District 2 Advisory Board

District II Advisory Board Minutes January 14, 2019 www.wichita.gov The District II Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockwell Branch Library at 5939 E 9th St N, Wichita, KS 67208. There were nine (9) District Advisory Board members in attendance, as well as former Councilman Meitzner, now Sedgwick County Commissioner. Nick Howell Officiated. There were six (6) City Staff, and ten (10) members of the public present. Members Present Guests Tracee Adams Russ Ewy – Agent David Babich Tom Frye - Century II Citizen Committee Junetta Everett Brian Heinrichs – Century II Citizen Committee Mike Heldstab Lowell Richardson Nick Howell Lynn Stephan Nazir Jesri Don Stephan Paul Lavender Sarah S. Sam Lindeman Pete Meitzner – County Commissioner Becky Tuttle Bryan Frye – City Council Member Unknown male Members Absent Debbie Goseland Keith Lane Council Member No Council representation at this time Staff Present Rebecca Fields – Community Services Dist. 4 Cory Buchta – Community Services Dist. 2 Officer Dustin Meier – CP Patrol East Chief Sidney Newby – Fire Battalion Chief Savannah Ball - Library Dave Yearout – MAPD ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. DAB Member Nick Howell called the meeting to order. Mr. Howell proceeded with the agenda and asked approval for the January 14, 2019 agenda. DAB Member Nazir Jesri made a motion to approve and DAB Member Junetta Everett gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. The next item was approval for the November 2018 DAB meeting’s minutes. Due to the DAB receiving no minutes from the November DAB meeting, a motion was made to table approval of these minutes until the next meeting. DAB Member Mike Heldstab gave the motion and Junetta Everett made a 2nd motion. Motion was approved 9/0. Page 1 of 5  District II Advisory Board Minutes January 14, 2019 www.wichita.gov STAFF REPORTS Mr. Howell asked that everyone at the tables introduce themselves, and began with staff Rebecca Fields. After the DAB Members introduced themselves and the neighborhood they represent, Commissioner Pete Meitzner spoke about his new position on the County Commission and thanked the DAB Members for their service over the years. Mr. Howell followed by explaining the process for the Wichita District Advisory Boards. Mr. Howell then asked for the Community Police report. CP Officer Dustin Meier, Patrol 35 Beat, stood and stated that District 2 had a total of 22 auto thefts, 15 burglaries to residences, 81 larcenies to vehicles that included the theft of vehicle tags. He reminded everyone to check their vehicle tags before driving, and to keep any valuables in the vehicle out of sight. Officer Meier further reported that there had been 2 bank robberies in District 2: Emprise Bank at 11111 E Harry, and Sunflower State Bank at 2073 N Webb Road. Chairman. Howell then asked for the report from the Fire Department, and Battalion Chief Sid Newby stated that in November there had been 293 alarms; 255 of which were medical and 35 were service alarms, and there were 3 fire alarms. In December there had been a total damage loss of $534,400 of which $387,100 was from accidental fires. Some of these fires were caused by faulty wiring, candles, and also from electric heaters. Chairman Howell thanked Chief Newby then asked a report from the Park Department, but there was no one there representing the Wichita Park Department. (Public Works had already notified staff that they would not be present to give a report). The Library report was next, and the manager of Rockwell Branch Library, Savannah Ball, mentioned that there was a digital literacy lab now being held at the Angelou Branch Library. Fliers for this are available at the front desk of Rockwell Library. Ms. Ball then stated that Rockwell Library had added a new class, Baby’s First Storytime, and were for children from birth to 9 months along with their caregivers. Rockwell Library is offering a Windows 10 class on January 15, tomorrow evening, but there were still openings if someone was interested. Another class being offered is Explore and Play, a class for small children ages 1 – 3. There was no discussion following this last staff report. PUBLIC AGENDA There was no one scheduled for the Public Agenda, and there was no one present that wanted to speak on a separate issue, so Mr. Howell asked for the Century II Presentation. Page 2 of 5  District II Advisory Board Minutes January 14, 2019 www.wichita.gov NEW BUSINESS Wichita Century II Citizens Committee – Update and Discussion: Tom Frye, actor and theatre educator, and Brian Heinrichs, CFO of Intrust Bank, were both on hand to give this presentation that included a PowerPoint. Mr. Frye began the presentation by stating that there was 50 years of history with Century II, and that the last survey has had twice the response of any previous surveys. The issues with the 50-year-old performing arts facility include structural problems, worker safety risks and functional issues. The committee is weighing the choices – renovate vs. build new, preserve the round building vs. create more gathering space for the community, etc. No matter what, this will be a large investment – perhaps $250 million or more – in the core/river area. A PowerPoint presentation emphasized the following:  There are problems with asbestos in the ceilings and also drainage off the roof  Large trucks that carry theater equipment have a very tough time accessing the areas needed in order to load and unload  The world famous Wurlitzer organ that is housed at Century II can only be played if there is nothing else booked in the building due to noise “bleeding”.  The lighting system is antiquated and the newer (modern) shows are unable to be accommodated in the building (ie – many special considerations had to be made in order for the Lion King to be presented)  So far, the survey regarding the future Century II has had over 14,000 responses.  It has been decided that the performing arts need their own building, and conventions are needing a separate building.  It is imperative that the performing arts continue to have a venue whether there is a remodel or a new build. It was further emphasized that the downtown/core area of Wichita is rapidly changing and now has hundreds of residents, new restaurants, and more entertainment. DAB Member Paul Lavender gave his personal opinion that Century II should be leveled, and wondered why this wasn’t being done ASAP. He stated that there have been years of talking and studies on this building and what was the hold-up in progressing with this issue? Mr. Heinrichs agreed and he is also frustrated. Mr. Frye then stated that the committee will be making a recommendation within the month. Mr. Heinrichs commented that they started the committee with all the previous information collected and gathered even more, followed by Mr. Frye stating that there have been lots of credible authorities weighing in with the committee. DAB Member Jesri asked who will be paying for the new building, which Mr. Frye answered that currently it would have to be private donations and possibly selling off pieces of Century II to those who had sentimental attachment. Mr. Frye further stated that Oklahoma City paid for their new performing arts building by setting up a 30-year tax base and raised enough money to build it and to pay the upkeep on it for the next 10 years. Mr. Heinrichs followed by saying it Page 3 of 5  District II Advisory Board Minutes January 14, 2019 www.wichita.gov will take all revenues; tax, private, etc. And no matter which way they go, renovation or new build, it will take at least $250 million. DAB member Jesri suggested that they also sell name recognition (such as the INTRUST Bank Arena). Mr. Heinrichs reiterated that a remodel could be done in phases, but the old building could still not handle modern theater equipment. If a new building is chosen, then use of Century II concert hall would continue until a new venue was move-in ready. DAB member Sam Lindeman stated that he did not want to see a river bank and view being blocked by another building that sits right along the river. He feels that this area should be accessible to the public. Guest Sara S. asked if there was someone representing Expo Hall in all of this, to which Mr. Heinrichs replied that the committee was formed to only discuss the round building and performing arts. Guest Lowell Richardson stated that conventions use multiple spaces, including parts of the round building. If Century II was torn down then conventions would be limited. Guest Lynn Stephan stated that Wichita is notorious for taking down its history and she hates to see another piece of history destroyed. She also pointed out that she thought Wichita did not take care of its properties and City owned structures were poorly maintained. She referenced the Keeper of the Plains as an example. Mr. Heinrichs suggested that we should be looking at the historic preservation programs that the City of Austin TX have, and what they do to keep their older structures preserved. At this time Mr. Frye commented that he would like to see a new theater built that was iconic of the grander days of theater, complete with private boxes and loges, etc. Don Stephan, a guest, commented that the City of Wichita always short-changes what they build. He said that INTRUST Bank Arena could have been built better and larger instead of cutting off their fundraising when they did. Seeing that there were no further comments, Chairman Howell asked for the next agenda item, but Mr. Howell recused himself from commenting or voting on this agenda item and had DAB Member David Babich step up as Chair. Mr. Babich then called for MAPD item CUP2018-00051, presented by staff Dave Yearout, a planner from MAPD. This is where the contract buyer/applicant is requesting Amendment Number 5 to the Prairie Pond Plaza Community Unit Plan (CUP) DP-273, located at the northeast corner of South 143rd Street East and East Kellogg (US Highway 54/400). The amendment proposes to combine Parcels 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3 and 6 into a single Parcel 1, with the new parcel to be developed with a self-storage warehouse facility. We have received a proposed Site Plan which shows the proposed layout of the facility, along with a revised CUP drawing that addresses the changes resulting from this proposal. Mr. Yearout furnished larger site plans than had been with the agendas. He explained that the plan showed an existing wall to the north and Page 4 of 5  District II Advisory Board Minutes January 14, 2019 www.wichita.gov that this project would have to complete the wall, and that the MAPC (Metropolitan Area Planning Commission) had voted unanimously to approve the plan, and that no one had shown up at the meeting to protest it. There were a couple of phone calls to MAPC asking questions about the plan, but no further contact. Mr. Yearout also mentioned that storage facilities have a higher tax base and that there would be much less traffic at this corner than having a retail center in the same location. Reserve A – shown on the site plan, is where an existing pond will remain with a safety fence. There will be an internal drive to allow access to all of the storage units. In addition there will be mandatory landscaping. DAB Member Junetta Everett asked about any opposition and Mr. Yearout replied that there was none. DAB Member Paul Lavender asked about the site being used for a CIP (Community Investment Plan), but the agent for the developer, Russ Ewy, stood and explained that due to the split of the property because of power poles, it rendered the property unacceptable for retail use. DAB Member Sam Lindeman asked if the wall will be extended the entire length of the property, and the reply was yes. At this time DAB Member Nazir Jesri motioned to approve, and DAB Member Lindeman gave the 2nd motion. The motion passed 8/0, with Nick Howell abstaining from the vote. BOARD AGENDA Updates, Issues, and Reports DAB Member and Council elected new Council Member Becky Tuttle* thanked Commissioner Pete Meitzner for his service as a City Council Member and for his great leadership with the District Advisory Board. Commissioner Meitzner stood and replied that he was melancholy about leaving City government, but will remain accessible as the new County Commissioner. Commissioner Meitzner then had Cory Buchta introduce himself. He then commented that when he first started as a Council Member he only knew Nick Howell, and that with the new appointment of other DAB members he had gotten to know them quite well and was very proud of all they accomplished. DAB Member Babich mentioned Pete’s dedication and tenacity in attempting to bring passenger train service back to Wichita, upon which Commissioner Meitzner replied that the train future is not dead. DAB Member Mike Heldstab gave a motion to adjourn at 7:38 pm, and DAB Member Junetta Everett gave a 2nd motion. Motion passed 9/0. *Becky Tuttle was sworn in as District 2 Council Member on January 15, 2019. Page 5 of 5