District 3 Advisory Board

District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 DISTRICT III ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES March 6, 2019 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. Immediately prior to the meeting, there was a presentation on Clapp Park that started at 5:30 p.m. which was then continued as a DAB Agenda item later in the evening. Council Member James Clendenin, eleven District Advisory Board members, six City staff, and 47 members of the public were present. Members Present Staff Present Jared Cerullo Scott Rigby, Assistant City Manager David Robbins Brian Hill, Manager OJ Watson Ron Tracy Park/Aquatics, Park & Recreation Michael Loop Department Paul Davis Troy Houtman, Director, Park & Recreation Catherine Johnson Department Cindy Miles Scott Knebel, Planning Manager, Daisy Olivar Metropolitan Area Planning Department Marco Alcocer Lt. Richard Moscicki, Wichita Police Council Member James Clendenin Department Maddy Campbell, Community Services Members Absent Representative Bruce Gass Gerald Henry ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:39 p.m. CM Clendenin requested conversation on Clapp Park to be continued later in the evening and officially called the DAB meeting to order. A motion was made and passed to revise the current Agenda to include a presentation from the Assistant City Manager, Scott Rigby, on the new baseball stadium (under New Business). The Minutes for Jan. 2, 2018 were approved. There were no scheduled Staff Reports or Public Agenda items. NEW BUSINESS 1. Baseball Stadium Update CM Clendenin stated he asked Rigby to present tonight due to the amount of misinformation being shared about the City’s ballpark project. He shared City Council has struggled to communicate clearly to the public due to the speed the project is moving and that media reports have not been entirely accurate thus far. City Council has received a large volume of feedback from concerned citizens and is committed to keeping the process as transparent as possible and to clarifying any confusion about the development deal. CM Clendenin and Rigby shared the following information about the project:  The City is not selling 24 acres of property for $1 an acre. The amount of property being sold for development is approximately 4.25 acres. The other 20 acres will remain controlled by the City. The additional acreage (4.25 acres) for private development was a required part of the deal for the baseball franchise and Minor League Baseball to select Wichita. The commercial development will also allow the City to generate STAR, TIF, and CID dollars to help cover stadium costs. 1  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019  The City will lease their land to the AAA baseball franchise for a minimum of 20 years with annual lease payments of $350,000.  The City will receive an additional $250,000 a year in revenue for naming rights.  The development will allow the City to generate roughly $38 million over a 20 year period. This amount will be generated by stadium naming rights; an annual facility management fee paid to the City; and STAR, CID, and TIF revenues specifically generated by the proposed development. This is a conservative estimate that is consistent with an economic impact analysis.  The developer is interested in developing the water front as public space, something the City cannot do without raising taxes. The contract allows the City to buy back the land for the same amount it was sold should the developer fail to develop it for public use.  McLean Boulevard will remain but will be reduced to two lanes. Traffic studies support the flow of traffic will remain similar to what it is today. The City will have the ability to close off McLean Boulevard for events.  MiLB has issued a statement that states, “Discussions between teams and potential host communities are required to be kept confidential under the terms of the exploration permission granted by the president of Minor League Baseball. Confidentiality ensures that both sides can exchange information to evaluate a contemplated relocation.” DAB members asked and made the following summarized questions and comments: Q: Where did the information that the City was selling 24 acres of land for $24 come from? A (CM Clendenin): There has been a lot of confusion about this. In the contract we specified the whole project area is 24 acres, which includes the 4.25 acres the City is selling to the developer and the 20 acre portion the City is going to remain in control of. City Council attempted to clarify with the Wichita Eagle on these numbers prior to them misreporting. Q: Despite the incorrect reporting, why is this just now coming out? A (CM Clendenin): First, this is happening faster than I think any project in the City has happened before because we are on the mandates of MiLB. Second, a final agreement on the deal terms had not been reached until the past two weeks. Council has postponed our vote by two weeks to give the public time to digest this information and provide feedback. C: I serve on the Planning Commission and for the Delano District Planning. In regard to the Delano and Ballpark Village Master Plan, I have heard several times we do not know if that part of the river is going to be developed. I have heard through community engagement there are a lot of people that do not want that developed. I feel obligated when I serve in these roles to take back what I hear in the community and push for that. I feel deceived there are no set plans to develop that part of the riverfront. A (CM Clendenin): It has always been the City’s goal to have some sort of public space development. I get asked why we do not develop it and it is because we do not have the money. The river view will not be obstructed. C: I have concerns from past projects, such as River Vista. A (CM Clendenin): The Council has learned from that decision. We have built into this contract the ability to buy property back if the developer does not meet expectations and timelines. Q: The City will get $350,000 in rent each year. Will the baseball team get to keep all other revenue that is generated? A (Rigby): The team will get to keep revenue generated from concessions and are eligible to get any parking revenue within the site. As part of our baseball and facilities management agreement, the tradeoff is for the City to not have the operation and maintenance expense of the stadium. 2  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 Q: What guarantee do we have that the team will be solvent for 20 years? Q: Is the river a federal waterway? A (CM Clendenin): I assume so. We can only develop so close to it. Rigby announced there will be a social media town hall from 5-7 p.m. on March 7 to address further questions and concerns. 2. Clapp Transformation Committee In 2018 the Park Board and City Council made a recommendation to close Clapp Golf Course. A group of 11 individuals was appointed to steer conversation in the community to strategically discuss the unique opportunity to plan the future use of Clapp's green space. This group, the Clapp Transformation Committee, worked with the City's technical team to develop future options for the golf course and is now gathering public input during the community engagement phase. At the conclusion of the community engagement phase, they will provide feedback and recommendations to the DAB, Park Board, and Planning Commission prior to giving their final recommendations to Council Member Clendenin and City Council regarding the future use of Clapp Park. LaShonda Garnes, Community Development Manager, WSU’s Public Policy & Management Center, presented and engaged the DAB and public in discussion. The Clapp Transformation Committee and Technical Committee (City staff) were in attendance to provide support in the discussion. As part of the presentation, the following questions were posed to the group and feedback was collected. Each bullet point represents a separate individual’s summarized comment(s). What amenities would you like to see in the transformation of Clapp Park?  A place for people to meet. Prairie restoration. There is an educational component about our history and having a place for people to come together to be educated about our history.  If any sort of structural facility needs to be built, it should be built in a modular and user- friendly way, so it can be accommodated for multi-uses.  A golf component of some type. You cut Clapp Golf Course and have taken public golf from the whole southeast quadrant of the city. Development-wise, bring in Top Golf.  Highlight the amenities Wichita has to show off our city. Utilize the facilities we have in our city, such as Cultural Arts and Botanica. They could donate to the space. Nature walks. Show off Wichita. Highlight what we have.  Support from the First Tee program. I would like to see a 9-hole golf course for those students to practice golf and perhaps a driving range.  We used to sled there when we were kids. I would like to see that. I think it would be a big deal. Fake snow events.  Water park feature.  None of these amenities mentioned help bring in money to maintain the facility. Golf would at least bring in money. I think a 9-hole golf course would at least keep bringing in income and you would be using the beautiful park space that has been golf for years and people enjoy that.  Most people who have learned to play golf have learned at Clapp, so if there is any way to keep it as a facility to learn to play we should. There are areas you could make a larger area for a meeting space that the public could use more. Keep it a pay-for-play facility and get the revenue. It could also be a disc golf place. There could be weekend disc golf tournaments. 3  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019  We understand Clapp will not survive as an 18-hole course. We have a great First Tee program. Develop Oliver or Harry Street, but keep that money there and carve out your 9- hole or 12-hole course. Make it a training facility. It is the easiest, flattest course in the city.  I have heard disc golf mentioned a couple of times. I am an advocate for the sport. I think it is a great opportunity and we can see nation-wide trends of golf courses closing.  I like all the things that mention families. I think it is nice to take your family to the park. If there was an area that was designated where you could take your family or church members that would be nice. We have started a butterfly garden in a small part of our church. Having an area where you can meet and plant things or have a party or talk about nature. Kids want to run, play, and have fun and if there is an area where you could show an outdoor movie, eat your ice cream and cake, and run like crazy—that is nice.  What about a community garden? What types of programs would you like to see offered at Clapp Park?  I would love to see a swimming pool. I miss having large pools. Kids no longer learn to swim. You develop that love when you are a child. I am afraid we are going to raise a generation that does not know how to swim. The YMCA is not viable for low-income people and this is an area where transportation is difficult.  Maybe there is a swimming lake out there.  Along with it being a green space, it is an ideal dark space. I have walked over there when there are satellites and eclipses. If you get to the center of it there is no lighting. You could do after-hours activities.  I would like to see a pavilion where young people can come play their instruments or you can bring WSU Arts in. If part of the land at Clapp Park is developed, what type of development would you like to see occur?  I know Quiktrip previously wanted to develop the northeast corner of Clapp and there was strong opposition to it. I think we should think twice before we give commercial space to developers.  (CM Clendenin) If you go out to Watson Park the train there is a revenue generator that has already paid for itself and is putting money back into Watson Park and the park system. There are ways to gain revenue especially if we lease portions of the land for park-related development. Paddle boat or bike rentals, you name it. For example, there is a small restaurant called Bar-K in Kansas City. On the lower level you can bring your dogs. If you are in the park with your dog they will take care of the dog while you go eat and grab a drink. That is an idea of development that would generate revenue for the park.  I have been to a lot of parks that have incorporated restaurants. I think that would be a wonderful place to keep it green and keep walking paths. There is no place to walk around there. There are a lot of older people in the area. A restaurant would be cool to incorporate, and maybe with a dog theme, but I would caution to please keep it for the neighborhood and do not make the development high-scale.  I liked what was said about the restaurant. I am not crazy about booze and would be wary about a bar. I would like to see a place where middle-class people can go. I love the dog theme. I am not against a 9-hole course, but it is nice to have a place where people can enjoy the green space and not worry about getting hit by a golf ball.  I live on Bluff Street and face the golf course. I see the good, bad, and ugly. I get a lot of property damage that no one has been accountable for. Unless you catch them in the act, nothing is going to be done. There needs to be accountability if there is going to remain a golf course. Next, it must be accessible to the public. I have lived there 17 years. My son 4  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 has grown up there. He has been threatened by Clapp staff that if he goes and runs through the sprinklers they will call the police on him. The public needs to be able to go into the space. I am against a restaurant. I would prefer it stay something that everyone has access to.  Lately Derby has been doing a lot of redevelopment. They took an old Catholic church and made it into a pavilion. The Riverview walk is really nice. Something more kid-friendly would be great.  I would like to see it family-friendly. For example, Storybook Land in Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 20-30 years they have grown that so much people come from all over the state just to go there, but it started out very small.  I would like to see something similar to the SandRidge Sky Trail in Oklahoma City.  With development by the creek, you will need retention ponds/lakes which can be used as an opportunity for water recreation. DAB and members of the public asked and made the following summarized questions and comments: Q (public): Who is Mr. Clapp? A (Houtman): He was a major player in our City’s history, so this park is named after him. Q (public): I have always been told part of him donating the land was that it had to stay green space. Is this true? A (Houtman): That is not the case. While the operating dollars come from the City, it is actually owned by the Board of Park Commissioners and they have the authority to sell it. They own the deed to the property. Q (public): If it is to be sold, where does that revenue go? Does it stay in the park or does it go to pay off Auburn Hills? A (CM Clendenin): My desire is, and I think I have a commitment from many of the Park Board Commissioners, that any revenue made from developing the land go back into the park. I am not a fan of selling any of the property. If there is to be any park-related development, then my desire would be to lease the ground and allow that activity to happen so we can get continued revenue for park maintenance. I do not want to lose control of the space and neither do the citizens. Q (DAB): What is the gang status of the area around the golf course? A (CM Clendenin): The more people you bring into the park, the safer it will be. Statistically, if it is abandoned crime will increase. The more people we drive into that area, the safer the neighborhood will be. A (Lt. Moscicki): We do not have specific gang activity zones. Activity tends to go throughout the city and there are not certain pockets. WPD will work with the Council, Park Board, and community to implement CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) and advise on how to keep the area safe. Q (DAB): If you do not impact the golf course, how much usable space is within the park? A (Houtman): We would not be able to do that. A (CM Clendenin): I would like to remind everyone the Park Board did vote to shut down 18-hole golf there. I am not saying there cannot be anything related to golf, but having a 9-hole course or preserving Clapp as an 18-hole course is not an option. Q (DAB): Do the bicycle rentals we have on Douglas and downtown generate revenue? A (CM Clendenin): They make enough revenue to maintain themselves. 5  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 Q (DAB): If you close the golf course can you salvage the greens and sell them and put that money back into the park? A (Houtman): We already have plenty of grass to supply all of our golf courses. Q (public): Does the creek have to stay there? A: Yes. You can move a creek, but it is not cheap. Q (public): I am gun-shy about transparency with what just came out with the baseball stadium. You say you own the land and are not going to sell it and plan to keep it green space. What is that guarantee? A (Houtman): The ownership belongs to the Park Board Commissioners. The City works with them on a lot of different projects. They own 35 percent of the property we have/use. They have the ultimate authority on what happens. So far, they have been very much involved and are attuned with what is going on. In our meetings they have maintained they want to keep Clapp open to the public and encouraged this community engagement process. They will ultimately make the decision on if there is development there and if anything is sold or leased. Two members of the Clapp Transformation Committee are Park Board members. Q (DAB): If it reverts to green space with various amenities, whose budget does maintenance come from? A (Houtman): There are challenges if maintenance comes out of the Park & Recreation Department budget. If we put in amenities that take up space that will help reduce watering and mowing costs. C (DAB): One challenge I see if we develop Clapp as green space is that most the parking is on the northwest side. C (public): We need to make sure anything that goes there is wheelchair accessible. You need to put something better than a walking park in Clapp. A (Houtman): Anything we put in there is ADA-regulated. C (public): Whatever goes in there needs to be mindful of the neighborhood. C (public): I want to bring this up as it is a concern for this park. I stopped walking in Clapp because of the number of pit bulls running around. I do not feel safe there. Animal Control has been called multiple times, but it does not help the situation. A (CM Clendenin): This is going beyond the conversation of Clapp transformation. We did just approve the funding for additional officers, some of which will be Animal Control. The crux of the issue is even if we had 100 Animal Control officers, owners still need to be responsible for their pets. C (DAB): I would like people to think about where they have travelled and what they have seen on TV that would be cool to have in Wichita. Even if it seems unreachable, we do not know until we have that discussion. CM Clendenin announced any additional feedback can be emailed to LaShonda Garnes or Maddy Campbell (emails provided) and people can find the schedule for additional community engagement meetings on the District III website and in the newsletter. Recommended Action: Received and filed. 3. Aquatics Master Plan 6  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 Brian Hill, Manager OJ Watson Park/Aquatics, Park & Recreation Department, presented a PowerPoint on the City’s Aquatics Master Plan. He engaged the DAB and public in discussion to gather feedback to be presented to the Board of Park Commissioners and incorporated into the final draft plans. Hill informed the group that the direction received from City Council is to do Scenario 3B Enhanced (per PowerPoint) which will include renovations to six City pools (Aley, College Hill, Harvest, McAdams, Minisa, and Orchard) and the installation/renovation of six water playgrounds (splash pads) throughout the city (Boston, Edgemoor, Evergreen, Harrison, Linwood, and Planeview). CM Clendenin shared the Aquatics Master Plan has had multiple revisions and the 3B Enhanced option is a direct result of the community coming out in force to share their wishes for the future of City aquatics. CM Clendenin and Hill shared excitement over the splash pads and said that each one will have a unique design. DAB and members of the public asked and made the following summarized questions and comments: Q (DAB): Do we have monitors at these splash pads? A (Hill): Staff will routinely check the chemicals, but since the splash pads do not have standing water there will be no lifeguards or other staff to monitor activity. Parents will be responsible for their children’s safety just like at any other playground. The City will not be liable for any injuries. Q (DAB): Where does the water go from a splash pad? A (Hill): It recycles back in. C (public): When I look at pool locations, I do not see locations in southeast Wichita. Aley is not that close. A (Hill): With this plan we had to focus on existing structures and the condition of those facilities— building new was not an option. Linwood had serious issues that would cost too much to keep it operational. We also considered attendance, user groups, and other factors. This plan is phase one. We will deal with existing structures and then look forward at what more we can do. A (CM Clendenin): Our hope is to get six operational pools with a lifespan of 20-30 years. District III has not had a pool in a long time. If people from our neighborhoods speak out to advocate for a pool, there is nothing saying we cannot build additional pools in the future. Q (public): Is there any effort to allow children and parents to use the City’s bus system to access the pools? A (Houtman): The past two years the City has offered a program called sayYES! that allows kids to take buses for free in the summer. The City will continue that program this year. C (DAB): I see pools in high-income areas. The low-income areas do not have them, yet they are the areas that need them. Why do we not have pools in Planeview, Evergreen, Linwood, or Boston? A (CM Clendenin): For this plan, the Council looked at utilizing pool systems that already exist. McAdams, Orchard, Aley, and Minisa are not in high-income areas and they are included in the plan. C (DAB): Minority groups are neglected with the current pool locations. A (CM Clendenin): We are trying to be as inclusive as we can with the budget we have. A (Houtman): There was a plan that actually reduced the number of pools to one or three because many of the pools were not well-attended and had a significant loss of ROI. What makes a difference is to put amenities into our existing pools to make them nicer, cleaner, and more modern. This can change the perception that pools are not fun. Step by step, hopefully what we 7  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 can do is increase demand and interest and build from that to get pools in the right locations. The City does not have the dollars to put pools in every neighborhood, so we have to be strategic on which ones we do. C (DAB): The splash pads are dangerous. Anyone can slip and break their head. Instead of building a couple of those, you should build a swimming pool. A (CM Clendenin): We have looked at safety. Statistically they are not less safe. A (Houtman): The City has five splash pads already and they are extremely safe. It is ultimately the parent’s responsibility to make sure their kids are safe. C (public): Splash pads are as safe as playing on any playground and easier and cheaper to maintain. We need to come up with something for all splash pads where people can call a number (not 911) to report dangerous activity. Also, when they shut Lincoln Park pool down, I went to meetings to try to get people in the neighborhood to advocate to keep it open, but there was no interest. They put a splash pad in there and it looks like children and families are having fun. C (public): Pool attendance is going to be based on cost. You need to realize the YMCA has a sliding scale for low-income families and they can go swim there every day for free. A (CM Clendenin): We like to let people know that we have the best system of YMCAs in the country here. It is another good option on top of our aquatics program. Q (public): You mentioned this is the first phase, so you wanted to use existing infrastructure and utilize the sayYES! program. Are you collecting data on the use of sayYES! to track what areas kids are coming from to help inform future decisions? A (Houtman): We track at each pool how many sayYES! cards come through. This year, kids can use their school IDs as their pass, so it will be tougher to capture that data. C (public): On a positive note, I am a football coach in Osage and the best thing the City did was to put a splash park there. The kids love running through it. We are more than happy to see one go in Planeview. It is a great first step. C (DAB): I would like to see us put a pool in Clapp Park. C (public): It needs to be something extensive, like in Debry. You could really make some money with that. C (public): If you are looking to repurpose Clapp, add a year-round swimming facility. That would be a good location since they closed the Boston and Linwood pools. That is the biggest problem with aquatics—pools are open two months and deteriorating the other months. Q (public): When are the splash pads going to be put in? A (Hill): We would like to start moving in August if everything gets approved. A (Houtman): Hopefully we will have three splash pads and three swimming pools by the end of 2020 and the other six pools and splash pads by 2021. C (CM Clendenin): As this moves forward and phase one gets done, we want to continue to get feedback about where the public wants to see pools. Then the Council can decide if they want to build a pool or not. C (Houtman): The neighbors from McAdams came out with a storm and vengeance and because of that, the City was able to support keeping a pool there. If communities want pools, recreation centers, or fields, they need to advocate for themselves by being vocal. Recommended Action: Received and filed. PUBLIC AGENDA 8  District III Advisory Board Minutes for March 6, 2019 4. Off-Agenda Items None BOARD AGENDA 5. Updates, Issues, Reports CM Clendenin shared:  There is a District III community breakfast from 9-10:30 a.m. on April 6 at the Christian Faith Centre, 1130 S. Broadway.  The next Clapp Transformation meeting is at 6:30 p.m. on March 14 at the East Mt. Vernon Neighborhood Association meeting at Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church, 5701 E. Mt. Vernon.  There is a Community Outreach event from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on March 30 at the Christian Faith Centre, 1130 S. Broadway.  Planeview will host a Love Your Community event on April 27. The event will have a neighborhood cleanup in the morning followed by a parade, block party, and resource fair.  The Joyland property owner has development ideas for the land and is interested in coming to DAB to introduce himself and hopes to be a good neighbor to the community. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:29 p.m. The next District III Advisory Board meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m., April 3, 2019 at the WATER Center, 101 E. Pawnee, Wichita, KS 67211. Guests District VI Council Member Cindy Claycomb Jack Silvers Nancy Ross Clarence Raaf Harold Connell Ann Fry Clyde Jones Richard Brown Nancy Frederickson Guy McCormick David Babich Robert Decker Richard Coldron Mary I. Dan Dokken Debra Miller Stevens Steve Claiborne Jim C. Jan Bush Charles Myer Respectfully submitted, Maddy Campbell, Community Services Representative, District III 9