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D1 CAB 5/18/26 Minutes

District 1 Citizens Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

Monday, May. 18, 2026 | 5:30 p.m.

Bel Aire City Hall,

7651 E. Central Park Ave., Bel Aire, KS

Board Members in Attendance: Daniel Bateman, Diana Gjerstad, Jim Reid, Judah Craig, Kathryn Herzog, Madeline LaForge, Steven Burt

 County Representatives: Sedgwick County Commissioner Pete Meitzner, Sedgwick County Department of Corrections

  1. Call to Order
    1. Judah Craig called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m.
  2. Approval of Meeting Minutes
    1. A motion was made by Kathryn Herzog to approve the minutes. Diane Gjerstad seconded the motion. The CAB approved the motion with a 6-0 vote.
  3. Public Agenda
    1. No members of the public were present.
  4. New Business
    1. Sedgwick County Department of Corrections Mario Salinas gave an overview on what the Department of Corrections does and talked about what programs it offers for juveniles.
    2. Salinas said they serve youth 10-17 with several different programs to help low risk youth build confidence and get on a better path. Salinas said they also have events that promote connectivity with family and community such as an annual Halloween party.
    3. Sedgwick County Department of Corrections Lori Gibbs explained that the Department of Corrections is a state mandated program with the purpose to provide intensive community-based supervision programs to rehabilitate felony offenders in the community instead of sending them to prison.
      1. Tex Dozier said this means we’re growing.
    4. Deanna Aspedon went over key dates and explained how property taxes are calculated. She explained how much of assessed value the Commissioner’s capture, impacts the property taxes- adding that last year Commissioners only took half of what was available.
    5. Commissioner Meitzner said this year will likely be similar.
    6. Tex Dozier said he’s interested to learn more about the budget process and how it’s determined what the departments need.
    7. Diane Gjerstad said the City of Wichita can’t, “Only take a little of the available assessed value,” because capturing AV is the only way to increase its budget.
      1. General discussion took place regarding the budget process and property taxes.

 

  1. Diana Gjerstad asked Deanna what it means to physically inspect property.
    1. Deanna said there’s a digital review and the Appraiser’s Office is outside driving around and will determine if there’s an issue from the front view of someone’s house.
  2. Tex Dozier asked how much it would cost the county to have another paper sent with their appraisal value explaining how the process works.
    1. Deanna said this is something she wants to do in the future.
  3. Commissioner Meitzner reminded everyone that all of Deanna’s work is mandated by state statute.
  4. Kathryn Herzog asked how the assessment rate is set.
    1. Deanna said it’s something that is voted on by the state.
  5. Commissioner Meitzner said people should be happy if their value went up because it means their investment increased.

           

Commissioner’s Comments

  1. Commissioner Meitzner said we’re battling through early stages of the budget.
  2. Commissioner Meitzner said there was a data center townhall last week and the planning commission is supposed to give Sedgwick County Commissioners their recommendation on June 1.

 

Adjournment

  1. The District 1 Citizen’s Advisory Board ended at 7:14 p.m.

 

The next Citizens Advisory Board Meeting will be Monday, May. 18., 2026, 5:30 p.m.  

at Bel Aire City Hall, 7651 E. Central Park Ave., Bel Aire, KS