District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Meeting Minutes February 6, 2012 www.wichita.gov The District IV Advisory Board Meeting was held at the 6:30 p.m. at the Lionel Alford Branch Library, 3447 S Meridian. Seven (7) DAB members, seven (7) staff and approximately six (6) citizens were present. Members Present Staff Present Councilmember O’Donnell II Kelli Geier, City Manager’s Office Nancy Wilhite Mark Manning, Finance June Bailey 1 fire staff Jerry Warren 1 police staff Ben Sauceda Corinne Bannon, Finance John Whitmer Bill Longnecker, Planning Craig Gabel Gary Janzen, Public Works Josh Blick Order of Business Call To Order Councilmember O’Donnell II called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. Due to citizens present, Councilmember O’Donnell suggested that the zoning request item be heard before the CIP agenda item. Otherwise, the January 9, 2012 agenda was approved as submitted. (Bailey/Warren: 7-0) The December 5, 2011 meeting minutes were approved with the following corrections: (Whitmer/Gabel: 7-0) - Under the CDBG Grants Review Committee agenda item the minutes need to include that Goolsby nominated Ackermann, Jr.; Wilhite nominated Bailey and Councilmember O’Donnell II nominated Gabel. The January 9, 2012 meeting minutes were approved with the following corrections: (Warren/Whitmer: 7-0) - The Golf item was heard before the police and fire staff reports - On page 3 and the last page, sentences need to be proofread and restructured to make sense - On the last page, the action taken needs to be corrected - Warren’s comment about park and recreation class attendance increasing needs to refer to all classes, not just golf.  PUBLIC AGENDA The public agenda allows members of the public to present issues not on the agenda to the District Advisory Board. Each presentation is limited to five minutes unless extended by the Board. 1. Scheduled Items No items were submitted. 2. Off-Agenda Items Fred Frazier, 1405 W Dallas, stated that a tree needs to be removed at 1915 S Topeka and that on Dallas holes need to be filled in from Seneca to Meridian and on Elizabeth from Pawnee to 27th Street South. Geier stated that she would follow up with staff to address these concerns. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Public Safety Reports 3. Community Police Report Police staff reported that there has been an increase in auto larcenies on Custer and Osage. Some of the cars have been unlocked. Police are distributing informational flyers around the area to try to prevent this. Sauceda asked if churches in the area were experiencing breakins. The officer replied that this has not been an issue in the southern part of the city. Bailey commended officers for how well they handled a neighbor’s death in the 300 block of North Baehr. Action Taken: Received and filed. 4. Fire Report Fire staff stated that there have been wildland fire concerns. Between the months of February through September in the far western and southern parts of the city tall grass less than 30 feet away from structures present an increased risk for fire hazard. In December, the fire department responded to 450 calls in this district. There was 1 arson incident which is low compared to other districts. The building inspection program starts February 6 The Citizens Fire Academy starts May 3  NEW BUSINESS 5. ZON2011-00044 Bill Longnecker, Planning, presented this zone request from SF-5 Single Family Residential to B Multi-Family Residential, generally located east of Meridian Avenue and southeast of the intersection of Douglas Avenue and St. Clair Avenue. The applicant bought both residences in 2006, and had lived in the back residence until mid-2011, when he sold it with the eastern 5,000-square feet of the two lots, leaving the front residence with a lot area of 3,250 square feet. Subsequently, the applicant moved to Garden Plain and attempted to sell the front, smaller residence. At that time, the applicant found that the lending institutions would not finance the sale because the 3,250-square foot subject site did not, and does not meet the SF-5’s zoning district’s 5,000-square foot minimum lot size. Gabel asked if the applicant was selling the property and looking to increase profit? Longnecker responded that the property was already subdivided when the applicant bought it. Whitmer asked if there were any objections to this request by the neighborhood? Longnecker stated that he was unaware of any objections to this request and that the MAPC has already approved it. Councilmember O’Donnell II recommended that the zoning request be approved as recommended by staff with the following restrictions: (1) Permitted uses are only those permitted as a use by right in the SF-5 district. (2) Dedication of a joint access easement to provide primary access to St. Claire for both the subject, west, single-family residence and the east single-family residence. Action Taken: (Sauceda/Whitmer) moved that the zoning request be approved with the staff restrictions mentioned above. Motion passed 6-1. (Gabel) 6. 2011 – 2020 Proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget Mark Manning, Finance/Budget, presented details of the proposed 2011-2020 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget which outlines infrastructure improvements forecasted for the community over the next decade, specifically upcoming projects in District IV. Whitmer asked if the City has an AAA or AA bond rating and what the recommended debt service ratio is for our rating? Manning replied the City has a AA rating and that he was not sure of the recommended debt service ratio in comparison to AAA. Gabel stated that the ratio is probably lower because the interest is higher and when you add more projects the creditor is nervous about you borrowing more money which also allows for less flexibility in spending too. Whitmer commented that at one point debt financing was 82% which means we are spending more than we are taking in, so at what point does that stop? Note: Whitmer found out that the recommended debt service for an AA rating is 67-72%. Whitmer asked how the proposed Ambassador project would affect CIP funding if voters approved it? Manning stated he was not sure. Gabel asked where the nutrient removal mentioned in the CIP would take place? Manning/Janzen responded it would take place off of Hydraulic Street. Gabel then asked how much it would cost. Manning/Janzen replied $35 million, but probably that not all of that money would be used, but we have to plan for it. Gabel stated that in Dodge City they dump waste water on crop circles of corn and don’t have a lot of nutrient removal. Blick asked about the money dedicated for the new public library? Manning stated that they do not have a floor plan or design yet so it is hard to say what it will look like or how much it will cost, but that City Council does not want to pursue this project at this time. Gabel and Sauceda suggested selling some of the City’s properties to help ease some of the city’s financial burden. Bailey stated that the CIP is reviewed annually and projects are delayed if they are too costly and asked how certain is staff that we will be receiving all promised state funds in the next year? Manning replied that we have a contract for these state funds, so it is included in the budget. Warren said that he noticed that the property taxes seemed to remain static and asked for clarification that there is no projected increase and what the exact rate is. Manning stated it is projected to increase 1.7% the next year and eventually will increase to 4% if assessed value continues to increase as hoped. Blick and Warren asked for clarification for the Meridian outfall project. Janzen stated that it is a major drainage project that will start north of Meridian at the river. Staff is almost done with design plans and should acquire right of way this year and start the project in 2014 since there is now also federal money designated for the project. Gabel asked if they will tear up Pawnee? Janzen said just south of water facility on McLean will be torn up. Warren asked what happens if we get a lot of rain? Janzen said that it is not very elevated so they will look at flapcade to prevent flooding. Councilmember O’Donnell II stated that he is pleased this project is moving forward due to the attention he has brought to it. It was not scheduled to be done for many years prior to him taking office. Karen Cravens, 320 N Fern, Delano Neighborhood Association President, asked about the project on Maple Street. Janzen stated that there is funding included in the CIP, but it will take $15 million to finish. Design plans are done for Maple west of Seneca, but it has nowhere to drain, so we still have to design drainage which will take a year or so. Cravens also asked about the businesses affected by this project. Janzen stated that when they are ready to start the project, it will be brought to the DAB and businesses will be given plenty of notice and information. Cravens also asked why the Delano bike path is not included in the CIP? Councilmember O’Donnell II asked how much it would cost to do this project? Manning/Janzen responded $500,000. We are trying to break it down into phases. However, it is so close to Douglas, so it may not be a top priority. Cravens stated that when Douglas was redone they gave up a lot of bike traffic space, so now the sidewalks in Delano are congested with bike riders, so they need a place to go. Manning/Janzen stated that staff is working on a bicycle master plan that will hopefully be approved by City Council by this summer. Gabel said that he noticed that only arterial street maintenance is mentioned in the CIP and asked if there is a plan to fix streets in front of residential areas. Manning/Janzen stated that in the CIP for 2012, the contract street maintenance budget increased from $8 million to $10 million. Staff is looking at an improved repair process so that we get more improvement for our dollar, including preservative seals and trying to keep up with newer street maintenance; as well as, tend to older streets as needed. Action Taken: Received and filed. OLD BUSINESS No items were submitted. BOARD AGENDA Board Updates and Issues Councilmember O’Donnell II stated that he worked on a policy to get City Council approval before bidding out projects and that there was an article about it in yesterday’s Wichita Eagle. Blick announced that the Southwest Neighborhood Association cleanup will be March 31 and that informational flyers on this will be sent out to the neighborhood soon. Gabel stated that he is working with neighborhood associations to get newsletters printed. Geier requested that he send her an example of this to show the neighborhood associations. Adjournment With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.