'Salina is home': Residents organize to share what they love about their city at Citizens Forum

SALINA, Kan. — Residents organized to speak about what they value in Salina during the Citizens Forum at Monday's City Commission meeting, and a large number of them came to the podium one after another to praise city workers, promote upcoming community events and explain why they chose to live, raise families and return here.

Linda Salem, one of the speakers, said "nobody up there put people up to it."

"There is a groundswell of people here that just want to remind us that there is a lot of good things happening in Salina," Salem said.

Other speakers during the forum raised concerns about water quality, the river project and animal control. The remarks below come from residents who spoke about what they value in Salina.

City thanks workers after busy weekend

Mayor Mike Hoppock opened the meeting by noting a busy stretch for the city, including a visit from a sitting president and a marathon over the weekend that he said brought more than 4,000 people to town. He thanked the public, Public Works, the Salina Police Department and the Salina Fire Department for the extra time they put in.

"I don't think everybody realizes what goes on to make this stuff happen," Hoppock said. "And the good thing is, it looks seamless to us. And the only reason is because we got a lot of good people in the community that work hard."

Hoppock said city and county buildings will be closed Wednesday for Veterans Day, and veterans in the room stood to be recognized.

'Salina is home'

Leslie Bishop said her Salina story began as a girl in Tucson, Arizona, visiting her aunt and uncle in Salina each summer and wishing she could live here. That wish came true in May 1981, she said, when her mother married Jerry Knowles and the family moved to Salina. She graduated from Salina Central High School.

Bishop said her 24-year-old son recently moved back to Salina, works at Velocity and had just found a duplex.

"This makes me incredibly happy because another generation of my family is choosing Salina," she said.

She pointed to the arts scene, sports facilities, businesses with global reach, civic organizations and volunteers, and said she is excited about the Smoky Hill River Renewal project's potential for outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat. She said she understands not everyone agrees and that every citizen deserves transparency, accurate information and the chance to be heard.

"I believe there's a difference between questioning a decision and disrespecting the people who made it," Bishop said. "Salina is home, and I wouldn't want it any other way."

SNAP Back Against Hunger returns Nov. 17

Christina Small, executive director of Salina Area United Way, invited families to SNAP Back Against Hunger, a food and resource fair from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, at Tony's Pizza Events Center, 800 The Midway.

Small said United Way held the event last year when federal food assistance was cut and delayed, and is bringing it back because food insecurity remains a major need in the community. Families can get groceries and connect with resources, she said. Salina Shares is bringing hats and gloves, and hygiene kits with toothbrushes and toothpaste will be handed out.

Be the Village Boutique will also be on site with free winter clothing for children of families who register ahead of time through United Way's website, Small said.

She also gave a shout-out to Salina Downtown's First Fridays, saying her children played all evening at the most recent one despite the cold.

A 'Salina Top 10'

Michelle Coats, regional mobility manager for OCCK, and Kyson Griffin presented a "Salina Top 10." Their list was collaboration; school activities; neighbors helping neighbors; parks and trails such as the Levee Trail; progress, including public transportation, a revitalized downtown and the arts; locally owned shops and restaurants; community events such as the Smoky Hill River Festival, the Tri-Rivers Fair and the street fair; a strong 4-H program; the river, waterfalls and murals; and bike lanes.

Griffin said he has taken part in robotics, tennis, bowling, golf and French club.

"What makes Salina special isn't just the places and activities available, but the people, the opportunities and the connections," they said.

Hoppock thanked Griffin for speaking and said it was good to see young people at the podium.

Showing recruits the community

Steve Thompson, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker APW Realtors, said he has been a Salina realtor for almost 30 years and has given community tours to hospital job candidates for about 20 years. Many of those candidates come from larger cities, he said, and are looking for a quieter life.

Thompson, a former elementary school principal, said he talks with them about local schools, voter support for school bond issues and the arts community.

"Mostly, I get to talk to them about the general friendliness of our community," Thompson said. "You, who are public servants, are a big part of what makes this community something to brag about."

Parks as gathering places

Mary Landes said she is a fourth-generation Salinan who left after college and has been back for 15 years. She said she and her husband walk in Sunset Park every day, and she credited park employees for cleanup after windstorms.

"You come back in a month, and the branches are gone, the trees are cleaned up, and everyone's back to doing the activities," she said.

Landes said the park is where she met most of her neighbors and that she expects the river project to become a place where people gather.

Family ties

Judy Beck said she and her husband considered moving after retiring but realized "everything we were looking for was right here in Salina." She pointed to the arts, downtown, the weekend marathon and a Salina Symphony concert the night before.

"Please know my family sees you," she told commissioners. "We see you, and we know you are working for us."

Ken Beck, who said he has lived in Salina for four months after 24 years in Denver, said more people have welcomed him here than in any of the 10 or 11 places he has lived. He said he had planned to send a thank-you note to every resident, until he saw the cost of postage.

"I hope to be a good neighbor to everyone," he said.

Leadership programs

Rafael Mendez, vice president of customer culture at Blue Beacon Inc., said Salina has hosted Leadership Kansas classes of 40 leaders from across the state for the past four years. He said visitors leave inspired by how the community works together and plans for the long term, and that leaders from other Kansas communities now come to Salina to learn from it.

"There's a tremendous amount of support for the work you do," Mendez told commissioners.

Amanda Littell, a Leadership Salina facilitator, said the program has had more than 516 participants since 1986. She listed community projects that began as Leadership Salina team projects, including the Reality U simulation for high school students, the 67401 mural, the Indian Rock restoration, downtown dog waste stations, the musical sound garden in Spillman Plaza, a women's self-defense program with the recreation center, Safe Space Salina and an upcoming community town hall.

Coming back to raise families

Annie Grevas, former director of Saline County Community Corrections, said she moved to Salina in 1987 and worked 35 years in community corrections. She described Salina as rich in resources for people in need and said residents reached out to her family after her husband died.

Grevas said her youngest son and his wife moved back about a year and a half ago and are expecting a baby. He works as a clinical therapist at Ascend, and she works at Blue Beacon, Grevas said.

"They came back because they want to raise their children here," she said.

Renee Mendez said she was born and raised in Salina and spent 15 years away before she and her husband decided to bring their family back six years ago. Coming home felt different, she said.

"I saw growth, development, opportunity, and a sense of hope that I hadn't experienced while growing up here," Mendez said.

"I support the River Project, continued investment in the arts, and opportunities that bring people together and make our community a more vibrant and rich place to live," she said. "I'm proud to call this community my home, and I'm excited about what the future holds."

'We invest in each other'

Katy Kitchen said she has little interest in sports. She recalled that her sister, a Chiefs fan, still teases her for asking whether the team was having a good season in a year it had already made the playoffs. She said she enjoys the Salina Symphony, the downtown murals and sculpture tour, history walks, the Smoky Hill River Festival, parks, trails and area lakes.

"I may never know whether the Chiefs are having a good season, but I do know what makes a good community," Kitchen said. "A successful community must provide activities, environments and services for everyone."

She said she has supported sports facility projects even though she is not a sports fan.

"A strong community is not built by funding only the things we personally enjoy," Kitchen said. "It is built when we recognize that our neighbors' interests and needs are just as important as our own."

She thanked city staff and commissioners for investing in the Smoky Hill River Festival, the Smoky Hill River Renewal project and sports complexes.

"When we invest in all those things, we invest in each other," she said.

'Two investments, one vision'

Sarah Weis said she has lived in Salina for 8½ years. She grew up in northwest Kansas and spent about 15 years on the East Coast, including in Washington, D.C.

Weis described water infrastructure and the river project as "two investments, one vision." She said water is a basic need and should come first, and she called the Riverwalk "an investment in our quality of life."

Reducing waste

Salem, who said she is retired, said the company she worked for had set a goal of driving its landfill waste to zero. She praised the city for partnering with a nonprofit on a reuse store and said Salina has a balance of good things happening alongside its challenges.

A call for respect

Dr. Britton Zuccarelli said she came to share her support and thanks with commissioners. She asked commissioners to enforce the meeting's rules on respectful conduct and to have audience members silence their phones.

'I continue to come back because I choose to'

Vaughn Kresin, operating partner at Barolo Grille, said he first came to Salina as a young adult struggling with substance abuse, and he credited the city's recovery community with helping him.

Kresin said he lives in Newton and drives 110 miles round trip to Salina each day. He said he plays the violin and praised the Salina Symphony, and that travelers who eat at Barolo Grille compliment downtown Salina every week.

"We have challenges, and there's always room for improvement. But sometimes I think we get so caught up in what's wrong with our city that we forget to recognize everything that's right with it," Kresin said. "I came to Salina because I had to, and I continue to come back because I choose to."

Highs and lows

Addie Corman said that when she was a child, her family shared the highs and lows of their day around the dinner table each night, starting with the lows and ending with the highs.

"What I find beautiful about tonight is that it's all just been us around the table listening to our highs and lows," Corman said.

"I've been living in Salina since 2018, and I haven't regretted a single day living here," she said. Corman said she lives about five minutes from downtown and walks her dogs and her child there often. She praised the move of the farmers market downtown near Ad Astra and said her son looks forward to it every Saturday morning.

She called the Smoky Hill River Festival "my Christmas" and said people from around the state want to visit and spend money in Salina businesses because of it.

"We acknowledge the lows, and then we need to celebrate our highs," Corman said.