District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for Feb. 6, 2013 District III Advisory Board Minutes Feb. 6, 2013 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; six District Advisory Board members were in attendance; seven City staff and six members of the public were present. Members Present Jody Bennett Staff Present Terry Brewster Officer Claudale Cavanaugh, Patrol South Paul Davis Officer Ginny Wylie, Patrol South Wendy Ratliff Officer Dave Hinners, Patrol East David Robbins Lt. Scott Kleinschmidt, WFD Connie White Lyndell Lara, WFD Council Member James Clendenin Brandon Barnes, WFD Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Services Members Absent Elena Ingle Guests Danny Johnson Listed on the last page Roger Smith ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the Jan. 9, 2013, meeting were approved. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items No items Non-Scheduled items Alana Veges, MHA Senior Companion Program, explained the opportunities available in this program for senior citizens who are shut-ins to receive companionship, and for other senior citizens to provide companionship and receive a stipend for doing so. Veges said there are no income guidelines for seniors who would like to have a companion to come in and visit with them. She also said she is willing to speak to any groups who might be interested in the program. Jody Bennett asked who finances the program; Veges said it’s a grant through the Older American Act. Action: Receive and file. STAFF REPORTS Community Police Report Officer Claudale Cavanaugh, Beat 26 Patrol South, reported that like the rest of the city, her beat has seen a large increase in burglaries recently. She said the suspects knock on the front door and if no one answers, then they kick the door in. She believes the majority of the burglaries on her beat are being committed by juveniles. She said they recently apprehended a 14 year old and a 16 year old. She also reminded everyone about how quickly an auto theft can occur and not to leave any valuables in your vehicle. She said they have video of an auto theft that occurred at Wal-Mart; from start to finish, the incident took less than 30 seconds. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Feb. 6, 2013 Officer Ginny Wylie, Beat 25 Patrol South, said she had four auto thefts on her beat and she is also experiencing similar burglaries where they kick in the front door. She said two possible suspect vehicles have been identified: a silver Mazda Tribute (SUV type vehicle) and a silver Toyota Tercel with a temporary tag. She said the drivers have been described as African-American males 30 to 40. Sometimes these vehicles park in the driveway of the house they are burglarizing Wylie said. Officer Dave Hinners, Beat 35 Patrol East, reported the 33, 34 and 35 beat areas are being hammered with burglaries. He said they were down slightly in January after a few arrests, but still remain a concern. Recently there were some suspicious characters walking neighborhoods claiming to be selling Kirby vacuum cleaners. Hinners said police believe these people were casing out houses to burglarize, but there was quite a bit of publicity, so that tactic seems to have stopped for now. Jody Bennett asked what the incident was that occurred at Wal-Mart. Officer Hinners and Officer Cavanaugh gave a run down on those two incidents that involved fake bomb threats. Dave Robbins wanted to know what the lunch policy is for high schools. Officer Hinners said it varies, but for Southeast, juniors and seniors are allowed open lunch hour. Wichita Fire Department Report Lt. Scott Kleinschmidt reported that for District 3 in December there were 21 fire calls (10 of them structure fires); 576 EMS calls; and 128 service calls. He also reported the new Code Blue program has been very successful so far with a 60 percent increase in lives saved. He said in 2012 in District III the arson unit investigated 49 fires: 20 accidental, 20 incendiary, 8 undetermined and 1 is still under investigation. Dave Robbins wanted to know if the Fire Department had any vehicle accidents in December; Lt. Kleinschmidt said his shift didn’t, but he couldn’t say for any other shifts. He said when WFD does have accidents it’s usually related to something like clipping a sign with a mirror, or something similar to that, not crashing into other vehicles. Robbins asked if WFD runs hot to every call; Lt. Kleinschmidt said no, they normally don’t run lights and sirens on service calls. Paul Davis asked where the new County Fire Station is going to be located; Lt. Kleinschmidt said 47th and Oliver behind the Quik Trip. He also asked if WFD has seen more fires as a result of the new type of ceramic-topped ranges; Lt. Kleinschmidt said they haven’t seen more fires, but they have seen more burns. Action: Receive and file. UPDATES, ISSUES AND REPORTS Council Member Clendenin gave updates and addressed a number of items: Lincoln Street Dam He said a number of people have asked him why they don’t raise the dam and fill the river up downtown; he said because that would kill all of the fish downstream and they don’t want to do that. Sadly, a lot of the new area has been tagged with graffiti; if you see suspicious activity in that area, please call 911. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Feb. 6, 2013 There is a very large amount of dog feces along the river bank; if you walk your dog there, please clean up after your pet. Wastewater tour Last Saturday several citizens and DAB members toured Plant 2. City staff has made some changes at the plant that have really made a difference in the air quality for neighboring properties. Another tour will be planned this summer. Unwanted publications He has been getting a lot of calls and e-mails from citizens who don’t want these publications. The best thing citizens can do is contact the publisher/distributor of the publication. Terry Brewster said he went to the South Area Neighborhood Association meeting and they said if you don’t want the Eagle flyers to contact Mark Marshall. He left a voice mail message for him and never heard back. Brewster said he is tired of getting the Eagle flyers and he’s also tired of that Gabel guy and his publication; Brewster views it as trespassing. He would like a DAB III representative to contact the Eagle on behalf of the Board and get some resolution. Council Member Clendenin said he would contact them. Vaughn Fox said the Eagle is the worst; they just won’t stop delivering, even when you ask them to. Mary Dean asked where these papers are being delivered; Council Member Clendenin said the Eagle flyers are everywhere and the Wichita Post seems to be mainly in South Wichita. Dave Robbins said Fabrique doesn’t meet in February, but will in March. Jody Bennett reported they are still having a lot of petty crime in the area. The South Area Neighborhood Assoc. will hold a candidate forum on March 11th. Paul Davis pointed out a lot of newspapers across the country are going out of business and he thinks the Eagle is just trying to generate some revenue. He also pointed out that he lives near the Wastewater Plant 2 and the odor has never been so bad at his house that he had to go inside and close the windows. Terry Brewster said part of his frustration with the Eagle is that he spends $60,000 a year with them in advertising revenue and if they won’t listen to him, who will they listen to? He also wanted to know when the Lawrence Dumont audit will be complete. Council Member Clendenin said he hadn’t received a time frame on that, but he will find out. Connie White reported Fairfax decided to have another clean up this year. Jody Bennett said the City needs to look at water conservation because she doesn’t think we can continue doing business as usual. Council Member Clendenin said they are looking at that; the equus beds are already down 7 or 8 feet, so when you are planting your garden this year you should do so with the thought in mind that you’re probably not going to have as much water. Council Member Clendenin announced that Gay Quisenberry has resigned from the DAB due to being over-committed and Eric Bell who lives in the K-15 area has agreed to join the DAB. Meeting was adjourned. 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Feb. 6, 2013 The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., March 6, 2013, at the Water Center at 101 E. Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Assistant – District III Guests Tom Strickland Betty Strickland Alana Veges Trisha Epps Mary Dean Vaughn Fox 4