Good morning, staff.

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Thank you again for joining us today.

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

Thank you for joining us here at City Hall for this morning's City Council meeting.

And for those who have accepted the responsibility of public service.

Guide their hearts and minds as they consider the matters before them.

Help them make decisions that promote justice, encourage prosperity, protect the vulnerable, strengthen our neighborhoods, and advance the common good.

Bless the members of this council.

Bless the city of Wichita and bless all who labor for the good of this community.

In your precious and holy name we pray.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you, Pastor Moore.

Before we continue, I know several members here in our audience don't know when this meeting will conclude.

And we never have a set time when the city council meeting concludes.

However, we will be taking a break from three to three thirty PM for our council to take a 30 minute recess.

So for planning purposes, from three to three thirty p.m., we will take a break, but likely we'll take another break prior to that for a quick lunch.

With that, Madam Clerk, can you please call the first item?

Approve the minutes of the regular meeting, August eleventh, twenty twenty-six.

Council members, any items to be edited.

I see none.

I move to approve the minutes for the regular meeting, August eleventh, twenty twenty six.

Second.

Motion second discussion.

See none.

Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Motion passes seven zero.

Madam Clerk, please call the next items.

Awards and proclamations.

Today's proclamations are Wichita's Littlest Heroes, Black Bookstore Day, and National Breastfeeding Month.

At this time, can I please ask Wichita's littlest heroes to come forward to the front of morning.

The proclamation reads, the City of Wichita, Kansas founded in eighteen seventy, whereas Wichita's Littlest Heroes was founded in twenty thirteen by Brianna Baskerville after her young son was diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening autoimmune disease to ensure that no family faces a child's serious medical journey alone.

Whereas for more than a decade, Wichita's Littlest Heroes has provided hope, help, and happiness to medically fragile children and their families throughout our community by offering emotional support, financial assistance, family events, peer connections, and programs that improve quality of life.

Whereas the organization has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct financial assistance while also creating meaningful experiences through family outings, hospital support, art therapy, educational opportunities, caregiver support, and community celebrations that remind every child they are seen, valued, and loved.

Whereas children battling life-threatening medical conditions exemplify extraordinary courage and resilience, their families and caregivers demonstrate unwavering strength, and the individuals and organizations who work tirelessly to ensure these families never walk alone in this journey, show unparalleled commitment and dedication.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim August eighteenth, twenty twenty six as Wichita's Littlest Heroes Day.

We appreciate you guys so much, and uh we love our city, and we're so thankful for the support that we've gotten since um two thousand thirteen, and thank you so much.

Oh, okay.

May I please ask Left Unread and Council Member Shepherd to come forward at this time.

Thank you, Mayor.

It's an honor and a privilege to stand before you all today to celebrate this remarkable couple and family who has uh been in Wichita and transplanted into Wichita and has invested in Wichita in many ways, and I think it's a testament to the power of our city and how we embrace individuals and believe in their dreams.

The proclamation reads Proclamation of the City of Wichita, founded in 1870, whereas black bookstores have long served as an important literary space where books, ideas, and public dialogue intersect.

And whereas for generations, these bookstores have preserved otherwise overlooked stories while providing gathering spaces for readers, writers, educators, and neighbors seeking knowledge and connection.

And whereas Black Bookstore Day, observed annually on the last Saturday of August, recognizes the historical and present-day contributions of Black bookstores and acknowledges their role in advancing literacy, learning, and the circulation of ideas.

And whereas recognizing this observance affirms the importance of literacy, entrepreneurship, education, and civic participation in Wichita, while contributing to a broader appreciation of black bookstores and their impact.

And now, therefore, be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim August 29th, 2026 Black Bookstore Day, signed by Mayor Lily Wu.

Good morning, and thank you, Councilmember Shepard.

Good morning, Mayor Wu, members of the City Council, community members, friends, family, and supporters near and far.

I'm Dr.

Latasha Ely Kelly, owner of Left on Red and founder of Black Bookstore Day.

And I'm joined this morning by my husband and Left on Red co-founder, Corinthian Kelly.

People often refer to Left on Red as Wichita's first black owned bookstore, usually out of excitement or because they're unaware of the history.

We do not make that claim, not only because it is not true, but because we are proud to stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.