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City of Wichita District V Newsletter |
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A Message from Council Member
Bryan Frye...
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For over 75 years, kids of all ages have traveled to faraway places or exciting tourist attractions through the magic of the View-Master. Every click revealed a new surprise destination or exotic location with beautiful photography and interesting facts. Recently the Greater Wichita Partnership (GWP) used this classic children's toy to aggressively market the Wichita region to companies all across the county.
Last month, GWP sent over 200 Wichita View-Masters to executives and community leaders asking them to see and experience everything the Wichita area has to offer. Among the slides are these great highlights:
- A top ten city for new college graduates
- The #3 U.S. advanced-industry hotspot
- Home to the third-most engineers in the country
- The #1 city for first-time home buyers
It's always been my belief that Wichita has a great story to tell and we just needed more ways to tell our story, more often. The Wichita View-Master is a fun, creative effort that will get some national perceptions changed about our community. Kudos to GWP for their imagination in creating a unique engagement opportunity that will hopefully lead to lasting, memorable thoughts of Wichita.
Wichita has been on a roll lately with major announcements and increasing momentum for 2017. I suggest that the next great communication device from GWP involve a good old-fashioned Magic 8 Ball with "Signs Point to Wichita", "Wichita, Without a Doubt" and "Positively Wichita" among the messages. I wonder how hard it would be to get them styled with the Wichita flag?
Have a great weekend!
Bryan Frye
District V City Council Member
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Getting to Know DAB V:
Benjamin Kittrell
Benjamin Kittrell was born in northeast Kansas, but was raised in and around the Wichita area. He has worked at Crown Products, Inc. for the past 11 years, specializing in O-Rings, hydraulic seals, gaskets, and aviation ground support supplies. As an employee of a small business, as well as dealing with sales to other small businesses, he heard quite frequently of his customer's concerns regarding how city government and policy affected their lives. This motivated him to apply to serve on the District 5 Advisory Board.
Benjamin currently lives in far west Wichita with his wife, Sarah. He considers his biggest hobbies are food and cooking. He is a big fan of Green Acres and natural Grocers. When dining out, their favorite west-side restaurants include Wichita Brewing Company, Two Brother BBQ and Bella Luna.
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A rendering of the Hampton Inn proposed for northwest Wichita. Courtesy HCW Development Co.
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New Hampton Inn Coming Soon to Northwest Wichita
Crossland Construction will start work in the coming weeks on an 88-room Hampton Inn near 29th and Maize Road. The $9.5 million project will be completed in approximately nine months.
Rick Huffman, a Wichita native and CEO of HCW Development, says the four story building will incorporate the latest Hampton Inn designs, such as glass-enclosed showers instead of bathtubs, a lobby gift shop, an outside gathering area with fire pit and lounge seating. The hotel also will have an indoor pool facing the lake and a meeting room for up to 75 people.
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Start Planning Now for your
Neighborhood Cleanup!
The City of Wichita neighborhood cleanup applications for 2017 were sent out to neighborhood associations and home owner associations this week. If we missed your association, please give us a call at 316-268-4197. The cleanups start the 1st Saturday in April and conclude the last Saturday of November. There is much preparation involved when planning a neighborhood cleanup, so now is the time to get with your association to set a date, fill out and submit your application, and recruit volunteers.
The work is fun, rewarding, and a great way to get to know your neighbors! We all live in a great city, and it's everyone's responsibility to take care of it.
Click here to view the application and instructions.
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Westlink Neighborhood Association
Annual Dinner/Meeting
When:
Tuesday, January 17, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Park West Plaza Retirement Community
505 N. Maize Road
Membership is $10 per year
Please RSVP to Dr. Carla Lee, President, 316-267-1700 by January 10.
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Wichita by City Council Districts
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SUPPLEMENTAL
PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE
Among other measures, the Wichita City Council has allocated $10 million from the sale of the Hyatt Regency proceeds to the improvement of many of the City's worst neighborhood streets. Click on the above interactive map to see where the targeted supplemental locations.
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Kellogg/I-235 Updates
Stay up-to-date with construction of the improvements to the Kellogg/I235 interchange. KDOT has established and is maintaining a website to keep citizens informed.
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Wichita District V Facebook Page
Stay up-to-date with news and events in our District.
Click here to visit our Facebook page. Send us a message or request or simply "like" our posts.
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FEMA Declares September
Floods a Disaster
Unusual weather seemed to be a common theme for 2016, and in many cases caused Public Works and Utilities to alter operations in response. One such example was the tremendous amount of rain received this year. While average annual rainfall for Wichita is about 34 inches, the area received nearly 50 inches this year. 29 inches fell in the months of July, August, and September alone.
Not only did the area receive more rain than usual, the rain sometimes came in a series of long-lasting events that caused major flooding. For this reason, FEMA declared a disaster for the dates of September 2-12, 2016. While the damage that occurred in Wichita seems minor compared to the many smaller cities and townships south of Wichita, some additional resources were expended in order to respond during these events. Public Works and Utilities, in coordination with the City's Finance Department, Kansas Department of Emergency Management (KDEM) and FEMA, is working to determine if some of the costs incurred can be recovered. Some of the costs include:
- Barricading of City streets that posed a safety risk due to flooding.
- Emergency repair of traffic signals that were damaged by lightning.
- Continual stormwater inlet cleaning to ensure that blockages were not preventing flood waters from entering the stormwater system.
- Additional staff required to operate the sewage treatment plant due to an extraordinary increase in flows.
Staff has met with KDEM and FEMA several times to date and will continue to gather and prepare information for their consideration.
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OLD HISTORY WILL BE MAKING NEW HISTORY IN 2017
WITH THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF
The year of 2017 will be a year-long celebration of the Chisholm Trail. The Wichita - Sedgwick County Historical Museum - 204 S. Main - Wichita KS will be celebrating
Kansas Day on Sunday January 29th - 2:00 - 3:00 pm
- Kansas History in Song
with a tip of the Hat to the Chisholm Trail - a live music program presented by a cavalcade of cowboy troubadours.
Come and see many items from Wichita and the Chisholm Trail. Visit with Wichita historians and learn about how Wichita became a booming town in part because of the cattle drives and the Chisholm Trail. Stay tuned for the upcoming cattle drive.
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1000 Books Before Kindergarten!
The Wichita Public Library is challenging parents and caregivers across Wichita to read 1000 books to their babies and toddlers! It's the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge. Stop by any of the eight public libraries in the City to pick up a 1000 Books folder which includes a tracking sheet that gets colored in each time a book is read. After reading the first 100 books, each child will receive a book bag and will mark his/her progress at the Library.
It's a lot easier than it sounds!
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SMALLGRASS FILM FESTIVAL -
A FAMILY FUN FILM FEST
On Saturday, January 14th, experience a day full of specially-curated feature and short films for the young and young at heart. Be the first to see Exploration Place's Boeing Dome Theater film, Titans of the Ice Age.
Smallgrass offers a unique and affordable entertainment option for families with children of all ages, over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, while fostering an appreciation of the communal cinema experience for the next generation.
Plus, enjoy hands-on activities and all exhibits including the national traveling exhibit Discover the Ice Age, presented in partnership with Tallgrass Film Association.
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SENIOR WEDNESDAYS
Senior Wednesdays are always fun and there is something different to do; someone new to meet. There are also many senior activity centers in Wichita and the surrounding areas, so be informed. Be entertained. Be active.
To see the upcoming events for
January through March 2017,
click here...
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Life Happens Here!
From year-round to seasonal events, Downtown is the preferred location for Wichita to celebrate throughout the year. A variety of events cater to the diverse interests of Wichita residents and many visitors from Kansas and throughout the regional area.
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H2O Care Fund
The City of Wichita recognizes that there are many residents who are struggling during these difficult economic times, especially during the holidays.
This voluntary program provides a simple way to directly help others. Even small donations can add up and provide a way for people to maintain their water service. There are three ways to help, and you can find out how by filling out the City of Wichita H2O Care Fund Program Donation Form here.
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Volunteers Needed!
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is looking for individuals to assist with free tax preparation so families and individuals with low to moderate income get the benefits they need. Positions include greeters, interpreters and preparers. Training provided, flexible hours (January through April), and multiple site locations available.
Contact United Way of the Plains in Wichita by calling 211 to volunteer or get more information.
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KANSEL Construction Training Program
KANSEL has a great training opportunity for men and women interested in a career in construction. This FREE program prepares students for entry level construction work. They are trained in power & hand tools, construction math, blueprint reading, and receive OSHA, physical fitness, and life management skills instruction.
Students who complete the course have an opportunity to interview with local construction companies. Applicants must be 18 or older, have a high school diploma or GED, be legally employable in the U.S. and attend all session of the 7 week course.
Interested students should plan to attend one of the above information sessions to apply for the program.
Call 263-9620 for more information.
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JOBS are here in Wichita!
The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce is proud to offer a job board with local, Wichita area, jobs only! A free service for job seekers, it will save you the time of searching through dozens of jobs outside of the area. Create a free account here
and you will be automatically signed up for all Wichita area updates and can customize the search further if you wish.
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Check out the latest information on job fairs and training courses. Click here.
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Track the Snowplows
Are you ready for winter weather? The City of Wichita is! Crews have been preparing snow plows and training new drivers ahead of the storm.
You can see where the City of Wichita snowplow/treatment trucks are on a Google map. The map can be zoomed and panned as usual to see what ever area you desire.
Track the plows here!
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Don't be Left in the Dark!
Help deter crime and keep our communities safe by reporting street light outages. If you notice outages within your neighborhood, fill out this simple form on Westar Energy's website.
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Winter 2017 Park & Recreation Activities Guide is now available!
Get registered for classes
by
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| Westlink Branch Library
8515 Bekemeyer
Southwest of Central and Maize
1011 N. Maize Ct. |
District V Advisory Board and Neighborhood Associations
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The District V Advisory Board meets the first Monday of the month at Fire Station #21 at 2110 N. 135th St W. Wichita, KS 672235. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. For the 2017 meeting schedule,
click here.
To see a listing of the meeting schedule for District V's neighborhood associations, click
here.
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Become part of the solution and tell us what's on your mind. Visit Activate Wichita today!
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Click
here to find up-to-date
information regarding street
maintenance in your area.
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Stay up-to-date on City events, announcements and headlines by reading our daily News Releases
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City Manager's Office
455 N. Main, 13 Floor
Wichita, KS 67202
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