The Wichita City Council met on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 9:00 AM in the Council Chambers at 455 N. Main Street. The meeting opened with an invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, followed by proclamations, awards, and a lengthy agenda covering consent items, public hearings, new council business, planning matters, and council member actions. Numerous items were discussed and voted on, including housing bond approvals, federal grant allocations, zoning changes, and tourism funding.
The consent agenda (items 1–37) was adopted with a 7-0 vote after pulling four items for separate discussion: Item 3B (real estate consultant contract for Douglas Avenue), Item 8 (approval of offers for the same project), Item 6 (Visit Wichita financial reports and lease), and Item 11 (MABCD fee waivers for LIHTC projects).
Oh, there's a manager. Good morning, which time. Welcome to all of you to City Hall. We'll call this meeting to order. With us this morning is Minister Nina Shaw Woody with the Kansas Family Advisory Network, who will provide our invitation. Following that invocation, we will have the Pledge of Allegiance, and we ask that you please stand for both. Father, I God, I just thank you for our city council members, our mayor, and all those who are present, Father. I thank you that you give them wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Give them the wisdom to be able to make the decisions that need to be made today that will make all our residents within Cedric County and in the city of Wichita to be able to be a great city. Help them be able to take care of the needs of all the demographic of people represented today. And Father God, just bless them, keep them, sustain them, and love on them and let them know that they are been sitting here and they appointed by you to do a work for the people. In Jesus' name, Amen. Are there any items to be pulled or corrected? I see none. Motion and a second, any further discussion. I see none. Mr. Clerk, please open the roll. Motion passes seven zero. Mr. Clerk, please call the next item. Awards and proclamations. The proclamations this week are Provider Appreciation Day, Water Safety Month, and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Months. Mefford Airport Department. May I please ask Child Start and any supporters with Provider Appreciation Day to please come forward, including Council Member Becky Tuttle. The proclamation reads The City of Wichita, Kansas, founded in 1870, whereas Child Start Inc. and the City of Wichita Childcare Licensing and other organizations nationwide are recognizing licensed child care providers on this day as young children need skilled, educated, competent, devoted, consistent, and compensated early care and educated professionals. Whereas over half the children under the age of six nationwide are estimated to spend a majority of time with an early care and education professional on a weekly basis, which provides critical enrichment opportunities and nurtures development for children of all backgrounds and is a vital building block in our economy. Whereas high quality early care and education play a vital role in mitigating the effects of poverty, identifying and addressing developmental delays, and preventing child neglect. These programs also foster the development of essential social emotional skills and cultivate healthy peer relationships, laying the foundation for academic readiness and lifelong success. Whereas young children need developmentally appropriate, accessible and available early care and education settings. Working families need a strong regulatory structure to give them peace of mind that their children are safe and in high-quality early care and education settings. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim May 9th, 2025 as Provider Appreciation Day in the City of Wichita, and encourage all citizens to recognize licensed child care providers for their important working. My name is Mandy Waugh. I am the Early Childhood Connections Program Director at Child Start. Thank you for letting me speak to you about celebrating and recognizing a group of professionals whose dedication, heart, and hard work often go unseen but never go unfelt. Our child care providers. May 9th is Child Care Appreciation Day. This is a day to pause and truly honor the incredible impact that the early childhood professionals have on our children, our families, and our communities. They are among the first to greet our children in the morning and often the last to say goodbye in the evening. They nurture, teach, comfort, and guide, playing a vital role in shaping young minds and supporting emotional growth and the most critical early years of life. Childcare providers are more than caregivers. They are educators, mentors, problem solvers, and often an extended part of our families. They show up with patience, resilience, and love, no matter the challenges. They help children take their first steps, learn their first words, and build the confidence that will carry them through life. Their work also makes everything else possible. Without dependable quality child care, parents and guardians can't fully participate in the workforce, pursue education, and provide for their families. Early care and education is the foundation that supports not just childhood development, but our entire economy and future. So today, let us say thank you, not just with words, but with action and advocacy. Let's recognize the true value of their work and continue to support policies and programs that uplift this essential profession.