An address, and you will be given five minutes to speak.

A timer can be viewed on the podium screen.

You may speak one time per agenda item.

Please refrain from clapping after other speakers.

Thank you again for joining us today.

Let's pause a moment for our television audience to join us.

With us this morning is Pastor Debbie Garrett of Greater Deliveries Ministries to provide our invocation.

Following that invocation, we will have the Pledge of Allegiance.

And we ask that you please stand for both.

Motion and a second, any further discussion.

Motion passes 7-0.

Mayor, uh, could I use a point of privilege, please?

Thank you.

I'd like to ask my colleagues to come down here with me as well.

And I want to invite up our friend Kathy Sexton and her friends as well.

Thank you, Councilmember Johnson, Mayor, Council members.

My name's Kathy Sexton.

And on behalf of the Kansas Association of City County Management, we're here today with colleagues from our area communities, Sarah Gooding from City of Tawanda City Administrator, and let me find them all here.

Brent Clark, formerly Valley Center City Administrator, Jenny McCauslin of Andover City Administrator, Nick Gregory, Mays City Manager, Sean Fox, Park City City Manager, and I got them all good.

I want to thank these colleagues for joining me.

Um, a couple weeks ago, we had our annual conference of the Kansas Association of City County Management in Emporia, and Bob was not able to be there, but so we brought this home for him.

This is their recognition of him for his many years of service in Kansas and to our communities.

He has been a leader and a guide to many um fellows, interns, um, young people in his classes that he teaches at WSU.

So for growing the profession as well as serving the people of Wichita, we'd like to recognize you, Bob.

If you would come up, please.

My I thank um the Kansas Association of City County Management for uh recognizing uh my retirement.

It has been a true pleasure of mine to be associated with such great professionals as you see here, uh, who every day um uh work hard, uh, are diligent in trying to make their communities a better place for people to live and work.

And uh I uh it's been a noble profession to be associated with, um, but uh it's all of these people here that uh make a difference along with the staffs that they represent.

So thank you so much to the association for this recognition.

Thank you.

And thank you for being here.

Bob, if I could ask you to join us again.

Good morning.

Good morning, thank you.

A resolution honoring Robert Leighton City Manager on the occasion of his retirement and recognition of his outstanding service to the city of Wichita, whereas Robert Leighton has served the city of Wichita with his dis as the distinction of city manager since 2009, demonstrating unwavering dedication, visionary leadership, and deep commitment to public service.

And whereas Robert Leighton has consistently exemplified the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, civic responsibility, carrying, carrying earning the respect and admiration of colleagues, elected officials, and residents alike.

Whereas during his tenure, Robert Leighton has overseen numerous transformative initiatives and accomplishments, including strengthening talent development through the Wichita Management Fellowship Program, personally mentoring 35 fellows, leading Wichita to be named an all-American city twice, advancing major public facilities and amenities, including Equity Bank Ballpark, the Wichita Dwight D.

Eisenhower National Airport, the Advanced Learning Library, and multiple master plans, such as the aquatics, downtown, bicycle, pedestrian, and library branch plans, implementing a reserve policy approved by the city council, and increase general fund reserves every year from 2009 through 2024, improving the city budget process to enhance engagement opportunities and alignments to strategic planning processes, and implementing an improved CIP process that developed debt metrics and enhanced strategic alignment, which contributed to the city reaching a triple A bond rating from standard and poor.

And guiding major infrastructure projects, including East Kellogg, the I 135 47th Street Interchange, the North Junction I-235 and Central, and numerous arterial upgrades, expanding sustainable transportation through the introduction of electric buses and construction of the new transit bus barn and the underconstruction hub multimodal facility and enhancing mobility with 70 miles of expanded bike and pedestrian paths and trails.

And leading the city's response to significant challenges, including historic droughts, the COVID 19 pandemic, and a major cyber attack, delivering critical stormwater and river improvements such as the Blackley Street drainage improvements and the Lincoln Bridge and Dam.

Implementing transformative changes in firefire hiding, hiring by eliminating the pre-employment EMT certification requirement and shifting training in-house, significantly expanding the pool and reducing economic and geographic barriers, investing in modern fire facilities, including three new fire stations with a fourth underway, designed with advanced health and wellness features such as decamp decontamination spaces and individual sleep rooms, supporting public safety through the completion of the law enforcement training center, the Patrol East substation, and the real-time information center and expanding animal services through improvements to the animal shelter and animal control facility and leading park system revitalization, including the transformation of Navskar Park and Clapp Park, creation of five dog parks, and development of Proc What Glends Park.

Anne leading the transformation of Park Elementary into the second light campus based on his beliefs in long-term solution over short-term fixes, which will serve the community for decades to come, making thousands of lives better because he dared to think bigger, and facilitating the city's cooperation with Wichita State University and the University of Kansas, uh and WSU Tech on the construction of the Wichita Biomedical Campus.

Steadfastly supporting the United Way of the Plains by leading the city organization to repeatedly be in the top 10 corporate supporters through employee contributions and serving on its board of directors.

Whereas Robert Leighton has been a steady and thoughtful leader through times of both challenge and opportunity, always placing the well-being of the community at the forefront of every decision, especially during economic challenges and the COVID pandemic.

Whereas Bob Leighton has been a steadfast advocate for childhood literacy, libraries and public education, and strengthening the role of the public library in helping residents connect, discover, learn, and thrive, and inspiring the development of the brand new Family Place Initiative.

Pardon me, now being named in honor of Robert Leighton, the family place on all seven Wichita Public Library locations.

Be ready for seven ribbon cuttings.

Whereas the City of Wichita wishes to express its sincere gratitude, gratitude for his years of dedicated service and celebrate his legacy of consistent leadership.

Now there now, therefore, be it resolved the Wichita City Council that we hereby honor and commend Robert Leighton for his exemplary service as the city manager, not only in Wichita, but also in Urbendale and Des Moines, Iowa, Kansas City, Missouri, and North Syracuse, New York, in his 46 years of public service career, and extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for fulfilling a well-deserved retirement.

Thank you so much.

But other than that, greatly appreciate the comments and thank the mayor and council for their support.

And I have to thank the entire city team.

Obviously, the city manager doesn't do all of the things that you heard.

It takes in a really professional team to be able to accomplish things on a daily basis.

Um it's been a wonderful career um and it's uh been nice to reflect on some of the accomplishments, not just here in my other communities as well.

And I'm looking forward to staying here in Wichita and working for community improvements uh as I go forward, and uh I thank again the mayor and council for this recognition.

We are having fun this morning, but wait, there's more so behalf of the Wichita City Council in recognition of sixteen years of steadfast leadership and forty-seven years of dedicated public service.

The City of Wichita honors Robert Leighton for his transformative impact on our community.

Under his guidance, Wichita witnessed the realization of major civic and infrastructure projects, including the Dwight, the Eisenhower National Airport, the Advanced Learning Library, Equity Bank Park, the Hub Transit Center, and State of the Art Water Treatment Facility.

Mr.