District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 3, 2018 District III Advisory Board Minutes October 3, 2018 www.wichita.gov The District III Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211. Council Member James Clendenin, ten District Advisory Board members, five City staff, and ten members of the public were present. Members Present Staff Present Jared Cerullo Chief Tammy Snow, Wichita Fire Department David Robbins Chief Stuart Bevis, WFD Ron Tracy Chief James Fromme, WFD Michael Loop Officer Nick Long, Wichita Police Department Gerald Henry Maddy Campbell, Office of Community Services Paul Davis Cindy Miles Catherine Johnson Daisy Olivar Marco Alcocer Council Member James Clendenin Members Absent Bruce Gass ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member James Clendenin called the meeting to order. The agenda for the current meeting was approved. The Minutes for Sept. 5, 2018 were approved. STAFF REPORTS Police Officer Nick Long, WPD, reported nonresidential burglaries in District III increased significantly for a period of time due to a specific group of people. A special investigation involving background research and surveillance was conducted resulting in the arrest of a suspect. WPD hopes the burglaries will decrease and the suspect will be kept in custody. He spoke about bicycle safety and answered various questions from DAB and the public about bicycle traffic ordinances. A member of the public on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board informed the group that it is legal to ride your bicycle on the sidewalk in any direction except for in the downtown business district. DAB had the following questions: Q: Is it illegal for people park their cars across the sidewalk? Why are more tickets not written? A: We write tickets on a complaint-based system. If we drive past an incidence of parking across the sidewalk we can stop and write a ticket based on our discretion. Q: Can you write a ticket for someone doing donuts in their car in their backyard? A: The only two things you can cite on private property in regard to traffic are DUIs or reckless driving (requires people outside in proximity of the vehicle to be in danger). 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 3, 2018 Action taken: Received and filed. PUBLIC AGENDA None NEW BUSINESS WFD 2018 Fourth of July Fireworks Summary Report Chief Bevis, WFD presented the summary report for the 2018 Fourth of July Fireworks ordinances. WFD in conjunction with WPD deployed personnel on the evenings of July 3 and 4 to enforce the fireworks ordinance with the goals of improving community safety, deterring illegal use of fireworks, and educating the public. Statistics presented included:  22 teams patrolled the city each night  Dispatch received 1,437 fireworks complaint calls this year  51 reported injuries caused by fireworks, an increase of 15 from last year  Fireworks related incidents went up by 17 this year  Dollar loss due to fireworks related incidents was down  138 citations were written, with 23 of those being in District III Citizens reported reduced use of illegal fireworks leading up to the holiday and many citizens thanked the City for enforcement efforts. Other feedback received was negative and critical of enforcement efforts, including writing citations. WFD had concerns which included: problematic staffing of teams; officer safety; no back up readily available to assist the teams; and first officers not being equipped, trained, or experienced in issuing citations in hostile situations. Due to limited staff and logistics, only small amounts of fireworks were confiscated, leaving some illegal materials with citizens. More teams were needed to adequately cover the city and patrols on additional nights to address overall use of illegal fireworks. The following financial statistics were provided:  Fireworks sales permits collected $48,000  Enhanced enforcement efforts cost and estimated $27,417  This resulted in a net revenue of $20,583  Fines collected for citations written are currently at about $20,000, with an additional $13,000 or more pending In summary, many citizens continued using illegal fireworks even after the widely publicized plan to issue citations. It is unclear if the writing of citations had a positive impact on the safety of the community. Cost of the enforcement effort was adequately covered by collected fees. Enforcement efforts involve significant risk to staff. DAB and the public asked and made the following questions and comments: C (DAB): You guys did a good job because it was nothing like it has been in the past. Q (DAB): Was the $1,500 per tent fee a significant increase? A: This is the first time we had any type of fee. They might have paid for a license through zoning or MABCD in the past, but there has never been a tent fee. Q (DAB): Is any leftover funding collected from this project (fines minus cost of staff) going into next year’s enforcement or does it go back into the general fund? A: Fines go into the general fund. The City Manager decides where other costs collected go. Q (DAB): Do you have a recommended shingle that will not light easily from a bottle rocket? 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 3, 2018 A: Almost every shingle is okay except for shake shingles. That is why bottle rockets are illegal across the state of Kansas. I spent a lot of time fighting bottle rocket fires in my past. CM Clendenin shared that the Council will have a discussion with WFD to see what they found out at each DAB meeting to address needed changes to the ordinance for next year and to identify positive results. Council will discuss the topic with the public again as well. Action taken: Received and filed. PUBLIC AGENDA Off-agenda items George Theoharis, an actively involved citizen, shared various concerns and frustrations regarding the City. A main issue addressed was dissatisfaction with Animal Control. George reported he himself has been attacked five separate times by a dog at large and shared statistics he collected about the frequency of mail carriers being attacked by dogs at large in the community. George called for an overhaul of Animal Services as he feels the City is poorly managing dog attacks/bites. He alleged the court is not adhering to the “shall” fines and is improperly allowing cases to be plead out. George also shared his thoughts on the placement of the new Patrol East substation location. He feels as though the station should be placed near Hilltop and Planeview, where crime is high. George shared he personally feels as though the future location of the substation is being unethically influenced by the City Manager. George called for the public to support raising the mill levy to increase funds for public safety and then left the meeting. CM Clendenin responded to George’s concerns. He shared that he too feels as though “shall” fees should not be plead out in court and will investigate this issue. He validated many of George’s frustrations with Animal Control. He then reminded the group that bureaucracy runs slowly at times and he does not feel as though George’s critiques of the City, and City Manager specifically, “doing nothing” are fair. He stated that the accusation that the City Manager is trying to influence the placement of the substation to be near his home is unsubstantiated. He shared that he continues to be in support of raising the mill levy, but that is something that must be supported by the majority of City Council and the support for that is not currently present. Various other topics were discussed by the DAB and public prior to adjournment. They included the following questions, answers, and comments: Q (DAB): I would like to know from this board, do we have a feral cat problem? There was an article in the newspaper addressing this. I do not personally have problems in my neighborhood. A (CM Clendenin): I have not personally received many citizen calls about feral cats, but have had some discussions with an advocacy group for feral cats. There are a lot of feral cats in the city. Most of the time you hear them at night. They stay pretty hidden during the day. We have several groups wanting to address the issue of feral cats at this time, including a non-profit which advocates for TNR (trap, neuter, release). Q (DAB): Do you need a license for cats? A (CM Clendenin): I do not believe so. Q (DAB): Who do I call about raccoons? C (DAB): Animal Control will not handle raccoons. C (DAB): I bought a trap because something was eating my asparagus. I trapped five opossums in five days. I hauled them out to the county and dropped them off. Q (public): I am starting as a fire EMT in Hutchison. I have had a few discussions at fire houses in Wichita. Is there any way the City can try to do something about losing the engine company because I am worried about public safety. 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for Oct. 3, 2018 A (CM Clendenin): We did receive the Safer Grant. We are adding two firefighters and the engine company is not going away. Q (DAB): If you had to choose a priority between a ballpark and convention center, what is the higher priority in this community? A (CM Clendenin): Let me first reiterate that the ball diamond is not coming out of general tax money or being taken from public safety. It is paid for by STAR bonds and TIF. Both a convention center and ballpark have their positives for different reasons. The convention center supports a billion dollar industry in our city and brings in lots of money. The ball diamond and the development that goes with it adds to the quality of life in the community. Talking about the convention center and ballpark together is not fair because one already has a funding mechanism (the ballpark) and the other does not. Q (DAB): What are we going to do with the parking for the new baseball stadium? A: There will be a parking garage. There is a group buying out a couple blocks of homes in the area that may become surface parking, though the current plan is fluid. C: I am worried about the loss of culture and where people are going to go with them buying up houses. Q (public): Is the Westar LED project almost done? A: They have made a lot of progress. I think it will take them longer than they thought. They are doing it in phases. BOARD AGENDA Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. The next District Advisory Board III meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 7, 2018, at the WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211. Guests Sheri Johnson Vernie Wollard John Hooper Jr. Tom and Betty Strickland George Theoharis Respectfully submitted, Maddy Campbell, Community Services Representative of District III 4