The County is moving into the final stages of budget adoption for the 2024 budget. The County Manager will brief my Citizens Advisory Board on July 24 at the Goddard School District Conference Center starting at 7 p.m. There will also be two public hearings on the budget. The first is scheduled for the evening of Aug. 2 in the Ruffin Building, and the second will be on budget adoption day on the Aug. 23 during the scheduled Board of County Commisioners (BoCC) meeting. There are a number of big decisions that need to be made, both on the budget and on building acquisitions.
I attended the second Electric Vehicle Plan update. A charging station vendor briefed us on the types of charging stations available, and an Evergy representative discussed incentives and installation requirements for the charging stations. The committee is preparing to publish recommendations by the end of the year. So far, no decisions have been made.
I had the opportunity to attend two change of command ceremonies at McConnell Air Force Base recently. I want to wish Colonel Philip Heseltine well in his retirement. He relinquished command of the 931st Air Refueling Wing to Colonel Cynthia Welch. We welcome her to Sedgwick County. A week later, Colonel George Vogel relinquished command of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing to Colonel Cory Damon. We also welcome him to Sedgwick County. We are very proud of the partnership the community has with McConnell AFB.
Speaking of McConnell, Sedgwick County just applied for a Department of Defense grant for a new Emergency Preparedness Center. Since it is a DoD grant, and the County does support McConnell AFB in emergencies, we asked the new Wing Commander, Col. Damon to support the grant, which he did. We submitted the grant application and are hoping for a positive response to that request from the DoD.
I hope everyone had a chance to attend the Wichita Riverfest this year. I had the opportunity to judge the car show on the final Saturday of the festival. We had great cars in the show, and the public had fun looking at all the magnificent vehicles we have in the community. I always enjoy that event.
It is an honor to serve the citizens of District 3. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
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