District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for September 3, 2014 District III Advisory Board Minutes September 3, 2014 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Wichita WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211; Council Member Clendenin, six District Advisory Board members; four City staff and six signed in members of the public were present. Members Present Paul Davis Staff Present Elena Ingle Case Bell, Community Liaison Eric Bell Lt. Cox, Wichita Fire David Robbins Officer Kern, Wichita Police Connie White Officer Hinners, Wichita Police Terry Brewster Council Member James Clendenin Guests Listed on last page Members Absent Marjorie Griffith Wendy Ratliff ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Clendenin called the meeting to order. Minutes from the July 2, 2014, meeting were approved. The agenda for the current meeting was approved. STAFF REPORTS Lt. Cox, Fire, reported on District III and Wichita. In August there were 16 fires in the City with a total loss of $423,750, most of which is from damage to structures. There is currently an academy recruit class that will be finishing and possibly another recruit class being hired. The current recruit class has 16 recruits. Public? What is full staffing? A: Daily, somewhere around 118 on duty and around 450 including all staff. Officer Kern, Police, reported on Beats 24 and 27. Officer Kern reported that they have been busy. There was a drive by in the 2700 block of S. Magnolia; there is currently a suspect. There have been copper thefts in the 2500-2900 blocks of S. Seneca. Specifically, El Mexico and Wendy’s have had thefts. There is currently a special assignment to help with Old Town and there is a focus at the moment of working in school zones. Officer Hinners, Police, reported on Beat 35. Officer Hinners reports that burglaries and auto thefts are up, but this was normal for the time of year when kids go back to school. There is also currently a shortage of officers. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for September 3, 2014 Council Member Clendenin: There were 80 officers that retired last year. The City Council has authorized a recruit class that graduates this year and authorized two for 2015. DAB? What can we do about people not stopping for school busses? A: In the past they have done special assignments, but it wasn’t effective due to officers having to follow the bus and potential safety issues when cars were stopped by the officers around the school busses. Public? How many officers are there at full staffing? A: There are 400 commissioned officer positions and they are currently at around 360 officers. It takes about six months to get a class through the academy to where they can spend time on the streets. DAB? Where is the law enforcement training center? A: North Meridian but they are looking at a new temporary facility. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled Items None Off-agenda items None NEW BUSINESS Scheduled Items None BOARD AGENDA Council Member Clendenin reported that the bridge at 34th St and Broadway was open with a walking path to be completed. Council Member Clendenin spoke on the subject of dogs and the post office. Council Member Clendenin has spoken with the post office about a streamlined procedure for the postal service to notify the City about dog issues. Council Member Clendenin advised people to please call the City of they see dogs running loose or getting out of their enclosures. Council Member Clendenin spoke regarding blighted properties in South Central and South City. The Metropolitan Building and Construction Department has a new triage system in place. He encouraged people to not wait until there are a lot of problems to report it, report them as you see them. Council Member Clendenin spoke regarding the sales tax proposal. The City has a clear cut plan and the tax has a five year sunset built into it. The different areas of the sales tax are:  Water: 63% of the sales tax is for a new water source. There is currently a drought plan in place and education on conservation. The plan for the sales tax money would be to dig three more wells, and build a 60 foot-acre underground reservoir. When the river is up, it will pull out double the water it can now and put it in the reserve.  Transit: 7% of the sales tax will go to the transit system. The plan for transit is to allow for increases in available scheduling, bus upgrades, and moving to a grid system.  Streets: 10% of the sales tax will go to street maintenance which is planned to help catch up on the backlog of street maintenance due to the Great Recession. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for September 3, 2014  Jobs: 20% of the sales tax will go towards the jobs initiative. The money gained from this portion of the sales tax would be split up 40% for infrastructure (rail spurs, broadband, roads etc.), 40% for job training for new industries and diversification, and 20% for traditional incentives. There would be a citizen review committee set up to oversee the jobs fund. DAB: If we get the transit dollars, will we move to a hub and spoke system or grid? A: The City is already transitioning into the grid system. The transportation plan is on the website. A DAB Member noted that there will be a four to one return on money spent on transit. DAB? What will be the focus for the training? A: Primary focus in diversification of medical, technology, and manufacturing workers. DAB? If the tax were to be extended beyond the next five years, would it go on the ballot again? A: Yes, It would have to be. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board III will be held at 6:30 p.m., October 1, 2014, at Wichita WATER Center, 101 E Pawnee. Respectfully submitted, Case Bell, Community Liaison – District III Guests Tom Strickland Betty Strickland Steve Crum Trisha Epps Lonny Wright Bruce Gass 3