Former Topeka City Council Member, Deputy Mayor and
NIA Friend Betty Dunn passes away in North Carolina
NIA Friend Betty Dunn passes away in North Carolina
We meet many people during our trips around the sun, some of them even brighten the rays emitted from that orb as they pass into and out of our lives, shining those rays on the ones often left to fend for themselves in the dark spaces of our nation.
One of those sunbursts was Betty Dunn. She passed away on Friday, July 26, 2024. She had been living in North Carolina for the past several years. However, her time here in Topeka was where she made her mark as a consistent and strong voice for Topeka’s low- to moderate-income (LMI) people and neighborhoods.
Her great goodness first manifested itself publicly when she became involved in the Highland Crest Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA), including serving as its president. That was followed by her eight years of service as district four’s Topeka city council representative, including two years of service as Topeka’s deputy mayor. It was during her first city council term that I met Betty.
We met during a time when then-Mayor Joan Wagnon had engaged the city’s NIAs and their legislative body, the Community Development Advisory Council (CDAC; replaced in 2004 by the Citizen Advisory Council), in a battle for the voices of Topeka’s LMI people and neighborhoods. Wagnon’s efforts included trying to appoint a sitting city council member, James McClinton, to the CDAC. Then-City Attorney Linda Jeffrey put the kibosh on that as it would have been an obvious conflict of interest to have a city council member vote on matters before the CDAC and then vote on those same matters as a city council member. Wagnon also offered me a position in the city clerk’s office, which I refused because I knew that the job offer was an attempt to silence me as an NIA officer and Tennessee Town CDAC member.
During that battle Betty Dunn was working on our behalf. I can only imagine what she heard as she fought to keep the NIAs and the CDAC autonomous and able to speak their minds when and how they saw fit. After a few months of that tussle, Betty came to one of our CDAC meetings and announced that “the war is over.” David had defeated Goliath, no doubt because of Betty’s considerable efforts.
In 2004, after Betty left the city council, then-Housing and Neighborhood Development (now Community Engagement) Director Randy Speaker, in cahoots with appointed Mayor James McClinton and the city council, abolished the CDAC and replaced it with the CAC, which was designed by the City of Topeka to be a subset of it and not the independent body of NIAs working with the City that it had been for decades. I was the CDAC chair at the time of its abolition, so I know of what I speak.
It’s both disappointing and frustrating that Topeka’s NIAs, the city’s most challenged neighborhoods with great people and opportunities at rebirths, have not had a friend like Betty on our governing body since her last term ended in 2003. Even though you’ve now entered another room, Betty, your light continues to sustain and imbue us as we continue to fight for Topeka’s best people.
My very best to Betty’s son, Donald, and the rest of her family and the many friends she made and compatriots she fought with over the years.
One of those sunbursts was Betty Dunn. She passed away on Friday, July 26, 2024. She had been living in North Carolina for the past several years. However, her time here in Topeka was where she made her mark as a consistent and strong voice for Topeka’s low- to moderate-income (LMI) people and neighborhoods.
Her great goodness first manifested itself publicly when she became involved in the Highland Crest Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA), including serving as its president. That was followed by her eight years of service as district four’s Topeka city council representative, including two years of service as Topeka’s deputy mayor. It was during her first city council term that I met Betty.
We met during a time when then-Mayor Joan Wagnon had engaged the city’s NIAs and their legislative body, the Community Development Advisory Council (CDAC; replaced in 2004 by the Citizen Advisory Council), in a battle for the voices of Topeka’s LMI people and neighborhoods. Wagnon’s efforts included trying to appoint a sitting city council member, James McClinton, to the CDAC. Then-City Attorney Linda Jeffrey put the kibosh on that as it would have been an obvious conflict of interest to have a city council member vote on matters before the CDAC and then vote on those same matters as a city council member. Wagnon also offered me a position in the city clerk’s office, which I refused because I knew that the job offer was an attempt to silence me as an NIA officer and Tennessee Town CDAC member.
During that battle Betty Dunn was working on our behalf. I can only imagine what she heard as she fought to keep the NIAs and the CDAC autonomous and able to speak their minds when and how they saw fit. After a few months of that tussle, Betty came to one of our CDAC meetings and announced that “the war is over.” David had defeated Goliath, no doubt because of Betty’s considerable efforts.
In 2004, after Betty left the city council, then-Housing and Neighborhood Development (now Community Engagement) Director Randy Speaker, in cahoots with appointed Mayor James McClinton and the city council, abolished the CDAC and replaced it with the CAC, which was designed by the City of Topeka to be a subset of it and not the independent body of NIAs working with the City that it had been for decades. I was the CDAC chair at the time of its abolition, so I know of what I speak.
It’s both disappointing and frustrating that Topeka’s NIAs, the city’s most challenged neighborhoods with great people and opportunities at rebirths, have not had a friend like Betty on our governing body since her last term ended in 2003. Even though you’ve now entered another room, Betty, your light continues to sustain and imbue us as we continue to fight for Topeka’s best people.
My very best to Betty’s son, Donald, and the rest of her family and the many friends she made and compatriots she fought with over the years.
Tennessee Town Basketball Tournament,
National Night Out Against Crime Set for August 10, 2024
National Night Out Against Crime Set for August 10, 2024
Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Set for July 8, 2024
Tennessee Town NIA General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, July 8, 2024
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Guest: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley: Huntoon, 12th Street Projects
* Guest: Topeka Planning and Development’s Dan Warner: 2023 Neighborhood Health Maps Update
* Scheduling Fall 2024 Neighborhood Cleanup for October (Both Dumpsters at 12th and Clay)
* 2024 DREAMS 3 King’s Court-Heritage House Grant Update: Sandy Lassiter
* NIA Support Budget Reimbursement/Supply Orders/Invoicing Process For Non-Operations Activities
* 2025 DREAMS 1 (Housing, Infrastructure), 2 (Housing) and 3 (Smaller Projects) Applications Ideas
* 2024 NIA Goals: Tennessee Town 145th Anniversary Celebration in Late September
* Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy Report: Pat DeLapp
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update: Safe Streets for All Grant (Topeka $4.3 million); Transportation Emissions Reduction Program (TERP): Energy-efficient street lighting (Topeka $1.67 million, 2022-2025)
* Lane Garden Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
6:30 p.m., Monday, July 8, 2024
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Guest: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley: Huntoon, 12th Street Projects
* Guest: Topeka Planning and Development’s Dan Warner: 2023 Neighborhood Health Maps Update
* Scheduling Fall 2024 Neighborhood Cleanup for October (Both Dumpsters at 12th and Clay)
* 2024 DREAMS 3 King’s Court-Heritage House Grant Update: Sandy Lassiter
* NIA Support Budget Reimbursement/Supply Orders/Invoicing Process For Non-Operations Activities
* 2025 DREAMS 1 (Housing, Infrastructure), 2 (Housing) and 3 (Smaller Projects) Applications Ideas
* 2024 NIA Goals: Tennessee Town 145th Anniversary Celebration in Late September
* Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy Report: Pat DeLapp
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update: Safe Streets for All Grant (Topeka $4.3 million); Transportation Emissions Reduction Program (TERP): Energy-efficient street lighting (Topeka $1.67 million, 2022-2025)
* Lane Garden Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
12th Street Post-Construction Meeting Scheduled for June 20
The public is invited to attend a community meeting in Marvin Auditorium 101AB on Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, located at 1515 SW 10th Ave.
According to the Topeka Public Works Department, the intent of this meeting is to allow residents an opportunity to share feedback regarding the now-complete 12th St. reconstruction project and the process.
City of Topeka contact: Robert Bidwell, Engineering Division, [email protected], 785-368-0967.
Bartlett and West (engineering firm) contact: Jeff Lolley, Project Manager, [email protected], 785-272-2252.
(Note: The City of Topeka once again has failed to provide a Zoom/Teams link to one of its meetings to enable the physically challenged to more fully participate in our government. If correcting this continued "oversight" is important to you, please contact the city council at [email protected] and the mayor at [email protected].)
(Note: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley will be in attendance at the next Tennessee Town NIA meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. on Mon., July 8, 2024, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan. Discussion will occur on both the 12th Street and Huntoon Street projects.)
According to the Topeka Public Works Department, the intent of this meeting is to allow residents an opportunity to share feedback regarding the now-complete 12th St. reconstruction project and the process.
City of Topeka contact: Robert Bidwell, Engineering Division, [email protected], 785-368-0967.
Bartlett and West (engineering firm) contact: Jeff Lolley, Project Manager, [email protected], 785-272-2252.
(Note: The City of Topeka once again has failed to provide a Zoom/Teams link to one of its meetings to enable the physically challenged to more fully participate in our government. If correcting this continued "oversight" is important to you, please contact the city council at [email protected] and the mayor at [email protected].)
(Note: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley will be in attendance at the next Tennessee Town NIA meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. on Mon., July 8, 2024, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan. Discussion will occur on both the 12th Street and Huntoon Street projects.)
2023 Topeka Neighborhood Health Map Update
Provides Guidance, Exposes Weaknesses of Process; Tennessee Town Rated "At Risk"
Provides Guidance, Exposes Weaknesses of Process; Tennessee Town Rated "At Risk"
The Topeka, KS Department of Planning and Development has released its 2023 neighborhood health map update (see PDFs below; also see https://www.topeka.org/planning/neighborhood-health/#gsc.tab=0). The health maps use a triage method to describe the health of Topeka’s neighborhoods.
According to planning and development, “since 2000, the City of Topeka has measured the ‘health’ of its neighborhoods to determine priorities for planning and investment decisions. Based on a medical treatment theme, 5 ‘vital signs’ are used as indicators of the overall ‘health’ classification of a neighborhood. Health ratings provide insight and measure progress which in turn can be used to improve neighborhood conditions.”
There are four neighborhood health ratings:
Intensive Care: seriously distressed conditions
At-Risk: emerging negative conditions
Outpatient: favorable conditions
Healthy: optimal conditions
When the neighborhood health map process began about 20 years ago, Tennessee Town was rated as intensive care (red on the health maps). It is rated as completely at-risk in the 2023 update, illustrating the challenge of addressing deep-seated and long-term issues without significant City of Topeka investments (https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2021/01/30/topeka-east-central-hi-crest-neighborhood-say-investment-has-left-them-behind/6701840002/?utm_source=cjonline-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero).
The neighborhood health maps also present another challenge to neighborhoods, particularly low-income neighborhoods like Topeka’s NIAs, in that there are five criteria used to create the health ratings:
Poverty level: Based on census tract data compiled by the federal government
Public safety: Topeka Planning and development data
Residential Property Values: Shawnee county appraiser’s office data
Single-Family Homeownership: Planning and development and Shawnee county appraiser’s office data
Unsafe Structures: Topeka property maintenance department data
If any of those indicators are not moving in the direction that planning and development deems indicative of an improving neighborhood, then those neighborhoods get dinged through their health ratings.
This challenge has been particularly problematic for Tennessee Town, as it continues both to embrace its working-class history and to improve itself for the retention and solicitation of working-class individuals and families whose incomes may not be increasing. For example, all of Tennessee Town’s housing efforts for the past 20 years have been affordable housing initiatives with no gentrification, including the expansion of the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments along the second 1100 block of SW Lincoln (a Topeka Housing Authority holding), the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan and the in-fill housing efforts in partnership with Cornerstone of Topeka (the duplexes in the first 1100 block of SW Lane) and the single-family housing efforts in partnership with the City of Topeka and Habitat for Humanity throughout the neighborhood, most notably in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln (see pic).
I was told after the last neighborhood health map update in 2020 that the updates would reflect the kind of context to which I referred to above. The 2023 update does not. Thusly, on poverty Tennessee Town is rated as intensive care while on public safety the rating is outpatient/healthy, on residential property value at risk, on homeownership at risk and on unsafe structures at risk. This failure to provide context for each individual neighborhood tells those neighborhoods that it’s not possible to be healthy unless incomes are increasing. As someone who spent his childhood living and growing up in Topeka’s NIAs (Tennessee Town, Central Highland Park and what is now Highland Crest East), I know that’s not true.
Regarding the reference I made in the first paragraph above about the lack of City investments in low-income neighborhoods, each year since the first neighborhood health maps were released Topeka’s low-income neighborhoods consistent have been the same neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s and ‘40s (redlining is defined “… as a discriminatory practice that consists of the systematic denial of services such as mortgages, insurance loans, and other financial services to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity” (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/redlining#:~:text=Redlining%20can%20be%20defined%20as,on%20their%20race%20or%20ethnicity AND www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5jCZdSdkrM). This is a systemic failure that has been allowed to hurt Topeka’s low-income people and neighborhoods for nearly 100 years.
The neighborhood health maps simultaneously can be a reminder of a despicable past and a better future, but ONLY if we prioritize those neighborhoods which, interestingly, present the best options for city investment (www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/10/poor-neighborhoods-make-the-best-investment).
(Note: Members of the Topeka Planning and Development Department will be in attendance at the next Tennessee Town NIA meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. on Mon., July 8, 2024, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.)
According to planning and development, “since 2000, the City of Topeka has measured the ‘health’ of its neighborhoods to determine priorities for planning and investment decisions. Based on a medical treatment theme, 5 ‘vital signs’ are used as indicators of the overall ‘health’ classification of a neighborhood. Health ratings provide insight and measure progress which in turn can be used to improve neighborhood conditions.”
There are four neighborhood health ratings:
Intensive Care: seriously distressed conditions
At-Risk: emerging negative conditions
Outpatient: favorable conditions
Healthy: optimal conditions
When the neighborhood health map process began about 20 years ago, Tennessee Town was rated as intensive care (red on the health maps). It is rated as completely at-risk in the 2023 update, illustrating the challenge of addressing deep-seated and long-term issues without significant City of Topeka investments (https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2021/01/30/topeka-east-central-hi-crest-neighborhood-say-investment-has-left-them-behind/6701840002/?utm_source=cjonline-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero).
The neighborhood health maps also present another challenge to neighborhoods, particularly low-income neighborhoods like Topeka’s NIAs, in that there are five criteria used to create the health ratings:
Poverty level: Based on census tract data compiled by the federal government
Public safety: Topeka Planning and development data
Residential Property Values: Shawnee county appraiser’s office data
Single-Family Homeownership: Planning and development and Shawnee county appraiser’s office data
Unsafe Structures: Topeka property maintenance department data
If any of those indicators are not moving in the direction that planning and development deems indicative of an improving neighborhood, then those neighborhoods get dinged through their health ratings.
This challenge has been particularly problematic for Tennessee Town, as it continues both to embrace its working-class history and to improve itself for the retention and solicitation of working-class individuals and families whose incomes may not be increasing. For example, all of Tennessee Town’s housing efforts for the past 20 years have been affordable housing initiatives with no gentrification, including the expansion of the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments along the second 1100 block of SW Lincoln (a Topeka Housing Authority holding), the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan and the in-fill housing efforts in partnership with Cornerstone of Topeka (the duplexes in the first 1100 block of SW Lane) and the single-family housing efforts in partnership with the City of Topeka and Habitat for Humanity throughout the neighborhood, most notably in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln (see pic).
I was told after the last neighborhood health map update in 2020 that the updates would reflect the kind of context to which I referred to above. The 2023 update does not. Thusly, on poverty Tennessee Town is rated as intensive care while on public safety the rating is outpatient/healthy, on residential property value at risk, on homeownership at risk and on unsafe structures at risk. This failure to provide context for each individual neighborhood tells those neighborhoods that it’s not possible to be healthy unless incomes are increasing. As someone who spent his childhood living and growing up in Topeka’s NIAs (Tennessee Town, Central Highland Park and what is now Highland Crest East), I know that’s not true.
Regarding the reference I made in the first paragraph above about the lack of City investments in low-income neighborhoods, each year since the first neighborhood health maps were released Topeka’s low-income neighborhoods consistent have been the same neighborhoods that were redlined in the 1930s and ‘40s (redlining is defined “… as a discriminatory practice that consists of the systematic denial of services such as mortgages, insurance loans, and other financial services to residents of certain areas, based on their race or ethnicity” (https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/redlining#:~:text=Redlining%20can%20be%20defined%20as,on%20their%20race%20or%20ethnicity AND www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5jCZdSdkrM). This is a systemic failure that has been allowed to hurt Topeka’s low-income people and neighborhoods for nearly 100 years.
The neighborhood health maps simultaneously can be a reminder of a despicable past and a better future, but ONLY if we prioritize those neighborhoods which, interestingly, present the best options for city investment (www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/10/poor-neighborhoods-make-the-best-investment).
(Note: Members of the Topeka Planning and Development Department will be in attendance at the next Tennessee Town NIA meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. on Mon., July 8, 2024, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.)
| 2023_topeka_neighborhood_health_map.pdf |
| 2023_tennesee_town_nhood_health_map_update.pdf |
Resident Input Needed on Upcoming Huntoon Street Project
sRegarding the Huntoon St. project, it is Item 5(b) of the upcoming May 21, 2024 city council consent agenda for "(authorizing) the City Manager to sign and execute the contract for design and preparation of project plans and construction documents for the Street Improvement Project T-701028.00 SW Huntoon Street from SW Gage Blvd. to SW Harrison St." in an amount "not to exceed $3,113,844.00 for engineering services" (https://topeka.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=17328&MeetingID=967).
This action has nothing to do with an actual project budget or approval of any plans. Bartlett & West will be the engineering firm, just as it was for the 12th St. project. No word on if any other firms had a chance to be involved.
Having said that, this is PRECISELY the time we need to jump in to be sure that our voices are heard and that the mistakes with the 12th St. project are not repeated. Since the item is on the consent agenda, contacting the governing body (it looks like the mayor will vote as 6 votes are required for approval) in advance of the meeting is the only way to voice your opinions prior to the vote (if memory serves, there is no opportunity for public comment on consent agenda items and the pubic comment opportunity at the end of the meeting would occur after the vote).
To contact the city council: [email protected] (copy Admin. Asst. Elizabeth Toyne at [email protected]).
To contact the mayor: [email protected] (copy Admin. Asst. Jane Murray at jmurray@topeka,org).
Again, no one has contacted me on any of this as the Tennessee Town NIA president. The TTNIA has Huntoon as its southern border. No, I'm not surprised by the lack of notification. Topeka is (in)famous for that. Sigh.
I will invite Public Works Director Braxton Copley (and/or his designees) to our July 8, 2024 NIA meeting to discuss this project (all are welcome to attend). I'll let you all know later this week if public works will attend.
I'm going to restart the 12th Street Reality Coalition (12SRC) with a new name: the Huntoon Street Reality Coalition (HSRC). See the JPEGs attached here. HSRC will provide updates as they happen.
We have to insist NOW that we have a seat at the table with an opportunity not only to provide input on what happens to our neighborhoods but to have that input respected and acted on.
(Note: This just in. This from Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley via email on May 19, 2024:
"Happy to attend the NIA meeting on 7/8... The first step will be to solicit input from the stakeholders and then go to the Council to get direction on the scope. Only after that point will design start
"We are planning on several public meetings during the concept development and design phases."
Please feel free to share this information with others.
Thanks!
Mike Bell
This action has nothing to do with an actual project budget or approval of any plans. Bartlett & West will be the engineering firm, just as it was for the 12th St. project. No word on if any other firms had a chance to be involved.
Having said that, this is PRECISELY the time we need to jump in to be sure that our voices are heard and that the mistakes with the 12th St. project are not repeated. Since the item is on the consent agenda, contacting the governing body (it looks like the mayor will vote as 6 votes are required for approval) in advance of the meeting is the only way to voice your opinions prior to the vote (if memory serves, there is no opportunity for public comment on consent agenda items and the pubic comment opportunity at the end of the meeting would occur after the vote).
To contact the city council: [email protected] (copy Admin. Asst. Elizabeth Toyne at [email protected]).
To contact the mayor: [email protected] (copy Admin. Asst. Jane Murray at jmurray@topeka,org).
Again, no one has contacted me on any of this as the Tennessee Town NIA president. The TTNIA has Huntoon as its southern border. No, I'm not surprised by the lack of notification. Topeka is (in)famous for that. Sigh.
I will invite Public Works Director Braxton Copley (and/or his designees) to our July 8, 2024 NIA meeting to discuss this project (all are welcome to attend). I'll let you all know later this week if public works will attend.
I'm going to restart the 12th Street Reality Coalition (12SRC) with a new name: the Huntoon Street Reality Coalition (HSRC). See the JPEGs attached here. HSRC will provide updates as they happen.
We have to insist NOW that we have a seat at the table with an opportunity not only to provide input on what happens to our neighborhoods but to have that input respected and acted on.
(Note: This just in. This from Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley via email on May 19, 2024:
"Happy to attend the NIA meeting on 7/8... The first step will be to solicit input from the stakeholders and then go to the Council to get direction on the scope. Only after that point will design start
"We are planning on several public meetings during the concept development and design phases."
Please feel free to share this information with others.
Thanks!
Mike Bell
| huntoon_st._reality_coalition_position_paper_pg._1_5-19-24.jpg |
| huntoon_st._reality_coalition_position_paper_pg._2_5-19-24.jpg |
May 15, 2024 Faith Temple Church Food Giveaway Cancelled
Faith Temple Church's Free Food Giveaway, set for the evening of May 15, 2024, has been cancelled. A new date will be set soon and announced here.
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
Brown v. Board at 70: “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”
May 17, 2024, marks the 70th anniversary of the original Brown v. Board of Education case, perhaps the most important Supreme Court ruling of the 20th century and one of the most important rulings the nation’s high court has ever delivered. The changes that swept the nation in the 1950s and ‘60s, changes that finally and publicly rebuked the second-class citizenship of African-Americans and others, have continued since Brown.
However, racism, from its immoral and despicable roots in slavery through the literacy tests, poll taxes, and lynchings of Jim Crow to the voter suppression, racial profiling and whitewashing of our nation’s history today; has proven to be a tough beast to slay. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, in addition to other federal legislation in the 1960s and '70s that addressed discrimination, were necessary to carry out the promise of Brown.
Today, with the weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the same institution that in 1954 unanimously ruled that institutional racism was wrong, in addition to other efforts to roll back the gains made since Brown, the fight for justice and equality continues. Brown v. Board is, then, our past, our present, and our future.
As it was once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
However, racism, from its immoral and despicable roots in slavery through the literacy tests, poll taxes, and lynchings of Jim Crow to the voter suppression, racial profiling and whitewashing of our nation’s history today; has proven to be a tough beast to slay. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, in addition to other federal legislation in the 1960s and '70s that addressed discrimination, were necessary to carry out the promise of Brown.
Today, with the weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the same institution that in 1954 unanimously ruled that institutional racism was wrong, in addition to other efforts to roll back the gains made since Brown, the fight for justice and equality continues. Brown v. Board is, then, our past, our present, and our future.
As it was once said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Topeka, KS April 2024 Food Distribution List
Attached is the current food list—thanks, Monique at the City, for sending it out again.
Please review it and let Monique and me know if there are any changes or if there is an organization that needs to be included. (Note: Monique Glaude: [email protected].)
If you are a food distribution site, please also check our food distribution map to make sure entries are correct: https://www.shawnee.k-state.edu/food_distribution_map/index.html.
This is a huge task, and it takes all of us to keep it up to date.
Lisa Martin
County Extension Agent
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
K-State Research & Extension-Shawnee County
1740 SW Western
Topeka, KS 66604
785-232-0062, ext. 119
[email protected]
https://www.shawnee.ksu.edu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SNCOKSRE/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KansasEFNEP/
Please review it and let Monique and me know if there are any changes or if there is an organization that needs to be included. (Note: Monique Glaude: [email protected].)
If you are a food distribution site, please also check our food distribution map to make sure entries are correct: https://www.shawnee.k-state.edu/food_distribution_map/index.html.
This is a huge task, and it takes all of us to keep it up to date.
Lisa Martin
County Extension Agent
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program
K-State Research & Extension-Shawnee County
1740 SW Western
Topeka, KS 66604
785-232-0062, ext. 119
[email protected]
https://www.shawnee.ksu.edu
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SNCOKSRE/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KansasEFNEP/
| food_banks-pantries-meals_in_topeka_-_april_2024__1_.pdf |
Tennessee Town NIA to Meet on Mon., May 13, 2024
Tennessee Town NIA General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, May 13, 2024
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Guest: Craig Johnson, Stay Calm Initiative: Citizens and Law Enforcement Having Mutual Respect for Each Other
· Special Recognition and Presentation
· 2024 NIA Goals
· 2025 DREAMS 1, 2 and 3 Applications Ideas
· Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Grocery Store Update
· City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
6:30 p.m., Monday, May 13, 2024
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Guest: Craig Johnson, Stay Calm Initiative: Citizens and Law Enforcement Having Mutual Respect for Each Other
· Special Recognition and Presentation
· 2024 NIA Goals
· 2025 DREAMS 1, 2 and 3 Applications Ideas
· Public Works and Utilities Citizens Academy Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Grocery Store Update
· City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Set for Mon., March 11, 2024
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, March 11, 2024
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Election of 2024 NIA Officers, 2024-2026 CAC Representatives
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Community Policing Crime Reporting Discussion with the Topeka Police Department
* Guest: Topeka Planning & Development’s Dan Warner: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, or “Garage Apartments”)
* 2024 NIA Goals
* Governing Body Approval of DREAMS 3 King’s Court/Heritage House Black History Museum Application
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, March 11, 2024
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Election of 2024 NIA Officers, 2024-2026 CAC Representatives
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Community Policing Crime Reporting Discussion with the Topeka Police Department
* Guest: Topeka Planning & Development’s Dan Warner: Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, or “Garage Apartments”)
* 2024 NIA Goals
* Governing Body Approval of DREAMS 3 King’s Court/Heritage House Black History Museum Application
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
UPDATE: Jan. 22, 2024, Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Cancelled
Because of the Winter Weather Advisory in effect for today and tonight (Jan. 22) and the desire to keep our membership out of harms way, the Tennessee Town NIA executive committee has voted to cancel tonight's NIA meeting. The NIA will meet at its next regularly scheduled meeting, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Mon., March 11, 2024.
Our apologies for having to cancel tonight's meeting.
Please be safe and well.
Our apologies for having to cancel tonight's meeting.
Please be safe and well.
Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Set for Mon., Jan. 22, 2024
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, January 22, 2024
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Election of 2024 NIA Officers, 2024-2026 CAC Representatives
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Community Policing Crime Reporting Discussion with the Topeka Police Department
* Guest: Craig Johnson, Stay Calm Initiative: Citizens and Law Enforcement Having Mutual Respect for Each Other
* Governing Body Approval of DREAMS 3 King’s Court/Heritage House Black History Museum Application
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, January 22, 2024
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Election of 2024 NIA Officers, 2024-2026 CAC Representatives
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Community Policing Crime Reporting Discussion with the Topeka Police Department
* Guest: Craig Johnson, Stay Calm Initiative: Citizens and Law Enforcement Having Mutual Respect for Each Other
* Governing Body Approval of DREAMS 3 King’s Court/Heritage House Black History Museum Application
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
January 2024 Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Postponed to January 22
Due to weather forecasts that are predicting 3-6 inches of more snow on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, the Tennessee Town NIA executive committee (myself, Vice President Pat DeLapp and Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter) have unanimously voted to postpone that meeting to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
The usual communications indicating tentative meeting topics will go out about a week in advance of the Jan. 22 meeting.
Thanks for your understanding and Happy New Year!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
The usual communications indicating tentative meeting topics will go out about a week in advance of the Jan. 22 meeting.
Thanks for your understanding and Happy New Year!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA Meeting Set For November 13, 2023
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, November 13, 2023
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Working Men of Christ Ministries Announcement of New Location at 1430 SW Polk: Spencer Lindsay
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Guest: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley; Federal Department of Transportation’s
Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program to Fund Solar-Powered Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting
* Guest: SENT Topeka Interim Executive Director Johnathan Sublet: Forming Partnership/Replicating
Initiative in Tennessee Town
* CAC Recommendation on NIA’s DREAMS 3 King’s Court Application
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
* October 2023 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Report
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, November 13, 2023
Buchanan Center Conference Room,
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Available):
* Working Men of Christ Ministries Announcement of New Location at 1430 SW Polk: Spencer Lindsay
* Special Recognition and Presentation
* Guest: Topeka Public Works Director Braxton Copley; Federal Department of Transportation’s
Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program to Fund Solar-Powered Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting
* Guest: SENT Topeka Interim Executive Director Johnathan Sublet: Forming Partnership/Replicating
Initiative in Tennessee Town
* CAC Recommendation on NIA’s DREAMS 3 King’s Court Application
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
* October 2023 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Report
* City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
NIA to Hold Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Oct. 20 through Oct. 22
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold its annual fall neighborhood cleanup from Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023.
Dumpsters will be available for neighborhood residents to use at SW 12th and Clay and SW Lane and Munson (alley entrances) from Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22.
On Saturday, Oct. 21, trash trucks will drive through the neighborhood to pick up items at the curb (you should have received a mailing about the trash trucks).
If you need help getting items from your homes to the dumpsters, please contact Mike Bell at 785-979-7055 or [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
* No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
* Large bulky items must be broken down for easier handling, boards and carpeting must be cut into 4-foot lengths; mattresses/box springs, couches, and recliners must be bed bug-free or they must be wrapped tightly and securely with plastic
* Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
* Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 23.
Dumpsters will be available for neighborhood residents to use at SW 12th and Clay and SW Lane and Munson (alley entrances) from Friday, Oct. 20, through Sunday, Oct. 22.
On Saturday, Oct. 21, trash trucks will drive through the neighborhood to pick up items at the curb (you should have received a mailing about the trash trucks).
If you need help getting items from your homes to the dumpsters, please contact Mike Bell at 785-979-7055 or [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
* No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
* Large bulky items must be broken down for easier handling, boards and carpeting must be cut into 4-foot lengths; mattresses/box springs, couches, and recliners must be bed bug-free or they must be wrapped tightly and securely with plastic
* Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
* Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 23.
Historic Holliday Park NIA's Movie in the Park on Oct. 13!
Please see below and attached for more on this fun, family-friendly event!
Movie is Free, Food is a fund raiser
Games, food, handouts starts at 6:30
Movie starts around 7:30
Bring your own seating
Should be able to handle up to 200 people
For questions or additional details, please contact Historic Holliday Park NIA President Wayne Roberts in the ways indicated below.
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Wayne D. Roberts
[email protected]
785-215-2181
Movie is Free, Food is a fund raiser
Games, food, handouts starts at 6:30
Movie starts around 7:30
Bring your own seating
Should be able to handle up to 200 people
For questions or additional details, please contact Historic Holliday Park NIA President Wayne Roberts in the ways indicated below.
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Wayne D. Roberts
[email protected]
785-215-2181
Faith Temple Church to Host Free Food Giveaway
Faith Temple Church is holding a Free Food Giveaway at 8 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at 1162 SW Lincoln.
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
NIA to Hold Special Meeting on Aug. 29 on DREAMS 3 Application Approval and General Membership Meeting on Sep. 11
Topeka to Commemorate, Celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The Topeka March on Washington 60th Anniversary Committee is please to announce a recognition and celebration event marking the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the anniversary date, August 28, 2023, at New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 2801 SE Indiana.
The Committee is excited to announce that Academy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott will deliver the keynote address at the Topeka event! Willmott is best known for his work as a director and screenwriter for “BlacKkKlansman,” “Da 5 Bloods,” and “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America.” He also is a Professor of Film at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
For more information, please see the attached JPEG and/or contact the Committee at [email protected].
https://www.facebook.com/events/1322419198690907?ref=newsfeed
The Committee is excited to announce that Academy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Willmott will deliver the keynote address at the Topeka event! Willmott is best known for his work as a director and screenwriter for “BlacKkKlansman,” “Da 5 Bloods,” and “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America.” He also is a Professor of Film at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS.
For more information, please see the attached JPEG and/or contact the Committee at [email protected].
https://www.facebook.com/events/1322419198690907?ref=newsfeed
The Kansas Reflector: Topeka city manager was ‘in a pretty bad place’ in final days on the job; Secrecy surrounds the firing of Stephen Wade following investigation into employee concerns
What's offered below is FYI as we move forward with the process of selecting the next permanent city manager.
2 things here. First, the "hugeness" of this story in Kansas's capital city always meant that people would step forward with information, regardless of the legal constraints placed on elected and appointed officials (it's Journalism 101). Second, The Kansas Reflector is a reputable news source.
No doubt, more to come.
Topeka city manager was ‘in a pretty bad place’ in final days on the job Secrecy surrounds the firing of Stephen Wade following investigation into employee concerns BY: SHERMAN SMITH, The Kansas Reflector - JULY 19, 2023 10:31 AM
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/07/19/topeka-city-manager-was-in-a-pretty-bad-place-in-final-days-on-the-job/?fbclid=IwAR0cLpZMR4WbSaY7kQPQnE0AZXJ_nN7oMjRQ4psZW08SFohWj2zoz0bM3aI
Let's hope the city's governing body has learned some things from this.
2 things here. First, the "hugeness" of this story in Kansas's capital city always meant that people would step forward with information, regardless of the legal constraints placed on elected and appointed officials (it's Journalism 101). Second, The Kansas Reflector is a reputable news source.
No doubt, more to come.
Topeka city manager was ‘in a pretty bad place’ in final days on the job Secrecy surrounds the firing of Stephen Wade following investigation into employee concerns BY: SHERMAN SMITH, The Kansas Reflector - JULY 19, 2023 10:31 AM
https://kansasreflector.com/2023/07/19/topeka-city-manager-was-in-a-pretty-bad-place-in-final-days-on-the-job/?fbclid=IwAR0cLpZMR4WbSaY7kQPQnE0AZXJ_nN7oMjRQ4psZW08SFohWj2zoz0bM3aI
Let's hope the city's governing body has learned some things from this.
Topeka Students to Ride Metro Busses Free
During Upcoming School Year With Valid Student IDs
During Upcoming School Year With Valid Student IDs
TOPEKA, KAN. (JULY 20, 2023) – The Topeka Metro board of directors has approved for the 2023-24 academic year, that all high school students with a valid student ID can ride fixed bus routes for free. Paratransit users will need to apply for eligibility.
“Topeka Metro considers providing transportation an essential service and that includes getting students to school,” said Bob Nugent, Topeka Metro General Manager. "By providing their own school ID, the student can just hop on the Metro bus and take which route they need to travel to school, work, home or elsewhere within our route system. We will work diligently to make sure that students, parents or caregivers are aware of this opportunity."
To ride free, high school students will only need to present their valid student ID for the 2023-24 school year.
Nugent said, "We want to remind everyone that the Kids Ride FREE! promotion for youth 18 and under is still in effect until Tuesday, August 15, 2023."
“Topeka Metro considers providing transportation an essential service and that includes getting students to school,” said Bob Nugent, Topeka Metro General Manager. "By providing their own school ID, the student can just hop on the Metro bus and take which route they need to travel to school, work, home or elsewhere within our route system. We will work diligently to make sure that students, parents or caregivers are aware of this opportunity."
To ride free, high school students will only need to present their valid student ID for the 2023-24 school year.
Nugent said, "We want to remind everyone that the Kids Ride FREE! promotion for youth 18 and under is still in effect until Tuesday, August 15, 2023."
Topeka Capital-Journal Story Update: Kansas City, MO
Already is "Putting Everyday People at the Top of Government's Pyramid"
Already is "Putting Everyday People at the Top of Government's Pyramid"
Please see the info. below provided by Hi-Crest's long-time LMI and NIA advocate Betty Phillips regarding the CJonline.com article on my "bottom-up planning" proposal for Topeka (see post below).
I'm biased, but I think it's the most "spot on" thing I've read since someone said the sun rises in the east. The info. Betty provides is vitally important for at least these reasons: there would be no need to reinvent the wheel (it's already happening in KC, MO) and the financial investments needed to bring about the proposal are minimal.
And Betty's info. talks about the one thing Topeka rarely talks about: assessing whether projects, policies and procedures actually worked for residents so that government can better serve its constituents.
Onward and upward!
**********************************************
Kansas City, Mo., Integrates Public Feedback into Performance Management
City Prioritization and Allocation: The Kansas City survey asks citizens to note their top city priorities across a number of different categories including infrastructure, parks and recreation, and neighborhood services. By asking prioritization questions, the city ensures that it does not misunderstand citizen feedback — “These are not just inferred priorities, they’re explicit.” And the citizens’ feedback matters: Priorities expressed in the surveys inform the allocation of city budgets and the prioritization of government projects. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken this seriously: while they have many responsibilities, their greatest efforts go toward youth programs and tree maintenance — the consistent top priorities indicated by residents.
Process Improvements: The Citizen Survey has been integrated into all aspects of performance management and informs ongoing process improvements. It is part of weekly internal and monthly external meetings that report on the city’s performance: Internal meetings are held with department directors across the government, while citywide meetings are broadcast and webcast live and live-tweeted by staff. “It went from something that was for an annual report to something that we’re constantly doing data analysis on and integrating into weekly and monthly meetings, lining it up with our service level data.” The Citizen Survey is seen as the “outcome data” of the city’s performance: Citizen input is used to benchmark success, and through citizen response, officials can learn whether they are meeting their goals.
The Citizen’s Perspective: In addition to informing prioritization, resource allocation and process improvements, the survey also helps the city learn when it needs to improve its communications. A survey goes out to each 311 user — whether he or she used 311 online, in person or by phone — with questions that match the Citizen Survey. The city has repeatedly seen high levels of satisfaction from 311 users on the same issues where there is low satisfaction from the general public: For instance, a person who notified the city of a streetlight outage might be satisfied with the time it took for the city to do the repair, but general public’s impression of the city’s performance remains low. The city has learned to address these gaps through improved communication, by drawing public attention to the city’s daily efforts at maintenance and fulfillment of service requests.
Measuring Impact: The city has also used the Citizen Survey to measure the success of new initiatives. Historically, the survey has shown dissatisfaction around snow removal. With a big snowstorm coming in 2013, they ramped up communications, engaging with citizens through digital platforms to address where and when city snow removal was taking place. The next Citizen Survey went out just a few weeks later, and bore witness to the initiative’s success: The city saw a dramatic drop in snow-related dissatisfaction in the survey, confirming the city’s expanded communication strategy.
The Citizen Survey is not a new or expensive technology. With an annual survey budget of around $60,000 and an Office of Performance Management staff of only four people, Kansas City has been able to transform the classic tool for gathering public feedback into a fully integrated part of the city’s data-driven performance management process. Through the smart integration of data from surveys with administrative systems and internal performance measures, Kansas City is ensuring that citizens’ priorities are reflected at all levels of government.
Today, the survey is part of the day-to-day management of the city, driving large-scale allocation decisions as well as small process improvements, helping the city ensure that it is meeting the needs — and increasing the positive perception — of constituents.
What is Kansas City’s advice to other cities that are looking to integrate public feedback into performance management? Don’t overlook the traditional tools, and never shy away from negative feedback — it can provide the most important opportunities for learning and improvement.
I'm biased, but I think it's the most "spot on" thing I've read since someone said the sun rises in the east. The info. Betty provides is vitally important for at least these reasons: there would be no need to reinvent the wheel (it's already happening in KC, MO) and the financial investments needed to bring about the proposal are minimal.
And Betty's info. talks about the one thing Topeka rarely talks about: assessing whether projects, policies and procedures actually worked for residents so that government can better serve its constituents.
Onward and upward!
**********************************************
Kansas City, Mo., Integrates Public Feedback into Performance Management
City Prioritization and Allocation: The Kansas City survey asks citizens to note their top city priorities across a number of different categories including infrastructure, parks and recreation, and neighborhood services. By asking prioritization questions, the city ensures that it does not misunderstand citizen feedback — “These are not just inferred priorities, they’re explicit.” And the citizens’ feedback matters: Priorities expressed in the surveys inform the allocation of city budgets and the prioritization of government projects. The Department of Parks and Recreation has taken this seriously: while they have many responsibilities, their greatest efforts go toward youth programs and tree maintenance — the consistent top priorities indicated by residents.
Process Improvements: The Citizen Survey has been integrated into all aspects of performance management and informs ongoing process improvements. It is part of weekly internal and monthly external meetings that report on the city’s performance: Internal meetings are held with department directors across the government, while citywide meetings are broadcast and webcast live and live-tweeted by staff. “It went from something that was for an annual report to something that we’re constantly doing data analysis on and integrating into weekly and monthly meetings, lining it up with our service level data.” The Citizen Survey is seen as the “outcome data” of the city’s performance: Citizen input is used to benchmark success, and through citizen response, officials can learn whether they are meeting their goals.
The Citizen’s Perspective: In addition to informing prioritization, resource allocation and process improvements, the survey also helps the city learn when it needs to improve its communications. A survey goes out to each 311 user — whether he or she used 311 online, in person or by phone — with questions that match the Citizen Survey. The city has repeatedly seen high levels of satisfaction from 311 users on the same issues where there is low satisfaction from the general public: For instance, a person who notified the city of a streetlight outage might be satisfied with the time it took for the city to do the repair, but general public’s impression of the city’s performance remains low. The city has learned to address these gaps through improved communication, by drawing public attention to the city’s daily efforts at maintenance and fulfillment of service requests.
Measuring Impact: The city has also used the Citizen Survey to measure the success of new initiatives. Historically, the survey has shown dissatisfaction around snow removal. With a big snowstorm coming in 2013, they ramped up communications, engaging with citizens through digital platforms to address where and when city snow removal was taking place. The next Citizen Survey went out just a few weeks later, and bore witness to the initiative’s success: The city saw a dramatic drop in snow-related dissatisfaction in the survey, confirming the city’s expanded communication strategy.
The Citizen Survey is not a new or expensive technology. With an annual survey budget of around $60,000 and an Office of Performance Management staff of only four people, Kansas City has been able to transform the classic tool for gathering public feedback into a fully integrated part of the city’s data-driven performance management process. Through the smart integration of data from surveys with administrative systems and internal performance measures, Kansas City is ensuring that citizens’ priorities are reflected at all levels of government.
Today, the survey is part of the day-to-day management of the city, driving large-scale allocation decisions as well as small process improvements, helping the city ensure that it is meeting the needs — and increasing the positive perception — of constituents.
What is Kansas City’s advice to other cities that are looking to integrate public feedback into performance management? Don’t overlook the traditional tools, and never shy away from negative feedback — it can provide the most important opportunities for learning and improvement.
Heritage House Black History Museum to Open for National Night Out
Please see attached PNG file regarding the opening of the Heritage House Black History Museum, 1149 SW Lincoln in Tennessee Town, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on National Night Out Day, Sat., Aug. 5, 2023.
For more information, please contact Heritage House Curator Christine Smith at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-217-3888.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
For more information, please contact Heritage House Curator Christine Smith at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-217-3888.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town Basketball Tourney, National Night Out to be Held on Aug. 5
Please see attached JPEG for information on the Tennessee Town basketball tournament and National Night Out, both events to be held on Sat., Aug. 5, 2023.
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Faith Temple Church to Hold Free Food Giveaways on
First Wednesdays of Each Month July Through September
First Wednesdays of Each Month July Through September
Faith Temple Church is holding a Free Food Giveaway at 8:30 p.m. on the first Wednesdays of each month through September 2023 at 1162 SW Lincoln.
Those dates are:
July 5
August 2 (canceled)
September 6
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
Those dates are:
July 5
August 2 (canceled)
September 6
For more information, please contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694.
Please feel free to share with others.
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on July 10
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 10, 2023, in the first-floor conference room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
Tentative agenda (masks, social distancing optional; free smoke detectors, batteries still available):
* DREAMS 3 King’s Court Basketball and Playground Complex Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Report
* Fall 2023 Neighborhood Cleanup in October 2023 (vote)
* President Bell’s “Bottom-Up” Planning Proposal (as seen in the Topeka Capital-Journal and attached below; vote)
* Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) Efforts to Change the Vote for a Dollar Tree at 1404 SW 17th, City Support for Grocery Store Retention/Development (info. from the June 21, 2023, virtual town hall attached here; vote)
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
* Brown v. Board, Juneteenth Event Reports
* Community Policing, City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
*******************************************************************
Convinced Topeka ignored input on a street plan, Michael Bell wants to rethink government
Tim Hrenchir The Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 6:12 a.m. CT June 27, 2023
Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address by resolving that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
Michael Bell sent an email last month to more than 80 people, including the Topeka City Council, outlining steps he suggests be taken in Topeka to more effectively mirror the ideals Lincoln championed at Gettysburg.
Bell questions the process Topeka's city government followed in carrying out its soon-to-be-finished project that includes reducing S.W. 12th Street from two lanes of traffic to one between S.W. Gage and Topeka boulevards.
Bell, who is president of the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, thinks the city in planning that project didn't seek public input until after its staff had already decided what the city was going to do.
'Everyday people at the top of government's pyramid'
Bell's proposed plan suggests the city of Topeka and Shawnee County team up to implement the "bottom-up" process of planning put forth by Strong Towns, a movement aimed at giving people better local government.
Bell's document is titled "The Revolution of 'Bottom-Up' Planning, or How Government Should Have Been Operating the Whole Darn Time." The bottom-up planning process prioritizes putting "everyday people at the top of government’s pyramid," he said.
Bell, who has been involved in local government at the grassroots level for 27 years, said he hopes to inspire conversations that genuinely and positively transform city and county government in this community.
"I think there's an opportunity here for us to at least start to discuss the broad outlines of where we can go with this, because I think it's the best way for the city to operate," he said.
Topeka government has historically resisted change, Bell says
But Bell said no city council members have responded to his email, and he isn't optimistic about seeing his suggestions put in place.
The challenge, he said, is that Topeka's city government — for the most part — has historically resisted change, particularly transformational change. Topeka city officials have sought to maintain the status quo, even if that's not good for the public, Bell said.
NIA president: City has already taken step toward 'bottom-up' planning
Bell was accompanied to an interview Friday with The Capital-Journal by two people who support his proposed plan. They were longtime Topekan Zach Scott and ShaMecha King Simms, president of the Historic Old Town NIA and chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Council.
King Simms agreed with Bell that Topeka's city government has shown a lack of imagination in terms of thinking outside the box on neighborhood issues. Still, she said, a lot of great people work for Topeka's city government.
And that government has already started moving in the direction Bell proposes by holding outcome-based budgeting meetings last year aimed at giving everyday citizens more of a voice in budgeting, King Simms said. Those meetings were well-attended and brought together an impressive cross-section of people who did a good job of pinpointing matters that are important to Topekans, King Simms and Bell said.
Process would start with public comment
Bell's proposed plan calls for Topeka's city government between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year to reach out to the public seeking to accomplish two key priorities.
One involves receiving input regarding the missions of the departments that provide services to the public. Those include Shawnee County's parks and recreation department and the city's departments and divisions of utilities, public works, planning and development, housing services and community engagement, Bell said.
He said the other priority would involve getting answers from residents, either electronically or by phone, to a series of relevant, open-ended questions.
Bell said the main question would be, “What are the challenges you see regarding specific departments and what opportunities do you see to address those challenges?"
Public meetings would follow
City staff members between Jan. 1 and 31 of each year would tabulate the responses, which would be made public on Feb. 1.
Officials each February would hold four public "listening sessions." Residents at those sessions would talk about what they think should be done about the challenges they identified. They would also reinforce any previously expressed thoughts and account for any circumstances that may have changed since they initially submitted input, Bell said.
He suggests one session be held during each week of February, with the sessions taking place in four different parts of the city to enable equal access by residents.
Local government departments each March would then compile a report about their activities over the previous year, focusing on "where we've been," "where we're at" and "where we're headed," Bell said. "The key word here is 'we,' which fulfills the new paradigm’s focus on bottom-up planning," he said.
'Is this radical? I don't think so.'
Bell's plan proposes calls for Topeka's governing body and the Shawnee County Commission between April and December of each year to work with residents to design, implement and assess policies and programming reflecting the input they've received. That information would be taken into account as they consider county parks and recreation programming and funding, as well as the city's Capital Improvement Budget and Capital Improvement Plan.
"Is this radical?" Bell said of his plan. "I don’t think so. Is this different from the way local governments usually operate? You bet it is. That’s the point."
Topeka city councilwoman weighs in
Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala spoke positively of Bell's ideas in an email Friday.
"I like the layout Bell gives," she wrote. "Makes sense, involves all, keeps transparency at the forefront."
Valdivia-Alcala indicated she considers Bell's proposed plan to be "a challenge to individuals and neighborhoods to get involved" at a time when considerable apathy exists here.
"This new model as Bell proposes, I believe, IS possible in Topeka," Valdivia-Alcala wrote. The key question, she added, is "whether Topeka local government and individual residents are ready to change their mindsets, roll up their sleeves and get in it together."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
********************************************************************
Here is the recording of the June 21, 2023, Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) town hall meeting, including recommendations on a new notification and hearing process regarding the zoning changes at 1404 SW 17th and policy recommendations on the proliferation and concentration of dollar stores in Topeka, KS.
Here's the link to the materials presented at the town hall meeting:
https://www.canva.com/.../DAF.../2ES8ZNELKYZJ9ljhcjYPSg/view.
There has been a petition created to be signed, which is available at these Facebook pages: Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group, Topeka Alliance for Good Government and Topeka Neighborhood Associations.
For more information, please email FOODS at [email protected].
Here's the link to the virtual town hall meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Rw1iwR43U
Tentative agenda (masks, social distancing optional; free smoke detectors, batteries still available):
* DREAMS 3 King’s Court Basketball and Playground Complex Application Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Report
* Fall 2023 Neighborhood Cleanup in October 2023 (vote)
* President Bell’s “Bottom-Up” Planning Proposal (as seen in the Topeka Capital-Journal and attached below; vote)
* Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) Efforts to Change the Vote for a Dollar Tree at 1404 SW 17th, City Support for Grocery Store Retention/Development (info. from the June 21, 2023, virtual town hall attached here; vote)
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
* Brown v. Board, Juneteenth Event Reports
* Community Policing, City Council, Property Maintenance, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of NIAs) Reports
* International Academy Update
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
*******************************************************************
Convinced Topeka ignored input on a street plan, Michael Bell wants to rethink government
Tim Hrenchir The Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 6:12 a.m. CT June 27, 2023
Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address by resolving that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
Michael Bell sent an email last month to more than 80 people, including the Topeka City Council, outlining steps he suggests be taken in Topeka to more effectively mirror the ideals Lincoln championed at Gettysburg.
Bell questions the process Topeka's city government followed in carrying out its soon-to-be-finished project that includes reducing S.W. 12th Street from two lanes of traffic to one between S.W. Gage and Topeka boulevards.
Bell, who is president of the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, thinks the city in planning that project didn't seek public input until after its staff had already decided what the city was going to do.
'Everyday people at the top of government's pyramid'
Bell's proposed plan suggests the city of Topeka and Shawnee County team up to implement the "bottom-up" process of planning put forth by Strong Towns, a movement aimed at giving people better local government.
Bell's document is titled "The Revolution of 'Bottom-Up' Planning, or How Government Should Have Been Operating the Whole Darn Time." The bottom-up planning process prioritizes putting "everyday people at the top of government’s pyramid," he said.
Bell, who has been involved in local government at the grassroots level for 27 years, said he hopes to inspire conversations that genuinely and positively transform city and county government in this community.
"I think there's an opportunity here for us to at least start to discuss the broad outlines of where we can go with this, because I think it's the best way for the city to operate," he said.
Topeka government has historically resisted change, Bell says
But Bell said no city council members have responded to his email, and he isn't optimistic about seeing his suggestions put in place.
The challenge, he said, is that Topeka's city government — for the most part — has historically resisted change, particularly transformational change. Topeka city officials have sought to maintain the status quo, even if that's not good for the public, Bell said.
NIA president: City has already taken step toward 'bottom-up' planning
Bell was accompanied to an interview Friday with The Capital-Journal by two people who support his proposed plan. They were longtime Topekan Zach Scott and ShaMecha King Simms, president of the Historic Old Town NIA and chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Council.
King Simms agreed with Bell that Topeka's city government has shown a lack of imagination in terms of thinking outside the box on neighborhood issues. Still, she said, a lot of great people work for Topeka's city government.
And that government has already started moving in the direction Bell proposes by holding outcome-based budgeting meetings last year aimed at giving everyday citizens more of a voice in budgeting, King Simms said. Those meetings were well-attended and brought together an impressive cross-section of people who did a good job of pinpointing matters that are important to Topekans, King Simms and Bell said.
Process would start with public comment
Bell's proposed plan calls for Topeka's city government between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year to reach out to the public seeking to accomplish two key priorities.
One involves receiving input regarding the missions of the departments that provide services to the public. Those include Shawnee County's parks and recreation department and the city's departments and divisions of utilities, public works, planning and development, housing services and community engagement, Bell said.
He said the other priority would involve getting answers from residents, either electronically or by phone, to a series of relevant, open-ended questions.
Bell said the main question would be, “What are the challenges you see regarding specific departments and what opportunities do you see to address those challenges?"
Public meetings would follow
City staff members between Jan. 1 and 31 of each year would tabulate the responses, which would be made public on Feb. 1.
Officials each February would hold four public "listening sessions." Residents at those sessions would talk about what they think should be done about the challenges they identified. They would also reinforce any previously expressed thoughts and account for any circumstances that may have changed since they initially submitted input, Bell said.
He suggests one session be held during each week of February, with the sessions taking place in four different parts of the city to enable equal access by residents.
Local government departments each March would then compile a report about their activities over the previous year, focusing on "where we've been," "where we're at" and "where we're headed," Bell said. "The key word here is 'we,' which fulfills the new paradigm’s focus on bottom-up planning," he said.
'Is this radical? I don't think so.'
Bell's plan proposes calls for Topeka's governing body and the Shawnee County Commission between April and December of each year to work with residents to design, implement and assess policies and programming reflecting the input they've received. That information would be taken into account as they consider county parks and recreation programming and funding, as well as the city's Capital Improvement Budget and Capital Improvement Plan.
"Is this radical?" Bell said of his plan. "I don’t think so. Is this different from the way local governments usually operate? You bet it is. That’s the point."
Topeka city councilwoman weighs in
Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala spoke positively of Bell's ideas in an email Friday.
"I like the layout Bell gives," she wrote. "Makes sense, involves all, keeps transparency at the forefront."
Valdivia-Alcala indicated she considers Bell's proposed plan to be "a challenge to individuals and neighborhoods to get involved" at a time when considerable apathy exists here.
"This new model as Bell proposes, I believe, IS possible in Topeka," Valdivia-Alcala wrote. The key question, she added, is "whether Topeka local government and individual residents are ready to change their mindsets, roll up their sleeves and get in it together."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
********************************************************************
Here is the recording of the June 21, 2023, Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) town hall meeting, including recommendations on a new notification and hearing process regarding the zoning changes at 1404 SW 17th and policy recommendations on the proliferation and concentration of dollar stores in Topeka, KS.
Here's the link to the materials presented at the town hall meeting:
https://www.canva.com/.../DAF.../2ES8ZNELKYZJ9ljhcjYPSg/view.
There has been a petition created to be signed, which is available at these Facebook pages: Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group, Topeka Alliance for Good Government and Topeka Neighborhood Associations.
For more information, please email FOODS at [email protected].
Here's the link to the virtual town hall meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Rw1iwR43U
Topeka Capital-Journal Story: Putting Everyday People at the Top of
Government's Pyramid gets Coverage, Hopefully Leading to Discussions
Government's Pyramid gets Coverage, Hopefully Leading to Discussions
From left, Michael Bell, president of the Tennessee Town NIA; ShaMecha King Simms, president of the Historic Old Town NIA and chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Council; and longtime Topekan Zach Scott stand in front of Scott’s home, which is located along S.W. 12th Street. Evert Nelson/The Capital Journal.
Convinced Topeka ignored input on a street plan, Michael Bell wants to rethink government
Tim Hrenchir The Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 6:12 a.m. CT June 27, 2023
Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address by resolving that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
Michael Bell sent an email last month to more than 80 people, including the Topeka City Council, outlining steps he suggests be taken in Topeka to more effectively mirror the ideals Lincoln championed at Gettysburg.
Bell questions the process Topeka's city government followed in carrying out its soon-to-be-finished project that includes reducing S.W. 12th Street from two lanes of traffic to one between S.W. Gage and Topeka boulevards.
Bell, who is president of the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, thinks the city in planning that project didn't seek public input until after its staff had already decided what the city was going to do.
'Everyday people at the top of government's pyramid'
Bell's proposed plan suggests the city of Topeka and Shawnee County team up to implement the "bottom-up" process of planning put forth by Strong Towns, a movement aimed at giving people better local government.
Bell's document is titled "The Revolution of 'Bottom-Up' Planning, or How Government Should Have Been Operating the Whole Darn Time."
The bottom-up planning process prioritizes putting "everyday people at the top of government’s pyramid," he said.
Bell, who has been involved in local government at the grassroots level for 27 years, said he hopes to inspire conversations that genuinely and positively transform city and county government in this community.
"I think there's an opportunity here for us to at least start to discuss the broad outlines of where we can go with this, because I think it's the best way for the city to operate," he said.
Topeka government has historically resisted change, Bell says
But Bell said no city council members have responded to his email, and he isn't optimistic about seeing his suggestions put in place.
The challenge, he said, is that Topeka's city government — for the most part — has historically resisted change, particularly transformational change.
Topeka city officials have sought to maintain the status quo, even if that's not good for the public, Bell said.
NIA president: City has already taken step toward 'bottom-up' planning
Bell was accompanied to an interview Friday with The Capital-Journal by two people who support his proposed plan.
They were longtime Topekan Zach Scott and ShaMecha King Simms, president of the Historic Old Town NIA and chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Council.
King Simms agreed with Bell that Topeka's city government has shown a lack of imagination in terms of thinking outside the box on neighborhood issues.
Still, she said, a lot of great people work for Topeka's city government.
And that government has already started moving in the direction Bell proposes by holding outcome-based budgeting meetings last year aimed at giving everyday citizens more of a voice in budgeting, King Simms said.
Those meetings were well-attended and brought together an impressive cross-section of people who did a good job of pinpointing matters that are important to Topekans, King Simms and Bell said.
Process would start with public comment
Bell's proposed plan calls for Topeka's city government between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year to reach out to the public seeking to accomplish two key priorities.
One involves receiving input regarding the missions of the departments that provide services to the public.
Those include Shawnee County's parks and recreation department and the city's departments and divisions of utilities, public works, planning and development, housing services and community engagement, Bell said.
He said the other priority would involve getting answers from residents, either electronically or by phone, to a series of relevant, open-ended questions.
Bell said the main question would be, “What are the challenges you see regarding specific departments and what opportunities do you see to address those challenges?"
Public meetings would follow
City staff members between Jan. 1 and 31 of each year would tabulate the responses, which would be made public on Feb. 1.
Officials each February would hold four public "listening sessions."
Residents at those sessions would talk about what they think should be done about the challenges they identified. They would also reinforce any previously expressed thoughts and account for any circumstances that may have changed since they initially submitted input, Bell said.
He suggests one session be held during each week of February, with the sessions taking place in four different parts of the city to enable equal access by residents.
Local government departments each March would then compile a report about their activities over the previous year, focusing on "where we've been," "where we're at" and "where we're headed," Bell said.
"The key word here is 'we,' which fulfills the new paradigm’s focus on bottom-up planning," he said.
'Is this radical? I don't think so.'
Bell's plan proposes calls for Topeka's governing body and the Shawnee County Commission between April and December of each year to work with residents to design, implement and assess policies and programming reflecting the input they've received.
That information would be taken into account as they consider county parks and recreation programming and funding, as well as the city's Capital Improvement Budget and Capital Improvement Plan.
"Is this radical?" Bell said of his plan. "I don’t think so. Is this different from the way local governments usually operate? You bet it is. That’s the point."
Topeka city councilwoman weighs in
Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala spoke positively of Bell's ideas in an email Friday.
"I like the layout Bell gives," she wrote. "Makes sense, involves all, keeps transparency at the forefront."
Valdivia-Alcala indicated she considers Bell's proposed plan to be "a challenge to individuals and neighborhoods to get involved" at a time when considerable apathy exists here.
"This new model as Bell proposes, I believe, IS possible in Topeka," Valdivia-Alcala wrote.
The key question, she added, is "whether Topeka local government and individual residents are ready to change their mindsets, roll up their sleeves and get in it together."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
Tim Hrenchir The Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 6:12 a.m. CT June 27, 2023
Abraham Lincoln ended his Gettysburg Address by resolving that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
Michael Bell sent an email last month to more than 80 people, including the Topeka City Council, outlining steps he suggests be taken in Topeka to more effectively mirror the ideals Lincoln championed at Gettysburg.
Bell questions the process Topeka's city government followed in carrying out its soon-to-be-finished project that includes reducing S.W. 12th Street from two lanes of traffic to one between S.W. Gage and Topeka boulevards.
Bell, who is president of the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, thinks the city in planning that project didn't seek public input until after its staff had already decided what the city was going to do.
'Everyday people at the top of government's pyramid'
Bell's proposed plan suggests the city of Topeka and Shawnee County team up to implement the "bottom-up" process of planning put forth by Strong Towns, a movement aimed at giving people better local government.
Bell's document is titled "The Revolution of 'Bottom-Up' Planning, or How Government Should Have Been Operating the Whole Darn Time."
The bottom-up planning process prioritizes putting "everyday people at the top of government’s pyramid," he said.
Bell, who has been involved in local government at the grassroots level for 27 years, said he hopes to inspire conversations that genuinely and positively transform city and county government in this community.
"I think there's an opportunity here for us to at least start to discuss the broad outlines of where we can go with this, because I think it's the best way for the city to operate," he said.
Topeka government has historically resisted change, Bell says
But Bell said no city council members have responded to his email, and he isn't optimistic about seeing his suggestions put in place.
The challenge, he said, is that Topeka's city government — for the most part — has historically resisted change, particularly transformational change.
Topeka city officials have sought to maintain the status quo, even if that's not good for the public, Bell said.
NIA president: City has already taken step toward 'bottom-up' planning
Bell was accompanied to an interview Friday with The Capital-Journal by two people who support his proposed plan.
They were longtime Topekan Zach Scott and ShaMecha King Simms, president of the Historic Old Town NIA and chairwoman of the Citizens Advisory Council.
King Simms agreed with Bell that Topeka's city government has shown a lack of imagination in terms of thinking outside the box on neighborhood issues.
Still, she said, a lot of great people work for Topeka's city government.
And that government has already started moving in the direction Bell proposes by holding outcome-based budgeting meetings last year aimed at giving everyday citizens more of a voice in budgeting, King Simms said.
Those meetings were well-attended and brought together an impressive cross-section of people who did a good job of pinpointing matters that are important to Topekans, King Simms and Bell said.
Process would start with public comment
Bell's proposed plan calls for Topeka's city government between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 of each year to reach out to the public seeking to accomplish two key priorities.
One involves receiving input regarding the missions of the departments that provide services to the public.
Those include Shawnee County's parks and recreation department and the city's departments and divisions of utilities, public works, planning and development, housing services and community engagement, Bell said.
He said the other priority would involve getting answers from residents, either electronically or by phone, to a series of relevant, open-ended questions.
Bell said the main question would be, “What are the challenges you see regarding specific departments and what opportunities do you see to address those challenges?"
Public meetings would follow
City staff members between Jan. 1 and 31 of each year would tabulate the responses, which would be made public on Feb. 1.
Officials each February would hold four public "listening sessions."
Residents at those sessions would talk about what they think should be done about the challenges they identified. They would also reinforce any previously expressed thoughts and account for any circumstances that may have changed since they initially submitted input, Bell said.
He suggests one session be held during each week of February, with the sessions taking place in four different parts of the city to enable equal access by residents.
Local government departments each March would then compile a report about their activities over the previous year, focusing on "where we've been," "where we're at" and "where we're headed," Bell said.
"The key word here is 'we,' which fulfills the new paradigm’s focus on bottom-up planning," he said.
'Is this radical? I don't think so.'
Bell's plan proposes calls for Topeka's governing body and the Shawnee County Commission between April and December of each year to work with residents to design, implement and assess policies and programming reflecting the input they've received.
That information would be taken into account as they consider county parks and recreation programming and funding, as well as the city's Capital Improvement Budget and Capital Improvement Plan.
"Is this radical?" Bell said of his plan. "I don’t think so. Is this different from the way local governments usually operate? You bet it is. That’s the point."
Topeka city councilwoman weighs in
Topeka City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala spoke positively of Bell's ideas in an email Friday.
"I like the layout Bell gives," she wrote. "Makes sense, involves all, keeps transparency at the forefront."
Valdivia-Alcala indicated she considers Bell's proposed plan to be "a challenge to individuals and neighborhoods to get involved" at a time when considerable apathy exists here.
"This new model as Bell proposes, I believe, IS possible in Topeka," Valdivia-Alcala wrote.
The key question, she added, is "whether Topeka local government and individual residents are ready to change their mindsets, roll up their sleeves and get in it together."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at [email protected] or 785-213-5934.
Thanks to All Who Made Brown, Juneteenth Events Successes!
In January and March of this year the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA), the group set out in city ordinance to represent the low-income people of a defined Central Topeka neighborhood, discussed its 2023 neighborhood goals. One of the goals identified was expanding the NIA’s social footprint through becoming involved in activities that not only had import for the NIA but for the entire city.
The two new activities the NIA endorsed were a Brown v. Board of Education recognition event and a Juneteenth recognition event. After the affirmative votes, I started working with a number of people to bring both events to fruition, most notably well-respected historian and Tennessee Town resident Donna Rae Pearson on the Brown event and activist and Black History Museum Curator Christine Smith on the Juneteenth event.
We held our Brown event on May 13 in front of the historic Buchanan Center (formerly the Buchanan School, one of the 4 segregated grade schools at the time of Brown v. Board) at 1195 SW Buchanan in Tennessee Town and our Juneteenth event on Freedom Day, June 19, beside the Black History Museum at 1149 SW Lincoln in Tennessee Town.
Both events were rousing and inspiring successes!
MANY thanks go to MANY people who helped to make both events successes. That’s what this post is really about. Here they are (love you all!):
Donna Rae Pearson:
For facilitating the Brown event
Currently with the KS State Historical Society
Previously with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Member of the Topeka Landmarks and Planning Commissions
Alternate NIA member to Topeka’s Citizen Advisory Council, the city’s association of NIAs
Respected historian
Has started a history nonprofit, with Dr. Valerie Mendoza, called “The Other Road”
The Brown Foundation (Mary Thompson, Cheryl Brown Henderson):
For identifying speakers, Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson
For its vital preservation of the history of one of the most consequential SCOTUS decisions of all time
Brown Event Speakers Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson:
For agreeing to speak at the Brown event
For their many contributions to our history and the rich tapestry that is our city and nation
NIA Vice President Patrick DeLapp and NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter:
For their help in organizing the Brown and Juneteenth events
For their input and experience regarding and personal contributions to the Tennessee Town NIA
For their years-long friendships
NIA Member Bob Cockerham:
For providing tables and chairs for the Brown and Juneteenth events
For being the liaison between the NIA and The First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan
For being a great neighbor through helping his neighbors with work on their homes and properties
Working Men of Christ Ministries:
For helping to transport the tables and chairs to and from the 2 events
For helping the NIA to maintain Lane Garden, at SW 12th and Lane
For successfully reintegrating formerly incarcerated men and women to become our neighbors
City of Topeka Department of Community Engagement’s Bianca Burnett:
For arranging payment for the microphone/speaker used at the Brown event
For her technical assistance regarding our NIA so that it is in compliance with all rules, regulations
The Members of the Tennessee Town NIA:
For their continued support
For being great neighbors
For making Tennessee Town one of Topeka’s best neighborhoods
Christine Smith:
For facilitating the Juneteenth event
The curator of the Black History Museum (contact her at [email protected] for a tour)
Community activist
Member of Faith Temple Church
Sandy Lassiter and Community First, Inc.:
Of Faith Temple Church
One of the Juneteenth event’s featured speakers
Long-time and respected Topeka educator, including the International Academy Virtual School
Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer
Courtland Davis, ShaMecha King Simms and W. Lazone Grays:
The other 3 featured Juneteenth speakers
Tireless community activists all
Contributions across a wide variety of challenges and opportunities
League of Women Voters - Topeka and Shawnee County:
For its tireless and important work regarding voter education and encouraging voter registration
For joining us today on Freedom Day as voting is one of the best expressions of freedom
Food Truck Vendors:
For providing us with sustenance at today’s Juneteenth event
For being at the forefront of small business development in Topeka
Topeka Family and Friends Juneteenth Celebration
I and many others are still smiling and being imbued from the presentations at both events. Words and deeds are vitally important as they can move mountains and free people. Those words and deeds generously seasoned with compassion, passion, empathy, perseverance and love, can change the course of human history.
The two new activities the NIA endorsed were a Brown v. Board of Education recognition event and a Juneteenth recognition event. After the affirmative votes, I started working with a number of people to bring both events to fruition, most notably well-respected historian and Tennessee Town resident Donna Rae Pearson on the Brown event and activist and Black History Museum Curator Christine Smith on the Juneteenth event.
We held our Brown event on May 13 in front of the historic Buchanan Center (formerly the Buchanan School, one of the 4 segregated grade schools at the time of Brown v. Board) at 1195 SW Buchanan in Tennessee Town and our Juneteenth event on Freedom Day, June 19, beside the Black History Museum at 1149 SW Lincoln in Tennessee Town.
Both events were rousing and inspiring successes!
MANY thanks go to MANY people who helped to make both events successes. That’s what this post is really about. Here they are (love you all!):
Donna Rae Pearson:
For facilitating the Brown event
Currently with the KS State Historical Society
Previously with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Member of the Topeka Landmarks and Planning Commissions
Alternate NIA member to Topeka’s Citizen Advisory Council, the city’s association of NIAs
Respected historian
Has started a history nonprofit, with Dr. Valerie Mendoza, called “The Other Road”
The Brown Foundation (Mary Thompson, Cheryl Brown Henderson):
For identifying speakers, Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson
For its vital preservation of the history of one of the most consequential SCOTUS decisions of all time
Brown Event Speakers Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson:
For agreeing to speak at the Brown event
For their many contributions to our history and the rich tapestry that is our city and nation
NIA Vice President Patrick DeLapp and NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter:
For their help in organizing the Brown and Juneteenth events
For their input and experience regarding and personal contributions to the Tennessee Town NIA
For their years-long friendships
NIA Member Bob Cockerham:
For providing tables and chairs for the Brown and Juneteenth events
For being the liaison between the NIA and The First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan
For being a great neighbor through helping his neighbors with work on their homes and properties
Working Men of Christ Ministries:
For helping to transport the tables and chairs to and from the 2 events
For helping the NIA to maintain Lane Garden, at SW 12th and Lane
For successfully reintegrating formerly incarcerated men and women to become our neighbors
City of Topeka Department of Community Engagement’s Bianca Burnett:
For arranging payment for the microphone/speaker used at the Brown event
For her technical assistance regarding our NIA so that it is in compliance with all rules, regulations
The Members of the Tennessee Town NIA:
For their continued support
For being great neighbors
For making Tennessee Town one of Topeka’s best neighborhoods
Christine Smith:
For facilitating the Juneteenth event
The curator of the Black History Museum (contact her at [email protected] for a tour)
Community activist
Member of Faith Temple Church
Sandy Lassiter and Community First, Inc.:
Of Faith Temple Church
One of the Juneteenth event’s featured speakers
Long-time and respected Topeka educator, including the International Academy Virtual School
Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer
Courtland Davis, ShaMecha King Simms and W. Lazone Grays:
The other 3 featured Juneteenth speakers
Tireless community activists all
Contributions across a wide variety of challenges and opportunities
League of Women Voters - Topeka and Shawnee County:
For its tireless and important work regarding voter education and encouraging voter registration
For joining us today on Freedom Day as voting is one of the best expressions of freedom
Food Truck Vendors:
For providing us with sustenance at today’s Juneteenth event
For being at the forefront of small business development in Topeka
Topeka Family and Friends Juneteenth Celebration
I and many others are still smiling and being imbued from the presentations at both events. Words and deeds are vitally important as they can move mountains and free people. Those words and deeds generously seasoned with compassion, passion, empathy, perseverance and love, can change the course of human history.
The Recording of the June 21, 2023,
Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) Town Hall Meeting
Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) Town Hall Meeting
Here is the recording of the June 21, 2023, Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores (FOODS) town hall meeting, including recommendations on a new notification and hearing process regarding the zoning changes at 1404 SW 17th and policy recommendations on the proliferation and concentration of dollar stores in Topeka, KS.
Here's the link to the materials presented at the town hall meeting:
www.canva.com/design/DAFlwZUpaZk/2ES8ZNELKYZJ9ljhcjYPSg/view
There has been a petition created to be signed, which is available at these Facebook pages: Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group, Topeka Alliance for Good Government and Topeka Neighborhood Associations.
For more information, please email FOODS at [email protected].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Rw1iwR43U
Here's the link to the materials presented at the town hall meeting:
www.canva.com/design/DAFlwZUpaZk/2ES8ZNELKYZJ9ljhcjYPSg/view
There has been a petition created to be signed, which is available at these Facebook pages: Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group, Topeka Alliance for Good Government and Topeka Neighborhood Associations.
For more information, please email FOODS at [email protected].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5Rw1iwR43U
Grassroots Group to Hold Virtual Town Hall Meeting on June 21, 2023, on
Topeka Zoning Vote, Dollar Stores in Low-Income Neighborhoods,
Supporting Grocery Stores as Real Economic Development
Topeka Zoning Vote, Dollar Stores in Low-Income Neighborhoods,
Supporting Grocery Stores as Real Economic Development
Please review the attached and join the grassroots-based group, "Fighting the Onslaught Of Dollar Stores," or FOODS, in its efforts to: Ask the City of Topeka to correct the fact that there was lack of notification regarding the creation of a new Dollar Tree at 1404 SW 17th. The lack of notification may have a significant impact on the residents of Central Topeka as many of those residents did not have the opportunity to be heard. Reverse a City of Topeka zoning vote for a new Dollar Tree at 1404 SW 17th and to embrace the existence or creation of full-service grocery stores with healthier food options and real investment opportunities in low-income areas and communities of color. For materials for this meeting, please click on this link: www.canva.com/design/DAFlwZUpaZk/2ES8ZNELKYZJ9ljhcjYPSg/view Thanks! Michael Bell FOODS Steering Committee Member |
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Tennessee Town NIA Juneteenth Event Set for June 19
Please see the attached JPEG of the Tennessee Town NIA's Juneteenth Recognition Event, to be held at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Black History Museum, 1149 SW Lincoln, as part of "Freedom Day" activities.
The event recognizes the official end of slavery, what has become known as "Freedom Day," as it was announced in Texas on June 19, 1865. The 2023 event's theme is "What Does the Official End of Slavery Mean in 2023?" The theme embraces not only the history of the official end of slavery, but also, and most importantly, how the "official end of slavery" did not mean that the day-to-day consequences of slavery ended that day nearly 158 years ago.
Black History Museum Curator Christine Smith will facilitate the event. There are 4 speakers scheduled: Courtland Davis, ShaMecha King Simms, W. Lazone Grays and Sandra K. Lassiter (please see the JPEG for their bios).
The League of Women Voters of Topeka Shawnee County will have a table at the event to distribute information only on voting and voter registration. Our thanks to the LWVTSC's Susan Quinn for agreeing to attend our Juneteenth event as voting is one of the best ways to mark "Freedom Day."
There also will be food trucks!
For questions or to RSVP, please contact me at this email address. Please feel free to share with others.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
The event recognizes the official end of slavery, what has become known as "Freedom Day," as it was announced in Texas on June 19, 1865. The 2023 event's theme is "What Does the Official End of Slavery Mean in 2023?" The theme embraces not only the history of the official end of slavery, but also, and most importantly, how the "official end of slavery" did not mean that the day-to-day consequences of slavery ended that day nearly 158 years ago.
Black History Museum Curator Christine Smith will facilitate the event. There are 4 speakers scheduled: Courtland Davis, ShaMecha King Simms, W. Lazone Grays and Sandra K. Lassiter (please see the JPEG for their bios).
The League of Women Voters of Topeka Shawnee County will have a table at the event to distribute information only on voting and voter registration. Our thanks to the LWVTSC's Susan Quinn for agreeing to attend our Juneteenth event as voting is one of the best ways to mark "Freedom Day."
There also will be food trucks!
For questions or to RSVP, please contact me at this email address. Please feel free to share with others.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Topeka Continues Work on a Community-Wide Poverty Simulation to
Direct Attention and Resources to the Issue
Direct Attention and Resources to the Issue
According to the KS State Research and Extension Office, a "poverty simulation" simply "presents real-world scenarios to its participants that 'portray the realities of living paycheck to paycheck in today’s world facing challenges like being a single parent, having your significant other in jail and getting evicted from your apartment. Participants will then have to navigate different social service booths where they will have a limited amount of money and have to figure out how to spend it.'"
Poverty simulations should be required learning for all elected, appointed and other governmental leaders and members, as well as low-income advocates, developers, financial institutions and other groups and individuals invested/interested in learning what living for a month in poverty really means. Participants will have multiple opportunities to interact with simulation facilitators and one another on what they've learned.
As a Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member (the CAC is the association of Topeka's 21 NIAs, or its low- to moderate-income neighborhoods), I first approached the body about conducting a poverty simulation last winter. The Greater Topeka Partnership, which serves as an umbrella agency including nine distinct efforts that support the enhancement of economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County, accepted the challenge and sponsored a GTP-only poverty simulation in January.
It is from that simulation that work continues on sponsoring a community-wide poverty simulation.
I created the attached document to discuss where we've been with poverty in Topeka, where we're at and where we could be headed. If you'd like to attend or help as a financial donor or volunteer, please contact CAC Chair ShaMecha King Simms at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-207-4744.
Poverty simulations should be required learning for all elected, appointed and other governmental leaders and members, as well as low-income advocates, developers, financial institutions and other groups and individuals invested/interested in learning what living for a month in poverty really means. Participants will have multiple opportunities to interact with simulation facilitators and one another on what they've learned.
As a Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member (the CAC is the association of Topeka's 21 NIAs, or its low- to moderate-income neighborhoods), I first approached the body about conducting a poverty simulation last winter. The Greater Topeka Partnership, which serves as an umbrella agency including nine distinct efforts that support the enhancement of economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County, accepted the challenge and sponsored a GTP-only poverty simulation in January.
It is from that simulation that work continues on sponsoring a community-wide poverty simulation.
I created the attached document to discuss where we've been with poverty in Topeka, where we're at and where we could be headed. If you'd like to attend or help as a financial donor or volunteer, please contact CAC Chair ShaMecha King Simms at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-207-4744.
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| cac_poverty_simulation_appeal_final_draft_jpeg_pg._3.jpg |
Topeka's Governing Body Approves Land Bank Pilot Program
Which Will Help the City's NIAs to Amass Properties for Affordable Housing
Which Will Help the City's NIAs to Amass Properties for Affordable Housing
On May 17, 2023, on the 69th anniversary of the most consequential SCOTUS decision of the 20th century, Brown v. Board, Topeka, KS's governing body also made a consequential decision to approve a land bank pilot program.
The program will buy distressed properties and hold them tax-free while they're upgraded, resold and returned to the tax rolls. Establishing a land bank is one of the chief recommendations of the city's 2020 housing study.
Topeka's mayor and city council voted 9-0, with Councilman Tony Emerson being absent, to create the program and adopt specific policy guidelines governing it. The city will set aside $500,000 to be used by the pilot program. It will remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2026, and could be renewed then. District 8 City Council Member Spencer Duncan, along with Topeka City Manager Stephen Wade, led the effort to get the city's governing body to adopt the land bank pilot program.
The land bank pilot program will have a 5-member board of trustees who will be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council. All board of trustee members will be required to live in Shawnee County, which includes the city of Topeka. One member must be a city council member, one must be a city employee appointed by the city manager and one must be a member of a Neighborhood Improvement Association.
Land banks are especially important for low-income areas where blight is a concern and tax-delinquent properties are present. Topeka's land bank ordinance reads that it "shall serve the public purpose of providing for the orderly, planned and reutilization of abandoned, tax-foreclosed or otherwise underutilized properties." They also create one-stop shopping for neighborhoods as the piecemeal way of cobbling together agreements with multiple entities is replaced with a format where they are at the same table at the same time with government, developers and nonprofits.
In cooperation with then-City of Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney, about 20 years ago Tennessee Town implemented a version of land banking in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. The 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan identified that block as the worst block in the neighborhood as it featured deteriorated and deteriorating housing and the code enforcement and safety issues that come with the failing housing.
We went to work on that block. The NIA worked with Rooney to acquire vacant lots and dilapidated housing in the block. The dilapidated housing was demolished. There were enough parcels then to redevelop. The NIA completed and won multiple in-fill housing grants that enabled new construction. Boling Construction built 3 new houses in the block. That housing was complemented by 3 new houses built by Topeka Habitat for Humanity and 3 houses the NIA acquired from Holy Name Church that were moved into the neighborhood onto new foundations.
By 2004, the worst block in the NIA had become one of its best. The new housing efforts also inspired existing property owners to make improvements to their homes, too. Some of those improvements were through City rehab programming while other improvements were self-funded by the property owners (see pic above).
Now that can happen again in Tennessee Town and in NIAs across Topeka.
The program will buy distressed properties and hold them tax-free while they're upgraded, resold and returned to the tax rolls. Establishing a land bank is one of the chief recommendations of the city's 2020 housing study.
Topeka's mayor and city council voted 9-0, with Councilman Tony Emerson being absent, to create the program and adopt specific policy guidelines governing it. The city will set aside $500,000 to be used by the pilot program. It will remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2026, and could be renewed then. District 8 City Council Member Spencer Duncan, along with Topeka City Manager Stephen Wade, led the effort to get the city's governing body to adopt the land bank pilot program.
The land bank pilot program will have a 5-member board of trustees who will be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council. All board of trustee members will be required to live in Shawnee County, which includes the city of Topeka. One member must be a city council member, one must be a city employee appointed by the city manager and one must be a member of a Neighborhood Improvement Association.
Land banks are especially important for low-income areas where blight is a concern and tax-delinquent properties are present. Topeka's land bank ordinance reads that it "shall serve the public purpose of providing for the orderly, planned and reutilization of abandoned, tax-foreclosed or otherwise underutilized properties." They also create one-stop shopping for neighborhoods as the piecemeal way of cobbling together agreements with multiple entities is replaced with a format where they are at the same table at the same time with government, developers and nonprofits.
In cooperation with then-City of Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney, about 20 years ago Tennessee Town implemented a version of land banking in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. The 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan identified that block as the worst block in the neighborhood as it featured deteriorated and deteriorating housing and the code enforcement and safety issues that come with the failing housing.
We went to work on that block. The NIA worked with Rooney to acquire vacant lots and dilapidated housing in the block. The dilapidated housing was demolished. There were enough parcels then to redevelop. The NIA completed and won multiple in-fill housing grants that enabled new construction. Boling Construction built 3 new houses in the block. That housing was complemented by 3 new houses built by Topeka Habitat for Humanity and 3 houses the NIA acquired from Holy Name Church that were moved into the neighborhood onto new foundations.
By 2004, the worst block in the NIA had become one of its best. The new housing efforts also inspired existing property owners to make improvements to their homes, too. Some of those improvements were through City rehab programming while other improvements were self-funded by the property owners (see pic above).
Now that can happen again in Tennessee Town and in NIAs across Topeka.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town NIA Holds Brown v. Board Event at the Former Buchanan School
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA) of Topeka, KS, held a Brown v. Board recognition event at noon on Saturday, May 13, 2023, in front of the historic Buchanan Center (formerly the Buchanan School, one of the 4 Topeka grade schools involved in the 1954 SCOTUS decision), 1195 SW Buchanan.
Topeka Public Schools Foundation Executive Director Pamela Johnson-Betts, who attended Washington School, another of the 4 Topeka grade schools, pictorially covered the event (see pics below) and said this about the gathering:
“Today the Tennessee Town NIA presented a nice program commemorating the 69th anniversary of the landmark BVB decision. The event, 'Brown v. Board: The Voices Carry,' offered attendees a glimpse into the past and an extraordinary afternoon! Participants enjoyed intergenerational exchanges and a day outside under a big shade tree. As the wind offered a gentle breeze one could imagine a Tennessee Town gathering similar to this 69 years ago! Thank You, Michael Bell and Donna Rae Pearson, it was great! #hometowntopekaproud
“It was heartwarming to see this day celebrated in a way that genuinely showcased and recognized those 1954 Topeka hero’s that had the courage to not just change Topeka but that who’s work ultimately sent ripple affects of civil rights change throughout the world! Saturday included different generations and quiet, meaningful talk that no huge banquet or days of activities can duplicate. Nothing fancy or widely televised or otherwise with much pomp and circumstance. A program that was without much fanfare but one that was extremely demonstrative and fully powerful! This was borne out by witnessing the number and length of time attendees stood around chatting long after the event was over! That is the heart of who those magnificent caring Topeka plaintiffs were and many of us truly still are today!! Never boastful with pomposity, just diligently and consistently about the business of fairness. So proud to once again witness and be a part of smart ordinary individuals doing the extraordinary ! Thank you.”
This is what Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell said in response:
“A great day was had by all as we learned about and shared our experiences regarding the most consequential SCOTUS decision of the 20th century. The weather turned out well as we all were able to mark the 69th anniversary of Brown v. Board in front of one of the 4 segregated Topeka grade schools, Buchanan School (now the Buchanan Center).
“I want to extend thanks to those who attended today's event who actually were there in 1954 when the SCOTUS unanimously decided that separating children in education based on race was unconstitutional.
“And I want to extend special thanks to today's featured speakers, Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson and to The Brown Foundation for contacting them to speak.
“As I said on Saturday, regarding the significance of Brown v. Board, ‘The changes that swept the nation in the 1950s and ‘60s, changes that finally and publicly rebuked the second-class citizenship of African-Americans and others, have continued since Brown. However, racism, from its immoral and despicable roots in slavery through the literacy tests, poll taxes, and lynchings of Jim Crow, has proven to be a tough beast to slay. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, in addition to other federal legislation in the 1960s and '70s that addressed discrimination, were necessary to carry out the promise of Brown. Today, with the weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the same institution that in 1954 unanimously ruled that institutional racism was wrong, in addition to other efforts to roll back the gains made since Brown, the fight for justice and equality continues. Brown v. Board is, then, our past, our present, and our future. As it was once said, 'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’
“As I said near the end of the event, I wanted to design it so that it was simple, straightforward and dignified. You were completely spot on when you said the speakers and attendees (along with Donna Rae Pearson's facilitation) made sure those things happened. I had a HUGE grin on my face for most of the day as those who made us possible (literally, figuratively and in every other way) were put front and center, where they so richly deserve to be.”
Please see the attached pics that Johnson-Betts took of the event. Great thanks go to her and to the others who were able to attend!
Topeka Public Schools Foundation Executive Director Pamela Johnson-Betts, who attended Washington School, another of the 4 Topeka grade schools, pictorially covered the event (see pics below) and said this about the gathering:
“Today the Tennessee Town NIA presented a nice program commemorating the 69th anniversary of the landmark BVB decision. The event, 'Brown v. Board: The Voices Carry,' offered attendees a glimpse into the past and an extraordinary afternoon! Participants enjoyed intergenerational exchanges and a day outside under a big shade tree. As the wind offered a gentle breeze one could imagine a Tennessee Town gathering similar to this 69 years ago! Thank You, Michael Bell and Donna Rae Pearson, it was great! #hometowntopekaproud
“It was heartwarming to see this day celebrated in a way that genuinely showcased and recognized those 1954 Topeka hero’s that had the courage to not just change Topeka but that who’s work ultimately sent ripple affects of civil rights change throughout the world! Saturday included different generations and quiet, meaningful talk that no huge banquet or days of activities can duplicate. Nothing fancy or widely televised or otherwise with much pomp and circumstance. A program that was without much fanfare but one that was extremely demonstrative and fully powerful! This was borne out by witnessing the number and length of time attendees stood around chatting long after the event was over! That is the heart of who those magnificent caring Topeka plaintiffs were and many of us truly still are today!! Never boastful with pomposity, just diligently and consistently about the business of fairness. So proud to once again witness and be a part of smart ordinary individuals doing the extraordinary ! Thank you.”
This is what Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell said in response:
“A great day was had by all as we learned about and shared our experiences regarding the most consequential SCOTUS decision of the 20th century. The weather turned out well as we all were able to mark the 69th anniversary of Brown v. Board in front of one of the 4 segregated Topeka grade schools, Buchanan School (now the Buchanan Center).
“I want to extend thanks to those who attended today's event who actually were there in 1954 when the SCOTUS unanimously decided that separating children in education based on race was unconstitutional.
“And I want to extend special thanks to today's featured speakers, Dr. John Edgar Tidwell and Ms. Victoria Lawton Benson and to The Brown Foundation for contacting them to speak.
“As I said on Saturday, regarding the significance of Brown v. Board, ‘The changes that swept the nation in the 1950s and ‘60s, changes that finally and publicly rebuked the second-class citizenship of African-Americans and others, have continued since Brown. However, racism, from its immoral and despicable roots in slavery through the literacy tests, poll taxes, and lynchings of Jim Crow, has proven to be a tough beast to slay. The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, in addition to other federal legislation in the 1960s and '70s that addressed discrimination, were necessary to carry out the promise of Brown. Today, with the weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the same institution that in 1954 unanimously ruled that institutional racism was wrong, in addition to other efforts to roll back the gains made since Brown, the fight for justice and equality continues. Brown v. Board is, then, our past, our present, and our future. As it was once said, 'Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.’
“As I said near the end of the event, I wanted to design it so that it was simple, straightforward and dignified. You were completely spot on when you said the speakers and attendees (along with Donna Rae Pearson's facilitation) made sure those things happened. I had a HUGE grin on my face for most of the day as those who made us possible (literally, figuratively and in every other way) were put front and center, where they so richly deserve to be.”
Please see the attached pics that Johnson-Betts took of the event. Great thanks go to her and to the others who were able to attend!
Topeka Metro Launches Kids Ride Free Promotion for Summer
Please click on the following link. It's a great promotion to enable the kids to see and experience Topeka this summer!
https://www.wibw.com/2023/05/09/topeka-metro-launches-kids-ride-free-promotion-summer/
Please feel free to share with others.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
https://www.wibw.com/2023/05/09/topeka-metro-launches-kids-ride-free-promotion-summer/
Please feel free to share with others.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on May 8
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, May 8, 2023
1st-Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights
(Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· 2023 Juneteenth Event Time, Date, Arrangements, Vote; May 13, 2023 Brown v. Board Event Update
· DREAMS 3 King’s Court Basketball and Playground Complex Application Update
· Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Meeting Report and Update
· Replicating the Hi-Crest NIA’s SENT Initiative in Tennessee Town Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
· Community Policing, City Council, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Tennessee Town on the Internet!
Website: http://tenntownnia.weebly.com (all NIA meetings, activities posted)
Nextdoor.com: https://tennesseetown.nextdoor.com/news_feed/
E-Mail: [email protected].
If you’d like to receive regular updates on what’s happening in Tennessee Town and Topeka, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] and we’ll add you to the NIA’s e-mail list!
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, May 8, 2023
1st-Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights
(Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· 2023 Juneteenth Event Time, Date, Arrangements, Vote; May 13, 2023 Brown v. Board Event Update
· DREAMS 3 King’s Court Basketball and Playground Complex Application Update
· Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Meeting Report and Update
· Replicating the Hi-Crest NIA’s SENT Initiative in Tennessee Town Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· Topeka Poverty Simulation Update
· Community Policing, City Council, Citizen Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Tennessee Town on the Internet!
Website: http://tenntownnia.weebly.com (all NIA meetings, activities posted)
Nextdoor.com: https://tennesseetown.nextdoor.com/news_feed/
E-Mail: [email protected].
If you’d like to receive regular updates on what’s happening in Tennessee Town and Topeka, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] and we’ll add you to the NIA’s e-mail list!
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
NIA to Hold Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Recognition Event on
May 13, 2023, at the Buchanan Center
May 13, 2023, at the Buchanan Center
Please see the attached documents for details on the Tennessee Town NIA's Brown v. Topeka Board of Education Recognition Event, to be held at noon on Sat., May 13, 2023, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan (see pic at the top of this homepage). The Buchanan Center formerly was the Buchanan School, one of the four segregated grade schools in Topeka during the lead-up to the iconic 1954 SCOTUS decision.
The TTNIA is holding the event in cooperation with the Brown Foundation, which identified the day's speakers.
Please feel free to share with others.
For more information on the Brown decision, please go to the NIA's website (https://tenntownnia.weebly.com/). At the top of the homepage, please click on "History," then scroll down to the Brown decision.
For more information on the Brown event, please contact me at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
The TTNIA is holding the event in cooperation with the Brown Foundation, which identified the day's speakers.
Please feel free to share with others.
For more information on the Brown decision, please go to the NIA's website (https://tenntownnia.weebly.com/). At the top of the homepage, please click on "History," then scroll down to the Brown decision.
For more information on the Brown event, please contact me at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Conducting Survey on Needs, Interests and Priorities
Conducting Survey on Needs, Interests and Priorities
Please click on the link immediately below to take the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library's survey. The survey has been created to "gain a more precise understanding of its needs, interests, and priorities. You are invited to share your perceptions about the community and offer feedback regarding what library resources and services you wish to see provided."
The TSCPL is a vital Central Topeka and city resource in a number of ways. Providing input on its programming and services can make it even better!
https://survey.sogolytics.com/survey1.aspx?k=RQsQXRXVsQQVsPsPsP&lang=0
Please feel free to share with others.
The TSCPL is a vital Central Topeka and city resource in a number of ways. Providing input on its programming and services can make it even better!
https://survey.sogolytics.com/survey1.aspx?k=RQsQXRXVsQQVsPsPsP&lang=0
Please feel free to share with others.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
A Cry for Help from a former Topeka Housing Authority Tenant
Please find below 2 posts from Topekan Christina Blevins that recently appeared at Nextdoor.com regarding the Topeka Housing Authority (THA). I’m posting them here because of the import they have for tenants at the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, a THA holding, who are valued residents of our NIA. Those tenants are involved in our neighborhood, including attending NIA meetings:
Dear Topeka Housing Authority: We, the undersigned, are writing to urge you to take immediate action to promote equality in housing. Housing is a fundamental human right and should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability status. Unfortunately, housing discrimination remains a pervasive problem in our society, and it is time for us to take a stand against it. We ask that you join us in this fight and take concrete steps to ensure that all individuals and families have equal access to safe, affordable, and quality housing.
We are writing to propose an important measure that we believe would go a long way in addressing the past injustices faced by individuals and families who were unfairly forced into homelessness due to your decisions.
As you are well aware, the Fair Housing Act explicitly prohibits discrimination in housing and provides important protections to vulnerable populations such as low-income families, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities. However, despite these legal protections, we know that many individuals and families were still unfairly impacted by your actions.
Therefore, we propose that the Topeka Housing Authority should take immediate steps to allow those who were previously affected by your decisions and should not have been forced into homelessness to be allowed back into housing by law. Additionally, we propose that these individuals and families should be compensated accordingly, as determined by a court of law, for the harm and suffering they experienced as a result of being forced into homelessness. We believe that this proposal would not only help to right past wrongs but also serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of upholding the principles of fairness and equality in all aspects of housing. We urge you to consider this proposal seriously and take the necessary steps to implement it as soon as possible.
THA wrongly evicted me (because of a disagreement with my daughter)… I had a meeting with THA’s Trey George and showed him my proof that I was innocent. Before my case went to trial I was taken to court by THA and had no representation. I tried my hardest to prevent my homelessness. A month after the eviction, my trial was thrown out by the courts. So there was no reason for them to take that kind of action against an innocent person who had been wrongfully accused. But they wouldn’t and don’t let tenants appeal or claim innocence. They have wrongfully evicted enough people and I have a handful of them who are willing to be heard and ready for policy change and equality.
Is THA willing to sit down with Ms. Blevins to resolve this situation?
Dear Topeka Housing Authority: We, the undersigned, are writing to urge you to take immediate action to promote equality in housing. Housing is a fundamental human right and should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, or disability status. Unfortunately, housing discrimination remains a pervasive problem in our society, and it is time for us to take a stand against it. We ask that you join us in this fight and take concrete steps to ensure that all individuals and families have equal access to safe, affordable, and quality housing.
We are writing to propose an important measure that we believe would go a long way in addressing the past injustices faced by individuals and families who were unfairly forced into homelessness due to your decisions.
As you are well aware, the Fair Housing Act explicitly prohibits discrimination in housing and provides important protections to vulnerable populations such as low-income families, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities. However, despite these legal protections, we know that many individuals and families were still unfairly impacted by your actions.
Therefore, we propose that the Topeka Housing Authority should take immediate steps to allow those who were previously affected by your decisions and should not have been forced into homelessness to be allowed back into housing by law. Additionally, we propose that these individuals and families should be compensated accordingly, as determined by a court of law, for the harm and suffering they experienced as a result of being forced into homelessness. We believe that this proposal would not only help to right past wrongs but also serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of upholding the principles of fairness and equality in all aspects of housing. We urge you to consider this proposal seriously and take the necessary steps to implement it as soon as possible.
THA wrongly evicted me (because of a disagreement with my daughter)… I had a meeting with THA’s Trey George and showed him my proof that I was innocent. Before my case went to trial I was taken to court by THA and had no representation. I tried my hardest to prevent my homelessness. A month after the eviction, my trial was thrown out by the courts. So there was no reason for them to take that kind of action against an innocent person who had been wrongfully accused. But they wouldn’t and don’t let tenants appeal or claim innocence. They have wrongfully evicted enough people and I have a handful of them who are willing to be heard and ready for policy change and equality.
Is THA willing to sit down with Ms. Blevins to resolve this situation?
AT LAST!
Topeka's Governing Body to Consider Land Bank Ordinance
Topeka's Governing Body to Consider Land Bank Ordinance
Following is an email string involving the Topeka, KS City Council and about 80 other Topekans taking up the issue of establishing a land bank in the capital city, which could prove to be a valuable tool for poor neighborhoods to work side-by-side with local government and those entities who can bring resources to the table to amass parcels of land for future residential and commercial development.
It's finally here. Land banking in Topeka is nearing becoming an official part of city policy!
"Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations created to acquire, hold, manage, and sometimes redevelop property in order to return these properties to productive use to meet community goals, such as increasing affordable housing or stabilizing property values." (https://localhousingsolutions.org/housing.../land-banks/....<https://localhousingsolutions.org/housing.../land-banks/....>) They would enable Topeka neighborhoods, in collaboration with the City of Topeka, to organize parcels of land for future development. That development might be residential, commercial or a combination of both, depending on what the individual neighborhoods want to have happen. Having parcels of land organized for development is a much more attractive option for developers as bigger impacts can be made.
In cooperation with then-City of Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney, Tennessee Town implemented a version of land banking in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. The 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan identified that block as the worst block in the neighborhood as it featured deteriorated and deteriorating housing and the code enforcement and safety issues that come with the failing housing.
We went to work on that block. The NIA worked with Rooney to acquire vacant lots and dilapidated housing in the block. The dilapidated housing was demolished. There were enough parcels then to redevelop. The NIA completed and won multiple in-fill housing grants that enabled new construction. Boling Construction built new housing in the block. That housing was complemented by housing built by Habitat for Humanity and 3 houses the NIA acquired from Holy Name Church that were moved into the neighborhood onto new foundations.
By 2004, the worst block in the NIA had become one of its best. The new housing efforts also inspired existing property owners to make improvements to their homes, too. Some of those improvements were through City rehab programming while other improvements were self-funded by the property owners. See pic above for the complete turn around of that block.
Please see the April 4, 2023 city council agenda, Item 7a, Discussion - Topeka Land Bank Pilot Program:
DISCUSSION concerning establishment of the Topeka Land Bank and Administrative Policy Guidelines.
(The proposed ordinance establishes a Topeka Land Bank Pilot Program ending December 31, 2026. The land bank shall serve the public purpose of providing for the orderly, planned and reutilization of abandoned, tax-foreclosed or otherwise underutilized properties.)
Please either offer comment at the meeting, via Zoom (up to 4 minutes for both opportunities) or via email at [email protected] (copy City Council Office Manager Elizabeth Toyne at [email protected]).
The final vote might occur the following Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Let's indicate our support for land banking!
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
This is City Council Member Spencer Duncan’s response to my email, dated Friday, March 24, 2023 at 09:01:53 AM CDT:
Michael -
Thank you for putting this information out there.
We have spent more than a year working on this proposal, with the help of MANY people and voices in the community. That list includes: citizens, community groups, JUMP, City Staff, property owners, developers, other cities who have land banks, foundations, and so many more.
I believe a land bank program is an essential part of helping deal with infill development, improve neighborhoods, get empty properties off the county tax sale list, clean up certain areas and overall help with our housing issues. Other communities are doing it, and we have looked at the ones doing it well as a model for the program being put forward.
A land bank was a top priority in the Housing study commissioned by the City, and I am a believer we should actually follow the studies we pay professionals to provide us!
I will be giving the presentation to the City Council on April 4. I want them to fully understand the level of work that has gone into this recommendation, and the importance it can have to our community. I also want the public to be able to see the proposal, and then provide input.
I can tell you, there is a high level of skepticism among some members of the Council. Part of the program being put forward has provisions in it to address some concerns Council Members have expressed in the past, in a way that incorporates those concerns without limiting the program. And, this comes with a price tag of $500,000 of initial investment. I believe it is a worthwhile and necessary investment, but asking for that money will come with questions.
So...I appreciate any support as we work toward getting this put in place and thank you for your work on the effort.
Thank you,
Spencer
This is my response to Duncan’s response, dated Friday, March 24, 2023 at 12:43 PM CDT:
Council Member Duncan (and all):
It is my pleasure and duty as an NIA president to endorse this opportunity we now have. I sincerely thank you for taking up land banking as an opportunity to address some of the challenges that exist in our city's most challenged neighborhoods. Your comments regarding the Housing Study are spot on. I served as a community member that helped to create it.
I am fully aware of the skepticism of some of your colleagues on the city council regarding land banking. For reasons still unknown to me, they have seemed to focus only on the failures and not the successes. As I indicated in my initial email, a version of land banking ACTUALLY WORKED in Tennessee Town. That is not speculation or wishful thinking or manipulating the data. That is a FACT. Former Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney can substantiate that fact.
Regarding the costs of the program, where are we with fully vesting the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF)? Promises were made just a few years ago that millions of dollars would be available for quality, affordable housing in Topeka, thereby addressing another recommendation of the Housing Study. Given how land banking would enable the attainment of that goal, the AHTF would seem to be a viable source of funding for the land bank. What about HUD programming and funding outside the traditional Consolidated Plan avenues? What about funding through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation? The Federal Home Loan Bank? Funding land banking also might be a viable way for for-profit entities and financial institutions in Topeka to fulfill their community involvement missions and bring the largely untapped opportunity of public-private partnerships to the fray. This list is not exhaustive.
I've been an activist for poor people and neighborhoods in Topeka for 27 years. Historically, what I've found is that our city becomes comfortable with doing things in ways it always has done them, even at the expense of creating, implementing and assessing new ways to do those things BETTER. That has to change. A land bank is a positive first step in making that change.
I plan on testifying in favor of the land bank via Zoom on April 4.
Again, thank you for your efforts!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO) Founding and Board Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government (TAGG) Founding Member, Facebook
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group Member, Facebook
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
It's finally here. Land banking in Topeka is nearing becoming an official part of city policy!
"Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations created to acquire, hold, manage, and sometimes redevelop property in order to return these properties to productive use to meet community goals, such as increasing affordable housing or stabilizing property values." (https://localhousingsolutions.org/housing.../land-banks/....<https://localhousingsolutions.org/housing.../land-banks/....>) They would enable Topeka neighborhoods, in collaboration with the City of Topeka, to organize parcels of land for future development. That development might be residential, commercial or a combination of both, depending on what the individual neighborhoods want to have happen. Having parcels of land organized for development is a much more attractive option for developers as bigger impacts can be made.
In cooperation with then-City of Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney, Tennessee Town implemented a version of land banking in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. The 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan identified that block as the worst block in the neighborhood as it featured deteriorated and deteriorating housing and the code enforcement and safety issues that come with the failing housing.
We went to work on that block. The NIA worked with Rooney to acquire vacant lots and dilapidated housing in the block. The dilapidated housing was demolished. There were enough parcels then to redevelop. The NIA completed and won multiple in-fill housing grants that enabled new construction. Boling Construction built new housing in the block. That housing was complemented by housing built by Habitat for Humanity and 3 houses the NIA acquired from Holy Name Church that were moved into the neighborhood onto new foundations.
By 2004, the worst block in the NIA had become one of its best. The new housing efforts also inspired existing property owners to make improvements to their homes, too. Some of those improvements were through City rehab programming while other improvements were self-funded by the property owners. See pic above for the complete turn around of that block.
Please see the April 4, 2023 city council agenda, Item 7a, Discussion - Topeka Land Bank Pilot Program:
DISCUSSION concerning establishment of the Topeka Land Bank and Administrative Policy Guidelines.
(The proposed ordinance establishes a Topeka Land Bank Pilot Program ending December 31, 2026. The land bank shall serve the public purpose of providing for the orderly, planned and reutilization of abandoned, tax-foreclosed or otherwise underutilized properties.)
Please either offer comment at the meeting, via Zoom (up to 4 minutes for both opportunities) or via email at [email protected] (copy City Council Office Manager Elizabeth Toyne at [email protected]).
The final vote might occur the following Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Let's indicate our support for land banking!
Please feel free to share with others.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
This is City Council Member Spencer Duncan’s response to my email, dated Friday, March 24, 2023 at 09:01:53 AM CDT:
Michael -
Thank you for putting this information out there.
We have spent more than a year working on this proposal, with the help of MANY people and voices in the community. That list includes: citizens, community groups, JUMP, City Staff, property owners, developers, other cities who have land banks, foundations, and so many more.
I believe a land bank program is an essential part of helping deal with infill development, improve neighborhoods, get empty properties off the county tax sale list, clean up certain areas and overall help with our housing issues. Other communities are doing it, and we have looked at the ones doing it well as a model for the program being put forward.
A land bank was a top priority in the Housing study commissioned by the City, and I am a believer we should actually follow the studies we pay professionals to provide us!
I will be giving the presentation to the City Council on April 4. I want them to fully understand the level of work that has gone into this recommendation, and the importance it can have to our community. I also want the public to be able to see the proposal, and then provide input.
I can tell you, there is a high level of skepticism among some members of the Council. Part of the program being put forward has provisions in it to address some concerns Council Members have expressed in the past, in a way that incorporates those concerns without limiting the program. And, this comes with a price tag of $500,000 of initial investment. I believe it is a worthwhile and necessary investment, but asking for that money will come with questions.
So...I appreciate any support as we work toward getting this put in place and thank you for your work on the effort.
Thank you,
Spencer
This is my response to Duncan’s response, dated Friday, March 24, 2023 at 12:43 PM CDT:
Council Member Duncan (and all):
It is my pleasure and duty as an NIA president to endorse this opportunity we now have. I sincerely thank you for taking up land banking as an opportunity to address some of the challenges that exist in our city's most challenged neighborhoods. Your comments regarding the Housing Study are spot on. I served as a community member that helped to create it.
I am fully aware of the skepticism of some of your colleagues on the city council regarding land banking. For reasons still unknown to me, they have seemed to focus only on the failures and not the successes. As I indicated in my initial email, a version of land banking ACTUALLY WORKED in Tennessee Town. That is not speculation or wishful thinking or manipulating the data. That is a FACT. Former Topeka Real Estate Manager Kevin Rooney can substantiate that fact.
Regarding the costs of the program, where are we with fully vesting the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (AHTF)? Promises were made just a few years ago that millions of dollars would be available for quality, affordable housing in Topeka, thereby addressing another recommendation of the Housing Study. Given how land banking would enable the attainment of that goal, the AHTF would seem to be a viable source of funding for the land bank. What about HUD programming and funding outside the traditional Consolidated Plan avenues? What about funding through the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation? The Federal Home Loan Bank? Funding land banking also might be a viable way for for-profit entities and financial institutions in Topeka to fulfill their community involvement missions and bring the largely untapped opportunity of public-private partnerships to the fray. This list is not exhaustive.
I've been an activist for poor people and neighborhoods in Topeka for 27 years. Historically, what I've found is that our city becomes comfortable with doing things in ways it always has done them, even at the expense of creating, implementing and assessing new ways to do those things BETTER. That has to change. A land bank is a positive first step in making that change.
I plan on testifying in favor of the land bank via Zoom on April 4.
Again, thank you for your efforts!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO) Founding and Board Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government (TAGG) Founding Member, Facebook
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group Member, Facebook
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town Takes In Tuxedoed Tourer: PROPS Visits Our NIA!
Citizen Advisory Council (CAC) Chair ShaMecha King Simms, who also is the Historic Old Town NIA president and a member of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO) board of directors, attended the NIA's March 13, 2023, meeting as the CAC chair and brought with her PROPS the Penguin, seated comfortably on the table in the pic above.
From CAC Chair Simms: "PROPS is new to Topeka and is looking for some new friends. As a penguin, PROPS is used to being in close community with others, being alone simply won't do.
"PROPS, which stands for 'People Recognizing Other People Shining,' has asked to visit the city's NIAs -- to be in community with them -- and honor all the work they do on behalf of their neighborhoods.
"PROPS needs some help finding its way and hopes CAC members can recommend 2 NIAs to visit each month and to share why that NIA is so appreciated."
PROPS' visit to Tennessee Town went great, to which the pic here happily attests.
It was great to meet you, PROPS, and great to see ShaMecha again!
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on March 13, 2023
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, March 13, 2023
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged;
Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
* 2023 NIA Goals: Discussion, Votes
* Brown v. Board and Juneteenth Recognition Events Discussion
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
* Replicating the Hi-Crest NIA’s SENT Initiative in Tennessee Town Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* 12th Street Project Update
* Greater Topeka Partnership Poverty Simulation Report, Spring Public Poverty Simulation Update
* Community Policing Report
* Property Maintenance (Code Compliance) Report
* City Council Report
* Citizen Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
* International Academy Update
Tennessee Town on the Internet!
Website: http://tenntownnia.weebly.com (all NIA meetings, activities posted)
Nextdoor.com: https://tennesseetown.nextdoor.com/news_feed/ • E-Mail: [email protected]
If you’d like to receive regular updates on what’s happening in Tennessee Town and Topeka, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] and we’ll add you to the NIA’s e-mail list!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, March 13, 2023
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged;
Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
* 2023 NIA Goals: Discussion, Votes
* Brown v. Board and Juneteenth Recognition Events Discussion
* Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
* Replicating the Hi-Crest NIA’s SENT Initiative in Tennessee Town Update
* Stormont Vail-NIA Public-Private Partnership Update
* Lane Garden Update
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* 12th Street Project Update
* Greater Topeka Partnership Poverty Simulation Report, Spring Public Poverty Simulation Update
* Community Policing Report
* Property Maintenance (Code Compliance) Report
* City Council Report
* Citizen Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
* International Academy Update
Tennessee Town on the Internet!
Website: http://tenntownnia.weebly.com (all NIA meetings, activities posted)
Nextdoor.com: https://tennesseetown.nextdoor.com/news_feed/ • E-Mail: [email protected]
If you’d like to receive regular updates on what’s happening in Tennessee Town and Topeka, please send your e-mail address to [email protected] and we’ll add you to the NIA’s e-mail list!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Topeka TV Station Airs Program on Food Deserts and Food/Nutrition Insecurity
Please click on the link immediately below for interviews that aired on Jan. 19 on KTWU's "Inspire" program on Topeka's food deserts and food/nutrition insecurity. The interviews included Project Topeka and members of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis.
https://watch.ktwu.org/video/inspire-301-food-insecurity-in-the-sunflower-state-yqoxky/
CTGO was formed in March 2018 by 8 Central Topeka neighbors (I'm very proud to say that I was one of the 8) to create a new, full-service grocery store in Central Topeka after the 2016 closure of the Huntoon Dillons, at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets.
For more on CTGO, please click on https://www.centraltopekagro.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/CTGOGroup/. Please feel free to share this information with others and to donate to CTGO's efforts. Donations can be directed to the Community Resources Council, 455 SE Golf Park Bld., Topeka, KS 66605, 785-233-1365; https://crcnet.org/.
Onward and upward!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
https://watch.ktwu.org/video/inspire-301-food-insecurity-in-the-sunflower-state-yqoxky/
CTGO was formed in March 2018 by 8 Central Topeka neighbors (I'm very proud to say that I was one of the 8) to create a new, full-service grocery store in Central Topeka after the 2016 closure of the Huntoon Dillons, at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets.
For more on CTGO, please click on https://www.centraltopekagro.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/CTGOGroup/. Please feel free to share this information with others and to donate to CTGO's efforts. Donations can be directed to the Community Resources Council, 455 SE Golf Park Bld., Topeka, KS 66605, 785-233-1365; https://crcnet.org/.
Onward and upward!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Poverty Simulation Held in Topeka
This happened because of an idea I had months ago that several great people (Historic Old Town NIA President and Citizen Advisory Council Chair ShaMecha King Simms, the United Way's Brett Martin and the Greater Topeka Partnership, among others) brought to fruition.
https://www.wibw.com/2023/01/27/community-programs-bring-attention-poverty-crisis-with-simulation/.
This session was for the Greater Topeka Partnership only. There is a city-wide session coming this spring. I'll keep everybody posted on that.
As we all move forward, please always remember Nelson Mandela's quote on poverty: "Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” Please feel free to share with others.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
https://www.wibw.com/2023/01/27/community-programs-bring-attention-poverty-crisis-with-simulation/.
This session was for the Greater Topeka Partnership only. There is a city-wide session coming this spring. I'll keep everybody posted on that.
As we all move forward, please always remember Nelson Mandela's quote on poverty: "Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.” Please feel free to share with others.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
Support Email for NIA's Lane Garden to be Included in
Shawnee County's Parks' Portfolio
Shawnee County's Parks' Portfolio
In our continued efforts to make improvements at our Lane Garden park, located at SW 12th and Lane Streets, I am asking you all to support the Tennessee Town NIA's efforts to finally resolve the ownership issues present at Lane Garden by bringing it under the umbrella of Shawnee county so that the NIA can make improvements to the park it has been attempting to make since 2015 to make it a nice, well-kept neighborhood destination again.
Doing so would be completely consistent with what the county did with the Aaron Douglas Art Park across the intersection, which the county brought under its umbrella years ago.
Here is the text:
I support the efforts of the Tennessee Town NIA to have the Shawnee county commission bring the NIA's Lane Garden park, located at SW 12th and Lane Streets, under the county's jurisdiction per the city-county parks and recreation consolidation that it was excluded from years ago.
Please copy and paste the language above into an email to the county commissioners (please copy me), whose email addresses are:
Kevin Cook (Tennessee Town's county commissioner): [email protected]
Bill Riphahn: [email protected]
Aaron Mays: [email protected]
County Clerk Cyndi Beck: [email protected]
My email address is:
[email protected]
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to share with others.
Thank you for your support!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Doing so would be completely consistent with what the county did with the Aaron Douglas Art Park across the intersection, which the county brought under its umbrella years ago.
Here is the text:
I support the efforts of the Tennessee Town NIA to have the Shawnee county commission bring the NIA's Lane Garden park, located at SW 12th and Lane Streets, under the county's jurisdiction per the city-county parks and recreation consolidation that it was excluded from years ago.
Please copy and paste the language above into an email to the county commissioners (please copy me), whose email addresses are:
Kevin Cook (Tennessee Town's county commissioner): [email protected]
Bill Riphahn: [email protected]
Aaron Mays: [email protected]
County Clerk Cyndi Beck: [email protected]
My email address is:
[email protected]
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to share with others.
Thank you for your support!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Update on Topeka, Kansas Property Maintenance (Code Enforcement) Department
On Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, I spoke with City of Topeka Ombudsman LeRoy Younger via telephone on cleaning up a former homeless encampment in the Tennessee Town neighborhood, which I have represented as the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association president since 2014 (https://tenntownnia.weebly.com/).
While on the call I found out that Topeka Property Maintenance (Code Enforcement) Director Mike Haugen was no longer the department director as he was now with animal control. I don't know right now what precipitated Haugen's position change. I will keep everyone posted as I find out more information. John Schardine is now the property maintenance director.
The import of that change will be made obvious to readers here when they read the accounts below from a full year ago regarding how Haugen ran property maintenance.
As MLK once said, "“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The year 2023 marks the 27th year that I've been an advocate for Topeka's low-income people and neighborhoods. During those 27 years dozens of city employees, elected, appointed and otherwise hired, have come and gone. The Tennessee Town NIA, at its January 9, 2023 meeting, reelected me as its president (and reelected Pat DeLapp as vice president and Sandy Lassiter as secretary-treasurer).
Dozens have come and gone, but I'm still here.
I'm still here.
Even though I've gained a number of gray hairs doing what I do, I absolutely love what I do. I absolutely love the people and neighborhoods for whom I speak.
I'm not going anywhere.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please feel free to share with others.
*********************************************************************************
More on Topeka's Property Maintenance (code enforcement) division, this time detailing arrogance, condescension and a betrayal of the public trust and involving me in a very personal way. To my knowledge, so far the City of Topeka has not acted on any of that:
Good day, City of Topeka city council members, mayor, and interim city manager (this email was sent on March 16, 2022, at 2:16 p.m. CST):
This email comes to you all with a great deal of disappointment and frustration regarding the behavior of two City of Topeka employees, Property Maintenance Officer Carlos Hernandez and his supervisor, Property Maintenance Director Mike Haugen. Please read carefully the events that are detailed below and then please advise at your earliest convenience what you all plan to do about them.
Inaction at this point is not an option.
Thank you.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Founding and Board Member
City of Topeka's Budget Priority Neighborhoods Work Group Member
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Group Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government Founding Member
Ms. (Jacque) Russell (Topeka Human Resource Director), Mr. (Mike) Haugen (Property Maintenance Director) and Mr. (William) Cochran (City Manager):
This email comes to you with a great deal of concern and disappointment. During discussions at our January 10, 2022 Tennessee Town NIA general membership meeting Property Maintenance Inspector Carlos Hernandez implied that a resident at **** SW Buchanan was a liar and said he would no longer work with Tennessee Town NIA Vice President Pat DeLapp.
As a member of the Tennessee Town NIA since 1996 and its president since 2014, I found Mr. Hernandez's comments to be not in keeping with the respect and service delivery city employees should be showing to and providing for the people for whom they work. In the 26 years I’ve been involved with the NIA, I have never witnessed another city employee disrespect a community volunteer in the way that Mr. Hernandez did that night. We had two NIA residents attending their first NIA meeting that night. I can’t imagine what they think about the City of Topeka’s customer service.
Mr. Hernandez’s comments also complicate the NIA’s relationship with property maintenance as it is much less likely to want to work with Mr. Hernandez if he’s unwilling to work with the NIA’s elected vice president.
It was an unprofessional display by a city employee that should be acknowledged and for which a public apology should be offered at our next NIA meeting, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Mon., March 14, 2022, tentatively at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
Please advise at your earliest convenience as to what you all will do about this situation. Nonaction or refusing to act on this complaint is NOT acceptable.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
This is Mike Haugen’s response via email on March 15, 2022, 2:13 p.m.:
Mr. Bell and Mr. DeLapp,
The Property Maintenance Code Unit investigated your complaints on Inspector Hernandez. It has been determined that no policy violation nor criminal act occurred. There will be no apology as requested by Mr. Bell. Furthermore, due to the adversarial tone some Tennessee Town NIA board members have taken with the PMCU we will not regularly attend future Tennessee Town NIA meetings. If there is a specific topic you would like the PMCU to speak on at a future meeting please reach out to me so we can arrange for the area inspector to attend. If there are further concerns regarding Inspector Hernandez or any inspector those concerns should be directed to Supervisor John Schardine (785-383-3170) or I.
Mike Haugen
Property Maintenance Unit
This is my response to Haugen’s March 15 email, which went to Haugen, Hernandez, the Topeka City Council, Mayor Mike Padilla and City Manager William Cochran, among others, on March 16, 2022, at 2:14 p.m.:
There is a siege mentality at property maintenance that takes any criticism as an attack and responds that way. That has been the case for decades. As long as property maintenance sees the people it is supposed to serve as the nattering nabobs of negativism, best case, or enemies, worst case, then the changes the City of Topeka says it wants to make to improve the department will be meaningless.
City of Topeka employees Hernandez and Haugen have provided poor customer service to the people for whom they are supposed to work.
Since I became the NIA’s president in 2014, code enforcement/property maintenance attendance at our NIA meetings has been sporadic at best, so not attending our NIA meetings is a threat without real consequence. But it’s a threat nonetheless, which is inappropriate for a city employee to be making.
The content of Haugen’s email response opens up our NIA to reprisals from his department because the NIA dared to speak up about the behavior of a property maintenance employee.
The content of Haugen’s email response means he can direct his department to refuse to keep us informed as punishment for speaking out, thereby leaving us vulnerable to code enforcement “sweeps” and any other punitive activities taken on by his department in our NIA that might happen without our knowledge.
For what possible reason would we refer any “further concerns regarding Inspector Hernandez” to Haugen when he has refused with impunity to act on the concerns we did refer to him?
Selectively singling out an NIA for *disparate treatment*, an NIA that receives federal HUD dollars because of the federal census tracts contained within its boundaries, should concern you all. Said singling out might mean involving the regional media and triggering the involvement of the HUD Office of the Inspector General.
Property maintenance, along with law enforcement, have particularly important and delicate roles to play in low-income neighborhoods as cities across our nation, including Topeka, fail to holistically deal with the issues that plague them and instead send in the *forces of punishment instead of the forces of renewal*. You all as elected and appointed officials need to do a much better job of monitoring these two departments as they have the power to discriminate against poor people, pervert the law to punish them, remove them from their homes, and jail them.
I am entering my 26th year of being a low-income neighborhood activist in Topeka. I’ve had differences with dozens of our city’s elected and appointed officials over that time, most of whom no longer formally serve our city (I’m still here). Largely the one thing we have been able to agree on is that those differences were on policy. Mike Haugen, through his email response, has made this *personal*. I have worked far too hard for 26 years and have given for free thousands of hours of my time to help the voiceless in our city to be dismissed and disrespected by anyone, particularly a public employee who is supposed to be working *with and for me*.
If this is what the City of Topeka means by “Changing the Culture of Property Maintenance,” then it better go back and review its recommendations because what Haugen has done here is to make a tense situation much worse. The City of Topeka has two rogue employees at property maintenance, including the director.
There is a Facebook petition currently being shared about the City of Topeka’s Property Maintenance Department. I did not create it but I signed and shared it. You all should be concerned:
Facebook petition posted by Melissa Kershner: https://www.change.org/.../city-of-topeka-code-compliance...
City of Topeka Code Compliance - Improve the Process for Residents of Topeka, KS
While Code Compliance has a role in our community, abatement, fines, fees, and removing people from their homes is not the solution. Currently, Code Compliance is an island of a department.
No one can help you if you are having issues with this department. They need additional oversight by someone with compassion for our residents.
Code Compliance in Topeka, KS should be looking for improvement, not perfection. They should be having conversations with property owners, sharing services that might help them come to compliance. Explanation should be provided that an administrative hearing is conducted by a judge that is a non-bias third party. You should know that if you miss the initial request for a hearing, there is no other option to get help. Your fate is up to your code officer. There should be an officer that specializes in mental health issues to care for those residents that need extra support.
The Code Compliance policies and procedures should be transparent and available for residents online. There should be a formal complaint process to request a new officer if you think you are being treated unfairly.
Sign this petition to help fast-track the work done in 2021 by the City Council to improve the Code Compliance department in Topeka, KS.
While on the call I found out that Topeka Property Maintenance (Code Enforcement) Director Mike Haugen was no longer the department director as he was now with animal control. I don't know right now what precipitated Haugen's position change. I will keep everyone posted as I find out more information. John Schardine is now the property maintenance director.
The import of that change will be made obvious to readers here when they read the accounts below from a full year ago regarding how Haugen ran property maintenance.
As MLK once said, "“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
The year 2023 marks the 27th year that I've been an advocate for Topeka's low-income people and neighborhoods. During those 27 years dozens of city employees, elected, appointed and otherwise hired, have come and gone. The Tennessee Town NIA, at its January 9, 2023 meeting, reelected me as its president (and reelected Pat DeLapp as vice president and Sandy Lassiter as secretary-treasurer).
Dozens have come and gone, but I'm still here.
I'm still here.
Even though I've gained a number of gray hairs doing what I do, I absolutely love what I do. I absolutely love the people and neighborhoods for whom I speak.
I'm not going anywhere.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please feel free to share with others.
*********************************************************************************
More on Topeka's Property Maintenance (code enforcement) division, this time detailing arrogance, condescension and a betrayal of the public trust and involving me in a very personal way. To my knowledge, so far the City of Topeka has not acted on any of that:
Good day, City of Topeka city council members, mayor, and interim city manager (this email was sent on March 16, 2022, at 2:16 p.m. CST):
This email comes to you all with a great deal of disappointment and frustration regarding the behavior of two City of Topeka employees, Property Maintenance Officer Carlos Hernandez and his supervisor, Property Maintenance Director Mike Haugen. Please read carefully the events that are detailed below and then please advise at your earliest convenience what you all plan to do about them.
Inaction at this point is not an option.
Thank you.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Founding and Board Member
City of Topeka's Budget Priority Neighborhoods Work Group Member
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Group Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government Founding Member
Ms. (Jacque) Russell (Topeka Human Resource Director), Mr. (Mike) Haugen (Property Maintenance Director) and Mr. (William) Cochran (City Manager):
This email comes to you with a great deal of concern and disappointment. During discussions at our January 10, 2022 Tennessee Town NIA general membership meeting Property Maintenance Inspector Carlos Hernandez implied that a resident at **** SW Buchanan was a liar and said he would no longer work with Tennessee Town NIA Vice President Pat DeLapp.
As a member of the Tennessee Town NIA since 1996 and its president since 2014, I found Mr. Hernandez's comments to be not in keeping with the respect and service delivery city employees should be showing to and providing for the people for whom they work. In the 26 years I’ve been involved with the NIA, I have never witnessed another city employee disrespect a community volunteer in the way that Mr. Hernandez did that night. We had two NIA residents attending their first NIA meeting that night. I can’t imagine what they think about the City of Topeka’s customer service.
Mr. Hernandez’s comments also complicate the NIA’s relationship with property maintenance as it is much less likely to want to work with Mr. Hernandez if he’s unwilling to work with the NIA’s elected vice president.
It was an unprofessional display by a city employee that should be acknowledged and for which a public apology should be offered at our next NIA meeting, to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Mon., March 14, 2022, tentatively at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
Please advise at your earliest convenience as to what you all will do about this situation. Nonaction or refusing to act on this complaint is NOT acceptable.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
This is Mike Haugen’s response via email on March 15, 2022, 2:13 p.m.:
Mr. Bell and Mr. DeLapp,
The Property Maintenance Code Unit investigated your complaints on Inspector Hernandez. It has been determined that no policy violation nor criminal act occurred. There will be no apology as requested by Mr. Bell. Furthermore, due to the adversarial tone some Tennessee Town NIA board members have taken with the PMCU we will not regularly attend future Tennessee Town NIA meetings. If there is a specific topic you would like the PMCU to speak on at a future meeting please reach out to me so we can arrange for the area inspector to attend. If there are further concerns regarding Inspector Hernandez or any inspector those concerns should be directed to Supervisor John Schardine (785-383-3170) or I.
Mike Haugen
Property Maintenance Unit
This is my response to Haugen’s March 15 email, which went to Haugen, Hernandez, the Topeka City Council, Mayor Mike Padilla and City Manager William Cochran, among others, on March 16, 2022, at 2:14 p.m.:
There is a siege mentality at property maintenance that takes any criticism as an attack and responds that way. That has been the case for decades. As long as property maintenance sees the people it is supposed to serve as the nattering nabobs of negativism, best case, or enemies, worst case, then the changes the City of Topeka says it wants to make to improve the department will be meaningless.
City of Topeka employees Hernandez and Haugen have provided poor customer service to the people for whom they are supposed to work.
Since I became the NIA’s president in 2014, code enforcement/property maintenance attendance at our NIA meetings has been sporadic at best, so not attending our NIA meetings is a threat without real consequence. But it’s a threat nonetheless, which is inappropriate for a city employee to be making.
The content of Haugen’s email response opens up our NIA to reprisals from his department because the NIA dared to speak up about the behavior of a property maintenance employee.
The content of Haugen’s email response means he can direct his department to refuse to keep us informed as punishment for speaking out, thereby leaving us vulnerable to code enforcement “sweeps” and any other punitive activities taken on by his department in our NIA that might happen without our knowledge.
For what possible reason would we refer any “further concerns regarding Inspector Hernandez” to Haugen when he has refused with impunity to act on the concerns we did refer to him?
Selectively singling out an NIA for *disparate treatment*, an NIA that receives federal HUD dollars because of the federal census tracts contained within its boundaries, should concern you all. Said singling out might mean involving the regional media and triggering the involvement of the HUD Office of the Inspector General.
Property maintenance, along with law enforcement, have particularly important and delicate roles to play in low-income neighborhoods as cities across our nation, including Topeka, fail to holistically deal with the issues that plague them and instead send in the *forces of punishment instead of the forces of renewal*. You all as elected and appointed officials need to do a much better job of monitoring these two departments as they have the power to discriminate against poor people, pervert the law to punish them, remove them from their homes, and jail them.
I am entering my 26th year of being a low-income neighborhood activist in Topeka. I’ve had differences with dozens of our city’s elected and appointed officials over that time, most of whom no longer formally serve our city (I’m still here). Largely the one thing we have been able to agree on is that those differences were on policy. Mike Haugen, through his email response, has made this *personal*. I have worked far too hard for 26 years and have given for free thousands of hours of my time to help the voiceless in our city to be dismissed and disrespected by anyone, particularly a public employee who is supposed to be working *with and for me*.
If this is what the City of Topeka means by “Changing the Culture of Property Maintenance,” then it better go back and review its recommendations because what Haugen has done here is to make a tense situation much worse. The City of Topeka has two rogue employees at property maintenance, including the director.
There is a Facebook petition currently being shared about the City of Topeka’s Property Maintenance Department. I did not create it but I signed and shared it. You all should be concerned:
Facebook petition posted by Melissa Kershner: https://www.change.org/.../city-of-topeka-code-compliance...
City of Topeka Code Compliance - Improve the Process for Residents of Topeka, KS
While Code Compliance has a role in our community, abatement, fines, fees, and removing people from their homes is not the solution. Currently, Code Compliance is an island of a department.
No one can help you if you are having issues with this department. They need additional oversight by someone with compassion for our residents.
Code Compliance in Topeka, KS should be looking for improvement, not perfection. They should be having conversations with property owners, sharing services that might help them come to compliance. Explanation should be provided that an administrative hearing is conducted by a judge that is a non-bias third party. You should know that if you miss the initial request for a hearing, there is no other option to get help. Your fate is up to your code officer. There should be an officer that specializes in mental health issues to care for those residents that need extra support.
The Code Compliance policies and procedures should be transparent and available for residents online. There should be a formal complaint process to request a new officer if you think you are being treated unfairly.
Sign this petition to help fast-track the work done in 2021 by the City Council to improve the Code Compliance department in Topeka, KS.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Jan. 9, 2023
Tennessee Town NIA General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, January 9, 2023
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still
Available):
Election of 2023 NIA Officers
2023 NIA Goals: Discussion
Lane Garden Update
Stormont Vail, GraceMed Partnership Update
Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
Adopted 2023 HUD Consolidated Action Plan Budget and Priorities Report
Community Policing Report
City Council Report
Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
International Academy Update
Hope to see you there. Happy New Year!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
6:30 p.m., Monday, January 9, 2023
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still
Available):
Election of 2023 NIA Officers
2023 NIA Goals: Discussion
Lane Garden Update
Stormont Vail, GraceMed Partnership Update
Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
Adopted 2023 HUD Consolidated Action Plan Budget and Priorities Report
Community Policing Report
City Council Report
Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
International Academy Update
Hope to see you there. Happy New Year!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Nov. 14, 2022
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in the first-floor conference room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan. Meeting highlights include:
* 2023-2024 City of Topeka Project Recommendations: Alleys, Sidewalks
* Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and GraceMed Health Clinic Update
* 2023 NIA Goals: Discussion
* 2022 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Report
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* December 2022 Holiday Party?
* Community Policing Report
* City Council Report
* Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
* International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
* 2023-2024 City of Topeka Project Recommendations: Alleys, Sidewalks
* Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and GraceMed Health Clinic Update
* 2023 NIA Goals: Discussion
* 2022 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Report
* Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
* December 2022 Holiday Party?
* Community Policing Report
* City Council Report
* Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Report
* International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Set for October 28 - 30
Two dumpsters will be placed in the NIA from Fri., Oct. 28, through Sun., Oct. 30, 2022. One dumpster will be placed at the alley entrance to 1153 SW Lane and one dumpster will be placed at the alley entrance to 1197 SW Clay (SW 12th and Clay). Both dumpsters will be available for the entire NIA to use (only Tennessee Town residents and businesses/churches) through 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 30.
Working Men of Christ Ministries may be available to help people get items from their front doors to the dumpsters. If you’re interested, please contact Mike Bell at [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
· No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
· Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 31.
Working Men of Christ Ministries may be available to help people get items from their front doors to the dumpsters. If you’re interested, please contact Mike Bell at [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
· No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
· Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 31.
"Share the Warmth" Free Winter Coat Program Begins on Oct. 19
Salvation Army Partners with Scotch Cleaners to Provide Warm Coats. The 36th annual coat giveaway between Scotch Fabric Care and the Topeka Salvation Army provides coats for those in need through the "Share the Warmth" program.
Scotch Fabric Care Services once again selects the Salvation Army as its partner for its "Share the Warmth Coat" campaign.
Collection:
When: Starting Wednesday, October 19th through Saturday, November 19th.
Where: Scotch Fabric Care locations
· 134 SE Quincy St.
· 2801 SE California Ave.
· 2007 NW Topeka Blvd.
· 1020 SW Wanamaker Rd.
· 2848 SW Wanamaker Rd.
For more information, contact: Shelley Robertson Development Director, Topeka Salvation Army, 785-233-9648 or [email protected].
Starting Wednesday, October 19th through Saturday, November 19th.
Scotch Fabric Care Services once again selects the Salvation Army as its partner for its "Share the Warmth Coat" campaign.
Collection:
When: Starting Wednesday, October 19th through Saturday, November 19th.
Where: Scotch Fabric Care locations
· 134 SE Quincy St.
· 2801 SE California Ave.
· 2007 NW Topeka Blvd.
· 1020 SW Wanamaker Rd.
· 2848 SW Wanamaker Rd.
For more information, contact: Shelley Robertson Development Director, Topeka Salvation Army, 785-233-9648 or [email protected].
Starting Wednesday, October 19th through Saturday, November 19th.
Winter Housing Weatherization Kits Available Soon
City of Topeka, Kansas Gas Service to distribute home weatherization kits. The City of Topeka and Kansas Gas Service are partnering together to distribute 200 free weatherization kits to help Topekans prepare their homes for winter. The kits will be distributed by appointment only on Thursday, October 20 at City Hall, located at 215 SE 7th St. in downtown Topeka.
“In anticipation of winter, Kansas Gas Service is proud to provide weatherization kits to our Topeka neighbors. Weatherizing your home helps you save money by saving energy, and it can also improve the comfort of your home,” said Lindsay Freeman, State Manager of Community Relations for Kansas Gas Service. The weatherization kits are designed to reduce air leaks in homes, which is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency and comfort.
Each kit includes:
-Two door sweeps
-Two rolls of foam weather seal
-One window kit
-One package of outlet sealers
-Energy saving tips
To schedule an appointment for a weatherization kit, please contact Monique Glaudeˊ, the City’s Director of Community Engagement at [email protected] or 785-368-4470.
“In anticipation of winter, Kansas Gas Service is proud to provide weatherization kits to our Topeka neighbors. Weatherizing your home helps you save money by saving energy, and it can also improve the comfort of your home,” said Lindsay Freeman, State Manager of Community Relations for Kansas Gas Service. The weatherization kits are designed to reduce air leaks in homes, which is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency and comfort.
Each kit includes:
-Two door sweeps
-Two rolls of foam weather seal
-One window kit
-One package of outlet sealers
-Energy saving tips
To schedule an appointment for a weatherization kit, please contact Monique Glaudeˊ, the City’s Director of Community Engagement at [email protected] or 785-368-4470.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Missing Middle Housing Proposal Could Help Expand Topeka's Affordable Housing
The recent Topeka Housing Market Study identified gaps in the market for “missing middle” type development. Missing middle is generally understood to be duplex, triplex, quadplex, and small multi-family. Generally speaking, the Topeka market needs more of that type of development. Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, characterize this type of housing.
ADUs are secondary units that go in the unused attics, basements, or over/in the garages of single-family homes. Traditionally known as “granny flats” or “casitas,” ADUs are affordable-by-design thanks to their low construction costs and inherently small size. Beyond merely expanding the supply of affordable housing, ADUs also create a new stream of income for homeowners who may be at risk of displacement and put more housing in traditionally high-income, high-opportunity single-family neighborhoods. In popular culture, the character of Fonzie in the sitcom "Happy Days" lived in an ADU over the Cunningham's garage.
Topeka Planning and Development Planning Director Dan Warner presented on missing middle housing and ADUs at the NIA's Sep. 12 meeting. He said that current city regulations do not allow ADUs but that his department is embarking on a missing middle project and presented it to the Planning Commission on April 18. Potentially permitting ADUs in single family zoning is part the Missing Middle project. Warner said the project will determine what sorts of changes to policy and the development code could be made to support more missing middle development.
Please click on this PDF for Warner's NIA presentation:
| adu_missing_middle_presentation_9-12_tenntown.pdf |
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Sep. 12, 2022
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, September 12, 2022 in the First-Floor Conference Room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Presentation: NIA Resident Rob Cockerham for Helping Resident with Home Repairs: NIA Vice President Pat DeLapp
· Lincoln Street Shootings: Topeka Police Department
· Presentation: Walking Tour of Tennessee Town’s History: Dr. Valerie Mendoza
· Presentation: City’s “Missing Middle” Affordable Housing Proposal: Planning & Development’s Dan Warner
· 2023-2024 City of Topeka DREAMS 2 Project and Funding Recommendations (alleys, sidewalks)
· Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and GraceMed Health Clinic Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Property Maintenance Department Concerns
· 2022 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup (late October, early November)
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· 2022 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Reports, Kudos
· 2022 Holiday Party?
· City Council, Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Reports
· Hiring of New City Manager
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Presentation: NIA Resident Rob Cockerham for Helping Resident with Home Repairs: NIA Vice President Pat DeLapp
· Lincoln Street Shootings: Topeka Police Department
· Presentation: Walking Tour of Tennessee Town’s History: Dr. Valerie Mendoza
· Presentation: City’s “Missing Middle” Affordable Housing Proposal: Planning & Development’s Dan Warner
· 2023-2024 City of Topeka DREAMS 2 Project and Funding Recommendations (alleys, sidewalks)
· Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and GraceMed Health Clinic Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Property Maintenance Department Concerns
· 2022 Fall Neighborhood Cleanup (late October, early November)
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· 2022 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Reports, Kudos
· 2022 Holiday Party?
· City Council, Citizens Advisory Council (Association of City’s NIAs) Reports
· Hiring of New City Manager
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Poor Customer Service of City Department Raises Concerns for NIA
Below is a PDF of multiple email strings involving myself as the elected Tennessee Town NIA president and various City of Topeka officials regarding the performance of the City’s Property Maintenance Department, specifically Property Maintenance Officer Carlos Hernandez and his supervisor, Department Director Mike Haugen.
There has been much discussion recently about a rebranded property maintenance department through the City’s efforts to "change the culture" there. Unfortunately, the property maintenance department that has existed for decades takes every criticism personally and defensively lashes out at those who dare to question its service to the people it is supposed to serve. I don't know if discussions on those issues have occurred during the “change the culture” process.
I will let the emails speak for themselves.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
There has been much discussion recently about a rebranded property maintenance department through the City’s efforts to "change the culture" there. Unfortunately, the property maintenance department that has existed for decades takes every criticism personally and defensively lashes out at those who dare to question its service to the people it is supposed to serve. I don't know if discussions on those issues have occurred during the “change the culture” process.
I will let the emails speak for themselves.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
| 2022_property_maintenance_8-23-22.pdf |
The Definition of Crazy is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again Expecting a Different Result, or the Selection of the
Next Topeka City Manager
Next Topeka City Manager
Below is a key issue for Topeka’s most challenged neighborhoods that I hope the four city manager finalists consider and take seriously.
Disinvestment in Topeka’s low- to moderate-income neighborhoods:
1) We LMI activists used to refer to the Topeka’s donut hole, where the historic lack of investment inside the donut has been juxtaposed against investments outside the hole on our city's periphery that have increased, has exacerbated the challenges those neighborhoods within the hole face. As time has passed, however, the donut hole has revealed itself to be a horseshoe of disinvestment, with the open end facing east. Topeka must meaningfully address this challenge (https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2021/01/30/topeka-east-central-hi-crest-neighborhood-say-investment-has-left-them-behind/6701840002/?utm_source=cjonline-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero).
2) All 21 of Topeka’s NIAs (Neighborhood Improvement Associations, where at least 51% of residents are at or below 80% of Area Family Income) are inside the horseshoe (https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/neighborhoodrelations/communityengagement/NIAs.pdf).
3) 1930s-’40s Topeka redlining maps still are largely true and are reflected through today’s neighborhood health maps (www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5jCZdSdkrM).
4) Our next city manager must prioritize this issue and these areas as they actually present the best areas for investment (www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/10/poor-neighborhoods-make-the-best-investment).
Please feel free to share this appeal with interested others.
To contact the City of Topeka, please email the city clerk at [email protected], Mayor Mike Padilla at [email protected] and the city council at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Board Member
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Group Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government Founding Member
Disinvestment in Topeka’s low- to moderate-income neighborhoods:
1) We LMI activists used to refer to the Topeka’s donut hole, where the historic lack of investment inside the donut has been juxtaposed against investments outside the hole on our city's periphery that have increased, has exacerbated the challenges those neighborhoods within the hole face. As time has passed, however, the donut hole has revealed itself to be a horseshoe of disinvestment, with the open end facing east. Topeka must meaningfully address this challenge (https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/local/2021/01/30/topeka-east-central-hi-crest-neighborhood-say-investment-has-left-them-behind/6701840002/?utm_source=cjonline-Daily%20Briefing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_briefing&utm_term=hero).
2) All 21 of Topeka’s NIAs (Neighborhood Improvement Associations, where at least 51% of residents are at or below 80% of Area Family Income) are inside the horseshoe (https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/neighborhoodrelations/communityengagement/NIAs.pdf).
3) 1930s-’40s Topeka redlining maps still are largely true and are reflected through today’s neighborhood health maps (www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5jCZdSdkrM).
4) Our next city manager must prioritize this issue and these areas as they actually present the best areas for investment (www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/1/10/poor-neighborhoods-make-the-best-investment).
Please feel free to share this appeal with interested others.
To contact the City of Topeka, please email the city clerk at [email protected], Mayor Mike Padilla at [email protected] and the city council at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Citizen Advisory Council At-Large Member
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Board Member
Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Group Member
Topeka Alliance for Good Government Founding Member
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
City of Topeka Lawn Mowing Program Begins
Please review the following information from District 2 Topeka City Council Member Christina Valdivia-Alcala regarding the city's new mowing program.
"Topeka! I am going to break down the mowing component of Changing Our Culture of Property Maintenance. Please understand the City of Topeka has never undertaken anything of this nature and magnitude, the mowing and volunteering are the first part of the five-year project. Without COMMUNITY involvement, none of this will work. We need you. We had numerous community meetings last year and we kept hearing from folks that attended that they thought part of healthy neighborhoods was when people help each other. Neighbor helping neighbor.
"In a nutshell we are:
"The City put out a bid for entities that wanted to take part in the mowing program to apply. Out of all the applications THREE were chosen and they are:
1. The Omni Circle Group. They are providing free mowing for all those house holds in need of mowing and their focus in the NIA area of Central Topeka.
2. The Gil Carter Initiative. They are providing reduced rates (from $40-$70) a mow to those in the NIA area of Highland Acres.
3. The REMAINDER of NIA areas in Topeka will be handled by TSquared Lawn Service. They will charge a FIXED rate of $30 per mow. If you want to check with TSquared and see if they can mow your lawn for the fixed rate, you must call 785-368-9530. That is the phone line for all taking part in the mowing initiative to call!!
"We contracted with these entities to get help to folks that cannot because of age or health issues, because of monetary issues, or not owning any mowing equipment – to give those folks a hand. We want to get CODE OUT OF PEOPLE'S business and stop the tickets code gives out that weigh heavily on our neighbors.
"Yet we know this will not be enough and this is where the VOLUNTEERING from Topekans comes into play. Do YOU know a neighbor that can use help and YOU have a mower and can mow for them? Are YOU a lawn care LLC and can give a few reduced rate mows OR a couple of free mows a month? Are YOU part of a church that has access to a mower or two and can help some neighbors in need of mowing? OR are YOU a person that has a mower and wants to help and needs to let us know so we can get you lined up to help? Then call our 785-368-9530 number so we can get you listed on our roster. If you already know who all you want to help – then its up to you from there! If you want to be on a volunteer list – we can also help you with that! AND if you are a regular Joe or Jane and mow your lawn faithfully – we still want to hear from you and register your name at 785-368-9530.
"AT THE END OF THE MOWING SEASON – ALL REGISTERED WILL BE INVITED TO A WONDERFULLY FUN CELEBRATORY EVENT AND I WILL BE GIVING MORE INFO SOON. WE WILL GET TOGETHER WITH NEIGHBORS ALL ACROSS THE CITY, EAT, TELL OUR MOWING AND VOLUNTEER STORIES! THE WHOLE FAMILY WILL BE INVITED AND…………THERE WILL BE PRIZES!!!!"
City of Topeka Official Website
Please fee free to forward this information to anyone you think might be interested in participating and/or volunteering.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"Topeka! I am going to break down the mowing component of Changing Our Culture of Property Maintenance. Please understand the City of Topeka has never undertaken anything of this nature and magnitude, the mowing and volunteering are the first part of the five-year project. Without COMMUNITY involvement, none of this will work. We need you. We had numerous community meetings last year and we kept hearing from folks that attended that they thought part of healthy neighborhoods was when people help each other. Neighbor helping neighbor.
"In a nutshell we are:
- Improve property condition
- Reduce substandard housing
- Motivate property owners to care for their properties
- Encourage investment in vacant and deteriorated properties
"The City put out a bid for entities that wanted to take part in the mowing program to apply. Out of all the applications THREE were chosen and they are:
1. The Omni Circle Group. They are providing free mowing for all those house holds in need of mowing and their focus in the NIA area of Central Topeka.
2. The Gil Carter Initiative. They are providing reduced rates (from $40-$70) a mow to those in the NIA area of Highland Acres.
3. The REMAINDER of NIA areas in Topeka will be handled by TSquared Lawn Service. They will charge a FIXED rate of $30 per mow. If you want to check with TSquared and see if they can mow your lawn for the fixed rate, you must call 785-368-9530. That is the phone line for all taking part in the mowing initiative to call!!
"We contracted with these entities to get help to folks that cannot because of age or health issues, because of monetary issues, or not owning any mowing equipment – to give those folks a hand. We want to get CODE OUT OF PEOPLE'S business and stop the tickets code gives out that weigh heavily on our neighbors.
"Yet we know this will not be enough and this is where the VOLUNTEERING from Topekans comes into play. Do YOU know a neighbor that can use help and YOU have a mower and can mow for them? Are YOU a lawn care LLC and can give a few reduced rate mows OR a couple of free mows a month? Are YOU part of a church that has access to a mower or two and can help some neighbors in need of mowing? OR are YOU a person that has a mower and wants to help and needs to let us know so we can get you lined up to help? Then call our 785-368-9530 number so we can get you listed on our roster. If you already know who all you want to help – then its up to you from there! If you want to be on a volunteer list – we can also help you with that! AND if you are a regular Joe or Jane and mow your lawn faithfully – we still want to hear from you and register your name at 785-368-9530.
"AT THE END OF THE MOWING SEASON – ALL REGISTERED WILL BE INVITED TO A WONDERFULLY FUN CELEBRATORY EVENT AND I WILL BE GIVING MORE INFO SOON. WE WILL GET TOGETHER WITH NEIGHBORS ALL ACROSS THE CITY, EAT, TELL OUR MOWING AND VOLUNTEER STORIES! THE WHOLE FAMILY WILL BE INVITED AND…………THERE WILL BE PRIZES!!!!"
City of Topeka Official Website
Please fee free to forward this information to anyone you think might be interested in participating and/or volunteering.
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town History Walking Tour to be Held on August 6!
| 2022_t_town_walking_tour.pdf |
16th Annual Tennessee Town Basketball Tournament on August 6!
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold National Night Out on August 6!
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on July 11, 2022
Tennessee Town NIA
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, July 11, 2022
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· 2022 DREAMS Neighborhood Goals Report (Completed Consultations in June with Various City Departments)
· 2022 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Updates
· Kudos: NIA Resident Rob Cockerham for Helping Resident with Home Repairs
· Reintroduction of Holistic Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and the City of Topeka Report
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· Walking Tour of Tennessee Town’s History Update
· City Council, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
General Membership Meeting
6:30 p.m., Monday, July 11, 2022
1st Floor Conference Room, Buchanan Center
1195 SW Buchanan
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Encouraged; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· 2022 DREAMS Neighborhood Goals Report (Completed Consultations in June with Various City Departments)
· 2022 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Updates
· Kudos: NIA Resident Rob Cockerham for Helping Resident with Home Repairs
· Reintroduction of Holistic Private-Public Partnership with Stormont Vail and the City of Topeka Report
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· Walking Tour of Tennessee Town’s History Update
· City Council, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Mar. 14, 2022
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 14, 2022, in the first-floor conference room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan (please see pic).
Meeting highlights (masks, social distancing encouraged; free smoke detectors, batteries still available):
· Teresa Baker, Executive Director, Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc.
· Topeka ARPA COVID-19 Funds Vote
· Efforts to Save 1142 SW Washburn from Demolition
· 2022 DREAMS Goals
· Stormont Vail Land Donation to Habitat for Humanity for New Affordable Housing
· Tennessee Town Housing Nonprofit Partners Update
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· City Budget Work Groups Meetings Report
· Topeka Alliance for Good Government, Housing and Racial Equity Group Reports
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Association of the City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Meeting highlights (masks, social distancing encouraged; free smoke detectors, batteries still available):
· Teresa Baker, Executive Director, Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc.
· Topeka ARPA COVID-19 Funds Vote
· Efforts to Save 1142 SW Washburn from Demolition
· 2022 DREAMS Goals
· Stormont Vail Land Donation to Habitat for Humanity for New Affordable Housing
· Tennessee Town Housing Nonprofit Partners Update
· Central Topeka Grocery Store Update
· City Budget Work Groups Meetings Report
· Topeka Alliance for Good Government, Housing and Racial Equity Group Reports
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Association of the City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Jan. 10, 2022
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold its next general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m., Monday, January 10, 2022, in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln (Enter From Munson St.)
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Election of 2022 NIA Officers
· Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Partnership Discussion; Habitat for Humanity Housing Near SW 11th and Lane Streets
· Grocery Store Update
· 12th Street Project Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Topeka Alliance for Good Government Report
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Election of 2022 NIA Officers
· Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Partnership Discussion; Habitat for Humanity Housing Near SW 11th and Lane Streets
· Grocery Store Update
· 12th Street Project Update
· Lane Garden Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Topeka Alliance for Good Government Report
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy Update
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Grassroots Group to Address Making Local Government Better for Residents
There's a new grassroots effort in Topeka created to make local government more transparent, accountable and inclusive. It's immediate issues are the selection of the police chief, then the city manager.
Here's the Facebook page for the Topeka Alliance for Good Government, or TAGG: https://www.facebook.com/groups/888211138560199
TAGG will hold a town hall meeting from 1-3 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 4, 2021. Please see attached PDF or JPEG for details.
Hope to see you there!
TAGG, you’re it! Get involved!
Here's the Facebook page for the Topeka Alliance for Good Government, or TAGG: https://www.facebook.com/groups/888211138560199
TAGG will hold a town hall meeting from 1-3 p.m. on Sat., Dec. 4, 2021. Please see attached PDF or JPEG for details.
Hope to see you there!
TAGG, you’re it! Get involved!
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Nov. 8
he Tennessee Town NIA will hold its next general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 8, 2021, in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln (see attached pic; please enter from the Munson St. side).
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Amended Consolidated Plan (Primarily HUD Funds; Addition of American Recovery Plan Act Funds) Report
· Tax Sale Report (Sale of Various Properties in the NIA)
· Neighborhood Health Map Update
· 12th Street Project Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Fall Neighborhood Clean Up Report
· Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group Report
· Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Discussion
· 2021 CRC Tier-Two Initiative Ideas: Grant for King’s Court Improvements
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2027 Updates
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available):
· Amended Consolidated Plan (Primarily HUD Funds; Addition of American Recovery Plan Act Funds) Report
· Tax Sale Report (Sale of Various Properties in the NIA)
· Neighborhood Health Map Update
· 12th Street Project Update
· Pedestrian Mid-Block Lighting Update
· Fall Neighborhood Clean Up Report
· Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Planning Group Report
· Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Discussion
· 2021 CRC Tier-Two Initiative Ideas: Grant for King’s Court Improvements
· City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
· International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2027 Updates
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
NIA to Hold Fall Neighborhood Cleanup Oct. 22-24
Two dumpsters will be placed in the NIA from Fri., Oct. 22, through Sun., Oct. 24, 2021. One dumpster will be placed at the alley entrance to 1153 SW Lane and one dumpster will be placed at the alley entrance to 1197 SW Clay (SW 12th and Clay; due to construction access from the north). Please see map. Both dumpsters will be available for the entire NIA to use through 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24.
Working Men of Christ Ministries may be available to help people get items from their front doors to the dumpsters. If you’re interested, please contact Mike Bell at [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
· No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
· Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 25.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Working Men of Christ Ministries may be available to help people get items from their front doors to the dumpsters. If you’re interested, please contact Mike Bell at [email protected].
The following guidelines MUST be met by those using the dumpsters:
· No tires, dirt, rock or concrete, construction and/or demolition materials, paint cans with paint still in them, motor oil, car batteries, acids, or other hazardous chemicals/materials can be put in the dumpster
· Contents of the dumpsters must be no higher than level at their tops and with no overflow around the dumpsters or Shawnee County will not pick up the dumpsters
Shawnee County will pick up the dumpsters on Mon., Oct. 25.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
City of Topeka Provides 12th Street Project Update
Below is what I hope is the first of continuing updates from the City’s Public Works Department on the 12th Street project. Please feel free to share this information with others impacted by the project:
The contractor said this week that the curbs, gutters and asphalt will be in from S. Kansas to Washburn and open to traffic by the end of this construction season, late November/early December. However, some sidewalk and shared use path work will likely continue into the winter. While asphalt can’t be placed in the winter, concrete can. Crosswalks will also be repaired at Topeka Blvd. and all lanes will be open to through traffic as well.
One of the new features on this project is back-in parking. There will be stalls in the stretch between Kansas and Topeka, in front of multi-use building north of Holliday Park, and along the two churches on the south side of 12th Street. To introduce this to the neighborhood, the project engineer proposed some time back to provide an opportunity for those who live in the neighborhood and community members at-large to practice using back-in parking. It would be held on a Saturday or Sunday at 6th and VanBuren where the first back-in parking stalls are were placed in Topeka. We have also talked about creating a video similar to these or just sharing them as is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSsdL-dew9E and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e7HESqAYqk . What do you think of having a back-in parking event and/or sharing the videos?
(Note: Back-in parking was not included in the original project. Neither the project nor back-in parking was submitted to the public for input prior to the City making its decisions to move forward with both.)
After multiple attempts to get an update on the 12th Street project, what’s above is the response provided by Public Works Department Community Education Manager David Bevens. If you have any questions or concerns, Bevens can be reached via email at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-368-1642 or 785-213-4538. Please copy me in to any emails you send or provide an email summary of any phone conversations you have so I can be sure that your questions or concerns are answered.
I have asked Bevens to continue these updates until the project is completed and to provide them to all of the neighborhoods directly and indirectly affected by the project from S. Kansas Ave. west to SW Washburn.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
The contractor said this week that the curbs, gutters and asphalt will be in from S. Kansas to Washburn and open to traffic by the end of this construction season, late November/early December. However, some sidewalk and shared use path work will likely continue into the winter. While asphalt can’t be placed in the winter, concrete can. Crosswalks will also be repaired at Topeka Blvd. and all lanes will be open to through traffic as well.
One of the new features on this project is back-in parking. There will be stalls in the stretch between Kansas and Topeka, in front of multi-use building north of Holliday Park, and along the two churches on the south side of 12th Street. To introduce this to the neighborhood, the project engineer proposed some time back to provide an opportunity for those who live in the neighborhood and community members at-large to practice using back-in parking. It would be held on a Saturday or Sunday at 6th and VanBuren where the first back-in parking stalls are were placed in Topeka. We have also talked about creating a video similar to these or just sharing them as is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSsdL-dew9E and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e7HESqAYqk . What do you think of having a back-in parking event and/or sharing the videos?
(Note: Back-in parking was not included in the original project. Neither the project nor back-in parking was submitted to the public for input prior to the City making its decisions to move forward with both.)
After multiple attempts to get an update on the 12th Street project, what’s above is the response provided by Public Works Department Community Education Manager David Bevens. If you have any questions or concerns, Bevens can be reached via email at [email protected] or via telephone at 785-368-1642 or 785-213-4538. Please copy me in to any emails you send or provide an email summary of any phone conversations you have so I can be sure that your questions or concerns are answered.
I have asked Bevens to continue these updates until the project is completed and to provide them to all of the neighborhoods directly and indirectly affected by the project from S. Kansas Ave. west to SW Washburn.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on Sep. 13
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold its next general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sep. 13, 2021, in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln (please enter from the Munson Street side).
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available for NIA Residents):
* Neighborhood Health Map Update
* Fall Neighborhood Clean Up Update
* Grocery Oasis Update
* Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Discussions
* 2021 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Reports
* DREAMS Program Update, 2021 NIA Goals
* Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Discussion
* 2021 CRC Tier-Two Initiative Ideas: King’s Court, Housing Nonprofit, Vegetable Garden, Other Ideas
* City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
* International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2022 Updates
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
Meeting Highlights (Masks, Social Distancing Required; Free Smoke Detectors, Batteries Still Available for NIA Residents):
* Neighborhood Health Map Update
* Fall Neighborhood Clean Up Update
* Grocery Oasis Update
* Topeka Housing and Racial Equity Discussions
* 2021 National Night Out, Basketball Tournament Reports
* DREAMS Program Update, 2021 NIA Goals
* Creating a Housing Nonprofit Specifically for Tennessee Town (like the SENT initiative) Discussion
* 2021 CRC Tier-Two Initiative Ideas: King’s Court, Housing Nonprofit, Vegetable Garden, Other Ideas
* City Council, Community Policing, Code Compliance, Citizens Advisory Council (Ass’n of City’s NIAs) Reports
* International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2022 Updates
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group
Appeals to JEDO for Eco Devo Funds, Technical Assistance
Appeals to JEDO for Eco Devo Funds, Technical Assistance
Following is a letter the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group (CTGO) sent to the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO), which is the association of city and county elected officials regarding economic development in the Topeka metroplex. The letter was sent via email on April 4. The CTGO has yet to receive any response from JEDO.
Here's the letter:
April 4, 2021
Topeka Mayor Michelle de la Isla
Chair, Joint Economic Development Organization
Topeka City Hall
215 Southeast 7th Street, Room 350
Topeka, Kansas 66603 and
Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) Members
Dear JEDO Chair Mayor de la Isla and JEDO Members,
For the past three years the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO), a gathering of neighborhood leaders in Central Topeka, has been building the foundation for a grocery store to replace the Dillons store that left its Huntoon and Lane location in 2016. We are getting close to solidifying a relationship with a property owner for a new store that research, funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, shows will be sustainable.
We would like to be able to access public and private funding and any applicable City and County technical assistance through establishing a public-private partnership to create the new grocery store. The available data draws a picture of Central Topeka neighborhoods comprised of people with few means and compromised health, struggling to gain access to fresh healthy affordable foods. The average household income of our combined Central Topeka neighborhoods amounts to $32,000, with some census blocks accounting for only $18,000 per year. Thirty-five percent of our households have at least one disabled family member and twenty-three percent have no access to a vehicle. Our neighborhoods are made up of 50 percent of persons of color who is a group that is largely underserved. This is definitely an area in need that could benefit greatly from these funds and a new grocery store.
The CTGO views the creation of a new grocery store in Central Topeka as economic development with a vitally important connection to the health of the area’s residents, including children. Given the aforementioned demographics of Central Topeka we believe that this is the kind of economic development that most benefits our community as a whole, particularly given the fact that 60 percent of Topeka already is a food desert, as the CTGO’s efforts should be replicated in other parts of our city.
Please let us know if there is any information you need from us moving forward.
Sincerely,
Marge Ahrens, Chair
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group
Here's the letter:
April 4, 2021
Topeka Mayor Michelle de la Isla
Chair, Joint Economic Development Organization
Topeka City Hall
215 Southeast 7th Street, Room 350
Topeka, Kansas 66603 and
Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) Members
Dear JEDO Chair Mayor de la Isla and JEDO Members,
For the past three years the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO), a gathering of neighborhood leaders in Central Topeka, has been building the foundation for a grocery store to replace the Dillons store that left its Huntoon and Lane location in 2016. We are getting close to solidifying a relationship with a property owner for a new store that research, funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, shows will be sustainable.
We would like to be able to access public and private funding and any applicable City and County technical assistance through establishing a public-private partnership to create the new grocery store. The available data draws a picture of Central Topeka neighborhoods comprised of people with few means and compromised health, struggling to gain access to fresh healthy affordable foods. The average household income of our combined Central Topeka neighborhoods amounts to $32,000, with some census blocks accounting for only $18,000 per year. Thirty-five percent of our households have at least one disabled family member and twenty-three percent have no access to a vehicle. Our neighborhoods are made up of 50 percent of persons of color who is a group that is largely underserved. This is definitely an area in need that could benefit greatly from these funds and a new grocery store.
The CTGO views the creation of a new grocery store in Central Topeka as economic development with a vitally important connection to the health of the area’s residents, including children. Given the aforementioned demographics of Central Topeka we believe that this is the kind of economic development that most benefits our community as a whole, particularly given the fact that 60 percent of Topeka already is a food desert, as the CTGO’s efforts should be replicated in other parts of our city.
Please let us know if there is any information you need from us moving forward.
Sincerely,
Marge Ahrens, Chair
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and GraceMed
Working on Location for New Grocery Store
Working on Location for New Grocery Store
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and GraceMed working on location for new grocery store
Blaise Mesa, Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 8:09 p.m. CT April 7, 2021
Sarah Flieder has lived in central Topeka for the past six years and used to have easy access to groceries. That was before the Dillons store near her house closed in 2016.
"The closest place now is the Dollar General on 10th street," she said. "That is quite a bit of a walk."
Flieder and other Topekans in the area could have some relief if the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group has its way.
The group, which has advocated for central Topeka's grocery store needs in recent years, is working with GraceMed to try to build a store next to its building at S.W. 12th Street and Washburn Avenue.
Venus Lee, CEO of GraceMed, said the organization is still early in the planning process. "Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and/or the grocery store owners would be responsible for building the facility on what is now our property," she said. "That is also up for negotiations, whether we lease or sell it."
The effort to get a grocery store in that area is years in the making after a Dillons store on 1400 S.W. Huntoon Ave. closed in 2016. Marge Ahrens, chairwoman of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis group, said Wednesday that no grocer has been selected. The group is discussing an agreement with GraceMed and will work with the city on planning and zoning.
Ahrens told The Topeka Capital-Journal that she knows people who have access to multiple major grocery stores near Wanamaker and hopes all parts of town can have that type of access. “There are no places to get groceries,” Ahrens said. “For persons in our neighborhoods, it becomes very serious.”
Council member Hannah Naeger said the eastern border of District 6 was hit hard after the grocery store closed. She said access to fresh produce is lacking.
Fresh produce is also a priority for the grocery oasis group. They want to provide fresh food that is healthier than items found at convenience stores and fast food restaurants.
Council member Karen Hiller said the Dillons that closed years ago provided full-range groceries, a pharmacy, the ability to make utility payments and other “service desk” types of service. She said it had easy access to bus routes and even served as a social center for the community.
Downtown Topeka also wants grocery store
A draft of the city’s Downtown Master Plan includes locations for a grocery store, which was one of the most requested amenities in future development. A downtown Master Plan survey found that 36.5% of survey respondents want a grocery option.
Michael Bell, board member of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group, said about 60% of Topeka is a food desert. He said the needs of downtown Topekans and the needs of central Topekans aren’t the same.
He said the areas are demographically different and a downtown grocery store would still have transportation issues for central Topekans.
Bell said he wishes the city had intervened to build one in the core of Topeka. Naeger said it has been a long process to add the downtown grocery store to its master plan.
“Even if we are able to get our central Topeka grocery store up and running, and even if there is a downtown grocery store," Bell said, "there is still a lack of service in the northern parts of East Topeka.”
Blaise Mesa, Topeka Capital-Journal
Published 8:09 p.m. CT April 7, 2021
Sarah Flieder has lived in central Topeka for the past six years and used to have easy access to groceries. That was before the Dillons store near her house closed in 2016.
"The closest place now is the Dollar General on 10th street," she said. "That is quite a bit of a walk."
Flieder and other Topekans in the area could have some relief if the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group has its way.
The group, which has advocated for central Topeka's grocery store needs in recent years, is working with GraceMed to try to build a store next to its building at S.W. 12th Street and Washburn Avenue.
Venus Lee, CEO of GraceMed, said the organization is still early in the planning process. "Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group and/or the grocery store owners would be responsible for building the facility on what is now our property," she said. "That is also up for negotiations, whether we lease or sell it."
The effort to get a grocery store in that area is years in the making after a Dillons store on 1400 S.W. Huntoon Ave. closed in 2016. Marge Ahrens, chairwoman of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis group, said Wednesday that no grocer has been selected. The group is discussing an agreement with GraceMed and will work with the city on planning and zoning.
Ahrens told The Topeka Capital-Journal that she knows people who have access to multiple major grocery stores near Wanamaker and hopes all parts of town can have that type of access. “There are no places to get groceries,” Ahrens said. “For persons in our neighborhoods, it becomes very serious.”
Council member Hannah Naeger said the eastern border of District 6 was hit hard after the grocery store closed. She said access to fresh produce is lacking.
Fresh produce is also a priority for the grocery oasis group. They want to provide fresh food that is healthier than items found at convenience stores and fast food restaurants.
Council member Karen Hiller said the Dillons that closed years ago provided full-range groceries, a pharmacy, the ability to make utility payments and other “service desk” types of service. She said it had easy access to bus routes and even served as a social center for the community.
Downtown Topeka also wants grocery store
A draft of the city’s Downtown Master Plan includes locations for a grocery store, which was one of the most requested amenities in future development. A downtown Master Plan survey found that 36.5% of survey respondents want a grocery option.
Michael Bell, board member of the Central Topeka Grocery Oasis Group, said about 60% of Topeka is a food desert. He said the needs of downtown Topekans and the needs of central Topekans aren’t the same.
He said the areas are demographically different and a downtown grocery store would still have transportation issues for central Topekans.
Bell said he wishes the city had intervened to build one in the core of Topeka. Naeger said it has been a long process to add the downtown grocery store to its master plan.
“Even if we are able to get our central Topeka grocery store up and running, and even if there is a downtown grocery store," Bell said, "there is still a lack of service in the northern parts of East Topeka.”
Citizens Advisory Council Adopts New Bylaws,
Updates Ordinance, Bell Named At-Large Member
Updates Ordinance, Bell Named At-Large Member
The Citizens Advisory Council (CAC), the association of the city's Neighborhood Improvement Associations (NIAs), has adopted new bylaws and recommended to the City of Topeka's governing body to adopt changes to the CAC ordinance to empower the CAC to be a stronger advocate for the NIAs and low- to moderate-income people regardless of where they live.
There are two PDFs, one of the new bylaws and one of the ordinance update (most of which Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell wrote), included at the end of this post.
On March 9, the city's governing body voted unanimously to name Bell as a CAC at-large member, which means he will be representing the interests of Topeka's LMI residents and all of its NIAs. Bell brings 25 years of experience as an advocate for those people and neighborhoods to the table, establishing relationships with NIA leaders in all areas of the city. As part of his service to the city, Bell will recuse himself from voting on proposals and funds that directly involve the Tennessee Town NIA.
There are two PDFs, one of the new bylaws and one of the ordinance update (most of which Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell wrote), included at the end of this post.
On March 9, the city's governing body voted unanimously to name Bell as a CAC at-large member, which means he will be representing the interests of Topeka's LMI residents and all of its NIAs. Bell brings 25 years of experience as an advocate for those people and neighborhoods to the table, establishing relationships with NIA leaders in all areas of the city. As part of his service to the city, Bell will recuse himself from voting on proposals and funds that directly involve the Tennessee Town NIA.
| 11-2-20_--_cac_bylaws_draft_-_clean.pdf |
| 2021_cac_ordinance_proposal_version_2020-12-18.pdf |
Tennessee Town NIA to Hold General Membership Meeting on March 8, 2021
The Tennessee Town NIA will hold a general membership meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 8, 2021 in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln (please enter from the SW Munson St. side).
Meeting Highlights (Masks Required; Social Distancing Enforced):
* CRC Tier Two 501c(3) Nonprofit Opportunity: Some Ideas for Improvements: King’s Court, Lane Garden
* 2nd Substantial Amendment to 2019 Consolidated Plan: Accepting an Additional $587,924 in CDBG-COVID Funds
* Grocery Oasis Group Survey Card, Update
* Cornerstone Duplexes on Lane Street, Partnership with the NIA, City of Topeka, Stormont-Vail and Habitat
* Adopted Citizens Advisory Council Bylaws, Ordinance Revisions
* Lane Garden Grants, Update
* AGAPE Center of Hope Emergency Housing Report
* Abandoned Tire Collection Report
* City Council, Property Maintenance (Code Compliance), Community Policing Reports
* International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2022 Updates
Smoke detectors and batteries left over from the Jan. 31 distribution also will be available. Photo ID required.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Meeting Highlights (Masks Required; Social Distancing Enforced):
* CRC Tier Two 501c(3) Nonprofit Opportunity: Some Ideas for Improvements: King’s Court, Lane Garden
* 2nd Substantial Amendment to 2019 Consolidated Plan: Accepting an Additional $587,924 in CDBG-COVID Funds
* Grocery Oasis Group Survey Card, Update
* Cornerstone Duplexes on Lane Street, Partnership with the NIA, City of Topeka, Stormont-Vail and Habitat
* Adopted Citizens Advisory Council Bylaws, Ordinance Revisions
* Lane Garden Grants, Update
* AGAPE Center of Hope Emergency Housing Report
* Abandoned Tire Collection Report
* City Council, Property Maintenance (Code Compliance), Community Policing Reports
* International Academy, Topeka JUMP, Momentum 2022 Updates
Smoke detectors and batteries left over from the Jan. 31 distribution also will be available. Photo ID required.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hope to see you there!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
12th Street Reality Coalition to Hold Meeting on Feb. 29
Regarding Meeting with City Manager
Regarding Meeting with City Manager
The 12th Street Reality Coalition (12SRC), the grassroots group organized to give a voice to residents and voters regarding the City's 12th Street proposal, will hold a meeting from 1 to 3 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 29, 2020, at Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, 1196 SW Buchanan, to discuss what it wants to do regarding the group's meeting with City Manager Brent Trout (please see Trout’s invitation below).
The agenda for the meeting will at least involve these points (other points to be determined at the meeting):
· The City's process involving "top-down" planning that excluded resident and voter input from the outset, only involving us after the City had created its proposal behind closed doors and ultimately only asking us to sign off on the City's proposal instead of using the "bottom-up" planning paradigm favored by groups like Strong Towns (https://www.strongtowns.org/), which involves residents in planning activities from day one.
· 12SRC's list of expectations regarding a final 12th Street proposal related to retaining the 2 driving lanes currently on 12th Street (and Huntoon, too), resurfacing both streets, bike lanes, and infrastructure and aesthetic improvements (list not exhaustive).
· Having 12SRC's points regarding process and expectations regarding the final 12th Street proposal incorporated into the final 12th Street proposal that is adopted by the city council/city's governing body.
To prepare for 12SRC's Feb. 29 meeting, here's the link to the City's 12th Street proposal: City of Topeka Official Website.
Please feel free to share this information with other interested residents and voters regarding the City's 12th Street proposal.
Michael Bell
*****************************************************************
Here is City Manager Brent Trout’s email invitation to meet with 12SRC:
Brent Trout
To: Michael Bell
Feb 15 at 1:36 PM
Mr. Bell,
I would like to meet with you and other members of the 12th Street Coalition to discuss further your concerns regarding the design of the SW 12th Street from Kansas Avenue to Gage Avenue project. We have discussed them previously but feel a dedicated meeting is warranted at this time. Please let me know when it would be feasible to have such a meeting.
Thank you,
Brent Trout
City Manager
City of Topeka
The agenda for the meeting will at least involve these points (other points to be determined at the meeting):
· The City's process involving "top-down" planning that excluded resident and voter input from the outset, only involving us after the City had created its proposal behind closed doors and ultimately only asking us to sign off on the City's proposal instead of using the "bottom-up" planning paradigm favored by groups like Strong Towns (https://www.strongtowns.org/), which involves residents in planning activities from day one.
· 12SRC's list of expectations regarding a final 12th Street proposal related to retaining the 2 driving lanes currently on 12th Street (and Huntoon, too), resurfacing both streets, bike lanes, and infrastructure and aesthetic improvements (list not exhaustive).
· Having 12SRC's points regarding process and expectations regarding the final 12th Street proposal incorporated into the final 12th Street proposal that is adopted by the city council/city's governing body.
To prepare for 12SRC's Feb. 29 meeting, here's the link to the City's 12th Street proposal: City of Topeka Official Website.
Please feel free to share this information with other interested residents and voters regarding the City's 12th Street proposal.
Michael Bell
*****************************************************************
Here is City Manager Brent Trout’s email invitation to meet with 12SRC:
Brent Trout
To: Michael Bell
Feb 15 at 1:36 PM
Mr. Bell,
I would like to meet with you and other members of the 12th Street Coalition to discuss further your concerns regarding the design of the SW 12th Street from Kansas Avenue to Gage Avenue project. We have discussed them previously but feel a dedicated meeting is warranted at this time. Please let me know when it would be feasible to have such a meeting.
Thank you,
Brent Trout
City Manager
City of Topeka
Tennessee Town NIA Votes to Request A
Resident-Involved Committee to Evaluate City's 12th Street Proposal
Resident-Involved Committee to Evaluate City's 12th Street Proposal
At the January 13, 2020, Tennessee Town NIA general membership meeting I offered the following motion for consideration by the body regarding the City's 12th Street proposal:
"The Tennessee Town NIA requests that the City of Topeka's City Manager Brent Trout convene a committee of pertinent City staff and city residents to jointly work on the City's entire 12th Street proposal."
NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter moved approval of the motion. NIA CAC Member Donald Fortin seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
It is our hope that the City takes this vote seriously and does what it recommends so that we all can sign off on what happens with the 12th Street proposal. Residents and voters never got a vote on the proposal. The actions recommended above would finally give residents and voters the kind of say they should have had at the beginning of and throughout the process that produced the City's 12th Street proposal.
I would encourage other Central Topeka neighborhoods to consider the same motion for approval. If you don't live in a Central Topeka neighborhood but are concerned about what happens to 12th Street, please let the city council, mayor and city manager know.
If anybody has any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The Tennessee Town NIA requests that the City of Topeka's City Manager Brent Trout convene a committee of pertinent City staff and city residents to jointly work on the City's entire 12th Street proposal."
NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter moved approval of the motion. NIA CAC Member Donald Fortin seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.
It is our hope that the City takes this vote seriously and does what it recommends so that we all can sign off on what happens with the 12th Street proposal. Residents and voters never got a vote on the proposal. The actions recommended above would finally give residents and voters the kind of say they should have had at the beginning of and throughout the process that produced the City's 12th Street proposal.
I would encourage other Central Topeka neighborhoods to consider the same motion for approval. If you don't live in a Central Topeka neighborhood but are concerned about what happens to 12th Street, please let the city council, mayor and city manager know.
If anybody has any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
2020: The Year of the NIA in Topeka, Kansas!
I emailed the following on Tue., Jan. 14, 2020, to all of the city's NIA presidents, the city council, the mayor, the city manager, and the City's Department of Neighborhood Relations:
I am dedicated to making 2020 the Year of the NIA in Topeka. I am dedicated to showing our elected officials how our neighborhoods offer the best chance for development, a goal demonstrated in this story by Strong Town's Chuck Marohn: "Poor Neighborhoods Make the Best Investments — Strong Towns. Marohn gave a presentation on Strong Towns at the library on Oct 28. I attended. I've been a fan of Strong Towns for some time, and yet Marohn's presentation still was eye opening. I think we as NIAs should consider joining Strong Towns, which endorses a "bottom-up" planning paradigm that necessarily involves resident input from day one involving policy making that affects us (https://www.strongtowns.org/).
I think in the midst of all of the West Topeka TIFs that have been approved recently that we need to remind our elected officials of the importance of our neighborhoods. The 2000 US census revealed that 55% of Topeka's population was at or below 80% of Area Family Income. That's the demographic that defines NIAs in Topeka (at least 51% of a neighborhood's population must be at or below 80% of AFI to gain or retain NIA status). Many of the everyday people who work at Topeka businesses live in our NIAs.
I think we need to remind our elected officials that the HUD-mandated Consolidated Strategic and Action Plans THEY ALL VOTE ON need to be seen more as the beginning of the discussion regarding low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods; including using the Con Plan budget to leverage other funds to make bigger impacts in more neighborhoods and an expansion of the City's efforts to forge public-private partnerships with local for-profit businesses to utilize their financial, material and human resources; instead of primarily seeing those plans as the end of the discussion regarding city input (except for the required HUD matching funds and the Neighborhood Infrastructure line item within the SORT grant).
All of those goals and more are within our reach.
Let's get to work!
Regarding the logo pictured here, please feel free to use and distribute to those who will help us to make 2020 The Year of the NIA in Topeka. I only ask that as you distribute you note that the logo is "by Michael Bell."
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 5:59:37 PM CST, Christina Valdivia-Alcala ([email protected]) wrote:
"Mike. I too have followed Strong Towns on FB and am impressed with many of its articles and approaches. I also welcome your additional feedback. Our neighborhoods need as many workable ideas and searching for dollars to improve THEIR quality of life. THEIR quality of place. I look forward to continuation of work with District 2 NIAs and to know more about those throughout Topeka."
Yay!
2020: The Year of the NIA in Topeka!
I am dedicated to making 2020 the Year of the NIA in Topeka. I am dedicated to showing our elected officials how our neighborhoods offer the best chance for development, a goal demonstrated in this story by Strong Town's Chuck Marohn: "Poor Neighborhoods Make the Best Investments — Strong Towns. Marohn gave a presentation on Strong Towns at the library on Oct 28. I attended. I've been a fan of Strong Towns for some time, and yet Marohn's presentation still was eye opening. I think we as NIAs should consider joining Strong Towns, which endorses a "bottom-up" planning paradigm that necessarily involves resident input from day one involving policy making that affects us (https://www.strongtowns.org/).
I think in the midst of all of the West Topeka TIFs that have been approved recently that we need to remind our elected officials of the importance of our neighborhoods. The 2000 US census revealed that 55% of Topeka's population was at or below 80% of Area Family Income. That's the demographic that defines NIAs in Topeka (at least 51% of a neighborhood's population must be at or below 80% of AFI to gain or retain NIA status). Many of the everyday people who work at Topeka businesses live in our NIAs.
I think we need to remind our elected officials that the HUD-mandated Consolidated Strategic and Action Plans THEY ALL VOTE ON need to be seen more as the beginning of the discussion regarding low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods; including using the Con Plan budget to leverage other funds to make bigger impacts in more neighborhoods and an expansion of the City's efforts to forge public-private partnerships with local for-profit businesses to utilize their financial, material and human resources; instead of primarily seeing those plans as the end of the discussion regarding city input (except for the required HUD matching funds and the Neighborhood Infrastructure line item within the SORT grant).
All of those goals and more are within our reach.
Let's get to work!
Regarding the logo pictured here, please feel free to use and distribute to those who will help us to make 2020 The Year of the NIA in Topeka. I only ask that as you distribute you note that the logo is "by Michael Bell."
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood" -- Martin Luther King, Jr., "Strength to Love," 1963
On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 5:59:37 PM CST, Christina Valdivia-Alcala ([email protected]) wrote:
"Mike. I too have followed Strong Towns on FB and am impressed with many of its articles and approaches. I also welcome your additional feedback. Our neighborhoods need as many workable ideas and searching for dollars to improve THEIR quality of life. THEIR quality of place. I look forward to continuation of work with District 2 NIAs and to know more about those throughout Topeka."
Yay!
2020: The Year of the NIA in Topeka!
Group Organized to Reestablish a Full-Service Grocery Store in
Central Topeka Presents Results of Completed Market Study to
Topeka, Shawnee County
Central Topeka Presents Results of Completed Market Study to
Topeka, Shawnee County
The Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO), a group of neighbors organized to reestablish a full-service grocery store in Central Topeka, is proud and excited to reveal the market study commissioned to discover the viability of the grocery store.
The CTGO held a presentation ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, in the first-floor conference room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
The market study, paid for through a $12,500 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) and conducted by Dakota Worldwide, shows that a new Central Topeka grocery store is viable. The CTGO started 22 months ago with this mission: “To resolve the food desert/insecurity that exists in Central Topeka created by the closing of the Dillon’s grocery store.” The CTGO also has worked to establish a new grocery store in Central Topeka because it sees the store not just as economic development but also as community development because of the array of services that can be offered (check cashing, bill payment, money order, postal, and pharmacy services), the array of healthy foods that will make people stronger physically, and the importance a store holds as a place for people to socialize and become better neighbors to one another.
In addition to the completed market study showing that a Central Topeka grocery store is viable, the CTGO has been busy talking with those in the grocery store business about the study. The CTGO has been looking at locations for a grocery store in Central Topeka. The CTGO understands the costs associated with the choice of a site, the costs of construction, and the costs of running a store that meets the needs of our neighbors and Central Topeka visitors.
During the past 22 months the CTGO has met with and engaged area residents, City of Topeka policy and decision makers, the Shawnee County Health Department, local and state nonprofits, and other individuals and entities to achieve its mission. The CTGO will continue to encourage those and other individuals and entities to be involved not only in its efforts in Central Topeka but similar efforts across our city and county as 60 percent of Topeka is a food desert.
KHF supports those groups addressing food deserts/food insecurity. Per KHF’s grant, the CTGO knew early on that there also were economic and financial considerations to addressing those issues with a grocery store. To determine those considerations, the CTGO hired a consultant with KHF funds. Dakota Worldwide is well regarded in its field. The CTGO also consulted with the Small Business Administration of Washburn and Kansas State University and the Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) to look at the economics of a Central Topeka grocery store.
The GTP, which serves as an umbrella agency for various local efforts that support economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County, is serving as the fiscal sponsor of the KHF grant.
"The Kansas Health Foundation is a philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, please visit www.Kansashealth.org"
*************************************
Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal article on the press presentation
(https://www.cjonline.com/…/study-determines-central-topeka-…):
Study determines central Topeka could support a full-service grocery store
By India Yarborough
Posted Jan 8, 2020 at 6:46 PM; Updated Jan 8, 2020 at 6:54 PM
After the Dillons food market at 1400 S.W. Huntoon St. closed almost four years ago, residents of central Topeka’s neighborhoods were devastated.
“I knew it was coming, because me and the manager, Bob, talked a lot,” said Emma Ray, who was a resident of central Topeka at the time. “But it was like, ‘Oh my god. What are we going to do now?’ ”
Ray has since moved to another area of the capital city, but the longtime central Topekan makes a point to stay connected with her former neighbors.
She still attends church at Asbury Mount Olive United Methodist on S.W. Buchanan Street. And about twice a month she drives central Topeka families to grocery stores in other parts of town.
“I take them to Dillons on 10th Street,” Ray said, “and then I have to take them to Walmart to get their medicine.”
She said at first it was mostly elderly people who needed rides to stores following the closure of Dillons.
“Now, it’s getting to be anybody that comes over to the church and asks the pastor for my phone number,” Ray said. “I made a vow to do that because that was our store.”
Ray estimates that she drives about 20 families to grocery stores each month. Those who can’t make it to a store, she added, usually end up buying food from a nearby Kwik Shop.
But the tide may soon be turning.
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis, a grassroots group that formed in March 2018, on Wednesday presented the results of a feasibility study it commissioned to determine the viability of bringing a full-service grocery store back to the area. The study was paid for with a $12,500 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation and conducted by Dakota Worldwide Corporation.
“The feasibility study does tell us that central Topeka can support a grocery store of 7,500 to 10,000 square feet,” said Marge Ahrens, one of eight members of Central Topeka Grocery Oasis.
More than a dozen city officials and Topeka community members met Wednesday afternoon with CTGO at the Buchanan Center to hear about the study and discuss next steps.
According to Marc Galbraith, a member of CTGO, the audience for the study is primarily grocery stores looking to locate in central Topeka. Grocery Oasis members noted, though, that it will take public-private partnerships and commitment from city officials to attract the right store — one that offers banking services, has a pharmacy and serves as a gathering place for area residents.
“This store is vital for more than just what it did as a grocery store,” said Clark Trammell, CTGO member. “It is an event. It is an important structure that moves this community upward and forward.”
Trammell said it is crucial for city officials to buy into the process of bringing a store to central Topeka.
“We need you to step up and do your part,” Trammell said, “so that when the grocery store comes to town and says, ‘I’m interested,’ we know who to go to and that everybody is ready to click.”
Attendees of the meeting included Mayor Michelle De La Isla, city manager Brent Trout, Councilwoman Karen Hiller, Michelle Stubblefield of the Greater Topeka Partnership, and others. De La Isla verbally committed to meet soon with CTGO members who are spearheading the grocery store initiative.
And there is lots of work still to be done.
A specific location for the grocery store hasn’t been determined, and neither has a store name or owner.
“We’re approaching everybody,” said Michael Bell, of CTGO. “Some already have a local footprint, some don’t.”
The study says the group needs to attract an experienced grocer, but CTGO is open to considering for-profit grocers and food cooperatives. They would also like to attract a store with a minimal carbon footprint. But above all, CTGO members argued, the store has to serve the community’s needs.
“What we have learned from today is ... that people are jumping on board to help us get to the next step in this process,” Bell said, “because I think we all understand the importance of having that grocery store back in this part of town.”
*************************************
As a result of the CTGO's press presentation, local policy and decision makers, as well as property owners with parcels that might be suitable for a new grocery store, have reached out to the CTGO.
The CTGO is entering the next phase of its crusade to establish another grocery store in Central Topeka. Exciting times are ahead! I'll keep everybody posted on future developments.
Michael Bell
Member, Central Topeka Grocery Oasis
Tennessee Town NIA President
The CTGO held a presentation ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2020, in the first-floor conference room of the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
The market study, paid for through a $12,500 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation (KHF) and conducted by Dakota Worldwide, shows that a new Central Topeka grocery store is viable. The CTGO started 22 months ago with this mission: “To resolve the food desert/insecurity that exists in Central Topeka created by the closing of the Dillon’s grocery store.” The CTGO also has worked to establish a new grocery store in Central Topeka because it sees the store not just as economic development but also as community development because of the array of services that can be offered (check cashing, bill payment, money order, postal, and pharmacy services), the array of healthy foods that will make people stronger physically, and the importance a store holds as a place for people to socialize and become better neighbors to one another.
In addition to the completed market study showing that a Central Topeka grocery store is viable, the CTGO has been busy talking with those in the grocery store business about the study. The CTGO has been looking at locations for a grocery store in Central Topeka. The CTGO understands the costs associated with the choice of a site, the costs of construction, and the costs of running a store that meets the needs of our neighbors and Central Topeka visitors.
During the past 22 months the CTGO has met with and engaged area residents, City of Topeka policy and decision makers, the Shawnee County Health Department, local and state nonprofits, and other individuals and entities to achieve its mission. The CTGO will continue to encourage those and other individuals and entities to be involved not only in its efforts in Central Topeka but similar efforts across our city and county as 60 percent of Topeka is a food desert.
KHF supports those groups addressing food deserts/food insecurity. Per KHF’s grant, the CTGO knew early on that there also were economic and financial considerations to addressing those issues with a grocery store. To determine those considerations, the CTGO hired a consultant with KHF funds. Dakota Worldwide is well regarded in its field. The CTGO also consulted with the Small Business Administration of Washburn and Kansas State University and the Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) to look at the economics of a Central Topeka grocery store.
The GTP, which serves as an umbrella agency for various local efforts that support economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County, is serving as the fiscal sponsor of the KHF grant.
"The Kansas Health Foundation is a philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, please visit www.Kansashealth.org"
*************************************
Here's the Topeka Capital-Journal article on the press presentation
(https://www.cjonline.com/…/study-determines-central-topeka-…):
Study determines central Topeka could support a full-service grocery store
By India Yarborough
Posted Jan 8, 2020 at 6:46 PM; Updated Jan 8, 2020 at 6:54 PM
After the Dillons food market at 1400 S.W. Huntoon St. closed almost four years ago, residents of central Topeka’s neighborhoods were devastated.
“I knew it was coming, because me and the manager, Bob, talked a lot,” said Emma Ray, who was a resident of central Topeka at the time. “But it was like, ‘Oh my god. What are we going to do now?’ ”
Ray has since moved to another area of the capital city, but the longtime central Topekan makes a point to stay connected with her former neighbors.
She still attends church at Asbury Mount Olive United Methodist on S.W. Buchanan Street. And about twice a month she drives central Topeka families to grocery stores in other parts of town.
“I take them to Dillons on 10th Street,” Ray said, “and then I have to take them to Walmart to get their medicine.”
She said at first it was mostly elderly people who needed rides to stores following the closure of Dillons.
“Now, it’s getting to be anybody that comes over to the church and asks the pastor for my phone number,” Ray said. “I made a vow to do that because that was our store.”
Ray estimates that she drives about 20 families to grocery stores each month. Those who can’t make it to a store, she added, usually end up buying food from a nearby Kwik Shop.
But the tide may soon be turning.
Central Topeka Grocery Oasis, a grassroots group that formed in March 2018, on Wednesday presented the results of a feasibility study it commissioned to determine the viability of bringing a full-service grocery store back to the area. The study was paid for with a $12,500 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation and conducted by Dakota Worldwide Corporation.
“The feasibility study does tell us that central Topeka can support a grocery store of 7,500 to 10,000 square feet,” said Marge Ahrens, one of eight members of Central Topeka Grocery Oasis.
More than a dozen city officials and Topeka community members met Wednesday afternoon with CTGO at the Buchanan Center to hear about the study and discuss next steps.
According to Marc Galbraith, a member of CTGO, the audience for the study is primarily grocery stores looking to locate in central Topeka. Grocery Oasis members noted, though, that it will take public-private partnerships and commitment from city officials to attract the right store — one that offers banking services, has a pharmacy and serves as a gathering place for area residents.
“This store is vital for more than just what it did as a grocery store,” said Clark Trammell, CTGO member. “It is an event. It is an important structure that moves this community upward and forward.”
Trammell said it is crucial for city officials to buy into the process of bringing a store to central Topeka.
“We need you to step up and do your part,” Trammell said, “so that when the grocery store comes to town and says, ‘I’m interested,’ we know who to go to and that everybody is ready to click.”
Attendees of the meeting included Mayor Michelle De La Isla, city manager Brent Trout, Councilwoman Karen Hiller, Michelle Stubblefield of the Greater Topeka Partnership, and others. De La Isla verbally committed to meet soon with CTGO members who are spearheading the grocery store initiative.
And there is lots of work still to be done.
A specific location for the grocery store hasn’t been determined, and neither has a store name or owner.
“We’re approaching everybody,” said Michael Bell, of CTGO. “Some already have a local footprint, some don’t.”
The study says the group needs to attract an experienced grocer, but CTGO is open to considering for-profit grocers and food cooperatives. They would also like to attract a store with a minimal carbon footprint. But above all, CTGO members argued, the store has to serve the community’s needs.
“What we have learned from today is ... that people are jumping on board to help us get to the next step in this process,” Bell said, “because I think we all understand the importance of having that grocery store back in this part of town.”
*************************************
As a result of the CTGO's press presentation, local policy and decision makers, as well as property owners with parcels that might be suitable for a new grocery store, have reached out to the CTGO.
The CTGO is entering the next phase of its crusade to establish another grocery store in Central Topeka. Exciting times are ahead! I'll keep everybody posted on future developments.
Michael Bell
Member, Central Topeka Grocery Oasis
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Grassroots Group Organized to Affect Resident-Involved Change to the
City’s SW 12th Street Proposal Held Press Conference on Sat., Dec. 7
City’s SW 12th Street Proposal Held Press Conference on Sat., Dec. 7
The 12th Street Reality Coalition (12SRC), a grassroots group organized to make the City of Topeka incorporate resident input on its SW 12th Street proposal, held a press conference from 1 - 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 7, 2019, in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln.
12SRC seeks to have resident input be respected and included in the City’s final SW 12th Street proposal, which includes renovations to sidewalks and curbs, as well as the installation of trees/greenery and other aesthetic improvements and bicycle paths from S. Kansas Avenue west to SW Gage Blvd. (list not exhaustive). 12SRC does not oppose any of those improvements, but 12SRC would like to have resident input on them be a part of the proposal that will affect the daily lives of not only those who live on or near SW 12th Street but also for others who travel SW 12th Street.
What 12SRC does oppose is the elimination of one of the two current driving lanes on SW 12th. 12SRC has the following concerns about the process the City of Topeka has used and the choices the City has made regarding the creation of its SW 12th Street proposal (and the same concerns would apply when the same changes are proposed for SW Huntoon):
· Until earlier this year, when the City finally let us know about what it had ALREADY decided, none of us knew about the elimination of a driving lane. 12SRC believes that if residents had been involved in the discussions about SW 12th from day one (a consistent City problem pertaining to process and the dated "top-down" planning paradigm** some City departments still use), then we would have not only known but could have raised concerns about/objections to the idea before it became the City's unbending, unyielding position.
· 12SRC believes that the City has been completely converted to the evangel IT believes exists within Complete Streets, the planning document that the City is using to justify the SW 12th St. lane reduction proposal. Here's a link to Complete Streets: https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/planning/MTPO/TSC_CompleteStreets.pdf. What's most frustrating to us is that Complete Streets provides no blanket guidelines to reduce the number of driving lanes of street projects, no mandates, no requirements. It is intended to recognize and encourage the multi-modal ways people get from point A to point B, namely motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Yet since the SW 12th St. proposal is the City's first Complete Streets effort, the City has gone all in on it. Arrogance and hubris are driving the City's bulldozer down SW 12th and over the wishes of residents and voters.
· 12SRC questions whether the decreased traffic counts along SW 12th Street the City cites as a reason to eliminate a driving lane are complete. The counts don’t address how (1) the poor condition of SW 12th has generally depressed traffic along it while a repaired SW 12th might encourage more usage, (2) how evening rush hour travelers who will still use SW 12th because of convenience or proximity to their homes will be affected by a one-lane street; and (3) how other nearby streets will be expected to absorb the loss of the driving lane on SW 12th, particularly as they also undergo construction projects.
· 12SRC is concerned about emergency vehicles and the access they’ll have with a single dedicated traffic lane and parking (with parked cars) instead of having the other dedicated traffic lane, too.
· 12SRC wants the City to use a current example of how a bike lane can be provided without eliminating any traffic lanes. It is called SW Lane St., a one-way street like SW 12th St. On SW Lane, from SW 17th north to SW 6th, a bike lane has been created on the right side of the right lane (the same thing has happened along SW Washburn). So, since that alternative already exists, why is the City still trying to force on us eliminating a driving lane on SW 12th? If it's good enough for SW Lane and SW Washburn, why not SW 12th (and SW Huntoon)?
· 12SRC reminds the City of the fact that SW 12th and SW Huntoon have worked for at least 50 years as an single arterial using two driving lanes moving traffic towards downtown in the morning (SW Huntoon) and two driving lanes moving traffic away from downtown in the evening (SW 12th). The City is forcing on us its ideas about returning SW 12th and SW Huntoon to "neighborhood streets" when the reality is that both streets service MULTIPLE neighborhoods going from downtown west to SW Gage. SW 12th and SW Huntoon ARE NOT SW Munson.
· It has been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that the City can "revert back to two lanes later on if they're needed." 12SRC believes that if that possibility is being entertained, then why eliminate a driving lane at all?
· It has been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that a single driving lane will calm the flow of traffic. 12SRC knows that there are other traffic calming devices that could be implemented short of a lane reduction (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_calming) including narrowing the driving lanes, rumble strips (like on the turnpike), and otherwise changing the road surface material or texture at certain intervals. Has the City investigated those and other traffic calming options?
· It’s been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that it will improve pedestrian safety. Yet 12SRC knows that when District One City Council Member Karen Hiller was asked to provide data to support that contention at a Tennessee Town NIA meeting, her only response was that Complete Streets said it was so.
· 12SRC is concerned about whether collections from the 1/2 cent sales tax will cover the cost of the project. 12SRC seeks assurances from the City that taxes, including but not limited to additional sales taxes and increased utility rates, will not be increased after the fact if it happens that the City bit off more than it could chew with the SW 12th project.
12SRC believes that all good policy making ultimately starts and ends with first inviting all affected parties to the table and then finding ways to achieve goals through compromise. The City did not invite the public to the table until it had already decided what IT wanted to do (expecting us to just sign off on it) and to this point in the process has been unwilling to seriously entertain the thought of compromise.
12SRC wants to use what's already happening along SW Lane and SW Washburn, both one-way streets where bike lanes have been installed without reducing driving lanes, on SW 12th (and SW Huntoon). Again, the benefits of SW 12th St. redevelopment can happen without eliminating a driving lane. 12SRC wants the benefits that can accrue from new construction and development. But in order for the community to move forward, we ALL need to be behind it and pushing it forward, including first and foremost the city's residents and voters.
**Please check out Strong Towns and the "bottom-up" planning paradigm it favors: https://www.strongtowns.org/. Strong Towns' Chuck Marohn visited Topeka on Oct. 28.
12SRC seeks to have resident input be respected and included in the City’s final SW 12th Street proposal, which includes renovations to sidewalks and curbs, as well as the installation of trees/greenery and other aesthetic improvements and bicycle paths from S. Kansas Avenue west to SW Gage Blvd. (list not exhaustive). 12SRC does not oppose any of those improvements, but 12SRC would like to have resident input on them be a part of the proposal that will affect the daily lives of not only those who live on or near SW 12th Street but also for others who travel SW 12th Street.
What 12SRC does oppose is the elimination of one of the two current driving lanes on SW 12th. 12SRC has the following concerns about the process the City of Topeka has used and the choices the City has made regarding the creation of its SW 12th Street proposal (and the same concerns would apply when the same changes are proposed for SW Huntoon):
· Until earlier this year, when the City finally let us know about what it had ALREADY decided, none of us knew about the elimination of a driving lane. 12SRC believes that if residents had been involved in the discussions about SW 12th from day one (a consistent City problem pertaining to process and the dated "top-down" planning paradigm** some City departments still use), then we would have not only known but could have raised concerns about/objections to the idea before it became the City's unbending, unyielding position.
· 12SRC believes that the City has been completely converted to the evangel IT believes exists within Complete Streets, the planning document that the City is using to justify the SW 12th St. lane reduction proposal. Here's a link to Complete Streets: https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/planning/MTPO/TSC_CompleteStreets.pdf. What's most frustrating to us is that Complete Streets provides no blanket guidelines to reduce the number of driving lanes of street projects, no mandates, no requirements. It is intended to recognize and encourage the multi-modal ways people get from point A to point B, namely motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Yet since the SW 12th St. proposal is the City's first Complete Streets effort, the City has gone all in on it. Arrogance and hubris are driving the City's bulldozer down SW 12th and over the wishes of residents and voters.
· 12SRC questions whether the decreased traffic counts along SW 12th Street the City cites as a reason to eliminate a driving lane are complete. The counts don’t address how (1) the poor condition of SW 12th has generally depressed traffic along it while a repaired SW 12th might encourage more usage, (2) how evening rush hour travelers who will still use SW 12th because of convenience or proximity to their homes will be affected by a one-lane street; and (3) how other nearby streets will be expected to absorb the loss of the driving lane on SW 12th, particularly as they also undergo construction projects.
· 12SRC is concerned about emergency vehicles and the access they’ll have with a single dedicated traffic lane and parking (with parked cars) instead of having the other dedicated traffic lane, too.
· 12SRC wants the City to use a current example of how a bike lane can be provided without eliminating any traffic lanes. It is called SW Lane St., a one-way street like SW 12th St. On SW Lane, from SW 17th north to SW 6th, a bike lane has been created on the right side of the right lane (the same thing has happened along SW Washburn). So, since that alternative already exists, why is the City still trying to force on us eliminating a driving lane on SW 12th? If it's good enough for SW Lane and SW Washburn, why not SW 12th (and SW Huntoon)?
· 12SRC reminds the City of the fact that SW 12th and SW Huntoon have worked for at least 50 years as an single arterial using two driving lanes moving traffic towards downtown in the morning (SW Huntoon) and two driving lanes moving traffic away from downtown in the evening (SW 12th). The City is forcing on us its ideas about returning SW 12th and SW Huntoon to "neighborhood streets" when the reality is that both streets service MULTIPLE neighborhoods going from downtown west to SW Gage. SW 12th and SW Huntoon ARE NOT SW Munson.
· It has been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that the City can "revert back to two lanes later on if they're needed." 12SRC believes that if that possibility is being entertained, then why eliminate a driving lane at all?
· It has been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that a single driving lane will calm the flow of traffic. 12SRC knows that there are other traffic calming devices that could be implemented short of a lane reduction (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_calming) including narrowing the driving lanes, rumble strips (like on the turnpike), and otherwise changing the road surface material or texture at certain intervals. Has the City investigated those and other traffic calming options?
· It’s been said by proponents of the driving lane reduction proposal that it will improve pedestrian safety. Yet 12SRC knows that when District One City Council Member Karen Hiller was asked to provide data to support that contention at a Tennessee Town NIA meeting, her only response was that Complete Streets said it was so.
· 12SRC is concerned about whether collections from the 1/2 cent sales tax will cover the cost of the project. 12SRC seeks assurances from the City that taxes, including but not limited to additional sales taxes and increased utility rates, will not be increased after the fact if it happens that the City bit off more than it could chew with the SW 12th project.
12SRC believes that all good policy making ultimately starts and ends with first inviting all affected parties to the table and then finding ways to achieve goals through compromise. The City did not invite the public to the table until it had already decided what IT wanted to do (expecting us to just sign off on it) and to this point in the process has been unwilling to seriously entertain the thought of compromise.
12SRC wants to use what's already happening along SW Lane and SW Washburn, both one-way streets where bike lanes have been installed without reducing driving lanes, on SW 12th (and SW Huntoon). Again, the benefits of SW 12th St. redevelopment can happen without eliminating a driving lane. 12SRC wants the benefits that can accrue from new construction and development. But in order for the community to move forward, we ALL need to be behind it and pushing it forward, including first and foremost the city's residents and voters.
**Please check out Strong Towns and the "bottom-up" planning paradigm it favors: https://www.strongtowns.org/. Strong Towns' Chuck Marohn visited Topeka on Oct. 28.
Event Held to Recognize the Contributions, Accomplishments of City's NIAs
Topeka’s Neighborhood Improvement Associations (NIAs) held a recognition event on Sunday, November 24, 2019, at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 SW 10th St. Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell organized the event with the help of steering committee members Yvonne May (Central Highland Park NIA), Nellie Hogan (Hi-Crest NIA), and Ann Marshall (Chesney Park NIA).
The event recognized the invaluable and essential contributions NIAs and their volunteer members make to the betterment of the lives of their low- to moderate-income residents and the city of Topeka.
The event also recognized how NIAs encourage neighborhood participation and action to improve their housing, infrastructure, parks, safety and business development, among other goals, through forming partnerships with public and private entities and other local individuals and organizations.
Long-time Hi-Crest NIA member Betty Phillips was the guest speaker. Phillips has been involved in the Hi-Crest NIA, located in southeast Topeka, for 30 years and has served it in every capacity, including being its president. She also has advocated for all of the city's NIAs for those years.
Former Topeka City Council Member Betty Dunn also was recognized at the event. Dunn was a stalwart ally of NIAs during her time in office. She lives in North Carolina and wasn’t able to attend the event. Attendees shared their memories of Dunn.
NIAs are created by Topeka ordinance and consist of contiguous census tracts, as defined by the federal government, grouped into bounded areas where at least 51 percent of the residents are at or below 80 percent of Area Family Income, also defined by the federal government.
Because of their status as Topeka’s low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, NIAs are the neighborhoods with the most challenges where deteriorating housing and infrastructure, as well as a lack of business development and safety concerns often created by those harms, are often faced with stagnant or decreased funds. NIA members work without pay and often without recognition of their efforts to improve neighborhoods that they love.
Since NIAs are by definition low- to moderate-income areas, they qualify for US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds on an area-wide basis. Those funds, coupled with Topeka funds for infrastructure improvements through the SORT grant, are a part of Topeka’s Consolidated Plan.
All of Topeka’s neighborhoods are identified locally with the Neighborhood Health Maps that the city’s Planning Department intermittently produces. Those health maps include four neighborhood classifications: intensive care, at-risk, outpatient, and healthy. NIAs typically are classed as intensive care (containing the most challenges) or at-risk (containing the next-most challenges). As the number of NIAs has increased, now numbering 19 active NIAs (two inactive NIAs, East Topeka South and Jefferson Square), the HUD funds that go to those neighborhoods have been largely stagnant or decreasing and Topeka’s contributions to the SORT grant portion of the Consolidated Plan have stagnated.
Please see the event's presentation on Topeka's NIAs here:
The event recognized the invaluable and essential contributions NIAs and their volunteer members make to the betterment of the lives of their low- to moderate-income residents and the city of Topeka.
The event also recognized how NIAs encourage neighborhood participation and action to improve their housing, infrastructure, parks, safety and business development, among other goals, through forming partnerships with public and private entities and other local individuals and organizations.
Long-time Hi-Crest NIA member Betty Phillips was the guest speaker. Phillips has been involved in the Hi-Crest NIA, located in southeast Topeka, for 30 years and has served it in every capacity, including being its president. She also has advocated for all of the city's NIAs for those years.
Former Topeka City Council Member Betty Dunn also was recognized at the event. Dunn was a stalwart ally of NIAs during her time in office. She lives in North Carolina and wasn’t able to attend the event. Attendees shared their memories of Dunn.
NIAs are created by Topeka ordinance and consist of contiguous census tracts, as defined by the federal government, grouped into bounded areas where at least 51 percent of the residents are at or below 80 percent of Area Family Income, also defined by the federal government.
Because of their status as Topeka’s low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, NIAs are the neighborhoods with the most challenges where deteriorating housing and infrastructure, as well as a lack of business development and safety concerns often created by those harms, are often faced with stagnant or decreased funds. NIA members work without pay and often without recognition of their efforts to improve neighborhoods that they love.
Since NIAs are by definition low- to moderate-income areas, they qualify for US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds on an area-wide basis. Those funds, coupled with Topeka funds for infrastructure improvements through the SORT grant, are a part of Topeka’s Consolidated Plan.
All of Topeka’s neighborhoods are identified locally with the Neighborhood Health Maps that the city’s Planning Department intermittently produces. Those health maps include four neighborhood classifications: intensive care, at-risk, outpatient, and healthy. NIAs typically are classed as intensive care (containing the most challenges) or at-risk (containing the next-most challenges). As the number of NIAs has increased, now numbering 19 active NIAs (two inactive NIAs, East Topeka South and Jefferson Square), the HUD funds that go to those neighborhoods have been largely stagnant or decreasing and Topeka’s contributions to the SORT grant portion of the Consolidated Plan have stagnated.
Please see the event's presentation on Topeka's NIAs here:
| nia_recognition_event_powerpoint_11-12-19.pdf |
Stormont Vail Has Decided NOT to Pursue the Closure of SW Washburn
Hi, all!
Never, never, never, ever let it be said again that the community's voices go unheard.
"Dr Kenagy heard the community and they have decided not to ask for the closure of Washburn Ave. . This is a letter I just received. It is addressed to Jim Parrish , a SV Board member that I have been keeping informed of the growing opposition. The underlines (Mike Bell's note: CAPS in this version) are mine."
Jerry R. Palmer
"Jim, Thank you again for conveying the concerns expressed by Mr. and Mrs. Palmer and those with whom they’ve met. Our process regarding this initiative has included meetings with neighborhood groups that could be impacted by closing Washburn between 8th and 10th (Mike Bell's note: Dr. Kenagy attended the Sep. 9 Tennessee Town NIA meeting). After hearing from a number of neighbors regarding their concerns about how traffic would be impacted WE HAVE DECIDED TO CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS THAT WOULD NOT CLOSE THE STREET. We will continue to pursue options that promise to improve the experience of our patients and their families, our team members and our community. Clearly our closest neighbors have expressed their concerns and I’m thankful we were in a position to listen and respond.
Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, I’ve addressed this to Jim primarily because he seems to be the conduit through which you’ve chosen to communicate. I’m sure we were in the neighborhood meetings together and I apologize if you introduced yourselves and I’ve forgotten. I’d be pleased to communicate directly. TO REITERATE FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY, WE ARE NOT NOW PURSUING APPROVAL OF A PROJECT THAT WOULD CLOSE SW WASHBURN STREET BUT ARE REENGAGING WITH OUR ARCHITECTS TO RECONSIDER AND PERHAPS CONSIDER FOR THE FIRST TIME OPTIONS THAT WILL ACHIEVE OUR STATED OBJECTIVES.
Dr Kenagy
I will keep all informed as the other options are developed and shared.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Sep. 9 NIA meeting and to those who commented in various forums expressing your views on the proposal. This was truly a multi-neighborhood effort with, if I may shamelessly borrow from one of our presidents, a thousand points of light that were the people who live in Central Topeka.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Never, never, never, ever let it be said again that the community's voices go unheard.
"Dr Kenagy heard the community and they have decided not to ask for the closure of Washburn Ave. . This is a letter I just received. It is addressed to Jim Parrish , a SV Board member that I have been keeping informed of the growing opposition. The underlines (Mike Bell's note: CAPS in this version) are mine."
Jerry R. Palmer
"Jim, Thank you again for conveying the concerns expressed by Mr. and Mrs. Palmer and those with whom they’ve met. Our process regarding this initiative has included meetings with neighborhood groups that could be impacted by closing Washburn between 8th and 10th (Mike Bell's note: Dr. Kenagy attended the Sep. 9 Tennessee Town NIA meeting). After hearing from a number of neighbors regarding their concerns about how traffic would be impacted WE HAVE DECIDED TO CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS THAT WOULD NOT CLOSE THE STREET. We will continue to pursue options that promise to improve the experience of our patients and their families, our team members and our community. Clearly our closest neighbors have expressed their concerns and I’m thankful we were in a position to listen and respond.
Mr. and Mrs. Palmer, I’ve addressed this to Jim primarily because he seems to be the conduit through which you’ve chosen to communicate. I’m sure we were in the neighborhood meetings together and I apologize if you introduced yourselves and I’ve forgotten. I’d be pleased to communicate directly. TO REITERATE FOR THE SAKE OF CLARITY, WE ARE NOT NOW PURSUING APPROVAL OF A PROJECT THAT WOULD CLOSE SW WASHBURN STREET BUT ARE REENGAGING WITH OUR ARCHITECTS TO RECONSIDER AND PERHAPS CONSIDER FOR THE FIRST TIME OPTIONS THAT WILL ACHIEVE OUR STATED OBJECTIVES.
Dr Kenagy
I will keep all informed as the other options are developed and shared.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Sep. 9 NIA meeting and to those who commented in various forums expressing your views on the proposal. This was truly a multi-neighborhood effort with, if I may shamelessly borrow from one of our presidents, a thousand points of light that were the people who live in Central Topeka.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Group Organized to Reestablish a Full-Service Grocery Store in Central
Topeka Awarded Grant for Market Study, Check Presentation Held
Topeka Awarded Grant for Market Study, Check Presentation Held
The Central Topeka Grocery Oasis (CTGO), a group of neighbors organized a year-and-a-half ago to reestablish a full-service grocery store in Central Topeka, is proud and excited to announce that it has been awarded a grant to commission a market study on the needs in Central Topeka that then can be marketed to potential grocers.
The CTGO, along with the Greater Topeka Partnership, held a check presentation ceremony to mark the awarding of the grant at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, October 7, 2019, at the GraceMed Health Clinic, 1400 SW Huntoon. The GraceMed location is noteworthy because it used to house the Dillon’s store that closed in February 2016 which made Central Topeka a food desert with food insecurity issues and led to the formation of the CTGO.
The grant, which is for $12,500 awarded through the Kansas Health Foundation, will enable a market study focused on the nine neighborhoods identified as most directly impacted by the February 2016 closing of the Dillon’s grocery store at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets. The nine neighborhoods are Tennessee Town, Central Park, Chesney Park, Old Town, Historic Holiday Park, Historic Old Town, Quinton Heights-Steele, Monroe and Elmhurst. There had been a grocery store presence at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets going back to the first half of the 20th century (Dibble’s followed by Dillon’s in 1976). The completed market study then can be used to attract potential grocers to the area. The funds must be expended by April 1, 2020.
In the absence of a convenient full-service grocery store, many Central Topeka residents essentially live without access to fresh and healthy food. In that situation, it is presumed households may frequently turn to food retailers offering mostly processed food with less than desirable nutritional content. The market feasibility study will identify full-service grocery store models which can provide fresh and healthy food to the residents of this area.
The Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the grant. The GTP serves as the umbrella agency of eight distinct efforts that support the enhancement of economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County including the Greater Topeka Chamber, GO Topeka, 712 Innovations, Momentum 2022; Downtown Topeka, Inc.; Visit Topeka, Inc.; Entrepreneurial and Minority Business Development, and Forge Young Professionals.
During the past 18 months the CTGO has met with and engaged area residents, City of Topeka policy and decision makers, the Shawnee County Health Department, local and state nonprofits, and other individuals and entities to achieve its mission. The CTGO is committed to a full-service grocery store and not a pop-up/kiosk store that wouldn’t offer a full complement of healthy foods and might not respect the low- to moderate-income individuals and families that inhabit the center of our city through not accepting WIC and SNAP. And the CTGO seeks the creation of a full-service grocery store that provides more than just food to its customers; like check cashing, bill payment, money order, postal, and pharmacy services; just as the former Dillon’s provided.
The CTGO also believes that its efforts can be replicated in other areas of our city as there are multiple food deserts that cover 60 percent of the city’s geography (including the recent closure of the Mike’s IGA in the Oakland neighborhood).
The CTGO, along with the Greater Topeka Partnership, held a check presentation ceremony to mark the awarding of the grant at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, October 7, 2019, at the GraceMed Health Clinic, 1400 SW Huntoon. The GraceMed location is noteworthy because it used to house the Dillon’s store that closed in February 2016 which made Central Topeka a food desert with food insecurity issues and led to the formation of the CTGO.
The grant, which is for $12,500 awarded through the Kansas Health Foundation, will enable a market study focused on the nine neighborhoods identified as most directly impacted by the February 2016 closing of the Dillon’s grocery store at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets. The nine neighborhoods are Tennessee Town, Central Park, Chesney Park, Old Town, Historic Holiday Park, Historic Old Town, Quinton Heights-Steele, Monroe and Elmhurst. There had been a grocery store presence at SW Huntoon and Lane Streets going back to the first half of the 20th century (Dibble’s followed by Dillon’s in 1976). The completed market study then can be used to attract potential grocers to the area. The funds must be expended by April 1, 2020.
In the absence of a convenient full-service grocery store, many Central Topeka residents essentially live without access to fresh and healthy food. In that situation, it is presumed households may frequently turn to food retailers offering mostly processed food with less than desirable nutritional content. The market feasibility study will identify full-service grocery store models which can provide fresh and healthy food to the residents of this area.
The Greater Topeka Partnership (GTP) will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the grant. The GTP serves as the umbrella agency of eight distinct efforts that support the enhancement of economic development and quality of life in Topeka and Shawnee County including the Greater Topeka Chamber, GO Topeka, 712 Innovations, Momentum 2022; Downtown Topeka, Inc.; Visit Topeka, Inc.; Entrepreneurial and Minority Business Development, and Forge Young Professionals.
During the past 18 months the CTGO has met with and engaged area residents, City of Topeka policy and decision makers, the Shawnee County Health Department, local and state nonprofits, and other individuals and entities to achieve its mission. The CTGO is committed to a full-service grocery store and not a pop-up/kiosk store that wouldn’t offer a full complement of healthy foods and might not respect the low- to moderate-income individuals and families that inhabit the center of our city through not accepting WIC and SNAP. And the CTGO seeks the creation of a full-service grocery store that provides more than just food to its customers; like check cashing, bill payment, money order, postal, and pharmacy services; just as the former Dillon’s provided.
The CTGO also believes that its efforts can be replicated in other areas of our city as there are multiple food deserts that cover 60 percent of the city’s geography (including the recent closure of the Mike’s IGA in the Oakland neighborhood).
Stormont-Vail Hospital Proposes Closure of SW Washburn to Enable
New Entrance, Parking Structure (see update at top of homepage)
New Entrance, Parking Structure (see update at top of homepage)
Stormont-Vail CEO Dr. Robert Kenagy attended the Sep. 9, 2019, Tennessee Town NIA meeting to discuss the hospital's proposal to construct a new entrance along SW 10th and a new parking structure across SW Washburn on SW 10th.
The proposal would route the southbound traffic on Washburn to SW Lane, making Lane a 2-way street from SW 8th south to SW 10th. Kenagy said Stormont has $60 million it wants to invest in creating the new entrance, replete with many aesthetic features, and parking garage. He said Stormont considered a "walk-over" enclosed pedestrian bridge that would not necessitate the closure of Washburn, which meeting attendees cited as an alternative to closing SW Washburn and mentioned KU Med in Kansas City as an example of a successful walk-over bridge, but rejected it because people still would walk across Washburn.
This is what Topeka Planning Department Director Bill Fiander has said about discussions on the proposal so far (this info. was shared at the aforementioned NIA meeting):
"The formal process would be for SV (Stormont Vail) to submit a vacation application to the City for 'vacating' public right of way. Since they own the land on both sides of the road, they have the legal authority to do this. City staff would review and make a recommendation to the Governing Body who would hold a public hearing on the matter. GB (Governing Body) has final say in approving or disapproving. Before we finalize our recommendations and send to GB, we would require SV to hold a neighborhood information meeting with affected property owners.
The City would need to approve or at least 'accept' a traffic study before it goes to the GB which details exactly what road improvements need to be performed as a condition of vacating. We have to agree to it. It is assumed that the applicant would cover all costs of any road/signal improvements identified in that study. If approved, those improvements would need to be in place prior actual closing of the street.
"SV has done what we would consider a preliminary traffic study to date. The City has neither approved nor accepted it and considers it incomplete. We have made comments back to them but thought they’d want to reach out to the public first before spending any more time and dollars on a study that requires a lot more work."
Topeka's planning department has encouraged Stormont to visit neighborhood meetings to get input on its proposal. If you're interested, please contact Stormont's Sarah Ahlstedt at [email protected] or [email protected].
The NIA did not take a formal vote on the proposal at its Sep. 9 meeting, but many in attendance had concerns about it. This will continue to be an agenda item at future Tennessee Town NIA meetings.
The proposal would route the southbound traffic on Washburn to SW Lane, making Lane a 2-way street from SW 8th south to SW 10th. Kenagy said Stormont has $60 million it wants to invest in creating the new entrance, replete with many aesthetic features, and parking garage. He said Stormont considered a "walk-over" enclosed pedestrian bridge that would not necessitate the closure of Washburn, which meeting attendees cited as an alternative to closing SW Washburn and mentioned KU Med in Kansas City as an example of a successful walk-over bridge, but rejected it because people still would walk across Washburn.
This is what Topeka Planning Department Director Bill Fiander has said about discussions on the proposal so far (this info. was shared at the aforementioned NIA meeting):
"The formal process would be for SV (Stormont Vail) to submit a vacation application to the City for 'vacating' public right of way. Since they own the land on both sides of the road, they have the legal authority to do this. City staff would review and make a recommendation to the Governing Body who would hold a public hearing on the matter. GB (Governing Body) has final say in approving or disapproving. Before we finalize our recommendations and send to GB, we would require SV to hold a neighborhood information meeting with affected property owners.
The City would need to approve or at least 'accept' a traffic study before it goes to the GB which details exactly what road improvements need to be performed as a condition of vacating. We have to agree to it. It is assumed that the applicant would cover all costs of any road/signal improvements identified in that study. If approved, those improvements would need to be in place prior actual closing of the street.
"SV has done what we would consider a preliminary traffic study to date. The City has neither approved nor accepted it and considers it incomplete. We have made comments back to them but thought they’d want to reach out to the public first before spending any more time and dollars on a study that requires a lot more work."
Topeka's planning department has encouraged Stormont to visit neighborhood meetings to get input on its proposal. If you're interested, please contact Stormont's Sarah Ahlstedt at [email protected] or [email protected].
The NIA did not take a formal vote on the proposal at its Sep. 9 meeting, but many in attendance had concerns about it. This will continue to be an agenda item at future Tennessee Town NIA meetings.
Meeting to Discuss Proposed Changes to SW 12th St. to be held on June 10
There will be a meeting on the City's proposals to make changes to SW 12th Street from SW Topeka Blvd. to SW Gage (including Tennessee Town), most notably changing SW 12th from two lane traffic to one lane traffic, at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 10, 2019, at Asbury-Mt. OIive United Methodist Church, 1196 SW Buchanan. Sidewalks and bicycle lanes are also included in the proposals.
At this time there are no PDFs available at the city's website to share with you all that would describe in greater detail what these proposals entail (https://www.topeka.org/streetmaintenance/street-projects/12th-street-project/). I've submitted a suggestion to the City to provide those PDFs.
The NIA is requesting your attendance at this important meeting as the City is still soliciting public input on these proposals.
UPDATES:
I resent the following email on Tue., June 25, to the 5 city councilmembers who had not responded to the initial email I sent to them on Fri., June 14, regarding the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. This was the 4th time the following email had been sent to various city council members (the initial email on June 14 and follow-up emails on June 18, 21, and 25). The June 25 email included a “respond by” date of Fri., June 28. Again, the initial email reads this way:
“After the expression of much public opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th, from SW Topeka Blvd. west to SW Gage, from 2 lanes to 1 lane, are we wasting our time here? There have been reports that the lane reduction decision already has been made and endorsed by the city council. Is that true? What is going on here? Why would decisions that directly affect potentially thousands of Topekans be made with only a cursory and empty attempt to elicit public input at the end of the process? Is this the way the City really wants to represent its citizens? When is policy making in this city finally going to be based on a fully involved and invested public? It’s not unreasonable to demand a detailed and timely response to these questions.”
The Tue., June 25, email included this additional language:
“This is an important issue not only for those who live in Central Topeka but for those who travel through Central Topeka, as well as those who understand that the city council ultimately represents all of Topeka's residents. It's not unreasonable to expect timely responses when the people who elect you ask questions.”
To recap, on Fri., June 14, District 4 City Councilmember Tony Emerson responded this way:
“I can only speak for myself, but I have NOT (caps in original) endorsed this proposal. I personally think that it is a mistake, based on my travels down 12th Street. That said, I am willing to look at the data as well as hear the opinions of those who live nearby.”
I received 2 more responses on Tue., June 18, at around 2 p.m. The 1st was from District One City Council Member Karen Hiller. It reads as follows:
“I've done extensive e-mail, FB and ND posts already, and have been at the meetings, as most know. That said, I agree with you that more conversation and clearer definitions and testing are still needed. I am working to make sure that happens..for this project and because it will spill over into others. Will be in touch.”
The 2nd June 18 response was from District 5 City Councilmember Mike Padilla. It reads as follows:
“To my knowledge there has been no full discussion brought to the council and surely no decision to proceed.”
On Fri., June 21 at 2:33 p.m., I received the following response from District 9 City Councilmember Michael Lesser. It reads as follows:
“I am not in support of the plan and expenditure.”
In response to the June 25th follow-up email, I received 2 responses. The 1st response was from District 3 City Councilmember Sylvia Ortiz at 3:34 p.m.. It reads as follows:
“The report that the Council has endorsed this lane decision is not true. I have heard discussions of meeting with the public. I am receiving lots of emails regarding this issue. Maybe we should schedule it for a non action item again. I just don't see how we could narrow it down to 1 lane. I will not support that.”
The 2nd response to the June 25th email was from District 8 City Councilmember Jeffrey Cohen. It was received at 4:37 p.m. and reads as follows:
“I don’t want the city to reduce 12th Street and Huntoon to a single lane each direction to favor a larger sidewalk lane on one side of the street.
“PS: why do I have to respond to your request?”
To Mr. Cohen’s question, this was my response:
“Regarding your question, ‘Why do I have to respond to your request?’, I am a Topeka resident, taxpayer and voter and you are elected to represent not only your city council district but all of Topeka's residents, so why shouldn't you respond to my request?”
Through the posting of this update, District 2 City Councilmember Sandra Clear, District 7 City Councilmember Aaron Mays and District 6 City Councilmember Brendan Jensen are the only 3 city councilmembers yet to respond.
Through the posting of this update, of the 6 responses received so far all 6 city councilmembers have expressed either reservations/concerns about or their opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. That’s a majority of the city council.
Will continue to keep all posted as I receive more responses. In the meantime, please remain vigilant and keep contacting the city council.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE POSTED ABOVE (Sat., June 29, 2019):
I resent the following email on Tue., June 25, to the 5 city councilmembers who had not responded to the initial email I sent to them on Fri., June 14, regarding the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. This was the 4th time the following email had been sent to various city council members (the initial email on June 14 and follow-up emails on June 18, 21, and 25). The June 25 email included a “respond by” date of Fri., June 28. Again, the initial email reads this way:
“After the expression of much public opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th, from SW Topeka Blvd. west to SW Gage, from 2 lanes to 1 lane, are we wasting our time here? There have been reports that the lane reduction decision already has been made and endorsed by the city council. Is that true? What is going on here? Why would decisions that directly affect potentially thousands of Topekans be made with only a cursory and empty attempt to elicit public input at the end of the process? Is this the way the City really wants to represent its citizens? When is policy making in this city finally going to be based on a fully involved and invested public? It’s not unreasonable to demand a detailed and timely response to these questions.”
The Tue., June 25, email included this additional language:
“This is an important issue not only for those who live in Central Topeka but for those who travel through Central Topeka, as well as those who understand that the city council ultimately represents all of Topeka's residents. It's not unreasonable to expect timely responses when the people who elect you ask questions.”
On Wed., June 26, at 2:51 p.m. District 7 City Councilmember Aaron Mays responded. His response reads this way:
“Thanks for your input Mr. Bell. I lived at 12th & Garfield for over a decade. I understand the convenience of having two lanes in each direction. I drove Huntoon and 12th street to and from work for many years. However, I'm conflicted on this issue. One way streets have unique problems. I have seen numerous accidents (and actually been apart of a couple) in front of my old home from people running the stop signs, turning into oncoming traffic, or turning left from the right hand lane. It is almost 100% residential from Washburn to Gage and probably shouldn't have that much traffic going through at 40-45 MPH.
“I don't think that the current redesign is the best option, but I am supportive of making some changes to the existing design to improve safety and make it more of a neighborhood street and less of a small highway.
“Again, thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure where this will end up, but I'm hopeful that we can find a solution that everyone can be proud of.”
Through the posting of this “update to the update,” District 2 City Councilmember Sandra Clear and District 6 City Councilmember Brendan Jensen are the only 2 city councilmembers who did not respond.
It’s been 2 weeks since my original email to the city council. Perhaps Ms. Clear and Mr. Jensen have legitimate reasons why they’ve both chosen not to respond to a simple citizen request. None of us seeking information is unreasonable enough to discount other things going on that would impact responses. However, if there’s arrogance and disrespect afoot here regarding responding to citizen requests, then that’s not acceptable and should be addressed by Topeka’s citizens during upcoming election cycles.
Through the posting of this “update to the update,” of the 7 responses received all 7 city councilmembers have expressed either reservations/concerns about or their opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. That’s still a majority of the city council.
What this process has impressed upon me is a lesson I’ve already learned from most of the dozens of processes I’ve been involved in with the City of Topeka over the last 23 years: policy creation works MUCH better when residents are meaningfully involved from day one and are afforded a buy in from day one.
June 28 has come and gone, so this will be the last follow-up post from me on the initial email I sent to the city council. Please keep the names of the 2 city councilmembers who didn’t respond in mind, please continue to remain vigilant and please keep contacting the city council.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
At this time there are no PDFs available at the city's website to share with you all that would describe in greater detail what these proposals entail (https://www.topeka.org/streetmaintenance/street-projects/12th-street-project/). I've submitted a suggestion to the City to provide those PDFs.
The NIA is requesting your attendance at this important meeting as the City is still soliciting public input on these proposals.
UPDATES:
I resent the following email on Tue., June 25, to the 5 city councilmembers who had not responded to the initial email I sent to them on Fri., June 14, regarding the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. This was the 4th time the following email had been sent to various city council members (the initial email on June 14 and follow-up emails on June 18, 21, and 25). The June 25 email included a “respond by” date of Fri., June 28. Again, the initial email reads this way:
“After the expression of much public opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th, from SW Topeka Blvd. west to SW Gage, from 2 lanes to 1 lane, are we wasting our time here? There have been reports that the lane reduction decision already has been made and endorsed by the city council. Is that true? What is going on here? Why would decisions that directly affect potentially thousands of Topekans be made with only a cursory and empty attempt to elicit public input at the end of the process? Is this the way the City really wants to represent its citizens? When is policy making in this city finally going to be based on a fully involved and invested public? It’s not unreasonable to demand a detailed and timely response to these questions.”
The Tue., June 25, email included this additional language:
“This is an important issue not only for those who live in Central Topeka but for those who travel through Central Topeka, as well as those who understand that the city council ultimately represents all of Topeka's residents. It's not unreasonable to expect timely responses when the people who elect you ask questions.”
To recap, on Fri., June 14, District 4 City Councilmember Tony Emerson responded this way:
“I can only speak for myself, but I have NOT (caps in original) endorsed this proposal. I personally think that it is a mistake, based on my travels down 12th Street. That said, I am willing to look at the data as well as hear the opinions of those who live nearby.”
I received 2 more responses on Tue., June 18, at around 2 p.m. The 1st was from District One City Council Member Karen Hiller. It reads as follows:
“I've done extensive e-mail, FB and ND posts already, and have been at the meetings, as most know. That said, I agree with you that more conversation and clearer definitions and testing are still needed. I am working to make sure that happens..for this project and because it will spill over into others. Will be in touch.”
The 2nd June 18 response was from District 5 City Councilmember Mike Padilla. It reads as follows:
“To my knowledge there has been no full discussion brought to the council and surely no decision to proceed.”
On Fri., June 21 at 2:33 p.m., I received the following response from District 9 City Councilmember Michael Lesser. It reads as follows:
“I am not in support of the plan and expenditure.”
In response to the June 25th follow-up email, I received 2 responses. The 1st response was from District 3 City Councilmember Sylvia Ortiz at 3:34 p.m.. It reads as follows:
“The report that the Council has endorsed this lane decision is not true. I have heard discussions of meeting with the public. I am receiving lots of emails regarding this issue. Maybe we should schedule it for a non action item again. I just don't see how we could narrow it down to 1 lane. I will not support that.”
The 2nd response to the June 25th email was from District 8 City Councilmember Jeffrey Cohen. It was received at 4:37 p.m. and reads as follows:
“I don’t want the city to reduce 12th Street and Huntoon to a single lane each direction to favor a larger sidewalk lane on one side of the street.
“PS: why do I have to respond to your request?”
To Mr. Cohen’s question, this was my response:
“Regarding your question, ‘Why do I have to respond to your request?’, I am a Topeka resident, taxpayer and voter and you are elected to represent not only your city council district but all of Topeka's residents, so why shouldn't you respond to my request?”
Through the posting of this update, District 2 City Councilmember Sandra Clear, District 7 City Councilmember Aaron Mays and District 6 City Councilmember Brendan Jensen are the only 3 city councilmembers yet to respond.
Through the posting of this update, of the 6 responses received so far all 6 city councilmembers have expressed either reservations/concerns about or their opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. That’s a majority of the city council.
Will continue to keep all posted as I receive more responses. In the meantime, please remain vigilant and keep contacting the city council.
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE POSTED ABOVE (Sat., June 29, 2019):
I resent the following email on Tue., June 25, to the 5 city councilmembers who had not responded to the initial email I sent to them on Fri., June 14, regarding the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. This was the 4th time the following email had been sent to various city council members (the initial email on June 14 and follow-up emails on June 18, 21, and 25). The June 25 email included a “respond by” date of Fri., June 28. Again, the initial email reads this way:
“After the expression of much public opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th, from SW Topeka Blvd. west to SW Gage, from 2 lanes to 1 lane, are we wasting our time here? There have been reports that the lane reduction decision already has been made and endorsed by the city council. Is that true? What is going on here? Why would decisions that directly affect potentially thousands of Topekans be made with only a cursory and empty attempt to elicit public input at the end of the process? Is this the way the City really wants to represent its citizens? When is policy making in this city finally going to be based on a fully involved and invested public? It’s not unreasonable to demand a detailed and timely response to these questions.”
The Tue., June 25, email included this additional language:
“This is an important issue not only for those who live in Central Topeka but for those who travel through Central Topeka, as well as those who understand that the city council ultimately represents all of Topeka's residents. It's not unreasonable to expect timely responses when the people who elect you ask questions.”
On Wed., June 26, at 2:51 p.m. District 7 City Councilmember Aaron Mays responded. His response reads this way:
“Thanks for your input Mr. Bell. I lived at 12th & Garfield for over a decade. I understand the convenience of having two lanes in each direction. I drove Huntoon and 12th street to and from work for many years. However, I'm conflicted on this issue. One way streets have unique problems. I have seen numerous accidents (and actually been apart of a couple) in front of my old home from people running the stop signs, turning into oncoming traffic, or turning left from the right hand lane. It is almost 100% residential from Washburn to Gage and probably shouldn't have that much traffic going through at 40-45 MPH.
“I don't think that the current redesign is the best option, but I am supportive of making some changes to the existing design to improve safety and make it more of a neighborhood street and less of a small highway.
“Again, thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure where this will end up, but I'm hopeful that we can find a solution that everyone can be proud of.”
Through the posting of this “update to the update,” District 2 City Councilmember Sandra Clear and District 6 City Councilmember Brendan Jensen are the only 2 city councilmembers who did not respond.
It’s been 2 weeks since my original email to the city council. Perhaps Ms. Clear and Mr. Jensen have legitimate reasons why they’ve both chosen not to respond to a simple citizen request. None of us seeking information is unreasonable enough to discount other things going on that would impact responses. However, if there’s arrogance and disrespect afoot here regarding responding to citizen requests, then that’s not acceptable and should be addressed by Topeka’s citizens during upcoming election cycles.
Through the posting of this “update to the update,” of the 7 responses received all 7 city councilmembers have expressed either reservations/concerns about or their opposition to the proposal to narrow SW 12th from 2 lanes to 1 lane. That’s still a majority of the city council.
What this process has impressed upon me is a lesson I’ve already learned from most of the dozens of processes I’ve been involved in with the City of Topeka over the last 23 years: policy creation works MUCH better when residents are meaningfully involved from day one and are afforded a buy in from day one.
June 28 has come and gone, so this will be the last follow-up post from me on the initial email I sent to the city council. Please keep the names of the 2 city councilmembers who didn’t respond in mind, please continue to remain vigilant and please keep contacting the city council.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Editorial: It's Still About Location, Location, Location
Hi, everyone. Historically, I have shied away from editorials at this website, instead opting only to provide the facts as Tennessee Town makes moves to make it a better neighborhood. I still believe that is the right approach, and I promise you that, to the greatest extent possible, I will adhere to that approach.
Having said all of that, a recent yet longstanding issue came up regarding the (mis)conceptions some have about the neighborhood we love. As you may know from the NIA meeting packet postings under the "Meetings" tab of this website, I and other members of the Tennessee Town NIA have been serving as members of the Food Oasis Group for some time. The Food Oasis Group's mission is to establish another full-service grocery store in Central Topeka to replace Dillon's Store #58, which was located in Tennessee Town and closed in February 2016.
At a recent Food Oasis Group meeting, it was revealed that potential grocers still refer to the heinous and despicable shooting murders of two Topeka Police Department officers at the aforementioned Dillon's. Some of those potential grocery store suitors have, and continue to, use the incident as a reason not to consider locating near the former Dillon's.
Before we go any further, let's review the circumstances that surrounded the shootings. NONE of the shooters lived in Tennessee Town. NONE of the shooters knew anybody or were affiliated with anybody who lived in Tennessee Town. NONE of the shooters were affiliated in any way with the Dillon's grocery store. What happened, as disgusting as it was, was that the shootings perpetrated by cowards just happened to happen at THAT Dillon's.
Which leads me to this point: what would have been the reaction of these potential grocers and others if the shootings had happened at the Fairlawn Shopping Center Dillon's location at SW 21st and Fairlawn? Would that location have received the same vitriol that was directed at the "Ghetto Dillon's" at 1400 SW Huntoon? And yes, Store #58 was referred to by some as the Ghetto Dillon's because of the ethnic and economic make up of the residents in the area and the people who shopped there.
Those are rhetorical questions because we all know the answers.
That's despicable, Topeka.
We must do better than this because we ARE better than this.
In the story immediately below, I'm back to the facts, and the facts continue to show that Tennessee Town is a safe neighborhood. As Tennessee Town residents, businesses and churches, as well as others who love Tennessee Town, it's vitally important to disseminate the FACTS about the neighborhood we love because there are those who will define us if we don't.
Thanks for reading and listening!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Having said all of that, a recent yet longstanding issue came up regarding the (mis)conceptions some have about the neighborhood we love. As you may know from the NIA meeting packet postings under the "Meetings" tab of this website, I and other members of the Tennessee Town NIA have been serving as members of the Food Oasis Group for some time. The Food Oasis Group's mission is to establish another full-service grocery store in Central Topeka to replace Dillon's Store #58, which was located in Tennessee Town and closed in February 2016.
At a recent Food Oasis Group meeting, it was revealed that potential grocers still refer to the heinous and despicable shooting murders of two Topeka Police Department officers at the aforementioned Dillon's. Some of those potential grocery store suitors have, and continue to, use the incident as a reason not to consider locating near the former Dillon's.
Before we go any further, let's review the circumstances that surrounded the shootings. NONE of the shooters lived in Tennessee Town. NONE of the shooters knew anybody or were affiliated with anybody who lived in Tennessee Town. NONE of the shooters were affiliated in any way with the Dillon's grocery store. What happened, as disgusting as it was, was that the shootings perpetrated by cowards just happened to happen at THAT Dillon's.
Which leads me to this point: what would have been the reaction of these potential grocers and others if the shootings had happened at the Fairlawn Shopping Center Dillon's location at SW 21st and Fairlawn? Would that location have received the same vitriol that was directed at the "Ghetto Dillon's" at 1400 SW Huntoon? And yes, Store #58 was referred to by some as the Ghetto Dillon's because of the ethnic and economic make up of the residents in the area and the people who shopped there.
Those are rhetorical questions because we all know the answers.
That's despicable, Topeka.
We must do better than this because we ARE better than this.
In the story immediately below, I'm back to the facts, and the facts continue to show that Tennessee Town is a safe neighborhood. As Tennessee Town residents, businesses and churches, as well as others who love Tennessee Town, it's vitally important to disseminate the FACTS about the neighborhood we love because there are those who will define us if we don't.
Thanks for reading and listening!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Tennessee Town Remains a Safe Neighborhood,
Regardless of What You Might Hear
Regardless of What You Might Hear
According to statistics provided by Topeka Police Department Ofc. Derek Parrett (who is the Tennessee Town NIA community police officer), there were only two (!) crimes reported in the neighborhood during the last counting period (Jan. 14 through Mar. 11, 2019). That data continued trends that consistently show that few crimes happen in Tennessee Town, no matter what others with misconceptions and agendas colored by irrational judgments might say about a low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhood (for the stats, please see the PDF immediately below).
Thanks to the residents, businesses and churches of Tennessee Town, as well as the TPD, for keeping it one of the safest neighborhoods in Topeka!
Thanks to the residents, businesses and churches of Tennessee Town, as well as the TPD, for keeping it one of the safest neighborhoods in Topeka!
| ttnia_1-14-19_to_3-11-19.pdf |
Property Maintenance Rehab Program to Help
Homeowners With Nuisance Citations
Homeowners With Nuisance Citations
Per the discussions with the NIA's property maintenance officer, Carlos Hernandez, at our Mar. 11, 2019, NIA meeting, please find attached here a PDF of the Property Maintenance Rehabilitation Program application, which offers funds for housing rehab activities ONLY to homeowners who have received nuisance citations. It is a city-wide program.
For more info. or questions, please contact Hernandez in the following ways:
Phone: 785-368-0164
Email: [email protected]
Please feel free to share this info. with others who might be interested.
For more info. or questions, please contact Hernandez in the following ways:
Phone: 785-368-0164
Email: [email protected]
Please feel free to share this info. with others who might be interested.
Historic US Supreme Court Brown v. Board Decision Turns 65 on May 17
May 17, 2019, marked the 65th anniversary of the most important US Supreme Court decision of the 20th century, which had legal import not only for our nation's educational system but also for its social systems and the bigotry and prejudice that were residual elements of one of the nation's original sins: slavery (the ethnic cleansing of Natives being the other). Of course, that SCOTUS decision is known as Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.
Brown has import for Tennessee Town as its Kansas NAACP plaintiff litigators included local sons and one of the segregated Topeka grade schools was the Buchanan School, now the Buchanan Center, at 1195 SW Buchanan.
For information on the Kansas portion of Brown, as well as the SCOTUS decision, please click on "History" at this homepage.
Brown has import for Tennessee Town as its Kansas NAACP plaintiff litigators included local sons and one of the segregated Topeka grade schools was the Buchanan School, now the Buchanan Center, at 1195 SW Buchanan.
For information on the Kansas portion of Brown, as well as the SCOTUS decision, please click on "History" at this homepage.
Historic Topeka Women’s Club to Reopen on
February 21 with Museum Honoring City’s Black Leaders
February 21 with Museum Honoring City’s Black Leaders
Exciting news to share! The former and historic Colored Women's Clubhouse, located at 1149 SW Lincoln in Tennessee Town, will officially reopen on Feb. 21. The reopening will get started at 4 p.m. with a reception until 6 p.m. at the clubhouse, followed by a historical reenactment focusing on the Kansas portion of the landmark 1954 US Supreme Court case Brown v. Topeka Board of Education at 6 p.m. at Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln, which is just south of the clubhouse.
The renovating and reopening of the former clubhouse has been spearheaded by Faith Temple Church and Community First, Inc. Faith Temple's and Community First's Sandy Lassiter. Lassiter also is the Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer. Several Tennessee Town stakeholders have signed on as supporters, including the NIA and the neighborhood's other churches.
The Topeka Colored Women's Club was a part of the National Association of Colored Women Clubs, founded in 1896. It adopted the motto, "Lifting as we climb" to demonstrate to "an ignorant and suspicious world that our aims and interests are identical with those of all good aspiring women." The Topeka chapter was founded by Beatrice Childs in 1923. The clubhouse itself was funded through a loan from Tennessee Town and Topeka icon Emma Gaines.
The Feb. 21 event, in addition to the Brown v. Board reenactment**, will feature the recognition of several African-American Topekans who have made contributions to the city's history.
For more information on the program and those being inducted, or if you'd like to nominate people to be formally recognized at the museum, please see the PDF of the CJonline.com story immediately below. You can also contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694 or Faith Temple Church at 785-235-1834.
Please make time in your schedules to attend and support this significant event honoring both the history of Tennessee Town and Topeka!
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
**For more information on Brown v. Board, including the Kansas portion of the SCOTUS decision, please click on "history" at the top of this homepage.
The renovating and reopening of the former clubhouse has been spearheaded by Faith Temple Church and Community First, Inc. Faith Temple's and Community First's Sandy Lassiter. Lassiter also is the Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer. Several Tennessee Town stakeholders have signed on as supporters, including the NIA and the neighborhood's other churches.
The Topeka Colored Women's Club was a part of the National Association of Colored Women Clubs, founded in 1896. It adopted the motto, "Lifting as we climb" to demonstrate to "an ignorant and suspicious world that our aims and interests are identical with those of all good aspiring women." The Topeka chapter was founded by Beatrice Childs in 1923. The clubhouse itself was funded through a loan from Tennessee Town and Topeka icon Emma Gaines.
The Feb. 21 event, in addition to the Brown v. Board reenactment**, will feature the recognition of several African-American Topekans who have made contributions to the city's history.
For more information on the program and those being inducted, or if you'd like to nominate people to be formally recognized at the museum, please see the PDF of the CJonline.com story immediately below. You can also contact Sandy Lassiter at 785-221-5694 or Faith Temple Church at 785-235-1834.
Please make time in your schedules to attend and support this significant event honoring both the history of Tennessee Town and Topeka!
Thanks!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
**For more information on Brown v. Board, including the Kansas portion of the SCOTUS decision, please click on "history" at the top of this homepage.
| top_cj_museum_colored_womens_clubhouse_reopening_2-1-19.pdf |
Housing Rehabilitation Funds Available Through Habitat for Humanity
There is an opportunity for those who live in the Tennessee Town NIA** to apply for housing rehabilitation funds through Topeka Habitat for Humanity.
Regarding Habitat, its housing rehabilitation activities will include minor exterior repairs like painting and porches.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to qualify for the program, please contact the NIA at [email protected].
**The Tennessee Town NIA is bounded by SW 10 on the north, SW Washburn on the west, SW Huntoon on the south, and SW Clay on the east.
Regarding Habitat, its housing rehabilitation activities will include minor exterior repairs like painting and porches.
If you are interested in finding out more about how to qualify for the program, please contact the NIA at [email protected].
**The Tennessee Town NIA is bounded by SW 10 on the north, SW Washburn on the west, SW Huntoon on the south, and SW Clay on the east.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
WE DID IT!!!
Topeka Governing Body Votes to Adopt Tennessee Town's
Updated Neighborhood Plan; SORT Target Areas, Budget
Topeka Governing Body Votes to Adopt Tennessee Town's
Updated Neighborhood Plan; SORT Target Areas, Budget
At its Dec. 12, 2017 meeting, Topeka’s governing body voted 8-0 to adopt the Tennessee Town NIA's updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas/budget.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the city's governing body had its first reading of Tennessee Town's updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas and budget. Planning Department Director Bill Fiander gave a great presentation on all 3 items to the governing body. Mayor Wolgast said it was one of the best neighborhood plans he'd ever seen. Here's a link to the updated neighborhood plan and the SORT target areas and budget: https://www.topeka.org/planning/Documents/
NeighborhoodPlans/TTownNHoodPlan.pdf
The SORT grant (Strategies of Resource Targeting) goes to 2 Topeka NIA's every 2 years and targets certain HUD and local funds for new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, infrastructure, parks, and other activities. Tennessee Town was one of the 2 NIAs selected as a SORT neighborhood for 2017 - 2019.
This process has been excellent and positions Tennessee Town to take the nearly $2 million in SORT funding to do some great things over the next 2 years and beyond. The City's Planning, Public Works and Neighborhood Relations Departments have been excellent partners in putting Tennessee Town in a position to move forward. I also want to once again give my great thanks to the NIA's SORT Committee, which included myself and 7 other volunteers who worked with the City for most of this year on the updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas and budget. They are:
· NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp
· NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter
· NIA CAC Representative Don Fortin
· Asbury-Mt. Olive Church Pastor Harry Christian
· First Church of the Nazarene Rev. Branson Roberts
· Topeka JUMP Board Member and Tennessee Town resident Joyce Revely
· Tennessee Town National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray
And I'd also like to thank the residents, businesses, churches, and supporters of Tennessee Town, who continue to make it a great neighborhood. Keep up the great work!
We did it!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
For more information on the SORT process, please scroll down.
On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the city's governing body had its first reading of Tennessee Town's updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas and budget. Planning Department Director Bill Fiander gave a great presentation on all 3 items to the governing body. Mayor Wolgast said it was one of the best neighborhood plans he'd ever seen. Here's a link to the updated neighborhood plan and the SORT target areas and budget: https://www.topeka.org/planning/Documents/
NeighborhoodPlans/TTownNHoodPlan.pdf
The SORT grant (Strategies of Resource Targeting) goes to 2 Topeka NIA's every 2 years and targets certain HUD and local funds for new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, infrastructure, parks, and other activities. Tennessee Town was one of the 2 NIAs selected as a SORT neighborhood for 2017 - 2019.
This process has been excellent and positions Tennessee Town to take the nearly $2 million in SORT funding to do some great things over the next 2 years and beyond. The City's Planning, Public Works and Neighborhood Relations Departments have been excellent partners in putting Tennessee Town in a position to move forward. I also want to once again give my great thanks to the NIA's SORT Committee, which included myself and 7 other volunteers who worked with the City for most of this year on the updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas and budget. They are:
· NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp
· NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter
· NIA CAC Representative Don Fortin
· Asbury-Mt. Olive Church Pastor Harry Christian
· First Church of the Nazarene Rev. Branson Roberts
· Topeka JUMP Board Member and Tennessee Town resident Joyce Revely
· Tennessee Town National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray
And I'd also like to thank the residents, businesses, churches, and supporters of Tennessee Town, who continue to make it a great neighborhood. Keep up the great work!
We did it!
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
For more information on the SORT process, please scroll down.
Interim Topeka Police Chief Bill Cochran named Permanent Chief
Photo courtesy Thad Allton, Topeka Capital-Journal
Interim Topeka Police Department Chief Bill Cochran, named to that position on November 4, 2017, will be continuing as Topeka’s permanent police chief effective January 12, 2018.
“After meeting with candidates, Bill rose up as the best candidate to be the Police Chief for the City of Topeka,” said City Manager Brent Trout. “Bill Cochran has done a wonderful job at the police department since starting as the interim Police Chief in November. I’m excited to see him continue the great work he has started and implement other innovative initiatives.”
Bill Cochran has worked with the TPD for 31 years, starting his service on July 13, 1987. Cochran has worked in several capacities at the TPD, including homicide, traffic, patrol, field operations, and criminal investigations.
“I am humbled and honored to be given this opportunity to serve the citizens of Topeka as the Chief of Police. I am also grateful that the Governing Body and City Manager have the faith in me to serve them in this capacity. The City of Topeka is my community and a community that I care dearly for,” Cochran said. “Serving as the Interim Police Chief over the past few months has given me the opportunity to initiate some changes within the Topeka Police Department. As the permanent chief I look forward to the opportunity to continue working on those changes.”
Cochran has also served in the Army National Guard from February 1985 until he retired as a First Lieutenant in July 2005. He was deployed for 13 months in Iraq, from January 2004 to February 2005. Cochran received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Washburn University in 1987 and his Masters of Business Administration from Friends University in 2010. Cochran also is a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Police Staff and Command School.
Cochran’s salary as police chief will be $135,500.
To contact Chief Cochran, please call him at 785-368-9209.
“After meeting with candidates, Bill rose up as the best candidate to be the Police Chief for the City of Topeka,” said City Manager Brent Trout. “Bill Cochran has done a wonderful job at the police department since starting as the interim Police Chief in November. I’m excited to see him continue the great work he has started and implement other innovative initiatives.”
Bill Cochran has worked with the TPD for 31 years, starting his service on July 13, 1987. Cochran has worked in several capacities at the TPD, including homicide, traffic, patrol, field operations, and criminal investigations.
“I am humbled and honored to be given this opportunity to serve the citizens of Topeka as the Chief of Police. I am also grateful that the Governing Body and City Manager have the faith in me to serve them in this capacity. The City of Topeka is my community and a community that I care dearly for,” Cochran said. “Serving as the Interim Police Chief over the past few months has given me the opportunity to initiate some changes within the Topeka Police Department. As the permanent chief I look forward to the opportunity to continue working on those changes.”
Cochran has also served in the Army National Guard from February 1985 until he retired as a First Lieutenant in July 2005. He was deployed for 13 months in Iraq, from January 2004 to February 2005. Cochran received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Washburn University in 1987 and his Masters of Business Administration from Friends University in 2010. Cochran also is a graduate of the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety Police Staff and Command School.
Cochran’s salary as police chief will be $135,500.
To contact Chief Cochran, please call him at 785-368-9209.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Issuance of Tennessee Town Code Violations and Notices of Demolition
If you are a Tennessee Town NIA homeowner, landlord, business or church and you have received a code compliance violation from the City of Topeka within the last 6 months or if you are a Tennessee Town NIA homeowner or landlord and you have received a notice of demolition from the City of Topeka within the last 6 months, please notify the Tennessee Town NIA at its e-mail address, [email protected].
The NIA is tracking code violations and notices of demolition as they relate to the NIA's SORT grant, specifically the 2 target areas identified in the grant that will be eligible for housing rehabilitation activities through the SORT grant that was adopted by the Topeka City Council on December 12.
The NIA is concerned that these citations and demolition notices are coming at a time when the City's Department of Neighborhood Relations and its Property Maintenance Department both know that the entire NIA is eligible for SORT housing rehabilitation funds in 2018 and 2019, particularly in the 2 target areas.
The NIA is at a loss as to why information about the availability of SORT housing rehabilitation funds wasn't provided first instead of code violations, particularly considering that is exactly what Neighborhood Relations said it would do at the July 29, 2017, SORT committee meeting with the Planning and Neighborhood Relations' departments and NIA members of the committee. Neighborhood Relations' Director Sasha Haehn and Corrie Wright attended that meeting and assured the NIA that "...Neighborhood Relations ... would work with the NIA to contact property owners via letter and conduct 'walk-and-talks' to meet directly with residents to discuss housing rehab opportunities in the NIA." (Note: This promise can be found in notes taken from this meeting. To reference those notes, please click on "Meetings" at the top of this homepage, then scroll down to the September 11, 2017 NIA meeting packet, then find "Reports of Officers" within that meeting packet. It also should be noted that, as of January 8, 2018, Neighborhood Relations has not reached out to the NIA to do the "walk and talks" it committed to doing at the aforementioned SORT committee meeting.)
Referencing the 2 target areas discussed before, they are:
* The North target area, roughly bounded by SW 10th on the north, SW Munson on the south, SW Lane on the west, and SW Clay on the east.
* The West target area, roughly bounded by SW 11th on the north, SW Huntoon on the south (not including the upcoming GraceMed Health Clinic), SW Washburn on the west, and SW Lane on the east.
So far the NIA has spoken with a property owner who lives in the West target area and who is 83 years old and on a fixed income. There is no reason why the property owner should have received a nuisance citation given that the property owner is situated in one of the 2 target areas.
The NIA appreciates your cooperation as it works for its residents!
The NIA is tracking code violations and notices of demolition as they relate to the NIA's SORT grant, specifically the 2 target areas identified in the grant that will be eligible for housing rehabilitation activities through the SORT grant that was adopted by the Topeka City Council on December 12.
The NIA is concerned that these citations and demolition notices are coming at a time when the City's Department of Neighborhood Relations and its Property Maintenance Department both know that the entire NIA is eligible for SORT housing rehabilitation funds in 2018 and 2019, particularly in the 2 target areas.
The NIA is at a loss as to why information about the availability of SORT housing rehabilitation funds wasn't provided first instead of code violations, particularly considering that is exactly what Neighborhood Relations said it would do at the July 29, 2017, SORT committee meeting with the Planning and Neighborhood Relations' departments and NIA members of the committee. Neighborhood Relations' Director Sasha Haehn and Corrie Wright attended that meeting and assured the NIA that "...Neighborhood Relations ... would work with the NIA to contact property owners via letter and conduct 'walk-and-talks' to meet directly with residents to discuss housing rehab opportunities in the NIA." (Note: This promise can be found in notes taken from this meeting. To reference those notes, please click on "Meetings" at the top of this homepage, then scroll down to the September 11, 2017 NIA meeting packet, then find "Reports of Officers" within that meeting packet. It also should be noted that, as of January 8, 2018, Neighborhood Relations has not reached out to the NIA to do the "walk and talks" it committed to doing at the aforementioned SORT committee meeting.)
Referencing the 2 target areas discussed before, they are:
* The North target area, roughly bounded by SW 10th on the north, SW Munson on the south, SW Lane on the west, and SW Clay on the east.
* The West target area, roughly bounded by SW 11th on the north, SW Huntoon on the south (not including the upcoming GraceMed Health Clinic), SW Washburn on the west, and SW Lane on the east.
So far the NIA has spoken with a property owner who lives in the West target area and who is 83 years old and on a fixed income. There is no reason why the property owner should have received a nuisance citation given that the property owner is situated in one of the 2 target areas.
The NIA appreciates your cooperation as it works for its residents!
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Topeka Metro Partnership Offering Rides to South Topeka Employers
Topeka Metro, Capitol City Taxi, and the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) have partnered to provide affordable rides to work for employees at 6 companies in South Topeka. Beginning Friday, December 15, 2017, employees of Frito Lay, Bimbo Bakeries, Home Depot, Target, Maximus, and Mars can call Capitol City Taxi to schedule 1-way rides to or from work for $5.
Rides to work must be booked at least 12 hours in advance, but return rides home can be requested on-demand to provide flexibility if your workday is longer than anticipated. Standing trips may be reserved if you travel to work at the same time every day.
Passengers must show their associate ID from one of the six listed businesses above, and only cash will be accepted. Capitol City Taxi will wait 5 minutes from the scheduled pick-up time before reporting a “No Show.” A pattern of No Shows may result in the passenger not being able to use the service.
Call Capitol City Taxi today to schedule your ride: (785) 215-1858. For more information on the partnership, please call Topeka Metro at 785-783-7000.
Rides to work must be booked at least 12 hours in advance, but return rides home can be requested on-demand to provide flexibility if your workday is longer than anticipated. Standing trips may be reserved if you travel to work at the same time every day.
Passengers must show their associate ID from one of the six listed businesses above, and only cash will be accepted. Capitol City Taxi will wait 5 minutes from the scheduled pick-up time before reporting a “No Show.” A pattern of No Shows may result in the passenger not being able to use the service.
Call Capitol City Taxi today to schedule your ride: (785) 215-1858. For more information on the partnership, please call Topeka Metro at 785-783-7000.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Topeka Planning Commission Approves
Tennessee Town's Updated Neighborhood Plan, SORT Target Areas/Budget
Tennessee Town's Updated Neighborhood Plan, SORT Target Areas/Budget
The Topeka Planning Commission, at its Oct. 16, 2017 meeting, approved the plan to address challenges and take advantage of opportunities in the Tennessee Town NIA.
The Planning Commission voted 9-0 to endorse the updated Tennessee Town neighborhood plan and SORT target areas/budget. The updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas/budget next go before Topeka's governing body for first reading on December 5, 2017, and final approval on December 12, 2017.
Topeka's Planning Department has provided the following link to view the updated Tennessee Town neighborhood plan and SORT budget: https://www.topeka.org/planning/
Documents/NeighborhoodPlans/TTownNHoodPlan.pdf.
Since the Topeka City Council designated the Tennessee Town NIA as a SORT neighborhood on January 10 (along with the Quinton Heights-Steele NIA), the NIA's SORT Committee met 5 times with Topeka Planning Department staff (Dan Warner, Addison Spradlin and Tim Esparza) and occasionally with Topeka Neighborhood Relations Department staff (most notably Director Sasha Haehn and Corrie Wright) on identifying priorities for the NIA as it moves forward with its SORT (Strategies of Resource Targeting) grant. The SORT grant will target certain HUD and local funds to new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, and infrastructure activities in 2018 and 2019. The SORT grant also either updates an existing neighborhood plan or creates a new neighborhood plan in 2017 for the 2 SORT neighborhoods (an update for Tennessee Town's 2000 neighborhood plan). Approximately $2 million will be available for Tennessee Town to expend in 2018-2019.
The NIA established this winter its SORT Committee to work with the planning department on its neighborhood plan update and how funds will be targeted within the NIA.
The members of the Tennessee Town NIA SORT Committee are:
Following is an account of the NIA's SORT Committee meetings with Planning and Neighborhood Relations:
At the Committee's first meeting with Topeka's Planning Department, on April 17, 2017, the City's Ally Van Dyke presented on data available through the City that could be used in the NIA’s SORT plan.
The group next discussed goals and guiding principles:
Goal: Land Use
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Single-family residential land uses should be viable and the predominate land use of the neighborhood (add language that
discourages large, institutional uses encroaching in the neighborhood.
b. Define the neighborhood’s “center,” or focal point, that can serve as a mixed-use commons for community activities, events, and
uses.
c. Increase the amount of usable community greenspace accessible to residents (discussion on expanding Lane Garden and adding
another greenspace on the neighborhood’s eastern boundary).
d. Encourage commercial land uses in a more unified development or location that avoids commercial strip development.
e. Balance the land-use needs of institutional users with the needs of the neighborhood to maintain a viable residential
community.
f. Encourage neighborhood involvement in all aspects of the establishment of “halfway houses” in Tennessee Town (accomplished through the city’s halfway house ordinance).
g. New principle: To the greatest extent possible, pursue property acquisition activities to amass land for future development.
Goal: Housing
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Support the improvement of housing conditions in the neighborhood as the top priority for the revitalization of Tennessee Town.
b. Maximize the conservation of existing housing, thereby contributing to the historical character of the neighborhood.
c. Stimulate rehabilitation of both owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.
d. Promote new in-fill housing development primarily for homeownership and maintain its affordability.
e. Strive to achieve a neighborhood of no abandoned homes and no vacant lots.
f. Balance the need to develop quality in-fill housing with the need to compliment the economic, social and architectural fabric of the neighborhood.
g. Encourage, as much as possible, homeowners to participate in housing rehabilitation activities though volunteer labor.
Goal: Infrastructure and Transportation
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Strengthen the relationship between police and community residents.
b. Increase effectiveness of public and private lighting in order to reduce incidents of crime.
c. Create a more “walkable” community, particularly along major traffic ways, which promotes pedestrian safety for all residents;
initiate traffic-calming techniques where appropriate.
d. Reconnect the neighborhood in a more pedestrian-friendly manner to local businesses and institutions.
e. Improve the conditions of alleys so as to make them more usable for residents.
Goal: Youth and Education
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Tennessee Town should be “kid friendly” and desirous for families to raise their children.
b. Help develop linkages to educational/cultural/recreational assets within the community -- schools, churches, library, etc. -- that will enable youth to enhance their academic and life skills (i.e. the International Academy and improvements at the King’s Court complex).
c. Encourage quality pre-school programs that target children at their most developmental stages (i.e. the International Academy
and other programs at neighborhood churches).
Goal: Historical Character
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Identify, preserve and promote the heritage of Tennessee Town (including looking at signage).
b. Create a cultural heritage center that documents the neighborhood’s history and linkages to Black history in Topeka (the idea of
renovating a shotgun house for this purpose was mentioned).
c. Apply traditional neighborhood design standards for new development that respects Tennessee Town’s scale and character.
d. Increase participation and investment of local churches in neighborhood revitalization activities (have had great success here).
e. Welcome and support a diversity of peoples.
f. Identify neighborhood gateways and work to enhance and beautify their image.
Goal: Economic Development and Employment
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Develop and maintain active partnerships with the community’s businesses and employers.
b. Support the retention/expansion of the (former) Dillon’s block as the neighborhood’s primary retail employer and amenity.
c. Utilize loan and incubator programs to stimulate entrepreneurial businesses wither within the neighborhood or for residents.
d. Work to provide child care and transportation opportunities to enable residents to accomplish employment or educational
objectives.
At the May 11, 2017 meeting “Infrastructure and Parks” was the topic. A man from Shawnee County Parks and Rec attended. Materials were distributed that rated the NIA’s streets; sidewalks, curbs and alleys also were discussed. Regarding parks, the Aaron Douglas Park, Lane Garden, the King’s Court Complex, and creating another greenspace between Buchanan and Clay Streets were discussed. The group also discussed land use.
At the May 25, 2017 meeting “Housing” was the topic. Corrie Wright and Sasha Haehn from the City’s Department of Neighborhood Relations attended. The SORT grant will make available approximately $330,000 available for major rental rehabilitation. That amount includes up to $30,000 per house in owner-occupied (major) funds (if the homeowner remains in the home for 7 years after signing contracts, then 50% of the funds are forgiven) and up to $20,000 available for tenant-occupied funds (landlord would invest 10% and then 50% of the loan would be forgiven after 7 years). It was suggested that “walk-and-talks” be scheduled throughout the NIA to encourage people to participate.
Regarding in-fill housing, the challenge of new homes selling for half of their construction costs was discussed, so now the City only pays for foundations, sidewalks, etc. (approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in areas like Tennessee Town) while Community Housing Development Corporations (CHoDO) like Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc. and Topeka Habitat for Humanity actually construct the homes. Cornerstone and Habitat can build more cheaply than the City. Cornerstone is working on two-story floor plans now. Habitat has worked with Seaman High School to do on-site builds like the one at 1221 SW Buchanan. Neighborhood Relations has met with Cornerstone’s Executive Director Chris Palmer on identifying Tennessee Town projects that may involve affordable rental rehab.
At the June 15 meeting the Committee’s work thus far was summarized and two target areas to maximize impacts were identified for consideration.
An additional SORT Committee meeting with Planning and Neighborhood Relations occurred on July 29, 2017.
Neighborhood Relations' Director Haehn said that there is an opportunity for the NIA to use some of the $330,000 in SORT housing
rehabilitation funds for new housing construction. She said Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc., a Topeka affordable housing provider and Tennessee Town NIA partner and neighbor, is working with Stormont-Vail's David Cunningham to acquire the vacant property owned by Stormont-Vail on the west side of the first 1100 block of SW Lane (at the "jog" where Lane turns northeast, roughly bounded by
1131 SW Lane on the north and 1153 SW Lane on the south) and build two duplexes to be used for affordable housing. Ironically, this is essentially the same proposal the NIA previously proposed to Cunningham. To complete the "deal," Tennessee Town would need to use approximately $160,000 of its $330,000 in rehab funds to enable the property acquisition and the construction of one duplex now (funding would need to be found later for the construction of the second duplex, which could be done through pursuing funds in partnership with the City and Cornerstone). The in-fill funds would be expended in 2019.
The proposal also would involve acquiring three more vacant lots owned by Stormont-Vail and located near the proposed duplexes. Two of those vacant lots are found in the same block of SW Lane but on the east side and closer to SW 11th St. The third vacant lot is just around the corner from the first two, in the 1300 block of SW 11th (between Lane and Lincoln Sts). Planning's Tim Esparza said he would get Bell a PDF showing all of the lots involved.
The proposal would leave Tennessee Town with approximately $170,000 in SORT funds for housing rehabilitation to be spent in 2018 and 2019. Wright said two types of rehab are available with the SORT funding:
· Major Rehab, where $25,000 to $30,000 is spent per rehab for owner-occupied housing (she said most rehabs are around $30,000).
· Rental Rehab, where most rehabs are around $15,000 per house for tenant-occupied housing.
New housing construction costs are typically higher than rehab costs, and given the opportunity to acquire vacant land that can be improved with new affordable housing through Cornerstone and Topeka Habitat for Humanity (both partners have recently constructed new housing in the NIA, Cornerstone at 1231 SW Clay and Habitat at 1221 SW Buchanan), the Committee thought it worthwhile for Neighborhood Relations to continue discussions with Stormont-Vail and Cornerstone.
This new opportunity, coupled with the plan the NIA already has approved to recruit Topeka private entities to donate labor, materials and financial resources to do minor exterior rehabilitation (painting, porch repairs, landscaping, etc.) would enable the NIA to do complete rehabs with SORT funds and make improvements to the exteriors of housing through recruiting private partners, could address new construction and provide another way to do housing rehabilitation. And given the SORT funds and the plans being put together, we can approach private entities with a pretty impressive plan of action.
Neighborhood Relations said that it would work with the NIA to contact property owners via letter and conduct "walk-and-talks" to meet directly with residents to discuss housing rehab opportunities in the NIA.
This proposal was included in the NIA's vote to finalize its 2017 SORT planning process.
The Planning Commission voted 9-0 to endorse the updated Tennessee Town neighborhood plan and SORT target areas/budget. The updated neighborhood plan and SORT target areas/budget next go before Topeka's governing body for first reading on December 5, 2017, and final approval on December 12, 2017.
Topeka's Planning Department has provided the following link to view the updated Tennessee Town neighborhood plan and SORT budget: https://www.topeka.org/planning/
Documents/NeighborhoodPlans/TTownNHoodPlan.pdf.
Since the Topeka City Council designated the Tennessee Town NIA as a SORT neighborhood on January 10 (along with the Quinton Heights-Steele NIA), the NIA's SORT Committee met 5 times with Topeka Planning Department staff (Dan Warner, Addison Spradlin and Tim Esparza) and occasionally with Topeka Neighborhood Relations Department staff (most notably Director Sasha Haehn and Corrie Wright) on identifying priorities for the NIA as it moves forward with its SORT (Strategies of Resource Targeting) grant. The SORT grant will target certain HUD and local funds to new housing construction, housing rehabilitation, and infrastructure activities in 2018 and 2019. The SORT grant also either updates an existing neighborhood plan or creates a new neighborhood plan in 2017 for the 2 SORT neighborhoods (an update for Tennessee Town's 2000 neighborhood plan). Approximately $2 million will be available for Tennessee Town to expend in 2018-2019.
The NIA established this winter its SORT Committee to work with the planning department on its neighborhood plan update and how funds will be targeted within the NIA.
The members of the Tennessee Town NIA SORT Committee are:
- NIA President Michael Bell
- NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp
- NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter
- NIA CAC Representative Don Fortin
- Rev. Branson Roberts, The First Church of the Nazarene
- Pastor Harry Christian, Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church
- NIA Resident and Topeka JUMP Board Member Joyce Revely
- NIA National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray
Following is an account of the NIA's SORT Committee meetings with Planning and Neighborhood Relations:
At the Committee's first meeting with Topeka's Planning Department, on April 17, 2017, the City's Ally Van Dyke presented on data available through the City that could be used in the NIA’s SORT plan.
The group next discussed goals and guiding principles:
Goal: Land Use
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Single-family residential land uses should be viable and the predominate land use of the neighborhood (add language that
discourages large, institutional uses encroaching in the neighborhood.
b. Define the neighborhood’s “center,” or focal point, that can serve as a mixed-use commons for community activities, events, and
uses.
c. Increase the amount of usable community greenspace accessible to residents (discussion on expanding Lane Garden and adding
another greenspace on the neighborhood’s eastern boundary).
d. Encourage commercial land uses in a more unified development or location that avoids commercial strip development.
e. Balance the land-use needs of institutional users with the needs of the neighborhood to maintain a viable residential
community.
f. Encourage neighborhood involvement in all aspects of the establishment of “halfway houses” in Tennessee Town (accomplished through the city’s halfway house ordinance).
g. New principle: To the greatest extent possible, pursue property acquisition activities to amass land for future development.
Goal: Housing
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Support the improvement of housing conditions in the neighborhood as the top priority for the revitalization of Tennessee Town.
b. Maximize the conservation of existing housing, thereby contributing to the historical character of the neighborhood.
c. Stimulate rehabilitation of both owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.
d. Promote new in-fill housing development primarily for homeownership and maintain its affordability.
e. Strive to achieve a neighborhood of no abandoned homes and no vacant lots.
f. Balance the need to develop quality in-fill housing with the need to compliment the economic, social and architectural fabric of the neighborhood.
g. Encourage, as much as possible, homeowners to participate in housing rehabilitation activities though volunteer labor.
Goal: Infrastructure and Transportation
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Strengthen the relationship between police and community residents.
b. Increase effectiveness of public and private lighting in order to reduce incidents of crime.
c. Create a more “walkable” community, particularly along major traffic ways, which promotes pedestrian safety for all residents;
initiate traffic-calming techniques where appropriate.
d. Reconnect the neighborhood in a more pedestrian-friendly manner to local businesses and institutions.
e. Improve the conditions of alleys so as to make them more usable for residents.
Goal: Youth and Education
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Tennessee Town should be “kid friendly” and desirous for families to raise their children.
b. Help develop linkages to educational/cultural/recreational assets within the community -- schools, churches, library, etc. -- that will enable youth to enhance their academic and life skills (i.e. the International Academy and improvements at the King’s Court complex).
c. Encourage quality pre-school programs that target children at their most developmental stages (i.e. the International Academy
and other programs at neighborhood churches).
Goal: Historical Character
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Identify, preserve and promote the heritage of Tennessee Town (including looking at signage).
b. Create a cultural heritage center that documents the neighborhood’s history and linkages to Black history in Topeka (the idea of
renovating a shotgun house for this purpose was mentioned).
c. Apply traditional neighborhood design standards for new development that respects Tennessee Town’s scale and character.
d. Increase participation and investment of local churches in neighborhood revitalization activities (have had great success here).
e. Welcome and support a diversity of peoples.
f. Identify neighborhood gateways and work to enhance and beautify their image.
Goal: Economic Development and Employment
1. Guiding Principles (from the 2001 neighborhood plan):
a. Develop and maintain active partnerships with the community’s businesses and employers.
b. Support the retention/expansion of the (former) Dillon’s block as the neighborhood’s primary retail employer and amenity.
c. Utilize loan and incubator programs to stimulate entrepreneurial businesses wither within the neighborhood or for residents.
d. Work to provide child care and transportation opportunities to enable residents to accomplish employment or educational
objectives.
At the May 11, 2017 meeting “Infrastructure and Parks” was the topic. A man from Shawnee County Parks and Rec attended. Materials were distributed that rated the NIA’s streets; sidewalks, curbs and alleys also were discussed. Regarding parks, the Aaron Douglas Park, Lane Garden, the King’s Court Complex, and creating another greenspace between Buchanan and Clay Streets were discussed. The group also discussed land use.
At the May 25, 2017 meeting “Housing” was the topic. Corrie Wright and Sasha Haehn from the City’s Department of Neighborhood Relations attended. The SORT grant will make available approximately $330,000 available for major rental rehabilitation. That amount includes up to $30,000 per house in owner-occupied (major) funds (if the homeowner remains in the home for 7 years after signing contracts, then 50% of the funds are forgiven) and up to $20,000 available for tenant-occupied funds (landlord would invest 10% and then 50% of the loan would be forgiven after 7 years). It was suggested that “walk-and-talks” be scheduled throughout the NIA to encourage people to participate.
Regarding in-fill housing, the challenge of new homes selling for half of their construction costs was discussed, so now the City only pays for foundations, sidewalks, etc. (approximately $15,000 to $20,000 in areas like Tennessee Town) while Community Housing Development Corporations (CHoDO) like Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc. and Topeka Habitat for Humanity actually construct the homes. Cornerstone and Habitat can build more cheaply than the City. Cornerstone is working on two-story floor plans now. Habitat has worked with Seaman High School to do on-site builds like the one at 1221 SW Buchanan. Neighborhood Relations has met with Cornerstone’s Executive Director Chris Palmer on identifying Tennessee Town projects that may involve affordable rental rehab.
At the June 15 meeting the Committee’s work thus far was summarized and two target areas to maximize impacts were identified for consideration.
An additional SORT Committee meeting with Planning and Neighborhood Relations occurred on July 29, 2017.
Neighborhood Relations' Director Haehn said that there is an opportunity for the NIA to use some of the $330,000 in SORT housing
rehabilitation funds for new housing construction. She said Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc., a Topeka affordable housing provider and Tennessee Town NIA partner and neighbor, is working with Stormont-Vail's David Cunningham to acquire the vacant property owned by Stormont-Vail on the west side of the first 1100 block of SW Lane (at the "jog" where Lane turns northeast, roughly bounded by
1131 SW Lane on the north and 1153 SW Lane on the south) and build two duplexes to be used for affordable housing. Ironically, this is essentially the same proposal the NIA previously proposed to Cunningham. To complete the "deal," Tennessee Town would need to use approximately $160,000 of its $330,000 in rehab funds to enable the property acquisition and the construction of one duplex now (funding would need to be found later for the construction of the second duplex, which could be done through pursuing funds in partnership with the City and Cornerstone). The in-fill funds would be expended in 2019.
The proposal also would involve acquiring three more vacant lots owned by Stormont-Vail and located near the proposed duplexes. Two of those vacant lots are found in the same block of SW Lane but on the east side and closer to SW 11th St. The third vacant lot is just around the corner from the first two, in the 1300 block of SW 11th (between Lane and Lincoln Sts). Planning's Tim Esparza said he would get Bell a PDF showing all of the lots involved.
The proposal would leave Tennessee Town with approximately $170,000 in SORT funds for housing rehabilitation to be spent in 2018 and 2019. Wright said two types of rehab are available with the SORT funding:
· Major Rehab, where $25,000 to $30,000 is spent per rehab for owner-occupied housing (she said most rehabs are around $30,000).
· Rental Rehab, where most rehabs are around $15,000 per house for tenant-occupied housing.
New housing construction costs are typically higher than rehab costs, and given the opportunity to acquire vacant land that can be improved with new affordable housing through Cornerstone and Topeka Habitat for Humanity (both partners have recently constructed new housing in the NIA, Cornerstone at 1231 SW Clay and Habitat at 1221 SW Buchanan), the Committee thought it worthwhile for Neighborhood Relations to continue discussions with Stormont-Vail and Cornerstone.
This new opportunity, coupled with the plan the NIA already has approved to recruit Topeka private entities to donate labor, materials and financial resources to do minor exterior rehabilitation (painting, porch repairs, landscaping, etc.) would enable the NIA to do complete rehabs with SORT funds and make improvements to the exteriors of housing through recruiting private partners, could address new construction and provide another way to do housing rehabilitation. And given the SORT funds and the plans being put together, we can approach private entities with a pretty impressive plan of action.
Neighborhood Relations said that it would work with the NIA to contact property owners via letter and conduct "walk-and-talks" to meet directly with residents to discuss housing rehab opportunities in the NIA.
This proposal was included in the NIA's vote to finalize its 2017 SORT planning process.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Citizens Advisory Council Candidates' Forum Questions Posted on Facebook
Topeka’s Citizens Advisory Council, which is the city's association of NIAs that makes recommendations to the City Department of Neighborhood Relations on issues pertaining to low- to moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods, held a candidates' forum from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, October 14, 2017, in the multipurpose room of Faith Temple Church, 1162 SW Lincoln in Tennessee Town. Nine of the remaining candidates for city council and mayor attended for a question-and-answer style forum.
WIBW-TV anchor Ralph Hipp served as the forum moderator.
The focus of the forum was engaging the candidates on the future of Topeka, specifically on topics that involve low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods, per the CAC’s mission.
Please visit the Citizens Advisory Council Candidates' Forum Facebook page at www.facebook.com/events/143472643057952/?active_tab=discussion&__xt__=33.%7B%22logging_data%22%3A%7B%22profile_id%22%3A143472643057952%2C%22event_type%22%3A%22clicked_view_event_posts%22%2C%22impression_info%22%3A%22eyJmIjp7Iml0ZW1fY291bnQiOiIwIn19%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22www_events_permalink%22%2C%22interacted_story_type%22%3A%221058178634193603%22%2C%22session_id%22%3A%22ee864ac9629f65d9ba3428a08657f778%22%7D%7D634193603%22%2C%22session_id%22%3A%22ee864ac9629f65d9ba3428a08657f778%22%7D%7D. There you will find information on the forum and its co-sponsors. The information includes the asked and unasked questions and a video of the forum (soon to be posted).
This is the story that the Topeka Capital-Journal's Tim Hrenchir wrote on the forum:
Candidates for seats on Topeka’s governing body speak at forum
Posted October 14, 2017 05:11 pm - Updated October 14, 2017 10:18 pm
By Tim Hrenchir
[email protected]
Joe Cheray and Justin Titzman, candidates for west Topeka’s District 9 City Council seat being vacated by Richard Harmon, said Saturday they consider code enforcement to be more about abating nuisances than issuing punishments.
“Punishment has to be part of the process, but I think we probably go to that too quick,” Titzman said of Topeka’s city government, while noting that some people can’t afford to make the repairs needed to bring their property up to code.
District 9 candidate Michael Lesser responded that the city should address each situation individually. He suggested it respond differently to violations by financially-strapped aging adults or single mothers than to those by “slumlords” who don’t take care of their buildings.
Lesser said he supports going “straight to the fines” in the latter situation, adding “I don’t rule out eminent domain to take those things back.”
Cheray, Titzman and Lesser were among nine candidates for seats on Topeka’s governing body in the Nov. 7 municipal general election who spoke at a candidate forum the Citizens Advisory Council hosted at Faith Temple Church, 1162 S.W. Lincoln. The CAC represents the city’s neighborhood improvement associations in making recommendations to the department of neighborhood relations on issues pertaining to low- to moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods.
WIBW-TV’s Ralph Hipp was moderator for Saturday’s afternoon forum, where about 35 people heard from the candidates. Their words were at times accompanied by the sounds of rain pounding on the roof, or thunder.
In addition to Cheray, Titzman and Lesser, participants were mayoral candidate Michelle De La Isla; District 1 incumbent Karen Hiller and District 3 incumbent Sylvia Ortiz, who are both seeking re-election; District 4 candidate Breta Bloomberg; District 5 candidate Scott Bowman; and District 7 candidate Joselito “Ping” Enriquez.
Not present were mayoral candidate Spencer L. Duncan, who was getting married Saturday; District 1 candidate Lanell Griffith; District 3 candidate Janel Clay-Bills; District 4 candidates Jonathan Schumm and incumbent Tony Emerson; District 5 candidates Michael Padilla and Brett Daniel Kell; and District 7 candidate Aaron Mays.
Near the end of Saturday’s forum, candidates made a final statement and were encouraged to say what distinguishes them from their opponents.
Ortiz stressed that she’s a lifelong resident of her district and has served it on the council for 12 years.
Hiller spoke of her experience serving on the council the past eight years, during which time she said things in Topeka have gotten better.
Bowman said “funding” is the biggest difference between his campaign and those of his opponents, adding that a report coming out in about two weeks will show he’s spending considerably less than they are. He described himself as being fiscally responsible.
Bloomberg talked about her commitment to helping people in need.
De La Isla stressed that she has experience in city government and understands that “there is no ‘I’ in leadership.”
Enriquez said that while voters in District 7 have two good candidates to choose from, he is different from Mays in that his ambition to serve on the council is not “borne out of politics.”
Cheray cited her love for the city and the experiences she would bring to the office, including her being a single mother with a special needs child.
Titzman cited his commitment to ensuring that low- to moderate-income people are represented on the council, and noted that he’s not accepting campaign contributions. Titzman pledged, if elected, to donate whatever amount Lesser spends on his campaign — up to $20,000 — out of Titzman’s council salary to a Topeka organization, which he hasn’t yet chosen.
Lesser opted in his closing statement to clarify his earlier statement about abatement versus punishment in code enforcement, saying he was talking about taking strict enforcement action against owners such as Kent Lindemuth who possess numerous properties but don’t take care of them.
WIBW-TV anchor Ralph Hipp served as the forum moderator.
The focus of the forum was engaging the candidates on the future of Topeka, specifically on topics that involve low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods, per the CAC’s mission.
Please visit the Citizens Advisory Council Candidates' Forum Facebook page at www.facebook.com/events/143472643057952/?active_tab=discussion&__xt__=33.%7B%22logging_data%22%3A%7B%22profile_id%22%3A143472643057952%2C%22event_type%22%3A%22clicked_view_event_posts%22%2C%22impression_info%22%3A%22eyJmIjp7Iml0ZW1fY291bnQiOiIwIn19%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22www_events_permalink%22%2C%22interacted_story_type%22%3A%221058178634193603%22%2C%22session_id%22%3A%22ee864ac9629f65d9ba3428a08657f778%22%7D%7D634193603%22%2C%22session_id%22%3A%22ee864ac9629f65d9ba3428a08657f778%22%7D%7D. There you will find information on the forum and its co-sponsors. The information includes the asked and unasked questions and a video of the forum (soon to be posted).
This is the story that the Topeka Capital-Journal's Tim Hrenchir wrote on the forum:
Candidates for seats on Topeka’s governing body speak at forum
Posted October 14, 2017 05:11 pm - Updated October 14, 2017 10:18 pm
By Tim Hrenchir
[email protected]
Joe Cheray and Justin Titzman, candidates for west Topeka’s District 9 City Council seat being vacated by Richard Harmon, said Saturday they consider code enforcement to be more about abating nuisances than issuing punishments.
“Punishment has to be part of the process, but I think we probably go to that too quick,” Titzman said of Topeka’s city government, while noting that some people can’t afford to make the repairs needed to bring their property up to code.
District 9 candidate Michael Lesser responded that the city should address each situation individually. He suggested it respond differently to violations by financially-strapped aging adults or single mothers than to those by “slumlords” who don’t take care of their buildings.
Lesser said he supports going “straight to the fines” in the latter situation, adding “I don’t rule out eminent domain to take those things back.”
Cheray, Titzman and Lesser were among nine candidates for seats on Topeka’s governing body in the Nov. 7 municipal general election who spoke at a candidate forum the Citizens Advisory Council hosted at Faith Temple Church, 1162 S.W. Lincoln. The CAC represents the city’s neighborhood improvement associations in making recommendations to the department of neighborhood relations on issues pertaining to low- to moderate-income individuals and neighborhoods.
WIBW-TV’s Ralph Hipp was moderator for Saturday’s afternoon forum, where about 35 people heard from the candidates. Their words were at times accompanied by the sounds of rain pounding on the roof, or thunder.
In addition to Cheray, Titzman and Lesser, participants were mayoral candidate Michelle De La Isla; District 1 incumbent Karen Hiller and District 3 incumbent Sylvia Ortiz, who are both seeking re-election; District 4 candidate Breta Bloomberg; District 5 candidate Scott Bowman; and District 7 candidate Joselito “Ping” Enriquez.
Not present were mayoral candidate Spencer L. Duncan, who was getting married Saturday; District 1 candidate Lanell Griffith; District 3 candidate Janel Clay-Bills; District 4 candidates Jonathan Schumm and incumbent Tony Emerson; District 5 candidates Michael Padilla and Brett Daniel Kell; and District 7 candidate Aaron Mays.
Near the end of Saturday’s forum, candidates made a final statement and were encouraged to say what distinguishes them from their opponents.
Ortiz stressed that she’s a lifelong resident of her district and has served it on the council for 12 years.
Hiller spoke of her experience serving on the council the past eight years, during which time she said things in Topeka have gotten better.
Bowman said “funding” is the biggest difference between his campaign and those of his opponents, adding that a report coming out in about two weeks will show he’s spending considerably less than they are. He described himself as being fiscally responsible.
Bloomberg talked about her commitment to helping people in need.
De La Isla stressed that she has experience in city government and understands that “there is no ‘I’ in leadership.”
Enriquez said that while voters in District 7 have two good candidates to choose from, he is different from Mays in that his ambition to serve on the council is not “borne out of politics.”
Cheray cited her love for the city and the experiences she would bring to the office, including her being a single mother with a special needs child.
Titzman cited his commitment to ensuring that low- to moderate-income people are represented on the council, and noted that he’s not accepting campaign contributions. Titzman pledged, if elected, to donate whatever amount Lesser spends on his campaign — up to $20,000 — out of Titzman’s council salary to a Topeka organization, which he hasn’t yet chosen.
Lesser opted in his closing statement to clarify his earlier statement about abatement versus punishment in code enforcement, saying he was talking about taking strict enforcement action against owners such as Kent Lindemuth who possess numerous properties but don’t take care of them.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Working Men of Christ Ministries Seeks Donations to Support its Mission
Working Men of Christ Ministries, a group formed to reach incarcerated men and women through its ministry and to remain with them at each step of their reintegration into the community after their releases, is seeking donations for its men’s and women’s discipleship homes.
WMOC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donated items may be tax deductible. Please indicate if the items you’re able to donate will require a tax donation receipt:
· Bicycles - Mountain
· Bath towels
· Washcloths
· Dish soap - liquid bottles
· Toilet paper/24 rolls
· Cleaning supplies-bathroom, kitchen
· Light bulbs - 75W, 100W
· Topeka Metro bus passes/monthly
· Mentors for the residents - male and female
· Volunteers for bible studies
· Beauticians
· Toilets - 1.5 gallon flush
· Bedding sets - twin/full-size beds
· 3/4 inch sheet rock
· Laptop computers - Windows 7 or newer software
· Printing paper - 500 pages/INK (call for specific ink)
· Postal stamps - book of stamps
· Envelopes - 100 count or more
· Monthly donations/partners
· 8 minivan tires - size 215/70R16
· 4 minivan tires - size 215/165R16
· New bathroom mats
· Brooms and mops
· Carpet (call for measurements)
· Storm door
· Central AC Unit or window units
· Shellac/varnish for sealing peeling walls and ceilings
· Carpet pad for 2 bedrooms: (1st bedroom 14’ x 12’, 8), closet same room (11’5” x 7’7”), and office (8’2” x 8’9.5”)
· Floor sander, stain, and finish for wood floors
· Oil primer and oil paint
· Newel post, handrails (10’L x 4”W) and spindles for living room
· 2 bags of cement
· Wood for basement steps and front porch steps
· Drywall mud
· Bed frames and mattresses, twin and full size
· Bar stools - 4
· Dressers
For more information on WMOC, please go to its website at http://www.workingmenofchristministry.com/. If you have questions or are able to make a donation, please contact WMOC Director Spencer Lindsay at 785-285-2131 or via e-mail at [email protected].
WMOC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donated items may be tax deductible. Please indicate if the items you’re able to donate will require a tax donation receipt:
· Bicycles - Mountain
· Bath towels
· Washcloths
· Dish soap - liquid bottles
· Toilet paper/24 rolls
· Cleaning supplies-bathroom, kitchen
· Light bulbs - 75W, 100W
· Topeka Metro bus passes/monthly
· Mentors for the residents - male and female
· Volunteers for bible studies
· Beauticians
· Toilets - 1.5 gallon flush
· Bedding sets - twin/full-size beds
· 3/4 inch sheet rock
· Laptop computers - Windows 7 or newer software
· Printing paper - 500 pages/INK (call for specific ink)
· Postal stamps - book of stamps
· Envelopes - 100 count or more
· Monthly donations/partners
· 8 minivan tires - size 215/70R16
· 4 minivan tires - size 215/165R16
· New bathroom mats
· Brooms and mops
· Carpet (call for measurements)
· Storm door
· Central AC Unit or window units
· Shellac/varnish for sealing peeling walls and ceilings
· Carpet pad for 2 bedrooms: (1st bedroom 14’ x 12’, 8), closet same room (11’5” x 7’7”), and office (8’2” x 8’9.5”)
· Floor sander, stain, and finish for wood floors
· Oil primer and oil paint
· Newel post, handrails (10’L x 4”W) and spindles for living room
· 2 bags of cement
· Wood for basement steps and front porch steps
· Drywall mud
· Bed frames and mattresses, twin and full size
· Bar stools - 4
· Dressers
For more information on WMOC, please go to its website at http://www.workingmenofchristministry.com/. If you have questions or are able to make a donation, please contact WMOC Director Spencer Lindsay at 785-285-2131 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Former City Council Member, Mayoral Candidate Betty Dunn
Recuperating in North Carolina
Recuperating in North Carolina
Former District Four Topeka City Council Member and mayoral candidate Betty Dunn is recuperating nicely after having incurred several strokes last year in North Carolina, said long-time Hi-Crest NIA leader and friend Betty Phillips.
Dunn lived and was involved in the Hi-Crest NIA prior to and during her tenure on the Topeka city council and became an advocate for all of the city’s NIAs during her time on the city council. During her time in Topeka she was an unquestioned supporter of low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods. To recognize her years of support, Betty Dunn Park was created in the Hi-Crest NIA.
Opposite is Dunn looking stylishly well as she recuperates.
Dunn is known by all as a fighter. Keep fighting, Betty, and keep getting better!
Dunn lived and was involved in the Hi-Crest NIA prior to and during her tenure on the Topeka city council and became an advocate for all of the city’s NIAs during her time on the city council. During her time in Topeka she was an unquestioned supporter of low- to moderate-income people and neighborhoods. To recognize her years of support, Betty Dunn Park was created in the Hi-Crest NIA.
Opposite is Dunn looking stylishly well as she recuperates.
Dunn is known by all as a fighter. Keep fighting, Betty, and keep getting better!
In Memoriam: Larry Johnson
Long-time Topeka entrepreneur and trailblazer Larry Johnson passed away on Wednesday, September 6, in Topeka. He was 77.
Larry Johnson was the owner and director of Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel, located at 723 SW 6th, in Topeka. Through his many years of leading Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel, Johnson became a friend and comforter for many African-American individuals and families throughout Topeka. He also became a shining example to people, particularly young people, showing that hard work, education, compassion for others, and perseverance could lead to great things for the entire community.
Johnson also was a friend and supporter of the Tennessee Town NIA, including being in discussions with the NIA about acquiring through donation two vacant lots he and his family own for Topeka Habitat for Humanity to use to build a new home and future for another deserving low-income family.
According to his obituary at the Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel website (http://www.bowserjohnsonfuneralchapel.com/obituary/larry-d-johnson-sr), "Johnson was born on August 14, 1940, in Topeka, the son of Hubert Johnson and Florence Laura Bell Mae Henry Johnson. Larry attended Topeka public schools, graduating from Topeka High School in 1959. He served his country in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He was employed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Larry married his childhood sweetheart, the former Harriett D. Owens of Kansas City, Kansas on July 6, 1963. She survives. Larry grew up near a funeral home (in Tennessee Town), and with the mentorship of the funeral directors and morticians of the Gaines and Sons Funeral Home. He developed a passion for serving people early in his life. After high school, he attended Washburn University and later enrolled in the California School of Mortuary Science in Los Angeles, California where he studied to become a mortician, embalmer and funeral director. He graduated in 1972 with a Master’s Degree in Mortuary Science.
"Johnson and his wife Harriett purchased Bowser Mortuary, at 1812 SW Van Buren in Topeka, from the late Pearl Bowser in 1976. The name of Bowser Mortuary was changed to Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel in 1979. In 1997, Larry purchased the property at 723 SW 6th Avenue and moved his business to its current location.
"Larry was community oriented and regularly contributed to youth baseball teams; Living the Dream, Inc.; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, Alpha Iota Omega; The Topeka (KS) Chapter of The Links, Inc.; Midwest Elks Lodge, and various other organizations and churches. He was a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), board member of Midland Hospice, member of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, Better Business Bureau of Topeka, and The Topeka High Soulmates Class 1956 – 1962.
"Larry saw the service he provided not only as a business, but as a ministry to... Topeka and (its) surrounding areas. He realized the loss of an infant or small child was devastating to families who were not financially prepared for the expenses of a funeral. Larry often provided for those services at his expense. During his career, Larry was given the honor of mentoring students who were entering the field of mortuary science. They completed their practicum and apprenticeship under his guidance. Those students went on to be successful morticians, embalmers and funeral directors, with some establishing their own successful businesses. He received numerous awards and recognitions and he was featured in the fall 2014 TK Magazine.
"Over the past five years, his wife Harriett joined him in the daily operations of the business. Those remaining to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 54 years, Harriett; son, Amri B. Johnson of Cambridge, MA; granddaughter, Jazmine Johnson of Cambridge, MA.; three brothers, Sokoni (Ayana) Karanja of Chicago, Illinois; Warren (Jackie) Johnson of Dallas, Texas and James Ivan (Sharon) Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas; sister, Wilhelmeta D. Johnson, of Topeka; daughter-in-law, Felicia Slaughter-Johnson, of Topeka, and a host of other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hubert and Florence Johnson and son, Larry Johnson, Jr."
Our very best to Johnson's family, friends and many mentees who he helped and inspired along the way. Johnson made a significant contribution to the proposition that a black entrepreneur could indeed make it in Topeka AND keep the door open for others. And that it could be done with a smile and a pat on the back.
Well done, sir. Well done!
Larry Johnson was the owner and director of Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel, located at 723 SW 6th, in Topeka. Through his many years of leading Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel, Johnson became a friend and comforter for many African-American individuals and families throughout Topeka. He also became a shining example to people, particularly young people, showing that hard work, education, compassion for others, and perseverance could lead to great things for the entire community.
Johnson also was a friend and supporter of the Tennessee Town NIA, including being in discussions with the NIA about acquiring through donation two vacant lots he and his family own for Topeka Habitat for Humanity to use to build a new home and future for another deserving low-income family.
According to his obituary at the Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel website (http://www.bowserjohnsonfuneralchapel.com/obituary/larry-d-johnson-sr), "Johnson was born on August 14, 1940, in Topeka, the son of Hubert Johnson and Florence Laura Bell Mae Henry Johnson. Larry attended Topeka public schools, graduating from Topeka High School in 1959. He served his country in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. He was employed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Larry married his childhood sweetheart, the former Harriett D. Owens of Kansas City, Kansas on July 6, 1963. She survives. Larry grew up near a funeral home (in Tennessee Town), and with the mentorship of the funeral directors and morticians of the Gaines and Sons Funeral Home. He developed a passion for serving people early in his life. After high school, he attended Washburn University and later enrolled in the California School of Mortuary Science in Los Angeles, California where he studied to become a mortician, embalmer and funeral director. He graduated in 1972 with a Master’s Degree in Mortuary Science.
"Johnson and his wife Harriett purchased Bowser Mortuary, at 1812 SW Van Buren in Topeka, from the late Pearl Bowser in 1976. The name of Bowser Mortuary was changed to Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel in 1979. In 1997, Larry purchased the property at 723 SW 6th Avenue and moved his business to its current location.
"Larry was community oriented and regularly contributed to youth baseball teams; Living the Dream, Inc.; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, Alpha Iota Omega; The Topeka (KS) Chapter of The Links, Inc.; Midwest Elks Lodge, and various other organizations and churches. He was a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), board member of Midland Hospice, member of the Kansas Funeral Directors Association, Better Business Bureau of Topeka, and The Topeka High Soulmates Class 1956 – 1962.
"Larry saw the service he provided not only as a business, but as a ministry to... Topeka and (its) surrounding areas. He realized the loss of an infant or small child was devastating to families who were not financially prepared for the expenses of a funeral. Larry often provided for those services at his expense. During his career, Larry was given the honor of mentoring students who were entering the field of mortuary science. They completed their practicum and apprenticeship under his guidance. Those students went on to be successful morticians, embalmers and funeral directors, with some establishing their own successful businesses. He received numerous awards and recognitions and he was featured in the fall 2014 TK Magazine.
"Over the past five years, his wife Harriett joined him in the daily operations of the business. Those remaining to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 54 years, Harriett; son, Amri B. Johnson of Cambridge, MA; granddaughter, Jazmine Johnson of Cambridge, MA.; three brothers, Sokoni (Ayana) Karanja of Chicago, Illinois; Warren (Jackie) Johnson of Dallas, Texas and James Ivan (Sharon) Johnson of Kansas City, Kansas; sister, Wilhelmeta D. Johnson, of Topeka; daughter-in-law, Felicia Slaughter-Johnson, of Topeka, and a host of other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hubert and Florence Johnson and son, Larry Johnson, Jr."
Our very best to Johnson's family, friends and many mentees who he helped and inspired along the way. Johnson made a significant contribution to the proposition that a black entrepreneur could indeed make it in Topeka AND keep the door open for others. And that it could be done with a smile and a pat on the back.
Well done, sir. Well done!
In Memoriam: Marge Heeney
Tennessee Town friend and Topeka icon Marge Heeney passed away on Sunday, June 25, in Topeka. She was 91.
Marge Heeney and her decade-long volunteer efforts to maintain the Lane Garden, at SW 12th and Lane Streets, were recognized by the Tennessee Town NIA at its general membership meeting on January 12, 2015, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan (for that story, please scroll down this homepage).
Heeney's philanthropic efforts throughout Topeka are legendary, including her work with the Keep America Beautiful initiative, as are her signature hats. Heeney recruited Leonard Gonzales, and they both worked very hard to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden, the NIA's first greenspace. The NIA recognized Heeney's and Gonzales' efforts through certificates of appreciation, both presented to Heeney (Marge is pictured at left with her certificate).
According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, as a young woman Marge Heeney was designated “Miss Oklahoma City.” She moved to Nebraska to teach after earning a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern State College in Weatherford, Okla., and a master’s from Oklahoma University.
Marge Heeney met her husband, Barney, in 1948 as he studied law at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and Marge taught nearby. They dated several years before Marge Heeney left to attend radio and drama school in New York City.
She later returned to teaching in Nebraska, then moved to Oklahoma City before Barney Heeney tracked her down and their courtship began again.
The Heeneys married in 1956 and moved to Topeka where they raised four children and Marge worked as a substitute teacher.
Bernie Heeney said his mother was active with the League of Women Voters, the Kansas Democratic Party, the United Way of Greater Topeka and Keep America Beautiful-Topeka and Shawnee County.
Barney preceded Marge in death earlier this year.
The NIA extends its sincerest condolences to Marge’s family and many friends. Marge was the personification of the volunteer spirit that helps make Topeka better. And she always did it with a smile and an encouraging word.
We’ll miss you, Marge, but you’ll always be with us.
Marge Heeney and her decade-long volunteer efforts to maintain the Lane Garden, at SW 12th and Lane Streets, were recognized by the Tennessee Town NIA at its general membership meeting on January 12, 2015, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan (for that story, please scroll down this homepage).
Heeney's philanthropic efforts throughout Topeka are legendary, including her work with the Keep America Beautiful initiative, as are her signature hats. Heeney recruited Leonard Gonzales, and they both worked very hard to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden, the NIA's first greenspace. The NIA recognized Heeney's and Gonzales' efforts through certificates of appreciation, both presented to Heeney (Marge is pictured at left with her certificate).
According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, as a young woman Marge Heeney was designated “Miss Oklahoma City.” She moved to Nebraska to teach after earning a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern State College in Weatherford, Okla., and a master’s from Oklahoma University.
Marge Heeney met her husband, Barney, in 1948 as he studied law at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and Marge taught nearby. They dated several years before Marge Heeney left to attend radio and drama school in New York City.
She later returned to teaching in Nebraska, then moved to Oklahoma City before Barney Heeney tracked her down and their courtship began again.
The Heeneys married in 1956 and moved to Topeka where they raised four children and Marge worked as a substitute teacher.
Bernie Heeney said his mother was active with the League of Women Voters, the Kansas Democratic Party, the United Way of Greater Topeka and Keep America Beautiful-Topeka and Shawnee County.
Barney preceded Marge in death earlier this year.
The NIA extends its sincerest condolences to Marge’s family and many friends. Marge was the personification of the volunteer spirit that helps make Topeka better. And she always did it with a smile and an encouraging word.
We’ll miss you, Marge, but you’ll always be with us.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
SORT Kickoff Starts Discussions About NIA's Future
The next three years for the Tennessee Town NIA were the main topic of discussion at its SORT Kickoff, held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2017, at The First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan.
The SORT kickoff was preceded by a Spring Celebration at 5 p.m. that gave attendees a chance to meet and fellowship with one another.
The Topeka Planning Department's Dan Warner, Addison Spradlin and Tim Esparza led the discussion on identifying priorities for the NIA as it moves forward with its SORT (Strategies of Resource Targeting) grant. Planning Department Director Bill Fiander also attended. Fiander worked with the NIA the last time it pursued major revitalization activities in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s.
The Topeka City Council, on January 10, voted the Tennessee Town and Quinton Heights-Steele NIAs as SORT neighborhoods for 2017-2019. The SORT grant targets certain federal and local funds for neighborhood revitalization activities in 2018-2019 and either updates or creates a neighborhood plan for the 2 NIAs in 2017 (update for Tennessee Town as it already has a neighborhood plan).
The NIA established earlier this year a SORT Committee to work with the planning department on its neighborhood plan update and how funds will be targeted within the NIA.
The members of the Tennessee Town NIA SORT Committee are:
Meetings with the SORT Committee and the planning department should begin soon. Updates will be provided at this website.
The Spring Celebration included presentations by National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray on preparations for the August 5 event (for more information or to volunteer, please contact Ray at 785-221-5046) and Sandy Lassiter on the upcoming Tennessee Town basketball tournament on August 5 (for more information, please contact Arturo Lassiter at [email protected]).
The NIA wishes to thank the planning department for its presentation and leadership moving forward and also thank those who helped to set up the Spring Celebration, including food and beverages, for their hard work. Those people include Sandy Lassiter and members of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Emma Ray and members of Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church; and Darlene Palmer, Shiloh Baptist Church.
For a PDF of the planning department's presentation, please click on the link immediately below.
For the discussion of where the NIA's been, where it's at, and where it would like to be headed through comments offered at the SORT Kickoff, please click on the PDF immediately below.
The SORT kickoff was preceded by a Spring Celebration at 5 p.m. that gave attendees a chance to meet and fellowship with one another.
The Topeka Planning Department's Dan Warner, Addison Spradlin and Tim Esparza led the discussion on identifying priorities for the NIA as it moves forward with its SORT (Strategies of Resource Targeting) grant. Planning Department Director Bill Fiander also attended. Fiander worked with the NIA the last time it pursued major revitalization activities in the late 1990s through the mid-2000s.
The Topeka City Council, on January 10, voted the Tennessee Town and Quinton Heights-Steele NIAs as SORT neighborhoods for 2017-2019. The SORT grant targets certain federal and local funds for neighborhood revitalization activities in 2018-2019 and either updates or creates a neighborhood plan for the 2 NIAs in 2017 (update for Tennessee Town as it already has a neighborhood plan).
The NIA established earlier this year a SORT Committee to work with the planning department on its neighborhood plan update and how funds will be targeted within the NIA.
The members of the Tennessee Town NIA SORT Committee are:
- NIA President Michael Bell
- NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp
- NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter
- NIA CAC Representative Don Fortin
- Rev. Branson Roberts, The First Church of the Nazarene
- Pastor Harry Christian, Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church
- NIA Resident and Topeka JUMP Board Member Joyce Revely
- NIA National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray
Meetings with the SORT Committee and the planning department should begin soon. Updates will be provided at this website.
The Spring Celebration included presentations by National Night Out Coordinator Emma Ray on preparations for the August 5 event (for more information or to volunteer, please contact Ray at 785-221-5046) and Sandy Lassiter on the upcoming Tennessee Town basketball tournament on August 5 (for more information, please contact Arturo Lassiter at [email protected]).
The NIA wishes to thank the planning department for its presentation and leadership moving forward and also thank those who helped to set up the Spring Celebration, including food and beverages, for their hard work. Those people include Sandy Lassiter and members of Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, Emma Ray and members of Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church; and Darlene Palmer, Shiloh Baptist Church.
For a PDF of the planning department's presentation, please click on the link immediately below.
For the discussion of where the NIA's been, where it's at, and where it would like to be headed through comments offered at the SORT Kickoff, please click on the PDF immediately below.
| ttnia_sort_kickoff_planning_presentation_3-29-17.pdf |
| ttnia_sort_kick_off_comments_3-29-17.pdf |
GraceMed Presser Announces Fund-Raising Campaign
for Former Huntoon Dillon's
for Former Huntoon Dillon's
A rendering of what GraceMed's renovations to the former Huntoon Dillon's might look like. Photo courtesy Topeka Capital-Journal.
The future's so bright, Topeka might need some shades! That was the message as GraceMed Health Clinic held a press conference at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 5, at the former Huntoon Dillon's, 1400 SW Huntoon, to announce its fund-raising campaign for renovations to the building.
Alice Weingartner, GraceMed's Director of Development, headed a distinguished list of guest speakers marking the formal beginning of the health clinic's fund-raising efforts to renovate 1400 SW Huntoon. Those efforts are called "Project Wellspring" (see PDF immediately below).
Weingartner said Project Wellspring's fund-raising goal was $2.37 million. She said $1.57 million already had been raised to cover total renovation costs of $3.94 million. The Shawnee County Commission, at its April 3 meeting, committed $288,000 to the effort, and it was announced at the presser that the Capital-Federal Foundation had committed $500,000 and Stormont-Vail had committed $282,000. Weingartner said she's hopeful that the renovations and the opening of the new clinic will be completed by the fall of 2018.
Weingartner said the new clinic would utilize nearly 24,000 square feet, which would allow GraceMed to see more patients. GraceMed plans on seeing 25,000 patients over the next 5 years, up from the 5,000 it currently sees.
The expanded facilities at 1400 SW Huntoon will allow:
Other speakers included Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, Topeka District One City Council Member and Tennessee Town resident Karen Hiller, Shawnee County Commissioner Kevin Cook, Stormont-Vail HealthCare CEO Randall Peterson, and the Topeka Rescue Mission's Barry Feaker. Shawnee County Commissioner Shelly Buhler and Topeka City Council Member Brendan Jensen also were in attendance.
For more information on GraceMed's efforts and services, please go to its website at gracemed.org/.
Alice Weingartner, GraceMed's Director of Development, headed a distinguished list of guest speakers marking the formal beginning of the health clinic's fund-raising efforts to renovate 1400 SW Huntoon. Those efforts are called "Project Wellspring" (see PDF immediately below).
Weingartner said Project Wellspring's fund-raising goal was $2.37 million. She said $1.57 million already had been raised to cover total renovation costs of $3.94 million. The Shawnee County Commission, at its April 3 meeting, committed $288,000 to the effort, and it was announced at the presser that the Capital-Federal Foundation had committed $500,000 and Stormont-Vail had committed $282,000. Weingartner said she's hopeful that the renovations and the opening of the new clinic will be completed by the fall of 2018.
Weingartner said the new clinic would utilize nearly 24,000 square feet, which would allow GraceMed to see more patients. GraceMed plans on seeing 25,000 patients over the next 5 years, up from the 5,000 it currently sees.
The expanded facilities at 1400 SW Huntoon will allow:
- Twenty-five primary care exam rooms
- Room for behavioral health consultants to support up to eight full-time primary care providers
- An on-site pharmacy
- Accommodations for up to four full-time dentists and two full-time hygienists
- Accommodations for up to two full-time optometrists
- Meeting rooms that can be used by the community
- A chance for food to be available, perhaps through a food pantry or other means that don't create competition with Dillon's
Other speakers included Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast, Topeka District One City Council Member and Tennessee Town resident Karen Hiller, Shawnee County Commissioner Kevin Cook, Stormont-Vail HealthCare CEO Randall Peterson, and the Topeka Rescue Mission's Barry Feaker. Shawnee County Commissioner Shelly Buhler and Topeka City Council Member Brendan Jensen also were in attendance.
For more information on GraceMed's efforts and services, please go to its website at gracemed.org/.
| 12282016_gm_project_wellspring_release.docx.pdf |
Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast at the GraceMed press conference, held on April 5, 2017.
District One Topeka City Council Member Karen Hiller at the GraceMed press conference, held on April 5, 2017.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
NIA Recognizes Long-Time Code Officer on His Retirement
At its March 13, 2017 NIA meeting, Tennessee Town formally recognized Property Maintenance Officer Dennis Boyles for his service to the neighborhood and on his impending retirement.
Boyles has been the NIA's property maintenance officer for years. He has always shown a willingness to work with the NIA and residents to abate nuisances before issuing citations. NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp (on the left in picture with Boyles) and Boyles partnered on DeLapp's efforts to remove abandoned tires from not only Tennessee Town but its surrounding neighborhoods. Boyles also provided assistance in covering gang graffiti when it showed up in the neighborhood.
The NIA presented Boyles with a Certificate of Appreciation "in recognition of valuable contributions to the maintenance of property in Tennessee Town." The certificate was signed by the NIA's officers. Cupcakes also were available for meeting attendees.
The City of Topeka also recognized Boyles' service to the city with a retirement reception held on his last day of work, March 24, 2017.
The Tennessee Town NIA wishes the very best to Dennis Boyles as he moves forward! He will be missed.
Boyles has been the NIA's property maintenance officer for years. He has always shown a willingness to work with the NIA and residents to abate nuisances before issuing citations. NIA Vice-President Pat DeLapp (on the left in picture with Boyles) and Boyles partnered on DeLapp's efforts to remove abandoned tires from not only Tennessee Town but its surrounding neighborhoods. Boyles also provided assistance in covering gang graffiti when it showed up in the neighborhood.
The NIA presented Boyles with a Certificate of Appreciation "in recognition of valuable contributions to the maintenance of property in Tennessee Town." The certificate was signed by the NIA's officers. Cupcakes also were available for meeting attendees.
The City of Topeka also recognized Boyles' service to the city with a retirement reception held on his last day of work, March 24, 2017.
The Tennessee Town NIA wishes the very best to Dennis Boyles as he moves forward! He will be missed.
| ttnia_1-17_mtg_2017_nia_goals.pdf |
In Memoriam:
Dr. Betty Horton
Dr. Betty Horton
The Tennessee Town NIA would like to take this opportunity to express its sincere condolences on the passing of Dr. Betty Horton on April 2. I've known and called Dr. Horton a good friend for almost 15 years.
When I first met her she provided her expertise to the NIA regarding filing 501(c)3 paperwork. Later, the NIA worked with Dr. Horton and Sandy Lassiter on the International Academy.
Dr. Horton was an esteemed educator in Topeka, including her service as a member of the Topeka Board of Education. From the tribute published at the Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel's site: "Betty was an educator who believed that if a poor black girl from the country in Kansas could earn a PhD and live out her dreams in academia and in business then anyone could."
I came to know her as a tremendously positive person committed to children and to poor individuals and families. I also came to know her by her ever-present smile. She will be missed by all who knew her. My sincere thoughts go to Dr. Horton's family and friends. A light that burned as bright as hers will help to sustain you in the coming days.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
When I first met her she provided her expertise to the NIA regarding filing 501(c)3 paperwork. Later, the NIA worked with Dr. Horton and Sandy Lassiter on the International Academy.
Dr. Horton was an esteemed educator in Topeka, including her service as a member of the Topeka Board of Education. From the tribute published at the Bowser-Johnson Funeral Chapel's site: "Betty was an educator who believed that if a poor black girl from the country in Kansas could earn a PhD and live out her dreams in academia and in business then anyone could."
I came to know her as a tremendously positive person committed to children and to poor individuals and families. I also came to know her by her ever-present smile. She will be missed by all who knew her. My sincere thoughts go to Dr. Horton's family and friends. A light that burned as bright as hers will help to sustain you in the coming days.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
City Council Votes to Designate Tennessee Town as SORT Neighborhood!
At its January 10, 2017 meeting the Topeka City Council unanimously voted to designate the Tennessee Town NIA as a 2017-2019 SORT neighborhood! The city council also designated the Quinton Heights-Steele NIA as a SORT neighborhood.
The SORT designation means that approximately $3 million will be targeted to and split between the 2 NIAs to spend on revitalization activities. 2017 is the "planning year" of the program, which would include an update to the NIA's neighborhood plan. 2018-2019 are the "implementation" years of the program where funds are expended.
The SORT designation can mean improvements regarding housing, infrastructure, parks and other areas. From approximately 2001-2006, before there was a formal SORT program, Tennessee Town successfully submitted a number of RFPs for housing and other activities that led to the complete turnaround of what the city's planning department deemed the NIA's most challenged block: the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln (see pic of some of the new housing in that block).
Updates will be provided here as Tennessee Town begins the planning year of the initiative.
The NIA wishes to thank all of the Tennessee Town stakeholders and supporters for making it the great neighborhood it is as well as positioning it for even greater things in the near future!
To view the NIA's 2017-2019 SORT application, please click on the two links below.
For the NIA's current neighborhood plan, please go to www.topeka.org/planning/Documents/tennessee_town.pdf.
For more information on the SORT program, please scroll down at this homepage.
The SORT designation means that approximately $3 million will be targeted to and split between the 2 NIAs to spend on revitalization activities. 2017 is the "planning year" of the program, which would include an update to the NIA's neighborhood plan. 2018-2019 are the "implementation" years of the program where funds are expended.
The SORT designation can mean improvements regarding housing, infrastructure, parks and other areas. From approximately 2001-2006, before there was a formal SORT program, Tennessee Town successfully submitted a number of RFPs for housing and other activities that led to the complete turnaround of what the city's planning department deemed the NIA's most challenged block: the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln (see pic of some of the new housing in that block).
Updates will be provided here as Tennessee Town begins the planning year of the initiative.
The NIA wishes to thank all of the Tennessee Town stakeholders and supporters for making it the great neighborhood it is as well as positioning it for even greater things in the near future!
To view the NIA's 2017-2019 SORT application, please click on the two links below.
For the NIA's current neighborhood plan, please go to www.topeka.org/planning/Documents/tennessee_town.pdf.
For more information on the SORT program, please scroll down at this homepage.
| 2017-2019_ttnia_sort_application_submission_website_01.pdf |
| 2017-2019_ttnia_sort_application_submission_website_02.pdf |
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
GraceMed Announces Plans for Former Huntoon Dillon's
Photo courtesy Topeka Capital-Journal
Both at a community forum and the NIA's January 2017 meeting, GraceMed Health Clinic announced its plans to acquire the former Huntoon Dillon's, at 1400 SW Huntoon, and to convert it to a new base of operations in Topeka.
Alice Weingartner, GraceMed's Director of Development (pictured at left in front of the former Huntoon Dillon's), presented the nonprofit's plans for 1400 SW Huntoon at the community forum, held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 8, 2017, at the First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan; then at the Tennessee Town NIA meeting on Monday, January 9, 2017, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
During a PowerPoint presentation, Weingartner discussed GraceMed's mission and goals and its plans for the building, including more examination rooms for patients and rooms for community meetings and activities. She said GraceMed is making commitments to the community that include dental, vision and pharmacy services at the location. Prenatal and primary care services would be offered, too. Weingartner also said GraceMed would be willing to look at pursuing partnerships that could lead to other services at 1400, including some kind of food** and financial services (**depending on the contracts GraceMed signs with Dillon's and what its grants dictate) and reestablishing the availability of bus passes. She also presented a floor plan of 1400 that presented an initial picture of what GraceMed has planned for the space.
Last summer GraceMed took over the operations of the Shawnee County Health Agency and is based out of Wichita. Weingartner said it wanted to find a location that it could buy and a building in which it could expand its services, so it approached Dillon's about the availability of 1400. GraceMed currently is located in the building that Stormont-Vail HealthCare owns and formerly housed the Shawnee County Health Agency, at 1615 SW 8th.
GraceMed’s acquisition of 1400 also would include all of the property in the "Dillon's block," bounded by 12th, Washburn, Huntoon, and Lane Sts., including the Aaron Douglas Art Park and mural and the vacant land at the northwest corner of the block.
In addition to qualifying for a grant to acquire 1400, GraceMed has started a capital campaign to raise additional funds (see PDF immediately after this post).
The potential here is great. We all can have the resources discussed above at a centrally located destination being administered by a major Topeka health care player, the building will no longer be vacant and will be back on the tax rolls, and the Art Park can be safe.
The Tennessee Town NIA thanks GraceMed for seeing an opportunity and seizing it. Once it became obvious that Tennessee Town and Central Topeka weren't going to get another full-service grocery store to replace the Huntoon Dillon's, GraceMed's acquisition of 1400 has become the best use of 1400. We look forward to moving forward with GraceMed!
For GraceMed's official announcement, please click on the following document. For more information on GraceMed, please go to its website: https://gracemed.org/
Alice Weingartner, GraceMed's Director of Development (pictured at left in front of the former Huntoon Dillon's), presented the nonprofit's plans for 1400 SW Huntoon at the community forum, held at 6 p.m. on Sunday, January 8, 2017, at the First Church of the Nazarene, 1001 SW Buchanan; then at the Tennessee Town NIA meeting on Monday, January 9, 2017, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
During a PowerPoint presentation, Weingartner discussed GraceMed's mission and goals and its plans for the building, including more examination rooms for patients and rooms for community meetings and activities. She said GraceMed is making commitments to the community that include dental, vision and pharmacy services at the location. Prenatal and primary care services would be offered, too. Weingartner also said GraceMed would be willing to look at pursuing partnerships that could lead to other services at 1400, including some kind of food** and financial services (**depending on the contracts GraceMed signs with Dillon's and what its grants dictate) and reestablishing the availability of bus passes. She also presented a floor plan of 1400 that presented an initial picture of what GraceMed has planned for the space.
Last summer GraceMed took over the operations of the Shawnee County Health Agency and is based out of Wichita. Weingartner said it wanted to find a location that it could buy and a building in which it could expand its services, so it approached Dillon's about the availability of 1400. GraceMed currently is located in the building that Stormont-Vail HealthCare owns and formerly housed the Shawnee County Health Agency, at 1615 SW 8th.
GraceMed’s acquisition of 1400 also would include all of the property in the "Dillon's block," bounded by 12th, Washburn, Huntoon, and Lane Sts., including the Aaron Douglas Art Park and mural and the vacant land at the northwest corner of the block.
In addition to qualifying for a grant to acquire 1400, GraceMed has started a capital campaign to raise additional funds (see PDF immediately after this post).
The potential here is great. We all can have the resources discussed above at a centrally located destination being administered by a major Topeka health care player, the building will no longer be vacant and will be back on the tax rolls, and the Art Park can be safe.
The Tennessee Town NIA thanks GraceMed for seeing an opportunity and seizing it. Once it became obvious that Tennessee Town and Central Topeka weren't going to get another full-service grocery store to replace the Huntoon Dillon's, GraceMed's acquisition of 1400 has become the best use of 1400. We look forward to moving forward with GraceMed!
For GraceMed's official announcement, please click on the following document. For more information on GraceMed, please go to its website: https://gracemed.org/
| 12282016_gm_project_wellspring_release.docx.pdf |
Free Food Now Available at Neighborhood Church's "Blessing Box"
There is a new way people are helping others in need and it has come to Tennessee Town.
Based on the boxes that have popped up across neighborhoods around the nation that feature free books for people to take and replenish, “blessing boxes” take the same giving spirit and fill the boxes instead with free non-perishable foods and personal care items like toothbrushes and diapers for people in need. Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, located at 1196 SW Buchanan (see pic at left), now has a blessing box in its parking lot (on the right side of the pic, behind the church).
For more information on A-MO’s blessing box, please contact the church at its website at http://www.amotopeka.org/, its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Asbury-Mount-Olive-United-Methodist-Church-816356011757879/ or via telephone at 785-232-6801.
Based on the boxes that have popped up across neighborhoods around the nation that feature free books for people to take and replenish, “blessing boxes” take the same giving spirit and fill the boxes instead with free non-perishable foods and personal care items like toothbrushes and diapers for people in need. Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, located at 1196 SW Buchanan (see pic at left), now has a blessing box in its parking lot (on the right side of the pic, behind the church).
For more information on A-MO’s blessing box, please contact the church at its website at http://www.amotopeka.org/, its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Asbury-Mount-Olive-United-Methodist-Church-816356011757879/ or via telephone at 785-232-6801.
Effort Underway to Have Buchanan Street Block Recognized for
Long-Time Neighborhood Pastor
Long-Time Neighborhood Pastor
Tennessee Town's Shiloh Baptist Church has started an effort to honor its long-time pastor by having the first 1200 block of SW Buchanan St., where Shiloh is located, recognized in his name.
Rev. Pearson was a good friend to the NIA for its entire 40 year existence. His presence at a neighborhood stakeholder and landmark for nearly 50 years is both respected and appreciated.
For more information on the effort, please contact Darlene Palmer at 785-215-4777.
- Rev. Augustus J. Pearson, who was pastor at Shiloh for 47 years, has a long list of accomplishments to his credit during his time at Shiloh and in Topeka:
- * Counselor at Highland Park High School for USD 501, Topeka, Kansas
- * President of Kansas Council of Churches
- * Chair of the Board of Directors for Topeka Rescue Mission
- * Chair of the Board of Directors for Topeka OIC
- * Hearing officer and Chair of the Topeka Human Relations Commission
- * Member of the Long Range Planning Committee, USD 501
- * Past president of the Baptist Ministers Alliance of Topeka
- * Director of Western Bible College of Topeka
- * Panelist on the long-running television program "Your Question Please"
Rev. Pearson was a good friend to the NIA for its entire 40 year existence. His presence at a neighborhood stakeholder and landmark for nearly 50 years is both respected and appreciated.
For more information on the effort, please contact Darlene Palmer at 785-215-4777.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town NIA Marks its 40th Anniversary
Tennessee Town, founded in 1879 by freed slaves who migrated from Tennessee to Topeka, KS; recently marked an important date in its history.
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, the group that represents the neighborhood in matters regarding revitalization, marked its 40th anniversary in December 2016.
The Tennessee Town NIA is the city’s oldest NIA. It was formed when neighborhood residents came together to save and make better a historic neighborhood. NIA’s are a creation of the City of Topeka that recognize low- to moderate-income neighborhoods and are based on census tracts that indicate that at least 50 percent of their residents are at or below 80 percent of Area Family Income (as defined by the federal government). Tennessee Town’s traditional borders were used to define it as an NIA: SW 10th on the north, SW Washburn on the west, SW Huntoon on the south, and SW Clay on the east.
Some of the NIA’s early efforts included K-State architecture students coming to do a housing inventory in 1980 complete with designs. The NIA also was instrumental in accessing federal funds to enable the renovation of the historic Buchanan School, which became the Buchanan Center and has housed nonprofits throughout its existence. It now houses Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. and Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc.
The NIA also worked with the City to access funds to enabled the creation of the Lane Garden, the NIA’s only recognized greenspace, located at the northeast corner of SW 12th and Lane Sts.
In 1983 the NIA was a supporting partner when the Topeka Housing Authority acquired land and constructed the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments which occupy the block bounded by SW Munson on the north, SW Lincoln on the west, SW 12th on the south, and SW Buchanan on the east. Those apartments, as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were expanded along SW Lincoln. The Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments have been for some time one of THA’s most successful complexes.
Housing has always been a NIA priority throughout its 40 years, and many projects dot the neighborhood landscape. The NIA answered several RFPs for new housing in the early part of this millennium which led to the complete turnaround of what the City Planning Department in the NIA’s 2001 Neighborhood Plan called the NIA’s most challenged block: the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. New alleys sometimes have accompanied the new housing. One of the NIA’s housing projects during this time involved working with the City to acquire 3 houses slated for demolition by Holy Name Church and moving them onto foundations built in Tennessee Town. It was the first and only time that moving houses has been a part of any NIA’s in-fill housing program. Those 3 houses still stand in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln.
The NIA was a supporting partner when Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church created its 11-unit apartment complex just north of the church, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan.
The NIA, in partnership with the City and the Topeka TurnAround Team, accessed funds to install the decorative lighting that illuminates SW Washburn and Lane Sts. in the neighborhood.
The NIA helped to access funds to construct and improve the Kings’ Court basketball and playground complex, located at the northwest corner of SW Lincoln and Munson Sts. A recent Neighborhood Empowerment Grant award written by the NIA enabled it to replace the playground equipment matting to provide a safer environment for the children playing there. Each August the Tennessee Town Basketball Tournament, with the NIA as a supporting partner, is successfully hosted by Community First, Inc. at Kings’ Court.
Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, with the NIA as a supporting partner, annually and successfully stages in August the NIA’s National Night Out Against Crime event.
The NIA’s 4 other churches (Faith Temple Church of God In Christ, Shiloh Baptist Church, First Church of the Nazarene, and Lane Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) have partnered with the NIA on a number of projects including the basketball tournament, National Night Out, Shiloh’s recent donation of vacant lots south of its parking lot in a deal brokered by the City, the NIA and Topeka Habitat, to enable the construction of a Habitat home, and Faith Temple and the First Church of the Nazarene’s community involvement through hosting community forums after the closure of the Huntoon Dillon’s.
The future includes the NIA continuing to be a leader for the neighborhood, most notably through its designation as a 2017-2019 SORT neighborhood. The SORT program (Stages of Resource Targeting) targets federal and local funds totaling $3 - $5 million to 2 Topeka NIAs. 2017 is the “planning year” of the initiative, where the NIA’s neighborhood plan will be updated and plans created for 2018-2019, the “implementation years” of the initiative.
As the NIA moves forward to its 41st anniversary and beyond, the things that have made it great will continue to do so: its people. For that and many more things, the NIA thanks you for making Tennessee Town a great neighborhood!
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association, the group that represents the neighborhood in matters regarding revitalization, marked its 40th anniversary in December 2016.
The Tennessee Town NIA is the city’s oldest NIA. It was formed when neighborhood residents came together to save and make better a historic neighborhood. NIA’s are a creation of the City of Topeka that recognize low- to moderate-income neighborhoods and are based on census tracts that indicate that at least 50 percent of their residents are at or below 80 percent of Area Family Income (as defined by the federal government). Tennessee Town’s traditional borders were used to define it as an NIA: SW 10th on the north, SW Washburn on the west, SW Huntoon on the south, and SW Clay on the east.
Some of the NIA’s early efforts included K-State architecture students coming to do a housing inventory in 1980 complete with designs. The NIA also was instrumental in accessing federal funds to enable the renovation of the historic Buchanan School, which became the Buchanan Center and has housed nonprofits throughout its existence. It now houses Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. and Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc.
The NIA also worked with the City to access funds to enabled the creation of the Lane Garden, the NIA’s only recognized greenspace, located at the northeast corner of SW 12th and Lane Sts.
In 1983 the NIA was a supporting partner when the Topeka Housing Authority acquired land and constructed the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments which occupy the block bounded by SW Munson on the north, SW Lincoln on the west, SW 12th on the south, and SW Buchanan on the east. Those apartments, as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were expanded along SW Lincoln. The Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments have been for some time one of THA’s most successful complexes.
Housing has always been a NIA priority throughout its 40 years, and many projects dot the neighborhood landscape. The NIA answered several RFPs for new housing in the early part of this millennium which led to the complete turnaround of what the City Planning Department in the NIA’s 2001 Neighborhood Plan called the NIA’s most challenged block: the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln. New alleys sometimes have accompanied the new housing. One of the NIA’s housing projects during this time involved working with the City to acquire 3 houses slated for demolition by Holy Name Church and moving them onto foundations built in Tennessee Town. It was the first and only time that moving houses has been a part of any NIA’s in-fill housing program. Those 3 houses still stand in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln.
The NIA was a supporting partner when Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church created its 11-unit apartment complex just north of the church, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan.
The NIA, in partnership with the City and the Topeka TurnAround Team, accessed funds to install the decorative lighting that illuminates SW Washburn and Lane Sts. in the neighborhood.
The NIA helped to access funds to construct and improve the Kings’ Court basketball and playground complex, located at the northwest corner of SW Lincoln and Munson Sts. A recent Neighborhood Empowerment Grant award written by the NIA enabled it to replace the playground equipment matting to provide a safer environment for the children playing there. Each August the Tennessee Town Basketball Tournament, with the NIA as a supporting partner, is successfully hosted by Community First, Inc. at Kings’ Court.
Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, with the NIA as a supporting partner, annually and successfully stages in August the NIA’s National Night Out Against Crime event.
The NIA’s 4 other churches (Faith Temple Church of God In Christ, Shiloh Baptist Church, First Church of the Nazarene, and Lane Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church) have partnered with the NIA on a number of projects including the basketball tournament, National Night Out, Shiloh’s recent donation of vacant lots south of its parking lot in a deal brokered by the City, the NIA and Topeka Habitat, to enable the construction of a Habitat home, and Faith Temple and the First Church of the Nazarene’s community involvement through hosting community forums after the closure of the Huntoon Dillon’s.
The future includes the NIA continuing to be a leader for the neighborhood, most notably through its designation as a 2017-2019 SORT neighborhood. The SORT program (Stages of Resource Targeting) targets federal and local funds totaling $3 - $5 million to 2 Topeka NIAs. 2017 is the “planning year” of the initiative, where the NIA’s neighborhood plan will be updated and plans created for 2018-2019, the “implementation years” of the initiative.
As the NIA moves forward to its 41st anniversary and beyond, the things that have made it great will continue to do so: its people. For that and many more things, the NIA thanks you for making Tennessee Town a great neighborhood!
The NIA in Pictures
The NIA was instrumental in accessing federal funds to enable the renovation of the historic Buchanan School, which became the Buchanan Center and has housed nonprofits throughout its existence. It now houses Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. and Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc.
The NIA also worked with the City to access funds to enabled the creation of the Lane Garden, the NIA’s only recognized greenspace, located at the northeast corner of SW 12th and Lane Sts.
The Tennessee Town Apartments, as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were expanded along SW Lincoln. The Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments have been for some time one of the Topeka Housing Authority’s most successful complexes.
The NIA answered several RFPs for new housing in the early part of this millennium which led to the complete turnaround of what the City Planning Department in the NIA’s 2001 Neighborhood Plan called the NIA’s most challenged block: the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln.
The NIA was a supporting partner when Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church created its 11-unit apartment complex just north of the church, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan.
The NIA, in partnership with the City and the Topeka TurnAround Team, accessed funds to install the decorative lighting that illuminates SW Washburn and Lane Sts. in the neighborhood, here seen fronting the Dovetail Shoppe at 1196 SW Washburn.
The NIA helped to access funds to construct and improve the Kings’ Court basketball and playground complex, located at the northwest corner of SW Lincoln and Munson Sts.
Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, with the NIA as a supporting partner, annually and successfully stages in August the NIA’s National Night Out Against Crime event.
Shiloh’s recent donation of vacant lots south of its parking lot in a deal brokered by the City, the NIA and Topeka Habitat, to enable the construction of a Habitat home.
The finished Topeka Habitat home, at 1221 SW Buchanan, which was the 100th Habitat home to be built in Topeka.
The Parker family moved in on March 24, 2017.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Topeka Group Addressing Affordable Housing Issues
A local group with national standing recently has entered the area of affordable housing issues.
Topeka JUMP (JUMP stands for "Justice, Unity and Ministry Project") is an initiative with church roots. In a June 2016 meeting with Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell, Vice-President Pat DeLapp, and Topeka JUMP board and Tennessee Town NIA member Joyce Revely; as well as at the NIA's July 2016 meeting, Shanae' M. Elem, Topeka JUMP Lead Organizer, said the group consists of 20 local church congregations and that the group has “house meetings” where Topeka JUMP members and church congregants get together to discuss local concerns.
According to the Topeka JUMP website, the group's mission is to get “people of faith from all walks of life (to) come together to seek justice for the widow, the orphan, and the poor. JUMP’s mission is to build people-based power to influence local decision-makers to consider policy and funding changes that address systems which may unintentionally perpetuate poverty and injustice.”
Elem said USD 501’s graduation rate was the first issue Topeka JUMP took up. The group’s efforts led to “wraparound” services to meet students’ needs. She said supported employment for those with persistent mental issues was the second issue the group took up. The groups’ most recent issue, she said, is affordable housing.
In the meeting with Bell, DeLapp, and Revely, discussion occurred on “substandard housing” as it’s defined in the city's Consolidated Plan and how approximately 7,000 Topekans pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Elem said Topeka JUMP is particularly interested in using the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to address affordable housing in Topeka. She said Topeka JUMP wants to create an oversight committee that would include all affordable housing stakeholders, including tenants. The oversight committee would look at and approve projects for people between 30 and 50 percent of Area Family Income and would look at both in-fill housing and housing rehabilitation options. She also said transitional housing would be a priority and cited the Hi-Crest NIA as a prime location.
Elem said Topeka JUMP also would pursue programs that move more people to homeownership and would pursue a city ordinance (either a tweaked current ordinance or a new one) that better defines what affordable housing is. DeLapp mentioned the $1 homebuying program that is working in Kansas City, MO and said doing housing rehabs to HQS (Housing Quality Standards) would help. [Note: Bell and DeLapp said that the City currently requires “Cadillac rehabs,” which run up the costs of rehabs per house and make some structurally sound houses fail to qualify for housing rehab funds because the “Cadillac” standard is more than Topeka’s standard of 30 percent of the value of the house) when “Chevy rehabs” would do nicely. Elem also said Topeka JUMP would pursue land banking* for Topeka, which has been discussed before but never formally pursued. (*Tennessee Town used land banking to amass parcels of lots in the early 2000s to be used for the in-fill housing that was created during that period throughout the neighborhood, most notably in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln.)]
Elem said Topeka JUMP is a citizens’ organization that seeks to create a “seat at the table” for citizens. She said the group has met with Mayor Larry Wolgast and discussed with him how something different needs to be done with affordable housing in Topeka. She said the group had asked Wolgast to chair its Affordable Housing task force mentioned above and to help it get the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to Topeka. Wolgast agreed on May 5. She said there are 10-11 task force members right now comprised of housing providers and JUMP members. She said that for every $1 invested in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund $6 is generated to use. She suggested that local funds could be raised through fees already charged for a variety of things.
Elem said Topeka JUMP is working to attract more young professionals to the effort and suggested that some rehabs could be targeted to that group. She also said that Topeka JUMP is part of a national network that has been in existence for about 30 years. She said the Lexington, KY group had obtained the Affordable Housing Trust fund for that city.
For more information on Topeka JUMP, please contact the group via telephone at (785)783-3721 or go to the group's website at http://topekajump.weebly.com/.
Topeka JUMP (JUMP stands for "Justice, Unity and Ministry Project") is an initiative with church roots. In a June 2016 meeting with Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell, Vice-President Pat DeLapp, and Topeka JUMP board and Tennessee Town NIA member Joyce Revely; as well as at the NIA's July 2016 meeting, Shanae' M. Elem, Topeka JUMP Lead Organizer, said the group consists of 20 local church congregations and that the group has “house meetings” where Topeka JUMP members and church congregants get together to discuss local concerns.
According to the Topeka JUMP website, the group's mission is to get “people of faith from all walks of life (to) come together to seek justice for the widow, the orphan, and the poor. JUMP’s mission is to build people-based power to influence local decision-makers to consider policy and funding changes that address systems which may unintentionally perpetuate poverty and injustice.”
Elem said USD 501’s graduation rate was the first issue Topeka JUMP took up. The group’s efforts led to “wraparound” services to meet students’ needs. She said supported employment for those with persistent mental issues was the second issue the group took up. The groups’ most recent issue, she said, is affordable housing.
In the meeting with Bell, DeLapp, and Revely, discussion occurred on “substandard housing” as it’s defined in the city's Consolidated Plan and how approximately 7,000 Topekans pay more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Elem said Topeka JUMP is particularly interested in using the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to address affordable housing in Topeka. She said Topeka JUMP wants to create an oversight committee that would include all affordable housing stakeholders, including tenants. The oversight committee would look at and approve projects for people between 30 and 50 percent of Area Family Income and would look at both in-fill housing and housing rehabilitation options. She also said transitional housing would be a priority and cited the Hi-Crest NIA as a prime location.
Elem said Topeka JUMP also would pursue programs that move more people to homeownership and would pursue a city ordinance (either a tweaked current ordinance or a new one) that better defines what affordable housing is. DeLapp mentioned the $1 homebuying program that is working in Kansas City, MO and said doing housing rehabs to HQS (Housing Quality Standards) would help. [Note: Bell and DeLapp said that the City currently requires “Cadillac rehabs,” which run up the costs of rehabs per house and make some structurally sound houses fail to qualify for housing rehab funds because the “Cadillac” standard is more than Topeka’s standard of 30 percent of the value of the house) when “Chevy rehabs” would do nicely. Elem also said Topeka JUMP would pursue land banking* for Topeka, which has been discussed before but never formally pursued. (*Tennessee Town used land banking to amass parcels of lots in the early 2000s to be used for the in-fill housing that was created during that period throughout the neighborhood, most notably in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln.)]
Elem said Topeka JUMP is a citizens’ organization that seeks to create a “seat at the table” for citizens. She said the group has met with Mayor Larry Wolgast and discussed with him how something different needs to be done with affordable housing in Topeka. She said the group had asked Wolgast to chair its Affordable Housing task force mentioned above and to help it get the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to Topeka. Wolgast agreed on May 5. She said there are 10-11 task force members right now comprised of housing providers and JUMP members. She said that for every $1 invested in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund $6 is generated to use. She suggested that local funds could be raised through fees already charged for a variety of things.
Elem said Topeka JUMP is working to attract more young professionals to the effort and suggested that some rehabs could be targeted to that group. She also said that Topeka JUMP is part of a national network that has been in existence for about 30 years. She said the Lexington, KY group had obtained the Affordable Housing Trust fund for that city.
For more information on Topeka JUMP, please contact the group via telephone at (785)783-3721 or go to the group's website at http://topekajump.weebly.com/.
In Memoriam:
Topeka Planning Department's Susan Hanzlik
Topeka Planning Department's Susan Hanzlik
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association extends its condolences to the family, friends and co-workers at Topeka's planning department on the passing of Susan Hanzlik.
We are so glad that we got the chance to know Susan as she worked with our NIA on its 2014 Housing Summit and other projects. She was a great sounding board for ideas while trying to find solutions to our challenges. Susan also was an enthusiastic advocate and problem solver for Topeka's neighborhoods and excellently represented the planning department. She approached her job with humor and a smile.
We counted Susan as a friend, and we always will. She will be missed.
We are so glad that we got the chance to know Susan as she worked with our NIA on its 2014 Housing Summit and other projects. She was a great sounding board for ideas while trying to find solutions to our challenges. Susan also was an enthusiastic advocate and problem solver for Topeka's neighborhoods and excellently represented the planning department. She approached her job with humor and a smile.
We counted Susan as a friend, and we always will. She will be missed.
Tennessee Town Elects Citizens Advisory Council Alternate
At its July 11, 2016 NIA meeting Tennessee Town elected an alternate to the Citizens Advisory Council (CAC).
The NIA elected Donna Rae Pearson to be its CAC alternate. Donald Fortin is the NIA's regular representative.
According to the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HND), the CAC is one of its mechanisms for citizen participation and input. It also functions as a sounding board for general policy decisions. For example, it provides biennial recommendations on SORT applications that are ultimately approved by the city council (NIAs that submit SORT applications have to recuse themselves from voting on CAC SORT recommendations). The CAC is comprised of one representative from each of the city's 18 active Neighborhood Improvement Associations (NIAs), as well as three at-large representatives from the community. The CAC meets quarterly (schedule determined by HND).
Tennessee Town NIA resident Pearson is the Local History Librarian for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. She joined the library in 2013 with the goal of making the library the place to find the diverse stories of Topeka and Shawnee County. She leads its local history team comprised of staff and volunteers that coordinate local history related programming such as oral history projects, information about historic buildings, and preservation of personal items. In addition to other duties, she acts as the archivist for the local history collection.
The next CAC meeting is scheduled for September 7.
The NIA elected Donna Rae Pearson to be its CAC alternate. Donald Fortin is the NIA's regular representative.
According to the city's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HND), the CAC is one of its mechanisms for citizen participation and input. It also functions as a sounding board for general policy decisions. For example, it provides biennial recommendations on SORT applications that are ultimately approved by the city council (NIAs that submit SORT applications have to recuse themselves from voting on CAC SORT recommendations). The CAC is comprised of one representative from each of the city's 18 active Neighborhood Improvement Associations (NIAs), as well as three at-large representatives from the community. The CAC meets quarterly (schedule determined by HND).
Tennessee Town NIA resident Pearson is the Local History Librarian for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. She joined the library in 2013 with the goal of making the library the place to find the diverse stories of Topeka and Shawnee County. She leads its local history team comprised of staff and volunteers that coordinate local history related programming such as oral history projects, information about historic buildings, and preservation of personal items. In addition to other duties, she acts as the archivist for the local history collection.
The next CAC meeting is scheduled for September 7.
Tennessee Town NIA Drafts Letter to Kroger Co. Regarding Dillon's Closure
Dillons Store #58, which was located at 1400 SW Huntoon and served Tennessee Town and Central Topeka residents for 40 years, was closed on February 13, 2016.
Given that the Huntoon Dillons' building and property are actually in Tennessee Town and that the store's closure will have direct affects on the neighborhood, the NIA, at its May 9 meeting, agreed to draft a letter to Kroger, Inc., Dillons' parent company, expressing its concerns about having a vacant building in its midst and allowing Tennessee Town and Central Topeka to move forward with identifying another tenant that can provide food, jobs and stability to an area that has had a grocery store presence at 1400 SW Huntoon for more than 50 years.
Here is the letter the NIA sent to Kroger Co.:
Given that the Huntoon Dillons' building and property are actually in Tennessee Town and that the store's closure will have direct affects on the neighborhood, the NIA, at its May 9 meeting, agreed to draft a letter to Kroger, Inc., Dillons' parent company, expressing its concerns about having a vacant building in its midst and allowing Tennessee Town and Central Topeka to move forward with identifying another tenant that can provide food, jobs and stability to an area that has had a grocery store presence at 1400 SW Huntoon for more than 50 years.
Here is the letter the NIA sent to Kroger Co.:
| ttnia_dillons_1400_sw_huntoon_position_ltr_6-13-16.pdf |
The NIA received an initial response from Kroger Co., which didn't directly deal with the issues presented in the NIA's letter but did indicate that it would refer the NIA's letter to its real estate department. As of July 5, the NIA had not received a response from that department. (Note: As of the most recent updating of this homepage, on October 17, 2016, the NIA still had not received a response from Dillon's or Kroger Co.)
Tennessee Town NIA Now Accepting Donations!
In order to achieve many of the goals listed at this website, the Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association is now welcoming free-will financial donations!
Please send your donation (check or money order) via mail to or drop off at:
Envista Credit Union, 2015 SW 10th St.; Topeka, KS 66604
Please be sure to indicate that your donation is for the Tennessee Town NIA and let the NIA know that you've donated by contacting it at its e-mail address: [email protected].
Thanks for your support!
Please send your donation (check or money order) via mail to or drop off at:
Envista Credit Union, 2015 SW 10th St.; Topeka, KS 66604
Please be sure to indicate that your donation is for the Tennessee Town NIA and let the NIA know that you've donated by contacting it at its e-mail address: [email protected].
Thanks for your support!
Huntoon Dillon's Closes After 40 Years
Dillons Store #58, which was located at 1400 SW Huntoon and served Tennessee Town and Central Topeka residents for 40 years, was closed on February 13, 2016.
Dillons corporate said the store had not made money since 2004. However, those who shopped regularly at the store know that it always had customers. The Huntoon Dillons didn't appear to fit in with the superstore model that it is following with its other Topeka locations, and that may have had more to do with its closure than anything else.
The community, after finding out about the impending closure just two weeks before it happened, held two community meetings, on January 31 and February 2, to discuss both the closure and what might happen to the vacated building and grounds. Two hundred people attended the first meeting. Many thanks to Faith Temple Church of God in Christ and the First Church of the Nazarene for hosting those two community meetings.
Two committees grew out of those two community meetings. A short-range planning committee was formed to discuss the immediate effects of and responses to the closure. A long-range planning committee was formed to discuss and make recommendations about what should succeed Dillons at 1400 SW Huntoon.
After stating at the first community meeting that addressing the Dillons' closure would be a city priority, the City largely has been silent about what's happening with the building and property.
Given that the Huntoon Dillons' building and property are actually in Tennessee Town and that the store's closure will have direct affects on the neighborhood, the NIA, at its May 9 meeting, agreed to draft a letter to Kroger, Inc., Dillons' parent company, expressing its concerns about having a vacant building in its midst and allowing Tennessee Town and Central Topeka to move forward with identifying another tenant that can provide food, jobs and stability to an area that has had a grocery store presence at 1400 SW Huntoon for more than 50 years. See the letter at this homepage. ^^^
Dillons corporate said the store had not made money since 2004. However, those who shopped regularly at the store know that it always had customers. The Huntoon Dillons didn't appear to fit in with the superstore model that it is following with its other Topeka locations, and that may have had more to do with its closure than anything else.
The community, after finding out about the impending closure just two weeks before it happened, held two community meetings, on January 31 and February 2, to discuss both the closure and what might happen to the vacated building and grounds. Two hundred people attended the first meeting. Many thanks to Faith Temple Church of God in Christ and the First Church of the Nazarene for hosting those two community meetings.
Two committees grew out of those two community meetings. A short-range planning committee was formed to discuss the immediate effects of and responses to the closure. A long-range planning committee was formed to discuss and make recommendations about what should succeed Dillons at 1400 SW Huntoon.
After stating at the first community meeting that addressing the Dillons' closure would be a city priority, the City largely has been silent about what's happening with the building and property.
Given that the Huntoon Dillons' building and property are actually in Tennessee Town and that the store's closure will have direct affects on the neighborhood, the NIA, at its May 9 meeting, agreed to draft a letter to Kroger, Inc., Dillons' parent company, expressing its concerns about having a vacant building in its midst and allowing Tennessee Town and Central Topeka to move forward with identifying another tenant that can provide food, jobs and stability to an area that has had a grocery store presence at 1400 SW Huntoon for more than 50 years. See the letter at this homepage. ^^^
Habitat for Humanity Homes Coming to Tennessee Town
The Parker family and its new Habitat home at 1221 SW Buchanan. Photo courtesy Topeka Habitat for Humanity
A major local housing provider has partnered with Tennessee Town to provide new, quality and affordable housing in the NIA.
The Topeka Habitat for Humanity board of directors has agreed to place two new houses in Tennessee Town on the west side of the first 1200 block of SW Buchanan.
The first house is currently being constructed at 1221 SW Buchanan on lots formerly owned by Shiloh Baptist Church located just south of the church's parking lot (see pic at left of the construction). Shiloh agreed to donate the lots to enable the Habitat homes to be placed. This Habitat home was constructed by area high school students as part of the housing provider's initiative to involve local youth in its efforts and was moved into and assembled on a foundation in Tennessee Town.
Topeka Habitat and the NIA both continue to work with the owner of the vacant lots to the south of 1221 SW Buchanan to acquire them and enable the placement of the second Habitat home.
Topeka Habitat for Humanity has been a valued partner of the NIA before, when it constructed three new houses in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln about 10 years ago. Those houses, along with NIA efforts funded through the City including acquiring and moving three homes formerly owned by and located adjacent to Holy Name Church, placed 10 new houses in that block and helped to completely turn around what had been the NIA's worst block.
In another matter involving Shiloh Church, the City and the NIA, funds were identified last year to enable Shiloh to demolish its parsonage and garage, both adjacent to the west side of the church. Both had fallen into disrepair.
The Tennessee Town NIA thanks the Habitat board, Shiloh Church and the City of Topeka for partnering with it to provide new housing for homeowners!
The Topeka Habitat for Humanity board of directors has agreed to place two new houses in Tennessee Town on the west side of the first 1200 block of SW Buchanan.
The first house is currently being constructed at 1221 SW Buchanan on lots formerly owned by Shiloh Baptist Church located just south of the church's parking lot (see pic at left of the construction). Shiloh agreed to donate the lots to enable the Habitat homes to be placed. This Habitat home was constructed by area high school students as part of the housing provider's initiative to involve local youth in its efforts and was moved into and assembled on a foundation in Tennessee Town.
Topeka Habitat and the NIA both continue to work with the owner of the vacant lots to the south of 1221 SW Buchanan to acquire them and enable the placement of the second Habitat home.
Topeka Habitat for Humanity has been a valued partner of the NIA before, when it constructed three new houses in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln about 10 years ago. Those houses, along with NIA efforts funded through the City including acquiring and moving three homes formerly owned by and located adjacent to Holy Name Church, placed 10 new houses in that block and helped to completely turn around what had been the NIA's worst block.
In another matter involving Shiloh Church, the City and the NIA, funds were identified last year to enable Shiloh to demolish its parsonage and garage, both adjacent to the west side of the church. Both had fallen into disrepair.
The Tennessee Town NIA thanks the Habitat board, Shiloh Church and the City of Topeka for partnering with it to provide new housing for homeowners!
Plans for Property Acquisition for Lane Garden Expansion Moving Forward
The NIA's negotiations with a neighborhood property owner have led to an agreement that will lead to an expanded Lane Garden.
The City of Topeka and the NIA completed negotiations in October 2016 with Andrene Scott, the property owner of 1194 SW Lane. Those negotiations led to the property owner donating the property to the NIA.
After submitting the Lane Garden expansion plan for consecutive years to be funded through the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Grant (NEG) grant, the NIA now will move forward with its expansion plans through its designation as a 2017-2019 SORT neighborhood.
The expansion will involve demolishing the dilapidated house at 1194 SW Lane (slated to occur by the end of May 2017) and installing new amenities including park benches, picnic tables, a solar-powered light, a grille, planters, a new patio area, new walkways, and a new park sign. For a visual of the new amenities, please see the PDF that immediately follows.
Since the City of Topeka was unable to follow through with the initial plans for it to acquire the new property for an expanded Lane Garden, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation's Darrell Stewart attended the NIA's November 2016 meeting and indicated that his department would be willing to sit down with the NIA to discuss acquiring Lane Garden. Then the NIA could proceed with its expansion plans.
The Lane Garden was the NIA's first recognized greenspace, created about 30 years ago. The lot that was annexed once was owned by Ms. Scott's grandparents, who both were long-time Tennessee Town residents. There are plans in place to create a garden area at the expanded Lane Garden to be named for Ms. Scott's grandparents.
The NIA thanks the City, Ms. Scott and NIA Vice-President Patrick DeLapp for completing the property acquisition and demolition paperwork.
The City of Topeka and the NIA completed negotiations in October 2016 with Andrene Scott, the property owner of 1194 SW Lane. Those negotiations led to the property owner donating the property to the NIA.
After submitting the Lane Garden expansion plan for consecutive years to be funded through the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Grant (NEG) grant, the NIA now will move forward with its expansion plans through its designation as a 2017-2019 SORT neighborhood.
The expansion will involve demolishing the dilapidated house at 1194 SW Lane (slated to occur by the end of May 2017) and installing new amenities including park benches, picnic tables, a solar-powered light, a grille, planters, a new patio area, new walkways, and a new park sign. For a visual of the new amenities, please see the PDF that immediately follows.
Since the City of Topeka was unable to follow through with the initial plans for it to acquire the new property for an expanded Lane Garden, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation's Darrell Stewart attended the NIA's November 2016 meeting and indicated that his department would be willing to sit down with the NIA to discuss acquiring Lane Garden. Then the NIA could proceed with its expansion plans.
The Lane Garden was the NIA's first recognized greenspace, created about 30 years ago. The lot that was annexed once was owned by Ms. Scott's grandparents, who both were long-time Tennessee Town residents. There are plans in place to create a garden area at the expanded Lane Garden to be named for Ms. Scott's grandparents.
The NIA thanks the City, Ms. Scott and NIA Vice-President Patrick DeLapp for completing the property acquisition and demolition paperwork.
| ttnia_2016_neg_rfp_lane_garden_improvements_overlay_final.pdf |
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce's
"Expedition Tour" Includes Tennessee Town
"Expedition Tour" Includes Tennessee Town
During the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce's "Expedition Tour" on Thursday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 9, three Topeka neighborhood improvement associations were included. Tennessee Town was one of the NIAs the Chamber toured on Oct. 9. Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell and Vice-President Pat DeLapp attended on behalf of the neighborhood.
Topeka Chamber Interim President/CEO Curtis Sneden said this about the tour: "(It) is part of a larger two-day event called Expedition Topeka 2015," he said. "Our 45 or so attendees will see a number of things and engage in several discussions about Topeka's present and future. Our goal is to give them a fresh set of eyes with which to view their own town. We also hope the attendees will come away a tangible sense of optimism about the future and some clear ideas about what next steps they might want to take-up in getting us there."
Regarding Tennessee Town, Sneden said, "I am hopeful that you will be able to talk to the people on our bus a little bit about the history, some of what gives Tennessee Town its distinctive flavor and things you are doing to improve it, (including) examples of how SORT monies have been deployed...."
The Tennessee Town tour included points of historical significance, like its founding in 1879 by former slaves from Tennessee who came to Topeka as part of the Exoduster Movement, the Buchanan Center, the NIA's five churches, the Colored Women's Clubhouse/Living the Dream, Inc. headquarters, various examples of housing that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, and the old ice house in the first 1100 block of SW Buchanan. More recent points of interest, like the Tennessee Town mural at SW Huntoon and Lane Sts, the Aaron Douglas Art Park, the plans for expanding Lane Garden at SW 12th and Lane Sts, the King's Court basketball and playground complex at SW Lincoln and Munson Sts, the International Academy classrooms at Faith Temple Church and the upcoming building at SW 12th and Lincoln Sts, the SORT efforts in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln and the partnerships the NIA forged with the City and Habitat for Humanity that turned around that block, the location of two new Habitat homes in the first 1200 block of SW Buchanan, the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan, the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, and the Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc. house at 1231 SW Clay, also were included.
Bell and DeLapp also discussed with the Tour challenges of concern to all NIAs, including stagnated or decreasing funds for neighborhood revitalization efforts while the costs of housing rehabilitation, new housing construction, and infrastructure, among other things, continue to increase.
According to the Chamber, the word "expedition" was chosen for its event "because that word evokes optimism, adventure, discovery and purpose. Aside from informing the attendees and engaging them deeply in important discussions, Expedition Topeka 2015 will represent the moment when stakeholders, leaders and dreamers from across the community came together and realized the future they want is truly within their reach."
Topeka Chamber Interim President/CEO Curtis Sneden said this about the tour: "(It) is part of a larger two-day event called Expedition Topeka 2015," he said. "Our 45 or so attendees will see a number of things and engage in several discussions about Topeka's present and future. Our goal is to give them a fresh set of eyes with which to view their own town. We also hope the attendees will come away a tangible sense of optimism about the future and some clear ideas about what next steps they might want to take-up in getting us there."
Regarding Tennessee Town, Sneden said, "I am hopeful that you will be able to talk to the people on our bus a little bit about the history, some of what gives Tennessee Town its distinctive flavor and things you are doing to improve it, (including) examples of how SORT monies have been deployed...."
The Tennessee Town tour included points of historical significance, like its founding in 1879 by former slaves from Tennessee who came to Topeka as part of the Exoduster Movement, the Buchanan Center, the NIA's five churches, the Colored Women's Clubhouse/Living the Dream, Inc. headquarters, various examples of housing that dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, and the old ice house in the first 1100 block of SW Buchanan. More recent points of interest, like the Tennessee Town mural at SW Huntoon and Lane Sts, the Aaron Douglas Art Park, the plans for expanding Lane Garden at SW 12th and Lane Sts, the King's Court basketball and playground complex at SW Lincoln and Munson Sts, the International Academy classrooms at Faith Temple Church and the upcoming building at SW 12th and Lincoln Sts, the SORT efforts in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln and the partnerships the NIA forged with the City and Habitat for Humanity that turned around that block, the location of two new Habitat homes in the first 1200 block of SW Buchanan, the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan, the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, and the Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc. house at 1231 SW Clay, also were included.
Bell and DeLapp also discussed with the Tour challenges of concern to all NIAs, including stagnated or decreasing funds for neighborhood revitalization efforts while the costs of housing rehabilitation, new housing construction, and infrastructure, among other things, continue to increase.
According to the Chamber, the word "expedition" was chosen for its event "because that word evokes optimism, adventure, discovery and purpose. Aside from informing the attendees and engaging them deeply in important discussions, Expedition Topeka 2015 will represent the moment when stakeholders, leaders and dreamers from across the community came together and realized the future they want is truly within their reach."
New Playground Matting Installed at King's Court
The new playground equipment matting that the City approved last year for King's Court, at SW Lincoln and Munson Sts. in Tennessee Town, has been installed (see opposite pic).
The NIA applied for funding in 2014 for the new matting through the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Grant program. The funds enabled the replacement of worn playground matting at King's Court.
The new matting will last longer and stand up better to the elements. Replacing the old matting will also make using the playground equipment safer for children both through replacing the worn matting that was breaking apart and replacing it with a new and superior system that will allow for better drainage and cushioning and a top layer of Astroturf, which will allow for longer life, won’t break apart, won’t transfer the top surface onto the clothing of children as the old matting did, and will better withstand the weather.
Also, through a prior Neighborhood Empowerment Grant allocation, a new fence on the west end of King's Court was installed. The fence is visible to the right of the play structure in the pic here.
The NIA applied for funding in 2014 for the new matting through the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Grant program. The funds enabled the replacement of worn playground matting at King's Court.
The new matting will last longer and stand up better to the elements. Replacing the old matting will also make using the playground equipment safer for children both through replacing the worn matting that was breaking apart and replacing it with a new and superior system that will allow for better drainage and cushioning and a top layer of Astroturf, which will allow for longer life, won’t break apart, won’t transfer the top surface onto the clothing of children as the old matting did, and will better withstand the weather.
Also, through a prior Neighborhood Empowerment Grant allocation, a new fence on the west end of King's Court was installed. The fence is visible to the right of the play structure in the pic here.
The International Academy in Tennessee Town is now Online
Details on the new school founded by Community First, Inc. and based in Tennessee Town are now accessible at http://iatks.com/. Classes currently are being conducted at Faith Temple Church while plans are finalized for a new building at 1195 SW Lincoln (see pic).
According to Community First, Inc., the International Academy in Tennessee Town has as its mission "to invest in children and foster equal educational opportunities as well as multicultural and international understanding. (The school is) committed to the physical, social and academic well-being of (its) students, staff and parents."
The Academy also seeks to "incorporate health, nutrition and athletics into its rigorous curriculum created to ensure literacy, numeracy and a life-long love of reading. Emphasizing scholastic achievement, leadership and perseverance, the International Academy in Tennessee Town (will) ensure (that) students are prepared to excel in middle school, high school and college."
Community First, Inc. member and Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter also said the new structure will feature space made available to the NIA for a community center and a storm shelter.
According to Community First, Inc., the International Academy in Tennessee Town has as its mission "to invest in children and foster equal educational opportunities as well as multicultural and international understanding. (The school is) committed to the physical, social and academic well-being of (its) students, staff and parents."
The Academy also seeks to "incorporate health, nutrition and athletics into its rigorous curriculum created to ensure literacy, numeracy and a life-long love of reading. Emphasizing scholastic achievement, leadership and perseverance, the International Academy in Tennessee Town (will) ensure (that) students are prepared to excel in middle school, high school and college."
Community First, Inc. member and Tennessee Town NIA Secretary-Treasurer Sandy Lassiter also said the new structure will feature space made available to the NIA for a community center and a storm shelter.
International Academy in Tennessee Town Sponsors
Summer Fun Reading Program
Summer Fun Reading Program
One of the first initiatives of the International Academy in Tennessee Town is its Summer Reading Program. The program is a kick-off for the school. There are 35 - 40 students who have attended (pic is of students and instructors with Topeka Fire Chief Greg Bailey).
Everyday the students "Buddy Read" and have "DEAR" time, an acronym for "D-rop E-verything A-nd R-ead." Each morning the students have Bal-a VisX-brain balance exercises. The students also are a part of LEXIA - Kansas Reading Initiative (an assessment tool) and go on field trips or are visited by a presenter. Petland has visited the students, and they will soon visit Petland.
The students also have taken trips to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. The students check out books and all of them have signed up for the Summerfest Reading program. The children have received donated books from one of the Academy's teachers that they were able to take home and read and keep to reread.
The kids will visit the Mulvane Art Children's Lab and will tour the Topeka Rescue Mission, which will be one of the Academy's Mission sites when school is in session.
The summer program will conclude with a trip to the Discovery Center to enable the children to experience all of its activities.
Everyday the students "Buddy Read" and have "DEAR" time, an acronym for "D-rop E-verything A-nd R-ead." Each morning the students have Bal-a VisX-brain balance exercises. The students also are a part of LEXIA - Kansas Reading Initiative (an assessment tool) and go on field trips or are visited by a presenter. Petland has visited the students, and they will soon visit Petland.
The students also have taken trips to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. The students check out books and all of them have signed up for the Summerfest Reading program. The children have received donated books from one of the Academy's teachers that they were able to take home and read and keep to reread.
The kids will visit the Mulvane Art Children's Lab and will tour the Topeka Rescue Mission, which will be one of the Academy's Mission sites when school is in session.
The summer program will conclude with a trip to the Discovery Center to enable the children to experience all of its activities.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Tennessee Town Mural Complete
The mural being painted by Arts Connect Topeka/Topeka Mural Project at the northeast corner of SW Huntoon and Lane Sts. in Tennessee Town is complete (see pic at left).
The south wall of WCW Property Management, at 1238 SW Lane, is the home of the new mural. The Topeka Mural Project is a part of ArtsConnect Topeka (click on http://artsconnecttopeka.org/ for more information).
The Tennessee Town mural, which features the iconic Buchanan and Monroe Schools, also includes a scroll that recognizes the neighborhood's founding (at far right of mural). Jamie Colon is the mural artist and has done a fantastic job in creating and executing the mural. Many thanks, Jamie!
It will be the second mural in Tennessee Town. The Aaron Douglas mural is located at the southwest corner of SW 12th and Lane Sts., one block north of the site of the new mural.
The south wall of WCW Property Management, at 1238 SW Lane, is the home of the new mural. The Topeka Mural Project is a part of ArtsConnect Topeka (click on http://artsconnecttopeka.org/ for more information).
The Tennessee Town mural, which features the iconic Buchanan and Monroe Schools, also includes a scroll that recognizes the neighborhood's founding (at far right of mural). Jamie Colon is the mural artist and has done a fantastic job in creating and executing the mural. Many thanks, Jamie!
It will be the second mural in Tennessee Town. The Aaron Douglas mural is located at the southwest corner of SW 12th and Lane Sts., one block north of the site of the new mural.
Young Lions Youth Group Cleans Up Lane Garden
Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church's youth group, the Young Lions, volunteered their time, materials and labor to clean up and cut the grass at the Lane Garden, SW 12th and Lane Sts, on Saturday morning, April 11, 2015.
Young Lions' coordinators Emma Ray and Tim Dortch, present at the clean up, led the youngsters and helped with the clean up. The Young Lions will continue to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden through the warm months.
The NIA is working on making improvements at Lane Garden, which will multiply the efforts of these youngsters.
The NIA thanks the Young Lions for their efforts!
Young Lions' coordinators Emma Ray and Tim Dortch, present at the clean up, led the youngsters and helped with the clean up. The Young Lions will continue to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden through the warm months.
The NIA is working on making improvements at Lane Garden, which will multiply the efforts of these youngsters.
The NIA thanks the Young Lions for their efforts!
Young Lions' Lane Garden Clean Up in Pictures
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Volunteer Recognized for Her Efforts With Neighborhood Park
Marge Heeney and her decade-long volunteer efforts to maintain the Lane Garden were recognized by the NIA at its general membership meeting on January 12, 2015, at the Buchanan Center, 1195 SW Buchanan.
Heeney's philanthropic efforts throughout Topeka are legendary, including her work with the Keep America Beautiful initiative, as are her signature hats. Heeney recruited Leonard Gonzales, and they both worked very hard to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden, the NIA's first greenspace. The NIA recognized Heeney's and Gonzales' efforts through certificates of appreciation, both presented to Heeney.
Heeney said she would be unable to continue her efforts regarding the Lane Garden. The NIA has made arrangements with the Young Lions, a youth group based at Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, to maintain the Lane Garden in 2015.
Heeney's philanthropic efforts throughout Topeka are legendary, including her work with the Keep America Beautiful initiative, as are her signature hats. Heeney recruited Leonard Gonzales, and they both worked very hard to help the NIA to maintain the Lane Garden, the NIA's first greenspace. The NIA recognized Heeney's and Gonzales' efforts through certificates of appreciation, both presented to Heeney.
Heeney said she would be unable to continue her efforts regarding the Lane Garden. The NIA has made arrangements with the Young Lions, a youth group based at Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, to maintain the Lane Garden in 2015.
Huntoon Dillons Store Manager Honored With Retirement Reception
Long-time Huntoon Dillons Store Manager Bob Underwood was recognized by store staff, neighborhood residents and customers at a retirement reception held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at the store, 1400 SW Huntoon.
There was a card for people to sign, a basket in which people dropped notes of thanks and good luck, cupcakes, and a cake made with cupcakes with "We Will Miss You" written in icing on it. District One City Councilmember Karen Hiller made remarks, as did Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell. Former Store Manager Kelly Miller-Spencer also was in attendance to thank Underwood and wish him well. WIBW-TV Channel 13 covered the reception.
Underwood had been a Dillons employee for 40 years, became assistant manager at the Huntoon Dillons in 1991 and store manager in 1999. At his reception Underwood said he planned to spend more time with his wife, who also recently retired, and with his two granddaughters.
There was a card for people to sign, a basket in which people dropped notes of thanks and good luck, cupcakes, and a cake made with cupcakes with "We Will Miss You" written in icing on it. District One City Councilmember Karen Hiller made remarks, as did Tennessee Town NIA President Michael Bell. Former Store Manager Kelly Miller-Spencer also was in attendance to thank Underwood and wish him well. WIBW-TV Channel 13 covered the reception.
Underwood had been a Dillons employee for 40 years, became assistant manager at the Huntoon Dillons in 1991 and store manager in 1999. At his reception Underwood said he planned to spend more time with his wife, who also recently retired, and with his two granddaughters.
Bob Underwood's Retirement Reception in Pictures
Retiring Huntoon Dillons Store Manager Bob Underwood with District One City Councilmember Karen Hiller
The "cupcake cake" for retiring Huntoon Dillons Store Manager Bob Underwood
Huntoon Dillons staff honor retiring store manager Bob Underwood at his retirement reception.
Underwood is second from right. Former store manager Kelly Miller-Spencer is first from right.
Underwood is second from right. Former store manager Kelly Miller-Spencer is first from right.
A card from Huntoon Dillons store staff for retiring store manager Bob Underwood. Product placement is indeed everything.
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
In Memoriam:
CoreFirst Bank, Topeka Habitat for Humanity Founder Emery Fager
CoreFirst Bank, Topeka Habitat for Humanity Founder Emery Fager
The Tennessee Town NIA extends its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Emery Fager, who passed on December 28, 2014. I first met Mr. Fager in the late 1990s when I approached him through his role with Topeka Habitat for Humanity to build new homes in Tennessee Town. Mr. Fager was open to those discussions, which led to multiple Habitat homes being constructed. His commitment to Tennessee Town was one of the linchpins of completely turning around the neighborhood's worst block. His contributions to Topeka through CoreFirst Bank and Trust and Habitat are innumerable and greatly appreciated. He helped to make Topeka a better place to live.
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Michael Bell
Tennessee Town NIA President
Target Area Funding and the City of Topeka's
Stages of Resource Targeting (SORT)
Stages of Resource Targeting (SORT)
In addition to the myriad programs available through the city of Topeka's Consolidated Plan for income-qualified individuals, families and neighborhoods (http://www.topeka.org/HND/), the city also makes available to two target areas (Neighborhood Improvement Associations) its Stages of Resource Targeting, or SORT. NIAs, of which at least 51% of their populations must be at or below 80% of Area Median Family Income*, can biennially apply to be one of the two city-designated SORT neighborhoods. Those two areas qualify for targeted Consolidated Plan funds, as well as local funding through the city’s Neighborhood Infrastructure program, which makes available approximately $1.4 million for improvements like streets, sidewalks/curbs, lighting, and sewers/wastewater.
This year the SORT application process will lead to the selection of two new NIAs for activities in 2017-2019. According to the city's Department of Neighborhood Relations, the coordinating agency for the initiative, "the focus during 2017...will be planning. This may include the adoption of a neighborhood plan or the revision of an existing plan (which also would involve the city’s Planning Department). (The two) new areas then will be eligible for funding as a target area in 2018 and 2019, subject to appropriations.”
At a general membership meeting this fall, the Tennessee Town NIA voted to submit a SORT application. At that meeting the NIA named its SORT committee consisting of the NIA's 3 officers (President Michael Bell, Vice-President Patrick DeLapp and Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter) and Citizens Advisory Council Representative Donald Fortin.
The impact of targeted funds can be immense. Tennessee Town was a SORT neighborhood before there was even a SORT. From 2001-2006, Consolidated Plan resources, resources from other local housing providers like Topeka Habitat for Humanity and Topeka City Homes, and efforts by neighborhood stakeholders like the Topeka Housing Authority, Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, and Faith Temple Church of God in Christ began the transformation of our neighborhood from being entirely “intensive care” to being a majority “outpatient” neighborhood by 2011.**
*As defined for the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Service Area (MSA) by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il2014/2014summary.odn). For example, a family of one at or below 80% of area median family income would have to have a yearly income at or below $36,550, while a family of four, the most-referenced standard, would have to have a yearly income at or below $52,150.
Again, for a neighborhood to qualify as a Neighborhood Improvement Association, at least 51% of its residents would have to meet these HUD-established guidelines. It is important to note that the term “Neighborhood Improvement Association” is a City of Topeka-created designation that is not reflected in HUD guidelines. NIAs are formed by combining contiguous census tracts, determined by each U.S. census, and city code allows those areas, if they so choose, to form NIAs.
**In the late 1990s the Planning Department created a neighborhood health continuum to describe conditions within each of the city’s neighborhoods. An “intensive care” rating signifies the most distressed neighborhoods in Topeka, an “at-risk” rating is one step above “intensive care, an “outpatient” rating is one step above an “at-risk” rating and one step below a “healthy” rating. The last health care maps in 2014 showed Tennessee Town as a completely "at-risk" neighborhood.
This year the SORT application process will lead to the selection of two new NIAs for activities in 2017-2019. According to the city's Department of Neighborhood Relations, the coordinating agency for the initiative, "the focus during 2017...will be planning. This may include the adoption of a neighborhood plan or the revision of an existing plan (which also would involve the city’s Planning Department). (The two) new areas then will be eligible for funding as a target area in 2018 and 2019, subject to appropriations.”
At a general membership meeting this fall, the Tennessee Town NIA voted to submit a SORT application. At that meeting the NIA named its SORT committee consisting of the NIA's 3 officers (President Michael Bell, Vice-President Patrick DeLapp and Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter) and Citizens Advisory Council Representative Donald Fortin.
The impact of targeted funds can be immense. Tennessee Town was a SORT neighborhood before there was even a SORT. From 2001-2006, Consolidated Plan resources, resources from other local housing providers like Topeka Habitat for Humanity and Topeka City Homes, and efforts by neighborhood stakeholders like the Topeka Housing Authority, Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church, and Faith Temple Church of God in Christ began the transformation of our neighborhood from being entirely “intensive care” to being a majority “outpatient” neighborhood by 2011.**
*As defined for the Topeka, Kansas Metropolitan Service Area (MSA) by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (http://www.huduser.org/portal/datasets/il/il2014/2014summary.odn). For example, a family of one at or below 80% of area median family income would have to have a yearly income at or below $36,550, while a family of four, the most-referenced standard, would have to have a yearly income at or below $52,150.
Again, for a neighborhood to qualify as a Neighborhood Improvement Association, at least 51% of its residents would have to meet these HUD-established guidelines. It is important to note that the term “Neighborhood Improvement Association” is a City of Topeka-created designation that is not reflected in HUD guidelines. NIAs are formed by combining contiguous census tracts, determined by each U.S. census, and city code allows those areas, if they so choose, to form NIAs.
**In the late 1990s the Planning Department created a neighborhood health continuum to describe conditions within each of the city’s neighborhoods. An “intensive care” rating signifies the most distressed neighborhoods in Topeka, an “at-risk” rating is one step above “intensive care, an “outpatient” rating is one step above an “at-risk” rating and one step below a “healthy” rating. The last health care maps in 2014 showed Tennessee Town as a completely "at-risk" neighborhood.
Highlights of Past Tennessee Town Target Area Accomplishments
(L to R) In-fill housing through the City of Topeka (the second house was acquired from Holy Name Church,
moved into the NIA and rehabilitated) in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln St.
moved into the NIA and rehabilitated) in the first 1200 block of SW Lincoln St.
In-fill housing through the City of Topeka, at 1197 and 1199 SW Lane St.
The expansion of the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, in the second 1100 block of SW Lincoln,
happened when a key neighborhood stakeholder, the Topeka Housing Authority, accessed
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The expansion was completed in 2010
and multiplied other target area efforts.
happened when a key neighborhood stakeholder, the Topeka Housing Authority, accessed
2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The expansion was completed in 2010
and multiplied other target area efforts.
Vacant land north of the Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church developed through tax-credit financing became the
Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan. This effort highlighted a key neighborhood
stakeholder pursuing a project that multiplied other target area efforts.
Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan. This effort highlighted a key neighborhood
stakeholder pursuing a project that multiplied other target area efforts.
The City of Topeka enabled funding for rehabilitation of the house at 1214 SW Lincoln St.
In 2008, Community First, Inc., in cooperation with Faith Temple Church, applied for and received HUD funds through the city's Neighborhood Empowerment Grant to build a basketball court and playground area at SW Lincoln and Munson Sts., known as King's Court. This effort highlighted a key neighborhood stakeholder pursuing a project that multiplied other target area efforts. The picture above shows action at the annual Tennessee Town Basketball Tournament, held at King's Court. This year's tournament will be held on August 9, 2014 (click on "NIA Events" above for details).
Please Donate to the Tennessee Town NIA!
For details please click on the link at the top of this homepage.
Welcome to the Website of Topeka, Kansas'
First Neighborhood Improvement Association:
The Tennessee Town NIA
First Neighborhood Improvement Association:
The Tennessee Town NIA
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association** was the city of Topeka, Kansas' first NIA, founded in 1976. Neighbors came together then to save a historic Topeka neighborhood that traced its roots back to the immigration of freed slaves from Tennessee in 1879 and preserve its character as a place for low- to moderate-income individuals and families to put down roots and grow.
Beginning in 1998, Tennessee Town began revitalization efforts to halt the neighborhood's slide into disrepair. By 2001, the NIA's neighborhood plan was adopted by local government, setting new standards for stability and growth. At the time the neighborhood plan was adopted, the Topeka Planning Department rated Tennessee Town as an "intensive care" neighborhood, meaning that it was one of the city's neighborhoods "with the most seriously distressed conditions." All of the city's neighborhoods were rated, with the most distressed being rated "intensive care," those with fewer issues "at risk," those with fewer issues still "outpatient," and those with few or no issues "healthy." Planning said that while Tennessee Town had been declining, it had "high revitalization potential, and therefore is considered a high priority for reinvestment." Please click on http://www.topeka.org/pdfs/tennessee_town.pdf for the 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan. (Click on https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2018/02/27185739/NHoodPlanTennesseeTown_web.pdf for the 2017 neighborhood plan update.)
Three short years later, in 2004, the Planning Department reexamined the health of all of the city's neighborhoods, including Tennessee Town. With the addition of 61 new or rehabilitated single- and multi-family housing units, increased property values and safety, and infrastructure improvements, among other upgrades, Tennessee Town went from being rated "intensive care" to "at risk." No other Topeka Neighborhood had moved up one whole rating rung in such a short period of time, let along doing it while starting out with the rating characterizing the most distressed neighborhoods in the city.
Now Tennessee Town begins its journey to improve its "at risk" rating another rung to "outpatient." Many challenges face the NIA as it works to meet that goal, but the determination of its officers, President Michael Bell, Vice-President Pat DeLapp and Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter, and especially its residents, just as they have done for more than 100 years, will help to propel the neighborhood to its goal.
Beginning in 1998, Tennessee Town began revitalization efforts to halt the neighborhood's slide into disrepair. By 2001, the NIA's neighborhood plan was adopted by local government, setting new standards for stability and growth. At the time the neighborhood plan was adopted, the Topeka Planning Department rated Tennessee Town as an "intensive care" neighborhood, meaning that it was one of the city's neighborhoods "with the most seriously distressed conditions." All of the city's neighborhoods were rated, with the most distressed being rated "intensive care," those with fewer issues "at risk," those with fewer issues still "outpatient," and those with few or no issues "healthy." Planning said that while Tennessee Town had been declining, it had "high revitalization potential, and therefore is considered a high priority for reinvestment." Please click on http://www.topeka.org/pdfs/tennessee_town.pdf for the 2001 Tennessee Town neighborhood plan. (Click on https://s3.amazonaws.com/cot-wp-uploads/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2018/02/27185739/NHoodPlanTennesseeTown_web.pdf for the 2017 neighborhood plan update.)
Three short years later, in 2004, the Planning Department reexamined the health of all of the city's neighborhoods, including Tennessee Town. With the addition of 61 new or rehabilitated single- and multi-family housing units, increased property values and safety, and infrastructure improvements, among other upgrades, Tennessee Town went from being rated "intensive care" to "at risk." No other Topeka Neighborhood had moved up one whole rating rung in such a short period of time, let along doing it while starting out with the rating characterizing the most distressed neighborhoods in the city.
Now Tennessee Town begins its journey to improve its "at risk" rating another rung to "outpatient." Many challenges face the NIA as it works to meet that goal, but the determination of its officers, President Michael Bell, Vice-President Pat DeLapp and Secretary-Treasurer Sandra Lassiter, and especially its residents, just as they have done for more than 100 years, will help to propel the neighborhood to its goal.
**Neighborhood Improvement Associations in Topeka are based on U.S. census tracts that, taken together, can form neighborhoods where at least 51 percent of the residents are at or below 80 percent of the area median family income.
Where is Tennessee Town and What Does It Have to Offer?
Tennessee Town is situated in Central Topeka, Kansas, approximately one mile west of the State Capitol Building and downtown. It is bounded by SW 10th Ave. on the north, SW Washburn Ave. on the west, SW Huntoon St. on the south, and SW Clay St. on the east (see map below).
Tennessee Town is primarily a residential neighborhood and features single- and multi-family housing, established and maintained by neighborhood residents and property owners and numerous neighborhood partners, including the City of Topeka (through in-fill housing, most notably in the first 1200 blocks of SW Lincoln St.), Habitat for Humanity (through in-fill housing in the same block of Lincoln St.), Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (through a tax-credit project that enabled construction of the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan St.), and the Topeka Housing Authority (through the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, one of THA's most successful complexes, located in the square block bordered by SW Munson St. on the north, SW Lincoln St. on the west, SW 12th St. on the south, and SW Buchanan St. on the east).
Anchors within and immediately without Tennessee Town include the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, at 1515 SW 10th Ave.; the historic Buchanan Center, at 1195 SW Buchanan (which houses three nonprofits, Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc., Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc., and Breakthrough House, Inc.); Doorstep, Inc., at 1119 SW 10th Ave.; and the Dovetail Shoppe, at 1196 SW Buchanan; as well as five churches (First Church of the Nazarene, at 1001 SW Buchanan St.; Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, at 1162 SW Lincoln St.; Asbury-Mt. Olive UMC, at 1196 SW Buchanan St.; Shiloh Baptist Church, at 1201 SW Buchanan St.; and Lane Chapel CME Church, at 1200 SW Lane St.). Lowman Hill Elementary School, Robinson Middle School and Topeka High School all are located within blocks of Tennessee Town, and the city's two largest hospitals, Stormont-Vail and St. Francis, are near Tennessee Town. The neighborhood also is served by multiple Topeka Metro bus routes.
Tennessee Town's historic structures include the former Colored Women's Clubhouse, at 1149 SW Lincoln St.; the city of Topeka's Mutual Ice House, in the first 1100 block of SW Buchanan St.; Penwell-Gabel Midtown Chapel, at 1321 SW 10th Ave.; and three churches (Faith Temple COGIC, Shiloh Baptist, and Lane Chapel).
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA) will not discriminate against any recipients of services or applicants to receive services because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or familial status. Services are provided primarily through funds described in the Topeka, Kansas Consolidated Plan. To view that plan, please go to http://www.topeka.org/HND/ConsolidatedActionPlan.shtml.
The City of Topeka's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HND), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are not responsible for any opinions expressed or the accuracy of any statements made at this website.
Tennessee Town is primarily a residential neighborhood and features single- and multi-family housing, established and maintained by neighborhood residents and property owners and numerous neighborhood partners, including the City of Topeka (through in-fill housing, most notably in the first 1200 blocks of SW Lincoln St.), Habitat for Humanity (through in-fill housing in the same block of Lincoln St.), Asbury-Mt. Olive United Methodist Church (through a tax-credit project that enabled construction of the Asbury-Mt. Olive Apartments, in the second 1100 block of SW Buchanan St.), and the Topeka Housing Authority (through the Tennessee Town Plaza Apartments, one of THA's most successful complexes, located in the square block bordered by SW Munson St. on the north, SW Lincoln St. on the west, SW 12th St. on the south, and SW Buchanan St. on the east).
Anchors within and immediately without Tennessee Town include the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, at 1515 SW 10th Ave.; the historic Buchanan Center, at 1195 SW Buchanan (which houses three nonprofits, Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc., Cornerstone of Topeka, Inc., and Breakthrough House, Inc.); Doorstep, Inc., at 1119 SW 10th Ave.; and the Dovetail Shoppe, at 1196 SW Buchanan; as well as five churches (First Church of the Nazarene, at 1001 SW Buchanan St.; Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, at 1162 SW Lincoln St.; Asbury-Mt. Olive UMC, at 1196 SW Buchanan St.; Shiloh Baptist Church, at 1201 SW Buchanan St.; and Lane Chapel CME Church, at 1200 SW Lane St.). Lowman Hill Elementary School, Robinson Middle School and Topeka High School all are located within blocks of Tennessee Town, and the city's two largest hospitals, Stormont-Vail and St. Francis, are near Tennessee Town. The neighborhood also is served by multiple Topeka Metro bus routes.
Tennessee Town's historic structures include the former Colored Women's Clubhouse, at 1149 SW Lincoln St.; the city of Topeka's Mutual Ice House, in the first 1100 block of SW Buchanan St.; Penwell-Gabel Midtown Chapel, at 1321 SW 10th Ave.; and three churches (Faith Temple COGIC, Shiloh Baptist, and Lane Chapel).
The Tennessee Town Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA) will not discriminate against any recipients of services or applicants to receive services because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or familial status. Services are provided primarily through funds described in the Topeka, Kansas Consolidated Plan. To view that plan, please go to http://www.topeka.org/HND/ConsolidatedActionPlan.shtml.
The City of Topeka's Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development (HND), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are not responsible for any opinions expressed or the accuracy of any statements made at this website.
Tennessee Town in Pictures
(Other pictures appear at the links listed at the top of this page)
(Other pictures appear at the links listed at the top of this page)
The Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, located at Tennessee Town's northwest boundary, at 1515 SW 10th Ave.
Map Showing Tennessee Town
Have a question or comment? Contact the Tennessee Town NIA at [email protected].
Tennessee Town on the Internet! Nextdoor: https://tennesseetown.nextdoor.com/news_feed/.
Homepage last updated on June 13, 2024
