District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for May 7, 2014 District III Advisory Board Minutes May 7, 2014 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Wichita WATER Center; Council Member Clendenin, seven District Advisory Board members; six City staff and eleven signed in members of the public were present. Members Present Staff Present Paul Davis Case Bell, Community Liaison Connie White Jess McNeely, Planning Elena Ingle Mark Stanberry, Housing Wendy Ratliff Brian Hill, Parks and Recreation Terry Brewster Zach Edwardson, Planning Marjorie Griffith Troy Hendricks, Parks and Recreation Gabrielle Harshberger (Youth Member) Council Member James Clendenin Guests Members Absent Listed on last page Danny Johnson Eric Bell David Robbins Jody Bennett ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the April 2, 2014, meeting were approved. The agenda for the current meeting was approved. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items None NEW BUSINESS Wichita Police Department Investigations Deputy Chief Ramzah, Wichita Police Department, presented information on the WPD Investigations division. Deputy Chief Ramzah was promoted three weeks prior to the DAB as Commander of the Investigations division. In 2012 the investigations division was streamlined with modified workflows and emphasis on gang crime. The division added sergeants who also carry cases, combined burglary and financial crimes, an air unit, and added a CSI unit. The total personnel for the division is 163 with 96 detectives. Deputy Chief Ramzah also reported on crime statistics. In 2014, there were five homicides with one being unsolved. In 2013 there were 17 homicides with four unsolved. In 2013 WPD had a 76% clearance rate on cases compared to the national rate of 64.8%. Deputy Chief Ramzah also advised that the WPD investigations division is dealing with several shooting deaths where the public is not coming forward. They are working on getting the message out to change their thinking and asking the question “Who do you empower by not telling the police?” Of the four unsolved homicides in 2013, three are unsolved due to people not coming forward even though there were witnesses at the scene. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for May 7, 2014 DAB? Are there any issues with jurisdiction with other counties and duplication of emergency response services? A: WPD is changing their communication system so that they can talk to other counties/cities to coordinate responses. DAB? Do you always run license plates and vin numbers to check ownership of a vehicle? A: Not without probable cause. Action: Receive and file. CUP2014-00009 Amendment to Community Unit Plan (CUP) DP-261 Jess McNeely, Planning, reported on the property located within DP-261, the Oliver Retail Center Community Unit Plan (CUP) at the southeast corner of Oliver and Kellogg. The applicant requested an amendment to DP-261 to include property at the hard corner which was previously not within the CUP boundaries; this property was purchased from a different owner. The amendment requests that a car wash be listed as a permitted use, that an LED sign be permitted along the Oliver frontage, and that a pole sign along the Kellogg frontage increase permitted size from 202 to 300 square feet and increase permitted height from 35 to 70 feet. The applicant has agreed to put the sign at 50 feet. DAB? Can the lights on the sign be turned down after a certain time of night? A: Yes. DAB? How far is the carwash from the nearest resident? A: 70 feet to the nearest residential zoning area. The CUP requires that the item cannot be heard over ambient noise for the area on nearby residential property. Applicant: They have done an unofficial study of the ambient noise in the area and on a windy day there is not a lot of noise generated. DAB? What screening will be used? A: They are suggesting evergreens and shrubbery. DAB? Why is it necessary to increase the sign from 35 feet to 50 feet. A: So that traffic from Kellogg can see the sign before it’s too late to exit. Motion: That the request be APPROVED, subject to the five listed conditions. Action: Motion passed 6-0. Request for Resolution of Support for Application for Housing Tax Credits (Stepstone Apartments) Mark Stanberry, Housing and Community Services, presented on the potential application for the Housing Tax Credit Program. The City has received a request from Kansas Affordable Housing Corporation, for a City Council resolution of support for an application for 9% Housing Tax Credits in connection with the acquisition of sites and development of the Stepstone Apartments, to be located at 1340 S. Bluffview. Under the City’s adopted Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Policy, developers/owners must present proposed HTC projects to the applicable District Advisory Board (DAB). The proposed project involves acquisition of sites on the west side of Bluffview, including 1326, 1330, 1334, 1340, 1342, 1346, and 1350 S. Bluffview, as well as a vacant tract of land immediately adjacent/northeast of these sites. Existing housing structures on these sites would be demolished, with three new two-story, four-plex style buildings and a clubhouse to be constructed. The City's HTC Policy requires a set-aside of 20% of the units for market-rate tenants. Waiver of this requirement is requested, as the project will serve victims of domestic violence, considered to be homeless. The HTC Policy provides for a waiver of the 20% market-rate unit requirement when special needs populations are exclusively served. The resolution of support will not constitute final plan or design approval. If the project is awarded Housing Tax Credits, the project developer must comply with all requirements associated with appropriate plan reviews required for issuance of a City building permit. Andy Bias, Mennonite Housing, reported that Mennonite Housing is taking out substandard units and adding fencing. Stepstone targets victims of domestic violence and puts them in transitional housing where they can then qualify for permanent housing upon graduation. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for May 7, 2014 DAB? Are the units that will be acquired empty? A: Yes they are. DAB? Has there been any progress on parallax? A: It was approved this week and work will start soon. Councilmember Clendenin: The state will approve the project, all that the City is doing is writing a letter of support. Motion: To approve a recommendation for adoption of the resolution of support for the Housing Tax Credit Application, with waiver of the 20% market-rate unit requirement, subject to further review, in accordance with the City of Wichita’s Housing Tax Credit Policy. Action: Motion passed 6-0 Request for Resolution of Support for Application for Housing Tax Credits (Residences at Linwood) Mark Stanberry, Housing and Community Services, presented on the Residences at Linwood’s application for Housing Tax Credits. The City has received a request from The Residences at Linwood, LLC, for a City Council resolution of support for an application for 9% Housing Tax Credits in connection with the Phase 2 renovation of the Linwood Apartments, now known as The Residences at Linwood. The Housing Tax Credit (HTC) Program is administered by the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation. Enacted in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the HTC Program is designed to secure private equity capital for the development of affordable rental housing. The Program can provide as much as 55%-60% of the total development cost which reduces the amount of debt financing in affordable rental housing developments. This allows lower rents and greater affordability. The State receives a tax credit allocation from the Federal government, and requires developers/owners to obtain a resolution of support from the local government, when submitting applications for financing through the Program. The Residences at Linwood is located at 2002 S. Hydraulic, and was formerly known as Linwood Apartments. According to the application, a total of 176 apartment units would be renovated under what is to be considered as the second phase of a full-scale renovation project. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation approved an allocation of Housing Tax Credits in 2012 for the first phase of the renovation. The second phase of the renovation provides for 30 studio units, 116 one-bedroom units, and 30 two-bedroom units. The City’s HTC Policy requires a set-aside of 20% of the units for market-rate tenants. The developer is requesting partial waiver of this requirement, and is seeking to provide 10% of the units as market-rate units, citing extenuating circumstances related to market conditions. DAB? When were the units built? A: In the 40’s. DAB? Are there laundry facilities? A: There is a washer and dryer in each unit. DAB? How are the rents financed? A: They are low-income rents. DAB? What is your occupancy rate? A: Right now 127 out of 180 units are occupied. Out of the 53 that are left, half are pre-leased. DAB? How many phases will there be? A: Two, this is the last phase (360 units in total). Motion: To approve a recommendation for adoption of the resolution of support for the Housing Tax Credit Application. Action: Motion passed 6-0 Aquatic Master Plan Brian Hill, Parks and Recreation, presented information on the Aquatic Master Plan. They are currently getting ready for the pools to open. In the city there are 11 pools, of these the average life span is 44 years compared to 25 years for the national average. Most pools are in great need of upgrades or repairs. Edgemoor was leaking one foot of water every night before it was closed in 2011. Linwood’s water is flushed twice a day instead of the usual once a week at around 10,000 gallons per flush. Attendance has increased each year at the pools city wide, however McAdams has decreased due to low hours and Linwood has also shown a steady decline. Overall attendance did decrease in 2012 due to two closings and hot weather. Throughout the two closures, revenues have been consistent. When the public was asked what they wanted to see, they said that they wanted increased hours and more amenities, as well as new family friendly facilities, an extended 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for May 7, 2014 season, and an emphasis on the importance of swim lessons. The Parks and Recreation department has recommended that the program be moved to a sustainable model with reduced facilities, increased hours, and more modern and appealing facilities. According to the plan timeline, Edgemoor will reopen in 2016 when Boston and McAdams close. In 2017 Evergreen will be closed and then reopened in 2018. In 2019 Linwood will be closed to be reopened in 2020. They are also considering design changes such as segmented pools, lazy rivers, and splash pads that don’t require access to the pool (so that the splash pad can be opened by itself). DAB? Is the pool chart that lists open and closed pools until 2020 available? A: Yes, it will be made available. DAB? Are the city pools in competition with the YMCA? A: No, they target a different clientele. DAB? Are there historic preservation issues? A: Only at College Hill in the bath house. Action: Receive and file. WAMPO Update Zach Edwardson, Planning, presented information on the Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (WAMPO) Move 2040 Plan. The WAMPO Dollar exercise surveyed 1,000 people to find out what the public wants. The most pressing needs were alternative modes of transportation, bottle necks, and maintaining the system. A key issue that was identified was connecting rural and urban communities. Of those roads that qualify for federal funding over 70% of roads were rated good or very good. However, almost half of the residential streets that do not qualify for federal funding do not meet national standards. There were four groups of investment strategies identified, these were: multi-modalism (more than one way to get from point A to point B), fixing bottle necks such as the I-235 and I-135 interchange, use technology or redesign to update roads, and maintaining the system. Action: Receive and file. Possible Golf Enterprise Sustainable Redevelopment Plan Troy Hendricks, Parks and Recreation, reported on the possible changes coming to LW Clapp Golf Course at Harry and Oliver. So far they have improved facilities and marketing, added player programs, and added a new point of sale system. Clapp has steadily lost attendance in the past due to loss of aircraft jobs and support jobs, changes in neighborhood demographics, loss of core players to age and death, fewer younger players starting to play golf, time constraints, and a lack of significant updating. In order to pay for future improvements they are considering selling some of the property around the course which would affect four holes and five other holes due to rerouting at a cost of $400-500k. Possible improvements include constructing a driving range, a learning center, a multipurpose room, turning the course into a short course (also known as a 3-Par course), and develop a SNAG or pee-wee course. Changes that will increase sustainability would include new player development programs, more welcoming facilities to new players, improving the first time experience, and improving pace of play. All these changes are estimated to cost around 2.5-3 million dollars using either general obligation funds or by selling the property along Oliver. Councilmember Clendenin? Will there be any community meetings held? A: Yes, they are looking at two community meetings in the future. DAB? Will the new golfer focus be on adults as well as children? A: Yes. DAB? Who owns Clapp? A: The board of park commissioners. Action: Receive and file. 4  District III Advisory Board Minutes for May 7, 2014 IdeaTek Ivan Kuhn and Jill Droge, IdeaTek, presented information on IdeaTek. IdeaTek is a Kansas based company that works with municipalities on small cell deployment. Small cells are cell phone radio towers that are three feet tall by one foot wide and are placed upon existing light poles. These small cells have a range of 3-5 city blocks. They give better cell phone coverage, reliability, and speed in that radius. They will be placed in specific areas to improve coverage in that area. They contract with a specific wireless carrier, but other carriers can use the small cells via roaming agreements. The reason for these small cells is that the larger towers no longer have extra capacity and as a tower reaches its maximum capacity the range of the signal shrinks. Small cells also use less power. The small cells get their bandwidth from a fiber ring around the city that IdeaTek will install at no cost to the city. There will be 110 smalls cells initially, seven of which in District IV. This service is at no cost to the city and in fact IdeaTek will be paying the city for the usage of the poles plus 5% on all revenue from Wichita. DAB? Does it help all cell phone carriers? A: Yes because other carriers can access via roaming agreements. Public? Will it help outside of Wichita? A: No, there will be around 100 sites within Wichita only. Action: Receive and file. BOARD AGENDA Councilmember Clendenin: District Advisory Board members who would like to are invited to take a tour of the airport. Please let Councilmember Clendenin know if you are interested as soon as possible. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., June 4, 2014, at Wichita WATER Center, 101 E Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Case Bell, Community Liaison – District III Guests Tom Shutland Betty Shutland Andy Bias Lonny Wright Anya Clifford Brent Hurst Todd Mills Isaac Krumme Sharon Bastian Kit Lambert Ron Tracy 5