Wichita City Council members and Sedgwick County Commissioners met Tuesday to discuss consolidation of recreational and cultural arts services.
The cooperative effort has been in the works for 9 months and would create a Department of Cultural Arts and Recreation that would report to both the Sedgwick County manager and Wichita City manager.
Through consolidation, delivery of services would be made more efficient. The group looks to add future value to the process, but cost saving is not the bottom line.
Wichita City Manager Robert Layton says after more discussion, he hopes to incorporate the plan into the 2022 city budget.
At the same meeting, the group got an update on the area's food system master plan, which has been in the works since 2019.
That plan has three goals: foster food system coordination and education, improve access to healthy food and increase local food production.
The topic is on the minds of many in northeast Wichita, with the word Monday that the Save-a-Lot store at 13th and Grove will be closing on July 10. Council member Brandon Johnson says he's on board with the effort to help reduce food scarcity.
The next steps would be creation, and then formal adoption of a plan by the city and county but it is unclear how soon this will happen. In the meantime, the city council is looking at ways to address the issue by potentially changing current city code and creating incentives.
In other council news, leaders approved a federal partnership with the U.S. Marshalls called "Operation Triple Beam."
Wichita Police have previously participated in the program. It is an effort to apprehend wanted violent offenders and reduce violent crime in the community.
Operation Triple Beam is a 60-day operation that begins in July and concludes in September. Nine people were shot this past weekend, including a Wichita Police officer who was shot multiple times and remains in the hospital.