City Council - Regular Meeting

Good morning Wichita and good morning to all of you. Thank you for joining us at City Hall for this week's City Council meeting. We'll call this meeting to order. With us this morning is Clarence Moore of the Wichita Fire Department to provide our invocation. Following that invocation, we will have the presentation of colors by the Wichita Fire Department Honor Guard. We ask that you please stand for both.

Shall we pray? Our Father, who art in heaven, Father God, once again, we thank you for this opportunity, Lord. We just pray and ask that you would continue to watch over our chief, Lord, and that you would crown his head with wisdom and knowledge, Lord. That you would give him understanding from on high that which is needed, Lord. to lead this fire department and the men and women who will go out and serve this community. So we pray and ask, Father, that you would keep his family, Lord, that you would crown his head with wisdom and knowledge that only you can give. We pray for your hedge of protection to continue to be about him, Lord, and with him. And once again, we thank you for sending him to us, Lord. And once again, we commit him into your capable hands as the fire chief of the Wichita Fire Department. We pray and ask all these things in the powerful master's name of your son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We do say thank you, Lord. Continue to keep him as only you can. In Jesus' name we say amen.

we ask everybody to join us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Ready, face, present, bow.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ever.

You may be seated. Thank you again to Clarence Moore for providing our invocation and the Wichita Fire Department's honor guard. Madam Clerk, please call the first item.

Approve the minutes of the regular meeting August 25th, 2026.

Council members, any items to be edited? I see none. With that, I move to approve the minutes for the regular meeting for August 25th, 2026. Second. Motion, second. Discussion? See none. Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

We have Councilmember Joseph Shepard joining us online. Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Oath of Office, Fire Chief Michael Meir.

Good morning to all of you. It is a privilege to be here as we mark an important moment for the Wichita Fire Department and the City of Wichita. Chief Michael Muir, we are pleased to welcome you and your family to Wichita, and we're grateful for your commitment to serve our city and lead the dedicated men and women of the Wichita Fire Department. At this time, we would like to invite City Manager Dennis Marstall, who will lead the installation of our new Wichita Fire Department Chief, Michael Meir.

Thank you, Mayor, and good morning to everybody. I want to first offer my welcome, City Manager Dennis Marstall, and thank you for joining us, as it is indeed a great day for the City of Wichita. It's been said that a person should be judged by their character as well as by the company they keep. And I must say, I think I'm in great company this morning, so feeling pretty good. Today is not only the start of a new era of leadership with a new fire chief and for the fire department, but also a start in a new tradition with the fire chief installation ceremony. Public service is a calling that comes in many forms, from serving in an elected office, such as the city council, to our many talented leaders who are with us today at the department director level, and those on the front lines, including our many firefighters, excuse me, who are here today, police officers and others who are doing our day-to-day work. Wichita is fortunate to be served by so many dedicated and hardworking public servants who put the needs of the citizens first and work to enhance the quality of life and make Wichita a better place for those to live, work, and visit this great city. So to all the employees of the city of Wichita, I offer my deepest appreciation. There's a lot of joy and quiet rewards in public service, but we don't often do a lot of pomp and circumstance, let alone have some bagpipes and dress blues today as we see. So today is a special day for many reasons, which I am proud to highlight as follows. First, the installation ceremony marks the beginning and strong confidence we entrust in one of the most important public safety leadership positions. We do this publicly to recognize that both are responsible to the office and the faith we put in the fire chief's leadership skills and decisions. We are also doing this publicly to recognize that Chief Mears is not only joining the highly professional and well-trained Wichita Fire Department, but is being welcomed as the newest member of the larger Wichita employee family. There is an honor where much is expected and given, with high expectations from me and others gathered here, but also much is required from all of us gathered as we pledge support for Chief, your many years of success. As with anything, behind those out front is a strong group of supporters, including family members, who also share in the public service of their loved one. Oh, you here certainly know that. And today I'm pleased to recognize Chief Michael Meir and his family. We have the Chief's wife, Anita, and we have his son, Christian, and daughter, Victoria. And so they all joined us this morning for this great occasion. And so as we get to the heart of the installation, I would like to welcome Judge Jennifer Jones from the Wichita Municipal Court to lead us in the oath and pending ceremony. Judge?

Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your name.

I, Michael Meir.

Do solemnly swear.

Do solemnly swear.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

That I will support the Constitution of the United States.

And the Constitution of the State of Kansas.

And the Constitution of the State of Kansas.

And faithfully uphold the charter ordinances.

And faithfully uphold the charter ordinances.

And the laws of the City of Wichita.

And the laws of the City of Wichita.

I accept the responsibilities entrusted to me.

I accept the responsibilities entrusted to me.

As Fire Chief of the Wichita Fire Department.

As Fire Chief of the Wichita Fire Department.

I will faithfully serve the people of Wichita with integrity, courage, humility, professionalism, and compassion. I will strive to protect life, property, and public trust. Support and lead the men and women of the Wichita Fire Department.

Support and lead the men and women of the Wichita Fire Department.

Make decisions guided by service.

Make decisions guided by service.

Accountability.

Accountability. And stewardship. And stewardship. And lead this department. And lead this department.

Stronger than I found it.

Stronger than I found it.

I will faithfully discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability.

So help me God. Congratulations. Thank you, Judge.

So I'd like to invite the family up here to come join us. And as we continue with another important fire service tradition, the presentation of the chief's badge and bugles. The bugle is a visible symbol of the authority entrusted to the fire chief. But it also represents something greater, the responsibility to protect this community, to lead with integrity, and care for the men and women entrusted in his leadership. The bugles worn on a fire service uniform had their roots in the earliest days of organized firefighting, when officers used speaking trumpets or bugles to give commands over the noise and confusion of a fire scene. Over time, those bugles became symbols of rank and leadership within the fire service. The fire cross bugles presented today signify the rank of fire chief. But leadership in the fire service is rarely carried by one person alone. It asks a great deal, not only of the chief, but also of the family who supports him through the long hours, difficult calls, and responsibilities that come with serving a community. And so we'd like to ask his wife, Anita, to do the official pinning of his badge. Next, we'd like to ask her to help with the official pinning of the bugles. And Chief, I offer my warm welcome and hearty congratulations

Thank you. I'd first like to address the men and women of the fire department who have taken time out of their day, pull your uniforms out of the closet, and look sharp in support of my installation as your new fire chief. I'd like to thank all of you. We'll have more time to talk as I continue to visit fire stations and make runs with you. So we'll have more time and I will do an introductory video to the entire fire department for those of you who I have not had the opportunity to meet yet. So until that time, continue to make fires and provide for protection of property and life and pull them out alive as I work to support you in your time of need. To City Manager Dennis Morstal, thank you for the opportunity to serve as Fire Chief and to Dante and City Council in your vote of confidence. As part of my oath, I vow to be an advocate to you, the firefighters, to move this organization forward, for it to be a premier agency, not only in the state, but the region and on the national stage. I appreciate your willingness to roll up your sleeves and work with me. To the citizens of Wichita, thank you for entrusting me and ensuring that you receive excellent public service in the form of fire protection and rescue. I vow to be a good steward for the taxpayers' investment into our organization, and I look forward to the future. Thank you once again.

As many of you know, the chief has been on board for a full week and a couple of days now. And I know the media is interested in getting to know him as well as the rest of the department and city workforce. So we will have some media availability for the chief later on this morning. But everyone is invited to dismiss if you'd like to and join us for some more reception in the boardroom outside the hall. And then I'll turn it back over to the mayor as we continue the city council business. Again, thank you and congratulations.

Madam Clerk, can you please call the next item?

Awards and proclamations. Today's proclamations are Hunger Action Month and Library Card Sign Up Month.

May I please ask the Kansas Food Bank and its supporters to come forward at this time? Thank you to the Kansas Food Bank. This proclamation reads, the city of Wichita, Kansas, founded in 1870, whereas 15.8% of all people in Kansas, including one in every four children, experience food insecurity, making hunger a vital concern. Whereas every person deserves access to the food and resources needed to live a full life and healthy life, yet millions of people in the US experience food insecurity, negatively impacting their health, education, and future opportunities. Whereas Wichita's commitment to working with the Kansas Food Bank can be seen through the approximately 15 million meals distributed by the Kansas Food Bank in 2025 via their network of agency partners, food pantries, meal programs, and other community organizations demonstrating the importance of the Feeding America Network, which stands alongside neighbors facing hunger, to ensure everyone has access to the food and resources needed to thrive in our community whereas september has been designated nationally as hunger action month to bring all communities together and inspire action to elevate the voices of those experiencing food insecurity in local communities and across the nation to end hunger and join with food banks and their awareness events throughout September to help end hunger. Now therefore be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim September 2026 as Hunger Action Month.

thank you mayor and thank you council for once again recognizing this month it's very important to us this time of year as school starts and we roll back in to feeding kids in our backpack program we're also looking at an increased number of seniors that's our highest growing population so of course hunger is a problem not only in Wichita but across our state, but we do appreciate the support of the mayor and the council for doing this for us and creating awareness about the work that we do here in Wichita. I also need to say thank you to the crew members that are behind me and a board member without Without the help of them and the thousands of volunteers that we receive at the food bank every week, we wouldn't be able to provide as many meals as we do. So once again, thank you. And remember us all year round because hunger doesn't stop. Thanks.

May I please ask the Wichita Library and its supporters to come forward at this time? Thank you to the Wichita Public Library for submitting this proclamation. The city of Wichita, Kansas, founded in 1870, whereas libraries are fundamental to education, imagination, and opportunity, offering everything from early literacy programs to digital tools that support lifelong learning and personal growth. Whereas libraries serve as inclusive and accessible community hubs, providing access for all, connecting people across cultures, generations, and experiences to reliable information, digital access, job search support, and essential services. Whereas libraries and their staff remain steadfast in supporting and strengthening their communities, helping households save money, reduce waste, and make sustainable choices through the simple power of shared public good. Whereas a public library card provides a front row seat to everything libraries offer, and libraries across the country are currently joining together, urging all residents to, quote, hit the right note and sign up for their library card, celebrating the national theme of, quote, a library card hits all the right notes during National Library Card Sign-Up Month. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Wichita City Council does hereby proclaim September 2026 as Library Card Sign-Up Month.

Thank you, City Council, for your continued support and investment in the Wichita Public Library System. Celebrating National Library Card Sign-Up Month during our 150th year of being in service to Wichita highlights the many ways that library cards open doors. Because a library card is a passport to opportunity, and libraries are a welcoming space where everyone belongs. Simply put, our libraries bring Wichitans together. Every day, library staff spark the love of reading for our children, empower individuals to succeed, and connect vulnerable populations with resources and services in our buildings and throughout the community. And the remarkable thing is that this starts with something super simple. It's a little library card, and it's free. During National Library Card Sign Up Month, I encourage anyone who doesn't yet have a card to come in and get one. And I encourage those who already have one to share the opportunities it's providing and invite someone else to join the library as well. The library belongs to all of us, and a card is your key to connect, discover, learn, and thrive. Thank you. I should say later this month, please look forward. We'll be rolling out nine more solar-powered Wi-Fi charging benches, so people in our community have access to the internet throughout the community 24-7. Additionally, our digital experience is being upgraded with a new mobile app and an online catalog, so you can take the Wichita Public Library wherever you are. Thank you, and happy National Library Card Signing Month.

madam clerk can you please call the next item from the city's recently adopted civility pledge the city council is committed to promoting civility they stand united they lead with respect and dignity and they honor every resident in all communities they are working to create an environment that values shared goals with increased empathy and genuine dialogue we now come to public agenda the public agenda allows for up to five speakers to have five minutes each to address the council Please bear in mind that this is not a period of dialogue with council or question and answer period. This is your opportunity to address the city council with your concerns. I ask that you address your remarks to the city council as a body and not to any individual council member. No action will be taken relative to items on the public agenda other than referral to the city manager for information as necessary. Speakers will please speak into the microphone. Please state their name and address for the record. A time clock will display the speaker's remaining time to speak. Order and rules of decorum will be observed. The first speaker today is Sybil Strum, Locke and Photos.

Sybil? I don't see Sybil. We will now open it up for anyone who would like to speak. You can come to the microphone. Please state your name and the district you reside and you will have five minutes.

Good morning. My name is Beverly Clagg. I reside in District 6. I live in Wichita and have for 80 years. After hearing the news last night, I had to come and speak. Wichita plans to be able to spend a total of $12 million on a bike bridge, but our very own Wichita City employees benefits are cut by $300,000. I see no logic or fairness in this. I love this city of Wichita. Please vote no and show your love and fairness to your city employees. to all your responders, to all your city employees, I say again, and residents who are voters and taxpayers, especially remember the poor and the, well, take in seniors too while we're at it. I can tell already my voice is cracking. This is my first time. But thank all of you for your attention and your time. Please vote no, thank you.

Thank you. We have room for four more individuals if anyone would like to speak. If not, we will close. Either will work.

I'm Christina Jackson. I live in District 2, yes, 21st and Rock, and I've been here talking to you guys at least four times at a meeting like this, emailing personally, so I'm kind of going to talk to Mr. Shepard and the people at home and here instead now. This bridge a year ago was $3 million for taxpayers of Wichita, 5 million for the city, I mean for the federal. I went to meetings, I read the agendas and the minutes. So this bridge has gone up $9 million in one year. That's absolutely insane in a time when we're trying to cut the budget. Like my mom said, you guys cut $300,000 in employee benefits. That's so unfair. You cut $300,000 for them, but you want to give 9 million to a bridge extra? That one year ago was 3 million. How do you go from 3 million to $9 million? the the bicycle board itself got an increase of two million dollars doubled its budget starting i think it was last year where is that four million dollars they have for their board where's that money going towards this bridge is that money going towards this bridge or where's that money going so you've got four million that goes to the bicycle board you've got nine million that's going to the bridge that's extra That's $13 million plus the $3 million. That's $16 million you guys are spending this year for the bicycle board for one bridge and whatever else they're doing in the city, which is basically putting stripes on the streets, which is the least safe and least used of all bicycle lanes, according to the federal guidelines. That's the least used, least safe, which is against everything of the city's goal of all abilities, all ages for bicycles. The stats used as we see in politics from both sides support their own ideas. The city is trying to say 93 people a day use that crossing. Anybody who's driven web or anybody who's driven rock, which I do constantly, knows there's absolutely never 93 people crossing that crosswalk. Absolutely not. That is an inflated number. It happens in September. It's coming up. I signed up to be a counter because I want to see how many times the same people go over and over and over to inflate this number. I know Bike Walk Wichita and the professional bikers who have their clips as a way to distinguish, I know that they organize around these dates. There's three days, specific times, and they know exactly when that is, and they will go around and around to up this number. On a given day, you might have five people crossing that, five people for a $12 million bridge in a city where you are cutting $300,000 benefits for city employees. My dad was a city engineer. I could have used those benefits back then. And the people nowadays need that money. And the other things you cut, you didn't find property tax, but you found $9 million for the bike bridge. You couldn't find property tax relief, but you could find $9 million extra for this bridge. Trees trimmed. There's like 2,000 trees that still need trimmed on the list that is not being taken care of by the city because they can't find the money. The city can't find the money to trim trees. They can't buy enough buses, but they can find $9 million for this bridge. That would be nine buses for this city. they're lucky if they might get one new bus a year a year maybe one every two years so we could be buying buses we could be having property tax cuts we could get trees trimmed there's so much that could be done with nine million dollars that this city was able to find for a bike bridge that was three million dollars a year ago nine million dollars how do they how do you prove or i can't even think but anyway um the city even stopped a pickleball court that would have gone to glass of cox group i think or ho heisel's i know you guys wanted a pickleball court that was like maybe four million dollars a couple years ago and the city stopped that to save money because it was too much but that would have brought in tournaments pickleball tournaments, which are extremely popular. They're on the sports channel at Old Chicago. That would bring money to Wichita, but they cut that, but they're giving $9 million extra to this bike bridge. I don't understand how that can be, you know, okay with the city to do that. This is why people voted no to the budget last year. We don't trust you, and this is the reason why.

Thank you. Council Member Tuttle.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Jackson, for being here. I just wanted to make the comment to your mother also. Thank you for being here. We didn't cut employee benefits. All of our city employees, actually our non-union employees, received a 3% merit increase and a 3% cost of living increase. So it was not cut. And Ms. Jackson, I hope you'll get to stay for the actual agenda item. The cost of the bridge is still... $3 million, that has not changed. So there was a, our friends at the Eagle maybe had a misinterpretation of it, but our awesome public works team will be able to explain everything, but the cost of the bridge has remained same. This will be an opportunity for us to accept federal funding and private funding for this project. So please rest assured, there is not a $6 million, $9 million increase. The cost of the bridge has remained steadfast. And again, I hope you'll be able to stay for the agenda items so you can hear all the information. Thank you.

Council Member Hohaisel.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you guys for coming. I think Councilmember Tuttle was right. I think there's some, there was a $300,000 tuition reimbursement fund. I don't know if that's what you're talking about. Okay, we did keep some money in that fund. The rest of it, that literally ranked last in the employee survey that we had as far as what employees wanted to see. So we did that, but we're also gonna make sure to work with them to identify some things that they did have higher as a priority over this next year for next year's budget. Tree removal you spoke about. Council or Vice Mayor Glasscock did move $400,000 out of a parks project and put it towards tree removal. 28% I think we're catching up on as far as tree removal goes. So that was in this year's budget. And also to your mother, I don't know if you qualify for the homestead tax exemption. That was part of our budget this year as well. So if you receive the homestead tax exemption on the state level, you can also get your property taxes given back to you on the city level as well. So we did make sure to pass that for seniors this year as well. Take a look at that next year when you get your tax reform, your tax form back, bring it on down the city hall or wherever we figure out and you can get a reimbursement for your property taxes as well. So I just wanted to put that out there with you guys. So I appreciate you coming up and speaking.

We have room for three more individuals to speak and I know that Ms. Sybil was one of the first ones that signed up.

My name is Sybil Strum and I live at 326 North Walnut. I am outraged. My house was not, I did not get, the homeowner did not get any approbation. So I called David Unruh and he told me to call the police, which I did. I would like you all to know you had no right to go into my house without my permission. I actually was at 2909 North Richmond. I charged the suspicious character of coming in my house, trespassing. I charged him for trespassing and suspicious. And to make it worse, he took pictures of my house without my permission. He also went and he just didn't have no right to be there. And then behind my back, you demolished my house. What, oh sorry, it's my phone. You demolished my house without permission. I can't use the phone. Okay, you demolished my house without permission.

I did not know nothing about it.

I did not know that you were gonna do that. I was not getting any information from the city lawyer about it and Robert Layton and Central came to my, I didn't even know he was Central. I ended up finding out on my own. You have no right to violate my privacy violate my house. My house was a safe haven for kids that were in trouble, that were in drug-infested homes and alcoholic homes. I took them in. I made sure they were fed. I made sure they were going to school. And some of them became good citizens. Some of them didn't. You had no right to have Bowers call you. They should have came to me, but they didn't. She should be charged for a violation and she should be paying for it. And I want retaliation. I want money off the people that did this because it hurt me emotionally and mentally and physically. I come to this deal. I want answers. I want records. And she knows who the central was and she needs to tell me. Because I went and got an attorney from another state and he told me that they have to give me the records. She will not do it. I am outraged. I have been there for the community. I worked as an election board 1984 to 2007. I was a safety patrol in 1984 to 2007. My records were in that place when they demolitioned it. My stuff was in there. My property was in there. No, I am not going to give up. I have had it. When you did the Crown Uptown, that guy told you he wanted to destroy it. Now you're keeping it for 190 days. And you haven't even fixed that Dodge house. And my neighbor, Joan Grapp, 324, has lead paint on her house, and she has a broken window, and her roof needs done. Why aren't after me. I have a picture of my house. So later on today, I'd like to show you it if I can. And I had a trespassing sign that said, don't trespass. And he violated it. Thank you. Good day. God bless y'all.

Thank you. We have room for two more people. Yes, you may come.

Hi, my name is Tanya Webb. I'm actually with District 6. So I wasn't planning on speaking today. I was just coming in to get some information, and I've been paying attention to the budget and things like that. If you don't remember, I was here August 11th, and I was speaking about then the criminalizing of the camping. That very day, I put myself into the second-line shelter. And I've been maneuvering my own housing and case managers and helping other people also try to maneuver their resources and find resources and just see where the barriers are and where it is that the things that the city has put in place, what they're lacking. I hear about all this budget. You guys are so strong against helping the resources for the homeless and having other things in place, but what you don't understand is you're lacking two major things. Funding for case managers. Everybody at the shelter, you can't have a program bed. Luckily, I knew about things before I went there, but you can't have a shelter bed every day, a program bed, unless you have a housing case manager. The shelter doesn't have enough of the case managers. The city housing doesn't have enough of them, even though they just hired another person. They lost Miss... I forget her name. She was my housing person. So I got some new people. So her caseload became Jordan and Anastasia's. And they're rapidly trying to even just keep up with that. And they're having a hard time. I mean, every place needs funding for the case managers. So Ms. Jana, Donna with Grassroots, and also Ms. Sarah Kaling, she was on the news because after a two-year wait, she finally found housing. Somebody else who got lost in your system, you know what I mean? Because the funds are not there for the housing. There's a lot of unrest going on at the shelter because you have to sit outside and wait all day long to get your bed. I mean, they've been letting them in early, but here you are. You can't go and take care of the necessary things and make your appointments and find a case manager and just even go to your health appointments because you have to wait in line to get in there. This was a problem for me for a little bit because I'm trying to help navigate a couple people. kind of pointless if they don't have a case manager. The shelter's done the best they can. The new acting director, Josh, he's amazing. He's doing absolutely all he can and it's just, sorry, it's not good enough. And then also on that, whenever people do get their housing, say, for instance, Chapin Park, you know, they've got to the end of September. Those people, that has been their whole entire life. They don't have any family, you know. A lot of people are like, Miss Janet, we're trying so hard. You know, I do believe she's one of the ones that has a nursing degree or was a nurse, you know. So they have other things. So what's going to happen to these people when they get their voucher? How are they going to move their stuff? A bus? Are they going to be able to take their stuff on city trains? Or do they have to get a bike with a little trailer behind it and, you know, trail it across town? I mean, what resources do they have to actually move their belongings that are their life, you know? Because you hear people talk about it. It's a huge thing. Sometimes that's all we have when we're out there, you know, the things that make us comfort, you know, and that mean to us, you know, it could be documents or pictures of their kids and things like that, you know. things that mean something to you. So I'm asking that you consider looking at your budget. Y'all need more case managers. If you want to help solve this problem of the homeless and get people rotated through the shelter or just even out of the street, you have to have more people to help navigate them, because there's a huge number of people out here. I mean, they go to open door, they get told no. They go to United Way, they get told no. They go to SAC, they get told no. Here, they get told no, because nobody has enough case managers, and they're not accepting anyone. So what are they doing? They're riding right down the street. Can't even get in line to get a housing voucher or to do any of the things, the resources are there, because there's not nobody that can accept them. The caseloads are too big, oh, we're not accepting anybody, which I think is a lot of crap, honestly. I mean, if there was a donate, 20 minutes a day, per person on the caseload, throughout the week, you know, to make some phone calls, make an email, or do something, I mean, I'm not a case manager, not yet, but I'm working on that because I think there's something faulty, something's missing. And I don't know much about the bridge, but I'm going to look into it. But it doesn't take much to help out with some case managers if you really want to solve the problem of being homeless and find a solution. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. We have room for one more individual. I see none. Oh, wait a second.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council. My name is Darcy Smith and I am from Park City, Kansas. I've met quite a few of you. Getting better at this of standing in front of you guys. Thank you for Tanya for coming up here. Tanya has been amazing. She's been helping me navigate some things. She can actually go in front of people that she actually knows, you know, that have been in encampments. I go out every day and feed, talk to people. I've met with Sedgwick County in regards to getting plugged into HMIS and helping with that. Today I'll be down at Chafin. I'm going to go down there. I've got quite a bit of water and things. But here's the things that I ran into just yesterday was hot team called me. They came across a woman that her transmission went out on her vehicle. She's sleeping in her car. She has her dog. She can't go to the shelter. Not with her animal. I was able to get with one spark. We were able to get her vehicle towed, actually, where Hawteen said to Chafin. We're navigating everyone to Chafin. I personally, if we're wanting to help with Chafin, I know there is some land that's coming up for sale, 80 acres, Sedgwick County. It's north of Park City. It's a 101 club. It has been known for helping people that are in addiction and with alcohol, AA meetings, such like that. I am looking for anyone that can help me invest in that. 80 acres. Let's get these people into a safe environment where they can get their self back on track. Tiny homes have been an answer before to help with people that are in homelessness. I've met quite a few of them at Chaffin and across the city. They just want help, guys. And it starts with a simple water conversation with them. Actually, what I was going to come up here and talk to you guys about is buses, because one, it's hot again. I will be out again today with water. Maggie with Hydration Homies reached out to me yesterday and said, hey, Darcy, I've taken on a part-time job. She has two jobs now. And she asked me if I could go out again today with extra water. I'm willing to do that. I'm out here from 8 to 10 hours a day, guys, in this heat. But the buses and everything, Tanya is looking for employment. Yesterday, she had a bus pass. She went and she did some applications. She did. But here's the issue. If she doesn't have a bus pass, she has to walk. And as long as you guys know, Maggie, you've done it. You've walked from that shelter, and you know how hot it is, and you know how long it is. And it is a long, treacherous walk. And being a woman alone walking... Some people don't even want to come out here and walk this. I'm out here every day. Someone bought us a wagon so I don't have to pack 40 bottles of water going down into an encampment. Praise God for that. But is there a way that someone could maybe possibly help us out with some bus passes so that the people that we do come across that are wanting to look for employment, that we can get those to them? some of you may be aware we did our paperwork to become a 501c3 we are going to be hearing back from that in a few weeks so we're waiting patiently for that paperwork and approval but we just are asking the city for some help and i just wanted to bring some light to some things that we've came across that are barriers for some of them that are out here that are at the shelter that are wanting to get employment or get to even calm care things like that they just don't have the bus passes to get there thank you for your time thank you darcy vice mayor glasscock

Thank you, Mayor Titania. Specifically, I've had at the front desk in the last week we met about your employment application. If you go to the council front desk, Brandy will have a document for you to let you know how to check on that application.

Thank you to the five speakers in public agenda. I see no council member comment. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Consent agenda items one through 16.

Council members, any items to be pulled from consent? I see none. With that, I move to approve Consent Agenda Items 1 through 16. Second. Motion, second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0.

Madam Clerk, please call the next item. Board of Bids and Contracts, dated August 31, 2026.

Good morning, Mayor, City Council, Justice Lauber, Department of Finance. The Board of Bids and Contracts convened yesterday, August 31st, for the following items. For Engineering, we have the Water Distribution System Sanitary Sewer and Stormwater Drain Number 528 to serve Bridger at Central Edition Phase 6. For Mies Construction Incorporated, for an aggregate bid total of $823,255.95. We have the Water Distribution System Sanitary Sewer Improvements to Serve First Furlong Edition for PSC Contractors LLC for $226,041.75. For purchasing, we have the SCADA System Maintenance for Utility HelpNet Incorporated for $85,740.70. We have the Pollard QXT Pro Thermal Imager Bundles for Wiese Buyer LLC doing business as Wiese Fire and Safety Equipment for $58,792.20. We have the Toro Z Master 7500 Zero Turn Mower for Professional Turf Products LP for $67,653.12. And we have the salt and sand mixture and sand only for ice control contract for Cornejo and Sons LLC doing business as Quick Creek Aggregates for $90,900 estimated per year. And for airport, we have the remain overnight parking marking improvements for Sillison and Sons Incorporated for $60,858.55. This is how to become a vendor with the city. This is a purchasing calendar of small business resource partner events the city's hosting or participating in. And these are open public opportunities out on the street today. And I'd be happy to try to answer your questions and recommend your approval.

Thank you, Josh. Questions for staff? I see none. With that, I move to approve the Board of Bids and Contracts dated August 31st, 2026. Second. Motion second. Discussion? See none. Madam Clerk, please open the roll. Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

HPC 2026-210, Applicant Appeal.

Good morning, Scott Waddle from the Planning Department. As you heard, this item is an applicant's appeal of a denial of their Delano Design Standards application for the proposed building permit for three duplexes. This item is being heard today because it was deferred to this date during the August 18th City Council meeting. Since that council meeting, staff have met with the applicant and reviewed updated designs. The staff committee voted to approve the updated designs with some conditions. In addition, the applicant, in following that, the applicant has withdrawn their appeal. So staff's recommended action is that the council either take no action, since no action is required because it has been withdrawn, or you can receive and file the information. And with that, I'll stand for any questions.

Thank you, Scott. Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you, Scott. This is a great success of how we resolved this before it came to council, and so I make a motion that we receive and file.

Second. Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Acceptance and administration of ACF Street Outreach Program, SOP Grant, Wichita Youth Outreach and Housing Navigation Project.

I think staff is currently speaking with one of the public agenda individuals, trying to assist them with homeless services. Can we hear the next item and come back to this item?

Kansas Gas Service upsizing agreement for biological nutrient removal.

Good morning, Mayor and Council Members, Gary Jansen, Public Works and Utilities. I was paying attention and not paying attention all at the same time, so sorry for the minor delay there. The item before you is a request for upsizing the Kansas Gas Service main and service line for our B&R improvements at Plant 2. I've got some background on the project, talk a little bit about the agreement, and then I wanted to give you a quick update on this project, too. Since May of 2024, expansion of wastewater treatment plant two has been under construction. Improvements include a new BNR structure for meeting enhanced regulations for nutrient removal, particularly for phosphorus and nitrogen within the plant effluent. It includes investment in odor control, upgrades to existing processes, and rehabilitation of aging structures. While some upgrades increase energy efficiency at those processes, the new B&R structure increases the overall energy demand at the plant, which requires upsizing the natural gas main and service lines. Kansas Gas Service provided two agreements, one for upsizing the current service line and meter, and the other for upsizing the gas main from four to six inches in diameter, again, to provide the additional service we need for this expanded facility. The cost for upsizing the main is a joint investment between Kansas Gas and the city. Our share is 65% of the cost based on anticipated increase in energy and demand over the next seven years. So that's a theoretical calculation. of the gas demand that we will need for the larger facility. There is a clause in here based on that theoretical calculation. If we use less, our cost to them will increase. But in the same, if we use more, we do get some of that money back. All of the additional costs, if needed, are included in the budget. If the city exceeds anticipated uses, a refund, as I mentioned, a refund will be issued by Kansas Gas for the exceedance at the same rate upon request. I would expect it will be pretty close to where we expect to be. The cost to upsize the service line and the meter for the plan is just under $80,000. The City's share of the cost to upsize the main itself is $227,000 for a total amount of just over $305,000. Funding is available within the current B&R budget of $387 million, which was approved by the City Council on March 5th of 2024. Staff recommends City Council approve the agreements and authorize the necessary signatures. I do want to give you a quick update before we have further discussion, answer any questions you might have. Project is progressing well. We are on track to be, we're still projecting full completion by the fall of 2027. I mentioned odor control improvements. If you see the picture on the left, the primary clarifier number two, the cover installation is now complete. structure is prepared for hydrostatic testing followed by a 30-day operational period. So we've got multiple, and then when you look to the middle picture for the odor control systems, two of the four advanced odor control systems are fully operational, actively what we call scrubbing the foul air from enclosed basins and discharging treated air. So between those two pictures, We talked before about there's almost $60 million in investment with this project dedicated to odor control, so there's a lot happening. We will start to see, and with the sensors that we have around the perimeter of the facility, we are seeing improvements already. By next spring, we should see a marked improvement with odor control coming out of this facility on a daily basis. As we've gone through construction and some of the processes change, some parts of the overall process are taken offline. That impacts odor while we're in construction, but we are going to start to see a really big difference by spring and by the time we get to next fall and completion of the project. It's not all going to go away at all times, but there will be a major difference with odor control, which is a good thing. The biggest part of this project, the BNR structure itself shown on the right, is now complete. It's passed water tightness testing. That was a big milestone for this project. So being able to move forward with getting that actually ready for process control and treatment And that's also starting to bring staff online, getting training done so that they understand the new processes that come with this project. So I will go back again and say with all of that, staff recommends City Council approve the agreements and authorize the necessary signatures, and I'd be happy to stand for any questions.

Thank you, Gary. Questions for staff, beginning with Council Member Paul Heisel.

Thank you, Mayor Gary. I know another part of this project is eventually looking at capturing the gas, scrubbing it, and using it to file or fire the plant. So does this configure into that? Is this being built so that way that's easily adaptable in the future?

It is. So you will see on the Council Weekend Report coming up an update on the biogas efforts, but I'll give you a breakdown of that. So we have gone through the process to select a Design build partner for public-private partnership for the the biogas efforts and just a quick summary Right now the methane gas effectively that is produced as a byproduct of the treatment process is flared into the air We are working with a we put out a request for proposals to work with a private entity, a design build company that would come in and capture that gas. This is done at other facilities around the country. We contemplated this at the beginning of the BNR project and decided it would make sense maybe to fit it in later. We're getting really close working on contract terms now. In fact, I had a discussion yesterday with staff and council about that. for selecting a consultant, that'll be coming to the council. Not a consultant, but the design build team, our partner in this. They will own and operate the facility, and we will realize a percentage of revenue from that. I don't know what that number looks like just yet, but that's part of what we're working on, of how that share would be. Anyway, it'll be on site pretty close to where the flare is now, generally west of where our operations building is. There's space out there forward. It really doesn't take up a lot of space, but we've certainly contemplated that as we've gone through this. Everything should fit just fine.

Okay, I guess it's up to us to encourage people to eat the high-fiber diets that'll...

I think that's a very good point. I will tell you real quick, and this will come back to you later as an item itself. But what's going to come out of this, if we make everything work and pending the council's approval to move forward, it's going to provide some benefit to those in our community who have fats, oils, and grease, part of our fog programs, the restaurant industry. They are limited right now on where they can take their and have grease products. transported to. With this, where we're headed with this plan, if we can make everything work, it will include a location off-site of Plant 2 where those products can be taken to. Those will be basically disposed of at our plant. What it does is it creates a richer gas, it creates more gas. Basically, it's put into our digesters. Ultimately, that can increase our return on revenue for this, too. That's a good thing. It should provide benefit to the restaurant community in particular.

That's interesting. I appreciate you bringing that up.

We'll have more details coming. Like I said, on the weekend report that's coming up, you'll see more about that, too. Thank you, Gary.

Thanks, Gary. I see no further questions for you. We'll open it up for public comment. I see no one from the public who would like to speak on this item. We'll bring it back to the bench. The BNR resides in district number three.

Thank you, Mayor. I move that we approve the agreement and authorize the necessary signatures. Second.

Motion second. Discussion? See none. Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Acceptance and administration of ACF Street Outreach Program Grant, Wichita Youth Outreach and Housing Navigation Project.

Good morning, City Manager, Mayor, City Council. I bring before you today acceptance and administration of the ACF Street Outreach Program Grant to provide Wichita youth street outreach and housing navigation. Always trying to add more case managers to our system. With that, the administration, the background, the Administration for Children and Families released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Street Outreach Program on July 23rd, 2026. The Department of Housing and Community Services developed partnerships and support with Kansas Department of Children and Families, Wichita Police Department, and the Wichita Children's Home. The proposal was completed and submitted before the federal deadline of 8-17. More background, Wichita continues to experience significant levels of unsheltered homelessness, particularly among transition-aged youth. Recent community-wide data identified 577 youth ages 18 to 22 in need of targeted outreach, crisis response screening, and rapid housing navigation supports. Current community resources place those eligible youth into units in about four to six weeks, depending on the documentation, inspection scheduling, and landlord readiness. The city is applying for this street outreach program grant to create an additional community resource to expand youth-specific street outreach capacity, provide housing navigation and stabilization services to voucher holders, and reduce repeated exposure to crisis, trafficking risk, and unsafe environments. The city stands to benefit through enhanced youth safety, faster movement from street to housing, reduced recidivism, and strengthened coordination across the Housing and Community Services Department, Wichita Children's Home, Wichita Police Department, Division of Child and Family Services, and community partners, all throughout requiring new city funds. The Wichita Youth Street Outreach and Housing Navigation Project will be operated by the City of Wichita Department of Housing and Community Services. The program establishes a dedicated two-person outreach team for daily engagement in targeted locations. Services will include crisis intervention, standardized assessment, safety planning, trafficking prevention education, case management, and housing navigation that will be supported by our foster to youth independence and home-funded tenant-based rental assistance vouchers. Follow-up services up to 12 months strengthen the tenancy retention and reduce returns to homelessness. The budget will be part of our program manager at 10%, two FTE housing navigators, travel supplies, supplies and IT to get the job done, overhead and other vital documents, indirect costs totaling that, And I'll give you a graph here in a minute to sum all of this up. The program does require you to contribute 10 percent of the project's total cost per Section 383 of the RHY Act. And the match, therefore, is $22,222. Anyway, the match will be tracked via a designated housing general fund billing code and supports coordination activities essential to the implementation, program leadership and oversight. That includes case conferencing, youth housing application, and inspection facilitation, data tracking, quality assurance, and community-wide coordination. This is an overview of that budget and the spend, which is a summarization of the budget narrative I just presented. Cross-department and community coordination, the Wichita Children's Home will provide youth appropriate stabilization, immediate safety, 24-7 shelter access, supervision, crisis response, and linkage service coordination, which reinforces the program's ability to deliver same-day pathways off the street. Wichita Police Department supports hotspot identification, safe outreach deployment, crisis routing and warm handoffs all aligned with the homeless outreach team commitments to rights respecting, resource forward engagement rather than enforcement only responses. The program activities, locate and engage with potential program participants. Safety planning, shelter access, documentation, eligibility, unit acquisition and inspection, lease up, move in, housing stabilization, case management, and follow up. This team will serve 120 unique individuals per year and demonstrate safety and stabilization, faster housing placements, a reduction from 69 days currently, and improved stability over 12 months. Our current community is showing a success rate of 44 percent. Again, financial considerations, there's a 10 percent match requirement. However, no new city funds are requested. The match is already budgeted in the Housing General Fund and will be tracked using a designated billing code. This grant does not allow us to use federal funds as the match, so we are going to be using the general funds and moving other funds into the general fund to accommodate for the match. The grant application has been reviewed and has been approved as to form by the law department. And we recommend that you approve the submission and acceptance of the Administration for Children and Families Street Outreach Program Grant for the Wichita Youth Street Outreach and Housing Navigation Project, authorize the necessary signatures, and acknowledge that the grant application was submitted pursuant to the August 17th federal deadline with the city manager's awareness and concurrence to ensure timely submission. I stand for questions.

Thank you, Steve. I'll ask one question, and then Councilmember Shepherd has a question as well. My question is in regards to the coordination with the Wichita Children's Home Crossroads Program, which specifically helps youth facing homelessness between 18 and 24. Can you just talk about how it's currently working with second light if a person presents as 18 to 24 are they getting connected to the children's home because that would be a more age-appropriate place for someone that is actually a youth can you talk about what currently is happening and how this would be helpful

i don't actually have an answer to your question and not at second light i would hope that that would happen um it is more appropriate environment for people than second light in that 18-24 the same would hold true for a veteran who should be at the emporia house right a family who should be either at the end or one of the families so we hope that someday that the triage desk at second light can get there What is currently happening is we get these housing vouchers from, we get these requests for housing vouchers and housing assistance from the Wichita Children's Home. So they've already been through a lot of that crisis stabilization. um we also know that there are 18 to 22 year olds that are in shelter at second light and in other places not meant for human habitation and this will allow us to reach directly to them to sort of circumvent their natural need to find a case manager where there wouldn't naturally be one out there talking to them thank you steve council member shepherd

Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Steve. A couple of questions, particularly as it relates to the trafficking prevention education. Who are you working with for that?

Well, we are going to do that through some internal training, but I have begun dialoguing with ICT SOS to ensure that they are embedded in the homelessness work that we do.

Thank you, Steve. That's really important to me because I know that that's a very sensitive subject. And so I know that we have several organizations in our city who serve as experts in that realm who want to help and be a partner with the city. So anytime we can collaborate, I think that that would be great. And then in terms of the training curriculum on page 31, who are we utilizing for the framework of that curriculum as it relates to human trafficking?

We will be reaching out to ICTSOS, and we will be using the Administration for Child and Family Services. This is a collaborative grant, so we'll be working directly with that organization to facilitate that work.

Thank you. And then can you describe at a high level what this would look like in practice if awarded? What would a case manager do on the day-to-day in terms of making contact with these individuals and guiding them into stability?

Thank you for the question. Not unlike our current model where we are having a street outreach team, a unit identification team, and then a housing stabilization team, we'll be using HMAS, our community partners, and we'll be working directly in encampments. Identified through both the HOT Team, our community members who submit C-Click fixes, report to WPT, we call the HOT Team, We'll be reaching out to those individuals that HMAS determines are within the appropriate age group, and we'll be executing the usual model that we have been doing, kind of developing over time, in that we're going to do street outreach, housing navigation, and housing stabilization once we get them moved in to make sure that they're stable, using our current rental assistance programs that are already embedded in the housing department.

Now we'll, very similar to what we've been doing with some of the residents at Chapin, will they move up on the list once we make contact with them to do like immediate housing or rapid re-housing or how will that work? Because we only have so many vouchers.

Actually, generally, the HUD just removed the limit of vouchers on FYIs. So, as long as we have an individual identified for that, then we can request a new voucher. Plus, we have home TBRA, which while not limitless, we do have plenty of rental assistance for them. What we've been missing is the community case management to go out, engage them, and connect them to the rental assistance.

Thank you so much. And then my final question for you is I do see in some of the notes that have been submitted by some of the internal and external partners, there's information sharing. And I'm just curious if you all have thought through how to protect some of that sensitive information, especially because you're going to be dealing with vulnerable populations, particularly survivors of human trafficking and those who may just be dealing with foster care. And so I know that they're going to be in HMIS. How are we going to ensure that these partners are not privy to information that's very sensitive?

Interestingly, there is a robust policy in the HMIS world that prohibits us from sharing specifically domestic violence information. So, there's a de-identification process. That policy extends and is a little bit even more robust for human trafficking. One came across my desk yesterday that I could kind of peruse and suggest that the connection to a certain organization would suggest it was human trafficking, that client was given the opportunity to not identify themselves, get into HMIS, and that we're working through that housing application without our community partners knowing specifically who that is, and yet everybody's agreeing to work on the case.

Thank you so much, Steve. You're welcome.

Steve, I see no questions from We will now open it up for public comment on this item. Yes.

Good morning. Can you guys hear me like this? Can you hear me like this? I don't like it right there. My name is Sarah Cowling. I am currently in all of your districts, because I'm homeless again. I am speaking, actually this is, I came for a public agenda, but this is something that I'm working with also. I know I was in a couple of your offices last week, and as grassroots, one of the organizations we talk to is Safe Place, which is the kids between 18 and 25 that are coming out of foster care. And when we talked to them, they didn't even know about City Council that they had the ability to come here and talk to you guys about some of their issues. And so I'd asked through the office if maybe you guys can make an appearance over there and speak with them, because I think it would be amazing for them to meet you guys. Anyways, to the outreach, as far as I didn't even see all. Anyways. I have one um in my but as far as the HMIS and as far as direct contact and like the fact that we have so much bureaucracy in helping these people you know when having to get to services when we have kids and I'm not even sure if I'm speaking on the right thing as far as this the city The grants that Steve and the people that we have out there, we, I don't know, I'm gonna step back from here, but as far as passing... Sorry. We need more outreach for her. We need people like me. We need people that have understanding of what's going on out there because when we translate to people in here, sometimes it's hard for us to talk to you. And if we have funding to help people like me get certified, when we have kids that are out there and we can enable them to be part of that, then they don't grow up to be people on the streets. They grow up to be people that are helping people on the streets. And I want to see more of that, like... I see my kids just turning 18, and I work out here because I've been through all of this. But I don't want my kids to have to go through this. And they are coming of age. So anything that we can do that's going to empower those kids from being part of a problem and making them the solution would be very much necessary. Thank you.

Thank you, Sarah. I see no one else from the public who would like to speak on this item. With that, I will go ahead and move to approve the submission and acceptance of the Administration for Children and Families SOP grant for the Wichita Youth Street Outreach and Housing Navigation Project. Authorize the necessary signatures and acknowledge that the grant application was submitted pursuant to the August 17, 2026 federal deadline with the city manager's awareness and concurrence to ensure timely submission. Second motion second discussion. See none. Madam clerk, please open the role. All right. Motion passes 70. Madam clerk, please call the next item.

Contract and vendor selection for the intelligent intelligent transportation system improvements along 21st street north from 119 street west to main street.

Good morning, mayors, city council members, Paul Gunzelman, public works and utilities for the record. This morning I have the West 21st Street ITS project from 119th Street to Main Street. The adopted 2027 through 2036 capital improvement program includes a project to install fiber optic communication cable and make upgrades to existing signals, to allow for synchronization and improve traffic flow along the corridor. The proposed improvements will also make other traffic signals and accessibility upgrades for feasible And the fiber optic communication cable will allow staff to program the traffic signals into the advanced traffic management system and monitor the traffic signals remotely. That's kind of a snapshot of the program that we can monitor signals. Top picture to the right of that is some fiber optic going into the cabinets, and then the down bottom right is some ADA improvements that we can make along with the project, similar to what we did at 21st Street and Founders Circle out east. On April 3rd, 2026, city staff issued a request for proposals for this project. Five responses were received. The staff screening and selection committee reviewed the submissions and interviewed four firms. BHC was recommended by the Staff Screening and Selection Committee based on their significant experience with similar ITS improvements, understanding of the project requirements, and proposed options for ITS management. The contract has been prepared accordingly and the contract fee is $448,423. Funding is available within the project budget of $3.8 million, which was approved by City Council on April 21st, 2026, and is funded by the Transportation Improvement Program funding through Wichita Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or WAMPO, and local sales tax. It is recommended that City Council approve the selection of BHC, approve the contract, and authorize necessary signatures, and I will stand for questions.

Thank you, Paul. Questions for staff? Seeing none, we'll open it up for public comment.

My name's Sarah Cowling, I'm here and this is something I'm a little bit better at. This is questioning, like systems, if we have so much money spent on systems that are remote, we're having less people designated for out there. Like if we're spending city money, how much of that's locally funded how much of it is you know like i think one of the problems that we have in society today is so much has gone to the computers and so much has gone to that we stand here and we bid 300 000 like the best firm would be the one that has the least risk that's what most people would think but my questions i don't even know how to act on When we select, and I guess what I'm right now is I'm gonna question everything on the city when it comes down to people and our transportation, because these are things that are set up that are gonna be permanent. how much of our investments is put towards things that take people out of our city, as far as the work, and not out of our city, but out of functioning with where they meet people every day. Because if everything's remote, I think we should have more opportunities for people to come into contact with people, not less contact. When we're designating some of our funding to making things easier by putting everything on one grid, we're not being part of the city. So I'm just, that's it.

Thank you, Sarah. We will now close public comment. And I'll just add a quick comment before making my motion, Sarah, so that you understand. traffic signalization, so this allows for traffic to go more smoothly, and we want that coordination as well. Paul, if you can just address that really quick, and then this is utilizing transportation improvement program funds and local sales tax.

Yes, thank you, Mayor. Couple things here, so we are receiving approximately $2.8 million of, no, I'm sorry, $2.1 million of funding through WAMPO for the project, and you are correct, the project will, it's part of our optimization of traffic signals, especially get some coordination between closely spaced signals such as Bridge Road, North Shore, Zoo Boulevard, Windmill Drive, and then the two at I-235. So if we can get coordination through those, it does make traffic more efficient.

Thank you, Paul. With that, I will move to approve the selection of BHC, approve the contract, and authorize the necessary signatures. Second. Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Funding for 2027 Water and Sewer Main Improvements.

Thank you.

Paul Gunselman, Public Works and Utilities. For the record, the item before you is funding for 2027 Water and Sewer Main Improvements. The 2027 through 2036 adopted capital improvement program includes annual funding for the following water and sewer infrastructure improvements. Arterial water mains, water distribution main replacement, water dead end mains elimination, water and sewer mains for future development, and sewer collection mains replacement. The arterial water mains program will allow for replacement or relocation as necessary to construct arterial street projects, which will provide more reliable service to customers. Specific locations and scope of work will be developed as design advances for arterial street and projects and on 2027 we have the maple and 167th street intersection in district four and five 127th street from douglas to 13th street and web road central to 13th street both in district two The water distribution mains replacement program decreases the number of unexpected water main breaks, brings undersized mains to current standards and improves fire protection. The program replaces water lines that have failed or have been determined to be in critical condition after multiple breaks and are beyond the means of city crews to repair. The water dead end mains elimination project will be used to fund improvements that are needed to combat pressure and water quality issues and those that will enhance system performance and reliability. Water and sewer mains for future development projects primarily serve new development and water and sewer infrastructure as the city grows. And the proposed projects are requested by developers and evaluated by staff to make sure the proposed improvements are in the best interest of the utility and the city. The account will be allocated on first come, first serve basis and the projects on the list are 119th Street North and 31st Street South. 29th Street, 127th to 143rd, as well as 143rd, 29th to 1 1⁄2 miles south, and near 37th Street South and Rock Road. Sewer Mains Collection, Sewer Collection Mains Replacement Program helps to replace or rehabilitate sewers that have failed and are found to be in critical condition because of unexpected and unplanned stoppages and backups. Here is a map of the locations. Those in blue are water mains for future development. The ones in the magenta color are future CIP projects. And the adopted 2027 through 2036 capital improvement program for 2027 includes $3 million for water main arterial water mains, $6.8 million for water distribution mains replacement, $580,000 for water dead end mains elimination. The water mains for future development, $2.8 million. It's a collection of the main acquisition fees and the amount 0.032 cents per square foot will reimburse the utility 50% of the main costs as smaller mains are extended and the sanitary sewer mains for future development of $2.1 million The collection of main acquisition fees in the amount of 0.071 cents per square foot will reimburse the utility 50% of the main as costs as lateral lines are extended. Staff recommends initiating the funding at this time and the projects will be funded from future revenue bonds or sewer utility and water utility cash reserves. If revenue bonds are issued, an additional 8% will be added for financing administrative costs. It is recommended that the City Council approve the projects, adopt the resolution and notices of intent, and authorize the necessary signatures. And I will stand for questions.

Thank you, Paul. Questions for staff? I see none. We'll open it up for public comment. I see none. I'll bring it back to the bench. With that, I will move to approve the projects, adopt the resolutions, and authorize the necessary signatures. Second. Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Agreements and funding for the Redbud Trail from Woodlawn to K96 Phase 2.

Thank you. Paul Gunzelman, Public Works and Utilities. For the record, this item before you is Agreements and Funding for Redbud Trail from Woodlawn to K96 Phase 2. On September 16, 2025, the City Council approved KDOT Agreement 230-24 for Phase 1 and the existing budget of $12,118,061. And this includes funding for both phases of the project. The general obligation funding approved at that time was approximately 7.6 million dollars. Construction for phase one includes constructing the path approximately three and a half miles between Woodlawn and K96 and construction began in February. Phase one will also upgrade the existing rectangular rapid flash beacon at the crossing at Woodlawn with a high intensity crossing, high intensity activated crosswalk or hawk. Crossing improvements will also be included or constructed at the intersections of Greenwich Road and Webb Road where the trail crosses. Race medians will be constructed as well as hawk signal at both of those locations. Phase two of the project will improve the crossing at Rockwood with a new pedestrian overpass and pedestrian connections from the path to area businesses. While I'm on this slide, this is more than just the bridge project. As mentioned before, the bridge itself is estimated to be approximately $3 million. However, there are also additional costs included with the project, which includes the walls that extend approximately, this project will be approximately a quarter mile on either side of Rock Road. So, we'll construct the walls so that the path is ADA compliant, drainage improvements, sidewalk connections to area businesses, as I mentioned, and the path itself. The City has also received a private donation of $150,000 for the project. The funds will be utilized to upgrade the proposed wire mesh with a tighter weave, providing additional public safety. Additional funding through WEMPO was identified after the 2027 through 2036 proposed CIP was published. The 2027 through 2036 adopted capital improvement program will include $5,562,763 in federal funds for phase two and ongoing projects. This federal funding needs to be obligated by the end of this month to make sure we have it in hand and receive We have received it, but it has to be obligated by the end of the month. Staff recommends initiating the full amounts of the private donation of federal funds for a revised budget of $17,830,824. And excuse me, Mayor, I tried to slide in another slide this morning so I can break down this cost. So if I can hand that out to you.

I'll take a picture of this and send it to Councilmember Shepherd since he's not in attendance.

Okay. I want to go through the slide a little bit. And I want to mention that the scope of the project has not changed as we've moved on from I think the overall project of the $12.1 million was approved in September of 2025. The first phase of the project, again, I wanted to mention it's approximately three miles of path construction, as well as the crossing improvements at Woodlawn, Webb Road, and Greenwich. The estimated project cost for phase one at this time, as it has been under construction since February, the estimated project cost is a little over $5 million, and that would include the construction, design, inspection, TIP fees, et cetera. With the general obligation and federal dollars, the total budget of phase one we believe is around $6 million. Phase two of the project, which is the Rock Road Pedestrian Bridge. And as I mentioned before, it goes approximately a quarter mile on either side of Rock Road. In addition, Evergy needs to make modifications to their lines. And we had an agreement that went before city council in December for approximately $900,000 for that work. So we are estimating the project cost for phase two of $9 million, a little over $9 million, and that includes averaging cost, design inspection, TIP fees, and construction. The general obligation portion of that plus donation is $6.2 million and the $5.562 million that we recently received from WAMPO for a total budget of $11.8 million for phase two. So that totals up to the $17.83 million for both phases of the project for the total budget. Provided favorable bids are received, later this fall, some of the general obligation funds may become available to reprogram in future years of budget or CIP cycles. Again, we're estimating the total project cost of both phases as little over $14.5 million. Again, I want to stress that the scope of the project has not changed since September of last year. It is recommended that the City Council approve the agreements, adopt the amending resolution, and authorize the necessary signatures. This is the final step to advertise and bid the project. Final plans have been provided to KDOT. An obligation of the project must be completed this month to capture the federal funds. And with that, I will stand for questions.

Thank you, Paul. Questions for staff, beginning with Vice Mayor Glascott.

Thank you, Mayor Paul. I just want to break down the slide that I'm looking at. So, when we look at phase two, which is what the agenda packet is for approval today, the green sheet is for phase two. It doesn't include phase one, correct?

It's, it increases the overall budget for both phases one and two. It increases the overall budget of the five million dollars of additional federal funding we received through WAMPO.

GREG BRUDNICKI So we're looking, so that $12,118,061. Is that only for phase two or is that for phase one and phase two? MARK MCQUEEN That was for phase one and phase two.

GREG BRUDNICKI So... MARK MCQUEEN That was approved in September. So we're carrying that funding over. So we're looking at adding that five million to that dollar amount.

Okay. So I have a few questions right on that. So when we're looking at the projected cost and we look at now the projected cost is the $14,639,266. That's a two million from the existing budget that doesn't necessarily Can you break that down? Because when I was looking at this for the phase two, uh, project, I would go over to the total, total line item budget and 11,808,000, which means that we would be theoretically under projected original budget by about 300,000. But then I look over under projected cost and it jumps from 12,118,000 to 14,639,000. What is that difference? Why is that there?

So the first column, the estimated project cost, what I did to get that number, that includes the actual bid that we received for phase one. It includes design cost, inspection cost, TIP fees, kind of all in.

But shouldn't that be projected in the existing budget already of that $12,118,000? It's part of that.

I mean, it's part of that budget, yes. But those are actual costs that we kind of know because we had open bids on phase one because it's under construction. So, I took the bid price that the contractor provided and added other... our cost, design cost inspection, et cetera, to that. So.

So, irregardless, let's say if we didn't receive the $5,562,000, what this is showing me is that the budget would have increased $2 million from the existing budget.

So let me keep stepping through this. So the estimated project cost for phase two for the Rock Road Pedestrian Bridge, all the retaining walls, et cetera, averaging relocation cost, Our engineer's estimate, design, inspection, etc. We are anticipating that to be 9.375 million. Okay.

Can we further break that down? I think that that's the problem right now. 9.375 million dollars and it's not line items. And so, when people ask how much is the bridge? and the answer was $3 million, but then they see the estimated cost of the entire project being 9.375, can it be broken down so that we can see the bridge is estimated to cost this much, the walls are estimated to cost this much, et cetera? I think that there's a breakdown in that estimate.

I will provide some general numbers for you pretty close. So the bridge we're estimating to cost $3.5 million in the recent estimate we have. The bridge structure, walls, et cetera, $2 million. Seating, landscaping, $150,000. Erosion control, $30,000. Traffic control. $100,000 paving, which would include the path, sidewalk, et cetera, $300,000, and then just mobilize other miscellaneous mobilization, removing existing structures, site clearing, restoration, et cetera, is approximately $700,000.

So, I just go back to my, I appreciate that. That still doesn't really answer my question. So, I just need to know the existing budget is $12,118,000. But the budget packet is asking us to increase that budget amount to 17 million. But when I look at the actual projected cost, it's not 17 million or the 12 million, it's 14,639. Is that correct?

That is correct.

So what is the justification for, because going into this, I felt comfortable accepting the 5,562,000. I still feel comfortable accepting that. What I don't feel comfortable is raising the existing budget from 12 million to 17 million, let alone also raise it from 12 million to 14 million now.

So we are, so what we're doing, we're taking the 12 million dollars, we're adding the 5.5 million dollars to the overall project budget. At this time, I'm sure, you know, we don't know if we can reduce the general obligation funding down. to meet the more 14 million dollar budget. We will approach that after we get bids on the project and then we can work with finance to see where we are. You know, the project might come in at eight and a half million dollars. It might come in at 10 million dollars for estimated cost of phase two. So, once we have a bid, we'll, we still have to have general obligation dollars to match the 20% match of the 5.5 million dollars. So as we get bids, look at overall budget, we can then reevaluate if there are general obligation funds that can be removed from the project and reprogrammed in future CIP cycles. We don't feel comfortable doing it at this time. since we have not taken bids.

Okay, I still probably have some questions. I see some of my colleagues. Also, I just think to the manager too, when you're looking at the different approval dates, this is in some form come before us seven times. Yes. I would like a more comprehensive, I understand things change throughout the process, but coming to us seven times I think is a little excessive. when maybe some of these packages could have been done holistically at the start instead of a lot of changes.

I can step through those a little bit if you'd like. That would be great. Okay. On June 6th... Sorry. Look at the correct one.

I actually have one additional. Could you also send us, you only sent it to me, but the entire Redbud Trail and its cost, I think it was only sent to me.

Yes. Yep. Well, hang on here. I thought I had that other agenda item. June 6th, I think, was the original project budget approval so that we could go out for... Oh, I'm sorry. June 6th, City Council approved the design agreement with Binnish and Company. On November 21st, 2023, the City Council approved the design concept. February of 2024, the city council approved funding and supplemental agreement number one. So that would probably take that to final design. On October 1st, the city council approved the revised budget and supplemental design agreement for, I'm sorry, for final design. And then September 16th, The City Council approved supplemental agreement and KDOT agreement. And then December 23rd, City Council had approved the AVERGY agreement. And then we're today.

Council Member Hohaisel.

Thank you, Mayor. Okay, so let me just break this down the best I can. Hopefully, it looks like we're getting a $10 million in federal grants for this and possibly spending 7.8 million out of the general fund. Now, there's an 80-20 match. So, we're allowed, so essentially the 10 million dollars that we're getting in federal grants will be spent first before we dip into the general fund.

That, yeah. We have 10 million dollars of federal funding for both phases of the project. Okay.

The expected cost is a 14 and a half million. So, it could be that we only end up spending five million or so out of the general fund for this whole project? That is correct. Is, and it's our policy that we will be spending the federal grant first.

Yeah, for participating costs, yes. We still have general obligation costs for the design, et cetera, but yes, construction costs, participating costs, yes, we spend the federal dollars first.

And will it be coming back to us again in the future with... after we get the bids?

No, we would just handle that through the budget and CIP process. We work with finance and look at projects line by line to see if anything needs to be increased, anything could be decreased, et cetera. So we would handle that through the CIP process.

Okay. Is there any way to, I guess, safeguard? Is the plan to spend all the seven million and just see what other amenities we want to add to it? Or will it be specific to the bid?

No. These will be specific to the bid. We will not change the scope. Okay. Thank you.

I have multiple questions from this. Let's start off with phase one. So I know that that 5.2 million that you have right here is actually not estimated because it is from the actual bid. So it's not, is that accurate to say?

Yes, unless we have some miscellaneous change orders or anything like that that could come in.

I think it would be really beneficial if there's another column, and that is truly estimated project costs. And then the next column would be actual project costs, because phase one, again, you had an estimated cost prior to a bid. So my question, was it under bid?

It was, yes.

So it was under 5.2 million.

No, it was under the construction contract for phase one is $3.48 million. Design is approximately $900,000, and then the other, which includes inspection, tip fees, et cetera, is approximately $900,000.

Okay. Again, I feel like this chart is incomplete or it's missing information that is not accurately adding up because the question that Vice Mayor Glasscock has is regarding what we have as a green sheet and it's that $12.1 million. So what it looks like, again, based off of this new one, is that now we're over budget. So in other words, the existing budget was 12.1 million. Now you're saying the total budget of this entire project is 17.8 million, which then makes the community feel like, wait, how did it increase by 5 million? And I understand it's the federal dollars that came in and that the federal dollars will be utilized first before community local dollars are utilized. But it's just not understandable for people to digest this information. Again, we just got this. So I honestly, I don't feel comfortable enough unless I get a good breakdown. And I feel like the community deserves that full breakdown as well. Um, because it's not matching up. Um, and so I would prefer having more of this detailed information given to us because even by your Quick estimates, the bridge is now 3.5 million. You said it was 3 million initially. So 3.5 million, structure 2 million, seating 150,000. Erosion, 30,000. Traffic control, 100,000. Paving, 300,000. Miscellaneous restoration, 700,000. That adds up to 6.78 million, which is still not the 9.3 million.

So we have additional design costs, inspection, et cetera, that's in addition to those costs.

That's why I think it would be very appropriate if we had a detailed list, because right now we're talking apples with oranges. And that's just, again, not adding up. And that's part of the reason why people don't trust, because they don't see how things are matching up. And we literally just got this portion. So I'm a little concerned that, again, When things are not matching up, and you're right, the full picture was not, the bridge does not cost 17 million, which was a miscommunication about that from other media partners. But at the same time, right now, we're not being able to see how everything matches up. I feel like we should have a pause and you give us more information and then come back. while also providing all of that information to media partners.

And the best we can provide at this time, I mean, is what we are basing the construction costs on the engineer's estimate. We will not know the true cost until we get the bid in place. So, you know, I could put anything in these estimated project costs. What we were trying to show is that there's an opportunity if these costs, which I feel comfortable with, for Phase II construction, total project costs of a little over $9 million, that that could free up general obligation funding in the future during the CIP process. that we might be able to reduce it at that time. We don't feel comfortable at this time until we get bids in place.

So the remaining $2 million was design costs. Where is public art again on that?

The public art was $400,000 for the project.

Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you. This is, I think there's a lot of questions because the numbers are different. I, you know, felt comfortable going into this to remain in the existing budget of the 12 million for them to see that increase to 14 million, the projected, but then us allow the budget of 17 million. I have a concern with that that I would probably like But I also want to receive federal funds to be able to offset costs. I think that's a good thing. The project's already moved forward. I think it's also good to accept a donation. And so, I guess this would be a question for Jennifer. And this is not a motion. This is not anything I just for discussion. Is there a way where the recommended action could just be accept the donations? and then staff can come back if there needs to be a revised budget adjustment at some point?

Yes, you can do that today. You can accept the donation today and budgets can be, the items can be clarified or brought out at a later time.

Because I don't want to you know, jeopardize the ability to lose, what, 5.5 and then an additional 150,000 in donations. But I still, I think I do have questions of, I don't know.

I don't want to step on Jennifer's toes, but part of the agenda item today is to approve the supplemental agreement with KDOT that initiates that 5.5 million dollars. So, if that is not done today, And if it's at a future date, then we could be risking federal dollars because we do have to have it obligated by the end of the month.

So could you do, accept the donation and adopt amending resolution of KDOT? But now does that, does the resolution of KDOT, and I can look word for word, does that?

The agreement, the agreement does have the $5.5 million listed within the agreement.

But it doesn't lock us into the increase of budget allocation?

If we accept that, then yes, we would increase the budget by that amount.

I may have more questions. I apologize.

I was viewing the donation as the A different donation, the private donation.

So you could do, accept the donation, but the donation only covers $150,000. Correct. The amending resolution would be the additional 5.5.

I believe you can accept the private donation today to clarify.

Okay. I may try to look at something, but I know other people on the board.

Sorry. As a quick follow-up, you said this would jeopardize the 5.5 million if it's not, and again, it's $5.5 million in federal funds, not local dollars, federal funds. If we don't approve this today, you said we're jeopardizing the 5.5?

We, we need to have the KDOT agreement approved in order to capture that 5.5 additional money and we have to have the project obligated. by the end of the month. Final plans have been submitted to KDOT. The forms, et cetera, documentation have been submitted, so we are ready to bid the project or advertise the project. Once this is approved, then we can advertise, set the budget.

Council Member Tuttle. Thank you, and thank you, Paul. You're doing a great job. I saw Gary come forward. Gary, did you have comments or anything you wanted to add?

Sorry, Paul.

Thank you. Gary Jansen, Public Works and Utilities. I would, Paul is on with the timing, but with the way the process works, we could certainly survive another week. I would recommend, based on the discussions, if you're interested, to consider deferring all of this action for one week. We can provide a lot more detailed information in that we were trying to scramble on some things here. I will tell you, part of the discussion and something you brought up, Vice Mayor, that we certainly want to look to in the future. We see projects like this come to the Council multiple times. It's not ideal for us either, and it doesn't help reconcile all of these things when we get to this point, especially when you have a multi-phased project. And what happens to add to it, which is, this has worked well for us. We generally start, this is kind of hard to see through this part of it, but we generally start with a city budget that will fund the project, more or less, because we don't know what we're going to find available for outside funds. City Council has always encouraged us to leverage outside funds first, right? That's our goal. So then what happens is we start adding in these federal funds to local funds we already had. We end up with a budget that's more than we need. And this is a conversation I had with the Vice Mayor walking in this morning. Historically, we haven't. at intermediate points, taking money away. We compile this collective budget. We don't want it to be out of control, out of hand, but we utilize the federal funds first. We utilize the smallest amount of local funds we can to balance that. Whatever's left over, as Paul talked about, goes back into the CIP. we actually by council policy too are not able to utilize that leftover funding to expand the scope of the project that's just not how it works that's why it goes back in for future consideration i'm not telling you this any of this to change what you're wanting to do today just a lot of nuances to this there's a lot to work through it's probably a good opportunity for us to look at how we bring these projects to you in the future especially when they're going to be over a longer period of time but Either way, I think we can survive a week if you're interested in giving us another week. We could provide some more detailed information to you at next week's council meeting to really break down where we've been.

Follow-up question. I thought it had to be approved by the end of the month. Could it be a KDOT would give us an extension of another week?

I think right now with what we're doing, that part should be still okay. We need to have this in place by the time we go to bidding effectively, but I'm confident we can survive a week.

Director Jansen, I'm going to make a statement because I've been intricately involved in this and I'm going to make a statement that's hopefully going to answer maybe some questions and then I see somebody else on the board and then I'll jump back in because I have more questions. I see our friends in cultural arts are here and I want to give them an opportunity to answer some questions. What happened in this project is we had a budget that was approved by council, and Vice Mayor Glasscock made a great point. This is the seventh time it's come here, but because of our processes, that's why it's the seventh time it's come here. It wasn't because our good friends in Public Works wanted it to. We have controls that provide transparency. That's why this project has been followed and advised by council six unanimously. We'll see what happens today, right? So we had a budget and then because the staff, the public work staff was aggressive and worked with WAMPO and worked with private entities, was able to secure additional funding. So potentially if we approve it, then that funding is put into the pot. That's why it looks like the pot grew. But what happens is now we have the pot, we'll spend all the federal funding and then we'll utilize local funds and then what isn't spent, is gonna go back into the CIP to fund other great projects in our community. And I see Mark Manning is nodding his head, which means, I always joke that I went to the Mark Manning School of Finance, and so that's why it looks like the project's grown. The cost hasn't grown, the project budget has grown. Gary, is that correct?

It is, and what makes it really challenging, especially to the Vice Mayor's question on the difference between 12 million and 14 million, As we step through these, it gets kind of confusing, needless to say, or you wouldn't be having this discussion, on what's project budget and what's expected cost. Somewhere in between there, the part of this that gets lost in this too, and we try to be clear about it, is if you look at design costs are easy to identify, construction costs are easy to identify, We can easily add 25 to 30% to these costs for managing these projects over the period of time. And that's not an exorbitant cost. That's industry standards. We keep those at a minimum. For our staff to work these projects through this entire process, there's costs associated with that. When property management gets involved, of acquiring necessary right-of-way. There's costs associated with that. There's agreements with KDOT. Paul mentioned TIP fees. When we get federal funds through WAMPO, there is a cost that comes with that to help support WAMPO's operations. It's a percentage of the federal funding we receive. But we'll try to start doing a better job as to breaking those down for you. I would shudder to stand here in front of you and talk about the cost of erosion control, and things like that, but I think we can break this down at a higher level that talks about design, construction, and project management costs so that you know everything that goes into that. We have that information. Honestly, I would tell you is when we come in front of the council, we're trying to make it succinct and efficient. Certainly not trying to hide anything, but we can certainly change how we do these going forward if that makes sense. we can provide that information to you in a better format in a one week also. I think we can probably make a week work, wouldn't you agree?

My last follow up question, because it's germane to this. So the problem that we're having today and kind of the miscommunication from you know, lots of different outside entities who maybe aren't as familiar with this in a first blush if you don't, you know, dive into it a little bit deeper. But the problem, which is actually the good news, tell me when I'm wrong. Okay, if I'm wrong, absolutely correct me. But from what I'm interpreting and from the discussions that I've had with multiple, multiple conversations with Paul and with Gary and James all the team is about 40% of this project is being funded from funds because of the donation and then the staff aggressively seeking outside funds from WAMPO, et cetera. About 40% of this project is being paid for by funds not from the city's budget. Is that correct?

I think it's every bit of that. I'd be surprised if it's not more.

Yes. So, I think the, the problem and the confusion, but woven into that needs to be told that the staff has done an exceptional job of finding additional funding. That's why this agenda item is here today. More than 40% of it is being funded by sources outside of the city's general obligation budget.

And I appreciate that and they have done a great job, um, as I was listening to the conversation and looking at this. We're always trying to find a better way and You all know when you look at the financial considerations on these items, it gets to be a lot of information, right? We try to talk about costs versus budget, but we'll keep working to find a better way to make sure that's clear because that's where the confusion comes in. Last thing I'll say, I'll just kind of reiterate here. We want to be in alignment as much as we can between budget and cost. But in a case like this, again, we started with local costs. We had unexpected federal. We end up with more budget than we need. It doesn't always work to square that up throughout the process, so we reconcile that towards the end. That's the part we need to be more clear about, explaining budget versus cost. I think we can get to a better place with that. They start to get really confusing together, I agree.

Vice Mayor Glasscock.

Thank you. This may be a question for, my challenge is just the cost has exceeded the original allocated budget and that the subsequent, and that, that's not changing, right?

The, that part, that part we need to address too. I, I will just tell you and I, I'm, I don't want to speak out of turn here because Paul and I didn't have a chance to, to, as we move through time, this is a very unique project. Uh, compared to a lot of the things that we do, but we also continue to see price increases unexpected at certain times. And what happens is our consultants do a really good job and our staff of evaluating current market conditions and costs. I don't think it's out of the question that probably, I'm speculating here, during the period of time when we had an estimated cost of $12 million, I don't think it's out of the question it could have gone to $14 million without the scope of the work even changing. But we do need to address where that difference came from. I fully agree.

Thank you. I, this would be a question for Jennifer. So I reviewed the WAMPO agreement as well as just any agreement that's before us. So this isn't saying any other room of any agreement that is before us. And I don't see where the total budget cost is on there at 17 million or even 14 million or 12 million. I can't find that anywhere in any of these agreements. So my understanding, if you don't have a legal background, would be that you could accept the donation, approve the agreements and adopt the amending resolution. Just the only part that I don't feel comfortable with is the revised budget right now pending questions. But again, I don't want to delay projects. But based on what's before us, unless there's agreements not before us, I don't think that should jeopardize any of the other additional funding agreements.

Chair Greg Musil I, I would tell you again from my perspective, I feel comfortable that you can push all of this out a week. And we're not going to jeopardize anything. If it makes it cleaner, I don't think there's added value to parse this out today.

Council Member Tuttle.

Thank you. I'm going to ask Lindsay or Jana or both of you if maybe you could come forward so that it sounds like if this may get delayed, we don't have to have you come back again next week, right? Because we know your time is very valuable. But there were some questions regarding the process with Benash and the art process. And there was a couple questions that I saw, so I just want to address them. and I was part of the RFP process and I said, Jana taught me so much during that process. I really thoroughly enjoyed it. There were multiple artists submissions from all across the nation. I think maybe some internationally, I can't remember, But there was some consternation I saw online that it wasn't a Kansas artist or a Wichitan. Can you just explain that process a little bit again? If this does get to delayed till next week, that way we won't have to ask you to come back. We can take care of these kind of questions today while you're here. Thank you.

Lindsay Bonacca, Arts and Cultural Services, for the record. I think I heard a couple questions in there, so please ask more if I don't address it enough. In general, a delay of a week won't impact the construction of the art components that are integrated into the bridge design, to my knowledge. Jana's conferring that that won't delay any of that. I have a couple more agenda items related to public art today that will go through kind of our design process. Something we started a couple years ago was we bring concept designs to city council for approval prior to construction and fabrication so that way we're not sinking any costs into build when when designs haven't been approved. So we brought this agenda item, or this project to city council for 30% design concept with Ed Carpenter who was the artist selected through a competitive bid process through an RFP that we do a national call for most of our projects because we just have a lot of projects and we don't always have the local talent available to do every single project. So we do a competitive bid on our projects for integrated design components. Ed Carpenter was selected through that bid. He presented that design concept to design council. Design council approves the concept design. Then it comes to this body for approval. It continues to go through design council before it goes to final design. And then it goes into fabrication, which is where the project is currently in terms of public art. We are in fabrication at the moment. Does that answer what you're looking for?

You did a fantastic job. So just to make sure, I want everyone in the community, and I hope everyone who had concerns online is watching this. I know that's not going to happen. But, you know, people made a lot of comments. But in the RFP, we didn't just reach out to Kansas artists, correct? We wanted national. Okay, and this is like a comment wrapped in a question, kind of, so if I'm incorrect, let me know. But again, I was part of the selection process, and one of the things that was complicated about this is because there were certain, and Paul, you can jump in, you were part of it too, there were certain criteria of it was, we needed the art, and I always say it's not public art, it's public design. purpose of it truly was for functionality to make sure that there were safety features. We didn't want it to be a cage over Rock Road, right? But we gave lots of criteria in terms of people not being able to throw things over, people not being able to climb on it, all the different things. And that was part of the rationale for the national search, correct? Correct. Okay. And then this is again more of a comment, but I just think it's important to mention this artist now has also been selected by Mark Arts. They are independently doing some of their own outdoor art and because they were so impressed with this project and Ed Carpenter's work, they will now be infusing similar. So during in that corridor, we're gonna see more work from this artist. So I just kind of wanted to mention that because I think it's something really important for our community.

Sure. If I can yes and a little bit. This artist in particular has extensive experience working in bridge and pedestrian way designs. He's based out of, I believe, Oregon. But in thinking about the complexity of this specific design, it's not just a sculpture going in front of a building. It's integrated design into a thoroughfare. So this artist has experience in that area, which was something that elevated him to the top of the candidate list.

And I'm just going to say it one more time because I love being redundant. Again, it's not public art. It's public design. And there's a functionality of it. It's not just a statue that we're throwing in front of a building or something that you hang above a mantel and can't touch. It's part of the design. Thank you, Lindsay. I appreciate it.

I see no further questions from the bench. We will now open it up for public comment. I see no one from the public who would like to speak. This is in Councilmember Tuttle's district, but given that there's been a lot of discussion, I would like to ask Councilmember Tuttle if she would be okay with the recommendation from Gary Jansen, the Director of Public Works and Utilities, to defer this one week. Would you like to make that motion?

Sure, I can. I would move that the Wichita City Council defer this action item until the September, I'm sorry, I don't have my calendar in front of me, I'm sorry. Thank you, the September 8th meeting so that additional questions regarding the budget can be described.

Motion second, discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Bronze bust of A. Price Woodard, Jr., 30% design concept.

Okay, I'm back. Lindsay Bonacca with Arts and Cultural Services with the City Manager's Office here with a couple of public art items for a 30% design concept, which I just mentioned in the last agenda item. This piece in particular is a bronze bust of A. Price Woodard, Jr. As I just iterated, the design concept development timeline is listed on your screen. We are right now in the 30% design design concept approval. This is just to make sure that we don't sink any cost into a design that is not fitting with what city council is looking for. From here, if it's approved today, the design concept will be developed A final design, or what we call 90% design, will go back to Design Council before final fabrication begins, although this item is a little bit different, which we'll see here in a moment. If concept designs are approved by Design Council without recommendation for changes, fabrication then moves forward. If recommendations are requested to make changes, the project will then return to Design Council until that design is approved. This project is a little bit unique in that it's not considered part of our Present for Art program funding pool. It's funded through the sale of city-owned parkland located within a Pricewater Memorial Park. The proceeds from that parkland along the east bank of the Arkansas River from Douglas Avenue to Waterman Street include a portion of the park. And then to honor A. Pricewater Jr., the city's first African American mayor from 1970 to 1971, a bronze bus associated with a memorial plaque is proposed to be created and located within the park. I will just give a caveat that we're not exactly sure where this is going to go. We understand that there's some additional development likely to take place in this park over the coming years, but that shouldn't precede this project from moving forward. We just don't know exactly where it's going to be sited at this time. Some additional background. In August of 2025, Design Council approved the RFQ. So we bid out every time we have a public art project. For this, we desired to hire an artist to create a bronze bust, the pedestal, and the memorial plaque. We received 21 submissions that were received and reviewed by a selection committee. On January 28th of this year, Steven White out of California was selected and contracted for the creation of the bronze bust. Steven White is an expert in this field doing portrait sculpture work, which you'll see here in just a moment. The pedestal and memorial plaque were removed from the scope of the work due to the potential integration of siting of the bust as part of future improvements for the planned park. And then in July of this year, Design Council approved the 30% Design Council concept, which then brings it to you today. A little bit of analysis. This is a life-size bust, approximately 30 inches by 12 inches by 12 inches, cast in bronze. The artists work primarily from two historical images. Family members have been contacted for additional reference material and feedback of the design concept. These two Getty images are what we have to go off of. I will just give a brief aside. I believe there is a portrait, a painting of Aprius Woodard in council's office that you probably all walk past every single day. So we do have some other historical images to work from. This is a design concept that's obviously, it's already in slight fabrication with the artist that's being modeled in clay. The visible contract in clay colors and working stage condition will not appear in the finished bronze. The portrait will receive additional refinement as additional reference images may become available. So if anyone is watching and happens to be sitting on some pictures of Mr. Woodard, we'd love to have them. Near the end of the modeling, the artist may make a slight adjustment to the angle of the head to introduce movement and a greater sense of life. So in the design council meeting, the artist talked about maybe elevating the chin a little bit and maybe looking a little bit more often to the distance. So that may come in a later, more refined design. the financial consideration for this project is as a project budget forty thousand dollars and again the this project is funded from proceeds of the 2022 sale of parkland and with that i would recommend the city council approve the 30 design concept as presented and i stand for questions thank you lindsay questions for staff one quick just comment you mentioned if anyone has any additional photos of mayor woodard

I would recommend that Wichita Area sister cities may have some in their archives. When the sister city from Orleans, France came to provide the statute, there were multiple photos of the mayor.

That's great to know. Thank you. You're welcome.

With that, I see no further questions from the bench. We will now open it up for public comment. I see none. I will bring it back to the bench. This resides in Council Member Shepherd's district. If you would like to have the honors of doing the motion.

Thank you, Mayor. Absolutely. Really grateful for the entire team whose work On this, they have kept me apprised from the moment that I have joined City Council and I know that I've had the opportunity to connect them with family members of a price Woodard and so I think this is an example of how we continue to invest in that park and how we are continuing to honor the legacy of the folks who have served our city who we care deeply about. I think this is an indication of that and I hope that we can continue to mobilize that narrative as other narratives tend to get shared and highlighted. With that being said, I would move that we approve the design as presented.

Second.

Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

OJ Watson Park murals 30% design concept.

Okay, back again, Lindsay Bannock, Arts and Cultural Services with the City Manager's Office, with a few more design concepts for you to see for OJ Watson Park. I've got four design concepts for the restroom structures at the park. As a reminder, we are currently at the 30% design concept approval for the city council. If there are no, if this item moves forward, then designs will continue to be refined and go back to design council for final approval. They won't come back before this body unless there are suggestions for modification. And then they won't go into fabrication until that final design is approved by design council. A little bit of background, the total public art budget for this project in particular is $150,000 in addition to the $325,000 in additional improvements to OJ Watson Park. So a total of $150,000 in public art. On May, we approved initiation and two installments here in May of this year, or last year we you all initiated a hundred thousand dollars for public art um and then in april of 2025 approved an additional 50 000 the total project budget was always the same at 150 000 for a public art the project includes funding for murals on the building and sculptures at the seasons venue and concessions area i will know we did just bid out or close the rfp or rfq for the seasons venue and concession area sculptures so that Those projects are well underway, but they'll be coming to you at a later date. So for today, we're just looking at the four restroom buildings that are located throughout the park that are specifically at the Pony Stables, Concessions Area, West Playground, and at the entrance. Background on the murals themselves, in October of last year, design council approved an RFQ for the call for artists located specifically within the Wichita area. As noted in a previous agenda item, we often will have national calls for this one in particular, the scale of the projects. We thought this was, we have enough local talent to support these specific murals. Wichita MSA specific call for this project. We received 25 submissions across all four sites, and then we had four artists or artist groups that were selected. Artists Jelly Chavez with Pony Staples, Brick Mob for the concessions area, Arts Partners for the playground, and Emmanuel Campos Perez, also known as Deaver 614 for the entrance, were selected and awarded contracts. In August of this year, last month, the Design Council approved the design concepts with a few recommendations for alternative designs or design refinement. So the alternatives, which will make a little bit more sense as we go through the designs, were to consider alternatives to white and use of darker colors near the gray to conceal wear and tear of dirt, contextual renderings of murals to be on the buildings. We do have that today. It was not available at Design Council. a presentation of the Fibonacci sequence must be presented accurately, which it all makes sense here in a moment. For analysis, a portion of the public art for OJ Watson Park envisions four painted murals that contextually are relevant to enact as landmarks for each of the areas of the park. The artwork should be inspired by the activities and amenities and also embrace the park's natural environment and landscape qualities. The original call generally required one principal wall at each restroom building, although the artist could elect to extend the designs on additional walls or throughout all four walls as available within their commission and their scope of budget. However, the concessions area did have two identified separate walls that needed murals. So you'll see on some of them there'll be all four walls, one of them is two walls, and one of them is one wall. So it all makes sense in a moment, I promise. And two artists have chosen to expand their scope. So here are the locations, the pony stables, concession areas, playground, and the entrance, all on the restroom buildings. For the design concept for the pony stables by local artist Jelly Chavez, she was inspired by her personal connection with OJ Watson Park and the pony rides which she visited with her father when she was growing up. Her concept translates that memory into a bright western and cowgirl theme and to capture imaginative experience of children pretending to be cowgirls and cowboys while riding the ponies and we're excited that this is the artist's first commission with the City of Wichita. The principal elevation facing the roadway and volleyball courts will feature the cowgirl with a colorful Kansas landscape. There's going to be a geometric border, and Chavez proposed continuing the visual system around the restroom so the building reads as cohesive work from the road, volleyball courts, and pony area and miniature train route. Here you can see the other sides with incorporated informal Western phrases including howdy and giddy up. The rear elevation visible from the passing train extends the landscape and saturated color field and includes the phrase home on the range. The design concept for the concessions area is being proposed by Brick Mob. Rather than depicting a single concessions activity, the design is intended to reflect many recreational uses and concentrate in the area that create a lighthearted interactive setting. The final design may also include some O.J. Watson lettering and a subtle tone on tone imagery. And then the nearby concessions improvements and future sculpture will create additional opportunities for visual coordination within that area. So here we have some geese, some friends or neighbors within the park and within the Wichita area that I'm sure we've all experienced. These concepts use broad graphic shapes, saturated colors, and playful geese as recurring features associated with the park. So for these one in particular there were some comments made on utilizing white or light color that as wear and tear and dirt is going to be kicked up we just want to be mindful of maintenance and then we're not quite sure if the bushes are going to remain on the lower the lower image there could be fun and playful if it remains but it also will still be relevant if those bushes are removed. Again these are just purely concept designs. The design concept for the playground area is being proposed by Arts Partners. Arts Partners envisions an educational mural organized around the Fibonacci mathematical sequence and its presence in nature. Please do not quiz me on the Fibonacci sequence. I can get a few numbers in, but we're gonna make sure that those are accurate before anything is painted. Two recently graduated WSU artists will be assisting with the production and guide participating students, extending the project's educational and workforce development value. The project will be created offsite on combined painted mural cloth that's directly painted on the areas of the opening, and then high fire ceramic reliefs will be added as adornments to this site. And the project is being designed in support of Arts Partners' work with school students by connecting visual arts, mathematics, nature, pattern, and creative communication. So here's the proposed concept design. The concept includes prehistoric sea creature, a spiral shell referencing Kansas ancient inland sea, a sunflower and a butterfly, branching tree forms, a galaxy, and the numerical sequence itself. And then in terms of the ceramic elements that are planned to be Added those will be relief on the shell portions of the the snail. I believe on the prehistoric kind of fossil and then on the tree itself and And then the final design concept for the entrance is Bite Deeper 614. This concept depicts the four seasons of Kansas throughout the continuous sequence of wildlife, landscape, water plants, and the changing color palettes. The artist plans to render the principal animals with greater realism using simplified, abstracted, and color-blocked forms in supporting areas. This is the entrance building that's not directly tied to a single park attraction, so allows the work to tell a broader story of Kansas' nature and the park as a whole. Only one elevation is highly visible to drivers entering the park, while other sides are experienced by pedestrians, visitors with nearby benches, and the residents whose homes adjoin on the opposite side of the fence line. And also, in addition to Jelly Chavez, this is the artist's first commission with the City of Wichita, so excited to have Emmanuel in our public art collection. So here we have the rendering of Spring. A proposed goose on water. Design Council did recommend maybe a duck or a different fowl because we're going to have geese and brick mobs, so the artist is considering that. Here we have summer, represented by a pony. Here we have fall. I will note that the tree is likely a volunteer tree that's growing pretty close to the building, so design council appreciated the fox coming out from behind the tree, but it's very likely that the tree won't make it and will be removed. So the artist is already planning on expanding that mural design across the entirety of that wall. And then finally we have winter. featuring a deer snow textures and a cooler floral palette. Financial considerations, the mural, Project budget for the overall public art component is $25,000 and will be funded from previously initiated approved funding. And it's recommended that city council approve the 30% design concepts as presented. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions, except for anything about the Fibonacci sequence. Please.

Thank you, Lindsay. We'll start with Vice Mayor Glascott.

Can we go to slide 126 real fast? Yeah, anybody that knows me knows I despise Canadian geese. I actually, one of my first memories, I was just texting my mother to confirm that I didn't make up this story, but was we were paddle boarding at Watson and we were feeding the geese and one hopped in and bit her. And I've been traumatized by that experience ever since. And so very Watson oriented. And I think very applicable for this though. I don't like the creatures. I think it fits the park renderings. So I think these are really good renderings and I'm glad they're using local artists for this. I think this is fun. It's vibrant. It keeps, I think people have tons of conversations about it. So good work.

And I have a question. Can you go to 132? So I see that these are obviously gonna be murals for the walls. Can you talk about what will happen with some of the awning and some of the paint that's chipping off? Will that be part of the project or will that be Public Works fixing that?

I'm gonna pass that on to Public Works. I will say it's not in the scope of the Public Art.

Tim Kellams, Public Works and Utilities. Yes, we will be using other funds outside of the scope for the artwork to help address some of the issues with the roof there and touching that up as well. So that is on our radar and something that will be addressed outside of the scope of this project, but in total will be addressed.

And then one more follow-up question. Several of these structures, I just want to make sure that the structure is sound, it has been maintained so that these murals can last for some time. Can you address that that will be priority one before the mural gets put on?

yes yeah we are uh have looked into the the structures as well and we know that there are uh it's kind of part of the park um facility maintenance to make sure that we go through and update them as needed should there be something wrong with them we will look into using other cip funds to address those or maintenance items kind of depends on the scope of the project but yes we do evaluate these buildings thank you thank you

I just want to say thank you to Lindsay and her team, two new artists that have never done work with the city and all four of them are Wichita area based artists. That is what public art to me is. And so thank you very, very much for showing us these designs. This is a park that I grew up attending as a little kid, and I want that park to continue being a vibrant place for families to gather with their children And so I love seeing this public art. So thank you very much for that work. And I know this resides in Councilmember Hoheisel's district, but we'll have to open it up for public comment really quick. Anyone in the public who would like to speak about this item? I see none. We'll bring it back to the bench. Councilmember Hoheisel.

Thank you, Mayor. Like you and like Vice Mayor Glasscock, a lot of good, well, I guess different than Vice Mayor Glasscock, but I have a lot of good memories in Watson Park. First fish I ever caught was down there with my uncle. Of course, the train ride around and around and creating those memories with my kids as well. Have birthday parties and whatnot out there. It's good, it's time for a good spruce up, and I'm really excited looking at the murals, and I do know some of the artists myself, so I really can't wait to see this completed. So with that, I will make a motion to approve of the 30% design concept as presented. Second.

Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Contract for Emergency Veterinary Medical Services.

Good morning. We request that this item be tabled at this time to allow the department to consult with the state regarding the workability of the proposal.

And Emily, with that request, are we suggesting a month to go until October? Probably the date here. A month will be enough for us to get the answers we're looking for.

When working with the state, sometimes there can be unexpected delays. That's why we're requesting a table instead of a reschedule.

Okay. Just indefinite. Okay.

Sorry, I have a question. So this would be to .

if you wanna set for a date certain, it's a motion to defer. If you want to table it and take it off the agenda until you wanna bring it back again, then it's a motion to table. So it's up to you and council, however you want to.

When we motion to defer, you need a date?

Yes, we do. We need a date. Or we could motion to table and then- Takes it off the agenda indefinitely.

Thank you. I do have a follow up question to that though, because this contract currently with FESH, Is it Desh that wants to terminate their contract?

Desh has reduced the available hours to us, which is part of the contract. So the agreement was for 24-hour services, and they have reduced their available services to evenings and weekends.

So they're not able to fulfill the 24-hour contract? Correct. I apologize. So does that mean that if we table this, they won't be providing that service even moving forward?

Correct. They gave us very little notice and stopped providing services as of August 3rd, and so it has put us in a difficult situation.

Council Member Hohheisel.

Thank you, Mayor. Um, so what would the plan be as far as 24-hour emergency services until we get this clarified?

We're just trying to take it day by day.

Thank you.

With that, can I guess one more question? So for any resident in the middle of the night, as of just today, September 1st, what should they be doing? If they see an injured animal on a major intersection in Wichita, what should they do?

Currently, we are contracted with the VESH, the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital. I don't have the address in front of me, I apologize, but they can take the animal there for treatment. But not overnight time? Or just during daytime? Not during the day, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. That's the data, they will not be open. So they will need to contact us at Animal Control. 350-3366, 316 area code. And after 4 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays, they should be able to take it to FISH.

Thank you. Council Member Howell-Heisel.

Thank you, Mayor. So just clarifying that week long, including the weekends, they're not available during normal business hours, 7 o'clock to 4 o'clock?

That is what we were notified, correct.

OK. So in the meantime, while we have this delay, Again, any time after four o'clock then they can reach out to VESH. Aside from that, Humane Society. Well, I mean. Animal Control. Animal Shelter, I'm sorry.

Yeah, Animal Services, yes.

Animal Services, okay. Um, and just have our comm staff make sure to post something on that. I just want to make sure that information gets out. Thank you.

Councilmember Ballard? Okay, with that, thank you very much, Emily, and thank you to your team for trying to help all the animals here in the Wichita area. Since we're, I'm gonna motion to table this, there won't be any discussion, is that accurate?

You can have discussion, I believe, on tabling.

Okay, thank you, Emily. We will now open it up for public comment. I see no one from the public who would like to speak. I'm going to bring it back to the bench. And with that, I move to table this item. Second. Motion second. Discussion? See none. Madam Clerk, please open the roll. Aye. Councilmember Ballard has a comment. Yeah.

Sorry. I just want to make sure that I understand. So the contract, VESH is only taking them. Sorry, Emily. Versha's only taking them nights and weekends. During the day, if this would happen during the day, they're to call animal control.

Yes ma'am.

Is there like a time frame to where you all have to respond or is it just when, as soon as you can get there?

You mean as far as our duties to be able to respond to calls from citizens?

I guess if it's an emergency, if there's any different type of criteria.

Our call types are ordered by priority based off of the type of emergency. Okay, thank you.

Thank you, Emily. We have a motion and a second to table this item. No further discussion. Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item.

Approve to exceed the gift limit established by the ethics ordinance for Mayor Lily Wu to accept travel and expenses to attend the Procurement and Innovation Exchange in Los Angeles, California, September 15 through 16, 2026 for the purpose of participating in the Partners for Public Good's inaugural Procurement Innovation Accelerator. The inaugural 2026 Procurement Innovation Exchange is hosted by the Partners for Public Good for the purpose of participating in specific programming to connect with fellow mayors in the cohort and to serve on the select panels to share insights with accelerator cities, Bloomberg philanthropies, representatives, and PPG staff. The estimated gift amount for travel, air, hotel, and meals is $1,400. There will be no expense to the city.

Thank you, Shanita. I will add a comment to this. I want to say thank you to the purchasing department, especially Josh Lauber. It is through his leadership and through my connections as a mayor on the Bloomberg Harvard program that we learned about the accelerator cities project and we were selected as one of the cities alongside San Diego, California, Richmond, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Long Beach, California, Columbia, South Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Akron, Ohio to be part of this accelerator cohort. Wichita's project will be advancing transparency and cost efficiency in vendor performance management for professional services. So really looking forward to helping our city, both with communication and performance. So looking forward to working with them and representing the city of Wichita, Kansas. With that, I will ask to move this item and approve the gift limit. Second. Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. Madam Clerk, please call the next item. Councilmember Appointments and Comments. Councilmember Appointments? I see none. Councilmember Comments? I see none. I'm sorry, but we have executive session. So we have two executive sessions, but we will do them one by one. and right now it's 1152 a.m., so I'm gonna ask that this start at noon, at exactly noon. I move that the city council recess into executive session for 15 minutes to receive information on a mediation in a civil lawsuit pursuant to KSA 75-4319B2 for legal consultation with the city attorney, which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship, pending litigation and legal advice. The executive session is required to protect attorney-client privilege and the public interest. The executive session will begin at 12 p.m. and end at 12.15 p.m. The meeting will resume in council chambers.

Second.

Motion second. Discussion? Seeing none. Madam Clerk, please open the roll.

Aye.

Motion passes 7-0. We'll see you in executive session at noon.