The Division of Community Engagement is devoted to empowering residents through education and neighborhood leadership development. Community Engagement works to increase dialog between local government and residents. Through programs like “Coffee On Your Corner,” which encourages conversations between city employees and residents in casual locations, they hope to make it easier to have your voice heard. Through these outreach programs, Community Engagement hopes to encourage all Topeka neighborhoods to take an active part in their own improvements.
Topeka Neighborhoods Roundtable
The City of Topeka is looking forward to the first roundtable in 2016 that will bring together all 92 of the City’s neighborhoods for a roundtable discussion so we can continue to build a stronger community.
The City’s Department of Neighborhood Relations is extending an invitation to one representative from each Topeka neighborhood to participate in a quarterly Neighborhood Leaders Roundtable. The session will be 9-11 a.m. Saturday, October 22, in Building A at the Holliday Building, 620 SE Madison.
Read more on Neighborhood Roundtable.
Rock the Park
Rock the Park was Saturday, September 12, and served as a kick-off event to the Highland Park High School volunteer program known as Rock the Block. For a few hours, twice a month, HP high schoolers will volunteer to do light landscaping work in their neighborhoods. Our first Rock the Block was Oct. 8, 2015, in the 400-500 blocks of S.E. Lime, Lafayette and Locust.
Topeka/Shawnee County Ecycle
The City’s first electronic recycling event was held, in partnership with Shawnee County, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at S.E. 7th and Jefferson on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Topeka community came out in droves, with more than 400 cars coming in the first two hours. By the end of the day, more than 650 people came out, recycling more than 90,000 pounds of material with Midwest Recycling Center.
Based on the success of the first event, the City and County are in discussions to have another electronic recycling event in April 2016.
District 1 Anti-Crime Summit Reports
Topeka’s first Council district held an Anti-Crime Summit from 8: 30 a.m. to noon June 20 at Topeka High School. The event brought members of the district together with the Topeka Police Department, Topeka Unified School District 501, Safe Streets and the City’s Department of Neighborhood Relations in an effort to collaborate on preventing and driving crime out of their neighborhoods. The handout, final report and neighborhood maps are included below:
- District 1 Anti-Crime Summit Final Report
- District 1 NIA and NA Boundaries
- District 1 Anti-Crime Summit Handouts
Print notebooks and electronic documents with samples of everything needed to plan your own Crime Summit are available through the following departments. This event can be scaled up and down for any size group.
- Department of Neighborhood Relations – Community Engagement Division – 368-3711 (print only)
- City Council Office – 368-3710 (print only)
- Topeka Police Department – Community Policing – 368-2500 (print and electronic)
Coffee On Your Corner
Coffee on Your Corner is an information session during normal business hours responsive to residents who may be discouraged of attending public meetings outside of their communities and during evening hours. These forums give the community the opportunity to hear directly from city officials and representatives in an informal setting at a local venue in their neighborhoods about city programs, initiatives and operations.
Learn more about Coffee On Your Corner.
For more information, please call Monique Glaude´ or Shane Wilson at 785-368-3711