Wichita City Council Regular Meeting – May 27, 2025
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Wichita City Council Regular Meeting – May 27, 2025
The City Council convened at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in the 1st Floor Boardroom at 455 N. Main Street, Wichita, KS. All actions were taken by unanimous 7-0 votes. The council approved minutes, a consent agenda, two pulled consent items, public improvement petitions, and travel authorizations. A workshop session followed adjournment.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes of the regular meeting of May 20, 2025 (7-0).
- Approved consent agenda items 1–15 and 18–31 in one motion (7-0). These items included beverage licenses, agreements/contracts, change orders, advisory board minutes, assessment respreading agreements, a STEP agreement, a claim settlement, ordinance second readings, housing authority actions (e.g., property sales, insurance), and airport authority contracts.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public were scheduled for the public agenda, and no audience members requested to speak during that portion.
- No public comment was offered when items 16 and 17 were discussed.
Discussion Items
- Homeless Care Coordination Team Funding (Consent Items 16 & 17): A council member pulled the two items and asked for details. Steve, Assistant Director of Housing and Community Services, explained that the teams include housing navigators, social work interns, and peer recovery specialists who conduct street outreach and case conferencing with the Wichita/Sedgwick County Coalition to End Homelessness. Item 16 amended the Liquor Tax Funded Caseworker agreement to add a caseworker; item 17 amended the Project Hope Peer Program contract to raise peer recovery specialist pay from $10.50 to $14.00 per hour, with the goal of expanding from one to three peer specialists. Staff noted the teams coordinate with the Wichita Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team. In response to a question about the 2025 point-in-time count, staff said data entry is due to HUD by June 13, 2025, and final numbers may be delayed; previous counts were 702 (2023) and 691 (2024). Both items were approved separately by 7-0 votes.
- Petitions for Public Improvements – Buffalo Pines Addition: Paul Gunsman, Public Works & Utilities, presented revised petitions and budgets for Buffalo Pines Addition in District II. Signatures represented 100% of improvement district property owners, and the petitions were valid under Kansas statute. A council member noted the revised budget had increased by approximately $250,000; staff responded that construction costs have risen and that they planned to meet with plating engineers. The council approved the revised petitions, budgets, and resolutions (7-0).
- Travel Authorizations: The council approved three travel requests, each by a 7-0 vote:
- Council Member Johnson: Multi-Family Housing Conference, Dallas, TX, October 21–24, 2025.
- Mayor Wu: City to City, Detroit, MI, October 7–9, 2025.
- Council Member Glasscock: City to City, Detroit, MI, October 7–10, 2025. It was noted that travel expenses are now posted online at Wichita.gov/city council.
Key Outcomes
- All motions and approvals passed unanimously (7-0).
- Consent agenda items 16 and 17 were approved after individual consideration.
- The revised Buffalo Pines Addition petitions and budgets were approved.
- Three travel authorizations were granted.
- The council asked staff to provide the number of applications received for the city manager consultant process (applications closed the prior Friday); that information is pending.
- The regular meeting was adjourned, and the council proceeded into a workshop.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you for joining us for the City Council workshop meeting for May twenty-seventh. May we please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance? Or that I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. Thank you all. Approve the minutes of the regular meeting, May twentieth, twenty twenty-five. I see none. I move to approve the regular meeting minutes for May twentieth, twenty twenty-five. Second. Motion and a second. Any further discussion? I see none. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes, seven zero. Madam Clerk, please call the next item. Public agenda. No action will be taken relative to the items on the other on the agenda other than the referral to the city manager for information. Requests will be placed on the agenda on a first come first served basis. Each speaker will be allowed five minutes to speak. We do not have any scheduled public agenda members this morning. Would anyone in the audience like to address the council? I see none. We will move on from public agenda. Madam Clerk, please call the next item. Consent agenda items one through 31. Council members, are there any items to be pulled for further discussion? I have one. Consent agenda item number 16. It's really it's both 16 and 17. It's the same similar item. It's the homeless care coordination team. Excuse me, Mayor, before we get to that one. Did you want to make the motion to approve the other items? I will. I just wanted to see if there's any other items. So 16 and 17, I am pulling, but I'll discuss them as one item and then pass them individually. I see none other, so I will move to approve the consent agenda without number 16 and 17. Second. Motion and a second, any further discussion. I see none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed, same sign. Motion passes 70. We'll go in numerical order, starting with item 16. I'd like to know uh if someone can explain how this homeless care coordination team is being run. Um this will now be funded by liquor tax sales. Uh if we can have information regarding this team, please. Sure. Um my name is Steve for the record.
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