Council preview: proposed March 3, 2026 sales-tax election, large developments and multiple consent items

Unidentified Speaker 2 reviewed upcoming agendas for City Council meetings in December and highlighted several items that would affect budgets and development plans.

On the Dec. 9 preview, Speaker 2 said the council would consider adopting the recommendations of a property-maintenance task force, approve overnaming a portion of Ash Street for Pastor JP Dennis Jr. (sign costs quoted at about $500), and consider an ordinance calling a March 3, 2026 special election to impose a 1% city sales tax. "This proposal has been put, before you by a group called Wichita Forward," Speaker 2 said, adding that Wichita Forward would present its plan during the staff presentation.

The speaker also listed agreements on the Dec. 9 agenda, including a three-year agreement with the Greater Wichita Partnership for economic development services and a one-year agreement with the Wichita Independent Business Association for small-business assistance. On consent, the agenda includes contract and capital items ranging from flood-control maintenance agreements with Sedgwick County to an overestimate bid for a 17th Street improvement project affected by rising concrete and stormwater costs.

For the Dec. 16 meeting, the agenda preview included a letter of intent to issue $8,000,000 in multifamily housing revenue bonds to build 32 workforce housing units and a letter of intent for $39,000,000 in industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) for a medical production facility. Speaker 2 also described a proposed development agreement for redevelopment of the Old Town West Square facility and a development agreement for phase 3 in the K-96 Greenwood Star Bond District, described in the agenda as a $191,000,000 multi-sport athletic complex on 40 acres in the southeast corner of that district.

Speaker 3 asked whether the sales tax ordinance would require public hearings on both readings; Speaker 2 replied that typically the second reading would appear on consent and discussed timing for public comment. Several planning, zoning and housing items were listed as consent or deferred items, including zoning changes in multiple districts and a conditional commitment of eight project-based housing vouchers for a South Broadway project.

The preview closed with routine consent items — proposed salary and classification ordinances for 2026, a charter change to the transient guest tax per Kansas Department of Revenue requests, purchase of a centralized contract management system, year-end budget adjustments, cultural-activation grants and various capital and paving projects. No formal votes on these items were taken at the meeting; the presentation served as a preview and scheduling guide.

Next procedural steps: Speaker 2 flagged that some items may move between meetings and that several new-business items had been postponed to the January meeting; the sales-tax ordinance and other large items will proceed through the council process with public-notice and hearing steps as required.