Wichita City Council Evening Meeting - June 3, 2025

The Wichita City Council held its evening meeting on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers, 455 N. Main Street. The meeting included proclamations, awards, public comments, approval of consent agenda items, a detailed presentation on property maintenance codes, and appointments to the City Manager Selection Advisory Committee. All votes were unanimous 7-0.

Consent Calendar

• Approved the minutes of the regular meeting of May 27, 2025.
• Approved Consent Agenda Items 1 through 12, including applications for cereal malt beverage licenses, design services agreements, minutes of advisory boards/commissions, proclamation votes, second reading ordinances, zoning case ZON2025-00009 (zone change from SF-5 to TF-3 for a duplex), vacation requests VAC2025-00010 and VAC2025-00011, plat SUB2024-00051 (Cherese Point Addition), and airport agreements with Smarte Carte, Inc., Wichita Air Services, Inc. (Supplemental No. 1), and The United States Postal Service (Supplemental Agreement No. 2).
• Approved the Board of Bids and Contracts report dated June 2, 2025, which included multiple engineering, water, sewer, and airport contracts totaling over $12 million, including projects such as the Forest View stormwater improvements ($386,109), 2025 Outsource Pavement Preservation ($521,800.80), Maple Street Booster Pump Station ($3,061,976), and roof replacement for Evergreen Park Recreation Building ($480,000).

Awards and Proclamations

• Proclaimed June 2025 as LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. June, Communications Director for Wichita Pride, expressed gratitude and emphasized the importance of visibility for the community.
• Proclaimed June 3, 2025 as Wichita Area Sister Cities Day of Recognition, celebrating 52 years of friendship with Tlalnepantla, Mexico. The proclamation highlighted the 1,400-mile cycling trek by athletes from Tlalnepantla.
• Presented a Certificate of Recognition to the Wichita State University Cheer Team for winning the Division I Intermediate Large Coed national championship.
• Recognized the 13 graduates of the 16th Citizens Fire Academy. Greg Cockworth, a graduate, spoke about the training and announced the class would purchase memorial bricks for the Kansas Firefighters Memorial.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Barb Myers (1621 N. Melrose, Friends of the Wichita Pioneers) requested city assistance with equipment and labor for Highland Cemetery, formation of a municipal cemetery preservation advisory committee, and clarification on the cemetery trust fund. The city manager agreed to prepare a report on legal obligations and restrictions.
• Dani Gains (Kansas Leadership Center) invited council to the Kansas State Finals of the National Civics Bee on Thursday, June 5, 2025, from 1 to 7 PM, where 15 middle school finalists would compete for a $100,000 education savings fund.
• Vince Hancock (President, Delano Neighborhood Association) distinguished between willing property owners (who need help) and unreachable owners (using LLCs to avoid accountability). He criticized MABCD for lack of transparency and training, and asked for reforms.
• Faith Martin (District 2) noted that few environmental court cases result in meaningful penalties for out-of-state landlords, and asked for more aggressive enforcement.
• Margaret Shabass (1142 N. Market) described safety hazards from a chronically overgrown vacant lot with encampments, rodents, and drug paraphernalia. Councilmember Ballard offered to help facilitate accountability.
• Alamze (via translator) reported that his apartment landlord fails to complete work orders, charges for repairs, and plans to stop accepting Section 8 vouchers after August. Councilmembers offered to connect him with housing department and provided encouragement.
• Pat Daniels (President, Rental Owners Incorporated) expressed support for targeting out-of-state absentee landlords and offered to help draft legislation. He stressed that most landlords are responsible.
• Harlan Bascom (5514 S. Santa Fe) noted that out-of-state landlords ignore notices and that the city needs better enforcement tools.
• Another speaker advocated for the hybrid enforcement model, differentiating owner-occupied from rental properties, and urged council to retain demolition authority.

Discussion Items

• Property Maintenance Codes (VI-1): Troy Anderson, Assistant City Manager, presented a comprehensive review of property maintenance codes. Key points:
  • The existing municipal code is duplicative across titles. The city proposes to repeal and replace sections with the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), an industry standard.
  • Three options for prosecution of violations: (1) replace environmental court with administrative hearings; (2) modify environmental court to be penalty-based; (3) hybrid model where prosecutors can send cases to either administrative hearing or environmental court depending on the offender. Council indicated support for the hybrid model (Option 3), with guidance to prioritize repeat offenders.
  • On demolitions: council asked for more data on timelines and costs before deciding whether to keep city council approval or delegate to the code official with appeal to the Board of Code Standards and Appeals. Councilmember Ballard and Hoheisel favored retaining council approval; Vice Mayor Johnston leaned toward delegation; others needed more data.
  • Councilmember Johnson requested adding air conditioning requirements to the code; staff to research.
  • Next steps: finalize ordinance, present to District Advisory Boards in June/July, return with ordinance in July/August, target effective date January 1, 2026.
  • Additional policy considerations (rental registry, income discrimination, repeat offender penalties) were noted as separate from this code revision.
• Appointments to City Manager Selection Advisory Committee: Council approved a list of 11 members from across the community, including representatives from neighborhood associations, non-profits, business, education, and military. Councilmember Hoheisel suggested adding a labor representative; Councilmember Johnson proposed Aaron Bastion. Council decided to allow the committee to determine if additional voices are needed.

Key Outcomes

• All consent items and the Board of Bids report passed 7-0.
• The property maintenance codes presentation was received and filed (motion passed 7-0). Council provided policy direction to staff to proceed with the hybrid enforcement model and to bring more data on demolitions.
• The City Manager Selection Advisory Committee was appointed (11 members) via 7-0 vote.
• City Manager to prepare a report on the cemetery trust fund and legal obligations.
• Councilmember Hoheisel noted upcoming flood mitigation projects and the Clapp Park playground ribbon cutting. Vice Mayor Johnston highlighted Riverfest events and a town hall on shared services with the county and school district on June 4 at 5 PM.
• Meeting adjourned at approximately [time not specified].