City of Topeka crews and contractors worked 12-hour shifts on Monday cleaning up storm debris in the northern and central portions of Topeka, including the Oakland and Potwin neighborhoods. Storm debris clean-up will continue on Tuesday and throughout the rest of the week.
The city has received questions about when city residents can expect storm debris to be picked up from their curbs. While the city is unable to provide an exact pickup schedule, it aims to provide citizens with additional details related to this service that is being provided at no charge to the city resident.
- The city and its contractors have several crews working their way through the city.
- The city’s intent is to do two passes city-wide.
- The city anticipates the first pass will continue through Saturday, with the second pass beginning on Monday, July 24.
- After the second pass is complete, the city will complete its storm debris clean up.
- City residents who would like to have storm debris picked up are asked to place it on the curb as soon as possible, but no later than Monday morning, July 24.
The city will only pick up vegetative debris, such as limbs, leaves and trunks of trees, caused by the storm. Residents will be responsible for taking the debris down to the back of curb. Debris must be stacked up away from trees, power lines, mail boxes, gas meters, hydrants and other obstructions to allow the grapple trucks to pick the material up. Crews will not pick up trash, tires, construction debris or any item other than vegetative debris.
To report any areas of immediate concern, such as tree limbs or branches blocking the roadway, residents are asked to please call 785-368-3111.
Update:
On July 19, 2023, the City of Topeka was able to lift the advisory for the Shunganunga Creek. The lift of the advisory comes as a result of multiple samples from the creek returning to normal levels.
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Original release:
The City of Topeka’s Utilities Department is advising Topeka area residents to avoid portions of the Shunganunga Creek until further notice due to a sanitary sewage overflow.
The impacted area of the Shunganunga Creek starts east of Washburn Ave. and south of 21st St., near Rip On Skate Park, and flowing northeast to the Kansas River.
The sanitary sewage overflow was caused by issues at a nearby pump station. As a precaution, residents are advised to avoid contact with the impacted waterway and to keep pets out of the creek. City staff will continue to monitor the water along the Shunganunga Creek, and will provide a notification when the advisory is lifted. This does not impact tap water.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has been notified.
Residents are asked to please avoid the area of the creek outlined on the below map, beginning at the star, and continuing to the Kansas River.
City staff worked hard this past weekend to clear debris from streets. Debris collection in the right-of-waybegan this morning. Collection began this morning around 9 a.m. in the areas of Potwin and Oakland.
Previously, the city was not collecting debris from residential property. After assessing the extent of the storm damage over the weekend, city crews and city contractors will now be picking up vegetative debris, such as limbs, leaves and trunks of trees, caused by the storm, at no charge to the city resident. Residents will be responsible for taking the debris down to the back of curb. Debris must be stacked up away from trees, power lines, mail boxes, gas meters, hydrants and other obstructions to allow the grapple trucks to pick the material up. Crews will not pick up trash, tires, construction debris or any item other than vegetative debris. These clean-up efforts are being made possible due to the assistances of contractors who were selected through a competitive bid process.
Shawnee County Solid Waste will also be picking up tree branches for their customers on their scheduled trash day. Branches must be cut to four-foot lengths, and be tied in a bundle. Up to 15 bundles are allowed per customer, and bundles cannot be larger than 18 inches in diameter. The city encourages residents who use other trash service providers to contact them regarding their policies.
Additionally, the Garick facility, located at 2200 NW Water Works Way, has agreed to waive the tipping fee at the forestry disposal site for private residents. Businesses will still have to pay. The fee will be waived Saturday, July 22. The facility will be open Saturday until 3pm.
To report any areas of immediate concern, please call 785-368-3111.
On Monday, the City of Topeka’s Administrative and Financial Services Department released the proposed 2024 operating budget.
The total city budget for FY24 is $371.9 million. Of this, the city’s general fund budget is $116.2 million. The general fund is the city’s largest single fund, which supports many of the city’s municipal services.
The city’s budget continues to see cost increases as a result of inflation. As an example, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the cost of building and maintaining highways has risen 50% since 2020. This, and other cost increases, has forced city departments to carefully monitor and propose budgets that allow the city to continue to provide high-quality services to its citizens.
“We have prepared a budget for FY24 that will allow for the city to provide needed services to the citizens of Topeka. The City of Topeka’s finance team did a phenomenal job balancing the needs of the present with the long-term sustainability of the future. We have worked to align city resources with the areas of greatest importance to our taxpayers. This budget will allow us to continue to move the City of Topeka forward,” said Freddy Mawyin, Chief Financial Officer.
Budget priorities
This is the second year the city has utilized the Outcome Based Budgeting (OBB) process.
At the beginning of the year, city staff engaged the Governing Body in a strategic planning process. The purpose of the strategic plan is to ensure city staff are aligning resources with the priority outcomes of the Governing Body and the community. During this process, the Governing Body established the city’s priority outcomes as Community Appearance, Growth, and Housing.
During the OBB process, city staff continue to work to align city resources with the priority outcomes. In addition to the three priority outcomes, a fourth area known as Operations was created, which captures many of the city’s functions that are statutorily or otherwise needed for the city to function properly.
In presenting the budget this year, the city focused on priority outcomes and their associated services.
Expenditure highlights
The largest portion of the general fund is personnel costs at 75% of the total budget. Personnel costs increased by about $6.6 million or 8.1% compared to the FY23 budget.
New to the FY24 budget is a proposed $500,000 that would be set aside for individuals who qualify for property tax rebates. This new program would be modeled after the state’s Homestead Refund program, and would provide further relief for those who need it.
Another new initiative is a proposed $1 million that would be dedicated to supporting the city’s unsheltered homeless neighbors. The city is in the process of working with a coach and facilitator, as well as community partners, as part of a task force to discuss the needs and gaps in the community related to our unsheltered neighbors. The proposed $1 million does not have a dedicated use yet, but would be made available to support recommendations made from the task force.
During the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) process, the Governing Body made the decision to move $2.3 million worth of debt financing into the FY24 operating budget. This move will allow for long-term savings from not having to pay interest costs from debt financing.
Next steps
On July 18, the Governing Body will vote on whether or not to hold a vote to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate from the previous budget year.
The Governing Body and city staff will host a Budget Workshop on Tuesday, July 25 at 6 p.m. at the Holliday Building. Community members can attend the workshop in person, or watch on the city’s Facebook page, the city’s Livestream, or on Cox Local Channel 4.
The budget will be discussed at the July 18, August 8, 15 and August 22 Governing Body meetings. Community members can make public comment at these meetings.
A public budget hearing will be held on September 5, where citizens will be given another opportunity to offer feedback on the budget. City staff anticipate the budget to be adopted on September 12.
The proposed budget can be viewed online at https://www.topeka.org/finance/budget/.
In the coming weeks, Topeka’s Governing Body will work to define a process to find a permanent City Manager.
During Tuesday night’s Topeka City Council meeting, the Governing Body voted to terminate Stephen Wade’s employment with the City of Topeka effective immediately.
The Governing Body then named Richard U. Nienstedt as Interim City Manager. Nienstedt had been serving as Acting City Manager since June 6, 2023, when Wade requested a leave of absence.
“While I don’t intend to serve in the role long term, I am fully committed to serving the citizens of Topeka, our great City of Topeka employees, and our dedicated Governing Body members during this time of transition,” said Nienstedt.
“The Governing Body is focused on making sure that we continue to provide Topekans with the quality municipal services they expect from us. We are in good hands with Richard, and we know that he and his team of department leaders and staff are committed and will keep our community moving forward with the many great initiatives we have in the works,” said Topeka Mayor Michael Padilla.
The Governing Body and Interim City Manager will look to share further updates and next steps with the community as this process moves forward.
The City of Topeka is partnering with the Mexican Consulate of Kansas City and the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library to host a Mexican Art Exhibit that coincides with Fiesta Topeka.
The exhibit, “Simple Memories of Routine Life,” features work from artist and curator Mauricio Zúñiga. Zúñiga, who’s originally from Jalisco, Mexico, lives in Kansas City. His work incudes paintings, photography, plastics and sculptures, and has been featured in galleries and venues in major cities like Albuquerque, Chicago and Kansas City.
The public is invited to view the art and meet the artist during a welcome reception hosted by Topeka Mayor Michael Padilla on Wednesday, July 19 at 5:30 p.m. in the library’s Anton Room.
“I’m so excited that Mauricio is bringing his beautiful art to Topeka during our community’s Fiesta Topeka celebration,” said Mayor Padilla. “We know that art tells stories, and there is no one better than Mauricio to help tell the story of the Mexican-American culture – especially during such an exciting time in Topeka. I invite everyone to stop by the library to see the exhibit.”
The exhibit, which will be displayed in the main hall and second floor of the library, is open between July 19 and August 30. The public is welcome to visit the exhibit during the library’s hours which are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 12 to 9 p.m.
To learn more about the gallery, visit https://tscpl.org/gallery.
The City of Topeka announced Monday that it hired Rhiannon Friedman to serve as its next Planning and Development Director.
“I’m thrilled that Rhiannon has accepted the position to serve as the Planning and Development Director. Rhiannon is an experienced leader and a great asset to the City of Topeka and the Topeka community as a whole. The role is key in ensuring we’re shaping a great future for Topeka, and we look to Rhiannon to lead a great group of employees who are doing important work,” said Richard Nienstedt, Acting City Manager.
Friedman had been serving as the Planning and Development Department’s interim director since January. The department is made up of three divisions including development services, housing, and planning.
She was previously hired in the fall of 2022 to serve as the Director of Development and Economic Growth. Prior to her time at the city, Friedman served as the President of Downtown Topeka, Inc. for two years. She was previously selected as a 2022 International Downtown Association Fellow, becoming one of only 30 professionals to participate in the national program. She is currently a member of the 2023 Leadership Kansas class. Friedman has a bachelor’s in political science and government from K-State.
“I’m excited to stay on as the Planning and Development Director, where I’ve served as Interim for the past five months. We have a great team that is dedicated to the continued focus of improving the planning and development process as well as bringing more housing and commercial development to the Topeka community,” said Friedman.
Friedman is serving in the role effective immediately.
The City of Topeka is taking steps to identify conference hotel industry experts to help the city determine how to best re-develop Hotel Topeka at City Center. The city won the auction bid to purchase the hotel early June.
The City of Topeka recently released two requests for proposals (RFP) related to the hotel. The first RFP seeks to contract with an asset manager who would oversee the hotel and any future hotel operator, while the second RFP looks to identify a vendor to evaluate the existing hotel facilities and systems.
“Our research tells us that successful hotel properties, particularly ones owned by public entities, even on a temporary basis, contract with hotel experts to assist them with strategic and operational decisions regarding their hotel properties,” said Acting City Manager Richard Nienstedt.
“These are the first steps by the city to help us understand the current status of the hotel, and help us find a company to manage the asset. Purchasing the hotel allowed the city to take the future of the hotel into our own hands, in order to ensure we’ll have a successful hotel and convention center for many years to come,” said Topeka Mayor Michael Padilla.
The city expects to rely on the guidance of the asset manager to identify an appropriate brand for the hotel and to help select a private operator.
The purchase of Hotel Topeka at City Center is not yet final. Because the hotel is in receivership, the purchase has to be approved by the court. The case is scheduled to be heard in Shawnee County District Court in late-July. The sale of the hotel will not be final until it is court approved.
The RFPs can be viewed at the city’s online bid portal. The asset manager RFP closes on July 19, 2023, while the assessment RFP closes on July 7, 2023. To learn how to do business with the City of Topeka, visit https://www.topeka.org/procurement/vendor-guide/.
The City of Topeka is giving away 375 laptop computers to qualifying Topeka residents who are between the ages of 18 and 59 years old.
The program is part of the city’s digital equity initiative, TSC – Get Digital, that aims to connect Topeka neighbors.
To qualify, Topeka residents must receive SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, Federal Public Housing Assistance, Veterans Pension Benefit Program, or have an annual household income that is less than 200% of federal poverty guidelines.
Those interested in receiving a laptop, should review the eligibility requirements before calling 785-368-3098 to apply.
The funding for the laptops was made possible thanks to a $250,000 grant the city received from the Kansas Health Foundation.
The city’s desktop computer program for those who are 60 years or older is still active. To learn more about that program, visit the city’s website.
The City of Topeka was successful in making the winning auction bid on Wednesday to purchase Hotel Topeka at City Center for $7.6 million.
Purchase documents are still being finalized, and the sale is not final until that process is complete.
On May 30, the Governing Body authorized $8 million in bonds to purchase the hotel. The city’s intent is to bond the purchase price for the hotel, and work collaboratively with private partners and industry experts to determine how to best proceed with re-developing the property.