MEETING NOTES
Thursday, August 19th - Jardine Middle School

GROUP # 49 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
Facilitator: Deanna Harms
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Marsha Mendenhall

 

(10) Government

  • Best practice for example Zebra mussels (plus other issues)
  • Government – service attitude, community input
  • Use consultants too much
  • Consolidation/collaboration
  • Respect neighboring communities
  • Pay raise – teachers/police/rife
  • Keep talent/financial incentives
  • Code enforcement (less regulations)
  • Divide Wichita into 4 cities
  • Tax outside users (suburban) for using & working in Wichita

(9) Education

  • Youth leadership
  • Quality education K-12
  • Improve tech college
  • Reduce busing
  • Teach budgeting & three R’s
  • Skills assessment
  • School technology
  • Match education with jobs
  • Smaller schools & class sizes

(8) Private Sector Leadership

  • Family values/parenting (responsibility/skills)
  • Latch-key
  • Business & school partnerships
  • Against growth/improvements
  • Increase support for River Festival
  • Physical activities/health

(7) Infrastructure

  • Streets
  • Sewers
  • Solid waste/trash incinerator/recycling
  • Improve mass-transit (air/rail/taxi/bus)
  • Extend Hwy 96 (south)

(6) Economic Development

  • Port authority from port in Tulsa
  • Keep people downtown
  • Maintain downtown (new attractions)
  • Market community (image)
  • Good jobs/pay
  • Job diversity
  • Energy/wind

(5) Quality of Life

  • Park maintenance
  • Nightlife (evening hours) (for public attractions – 200/Exp. Place)
  • Downtown housing
  • Children activities (especially summer) & volunteer work
  • Community beautification

GROUP # 50 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
Facilitator: Sonja Armbruster
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Ron Sloan

 

(10) Education

  • Higher teacher salaries
  • Focus – classroom
  • Reduce administration
  • Youth recreation after school
  • Life Skill 101
  • Job training un-employed
  • Higher education outcomes for students
  • Tech training for students
  • Keep fine arts in education

(9) Economic Development

  • Downtown development
  • Shopping Douglas
  • Improve per capita income
  • Economic development vs. entrepreneurial
  • Image of Wichita development
  • Reliance on aircraft industry
  • Cowley Lake (support)
  • Improve non-manufacturing pay
  • Growth with justice (sensitive to all issues)
  • Reduce outsourcing
  • Emphasis on community development
  • Minority (increase participation)
  • Low fare/Wright Amendment (change)

(8) Health & Social Issues

  • Men’s crisis center
  • Coordination of social services
  • Affordable & accessible health care
  • Fluoride in water
  • Marriage survival increase
  • Cultural sensitivity
  • Bridge diversity
  • Un-biased media
  • Local community issue
  • Coordination of social issue

(7) Government/Infrastructure/Leadership

  • Affordable car insurance
  • Improve city/county relations
  • Street safety/driving law enforcement
  • Modernize IT support, etc.
  • Government leaders to be living examples
  • Streamline city/county government
  • Imminent domain use decreased
  • Full time jobs
  • Road improvement
  • Higher pay for elected officials

(6) Environment

  • Recycling
  • Landfill
  • Green space
  • Water quality
  • River cleanliness
  • Improve mass transit

(5) Children Issues

  • Improving foster care consumption
  • Foster care employment criteria
  • Improve pre-K development
  • SE – swimming pool
  • Re-vamp SRS
  • Local
  • Improve care for children in residential
  • Nicer amusement part affordable

GROUP # 51 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
Facilitator: Charles Stump
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Roger Smith

 

(10) Economic development

  • Support for inner city business & individuals
  • Incentive for developers to develop inner city brown fields undeveloped lands
  • Study to determine the impact of spending on outer city limits as opposed to (inner older) city
  • Entrepreneurial increase and focus
  • Increase minimum wage
  • Improve air fare rates
  • Develop agriculture vertical integration
  • Natural resources funding i.e. wind farm etc.
  • Diversity the employment pool
  • Center of transportation (hub) – maximize our central location i.e. exporting & importing goods
  • Expand convention facilities
  • Unemployed training & assistance for down stream – unemployed, layoffs
  • Continue to redevelop downtown
  • Implement gaming/casino on city public property
  • More south side economic development
  • Help family farmers
  • Attract new business to attract workers

(9) Education

  • Better support for libraries & arts funding
  • More vocational schools for workforce development
  • No all day kindergarten
  • Less administration in schools
  • Keep school recess
  • Education flexible to respond to job skills & needs
  • Locate dental school here
  • Encourage private schools
  • School vouchers
  • Eliminate busing program – forces busing
  • Adequate education funding
  • Job skills training
  • Personal financial planning education for secondary students
  • World class school system
  • Expand after school services & day care both private, public non-profit

(8) Government

  • Waste of tax dollars and improper planning
  • Intra cities fighting
  • More citizen input for development i.e. put to a vote
  • Eminent domain for public purposes only
  • Statewide vote to make Wichita the state capital
  • Long range MAPC citizen input & commitment
  • Listen to citizens
  • Redesign MAPC to be more representative of community
  • No government consolidation
  • Do government consolidation
  • Study for need of both city manager & mayor
  • Deconcentrate poverty thru housing policy
  • Judges selected from pool of lawyers
  • More equitable distribution of city services
  • Land grabbing by cities
  • Recycling program to save dollars & land
  • Decrease urban sprawl
  • Redo zoning in regard to small business
  • Redo zoning in regard to home business

(7) Health

  • Access to dental care
  • Improve access to community health
  • Affordable general health care
  • Prioritize projects of life threatening issues

(6) Quality of Life

  • Sustainable neighborhoods
  • Provide adequate infrastructure for city
  • Intrastate public transportation
  • Faith base education – unwed mothers
  • Expand & improve public park land
  • Improve quality of water thru conservation
  • Less waste generation
  • Network coordination of non-profit services
  • Program for nonprofit startup
  • Conservation of rural rights regarding annexation
  • Plan & preserve green space

(5) Public Safety

  • Maintain & develop sidewalks
  • Hire more police & fire to reinforce community policing
  • Study & analyze state audit on firefighters
  • Citywide flooding problems
  • Expand jail & rehab services
  • Reduce toxic chemicals in schools & homes

GROUP # 52 – THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2004
Facilitator: Vashti Seacat
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Elizabeth Bishop

 

(10) Infrastructure

  • Freeway through south Wichita
  • Drainage flood control
  • Better road planning
  • Provide services for annexed communities
  • Do we grow the fringes at a cost to older neighborhoods
  • Omit forced annexation
  • Tax dollars more evenly distributed across all of the city
  • Recycle program

(9) Economic Development

  • Enhance promote airport/air traffic
  • Community partnerships
  • Reduce taxes (sales tax)
  • Renewable fuel sources
  • Diversity

(8) Education

  • Teachers salaries – improve
  • Better cultural ratio of professionals to students
  • Improve test scores K-12
  • Top notch vocational training center

(7) Quality of Life

  • 4 x 4 recreation area (jeep) park
  • Health disparities
  • Smoking ban
  • Arts & entertainment
  • Reduce taxes (sales tax)
  • Use landfills for other projects

(6) City/County Government

  • Hold officials accountable
  • Citizens against government waste
  • Planning process access to all
  • More communication of officials & their results
  • An effective planning process that is accessible to all

(5) Public Safety

  • Monitor gangs
  • Youth prevention programs
  • Reentry programs
  • Preventative measures