District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Minutes for March 3, 2014 District IV Advisory Board Minutes March 3, 2014 www.wichita.gov The District IV Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at Lionel Alford Public Library, 3447 S. Meridian; Council Member Blubaugh, ten District Advisory Board members; five City staff and five members of the public were present. Members Present Members Absent Jim Underwood Staff Present Benny Boman Case Bell, Community Liaison Don McManamy Brian Hill, Parks and Recreation Matt Lashley Officer Kern, Wichita Police Department June Bailey Officer McHenry, Wichita Police Department Michael Pochek Representative, Wichita Fire Department Michael Gomm John Whitmer Guests Nancy Wilhite Listed on last page Craig Gabel Alex Garcia (Youth Member) Council Member Jeff Blubaugh ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Council Member Blubaugh called the meeting to order. Minutes from the February 3, 2014, meeting were approved. Agenda for the current meeting was approved. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled items None STAFF AGENDA Officer McHenry, Wichita Police Department, spoke concerning Beat 17 of the Patrol West. In January there were 32 auto thefts compared to 60 in February. There were two homicides in February. Larceny went from 65 in January to 199 in February; Robberies went from eleven in January to four in February. The police are currently focusing on panhandling; the Patrol and Community Policing are working with the Homeless Outreach Team. The department is also in the process of transitioning from Crown Victorias to Chevy Tahoes as the Crown Victorias hit their maximum mile limit. Officer Kern, Wichita Police Department, spoke concerning Beat 24. There were two auto theft arrest, two aggravated assaults, and five non-residential burglaries. Fire Department Representative, Wichita Fire Department, reported that there were seven fires in February, six of which were accidental and one was arson. The total lost value city-wide in February was $1.1 Million. There were 11 fire related deaths last year. DAB? Are multiple death fires usually caused by smoke detector failure? A: Some. DAB? Do most people die of smoke inhalation or the fire? A: Most people succumb to smoke before fire. DAB? Is the closure of Meridian going to require a shift in logistics? A: It shouldn’t affect response times, but some fires will have to pull from other stations. 1  District IV Advisory Board Minutes for March 3, 2014 Councilmember Blubaugh? How receptive has the public been on the smoke detector campaign? A: They have gotten a good response, but they don’t have any data yet on responses. NEW BUSINESS O.J. Watson Park Brian Hill, Parks and Recreation Department, presented information regarding the O.J. Watson Park Master Plan. The current goal of the Master Plan is to bring the park to a 100% cost recovery model where there is no incurred cost to the tax payers; this is compared to the current 2013 cost recovery of 50%. The plan is to update the park and focus on marketing by looking at several different capital improvement projects that total $300,000 each. In previous information gathering some suggestions had been to improve cleanliness and maintenance, better restrooms, more options for family gatherings, fishing improvements and accessibility (meeting ADA standards). The most popular concepts for Watson Park are the train rides, concerts in the park, farmer’s markets, pony rides, a zip line or challenge course. The current changes that are already in progress are in the areas of programming, maintenance, and adding volunteers. There is currently $300,000 in the budget every year for the next three years to fund capital improvement project groups. Some possible groups are: Train improvements, special events gazebos, island improvements (possibly an adventure or ropes course), replace the golf course, add a large performance gazebo, add a new community facility, North end improvements (including updating the campfire circle), adding a carousel, adding an outdoor skating rink, or adding new lake entry and way finding improvements. The O.J. Watson Park planners are looking for help in ranking these projects and in adding new projects to the list of potentials. DAB? Why does it cost so much to replace the engine on the train? A: It’s an uncommon diesel. Parks and Recreation was told that if they tinker too much with the operation/engine they could lose their permit to run it. DAB? Are other parks required to have 100% cost recovery? A: No. DAB? What are the options on public-private partnerships? A: A marketing director is actively pursuing that. DAB? Are you concerned about the water levels and quality? A: Geese are a problem and the Lincoln Dam causes issues with the water table. DAB? What are the costs to the individuals? A: $2.50 per person per ride, except for the pony rides which are $2.00. DAB? What is the capacity of the park compared to its usage? A: Usage is maxed on the shelters and almost maxed on mini-golf, paddleboats, and the ponies. Public? What about running a pipe from the treatment facility to address water levels? A: Michael Pochek made a motion to receive the staff report about O.J. Watson Park Master Plan and provide guidance about prioritization of capital improvements at the site. Action: Motion passed 10-0. 2  District IV Advisory Board Minutes for March 3, 2014 BOARD AGENDA DAB Member: Sunflower Neighborhood Association will be having an ACT-ICT Report at their meeting on Thursday. DAB Member: April 19th is Earthfest at Herman Hill. DAB Member: WIN is working on planning neighborhood clean-ups. Councilman Blubaugh: Councilman Blubaugh asked for the DAB to give him their opinions of renaming the Airport. He provided the following information: The cost to rename is been given at $140,000 to $725,000; the lower amount includes not changing any signs until necessary. The councilman felt that its hard to justify spending any extra money. The majority of DAB members felt that the name should stay the same; it’s not worth the money. DAB Member: There was a suggestion that the City Council name the terminal after Eisenhower and not the entire airport. Meeting was adjourned. The next meeting for District Advisory Board IV will be held at 6:30 p.m., April 7, 2014, at Alford Public Library, 3447 S. Meridian. Respectfully submitted, Case Bell, Community Liaison – Districts III and IV Guests Bryan Delgado Adam Larez Mike Hundley Joshua Blick Miguel Santos 3