City Government discussion

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about what form of government Topeka should have. Reported on Wednesday in the Capital Journal, the city council members weighed in on a proposed change that was reported earlier in the week.

In 2005, Topeka voted to change from a strong mayor/city council form of government to a city manager/city council form, which is what the city currently has. There is a group who would like to see the strong mayoral form of government return as well as a change in how the city council is set up. I know there are many who see things this way. According the Capital Journal, none of the city council members are supporting the idea.

I have no problem with exploring the idea; however, I have to give the following remark some credence:

Councilman Bill Haynes said he hadn’t formed an opinion, but his initial reaction was that the current city council-manager form of government hasn’t been in place long enough to start thinking about abandoning it.

I know that there are other large cities hold a similar form of government, so it begs the question… is the real problem with the system or are the wrong people in place in the system? It’s not been in place long enough, or had enough different individuals in it, to form a clear decision.

I don’t know the answer. But I think that it needs to be considered. If you’ll allow the parallel, it’s a little like saying that marriage doesn’t work based on the wrong people being married.

This is just my opinion… So, what do you think?

  • denise
  • July 24th, 2008
  • 2 Comments    
  • Articles, City Government, Topeka News

City Wide Voting

At-large council suggested

Mayor says setup would be less provincial

By Tim Carpenter

The Capital-Journal
Published Friday, June 20, 2008

Topeka Mayor Bill Bunten raised the possibility Thursday of electing the city council through at-large voting rather than by district.

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  • Travis Gooden
  • June 20th, 2008
  • No Comments    
  • Articles, Getting Involved, Topeka News
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Heartland Visioning, Round 2

Heartland Visioning, Round 2
By Mike Hall
The Capital-Journal
Published Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Sometimes, little things can make life better.

For 9-year-old Jhailyn Johnson, teachers who make learning fun would do it.

Jhailyn was among 145 Shawnee Countians who offered ideas Tuesday night on how to make Topeka a better place to live. The gathering at Seaman High School was the second of three community meetings leading to a plan to be completed in November.

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MTAA has it figured out.

Former Air Force base brings tenants to industrial park

By Michael Hooper

The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, June 16, 2008

Forbes Field, a virtual ghost town after the U.S. Air Force left in the 1970s, has evolved into a growing community of hundreds of people working in numerous other enterprises.

About 200 employees of Electronic Data Systems Corp. will move from White Lakes Center to a building owned by Chuck Lucius at Forbes Field in late summer. Lucius’ 25-employee company, Independent Brokerage, is moving this summer to 3740 S.W. Burlingame Road.

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  • Aaron
  • June 16th, 2008
  • No Comments    
  • Articles, Improvements, Topeka News
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City of Topeka Neighborhood Health 2007

I found the map below quite interesting. I did not know the City even had something like this. I found out from a news story on KTKA about the Elmhurst neighborhood going from "At Risk" to "Healthy".

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Where do you see the city?

Visioning: Where do you see the city?

The Capital-Journal

Published Wednesday, June 04, 2008

In preparation for Heartland Visioning community meetings scheduled for June 16, 17 and 19, Daily Dose is presenting a series of findings aimed at spurring conversation among local residents about key issues.


Shawnee County is located in what could be called the Kansas Knowledge Corridor, an area featuring the following resources for innovation and knowledge-based economic development:

• In 2005, Kansas State University had research grants of $123.4 million and an enrollment of more than 23,000 students.

• In 2005, The University of Kansas had research grants of $116.3 million and an enrollment of more than 29,000 students.

• Also that year, KU Medical Center had $73.2 million in grants.

• Those research grants totaled $312.9 million.

• Washburn University enrolls more than 7,200 students in Topeka on a 160-acre campus. More than 1,200 students participate in internship opportunities at more than 125 sites in Shawnee County, and more than 1,200 degrees and certificates are awarded annually…

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  • Travis Gooden
  • June 4th, 2008
  • No Comments    
  • Articles, Vision
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Letter: Visioning can work

Letter: Visioning can work

The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, June 02, 2008

I was a public school principal for 33 of the 38 years I worked in the education profession. One of the basic concepts in education is that we must know in advance where we want to go before we can decide how to best get there.

Schools wasted time and effort writing general mission statements, such as, "To prepare the student to be a successful citizen and a lifelong learner in a democratic society in the 21st century."

Some high-sounding general concept that will fit on a bumper sticker doesn’t change anything. We need to concentrate on causes and means rather than desired effects and ends.

We must be make sure that our current community visioning project doesn’t fall into this same trap. Every community wants the same general outcomes — decreased violence and crime; population increase; more business, industry and jobs; enhanced relationships between different neighborhoods and parts of town; and improved infrastructure, racial relations, educational opportunities, image and governmental leadership.

We must focus on creative, specific and detailed ideas on how to cause these positive objectives to happen. We need action plans, not "somebody should" statements and complaints about the past.

In historic North Topeka, we have assigned our efforts to three action groups: housing and infrastructure, business and industry, and pride and image. The North Topeka Business Alliance was formed. Civic groups, schools and churches have been actively involved. We added a bandstand in Garfield park, a community band, summer concerts, a parade and the Great Overland Station. Senior housing has been completed and more construction is taking place, downtown infrastructure has been improved and we have phenomenal growth of business on North Topeka Boulevard and US-24 highway.

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