District 4 Advisory Board

District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 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 six (6) District Advisory Board members in attendance. DAB Member Michael Gomm officiated. There were eight (8) City Staff, and nineteen (19) members of the public present. DAB Members Present Guests Dalton Glasscock Chris Stark Michael Gomm Jessica Holle David Kapaun Earl Manchester Alex Martinez Susan Moellinger – Passageways Don McManamey Jennifer Garrison - Passageways Jonathan McRoy Tim Austin - KAW Gary L Hall Council Member Judy Pierce Absent Howard Long Betty Long DAB Members Absent Vincent Hancock Kit Corby Pat Lehman – Machinists Union Ray Hall Micaela Ramirez Stephanie Hartman Bryan Woods Matt Lashley KWCH reporter Rebecca Robertson KAKE reporter Wichita Business Journal reporter Staff Present Wes Galyon - WABA Rebecca Fields – Community Services Dist. 4 Titus ? Robyn Belt – Library Manager CP Officer Richard West – Patrol West CP Officer Alex Recio – Patrol South Dave Yearout Cpt. Jim Heath Bryan Brockus - WFD Jeremy Helten - WFD ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:30 p.m. DAB Member Michael Gomm opened and called the meeting to order. He then asked everyone to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Gomm proceeded with the agenda and asked approval for the September 9, 2019 agenda. DAB Member David Kapaun made a motion to approve and DAB Member Jonathan McRoy gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 6/0. The next item was approval for the August 5, 2019 DAB Page 1 of 6  District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 2019 www.wichita.gov meeting’s minutes. DAB Member Don McManamey motioned to approve and DAB Member Dalton Glasscock gave the 2nd. Motion was approved 6/0. STAFF REPORTS DAB Member Michael Gomm asked for the Wichita Fire reports. Captain Jim Heath reported that they responded to 531 incident calls of which 438 were medical calls and 33 were fire calls. The remaining calls were in response to service alarms. There was significant loss to a business on south Seneca due to unattended cooking. There is a South High School program for careers with the Fire Department. Cpt. Heath then mentioned 9/11 and to “never forget”. Seeing that there were no questions, Mr. Gomm then asked for reports from the Wichita Police Department. Officer Richard West, Community Police Officer from Patrol West, went to the podium and reported that on his beat there were 13 auto thefts, 4 residential burglaries, and 20 larcenies to vehicles. He reminded everyone not to leave weapons in vehicles, even if locked. Next was Officer Alex Recio, Community Police Officer from Patrol South. Officer Recio reported 299 commercial burglaries, 11 residential burglaries, 49 larcenies to autos, and 18 auto thefts. Officer Recio gave a handout for the guests in attendance to look over regarding the larcenies to autos. He said that one of the items that is frequently in vehicles are garage door openers and if taken, then a thief would have access to other property and/or the home if garage is attached. DAB Member David Kapaun asked if auto thefts are mainly due to drivers leaving an unlocked vehicle running. Officer Recio replied that some are, but others are also where keys were left over the visor, and others are known vehicles that can be started with “dummy” keys and other older models (such as a pickup truck) can be started with a screw driver in the ignition. Officer Recio then added that the makers of Ring Doorbells have given permission to the property owners and Wichita Police Department to upload videos of where a crime has occurred or of a suspicious character. An unknown guest then asked Officer Recio how many firearms are stolen from vehicles. Officer Recio said 3 – 6 firearms each week are taken from vehicles. The guest then asked if there was a law about leaving firearms in a vehicle and Officer Recio replied no. The library report was next, and Library Manager, Robyn Belt, gave the report for the Alford Branch Library. Alford’s Circulation count for August was 10,864 items. Alford’s gate count for August was 6,783. If you’re interested in starting a small business in Wichita, consider attending the “Small Business Panel with Grow with Google” this Thursday, September 12 from 6- 8 p.m. at the Advanced Learning Library. Three small business owners will serve as panelists, Reverie Coffee Roasters, Affinity Automotive Services, and The Hive Wichita). On Tuesday, September 24 from 6-7:30 p.m., you can explore the “Google Suite” here at the Alford Branch. Modules to be explored will include Gmail, Calendar, Page 2 of 6  District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 2019 www.wichita.gov Docs, Google Drive, Google Slides, Sheets, and Photos. Call us at 337-9119 to register. The NEA Big Read: Wichita kicks off Saturday, September 28 during a Kick Off Party at the Advanced Learning Library from 2-4 p.m. This year, we will read and explore Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Information about programs related to this year’s NEA Big Read: Wichita can be found at www.bigreadwichita.org We are now open again on Sundays! Alford’s weekend hours are 10am-6pm on Saturdays and 1pm-5pm on Sundays. PUBLIC AGENDA There was no one wanting to speak at this time, so Mr. Gomm moved to the next item on the agenda. NEW BUSINESS PUD2019-00009: Dave Yearout, Planner for MAPD (Metropolitan Area Planning Department), went to the podium and presented City zone change to create a new Passageways Planned Unit Development on approximately 56 acres of land for cluster housing for veteran’s generally located on land west of South Seneca Street, north of West MacArthur Road and south of West Carey Lane. The applicant is seeking to establish the Passageways Planned Unit Development (PUD #66) in order to create a mixed use development targeted to provide cluster housing and commercial support services for veterans. The intent is to create a Planned Unit Development that establishes the guiding principles governing the development of this land into a “community” intended to provide housing and support services for veterans within the community needing the specialized assistance offered by the applicant, Passageways, Ltd. Susan Moellinger, a co-founder of Passageways, then went to the podium to expound on the plans of this unique plan that includes housing and support services for service veterans. Passageways has been existence for 5 years and currently have a private home where they can house up to 9 veterans. Ms. Moellinger explained that a couple of years ago a private company in Wichita approached them about building housing for these homeless veterans whom Passageways assist. Since then they have partnered with other companies in Wichita and were able to obtain the land in which to build a community that would have single houses (cottages) and services for these veterans. The community would provide housing for male veterans, female veterans, and veterans with families. There will be job opportunities and job training on site, as well as volunteer opportunities for the public. On the public (Commercial) portion of the project there will be a community center, commercial restaurant, and medical facility. There will be a playground and garden area. The resource center will include counseling for mental health as well as other non-profit organizations that can provide resources. Page 3 of 6  District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 2019 www.wichita.gov Ms. Moellinger states that the veterans they are currently serving will have the option to rent a one or two bedroom cottage at the “village”. It will be a gated community and no alcohol or drugs will be tolerated. Passageways has been working with Wichita Police Officer Nate Schwiethale, Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), to establish proper guidelines and resources for these veterans. DAB Member Jonathan McRoy asked how they screen the veterans. Ms. Moellinger replied that they go through the Salvation Army or HOT to vet their veterans. No sex offenders or those with a violent criminal background are allowed in the program. Mr. McRoy asked about whether the program assists veterans with disability claims at the V.A. (Veterans Administration), and Ms. Moellinger replied yes, they help veterans in filing claims and also any appeals they might have through the V.A. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock asked if their current (west) facility will still be open, and Ms. Moellinger replied yes, that it might become an intake assessment center after the Homefront Village is open. The west facility is called a Living Center. She explains that many of the single male veterans have problems with sharing walls and that this can sometimes trigger their PTSD. The cottages will have about 30 feet between them and so sharing walls will no longer be an issue. She adds that the bathrooms in each cottage will be a “safe” room that is soundproof and also offer shelter during a bad storm. The planned bathrooms will be large and ADA compliant. DAB Member Don McManamey sked how they are funded, and Ms. Moellinger replied that they have a silent capital campaign as well as grant funding. They do not receive any government funding. DAB Member David Kapaun asked if there will be service animals allowed at the new facilities and Ms. Moellinger replied yes, as well as comfort animals, and also there are plans for a dog park on site. WABA (Wichita Area Builders Association) in conjunction with one of the area trade schools will be building the walls and trusses for these cottages. (frames) At this time questions were open to the public in attendance. Mr. Earl Manchester asked if there were any plans, drawings, or sketches for the village for them to view. Ms. Moellinger replied that they do have an architectural sketch of the layout and simple renderings (which she passed around to the guests to view). If you will notice, the layout is laid out like the Wichita flag. (Jennifer Garrison, CEO of Passageways Ltd came to the podium at this time) The different triangles represent the different neighborhoods (sectors) that will be the male, female, and family sectors. Textron is donating a $50,000 playground. $1.3 M has already been raised. Passageways just celebrated their 80th “graduate” from their program. Jennifer states that they will be teaching other cities and states how to run similar programs. Pat Lehman then came to the podium, and stated that she is there to represent the Machinists Union as their property will adjoin this proposed project/property and therefore they have Page 4 of 6  District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 2019 www.wichita.gov questions about the project. The MAPD staff reports states that the project will be accessed from Cary Lane, and that right now Cary Lane does not exist, it’s only a tree line. Mr. Yearout states that the Planning request for the project is in two phases and that the platting process will address the roads and utility easements. Ms. Lehman states that they want to know how this will look, and Mr. Yearout replied that they (MAPD) does not know at this time because it has not been platted yet. The Engineer for Passageways Ltd., Tim Austin with Kaw Valley Engineering Inc., was in attendance and states that the 1st phase will address access to the property by Cary Lane that is on the south side of the Machinists Union, and access to Cary Lane is currently from the east off of Seneca, just south of I-235. As they go through the platting process this will all be figured out. Currently they are working on the first phase that is the eastern part of this plan. There is sewer service to the SE tract. Ms. Lehman said that there isn’t any down Meridian. Mr. Austin replied that they can get service to the southeast tract. Ms. Lehman asked if the Machinist Union will be responsible for paying for any sewer or water service to the other tract. Mr. Austin said he can’t make any promises until he looks at that part of the project, but right now, no. Ms. Lehman stated that if Cary Lane ends up going all the way through to Meridian, that it would create a lot of traffic. It was mentioned that this was a gated community and there would not be any through traffic. Ms. Lehman asked if the groundwater had been examined, and Mr. Austin said yes, it’s about 10 – 12 feet under the surface. Ms. Lehman stated that they wouldn’t be able to put in any basements, and they replied that there had been no plans to put in basements. Ms. Lehman said that the whole area sits above an underground lake. Ms. Lehman asked if the Machinists Union would have to pay for any of the utilities that would run to the Homefront Village. Mr. Austin said that he doesn’t foresee this, but because they have not completed the platting of this project they cannot make any guarantees. Mr. Austin then explained what all this entails. Ms. Lehman asked if there were plans to fence this property, and the reply was no, not at this time. Ms. Lehman said that there are concerns about liability issues by the Machinist Union. Gary Hall, a Machinist Union member, said that since there are two stages to this project and the 2nd stage is unknown, this should be considered in 2 parts. Is there anything that they do on the 2nd part that will prevent them from leasing out their land to the east of their building that has been leased out previously for agriculture/farming. Mr. Yearout from MAPD replied that they can continue to use their property for the same purpose that they have been doing. Ms. Moellinger stated that when the 2nd phase is completed, it will be fenced in just like the 1st phase will be fenced. Mr. Yearout stated that when the 2nd phase is ready to start, those plans will be submitted just like they are for the 1st phase. Page 5 of 6  District IV Advisory Board Minutes September 09, 2019 www.wichita.gov Judy Pierce then stood and said she too is a Machinist Union member. Ms. Pierce thinks that the machinists are getting a bad rap here, and that they love the veterans and will do whatever they can to help them. Titus _______ on the board for Passageways Ltd stated that they (Passageways) understand what the Machinists Union are saying here, and they will reach out to the Machinists Union. They would like them to be informed and included in this project. Mr. Wes Galyon with the Wichita Area Builders Association then stood and said he wanted everyone to know that these are not “tiny homes” but actual cottages per the uniform building code and will be constructed on site, and built very secure. Bryan Woods sits on a committee for Passageways, and is a construction worker himself. When on a project, he makes sure that there is no encroachment on any property that is adjoining projects that he is part of. He will assure that there will be no encroachment on the Machinist Union property. DAB Member Gomm brought the meeting back to the District Advisory Board for any further discussion. DAB Member McManamey stated that if this is going to be a gated community, then there would not be people leaving the property from any direction, correct? Passageways representation replied that they would come and go from one “gate” and that anyone visiting the veteran(s) would have to check-in and the veteran(s) called for approval. DAB Member Jonathan McRoy then made a motion to approve the zoning request, and DAB Member Dalton Glasscock followed with a 2nd motion. Motion approved 6/0. Mr. Yearout informed all those interested that the MAPC will be hearing this case on Thursday, September 19, at 1:30 pm. The meetings are held on the 2nd floor of the Regan Building (formerly the IRS building). BOARD AGENDA Updates, Issues, and Reports Mr. Gomm reminded everyone that the District 4 breakfast will be September 21, and a RSVP is required if you plan to eat. It’s a baseball themed breakfast and will be very good. $5.00 for all you can eat. Water and coffee included. DAB Member McManamey gave a motion to adjourn, and DAB Member Kapaun gave a 2nd motion. The meeting was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. Page 6 of 6