District 4 Advisory Board

District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 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 eleven (11) District Advisory Board members in attendance. DAB Member Michael Gomm officiated. There were seven (7) City Staff and seven (7) members of the public present. DAB Members Present Guests Kit Corby Zoe Drury Dalton Glasscock Carl Amrine Michael Gomm Rebecca Mellies Stephanie Hartman Peter Roenne June Johnson Russ Ewy David Kapaun Rob Hartman Matt Lashley 1 guest did not sign in Alex Martinez Don McManamey Jonathan McRoy Rebecca Robertson Council Member Vice Mayor Jeff Blubaugh Staff Present Staff Present (continued) Rebecca Fields – Community Services Dist. 4 Lt. Matt Schulte - WFD CP Officer Alex Recio – Patrol South Chief Tammy Snow - WFD CP Officer David Perkins – Patrol West Matt Williams - MAPD Lt. Drew Seiler – Patrol South ORDER OF BUSINESS At 6:31 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 January 6, 2020 agenda. DAB Member Kit Corby made a motion to approve and DAB Member Rebecca Robertson gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 11/0. The next item was approval for the December 2, 2019 DAB meeting minutes. DAB Member Matt Lashley motioned to approve and DAB Member Stephanie Hartman gave the 2nd. Motion was approved 11/0. STAFF REPORTS DAB Member Michael Gomm asked for the Fire Department report, and Lt. Matt Schulte stepped up to the podium. Lt. Schulte said there was a grass fire out at Lake Afton that Page 1 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov firefighters were currently battling. Lt. Schulte said that fire pits should have a spark arrestor, especially when burning during any winds. District 4 had a total of 32 fire alarms, 38 service alarms, and 413 medical alarms for the month of December. There were two separate fires in vacant structures, a fire in a residence caused by an electric malfunction, and extensive damage to a construction trailer. Lt. Schulte then reminded everyone to unplug any extension cords at night. DAB Member Michael Gomm asked Lt. Schulte if the fire pits that you purchase from Home Depot are approved for use and Lt. Schulte replied yes. He said that it is the fire pits that people build that do not have spark arrestors to contain the fire. Mr. Gomm then asked for the Police reports. Officer David Perkins, Patrol West Bureau, came to the podium and reported. Officer Perkins stated that all of the Police Bureaus conducted warming assignments which is talking to people that were warming up their vehicles with their keys in the ignition. On December 18, 4 officers from Patrol West handed out 103 fliers to residents who were warming up their vehicles and also wrote a couple of parking tickets. Officer Perkins said that auto larcenies were at the top of total larcenies, and in the past week there were 4 larcenies to autos, and one of them had a gun in a side pocket that was stolen. These types of larcenies usually turn into more cases if a purse or wallet was stolen and any credit cards were used by the suspect. When watching Ring doorbell videos, they see that almost every vehicle that is broken into was an unlocked vehicle. In December, along with Patrol East, they conducted Porch Pirate special assignments in an attempt to catch thieves that have been taking packages left on porches by delivery companies. Patrol West arrested an individual on a bicycle who had stolen a printer. Officer Perkins further stated that he worked on New Year’s Day to help out the Take A Hike event at Pawnee Prairie Park. He said that the parking lot was entirely full and he reminded his group of hikers not to leave anything valuable in their vehicle that was in sight of potential thieves. Vice Mayor Blubaugh mentioned that there is a lot of busted glass over in the parking lot at Pawnee Prairie Park and wanted to know if this was from “smash and grabs”. Officer Perkins replied, yes, and also at Buffalo Park. He further said that individuals will sit in these parks just waiting for an opportunity to grab something from a vehicle. So if you carry a purse, be sure to leave it in your trunk prior to going to a location or it could still get stolen if the suspect sees you storing a purse in the trunk upon arriving due to trunk releases that are in most vehicles. DAB Member Gomm asked if the “smash and grabs” were happening in both parking lots at Pawnee Prairie Park, and Officer Perkins replied that mainly at the parking lot off the Tyler Road entrance. DAB Member Stephanie Hartman stated that the Y’s experience a lot of thefts from lockers as well as vehicles in the parking lot. There were no further questions or comments. Officer Alex Recio, Patrol South, then gave his report for Patrol South District 4. Officer Recio began with giving the stats for District 4/Patrol South area. There were 9 residential burglaries, 2 non-residential burglaries, 3 aggravated robberies, 15 auto thefts, and 22 larcenies from vehicles in the month of December. Officer Recio said that due to all the auto thefts being in a certain area of District 4, they watched an area for a week on special assignment. Several arrests were made and a stolen vehicle was recovered at a residence. There was also other stolen property inside the residence along with drugs, weapons, and evidence of trying to destroy evidence. 6 Page 2 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov arrests were made. Another special assignment was for wire theft since there had been on-going issues with this in the area. Two arrests were made while on assignment. The last special assignment in December was to locate “porch pirates”, and Patrol South Officers teamed up with UPS and a couple of other delivery services. During the assignment they did not see anyone taking packages, but they did stop an individual on a bicycle who was in possession of stolen property that was taken from the west side of Wichita. Due to a Ring doorbell video, they were able to make positive ID. There was also an effort to stop larcenies to vehicles at hotels near the 47th St South & Broadway area. There was no activity during this time (over a weekend) and so no arrests were made at this time. Also in December, 47 fliers were handed out to individuals that were warming their vehicles with keys in the ignition. The YMCA South had a couple of vehicles that were broken into and a credit card was used by an individual that was observed on a surveillance video. Police are working with the YMCA to identify this person with the vehicle that was seen in the parking lot at the Y. Councilman Blubaugh then told Officer Recio about the complaints he had received from several residents about speeders on 27th St South (near Meridian) before and after school. Officer Recio replied that this is something that has come up before and he will get with the officers that patrol that area to discuss having motorcycle traffic officers sit in that area during those time frames. Council Member Blubaugh thanked Police and Fire both for working during the holidays and appreciated the sacrifices they make during times that could be spent with their families. This concluded the Police reports. Next on the agenda was the Library Report. Robyn Belt was called away to another location, so DAB Member Kit Corby read the report as follows: Alford’s Circulation count for December was 9,353 items. 2019 total: 135,692 Alford’s gate count for December was 4,991 visits. 2019 total: 75,503 visits. 1. On Tuesday, January 21, from 6-6:45 p.m. at the Alford Branch, children ages 2-6 will have fun with numbers at “Count It Out Storytime,” a storytime themed around math. 2. This month, the Library is encouraging residents get a jump start on our Winter Reading Challenge! Read two books and log the titles on Beanstack, the Library’s reading tracker app. Beanstack is hosting this reading challenge, and we’re competing against schools and libraries across the country for big prizes. Visit wichitalibrary.beanstack.org to learn more and sign up. 3. The 2020 #ReadICT Reading Challenge categories were announced on December 29. This annual reading challenge, in partnership with Suzanne Tobias from The Wichita Page 3 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov Eagle, encourages adults to read 12 books from 12 different categories each year. More information about the challenge, including a list of the categories, can be found at wichitalibrary.org/readict All Wichita Public Library locations will be closed Monday, January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Customers with a library card in good standing can access e-books from Overdrive. PUBLIC AGENDA No one spoke on the public agenda. NEW BUSINESS 2019 Fireworks Summary: Fire Chief Snow was in attendance to present the results of the 2019 Fireworks Enforcement during the July 4th holiday. A PowerPoint was used for the presentation, and you can view/hear the presentation on the District 4 Facebook page video for January 6, 2020, http://www.facebook.com/WichitaCityCouncilDistrict4/videos/1457081211126371/ Chief Snow reminded everyone that the Fireworks Ordinance had not changed since the changes were adopted in 2018 that allowed enforcement for fireworks inside the City limits that went over 6 ft. high. The State has banned bottle rockets statewide. Chief Snow is asking for input from the DAB and from the guests in attendance for feedback in order to take recommendations to the City Council in how to proceed with enforcement efforts in 2020. Chief Snow stated that in 2019 the Wichita Fire Department responded to 18 firework related calls. Out of the 18 calls, there were three (3) structure fires. Two (2) of those three (3) calls were due to improper disposal of fireworks. The third structure fire was undetermined, but definitely due to some type of fireworks. There were 51 injuries reported to area medical facilities (the same as 2018), and the Department received 1,142 complaint calls from July 1 through July 6. There were 59 citations issued for illegal use of fireworks within the City limits. Chief Snow then proceed with Fire Incidents of 2019 compared with 2018. One of the calls was a boat on fire due to fireworks. This past year, 2019, there were seven teams of two Police Officers and one Firefighter that responded to complaints on July 3rd & 4th. In 2018 there were teams of one Police Officer and one Firefighter, but due to some volatile incidents that occurred in 2018, an extra Police Officer was added to each team in 2019. The reason that seven (7) teams were formed was from information the previous year (2018) that shows six (6) significant “hot spots” in Wichita where the most complaints/incidents occurred. The teams were assigned to these areas with the 7th team as a roving team that could go to any area that needed assistance. This year there were 59 citations written and the teams checked out 79 complaints and made 159 self-initiated contacts with citizens. Chief Snow then pointed out the areas in 2018 in which the Page 4 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov most complaints come through the call line. Based on this history, assignments were made in 2019 to cover these areas. Chief Snow then discussed the financial considerations of the enforcement. The permits to sell fireworks are $1,500 for each permit/location. $45,000 was generated for permit sales (total of 30 permits) and the expense for the enforcement efforts cost an estimated $25, 738, resulting in a net cost of $19,262. In summary, the enforcement expenses are covered by the sale of permits. This does not include the monies generated through citations. Any profits from this initiative are put back in the City’s general fund. Chief Snow then covered the results of surveys that were sent out to the community regarding fireworks enforcement. (for results of the surveys, view the presentation at https://www.facebook.com/WichitaCityCouncilDistrict4/videos/1457081211126371/ At the conclusion of the PowerPoint presentation Chief Snow asked for comments and ideas from anyone in attendance in order to proceed with enforcement efforts in 2020. Everyone is also welcome to send an email to wichitafire@wichita.gov DAB Member Dalton Glasscock said he noticed that in 2016 there was a lower number of fireworks incidents. He asked if this was due to weather conditions, or maybe something else. Chief Snow replied that she would simply have to guess because there was not an enforcement process in place in 2016. Councilman Blubaugh commented that he thought that it was the incidents in 2017 that led to the current fireworks enforcement and tracking. Chief Snow replied that yes, there were many complaints from citizens in 2017 about neighbors being disrespectful, and that often times the tolerance level of residents depends on what day of the week that July 4th falls on. If it is in the middle of the week, the tolerance level is lower than if the holiday is over a weekend. DAB Member Michael Gomm commented that upon looking at the presentation he didn’t find anything conclusive and that the data seems somewhat sporadic. Chief Snow replied that she wasn’t here to give her opinion, but she could say that through her experience with fireworks that 50% of the people love them, and 50% of the people hate them. She said that she is sympathetic with the City Council having to make a decision on something that will make half the population upset and half the population happy. One of the problems is that we sit in the middle of the County and the County allows everything. Residents can go outside the City limits and purchase items approved by the State, come back to their residence in the City and shoot them off though they might be in violation of City code, thus causing them to receive a citation. Peter Roenne, President of the Orchard Breeze Neighborhood Association, stated that fireworks in previous years were bad, but he thought it was much better in 2019. There were no further questions/comments from DAB or guests, so Chairman Gomm moved to the next item on the agenda. Page 5 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov Associate Planner Matt Williams with MAPD was on hand to present the following Planning Department cases. CON2019-00054: This application was filed to request a Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of an existing electrical substation, generally located approximately 800 feet east of South Seneca and one-half mile south of West Pawnee. The site is zoned SF-5 Single Family. This case is being heard concurrently with BZA2019-00052- a request for a variance to allow a nine-foot tall screening wall within the building setback, and a gravel drive will be replaced with a 20 ft concrete drive and gate. An electrical substation is classified by the Unified Zoning Code as a “Utility, Major” and can be permitted by Conditional Use in SF-5 zoning. The purpose of this application is to allow for Evergy to expand the Seneca Substation to the east. An expansion would allow for both better and more reliable service to the current businesses and residents of the area, as well as increased capacity to cover any growth that may occur. There were no questions from the public or from the DAB Members. DAB member Don McManamey made a motion to approve and a 2nd motion was made by DAB Member David Kapaun. Motion was approved 11/0. The next item for New Business … ZON2019-00046: The applicant/owner is requesting the rezoning of Lots 16 & 17, Block 2, Martinson’s 9th Addition (122 South Sedgwick Street) from SF-5 Single Family Residential (SF-5) to TF-3 Two Family Residential (TF-3). The property has been vacant since 2017. TF-3 zoning district requires a 25-foot front setback and a 20-foot rear setback. The property is approximately 8,115 square feet, with 50 linear feet of frontage along South Sedgwick Street. The Unified Zoning Code (UZC) requires a minimum of 6,000 square feet per duplex building. This property falls under the Urban In-Fill plan and duplexes are recommended. Councilman Blubaugh asked what the minimum lot requirement is for a duplex. Mr. Williams replied 6,000 sq. feet, and this particular lot is 8,000 sq. feet. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson asked if there was an allowance for off-street parking. Mr. Williams replied that this property will have a detached garage and a generous driveway. There were no questions from the public. There were no objections prior to this meeting, nor were there any at the MAPC hearing on December 5, 2019. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock made a motion to approve, and DAB Member Rebecca Robertson followed with a 2nd motion. Motion approved 11/0. The next item on the agenda… Page 6 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov ZON2019-00047: The applicant/owner is requesting the rezoning of 17.8 acres of Turkey Creek 3rd Addition (approximately 59 lots, which includes portions of existing platted lots) from SF-5 Single-Family Residential (SF-5) to TF-3 Two Family Residential (TF-3). The applicant has indicated that a re- plat will be submitted to reflect the proposed zone change. The site is located 1,000 feet north of West Pawnee Avenue on the east side of West 135th Street South. The property is currently undeveloped. The area around this is mostly undeveloped with some single family homes. The Turkey Creek 3rd addition was originally platted in 2007. MAPD has received no phone calls protesting this action, and the Planning Commission recommends approval of this case. Council Member Jeff Blubaugh asked if this was heard by the DAB last year regarding 20 acres in the same addition. Agent for the applicant, Russ Ewy, was on hand to answer this question. Mr. Ewy stated that the northern property line for Turkey Creek between 135th St West and 119th St West is the southern side of the rails-for-trails bike path. Right along there about 16-18 acres were rezoned for building duplexes. But because there is a substation in that northwest corner, and there are apartments on the other side of the bike trail, then it was decided the new location was a better fit for duplexes. If this case gets approved, the developer, Mr. Kelsey, is going to “down-zone” that portion of Turkey Creek for single-family dwellings, and the area for duplexes will be moved further south towards the 135th & Pawnee intersection area. Mr. Blubaugh summarized that there will not be two areas of duplexes, and Mr. Ewy said, correct, there will not be two areas in Turkey Creek 3rd addition with duplexes. At this time DAB Member Stephanie Hartman made the motion to approve. DAB Member Matt Lashley gave a 2nd motion, and the motion passed 11/0. BOARD AGENDA As there was no Old Business on the agenda, Chairman Gomm then opened up the meeting for discussion amongst the DAB Members. DAB Member Matt Lashley commented that he received a phone call from a gentleman who wanted to bring to his attention an issue with West Street under Kellogg, going from north to south. He said that part of it is all rusted, and Mr. Lashley wanted to know if this was being worked on (corrected). If you go from south to north you can see the columns to which he refers. Councilman Blubaugh said that they would look into this to see who is responsible for repairing. Another area of concern is at Kellogg & Ridge which has lots of rusting metal. CM Blubaugh said that he knows this is an aesthetic problem, but a bigger problem is the way the lights are timed at this interchange, making this a very dangerous area. There was recently a speeding enforcement effort by WPD that resulted in 47 tickets at this interchange. Due to the timing of the lights, many drivers are trying to speed up in order to make the light. Page 7 of 8  District 4 Advisory Board Minutes January 6, 2020 www.wichita.gov DAB Member David Kapaun asked about the construction on West Street south of Kellogg, and if the construction would go all the way to Pawnee Street. CM Blubaugh replied that this is for the expansion of West Street, and they would still like to go further south, but they are still trying to figure out how to design the West Street & K-42 & Pawnee intersection. DAB Member Kapaun said he has noticed traffic backing up on West Street at Harry and that there is a temporary traffic light at this intersection. He surmised that this might also be a light timing problem because of traffic backing up there. CM Blubaugh commented that this goes to show how long it takes to get projects completed because he started this 5 years ago and you’re just now seeing it begin. Mr. Kapaun said that there is a large median on May Avenue (west side of West Street) and due to this obstacle the trucks are having to make a large swing onto West Street that is quite dangerous (for other drivers). Mr. Kapaun would like to know if this will be dealt with as well. Staff Rebecca Fields said that she would see if there is a link for the West Street project that she could send to the DAB Members who will be affected by this construction project. Councilman Blubaugh then said that 2020 is already a busy year for the City Council due to all the projects coming up this year. The new baseball stadium will be opening, and then there are the conversations as to what to do with Century II and the east bank development. The Riverfront Legacy committee is wanting the City Council to make a decision come March or April of this year, and CM Blubaugh does not think that there has been a good review on re- purposing Century II, and he wishes that they would slow down the process on this. He would like to continue to hear from others about their thoughts. His major concern is preservation of the current building and how to move forward in paying for everything. DAB Member Kapaun mentioned that McLean is being brought down to 2 lanes and then they are trying to make Douglas 2 lanes. With all the people coming to the ball stadium, CM Blubaugh thinks that this will be causing major traffic problems for the river and Delano area. DAB Member Kapaun is wanting to know if a traffic study had been done for south Seneca at McCormick, Kellogg, and Douglas. He stated that at certain times of the day traffic is a huge problem in this area. Chair Michael Gomm then recognized the DAB’s new member, June Johnson, and asked her to give a briefing on where she lives, etc. June stated that she lives in the Calfskin neighborhood that is an unofficial HOA, she writes a newsletter for their neighborhood and she is always interested in what is going on. Councilman Blubaugh stated that he wants to make sure that this board is a good representation of residents throughout District 4 and he feels that the current DAB Members represent the entire district well. Chairman Gomm asked what the DAB Members could do for CM Blubaugh in 2020. CM Blubaugh replied that he would like to continue getting feedback from the DAB Members and all the residents in District 4. Chairman Gomm then asked for a motion to adjourn. DAB Member Matt Lashley made a motion and DAB Member Don McManamey gave the 2nd motion. Motion was approved 11/0. The meeting adjourned at 7:32 pm. Page 8 of 8