In the Documenter notes for the District I Advisory Board meeting, one of our current Documenters pointed out that there was an error regarding the establishment's future plans. The article incorrectly stated that the establishment desires to add an outdoor microbrewery. The correct information is that the establishment plans to add a microbrewery that is an extension to their current facility.

Additionally, the notes from the meeting have been altered to more accurately reflect who the public speakers were concerning the microbrewery issue.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused and thank our documenter for helping us to make sure we are bringing our readers the most accurate information.

District 1 Advisory Board Meeting

Documenter name: Ricky Jacques

Agency: Wichita City - District Advisory Board 1

Date: July 1, 2024

See more about this meeting at Documenters.org

District 1 Advisory Board

Located at Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center (NRC) - 2755 E 19th St, N., Wichita, Kansas 67214

Four board members were in attendance: Twila Puritty, Chelsea Jackson, LaWanda Deshazer, and Natalie Merten. Cameron Jackson, Community Services Representative, was also present.

Members present virtually included: Kelli Mason , Kaytie Brozek, Abi Boatman, Joseph Shepard, and Naquita Pack.

The meeting was called to order at 6:07pm by Council Member Brandon Johnson. Twila moved to approve tonight's agenda and was seconded by Natalie Merten. Johnson is running the meeting and started it off by explaining his role. He explained that he was there primarily to listen and guide the meeting, since he is the council member for the district, he refrains from speaking too much and allows the other members of the board to take more of a leading role in asking questions.

Agenda:

1. Staff Reports- 

1. Fire- Reports that it has been a slow month but they've investigated reports of 3 structures and 4 dumpsters that have been involved in fires. Potential vandalism occurred at the 2000 block of South Erie. One structure source for the fire was extension cords used as permanent wiring. Structure three, located at 1500 E Lincoln is still under investigation.

1. The City of Wichita is recognizing the same firework ordinances that have been put in place by the State of Kansas. Fireworks have been allowed to be sold from June 27th to July 4th but are allowed to be launched until July 6th. This year, aerials, which are fireworks that are anything that go over 6ft are allowed to be fired until July 5th. Fireworks are allowed to be fired from 10am to Midnight. After midnight the WPD and the Community Risk reduction team will be patrolling to make sure that people aren’t still discharging fireworks after midnight. If there is a non-emergency complaint about noise or fireworks after midnight the phone number to call is 316-290-1011. The complaint hotline will be open from 6pm-3am.

The best way to dispose of any fireworks is to water them down and leave for 24 hours before placing them in the dumpster.

2. June 20th and 21st was the first Annual WFDs kids summer camp. This was a free camp for kids 8-13 and was so popular that there was a waitlist! They are looking to expand the camp and either have more days or host it more frequently. It was hosted at the Wichita  Sports Forum and parents can register online through the city’s website.

2. WPD - Officer Grindley talked about it being a fairly slow time and that he hopes he can provide some data on the crime in the district but their data has not been updated since May. Although the crime statistics have not been updated, it could appear that there's been a surge, showing a jump in violent crime. Nonetheless, last year's crime compared to this year’s is actually down 12%.

Park and Recreation submitted a written report read by Brandon Johnson. One focus in the report was the Red, White and Boom.

Public library- Parker Daniel from the Maya Angelou Branch spoke of partnering with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. There will be stories and concerts. Five musicians will come to demonstrate and explain their instruments. Grade K-2nd can attend and the dates are Monday July 15th from 6pm - 6:40pm, July 16th 2:30pm - 3:10pm and July 26th 2:30pm - 3:10pm. You can find other events and locations for the libraries throughout Wichita at Wichita Public Library.

The libraries will be closed Thursday, July 4. The library website now offers an Informed Voter page. By clicking the research and learn icon at the top you can find candidate and voting information. The Summer Reading program continues until August first. August 10 is Local Author Day.  The deadline to register is in July.

Hutton Architect representatives spoke on the updates related to the Rockwell and Angelou libraries. Community engagement will occur later this month (July 22 to mid August) when details are solidified.

July 20 Sunset Summer fest will be hosted at Mcadams Park. The theme is health and wealth. Bank on Ict from the United Way was addressed. They spoke about the unbanked getting banked. Multiple banks will be there. Dedicated Senior medical will also be there. There will be food trucks and live bands. The purpose is to come together under music while providing necessary resources. The event will run from 4pm to 1am.

Tuesday, July 16 is the final day to register or update your voter information for this year's primary election.
Puritty spoke on racial profiling zones. Talks about the billboard to encourage folks to reach out to the racial profiling advisory board so that accurate data can be provided. Statistics by WPD were shared based on citations.

Pride at the Park after Dark brought 1000s and remained incident free. Also referred to as After Dark at Naftzger Park, the event was a big success.  

Shaqiya shared a board report  that spoke of an equity initiative at Chicken and Pickle on July 31st for a special give back night in support of our youth organization.

Agenda item #6 had no scheduled items.

Agenda item #7 - No issues

Agenda item #8 Council member updates

Brandon Johnson -Reinforced the hotline for reporting and said  “If they don’t witness it they will not issue a citation or take action.”

In the news yesterday Boeing is still trying to purchase Spirit Aerosystems. Recently the district had the Unity in Community March for Peace. The next one will be July 13th at 6pm in Plainview. There will be free food, hamburgers and hotdogs. Quik Trip gave water and Gatorade.

Ground has recently been broken on the Carl Brewer Recreation Community Center and the hope is that it will be complete by June 2025.

The City Council meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 9am. It is open to the public and people are allowed to speak on items on the agenda.

The next evening meeting is scheduled for August 8th @  6pm (there are only 4 a year). People were encouraged to come so they can learn about what’s going on with the city’s budget. He then gave an example about how the budget for the streets had been cut and then shortly after that there were 13 complaints. If citizens don’t give input on the budget then the council has no choice but to do what they feel is best, which could cut something important to the community. The budget is formally done at the end of August. The next District 1 breakfast is July 13th at 9:30am.

New Business - 

The vast majority of the meeting then centered around CON2024-00035. The applicant wanted to add a microbrewery, outdoor speakers and TVs to their current restaurant. Multiple residents voiced their disapproval, referencing in the past when bars were supposed to turn off outdoor noise at 10pm and wouldn’t. The citizens were concerned about approving the speakers and tvs because if the restaurant didn’t honor its word that there would be a lot of noise and congregating in the area which would disturb the neighborhood. Especially if they were hosting events that included sports games since they technically are a sports bar. At the end, the board approved a motion 5-3 to allow the bar to have the microbrewery and outdoor speaker but no tvs, which caused the citizens who voiced their displeasure to leave the room.

Summary

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

• District 1’s board and its constituents are consistently trying to unite the community by doing peace marches and hosting other events.
• Firework safety is of the utmost importance and everyone has to do their part. Not just by handling the fireworks with care but also reporting those that are breaking the rules.
• New business CON2024-00035 -  A motion was approved to allow the applicant to increase their space to 7291 sq ft (essentially absorbing the T-Mobile building they’re a part of and turning it into a microbrewery) but were allowed to have outdoor speakers against the wishes of the citizens that attended the meeting.

Follow-Up Questions

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

• Why would the board approve the motion for CON2024-0035 even though citizens were adamant they did not want outdoor speakers or tvs?
• How can citizens in a district hold a business accountable if they break the rules? (Ex. A business is allowed outdoor speakers and tvs that must be shut off no later than 10pm but regularly keep them on past that.)
• Why are citizens able to protest business outside of their district?

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