District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for Nov. 7, 2012 District III Advisory Board Minutes Nov. 7, 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; 10 District Advisory Board members were in attendance; 12 City staff and six members of the public were present. Members Present Officer Ginny Wylie, Patrol South Jody Bennett Officer Vickie Kern, Patrol South Terry Brewster Officer Rebekah Johnson, Patrol East Paul Davis Cheryl Busada, Public Works and Utilities Elena Ingle Mary K. Vaughn, Housing and Community Danny Johnson Services Gay Quisenberry Tad Nicholson, WFD Wendy Ratliff Justin Camfield, WFD David Robbins Lt. Nate Neises, WFD Roger Smith Jordan Hargadin, WFD Connie White Brian Richey, WFD Council Member James Clendenin Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Services Staff Present Guests Officer Shanna Cornwell, Patrol South Listed on the last page ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the Oct. 3, 2012, meeting were approved. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items No items Non-Scheduled items No items Action: Receive and file. STAFF REPORTS Community Police Report Officer Vickie Kern, Beat 24 Patrol South, reported a recent drive by shooting that occurred near Pawnee and Palisade. She said the suspects do not live in the area, but they shot between 15 and 20 live rounds in the area. Officer Rebekah Johnson, Beat 32 Patrol East, said there has been an increase in burglaries on the 35 and 36 beats, but two arrests have been made. Auto thefts are also up and she reminded everyone that with cold weather coming, it’s important not to leave your vehicle running unattended. Connie White mentioned some drug activity in the Fairfax area; Officer Johnson said she is working with the Neighborhood Association President on that issue. Wichita Fire Department Report 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Nov. 7, 2012 Lt. Nate Neises reported there were 38 fires citywide last month:  13 accidental  17 incendiary  6 still under investigation  2 undetermined He also reported the Fire Department is collecting new coats; anyone who would like to donate can drop off the coat at any fire station. Roger Smith asked who deals with radon; Lt. Neises said it’s not the Fire Department. Council Member Clendenin suggested there are private businesses that do that, especially related to the real estate industry. Connie Klassen asked if any arrests were made related to fireworks over the July 4 th holiday. Lt. Neises said WPD would be more likely to have that information; he said the fire department can issue tickets, but he didn’t know if any were issued this year. Action: Receive and file. NEW BUSINESS Water and Sewer Rate Proposal Cheryl Busada, Business Operations Manager Public Works and Utilities, reported that a series of water and sewer rate scenarios were presented to the City Council during a workshop on February 28, 2012. These scenarios laid out different options for funding the utilities through the next decade. The Water Utilities Advisory Committee – comprised of representatives from commercial, wholesale, and residential customers – met twice to consider the scenarios. The committee recommended a rate structure that was presented to the City Council on August 28, 2012. The City is gathering public input before the City Council considers the issue again later in November. The scenario recommended by the Water Utilities Advisory Committee requires City staff to reduce operating and maintenance expenses by 3% before 2014. In addition, growth-related projects (which serve future customers, not existing customers) would be frozen for the next two years to sync up with current development trends. It would result in the increases that are show in the table below. This scenario generates 17.9% less new revenue over 10 years than the current model for funding the utilities. PROPOSED WATER & SEWER RATES 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Water 5.0% 6.0% 6.0% 5.5% 4.0% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% Sewer 7.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.0% 5.5% 5.0% 5.0% 4.5% 4.5% Total 5.8% 5.6% 5.6% 5.3% 4.4% 4.0% 3.8% 3.8% 3.6% 3.6% The funding provided by these rate increases will boost replacement rates of aging mains to minimize water line breaks and sewage backups. The higher water rates through 2016 will pay for the Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) project, while the sewer rates will allow the City to construct a biological nutrient removal system to remain in compliance with EPA guidelines. Dave Robbins asked if the recommended plan includes funding for the ASR; Busada said it includes funding for phase 2, and they are still studying phases 3 and 4. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Nov. 7, 2012 Busada also explained there are currently two and a half years worth of buildable lots in the city of Wichita that already have the necessary infrastructure in place. Any builder, who proposes to build in a location where the infrastructure isn’t already in place, could be faced with an 18 month waiting period. Paul Davis asked why it would take that long; Busada said that time frame includes design, bidding and construction. One of Busada’s handouts referred to $47.35 being an average residential rate for water and sewer service; Gay Quisenberry wanted to know what that includes. Busada said it would include the base rate and the consumption charge. She said 6,000 gallons a month is the average consumption. Jim Gulick asked how many water meters are in the city of Wichita; Busada said the average is around 145,000, with around $155,000 during irrigating months. Paul Davis questioned the City’s current tap fee; Busada said it costs around $2,100 on a new residential unit to tap into City water. Connie White wanted to know how the City charges a sewer rate on a structure that’s not on City water; Busada said it’s a flat rate. There was also a discussion on how commercial businesses such as greenhouses are charged when they are using water solely for irrigation purposes. Paul Davis said he has the opposite – he’s on City water, but not hooked into the sewer; Busada said he shouldn’t have a sewer charge. Council Member Clendenin said there is no doubt that water rates are going to go up. He said from a City Council perspective there was some mismanagement in the Water Department. He said former Public Works Director Chris Carrier came in and attempted to address the issue, but the City Council wouldn’t give him the necessary funding to get things back on track. He cited the problems that the Kansas City area is now experiencing with water and the very high rates customers there are being charged. Council Member Clendenin said the ASR project is very important, but due to the two years of drought, it really hasn’t been tested, which is why there is currently not a financial commitment to phases 3 and 4. He explained that without the ASR, which not only replenishes the equus beds, but also keeps the salt plumes at bay, the City would have to pay for desalinization, which is drastically expensive. Additionally, the City is being required to comply with Federal mandates over nutrient removal which means the sewage plants are going to have to be upgraded. Danny Johnson said progress and change is understandable and must be funded, but he questioned how much of the rate increase is due to previous mismanagement. He said mismanagement which impacts citizens financially creates mistrust of government. Council Member Clendenin agreed and said he has a lot of confidence in Alan King, who is now the Director of Public Works and Utilities. He said King was a very good hire by Manager Layton and CM Clendenin believes King can restore citizen confidence in the Water Department. Elena Ingle said she is concerned about the aging water mains and wanted to know if the increase includes upgrades to water mains; Busada said yes. Jody Bennett said she thinks it’s important to address all the issues related to water including run off, water sheds, the impact of farming, etc. Council Member Clendenin said there are education efforts being made. Action: Receive and file 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Nov. 7, 2012 CDBG Priorities Mary K. Vaughn, Director of Housing and Community Services, gave a presentation requesting feedback on funding priorities for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funds. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers the City of Wichita to be an entitlement city and as such Wichita receives annual allocations. In order to receive these funds the City is required to prepare a Five Year Consolidated Plan. Then each year the City is required to submit an annual spending plan which addresses the priorities identified in the five year plan. Staff is soliciting community input to develop a spending plan for the fiscal year which starts July 1, 2013 and ends on June 30, 2014. HUD has not announced the City’s allocations however in order to meet regulatory dates and deadlines, City staff is soliciting public input so that when the allocations are announced staff will know how to budget the funds to reflect the community’s priorities. City staff has assumed an 8% reduction in funding based on early indicators in national budgeting. There are three scenarios being presented to account for the reduction in CDBG and HOME. The three CDGB scenarios are:  8% reduction across the board  Leave public service as it is and reduce all other categories  Eliminate programs which are also funded with the general fund The three HOME scenarios are:  8% reduction across the board  Reduce administration, HOME 80, HDLP  Reduce administration and housing development, fund home rehab The Board asked Vaughn if she could provide figures for each CDBG program, which she did. Danny Johnson said he would abstain from voting on anything related to CDBG, but would give input on the HOME funds. Terry Brewster asked Vaughn for some insight on priorities, based on her years of experience; she shared her thoughts. Jim Gulick said he recently participated in a budgeting process on a County Board he serves on and they looked at individual line items and not blanket cuts. Connie White asked when the final decision has to be made; Vaughn said by Nov. 19th so she can present to City Council in December. She said HUD won’t provide a final number until March or April. Paul Davis said opinions on the CDBG funding priorities have been sought since the days of the old CPOs and he felt like the type of feedback Vaughn is asking for is very appropriate. Several DAB members completed their spending plan preferences and turned them in to Vaughn. Action: Provide feedback 4  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Nov. 7, 2012 UPDATES, ISSUES AND REPORTS Council Member Clendenin shared the most recent proposed map for City Council Redistricting and discussed the logic behind it. Elena Ingle asked why Schweiter went back to District I; Council Member Clendenin said Schweiter, Schweiter East and Sunnyside are three neighborhood associations that work very closely together and there was a reluctance to divide them between District I and III. CM Clendenin also reported an additional traffic count study is being done on East Mt. Vernon and Public Works Engineering will be sharing those findings at the next East Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Association meeting. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., Dec. 5, 2012, at the Water Center at 101 E. Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Assistant – District III Guests Connie Klassen Jim Gulick Tom Strickland Betty Strickland Hazel Drummond Pat White 5