Governing Body to hold City Manager finalist interviews, public meet and greet

Five finalists have been selected to interview for the Topeka City Manager position.

The City of Topeka’s Governing Body has worked with Strategic Government Resources (SGR) for the last several months on the search for a new City Manager. SGR led the recruitment campaign for the Topeka City Manager position. 42 candidates applied for the position. In February, the Governing Body narrowed that list down to a group of 14 semi-finalists for closer examination. After an in-depth review and follow-up with the 14 semi-finalists, SGR will be bringing in five finalists to interview with the Governing Body. None of the finalists are internal candidates.

The finalists will participate in two interview panels on Monday, April 8. One interview panel will be with the Governing Body, and the other will be with a panel of community stakeholders selected by the Mayor. The interview panels will not be open to the public, but the finalists will also attend a public meet and greet where community members are invited to attend. The meet and greet will take place on Monday, April 8 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Hotel Topeka Emerald Ballroom located at 1717 SW Topeka Blvd. Light refreshments will be provided at the event.

Attendees will be able to provide feedback on the candidates to the Governing Body by filling out comment cards at the meet and greet.

Background information about the finalists will be provided next week.

City Issues Stream Advisory for Deer Creek and Shunganunga Creek

The City of Topeka Utilities Department is advising Topeka area residents to avoid contact with portions of Deer Creek and Shunganunga Creek due to a sanitary sewage overflow.

A sanitary sewer line became obstructed with build-up, causing the main to overflow out of a manhole and allowing an unknown volume of sewage to be released into the creek. As a precaution, residents are advised to avoid contact with the impacted waterway and to keep pets out of the creeks. This advisory will remain in effect until further notice.

The advisory is in place for Deer Creek starting at SE 10th Street east of Deer Creek Pkwy, and continuing north toward SE 6th St. and on to SE 2nd St. where Deer Creek enters the Shunganunga Creek just north of SE 2nd St. & SE Norwood St. From here, the Shunganunga flows east to the Kansas River. (see map below for reference area)

City crews removed the blockage immediately after being notified of the sanitary sewer overflow. Following removal of the blockage, crews cleaned the affected areas and flushed the impacted stormwater conveyance system. Staff will continue to monitor the water along Deer Creek and the Shunganunga Creek, and provide notification when the advisory is lifted. This advisory does not affect tap water.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been notified and will monitor City response and management of the stream advisory.

About Sanitary Sewer Blockages

The City of Topeka has approximately 760 miles of sanitary sewers. Water Pollution Control, a division of the Utilities Department, regularly cleans all sanitary sewer mains throughout the city. Although sanitary sewers are cleaned routinely, the possibility of sewage blockages still exists.

Many sewer blockages can be prevented through awareness and regular cleaning. To help avoid sewer problems, avoid flushing materials that are non-water-soluble down sinks, toilets, and drains. These materials include fats and cooking oils, diapers, baby wet cloths, sanitary disposables, clothing articles, trash, etc. Seepage of sewage onto the ground surface or into waterways can create health risks for both people and animals.

Public Works and Utilities 2024 Citizens Academy Accepting Applications

The City of Topeka is now accepting applications for the 2024 Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy.

The academy gives residents an opportunity to learn more about the departments that manage the city’s infrastructure, including water systems, street and building maintenance, and making CIP budget decisions.

“It’s hard to understand all the details of what goes into the variety of services that we provide for the citizens and so giving them that opportunity is an extremely important tool in the communication efforts between the city and the citizens that we serve,” Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla said.

The upcoming citizens’ academy will take place over the course of seven weeks, beginning April 8, 2024.

The class is limited to 25 participants. All participants must be at least 18 years old. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/cotacademy2024.

About City of Topeka Public Works

The City of Topeka’s Public Works Department, nationally recognized through accreditation by the American Public Works Association, strives to meet our current and future needs. A well-run organization consisting of Engineering, Streets, Maintenance, Traffic Signs and Signals, Forestry, Parking, Fleet, and GIS Management ensures public funds are spent on projects and services approved by residents through their local City Council representative.

About City of Topeka Utilities

The Utilities Department is comprised of the Water and Water Pollution Control Utilities and the City of Topeka Customer Service Center. As the producer and distributor of drinking water and manager of all sanitary and stormwater waste in the community, the Utilities Department is integral in the safety and daily life of all Topeka citizens.

City of Topeka begins 2025-2034 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) discussions

Over the coming weeks, City of Topeka staff will present the proposed 2025-2034 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to the Governing Body for consideration. Once the Governing Body has considered and ultimately adopted the final CIP book of projects, the CIP will be formalized through a resolution and ordinance.

What is the CIP?

The CIP is a long-range plan that helps ensure the annual operating budget, capital improvement budget, and long-term financial forecasts align and support the city’s strategic goals and infrastructure needs. The CIP is developed to identify how much funding the city will need to set aside in order to build and improve our infrastructure, lay out project locations, and determine the timing of all capital improvement projects over several years.

The CIP shows capital spending over the next 10 years and is separate from the City’s annual operating budget. Funding for the CIP comes from a variety of sources including: sales tax, city operating funds, and revenue and general obligation bonds. The first 3 years of the CIP are referred to as the Capital Improvement Budget (CIB). The first year of the CIB consists of projects that will be initiated and/or completed during the upcoming year. The second- and third-year of the CIB includes projects that are in the preparation phase.

In order to be included in the CIP, a project should meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • Real property acquisition
  • Construction of new facilities and/or addition to an existing city facility costing $50,000 or greater
  • Public infrastructure projects
  • Information technology projects costing $50,000 or greater

Proposed 2025-2034 CIP Highlighted Projects

Public Works Projects

  • Proposed funding increase for various street maintenance programs
    • Pavement Management Program and Street Contract Preventative Maintenance Program increased $1.25m and $1m respectively to totals of $11m and $3m. The Pavement Management Program provides support for streets that qualify for mill and overlay, cracksealing and microsurfacing as treatment types. The city uses the pavement condition index (PCI) to determine the treatment type for a street. Generally, streets with a PCI between 31-55 will qualify for mill and overlay and streets with a PCI between 56-70 will qualify for cracksealing and microsurfacing as a treatment type.
  • SW 29th – Burlingame Road to Topeka Boulevard
    • This project is slated for 2025 construction and includes road and stormwater improvements.
  • SE 29th – Kansas Avenue to Adams
    • This project is slated for 2025 and will be coordinated with the bridge improvements being made over Butcher Creek.
  • SW Topeka Boulevard – 15th to 21st
    • This project is pavement rehabilitation along the Boulevard. The project was originally scheduled for 2028, but has been moved up to 2025.

Utilities Projects

  • 2025 program funding increased
    • 2025 Water Main Replacement funding increased by $1.6M and Wastewater Lining & Replacement increased by $1.3M.
  • Sanitary Sewer Interceptor Maintenance & Rehabilitation Program
    • Redistributed 2026 program funding to the 2025 and 2027 program years to encompass the large scale of projects included in the program.
  • SE California & SE 4th St
    • This project is planned for 2026 and addresses capacity concerns in the basin as recommended in the Stormwater Master Plan.
  • Prairie Road – SW 21st to SW 23rd St
    • This project is planned for 2025 and will upsize approximately 2600 LF of Storm sewer in an area where significant flood impacts were observed in 2020.

Project Spending by Asset Type

The table to the right highlights various high-level categories that the city may appropriate CIP funding towards over the next five years:

CIP Categories

5 Year Totals

Public Works: Street Projects

$199,155,236 

Public Works: Non-Street Projects

$67,942,525
Water Projects $125,112,862
Stormwater Projects $48,923,704
Wastewater Projects $95,105,000
Public Safety Expenditures $22,897,134
Information Technology Expenditures $3,615,540
Totals $562,752,001

La Ciudad de Topeka inicia los debates sobre el Plan de Mejoras de Capital (CIP) 2025-2034

En las próximas semanas, el personal de la Ciudad de Topeka presentará la propuesta del Plan de Mejoras de Capital (CIP) 2025-2034 al Consejo Municipal para su consideración. Una vez que el Consejo Municipal haya examinado y adoptado en última instancia el libro definitivo de proyectos del CIP, éste se formalizará mediante una resolución y una ordenanza.

¿Qué es el CIP?

El CIP es un plan a largo plazo que ayuda a garantizar que el presupuesto operativo anual, el presupuesto de mejoras de capital y las previsiones financieras a largo plazo se alineen y respalden los objetivos estratégicos y las necesidades de infraestructuras de la ciudad. El CIP se elabora para determinar el volumen de fondos que la ciudad necesitará reservar para construir y mejorar nuestras infraestructuras, establecer la ubicación de los proyectos y determinar el calendario de todos los proyectos de mejoras de capital a lo largo de varios años.

El CIP muestra el gasto de capital en los próximos 10 años y es independiente del presupuesto operativo anual de la Ciudad. La financiación del CIP proviene de diversas fuentes, entre ellas: el impuesto sobre las ventas, los fondos operativos de la ciudad y los bonos de ingresos y obligaciones generales. Los 3 primeros años del CIP se denominan como el Presupuesto de Mejoras de Capital (CIB). El primer año del CIB consiste de proyectos que se iniciarán y/o completarán durante el próximo año. El segundo y tercer año del CIB incluye proyectos que están en fase de preparación.

Para ser incluido en el PIC, un proyecto debe cumplir al menos uno de los siguientes criterios:

  • Adquisición de bienes inmuebles
  • Construcción de nuevas instalaciones y/o ampliación de una instalación municipal existente con un costo igual o superior a $50,000.
  • Proyectos de infraestructura pública
  • Proyectos de tecnología de la información con un costo igual o superior a $50,000.

Proyectos destacados del CIP propuesto para 2025-2034

Proyectos de obras públicas

  • Aumento de financiación propuesto para varios programas de mantenimiento de calles
    • El Programa de Gestión de Pavimentos y el Programa de Mantenimiento Preventivo de Calles por Contrato aumentaron 1.25 millones de dólares y 1 millón de dólares, respectivamente, hasta un total de 11 millones de dólares y 3 millones de dólares. El Programa de Gestión de Pavimentos brinda apoyo a las calles que reúnen las condiciones para ser tratadas con fresado y recubrimiento, sellado de grietas y micropavimentación. La ciudad utiliza el índice de condición del pavimento (PCI) para determinar el tipo de tratamiento para una calle. Por lo general, las calles con un PCI entre 31-55 podrán ser fresadas y recubiertas, y las calles con un PCI entre 56-70 podrán ser tratadas con sellado de grietas y microasfaltado.
  • SW 29th – De Burlingame Road a Topeka Boulevard
    • Este proyecto, cuya construcción está prevista para 2025, incluye mejoras de carretera y de aguas pluviales.
  • SE 29th – De Kansas Avenue an Adams
    • Este proyecto está previsto para 2025 y se coordinará con las mejoras del puente sobre Butcher Creek.
  • SW Topeka Boulevard – de la calle 15 a la calle 21
    • Este proyecto consiste en la rehabilitación del pavimento a lo largo del bulevar.  El proyecto estaba previsto inicialmente para 2028, pero se ha adelantado a 2025.

Proyectos de servicios públicos

  • Aumento de la financiación del programa 2025
    • La financiación del remplazo de la tubería principal de agua en 2025 aumentó en 1.6 millones de dólares y la del revestimiento y remplazo de aguas residuales en 1.3 millones de dólares.
  • Programa de mantenimiento y rehabilitación de interceptores de alcantarillado sanitario
    • Redistribución de la financiación del programa de 2026 a los años de programación 2025 y 2027 para abarcar la gran escala de proyectos incluidos en el programa.
  • SE California & SE 4th St
    • Este proyecto está previsto para 2026 y aborda los problemas de capacidad de la cuenca, tal como se recomienda en el Plan Maestro de Aguas Pluviales.
  • Prairie Road – SW 21st a SW 23rd St
    • Este proyecto está previsto para 2025 y ampliará aproximadamente 2600 LF de alcantarillado pluvial en un área donde se observaron impactos significativos de inundaciones en 2020.

Gastos del proyecto por tipo de activo

La tabla de la derecha destaca varias categorías de alto nivel a las que la ciudad puede aplicar fondos del CIP en los próximos cinco años:

Categorías del CIP Totales de 5 años
Obras Públicas: Proyectos de calles $199,155,236 
Obras Públicas: Proyectos no de calles $67,942,525
Proyectos de agua $125,112,862
Proyectos de aguas pluviales $48,923,704
Proyectos de aguas residuales $95,105,000
Gastos de seguridad pública $22,897,134
Gastos en tecnología de la información $3,615,540
Totales $562,752,001

City of Topeka hires Director of Human Resources

The City of Topeka announced Friday that it hired Pamela Foster to serve as its next Director of Human Resources.

“I am thrilled to have Pamela join our team,” said Interim City Manager Richard U. Nienstedt. “She will bring a multitude of experience to the City of Topeka and will be a great asset to our staff.”

Foster holds an MBA and Doctor of Philosophy from Kansas State University. She brings 20 plus years of human resources experience to the city and holds certifications as a senior professional from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI).

Foster said, “I’m very excited to be chosen to serve as the city’s next Director of Human Resources and I look forward to furthering the City of Topeka’s development of a superior workforce and continuing to meet the city’s goals effectively and efficiently.”

Foster comes to the city after serving as Washburn University’s Director of Equal Opportunity, Title IX Coordinator and ADA Coordinator and teaching Organizational Behavior for the School of Business at Washburn University.

Foster’s first day will be April 1st.

City of Topeka announces Police Chief’s retirement

The City of Topeka announced today the retirement notice of Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles. Chief Wheeles will be closing out a three-decade long law enforcement career of distinguished service on July 1, 2024. He has worked in many capacities within the Topeka Police Department (TPD) to include; a patrol officer, a narcotics investigator, a homicide detective, a supervisor and various levels of police command, culminating as the Chief of Police.

“We extend our deepest gratitude to Chief Wheeles for his unwavering dedication and years of service to not only his fellow officers, but the city as a whole,” said Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt. “Chief Wheeles leads by example. His calm, pragmatic, reliable presence in times of crisis is felt far beyond the police department. He is the first to offer help wherever he is needed and he will be deeply missed.”

“Thirty years of dedicated police service, within one community, makes me very proud,” said Chief Wheeles. “There are a lot of amazing people working at TPD and it has been an honor, beyond my ability to truly express, to serve beside them all these years. I loved my job and got to make a difference. When you come to the end of a career and look back, it’s hard to ask for more than that. It has been a great ride, in a great community and I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family and seeing what life brings me out of the uniform.”

The city wants to acknowledge Chief Wheeles’ leadership, celebrate his career, and wish him a well-deserved and fulfilling retirement. In the coming weeks, the city will share details regarding the search process for the next Police Chief.

City of Topeka to survey water service lines for lead

The City of Topeka is joining national efforts to better protect communities from exposure to lead in drinking water.

The City of Topeka’s Utilities Department will be conducting surveys to complete an inventory identifying the type of materials that make up all water service lines, including public and private lines. The city expects to roll out surveys in February of 2024.

Compiling data into a comprehensive service line inventory is a requirement created for all U.S. water utilities as part of the Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) and Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Utilities Director Sylvia Davis will present more information to the Governing Body at the February 6, 2024 Topeka City Council Meeting. Listen in person or watch live on Cox Local Channel 4, Facebook or the City4 Livestream. Community members are encouraged to tune in to learn more about the city’s survey plans.

About the LCRI

The EPA first established the Lead and Copper Rule in 1991 to reduce exposure to lead and copper in water. These contaminants primarily enter drinking water through corrosion of service lines, fixtures, or plumbing. EPA published Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) on January 15, 2021 and proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) in 2023 to strengthen key elements of the LCRR.

The proposed rule includes many new requirements for all water utilities, including expanding consumer awareness of lead, developing service line inventories, communicating about public health, and testing at schools and child-care facilities.

Under the proposed LCRI, water utilities must identify and make public whether they have lead service lines or not by October 16, 2024.

Water safety

The city publishes its Water Quality Report each year, which includes details about where our water comes from, what it contains and how it compares to EPA and state standards. While the city’s water mains do not contain lead, some connecting parts might. There are known lead service lines on both the city side and the private side. The City of Topeka’s water treatment system complies with the EPA’s drinking water regulations and the Safe Water Drinking Act.

As part of the LCRI proposals, the city may have to replace lead service lines over the course of the next several years. But before that could happen, the city must identify those lines.

Next steps

The next step in this process is to notify homeowners whose service line material is unknown. The City of Topeka plans to mail surveys in February to those homeowners along with instructions on how to determine their type of service line and how to report that information to the city.

In addition to the mailed survey, the city will be in contact with schools and child care providers to assist in identifying their service lines and to conduct water testing.

The information will be compiled, provided to the EPA and made publicly available. The EPA has not yet indicated when this must occur.

Resources

The City of Topeka will continue to update topeka.org/utilities with information regarding these efforts. Learn more about lead in drinking water and how to limit your exposure at, https://www.epa.gov/…/basic-information-about-lead… and in this short video, https://youtu.be/PqFHrae92OM?si=txpIH9q8MT4c63s3.

City of Topeka announces ‘all hands on deck’ to battle potholes

Due to recent weather conditions creating countless potholes on city streets, Public Works Director Braxton Copley has declared a temporary emergency for pothole patching. All City of Topeka Street Department crews will focus their time and efforts on pothole repairs beginning January 30, 2024.

“We understand that drivers are frustrated and we are going to do our best to get potholes temporarily patched as quickly as possible,” Copley said.

All Street Department staff, including members of the night crew, will be working overtime to patch potholes throughout the city this week. Staff will re-evaluate the situation Friday and continue working overtime hours at full staff next week, if necessary.

Crews will begin patching emergency, arterial, and collector routes first, as those roadways see the most traffic. Once those routes are complete, patching units will move into residential areas. SeeClickFix ticket submissions will also be used to help identify which residential areas crews may respond to first.

During the winter months, crews use a cold mix asphalt to fill potholes. Patches made with cold mix material are expected to be temporary, designed as a stop-gap measure to keep our streets serviceable. When the weather warms, city crews are able to use a hot mix asphalt to make longer-lasting repairs.

City of Topeka Finance Department receives award

The City of Topeka is proud to announce that its Department of Administrative and Financial Service has received the Certificate of Achievement for the 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA).

An ACFR is a set of financial statements for a state, municipality or other governmental organization that comply with the accounting requirements. This set of documents communicates the full scope of the city’s audited financial results of the 2022 fiscal year.

Finance staff completes a 6-month long process that involves hundreds of staff hours to deliver this report to our constituents and the Topeka City Council. The city’s Finance team has received the ACFR award for the last 9 years.

Acting Chief Financial Officer Rachelle Matthews had this to say about the achievement, “I am extremely proud of the finance and accounting staff across the city for their hard work and dedication to this process. This is truly a team effort and without their diligence, we could not provide this level of detail and transparency for our citizens.”

Learn more about the Government Finance Officers Association here: https://www.gfoa.org/about.