holding off on those   to plant those next year in the meantime they are  in gravel and we are maintaining them by watering   them uh for their survival um and that was at a  cost of about $14,000 we have a remaining amount   of $185,000 in our tree purchasing fund that as as  the city manager mentioned that could be held over   till next year to use that for purchasing trees  for next year um so that's not I know how much   cost to take down trees that is not very  many tree no that is nowhere close to 2 200   tree removals no that would give us about  um 11% of the backlog that we have right now how much is in the budget for tree  removal aside from the 11% that it would   help with I I didn't bring that number with  me I apologize is it a significant amount   so if you think about what the budget is for for  forestry probably about um 70% of it is in regards   to uh maintenance and tree removal 30% is probably  in regards to after hours emergencies dealing with   those type of situations and then the remainder  new tree and tree take and and tree care for the   new tree so we even though we plant them we still  have to go out and water them so there's continual   cost uh after we plant them as well so that's  generally where we are with that budget okay thank you city manager Leighton can you please pull  up our community survey Matrix and keep that up please we will now continue with public comment good evening mayor city council I want to preface  this by expressing our gratitude for the movement   we are moving forward in the fire service  here in witto we are encouraged but I want   to express some urgency that we are in and have  been in for several years my name is Ted Bush   I'm witch firefighters local 135 president in a  few short hours we were gather to say goodbye to   our brother Ty V he was a friend a son a brother  of two sisters and a brother he's a firefighter   who served his community with pride and great  distinction and he was only 27 years old Tai   collapsed while fighting a mutual Aid residential  fire on August 1st and never recovered it is and   remains a great shock to his brother and sister  firefighters not only in Witchita but other   communities that Tai served and will continue  to be a shock for us for some time while at   the hospital firefighter stood by in support of  Tai and his station five crew as Hospital staff   diligent diligently and with great effort tried to  save his life when Hospital staff advised members   that Tai had passed they didn't waver they formed  a line to take their turn one by one and to walk   into Tai's room and honor him and say goodbye  and I want the citizens to understand what else   happened Crews who were on duty also came to the  hospital they Qui quietly stood in line with their   fellow grieving firefighters to take their turn  and go in and do the same but they didn't go home   after that in the midst of this great tragedy  and the pain they were feeling and the memory   of their lost brother they jumped right back on  those rigs and went back to work answering 911   calls and finished their tour finished their shift  I want everyone to imagine the great dedication   and the fortitude it takes to do that knowing  what has happened and a tragic result some are   close personal friends of Tai they still answered  emergency calls historically the witw budget over   the years for fire service has been in inadequate  and this continues it continues to the point of   critical levels and as is affecting public fire  safety and the safety of firefighters performing   that emergency work this has resulted in critical  shortfalls in Staffing fire station concentration   and long response times response times are the  measure used to determine if a fire department   is successful in its Mission or it's not it's  simple as that the sooner firefighters arrive on   scene of an incident the sooner they can mitigate  that situation allowing for a safer outcome for   Citizens and firefighters a fire that is not  controlled quickly will continue to eat away   at the building's structural Integrity increasing  the risk to Firefighters by increasing the safety   impact of that fire and increase the risk to  Citizens by delaying the time for a possible   rescue or medical treatment I'll leave you with  a quick comparison in 1979 witll had a population   of 261,000 people and covered 101.4 square miles  which to firefighters at that time responded to   11,790 emergency calls to accomplish this wtto had  3 full siiz fire apparatus classified by the NFPA   as fire suppression units fire engines that put  in Fire out wit fire had 124 firefighters on the   streets making alarms as minimum daily Staffing  now we're in 2024 with a population increase of   51.7% a 61.7% of geographical increase and a  whopping 48% increase in 911 calls serviced   by those by firefighters today witto City  Hall expects firefighters to accomplish this   service with a zero increase in fullsize NFPA  compliant fire suppression units we have the   same amount of fire engines on the streets  today as we did in 1979 and that includes   and that's 45 years that includes uh the including  in the 3 fullsize units we have today includes the   two Grant funded truck companies without those  Grant funded trucks we would actually fall   below 1979 unit levels suppression unit levels  Staffing is no different 1979 we had a minimum   of 124 firefighters operating on the streets We  compare that to 2024 where the minimum daily staff   today is 129 we have had Personnel operation  increase over that time of five people on the   streets making calls I know some of you are  going and I know this is a shock and these   numbers are unbelievable I had to check them  myself I know some of you are going to Tai's   funeral tomorrow and we truly truly greatly  appreciate that and there is a time to grieve   but real care for policy makers comes after  we bury the firefighter who died doing his   or her dut Duty it is then you can truly match the  dedication they show every day give them the tools   to be successful give them the proper budget  and Staffing to keep them safe as possible as   they operate in a very dangerous job that's  how we show our appreciation that's how you   show your appreciate appreciation and care  and and they certainly deserve it thank you thank you Ted council member hoisel thank  you mayor and thank you for your words Ted   and thank you and condolences on behalf of  I believe the all city council towards the   sacrifice and for the loss of firefighter B um I  look forward to continuing the discussion about   how to fund you guys and give you the tools that  you guys need to keep our safe to keep my family   safe so I do appreciate you being up here and  again condolences to you and all of our fire   family and thanks to all our First Responders  who put their lives on the line every single day vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor Ted  thank you for being here and for advocating   for um all of the fire that keeps our  city and county safe uh we're extended   out even into the county so so you said  in a 45e period we've added approximately   135,000 people we've added 60 more square  miles of coverage and we've added five firefighters five thank you thank you city manager Lon this is probably not the evening to get into a  debate but I the council has committed significant   resources to the fire department for the very  reason that it is one of the most important   services that we have a different the council  asked us to look at Staffing levels across the   organization for the last 20 years in 20 in 2005  we had 397 positions funded in the fire department   in 2024 we had 497 that's 100 more positions over  that 20-year period more than any other department   including the police department and at a much  higher percentage increase than police department   and all other departments and to give you an idea  how the council has emphasized Public Safety there   have been 170 police and fire positions added  in that 20-year period across the organization   there's only a net increase of four which means  that many other service areas have actually seen   a decrease in Staffing in order to offset the high  priorities that been placed on police and fire so   doesn't mean that we don't have service needs I'm  not uh contradicting that at all U I just want to   I I don't want it to be said that the council  hasn't re hasn't supported the ongoing needs   of police and fire in this community vice mayor  Ballard thank you mayor uh thank you for adding   that context I believe um as long as some of us  have been on Council umis and council member tutle   and Johnson we have made strides to try to help  catch up um the fire department um but we still   have a long ways to go and so um that is extremely  important to me I know that there's still gaps   even the temporary fire station that we put up  at 13th and West Street um it ended up being the   sixth busiest fire station in the city so and  that was just a temporary station um and very   close to where a station is needed from our lever  room study so um I just appreciate the context   but we still have a long ways to go so thank you  council member Glascock while we're on this topic   can you just give a brief timeline of when the  Southwest station is expected to be completed   that's the first station since I believe 2008 do  we have a timeline of when that will be completed I we do know and I just can't remember  um we're going to buy the we've already   we're buying the property this  year and doing the design work   I just can't I think it's 2026 when  it opens but I I need Chief to remind me good evening Chief Jam snow um yes we have  the the land purchase we're currently in the   process of uh hiring an architect um so we've  already went out to RFP on it um we ran into a   little glitch um we had a meeting this week  in regards to the glitch just some language   basically um if we get that um information back  in regards to uh uh cleaning up the language uh   then we should have an architect on board and  we'll start that design that's probably about   U between the design going back and forth  forth and um the construction of it we're   probably looking at about 18 months so we hope  to be in it um by the end or by the early 2026   at worst case um hopefully 2025 at the end of  2025 but um probably probably closer to 2026   to be realistic thank you Chief I appreciate  it sure we'll continue with public comment my name is Mary Katherine Vernon  and I live uh in Midtown which itah um pardon okay um let's see healthy trees and green  space are vital to the public health and safety um   they're critical to mitigating the effects of  climate change um with climate change average   temperatures will steadily rise unless we find  ways to drastically reduce the CO2 and methane   emissions which itah is something which itah  has been lagered in doing healthy trees provide   shade and cooling for everyone under and near them  they also remove C2 from and uh add oxygen to our atmosphere wiah has a deficit of trees compared  to other cities therefore we need to plant more   trees and provide them with necessary water and  maintenance and this should be overseen by a   certified AR arborist it would help also help  to educate the people uh on planting their own   trees and um this could be facilitated perhaps  by a Little Help from the C County Extension   they do a real good job of of educating people  about growing things um in my neighborhood uh   there are numerous dead or dying trees they are  not only not only present a danger from falling   branches and entire trees but they offer fuel for  fires these trees need to be pruned or removed and   I'm I'm sorry if I'm repeating what's already  been said said I my hearing is really bad and   I haven't uh heard most of what's been said um  anyway their remains could be chipped and used   for mulch for uh newly planted trees we need  to commit to our energy to these efforts and   I believe it would be a good idea to to move the  the park and Street trees over into the higher   quality and higher importance uh uh segment  because it is such a vital thing um let's see I believe that our economic growth is  dependent upon having a beautiful city and part   of having a beautiful city is having beautiful Tre  uh and green space so anyway that's it thank you   thank you Mary city manager L can you remove um  The Matrix now so that the timer can be seen by   our guests um just a quick note higher quality  higher importance means that it already is   being provided as a high quality already so uh the  bottom right means High importance but low quality   meaning you want us to work on that a little  bit more thank you we'll continue with public Comon hi um um the reason that I here tonight  is to talk about the importance of Paratransit   and I noticed it was down in the lower leftand  corner so that was pointed out to me um I'm not   okay uh Paratransit is more than just a ride  my name is Alisa dep pontier and I live at   142 North fuia and I am a member of the legally B  blind Community here in Witchita and although my   is rare um my optic nerves are heavily  damaged and so my brain my eyes don't have   a conversation too often anymore so um but  uh the impact that has had on my life is a   familiar Journey for many of us who are legally  blind um first of all you give up your car keys   and your license and uh next you say goodbye  to your Independence and your um spontaneity   because now you must plan every outing um you  say hello to isolation because you hate to   ingratiate Eng gratiate yourself on your family  your friends and and kind neighbors um uh for a   ride and isolation can bring on board its own set  of baggage um then there's the well-meaning people   that tell you just get yourself one of those  little scooters and you just want to quietly   think to yourself let me hand you the blindfold  and I'm going to let you to go first on the the   scooter because um and then the other one is just  called Uber and it's just not as simple of a solve   as as that I um I've tried that so to the Rescue  come the amazing people at Envision and the kind   and hardworking people at P Transit I can't say  enough things about those two institutions par   Transit is not a luxury it's a NE necessity for uh  those of us that use it uh we aren't out for a joy   ride um most of the people using Paratransit are  going to some sort of Health Care appointment or a   job um and until you are able to walk in my shoes  it's pretty hard to imagine how it feels I would   I couldn't imagine it until it happened to me  so Paratransit is a return of some semblance of   Independence for me um I personally feel like  I'm in charge of something in my life again um   and I have options with it um so my sense of  Independence raises my feeling of isolation   diminishes and life feels just a little bit better  matter again um so I want all of you to understand   that paratransit is way way more than just a ride  so thank you thank you Alisa council member glasa   Alicia Alicia I have a few questions real fast I  Echo uh in terms of our transportation system the   most important thing our transportation system  does is pay our Transit so thank you for talking   about that um in particular what are some of the  biggest challenges you face with par Transit and   what would be some improvements that you would  want okay um last fall there was a white cane   walk um that Envision put together and at that  moment I learned there are so many of us in witch   talk it just flabbergasted me and felt good at  the same time because I wasn't alone um so on   that walk it was like a TW block walk I talked  to as many people I as I possibly could walking   to find out what was their biggest frustration  or Challenge and I didn't want to talk negative   about anything but it was Paratransit and it's for  real because like this morning I had to schedule   a ride for a healthare appointment you can only  schedule 7 days before the appointment I called   at 8:00 sharp because if you call any later than  that they're booked uh and and you're just that's   when I tag you know neighbor or my husband or  something like that but um or they can get you   there but they can't get you home and so that's  hard um and then like mine many many times I'm   there to my appointment two hours early and I get  to wait an hour to get right home I'm there that's   all I care about to be honest um and I'm getting  home so I'm not ever going to complain about the   wait time or anything like that but just a a  little thought in that legally blind people   we don't need a Bus full of everything um that to  serve us you know I've heard the suggestion if you   just contracted Uber I mean because we just need  a car um that we can see coming up um when I call   Uber I cannot track all the things happening on my  phone um they're trying to tell you what kind of   car that's going to pull up and how many minutes  and I just I can't do that so for somebody to tell   me okay 7 days in advance this is when you need  to watch you've got a 30 minute period that you   watch for they pull up right in front of your  house it's big you can see it they honk three   times and so you know that they're there and they  make sure that you get off safely that you get in   the door they're just kind caring people that get  what you're dealing with so um more of them would   be honestly if I to speak for the large group of  people that I talk to well thank you for telling   your story I think matter and so I appreciate that  and again when we're looking at Transit the how do   we get to people's door uh is more important to  me and how can we serve um populations that need   that type of help so thank you for can I ask you  a quick question in your study will you be talking   to the people that ride parat TR Transit at all or  that' be a question for Bob y for transportation director and a last comment I have for  you too as well I think this would be   something great to bring the diversity  equity and inclusion board just to have   that conversation more and maybe they're  talking about that in some way um but I   think this would be perfect for them  to discuss different ways that we can   make policy changes up here and I know  penny has like a few answers as well the redesign study currently underway is primarily  focused on the fixed route system so isn't really   looking at the par Transit complimentary  service so but we would I like your idea   of going to diversity Equity inclusion board  um we also proceed with the access Advisory   Board I know Envision is a is a prominent  member um on that board as well but we will   take feedback at any point any time um but it's  not included in that study okay thank you penny   vice mayor Balor thank you mayor I would  just also uh Echo thank you for coming to   share your story um oftentimes we don't  we don't hear very often when we get it   right or very much positive uh feedback so  I really appreciate you even though you have   some suggestions on how to make it better and  accessible to more people really appreciate you   coming to to share your story and be the voice of  others that couldn't make it today so thank you we'll continue with public comment name is Dakota Bennett I am at 601  North Terrace in district one like many   others here today and as you will encounter  over the next week and a half I have plenty   of thoughts and opinions on what should be done  pertaining to the city's finances today however   I'm here as the vice president of the historic  witch ctown Incorporated Board of Trustees yes   it's a mouthful I am honored to serve alongside  other great trustees such as Mike's on our board   as well um My Old Cow Town museum is owned  and operated by the city these days um hwc   our abbreviation uh our history goes back to  the Inception of the museum nearly 75 years   ago next year is our 75th nowadays we serve in an  advisory role to the city and we own the artifacts   our mission statement reads as follows to Foster  an entertaining and enriching visitor experience   by supporting meaningful educational programs  volunteer organizations and the acquisition and   preservation of historical artifacts that's why  I'm here today to begin with I want to thank the   council current sitting and your predecessors um  for the much needed midyear budget increase last   year this returned pre-pandemic funding enabled  us to resume pre-co operations and continue to   recover from the effects of the last four plus  years years in addition to the Wi-Fi and golf   carts that are up and running we have also seen  the beginnings of improvements to maintenance   on grounds unfortunately the raccoons are  another story um but you can't win them all   at once so we'll keep working on that one uh  there's also much excitement around our new   director James Quint we've seen many positive  signs over the past five months that point to   his strong leadership and promising vision for  the museum as we continue into 2025 we are thank   ful to have maintained our current budget and  thus can continue to improve in these previously   mentioned areas and others Our concern however  is for the Museum's finances as we head into   the 2026 fiscal year is my understanding that the  current proposal calls for increasing our Co cost   recovery from 26 to 28 up by an additional 186 195  and finally in 28 $225,000 cow Town's funding is   guaranteed by this City and from the general fund  but most of our Revenue goes back to the city the   exception being the ways that HCI the board makes  money to hold up our end of the deal such as um   selling me memberships and some merchandise in  the gift shop this results in the city getting   roughly 40 cents to the dollar back um for every  dollar that's budgeted towards the museum this is   the cost recovery as it currently stands and while  I see the logic in increasing this cost recovery   expectation the reality is that that simply is  not realistic within our operating um current   patterns uh we are certainly working to improve  the cost recovery and prior to the pandemic we're   making good progress on this goal however with  only recently last year receiving pre-pandemic   funding levels so has the cost recovery only begun  to recover it takes money to make money if our   cost recovery expectation goes up significantly in  2026 this will actually lead to budget cuts as the   difference between the actual versus proposed cost  demands to be resolved at a place like cow toown   200,000 150,000 goes a long way such a move would  prove disastrous for fulfilling our mission this   also sets us up for a downward spiral as the lower  quality visitor experience in turn further hurts   income risk of loss to some or all operations  loss of Staff loss of accreditations physical   deterioration on the grounds due to lack of  Maintenance Etc so what does the potential return   look like for a rather high-risk move on paper  it would reduce the deficit by up to 200,000 this   is because the city again provides stability to  funding by guaranteeing the budgeted amount from   the general fund however most of that remaining  60 cents to the dollar that is not um received   back to the city by collecting any profit that's  made at the Museum um is made up by the transient   guest tax not the general fund um every year we  have visitors from all over the country and world   and when they visit they have to stay somewhere  and many of them stay in hotels and thus pay   this tax if the Museum's operations are reduced  or worse yet the museum isn't uh as would be at   risk of shutting down it potentially releases  its own downward spiral on the transient guest   tax when these guests don't come to our town and  stay in our hotels in summary we understand you   have a particularly difficult task of balancing  the budget in the years ahead head but we advise   the increasing ocms cost recovery at this time  is a high-risk low potential move the potential   being a savings of maybe up to 200,000 and the  risk being the loss of one of the largest living   history museums in the country I'll leave you with  a recent experience I had I went on traveling and   I was fortunate to go to Colonial Williamsburg  in Virginia rockefeller's playground where he   rebuilt Williamsburg as it appeared during  the colonial era during the N uh the 1920s   um but since 1976 they have faced significant  financial struggles and unfortunately it   has resulted I was rather disappointed in how  commercialized it had all become um particularly   given the high cost of a ticket $50 there and  it made me realize what a gym we really have   and I can honestly say by my assessment that old  cow toown Museum offers a higher quality visitor   experience than Colonial Williamsburg and this is  due to our guiding principle principles of uh C   Town's mission statement which is that we are an  educational institution operated as an open air   living history museum dedicated to preserving and  presenting the history of wital Kansas through the   immersive experiences of life in the late 1800s  while we must be good stewards of the Public's   money we also must do what is best for the public  we must balance fisal restraint with worthwhile   and necessary investment many have said it in  many ways but my personal spin is if we don't know   where we've been I doubt we know where we're going  I have 10 seconds if I can all of us at the Museum   are dedicated to preserving our past and educating  the present so as to ensure a bright future for   witch it all we are but one piece of the picture  but we are a piece of it and it is only with all   these pieces working together that we begin  to see the image we all work hard for unfold   before our eyes thank you for your consideration  um I apologize for going over time thank you   we will continue with public comment I'm Stephanie Jager witch talk Kansas  I also uh work with witch firefighters I've   met with all of you actually um respectfully  I would like to provide some context to Mr   leighton's comments first is right it's  not a good night to debate this it isn't   it's not about alternative facts  or how you want to you know turn numbers I encourage each and every one  of you to look at your past budgets I   encourage the public to do it too because  the number of firefighters that we have   out there it's there if you have hired  100 positions they aren't firefighters   you haven't increased them in fact earlier this  year was there not discussion of laying off 41 of them these phans are not firefighters they're not  the daily Staffing numbers and the firefighters   are answering more calls than ever before  they answer your medical calls when you have   a heart attack they answer your fire calls  they rescue your children they rescue your   dogs we've all seen what they do there are  not a hundred new firefighters that is not true I've spoken to each of you about the  lever report a program that Council spent   a million dollars on to tell you that this was a  dangerous service the public has never seen seen   that report it stays in draft form because  it told you you're running a dangerous fire   department it told you you are 160 firefighters  short of the very basic basic service it told   you you are 11 stations short of providing  the basic service basic we're talking about here again I encourage you and for the  public to start asking for that L room   report mayor woo please ask for that  L room report we need transparency   the public deserves to know that it is not  safe and we have the ability to do better   I know we do everyone on this Council I  know cares about this I don't know why   you're not given the information that you  need to make this better but I know you care the last thing I'll say one of the  places that you can fill the sortage the   most is when firefighters are  fighting a fire in 108 degree   weather and they're going into a home a  th000 degrees is how hot it is in that home they ask for medical support they get told  no you can't have medical support standing there   with you no you can't have that we can't afford  it find the money that's what happens so when   a firefighter goes down because there's not  enough firefighters to switch people in and   out there's not enough firefighters for medical  support on scene he then has to wait 10 minutes   to be transported to the hospital and as  Ted told you his co-workers know this is   all happening they saw what happened they went to  the hospital they told them goodbye they got back   on their trucks and they answered the same calls  in 108 Dee weather I am not upset with this count   I have a good relationship with all of you and I  know you care every last one of you do something   please I come before you for the last four  years I've made the same speech ask for the   lever report see what's happening in your own  districts please before another firefighter or   another civilian ends up out here without the help  that they need when they need it we can do better   and I believe in all of you you can do this thank you city manager Leighton  can you please address the report the leim report that Stephanie's referring  to is actually a software program there were   multiple documents prepared as a result of that  it's meant to be a dynamic process one that we can   constantly look at existing conditions and look at  needs and look at scenarios for addressing those   needs that's for instance that we use that to  come to you with the recommendations for the fire   stations that are in the CIP um and so more than  happy to share with Council all the information   that we have that has been developed to this point  and we can as I said we will continue to use that   software as we look at scenarios going forward  that's the whole idea if a council member comes   to us and says I have concerns about response  times in my area it allows us to see what's   going on today and what could be done to address  that and how we could turn things around if there   are true response time issues council member  class given that it's a system if I were to   request a meeting to look at the system and look  at Leever study is that something that done yes you vice mayor Ballard thank you mayor is there  a reason why it hasn't been shared I mean I know   it's she says it's always in draft form but  is there a reason why I mean we usually get   a presentation on the studies especially that we  spend a million dollars on it is there a reason   why we didn't spend a million dollars on a study  we spent a million dollars on the software to be   able to generate the reports that come out of that  it's a point there are reports that have been done   at a point in time the first report had certain  assumptions in it the second one used a separate   set of assumptions we can I have no problem  sharing everything that went into we brought   an outside group in so that we could be a little  more performance-based and make sure that what we   were doing was was based in best practices and so  the group that has been working on our performance   measurement system Citywide first thing they  looked at was what was coming out of the LM   software and helped us analyze that and make  appropriate assumptions as we were working forward so I will add one additional thing city  manager Leighton um while we're looking   at that report or or the assumptions  regarding that software can you also   give us um the latest study regarding which  sha police department and their Staffing   levels yes that's several years old and but  more than happy to provide that as well thank you we'll continue with public comment Doug Ballard District Six now is maybe  a good time to tie a couple things that I've   been thinking about talking to you um some of you  weren't here but you were all aware I'll try to   tie several little things together based on one  little project that we had you all are familiar   with the bridge that we just completed on amadan  so I'm interested in a couple things water uh the   environment infrastructure I ride a bicycle almost  every day excuse me so I want to uh tell you the   the water problem that you have is not going away  anywhere soon anyway soon so it it will go up and   down but it's still going to be there and we need  to address it in so many different ways so I think   most of you know at some degree we are having  a problem with uh climate change global warming   whatever you want to call call it so uh in that  bridge and I'm not suggesting not building that   bridge I looked at it underneath and even at my  expertise it needed to be replaced just to give   you an idea that uh progress can be measured in so  many different ways that bridge we all know what   it looks like was 3500 cubic yards of concrete to  complete that project so many of you probably know   that a yard of concrete when you have a project  you have to tell them how much concrete you want   and when you need it and you order it in yards  of concrete so a yard of concrete is three foot   by 3 foot by 3 foot it weighs 3,900 PB and it is  responsible for 400 pounds of CO2 so that project   alone was responsible and it's in the manuf  ufacturing of the Portland that project alone   is responsible for 28,000 pounds of CO2 and I just  Googled uh mature oak tree it's a little less than   50 we'll give it 50 so it will take it I'm sorry  let me go back it is responsible for 1.4 million   pounds of CO2 divided by 50 pounds it will take  28,000 oak trees to cancel that project out in   one year so you can see the the price of project  can progress can be measured in so many different   ways so every time we knock something down and  then go to put it back up we're using concrete   it's in the manufacturing of concrete it's to  when they to make Portland they take limestone   and they cook the carbon out of it it's it's  horrible it's depending on what you read it's   responsible for between eight and n and a half% of  our uh global warming gases the other thing in the   building that bridge we through a a long process  that you guys were all involved in somewhat we   had to open up a uh a temporary fire station  station number 23 I think they called in the   parking lot of Dyan it's about three blocks from  the old number seven so I guess we paid money to   for somebody to tell us where to put a fire  station so we put it on the other side of the   river then we open up this temporary station and  it becomes the sixth most the busiest station in   the city I go what what what are we doing  and I think it cost what a million dollars   to do that looks to me like it's a pretty good  investment and maybe we should be putting while   we're trying to figure out how to put all of the  stations and hire all of them in maybe we should   be putting some temporary stations in where  we can most utilize them because all we need   is the Men and a Truck so anyway that's that's  my my point so anyway to tie all those things together and of course we'll continue with public comment I'm back different billboard tonight  I'm still Nancy Brown I'm at I live at 11707   East Crestwood Street District 2 uh I'm here  tonight as a member of Justice together you told   us to come when I came uh and I'm here regarding  the commitment to develop with State and County   a blended funding stream for the Supportive  Services for the mid for the multi- agency   Center we don't want it to end up like the water  treatment plant where we have this lovely building   that nobody knows how to turn on I'm glad that  we were thinking a little bit ahead and got got   this conversation started um and I'm I'm glad  that housing insecurity is a one of your four   top priorities I didn't see it on the grid  anywhere um and I will admit that while I we   found several of us were going through the budget  because let's face it it's a monster document uh   you have my undying respect that presumably you  all got through it at least once but I couldn't   find I I've we found where the funding was for  the building but in order to keep the building   from just becoming another people Warehouse we  have to have the Supportive Services and the   operating expenses and the maintenance and the  security services so that we're not just taking   people off the street plunking them in the in a  housing unit and expecting them to succeed because   they won't we must have the Supportive Services  they must be funded and ready to go I I get that   we won't have it for the the winter shelter but  in the spring when the building is ready to go   we have to have that funding in place not just  for this year but until we don't need it anymore   that is absolutely vital otherwise it becomes  another failure and we don't need more failures   um and this is a the reason we come we as Justice  together came to you and the county and the state   is that this is a public good it's not in the  public good to have people dying on doorsteps and   street corners the reason our a big reason that  our point in time count this year is lower than   last year is that our homeless deaths quadrupled  it's not that we housed that many more people we   just had more people dying the Supportive Services  will help that and I understand that the part of   the budgeting for those Supportive Services  is still very much a work in progress and   very fluid because they're still working out  which services will be in the mac and what   cost offsets will happen with the services  there as opposed to at their uh more remote   locations but we've got to get this done  it's just too important to not happen um   it's a it's as important as the fire department  the EMTs um clean water helping getting people   off the streets and into housing is every bit  as important and maybe more so and if we can   do that if we can help them get the tools they  need to succeed then they can become successful   uh Property Owners or occupants and adding  to the tax base they can become successful   employees and paying taxes and buying more stuff  which pays more taxes so there will be it it's a   good long-term investment and I know in the  short in the short run it's excruciating I   I've looked over the numbers and I know it's  hard but we've got to do it because there are 690 some identifiable people who need it and  based on my work with family promise I'm guessing   that for every one of those people there's at  least another four I've been told I'm probably   being overly charitable with that that's probably  closer to another nine who are in some state of   not really having a home between the couch surfing  and the living in the car and moving before the   counters get there um or farming out the kids to  all the relatives or staying in a bad relationship   there are a lot of ways to be homeless that  don't meet the criteria for the the HUD count   so we're probably well over 2,000 homeless people  they all need this to work and they need you they   need the county they need the state thank you  thank you Nancy council member hoisen thank   you Nancy for coming up and really advocating  for this issue it's um it's been on our minds   for quite a while while um I would like to say we  do have two members of the state legislature with   us today don't mean to put them on their um  but um subtle hint well and I think that they   both are very supportive of um trying to do what  we can in our community um so I would recommend   reaching out to them um city manager would you  like to maybe just talk a bit about possible   uh sources I know we're working with we we've had  this conversation earlier today yeah I know we're   started on the faith community thing you don't  want to give me a soap box on this one um we we've   been working diligently as was noted the council's  put 8 million in the construction of the facility   committed on a long-term basis $500,000 a year and  we're working now with others in the community I   guess where I would differ a little bit is that  I don't necessarily think this is just a public   sector problem this is a community problem and  we're trying to get as many community members   to come alongside us as possible public as well  as private and we've started discussions with the   private sector to try to get uh long-term  commitments from them as well uh with the   with the goal of having this as a sustainable  operation the worst thing to do would be to make   this capital investment and then only to be able  to use it maybe to half its capacity or make it   only a shelter and not have the support services  that are necessary I think we all have the same   vision on what it'll take to be success successful  but we need more Partners thank you council member   Johnston mancy thank you very much this is a very  passionate issue of mine so I I appreciate that   mine too um we're working on hard as city manager  Clayton said um a point in time count I agree with   you it's a lot more than what it is because it  was also if you I did it myself it was raining   that day and so a lot of the uh homeless probably  took shelter the other thing to your other point   of being in other housing we interviewed a  gentleman at a corner and he was actually   staying in a hotel he had some income from Social  Security and that P his hotel he was just begging   for food um so he's can't be counted as homeless  because he's in a hotel so but he really did not   have a home so to your point it is more than what  it stated there um I will tell you we do have a   detailed plan place now still being adjusted and  finalized with the providers you may or may not   know I I run guipe Clinic we take care of some of  those people um especially the people in congreg   multiple people living in housing take care of  a lot of those tight people so it's coming along   I'm more encouraged now than I've ever been so I  think we do have a a road um I think think city   manager Leighton Troy I've done a wonderful job  Sally stang's done a wonderful job of putting this   all together and I think we have a clear vision  of where we want to go what we want to do and I   I we're going to get there so so keep pressing I  will ask you one thing though part of the problem   is according to to officer nateed all have the  hot team there are 66 places to get food this town   now not every day but at least one day week  or month 66 places that in a sense enables   camping in our city somehow we need to figure  out how to redirect those efforts since those   people are all I want to do my church does one  too we have to redirect that effort to the Mac   become part of the Mac so when people they want  food they've got to come to the Mac where the   services are where we can get them help uh we  can get them the help they need the wraparound   services and and get them into housing get them  back to society to have Dignity of work too so   thank you for coming I very much appreciate you  bringing I quite agree the providers are really   hoping to work themselves out of jobs that's our  goal yeah so thank they never will but yes you're   right and you will see me again yeah good Nancy  thank you so very much again and um I think it's   a quick reminder that you did not see it on the  Matrix because a CommunityWide survey did not ask   whether homelessness was one of our core services  and so the top three priorities that you see on   the bottom right hand corner are crime prevention  Street Maintenance and economic development but   because of the political will of seven individuals  on this Council we made housing insecurity   specifically homelessness in our community  one of the top four priorities so you can   see the commitment from this body right here  working diligently on a multi-agency navigation   Center so that people can come to one place  have wraparound Services get the opportunity   to move on to transitional housing to permanent  housing and eventually to self sustaining in our   community so the goal really is for everyone in  this community to work together and the political   will of this Council has made it one of the top  four priorities public comment will continue now good evening everyone I'm Mary wear uh 1444  North Perry North Riverside in district 6 um   tonight honestly I'm here because of some rumors  that I've been hearing and I'm I'm here to ask you   for help doing my job as a state senator I've been  hearing that there's a chance that there is real   consideration of dealing with the budget issues  by selling off Parkland and that that concerns   me deeply I am on the uh Commerce Committee and  obviously one of our biggest issues there that   we want to promote is economic development it's  one of your top issues as well I'm also on the   governor's Council for travel and tourism we are  we advise essentially how to Market Kansas and   wiah is my biggest priority and being the biggest  city in the state you know that makes sense um so   the last thing I can think of that would  be helpful as far as parks are concerned   in those in that regard would be to lower the  number if anything we need more Parks we need   more Lush parks so and honestly that's that's  all that I have to say um thank you so much   and I appreciate you all council member glasscock  Senator W you're probably very well aware in your   position that rumors are often not true uh when  it comes to public policy as well um in terms of   specific words that I used last meeting I'll  read from the minutes uh quote council member   Glascock stated he would Echo enhancement and  utilization of our system in terms of benchmarking   and so how we're using our system how we're using  it better and making sure it's more efficient as   well um so I appreciate you addressing um us as  well and glad that you're on a break from toeka   for a while so thank you I will also chime in on  this because again I do believe that people should   look at our minutes and see how the conversation  has come up regarding Parks I believe that right   now we have 144 Parks according to our website but  two additional Parks were added about a month ago   so we have 146 Parks I don't believe that quantity  equates quality I believe in having better quality   Parks as I heard from a lot of our residents  here you love the parks that we have and I really   appreciate the utilization of parks like Riverside  like College Hill like McAdams Park many parks   around our system are well utilized but we are  responsible in having a master plan that will come   out next year a request for proposals for that  Master Plan to look at what our master plan for   Parks should be and my question to staff during  the last meeting was that proposal only looked   at an enhancements and expansion of the park  and I said we need to also consider all options   including elimination if we have better quality  Parks so again that was just one perspective   from this Council it's mine and mine only and  I did not say I was going to eliminate Parks   or eliminate Parks plural I do believe that it's  important for us to be responsible with our resour   resources and when we have 146 parks in our system  we need to know what the quality of all 146 parks   are so we can move forward data driven in making  decisions so I will ask city manager Leighton to   just address the CIP regarding the master plan  thank you mayor um the C the capital Improvement   program has $250,000 for the upgrade of the park  plan the uh there's a draft RFP that's been put   together the park board will be reviewing it and  then it will go to the council uh may be that   before it goes out we have a joint meeting of the  park board and the council unless you're all on   the same page after the you've seen the draft uh  we're trying to make sure that it the work that is   scoped will address the issues about utilization  about the system as it currently exists about   funding uh opportunities or challenges that  may exist uh uh the park director and I agree   that the previous planning efforts were done in  a vacuum without looking at the city's Financial   abilities and so this one we want to make sure is  built around probably multiple Financial scenarios   looking at our current F situation looking what a  historic um situation have been from a financial   standpoint and maybe even an optimis IC scenario  on our finances if we follow some a process like   that and then do a full um review of our current  Park system I think we're going to go where the   council wants and that is then some discussions  about options on what you what the new park what   the new park system will look like um so I think  it could be a pretty robust uh planning effort and   you you'll be getting that probably in the next 30  days I will ask one more addition to that request   uh can we also have a benchmark comparatively  to cities our size and populations of our size   regarding Parks so so that we have a better  understanding of the Investments that we as   a city make in Parks versus other communities  I believe I believe we get that on an annual   basis and that will also be part of the work done  by the consultant thank you vice mayor Ballard go ahead um quick question uh thank you mayor  um sometimes I struggle when we hire Consultants   is it like a local consultant sometimes I strugg  struggle hiring people to come in and tell us what   we want in witch they don't know wit the scope  of services has a pretty strong public engagement   process right now so a lot of this will be steeped  in what the public says they want to see from   their Park system but then in this case I we don't  know who will select because we haven't gone out   and solicited proposals yet I do want someone who  can tell us what the best practices are because   communities around the country are struggling  fin from a financial standpoint and most cities   are looking at the financial scenarios that we  are right knowing that 26 27 28 are going to be   problematic years I'd like to know what cities are  doing to creatively maintain or enhance their Park   systems in that environment and so if you were  to ask me today I'd be biased towards someone   who has a good understanding of national what's  going on Nationwide and usually what happens you   get Partnerships between local firms and National  firms and so you get the best of both good I hope   that's the case I I'm sure there's somebody  overly qualified here in wiah that is able   to um apply for that RFP so thank you for the um  information council member Las thank you mayor I   was just quickly looking at the budget page on  285 that goes over uh the key outcome measures   and we briefly discussed this last time I don't  think I made my point necessarily clear and that   the 2024 Target per Acres 2780 is what our Target  is in terms of parks per anchor and a benchmark   of what other communities are doing is $4,690 per  acre so how do we increase the quality investment   for our Park well not taking a budget hit and so  I would be interested in looking at Cost recovery   models for our Park system in terms of renewable  development in terms of solar projects in terms   of how can we utilize maybe just some green space  land that aren't being utilized necessarily as a   park that people visit every day but we have  plenty of green space so how can we recover   that if we put solar rays or if we contract out  that land to be able to oper to be able to better   enhance some of our quality projects while still  keeping the green space and recovering our cost   as well scope of services talks about outside  funding um to assist to supplement the city's funding council member tutle thank you um and I  know past councils have asked for this and I've   asked for it during this this year as well when  we're doing and and Tor and I've talked about this   when we're doing the new park study can we make  sure that the recreation centers are included in   that there's been some robust discussion before  of what is the prioritization of which ones get   um you know repairs and maintenance done to them  and which ones don't um you know we talk about   Parks we think of the 144 parks in the wonderful  green space but we also have amazing programming   that happens at our in our within our park and  wreck department and amazing facilities I was   just at a friend's wedding a couple months ago  that was at one of our parks and it was in the   recreation center and it was lovely so just want  to make sure that that's also an emphasis thank you I will add one more thing to what council  member Tuttle said um in that CIP master plan   study looking more at collaborations uh council  member Johnson and I just came from Boston   Park and the rec center there and they have a  collaboration with gocreate to help entrepreneurs   have a commercial kitchen so that they can  produce um at mass quantities their products   so it's helping with small business owners uh  business development is economic development   um so I see that there are more collaborative  efforts e so in that Master Plan let's look   at also collaborations council member Johnson  thanks mayor it just one correction that's create campaign well thank you all so  much and just remember it's an   investment not an expense thank you  council member hoisel thank you mayor   um I nominate Brandon Johnson to be the  council title old fact Checker over here so we'll continue public comment hello I'm Leslie Hicks I reside at 2230  North Cardinal Drive here in witw Kansas I don't   know that I have a comment I think what I have  is is input and just some information that to   me seems appropriate given the um conversation  about budget about parks and about trees and   about maintenance and how many can we the the  cost of achieving maintenance on these and how   much money do we have um so really with the budget  in mind it's kind of just background information   yall are provided with a lot of information um  I'm I I can't even comprehend how hard it is to   keep track of all the details about a budget and  where the money comes from um but I would say that   it does seem appropriate for our pertinent for  our present conversation the franchise agreement   with evergy in which we receive 6% of the gross  receipts as a franchise fee into our into our   general budget um specifies this was done in  in December of 2014 specifies that the city   shall put forth a good forth effort to utilize 1%  of the grocery seats towards its tree maintenance   program through the city of Witchita Parks and  Recreation forestry and reforestation Department   to accomplish this goodfaith effort the city  forestry section will commit to the utilization   of the 1% of the grocery seats to hiring employees  purchasing planting and all maintenance of trees   that follow the right tree right place principles  when the tree location is within a utility   easement and or rideway should funds from the 1%  of gross receipts exceed the commitment referenced   above trees and other maintenance projects for  other rideway or publicly controlled property   under the jurisdiction of Park and Recreation  will be selected as deemed appropriate by the   forestry section now I no longer know how  much the grossy receipts are coming in from   evergy um um but 1% I assume is is still a very  significant amount over the years I've tried to   determine exactly how that 1% was being spent  I've never um really gotten into the the nuts   and bolts and the meaty part of it as to what's  coming and how much of this money was additional   to the original budgeting items for forestry  but given the fact that we are continuing to   talk about the trees the maintenance the backlog  this 1% has been per franchise agreement directed   to the Forestry Department since December of 2014  so probably beginning in 2015 um I just thought   it would be interesting information and knowledge  for yall to to know where that 1% is going and how   that fits into our backlog of I forget how many  trees it is or how many years it would take to   catch up with the tree maintenance program so  I think that's all I have unless you all have questions we'll continue public comment good evening U my name is David bayth  I live at 719 North Brookfield street here   in witto um I came here prepared with a long  statement about the issue of of of uh closing   parks for uh budgetary reasons I think a lot of  my questions were answered and just the last 10   minutes I thought it was very good information  I feel a little bit better about it uh but I   thought I would still come up and just uh put my  two cents in for um the need for us to maintain   our Parks here in Witchita and not cut back  on Parks uh from what I saw earlier with the   um our expenditures on roads it might make  sense for us to close some roads and turn   them into Parks might be a lot make more sense  than where we are now I know it sounds like a   kind of a joke but if you look at the amount of  money we spend to maintain roads versus Parks   it's a sliver am I correct manager right so  I mean we're talking about a resource that's   very important to a lot of us here in Witchita and  um I mean I was sitting on my couch this evening   watching the Olympics and was hoping to stay  there and heard about this and Rush down here   that's how important it is for me um I I think  it's important to a lot of people in wiah and   I just think that uh if you do decide that it's  going to become something where you're G to put   together a proposal to close Parts um it needs  to be done in a way that um more people can find   out about it and chime in on it and just make  sure it's not done with just a tiny portion   of Witchita um knowing about a park closing  because the impact is huge especially in the   neighborhood of those Parks um it affects all  types of things from uh the utilities and the   streets um if you're going to develop that piece  of that park into a commercial or residential   development then it changes the entire flavor  of that neighborhood it impacts the values of   that neighborhood it impacts the wildlife in that  neighborhood uh it impacts so much and people um   especially in the neighborhoods impacted need to  know that in detail before decisions like that are   made so but anyway thank you for your time and uh  that's all I have to say thank you continue public comment my name is Diana tedlock and I am here to  get your support for the animal reform in the city   and to not have any budget cuts or consideration  if anything we need to increase the budget I don't   have all the answers by any means I do know there  is definitely a need for reform I want there has   not been a whole lot of transparency on what is  going on currently I would like to let everybody   know that in the month of July we killed 32%  of the docks that went into the shelter in the   month of July we killed 46% of the cats so we  have a problem and it it's just being ignored   and if you want to look at that compared to  last year intakes are not up from last July   in fact there were 31 less dogs taken in and  the euthanasia rate in July of last year was 9.56% there was an increase in cats of  84 but last July the euthanasia rate was 4.28% so just to show you there is a need we  need to get back to the Rook cause which is   obviously span neuter it needs to be accessible  at a reasonable cost across the board not just   low income I'll tell you what my daughter  is working on this week and at the Austin   Humane Society so she she has gone out into a  fire station she has gotten six cats and this   is a uh I guess a program that they have for  anybody in the city regardless of income there   no questions asked you bring your cat  in so she took in six cats she got them   spayed and neutered a rabies shot a diser  shot flee and tick meds all six cats $162 that's less than one cat here so maybe we  need to increase the budget and I have some   vets that that's all they do is that they sit  here and the do span new program and not just   to low income because low income's pretty low  it's still a hardship on people that um don't   meet those requirements also we we need to  have the right people in the right positions   and that goes all the way from leadership at  was KHS to the vet services and obviously we   have some problems with the vet services  I have so we need to make some changes we   need to make some increases but I have a report  here from the Kansas Department of Agriculture   and they went in and did an inspection of  was on July 11th of this year and on pages   three and four severity level five at the time  of inspection at least 12 dogs and seven cats   had not received adequate Veterinary Medical Care  as defined in KSA 47- 1701 and amendments theto   that were diseased illed injured or lame and  were not provided with Veterinary Care as is   needed for the health and well-being of the  animals severity five so you go to the next   page severity 5 again at the time of inspection  I won't read the whole paragraph but there were   multiple animals that had symptoms that were  housed with or close to other animals that did   not have symptoms which we all know there's the  KDA regulation that we're having problems with   transferring animals out with contagious disease  but that did come up also in the years's 2017 and   I will tell you that the euthanasia rate at  least on dogs even though they were enforcing   KDA the same way was 4.91% back in 2017 so it  does not account for all these increases and the   euthanasia rate also at the time of inspection  there were four young puppies housed in kennel   hm10 all four puppies were huddled in a corner  of the kennel that had excessive accumulation of   feces and appeared to be scared and depressed and  this is from our Kansas Department of Agriculture   this was last month so anyway improvements need to  be made I send emails out to all of you repeatedly   Mike I think you've responded Dalton you've  responded Maggie you've responded nobody else   there is issues um so we need additional programs  the hodas contract right now they are no longer   under contract with the city even though it  was poorly done we have not got an answer   all year basically we're the citizens of wicht  are supposed to take an injured animal we have   not got clear concise I know there's an RFP out  there right now what are we supposed to do in   the inter I've sent you guys three emails and a  reporter has contacted you with no response it's   unacceptable we need to know we love our animals  you each one of you has constituents in your   districts that care dearly about their animals yet  we're not getting any responses so then I guess the last thing I guess I just want to talk on  a couple other things um the tree services I'm   going to say we need to work smarter I've seen  them come out and cut a tree down across the   street and had to call them back because there  was one that had been on the books for two years   or if they would have come and cut this tree  down and trimmed it they wouldn't have been   out three times picking up the Deb also we need  to take care of what we have also on the parks   I'm 100% with keeping them the quality should be  good but again accessibility is key so reduction   of any parks should be completely off the table  because accessibility is the number one priority   and key thank you and okay and take care of what  you have take care of what you have council member   hoisel thank you mayor um Diana I just part of the  issue and you know um has to do with the KDA the   ruling about not moving sick pets um to to other  shelters now um just I guess yesterday or two   days ago I guess um there's an online portal on a  KDA website because they're looking at changes to   that rule yes there are okay so I would recommend  um reaching out to others who are concerned about   this and making sure that their voice is heard  they are okay they're they're whereare I mean yeah   but I appreciate that yes I  did see that as well okay thank you we'll continue with public comment Christina Jackson um 2307 North Inwood  Circle um and I'm here today to talk about a   possible place where we could look at budget  cuts or some to save money it's a place where   the funding increase is 39% starting next year  um it's um the bicycle and pedestrian budget   um currently the 2024 is 3.45 million that's  City only money no state or federal grants that   also are are in you know added um the city CIP  projected 2025 to 2034 budget has 48 million and   that's 4.8 million a year an increase of over 1  million a year for 10 years um to put for me to   put in perspective the witcha bridge repair and  rehab for the whole city is $1 million a year um   the bike um the 48 million includes 7.6 million  for Bikeway improvements plus you also have the   Chism Creek Park pathway for 1.15 1, $1,150,000  and it does not include the $7 million funding   Federal funding that the red bud trell is going  to be getting um another area is Art the red bud   uh CIP projected funding for art is $300,000 for  the four miles from woodon to k96 Chism Creek Art   pathway is $150,000 and the mo um I don't know  if the multimodal art is included I thought it   was the Geo fund $350,000 for the bicycle storage  part um Westlink library is getting 130,000 for   art and it's a brand new building Evergreen  is getting 60 6,000 um the multimodal bicycle   scooter storage and EV charging it's gone up from  one point well the funding it's good I mean it's   good in 1.25 million and um from that's a federal  funding from some B I think the bind and clean   energy bill is providing 1.25 um million and then  the city increased 62,500 to a total of 312,000   500 and the amendment was approved at a wampo  meeting which I know it's kind of different   but three or four city council members are there  it was voted yes but I didn't see any discussion   about it or reasons why it was being increased  the 62,000 it just and it might be I saw some   administrative thing that you don't discuss it if  it's under a certain amount but 62,500 might be   something amount that we kind of maybe question  why we're doing this you know what amount is it   that we start to question why are we spending  in more and more money um with the multimodal   storage is going to have just for the bicycle  and scooter storage and then the EV it's going   to have um clamshell structures individual for  each scooter and B Bicycles of all types and I'm   just wondering if the city's going to charge for  that parking and storage um I know they're parking   you know cars are starting to have to park to  pay to park in in demand locations where this is   by Riverfront stadium and I'm just wondering if  bicycles and scooters also get charged for this   storage and how long can you store days weeks  hours I I I don't know how long something can   stay there um I know it was mentioned to me that  perhaps we should focus maybe we could just focus   on bike and pedestrian maintenance and safety and  not so much of expansion at this time um I know   there's the five million I mean five miles a year  is hoping to go and that's pretty much it um I did   just real quick in the C IP the crystal Prairie  Park art has $50,000 still in it I know you said   there's nothing the park is off but it is in the  CIP just so you know so I saw that and that's it thank you council member Tuttle  thank you um I'm gonna ask Gary Paul   a combination of you maybe if you  if if to maybe come and address them   of this because we've already talked  about this before but maybe just a a okay so that's okay for your  preference we can address it that way okay we'll make sure that you get the   information from that request then  thank you very much for coming this evening we'll continue with public comment uh good evening Matthew bradick 700 North  Sagebrush Street uh I want to thank all of you   guys for sitting just listening uh I know that  it is not always that part of the job that you   love the most and you probably don't get that  much appreciation for it uh I represent uh the   Arts Council and RCB B bank is where I work in the  city I technically live in minaha Township um I am   here today just to tell a story um someone  sitting in a seat like yours back probably   I don't know 15 years ago maybe 20 years ago had  foresight was thinking about the future of their   community and said how are we going to get this  kid who's never coming back to Wi to get back here it's not easy for someone who's said to their  family forget this place it's a dumpster fire   there's nothing good about it to change his mind  but you guys someone said let's start doing things   in the downtown area let's start investing  they they built an Exploration Place they   they've scattered public artwork they've  they've invested in Wham and all of the   other great cultural institutions and gyms that  we have and in that period of time there have   been studies that show that the Arts are  a significant industry in this community   that are generating economic prosperity and  drawing in dollars from out of our city tax   dollars that come from people who come and want  to watch Music Theater of Witchita they want to   go to a show and see some artwork at Harvester  Arts they want to go to our Zoo these are the   things that make our city great the things  that we brag about the things that we take   our kids and our friends who come in from out  of town to and if you cut them it's going to   have a ripple effect and my kids won't want to  come back I have four kids and I would love for   them to want to come back and live near mom and  dad but if you decide now that you're not going   to fund these things that make us a cool city  they're not coming back they're going to live   in Austin or Tulsa or Oklahoma City I love those  cities but I love Witchita too and I love love the   cool arts and culture that we've got going and  I hope that you guys do too and I think you do   I think you appreciate that sometimes we have to  make sacrifices I know we have to make sacrifices   all of the things that people have said up to  this point are super important man I don't want   firefighters to lose their jobs I don't want them  to lose their lives but nobody moves to this city   because of the fire department no one's going to  come to this town because of the police department   every city has those things Cow Town is unique  it is incredible witto art museum is cool they're   they're getting new artworks and refreshing that  place there's just so much that is incredible   about our city arts and cultural related I could  go on and on the aviation museum the Historical   Society like I like said there's just there's a  there's a ball of momentum that's happening right   now in our city it's it's sad that it's happening  at a county run place instead of a city run place   but I love to see what's happening at Exploration  Place and that's going to bring lots and lots of   resources to our community if we do it well and  if we continue to fund it I'm not asking for more three months ago you unanimously said  you supported a cultural arts and strategic   plan that called for more funding but  I'm not asking for that right now all   I'm asking is please please don't take the  Arts as your easy lwh hanging fruit think   strategically about what really matters  to the people in our community that keep   the high-paying jobs in our community so that  the text drawn people and the coke people want   to come work here those people pay taxes  and they want this stuff thanks for your time we'll continue with public comment good evening mayor vice mayor council  members thank you for having us here tonight I   it's very I really appreciate the opportunity to  start just that we've had this evening meeting for   many of us that work it gives us an opportunity  to engage and so thank you for that and thank you   for your time this evening I know it's been long  I didn't really have prepared marks I really just   wanted to come down tonight and you know be able  to sit in a council meeting um but for those of   you that do know me I am Russell Kennedy I live  at 417 South Mount Carmel here in Witchita I am   the business manager for ibw local union 271 one  thing that does concern me in all this budgetary   comp conversation tonight I know we're talking  about austerity um but for me for my members   we need growth we need opportunities for jobs  and so I am going to beg of you to basically   make an investment in this city uh to continue  the good things that we have growing and going   in this city uh so it provides my members and  their families opportunities for work here in   this town so thank you again I do appreciate  it I know you have tough decisions to make   um but I do appreciate that and we'll hope  you'll take that into consideration thank you we'll continue public com good evening uh mayor the council members um I  live in District 1 my name is stus Miller I'm   a state representative for District 86 in South  Central witto uh for the sake of time I'll keep   it really short I know it's already after 9ine  o'cl um on behalf of my constituents in the   South Central witto um I'd like to say that  when the time comes uh please do not close or   sell our parks to any uh of your developer  Insider friends put solar projects on some   rooftops and parking lots we have plenty of those  already public Green Space is sacred and we need   more of it not less regardless of profitability or  sustainability or however we want to word it thank you we'll continue with public comment hello my name is Brian Jacobs many  of you have already know me I live on 334   North Rutan which Kansas uh I am here to give  the not cops uh Camp uh voice it does not seem   like anybody came to have that commentary uh I  think it's very important to address the fact   that uh most of our system of Criminal Justice  is largely the criminalization of poverty so a   lot of you have spoken in regards to mental health  or houselessness or a number of things uh that a   our city but uh none of you are talking about the  excess of sanction violence and that is the police   state that live in uh so when we're talking about  a shortfall uh we can finded 17 million right off   the bat we had 7 million unanimously given to  the police last winter as arbitrary bonuses I   find that to be a waste uh and now we're asking  for an additional 10 million uh to give them what   was it $131 million to the police State uh as it  is uh so I would encourage you all uh to uh look   at the police state look at the criminal justice  system and find ways to start dismantling that   uh I know there was nobody else that brought  that to the topic here today uh but that camp   does exist there are plenty of people that would  like to see the defunding of the police uh and not   continuing to bloat those systems uh because the  more we criminalize poverty well of course you're   going to have a whole bunch more broken people  a bunch more people with mental health issues   and whatever multi faculty building you build is  just going to be a Band-Aid so we need to stop   uh essentially beating people up and then saying  that we actually care about them because I do   Street work I do anthropology I go and talk  to homeless people all the time uh and a lot   of the stories that I hear from the cops or even  the the council uh are not a full representation   of what these people are experiencing so uh  I'm here to give you that uh demand that we   demilitarize our police we defund our police and  dismantle our criminal justice system so that we   stop criminalizing poverty as a resolution for  public health because fines fees and incarceration   are not going to solve our problems the more we  fine fee and incarcerate people the more broken   you're going to make people you're going to  break people and then you come in there and   attempt to save them they don't need your saving  they actually need to not be harassed because a   lot of the cops end up going into low income  neighbors neighborhoods uh and then praying   on those people so you you talk about Mental  Health well there's a lot that comes in to   the economic structure that we have in this  country uh so if you're not willing to look   at anti- capitalist type policies if you're  not looking at working class protections then   all you're doing is selling our bodies you're  selling our bodies and using the police to do   that so I encourage you all to really look at the  criminal justice system uh and identify that is   not helping us it helps some people and generally  the ruling class but it is not helping the average   person uh because not everybody is going to  be able to become a business owner or have   a big Corporation or have all this property so we  need to demarcate the fact that there needs to be   a recognition of what these systems are doing  to people and not just that they're honorable   systems because they're not these systems are  quite wretched they are not here for the people   they're here for the profit of private interest  and so until we start addressing the fact that we   already know what the capitalist system system is  you can't convince us people that are under that   pressure that it's not a bad system so my my uh  again demand is that we demilitarize the police   we defund the police don't give them an additional  $10 million uh and you've already wasted 7even   million on arbitrary bonuses so uh don't waste  money on Cops is my overall statement here thank you well will continue with public comment well I guess we started with me I guess it  looks like we're going to end with me um I do have   a bet the chief doesn't know because he hasn't  accepted Chief Sullivan hasn't accepted it that if   he doesn't get to their goal and I don't know what  it is six the Chun report there was 600 officers   that uh I get a Philly steak if uh if they don't  and he gets some Boston baked beans if they do so   I think I win so defund the police I guess and  I'll win a Philly Stak but don't don't please   don't so but anyhow um mabcd needs some training  they don't need more people they need training   they need to realize who their taxpayer we are  their we are the ones that paying their salary the   taxpayers forestry I can't ask you for more for  Street people even though they're way behind you   know why cuz he's got like 36 like say uh recks  he only can fill 18 of them or something they   can't they can't get people they can't get people  in for Street I feel so sorry for the guy uh John   bacon is the the new guy over there over from Gary  and he's doing the best he can with the employees   he has he just can't get qualified people to to  do what they need in forry I feel sorry for them I'm going to tell you guys something that we you  guys need money you guys need money okay I'm not   even going to mention anything about Parks so  I hope you can appreciate that but six cities   our size all licensed cats all of them licensed  cats so if you need income licens cats and I'll   guarantee you you'll get some money in the  other six cities our size already licensed   cats so are we special why are we so different  than than the other six cities our size I mean   you guys got a one day I had the Band-Aids  and Mike had a nice little joke with that but   pull the Band-Aid off yeah people will be upset a  little bit but guess what you guys need the money   let's let's do that let's go ahead and license  cats and then up on Central Street on between   uh oh I don't know web road and 159th is that  District Two or is that and they just overlaid   that street up there correct I don't get it  I drive that street wasn't that bad why are   we wasting our money when these inner streets  are just pothole I ride my bike now I'm G to   get killed I mean I know you guys will be  happy but but I'm gonna get killed I mean   this is how many potholes are in our streets  and I mean her street wasn't that it wasn't   I don't know where they the county is doing  streets that we should be getting together   with them and saying hey let's do some really  bad streets why are we overlaying streets that   really don't need it I I just don't that blows  my mind it just blows my mind um City legal are   are you going to look into a city employee  breaking and trampling on My First Amendment rights telling me to get off a city street crickets I figured there much  all right all right I'm done licensed   cast those I appreciate it and the animal  shelter they need they need equipment they   need training and they need full-time  kelex the training they get about $91   per employee the police department gets about  $ 6,667 per employee now they need training   I I I don't don't get me wrong the Police  Department deserves the training I'm just   saying animal shelter people they need the  training and $91 against 667 and the police   department is over the animal shelter so please  please get them more training down there thank you council member Johnson thanks mayor just one  comment and Gary can correct me with ah Head n   but a protective overlay adds an additional  seven years of useful life to a road right   so that's why we do that we'll continue with public comment I see none so I would like to say  thank you to the 19 individuals who came and   spoke during public comment um I wrote down those  notes regarding each one of you um the message was   regarding parks regarding trees the importance  of fire Cow Town par Transit infrastructure the   multi- agency navigation Center Parks again trees  Parks animals cutting bikes and pedestrian budget   Arts growth Parks defund the police animals so I  again thank you for the comments from the public   public uh regarding the budget we will have one  more opportunity for people to speak up about   the budget but I would like to add a couple of  words um before we bring it uh for more council   members to speak um I just want to say thank you  to everyone in our community who has supported our   law enforcement and First Responders fire fighters  our EMS workers I'm really appreciative of the   hard work that you do and the sacrifice you and  your families make and so I want you to know that   we care as a council um these individuals who  again keep our community safe and that is one   of our top priorities as a city of Witchita it is  Public Safety um so I want to reiterate that the   budget currently reflects that um and again we are  going to make make tough decisions but they will   not be without the cons consultation of community  and so again I'm really grateful to all of you who   came out during our third evening meeting and I  appreciate um Mr Russell Kennedy for saying that   you appreciate having an evening time meeting this  is something new that this Council passed we have   four opportunities for evening Council meetings  this is the 3D of four and we again invite you   all to the next council meeting which is Tuesday  at 9:00 a.m. um and now we have more comments from   the bench council member hoisel thank you mayor um  I'd like to Echo your comments in regards to First   Responders police officers firefighters everybody  out there again we shouldn't wait for tragedies   like what's happened to really express our  gratitude and support to them and again every day   they're out there protecting my family so I really  do appreciate everything they do um this is by   far the biggest crowd we've had uh budget meetings  evening for three years I've been up here now this   is by far the biggest crowd I really appreciate  everybody coming out and letting everybody know   all of us up here know further um what things  you value in our community uh the last thing real   quick we have $32 million in Investments uh Bob  bear with me here $32 million in lottery tickets   what what's the odds we're going to hit a good one  if we do that just maybe we'll we'll direct staff   to come up with that report those odds but um  again thank you everybody for being out here today   and um going through this process with us because  it's like I tell everybody at every meeting it's   not my budget it's your budget it's not my city  it's your city it's our city so make sure to let   your voice heard on in the direction that we go  council member tutle thank you I know it's late   I'll just make a very few comments um I I think  I've said this the last few times we have two and   we do have two more opportunities for Community  engagement um two more meetings we actually have   the 13th and then the 20th when we actually passed  the budget so I want to make sure that people know   they can keep coming back to those and and and  communicating with us in the meantime but again   just a heartfelt thank you to staff thank you for  Bob for leading this process thank you to Mark and   Elizabeth for all you do but all of your staff  and your department that we don't see here in   front of us at Council all of the department heads  and all of the departments who put their time and   energy into finding better ways to do what we do  to be more efficient to be more effective and to   serve the residents of our community um I've said  it every year for the six years that this is the   sixth year I've done the budget where you allocate  your treasure is a reflection of your values and   so appreciate everybody who participated in the  community survey because that is essentially   driving this budget so thank you for everyone who  did that for participating in the budget simulator   also another tool that helps us to to guide this  process but looking forward to the next couple   weeks and for everyone who came this evening thank  you for those watching online thank you and please   keep providing your feedback because it really  is heard and it matters council member Johnson   thanks mayor uh I want to Echo my colleagues  and thank everyone who uh chose to spend their   evening with us um on tonight and engage in this  discussion and even for those who did not engage   in the discussion just being here in attendance  um as we talk about what we heard tonight with   the exception of one speaker what I continued to  hear was um the need and want for investment in   our community and appreciation for the services  that we have and maybe some expansion maybe some   better efficiencies or increase in services that  we provide with that we do have two more budget   opportunities to talk but what I'm also hearing is  that it's imperative that we actually take in the   full Revenue neutral rate to maintain the service  levels that we have while those words weren't said   tonight the programs Public Safety Parks Arts all  of that can't operate in the same way if we don't   take in the full Revenue Mutual rate which is  $12.4 million that discussion and decision will be   end uh will end on the 20th of this month I think  also even though we've set it for this year over   the next year this community has to have a real  uh discussion about the m Levy that was one of the   reports that we just received and I'll talk more  about that after this budget season but we have to   talk about that if we want to continue to maintain  service levels uh where they are and we heard a   lot of the appreciation for that tonight and even  someone pleading not to cut the Arts which tends   to be one of the first things governments uh do  cut but I am hearing the want and need for us to   do that it's not just about tightening belts we  all are doing that we have been for quite some   time but this is is literally the city that  we want to live in this is literally the city   that we want to promote to the country we have  to make those decisions sometimes it does cost   a little more to maintain those service levels  and that's a discussion we have to continue to   have I'm going to keep saying that every meeting  I'm going to say it next Tuesday I'm going to say   it on the 20th and over the next year we have to  truly talk about what it looks like to increase   our meal Levy to maintain the service levels that  we have to continue to look at what a park master   plan would be that's going to cost real money  and if we want to have that quality of life in   this community for our residents and for those who  might be looking to locate to witch then we have   to make those Investments it's truly an investment  in us it's not wasted money it makes our community   better and we're hearing that tonight we heard  that from everyone and I would even argue even   the one speaker that mentioned cuds if we weren't  in this type of situation might even want to keep   those things as well so again I appreciate  everybody being here uh I hope we can continue   to to talk about what it looks like Revenue  neutral is a decision that we have to make on   the 20th and over the next year we truly have to  talk about what it looks like to raise the maale levy with that I will move to receive  public comment on the 2025 2026 proposed   budget and the 2025 2034 proposed  Capital Improvement program 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 2024 traffic improvements and signalization program good evening mayor city council members   Paul gunsan Public Works and utilities for the  record this evening I have presentation on the   2024 traffic signal improvements program the  adopted 2024 through 2033 Capital Improvement   program includes an ongoing project for  Traffic Safety improvements to signalize   Major intersections and to improve the  traffic signals at existing signalized intersections the location the predominant  location location or the identified location for   2024 is the i235 and k42 interchange there is some  private development going on down there we have   been working with K do to make improvements to  The Interchange including geometric improvements   to lengthen some left turn Lanes Bays right  turn desell Lanes as well as uh constructing   another approach for the private development um  as we went through design um even though it's   already signalized we uh the signal poles will  be need to be relocated and with the age of   those and new specifications for wind loading U  we need to put in a new traffic signal for that   location the adopted 2024 through 2033 Capital  Improvement program includes $1 million in 2024   for traffic signal improvements and signalization  the funding source is General obligation Bond   funding and staff is requesting initiating $1  million at this time any additional funding   left over from the identified location we will um  make improvements to other um signalized locations   as they are needed with that it is recommended  that city council approve the project budget   and adopt the resolution and I will stand for  any questions council member hoisel thank thank   you mayor um how much do you estimate would be  spent on this one one area and how much how much   uh savings I'm not sure we will be um opening  bids on this project probably in September so   we'll know more then um but signal prices have  gone up quite substantially in the last few years   and we do have to put in some larger bases and  uh different bolt patterns for the polls so um   we'll kind of see how that comes in but um well  I identify the money for the project so we are   able to um open bids on the project and then we'll  see whatever savings we have left from that thank you you see no further questions for  staff we'll open it up for public comment I see no public comment  we'll bring it back to the bench all right I'll go ahead and uh make the motion  uh to recommend that the city council approve   the budget adopt the resolution and  authorize a 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 real time information   center designed installation and support services contract good evening mayor vice mayor  council members good to see you all uh   today I am looking for your approval  to proceed ahead with our grant funded   realtime information center so uh as most  of you know we are basically looking at   it's consolidating all of our technology to  make Police Operations much more effective   and much more efficient much like city manager  mentioned a little bit earlier on today that   is uh basically bringing all old technology and  obviously looking at new technology as well so   phase one is to create a physical space for the  realtime information center we have identified   the fifth floor uh of the city building and we  will look at reconfiguring the media room and AD   joining offices which will create the real-time  information center a request for bids was issued   for the design and configuration uh including  pretty much everything so it would be a turnkey   operation constant Technologies was chosen  as the vendor through the city's RFP process   the contract for all services and Hardware  through consant Technologies was $826,000 uh the two grants that we got would fully  pay for everything uh there was no local   match required and an annual service level  agreement would not to exceed $18,000 a year   so I threw on some pictures of what it would  look like so you guys have a better idea um   um this is what Conant technology put  together and this is what it would look   like on the fifth floor including our comat  room as well so with that I will take any questions questions for staff I will ask  one question okay council member hoisen   thank you mayor I always come up with one  so um do we have any estimates on ongoing   costs what it will cost to actually man the  real time information center we do uh we were   looking approximately about $300,000 a year uh  would be roughly around everything okay thank you I wanted to know if uh you can share uh  how many public comments you've already had   regarding the Artic and um again there was a lot  of opportunity for Community to speak absolutely   we've been doing uh I think we're on our fourth  I think one more left for our district Advisory   board meetings we've put all the presentations  online and we have got incredible feedback and   lots of positive support for everything that  we've we've been very transparent about what   it is what it's not what we're looking to do and  uh how we trying to improve Public Safety for our   community and uh like I said every every area  that we've been through so far we've got very   positive feedback thank you I see no further  questions for staff we'll open it up for public comment I see see no comments  we'll bring it back to the bench Madame mayor with a motion to pres to  approve the item as presented by uh the W Police   Department 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 PUD 20247 zone change requests in the city from GC  General commercial PUD planned unit development to   permit use of the site of outdoor display sale  but allow a gravel surface and adjust screening   requirements located on the north side of West  Kellogg Drive within 1 Half Mile West of South   35th Street West good evening Scott wle from the  planning department here to present this item   so uh this is an item that you've seen before  in this case the applicant is requesting to   reone the property as you heard from GC General  commercial to plan unit development which is   custom zoning this item is being heard tonight  because one protests have been received against   the application and two because this item  was sent back to the Planning Commission for   additional review in terms of the request the  applicant has received notices for violations   of the unified zoning code on this property the  applicant has indicated that they are requesting   the reone zoning in order to one come into  compliance with the zoning code and two so   that they can develop the northern portion  of the property for Self Storage the version   of the planed unit development uh zoning  before you today is modified from what was   presented at the city council in June this is  because the applicant revised the language of   the Pud based on feedback from the dab and  from Neighbors to the north of the subject   site it also is coming to you with a different  Planning Commission recommendation in terms of   the property the site as you can see here is  located north and west of the intersection   of Kellogg and 135th Street it consists  of two properties is approximately 11.94% Kellog is Zone GC and and currently undeveloped  property to the east is Zone GC and in use is open   space for the Auburn Hill subdivision directly  to the West the subject site is an unimproved   is unimproved right of way property to the West  is zoned GC and undeveloped in terms of the staff   report the staff report provides information  about screening and Paving in addition the   staff report provides information oh in addition  apologies attached to the staff report is a text   for the custom zoning District here are some  highlights of changes to that language C you're   meeting in June it now includes uh prohibition  on stacking of materials taller than 20 feet it   also uh prohibits stacking of materials within  25 ft of the north property line a parcel one of   the Pud and within 50 feet of the north property  line of parcel 2 in the Pud in addition it also   specifies hours of business business operation  and outdoor activity in terms of review on May   9th the Planning Commission originally considered  this item and recommended denial that vote was   seven to five seven members of the public  spoken opposition at that meeting uh with   a variety of issues including devaluation of  residential property runoff into the cowskin   creete increase in noise visual character  of the surrounding neighborhood on May 8th   the district Advisory Board recommended denial  that V was 4 to three no members of the spoke   uh no members of the public spoke on this  item at that meeting on June 11th the city   council heard the case as a non-consent item  and sent it back to the mapc for additional review that was on June 11th on July 11th  the Planning Commission heard the case again   with revisions to the Pud and recommended  approval the vote this time was 11 to1 no   members of the public spoke at that hearing  the protest as you'll see in just a moment   uh Remains the Same as what you saw earlier with  7.3% of the protest area represented so it's under   the 20% threshold the action recommended action  then is that it's recommended city council adopt   the findings of the Planning Commission and  approve the request a zone change it requires   just a simple majority again because the protest  uh was below 20% and because the mapc is now   recommending approval Alternatives include the  following um as always you can override the mapc   adopt alternative findings and deny the zone  change request that would require five of seven   because it is an override and just a quick note  about the process that public comments are taken   at the Planning Commission meeting with that I'll  just take you through some of the graphics real   quick so here's the map of the site here's the  zoning map showing the zoning that was described   earlier the map from the comp plan showing new  employment recommended here's the map uh from   the Pud here's the protest map again showing the  7.3 % and photos from the site in the surrounding area and with that I'll stand for any questions any questions for staff I see none  oh council member glot mayor thank you so much   um I just want to say thank you for the  work on this um I like to see one from 7   to5 at mapc to 11:1 so I think this shows  when neighbors businesses and also so the   community work together we come up with  a better solution so thank you for that   uh with that I would move that we adopt the  findings of mapc and approve the requested   zone change second Motion in a second any further  discussion I see none Madam clerk please open the role motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call  the next item Z2 24-28 zone change requests in the   city from sf5 single family residential district  to tf3 two family residential district generally   located within two blocks south of West Central  Avenue and within two blocks west of Northwest   Street Hogan Scott wle for the record in this case  as you heard the applicants requesting to rezone   the property from sf5 to tf3 um this item is being  heard today because the district Advisory board   and the Planning Commission recommendations  they're both for approval but the district   Advisory Board recommended a condition that  the Planning Commission did not in terms of   the request the applicant has indicated they're  requesting the zone change so they can build a   duplex on the property please note that the  applicant is also applying for a lot split   to divide the property into two Parcels this  would allow for up to two duplexes so four total   dwelling units to be built on the subject site  for this zoning case in terms of the property   the site is generally located south and west  of Central and West Street it it consist of   currently consists of one parcel is approximately  0.29 acres in size zoned sf5 and developed with a   single family house in the detached shed in terms  of context properties to the north Southeast and   West are zoned sf5 and developed with single  family dwellings um property to the Northeast   and I'll show you this in the zoning map is  Zone T of3 split into multiple uh properties   with a duplex on each within one block south of  the subject site there's a large contig area of   T of3 zoning dwelt with a mixture of single family  and duplex dwellings as well in terms of review on   June 27th the Planning Commission reviewed the had  the public hearing and recommended approval of the   zone change request and that was unanimous 13 to  zero there were no public comments at that hearing   on July 8th the district Advisory Board reviewed  the request and recommended approval per the staff   recommendations but with a protective overlay no  members of the public spoke about about the case   at that meeting the recommended po uh included  the condition that the duplex shall be designed   and constructed with a hip or gabled roof which is  similar to other cases in district 6 no protests   were received against the case therefore  the zone change can be approved by a simple   majority of four of seven votes and in terms of  the recommendations recommended city council adopt   the findings of the Planning Commission approve  the requested zone change authorize necessary   signatures and instruct the city clerk to publish  the ordinance after approval again requires four   of seven votes Alternatives include the following  you can override the Planning Commission adopt   alternative findings and improve the zone change  with the protective overlay as recommended by   the dab that would require five of seven votes  because it's an override you can override the   mapc and you can deny uh this application or  as always you can return the case to mapc for   additional consideration as always just a quick  note about the public hearing occurs at the   Planning Commission per the city council policy  take you through the maps and Graphics here so   here's the zoning map that you saw earlier here's  the map from the comp plan showing new employment   and residential recommended for this area here's  a graphic that was submitted as part of the   application indicating the proposed lot split  here's photos of the site and the surrounding area and with that I'll stand for any questions my apologies are there any questions for stop council member vice mayor Ballard thank  you mayor I move to override the mapc approve   the zone change request for the dab recommendation  with a protective overlay recommended by the dab   place the ordinance on first reading authorize  the necessary signatures and instruct the city   clerk to publish the ordinance after approval  the second reading in support of this motion   I offer the following findings the additional  land use restrictions in the dab recommendation   protective overlay will help reduce potential  negative impacts to nearby properties second   motion and a second any further discussion  I see none Madame clerk please open the r motion passes 70 Madame clerk please call  the next item Z 20242 zone change requests   in the city from go general office to NR  neighborhood retail with an amendment to   protective overlay number 270 to permit  a Market Cafe and personal care services   generally located on the south side of East  34 Street North one4 Mile East of North Woodland hello again Scott W from the planning  department for the record as you heard in this   case the applicant is requesting his own change  from go general office to NR neighborhood retail   and the second part of this application  is to amend the protective overlay that   already exists over the site and that Amendment  would permit additional uses and clarify details   related to lighting screening and noise levels  at the property this item is being hurt today   because the protests were received against  the application in terms of the requests the   applicant has indicated they're requesting  the zone change so that they can build a   retail Center on the property with the option  to include includ a market and Cafe personal   care services and offices about the property  well the site is generally located as you can   see here North directly north of k96 and east  of woodlon the subject site is a portion of a   larger property which you can see on this aerial  it is the subject site is approximately just under   an acre in size that is zoned as you heard go  general office and is currently undeveloped in   terms of context properties to the north are  zoned sf5 single family and belt with single   family dwellings immediately to the South is  k96 properties to the east and west are zoned   go and owned by the applicant and currently  undeveloped in terms of review on June 27th   the Planning Commission uh had a public hearing  for this item and recommended approval that vote   was nine to four four members of the public spoke  in opposition to the requested zone change with   concerns for an anticipated increase in traffic  and speeding as a result of the development on   July 1st the district Advisory Board uh heard  this item and they had no recommendation for   the zone change at that time multiple members of  the public spoke at that meeting in opposition um   with concerns uh similarly stated at the Planning  Commission meeting uh multiple members of the dab   inquired about the total number of protests  received for the case that information was not   available because the protest period had not  uh concluded and so the dab members requested   that it would be come back to to them prior to  city council consideration and I'll get to that   in just a moment 14 protests were received  against the application uh three of those   protest petitions were within the protest area and  amounted to 24.9% of the protest area that exceeds   the 20% threshold and therefore requires a super  majority or six of seven votes to approve any zone   change so on August 5th so Monday night the dab  received an update on this case with the protest   information the dab voted to approve to recommend  approval subject to the staff recommendations   and that vote was 8 to1 six people spoke in  opposition and requested zone change at that   meeting with concerns uh related to encroachment  of commercial development into the neighborhood   and increase of traffic and littering and nearby  vacant retail spaces alternative options for the   applicant in terms of the recommendation it has  recommended city council adopt the findings of   the Planning Commission and approve the requested  Zone change and amended protective overlay place   the ordinance on the first reading authorize the  necessary signatures and instruct the city clerk   to publish the ordinance after approval on the  second reading again because of the protest this   would require six of seven votes Alternatives  include the following you can override the mapc   adopt alternative findings and deny the requested  changes or two as always you can return this case   to the mapc for additional consideration and that  would require simple majority vote uh again just a   note about the process and that the public hearing  for this item occurs at the Planning Commission   per city council policy take you through the  maps and Graphics so here's the aerial as you   can see uh here's the zoning map shows the  residential to the North and the surrounding   zoning here's the map from the comprehensive plan  showing a mix of both residential and employment   employment recommended for the area here is  an illustration that I think was included as   part of the application here is the protest map  that shows where the protests were located again   amounting to over 20% uh for the protest area  here's photos from the site and the surrounding area and with that I'll stand for any questions  council member hoisel thank you mayor um what   all is allowed under go general office well um in  in general I think I don't know all the specifics   right off hand but in general it's it's limited  to office it does not allow for the commercial   uses and the personal care services which is  what they're looking for okay thank you council   member glassock that was my question I see no  further questions for staff uh council member   Johnson thanks mayor um there was a really good  conversation on Monday night uh regarding this   case and representatives from um the applicant  were there to talk with Community about that I   think the concerns of traffic were legitimate but  that's something that we've been talking about   for some time and working on that a little bit  with WPD um being that the property is already   zone go they could build much of what was kind of  talked about uh from Community aside from the uses   they could build offices there which would also  add to some of the concerns so listening to the   conversation some of the legitimate concerns about  the landscape buffers uh were brought up and did   not seem to be an issue with addressing that so  from the discussion that we had and having them   come out and the dab support of that um I had come  up with a different motion to make to support this   so I would move that the city council override  the MPC approve the zone change and amendment to   protective overlay number 270 with the following  alternative conditions that I'll get to in a   minute place the ordinance on the first reading  authorize the necessary signatures and instruct   the city clerk to publish the ordinance after  approval on the second reading protective overlay   number 270 shall be approved with the recommended  language per the mapc recommendation in addition   to the following changes to condition number five  landscape buffers and parking lot screening shall   be in accordance with the city of wit's landscape  ordinance provided that parking lot screening   shall be accomplished with the landscape burm  that shall be no less than 3 ft tall that burm   shall be installed prior to receiving occupancy  permits items A and B under condition number five   would remain unchanged and in support of this  motion I offer the following the requirement   for a specific type of parking lot screening is  not significantly more restrictive than what is   required by the landsape landscape ordinance the  requirement of a landscaped burn versus the use   of only shrubs or bushes will help mitigate the  headlight trespass toward the houses across the   street immediately as opposed to waiting  for vegetation to reach 3 foot in height   at maturity second motion and a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the role motion passes 70 thank you Scott we have   an audience member we don't have any  public comment regarding these items there's no public comment moving forward  sir Madame clerk please uh call the next   item approval of travel for council member  Glascock to attend the community leaders of   America's forum for Community leaders in Oklahoma  City Oklahoma September 25th through 27th 20124 I will motion to approve second Motion in a second any further  discussion I see none Madame clerk please open the rooll motion passes five with one nay and one exstension madame clerk please call the next item  approval of travel for mayor woo to attend the   Community leaders of America's forum for Community  leaders in Oklahoma City Oklahoma September 26th 2024 I move to approve the travel motion second  and a second Madame clerk please open the role motion passes five with one no and one  exstension madame clerk please call the next   item council member appointments and  comments we'll begin with appointments   council member hoisel thank you mayor  I would like to appoint Mary Dean   to the just one second witch Cedric  County Community Action Partnership board council member Johnson  thanks mayor I would like to   appoint kayn Jackson as the  district one Advisory Board youth member a motion to approve  those appointments second   motion and a second Madame clerk please open the roll motion passes 60 council member Johnston  could you C council member uh motion passes 70   uh it is now time for council member comments council member Johnson thanks  mayor since dab one goes to midnight quite   frequently I just figured we should just  stay here until midnight council member   hoisel wants to council member hoisel had  9:30 on the uh estimate I think 10 o00 is   like prices right rules you go over it doesn't  count Becky I had tell you so sing Brandon sing um I will have a couple of comments I would  just like to invite the community to come out   tomorrow for firefighter both funeral services  which will be held at Park City um Arena at 10:   a.m. there is a public viewing at 9:00 a.m  and we hope that um the family knows and   family and friends of firefighter both know  that we are supportive of them and send our   condolences and our community again thank you  for lowering your flags to half staff as well   as some of the buildings that have turned red  in honor of firefighter both um so again uh   those are some comments and last but not least  I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who   stayed uh to the very end of the meeting again  uh Council meetings allow uh public comment on   specific agenda items and we appreciate when  people come and are civically engaged and give   their comments but you can always email all  council members our emails are available on   our website witch to.gov and you can find again  all of our contact information thank you all   very much I motion to adjourn second motion  and a second Madame clerk please open the roll motion passes 6 to one one name have a good night thank you staff  for staying this late appreciate it