District 1 Advisory Board

DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD (DAB) I MEETING MINUTES Monday, June 2, 2014 6:30 p.m. Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center, 2755 E. 19th St. N., Wichita, Kansas 67214 Members Present Members Absent Guests Aaron Mayes Aaron Lewellyn, Youth Member Ernestine Freeman Bill Wynne K.C. Ohaebosim Donald Hogg David Buckmaster Brandon James Janice Thacker Dan Heflin Tonja Howard Janet Wilson Melody McRay Miller James Roseboro Patricia Fields Beverly Domitrovic Gerry Domitrovic Twila Chaloupek Janice Rich Lavonta Williams, Council Member City of Wichita Staff Present Officer Donielle Watson, Patrol North, Beat 44 Lt. Colby Roberson, Fire Station # 10 Officer Matthew Lowe, Patrol East, Beat 31 Officer Alex Recio, Patrol South, Beat 22 and 23 John Philbrick, City of Wichita, Real Estate Administrator Mark K. Vaughn, Director, Housing and Community Services Alana Haynes, Office of Community Engagement Order of Business Call to Order Council Member Lavonta Williams called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and welcomed staff and guests. Approval of Agenda Motion to approve the agenda submitted. Motion carried. 9:0. Approval of Minutes Motion to approve the minutes submitted. Motion carried. 9:0. Public Agenda 1. Agenda Items No item. 2. Off Agenda Items No item.  District I Advisory Board Minutes June 2, 2014 Page 2 of 4 Staff Report 3. Fire Report Lt. Colby Roberson, Fire Station # 10, reported that during the month of May District I had a total of five fires; of the five, one is currently under investigation. Roberson also commented that during this time of year (without rain); fires may start quickly due to dry grass. Questions-none. Action Taken: Received and File. 4. Police Report Officer Donielle Watson, Patrol North, Beat 44, made a self-introduction as the new coordinator for beat 44. Currently, Watson is covering beats 44 and 45 until a new officer is in place. During the month of May, District I had a total of 32 residential burglaries. Watson stated that within the next week the police department will try to develop suspects, by looking at the fingerprints that were taken at the scene. The age ranges of the suspects have been late teens and early 20’s. Two CP officers will begin riding nights to provide additional coverage for the area. Captain Bran White is implementing a new system that will have two to four officers focused specifically on crime trends. DAB member: What has been the point of entry for the residential burglaries? Watson: The back door has been the point of entry for most of the burglaries. DAB member: Are the doors unlocked or are they kicking the doors in? Watson: Suspects are kicking the doors in, the doors are not unlocked. CM Williams: What has been done about the burglaries for businesses in the area? Watson: The Walmart at 13th and Oliver now has police officers in place to prevent theft. DAB member: Is Walmart paying for the officers to secure the building? Watson: Yes, Walmart is paying to staff their building with officers. Officer Matthew Lowe, Patrol East, Beat 31, reported that the top two concerns for District I have been traffic accidents and auto thefts. The police department plans to implement, “Cops on Wheels” to help reduce traffic accidents. The night time assignment has been instructed to focus on auto thefts to reduce the number of cars being stolen. The primary reason for cars being stolen is due to car keys being left in the ignition. DAB member: Are you able to recover vehicles after they have been stolen? Lowe: Most of the time the vehicles are recovered. There have been times when the vehicles have been taken out of state or the VIN numbers have been changed. Officer Alex Recio, Patrol South, Beat 22 and 23, reported that there have been a total of three robberies and eight auto thefts; one person has been arrested for one of the robberies. Riverfest has required special assignments to control larcenies. Old Town is still having problems with people loitering; however, after the ordinance passes for the entertainment district more effective enforcement will be done for that area. DAB member: I would like to compliment the Police Department on their Riverfest enforcement. I have noticed that when situations occured, the police did not allow the situations to get out of control. Action Taken: Received and Filed. 2  District I Advisory Board Minutes June 2, 2014 Page 3 of 4 New Business 5. IdeaTek Communications Ivan Kuhn from IdeaTek Communications presented on a franchise agreement the City of Wichita and IdeaTek entered into, allowing IdeaTek to construct small cells in the City for a wireless carrier to provide better wireless coverage throughout Wichita. DAB member: Who will maintain the property that the cells are placed on? Kuhn: IdeaTek will maintain the property. DAB member: Will you hire local people to work for IdeaTek? Kuhn: We will hire local people to work as sales representatives, technicians, and engineers; the people that are hired will live in the Wichita area. DAB member: Will you have some form of protection on the tower box to prevent graffiti? Kuhn: No. We have not looked into this, but this is something to consider. DAB member: Who is contracting your company? Kuhn: We are contracted by several cell phone providers and not the City of Wichita. DAB member: Do you know where the cell towers will be placed in District I? Kuhn: No, we will place them accordingly to where the coverage is needed. We do not have that information at this time 6. Future of 2408 and 2424 E. 21st St. building (old Boys and Girls Club) Mary K. Vaughn, Wichita Housing and Community Services Department Director, presented on federal regulations for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars. A public engagement session occurred so members of the community could provide input on the future use of the old Boys and Girls Club building located at 2408 and 2424 East 21st Street North. Community and DAB member’s comments: Community member: A skating rink would be nice to have. It will also be a positive family friendly place for our children to enjoy. Community member: I would not mind having a convenience store there; I would only suggest that it is on the level of a Quik Trip Gen 3 store and monitored for safety and maintenance. Community member: I would ask that the owner engages the community with other businesses, such as a farmers market to provide fresh fruits and vegetables in our area. Community member: I would like to see a dance studio for the youth. Community member: Who will ultimately make the final decision on the building? Vaughn: The City Council will make the final decision. DAB member: How long has the information on the staff reports been available? Vaughn: This information was made available to me the first of May. DAB member: We would like to take this information back to our neighborhood association meetings for further discussion. DAB member: I would not want to see one business come in and drive other business owners out of business. DAB member: I do not want to see large crowds congregating and crime surrounding the convenience store. DAB member: If the zoning is changed and the owner decides to sell the building, it can then become a night club. CM Williams: Will the developer need a design plan? John Philbrick: I am not sure, but I will check on it. DAB member: We need to wait and try to solicit businesses that will benefit the community. DAB member: We are discussing an old building that has been sitting there for seven years, let’s give them a chance. If you are worried about security, help the developer keep it secured. If you 3  District I Advisory Board Minutes June 2, 2014 Page 4 of 4 are concerned about crime; the community needs to embrace the store and not allow it to become a place that would attract crime. DAB member: We do not need to accept businesses that are not within the plans for the 21st Street Revitalization. DAB member: I would like to see a family shelter in the community. DAB member: We as a community need to protect the future of 21st Street. We should also consider protective overlays and conditional use. DAB member: The building is causing a drain on the community now, with no taxes being paid. A decision needs to be made on the best usage of the property. DAB members noted that the location listed on the staff report did not reflect their expectations for the building on 21st and Grove. Board Agenda 7. Updates, Issues and Reports CM Williams: Informed the DAB members that development projects for the 21st Street will continue to come before the board in the near future. CM Williams also commented that the Micro-brewery from the May DAB meeting will be on the City Council agenda on Tuesday, June 3rd. 8. Adjournment Action Taken: Motion to adjourn was made by Janet Wilson, Janice Rich properly seconded. Motion carried 9:0. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for the District Advisory Board I will be held at 6:30 p.m., July 7, 2014, at the Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center, 2755 E. 19th St. N. 4