VISIONEERING WICHITA
BREAK OUT GROUP REPORT
GROUP # 23
Facilitator:
Elected to the Vision Task Force: William McCauley

(9.5) Education

• Improve computer literacy for high school graduates
• Job opportunity for training older adults
• Education for entrepreneurial
• Financial education for youth
• Family education – counseling
• Improve quality of graduates
• Funding for public education
• Opportunities for adult education
• Review public school policies
• Local business in public schools

(9.5) Economic Development

• Public transportation
• Improve digital infrastructure
• Retain McConnell AFB
• Retain Boeing
• Attract new jobs
• Improve per capita income
• Build downtown arena
• Meet needs of farmers
• Expand air service at Mid Continent
• More even tax structure
• Urban renewal
• Identifiable historic district
• Consider downtown casino
• Revitalize downtown

(8) Human Services

• Family education counseling
• Expand health department – services to smaller communities
• Trash disposal
• Recycling
• Pride of ownership in communities
• Entertainment opportunities
• Quality of community leaders
• Lower crime
• Deter gang violence
• Protect water resources
• Have nice place to raise children
• Complete road & highway improvements
• Improve ecology
• Clean Arkansas River
• Improve quality of life

(7) Marketing

• Attract young people
• Tourism
• Attract new jobs
• Attract investment capital
• Improve signage for tourists
• Community marketing
• Better funding for business development
• Promote WSU athletics
• Better marketing of bed & breakfasts
• Better/more restaurants
• Entertainment
• Build infrastructure

(6) Diversity

• Cultural diversity
• Race relations
• Promote church & related activities
• Improve tolerance of opposing points of view
• Accessible community involvement

VISIONEERING WICHITA
BREAK OUT GROUP REPORT
GROUP # 24
Facilitator: Janet Wilson
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Larry White

(10) Quality of Life

• Football @ WSU
• Churches promote Marriage Savers
• Inner city revitalization/residential
• Less dependence on aircraft industry
• Drainage projects
• Infrastructure improvements
• Regional living wage
• Embrace cultural diversity
• Internet connections for everybody
• Recycling
• Good entertainment directed toward all people
• Improve workforce development
• Improve traffic flow through downtown
• Better publicity for cultural programs
• No smoking in the workplace
• Improve access to healthcare for uninsured/underinsured
• More job opportunities for youth
• Downtown arena – 20K +
• Business opportunity diversification

(9) Government

• Better planning for drainage projects
• City to work w/ neighborhoods regarding district planning
• City more responsive to neighborhoods & citizens rather than developers; BIZ.com, MAPC, WABA, WIBA
• City commissioners elected rather than appointed
• Mayoral form of city government with partisan elections
• Eliminate city manager form of government
• Improved co-op & consolidation between city, county, school district
• Politicians to fund programs
• Greater access to council meetings (evening, night)
• Application process for boards & commissions
• Regional cable compliance commissions
• Fund drainage projects
• Alternative punishment for drug offenders

(8) Green Space

• Higher priority for parks, open space & pathways
• Dam the Arkansas river for recreational purposes
• Create a regional park, open space entity
• Greater emphasis on outdoor recreational facilities (publicly owned)
• Control urban sprawl, save farm land

(7) Education

• Football @ WSU
• Better co-op between city, county, school district
• Extensive revision of school busing system
• More job opportunities for young people
• Improve workforce development

(6) Marketing

• Better/more positive self image
• Better marketing of Wichita in other markets
• Better image marketing/better public image

(5) Healthcare

• Long term treatment fro drug offenders
• Improved access fro un/under insured

(4) Public Transportation

• Amtrak service
• Public transportation improvement

(10) Education

• Elementary education
• Education to keep workers in Wichita
• Education for pre-schools
• Education for technical education
• Use education to get job
• Improve all levels of educators
• Expose kids to better life options
• Study having neighborhood schools
• Promote excellent higher education opportunities
• Crime prevention by reaching juveniles
• More emphasis on research & development

(9) Land Use

• Landfill solution
• Development of inner city
• Urban sprawl
• Develop older neighborhoods
• Revitalize downtown
• Infrastructure improvements (21st & overpasses)
• Use of land south of Lincoln & west of river
• Refurbish industrial core
• Create desirable housing in inner city
• Flood control
• More improvement for recreations for youth
• Look for unique attractions
• Affordable hotels & more of them
• Changes in housing

(8) Image

• Make a name for ourselves
• Wichita self-image improvement
• Make city attractive for youth
• Clean-up neighborhoods
• Beautify river in south Wichita
• Re-establish football at WSU
• Bass Pro
• Casinos
• Sell the attractions in Wichita
• Environmental issues
• More ways to sell convention business
• Affordable hotel rooms
• Promote Wichita’s quality of life
• Attract retirees to Wichita
• Confusion about growing Wichita or maintaining status quo
• Concentrate on image – de-emphasize tourism

Quality of Employment

• Increase governmental employment
• Greater diversity in employment
• Diversification of business & industry
• Job market
• Attract high tech jobs
• Retaining & growing business
• Diversify job opportunities
• Higher paying jobs
• Exposure of career options for kids
• Technical education
• Need more technical job support for all industry
• Seniors working

(6) Government Leadership

• Strong leadership
• Combine city/county government
• More emphasis & participation form young people
• Minority involvement
• Reduce residential/commercial utility cost
• Specialized hospitals “boutique” taking profitable business from hospitals

(5) Transportation

• Mass transit improvements & expand
• Become airlines hub
• Access to airlines
• Infrastructure improvement
• Assist to the needy

(4) Environment

• Recycling
• Environmental issues

VISIONEERING WICHITA
BREAK OUT GROUP REPORT
GROUP # 26
Facilitator: Anne Whitting
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Shontina Pickens-Tipton

(10) Economic Development

• Economic development manufacturing jobs
• Support technical college
• Encourage development small business
• Encourage downtown development
• Inner city restoration
• Build wind turbines
• Redevelop downtown river bank
• Keep & attract corporate headquarters
• Avoid urban sprawl
• Get business more involved in training study to retain our kids
• Tear down vacant buildings
• Free downtown parking
• Stop our college kids from leaving
• Regional brand
• Make friendly to business

(9) Education

• Improve schools
• Support technical college
• Better pay for teachers
• More parent involvement
• Increase capacity of technical college
• Don’t pass illiterate students
• Technical education tuition rates
• Greater university involvement
• Public work programs to teach unemployed
• Arena revenue to support schools

(7.5) Government & Infrastructure

• Mass transit
• Combined city/county government
• Unemployment services
• Avoid urban sprawl
• Reverse poll tax
• State highway improvement
• More voter participation
• Cree/flood control improvement
• Better public leadership in Topeka
• Revise city government for more public input
• Bring issues to public vote
• Amtrak into Wichita
• Stronger controls on illegal aliens
• City council use public input
• Encourage voter participation
• Make public input more convenient
• Provide continued feedback to public officials
• City council meet in evening
• Less government regulation on refineries
• Implementation of studies/plan
• Positive media better PR
• Reinstate elected CPO

(7.5) Quality of Life

• Recycling programs
• Parks, walkways, bike trails
• Higher standards & morals
• Park maintenance
• Support arts/entertainment & culture
• Parks & walkways
• Affordable daycare
• Affordable housing for working poor
• Youth activities
• Entertainment & theme parks
• Housing for homeless
• Lower tax on food
• Re-entry program for offenders
• Increase smoke-free public places
• Provide smoking areas
• Designated fireworks areas
• Recreational race tract/park free
• Embrace diversity
• Neighborhood development
• Stop our college kids from leaving
• Increase community volunteerism
• Preserve/increase green space

(6) Healthcare

• Affordable healthcare
• More inexpensive (free clinics) health care around the city
• (Free) testing & discount drugs
• drug & alcohol treatment
• community outreach to support teenage and single parents

(5) Downtown

• Let citizens decide downtown arena
• Free downtown parking
• Expand public library
• Build casino
• Oppose casino
• Forget downtown arena
• Support Cowtown/Exploration Place
• Redevelop riverbank
• Inner city restoration

VISIONEERING WICHITA
BREAK OUT GROUP REPORT
GROUP # 27
Facilitator: Joy Trotnic
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Tom Sawyer

(10) Education

• #1 priority
• Teachers pays as professionals
• Job training
• Abstinence education
• 24 hour community centers: cradle to grave, campus pre-K to 12, work release & homeless shelter

(9) Quality of Life

• Change attitude about Wichita vs. KC
• Eliminate gangs –safety
• Lower divorce rate
• Good place to raise kids & grow old
• Connect our linear parks
• Discourage negative imagery

(8) Economic Development

• Utilize prisoners
• Encourage development of inner city
• Develop ancillary industries – shared workforce
• Freeze local sales tax & use payroll tax for economic development
• Wider variety of challenging jobs
• Diversity industry
• Relax zoning & environmental regulations to help grow small business
• Increase job growth
• Hire the handicap
• Promote aircraft repair business for laid off workers
• Better utilize McConnell retirees

(7) Infrastructure

• Better public transportation system – mechanism so people will use it
• More good sidewalks
• Rebuild sidewalks as often as streets

(6) Government

• Consolidate city 7 county government
• Review old laws before passing a new one
• Help local officials & voters see big picture – benefits, instead of just short term costs.
• Judges picked like juries from pool of all lawyers

(5) Image

• Promote Wichita as Air Capital
• A Wichita landmark – i.e. Riverway

VISIONEERING WICHITA
BREAK OUT GROUP REPORT
GROUP # 28
Facilitator: Karla Romereim
Elected to the Vision Task Force: Novelene Ross

(10) Quality of Life

• First class cutting edge library
• Affordable activities for families
• Attitude change
• More support for existing neighborhoods
• Provide more public park land
• More forward with Water Walk
• Reduce health care costs
• Emphasize creative ways to improve healthcare
• Control suburban sprawl
• Improve community arts education
• Expanded volunteer center
• Venue for longtime residents to meeting with short time residents
• Increase residents’ sense of belonging and ownership
• Re-engage seniors
• Promote stable families
• Incentives for single income families

(9) Economic Development

• Intermodal industrial park
• Return to days of 110% income level (median average)
• Attract west bound discount air carrier
• Promote auto manufacturing
• Create one or more new economic clusters in Wichita
• Promote clean environment industries
• Promote industries with alternative energy sources
• Build world class aircraft maintenance facility
• Coordinate finance industry to attract economic development
• Stop departure of businesses our of community
• Improve tourism (Chisholm Trail, western themes)
• More forward with Water Walk
• Limited government – free market environment
• Focus on more conventions

(8) Education (K-Adult)

• Continue to improve education
• Collaboration between community colleges – centers for excellence
• Incentives to retain high school and college grads
• Upgrade tech colleges (electronic, graphic, etc.)
• Expand support for early education opportunities
• Improved arts education
• More efficient school system
• Expand emphasis on social studies
• Reward students for high achievement
• Endowment for college student scholarship tied to residency

(7) Cultural

• Expand volunteer center
• Improve community arts education
• Multicultural entertainment district
• Focus on racial reconciliation
• Promote and grow support for our community

(6) Environment

• Clean river (fish from river)
• Free recycling
• Trash incinerator (convert to energy)

(5) Workforce Development

• Incentives to retain high school and college graduates
• World class training facility to encourage job growth
• Job creation and recognizing life experience

(4) Transportation

• Adequate public transportation system
• Improve transportation access to Wichita