After calls from activists, Wichita forms board to act on climate change, environment
The Wichita city council voted unanimously to establish a sustainability board on Tuesday, which will advise the council and city staff on climate change resiliency, environmental concerns and economic vitality.
The vote comes after a coordinated effort that put 27 presentations by Wichita citizens in front of the city council over the past 6 months, passionately speaking about climate change concerns.
Eight citizens spoke in favor of the ordinance during the city council meeting today, including a representative of the League of Women Voters, who said their organization was fully supportive of the formation of this task force.
The original ordinance, which was slated to pass last month, would have given less power and direction to the board, but activists worked with city council and staff to craft stronger language.
As the ordinance stands currently, Wichita’s Sustainability Integration Board will work to advance the city’s environmental goals, such as reducing emissions and finding economic opportunities that are also good for the environment.
Even with those changes, the ordinance is still not strong enough for some local activists, who want different policies for the number of members and meetings required and were concerned about the involvement of Wichita State’s Environmental Finance Center.
Jane Byrnes, one of the activists who spearheaded the effort to form a sustainability board, is a former member of the Wichita Single-Use Plastic Bag Task force. City council formed the task force in February 2020 to assess the possibility of banning plastic bag use.
According to Byrnes, the Environmental Finance Center’s involvement in the task force has slowed progress.
“It has been excruciatingly slow, while Wichita waits and waits and waits,” Byrnes said.
Other concerns centered around who would be on the sustainability board and how often they would meet. As the ordinance currently stands, the board would be composed of 14 members and would meet quarterly.
But with an even number of board members, there’s no ability for a tie-breaking vote.
“While this is a step in the right direction, the membership and meetings section contradict the intent and purpose of this essential ordinance and do not serve those most vulnerable citizens,” said Michael McCorkle, a Wichita citizen. “The proposed membership and meeting plans are designed to delay action, not to protect Wichita citizens and economy.”
He and others, including Councilman Jared Cerullo, agreed that the board was too big and didn’t meet often enough.
“If we are talking about creating this board that is very important to our community, I think they should meet more than four times a year,” Cerullo said.
However, the board will be able to create their own bylaws and procedures, meaning they could change how often they meet.
“I think this is a great first step forward and I don’t think we should let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” said Mayor Brandon Whipple.
City staff anticipates the board will not cost any money to form.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 1:12 PM.
