Topeka City Council OKs $4M-plus in funding to repair fire stations cjonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cjonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A proposal for a $5.7 million “tiny home transitional village” could hold up to 200 beds for the homeless at the former site of Topeka’s tent city.
Each tiny home costs less than $5,000 and could last 20 years, said Barry Feaker, executive director of the Topeka Rescue Mission, when he presented the plan to city council Tuesday night.
The units would be around 64 square feet, have electricity and a heater and air conditioner. He said it’s too early in the process to estimate when something could be completed Tuesday was the first time he presented the full plan to city council.
The Topeka City Council on Tuesday approved a plan budgeting $136.4 million in street work and $256 million in utility work.
The Capital Improvement Plan has two phases projects scheduled for work between 2022-2026, and projects being considered for 2027-2031.
“The CIP budget that we have presented for approval today provides targeted financing for some of our biggest needs within our city,” city manager Brent Trout said.
How will the projects be funded?
There are a variety of ways to fund the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects. Revenue bonds will fund around $219.5 million of budget expenses from 2022-2026. Revenue bonds will bear the brunt of the budget, accounting for 43.6% of spending. No other revenue source will fund more than 15% of the expenses from 2022-2026.
So The Topeka Capital-Journal asked if they re following their own advice. The Capital-Journal reached out to the three Shawnee County commissioners, the nine members of Topeka City Council and the mayor to ask two questions:
• Are you vaccinated?
• Why or why not?
As of Wednesday, 65,512 Shawnee County residents “completed the vaccine series,” according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s website.
Council member Spencer Duncan said he is vaccinated.
“I am unapologetically vaccinated and unapologetically (going to) tell everyone to get your darn vaccine,” said Duncan said at Tuesday’s city council meeting. “I understand there are issues and concerns, but get it.