The Wichita City Council held its regular session Tuesday morning, April 28, 2026, working through a consent-heavy agenda that included a pointed public comment on the city’s Flock license-plate-reader cameras, three below-market housing sales, a round of infrastructure improvement resolutions, and a closed-door executive session tied to potential litigation over a construction project. The session adjourned at 2:06 p.m. Assistance from Claude AI.
Who Was There
All seven council members were present: Mayor Lily Wu, Dalton Glasscock, Joseph Shepard, Becky Tuttle, Mike Hoheisel, JV Johnston, and Maggie Ballard. Staff in attendance included City Manager Dennis Marstall, City Attorney Jennifer Magana, and Deputy City Clerk Jo Hensley.
Before turning to business, the council approved the minutes of the regular meetings of April 14 and April 21, 2026, on a 7–0 vote.
Public Comment: A Warning About Flock Safety Cameras
The lone public speaker of the morning was Brad Heagler, who addressed the council’s use of Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras — a networked surveillance system increasingly common in American municipalities and school districts.
Heagler was clear from the outset that he was not relitigating whether the cameras should have been deployed. “We’ve already gone well beyond that,” he said. His concern was more immediate: the systems are already operating, and in his view they lack sufficient safeguards to protect both civil liberties and the integrity of law enforcement itself.
He raised four specific issues:
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Because the cameras are network-connected and installed in publicly accessible locations, Heagler argued they present a meaningful attack surface. He called for independent security audits rather than reliance on the vendor’s own assurances — a point that reflects a broader principle in cybersecurity: vendors have financial incentives to minimize disclosed vulnerabilities.
Weak authentication standards. Heagler stated that Flock does not require multi-factor authentication and that network credentials are hardcoded in an unencrypted form. He drew a pointed contrast: consumer-grade accounts often have stronger security protections than those governing law enforcement access to the same platform. “Shouldn’t our law enforcement at least meet those standards, if not exceed them?” he asked.
Uncertain data retention. While Flock’s stated policy is that only vehicle data is captured and stored only briefly, Heagler cited independent studies indicating that images of people are sometimes retained for significantly longer — in some cases, months. Without independent verification of what is collected and how long it is kept, he argued, public confidence in the system cannot be justified.
Documented regional misuse. This was arguably the most concrete point of the morning. Heagler stated that officers in Kechi and Sedgwick — both nearby communities — had already used Flock systems for personal reasons, in violation of policy. That real-world misconduct, he said, demonstrates that abuse is not a theoretical risk but an established pattern.
Heagler closed by framing his position carefully: he was not calling for removal of the cameras, but for governance — transparency, accountability, and oversight independent of the vendor and the department. “Without that, we risk not only privacy but also the integrity of our justice system.”
Mayor Wu thanked Heagler and noted that the public agenda had room for four additional speakers. No others came forward. No council members offered comments in response.
Consent Agenda: Housing Sales Draw a Brief Spotlight
Council Member Shepard stepped out of the chamber before the consent agenda vote, reducing the quorum to six members.
Mayor Wu moved to approve Consent Agenda Items 1 through 11, but pulled Item 10 for separate consideration. The remaining items passed 6–0.
The full consent package covered routine but substantive city business:
- Cereal malt beverage licenses for new applicants
- Preliminary estimates for upcoming city projects
- A developer’s agreement for Baalmann 6th Addition (District IV)
- A supplemental design services agreement for Oaktree Addition (District IV)
- Two change orders — one for drainage and sewer improvements serving Pegasus Addition and Pegasus 2nd Addition (District II), and one for Sanitary Sewer Lift Station No. 23 improvements
- Four property acquisitions for ongoing road and utility projects: a temporary construction easement at 300 South Country View Lane for the Maple Street improvement and water pump station project; a partial acquisition at 3850 North Hydraulic for the 37th Street road improvement; and two partial acquisitions for the Four Mile Creek Interceptor Project — one at 14401 East Central and one on vacant land in the 200 block of North 143rd Street East
- A grant modification for the 2022 Project Safe Neighborhood grant (a federal program supporting anti-violence initiatives), handled through the Wichita Police Department
- Second readings of two ordinances passed on first read April 21: one rezoning land at 13th and McClean (Ordinance No. 52-932), and one imposing special assessments to recover the city’s cost of cleaning up specific nuisance properties (Ordinance No. 52-933)
- Three housing sales — Items 9, 10, and 11 — of city-owned residential properties
Item 10: A Data Point on Affordable Housing
When Mayor Wu pulled Item 10 for individual consideration, she used the moment to make a broader point about the city’s affordable housing program. Items 9, 10, and 11 collectively represent three properties sold by the city to private buyers below the threshold that tends to define “affordable housing” — all priced under $100,000.
What made the sales notable, Wu explained, is that buyers paid above appraised value in each case — meaning market demand exists even at these price points. The city isn’t dumping unwanted properties; buyers are actively competing for them.
Item 10 specifically involved 828 North Poplar Street, a three-bedroom home built in 1996. The property was appraised at $69,000; the buyer paid $78,000 — roughly 13 percent above appraised value. Wu also noted a procedural correction: the agenda listed the property as being in District III, but it actually falls within District I, Councilmember Shepard’s district.
Wu invited public comment on the pulled item. No one came forward. With Shepard having returned to the chamber, the vote was 7–0 to approve.
The other two housing sales — 1507 East Del Mar Street (District III) and 1613 East Catalina Street (District III) — passed as part of the original 6–0 consent vote.
Board of Bids and Contracts
Jason Brogden of the Finance Department presented the Board of Bids and Contracts dated April 27, 2026. Mayor Wu had one question: she asked about the location of a parking lot reconstruction project listed on slide five of the presentation.
Captain Jason Cooley of the Wichita Police Department’s Capital division explained that the project involves the Central Bureau parking lot — a facility the city recently acquired from HUD and from housing. The lot needs to be stripped to the surface and rebuilt from the ground up.
The full Board of Bids package was approved 7–0.
Petitions for Public Improvements: Twelve Resolutions for Three Neighborhoods
Paul Gunzelman of Public Works and Utilities presented a substantial package of infrastructure improvement resolutions affecting three developing areas of the city. These petitions are the formal mechanism by which property owners in new subdivisions request that the city initiate improvement districts — essentially asking the city to build and finance infrastructure that is then paid back through special assessments on the benefited properties.
The resolutions approved Tuesday cover:
Cranor Addition and Cranor 2nd Addition — six resolutions addressing phased water and sanitary sewer improvements across Phases 1, 2, and 3 (Resolutions 26-156 through 26-161).
Northgate 5th Addition — four resolutions covering Phase 3 water improvements, Phase 3 storm water sewer No. 750, Phase 3 sanitary sewer improvements, and Phase 3 paving improvements (Resolutions 26-162 through 26-165).
Reber 2nd Addition and Reber 3rd Addition — two resolutions addressing storm water drain No. 536 and a Central Avenue turn lane improvement (Resolutions 26-166 and 26-167).
All twelve resolutions were approved together on a 7–0 vote.
Executive Session: Construction Litigation
With the public agenda complete, Mayor Wu moved the council into a 20-minute executive session under K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(2) — the Kansas statute that permits closed sessions for attorney-client communications that would otherwise be privileged. The stated subject was a construction project, with the session needed to receive legal advice and discuss potential litigation.
The motion noted the session would run from 1:45 p.m. to 2:05 p.m., with the council reconvening in the First Floor Boardroom afterward. It passed 6–0.
Executive sessions of this kind are the legal mechanism that allows governing bodies to consult privately with their attorney about pending or anticipated lawsuits without waiving attorney-client privilege by discussing the matter in open session. The public record does not disclose which construction project or what the specific legal question involves.
Adjournment
Mayor Wu moved to adjourn at 2:06 p.m. The motion carried 4–0.
Voting Record
| Item | Vote | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Approve minutes (April 14 & April 21, 2026) | 7–0 | |
| Consent Agenda Items 1–11 (except Item 10) | 6–0 | Shepard absent from chamber; Item 10 pulled by Wu |
| Consent Agenda Item 10 (828 N. Poplar St.) | 7–0 | Shepard returned; Wu noted district correction (District I, not III) |
| Board of Bids and Contracts (April 27, 2026) | 7–0 | Includes Central Bureau WPD parking lot reconstruction |
| Petitions for Public Improvements (12 resolutions, Nos. 26-156 through 26-167) | 7–0 | Cranor Addition, Northgate 5th, Reber 2nd/3rd |
| Executive Session (construction project / potential litigation) | 6–0 | 20 minutes; K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(2), attorney-client privilege |
| Adjournment | 4–0 | 2:06 p.m. |
Threads to Watch
Flock camera oversight. Heagler’s public comment drew no council response and produced no action — but it placed a formal record before the body. The documented misuse of Flock systems by officers in Kechi and Sedgwick gives his concerns grounding beyond mere speculation. Whether the council will act to establish independent oversight, demand a security audit, or revisit data retention policies remains an open question. Residents concerned about surveillance and civil liberties should monitor whether this issue returns to the agenda.
Affordable housing market signals. The sale of three homes below $100,000, each at prices exceeding appraised value, is a small but concrete data point in the city’s affordable housing story. The program is working in the sense that buyers want these properties — the market is absorbing them at a premium. The question for the longer term is whether the pipeline of available homes is keeping pace with demand.
Construction litigation. The executive session signals that the city is dealing with an unresolved legal dispute involving a construction project. Until the matter becomes public — either through resolution or court filings — its scope and financial exposure to the city remain unknown.
Voice for Liberty covers Wichita municipal government. Meeting minutes are the official public record. All votes and quotes reported here are drawn from those minutes.