2026-10-16 - City Council Agenda Review

00:03With liberty and justice for all.

00:12>> Okay, city manager.

00:13>> Thank you. I love me make sure we're

00:15live in case I know

00:18those on Teams can hear us and we'll

00:20highlight we have council member Tuttle

00:22online

00:23from the council.

00:26And then we'll make sure we're live here

00:28in a second.

00:48>> I'm going to have to apologize to

00:49IdeaTek in advance.

00:51>> Okay.

00:51>> I have a hard 11:30 hard stop, so.

00:54>> Okay, and we are live now, so we can

00:56start.

00:58Good morning. Uh today is National

01:02Bosses Day, so thank you to city council

01:06members for being my boss. I know

01:08there's a lot of goodies floating around

01:10this building for different uh

01:12department directors and things. Um and

01:14also this is the day before the big

01:18sunflower showdown. The K-U K-State

01:21football game is this weekend as well.

01:23>> K-State's favor.

01:24>> Um what?

01:25>> K-State's favor.

01:26>> But yes, they are. It's going to be a

01:30uh good game, I'm sure. So, we'll see.

01:32Um for our meeting on the 20th, I do

01:35want to highlight um I will not be here.

01:38I'll be attending the International City

01:39County Managers Conference. Dante Martin

01:42will be a sitting at the dais. Um so, we

01:45do have the agenda in front of you.

01:48A couple things to highlight. We do have

01:50a two consent items. One is the um

01:53grant from the Kansas Health Foundation

01:56that's focusing on creating a health and

01:58wellness blueprint for our fire

02:00department. So, that'll be there. We

02:02also do have an IRB on there for

02:05Eisenhower LLC

02:07um for the investments that they've

02:08made. Um so, those will be under consent

02:12on the 20th.

02:13And then um when you look at new

02:15business for the 20th, we do have a

02:18cultural funding, which is the

02:20operational grants that we do.

02:22So, we'll have all those for your review

02:25is on there, and then we'll also have an

02:27affordable housing update um as a key

02:31the plan update for you as part of the

02:33new business conversation.

02:35So, those are the highlights for the

02:3720th meeting.

02:39Um looking ahead at the 27th,

02:43um

02:44more of it being about the workshop, so

02:46we do have some meaty workshop topics

02:48for you. On the 27th, we'll have our

02:51regular water works update

02:53um on that uh status update. You also

02:57will have the periodic utilities

02:59financial update performance update.

03:03Um but we're going to get into some

03:05other uh issues that council's discussed

03:08recently about our tree planting program

03:11update.

03:12We are going to have a Flock camera or

03:15license plate reader

03:17um overview, and that will lead into

03:20future council action as we think about

03:23some changes to the contract arrangement

03:26for the license plate readers. Um I

03:29think it's been communicated in the past

03:31that since we do have an active lawsuit

03:34um related to specifically the use of

03:36Flock, we may not be able to answer some

03:39questions specific as part of that

03:42conversation given some of the lawsuit,

03:44but we will give you the more broad um

03:47Flock camera

03:49um license plate reader overview and

03:51some of our transparency measures and

03:54safeguards in place

03:55regarding that use, but also how they've

03:57been productive in some of our crime

03:59fighting strategies.

04:01And then um

04:03also to load up the agenda on the 27th,

04:06um we do have uh you recall we had

04:08changes to our animal um

04:13part of it licensing, but more about our

04:16night or day operations at the animal

04:18shelter.

04:19And so we will highlight some of the

04:21current status of how we're addressing

04:23that contractual issue and delivering

04:26services at the animal shelter and even

04:29talk a little bit about the licensing

04:31um

04:32structure of that. And then lastly,

04:35we have the parks and recreation master

04:37plan is on the um workshop agenda as

04:40well. So yes, it will be a full agenda

04:44um for workshop items, but different

04:45things I know council has been

04:47interested in uh getting an update on,

04:49so we'll have that for you. We do have a

04:51presentation for you today by one to

04:53stop for a second and see if you have

04:55any questions related to the 20th agenda

04:58or to the 27th agenda.

05:01>> I do. I would be very happy to hear

05:05uh what the fire department is doing in

05:07the interim for health and wellness

05:09considering that the final report is not

05:11going to be accumulated until the end of

05:132027.

05:15And then in regards to the workshop on

05:17the 27th, has that discussion happened

05:20with the animal advisory board yet?

05:23>> Uh yes, um two things. They have made a

05:27recommendation, I believe, about

05:28licensing specific. Um so we'll share

05:32that with you certainly and their

05:33deliberations and conversation.

05:35>> Um I received a call from the person who

05:38represents District 1 on the animal

05:39advisory board and I would just you

05:41might want to double-check that that

05:42conversation has happened. Um I think

05:44that they probably need to work through

05:46some things first before it comes to

05:47before the council.

05:48>> Okay.

05:49Um

05:50did um they also reference separate from

05:52licensing and some of the comments that

05:54>> licensing.

05:55>> Did they talk about um

05:58how we're doing services with the

06:01veterinarian contract, too? So, there's

06:02two parts to the conversation.

06:04>> Uh myself and council member Ballard

06:05have been included on several emails, uh

06:07digital messages about the contract. It

06:09seems like there's

06:11some miscommunication and confusion

06:12amongst that body, and I think since

06:14they are the body that has been

06:16appointed to have those conversations

06:18and guide council, uh they should have

06:20those conversations before it comes to

06:22us.

06:22>> Thank you for that feedback and input.

06:25Good. Anything else for the 20th or the

06:2727th workshop?

06:30>> I have nothing for the 20th or the 27th,

06:32but I would like to uh say publicly, and

06:35Attorney Magaña, please let me know if I

06:37need to do this from the bench, uh but

06:39the immigration resolution, which will

06:40be moving forward, I would like to

06:42request that it is on the November 10th

06:44agenda.

06:47>> Got it. Thank you.

06:49>> Finally, um I would like to formally ask

06:51that you respond to my email um by today

06:55with all of the documentation that I've

06:57asked for in regards to Chappie Park, to

06:59include the risk assessment that I would

07:01like to review.

07:04>> Thank you. As you know, we've uh

07:06had some good uh information sharing on

07:09that topic, and we got you the last

07:11request that um I know staff is working

07:12on getting that information from

07:15purchasing as well as finance to address

07:18the questions that you raised, and we

07:20should have that for you here this

07:21afternoon.

07:21>> Great. I've just noticed that you all

07:23wait until the end of the business day

07:24to give me that information.

07:27So, I would like to have it so I can

07:28review it and don't have to wait through

07:29the weekend so we don't have to wait 24

07:31hours before I get a response.

07:33>> Councilor, you'll have it today.

07:34>> Thank you.

07:34>> Mhm.

07:35Um anything else from anyone else

07:39related to the 20th or 27th?

07:41All right.

07:43Uh we do have one presentation day.

07:44We're happy to present one of our local

07:47companies, IdeaTek, talking about how

07:51technology is being deployed in the city

07:54of Wichita, um lot by the private

07:56sector, certainly. And so, one of those

07:58providers is IdeaTek

08:01to give a little bit of information on

08:02some of their deployment strategies

08:04um for technology. And I'd like to ask

08:07the representatives from IdeaTek to come

08:09forward and share with you how they're

08:11addressing different parts of our

08:13community. If you want to come to the

08:15podium, I know you have a short

08:17presentation for us, so we'd welcome

08:18some of your information.

08:24>> Good morning. Well, thank you so much. I

08:26know your time is valuable and limited.

08:28So, we do have a presentation, but like

08:31everyone else, our favorite topic is us

08:33and it's it's far too long. So, we are

08:35happy to pass that along to you if you

08:37haven't yet received it. What I'd like

08:39to do is just take a few minutes to talk

08:41about who we are, our investment, um our

08:45construction methods, and our commitment

08:47to restoration, and then address any

08:49concerns you have. The projects we do

08:51are large-scale infrastructure in

08:53nature,

08:54um and are inherently disruptive. And

08:56so, that often leads to a lot of

08:59questions, a lot of calls, um so that's

09:02what we're here to address today.

09:05I'll first give a brief overview, and

09:08then James will launch into some more

09:10details and show you um some slides, but

09:13we we just need to be really mindful of

09:15the time, so we have time for questions.

09:18If you're not familiar with IdeaTek, um

09:20we are a Kansas-based internet service

09:23provider. We were founded 50 miles up

09:26the road in a small community called

09:27Buhler, Kansas, population like 1,100.

09:31Um the company was formed by a few high

09:34schoolers as part of their senior

09:36project. And one of those high schoolers

09:39kept it going as he went to Hutchinson

09:42Community College and WSU. Go Shockers.

09:46And today that company is thriving and

09:49employees nearly 300 300 Kansans and has

09:53invested to date $700 million of private

09:56capital into digital infrastructure

09:59across the state. The majority of that

10:00being fiber broadband. Now our largest

10:03investment is in Wichita $250 million

10:06over the course of 3 years, which is

10:09really exciting slightly terrifying and

10:13so with that I'm going to let James talk

10:15a little bit

10:16more about our project and how we're

10:19trying to communicate with the different

10:21districts about it and our construction

10:23methods. So

10:24>> Okay.

10:25Well, and oh Jade has kind of talked

10:27about this, but I always like to point

10:28out Daniel Freeze. He's the guy with the

10:30with the little black hat in there and

10:32and how it was founded too is

10:34Yeah, they love that picture.

10:36They wanted to build those computers

10:38that you see, but the principal of the

10:39school said, "Well, hey, you're not a

10:41business. You're not LLC. You can't do

10:43it." Well, he said, "Well, I'll show

10:45you." Went to his parents' basement with

10:47$250 each of them and started Idea Tech

10:50and they were able to get that RFP and

10:52build those computers for the school. We

10:53actually have one at Bueller's. If you

10:54ever come down, it's it's kind of it's

10:55kind of funny there. But but again, as

10:57Jade mentioned, we'll send you all those

10:58things. I know I haven't met with with

11:01you three yet on the council. I've met

11:02with a couple districts already. Really

11:04what we want to do is because we know

11:06what we're doing in Wichita is a little

11:07bit disruptive, we're meeting with all

11:09the district advisory councils. And so

11:11we have those on the agenda. I know that

11:13we had a issue in um

11:15Riverside area where one of our new

11:18folks, they didn't put anything on the

11:19calendar. And so they had communication.

11:22So we were apologizing to John

11:23Carmichael and others. And I know Amy

11:25Bickel, our manager, our marketing has

11:27been trying to set up a new date for

11:28that. So just want to address that

11:29because I was like that's a black eye.

11:31And so I when I was talking with John, I

11:33said, it was 100% a genuine mistake. It

11:36just wasn't on anyone's calendar. And

11:37so, anyhow on that.

11:40I don't know how to move the slide,

11:41actually.

11:42Oh, there we go.

11:44Um

11:45Wichita. The reason why I want to want

11:47to talk about Wichita and do this and

11:48get in front of you is because a lot of

11:50times economic development, when you see

11:52things, you see skyscrapers, you see

11:54things that get put in the in the

11:55ground. But, what you don't see is the

11:57hidden investment that's going

11:59underground that you see here in

12:00Wichita. Our biggest thing is we want to

12:02bring a choice to Wichita. IdeaTek has

12:05always been served the underserved in

12:07more rural areas. We decided to come

12:09into Wichita and not cherry-pick and

12:11say, "We're going to go to this

12:13neighborhood because it has a higher

12:15I would say medium income than the

12:17others. Our goal is to build all of

12:19Wichita, and we know that Wichita needs

12:22options because when we've we've seen it

12:24through the sidelines through the years

12:25past where people say, "Hey, please come

12:27to the market because we need

12:29competition." Because now I always say

12:31to the folks, competition is good. What

12:33happens is the speeds go up and the

12:35prices go down. And that's really what

12:37we're doing in Wichita. We're making the

12:39big boys the big out-of-state companies

12:42either reinvest into their current uh

12:46infrastructure or lower the cost. And

12:47so, just wanted to post there, but you

12:50know, we're probably in our third year

12:52or second year now of deploying of our

12:55infrastructure. So, I know a lot of work

12:57is still going on in the towns. And

12:59again, when I meet with the advisory

13:00council, I have slides specifically for

13:03your district on that.

13:04>> And we also have those at the end of

13:05this.

13:06>> Yes, and we have that here, too. So,

13:07you'll have that as well.

13:09Um what one thing that we really have

13:11seen and I've seen just being a

13:12community relations person out in the

13:13field is people appreciate having fiber

13:17optic. It's one of the things that

13:18people ask now when they move and buy a

13:20house, what internet option do I have

13:23available because I do telehealth, I

13:25work from home, my kids do streaming,

13:27maybe even play video games. Uh those

13:29type of things. And so, they want to

13:31have those options because then they can

13:32pick and choose. Whereas, if you can

13:34only go to one or the other, you know,

13:36you're kind of in the mix and then

13:37you're trying to pick between, oh, uh

13:40what do I have to call in 12 months to

13:41reschedule get lower? We don't have any

13:44of those type of contracts. So,

13:46um infrastructure how this

13:48infrastructure works, it's very unique.

13:51Uh fiber optic is the future of telecom

13:55telecommunications. You know, 5 years

13:57ago, 25 by 5, which is 25 meg down 5

14:00megs up, was considered acceptable.

14:02Today, it's 100 by 25. And so, when you

14:05think about how fast the the world is

14:07changing, how fast AI and everything is

14:09bringing in, the needs of infrastructure

14:12really good. And IdeaTek, what we're

14:14putting in the ground is going to be

14:15good for the next 50 to 70 plus years.

14:18So, yes, we're we're tearing up the

14:20yards now, but guess what? You won't

14:22have to see anything again for another

14:2350 70 years. As technology improves,

14:26we're just going to change the equipment

14:27at the cabinet. And so, that's one of

14:29really big thing and we're giving folks

14:318,000 down and 8,000 up. So, the

14:34standard is 100 by 25.

14:36We have the future-bility for that for

14:38that infrastructure. And so, this here

14:40again, you can see exactly how it goes

14:42through. People ask us, how does the

14:44fiber actually get into the ground?

14:46There's a whole process. We work with

14:47engineering, permitting, making sure

14:49we're working in the right-of-way, we're

14:51sending out construction letters to let

14:52people know, we're having our folks put

14:54door hangers.

14:56I understand some of the constituents

14:57may not want that option, but as we try

14:59to explain to them, you know, hey, what

15:01we're doing here is bringing a permanent

15:04infrastructure that's going to be not

15:06maybe not for you, but maybe your

15:07neighbors or if you sell that home,

15:09somebody's going to be very valuable for

15:11that. And what we've also seen is your

15:13home value goes up because of the fact

15:15that you have that fiber optic

15:16infrastructure.

15:17>> I do want to

15:18stop and focus on number four really

15:22quick here.

15:23When you're doing any kind of

15:25construction in a utility corridor or in

15:27a public right-of-way,

15:29um before you do that, you have to do

15:31what's called a joint meet or an 811

15:35um to make sure that all of those

15:37utilities are located before you dig. A

15:40lot of people who are in the

15:41construction world don't understand

15:42that. So, the idea is you're doing your

15:46best um you're doing that due diligence

15:48to avoid

15:50hitting, say, a gas line, an electric

15:52line, a water line.

15:54However, especially in

15:56older parts of the town, the

15:59documentation of those utilities is not

16:02always accurate. And so, the cataloging

16:05systems aren't they're not right or

16:07maybe they're not they're just harder to

16:09locate in advance. We have some

16:12unique methods to get around that

16:15because we have historically worked in

16:17really old and rural places. Um

16:20however, there are a lot of times where

16:22there is a what's called a no-fault hit,

16:24and I can assure you residents don't

16:26care that nobody's truly at fault.

16:28They're all mad just the same because

16:30they're without, you know, this really

16:31valuable service they need, which might

16:33be their electricity or their water. And

16:35so, we do have those hits

16:38um regardless of our best efforts, but

16:40we are committed to

16:43really good communication, to fixing

16:45them as quickly as we can, or working

16:47with the utility that, you know,

16:49mismarked to fix it, um

16:52and trying to rebuild that trust. So, we

16:54just wanted to kind of understand why

16:55those things happen.

16:57Um

16:58they don't happen because we are not

17:02trying to be diligent, and we're just,

17:05you know, plowing through the ground. Um

17:07they just are it's an an unfortunate

17:11um

17:11instance of what happens when you don't

17:13have proper documentation of your

17:15utility lines.

17:16>> Can Can a 3B?

17:18Cuz it's What's been a problem in

17:20District 5 is people don't know what's

17:22happening.

17:23You show up, start digging, and they

17:25say, "What the heck's happening here?"

17:27So, if if you can notify your neighbors,

17:30>> Mhm.

17:30>> put door hangers on there, letters,

17:33that would go a long ways. Cuz they

17:35don't have any idea what's happening.

17:37>> Yeah.

17:37>> Yes, and and that's and that's very good

17:39feedback for our marketing team because

17:41when we talk with them, first thing they

17:42do is they say they send something out 2

17:44weeks before, and then they send

17:45something out the week of the

17:47connection. That's going to tell people

17:48that, "Hey, you're going to be in your

17:50yard." And then the door hangers. So, we

17:52don't have any in-house crews that dig

17:54for us. We use subcontractor contractor,

17:57local TMD, J&S, those folks out here. We

17:59try to stay local. But our rule is they

18:02have to put that with on the doors, and

18:03our project managers now have started to

18:06spot check to go to these areas where

18:08they're building to make sure. I know we

18:10had a phone call yesterday in an area

18:12where they actually got the door hanger

18:14that notified them that we're going to

18:16be in the backyard because that's where

18:17the utility easement was. And so, we

18:20really are trying to do more white glove

18:21service with that. Uh making sure we

18:23have changed envelopes. They were white,

18:25and they were kind of look like junk

18:27mail. So, a lot of people like junk. And

18:29now it says, "Please open." Uh and then

18:31and I told Amy we wanted it in blue, but

18:33right now I think it's still in white.

18:34So, we have been sending those those

18:36out. Uh

18:36>> We would appreciate any feedback you

18:39have on areas you feel are not getting

18:41those communication methods because we

18:44are doing those address polls by Yeah,

18:46by like 911 address. Everybody should be

18:48getting those. Um because I agree it if

18:52if

18:53people are a lot more forgiving if they

18:54understand it's a temporary situation

18:57and you know, honestly, like, "What the

18:58heck are you doing in my front yard?"

18:59Right? It's It's

19:01>> A couple of points. Uh

19:03Mail service, even within the city takes

19:06a lot of times a week now.

19:08So, if you do it a week ahead,

19:09>> Mhm.

19:10>> they may not get it. And not And not

19:13everybody goes to the mailbox every day

19:14anymore. Some people go once a week. So,

19:17it might be 2 weeks before they get the

19:18notice.

19:19Um so,

19:21that's fine. But also, the door hangers,

19:24some people just go to their garage and

19:26never go to the front door. If you can

19:28make those

19:29neon yellow,

19:31>> Yeah.

19:31>> so they see something on the door,

19:33>> Yeah.

19:33>> um I think that would be good.

19:36>> Yeah, that's really that's really good

19:37feedback. We appreciate that.

19:38>> I'm putting that down. I'm putting that

19:40down. Uh uh.

19:41>> I would say the only feedback that I

19:42have heard in North Riverside is they

19:45did get the door hangers, but they don't

19:47have like when they're starting. It's

19:49just like the blank like it doesn't

19:52>> Okay.

19:52>> written on there like, "Hey, we're

19:53starting Friday." or

19:55>> Got you.

19:55>> So, I did talk to one of the project

19:57managers a couple times. Um

20:00But he's been very friendly, but they

20:02were

20:03really frustrated about it. But

20:05hopefully we've kind of worked through

20:06that or they're almost done in that

20:08area. But that is one thing that um

20:11maybe just

20:12>> No, that's a great idea.

20:13>> Yeah. And and And that's also why we're

20:15meeting with the advisory council in

20:16each district because we know that those

20:18are the leaders of those communities.

20:20And so, when you see here, well, we can

20:22show you it says prepping for

20:24construction, awaiting construction,

20:26active construction. And that's where we

20:29really can start to cuz we'll give our

20:30cards and we'll visit with those

20:32neighborhood leaders to say, "Hey, it's

20:34actually going to start next week." Um

20:36we realize, you know, when we're plowing

20:37through cornfields in areas, things like

20:40that, it doesn't so much. But people

20:42One, they have pride here in Wichita.

20:43They love their grass. They love their

20:44neighbors. And we want to make sure

20:46people are having that. And so, that's

20:48the reason why we started this about a

20:49month ago to start that because we said,

20:51"Hey, we can't just do business as

20:53normal. We need to do it the right way

20:55and actually communication." So, so

20:57exactly what you're saying.

20:58>> Yeah. And And neighborhood associations.

21:00>> Yes.

21:01>> I mean, are

21:03In District 5, we have HOAs.

21:05>> Yes.

21:05>> And you have neighborhood associations.

21:06We have HOAs. There's probably 12, 13 of

21:09them.

21:09>> Yes.

21:10>> So, it would be good if you did then

21:11they they all have newsletters.

21:13>> Yes.

21:14>> put a newsletter. People do read those.

21:16>> I know we just did one in Riverside. We

21:18just put a newsletter in that one. We've

21:20tried to do some HOAs like I know in the

21:22east side like Willow Bend and some

21:24areas. We've overcome that where they

21:26think we'd be soliciting and so then

21:28we've told them, "Hey, we're not even

21:29going to talk about pricing. We're just

21:31talking about this because one, you're

21:33in a golf course area. Two, you're going

21:35to want to know because they're going to

21:36be coming too." So, we've tried to work

21:39with HOA management, ResCom, and others

21:42to let us come into those neighborhoods.

21:44So, we've done some called the Moorings.

21:47I think it's on the west side of town.

21:48>> That's me.

21:49>> Oh, that's you. Okay, yep. We've done

21:50some over there and

21:52we've done a couple more throughout

21:53Wichita, but really just explaining the

21:55process. We did one I think for Rocky

21:57Creek. And then there was another one

22:00that's kind of behind Crestview.

22:02>> Is there a list of HOAs?

22:05>> Yes, we

22:06>> Would we have that?

22:07>> Okay.

22:08>> Great.

22:10>> So, we're

22:11we're learning but thankfully our

22:12construction hopefully will be wrapped

22:14up within the next year and year and a

22:16half. Hopefully we can get that done.

22:17>> But we'll definitely

22:20double down on efforts to reach those We

22:22know that people who are engaged in HOAs

22:24tend to really watch what's going on in

22:26their neighborhoods. So, want to keep

22:28them informed.

22:29>> Yeah.

22:29>> Did any of you have additional questions

22:31about on that step slide? I think this

22:33is probably the most important when it

22:35comes to

22:37understanding any concerns of your

22:39residents or any communication gaps.

22:43This is what you talked about. Okay.

22:45>> Yeah. No, and then again and then this

22:47is just a slide and I'll let you see

22:49what we say aerial versus underground.

22:50If someone's like, "What is aerial?"

22:52That's typically on those utility poles

22:54where we have it. We like to more

22:56underground. It costs us more money to

22:58do, but the reason why it's say is

23:00because weather does not affect that.

23:02You don't have to worry about the ice

23:03storms, you don't have to worry about

23:04all the different heat and the cold. So,

23:07the reason why you do underground you

23:08should have less interruptions.

23:10>> We do have our restoration promise on

23:11this slide and I think this is an

23:13important

23:15just important to note because if you

23:18have residents who feel that their yards

23:20were not restored to

23:23the same or better condition as we

23:25started, those we'd appreciate if those

23:27were passed on to us and we'll visit

23:29with them and remedy.

23:30>> Yes, and we also went to College Hill in

23:32District 1. We walked every I guess you

23:35could say we walked like four or five

23:36blocks down there. And we we we

23:38partnered with Frost, a local ice cream

23:40shop there and gave out $10 gift cards.

23:42But the whole thing with that was sorry

23:44for the mess but hey, what can we do to

23:46fix things? And so we know that there

23:48were some folks that did not want to

23:50did not want to

23:52necessarily engage but we left something

23:55with them anyway. Even if they did not

23:56answer the door,

23:58we tried to hit some of the most

23:59affected areas in the College Hill just

24:01because we seen that that was an issue

24:04on social media but we just heard

24:05through the grapevine and so we knew

24:08that that was an area. So, we tried to

24:10take that community effort and make

24:11things better.

24:12>> We like ice cream in District 5, too.

24:14>> Well, hey yeah yeah we're yeah we're

24:16we're trying to figure we're trying to

24:17figure something out.

24:19We know that there was some unmarked gas

24:21lines that were hit and that is a

24:23disturbance and so we're going to try to

24:25do something very similar to what we did

24:27there and match it here but not just

24:29because you know,

24:30we we we don't have to do that. We want

24:32to do that. We think our reputation

24:34means more to us than than anything. So.

24:36>> So, help me understand how that

24:38happened.

24:39>> For the For the

24:40>> On Rose Hill there.

24:41>> Oh.

24:41>> I got those calls.

24:43>> Oh, from the oh from the College Hill?

24:45>> Mhm, the gas lines hit. Are you all

24:47that? Why did why did that happen so

24:49frequently?

24:50>> You know, I I think from the old Wichita

24:52is one of the oldest neighborhoods

24:54there. When those lines were into the

24:55ground, say that

24:57>> College

24:57>> Hill, yeah. Oldest neighborhood when

25:00Kansas Gas or 811 or uh LineQuest, they

25:03come out and locate, they do their best

25:05jobs, but some of those lines don't have

25:06tracers on them. And so, they'll tell

25:08you, "Our best guess is here." And so,

25:11when the best guess is here, they will

25:13hand shovel, but a lot of that old

25:15infrastructure either is rusted,

25:16corroded, or it's abandoned. Even if

25:18it's abandoned, it still has gas, and

25:21they have to treat it like it's a real

25:23situation regardless. And so, College

25:26Hill homes are closer together, older

25:29infrastructure's there. We knew that

25:31that's

25:31>> Poor documentation.

25:32>> Yeah, documentation. Uh but we knew that

25:35was going to be an area where, "Hey, we

25:37have to, you know, get better." And we

25:39learned that after a lot of mistakes

25:40happened, the contractor was like, "Hey,

25:42you have to stop going so fast. You have

25:45to make sure that we're going through

25:46this because, you know, they're laying

25:48that infrastructure for us. They can

25:50just ride off the sunset. We're left

25:52behind. And so, if folks do not

25:55appreciate what you've done, they'll

25:56never subscribe to you." And so, the

25:58investment we're putting in doesn't cost

26:00the consumer a dollar for us to make

26:02that investment, but we're hopeful that

26:03they come to us.

26:04>> Yeah, what we have learned is that in

26:06older areas, we need to do what's called

26:07potholing a lot more of hand digging to

26:11try to figure out where things are. It's

26:13pretty old school, but um and it does

26:15require that we move at a much slower

26:17pace, but it's just the right thing to

26:19do.

26:20Um

26:21but yeah, newer divisions, you're just

26:22not going to have that issue. You'll You

26:24have like lidar, which is a technology

26:26that helps you identify exactly where

26:28those lines are, and then you mark it,

26:30and then you, you know, you don't dig

26:31any anywhere around it. So.

26:33>> And we did a uh a HOA meeting in Crown

26:35Heights. That really helped us because

26:37then you had some of the folks there,

26:39you know, unfortunately, construction

26:41was starting by the time we had that

26:43meeting, so some folks were like, "It's

26:44already starting,

26:46but at least you're here now." You know,

26:47something So, we had that, but we took

26:50some black eyes, uh for sure. Um and

26:52we're getting there from that.

26:54>> And one thing we are trying to do is

26:57ensure that neighborhood groups are left

26:59with numbers of IdeaTek uh personnel who

27:02can directly uh remedy the situation.

27:06So, we're trying to divert as many calls

27:08to you. Not Not that you, you know, mind

27:11hearing from constituents, but because

27:13we're the ones who can fix it

27:13immediately. And if we can eliminate

27:15that intermediary and and let people

27:17know exactly who to call, we we will do

27:19that. We also have an online form. I

27:21don't know if that's in this um

27:24this particular slideshow, but if it's

27:26not, we'll get that to you where people

27:28can just If they don't want to call and

27:29talk to us, they can go online and put

27:31what their issue is, and we'll we'll

27:33come by their house and figure it out.

27:34>> Does this This tells you what's coming

27:36up next as well? So, our residents can

27:39go to this

27:41Awesome.

27:41>> You can and and you'll have this too.

27:44And I think um for District 1, I think

27:46we're on next month for for you all, but

27:49uh but I do know you can see exactly

27:51what these colors mean. So, you can say,

27:52"Okay, that blue, that waiting approval,

27:55that's going to happen at some point. We

27:56want to We want We want to know." And

27:59then the purple is prep for

28:00construction. It's about to start.

28:02Um, and you know, so you can kind of see

28:04exactly But you will have this, and I'm

28:06happy to share you maps, too, better Let

28:08me uh

28:09Again, I know we can pass over this, but

28:11District 5, you can see a lot of it's

28:12already uh some of it connected. Then

28:14District 6, you can see some of that

28:16active construction, the purple

28:19uh areas. And you can see it way up

28:20north, you have some waiting approval.

28:22So, we'll walk through that. So,

28:25But yeah, that's that's again, like I

28:27said, so we want to make sure you have

28:28direct line. I don't want to keep going

28:30too long because you guys have a lot,

28:32but uh again, we're here to help.

28:35>> The biggest thing

28:36>> Yes.

28:36>> Okay, great.

28:37>> Yes. And I will have it in the

28:39advisory council meetings, too, but

28:41biggest thing for us, we want to be good

28:42neighbor. We got our office now on 1401

28:44East Douglas, so we are local. We have a

28:47school, Washington Elementary. We're

28:48getting involved in USD 259. But these

28:51are just some of the events that we do.

28:52So if anyone asks, if My goal is for you

28:55to know I did tech by being out in the

28:57community. Like, oh I see them out in

28:58the community. So that's what separates

29:00us. So anyway

29:01>> And thank you so much for your time.

29:02Again, Dennis, happy Boss's Day. Didn't

29:04realize that.

29:05>> Yes.

29:07>> Well, thank you. That's all we had for

29:08you today. So have a good weekend

29:10everybody.

29:11>> Okay. Goodbye. Oh, that's it. Okay.