District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 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 eight (8) District Advisory Board members in attendance. Councilman Blubaugh officiated. There were six (6) City Staff, and seventeen (17) members of the public present. Members Present Guests Michael Gomm Mary Beth Jarvis Stephanie Hartman Tom Frye Matt Lashley Judy Handley Alex Martinez Vincent Hancock Don McManamey Christopher Parisho Jason Platter Karen Buchanan Jonathan McRoy Roy Buchanan Rebecca Robertson Rosetta Blackmore Nick Hoheisel Members Absent Will Clevenger Kit Corby Ray Hall (There were 7 guests who did not sign in) David Kapaun Council Member Jeff Blubaugh Staff Present Rebecca Fields – Community Services Dist. 4 Lt. Timothy Deneen – WFD Officer Robert Kempf – Patrol South Officer David Perkins – Patrol West Robyn Belt – Library Matt Williams – MAPD ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. Councilman Jeff Blubaugh opened the DAB meeting and called the meeting to order. He then asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilman Blubaugh proceeded with the agenda and asked approval for the January 7, 2019 agenda. DAB Member Michael Gomm made a motion to approve and DAB Member Jonathan McRoy gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 8/0. The next item was approval for the November Page 1 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov DAB meeting’s minutes. DAB Member Stephanie Hartman motioned to approve and DAB Member Matt Lashley gave the 2nd. Motion was approved 8/0. STAFF REPORTS Councilman Blubaugh asked for the Fire Report to be given first, and Lt. Timothy Deneen stated that he did not pull the call stats from last month for District 4, but that there was a fire due to an electrical short, and another one that was accidently set by kids playing with a candle/matches in a shed. Lt. Deneen then stated with the weather being so dry that grass fires were at a high risk and would be until the grass turns green in late April. Windy and warmer days, such as currently taking place, created an even higher risk. He emphasized the following could easily set off a grass fire: sparks from outdoor grills, cigarettes that were tossed out of vehicles, chains on backs of trucks/trailers could spark and cause a grass fire, and it is best to keep any tall grass/weeds away from structures. He reminded everyone that electric heaters need to be UL inspected and should have an automatic shut-off should the heater tip over. He also said not to use extension cords for heaters unless they were heavy-duty cords that could handle that type of current. He then reminded everyone to not walk on what might appear to be a frozen pond or river. Lt. Deneen stated that it takes about a month of continuous freezing temperatures to give a river or pond enough ice thickness to make it safe, which is 4 – 5” of solid ice. Councilman Blubaugh commented that it is also everyone’s best interest to keep the dryer lint traps and hoses free of lint, and that one of their rental properties had a fire due to lint catching on fire. Councilman Blubaugh thanked Lt. Deneen and then asked for the Police reports. Community Police (CP) Officer Robert Kempf, Patrol South, then gave the 2018 District 4 crime statistics as compared to the previous year, 2017. They are as follows: Homicides: 11 in 2018, and 7 in 2017. CH Robberies were down; 23 in 2018 and 46 in 2017. Individual Robberies were up; 71 in 2018 and 66 in 2017. Non-Residential Burglaries were up; 252 in 2018 and 221 in 2017. Residential Burglaries were slightly down; 406 in 2018 compared to 416 in 2017. Larcenies from auto were down; 1160 in 2018 compared to 1261 in 2017. Auto thefts were up; 528 in 2018 and 460 in 2017. Page 2 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov Vincent Hancock, the V.P. of Delano NA, reminded everyone to check their car tags every day due to auto thieves taking the tags off of similar vehicles that they had stolen and switching them out so that they would not get pulled over if spotted by a law enforcement officer. Officer David Perkins, Patrol West, added to Officer Kempf’s report and said that District 4 had 346 aggravated assaults and 418 drug cases in 2018. And that auto thefts and larcenies were the results of over 300 guns being stolen from vehicles in 2018. In addition, a current crime trend shows up from the amount of burglaries along south Seneca. Officer Perkins also reminded us of the upcoming Martin Luther King and the Women’s March both on January 21. Officer Kempf then spoke again about protecting your private property by either documenting serial and model numbers on large items, or marking smaller items with markings that are unique to just yourself (such as initials and birthdate or last 4 numbers of your SSN, etc.). Rebecca Fields spoke up and let everyone know that an engraving tool only costs around $20 and are simple to use on tools and other items that might not have serial numbers. Councilman Blubaugh next called for the Library Report. The Library Report for the Alford Branch Library is as follows: Alford’s Gate Count for December was 5,682 visits. Our 2018 total was 85,752 visits. Alford’s Circulation count for December was 10,249 items. Our 2018 total is 156,460. After a break for the holidays, our regular storytimes will start back up next week. Preschool Storytime for ages 3-5 meets on Mondays at 10:30am, and Nursery Rhyme Time for ages 2 and under meets Tuesday mornings also at 10:30am. All storytimes are free and do not require registration. A new year means another partnership with the Wichita Eagle and new #READICT Reading Challenge. Reporter Suzanne Tobias has chosen 12 new categories for 2019 including a book with a face on the cover, a book you have avoided or didn’t finish, and a book recommended by a child or a teen. Find book recommendations and track your progress on our website at www.wichitalibrary.org/readict. All Wichita Public Library locations will be closed Monday, January 21st for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday. PUBLIC AGENDA There was one person scheduled on the Public Agenda, but they did not show up. Councilman Blubaugh then asked if there was anyone present that wanted to speak and if so to stand and state their name and address. Judy Handley stood and stated her address in District 4, and said that she wanted to talk to everyone about TNR, but instead of Trap-Neuter-Release, she thought it should be Trap-Neuter- Return. She read the following statement: I’m Judy Handley and I was a member of the Wichita Animal Control Advisory Board from its inception in early 2015 until March 2018. I was the Chairperson of the TNR Sub-Committee. Page 3 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov The TNR Sub-committee was tasked to look into the viability of Wichita adopting a TNR policy in regards to the population control of feral cats. For the past 20 years Wichita Ordinances have deemed feral cats a nuisance. Any and all feral cats trapped and brought into Animal Services were killed. In the last 8 years they have killed over 18,000 cats. Yet what we discovered was that Wichita has more feral cats today than they did 8 years ago. Why are there more?  Too many cats, too few animal control officers  Caregiver resistance, they will hide and protect their cats  Lack of public support  Ongoing abandonment, the free kittens on Craig’s list rarely get fixed  Lack of monitoring  Vacuum effect (new cats arrive to take advantage of vacated food & shelter) The people love their cats, even if they can’t touch them, they will not turn them in to Animal Control just to be killed. So we proposed changing the Ordinances to adopt a more humane approach. TNR. If done properly TNR works. It reduces the number of feral cats. What TNR does do:  Stops the growth of the colony instantly. All cats are spayed and neutered, vaccinated against rabies and ear tipped for identification. 3/8” tip of left ear is cut straight across.  Altered cats roam less, so they’re not as visible, less complaint calls.  No more nuisance noises from the fighting of cats in heat.  Less marking (spraying) of territory, strong tom cat urine smell goes away with neutering.  Cats become, healthier, they get a little chubby and lazy, less hunting.  Reduces the City Shelter’s euthanasia rate.  Allows animal control to spend their time on more pressing matters.  Provides a cost-effective, efficient, socially acceptable, and humane solution to controlling the populations of feral cats. What TNR does NOT do:  It does not create colonies. They already exist. The Wichita Audubon Society does not want a TNR ordinance, which makes absolutely no sense. So they want MORE cats to hunt birds? If the cats are cared for with a caregiver providing food, shelter and making sure they are all altered, then they won’t be hungry or breeding. They may still hunt for fun, but not to survive. Birds carry three times more diseases than cats do. The Audubon Society has only been complaining and not offering a practical solution. TNR is supported by ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, the Humane Society of the United States, Alley Cat Allies, International Companion Animal Coalition, the American Bar Association and many more. There are numerous case studies out there that prove TNR does work. Large Cities like Chicago, New York, Dallas/Fort Worth, Tucson, San Diego, and so on have TNR ordinances. Cities in Kansas with TNR ordinances are Kansas City, Shawnee, Topeka, Hayes, Roeland Park and other small towns have made TNR their standard operating procedure like Leon and Abilene. Page 4 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov The American Bar Association House of Delegates on August 14, 2017 backed trap-neuter- vaccinate-return (TNVR) programs for free-roaming cats. The House approved Resolution 102B ADOPTED RESOLUTION: RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association urges state, local, territorial, and tribal legislative bodies and governmental agencies to interpret existing laws and policies, and adopt laws and policies, to allow the implementation and administration of trap-neuter- vaccinate-return programs for community cats within their jurisdictions so as to promote their effective, efficient, and humane management. So we urge you, the District Advisory board, to recommend that your council member to approve a TNR ordinance and stop the expensive and senseless act of killing healthy cats just because they are scared and being a cat. Guest Christopher Parisho stated that the group, Friends of Felines, will help citizens trap, sterilize, and return cats to where they were trapped. Councilman Blubaugh thanked Ms. Hadley and then called on the Century II Committee representatives for their presentation. NEW BUSINESS Wichita Century II Citizens Committee – Update and Discussion: Tom Frye and Mary Beth Jarvis were both on hand to give this presentation. They stated that for the past 10 months, 12 citizen volunteers have worked on this committee to understand the needs, aspirations and options for performing arts in our city and recommend a path forward. The issues with the 50-year-old performing arts facility include structural problems, worker safety risks and functional issues. The committee is weighing the choices – renovate vs. build new, preserve the round building vs. create more gathering space for the community, etc. No matter what, this will be a large investment – perhaps $200 million or more – in the core/river area.  A PowerPoint presentation was then presented to the DAB and the guests with the following emphasized:  There are problems with asbestos in the ceilings and also drainage off the roof  Large trucks that carry theater equipment have a very tough time accessing the areas needed in order to load and unload  The world famous Wurlitzer organ that is housed at Century II can only be played if there is nothing else booked in the building due to noise “bleeding”.  The lighting system is antiquated and the newer shows are unable to be accommodated in the building (ie – many special considerations had to be made in order for the Lion King to be presented)  So far, the survey regarding the future Century II has had over 14,000 responses.  It has been decided that the performing arts need their own building, and conventions are needing a separate building. Page 5 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov  It is imperative that the performing arts continue to have a venue whether there is a remodel or a new build. Rebecca Robertson asked if the old library building can be used for functions, and Mary Beth Jarvis replied that several organizations are interested in using the building, and it has been determined that the building could also be used for meeting spaces needed by conventions. The committee will get back with the DAB in about 4 weeks with the estimated renovation costs and new building costs that will also be discussed with City leaders and interested citizens. Planning was next on the agenda, and Matt Williams, Associate Planner with MABCD, presented. ZON2018-00047: The applicant requests the rezoning of the subject property, which is part of the vacant parcels of land on the east side of Sheridan Avenue north of the cul-de-sac dead end street north of Kellogg Street. The applicant owns the land and other parcels that are part of the overall ownership of the lands that extend to Custer Avenue to the east. There is an existing office building on Custer Avenue east of the subject property. The request is to bring all the land into the GO General Office (GO) zoning classification for potential future office development. Mr. Matt Williams, Associate Planner for MAPD, stated that the Planning Department had not received any phone calls on this case, and at the MAPC meeting there was no one there who objected to this. Councilman Blubaugh asked if the DAB or any guests had questions regarding this case. Being that there were none, DAB Member Michael Gomm then made a motion to approve, and DAB Member Jason Platter gave a 2nd motion. The motion passed 8/0. BOARD AGENDA The Future of Transportation – WAMPO Survey What are your thoughts about Wichita’s Transit system and how to improve it? Instead of a presentation, DAB Member Rebecca Robertson, who is on the Transit Advisory Board, stated that WAMPO was asking for the DAB Members to fill out the questions on the WAMPO survey (provided to all DAB members) and that there would be about a 20 minute presentation at the February DAB meeting. Updates, Issues, and Reports Councilman Blubaugh, who is the new elected Vice Mayor for 2019, mentioned that he is headed to Jacksonville, FL, along with Mayor Longwell and Council Member Bryan Frye, for the USS Wichita commissioning ceremony. Page 6 of 7  District IV Advisory Board Minutes January 7, 2019 www.wichita.gov Vincent Hancock, Vice President of Delano Neighborhood Association and Vice President of Delano United, stated that Paul Gunzelman will be giving a presentation of the new ballpark plans to Delano residents and businesses. Vice Mayor Blubaugh asked Becky about a survey of their concerns, and Becky replied that it was basically just whether McLean would be closed, as well as the parking situation as current parking for Delano businesses is already at a maximum and more parking is needed. Vincent Hancock and Christopher Parisho both stated that increased traffic, as well as obstructing views of the river from McLean were other areas of concern. DAB Member Matt Lashley gave a motion to adjourn at 7:41 pm, and DAB Member Jason Platter gave a 2nd motion. Motion passed 8/0. Page 7 of 7