City Commission - Regular Meeting

Yeah.

Really?

Mm-hm.

I don't think it is, but I'm sure he knows them. Yeah, yeah.

The Garden City City Commission meeting is called to order. Today is Tuesday, July 21st, 1026. The time is 1 PM. Madam Clerk, do I have a quorum?

Yes, sir.

Commissioner Canales Lozano will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and invocation. Please stand.

of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Heavenly Father, as we gather here today, we ask for your wisdom to guide our thoughts, your discernment to shape our decisions, and your compassion to remind us who we serve. Help us to listen with open minds, lead with integrity, and work together for the good of our entire community. Bless this meeting, those present, and the people of Garden City. Amen.

Item four is the approval of the minutes of the last regular meeting and the special meeting minutes, which if no corrections are offered, shall stand approved. Are there any corrections for both of these minutes? Seeing none, they shall stand approved. Item five is public comment. This is an opportunity for our public to come up and share comments to the city commission. If you please come, please state your name for the record.

Hello, my name is Katie Guthrie. So good afternoon. Thank you all for this opportunity to comment. I am the executive director at Garden City Arts and I wanted to just take a few minutes to share two exciting updates. First, I want to let you know that Garden City Arts intends to submit a proposal in response to the city's request for proposal for the state theater. For more than 30 years, Garden City Arts has worked to make the arts more accessible, create opportunities for local artists, and contribute to the vitality of downtown. Over the past decade, Our organization has experienced significant growth in both participation and community impact. While our current facility has served us well, we have reached the point where our programming has outgrown the space available to us. We believe the State Theater represents an incredible opportunity to renovate and repurpose this vacant building while creating a vibrant community art center that serves residents of all ages. We are excited to participate in the RFP process and look forward to sharing more details in August when those are due. Second, I would like to personally invite each of you to attend the Banner Art Auction on Saturday, August 1st at 7pm at the Refinery. In case you're not familiar with this project, I'm just going to give you a quick rundown of it. The project started in January when 22 artists were selected to create original art on banners. Those banners were then hung downtown for approximately five weeks. They survived the weather and the wonderful Kansas wind, and now they are up for auction. All money raised for... This project, or through this project, will be invested back into our public art fund. That fund has already helped make possible a new downtown mural on Carni Saria Garcia. It's called Better Together. The preservation and protected ceiling of an existing mural on a municipal court building, and two public art vinyl projects. And this is a partnership between Gardens of the Arts and Downtown Vision. It's one that I really am proud of. By attending or purchasing a banner, you are helping us continue adding public art through our community while protecting and preserving the investments we've already made. So I just want to encourage you all to attend. It's a fun event. And thank you so much for your continued support and for your time. I appreciate it.

Thank you, Kate. Thank you. Any others for public comment?

We move on to item six. Item 6A, the governing body is asked to consider and approve a request to allow the mayor to proclaim August 1st, 2026 as Tonya Bradley Day in the city of Garden City.

I move to approve the proclamation as presented.

Second.

There's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes.

I will read this at her event. Item 6B, the governing body is asked to consider and approve a request to allow the mayor to proclaim July 31st, 2026 as Michael Muirhead Day in the city of Garden City, Kansas.

I move to approve the proclamation as presented. Second.

This is a motion and a second. Commissioner Cessna, any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes. And I'll read this here. Whereas Michael Muirhead has dedicated more than 40 years of exemplary public service to utilities and municipal governments in Colorado, Wyoming, and Kansas. Whereas Michael began working for the City of Garden City as public utilities director for the City of Garden City on January 3rd, 2011, and is concluding his nearly 16-year tenure with the city as the director of public works and utilities. And whereas, through his visionary leadership, Michael spearheaded critical infrastructure advancements, most notably the development of the Jameson Energy Center, and lowering wholesale power costs, ensuring a stable, cost-effective, and resilient energy framework for our community. And whereas, his professional excellence was recognized by his peers in the prestigious Edgar P. Showalter Award from the Kansas Municipal Utilities in 2021, and the Mark Christen Leadership and Managerial Excellence Award for the American Public Power Association in 2023. And whereas throughout his career, Michael carried out his duties with the utmost integrity, a collaborative spirit, and unwavering commitment to the safety and well-being of the citizens of Garden City. And whereas Michael Meerhead's official final day of work is July 31st, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and excellence in public service. Now, therefore, I, Tom Wynn, Mayor of the City of Garden City, Kansas, do hereby proclaim July 31st, 2026 as Michael Muirhead Day in Garden City, Kansas, and urge all citizens to acknowledge and express their sincere appreciation and thanks for his service to this community and highly commend him for the manner in which he has carried out his responsibilities and duties for the City of Garden City. Signed and sealed this 21st day of July 2026, Tom Wynn, Mayor. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, sir. Thank you.

I think civil staff members here, I think if Brendan, you may want to draw the picture with the staff in the other room. Say anything.

That's kind of what I was thinking. If we didn't vote for it, we denied it, and then he couldn't leave.

I know. I was very close, very close. I saw that vote. I did.

There'd be a lot of disappointed party planners right there.

I just want to say I appreciate that. I appreciate you guys doing this proclamation. The day came a lot faster than I thought it ever would, but it did get here, and it's here, and it's coming up soon. I just want to say that it's been my pleasure and honor to serve this commission, previous commissions, the entire time I've been in Garden City. Certainly Matt and Danielle have done an excellent job. City Attorney does a good job most days. She's not even listening. Anyway, thank you very much. I appreciate it. We'll move on to other business. Thank you. Thank you, Mike.

Thank you, Mike.

Yeah, and if any staff and friends are wanting to take some group pictures, Brecken will accommodate that across the hall in the large meeting room.

He knows how to clear out a room, doesn't he?

I think we're ready for 6C. The governing body is asked to consider and approve event requests from Friends of Lee Richardson Zoo for a Wild Affair 2026. That would include requests to close the zoo for the day of the event, which is August 29th, requests to charge event attendees an admission fee, and requests to serve alcohol during the event.

I move to approve the requests as presented.

I second.

There's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.

Motion passes. Items 7A through E are all staff reports. Any questions on those staff reports or comments? Hearing none, meetings of note. Item 8A, draw your attention to those. We will, if any of them require RSVPs, please do that through the city clerk's office. Item 9A is the appropriation ordinance. If approved, it would be ordinance number 2615-2026A.

I move to accept appropriation ordinance number 2615-2026A.

Second. There's been a motion and a second to approve the appropriation ordinance. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed nay. Motion passes.

Item 12A, the governing body is asked to consider and approve a recommendation from the Traffic Advisory Committee to install a new flashing crosswalk and ADA ramp at the intersection of Taylor Avenue and Walker Street. Tyler.

Yes, good afternoon, Mayor and Commissioners. So Nancy Colaccio, a resident, has requested the installation of a flashing pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Taylor Avenue and Walker Street. This request is based on high volume pedestrian traffic in the area, which often fails to stop for students crossing the street at this location, causing a significant safety concern. Additionally, this crossing does not always have a crossing guard present as well. On July 9, 2026, the Traffic Advisory Committee reviewed the request. Following the discussion, both the TAC and the City staff agreed that a flashing pedestrian crosswalk would improve safety at this location and is warranted based on pedestrian activity and school-related traffic. Staff also informed the TAC that there was no proper ADA rank. on the east side of Taylor Avenue and that one must be installed per crossing requirements. Staff presented that the street department could do the installation of the ADA ramp in the USD 457 and be responsible for the material cost of that. The USD 457 agreed to cover half the cost of the flashing crosswalk equipment and material costs for the ADA ramp, totaling $4,600, and the city shared that the crosswalk would be $3,600. If approved, staff would purchase the crosswalk and push to have both the ADA ramp and the crosswalk installed before the school starts this year. Three alternatives before you. One, the governing body may approve the recommendation of the Traffic Advisory Committee of the installation of the new flashing crosswalk and the ADA ramp. Two, the governing body may not approve the request. Three, the governing body may choose to redirect staff. And the recommendation is the TAC committee recommends installing a new flashing crosswalk and ADA ramp at the intersection of Taylor Avenue and Walker Street. The fiscal impact on this is the new crosswalk would be charged at a street traffic signals account. That account's listed there, which has a current balance of $60,458.10. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Any questions for staff?

On the attachments you showed, there was shown like where the crosswalk is going to be at. Can we just see a visualization of that so we can understand? Just because the way it is right now, it's kind of at an angle. And so now with this, it would be straight across, correct?

Yes. Good point. Exactly. We would be... adjusting that slightly for a more straight across approach. We had our infrastructure inspector, David Bach, and he took a look at it, and it's actually a more feasible option as well. So we plan to paint some of that yellow curve back just to have them visual for northbound traffic as well.

Thanks for asking for that. I know a couple of years ago we went on a walking tour of the community and to the different schools and actually Commissioner Canalis Lozano and I were on the same path at Buffalo Jones and I think yeah so I'm glad to hear that it's going to be corrected because that was one of those things where we kind of jumped off and identified it then so thank you guys for recognizing that and for fixing this.

And with that, we would black out the existing pavement striping and we put new striping across that.

And is it safe to assume that the resident who requested this, Nancy, is not here today?

Yes, I tried to reach out and just didn't hear back, but we did make an attempt.

Okay, very good.

I move to approve the recommendation of the TAC of the installation of the new flashing crosswalk and ADA ramp.

I second.

There's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes.

Thank you.

We don't anticipate business after the executive session requested under 12B, which means we're ready for the consent agenda. Mayor Wynn asked that 13D be pulled off and talked separately, so that would leave consent agenda being 13A through 13C. If you want to take those up and then we'll address 13D.

I move that we accept consent agenda 13A through 13C as presented.

Second. There's been a motion to approve consent agenda 13A through 13C. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes.

Within 13D, the governing body is asked to consider and approve a request from the Garden City Housing Authority to utilize housing fund for capital improvements.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Commissioners. Kimberly Ojeda, the Executive Director of the Garden City Housing Authority, reached out to staff requesting utilization of housing fund proceeds to make capital improvements to Pershing Manor. There are improvements needed to the fire doors located on the site, and they've received two bids for those doors and for that improvement. The lowest bid being Elite Construction Group for $89,250.00. The current balance of the Housing Trust Fund is $185,591.54, so there's sufficient funding to pay for their requested improvements. The income for this fund comes from the Garden City Housing Authority's annual payment in lieu of taxes and is to be used on capital investments located at the property. Staff believes that this request aligns with the intent of those funds.

There are two alternatives before you.

One, the governing body may approve the request from Garden City Housing Authority to utilize the housing fund for capital improvements. Or two, the governing body may not approve that request. Staff recommends approval of the request to utilize those housing funds and those proceeds for these capital investments. Just as a note, the housing fund currently has a balance of $185,591.54 with the 2026 pilot payment in lieu of tax anticipated to be paid later this year. So there are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the request. I should have added in the fiscal note that payment in lieu of tax is around $30,000 annually. Just to give the commission a little bit of context for WHAT THAT BRINGS IN EVERY YEAR. SO WITH THAT, I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

YEAH, I JUST WOULD LIKE SOME CONTEXT ON THAT, HOW THAT PAYMENT LOOP TEXAS WORKS TO, FOR US TO BE AWARE OF THAT, YEAH.

YES, YES. THEY, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT A PROPERTY TAXPAYER, THIS HAS BEEN SET UP TO HAVE A PAYMENT COME INTO THE CITY. IN LIEU OF WHAT THAT TYPICALLY WOULD BE WITH THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND INTENT BEING TO HAVE THOSE DOLLARS AVAILABLE TO UTILIZE FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AT THIS POINT. I BELIEVE IT STARTED IN 2018 So they've been able to do some improvements to the parking lot. I believe they've done some kind of air conditioner replacement improvements as well. So it's been a way to kind of utilize this dollar set aside to help improve those capital dollars, which can be a little challenging to budget for on an annual basis.

Great, thank you. Any further questions? I will entertain a motion for this item.

I make a motion we approve the bid as presented on the replacement to utilize the capital improvement fund for their maintenance on this facility.

Second.

There's been a motion and a second to approve the request from the Housing Authority to utilize the housing funds for capital improvement with a bid from the construction group. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes.

Again, we do anticipate an executive session under 12B, but no action anticipated afterwards. If the commission would like to go through its reports, we'll still leave the broadcast on while we're in executive session. But when we come out of it, we would adjourn.

Great. Commissioner Canales is on it.

Yes, I want to acknowledge and thank resident Nancy Colaccio for presenting or requesting the crosswalk and the flashing light on Taylor Avenue. I want to touch on the pre-meeting that we had earlier today with the county, with Holcomb, and then I also want to acknowledge the representatives of the different townships for joining us. And then I want to thank Katie Guthrie for her public comment. And with that, I encourage people to participate and to bring any items or comments to the commission. And I think that's all. Thank you.

Commissioner Cessna. Yeah, good joint meeting with the county commission. Always glad to... get together with our counterparts and discuss how we can not only move the city but the county forward and collaborating and kind of all of us rowing in the same direction. A lot of counties and cities in the state of Kansas don't have that opportunity to do that, but we do, and it's always good to get with them and visit. It was a really good meeting. I received the flyer in the mail recently in the city invoice about the hours of operation that we're changing for the city administrative center. I thought I brought it with me, but I didn't because I was going to show everybody that I got it. So it's out there that we are changing our hours of operation for the city administrative center. City crews are out and painting the crosswalks around the community on getting ready for the start of the school year. Just be mindful of those individuals out there painting those crosswalks as you're driving the streets and everything. Also the sidewalks slash trail that's going in around the community is looking really good it's a really great addition to our community and really promoting health and wellness across the community and tying in all of our trails so just really good seeing that come to fruition and then finally I just want to thank Mike for all of his years of dedicated service to Garden City thank you Thank you.

Commissioner Landgraf.

So I just want to echo what the other commissioners said about the joint meeting with the county, the whole command townships. It's great to be able to have everyone there to discuss all of these different issues and be able to have this collaboration. I just also want to say thank you to everyone who did show up as well so that we could have these meaningful discussions. Also want to remind folks that Finney County Fair is currently ongoing. Just want to highly encourage folks to go out and see everything that is going on. And also just let folks know that there is a full schedule of events online just so you can see everything that is going on. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO MIKE FOR THE NEARLY 16 YEARS AS DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES. I ALSO JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU'VE DONE REGARDING GETTING THE COMMISSION INFORMATION, ALL THE SACRIFICES THAT YOU'VE DONE IN ANSWERING THOSE TOUGH QUESTIONS. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND ALSO, I JUST WANT TO SAY PERSONALLY, THANK YOU FOR THE KINDNESS THAT YOU HAVE SHOWN ME AS YOU'RE LEADING IN THIS POSITION.

THANK YOU. VICE MAYOR OERLER.

Yeah, the pre-meeting was great. I always enjoy the engagement piece of it. I think, you know, it's important. We might think we know each other's stories or we might think we know what we know, but when you get together in a room and you find out there's a bigger piece of it, it's really important to hear all those different sides, and I felt like today that was accomplished. You did a great job, Danielle, on leading that. Matt, thank you for your input. And I think that going forward, it was the beginning of a great conversation to have. And so I look forward to more conversations and seeing where this could go. And so I'm excited about that. Congratulations to Tanya Bradley for her retirement, but then also to Mike. And thank you for your years of service and just everything you've done to move the city forward. I know it'll be hard to replace you, but we have great faith in Fred moving forward. But congratulations on your retirement and enjoy your time, even though we didn't want to say yes to you. I did want to say that Fleming Street's going well. Yes. That's my favorite intersection now. And so thank you to everybody who got that finished. And it's great to have that area controlled by the lights. The backpack distribution is on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's at Garfield Early Learning Center at 121 West Walnut. Please bring proof of need, whether that's a SNAP card or, you know, a TANF card or a free and reduced meals or a pay stub, something that just shows that you have a need. And we have a lot of backpacks ready to go. We have 2,000 backpacks that will be stuffed and ready to go. And we have a lot of our nonprofits ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE THIS YEAR BY TELLING WHAT THEY DO. IN PAST YEARS, WE'VE HAD TO USE OUR NONPROFITS AS VOLUNTEERS TO GIVE OUT BACKPACKS. WE HAVE HAD SUCH AN OVERWHELMING AND WONDERFUL RESPONSE FROM OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY THAT WE'VE HAD ENTIRE BUSINESSES THAT HAVE SAID, JUST GIVE ME A GRADE, I'LL FILL IT. And so we have so many community partners that allows the nonprofits then to talk about what they do, which I think is so important. It's kind of that next evolution of what a community event looks like, and it's truly, truly a community event. So thanks to everybody for that, but please come and get a backpack because I don't think the Salvation Army wants 1,500 backpacks to take back and distribute throughout the year. So that's all I have.

Thank you. I'm very appreciative of our pre-meeting today. I think it allowed for us to start a really difficult conversation and also have a lot more awareness of the sentiments of the townships, but also of how the county and also with Holcomb. I think that we're building a lot of good groundwork, but I think that it is hopeful to know that we're recognizing this is only the start. And I think that is a very big thing that we have to keep in the forefront of our minds. Congratulations to Tonya Bradley and especially to Mike Muirhead for their decades of commitment and service to our community. And I think that service alone leaves a legacy of love, but also a legacy to know that you are laying this foundation to push our community forward in a much positive direction. Thank you especially to Mike for all the moments that we do not see that you offered to this organization, to the people of Garden City, but also in your gentleness and all the education that came stepping onto this commission. So I greatly appreciate that. Thank you. That's it for me from commissioner reports. So we can move back to item 12B.

Yeah, item 12B, staff is requesting governing body consideration of an executive session pursuant to KSA 754319B6 pertaining to preliminary discussions related to the acquisition of real property. We'd ask for 15 minutes, including, in addition to the commission, the city attorney, the city manager, deputy city manager, Public Works and Utilities Director Jones and Public Works Supervisor Patterson.

I will entertain a motion for this item.

I move to go into executive... I know, he's like, he's not even on here. I move to go into executive session pursuant to KSA 75-4319B6 pertaining to the preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property for 15 minutes beginning at 1.35 with city attorney, assistant city, deputy city manager, city manager... and the public works director and Tyler Patterson, the assistant. There's been a motion.

Is there a second?

I wrote your name, but not the title.

There's been a motion and a second. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Motion passes. Our executive session has expired. No binding action was taken. With no items left on our agenda, this meeting is adjourned.