District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Minutes July 10, 2017 www.wichita.gov The District IV Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Alford Library at 3447 S. Meridian, Wichita, KS 67217. There were nine (9) District Advisory Board members and Council Member Blubaugh. There were six (6) City Staff, and twenty-one (21) members of the public present. Members Present Guests Benny Boman Vincent Hancock Matt Lashley Amy & Ray Hall Michael Gomm Kathy Ayala Rebecca Robertson Robert Kaplan Stephanie Hartman Ed Koon Don McManamey Dave Warren Alex Martinez Clara Warren Jason Platter Jerry Warren Nick Hoheisel Amy Hall Jeff Blubaugh – City Councilman Kathy Ayala Members Absent Lyndon &Tammy Drew Kit Corby Martha Pint David Kapaun Jr. Gerri Ford Staff Present Don McCormick Rebecca Fields – Community Services Rep - DIV Rod & Diane Taylor Robyn Belt – Alford Branch Library John & Judy Drew WPD – CP Carl Officer Lemons – P/W D. Layham WPD – CP Officer Robert Kempf – P/S Mike Armour – Public Works Engineer Kathy Morgan - MAPD ORDER OF BUSINESS NOTE: At 6 PM, Greg Olmer and Brian Hill with the City of Wichita Department of Park & Recreation held an open meeting to take surveys from participants regarding the future of aquatics in District 4 parks. Surveys were collected. ***************************************************** At 6:35 p.m. Councilman Blubaugh opened the DAB meeting and asked everyone to take their seats and called the meeting to order. He then asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda for July 10th was then approved (motion made by Michael Gomm, 2nd by Jason Platter), and the minutes for the 2017 June 5th meeting were approved (motion made by Stephanie Hartman and 2nd by Nick Hoheisel) Both motions passed 9/0. Page 1 of 5  District IV Advisory Board Minutes July 10, 2017 www.wichita.gov STAFF REPORTS There was no staff present on behalf of the Fire Department, so Officer Carl Lemons from Patrol West Beat 13 was first to speak and gave the stats for crimes in District 4 under the Patrol West Bureau: 39 Aggravated Assaults 35 Auto Thefts 115 Larceny to Auto 109 Larceny from building 88 Shoplifts 18 Non-Residential Burglaries 39 Residential Burglaries 3 Rapes Aley Park on south Seneca had several cars broken into during a swim meet. There was also an illegal dump at Pawnee Prairie Park. Councilman Blubaugh then addressed everyone and said that there were several illegal gaming operations being investigated, one being in the area of Pawnee & Meridian. Officer Robert Kempf, 27 Beat Patrol South, then spoke and mentioned the gaming machines near 31st & Seneca as well as on south Broadway, and that they were still under investigation. Officer Kempf then stated that there were armed robberies at Boost Mobile and Dollar General Stores. DAB Member Nick Hoheisel asked Officer Kempf about the drug house at 2612 W 27th St South and also the one at 2618 (next door). Officer Kempf explained that he and Officer Robinson had contacted the owner of these properties and that the occupant of 2612 was the daughter of the owner and that the owner was afraid of the daughter. The owner was given instructions on how to file a restraining order and how to go about a legal eviction, and that the empty structure at 2618 W 27th St South needed to be boarded up and secured so as to not allow entry. Whether the owner of these properties has followed up with this was unknown. Office Kempf then mentioned that he was leaving fliers regarding the August 8th Neighborhood Night Out that is City-wide. Councilman Blubaugh then called on Robyn Belt, Branch Manager for the Alford Branch Library. Ms. Belt gave a thorough report stating that there had been 23,959 visitors to this library and that 20,027 items had been checked out. Ms. Belt continued further with information on the on-going Summer Reading program that would run through Wednesday, July 28th. Ms. Belt also discussed the Learning Circles which are educational classes for people to take in a social, peer classroom setting and that they cover a range of interests such as Resume & Interview Skills, How to Make a Website, Social Media, etc. These classes are free and registration is required. Page 2 of 5  District IV Advisory Board Minutes July 10, 2017 www.wichita.gov She also mentioned that tomorrow, Tuesday July 11th, that there would be a pop-up librarian at the ICT Pop-up Urban Park located at 121 E Douglas from 12 pm – 1 pm. The librarian would recommend books and have ones that library patrons could take home. PUBLIC AGENDA There was no one signed up to speak on the Public Agenda, but Mr. Dan Warren wanted to speak on the non-scheduled portion of this. Mr. Warren lives at 601 N Doris (District 6) and it is a dirt road that stretches from 632 N Doris to 1st Street (5 blocks). Mr. Warren stated that he has reached out many times to have the air quality from dust off this road tested to see what types of particulate matter are being breathed in by the numerous children and seniors that live along this road. He did not have faith in the test results that were done back in the late 1990s and he wants new testing completed. Mr. Warren was getting very worked up and Councilman Blubaugh allowed him to speak much longer than the allotted 5 minutes. (The reason that Mr. Warren and other family members came to the DAB 4 meeting is due to the fact that we were later being presented the “Elder Street Closure at Maple” and since Elder had been denied access for the past year there was increased traffic on Doris Street) NEW BUSINESS Councilman Blubaugh then asked Mike Armour, Special Project Engineer for the City of Wichita, to present his proposal for permanent closure of Elder Street at Maple & Elder. Mr. Armour used a PowerPoint on a large screen in which to convey the area. Mr. Armour stated that due to the perception of reaction times for traffic turn-off and onto Elder Street, coupled with the widening of I-235 by the current KDOT project, that it had been strongly advised to keep Elder closed permanently. There would be a 70 foot cul-de-sac installed at the end of Elder on the north side of Maple in order for large vehicles, especially emergency vehicles , to turn safely around in the cul-de-sac. Mr. Armour told the DAB that this will be voted on by the City Council on August 15th, and that KDOT will pay for the design and cost of the cul-de-sac. It was further stated that the bicycle/pedestrian path on Elder will need to be connected to Maple Street. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson added that she takes this route all the time on her bicycle and that the sidewalk along Maple Street needs to be re-laid and paved so that it is straight under the I-235 overpass, as it currently takes you from paved on the inside of the pillars to an unpaved sidewalk on the outside of the pillars that is extremely close to Maple Street. It is very unsafe. Mr. Armour then took questions from the public. Steve Warren spoke first and asked if Elder Street would lose its status as an emergency snow route. This was unknown. Mr. Warren is against closing down Elder Street. Page 3 of 5  District IV Advisory Board Minutes July 10, 2017 www.wichita.gov Next, Dan Warren commented that Elder is not safe and either is Doris. Dan Warren suggests installing “Not a Thru Street” signs on Elder and Doris both. There are no sidewalks on Doris and paving would not only be expensive, but there would probably be drainage problems as well that would need to be addressed. Mr. Ed Koon of 236 S Nevada then spoke. Mr. Koon stated that he frequently sees accidents on Maple Street. He thought that Elder Street could stay open if the street opening was moved to the east of its current location on Maple, Mr. Rod Taylor would like to see it left open, but to allow right turns only (west bound Maple). Mr. Taylor states that Doris has enough dust problems as it is, and Mr. Taylor is worried about the emergency response times. Mr. Don McCormick from S Elder stated that he likes having the street (Elder) closed. He stated that it has been safer for children. However, he is concerned about drainage at the cul-de-sac. Ms. Judy Drew on N Doris states that traffic on Doris has increased from the current temporary closure of Elder Street and suggests that a traffic light be installed on Doris or Clara. Ms. Drew stated that there are no sidewalks on Doris for children, elderly, or handicap to use and that if you walk on Doris you have to walk along the street. Mr. Jerry Warren on N Doris said that he owns rental property on Elder Street. Mr. Jerry Warren stated that when he spoke with Tom Hein (KDOT) several months ago, that Mr. Hein did not mention that they were proposing that Elder Street be closed. There was no one else that wanted to speak, so Councilman Blubaugh brought the discussion back to the DAB members. Rebecca Robertson motioned that the DAB approve of this action, and Matt Lashley motioned a 2nd time. The District Advisory Board 4 voted unanimously to approve the closure of Elder Street. Councilman Blubaugh then asked for the next item and Kathy Morgan, Senior Planner for MAPD, took the floor. Kathy presented the case of CON2017-00022, Conditional Use for expansion of a tavern on property zoned LC (Limited Commercial) at 1015 W Irving. This is in conjunction with ZON2017-00008, to change the zoning at this location from MF-29 Multi- Family Residential to LC Limited Commercial. The agent for the applicant, Robert Kaplan, was in attendance. Mr. Morgan stated that this location has been a neighborhood drinking establishment since 1966. The Zoning and Conditional Use will allow for a screened outdoor patio. They will not be playing music outside. There were no comments from the public and no objections. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson asked if there was adequate parking available, and Kathy replied yes, due to the parking on the north that allowed for any overflow. Most of the patrons are from the surrounding neighborhoods. Nick Hoheisel motioned that the DAB approve, and Jason Platter made a 2nd motion. Motion was approved 9/0. Page 4 of 5  District IV Advisory Board Minutes July 10, 2017 www.wichita.gov Next on the agenda was the Preliminary Budget Overview for 2018-2019, and the 2017-2026 Proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget. This was presented on a PowerPoint, as well as handouts, by Mark Manning, Budget Officer for the Finance Department with the City of Wichita. The time was getting late, so Mark presented the PowerPoint and then took questions from the DAB members and then the public regarding the Budget. DAB Member Matt Lashley asked about the cost of incarceration fees (County jail expenses) and why the prisoners are not paying for their own incarcerations. Mr. Manning replied that the prisoners are charged for this, but that collecting most fees is difficult. DAB Member Jason Platter stated that money could be saved at Striker Field by changing to artificial turf due to the cost of irrigation. Guest Ray Hall then asked how Striker Field was funded and Mark Manning replied that it was paid for by a Star Bond and that it was a TIF (Tax Increment Funding) area. Mr. Manning then moved on to the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and stated that it was a balancing act due to revenue coming in. Because of funding decreases in landline and cable line fees/taxes, the funding has become more problematic. The CIP recommends spending less on freeways in order to pay more for interior streets. The City of Wichita has about 1 billion in bonded debt. The entire CIP is on 170 pages. Guest Dave Warren asked if a previously paid street that is being paid off through special assessments could be refinanced at a lower interest rate and the savings be passed on to the citizens. Mr. Manning stated that this is a very difficult matter in which to recalculate, and what if interest rates go up? Are they supposed to go back and charge the residents the difference in that? It is a difficult matter. Guest Judy Drew asked if Gander Mountain would be paying back the City of Wichita for not completing their contract. At this time the answer is unknown. BOARD AGENDA Due to it being past 8 pm, Matt Lashley motioned for the DAB to adjourn, and Don McManamey made a 2nd motion. The motion was approved 9/0. The board adjourned at 8:10 pm. Page 5 of 5