By Tim Hrenchir, Topeka Capital-Journal, May 18, 2010
City manager Norton Bonaparte told the Topeka City Council on Tuesday evening he would soon ask it to abolish the human relations department and terminate the jobs of its three employees.
He said he proposes the city still maintain its nine-person, volunteer human relations commission, which would continue to offer such services as public forums, education and outreach opportunities. The city manager's offer would use its existing staff to carry out any work the commission needs done, he said.
Ensuring fair and equal rights for all Topekans in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodation is the mission of the human relations department, which has a director, an office assistant and a civil rights investigator.
A team of city employees recently recommended the city look at cutting the staffing of the department, which investigates complaints and conducts educational programs.
Bonaparte told council members that while the functions the department performs are important, his proposal to disband it was an "acknowledgement of the financial challenge we face balancing the needs of city government."
Bonaparte said if the human relations department were disbanded about July 1, the city would save $71,000 this year and $163,000 next year.
He said the city would direct anyone seeking to make discrimination complaints to the state's human rights commission.
Councilman Jack Woelfel expressed support for the move.
"From the sound of things, you're making a good decision to save the city some money and still preserve the function carried out by the human relations commission," he said.
But Mike Bell, who served as a volunteer on the human relations commission from January 2005 to December 2008, disagreed.
"I just don't think that you can put a price tag on civil rights," he told reporters afterward.
Bell said a rally in support of the human relations department would be at 11:30 a.m. May 29 in front of the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site, 1515 S.E. Monroe.
Also Tuesday, the council took no action after hearing city planning director David Thurbon say the city has an apparent alternative for funding to help cover design costs - estimated at $275,000 - for projects to create a "9th Street Plaza" just east of the Statehouse; improve 8th Street in the downtown area; and make changes to S. Kansas Avenue between 4th and 10th streets.
The council plans June 8 to consider accepting bids from companies interested in carrying out the work. Council members were told last month the city's share of the project could be financed using $150,000 in fuel tax money, with the rest coming from privately raised funds. But Bonaparte questioned Tuesday whether as many as five council members would be willing to vote to use fuel tax money for the project.
Still, Thurbon said the seven-member Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization had authorized him to begin a process that could result in the city's share being financed using $150,000 in carryover federal money the MTPO has on hand.
The MTPO consists of city council members Sylvia Ortiz, Deborah Swank and Karen Hiller; Shawnee County Commissioner Shelly Buhler; The Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority's Jack Alexander; the Topeka Planning Commission's Mike Lackey; and the Kansas Department of Transportation's Davonna Moore.
Thurbon said a special meeting or meetings of the MTPO could be scheduled to expedite the process of allocating the $150,000 for the design work. But he stressed that money could be used only to study transportation-related matters and not for financial planning or design of such components as streetscapes or building facades.
During its 55-minute regular meeting and in work sessions held before and after that meeting Tuesday evening, the council also:
— Heard representatives of Heartland Visioning ask the the council - which provided Heartland Visioning $30,000 each for 2008 and 2009 - to provide it $30,000 each for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The payments, as the last two did, would come from proceeds of a countywide, half-cent sales tax voters approved in 2004 to finance economic development and infrastructure improvements.
— Voted 10-0 as the city's governing body, with Mayor Bill Bunten being among those voting, to change the zoning of property at 1900 S.W. Mission to allow it to be used as a parking lot for a beauty salon on an adjoining property.
— Voted 9-0 to authorize the city to repair sidewalks identified as inadequate and unsafe at 101 S.W. Fillmore, 124 S.W. Fillmore, 410 N.E. Ohio Ave., 500 N.E. Chester Ave., 3424 S.W. Birchwood Dr., 3574 S.W. Kirklawn Ave., 3590 S.W. Kirklawn Ave. 3641 S.W. Randolph Ave. and in the 1600 block of S.W. Topeka Boulevard. The measure arranges for all repair costs to be assessed to the property owners, who failed to take part in a program through which the city would have paid half those costs.
— Heard Bonapate seek input from council members as to whether they're interested in changing a council rule that prohibits the televising of council work sessions. Bonaparte said the city had received a request that it televise the sessions.
— Met behind closed doors in an executive session to talk about a pending federal lawsuit against the city regarding the March 18, 2008, shootings of brothers Daniel and Devin Llamas by an off-duty Topeka police officer.
— Postponed a planned discussion of proposed goals and objectives for Bonaparte.
Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or tim.hrenchir@cjonline.com.