Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners

Documenter name: Mia Hennen

Agency: Board of Sedgwick County Commissioners

Date: Aug. 7, 2024

See more about this meeting at Documenters.org

 Start of the meeting

• “The Board of County Commissioners is the governing body of Sedgwick County, responsible for setting policies for the entire organization and the appropriation of resources to accomplish adopted policies,” according to Sedgwick County website.
• Ryan Baty (4th District) opens the meeting at 9:00 a.m.
• An attendee expressed concern about consent agenda item Q

• Second Amendment To Office Lease Agreement For The Ruffin Building Downtown (More info at end of notes) 

• Proclamation

•  National Health Center Week was declared by Baty

• Dr. Julie Elder, CEO at GraceMed; Amy Feimer, CEO at Hunter Health; and Teresa Lovelady, CEO at Healthcore came in support of proclamation

• New business

• Funding staff position

• Marc Bennett, Sedgwick County District Attorney asked to fund another part-time position for district attorney office
• This would cost $32,164
• David Dennis (3rd District) talked about how the city is struggling with budget decisions but the commissioners unanimously approved the item

• Land Donation Agreement for South Central Mental Health Hospital

• Presented by Tania E. Cole, Assistant County Manager
• Center is to be built at Macarthur and Meridian
• The Land donation would be closed by Aug 31

• The State of Kansas would pay for the facility through state general funds
• Construction documents should be done by October 2024
• Construction would begin February 2025
• All commissioners approve, most citing this as a high need for the community

• Renewable Energy Systems

• For several months, Sedgwick County has been in discussions about what regulations should be in place for commercial solar farms
• Back in November 2023, a town hall was hosted to get community input
• Current discussions with Sedgwick Commissioners include Berkeley Group to help narrow what this could look like
• The county imposed a six-month ban on the energy projects in September 2023. This ban would’ve ended in March but was extended so the council could obtain further information, according to KMUW
• This moratorium ends on Sept. 13, but can be ended sooner if the commissioners decide to do so.
• At the recent August 7 meeting, members obtained new information but after community feedback and questions of their own, postponed further discussion until next week, August 14.
• Around a dozen or so people spoke about their thoughts on solar panels in Sedgwick County, with some not wanting to see them at all and some wanting the moratorium to end immediately
• 1:57:35 of attached audio recording starts public comment
• Some concerns brought up include residents saying that the commercial solar panels would

• burden taxpayers
• have an unflattering look
• be difficult during Wichita’s drought
• Lead to less agricultural land for farmers

• Others said commercial solar farms would benefit farmers and create new jobs
• Commissioner Dennis said he’s not against solar panels but wants to find a right place for them in the county
• One resident brought up that hail and rain water could lead to damaged panels
• Jim Howell (5th District commissioner) followed up and a representative from Berkley Group, a consulting firm for local governments, offered his thoughts
• Michael D. Zehner, Director of Planning & Community Development

• Said that hail wouldn’t be a great threat, but that if groundwater contamination happens due to rain or runoff, the county would be required to check in every five years and have to wash panels to make them work well. This requires a lot of water.

• Howell asked about slave labor used in the creation of parts for solar panels, something a community member also brought up.

• Zehner wasn’t able to give a definitive answer

• Discussion for this issue was deferred to the next meeting on August 14

• Coliseum booster pump station

• The property to be used is surplus.
• County commission approved donating the property to Park City.
• The property has a value of $47,380.
• Item passed unanimously.

• The Ruffin building consent agenda item mentioned earlier was pulled off the consent agenda.

• County commissioners voted to extend their lease at Ruffin until June 2028, after extending in 2022.
• This comes after several attempts to find another property to build on or move into to use as an administration building.
• There was frustration from the county due to the lack of change.
• Baty says he’s determined to find a new administration building.

• Executive session        

• The Commissioners moved to the last item of meeting, which was an executive session, meaning private from public.
• The commission shared that they would be talking about acquisition of property.

• Meeting adjourned at 1:35 p.m.

• A long meeting for the county commission

All county members were present at the meeting. Toward the end, Jim Howell had to leave and attend virtually until the end.

Members:

• Jim Howell (5th District)
• Sarah Lopez (2nd District)
• Ryan Baty (4th District)
• David Dennis (3rd District)
• Pete Meitzner (1st District)

Summary

Summarize the 3 most important outcomes or takeaways from your notes....

• A lot of Sedgwick County residents are divided about placing solar systems in the county, but one thing is true: most want to see more discussion and work on the project.
• A new mental health building will come to south Wichita near Meridian and MacArthur in the following years.
• County commission renewed their lease to stay at Ruffin building downtown but members want to change buildings and have wanted to for several years

Follow-Up Questions

What are you left wondering? Ask up to 3 of your own follow-up questions…

• What would commercial solar panels look like mapped out across Sedgwick County? Would those panels be confined to more rural areas or within cities?
• How many jobs could commercial panels bring?
• Are there other benefits for residents of the county with potential commercial solar panels?

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@citybureau.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.