District 6 Advisory Board

District VI Advisory Board Minutes www.wichita.gov Monday Evergreen Park & Recreation Center November 2, 2015 2700 N. Woodland, Wichita, KS 67204 6:30 PM Lounge Clubroom The District VI Advisory Board meeting was held at 6:30 p.m. at the Evergreen Park & Recreation Center Lounge Clubroom 2700 N. Woodland, Wichita, KS 67204. There were five District Advisory Board members and seven staff members in attendance. Members Present Staff Present Gregory Boyajian Officer, Troy Bussard, WPD Carmen Gard Lt. James Zimmerman, WFD Steve Mason Fire Fighter, Jason Bowker, WFD Denise O’Leary-Siemer Mark Manning, Interim Director of Housing Joel Weihe LaShonda Garnes, PWU Penny Fiest, PWU Bill Longnecker, MAPD Martha Sanchez, Community Representative Members Absent Scott Dunakey Guests Josef Hamilton Listed on last page Deborah Sanders Call to Order Council Member Miller called the meeting to order at 6:40p.m.and welcomed everyone. Approval of Minutes Weihe motioned to approve the October 21, 2015 minutes. Mason seconded. Motion passed 5-0. PUBLIC AGENDA Scheduled Items: None Off-Agenda Items: A number of neighborhood residents attended the DAB to express concerns with the proposed sewer and water system maintenance assessment with CH2M Hill Engineers. Residents had the following concerns:  CH2M Hill has a financial conflict of interest in the project  Privatization of the water and sewer system will dimension the quality of service  Privatization of the system, could hold the citizens “hostage” from waster access  Consumers will be forced to pay a higher rates  CH2M does not have a good proven track record  Public-private partnership tend to focus on maximizing profits  The City Council has not researched the full spectrum of the proposal  Phase 2 should not be part of the original assessment  Minutes 2 November 2, 2015 Council Member Miller, reassured the public that this is not a path to privatization of City water or sewer systems. Assessments and public-private partnership are a common business practice for the City of Wichita. Council Member Miller also mentioned that the City is proactively researching and evaluating similar cases to learn from and to make informed decisions regarding the assessment project. James Christina, 2956 N. Jackson Ave, expressed his concern on the conditions of the dirt roads in his neighborhood. Mr. Christina has been a resident for over 30 years in his current home. He believes that Public Works continues to use old concrete from road construction which is grounded as part of the mixture for the dirt road. When vehicles are on the road, it causes a huge cloud of dust that is toxic to breath. Mr. Christian said that the concrete dust has caused him thousands of dollars in car repair expense and hospital bills for his wife. Council Member: The City of Wichita has a pilot program where a treatment is applied to dirt roads around schools to reduce airborne particles. Wichita residents have the option to petition for their streets to be paved at the expense of the homeowner. In regards to the materials used for dirt roads, street maintenance will be contacted for information. Action: Received and filed. STAFF PRESENTATIONS Fire Department Report Lt. James Zimmerman, WFD, Station 7, reminded us to change the batteries in our smoke detectors when the clocks are turned back. Also, the elderly can have assistance by calling the Fire Department. Water hydrants are being checked and drained before winter. Buildings will continue to be inspected on the fire suppressant systems until the end of the year. There were six fires in the district for the year compared to 400 for the city. *****Action Taken: Received and file. Community Police Report Officer Troy Bussard, WPD Patrol North, reported that there will be an Impact Meeting on 53rd and Meridian. This is the location where the 3-person homicide took place. This is not gang related and is still under investigation. There will be a Turkey meal provided by the Union Rescue Mission and during the week of Thanksgiving, WPD will deliver over 200 turkeys. As the Christmas holiday approaches, shopping packages should be taken home between stores or placed in your trunks to have them out of sight from burglars. Also as a caution, if a Christmas tree and presents are placed in a front window at home, it’s a good place to burglarize. *****Action Taken: Received and filed. NEW BUSINESS CON2015-00033 Bill Longnecker Bill Longnecker, MABCD, presented the request from applicant PHR Investments Inc., c/o Howard Ricketts. The applicants are requesting a Conditional Use to allow outdoor vehicle and equipment sales (used car dealership). DAB members asked questions on the following items:  Is car washing allowed on site? A: There’s a light misting to remove dust.  What are the environmental requirements for car wash runoff? A: I will have to follow up with the environmental department and forward the repose to Council Member Miller.  Can the electronic sign pole onsite, be used for advertisement? A: Yes it can, but if the DAB  Minutes 3 November 2, 2015 chooses to limit the use it can make that recommendation. *****Action Taken: O’Leary-Siemer/Gard made a motion to recommend approval of the Conditional Use request subject to the conditions listed in the staff report with a request to the following items:  Review environmental requirements for car wash runoff  Incorporate language that sets restrictions on the size, LED lighting, animation, sound and the use of brighter lighting for the sign pole Motion passed: (5-0) Funding Priorities for 2016-2017 Mark Manning, Housing Interim Director, gave an overview on the 2016-2017 proposed programs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers the City of Wichita to be an entitlement city and as such Wichita receives annual allocations of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. In order to receive these funds the City is required to prepare a Five Year Consolidated Plan. Then, each year the City is required to submit an annual spending plan which addresses the priorities identified in the five year plan. Each DAB member was given a feedback form that showed the activities with the 2015-16 allocation dollar amounts. DAB members prioritized the activities by indicating if it was high, medium or low importance to them. The department will review the feedback forms to make an informative decision on the 2016-2017 plan. DAB members asked questions and made comments on the following items:  Need more time to review material and make recommendations  Program administration cost are very high. A: Administrating this programs are very labor intensive; it also includes lease payments of the facilities we operate out of.  What happens to un-allocated funds? A: If they are not used by the fiscal year, they are lost Council Member Miller: As a council we have tasked the Housing and Community Service Department to evaluate the cause of the allocations and how they can be minimized in future planning practices. ****Action Taken: Fill out feedback form and submit to Housing and Community Housing Department. Nomination of Grants Review Committee Mark Manning, Housing Interim Director, gave an overview of the Grant Review Committee. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires that cities involve citizens in the allocation process for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) and Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funds. The City of Wichita provides a series of public hearings before the City Council and the appointment of a DAB member to the Grants Review Committee (GRC) which reviews proposals and applications. ****Action Taken: (Weihe /Mason) made a motion to nominate DAB member Denise O’Leary- Siemer to the Grants Review Committee. Motion passed (5-0) Cost of Service Analysis  Minutes 4 November 2, 2015 LaShonda Garnes, Public Works &Utilities Manager, provided handouts and information on the Costs of Service Analysis (COSA) process for the water and sewer utilities. DAB members asked questions and made comments on the following items:  Are the ASR project cost reflected in the COSA? A: Only if they are already part of the CIP  Are rates different for business customers than residential users? A: Yes, rate charge and tiers are different for residential, commercial and wholesale customers.  What is “revenue neutral”? A: It represents the fix cost need to produce the water for the consumer.  The “average winter consumption”, does that include water and sewer usage? A: Yes  What is the “life line rate” and when does it apply? A: The minimum payment amount due to avoid a service interruption for a residential customer only. ****Action Taken: Received and file Redesigned Consumer Water Bill Statement LaShonda Garnes, Public Works &Utilities Manager, presented additional handouts on the new redesigned consumer water bill statements. DAB members asked questions and made comments on the following items:  Would like to see the graph that indicates a consumption by month  Is the redesign of the water bill a function to the new system? A: Yes, and there are no additional cost to revise the current bill. ****Action Taken: Received and file BOARD AGENDA Issues of Concern No issues of concern were presented. Neighborhood Reports No neighborhood reports were presented. UPDATES FROM COUNCIL MEMBER The next DAB VI meeting will be held on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. at Evergreen Park & Recreation Center (2700 N. Woodland). ADJOURN Council Member Miller adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m. Guests James Christina Beverly Darnley Doug Maler Linda Mantey Alan Ternary Mark Ware Bruce Humphry Lonny Wright Dorlan Blase Penny Fiest Laura Tillem Tom James