Good morning, Wichita, and good morning to all of you.

Welcome to City Hall.

We'll call this meeting to order.

With us this morning is Pastor Amy Lippold with Wichita First United Methodist Church to provide our invocation.

Following our invocation, we will have the Pledge of Allegiance, and we ask that you please stand for both.

New every morning is your love, great God of light, and all day long you are working for good in the world.

Stir up in us this morning a desire to serve you, to live peacefully with our neighbors, and devote ourselves to you.

Give us the grace to let go of what happened yesterday.

Help us set aside the worries and uncertainties of tomorrow.

Thank you for our council member spirit of service and their love for their neighbor.

Give them wisdom, insight, and courage.

Help them to listen, especially to those whose perspectives are different than their own.

Help them to continue to grow and learn so they might be even more fit for their role.

Thank you for the beauty of this place, the strength of our community, the ways that we come together to make our city strong.

Amen.

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Motion.

Abstention.

Motion passes six zero with one abstention.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Awards and proclamations.

Today's proclamation are SOR Optimist International of Wichita Kansas Day and Amateur Radio Week.

May I please first ask the Sir Optimus International of Wichita Kansas to come forward at this time.

May I also ask my fellow council members who would like to come forward at this time.

The proclamation reads, the City of Wichita, Kansas founded in 1870, whereas Seroptimus International of Wichita was chartered in 1936, becoming a vital part of a global volunteer organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.

Whereas for nine decades, the dedicated members of this club have consistently worked to provide women and girls with access to education and training, overcoming significant obstacles to help them achieve their dreams and build better futures.

Whereas the Sore Optimus Club continues to embody its name best for women by focusing on the live your dream awards and dream it be it programs, offering mentoring and resources to women and girls facing obstacles in the Wichita area.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim June 19th, 2026, the 90th anniversary of the Sir Optimus International Club of Wichita.

Thank you all very much.

Would any council member also like to stand for Amateur Radio Week?

We will now ask the Wichita Amateur Radio Club to come forward at this time.

The proclamation reads the City of Wichita, Kansas founded in 1870, whereas amateur radio operators celebrate over a century of the miracle of the human voice broadcast over the airwaves.

Whereas since 1932, the Wichita Amateur Radio Club and Amateur Radio Operators have also provided countless hours of community service both in emergencies and to other local organizations.

Whereas amateur radio provides resources in support of STEM curriculum.

Whereas the City of Wichita recognizes and appreciates the diligence of those hams who also serve as weather spotters in the Sky Warn program of the U.S.

government weather bureau.

Now therefore be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim June 22nd to 28th, 2026 as amateur radio week.

I appreciate all the support that the community gives us and uh thank you very much.

Madam Clerk, please call the next award.

Over the years, Hunter Health.

You just don't like going from here to there.

It's easier to get here and see all these people instead of go to so many different places.

My father would be stunned.

He never imagined that the clinic would be what it is today, or even what it was 20 years ago.

He set out to serve people and to provide health care.

Healthcare is a very complex system, and it can be really hard to navigate.

So we recognize for many of our patients that it's not easy for them to take time off of work to go to a healthcare appointment.

They may not have reliable transportation or child care.

And when you walk in through our doors, our team is going to shepherd you through the process.

How do we make sure they don't have to jump through 97 different hoops?

And instead, we organize ourselves in a way that thinks about their mental health, their behavioral health, their physical health, their preventive health.

Hunter Health is doing that, and you get better results.

And what that means for the community is better outcomes, and that's a good thing for all of Wichita.

We exist to improve the health and well-being of everyone in our community.

And we deliberately italicize the word everyone because that's really who we are.

Hunter Health is one of those places that understands the 8020.

20% of your health is related to what happens in a doctor's office, but 80% of your health is well beyond that, which is why they're not satisfied with just being a wonderful place for clinical care.

That means that there's a new chapter emerging for Hunter Health Clinic, and that new chapter is going to be bigger and better than where we've ever been before.

Our planned community wellness center, which is the next phase in our attorney, is really about bringing community partners to our prime location.

So it's really taking an expanded definition of what it means to provide care for health.

It happens over generations.

It's little interactions that add up over time to make an impact on families.

And it has an impact on neighborhoods, it has an impact on employers, and ultimately that all adds up to impact the health and well-being of our community.

I think what's really amazing about Hunter Health is they don't stop innovating.

I mean, innovation is a part of their story for all these decades, and it's not stopping.

Sorry, the Wichita Chamber of Commerce, vice president of membership and investor relations here to just explain what you've been watching over the last few weeks.

So I'm going to use a point of privilege to help uh Chelsea explain why we've been showing these videos.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, Councilmembers.

This is a great opportunity to further highlight and share the message of these honorees.

I'm Chelsea Dyer as the Mayor Sherrod, Vice President of Membership and Investor Relations for the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Wichita Chamber represents more than 1,100 members, nearly a hundred and fifty thousand employees and countless industries across South Central Kansas.

Those are not just numbers.

They're a powerful engine of growth and impact.

And for more than six decades, we've recognized and celebrated the incredible people and organizations that are a part of that growth and impact.

Those who are a catalyst in our community.

In 1963, the Honors Night tradition began, recognizing the impact of aviation companies in our community.

The Wichita Chamber now celebrates with six different awards, and those videos have been shown over the past several weeks.

These awards represent architectural achievements, longevity and impact in business and community, and exceptional contributions by individuals.

Industries like hospitality, manufacturing, health care, and technology, organizations who not only run a business, but embed themselves into the fabric of the community, creating jobs, innovating, serving customers, and supporting the growth of Wichita.

Stories of individuals born and raised here, digging in and doing their part to make the community stronger and better for the next generation.

And those who moved here and made this community their home.

Whether a small or large business, a longtime leader, a young professional who is part of the next generation of soon-to-be legends, the Wichita Chamber Honors Night celebrates leading with consistency, integrity, and a genuine commitment to something bigger.

But honors night is more than an awards night.

It's about celebrating the heart and soul of Wichita.

It's about bold ideas, tireless efforts, and the spirit of community that endures.

At the Wichita Chamber, we know that when we recognize excellence, we strengthen our business community and inspire progress.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chelsea, and again, congratulations to Scott Schwindemann, Landon Husleg, Wichita Festival's Cosine Memorial Group, Hunter Health, and Empower these years honorees.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

From the city's recently adopted civility pledge, the city council is committed to promoting civility.

They stand united, they lead with respect and dignity, and they honor every resident in all communities.

They are working to create an environment that values shared goals with increased empathy and genuine dialogue.

We now come to public agenda.

The public agenda allows for up to five speakers to have five minutes each to address the council.

Please bear in mind that this is not a period of dialogue with council or question and answer period.

This is your opportunity to address the city council with your concerns.

I ask that you address your remarks to the city council as a body and not to any individual council member.

No action will be taken relative to items on the public agenda other than referral to the city manager for information as necessary.

Speakers will please speak into the microphone.

Please state their name and address for the record.

A time clock will display the speakers' remaining time to speak.

Order and rules of decorum will be observed.

We do not have any speakers signed up this morning.

Thank you, Clerk.

Would anyone in the community like to address the council?

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Consent agenda items one through 24.

Council members, any items to be pulled.

I see none.

I move to approve the consent agenda items one through 24.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Board of Bids and Contracts, dated June 15th, 2026.

Morning, Mayor, City Council.

You would not believe the exodus that I was trying to get through as consent was passed today, so it's moving quickly.

Engineering, we have stormwater drain number 548, Cinder Bluff Street, Merton Avenue to serve Oak Street Edition for Mies Construction Incorporated for an aggregate bid total of 744,663.50 cents, subject to your approval of the engineers' estimate and budget authorization just earlier.

We have the Crystal Prairie Lake Park, phase one for Pearson Construction LLC for an aggregate bid total of 2,405,430.

We have the Sanitary Sewer Extension to serve Area 151 edition phase two for Mies Construction Incorporated for 165,551 dollars.

For purchasing, we have the stakes, paddles, and wedges contract for JNS Woods Enterprises Incorporated for an estimated annual usage of $20,715.

We have the tire repair and services contract for best one tire and service incorporated, doing businesses best one tire of Wichita and TAN, Kansas Truck Service and Repair, awarding both groups one and two for both.

And we have the fire station furniture for John A.

Marshall Company for $55,906.57.

We have the Bullard QXT Pro Thermal Imager Bundles for WES Buyer LLC doing business as WES Fire and Safety Equipment for $176,376.

We have the Amcos Rescue System for WES BYR LLC doing business as WES Fire and Safety Equipment for $94,100.

And we have the reference solutions premium subscription renewal for library.

For info USA Marketing Incorporated, a subsidiary of Data Axel for five year aggregate total of $64,375.

And for Airport, we have the Jabara Airport construction of East Perimeter Fence Phase 2 for Diamond Fence LLC in the amount of $385,930 awarded from the original bid of $457,280.

This is how to become a vendor with the city.

This is our purchasing calendar, small business resource partner events the city's hosting or participating in.

And these are open public opportunities opening on June 26th and ending on July 10th.

And I'd be happy to try to answer your questions on the 10 items and recommend your approval.

Thank you, Josh.

Questions for staff.

I see none.

I move to approve the Board of Bids and Contracts dated June 15th, 2026.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 70.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Petition for public improvements.

I have a few new petitions for your consideration this morning.

Signatures on the petitions represent 100% of the improvement districts.

And the petitions are valid per Kansas statute.

Sunshine Village Edition located in District 4.

The project will provide water, stormwater drain, sanitary sewer and paving improvements for a new residential development.

And veranda second edition located in district two.

The projects will provide water, sanitary sewer and paving improvements required for a new residential development.

With that, it's recommended that the city council approve the new petitions and new budgets, adopt a new resolutions and authorize the necessary signatures.

And I would stand for questions.

Thank you, Paul.

Questions for staff.

See none.

I move to approve the petitions for public improvement.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Public hearing and request for letter of intent to issue industrial revenue bonds for Storytime Village Incorporated.

Good morning, Mayor and City Council.

Leah Cisco with Development Services.

The item before you this morning is a public hearing and request for a letter of intent to issue industrial revenue bonds for Storytime Village Inc.

You'll hear me also refer to them throughout the presentation and simply as story time.

Storytime Village is a Kansas-based nonprofit focused on literacy outcomes for children and families through access to books, literacy programming, family engagement, and educational enrichment.

The organization is currently developing the Storytime Village Literacy Center, which will serve as a literacy and early childhood hub supporting educational access, workforce readiness, family services, and community development.

As some background on the project, the initial phase totaling approximately five million dollars was funded through the state's capital projects fund.

And that grant funding came with requirements that portions of the facility be operational by September 30 of this year.

And so in order to meet those deadlines and preserve that grant funding, storytime proceeded with the first phase of construction.

Now, as a 501c3 nonprofit, storytime was granted a general tax exemption by the state, but not an exemption specific to the project.

And that is what would apply to contract construction purchases made through contractors.

As a result, today Storytime is requesting IRBs in the amount not to exceed three and a half million dollars to achieve a sales tax exemption on remaining construction and development purchases for the literacy center.

The estimated value of the sales tax exemption is approximately 245,000, and the city's share of that is approximately 18,000.

As a reminder, IRBs are a mechanism for achieving a sales tax exemption and our property tax abatement.

The city is not lending any money and bears no risk.

Storytime is responsible for securing its own financing, and no taxpayer dollars are at risk.

The bonds will be purchased by Storytime or related entity.

Bond documents will be prepared by bond council, but ultimately reviewed and approved by the city's law department.

And actually, before I conclude and make staff's recommendation, I would like to take this opportunity to call forward the executive director of Storytime Village who is here, Priska Barnes.

I think she's probably best equipped to kind of tell the story of the organization.

And there's kind of a cool historical uh component to the site itself as well.

So good morning, Mayor Wu and members of this Wichita City Council.

My name is Dr.

Prisca Barnes Simmons, and I have the privilege of serving as the founder and CEO of Storytime Village, and I want to thank you for allowing me to speak today.

Um, and thank you for considering the request for a sales tax exemption through the Industrial Revenue Bond Program.

17 years ago, Storytime Village was founded with one simple mission to inspire a lifelong love of reading for children.

And since then, we have served thousands of children and families across Wichita, Kansas, because we believe that literacy is the foundation for opportunity.

When a child learns to read, that child is better equipped to succeed in school, prepare for a career, and fully participate in our community.

Today, that mission has grown into what will soon become the Storytime Village Literacy Center, a nearly $10 million investment in Wichita's children, families, and future.

And this isn't simply a literacy center, it is a community center built around literacy.

Families will come here not only to read together, but to access early childhood education, child care, health services, workforce resources, parenting support, family engagement programs, and community events all in one place.

By bringing trusted community partners together under one roof, we are creating a place where families can access the resources they need to help their children thrive.

What makes this project even more special is where it is being built.

More than 100 years ago, this property served as the first woman's dormitory for what is now Wichita State University.

The women who live there believe deeply in the power of literacy, and they walked the surrounding neighborhoods, raising money to build Wichita State's first Carnegie Library, which once stood where the Owork Museum is currently.

And I often think about these women.

They invested in literacy because they believed it could transform lives.

And today we have the opportunity to continue that legacy on the very same campus by creating a place where the next generation of children and families can discover that same transformative power of reading.

And this project represents a significant investment in Wichita.

We have secured, as you've heard, nearly $5 million through the Kansas Children Children's Cabinet, and we continue to build partners with organizations such as Healthcore Clinic, Workforce Alliance, and the Wichita Public Library, and many others who will provide services within the center.

The request before you today is simple.

By approving the sales tax exemption, you're allowing the you're allowing more of our charitable dollars to be invested directly into serving children and families instead of construction cost.

Every dollar saved through this exemption becomes another dollar invested in books, literacy programs, child care, educational spaces, and services that will benefit Wichita families for decades to come.

As someone who was born and raised in Wichita, it is incredibly meaningful to help preserve a piece of our city's history while creating a place that will shape its future.

This project honors the women who came before us, helping to raise money to build that library, and it strengthens families who are here today and creates opportunities for the children who will lead Wichita tomorrow.

On behalf of the board of directors of Storytime Village, our partners in the thousands of children and families we serve, I respectfully ask for your support of this project, and I thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued investment in the future of our city and especially District One.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chris Cat.

So with that, I will make the recommendation that City Council close the public hearing, adopt the resolution, and authorize the necessary signatures.

I am here to answer any questions you may have, as well as Briscoe.

Thank you, Leah, and thank you, Priska.

Questions for staff or executive director.

I see none.

We will now open it up for public comment.

I see none.

I'm gonna bring it back to the bench.

This is in council member Shepherd's district number one.

And before I hand it over to him, I want to say that this is a great project that I had the opportunity to stand beside community partners during the groundbreaking, and I have seen the progress of that construction site that will soon become a literacy center and child care center.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing that just south of my alma mater of WSU.

Councilmember Shepherd.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you to Dr.

Barnes for your incredible work in this community.

I've had the opportunity to volunteer for Storytime Village by reading to several children as well as your expansion of moving downtown to make it accessible during the summer so that children and families have the opportunity to have access to literacy.

On April 7th, we passed the collective impact partnership agreement, which was an affirmation that we would do our part to ensure that third grade literacy and early literacy reading proficiency was a priority for the city.

I think it's incredible that we not only pass those partnership agreements, but we actually have the actions that align with those partnership agreements.

And finally, I want to thank Leah and Corey.

Dr.

Barnes, you called and said, hey, this is what we're experiencing.

I was able to connect you with another nonprofit organization, and then we were able to connect you to our some of our staff, Lee and Corey, who do an amazing job, and I think they made it a priority to meet with you and walk you through the process.

It's a testament to the power of our staff and how we collectively make sure our entire community wins.

With that said, Mayor, I would like to make the motion to close the public hearing, adopt the resolution, and authorize the necessary signatures.

Second.

Motion second further discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Staffing for adequate fire and emergency response grant program.

Here today to ask for your approval to sit for the submission of three FEMA grants, which were all their back-to-back on the agenda, which were all released on May 19th at the same time with the submission due date of June 22nd at the same time.

The very first one is the 2025 staffing for adequate fire and emergency response grant, which is often referred to as the SAFER grant.

So just kind of a program overview.

As I said earlier, this this particular grant is through FEMA through the Department of Homeland Security, and it provides funding to increase the number of firefighters.

And that's kind of just a tentative tentative date in regards to that.

Some of the things that want to make sure that you're clearly aware of is that if we uh were awarded the grant, our department would be uh agree to comply to the following that we must not incur firefighter layoffs of safer grant funded positions or non safer grant funded positions.

And second, all the other the other most important thing is that when we apply for the actual grant, and if we were awarded it, we'd have to maintain the operational staffing number at the level that existed on that particular date.

So what we're here to do today, or what I'm here to do today, is to ask for the funding to support the staffing for our new fire station 23, which would be located at Pawnee and Maze Road.

It has language in there that continues to be in that contract that if we open up a new fire, any type of fire station in which we only have one apparatus that it be staffed with four people, and that is a safety mechanism.

So this would uh the funding then would be for 14 personnel.

It would basically be four people per shift with uh two additional people to cover uh vacations, um Killy days time off.

So the financial consideration we're quite requesting authorization to apply for about 3.05 million dollars.

Um FEMA's safer grants are uh typically they vary on when they release their application, they provide you with whether or not there's matches.

So for example, when we we received a uh 2022 SAFER grant for the 42 positions, there was no match.

It was a three-year grant with no match.

This particular SAFER grant requires a 25%, 25 25% the first year, 25% the second year, and 65% the next year.

Um other thing that's significant is just the grant um timeline.

It does not marry up with the January through December timeline of the city.

Um so for example, if we were to be awarded the SAFER grant in September of this year, September of 2026, we would have 180 days to hire the personnel, which would take us into March of 2027.

That time, once we had people in uh hired and we started paying them, that's when we would start drawing from the grant.

So it would be March of 2027, in which we would draw from the grant.

That would then set the grants timeline as far as payment and as far as cities cost sharing.

So that would go clear till March of 2028, and then in March of 2028, we would have to pay our portion of the cost in particular.

So this would start with uh March of 2028, we'd be looking for funding, we'd be looking for funding in 2029, and we'd be looking for funding in 2030.

That's how the grant works.

Um the total city matchup would be about one point nine five 1.95 million, uh approximately 5 million dollars, it's about 11,000 less than that.

Um so my recommendation is to authorize submission for the 2025 safer application, um, authorize acceptance if awarded, and approve any necessary budget adjustments.

And with that, I'll stand for questions.

Thank you, Chief Snow.

I submitted a list of questions uh and so I will ask those questions in public.

Um question number one how many total firefighters will be needed for the new fire station, which you answered, and how much in total salaries and benefits will be needed for those 14 firefighters.

And I'm assuming you don't want the total amount, you want total annually, is that correct?

Okay.

So our calculations that we have for the um 20 or for the grant period is you would be looking at about a half a year in 2027, because I said it doesn't actually start until you start drawing funds for it.

You'd be looking at a half a year in 2027, partial year in 2028.

So for that period, it'd be about 1.6 million dollars.

You do the same thing in um 28 and 29.

That would be about 1.7 million dollars, and then you would do the same thing in 29 and 30, and that would be additional one point about 1.8, it's a little bit less, and that's 1.75.

The um and we just did some estimates because our contract contractually runs out, it runs through December of 2028.

So 2029, we're not for sure what the wages will be or what's in the contract, so we just did a guesstimate average three percent.

Next question, please share how many firefighters were part of the fire department when the last new station was built in 2009 versus how many firefighters are currently employed by Wichita Fire Department in 2026.

Okay, so in 2029, the Wichita population was 372 approximately.

Um the actual and on the grant, it it deals with just fire operations personnel.

So on the grant, according to the 20, the 2009 budget, it we had 419 FTEs in fire operations.

In 2026, our current population is 4,01, and we currently have in operations 457.

So basically a change of about 38.

One of the other things that I want to draw attention to is that in 2029, it's just specifically um our alarm loads, because I think that's important.

How many people are you servicing?

Um so in 2029, we were servicing about uh 43,700 alarms, um, and we like I said, and um in that particular time we only had 419.

If you do the ratio, so for every firefighter was making approximately 104 alarms in today in 2025, or well, 2026.

If you look at the alarm load from 2025, because we're not finished with 2026, we have up over 63,000 alarms at for 457 people.

So the ratio for every firefighter is now making 138 alarms.

So we basically increased annually between 2009 and today, we've increased 44.5 percent in emergency alarms per firefighter.

Thank you, Chief.

Can you please provide the metrics showing the three-person versus now four-person engine company and history behind moving from three to four-person, such as increased costs and or improved metrics?

Okay.

So I'll first start with in 2009 when we built the new stations.

We had um uh proposed in budget hearing to um for additional staffing, so we did not receive it.

At the time, our department looked like a um one engine and one squad in every firehouse.

Uh we were predominantly engine squad uh driven.

So when we didn't receive the uh budget funding at that particular time, uh, what we did was we we started to just go to single houses, so we had to reallocate the resources that we had, and um at that particular time we're only running three.

That's why I say in 2013, um the union put into the contract that we run four, because there was a period of time in which we only had three people on it on a particular engine.

And the matrix, so and and part of the reason is because in 2010, NESTA National Institute of Science and Technology came out with the real they released the study that they've been doing for a couple different years, and I'm just gonna give you brief because there was 22 fire ground tasks that they evaluated, and they evaluated them with three persons versus four persons with five persons so forth.

Um so I'm just gonna kind of abbreviate that real quick, things that are kind of important.

Um basically the metric says that on a three-person crew for just overall scene time, um, a four-person two crew is five point one minutes faster, so basically 25% faster than a three-person crew.

Putting water on the fire, the difference is about six percent faster with a four-person crew, laddering and ventilating the building.

That um a four-person crew is 25% faster than a three-person crew.

The primary search done six percent faster with a four-person crew.

Hose line stretch is done 30 seconds faster with a four-person crew.

On industry standards, which we follow NFPA 1700 the best we can, those are our guidelines.

Um with a three-person crew, they cannot meet they cannot achieve a three the uh NFPA standards with a four-person crew, they can.

Um, as far as occupants that are rescued, um, you have lower exposure exposure with a four-person crew, so it's safer for your occupants, and that's just really brief.

It's not going through all 22 um items.

Thank you, Chief.

Um, the last time that the city of Wichita applied for a safer grant was what year, and as you mentioned, it's very different than this uh grant application as the local match is sooner rather than back then none.

Right.

So um this it we we applied for grant in 2022.

Um that would have been the 2021 grant.

If you notice this one is the 2025, the FEMA is always a year behind.

So we applied in 2020 2022, we received notification, we didn't start drawing the funds till twenty March of 2023.

So when they say it's a three-year grant, then it went 23, 24, and finished this year in 26, March of 26.

And last question really is for both you and the city manager.

If we do not get the safer grant, how will how will the city fund the new firefighters?

Well, if we don't get the safer grant, I provided um uh well we provided the department provided a budget option for 14 positions in our budget.

Um and after that, if we don't get it, we will fall back on the same resources that we did in 2009 when we didn't receive any funding and any additional personnel, we'll have to reallocate our current resources.

I'll add to that.

Um we will have a conversation next week as part of the June 23rd budget workshop where with the uh finance department working on are there other general fund resources if we do not get these grant resources, such as the stabilization fund, and that'll be part of the conversation to see if council wants to set aside um some money as uh backstop if we do not get the grant money.

So we'll have more of that conversation next week.

Thank you.

Those are all my questions for this item.

Any other council members?

I see none.

We'll open it up for public comment.

Oh, council member Shepard.

It's okay, Mayor.

I'd snuck that in on you last minute.

I'm I'm curious, and I think Chief, you've spoke to this before, but how have we changed the way that we're looking at building out fire stations to include the cost of operations moving forward so that way this is not a situation that we may run into.

I'm I'm grateful for the safer grant.

I'm glad that there's opportunities there to ensure adequate staffing, but we know that it's not a guarantee.

And so, as we're looking at the suburban sprawl or the sprawl in general, we know that as we continue to grow out, we're gonna need services in those spaces too.

So, how are we considering when we know we need another fire station also building in the costs for the personnel and FTEs?

We we continue to take a look at the data.

Um, we continue to look at do we have our right resources, are we right sized?

Are we right?

Um, are we providing the right services to the right areas?

We continue, we watch that on a daily basis.

Um, and as we um project things moving into the future, we add those fundings into CIP as far as the um actual, you know, just capital types of items.

We do that.

As far as the funding on personnel, we continue to go to budget and we continue to ask.

Um we're not a revenue generating department.

Uh we very insignificant amount of money that we we do generate from some inspections and permit fees, but not enough to staff it.

So basically, um we come and we add it to our budget, we continue to forecast out.

Um council with the safer grant, the restructuring as she highlighted, the local match increases as the time goes on.

And so by the third year, it does really put some discipline in there for the local match to grow so that we can account for that.

So we know when we start the budget process, what that contribution needs to be from the local match, and it increases as the grant goes on.

So I think that'll help us have that discipline to plan.

I have one last question actually.

I saw that in Board of Bids uh construction will or there's a bid out to start construction for station number 23.

Can you just remind us the cost of this new fire station and why it was over budget?

Um basically when we bid it, you bid the when you bid uh CIP is about a 10-year you forecast out, and they do the best job, we do the best job we possibly can on um forecasting what the construction costs will be at the time that we uh plan.

Um at the time that we actually plan for the new station, we thought four million dollars was it, but as we begin to design the station and we watched the other construction go around, for example, the new police substations.

We saw the construction cost it went up to um up right around 500 uh 500 dollars per square foot, and so we went back and we asked for the additional 1.25 million in our uh in the CIP, and that's how we the current cost is gonna come in with everything total is 5.17.

Thank you very much.

Sure.

With that, oh council member uh Vice Mayor Glasgow.

Thank you, Mayor Chief.

Should we expect that similar costs for the other two stations given that we're planning on changing the keeping the design similar for the next two stations for the West Station and the repurpose?

What we'll continue to do, Councilmember Glasscock is yes, I would say minimum of 5.25, but we still need to continue to watch construction cost um and then appropriately plan.

You know, every year we get to go, we get to make uh every year we talk or we get an opportunity to present and CIP.

So as we get ready to build another new fire station or even rebuild fire stations, we'll continue to watch those costs and add them in the CIP to adjust that.

And then the West Station in District 6, almost district five, uh, that's gonna be out of CIP funds, but the rebuild of the station further east, uh, the intention is that it would be covered by the state, correct?

Are you talking about station 18?

The one that came to the city.

Yes, yes.

Now it may be one of those things, and this isn't abnormal is uh a city may have to front the money until they get the money back, but yeah, it's usually yes, the K Doctors plans on rebuilding that station because they want the land for the K96 um exchanged.

Okay, thank you, Chief.

Sure.

Is it accurate to say that um a fire station, a new fire station will cost 5.25 million, two million in additional fire personnel with a new fire station.

Have we taken into account also a budget for maintaining this new build moving forward so that there's always something to fall back on to make sure that that specific fire station is always upkept?

Yeah, we um we anticipate about $76,000 in annual operating costs, and then we include we work with public works in regards to annual maintenance.

And of course, you know, the first 10 years is not as much money um invested in maintenance as it is later on down the road.

So, yes, we continue to work with public works on those.

Roughly how much in annual maintenance will that bucket continue to grow because I think that that's one of the um criticisms that the city has received is there should be a fund that's specific to maintaining these new builds and maintaining the builds that we already have, in particular to the fire department.

Um Mayor, I'll have to get back with you because we we would we rely on public works to provide us with that information, so I'll have to get back with you and see what they estimate.

Thank you.

I see no further questions from the council.

We will now open it up for public comment.

My name is Doug Ballard.

Um I live in District 6 in Riverside.

Uh just a comment.

I was uh fireman in the late 60s, and I mean I've heard lots of stuff, and uh and the chief had a lot of statistics, but I cannot imagine being the first engine to a house on fire with only three firemen.

That is just crazy.

I I'm sure it can be done, those guys will do whatever it takes, but that is just crazy.

In particular, to be the first engine to make a house on fire with only three guys.

So anyway, that's that's my only comment.

Would anyone else from the community like to speak on this topic?

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench.

With that, um, I'm gonna give a couple of comments.

The reasons why I ask questions ahead of time is so that staff can prepare uh responses out of courtesy to staff.

Uh council will then ask questions as we continue speaking and asking further uh questions that may not be part of the uh email.

And I think it's important for community to understand a couple of things, and I really appreciated Chief Snow mentioning that in 2009 the population was roughly 372,000 people.

The population of Wichita now is just over 400,000 people, and 2009 is significant because that was the last time the city of Wichita built a fire station.

And it's important to also note as one of the public speakers just mentioned, uh, we want to make sure that life and safety are first and foremost for both firefighters and residents, and so um the move from three personnel to four personnel is to help with making sure that we can uh rescue people but also um save buildings, homes for people.

And so I'm very appreciative of firefighters and the work that they do every single day, and this investment into a new fire station is something that this council is in favor of and we want to make sure that it is staffed properly.

Um, and so again, the questions we ask, especially from my end, are to make sure that we're fiscally responsible and what the game plan is if we don't receive a grant, because again, uh we won't know whether the city receives this grant until months from now, and so we have to start budgeting ahead of even knowing whether or not we received this grant.

And so I'm very uh grateful that uh the finance department has been working alongside the fire department with the city manager in making sure that those positions and this new build uh will be sustainable moving forward, both in the construction phase, but also as an asset in the community.

So, with that, I see no one else on the board, so I will go ahead and move to approve the resolution, authorized submission and accept the grant award of fiscal year 2025 staffing for adequate fire and emergency response grant application through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support staffing, Wichita Fire Department station number 23.

Second.

Motion second discussion, see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 70.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Assistance to firefighters grant program.

Good morning, Mayor City Council, City Manager Tammy Snow, Fire Chief.

Here today to ask for your approval for the 2025 assistant to firefighters grant.

This particular grant again is a FEMA grant through the Department of Homeland Security.

It provides funding for equipment training, wellness, and safety programs.

Um the application period closes on June 22nd, um, and they anticipate their selections by the end of September of this year.

The health Wichita Fire Department and uh many of its part partners, including council member Tuttle and the uh rest of the council has been very supportive of the Woodshaw Fire Department's health and safety initiative.

Um so we're gonna request this year.

We'd like to request funding to support that comprehensive firefighter health screenings for 27 and 28.

It's a two-year grant.

Um it would support our wellness program and our operational readiness.

It focused on early detection and preventative health measures, and one of the things that was astounding to me, to be very honest with you is when we ran in 2024, we ran the small pilot program that we did.

We had um approximately 18 participants, um, and they were we actually selected them specifically to participate in it.

They were all ages, um, all tenure, all different types of demographics, and uh the thing that was astounding to me, to be very honest with you, was 15 out of the 18 had something, had some kind of medical issue of some sort.

11 out of the 18 had skin cancer, had to see dermatologists, was well, which was not something that we had anticipated when we started the program.

We had one with stage one lung cancer that didn't even he showed no symptoms whatsoever, and it was just by um fate that he happened to be screened there with those guys at the particular time when we had one that had an eminent cardiac issue uh that had to be seen by a cardiologist within 24 hours, um, or else we'd have a line of duty death for the cardiologist.

So very revealing to me the significance of these health screens, health screening for our personnel, especially the early detection and the preventative.

When I say when I talk about the he was a 30 year tenured captain that had the stage one lung cancer, he's back working today.

So didn't have to have chemotherapy or anything.

So went in and removed it and put him back to work.

So with that, requesting authorization to apply up to $2 million.

This particular grant has one of its stipulation is based on your population, how much money you can apply for.

So we're gonna apply for the maximum if we're approved for two million dollars.

It's a 24-month, like I said, two year.

It requires a 10% local cost.

Uh so our match would be $200,000.

Um my request is that allow us to submit for the grant acceptance if we were awarded it, and approve any necessary budget uh adjustments.

And I will um on this particular grant, I also asked for health screenings through our budget option.

And what I did there was just uh emulate what we currently provide to our hazmat members, which is a very limited group.

Um those particular uh that particular screening is not as comprehensive as the health screenings that we were providing in our 2024.

So the amount that I asked for was right about uh six hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Um this two million would allow us to do those comprehensive um health screenings.

So with that, I'll stand for questions.

Thank you, Chief.

Questions for Chief.

I sent also a question to you.

Uh Councilmember Shepherd will go first.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Chief, you mentioned that we didn't did this before.

I'm curious.

We're applying for this grant now.

How did we pay for the screenings in the past?

Well, during the pilot program, um we had some partnerships with Ascension, and uh they uh they won't they they reached out and embraced it.

Um they were very helpful.

Uh we got to a point where um some of the screenings weren't being covered, it then fell on city contracts, so those people that had city insurance, it was based on the contract that ascension had with this with the city, and so it was finished being paid by the um the insurance.

Um but there's been uh I in all fairness, um, I think there was some miscommunication between Ascension and the City and the way the program would look moving forward, and so this would allow us to put this out for an RFP and obtain somebody and and uh obtain a bid on it or our bids on it, and then make a selection in regards to who would actually do the screenings, and it would be 100% transparent.

Communication would be clear.

And were there any private philanthropic efforts to help cover the cost of those screenings during the pilot program?

Um we um I know that uh our not-for-profit uh firefighter um station zero, they did cover a portion of of the um uh bills for I believe it's for for the skin screening.

Do you know approximately how much that was?

I think it was about four thousand dollars.

Okay, thank you.

Councilmember Hoheisel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh, thank you, Chief.

I appreciate your work on this particular program along with council member Tuttle.

Um, do we have any plans if this grant does not um is not accepted, is not rewarded to us.

No, like I said, I applied for it in my budget option, so I'll wait to see.

Um, but this but the but when I applied in budget office, it's not as comprehensive of a screening, but it's at least something better than what we currently have, which is zero, so it would allow for annual screenings.

Um, and it's on a kind of a rotation basis.

Uh, we do about a third of the firefighters every every three years, you know, once every three years.

So, other than that, then we'll continue to my I'll continue to beat the streets and see if I can find some partnerships.

I appreciate that.

Um, just for the record to the city manager, I would be very interested in working this into the budget if this does not pass, or if we do are not awarded this grant.

So thank you.

Councilmember Todd.

Um, Councilmember Holosil, thank you for the question.

And Chief Snowfit's okay, I might add on a little bit to your response.

Um, one of the things that we did um back in 2024 was introduce House Bill 2024, just ironically, the same number.

Um, and it was to emulate what they've done in Oklahoma.

The state of Oklahoma offers a 200 tax credit for every part-time, full-time retired volunteer firefighter in the state of Kansas to have health screenings that go beyond what their insurance may not cover or if they don't have insurance.

Um, so continuing to work with our legislators, especially the South Central Kansas delegation to see if we can get some more momentum to introduce that again so that it would be helpful not only for the city of Wichita, but then firefighters across the state.

So we'll continue to look for that revenue as well.

Um, the other thing is uh the Kansas Health Foundation graciously awarded us a 150,000 dollar grant.

Um, the funding is to help us develop a sustainable replicable model for developing a culture of wellness within the fire department.

Um, and part of that, and we're in the process now of working on developing the plan, is funding and making sure that it is sustainable.

So thank you for your support, and and I couldn't agree more.

Councilmember Shepard.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I've had the opportunity to speak with several firefighters, and I'm curious given my colleagues' comments about the 150,000 dollar KHF grant.

This is now the third time in a week I've heard that, and I've continued to hear that we're making progress.

Um, where can I learn more about this process of the strategic plan?

I'm assuming you all are building out so it can be modeled in other cities across the state, and also who are the partners who have been identified as financial considerations for gifts.

Well, the Kansas Health Foundation has their the that actual grant is to is very specific.

It's for 150,000 to actually write the blueprint.

So where are we at in that process?

In that process, right now we are um at the point in which we will get ready to select um our um staff and screening committee.

And then the staff and screening committee, once they go through, they'll fill out matrix, they'll submit that.

Once I go to go through that, we'll send it out for bids.

Um, we already have sent it out for bids, and we have six bids that have come in.

So the South the staff and screening committee will go through, they'll take a look at those six bids, they'll make a recommendation, we'll bring it back to council.

It'll go out for our it'll go out or uh uh go out for approval once it comes back for approval, then we'll put together a work committee.

Um, one of the members of the Kansas Health Foundation has put her hands up, she will serve on that just to ensure that we stay kosher and follow their guidelines.

Um, once a plan is, I mean, they'll begin their work.

So we'll have a third party that's actually gonna write it for us.

Um it's a consultation, some type of consultation um committee that'll actually ride it.

Um, and then we anticipate that sometime in 2027 we should be able to share the blueprint with everyone.

So I thank you so much for that, and that sounds like a very robust process, so I appreciate that.

So I just want to make sure the plan itself is the blueprint, it doesn't necessarily um identify specific funding partners, it may have just like a broad strategy to maybe identify who could be, but there's no airmark dollars that an entity or an organization has.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure.

No, I see no further questions from the council, and you already answered my question.

Thanks to Miss Councilmember Hoheisel.

With that, we will open it up for public comment on this item.

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench, and I want to recognize that council member Tuttle has been pivotal in this work.

Um, would you like to do the honors?

Thank you very much.

I appreciate that.

I just want to take an opportunity to thank Chief Snow and um all of the other Wichita Fire Department and um staff who have been involved in this initiative.

Also would be remiss if I didn't thank local IFF 135 President Bush has been at every time every table every time, and a true advocate for this program.

Also, as mentioned Essentia Via Christie, Kansas Health Foundation beyond the call, the fire administration, the city of Wichita um HR department, and also just other supportive community leaders who have been engaged in the work that we've done so far, and this is an opportunity for us to continue to move this work forward.

Um, Chief Snow and President Bush and I, and then also Kansas Senator Stephen Owens have presented at statewide conferences.

Um we've been can contacted by other fire departments across the nation.

So this really truly is an initiative that many people are recognizing and understand the importance of and hopefully gaining momentum, and it's just super exciting to be the leader in understanding developing a culture of wellness within our fire department.

Um it goes beyond just the cancer screenings, it also includes the decontamination process with their new fire station, sleep hygiene, all of the other things.

So I just want to thank you for your leadership and being forward-thinking on this, and best of luck with the grant.

So with that, I would I would move that the city council approve the resolution, authorize the submission and acceptance of the fiscal year 2025 AFG grant application and approve any necessary budget adjustments within fire department general fund budget.

Second motion second discussion.

See none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 70.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Fire prevention and safety grant program.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council members, city manager, Tammy Snow Fire Chief.

Um, this particular grant is the only grant that the Wichita Fire Department or all fire departments are allowed to, what I refer to as supplant.

Um it's a backfill type of grant.

It's not actually a hiring of new people.

Um so uh with that, we'll get started.

Um again, it's administered through FEMA and the Department of Home Homeland Security.

It's funding for community risk reduction, fire investigation, and fire safety programs.

Again, the application period closes on June 22nd, 2026.

Anticipated funding selection by September 30th of 2026.

And this particular grant, they uh for some reason it's always first that they review and oftentimes will receive notification, um, oftentimes early August in this one.

Um, and not quite sure why, but I think that's that's the way it's always been for the past many years.

So what so what we're requesting today is funding to support the three existing um fire lieutenant positions uh reassigned from operations to community risk reduction.

So basically, what we would do is operations as X number of personnel.

We would ask three people that are interested in coming into community risk reduction.

This is a one-year grant.

We would bring them up, and we would be then this grant provides the funding to backfill for them when they're off the floor, so we can hire constant staffers.

So it's not any additional people, it's just moving people and paying for those people to be in a different position.

Um, so there's no positions that are going to be added.

The grant funding will be used to maintain our frontline staffing and grant will support enhanced inspections, improve our compliance, and advancement of crime prevention initiatives.

So adding three more people to uh community risk reduction, like I said, it should help us with uh increasing some of our revenues for our inspection fees and for our operational fees.

Uh so we're requesting to apply up to um 514,998 dollars.

This particular grant's a five percent local cost share grant.

Um, our match is 24,524, which we believe that we can uh well, we know we we can handle that within our current budget uh by soft cost.

The reason I put the reason we put period of performance is August 31st, 2026 to August 31st, 2027.

That's tentative because we believe we'll find out in the first of August.

Um, so my recommendation then is to authorize the submission of this grant application, it uh authorize the acceptance if it's awarded and approve any necessary budget adjustments.

So, with that I'll stand for questions.

Thank you, Chief.

Questions for the chief, beginning with Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you, Chief.

It's not necessarily in direct correlation to this request, but when I saw fire prevention and safety, um earlier this week I had the chance to go out to the Wichita Fire Summer Camp and was incredibly impressed with the work that was happening there.

I was told that everything was filled up within an hour, and there's more than a hundred students.

Total cost of the program was five thousand.

My understanding a majority of that was covered by contributions, not through the fire budget.

What do we have in terms of I think it was a great recruitment tool?

I was told about the 10-year-old uh that shows up every year with his own uh bunker gear, and uh that's just an incredible recruitment tool that can be used as well.

How do we support programs like that when it comes to fire prevention and then also safety?

Um, those prediction, those particular um programs are all submitted through private donations.

We go out and solicit funding for it.

Um we've been doing many we we have a tremendous amount of support in community.

When you talk about kids and you talk about fire safety, uh people seem to open up their wallets.

So majority of those programs are all supported by that.

Um, the actual fire prevention and safety grant, we've used it for numerous things.

Um it's competition, first of all, you know, we don't always get it.

Um so we try to look at when when you take a look at the NOFO, there's usually things that they consider higher priority than other things.

So we always try to shoot for the higher priority, so that our likelihood of getting it is more likely.

But most of all of our safety programs, for example, um, really entry, the Wichita Police and Fire Foundation belonging to that has opened as reap rewards.

And just to give you a little example, we have a small amount of budget for our fire, our fire prevention uh giveaways.

You know, when you talk about the bracelets and little badges and the tattoos and the hats and those things.

We have $5,000, that's what we spent.

Well, fire pro uh the foundation has matched that this year, and then they're looking for additional fundings.

Um we have we have some of the local um businesses that support us tremendously.

Uh Walmart's always been very good to us.

Um Kansas Health Foundation's good to us, a lot of the private little uh insurance companies are good to us, but that's how we do our funding.

We won't beat the streets and find funding for it.

So if there's someone listening right now, what's the best way?

Is it going through the Wichita Police and Fire Foundation or is it directly reaching out to your department?

If if they reach out to our department, we can direct them.

Okay, fantastic.

Well, I think it was a great program.

I uh hope that you continue to get um philanthropic efforts to support it because I think it was uh incredibly impactful to see firsthand.

So thank you for your work on that.

Thank you.

Chief, um, can you talk more about uh these three lieutenants and what this will help with?

Um one of the things that I've heard from um this bench is helping move the process along, whether it's um inspection, uh can you talk about what these positions will actually achieve in outcomes?

Yeah, right now um we have all hands on deck.

So we basically have five people that go out and do all we've got over 13,000 building inspections.

Um about I can't I don't even know the exact number, I'd just be guesstimating on operations permits amongst those.

Um not all of them have to be inspected every year, but uh there was a period of time in which we forgo those for a variety of different reasons.

We got in, we got stretched, we got thinned in staffing, and so we prioritized what became important to us.

Um so now we're doing catch up.

So we have all those buildings that have to be inspected, it's all hands-on deck, so everybody from the battalion chief down, and even the fire marshal, you'll see him out there periodically on tougher ones in which uh they do inspections.

Um, the issue that that becomes it doesn't allow you to be innovative when your hands are mixed the work.

So um, and and bless their hearts to tell you the truth, they overexceed anything, any of the uh goals that I provide to them, but um they've started to um move us uh into uh the uh 21st century with technology.

Uh we started getting tablets and we put a lot of our stuff instead of doing the old paper forms.

Uh, we're able to within the last two years uh actually have tablets.

So when we go out and do inspections, we can take pictures and we can um have signatures and we can do everything electronically instead of paper.

Um that process, you know, even though that sounds really robust, it always needs to we still have gaps in it that needs to be fixed.

But like I said, when all hands are on deck, you don't have a whole bunch of time to do those.

So these three additional people are gonna um relieve some of the pressure off of the administration so they can actually take a look and analyze us, do a SWOT analysis, what what's good, what's bad, where's our gaps?

What can we do to improve ourselves?

How can we become more efficient and and uh utilize technology more instead of what we currently do, and then hopefully then after a year, we'll be in a better spot, and um we can be more efficient with the five people that we have assigned.

And last uh couple questions for the previous grants regarding this specific community risk reduction.

What were the ones that were granted?

Um the the last one that we had was to um bolster our um well, we've had two recently.

Last year we didn't get one, but the two before that, the two years or before that, the first the very first one that we got was uh for our investigation section.

Our investigation section had uh diminished, there wasn't a whole bunch of desire to belong to that section.

Um we utilized that uh grant to um provide the training, uh allow them to go get the certifications they need so that we had a waiting list of uh fire investigators uh wanting to get in, and uh that way then when somebody retired, we were able to uh move them right over.

So that was one of them, and then the last one was one similar to what we're doing right now.

It was basically to get our operation, our uh operation permits and our inspections up to speed, move us into the 21st.

That's where the tablets came in and move them from paper over to electronics came in, was the last time.

But like I said, there's still a lot of work to do there.

Thank you.

And if we do not get the safer grant, how will the city fund these community risk reduction activities?

Well, we'll continue to work with the five that we have.

We'll just remain status quo.

We just won't move, move into technology.

There's a lot of, like, for example, we got a new reporting system.

There's a lot of things that can be done with it.

Here this is just one small example.

So if we send an operations person out and they take a picture of the building, like like where the hookups are or where the fire sprinkler system is, or what the layout of the building is right now, we have nothing, they can't do anything with it.

Uh what we'd like to do is to bridge that gap where it goes on to tablets so that when it comes out over computer aid dispatch, they can look at it.

It gives it shows a layout of the building, shows where the hookups are.

There's a lot of things to be done.

Thank you, Chief Snow.

Sure.

I see no further questions from the council.

We will now open it up for public comment on this specific item.

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench with that.

Uh good luck, Chief Snow and the team on these three grants.

Uh I will gladly move to approve the resolution.

Authorized submission and accept the grant award of fiscal year 2025 fire prevention and safety grant program application through FEMA to protect the public and firefighters from fire and fire related hazards.

Second.

Motion second discussion, see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 70.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Ordinances, amending sections 510, 025, 542 010, 542 035, 56605, and 572010 of the code of the city of Wichita, and repealing section 568020 and chapter 5.5 of the Code of the City of Wichita related to petty theft, domestic battery interference with law enforcement, criminal trespass, aggravated aggressive conduct, and buying of sexual relations.

Good morning, mayor, counsel.

That was a mouthful.

Um I'm here to uh introduce a few ordinances that are really based uh because of some state statute changes that season.

Um the session is over.

Most of these laws take effect statewide on July 1st.

So here we are.

All right.

Um in the 2026 legislative session, the Kansas legislature amended a number of criminal statutes.

We uh have to amend some of them uh in the city because we cannot be less restrictive than state law.

Um, not all changes are mandatory, only some.

Uh, most of the proposed ordinance amendments are a result of the change in statutes.

The first one I'll talk about is the use of lasers against law enforcement officers.

This is not required.

Um, this is a new statute enacted in state law that a person cannot point a laser at an officer while they're engaged in official duty.

So we would like to add that to municipal ordinance.

It is a misdemeanor.

Um, so I placed it in 572, which is where our interference with law enforcement officer already exists.

It would just be a new section in that law.

The second change the legislature made this year was on petty theft.

This was actually a request last year, last session from the city of Wichita to make it easier to charge cases where a person is accused of um of possessing stolen property.

The ordinance and the state law used to say that the property was stolen by another, and that's hard when you um have some, we don't know who stole it.

This is an issue of it being you're possessing stolen property.

We're not sure who actually took it.

Um, it's just that the person knew it was stolen and possessed it.

So they changed the wording to known or should have known that the property was stolen from another instead of by another person.

So we just think it'll be easier uh to prosecute.

They also changed while they were in there.

This one was not a request of the city, but the state legislature felt very strongly that a person's vehicle is a very important part of their life, especially when it's a low cost vehicle.

People who own vehicles that are $500 usually need them very much.

And so they made it a felony uh to uh steal someone's vehicle when it's $500 uh or more.

It used to be $1,500.

For most cases, a felony theft is $1,500.

The state legislature said if it's a vehicle, then the level is only $500.

So we are asking to move both of those into city ordinance.

Really, you don't have to put that section in city ordinance.

It's just a way to give notice to people to prosecutors and police that that should be charged as a felony.

It's not that it would be charged in the city ever.

It's just it would put them on notice.

They made a small change to unlawful use of financial card in the state statute.

They added gift cards, which was just a hole in the ordinance before.

So now if someone steals your gift card and uses it, they can be charged with stealing the gift card, and they can also be charged with unlawful use of the gift card.

So it just fills in the gap.

The state uh state legislature made buying sexual relations.

That's the old the old prostitution ordinances.

It is now a felony on a first offense.

And this is a situation where there's nothing we can do about that.

We don't have a choice in the city of Wichita.

It cannot be a misdemeanor and a felony.

So this needs to be repealed because state law has deemed it a felony to buy sexual relations even on a first offense.

State legislature also made some uh increases to the penalty on a second offense domestic battery.

Uh they changed some of the wording on a first offense, but it's really basically the same, which is you can um a person doesn't have to serve actual jail time on a first offense, they have to be sentenced to 48 hours at least.

Um, but they don't have to serve it if if they're um made to do probation and uh battery intervention program.

Uh this statute is is very relies heavily on battery intervention programs, which are a great thing.

But they have now significantly increased the amount of jail time a person will spend on a second offense battery.

A second conviction used to have a five-day uh mandatory served jail time, and now it's going to increase to a 20-day confinement before you can put a person on probation.

So a 15-day increase on a second offense.

Again, that's one that we don't have a lot of wiggle room on.

It's we cannot be lower than this because it's a state law, so our municipal ordinance needs to match this 20 days.

Um and we hope you'll pass that.

We're also asking this is this one's not uh due to legislative changes this year.

Uh we had an ordinance that was aggressive conduct, and it really came about years ago when there was some aggressive panhandling happening, and the city uh passes ordinance that aggressive conduct really via panhandling is illegal.

We already had all of those laws, honestly.

We already had assault, and we have battery, we have disorderly conduct, we have all kinds of things that can be charged when there is a person who is harassing another person.

Um so we were concerned that that law, that aggressive conduct law, was focusing more on the person instead of the conduct.

Uh so we asked to repeal it back in January 2025, and this this council agreed with that and repealed it.

The problem is we made a mistake and we only repealed the title of it, and we didn't get the whole thing repealed.

So we're going back in just to fix the mistake.

We need to finish repealing the rest of the ordinance.

The title's gone, but we would like the rest of the ordinance to go.

Um this is also not a result, the criminal trespass request is not a result of state law change.

There's no change in state law statute on trespass.

Um what we are asking is to clarify in our trespass ordinance that a person cannot uh trespass upon the big ditch upon floodway uh property.

We already have some trespass signs along the big ditch to notify people.

Frankly, it's already illegal to trespass on floodway property, but the public doesn't really seem to know that, and we're hoping that passing adding this to trespass will increase the conversation, first of all.

Um, people might notice that this has been added.

If you look at the trespass ordinance, you'll see it, and we're hoping it will reduce some of the problems we're having in the big ditch.

Um, even the the banks of the big ditch, uh, people are not allowed to use motorcycles or dirt bikes or ATVs along those because it it impacts the floodway and it impacts even hiking, something as simple as hiking.

If you create paths along the big ditch, it can it can interfere with the flow of of our floodways.

Um this was an issue we had with WPD, and as I was talking about it, I learned that the attorney next door to me uh was working on the same ordinance for a Title 16 revision they were planning on doing this fall.

So I talked to Stormwater and said it might be a good idea to put it in Title V and Title 16 because when police are issuing tickets or contacting people about trespass, they're looking in Title V.

They're not going to go to Title 16.

So Stormwater agreed, and it's together we come and ask this going to Title V that people not be allowed to trespass in the big ditch or along the floodways.

So I know that's a lot.

Most of them are pretty simple.

And uh I recommend that we place the ordinance on first reading and authorize all necessary signatures, and of course, I stand open for questions.

Oh, and I have police department Captain Moses is here to answer any questions as well.

Thank you, Jan.

Questions for staff, beginning with council member Hoheisel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Jan.

Um a couple of quick questions here.

The $500 for vehicles, does that include motorbikes, bicycles, et cetera, some of these toys that we see out there as well.

No, it's funny, that's exactly what one of the legislators asked, and they didn't fix it.

It wouldn't include a toy, but it would include any kind of motor vehicle.

So it would include a motorbike, but it wouldn't include a bicep, would not include a bicycle.

Okay, like a go-kart, would it include something like a go kart as well?

I think that would be classified as a toy, although this state it's very difficult to distinguish between size of engines and um, but I think we would classify that as a toy.

Okay, I appreciate that.

Um so this also means with the buying of sexual relations, we will not be prosecuting it on the municipal level at all.

No, we will not.

Um, I as always, if the district attorney didn't take that charge and chose and if we had a situation where we thought we could prove it, um, and they chose not to take it as a felony.

We do have other ordinances we could use.

We have solicit, um, but it should go to the district attorney first who decides if they want to prosecute it as a felony.

We can never prosecute buying as a misdemeanor.

We would have to choose another ordinance.

Okay, thank you for that.

And then um while we're talking about floodways and posting additional signs, um maybe it's a little outside of this, but I do hear a lot of complaints as well along the bike path of people using you know motorbikes and and whatnot, scooters and go-karts.

Is there any way we can get some signage along the bike trail as well, just to let people know?

Or would that be a public works thing or I'd say it might be parks if it's a park property?

Um, yeah, we'll work on that signage with parks and recreation.

All right, I appreciate that.

You might also like to hear the council that we are a meeting with police department today, uh, and we are discussing how to reduce this problem we have of the mini-bikes and the dirt bikes and non-legal street vehicles everywhere.

Um so we have a meeting at one where we're discussing.

I appreciate that.

I got maybe one or two my first year, and this year it's just been I don't know, I guess with the new advance and technology, everybody has a toy that they want to.

And saw somebody running a riding lawnmower down Mount Verna not too long ago, so you gotta love it, right?

Thanks, Dan.

Appreciate it.

Jan, I have specific questions to um can we go to slide number 64 on petty theft.

Can you explain to me more specifically on stolen vehicles?

Um, I have asked for data on how many stolen vehicle cases we have per year.

Um, and they're already supposed to be felonies.

However, you shared with me some of the challenges of not being able to charge them as felonies.

Can you please explain that?

Yes.

A typical stolen vehicle case would be if there is such things as typical, but these are you go out to your driveway and your car is stolen.

And I know some people are disappointed that we usually will begin with you making a report by phone, and that's because there's no fingerprints to take.

Um, there's nothing really an officer can do other than say, yeah, it's gone.

So we ask you a lot of times we'll it we'll ask you to make a report by phone, and that uh vehicle will go into a database which says the vehicle stolen, and then we can start looking for it by flock, and uh it's not uncommon that we'll find it sometimes hours later, sometimes days later.

When they find it, they'll find a person who's driving the vehicle, but we don't know who stole the vehicle.

We know who's driving it without permission.

That's some people's opinion is that would be a stolen vehicle, that would be uh theft because you could prove that they didn't have permission.

What that person driving the car will tell the officer is they got it from another person, uh, and that's often true that when a vehicle is stolen, it will pass hands two, three, four times.

So there are times that those cases are hard to prove in front of the jury because I'm not it's not I'm not a district attorney, so I can't really answer.

I can just tell you my theory is that they're hard to prove because we don't really know who stole the vehicle, we only know who possesses it.

Um also the district attorney's office has to prove that the vehicle was stolen with the permanent intent to deprive.

And when you catch the third or fourth person driving the vehicle, we don't know if their intent was to keep that vehicle forever or if they were just using it until they passed it to the next person.

That's another thing that makes it hard to prosecute them as felonies.

So it's not uncommon that the district attorney's office will say, We're not we can't prove this, and then it'll come back to the city municipal court where we will take it.

Um we have two ordinances we can use.

We can use temporary deprivation of property, and we can also use an ordinance that we ask for a year ago, uh, that's taken a vehicle without permission.

And both of those carry a 30-day minimum jail sentence uh when you have somebody's vehicle that you're not supposed to have, it carries up to a year, but at least it carries a 30-day mandatory jail sentence.

Um so that's kind of the story on how stolen vehicles are charged in the city of Wichita.

I'm not speaking for the DA's office.

I have not been told directly why uh they may not take them.

I'm just telling you as an attorney of almost 30 years.

That's my experience on what's hard to prosecute when it comes to stolen vehicles, and that's why we end up with so many of them in municipal court.

And what's so many?

Can you please uh quantify both number of cases, whether it's cases by officers or cases in municipal court?

Um I don't have the numbers in municipal court.

I have Captain Moses behind me who's looking to see if he has any amount of numbers.

Uh I uh Captain Aaron Moses for the record, sorry.

I don't have specific numbers on which cases are charged in which court.

What I can tell you is our our most updated crime stats through May 31st so far in 2026, we've taken 774 auto theft reports.

That's down 12% compared to last year and down 19% compared to the five-year average.

Still a significant number of cases that we're working and following up on.

Uh and all of those at some point could go through prosecution in one of those jurisdictions.

You said both are down uh year over year and also the five-year average.

Correct.

Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you, Mayor.

Jan, I this doesn't change anything from this because I know that this is a requirement of state law, but given that the municipal court will no longer have jurisdiction over certain of these offenses, do we expect a delay in prosecution of these offenses if municipal court doesn't have jurisdiction over it?

Okay.

Uh Captain Air Moses again.

There it is easier for us to present cases to Jan's office and the city prosecutor's office.

They're in the same building as us.

Often we can just walk up and speak to them about a case and get a case charged in the same day.

Uh the district attorney's office manages case charging for the entire county.

So they have a different process that we follow.

Uh if a suspect is in custody on a felony, then we have 72 hours to present that case.

That will remain the same.

If a suspect is out of custody or we identify them and we have not arrested them yet, there is sometimes a delay in getting that case presented to the to the district attorney's office to be charged.

Okay.

Thank you for the clarification.

Appreciate it.

I'd also add that I don't this $500 is not going to make any change to really anything.

Um the car when I was a kid that was $500, uh, is now $1,500.

There are very few vehicles if they're running that are worth less than $1,500.

So I don't think it's really gonna make much of a I don't know if there's a fear of pushing a lot of maybe things that used to be municipal court number wise to the county court.

Um but if that works.

Thank you.

Councilmember Hoheisel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um sorry, I the discussion kind of um stirred up a question in me um about car theft now.

There may or may not be a council member who may or may not in his youth have borrowed you know a family member's car without them knowing long, long, long, long time ago.

Um so do what the owner of the car have the ability to not prosecute, for example, if it is like somebody's son took the car without them knowing.

I appreciate that purely hypothetical.

So of course, I understand Council Member Shepard.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I just want to make sure I'm understanding this correctly.

And I know again, as Vice Mayor Glasscock said that and you put it very well that this is above us now, really, in terms of how they're being charged, but it will be a felony offense, right?

For that $500 vehicle.

Yes, it is.

Okay.

So that that I know we don't have anything to do with that.

That's taking place at the state legislature.

Is that correct?

Yes.

Very concerning.

Um, a felony can change the trajectory of someone's life.

And uh really hope that as we look at having conversations with legislators throughout the next year or so that we look at restorative justice and how we can you know ensure that we are holding people accountable while also giving them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and not uh putting something on them for the rest of their life that makes it very difficult for them to have access to a good paying job and education and financial aid and all of that.

So I just wanted to name that out loud.

And then I also wanted to clarify that for the domestic battery piece, you said the minimum is 20 days, but could the local municipality do more than 20 days if we felt that that was appropriate?

Yes.

Okay.

Um, Captain Moses, in regards to domestic violence, have we seen an uptick in domestic violence locally?

Let me pull up the most up-to-date information.

While that's happening, can we have slide number 67?

Uh so looking at our I'm just gonna give you one crime category, our domestic violence-related aggravated assault cases.

We've seen a seven percent increase in that this year compared to last year, and a six percent increase in that uh this year compared to the five-year average.

So uh those are felony cases, not these cases, but uh I would not be surprised if the trend at the misdemeanor level uh mirrors that I will say just through research, we know that uh someone who is a survivor of domestic violence is more likely to be uh re-victimized.

So enhanced penalties for a second convention conviction is certainly something that we that we support.

I completely agree with you in uh looking at the research and seeing that we have seen an uptick in domestic violence, and I think there have been a couple of cases, unfortunately, that have ended in a homicide as a result of that.

I would ask the council to consider what we can do to enhance that um and and really making sure that we are holding people accountable who violate the sanctity of of someone in a relationship.

I feel very passionate about that.

If I could may I say something about that?

Um I think when you make too high of a mandatory, um, it doesn't allow the judge to compare case to case.

Um hitting someone with a subway sandwich is the same charge as punching someone in the face.

And even if it's the second time that you push someone or hit them with a subway sandwich, 20 days is a lot, and that is going, and you won't have victims coming forward because they don't want their person necessarily go to jail.

Now, in the cases that are severe that are punches, you have judges who in this court are very good at domestic violence, and who will give above the mandatory minimum if it is if it's deserved, if it's a a bad history on a person, maybe they don't have the priors, but they have prior arrests, or if it was a particularly vicious attack.

Um they're experts and they do uh I I feel like in my years here, they do a good job of giving more than the mandatory minimum.

These mandatory minimums are are going to increase your trials, which is harder on victims.

They will increase your appeals, which are harder on victims.

I support it.

It's but it's gonna be difficult.

And I would just say, let's uh our preference would be to wait to see how this 20 days goes before we add more mandatory jail time.

Um, because this is going this is quite a jump.

Five days to 20 days is a pretty big leap.

Council member Hoheisal.

Thank you, Mayor.

And this isn't necessarily the time for discussion, but well, we have Jane here.

I'd like her to chat a little more.

She inferred on the batterers intervention program earlier.

And one of the stats that's not lost on me is if somebody's reaching out having been battered in a relationship, the likelihood is that they've been abused at least eight times before they reach out.

Um could you talk a little bit about those programs?

I know there's like a gold standard that has some pretty good results because a lot of people who are batterers grew up in a household where that was commonplace as well.

So just maybe touch on that and where we could maybe improve on that as well.

Well, we started, we had just anger management that we offered.

It was one day, 13 weeks or 26 weeks.

The sad thing is it wasn't really ever anger management, it was always batter intervention treatment, but we had to call it anger management because it made batterers mad uh to call it batter intervention.

So we called it anger management.

Um we then, as a state decided that 13 weeks wasn't enough, that it probably needed to be at least 26 weeks.

So that's when they uh came up with an official program of batter intervention program where the person gets an evaluation.

If you're convicted of a battery, unless there is an extenuating circumstance on the type of battery, you'll get a batter intervention program, which means you're gonna have at least 26 weeks of not anger management, but relationship uh management and temper management and all of those things, but it's it's so much more than an anger management program.

Uh so that's the gold standard, and that we offer 26 weeks.

We wish it was longer, but frankly, people cannot afford it.

It that's the one negative about the battery intervention program is the cost, and then we have a lot of people who are not succeeding on probation because it is so expensive to get into and do.

Now, there are some programs that are helping with that, um, and we would never go backwards on the 26th week.

We believe in that.

I think someday we might find that more is necessary, but that's kind of where we are on it.

Yeah, and another barrier is not not a lot of people complete, maybe due to the cost and um when they have to meet and whatnot.

Um, also we're looking at include, I believe we have a study out looking at including um battery and domestic violence with the uh child advocacy center, potentially bringing some services along with the child advocacy center as well.

So I just wanted to put that out there as well.

That way it's on all our radar as we um work through funding some of these programs.

All right, thanks, Jan.

I'm gonna ask one quick follow-up to that.

You said expensive.

What is the actual price?

Oh, that's a good question.

I don't know what the price do you imagine?

I don't I don't know what the price is anymore.

Could we get that as a council?

Um, and then what organizations so there's a obviously a price for the individual to pay.

Sometimes there those costs may be covered by say an organization, a nonprofit that's willing to uh cover the cost.

Can you talk also share with us which organizations have helped with covering that?

I don't think an organization does that.

I think I've seen in district court that there is some relief for the batter intervention.

I think in municipal court, the last time I checked, I don't prosecute municipal court anymore.

I just do the appeals in district court, but I think in municipal court you have to cover your own BIP.

Um, but I'll definitely I can look into that for you and let everybody know.

Thank you.

Councilmember Shepard.

Thank you so much.

Um I'm curious the the intervention program which you referred to, which was 26 weeks.

Is that for the individual who has been accused and or has been found convicted of the crime of domestic battery?

Yes.

And do we provide any support for the survivor?

We provide advocates.

Uh we uh have there's a state fund if they have any kind of bills that are due to them.

Our advocates will help uh link them with that program.

We help them, we teach them about programs like Vine, which is if their offender goes to jail, there's a program where they can get on a list so they'll be notified if the person is released.

Umly our component is education through our advocates.

Uh and that that would probably be about it for municipal.

Although I'm sorry, also the police department has a set of advocates as well for domestic violence.

Perfect.

I would love to set a follow-up with you all this up next week to learn more about the resources that are available and what I can be doing to spread that information.

But I'm reminded just this past weekend, I think Friday, we were a couple of us were at the Child Start Gala, and they told a very powerful story about an individual who needed some help, and one of our council members was able to connect the lead of that agency to some support and resources that eventually allowed that survivor to flee their abuser.

And I just kept thinking throughout the weekend what more could be done to support that survivor outside of getting them out of that dangerous situation, which is the number one priority.

But having worked alongside survivors in the past, I know that it's an ongoing process, right?

To heal holistically to be able to show up in the community well and not live in fear.

And so I would love to figure out how we or I can be supportive in making sure that we have the resources available, not just for the individual who committed the crime, but for the survivor as well.

I'd love to discuss that.

One of our one of our biggest uh issues is that it's hard to get people to come to court, and it's the ones who are the most abused that are the are in the most danger that are the most difficult to get to court, and getting them to court is is the way you get cases prosecuted.

Absolutely this balance.

So my question to you is there a space where there was an instance where I was working with the survivor with Kansas Legal Services.

Do we make it publicly known that they don't have to talk about the details of their case in a large setting?

Are they granted the opportunity to go into a private room?

There was one particular situation where the survivor felt uncomfortable because when you're going into the courtroom, right?

You're there with everyone who's there for their court hearing.

And it can be very troubling to hear the case read out loud in a room full of strangers, and they then know that you're there because you have been involved in an incident for domestic violence.

So how are we handling that?

We don't make them go into the courtroom initially.

Um, if they are frightened, uh, we have rooms that we can have them sit in so they're not in the middle of everybody.

But it does take them coming to us probably to tell us that.

Otherwise, they're expected to appear in court.

Now, when it comes to trial, it's an open trial.

Uh and we can make a request to a judge to be in private, but it's rarely that it would be um granted.

Um, the offender always has a right to hear the testimony of of the survivor.

Um, so there's not a lot we can do about that.

But the good news is by the time you're having a trial in municipal court, most of the people are gone.

So it's it's not great for them because it's still their offender, but you don't have this big audience uh because you do the trials at the end of the docket when the rest of the group is gone.

So we do acknowledge that and try to keep them separate if that's something that would help them.

I would love to, as a final follow-up mayor, I would love to have a discussion about that as well.

I know for preliminary hearings in the county uh or in the district court, um, it's often done virtually uh for efficiency purposes, but also I can see that being beneficial in this situation as well, where the accused are still able to hear what's being said in the testimony, but also provides that level of security for the survivor.

So more to come.

Thank you.

Thanks.

I see Nathan here.

I think he might have some information to provide.

So I heard a few questions first off, Nathan Emory Court Administrator for the record.

Uh heard a few questions.

Um question was uh how uh are we seeing increases in domestic violence uh within the municipal court?

It's been fairly steady.

So we've seen in 2023 6800 cases filed in 2024, 6800 cases filed, and in 2025, 600 cases filed.

Uh, there was a question about who pays for BIP.

Uh, most of the time it is uh the offender.

However, we do have a uh the day reporting center, and when people go in to the day reporting center, there's a nexus to substance abuse.

Uh, but there is the opportunity to get BIP for free there, and so that's something that really uh reduces the barriers uh to success and access to BIP for those individuals.

What's the price for that for BIP again?

I don't know the price for a BIP right off.

So they're actually I don't think that there is an a mandated price by the AG's office because BIP is an AG's office uh uh programmed program.

I know that was programmed twice.

Um but it's done by private providers, and so I think there is competition in the market as far as pricing, and so you know they're all around the same amount, but I don't think there's a standardized amount.

If you can find out for us how much that is, we just are curious um and thank you for providing that free option.

Um you said a day reporting if they're uh also utilizing substance abuse counseling.

BIP can be for free for that individual.

So thank you for sharing that information.

I see no other council members who would like to make comments or ask questions.

With that, we will now open it up for public comment regarding these specific items.

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench.

Uh, with that, um we asked one question during Friday's agenda review uh regarding the criminal trespass portion, and I asked a question and I forgot to ask it during our first round, but that is um this is in particular to the big ditch, but we have seen encampments on the Arkansas River on the actual river, um, what when the uh water levels have been low, whether in downtown or near Chapin Park in District 3.

Um, are those also illegal?

It is illegal to camp.

Uh so it would be captured by our camping ordinance if there's ever um a lot of the Arkansas River or Kansas, sorry, um from Missouri.

A lot of the Arkansas River is covered in our parks uh property, so it would also be Title IX that you can't remain in park after hours.

So those are the two places it would it would be difficult to charge it other than those two ways without adding it specifically to the ordinance.

Thank you, Jan.

I see no other comments.

With that, I will move to approve the proposed ordinances motion second further discussion.

See none, madam clerk.

Please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Ordinances amending chapter 1151 and section 1138080 of the code of the city of Wichita relating to the operation of golf carts.

Good morning, Mayor City Council Sharon DeGriff with Law Department.

Um, I'm here this morning, much like Ms.

German, um, to talk about some legislative changes during this last session.

Um the legislature uh amended state statutes that would allow municipalities to enact ordinances which would allow for the operation of golf carts on the city sidewalks.

Um the amendments presented would allow the operation of golf carts on sidewalks within golf course communities and within a one-mile radius of golf course communities or golf courses.

Um the ordinance defines both golf courses and golf course communities.

There is an exception, or it does not include miniature golf or just driving ranges, it has to be a what I would consider to be a real golf course golf course.

Um golf carts are required to yield to all pedestrians and any other sidewalk users, um, like other provisions for operation on the street.

Umperators must be 16 with a valid unrestricted license, and the golf carts must be insured.

Um staff's recommendation that the council place the ordinance on first reading and authorize all necessary signatures.

And I would stand for any questions.

Are there any questions from the council?

Seeing none, we'll go to public comment.

Are there any questions from the public?

Okay, we will bring it back to the bench.

Is there a motion?

Yes, Councilman Glasscock.

Vice Mayor Glascock.

Um I think this is a great example of where citizens do have a say.

Uh citizens brought us attention, and we could not drive golf courts on golf carts on streets under 30 miles an hour.

And then uh citizens also brought us the uh the issue of not driving golf carts being able to get to the golf course.

Um it's a great example of where local residents do have a say and can get something done.

I'd also like to thank the state of Kansas for allowing local governments to make rules for their own communities.

So this is a classic example of that.

It also allows our police officers to focus on major issues and crimes instead of policing golf carts.

Um so I think I think it's good.

So I would like to thank uh Sharon and staff for their work on this.

It's been quite a quite a long time, I think, but uh we got through it.

So I appreciate that.

With that, I'd like to make the recommended action and place the ordinance on the first reading and authorize and necessary signatures.

I'll second.

I know we have further comments too.

Motion second discussion.

I see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 61.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Ordinances creating section 1104 282, 1138400, 1138410, and amending sections 1124020 and 116200 of the code of the city of Wichita related to the use of mobile telephones in road construction area.

Good morning, Sharon Dickgraff.

As background again, the legislature was busy this session, and it uh amended ordinances that prohibit the use of cell phones in road construction and school zones, um, and amended statutes allowing certain color of lights to be displayed in construction areas or maintenance vehicles when there is active construction work occurring.

Um the ordinance amendments um to be consistent with state law, and again, as Jan said, we can be more restrictive, but we cannot be less restrictive, um, prohibit the use of cell phones or their handheld devices in road construction areas in school zones.

Um, the penalty is an infraction, um, it's a payable fine that the municipal court judge would set.

Um, additionally, ordinance amendments um allow for construction vehicles to display amber, white, or green lights when workers are present.

Um, the cell phone use uh in those areas, it can be used if it is in a hands-free device mode.

Um, but if you are looking at your phone, have the phone in your hand, um, there's a presumption that you were utilizing the phone and would be in violation of the ordinance.

Uh, recommendations is that the ordinance be placed on first reading and authorize all necessary signatures, and I would stand for any questions.

Thank you, Sharon.

Questions for staff, beginning with council member Hoheisel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Uh Sharon, does this is this only for drivers?

Or is this like workers in a construction zone as well, checking their text messages or whatnot?

Would be just for the drivers in the vehicle.

Thank you for clarifying.

Question, Sharon.

I actually wanted to know this applies to I think a lot of um ordinances within the city, but must an officer observe.

So even if a citizen observed that they couldn't do anything about it, it must be an officer that observes that.

Is that accurate?

Mayor Captain Aaron Roses for the record.

Citizens can certainly call us to give us information that they see someone violating these laws, but on traffic infractions on traffic citations, the officer is listed as the complaining witness.

Uh, so the officer would need to witness the violation to issue the citation.

A follow-up question to that, and it really was a question to the previous ordinance, not the uh golf cart, but previously.

Um, does that also mean panhandling has to be observed by the officer, not by regular citizens?

Uh again, I think based on the conversation we had about panhandling, we're sort of zooming out from panhandling and addressing it through other city ordinances.

Uh, but yes, the officer is the complaining witness.

Now, a citizen on certain misdemeanors can be a complaining witness and say, I saw this, they can fill out what's called a misdemeanor affidavit, swearing to what they witnessed.

Um we would not file charges simply on one witness saying I saw a thing.

We would need some other evidence to cooperate what that witness said, but we do charge cases in municipal court um based on activity that we did not witness related to like misdemeanor assaults, trespassing, things like that.

It just requires some additional steps.

So would, for instance, if a driver had uh a camera on their vehicle and they were able to capture it with time stamp, would that be admissible as supporting evidence?

So I would defer that question to the city prosecutor office as far as what they would take to charge a case, but it is something that we would certainly consider.

Again, we would we're zooming out a little bit from just the act of panhandling, the act of standing on the street with a sign uh or standing on the curb with a sign.

But if we had a driver, hypothetically, who called 911 and said I was assaulted by this person and provided us with video of that assault, and then they wanted to fill out a misdemeanor affidavit saying this is what they did to assault me, and I want to press charges, and I agree to testify in court.

We would absolutely we could take law enforcement action on that, arrest the person then present the case to the city prosecutor's office to determine if they wanted to charge it in municipal court.

Do you have anything to add that generally as long as there's something to cooperate what the person saw, um that would be a charge that would meet the filing criteria?

So if I say I saw the mayor on the corner asking for two dollars, and I have a video in my car that shows that action, that would be something that we would most likely go ahead and file charges on.

What about um quick question?

Sorry, this is a little off topic, but um if someone is providing money to the individual panhandling, is that legal or illegal?

Depends upon where it occurs.

We have certain intersections that they can't do that at, and we also have certain actions of once they step into the street, and it's not necessarily the handing of the money, it's it's the being in the street and causing some sort of um disturbance that is really the issue.

So it's not that I'm handing you money, I'm handing you anything, and I'm stepping off the curb or the center median, and once I step in the street, then that's a violation.

Yeah, from the police department perspective, we focus on the impediment of traffic because again, that isn't sort of independent violation, um, zooming out of just the act of standing on the corner with a sign, right?

Uh, we want to be very careful that we we protect and understand people's First Amendment rights to stand on the side of the street with a sign that says pretty much anything.

Um so we would look at the impediment of traffic in that case.

If if that act of the person walking out in the street impeded the flow of traffic, we would take action probably on that.

Sorry, to get us back on to this topic in particular to cell phone usage.

Um, so again, if people have video evidence of, say, an individual texting while driving on a construction zone, that can be used as a you could submit a misdemeanor affidavit on it.

We do not typically charge traffic infractions based on someone else's video.

Uh that is something that would need to be witnessed by an officer.

Uh we have previously had programs related to parking where people could take photos of cars that were legal illegally parked, submit those photos, and we would issue citations later.

Um the challenge with what you're describing is you're saying there's a video of a vehicle with a person who's on their phone.

Uh that does not mean the registered owner of the vehicle is the person who's driving the vehicle committing the infraction.

So there are additional steps that we would need to take to identify who was actually driving the vehicle committing that infraction to issue the citation.

Um candidly, I don't know that that's a wise use of our limited resources uh in the department, but we all we certainly have um special assignments, our traffic unit focuses on construction areas uh where when we witness these violations, contact the driver, identify who they are, that we would issue a citation.

Thank you.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Yes, so this is only particular to an officer witnessing someone utilizing their phone in this road construction area, not regular citizens who are witness it and call 911 and say we saw someone doing this.

Correct.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Shepard.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

I appreciate the conversation and the clarification.

I know when um I engage with WPD on particularly the noise that a lot of folks are complaining about across the city.

Um there was a department that are that shall remain nameless that launched a hear something say something, which did exactly what you propose.

It mobilized citizens to report and record, and it was quite frankly a disaster.

And so I would recommend that we just don't promote citizens recording things with their videos.

I think it can maybe escalate some situations that might turn out to be even more of a problem for uh our law enforcement in city.

Um I particularly was interested in understanding something that I completely forgot.

So must not have been that urgent.

Thank you.

I see no further questions from the council.

We will now open it up for public comment on this item.

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench.

With that, I will move to approve the proposed ordinances and authorize all necessary signatures.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

South Lake Sports Complex Lease.

Good morning, Mayor and Council Reggie Davidson Woodparts and Rec.

Here today to talk with you about the South Lakes Lease Agreement that we were working with the Wichita Rugby Foundation.

Background on this to Wichita Rugby Foundation WRF is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2000.

Supports local rugby teams, men's, women's high school, and middle school, and you flag.

Harrison Park has been a longstoning partnership with the City of Wichita.

Harrison is the Wichita's home for rugby.

And they install irrigation system along with other improvements, which improves the fields playability for our athletes.

They provide routine maintenance, field repair, and irrigation maintenance.

Analysis of the process that we went through.

We issued an RFP proposals on January 29th of 2025 and received one response from WRF.

The staff greening and selection committee reviewed the proposals on February 13th of 2025 and recommended entering into contract negotiations.

Through that process, we uh landed with a 15-year initial term lease plus 15 uh three 15-year renewal options.

Uh this lease premises will include uh three southeast fields, uh football fields that are currently there in place, additional six acres uh space south of the fields, and we presented it to the park board of commissioners who approved the lease on June 8, 2026.

And to the right, you'll see a diagram there specifying those locations that they will be making the improvements to for rugby.

So a little analysis on this.

There's two phases of this project that we're working with uh WRF on.

Uh the first phase is uh is focus on upgrades that enable media rugby play on the three existing fields, uh permanent uh rugby goalposts, fencing, uh storage container, seating and bleachers, lighters and scoreboards with the necessary electrical work, uh preparation for phase two improvements and anticipated to be completed within the first five years of the lease.

Uh phase two will transition into a new youth uh size field, added parking, a new well, uh shade shelter, as well as a new facility on site that will include indoor practice field featuring artificial turf locker rooms, concessions, office, and restrooms uh scheduled based on fundraising when that next phase will be completed.

The uh financial considerations for the rent for the space will be 720 per year, increasing $50 every five years.

Uh, all of the costs for improvements will be the responsibility of WFR, including cost for new uh utility lines, uh utility uh bills in phase two, parking rec will pay for the operating budget until we reach phase two and phase two and beyond.

Uh we will re-evaluate those responsibilities.

Legal considerations and the uh recommendation.

Uh law department has reviewed and approved the lease agreement as to form.

It is recommended that city council approve the lease agreement and authorize the necessary signatures.

And I'll stand for any questions.

And I do have representative from uh WRF does here as well.

Thank you very much, Reggie.

Questions for staff or for the applicant.

I'll just ask the applicant since the applicant or uh Wichita Rugby Foundation is here.

Talk about the sport and the rise in uh popularity uh and participation and why this is an investment you would like to make into the cities to the city of Wichita for citizens of our community.

Good morning, uh Mayor Wu and Council members, uh City Manager.

Uh we appreciate uh Reggie Davidson, the Wichita Park and Recreation staff that's worked with us to get this far.

Um rugby has been a passion of the three of us standing here for quite some time.

The dream of having a facility where we could develop um basically a club and a participation within the community is a long-term goal of ours.

And so thank you for that.

Um rugby in general is uh international sport.

Uh within Wichita, we we formed here in 1973, and um our first high school program was roughly in 2008.

Um, our youth program.

We've been working on that for over a decade.

Um so within the United States, the the rugby in general is a growth sport.

Um youth programs, girls, men, women, um, and so on, are now participating in greater numbers than ever before.

And so we want to become a regional and national um venue for that.

Um, we'd also like to host international um clubs and teams that might come into um into the region.

So um, if there's any questions regarding that, um, we'd be happy to answer those.

Um, I'm here with uh Keith Sharp, uh president of the Wichita Rugby Foundation of David Ferris, and if there's any questions.

Thank you again for the investment into this sport and an asset for community members, especially in Southwest Wichita.

This is in district number four.

Um, and I know that uh Vice Mayor Glasscock is very involved with the amenities that happen in his district.

And one of the things that I really appreciated about this is this is truly a partnership, um, an investment by your organization to provide additional amenities and assets on a city property uh that everyone could enjoy.

So this is a win-win.

Um, I want to say thank you to Vice Mayor Glasscock because it was his reallocation of CIP dollars that then went into helping with homelessness services in the community.

That then there was a vacancy of what would happen at South Lakes.

And this is truly a win-win.

And so I see this as community partners coming to the table and saying we want to also make an investment.

And so thank you to your organization and to your uh athletes for wanting to invest in South Lakes.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

With that, I see no questions from this bench.

With that, we'll open it up for public comment if anyone from the public who would like to speak on this item.

I see none.

I'll bring it back to the bench.

Again, this resides in district number four, Vice Mayor Glascock.

Mayor, thank you.

Thank you for your comments as well.

I know one of the first votes, as you mentioned, on this council's reallocation of money from the pickleball complex in South Lakes to uh fund the multi-agency center, and it was looking for the right uh tenant to come and utilize this facility, and I believe that you are the right tenant for this, and I think the RFP process I know is a long time coming.

Uh it was a slower process than I think uh we all expected, but I'm glad that we got to this point as well.

I still need to make it out to a match uh sometime, so I'm hoping to do that this next season.

And as a kid, I remember playing at SCSA soccer fields out there, and this is just a great reuse of the facility, a great repurposing of the facility, and I'm glad that your vision is starting to come to life in this part of the community.

I envision uh the future of South Lakes to be a unique sports complex and a emerging sports complex.

And I think this is just the first of hopefully uh many other um activations of the site as well.

And so, seeing that none of my colleagues are on the board to speak, I will uh make a motion that we approve the lease agreement and authorize the necessary signatures.

Second motion, second further discussion.

I see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll motion passes 7-0.

Thank you again.

And Reggie, thank you also for providing another sport uh a place to play, and that is cricket at Dr.

Glen Dye Park.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Zone 2026-5 with con 2026-29 zone change requests in the city from limited commercial to limited industrial with con 2026-29 for wrecking and salvage yard, generally located on the northwest corner of the South Broadway and East Mount Vernon Street at 1963 South Broadway Avenue.

Good morning.

Scott Weddle from the planning department here to present this item.

So, as you heard, the applicant is requesting approval of a zone change from LC limited commercial to LI Limited Industrial.

They're also asking for a conditional use to allow wrecking and salvage yard at the location.

And then third, they're asking for a waiver of the unified zoning code supplementary use regulations that would a prohibit wrecking and salvage yard from being located along an arterial roadway, and B require a fence or wall around the the proposed wrecking and salvage use.

This item is being heard today because the DAB and planning commission recommendations are different about the request.

In 2025, the applicant received two notices of violations from the city for storing and dismantling used tires on the property without having the necessary zoning in place.

In terms of the property, subject site, as you can see here, is located to the at the northwest corner of Broadway and Mount Vernon.

The site is approximately 0.18 acres in size, consists of one ownership parcel, and is developed with a retail commercial building constructed in 1950 and in use as a tire shop.

In terms of context, property to the north is zoned LC and developed with a commercial building and ancillary parking.

Property to the south across East Mount Vernon Street is developed with an auto sales lot and in use for vehicle and equipment sales outdoor.

Property to the east across South Broadway is zoned limited commercial and developed with a retail commercial building.

Property to the west is zoned SF5, single family residential and developed with a single family residence.

And there are no industrial uses within the immediate vicinity of the site.

In terms of the staff report, the staff report provides information about definitions, screening, landscaping, parking, policies, and plans.

In terms of review, on March 26th, the planning commission held a public hearing and ultimately deferred the item to their April 23rd meeting in order to allow the tenant to attend the hearing and speak in depth about the business operations.

At that meeting on March 26th, one member of the public spoke in opposition to the zone change and conditional use request with concerns that it was in direct conflict with the goals and objectives of the South Central Neighborhood Plan.

At that same meeting, the owner of the property was present to answer questions.

On April 23rd, the planning commission deferred the item to their May 14th meeting in order to allow the tenant to speak with the planning staff to better understand the potential conditions of approval.

One member of the public was at that meeting and spoke in opposition to the application with concerns that wrecking and salvage yard will run with the land and that the development application signs were not posted in accordance with the MAPC policy.

At that meeting, the tenant was available and present to answer questions.

On May 14th, the Planning Commission ultimately recommended approval of the requested zone change with a protective overlay, as well as requested conditional use with a waiver of supplementary use regulation number one, which is the one that prohibits locating wrecking and salvage along an arterial roadway.

In their findings, the planning commissioners determined that the requested zone change and conditional use would not have a detrimental effect on the neighbors based on proposed improvements, the site plan that was submitted, and other conditions associated with the recommended zoning approvals.

The MAPC commissioners also indicated that there is a community support for the request.

The Planning Commission recommended protective overlay number 484 and recommended conditions of approval, which are listed in the staff report.

On May 6th, so kind of in the middle of the MAPC meetings, on May 6th, the district advisory board reviewed this case and recommended denial of the zone change request, and that vote was 8 to 1.

In support and prior to the motion, board members expressed concerns that the requested zone change and conditional use were not in conformance with adopted plans, including the community investments plan, the places for people plan and South Central Plan.

In addition, the discussion included how the tenant could get into compliance without changing the zoning, the definition of wrecking and salvage for this particular business and how quickly the applicant could get into compliance.

In terms of protest, no protests were received for this case.

Therefore, the zone change request can be approved with a simple majority vote or four of seven votes.

So the recommended action.

It is recommended that the city council take the following action.

Adopt the findings of the MAPC, approve the requested zone change with protective overlay, place the ordinance on the first reading, instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance after approval on the second reading.

In addition, as part of the recommended action, it's also recommended that the council approve the conditional use request with MAPC recommended conditions listed in the staff report.

Authorize the necessary signatures and instruct the city clerk to publish a resolution.

And then the third part, which is recommended by the planning commission, is to approve the waiver of supplementary use regulation number one, which prohibits wrecking and salvage yard abutting an arterial street.

Alternatives include the following: you can override the planning commission, adopt alternative findings, and deny the zone change request and zoning actions that requires five of seven votes because it's an override.

Or as always, you can return the case to the planning commission for additional consideration, which would just take a simple majority.

And just a note about the process that the city council policy is at public hearing for planning agenda items occurs at the planning commission meeting, and the city council typically does not receive public comments on zoning items.

So with that, I'll take you through some of the images and graphics.

Here's the aerial showing the location.

Here's a zoning map showing that it is currently zoned limited commercial.

Here's the map from the comprehensive plan showing that it's recommended for commercial use.

Here's the map from the South Central Neighborhood Plan.

Again, identifying that it's recommended for commercial use.

Here's the notification and protest map.

No protests were submitted against the application.

Here's a preliminary site plan that was submitted by the applicant.

If it is approved, they will be required to submit an updated site plan.

Here are photos of the site and the surrounding area.

This is looking immediately to the east.

Thank you, Scott.

Questions for staff.

Does that mean that the tire shop will be gone then?

Um they would not be allowed to do what they're currently doing, which is uh you reusing uh reselling used tires and also dismantling tires.

So that portion of their business uh would not be allowed to uh operate there.

Thank you.

This is in uh council member Hoheisel's district.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, this was quite a case to parse through.

Um the applicant has moved in to a building that hadn't been unused for the longest time.

Um, opened up a business that they also have a number of other locations throughout, and it does provide a resource for a lot of people along the corridor who might need it.

Um, the concerns of the DAB and of the neighborhood is that if you go along the Broadway corridor, all you see are salvage yards, um car lots, uh, and motels and hotels.

So they they want something a little different.

Um, I don't think they necessarily um disapproved of this particular business.

I think the concern that they have is rezoning and what that might open the door to further down the road.

Um, so that this again, this one is very difficult.

You got to balance property rights with neighborhood rights.

Um, I do think that uh we came up with a pretty good compromise middle of the road that would limit this to essentially the zoning that it is applicable to now and just this exact type of business that can go there.

So it will not be open for salvage yards and whatnot in the future.

It would be exactly this type of business.

Um, and also addressing some of the neighborhood's concerns with uh the current business model that's out there as well.

Um so I probably have to take two or three breaths to read this motion.

Uh please follow along if you can.

Um I move to override the MAPC, adopt the findings of the MAPC with modifications, approve the requested zone change to limited industrial with a modified protective overlay number 484.

Place the ordinance on first reading, instruct the city clerk to publish ordinance after approval on the second reading, approve the conditional use request with the MAPC recommended conditions listed on the staff report plus modifications, authorize the necessary signatures, instruct the city clerk to publish the resolution and approve the waiver of supplement of supplementary use regulation number one as defined in section 3D 6E of the unified zoning code.

My motion includes a modified protective overlay.

The protective overlay would state the following all limited commercial LC district by right users shall be permitted on the site plus wrecking salvage yard subject to a conditional use approval.

My motion includes all of the conditional use conditions and the waiver recommended by the MAPC for conditional use.

Plus the following condition number one is it modified to state wrecking salvage shall be limited to tire storage, sales, and limited processing for both sales and disposal off-site.

An additional condition is added that states the applicant shall submit a used tire processing plan that identifies how any used tires will be processed for sale and disposal off-site.

The tire, the used tire processing plan must be submitted for review and approval by the planning department within 30 days of approval of the conditional use by the city council.

Any appeal of the planning department decision would be to the MAPC.

Any modification of used tire processing plan would be used as an administrative adjustment.

In support of this motion, I offer the following findings.

The modified versions of the protective overlay and conditional use conditions will help reduce potential detrimental effects to nearby properties.

The waivers will achieve a better balance between the regulations on the property owner and benefits to the community.

I will second maybe a few questions for so I saw but I saw Council Member Tuttle.

Council member Tuttle.

Can you repeat that?

No, just no.

May Councilmember Hullheisel may I ask you.

Could you just summarize kind of in, you know, we're talking at the mailbox kind of language.

I tried to keep up, but in what is it that that is in summary?

What are you proposing?

Uh Scott can back me up on this, but essentially it will remain the current um zoning classification.

It will be changed to limited industrial, but only used tire store that disposal tires in a particular way will be the limited industrial business that would be allowed there.

Thank you very much.

I appreciate that.

Vice Mayor Glascock.

So the follow-up to that that I have is that the current use is going to be permissible.

And so let's say they sell it.

What is permissible in the future?

Obviously, not maybe a car lot or something else in the future, but what are the other uses that could be remissable aside from just the current use?

Commercial and a used tire store with the current model.

So it could still be commercial or the used tire store with the current modifications.

Yes.

That's second.

And one follow-up question.

Um, the current property owner with the current business model.

Um, and you said this was a compromise.

Was this something that the property owner also understood would only limit them to do what they currently do and nothing else?

Uh there have been some communication issues.

The tenant is the one who's been pushing this as opposed to the property owner.

So it's two different lines of communication that we've had to have with uh these individuals.

The tenant is the tire store.

Yeah.

And they want to continue operating on this South Broadway location as a business, and they will now be they can continue operating as is.

And screening will be required as well.

Okay.

So and um has the applicant talked to neighbors in the area.

I believe so.

They indicated that they did.

Okay, thank you.

With that, we have a motion and a second.

Any further discussion?

I see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Zone 2026-4 zone change requests in the city from single family residential district to two-family residential residential district to allow a two-family dwelling, generally located on the west side of North Clara Avenue.

Correction, North Clara Street, and 300 feet north of West St.

Louis Avenue at 525 North Clara Street.

Scott Waitel again from the planning department.

So, as you heard, the applicant is requesting approval of a zone change from SF5 to TF3.

The item is being heard today because the district advisory board and the planning commission recommendations for approval are different.

In terms of the request, the requested TF3 zoning would allow one duplex, two dwelling units to be constructed on the site.

Based on the size of the subject site, the owner could split the site into two separate parcels and develop one duplex on each parcel for a total of four dwelling units.

In terms of the property, the property is generally located to the south and east of central.

Oh, my apologies.

Yes, uh, to the south and east of central and I two one to I 235.

The address is 525 North Clara.

A subject site is approximately 0.32 acres in size.

It consists of one ownership parcel, it is currently vacant.

It was developed with a single family dwelling that was demolished evidently earlier this year.

In terms of context, properties to the north, south, east, and west are all zoned SF5 and developed with single family residences.

There is a duplex development within 300 feet.

It's to the southeast along North Clara, and also 300 feet to the northwest along North Doris Street.

In terms of review, on March 26th, the planning commission reviewed the request.

One member of the public spoke in opposition to the request.

The applicant was not present at the meeting, and the MAPC deferred the case to their April 23rd meeting.

On April 23rd, the Planning Commission reviewed the request again and recommended approval of the zone change with a protective overlay, which would only allow one duplex.

The vote was eight to two.

There were three public comments in opposition to the request.

Concerns included traffic, crime, and density.

On April 13th, the district advisory board reviewed the request and recommended approval of the zone change with the addition of a protective overlay, one that is different than what the MAPC recommended.

The DAB recommended protective overlay would require a hip or gabled roof, and the vote was nine to zero.

There were no public comments at the district advisory board.

On May 11th, the District Advisory Board did receive public comments on the request with resident concerns regarding the character of the neighborhood, property upkeep, trash, and crime.

My understanding is that there were members of the public who showed up at that meeting intending to speak on the item, and they allowed them to do so.

Eight protests were received.

They represent 45% of the total protest area.

This is greater than the 20% threshold established by the state.

Therefore, a supermajority is required to approve the zone change request.

So that would require six of seven votes.

In terms of the recommendation, the recommendation coming to the planning commission is that the city council adopt the findings of the planning commission, approve the request to zone change, authorize the necessary signatures, and instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance and resolution after approval.

Again, this requires six of seven votes and would also include the protective overlay, which would limit it to one duplex.

Alternatives include the following.

Again, that would require six of seven votes.

Or you can also override the MAPC, adopt alternative findings, and deny the requested zoning actions.

That would require five of seven votes because it's an override.

Or as always, you can return the case back to the planning commission for additional consideration to require four of seven votes.

And again, the standard uh note about the process and the public hearing taking place at the MAPC.

So with that, I'll pause.

It looks like we don't have the PowerPoint or hasn't come up yet.

Ah, here we go.

Okay, so here is the site.

Here is the zoning map.

You can see the mix of zoning uses that was described earlier.

Here's the map from the comprehensive plan showing residential uses recommended in the location.

Here's the protest and the notification map.

Again, the same distance for this one.

You can see the protest representing uh I believe 45% approximately.

Here are photos from the site and the surrounding area.

And with that, I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you, Scott.

Questions for staff.

Um, can you just go back two slides?

TF3 is already near that area.

Is that accurate?

That is correct.

Yes, that's accurate.

So north of there, the yellow is TF3, right?

Correct.

Yep.

Thank you.

This is in Council Member Ballard's district.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Scott.

And uh appreciate the neighbors kind of hanging in there with us today.

I know this has been a long meeting.

Um, I move to override the MAPC, adopt the findings of MAPC with modifications, approve the requested zone change with a protective overlay that would require a hip or gabled roof and limit development number of duplexes on the site to no more than one.

Place the ordinance on first reading, authorized necessary signatures, and instruct the city clerk to publish the resolution.

In support of this motion, I offer the following additional findings.

The protective overlay will help ensure the future uses of the property will be more compatible with the neighborhood.

Second, you guys are near gable roofs.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

CUP 2026-8, a CUP amendment in the city to amend parcel two to allow entertainment establishment in the city and nightclub in the city on property zone limited commercial and general commercial with CUP DP3, generally located on the southwest corner of West 21st Street and North Ammenden.

Good morning again.

Scott Wadell from the planning department.

So as you heard, the applicant is requesting amendments to an existing community unit plan in order to allow nightclub in the city and entertainment establishment in the city on the lower level of one of the commercial buildings that's already existing at the site.

This item is being heard today because the district advisory board and the planning commission recommendations for approval are different.

About the request.

The request is to allow a nightclub in the city and an entertainment establishment on the lower level of the southwest most building at the site.

The applicant has indicated that they are requesting the amendment because it would like to have a nightclub at that location.

In terms of the property, subject site is at the Twin Lakes Shopping Center, generally located to the south and east of 21st and Amidon.

A subject site is made up of one parcel, is approximately just over 12 and a half acres in size, zoned a combination of LC and GC.

All of the properties in the community unit plan and is developed with a multi-tenant shopping center.

In terms of the context, property to the north across 21st Street is zoned LC within the C UP and developed with a grocery store and commercial retail center.

Properties says south, they're zoned GO General Office, developed as a parking lot, and SF5 single family residential district, which is the actual lake to the south.

Properties to the east is zoned LC, G C in a C UP.

It's developed with the other half of the shopping center, Twin Lake Shopping Center.

Properties to the west across Amidon are zoned LC within a different CUP and developed with a strip mall and several fast food restaurants.

In terms of the staff report, the staff report provides information about parking requirements, noise standards, and hours of operations, other nightclub and entertainment establishments in the same CUP.

I believe that one happened to be associated with a restaurant.

In terms of review, on April 23rd, the planning commission held the public hearing and recommended approval subject to the staff recommended conditions.

That vote was 10 to 0.

And the recommended conditions are listed in the staff report.

No members of the public spoke on this item at that public hearing.

On May 11th, the district advisory board reviewed the request and recommended approval, the same as the MAPC, but with one modification.

The one modification was to extend the hours of operation.

So for the planning commission, they recommended Monday through Thursday that the entertainment establishment nightclub entertainment would cease at 10 p.m.

That was Monday through Thursday.

And the DAB recommended midnight.

Likewise, Friday and Saturday, the MAPC recommended that activities would end at midnight, and the DAB recommended that they would cease at 2 a.m.

No members of the public spoke on this item at the district advisory board meeting.

Likewise, no protests were received against the application.

Therefore, the zone change request can be approved by a simple majority vote or four of seven votes.

The recommendation coming to you from the planning commission is recommended that the city council adopt the findings of the planning commission, approve the amendment to the community unit plan, authorize necessary signatures, and instruct the city clerk to publish the ordinance and resolution after approval.

Again, it would require just four of seven votes.

Alternatives include the following.

Or you can override the MAPC, adopt alternative findings and deny the CUP amendment.

Again, that would require five of seven votes because it's an override.

And just a quick note about the process that the public hearing takes place at the planning commission meeting.

So I'll take you through the photos and illustration.

So here's the site.

Here's the zoning map, which was described earlier.

Here's the map from the comprehensive plan showing that new employment is recommended in the area as well as commercial.

Here is the CUP image.

And here's the notification map and the protest map.

Again, no protests were received against the application.

Here are photos from the site and the surrounding area, looking at the lake.

And with that, I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you, Scott.

Questions for staff, beginning with Council, uh, Vice Mayor Glascott.

Thank you.

I think one of my questions was answered by the last photo because I was trying to figure out if there should be a nightclub in the basement of the DMV.

So this is a separate structure that is on the south part of the entire parcel, but they're rezoning the entire parcel to allow so anybody in that parcel could operate as a nightclub in the city.

Is that correct?

Actually, um, no.

Excellent question, and thank you for the opportunity to clarify a little bit more.

The actual language it's recommended would limit it to the lower level of the southmost building.

So just the building that's presented on this photo.

Yes, sir.

Okay, that makes sense.

And then the other question you said there's another nightclub that's in this uh as well.

What is that?

It's not what you would necessarily think of as a nightclub, but it's that they wanted to have live music at one of the Mexican restaurants.

So it is uh it is uh facing towards it faces towards Amidon.

Okay, I know that we've changed definitions of nightclub in the city a few times, and so thank you for the clarification on that.

Um, and again to everybody listening, it's not necessarily what you're thinking.

So thank you.

And is it accurate?

The planning commission recommended different hours.

DAB is extending them longer.

That's great.

Great.

Thank you.

This resides in Councilmember Ballard's district.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Scott.

I am very excited to see um some new things happening in uh this area.

Um, especially specifically this little part of the strip mall.

So with that, I uh move to take the uh adopt the findings of MAPC approved the CAP amendment with staff recommended conditions, authorize and necessary signatures, and then start the city clerk to publish the resolution after approval.

Second motion second discussion, see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Sale of public housing properties.

Good morning, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Carmen Hoffe, and I'm the real property section manager for the Department of Housing and Community Services, and I'm here to present to the sale of 25 public housing properties.

For a little bit of background, in 2017, the public housing authority, also known as PHA board, approved the application to housing and urban development, also known as HUD, to reposition its entire public housing portfolio under the rental assistance demonstration, also known as RAD program.

The RAD program allows PHAs to convert their public housing units to a Section 8 platform, which enables housing authorities to borrow private or public funds needed to complete rehab to the properties.

The public housing portfolio was divided into two projects, four multifamily senior units and 352 single family homes.

RAD financing for the two multifamily senior units closed on October 29th of 2021, and construction began shortly thereafter.

The Wichita Housing Authority, also known as WHA was unable to secure the remaining financing needed to continue the RAD project for the 352 scattered site single-family homes.

On June 20th, 2025, WHA approved the submission of the inventory removal application to HUD for 137 scattered site single-family homes within the 352 property portfolio, of which these 25 properties are included.

In May of 21, 2021, HUD convened a focus group to assist WHA in evaluating options for repositioning the public housing portfolio and engaged the communities group to provide technical assistance.

After further review, it was determined that restricted rents allowed under the RAD program could not support the level of debt service needed to complete the required repairs.

In addition, the significant cost of managing and maintaining 352 scattered site single family homes made the project financially infeasible.

As a result, the most viable option was to remove the 352 single family homes from the public housing program and to use the proceeds as support affordable housing through a different model.

A request for proposal, also known as an RFP number 26003 for the purchase of 26 housing units and five vacant lots owned by the Wichita Housing Authority, located in the area of North Summit Lawn Lane, West Newell Street, Fraser Street, and West Freeman Lane, known as the Country Acres RFP, was published on the procurement portal on January 8th of 26.

Property walkthroughs were held January 13th through 16th from 1 p.m.

to 4 p.m.

Written questions were due on January 23rd at 5 p.m.

An addendum was posted to the procurement portal on January 28th.

Proposals were due on February 13th at 10 a.m.

Presentations were made to the affordable housing review board on February 23rd and a special meeting on March 2nd.

After considering the proposals, the Affordable Housing Review Board recommended the country acres RFP be reissued with new stipulations to include project-based vouchers, also known as PPVs.

Recommendations were also be made on a units by unit basis.

Subsequently, a request for proposal number 260105 is the country acres RFP.

This is the second round that was published on the procurement portal on April 16th of 26.

Property walkthroughs were held April 20th through 23rd from one to four.

Written questions were due May 1st at 5 p.m.

An addendum was posted to the procurement portal on May 4th.

Proposals were due on May 8th at 10 a.m.

Proposals were made to the Affordable House and Review Board on May 18th.

The Country Acres RFP received four proposals, two of which met the minimum qualifications.

The selection and recommendation of proposals was made by the Affordable Housing Review Board.

The Affordable Housing Review Board's decision was based on several factors, including adequacy and completeness of proposal response, understanding of project requirements, presentation, buyers' qualifications, resources, proposed compensation, community impact of proposed project, alignment with city affordable housing goals, small and emerging business enterprise program participation.

After reviewing and scoring these proposals, the affordable housing review board voted to recommend the sale of 25 properties consisting of Abbey Construction LLC, three vacant lots, and large enterprise.

22 properties to include 20 housing units and two vacant lots.

13 of the 20 housing units will be under PBVs.

For financial consideration, there's no impact to the general fund.

In accordance with HUD's approval of the disposition, the net sales proceeds will fund Section 8 rental projects and associated activities in accordance with HUD Notice PIH 2020-23.

Legal considerations, the law department is approved, reviewed and approved the agreements as to form.

Recommendation, approve a total of four real estate sale contracts for 25 public housing properties, one contract for Abbey Construction LLC for three vacant lots, and three contracts for ownership entities of large enterprise for 20 public housing units and two vacant lots, and authorize the necessary signatures.

And I stand for questions.

Thank you, Carmen.

We'll start with questions from Councilmember Johnston.

Thank you.

Carmen, these houses will remain affordable housing then.

So the goal the as far as the plans of the two from Abbey construction and large enterprise, the goal is for them to remain affordable in what their plan is.

That is what the goal is.

Okay, and these are two, three, and four bedroom homes.

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

After this property, or after this set of properties is disposed and sold, are there any more that we still have for approval?

Yes, there are.

Are you speaking specifically for country acres?

Yes.

There are six um six country acres properties that were a part of this ARFP but did not receive any proposals.

So our plan is to put those out on the open market to the broker, and they'll we'll bring those back for approval.

Thank you, Carmen.

I see no further questions.

I just just a question.

Why did those six not receive any proposals?

Are there too much damage to them?

Or what is the from what my assumption is out of the 20s?

Well, there's not 26 out of the 20 properties, not the vacant lots, these were appraised the highest.

The highest was 162,000.

The others, I believe, are around 150,000.

So based on what the proposals that were submitted, they it just didn't pencil for the proposal.

It did not pencil for the developers to propose on those because of the high cost, and they they do need substantial rehab to some of those as well.

Okay, thank you.

Does this get public comment?

Thank you, Carmen.

We will now open it up for public comment.

I see no one in the public who would like to speak on this item.

I'm gonna bring it back to the bench.

This will be in council district number five.

Councilmember Johnston.

Thank you, Mayor.

I am very, very excited about this.

I think I've asked Sally about this 10, 15 times maybe.

Um so I'm very excited about it.

Also, when I go to the West, why people constantly ask me what's happening to those houses.

So finally we can say that uh most of them got sold.

So I've been looking at those boarded up for years and years and years.

They're wonderful houses, they're all brick.

Uh driveways, fenced yards, uh, no garage, but you have driveway and fenced yards, and they're wonderful houses, especially for families.

So I'm very excited to recommend do the recommended action, approve the sale of 25 public housing properties.

Second.

Motion second discussion, see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Who am I missing?

Oh motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Public housing recovery agreement status report.

Good morning, honorable mayor, members of council Sally Stang with the Housing and Community Services Department for the record.

The item I have for you is our monthly update on the public housing recovery plan.

Just some background in January 7th of 25.

The Wichita Housing Authority Board executed a recovery agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development related to the low public housing assessment score related to the low occupancy of these units we're trying to sell.

HUD is requiring that the status update report be presented to the housing authority board monthly.

The recovery agreement includes actions related to improving the physical condition of occupied units, repositioning the remaining public housing properties, and providing an update on capital fund projects.

So related to improving the physical condition, all requirements have been met, and we have no occupied properties any longer.

That last property we were selling to one of the residents finally closed.

So no further occupancy.

As far as repositioning public housing units, all the remaining units are vacant.

The last approval application was received in June of 25.

As of June 2nd, 279 of the 352 properties have sold.

And at that time we had 22 pending sale.

Now with that approval, now we have uh uh 52, all right.

Oh no, I'm sorry, 42 of pending sale.

Very happy about that.

A detailed disposition report was attached to the agenda report.

A little update um after what I showed last month, showing those restricted properties with restrictions that have sold.

So our 279 properties have now to this point resulted in 415 affordable housing units so far, which is great news.

Strategies for the remaining units.

The Affordable Housing Fund plan was updated last year to provide subsidy for some of our more challenging properties.

When we wrote this presentation and agenda report, we had intended to issue the last RFP on the floodplain units on the 18th.

We've run into a snag as of yesterday, so we're having some conversations with uh MABCD concerning the requirements under FEMA for units in the floodplain and what constitutes a minor rehab versus a substantial rehab and what would be required if we hit substantial rehab.

So we want to make sure we do this right the first time.

So we are not gonna make the uh June 18th publication of that RFP until after we've had a further conversation with MABCD, which is this week.

So hopefully we will see that soon.

We may have to make some additional adjustments to that RFP or to the properties so that we can ensure we get a good product in the end.

Um, all other remaining units are gonna be sold on the open market because that was the last uh the country acres RFP is the last RFP before this one for the floodplain units.

As far as capital fund projects, the only open project we have going on is the repair work that um of the one unit that had a fire.

We expect all those repairs to be completed by the end of July, and then that unit will be turned over to the broker for sale on the open market.

There is no impact to the general fund.

The monthly update to the housing authority board is required under the recovery plan, and it is recommended that the housing authority board receive and file the plan recovery plan status update report for June of 2026.

And I stand for any questions.

Thank you, Sally.

Questions for staff beginning with Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Hey Sally, how many more of these reports do we have to hear monthly?

I know, I'm sorry.

Um, until we sell the last property, we have to continue to provide the monthly update because that is what will close that recovery plan.

Awesome.

Well, I always appreciate the updates.

I just want to you're doing the right thing.

So I just wanted to see how much longer we had to do it.

Thank you.

Yes.

I see no further questions from this bench.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We will now open it up for public comment.

There's no one in the public who would like to speak on this item.

I'm going to bring it back to the bench.

With that, I will move to receive and file the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development Recovery Agreement and Public Housing Disposition Status Update Report.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Approved that pursuant to section 204090.

Councilmember Tuttle's travel to attend the ceremonial signing of House Bill 2462, the water reuse bill in Topeka, Kansas, June 23rd, 2026 for the purpose of attending the bill signing.

There will be no expense to the city.

I will move to approve.

Second.

Motion second.

Discussion see none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Councilmember appointments and comments.

Council members, any appointments.

Councilmember Tuttle.

Thank you.

I have two appointments today.

I have uh Reverend Philip Moore to the Board of Park Commissioners.

And I have Zina Mason to the District 2 Advisory Board.

Move to approve those appointments.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes 7-0.

Councilmember comments.

Councilmember Shepard.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I just ask that you bear with me really quickly.

This month is Juneteenth month, the celebration for Juneteenth and Pride Month.

And I'm reminded for many of us that these are not separate observances.

They are deeply interconnected realities.

As a black LGBTQ plus man myself, I cannot comp compartmentalize my identities.

My blackness and my queerness exists together, shaping how I move through the world and how I experience public service every single day.

Navigating these spaces can be complex because systems and institutions have not always recognized the full humanity of people who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities.

Too often conversations focus on where communities differ.

Research has frequently highlighted lower levels of support for LGBTQ rights among African Americans compared to our counterparts.

But there's another story worth telling.

One of solidarity, a shared struggle, and collective liberation.

As Anna Julia Cooper and Audrey Lore reminds us, our identities are not isolated from one another.

I don't care what you look like, I don't care what your background or experiences are, you are more than what people can see and more than how you identify out loud.

Also, as a reminder that justice cannot be achieved by leaving parts of ourself behind.

Making sure that I'm affirming who I am and why I will not ever shy away from it.

Doing so would be a disservice to public service and our desire to see the humanity in all God's children.

I'm black, I'm LGBTQ, I'm proud, and I'm gonna name it every time I can.

Juneteenth reminds us that the freedom delayed is freedom denied, and pride reminds us that visibility and dignity are worth fighting for for every single citizen.

Together, they call us to build communities where everyone belongs and where all of our identities can be honored.

So to those who are listening who are living at the intersection of your experiences, I want you to know that I see you, I celebrate you.

Juneteenth kicks off this week.

I invite all of my colleagues to make their way out to McAdams Park or McAfee Pool.

As always, you are welcome in District One.

You're welcome to be a part of our community, and you are welcome to get proximate to the people I serve to understand how they see the world.

Following this week, it's next week is Pride Celebrations, and again, I welcome each of you to get out, get connected with community and understand the live the lens in which other people in this community see the world, even when you disagree.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Councilmember Shepard.

Councilmember Pohysel.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I would just like to send out uh my condolences to the family of Anthony Horsch.

Um he was a longtime volunteer and employee for the city of Wichita at Caltown.

Uh, the education director out there.

He really had a passion for um for the city for Cowtown.

Uh he was a really good guy, um, incredibly knowledgeable about uh just about anything around that time period.

So uh again to his family, um, condolences and I know um condolences as well to the Caltou family.

He will be missed, and he's already very much missed.

Thank you.

Councilmember Tuttle.

Thank you very much.

October seems like a long ways away, but it's really not.

There's a dental office in my district that will be celebrating Freedom Day, and it's a day to serve those who have served.

So on October 8th, any active military, their dependents and veterans are able to have free cleanings, free x-rays, exams, and some limited same-day treatments.

So again, it's October 8th for any active military, their dependents or veterans can come and have free cleaning and other oral health services.

I just think this is wonderful.

And to register to schedule an appointment, you can dial 316-687-2110.

I'll try and mention this again a couple of times before October 8th.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you, Mayor.

I also just wanted to mention uh the loss of another, I think, community um anchor, and that was Scott Stiles.

Uh Scott served in a lot of capacities.

He fought for uh he fought cancer um hard for five and a half years and passed away this week.

Um I believe his funeral is this upcoming Thursday, but he served as a member of our Wichita Airport Advisory Board.

He also uh served um with WABA, and then he also served as a first responder's cuffs and axes and helping at that event every year.

And so I know Scott will be missed.

He often said over in that corner of city council meetings, and I know texted a lot of people from the bench his thoughts uh continually as well, and so I know he'll be missed and uh praying for his wife Shannon.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Um, with that, I just wanted to um say that I wanted to give thanks uh, and that is to both Juneteenth and Empower.

Um this past weekend, uh, Empower North End uh came down to District One to NASCAR Park and activated that public space so that people could gather and celebrate World Cup.

And um they were there on Thursday and Friday, and it was a great turnout.

And so I really wanted to say thank you to Empower for taking the lead on helping the city celebrate World Cup and also USA One on Friday night.

Uh they will be playing again this Friday at 2 p.m.

But I also wanted to make mention that Mid-America All Indian Museum will also host a viewing of uh World Cup Portugal versus Colombia on June 27th for a free community event.

And again, that's gonna be at the Mid-America All Indian Museum in district number six, Councilmember Ballard's district.

So please um also go out to that.

And I wanted to say um good job to Councilmember Shepard, who helps with organizing the Miss Juneteenth cultural pageant.

Um it is an opportunity for young ladies to become empowered and uh celebrate who they are and what they believe.

And now you have an ambassador who will be there this whole week celebrating Juneteenth and leading those efforts.

So good job uh to you and the team at Miss Juneteenth ICT.

Councilmember Shepherd.

Mayor, I just want to say thank you and thank you for coming and being present.

And I think that it's important to um people appreciate when they see their mayor there, and I think that I just want to give you kudos for that.

Um and over the course of the last six years, I've had the opportunity to build that program up.

We've been able to award 55,000 in scholarships to over 25 young women, African American women in our community.

We've had a 90% success rate in getting them to post-secondary education, and the other 10% are either currently working on finish that high school education and/or they are serving our country and the military.

So I think it just speaks to the testament of the framework when deployed correctly and when having access to scholarships, how they can see and invest in their future, and I'm grateful for your attendance.

Thank you again, Councilmember Shepherd, and congratulations to the former Miss Juneteenth, who is now Miss Kansas Teen, and will be representing the state of Kansas at Miss Teen America.

So uh great job to your team.

With that, I see no further comments.

Um I will move to adjourn at 1210 p.m.

Second.

Motion second discussion, see none.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

All those opposed, same sign.

Motion passes, 1210.

We're adjourned.