The Wichita City Council approved the licensing and permit for the 2023 Wichita River Festival.
As part of the memorandum of understanding, the City will be a sponsor of the event, at a cost of $40 thousand. The city may double that amount if they decide to sponsor a special-emphasis event.
During the 9-day party, Douglas Avenue will be closed from Water to Waco.
Festival officials will also fence and charge admission to A. Price Woodard Park for events there. Fence installation will begin on May 26 and will be removed by June 14.
The Wichita River Festival will run from June 2 through June 10.
In other news, the third time was the charm in proposed ordinance changes pertaining to secondhand dealers in the city.
The revised ordinance keeps all the licensing of and reporting by secondhand dealers and requires the buyer to obtain a photographic image or video of the seller, instead of a fingerprint scan. However, automated kiosks will still require fingerprint scans. Those who sell items like antiques and collectibles, costume jewelry, and lawn and garden supplies will no longer be regulated like pawnbrokers and precious metal dealers.
A license will still be required to sell firearms.
This item was discussed previously in March and April.
The council has also approved $2.25 million for improvements to the city's water infrastructure.
The city will spend $2 million to upgrade three of the pumps at the Cheney Pump station to what's called a Variable Frequency Drive unit. That helps control flow and pressure in the raw water line by controlling the speed of the pump motors, making them more efficient.
In addition, the council approved $250 thousand to fund the installation of a fiber-optic network at the pump house. It will connect to the northwest water treatment facility under construction. The old network is unreliable and will be discontinued soon.