The City of Topeka is excited to announce an innovative and unique series of Public Health and Safety Committee meetings that actively explores changing the culture of property maintenance. Several public meetings will take place throughout the community in September giving Topekans a chance to provide solutions to issues in Property Maintenance.
The Public Health and Safety Committee is seeking public input on including solutions for substandard properties, vacant properties, overgrowth, trash and overall changing the culture of property maintenance in Topeka. The focus of the meetings will be what Property Maintenance or citywide initiatives the Public Health and Safety Committee could explore to have our city safer and better, where citizens of all neighborhoods and incomes are confident and inspired to maintain structures and properties.
“I’m excited about the upcoming meetings and working with neighbors to re-envision property maintenance. Folks want to be proud of the communities they live in and all neighborhoods are helped when we work together to maintain our homes and properties,” said Christina Valdivia-Alcala, Councilwoman for District 2.
“We have been working on reimagining the City of Topeka Property Maintenance procedures for a long time to make them more community friendly while also addressing issues that many people experience with substandard housing, vacant properties and blight,” said Karen Hiller, Councilwoman for District 1. “After a year of compiling experiences and visiting with staff we want to make sure the community has an opportunity to help us make Topeka a stronger and more vibrant community by bringing to us ideas they have for solutions and community initiatives in Property Maintenance.”
The Public Health and Safety Committee encourages the public to watch the video Beyond Clipboards: A Strategic Approach to Code Enforcement – May 2019 during the second week of September via this link https://youtu.be/cBuHijfWeSk make note of at least one idea from the video, and bring that and their own ideas to one of the public input sessions. The video can be viewed anywhere free internet access is available. Those who don’t have internet access and would like to watch the video can do so at one of two sessions on September 13th at the Holliday Building at 620 Madison Street. The first session will be from 1:00-2:00 p.m. The second session will be on the 15th of September from 6:00-7:00 p.m.
During the last half of September, the COT Public Health & Safety Committee will hold city-wide meetings to share the goals and seek guidance for a new and improved property maintenance system. The meetings on September 22nd and 23rd at the Holliday Building will be televised and streamed live on Facebook.
The city’s engagement with neighborhoods is vital to finish the construction of an inspirational template for the future of ALL neighborhoods. If you are someone that cares about your neighborhood, believes in protecting property values and wants to see more efficient, strategic and community driven partnerships, then join us!
You can find more information on the meetings on the City of Topeka website: https://www.topeka.org/citycouncil/changing-our-culture-of-property-maintenance/
Public Meeting Times and Locations:
- September 13th from 6-8 p.m. at Hillcrest, 1800 SE 21st Street
- September 16th from 6-8 p.m. at Central Park Community Center, 1534 SW Clay St.
- September 20th from 6-8 p.m. at Crestview, 4801 SW Shunga Drive
- September 22nd from 9-11 a.m. at the Holliday Building, 620 Madison St.
- September 22nd from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Garfield Community Center, 1600 NE Quincy St.
- September 23rd from 6-8 p.m. at the Holliday Building, 620 Madison St.
- September 30th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Lundgren, 1020 NE Forest
Both meetings on September 22nd and 23rd at the Holliday Building will also have a virtual option and will be streamed live on Facebook and City4. Please contact etoyne@topeka.org for the zoom link.