District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Meeting Minutes December 2, 2013 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. Eight (8) DAB members, six (6) staff and two (2) citizens were present. Members Present Staff Present Councilmember Blubaugh Kelli Geier, City Manager’s Office John Whitmer Doug Kupper, Park and Recreation Director Benny Boman Officer Tejeda, Police Patrol West Matt Lashley Officer Powers, Police Patrol West Nancy Wilhite* Zach Edwardson, WAMPO Jim Underwood Battalion Chief Sid Newby, Fire Michael Pochek* June Bailey Peggy Bennett *arrived after agenda and minute approval Order of Business Call To Order Councilmember Blubaugh called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. The December 2, 2013 agenda was approved as submitted. (Whitmer/Bennett: 6-0)* The November 4, 2013 meeting minutes were approved as submitted. (Whitmer/Bennett: 6-0)* 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. Action Taken: Received and filed. 2. Off-Agenda Items No items were submitted. Action Taken: Received and filed.  STAFF PRESENTATIONS Public Safety Reports 3. Fire Report Battalion Chief Newby reported the following:  2 fires in District 4 in November o 1 accidental o 1 under investigation Councilmember Blubaugh asked if there were any holiday fire safety tips for citizens. Newby reminded citizens to make sure that real Christmas trees are properly watered, keep an eye on power strips and electrical equipment and avoid extension cords. Newby also added that about 905 people die each holiday season as a result of fires that also result in two billion dollars in property damage. Cooking is the leading cause of these fires. The most common time for these fires to occur is between 5 and 8 in the evening. Councilmember Blubaugh asked how firefighters work rotations on holidays. Newby stated that firefighters work a 24 hour shift followed by 48 hours off. If they are scheduled to work on a holiday, they do so. If working the family of the firefighters are invited to spend some time with them at the fire station on that day and if possible cook and share a meal together. Action Taken: Received and filed. 4. Community Police Report Police staff reported the following: Officers Tejeda and Powers – Patrol West  Reminded citizens to not leave gifts and valuables in plain sight. 87% of crime in November was theft related and it will continue to increase in December through the holiday season. Criminals will also be following Fed Ex and UPS trucks to find packages that are left unattended, so make sure to have your packages delivered somewhere that someone can keep track of it until you are able to pick it up. Boman asked how these package thefts are resolved. Tejeda said that he is not sure because this would be an issue between the delivery company and the receiver, but he did encourage to report it.  The officers also asked the meeting attendees for input on the new brown pants that certain officers have been asked to try out to possibly implement for all officers to wear. While much more comfortable and durable than the current green pants, the browns do not match and mix a formal top with informal bottom. The pockets on the new pants are not as easily accessible with their equipment belt, which is one of the main reasons to consider the change in uniform so that officers will have more room to put their gear. Councilmember Blubaugh commented that he likes the color of the new pants because it is consistent with the brown color that the public has come to associate with the Wichita Police Department. Bailey asked how many officers are wearing these pants. Tejeda responded that there are approximately 8 officers per each of the four bureaus that are trying these pants. Bennett asked if the officers will have to purchase these pants  on their own. Tejeda stated that the trial pants are free, but if they decide to implement these pants, officers may have to use their clothing allowance to purchase them. Underwood asked if the officers wearing these pants have tried to tear them. Powers remarked that the new pants do not seem to tear or fade. The officers added that the current pants will still be worn by officers for formal occasions. Councilmember Blubaugh asked for the boundaries of the police beats the officers are reporting on. Tejeda responded: 12 beat – Zoo Blvd. – W 13th St. N – McLean Blvd. – W Kellogg 13 beat – W Kellogg – Southwest Blvd. – McLean Blvd. – May St. 14 beat – W Central – McCormick Ave. – Douglas Ave. – Elizabeth St. - Kellogg- Southwest Blvd. – W Harry St. – West St. 15 beat – 13th St W – Zoo Blvd - Maple – I-235 16 beat – 13th St W – I-235 – Maple – Tyler 17 beat – Maple – Orient – Mid-Continent Rd. 18 beat – Maple – I-235 – MacArthur – 159th St W 19 beat – K-96 – 17th St W – 127th St W 199 beat – 29th St W – Ridge Rd – Maple – 143th St W Councilmember Blubaugh asked when the last police recruit graduation was. The officers replied that there was one that took place this spring. The officers further added that they try to have at least one police recruit class graduate per year, but there were 3 graduating classes this year. Councilmember Blubaugh also asked how the distribution of the recruits among bureaus was determined. Tejeda responded that recruits are distributed among the bureaus based on want and need. Councilmember Blubaugh further inquired when police officers usually retire. Tejeda said that most officers retire after 25 to 35 years of service. Action Taken: Received and filed. NEW BUSINESS 5. MOVE 2040 Zach Edwardson, Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WAMPO), presented this item. The Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (WAMPO) serves 21 cities and all or part of 3 counties in south central Kansas. WAMPO, along with our federal, state, and local planning partners, are responsible for transportation planning in our metro area. MOVE 2040, our metro area’s next long range transportation plan, looks out 25 years into the future. Edwardson said that although we cannot predict what will happen over the next 25 years, there are some trends that can be observed and taken into consideration when making decisions regarding the future of our transportation system:  The elderly population is expected to increase by 40%.  Single households will comprise 50% of the population by 2040, in comparison to 31% in 2010   Wichita’s population growth is expected to be 13-15%, making the population of Wichita 600,000 by 2040. Population in areas surrounding Wichita is projected to increase 30%.  Currently, there are more people commuting to work from Butler County to Wichita than the total amount of people that work in Butler County.  If/when gas reaches $5 a gallon, people indicated that they will carpool and at $8 a gallon, citizens stated that they would start reducing their amount of travel.  State funding has decreased 38% in the last 10 years. There are more projects to be completed than funding available. Cost inflation for projects is also a factor. WAMPO staff believes that the citizens, the actual user of the transportation system, know it best, and that they have the best ideas on how to make it better. Therefore staff is asking for direction and input, since the choices made for the funding of this system will define the region’s transportation system for years to come. DAB meeting participants were given ten WAMPO bucks and asked to select how to spend them by putting the desired amount bucks into any or all of the eight different categories/boxes. Bailey asked what they should do if they feel money should go somewhere that does not have a designated category/box. Edwardson said to let him know and he will write it down and include it with the results. Jane Byrues, 9500 Delano, asked where the statistics presented came from. Edwardson answered that they came from the 2010 census data collected Bailey asked if the air pollution problem Wichita is experiencing is coming from the south (Oklahoma and Texas.) Edwardson responded that staff is working with the EPA on this issue. The EPA is currently reviewing their air quality standards and once completed may be stricter than the ones currently in place. If the City of Wichita enters into nonattainment status regarding EPA air quality guidelines, this could mean stricter guidelines regarding how we designate funding received (more funding would have to be spent to improve air quality to bring it up to EPA standards) and/or loss of funding. Underwood asked if Kellogg was such a bottleneck due to the theory of “build it and they will come.” Edwardson stated that right now they are working to identify needs for the future of our transportation system. Solutions to these issues will be focused on at a later time. Underwood also commented that we will have a declining tax base to fund such initiatives due to an increase in elderly and single person households. Boman asked what the average ridership for a transit route is and how it differs during the different times of the day? Edwardson replied that transit staff is currently gathering and analyzing this information. Bailey asked if this presentation is on the City of Wichita website for citizens to view? Edwardson responded that he was not sure if it was on the website, but would check into it. Whitmer asked if they have to have a long range plan in order to receive funding. Edwardson said that is correct. Whitmer asked how this plan would be paid for, specifically if there would be an increase in taxes to pay for this plan. Edwardson said that they are not assuming an increase in taxes or funding to implement this plan, but added that a decision to increase taxes falls to the community and its leadership. Whitmer also suggested that since only 1% of the public in the City of Wichita rides the transit system, we should explore a tax rebate or stipend to those users. Boman added that transit bucks could be used solely for alternate forms of transportation for transit customers. Action Taken: Provided comment. 6. Arkansas River Signage Jim Underwood presented this item regarding suggested signage for the Arkansas River. Underwood began by explaining that for practical purposes, the ordinance divides the Arkansas River into three sections with two sets of restrictions:  The Seneca Street bridge to the city limits up stream  The Seneca Street bridge downstream to the dam just below the Lincoln Street bridge  The dam just below the Lincoln Street bridge downstream to the city limits The areas upstream from the Seneca bridge and downstream from the dam have the same restrictions and the area in between has the most public access and the most restrictions. The up and down stream areas main prohibition is power boats that create wakes which also applies to the center section. Therefore, Underwood suggests a sign that reads “Power boating prohibited or restricted per City of Wichita ordinance (including the ordinance number and section.)” Underwood further recommends starting at the Seneca Street bridge and going down stream to the dam having signs that read “Entry onto or into the river restricted per City of Wichita ordinance (including the ordinance number and section.)” These signs should not be posted to poles or posts near the river (as they could be used to tie up watercraft or animals), but should be placed on existing structures that would not be damaged or compromised by the placement of the sign. Underwood further proposed that on all bridge support structures in or adjacent to the river a vertical stripe consisting of a base coat of black paint six inches wide and alternating at 1 foot increments a white stripe 3 inches wide extending up to 1 or 2 feet above flood stage with a number painted at the top in white that represents the total number of feet from the top the stripe to the bottom of the water flow channel. Traffic white reflective paint should be used for the white alternating sections and top numbering to be easily visible to public safety personnel. Doug Kupper, Director of Parks and Recreation, stated that staff is convening a city staff committee to look at the city’s primary ordinances about the use of the rivers within the City limits. Departments involved will be park and recreation, public works and utilities (storm water division), police, fire, law and the city manager’s office. They will be looking at the swimming, boating and flow rates (as it relates to complete closing of the river) during this review and bringing suggested changes to the City Council sometime after the first of the year. Staff will also look at the correlations between the Big and Little rivers, because the law cannot be completely the same for both. The Big Arkansas River is a federally protected navigable stream, so boating cannot be prevented. In fact, they have placed 3 in 1 handicap accessible loading docks in certain places along this river. The Little Arkansas River is not a navigable stream, but is privately owned to the middle of the river. Lashley asked how these requests would affect river activities planned for the annual river festival. Underwood stated that the ordinance allows for exceptions per City Council. Whitmer asked if Underwood is asking for motor boating to be prohibited all over or just in a specific area. Underwood replied that motor boating should be prohibited in all areas. Whitmer also asked about the cost estimate and how many signs this would involve. Underwood said that he was not sure of the cost, but that there could be 2 signs per bridge. Councilmember Blubaugh asked what drove this initiative. Underwood responded that this has come to light due to people illegally swimming, paddling and canoeing in the water when they did not know it was not allowed. They were ticketed and public safety personnel risked their lives to save these individuals, so there is a need to educate the public on this matter. Councilmember Blubaugh asked if there are no fishing signs currently posted. Kupper stated that there are. Bailey recommended making the new ordinance and guidelines easily accessible on the City of Wichita website. Boman said that he is supportive of signs indicating no entry onto or into the river, especially during flooding. Action Taken: Provided input and feedback. OLD BUSINESS 7. No items were submitted.  BOARD AGENDA 8. Board Updates and Issues Underwood announced that the ARC, 2919 W 2nd, received permission from the City of Wichita to place Lights on St. Paul signs in the right of way. He further stated that this event is from November 28 – December 29, 2013. It opens nightly at 5:30 pm and closes at 9:00 p.m. Underwood also suggested that citizens wishing to attend should do so early and plan to wait due to its popularity. Bailey encouraged all citizens that have alarm systems to attend a meeting Wednesday, December 11 from 6:00 – 7:30 pm in the City Council Chambers on the first floor of City Hall, 455 N Main. The City of Wichita is reviewing the alarm ordinance for revisions to make the ordinance more successful. This meeting will discuss necessary revisions already identified, and additional revisions that may be needed. Topics for discussion include reorganization of sections, verbiage changes for clarification, non-response to alarm systems for abusers and permit registration requirements. Whitmer stated that he is pleased that the City Council has agreed to fund a performing arts study, but that he would like to see a private funding source incur the cost for renaming the airport. Boman gave an update on the Meridian drainage project. He said that all pavement work on Seneca will be completed once they finish putting a drainage box in. May is completed and is now open. The project is currently being worked on at Vine and Dora. Josh Blick announced the annual Southwest Neighborhood Association (SWNA) breakfast that will be Saturday, December 7 from 8:00 am until 11:00 am at Southwest Baptist Church, 928 W 31st S. Blick also announced that Osage Recreation Center now offers space for community meetings; as well as, a computer lab and computer and fitness classes. For more information, contact Cheryl at 262-8478, SWNA at 530-3656 or go to www.southwichita.com. Councilmember Blubaugh asked if they were in need of community service volunteers. Blick responded that they are in need of volunteers. 9. Adjournment With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.