Press Releases

Homelessness in Kansas and across the country is on the rise. In the past year, the Topeka Rescue Mission has seen record numbers of guests in the shelter with the biggest increase being in persons with mental health challenges. Kansas schools have also seen large increases in homeless children and youth.
It is important for the City of Topeka to obtain the appropriate level of funding so that we can provide needed services to those experiencing homelessness and those at risk for homelessness. To receive funding for programs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requires communities to complete a point-in-time count of the homeless every year.
This year’s Point-In-Time Count will be held on Wednesday, January 23 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“Topeka is committed to helping the homeless in our community. The point in time homeless count is the first important step to see where the most need is,” said Corrie Wright, Division Director of Housing Services for the City of Topeka. The information gathered will help Topeka to:
• Understand the face of homelessness within the community;
• Make sure services are meeting the needs of homeless persons;
• Raise public awareness about the issues surrounding homelessness; and
• Measure community progress towards preventing and ending homelessness.
Help us make sure that everyone is counted!
Persons who are experiencing homelessness or know someone who is, please call 785-368-0168 between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on January 23rd, or drop by the Rescue Mission or Let’s Help and complete a survey that day. Interviewers will also be available at the City Offices – Holliday Building. 620 SE Madison, Holliday Conference Room from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on January 23th.

The point-in-time count of homeless persons in Topeka took place on January 25^th. In 2017 the Topeka Rescue mission saw a record number of guests in the shelter with the biggest increase being in persons with mental health challenges. Kansas schools have also seen an increase in homeless children and youth. There was an increase in the point-in-time count from last year. In 2017 there were 356 people experiencing homelessness, this year that number jumped to 419.

 

“The point-in-time count helps us to identify those people in need and to attain the resources that we need to help them,” said Corrie Wright, Division Director of Housing Services for the City of Topeka. “We want to thank all the volunteers who helped us with the count and who are helping to make this community better.”

 

The information gathered during the point-in-time count helps the City of Topeka understand the face of homelessness in the community so that we can make sure services are meeting the needs of homeless persons. This count also helps to raise public awareness surrounding issues with homelessness and measures the community progress towards preventing and ending homelessness.

 

The City of Topeka’s Housing Services Division has totaled the numbers from this year’s point-in-time count. This one day event produced a snapshot of individuals in our community experiencing homelessness. This data supports federal funding for both the Continuum of Care initiative and Housing and Urban Development.

 

• 419 People experiencing homelessness.
• 332 Households experiencing homelessness.
• 183 individuals have a serious mental illness.
• 153 individuals are chronically homeless.
• 66% of people were in an emergency shelter, 17% were in transitional housing and 15% were unsheltered.

 

Fifty-four individuals helped with the point-in-time homeless count, including thirty-eight community volunteers. Below is a chart that details and compares the numbers from 2017 and 2018.

2017                                        2018

 

People	356	419
Households	274	322
% of single adults	69	88
% of adults with children	31	12
% of youth households	3	7
% of veteran households	22	19
People with serious mental illness	161	183
People who are chronically homeless	119	153
People with a substance abuse disorder	58	69
People who are victims of domestic violence	93	34
% in an emergency shelter	74	66
% in transitional housing	16	17
% unsheltered	10	15

 

¿Qué puedo hacer o que no puedo hacer durante un aviso de hervir el agua?

Tanto KDHE como la CDC cuentan con orientación sobre un aviso de agua hervir el agua. Algunas preguntas a las que puede encontrar respuestas en los siguientes enlaces incluyen:

• ¿Qué sucede si tengo un sistema de filtración de agua?

• ¿Cómo me lavo las manos o me cepillo los dientes de forma segura durante el aviso?

• ¿Puedo lavar los platos o lavar la ropa?

KDHE: https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2599/Boil-WaterAdvisory-Consumer-Information-PDF

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/drinking/drinking-wateradvisories/boil-water-advisory.html

Si aún tiene preguntas adicionales, comuníquese con KDHE al 785-296-5514.

Soy cliente del distrito de agua rural (RWD), ¿cómo sé si estoy afectado?

Si usted es cliente del distrito de agua rural, comuníquese directamente con su distrito para averiguar si está bajo el aviso. Si no está seguro de en qué distrito de agua rural se encuentra, visite: https://krwa.net/ONLINE-RESOURCES/RWDMaps/Shawnee

¿Qué debo hacer si creo que consumí agua posiblemente contaminada?

Si cree que consumió agua posiblemente contaminada, póngase en contacto con su médico de atención primaria para obtener orientación.

¿Cuándo se levantará el aviso de hervir el agua?

Se anticipa que el aviso de hervir el agua esté en efecto hasta al menos el viernes 19 de enero de 2024.

¿Por qué tardará tanto en levantar el aviso?

Tenemos que dejar tiempo para que el agua fresca lave el sistema antes de comenzar el proceso de muestreo. Tenemos varias estaciones de datos alrededor de la ciudad y las estamos monitoreando para verificar que el agua esté fluyendo a través del sistema de distribución. Una vez que estemos seguros de que haya sucedido, comenzaremos nuestro régimen de muestreo. Con más de 60 millones de galones de agua fluyendo por todo nuestro sistema, se necesitará tiempo para eliminarlo.

¿Qué causó este problema?

Los bajos niveles de agua en el río causa tensión en el sistema por diversos motivos, como un aumento de la turbidez. Cuando se combina con temperaturas extremadamente bajas, pone aún más tensión en el sistema, las tuberías y el equipo. Después de pasar por todo el sistema, el personal descubrió una tubería de gas de PVC rota en nuestro sistema de gas de cloro. Creemos que se haya agrietado debido a las temperaturas extremadamente frías.

¿Se aplica el aviso de hervir el agua a las mascotas?

Se deben tomar las mismas precauciones para las mascotas que para los seres humanos. Hierva agua o use agua embotellada para mascotas.

¿Proporcionará la ciudad ayuda con el agua embotellada?

Actualmente, no estamos planificando ninguna asistencia con agua embotellada. Queremos aclarar que no tenemos escasez de agua en nuestro sistema de distribución. Simplemente pedimos a los consumidores que hiervan el agua como medida de precaución antes de beber o preparar alimentos.

Soy dueño de un restaurante o establecimiento de comida; ¿cómo me afecta esto?

Los restaurantes y otros establecimientos de alimentos que tengan preguntas sobre el impacto del aviso de hervir el agua en sus negocios pueden comunicarse con el programa de seguridad alimentaria y alojamiento del Departamento de Agricultura de Kansas en kda.fsl@ks.gov o llamar al 785- 564-6767.

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The City of Topeka’s Department of Neighborhood Relations and Advisors Excel will be giving away fans to people who meet income qualifications on Monday, May 14th.

The only location for fan pick up is from 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 14th, on the first floor of the Holliday Building, 620 S.E. Madison. The fans will be distributed on a first come, first served basis.

The partnership will provide 120 box Fans to distribute, free of charge, to those who need help staying cool as the summer heats up.

“Thanks to the generosity of Advisors Excel, we’re able to help those in need this summer,” said Monique Glaude’, division director of Community Engagement. “The fan giveaway is an opportunity for the City to help our citizens find relief from the summer heat.

“Advisors Excel is thankful to partner with the City of Topeka to distribute fans to those in need. Providing simple comfort to those who may not be able to provide it for themselves.”

To qualify for a free fan, a person must be a Topeka resident at least 55 years of age or someone with a disability and have an annual income of $28,150 or less for a one-person household. Two-person households must have an annual income of $32,150 or less; three-persons, $36,150 or less; four persons, $40,150 or less; five persons, $43,400 or less; six persons, $46,600 or less; seven persons, $49,800 or less and eight persons, $53,000 or less.

Those applying must provide proof of household income, social security card and photo identification. Those with a disability must provide documentation of the disability, such as a letter from a doctor or documentation from Social Security. Because of the limited stock this year, only those applicants who come prepared with all of the identification and documents will be accepted.

For more information, call Monique Glaude’ at 368-3711.

Mayor De La Isla’s Project Puerto Rico initiative with Boys & Girls Club of Topeka yielded four bundles of school supplies, a total of $400 dollars in cash donations to be sent to students in Puerto Rico.

“I am so glad that the community was able to show up for the children in Puerto Rico and provide them with access to supplies that they will need for their education,” said Mayor Michelle De La Isla. “I want to thank Boys & Girls Club of Topeka for collecting the donations and helping with this initiative to help students learn after suffering through the effects of Hurricane Maria.”
Boys & Girls Clubs reach 4 million youth in 4,300 Club sites across the nation. Boys & Girls Clubs in Puerto Rico have 13 Clubs and annually serve 15,000 children between the ages of 6-18 years old every year. 9 out of 10 of those children reside in poverty.

“Boys & Girls Clubs work collectively to impact kids who need us most and when tragedy hits any Club area we respond from boots on the ground, resources and the support necessary to keep those Club sites available for those kids who need us most,” said Dawn McWilliams, Chief Executive Officer for Boys & Girls Club of Topeka. “We were honored to be selected by Mayor De La Isla to assist her in leading a local effort to get needed supplies into the hands of Club kids in Puerto Rico. A priority outcome area for Boys & Girls Clubs is good character & citizenship – guiding our Club kids to be engaged citizens and making a difference in the lives of others.”

Club kids and their families collected $50 and four boxes of miscellaneous school supplies. Mayor De La Isla is in contact with a Puerto Rican state representative to arrange an appropriate destination for the supplies at a Boys & Girls Club in Puerto Rico.

The City of Topeka Finance Department has released the preliminary 2020 budget on the City of Topeka website. The 2020 budget will be $292.6 million and will be the sixth consecutive budget proposal that has not included a mill levy increase. The FY20 Proposed Budget continues to support the budget priorities that were established by the Governing Body – investing in infrastructure, continuing commitment to public safety, continuing a commitment to developing neighborhoods, selected strategic investment toward quality of life and improving fiscal sustainability.
The General Fund budget is $96.5 million, a 1.9% increase. To balance the General Fund and maintain current service levels without raising the mill levy, the FY20 Proposed Budget includes a mix of revenue enhancements and expenditure cuts. The FY20 Proposed Budget shifts mills from tax levied funds (Debt Service and Special Liability) to the General Fund, but maintains a flat overall mill levy. The FY20 Proposed Budget includes reductions to General Fund department operating budgets of $1.0 million. This includes the elimination of three vacant positions in the Executive, Administrative and Financial Services, and Public Works departments. The preliminary 2020 budget can be viewed on the City of Topeka website, with the City Manager’s transmittal letter beginning on page 7: https://www.topeka.org/finance/budget/
Budget Highlights:
• Personnel related expenses represent the largest portion of the General Fund at $76.1 million, or 79% of total expenditures. Personnel costs, including wages and benefits, increase $1.9 million, or 2.5%, over the 2019 Adopted Budget, and include finalized union contracts along with assumptions regarding negotiations in progress. Non-union, management and executive staff wages increase 1%, or $150,000.
• Property and sales tax collectively make up 61% of the General Fund’s revenue, 29% and 32% respectively.
• Property tax is budgeted to modestly increase over the FY19 Adopted Budget by $640,000, as mills have been shifted from the special liability and debt service funds. Sales tax is economically sensitive and City collections have alternated annually between growth and modest decline over the last five years.
• General Fund departments were asked to identify budget reduction options totaling 3% (approximately $2.8 million) of their overall budget. Based on discussions with department heads, questions regarding sustainability and how the cuts impact operations were thoroughly explored, approximately $1.0 million has been incorporated into the FY20 Proposed Budget.
• The Topeka Police Department has increased personnel services by $515,000, and will be decreasing overtime expenditures for FY20.

On Monday, December 3rd at noon, the Topeka Zoo will host a meeting to share updates about the storm water management project getting under way in Gage Park. When completed, Gage Park will benefit from a planted drainage swale and detention pond that will manage and clean storm water that flows through a portion of the park. The project will essentially develop two new ecosystems in the park benefiting native wildlife and presenting educational opportunities.
The project will change how areas along Zoo Parkway look. During the installation of the storm water management system, approximately 30 trees will be removed. They will be replaced by a more diverse variety as the project concludes next spring. Some of the oaks that are at the end of their life span will be used to make benches. Other trees will be recycled back into the park in different means.
“When we held the last public meeting about this project back in September, it was hard to understand the scope of the project just looking at a piece of paper,” said Zoo Director Brendan Wiley. “With areas in the park now marked, we want to provide another opportunity for the community to ask questions.”
The meeting will be held on Monday, December 3rd at noon in the Gary K. Clarke Living Classroom at the zoo.

The Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization (MTPO), in coordination with the City of Topeka and
Shawnee County, is developing a transportation safety plan focused on local roadways (city streets
and county roads) to set priorities toward the goal of reducing serious injury and fatal crashes.
An open house will be held to provide information about the study and to give the public a chance
to share their ideas about issues concerning transportation safety in the Topeka/Shawnee County
area. The open house will be held:

Tuesday, July 31, 2018
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Holliday Conference Room at City of Topeka Office Building 620 SE Madison Street
I-70 at Exit 362B (East and West) Topeka, KS 66607

Between 2010 and 2016, there were 23,591 crashes on city streets and county roads in Topeka/Shawnee
County resulting in 5,545 injuries and 68 fatalities. This equates to an average cost to society of
$193 million dollars in lost wages, vehicle repairs, hospital bills and other unintended expenses
in Topeka/Shawnee County each year.

Public input is needed early in the project to gain an understanding of transportation users’
(drivers, riders, pedestrians and bicyclists) priorities related to transportation safety in
Topeka/Shawnee County. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
research (2008), “human error” accounts for between 85% and 95% of the critical reason why crashes
occur.

Members of the transportation safety plan team will be on hand with displays to answer questions
and to discuss transportation safety issues with the public. A formal presentation

will be given shortly after 11:00 a.m. during the mid-day meeting and at 5:00 p.m. for the
evening meeting.

Anyone with questions about the transportation safety plan or the open house may contact Carlton
Scroggins, Project Manager, MTPO, (785) 368-3728 or visit the project website:
http://www.topekampo.org/transportation-safety-plan.html

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.

The City of Topeka is now accepting applications for the 2025 Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy.

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

“Understanding the complexity of what our Public Works and Utilities crews do – from maintaining safe drinking water to maintaining our streets – helps us appreciate the vital role they play in keeping our community running efficiently,” said Mayor Mike Padilla. “Giving citizens an opportunity to see and hear that firsthand is an important tool in the communication efforts between the city and the citizens that we serve.”

The upcoming citizens’ academy will take place over seven weeks, beginning March 31,
2025. The class is limited to 25 participants. All participants must be at least 18 years old. For more information and to register, visit City of Topeka Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy.

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 of all Topeka citizens