What Salina Residents Asked During the August 24 Citizens Forum — and What the City Answered
Salina residents raised questions and requests for more than an hour during Citizens Forum at the Monday, August 24, City Commission meeting. Animal-shelter operations and accountability dominated much of the forum, while residents also returned to water quality, water-line construction, River Renewal spending, the Ambassador Hotel demolition, landfill fees and the vacant commission seat.
Salina311 reviewed the official meeting recording and documented the substantive questions and policy requests below. Questions are lightly paraphrased for clarity and grouped by speaker. Immediate answers are summarized where officials responded; “No answer was given” means no substantive answer was heard during this meeting.
Names and spellings are based on the meeting audio and may be imperfect. Statements and allegations made by speakers remain attributed claims and have not been independently verified by Salina311.
Sheree Spratlen
Will water-line construction on the resident’s street begin within the previously discussed timeline?
Response: A city official said the contract must first be approved and an agreement completed, with construction expected about 45 days after that—not 45 days after the earlier meeting.
Will the city recognize the signed household test results the resident said showed none of the samples passed, rather than requiring repeated sampling?
Response: An official said differences between fixtures can indicate private plumbing problems. After the resident said no samples passed, the official said he would speak with the city employee involved the next day. No final determination was given.
Can the city provide after-hours and weekend response so discolored water can be inspected while it is occurring?
Response: No commitment was made.
What is the city doing for residents on the street?
Response: An official said the commission had approved a plan to replace the street’s water line.
Would city officials drink or taste the water sample presented at the meeting?
Response: No answer was given.
Christy Dixon
How can prior assurances that animal-shelter problems were corrected be reconciled with an independent assessment describing continuing concerns involving leadership, training, sanitation, disease control, policies, facilities, safety and animal welfare?
Response: No answer was given.
Where is the accountability for the gap between the city’s statements and the independent reports?
Response: No answer was given.
Did City Manager Jacob Wood know a pit bull was reportedly being housed in a shelter restroom?
Response: No answer was given.
What leadership changes will ensure the failures do not recur?
Response: Dixon called for Jacob Wood and Jeff Hammond to resign. No response or action followed during the forum.
Diana, surname unclear
Will the city complete an intensive cleaning of the entire shelter and outdoor yard before a new operator takes over?
Response: A brief “yes” was heard, but no specific commitment or timeline was provided.
Will the city pay for medical examinations for shelter employees and others who may have been exposed to contagious conditions?
Response: No answer was given.
Will the city answer questions she raised at the previous meeting?
Response: An official said staff would review the prior questions and asked her to send a list.
Terry Walsh
Why can’t the city use multiple contractors at the same time to accelerate water-line replacements?
Response: An official said another project must first be designed, that design work is underway and staff hopes to put something out in early 2027. No clear commitment to simultaneous contractors was made.
Bonnie, surname unclear
What is the city’s interim plan for shelter operations before an outside operator is selected, particularly for 17 pit bulls, a dog reportedly housed in a restroom and disease-control concerns?
Response: No answer was given. The speaker also suggested keeping laundry running continuously while staff rotate dog-walking duties.
Jen Moran
Have commissioners interviewed or otherwise investigated applicants for the vacant commission seat?
Response: One commissioner said he met with five applicants. Another said several, but not all, had been contacted based on their applications.
Will commissioners give meaningful consideration to qualified applicants beyond the status quo, including women and people of color?
Response: No answer beyond thanks was given.
Sue Nichols
What did taxpayers receive for the approximately $30,000 shelter consultation if its recommendations were not followed?
Response: No answer was given.
Will officials who do not acknowledge the shelter failures step aside for someone who will listen and act?
Response: No answer was given.
Matthew, surname unclear
How would commissioners’ own workplaces function after losing roughly one-third of their staff?
Response: The question was rhetorical and received no answer.
Will the public tone down attacks on shelter workers?
Response: The request, prompted by an allegation involving a pregnant employee, was directed primarily to the public and received no response.
Kathy Schwarz
Why were shelter visitors treated as a problem and monitored by city personnel?
Response: No answer was given.
Were shelter employees properly trained and supervised, given adequate staffing and resources, and required to follow policies—and who was responsible for ensuring corrections?
Response: No answer was given.
What conclusions does Commissioner Davis draw from the conditions residents described?
Response: No answer was given.
Sanderson, first name unclear
Will city leadership personally inspect and maintain facilities including the golf course and animal shelter?
Response: No answer was given.
Why use a roundabout at Water Well Road and Ninth Street given concerns about large trucks, and have accidents occurred at the current four-way stop?
Response: No identifiable answer was given.
Will Jeff Hammond be directed to address neglected facilities?
Response: No answer was given.
Rose, surname unclear
What happened to the animal shelter’s cats?
Response: No answer was given.
How can the city restrict residents’ pit-bull ownership while a pit bull was reportedly kept in a shelter restroom?
Response: No answer was given.
Did a city staff member ask the shelter consultant to remove unfavorable information from its report?
Response: The staff member initially said no. Before adjournment, he clarified that he requested removal of employee names for online publication and asked whether material affecting a possible third-party investigation should be changed. He said the consultant declined and he accepted that decision.
When will the city provide a Thomas Park playground bench, repair storm damage and replace an insured shelter house?
Response: No answer was given.
Katie, surname unclear
Will city officials show greater empathy, responsiveness and less hostility toward residents?
Response: No answer was given.
Jane Trussell
Do commissioners understand the seriousness of the shelter conditions?
Response: No answer was given.
Will commissioners examine how other animal shelters operate?
Response: No answer was given.
Will shelter employees use available training and scholarships?
Response: No answer was given.
Will responsible officials face animal-cruelty charges or civil litigation?
Response: No answer was given; those decisions may fall outside the commission’s direct authority.
Susan Cooper
Where does River Renewal funding appear in the 2026 budget, was the stated annual $1.3 million accurately represented, and why did the project return after voters rejected it in 2010?
Response: An official addressed a separate claim involving two $5 million transfers and said one funded Fire Station No. 4. The central questions were not answered.
Will the city comply with what Cooper described as a $1.3 million ordinance limit?
Response: No answer was given before her time expired.
Michelle Timson
Will the city provide a meaningful apology to residents, Humane Salina and shelter animals?
Response: No answer was given.
What accountability will there be for alleged misrepresentations by city leadership?
Response: No answer was given.
Will Commissioner Davis visit the shelter, speak with staff and inspect conditions?
Response: Davis said he visited early in the year and requested the consultant because commissioners cannot inspect every city building. He did not promise another visit or directly state his assessment.
When did Davis last visit, and what did he think of the conditions?
Response: He said early in the year and cited requesting the consultant, but did not directly describe his conclusions.
Tony Johnson
How could loose material remain contained in an untarped trailer while qualifying for the secured-load landfill rate?
Response: No answer was given.
Will all untarped mixed-waste loads now receive the secured rate?
Response: No answer was given.
Will similarly situated users charged the unsecured rate receive explanations or refunds?
Response: No answer was given.
Is the secured-load policy a rule or an employee-interpreted suggestion?
Response: No answer was given.
Who authorized special disposal treatment despite contract language requiring normal fees?
Response: No answer was given.
Lori Hall
Will the city remove those responsible for shelter conditions and bring in Prairie Paws?
Response: No answer was given. Hall said she had requested a state investigation into wildlife handling.
Peggy, surname unclear
Will officials stop smirking or laughing and follow the same conduct expected of residents?
Response: No answer was given.
Will Commissioner Lenkiewicz look at speakers while they address the commission?
Response: He said he was taking “copious notes,” and another voice defended his attentiveness.
Why was every applicant for the commission vacancy not voted on as the field was narrowed?
Response: No answer was given.
Ben Windholz
Why was River Renewal not identified on the 2016 sales-tax ballot, and will the city prioritize water infrastructure?
Response: No answer was given.
Will the city redirect River Renewal or other project funding to aging water lines and fire-flow needs?
Response: An official promised discussions with the fire and water departments. The funding request itself was not answered.
When will those discussions occur?
Response: The official said after the meeting.
Can staff explain the water-pressure policy immediately?
Response: The mayor ended the remarks when the speaker’s time expired.
Shannon Ross, reading for another resident
Why don’t households on streets approved for major water-line replacement automatically qualify for temporary filtration, and what are the public eligibility criteria?
Response: No answer was given.
Will the city review the policy, seek outside expertise, reassign response leadership if necessary and evaluate Utilities Department leadership?
Response: No answer was given.
Who can change the filtration policy, and why has it not been changed?
Response: No answer was given.
Tom Wilbur
Will the city review his emailed plan that he said could reduce overhead by $2 million?
Response: No answer beyond thanks was given. Wilbur also said he had contacted the county attorney about possible shelter-related charges.
Other requests and closing clarification
Several speakers made broader requests rather than direct questions, including calls for leadership changes, deeper shelter cleaning and staff training, greater diversity in city leadership, more respectful exchanges between officials and residents, and prioritizing water infrastructure. One speaker asked the public to tone down attacks on shelter employees. Another resident closed by thanking Parks and Recreation staff for improvements and weed treatment at the Markley Road dog park.
Before adjournment, a city staff member clarified his communication with the animal-shelter consultant. He said he asked for employee names to be removed from the online version and asked whether material that could affect a possible third-party investigation should be changed. According to his statement, the consultant declined and he accepted that decision.
Source: City of Salina, August 24 City Commission meeting. Citizens Forum begins at approximately 2:09:58 and continues until the commission adjourns.
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