District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for June 6, 2012 District III Advisory Board Minutes June 6, 2012 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Wichita Water Center at 101 E Pawnee; eight District Advisory Board members were in attendance; five City staff and four members of the public were present. Members Present Members Absent Jody Bennett Roger Smith Terry Brewster Connie White Paul Davis Elena Ingle Staff Present Danny Johnson Officer Vickie Kern, Patrol South Gay Quisenberry Officer Dave Hinners, Patrol East Wendy Ratliff Mark Manning, Finance David Robbins Battalion Chief Tom Carney, WFD Council Member James Clendenin Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Services Guests Listed on the last page ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the May 2, 2012, meeting were approved as submitted. Council Member Clendenin announced the appointment of two new DAB Members: Roger Smith from East Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Assoc. and Connie White from Fairfax Neighborhood Assoc. Connie called and said she was unable to attend tonight’s meeting due to a previously scheduled conflict, but she should be at the July meeting. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items No items Non-Scheduled items No items STAFF REPORTS Community Police Report Officer Dave Hinners, Beat 35 Patrol East, reported his beat had an increase in burglaries, which is the same trend being experienced all over the city. He said all other crimes are actually down in the Patrol East areas. He said on the 10th police made several arrests and burglaries then dropped. He also reported that the Planeview Activity Camp has started and police personnel are participating in that. Danny Johnson asked what the prosecution rate is for burglaries; Officer Hinners said it’s actually very good, however, the public doesn’t perceive that because the sentencing is minimal due to the fact it’s a property crime. He said someone has to be convicted on burglary multiple times before they will ever see any real jail time. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for June 6, 2012 Officer Vickie Kern, Beat 24 Patrol South, said in an attempt to address the increased burglaries they have been running a number of special assignments and they have made some arrests in the area of Harry and Wichita, which should have an effect on the numbers. She said they have also been running some special assignments downtown to address the auto larcenies that are occurring there. Officer Kern reported that an annoying alarm issue in the 1800 block of Industrial has been successfully addressed by Officer Cavanaugh. Dave Robbins asked who the people are that are committing all these burglaries; Officer Kern said the majority of the offenders tend to be young people. Officer Hinners said a few years ago most burglars were in their mid 20s to mid 30s; now he said they are primarily under the age of 18 or just barely older than that. He said there are still a few career burglars who are in their mid 20s to late 30s who are still practicing their trade, but most of the offenders are young. Elena Ingle asked if burglaries have gone up since school was out; Officer Kern said it’s too early to know for sure – they will know more in two weeks when they get their crime stats. Officer Hinners said more than likely school being out isn’t a factor because the kids doing burglaries typically aren’t going to school anyway. Jody Bennett mentioned that a property on Mona Lane had been burglarized again and she thought the circumstances were suspicious. Wichita Fire Department Report Battalion Chief Tom Carney reported District III fared well during the month of May with only one structure fire. However, the City as a whole saw $878,000 in property damage due to fires during the month. Chief Carney also reported that the Citizen’s Academy is going great and that the Fire Department plans to engage several youth workers this summer. Gay Quisenberry said she heard on the news that a fire started as a result of a cigarette butt being placed in a flower pot with potting soil in it. Chief Carney said that is correct – that the material in potting soil is highly flammable and a cigarette butt can sit in a pot and smolder for several hours and then burst into flames. Quisenberry said the Fire Department should consider doing some public information on flammable materials like potting soil. Larry Manny commented that a lot of fires start as a result of someone smoking on oxygen. Quisenberry said sometimes people who are very ill and on oxygen and other medications either forget or don’t realize what they are doing and so it’s not always an intentional act. Council Member Clendenin said he has been getting some complaints about people burning tree limbs in pits and it causing health issues for the neighbors. He wanted to know what the parameters are regarding fire pits. Chief Carney said all chimeneas are okay and fire pits that are 2x2x2 (or under) are also acceptable. However, if the smoke becomes a nuisance, he said neighbors should call 911 and the fire department will respond. Action: Receive and file. NEW BUSINESS Budget update: 2013 – 2014 Mark Manning, Department of Finance, reminded everyone of the information he provided last month: that the City was looking at budget deficits of approximately $1 million this year $5 million next year and $6 million in 2014. He said there is some good news on the horizon for this year. Manning explained the City currently has 200 vacant positions and probably won’t fill the majority of them. That, coupled with some 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for June 6, 2012 changes in procedures for street repairs and overlay, it appears the City will break even this year and will only be facing a $2 to $3 million shortfall next year. While this is good news, he said the City’s financial position is still concerning and in thinking conceptually, if the mill levy isn’t raised, the only way to address the shortfall is to continue to cut services. He said in 2012 the City Council approved a 2.5% raise for all City employees. City Council members will be receiving a 2.3% raise. He said in looking at the big picture, the City Council raises are pretty insignificant – probably less than $8,000. Elena Ingle asked if the pension fund is being affected. Manning said pension costs are going up; he said they are always like a roller coaster depending on the stock market. He said when the stock market isn’t doing well; the City has to contribute more money to the pension fund. Dave Robbins wanted to know if all of the 200 vacant positions had been included in the budgeting process; Manning said no, not all of them. Gay Quisenberry asked how the City grows its pension fund. Manning said they have very strict guidelines and a very diverse portfolio. Quisenberry asked if it is governed by a group or committee; Manning said yes – there are two Boards over the pension programs. Quisenberry wanted to know why the 200 vacant positions haven’t been posted and advertised; Manning said because the City can’t afford to fill them. Quisenberry asked if there are some things that citizens could do to relieve some of the budget stress, like fill potholes or do some of the mowing. Council Member Clendenin mentioned that the City’s primary mowing contractor just quit. Larry Manny said it was better when City employees did the mowing because they did a better job and they could then do other things during the off season. Action: Receive and file UPDATES, ISSUES AND REPORTS Council Member Clendenin announced that he and County Commissioner Jim Skelton will be holding a picnic for the South City area at Herman Hill Park on June 30 from 5 to 8 p.m. The DAB is invited to attend. Other items brought forth by the Council Member:  Is DAB interested in attending a Wingnuts game? Several members indicated they are.  He continues to address the issues at Battin Apartments; another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow  He has not been able to find anyone from the South Central Neighborhood Assoc. to serve on the DAB. Is anyone interested in attending their meetings to provide a DAB report?  Later in June he will be speaking to a group of students at Southeast High on local government  If people haven’t paid a visit to Botanica, they really should go; he took his daughter to the Children’s Garden and it was a great experience Council Member Clendenin asked for feedback from the DAB regarding the City Council pay raise. He said the City Council raise is automatic and is tied to the Consumer Price Index. For the past two years, the Council hasn’t given employees raises, so the Council Members didn’t take their raises either. This year, Council approved 2.5% raises for all City employees and the Council raise will be 2.3% which amounts to about $20 per paycheck. 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for June 6, 2012 Jody Bennett said the public should be reasonable about the Council raise; that the Council Members should be compensated for the work they do and it is a well-deserved raise. She pointed out that with the demands the Council position requires, there is no way the Council Member can manage a full time job along with it and it’s already a low-paying job with a high intensity demand. She said she thinks some of the statements that have been made regarding the raise are nothing but political posturing. Terry Brewster questioned how we will get qualified people to run for office if the compensation doesn’t come close to the demands of the position. He said Council pay is just like Transit – it should be considered a part of the infrastructure. Danny Johnson dittoed Brewster’s comments and said the public has no idea how hard government employees work. He said if they drive down the street and see someone from Public Works leaning on a shovel, they make an immediate judgment, not knowing the guy just spent three hours digging a trench. Paul Davis said he ran for Council in 1974 and the job paid virtually nothing then and even at the current rate, it’s not that great compared to the time commitment required. Gay Quisenberry said when she first moved to Wichita, she couldn’t believe that a City this size had a part- time Council. She said she wants a full-time, well-paid competent representative for her neighborhood. She said a lot of the comments being made against the Council raise are foolish and make the people making them seem very stupid. Council Member Clendenin thanked the DAB members for their honest feedback. Other reports/concerns included: Terry Brewster asked if the CID has been brought up by Southfork again. Council Member Clendenin said it has not and he doesn’t expect it will; however, if a large box store were to express interest in that site, there is nothing to prevent them from pursuing a single-source CID. Wendy Ratliff report the Planeview Activity Camp for Kids is going strong with 90 kids attending. She said they are taking 50 kids to Botanica this month and another 50 next month. Gay Quisenberry mentioned Elder Awareness Day and also passed out save the date cards for the Senior Expo. Elena Ingle shared a situation in her neighborhood where a realtor is advertising a single-family dwelling as having the potential of becoming a duplex. She said she called the company and spoke with the broker and she believes the situation has been rectified. Jody Bennett reported the South Area Neighborhood Association isn’t meeting over the summer, but they did have an area where a lot of houses have been re-possessed so they are keeping a close eye on the condition of that neighborhood. Dave Robbins said Fabrique is having its neighborhood clean up on June 30 and they recently had Harlan Bascombe, OCI Supervisor, speak at their meeting. He said Bascombe provided Neighborhood Inspectors phone numbers so Association members can call them directly. He also said there were a couple of houses for sale in the area where the grass had gotten tall and he called the realtors and the yards were mowed pretty quickly. Robbins also publicly thanked Cornejo for the work they have donated on the Fabrique neighborhood sign. 4  District III Advisory Board Minutes for June 6, 2012 Council Member Clendenin told everyone that even though some of the neighborhood cleanup money was taken away to fund a deficit in Transit, all of the neighborhood cleanups that have been scheduled, will be funded. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., July 11, 2012, at the Water Center at 101 E. Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Assistant – District III Guests Kathy Manny Larry Manny Steven Walters Rebecca Likiardopoulis 5