District 2 Advisory Board

Page |1 District II Advisory Board Minutes October 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov The District II Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Rockwell Branch Library, 5939 E 9th St. N., Wichita, KS 67208. ATTENDANCE Members Present Staff Present David Babich Battalion Chief David Hersh, WRD Nick Howell Officer Ron Sanders Wichita Police Department Sam Lindeman Savannah Ball, Wichita Public Library Tracee Adams Alan Taber, Park and Rec Alicia Sanchez Keith Lane Mike Heldstab Dee Nighswonger Joe Goetz Guests Council Member Becky Tuttle Commissioner Pete Meitzner Charlotte Willrich Members Absent Stacy Shanahan Nazir Jesri Van Williams Junetta Everett Misty Bruckner ORDER OF BUSINESS Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Becky Tuttle District 1 County Commissioner Pete Meitzner was present and spoke to the group before heading to another commitment. He spoke briefly about the Sedgwick County Strategic Agenda which was presented later in the meeting. David Babich asked what the status is of bringing passenger rail to Wichita. Meitzner said they are continue to work on this and they are making progress. He said the Governor and the Secretary of Transportation have endorsed it. At this point it isn’t known what the Capital costs would be, but they hope to have that information from BNSF in the near future so they can make a decision. Approval of October 7, 2019, Agenda: Motion passed 9-0 Approval of Minutes from September 9, 2019: Motion passed 9-0 PUBLIC AGENDA This portion of the agenda provides an opportunity for citizens to present issues that are not part of the regular agenda for the meeting. There is a five minute time limit for each speaker. 1. Scheduled Items None 2. Off-agenda Items None 1  Page |2 BOARD AGENDA 3. Updates, Issues and Reports The November meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 12 due to Veteran’s Day. The District II Breakfast is scheduled for Nov.16 STAFF REPORTS 4. Fire Department Report Battalion Chief David Hersh reported there were two significant fires in District II in September, one of which cause $250,000 worth of damage to an apartment building. He also reported an incident with a Molotov cocktail that cause minor damage to a garage door. He said there were also Molotov cocktail incidents in District III where they were thrown from cars. He encouraged residents to be aware of what is occurring in their neighborhoods and call 911 for any suspicious activity.  5. Community Police Report Officer Ron Sanders, Beat 39 CP Coordinator, reported that just since the last DAB meeting, there were 29 guns stolen in District II. He reminded residents again, not to leave guns in their vehicles. He also encouraged residents to participate in the Save a Casing program. He said an informative video on this program can be viewed on the WPD Facebook page or on the YouTube site. Sam Lindeman asked about holding irresponsible gun-owners accountable. Sanders said that would require action from the Legislature. Mike Heldstab said he participated in a police ride-along over the weekend and it was a great experience. 6. Park & Recreation Department Report Alan Taber, Park and Rec, reported the sport of pickle ball has “gone crazy” in Wichita. There was a tournament on Sept. 28 with 48 teams. He said there is a group of pickle ball enthusiasts who are working hard to raise money to pay for lighting and other improvement for the pickle ball courts. Other items included:  Halloween in the park on Oct. 25. It will be held at Edgemoor Park and has multiple sponsors. Typically between 3,000 and 5,000 children participate.  There were 37 classes offered at the rec center this Fall and only two had to be cancelled due to a lack of enrollment  Night with Santa is slated for Dec. 5 7. Wichita Public Library Report Savannah Ball, Branch Manager, reported on several upcoming activities at the library:  Paper puppeteers – a drop in program on Oct. 26  Coding without computers (uses Legos) on Nov. 13  A children’s books review on Oct. 29  And she encouraged parents to enroll their children in the “1000 books before kindergarten” program 2  Page |3 NEW BUSINESS 8. Sedgwick County Strategic Plan Misty Bruckner, Wichita State University, presented the draft of the Sedgwick County strategic plan. It included information on general government, public safety, public works, human services, culture and recreation, human resources, communication, finance and technology. She said the County Commission plans to adopt the plan in November and County Departments have a template to develop strategies and measurements. She said more than 1000 staff have worked on the plan and ultimately all the information will be available online. Meeting was adjourned. The next DAB II meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov.12, 2019, at Rockwell Branch Library, 5939 E 9th St. N., Wichita, KS 67208. 3