District 4 Advisory Board

District 4 Advisory Board Minutes Monday, May 3, 2021 • 6:30 p.m. Virtual Meeting • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Order of Business The District 4 Advisory Board meeting was held online at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Council Member Jeff Blubaugh, nine (9) DAB members, seven (7) City staff, and three (3) guests in attendance DAB Members Present Staff Present Wally Bell Rebecca Fields – Community Representative Dalton Glasscock CP Officer Ricky Tejeda – WPD West Michael Gomm CP Officer Atlee Vogt – WPD South June Johnson Battalion Chief John Eck - WFD Matt Lashley Philip Zevenbergen - MAPD Alex Martinez Jamie Buster – Deputy City Clerk Jonathan McRoy CP Officer Richard West – WPD West Laura Rainwater Rebecca Robertson DAB Members Absent Guests Present Grant Delmar Tristan Block Martha Pint Rick Sroufe Council Member Present Jeff Blubaugh DAB Member Michael Gomm, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 6:33 p.m. Mr. Gomm proceeded with the agenda and asked approval for the May 3, 2021 agenda. DAB Member Matt Lashley made a motion to approve and DAB Member Jonathan McRoy gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. The next item was approval for the April 5, 2021 DAB 4 meeting minutes. DAB Member Laura Rainwater motioned to approve and DAB Member June Johnson gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. The DAB 4 Members were then asked to follow the instructions of Deputy City Clerk Jamie Buster who was online to administer the Oath of Office to all of the DAB Members who Page 1 of 6 were appointed and reappointed by Councilman Blubaugh. Nine (9) DAB Members were in attendance and took the oath. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Staff Reports Chairman Gomm asked for the Police staff report. Officer Atlee Vogt, Community Police Officer from Patrol South, Beat 29, was standing by to give a report. Officer Vogt stated that Patrol South had been working on a special assignment investigating stolen vehicles. The assignment recovered 2 stolen vehicles, made multiple arrests on felony misdemeanor charges, warrants were cleared, and weapons and drugs were seized. The past Saturday, Patrol South hosted the “Brush-up Broadway” event that entailed alley cleanups and covering up graffiti along south Broadway. Multiple citizens turned out to help with the work. The last graduating class of Police recruits are now out on the streets and the next new batch of recruits are currently in training. Staff Rebecca Fields asked Officer Vogt if he could give any details about the recent shooting that took place on south Seneca. Officer Vogt replied that this occurred on his day off and therefore he was not involved and had no information he could share with us. DAB Member Rebecca Robertson stated that there have been many panhandlers at the intersection of Kellogg & Tyler. Is there anything being done to address this issue? The response was to defer to Officer Tejeda since this would be in the Patrol West area. Officer Tejeda stated that they have been seeing an increase in panhandling, and they are addressing the issue. The panhandlers are given resources, but not many of them want to actually work a job, and it doesn’t do much good to give them citations because they just show up somewhere else. But they are not to stand on the medians, and when they are spotted they are told where they can and cannot stand. Officer Tejeda then spoke about 2nd Chance Thursday that is hosted by Patrol West. This past Thursday they were at a church near 9th Street and Oliver and cleared 113 traffic warrants. 2nd Chance Thursday is coming up this month and scheduled for May 27 at the Evergreen Neighborhood Resource Center, 2700 N Woodland, 11 am – 7 pm. Currently they are only doing traffic warrants, but considering other types of warrants as well. In June they will find a location in south Wichita for 2nd Chance Thursday. A new records system has been implemented for Police cases that has slowed down reports due to the learning curve of the new system. There were no further questions for Officer Tejeda so Chairman Gomm moved on to the Library Report. As Robyn Belt, Library Manager, was unable to join tonight’s meeting, DAB Member Laura Rainwater read the following library report. Page 2 of 6 As a reminder, all Wichita Public Library locations are open for in-person services. Customers are able to browse for materials, use public computers and access our free Wi- Fi service. We are asking customers to wear a mask and practice social distancing. Lounge furniture has been removed at this time to prevent gatherings. For more information about Library operations, please visit www.wichitalibrary.org/covid-19. The Friends of the Library used bookstore inside the Advanced Learning Library will open on May 5 for shopping by appointment only. Customers can visit www.wichitalibraryfriends.org to schedule a 30-minute shopping appointment. Appointments will be available 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. No more than three (3) people will be allowed in the bookstore at a time. The Summer Reading Program is back and better than ever! This year, we will explore “Tails and Tales” with wild reading challenges and ferocious programs all summer long, including a concert series at Naftzger and Clapp Parks, virtual story times and tons of outdoor fun. Early registration begins Monday, May 17 and the program begins Tuesday, June 1. We’ll have three programs this year: Our Baby Bookworms for ages 0-2, the Kids Read for ages 3-11, and Teens Read for ages 12-18. More information is available at www.wichitalibrary.org/summerreading. This summer, the Wichita Public Library, the Kansas African American Museum, Urban Professionals and other community partners will explore a new Candid Conversations series called “Wichita’s Diverse History of Baseball.” Library staff found a small article from a local Black newspaper, printed in 1925, about an exhibition game in which the local Monrovians of the Colored Western League played the local Ku Klux Klan chapter at the baseball stadium on Ackerman Island. This previously unknown event spurred staff members to take a deeper look at Wichita’s history of minority baseball. The series will kick off on Thursday, June 3 and will last all summer long. More information can soon be found at www.wichitalibrary.org/baseball. (This concludes the library report) Chairman Gomm moved on to the Wichita Fire Department report from WFD Battalion Chief John Eck. Chief Eck was able to share his screen (via Zoom) with all in attendance. The new Fire Department Dashboard was presented with the latest data. District 4 had 2 fires during the month of April. District 4 had 29 fire alarms, 350 medical alarms, 60 service alarms, and 111 other alarms for a total of 550 alarms. Another new program has been purchased from an analytics company (Levrum) that is gathering data and will be back in Wichita on June 7 in order to produce information that will help the Fire Department in moving forward on staffing, equipment, and procedures. Chief Eck further explained that due to software licensing and security, the WFD Dashboard is not accessible to staff outside the department or the public. Guest Tristan Block thanked Chief Eck for sharing the Dashboard information, and stated that the data under Station Responses by Response Area to be the most interesting for him. Mr. Block pointed out that Station 17 is responding to a large percentage of calls (71% in April) considering the geographical area in which they cover. Chief Eck Page 3 of 6 commented that this is pretty standard for most stations in Wichita, and that he would get back with Mr. Block about the size of the area that District 17 covers. Chief Eck then showed the areas that the Levrum analytics software will provide: Explore Strategic Options, Foresight, Taming the Infinety Complex, and Enhance Understanding. The software will be able to consider all factors for all the WFD stations in Wichita, and will allow the department to operate at peak efficiency. Mr. Block thinks that predictive analytics is a big mistake. Mr. Block then asked Chief Eck if this will be a daily assignment as to make changes for staff and equipment. Chief Eck said that this is yet to be determined, but it will help with field assignments. Further, Chief Eck stated that the software program is not for the department to actually predict their future needs due to fires and emergencies, but to use the statistics gathered over a period of time in order to assess and instigate future needs and assignments. Then Mr. Block asked why WFD does not run their own ambulance service. Chief Eck stated that this was not for him to answer, and that Mr. Block would need to ask the representatives as to why this decision was made. At this time Councilman Blubaugh intervened and asked that Tristan keep these ongoing discussions as a side-line and to direct any specific questions to him or staff via email. There were no further questions for Chief Eck. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Public Agenda Scheduled Items There was no one schedule for this portion of the agenda. Off-Agenda Items No one spoke up to speak on any off-agenda items, so Chairman Gomm moved on to New Business. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • New Business CON2021-00016: Philip Zevenbergen, Associate Planner with MAPD, presented this case. The applicant is requesting a Conditional Use to build an accessory apartment in the SF-5 Single-Family Residential zoning district. The site is currently developed with a single-family home and an outbuilding. The accessory apartment will be located in an additional detached accessory structure on the south portion of the site, 175 feet west of the principal dwelling. (1330 W Bones Circle – a private drive), and a 5 acre lot. There are listed conditions for the addition of an accessory apartment and should take into consideration the local architecture. Page 4 of 6 DAB Member Wally Bell asked if the apartment will be attached to a lateral system? Mr. Zevenbergen replied that MABCD handles this portion of the plan, and if the new addition proves to be too much for the current system, the building would not be allowed or the owners would have to update their system. There were no further questions for Mr. Zevenbergen. DAB Member Matt Lashley motioned to approved, and DAB Member Dalton Glasscock gave a 2nd. Motion was approved 9/0. ZON2021-00013: Philip Zevenbergen, Associate Planner with MAPD, presented this case. The applicant is requesting a zone change from LC Limited Commercial to GC Generally Commercial for a 3.6 acre parcel at 4646 West Kellogg, which is generally located 200 feet north of West Kellogg and within one-half mile west of South West Street. This site was previously occupied by Baby’s “R” Us. Except for an occasional seasonal retail outlet, the site has remained vacant since the previous store went out of business. The Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprenticeship Training of Kansas own the building and will be using the premises as a training and storage facility. There will be some outdoor storage involved, and so the property would have to provide a minimum of 6 ft. screening (non-metal) around the property as a protective overlay. The applicant has agreed to this term. This property is within the Places for People area, a regional center, and also in an area of opportunity. DAB Member Michael Gomm asked Mr. Zevenbergen if he knew what they would be storing at the building, and Mr. Zevenbergen replied no, but due to the nature of the business it would probably be mostly pipes and plumbing related materials. And of course there would be parking available for the employees/visitors. Chairman Gomm said that he considers that the current situation is blighted and is wanting to make sure that outdoor storage does not add to the blight. Mr. Zevenbergen replied that this is why MAPD will require the outdoor storage to be screened. There were no other questions for Mr. Zevenbergen. DAB Member June Johnson made a motion to approve and DAB Member Jonathan McRoy gave a 2nd. The motion passed 9/0. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Board Agenda Councilman Blubaugh spoke about some of the main issues that were covered in today’s meeting. The coverage by the Fire Department in District 4 is an issue he continues to receive emails and phone calls about, and with District 4 being such a large geographical area, he has concerns as well. He does appreciate the Fire Department working on the analysis and communicating with us, but the folks at home need to feel confident about this as well. Page 5 of 6 Councilman Blubaugh encouraged everyone to attend baseball games at the new Riverfront Stadium and hopes that we will have a DAB meeting there in the near future. The ethics policy for the City of Wichita is coming up on the Council agenda next week and Councilman Blubaugh appreciates all of the emails and comments he has received regarding the policy changes. CM Blubaugh supports strong ethics, but he wants to make sure that changes to the policy do more good than harm. The past has shown that anyone that violates these policies are no longer in office. Chairman Gomm asked if the final draft of the ethics policy is available, and CM Blubaugh said not at this time. The final draft should be available the Thursday prior to that Council meeting. The newest DAB Member, Wally Bell, was asked to share information about himself with the current DAB Members. Mr. Bell stated that he went to work for Cessna in 1966 and after five years they moved him to Wichita. He is originally from Maine. He was responsible for all the customer service outside of the United States for the commercial airplane division of Cessna back when they were producing 10,000 planes a year. After Cessna he worked for White Star Machinery, and then had his own landscaping business for a few years. Then went back to El Paso to run an independent distributorship. When he returned to Wichita he managed the repair services for B.F. Goodrich. Upon retirement he served 4 years on the Conway Spring City Council. During that time he got to know Carl Brewer who was Mayor of Wichita when they both attended the Kansas League of Municipalities trainings. Chairman Gomm replied that he was also from New England and that he and Councilman Blubaugh had also worked for Cessna. Councilman Blubaugh then stated that he appreciates all of the board members spending time and agreeing to serve at least another year on the District Advisory Board. DAB Member Jonathan McRoy then let everyone know about the upcoming Bike Walk Wichita event, McCormick Neighborhood Connector, that will be at the West Side Church of God, Saturday, from 2 – 4 pm, and encouraged everyone to attend. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Adjournment Chairman Gomm asked for a motion to adjourn. DAB Member Dalton Glasscock made a motion to adjourn and DAB Member Jonathan McRoy gave the 2nd motion. Motion was approved 9/0. The meeting adjourned at 8:01 pm. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The next DAB 4 meeting will be online, June 7, 2021 at 6:30 pm. Page 6 of 6