District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 2, 2013 District III Advisory Board Minutes Oct. 2, 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; 10 District Advisory Board members were in attendance; two City staff and 14 members of the public were present. Members Present Eric Bell Members Absent Jody Bennett Terry Brewster Paul Davis Vaughn Fox Staff Present Marjorie Griffith Officer Clayton Schuler, Patrol South Elena Ingle Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Services Danny Johnson Wendy Ratliff Guests David Robbins Listed on last page Connie White Council Member James Clendenin ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the Sept 3, 2013, meeting were approved. Council Member Clendenin explained that he is going to change the format of the DAB meetings somewhat. This is an effort to keep the items moving along and keep the meetings down to a reasonable time. He said citizens might be more likely to attend if they knew they wouldn’t have to devote their entire evening to the meeting. He said from now on, police and fire reports will be presented every other month and any citizens wanting to speak will need to call Janet Johnson and schedule their items. He said the only non-scheduled items that will be heard will be from DAB members (who will now report at the beginning instead of the end of the meeting), and he would prefer that they call Janet ahead of time and get their topic/item on the agenda. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items No items Non-Scheduled items Connie White reported they had several drug houses and some blight issues in the Fairfax area and the Neighborhood President called a meeting with the Police Department to open the lines of communication and progress is now being made in addressing the issues. Elena Ingle reported the Meadowlark Neighborhood Association held their hotdog lunch and that when she attended WIN University the new fire truck was there. Dave Robbins reported Fabrique had a picnic with E. Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Assoc. and around 100 people attended. Wendy Ratliff said the Celebrate Safe Communities event in Planeview was a success. Around 250 attended and they gave out fresh fruit and vegetables, had a watermelon feed and snow cones and gave out door prizes. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 2, 2013 Paul Davis said he was surprised recently when he asked a Community Police Officer about addressing an illegal sign issue and the Officer said he didn’t know anything about signs. Davis said the Community Policing program that was sold to the community when it was implemented sure isn’t what we are experiencing today. He said nowadays you can’t even get a phone call returned. Jody Bennett announced the next South Area meeting will be Monday at 7 p.m. Action: Receive and file. STAFF REPORTS Park Board Report Hoyt Hillman, District III Park Board Representative, reported the Park Board is getting ready for its Annual Retreat where they will discuss items such as planning for aquatics, parks, writing City code, etc. He said they are still working on planting native plants on the river bank between Kellogg and Harry and that Lights on the River is slated for Dec. 7. Jody Bennett asked what the plans are for addressing all the trees we have lost. Hillman said they are removing the dead ones and looking to replant with varieties that are hardier than the cottonwoods are. Action: Receive and file. NEW BUSINESS WSU Hugo Wall survey Deanna Camitner, WSU, presented information on the Plan for Prosperity for South Central Kansas. The area includes Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, Reno and Sumner Counties and will be a two-year process. She said the effort will focus on six key areas: built environment; healthy community design; natural resources; transportation; water; and workforce and business development. She passed out surveys for the DAB members and citizens to complete. Action: Receive and file. CON2013-00020 This item was deferred until the November meeting at the request of the applicant. COUNCIL MEMBER UPDATE Council Member Clendenin gave updates on several items.  Water: The City is coming with an emergency conservation plan that is a four-tier system. He said the plan is available on the City’s website for review. He said penalties do no kick in until stage three. Additionally, he said they are looking at a long-term plan for water that includes new methods of water collection and usage. Lonnie Wright said it seemed like a very unrestrictive plan.  Southeast Branch Library: The Council member continues to work with Max Cole on this issue. He said Cole’s proposal is amazing and it would cost the City virtually no money. He gave some examples of cutting edge technology that would be available. He said the learning methods and technology encourage young people to develop an interest in everything from engineering to artwork. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 2, 2013  Homeless Outreach Team: Last week the Council Member received a call from a business owner worried about some homeless people who were living under the bridge and starting fires. The HO Team responded and found it was a couple who had recently become homeless. The Team is working on finding resources for the couple. The Council Member said he is very impressed with the work HOT is doing.  Curbside Mail Service and dogs: The Council Member recently met with the Post Master, the Chief of Police, Capt. Livingston and some citizens regarding the ongoing requirement from the Post Office for curbside mail boxes. The Council Member said they asked for an appeals process; whereby the City/Animal Control is given an opportunity to rectify the problem before curbside service is required. He said he isn’t very optimistic that this will be implemented. He encouraged citizens to call Animal Control if they see a dog running at large and to call 911 if the animal is dangerous or aggressive.  Old Town: He said the Council thought certain enforcement measures were in place, when in fact they weren’t, so they are working on making that happen. He said Old Town is a fun and safe place, the only issues occur around 2 a.m. when the bars are letting out and it only takes a couple of bad apples to cause trouble. Jody Bennett said she thinks that the issues are gang-related and WPD should do some gang repression like they did back in the 1990s. Elena Ingle asked if there was any more information on the school signals. The Council Member said the information presented in the KWCH news story wasn’t entirely accurate. He said on the main streets, the school zone lights are working like they always did. On other streets, the lights have to be activated. He said the Kansas City area has used this method and it has been very successful. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 6, 2013, at the Water Center at 101 E. Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Janet Johnson, Neighborhood Assistant – District III Guests Tom Strickland Betty Strickland Lonnie Wright Jim Gulick Larry Manny Kathy Manny Teresa Cook Steven Walters Jan Hunt Deanna Camitner Hoyt Hillman Frank Schofler Ruby Littlejohn Mr. Littlejohn 3