Topeka City Council discusses bringing back city emergency management coordinator's job

Topeka is "not in ordinary times," Deputy Mayor and City Councilwoman Christina Valdivia-Alcala said late Tuesday.

That's why it's important for the city government to bring back the emergency management coordinator's position it hasn't had filled since May 2020, she said during the city council meeting.

"We need to make sure that we have updated, complete SOPs (standard operating procedures) in place," in case emergencies occur, she said.

An emergency management coordinator would apparently be responsible for that.

Emergency management coordinator's job was cut in 2020

Valdivia-Alcala's statement came as the city found itself coping with an emergency regarding a boil water advisory declared Sunday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

She said the city should bring back the emergency management coordinator's job then-city manager Brent Trent terminated in May 2020 while letting go of Jim Green, who held that position.

Valdivia-Alcala told city utilities director Sylvia Davis that while she thought Davis did the best she could this week responding to the boil water situation "with so much coming at you," the city needs someone to coordinate its response to emergency situations.

It's important for the city to not have to depend on Shawnee County, which maintains a department of emergency management, Valdivia-Alcala said.

Councilman Spencer Duncan said city staff members have "been great" in dealing with the boil water advisory but agreed that the city needs an emergency management coordinator.

"Several years ago, we essentially eliminated that emergency management position, and there were a lot of reasons why," he said. "Part of it was budget. Part of it was we redistributed some of those duties throughout the departments. Various other reasons. Each department has its own plan and they do have people who are kind in charge of that, but they're not 'that person.'"

Duncan said city staff members have spent hours carrying out tasks an emergency management coordinator could have "taken off their plate," which would have enabled those staff members to focus "on what their actual job is."

Saying it's "time to re-evaluate," Duncan asked interim city manager Richard U. Nienstedt for a recommendation as to what reincorporating back the emergency management coordinator's job would look like, including how much it would cost.

Councilman Neil Dobler said he didn't disagree but noted that Topeka taxpayers pay for an emergency management department, which Shawnee County provides.

"I want to make sure we're not duplicating services," Dobler said, adding that he wanted to make sure the city was getting its money's worth from the county.

"And if not — if we need to create a position — great," Dobler said. "But let's take a look at that."

The interim city manager responds

Nienstedt said he'd been in touch with Dusty Nichols, the county's emergency management director.

He said he planned to meet one-on-one with Nichols.

Nienstedt added others will take part in future meetings held to look at how the city can best get the help it needs from the county emergency management department, "because you are paying for those services."

He expressed confidence that through that dialogue, "we can help improve that situation."

Move to allow Pizza Hut to relocate

Topeka's mayor and council voted 10-0 late Tuesday to approve a zoning change that will enable Flynn Restaurant Group, which operates the Pizza Hut at 500 S.W. 10th Ave., to replace that location by putting a drive-through/carry-out restaurant at the former Educational Credit Union building at 901 S.W. Topeka Blvd.

The Pizza Hut at the new site would be pickup, carry-out and delivery only.

The interior of the proposed new restaurant will not contain an area for "dine-in" customers," said a document in the agenda packet for last month's meeting of the Topeka Planning Commission, which recommended the mayor and council approve the proposed zoning change.

"Customers will order ahead and have food delivered or will pick up at the restaurant," it said.

Council members elected to positions of responsbility

The mayor and council on Tuesday evening also:

• Elected Councilmen Duncan and David Banks to join Mayor Mike Padilla and Valdivia-Alcala in serving as voting members on the board of directors of the Joint Economic Development Organization. Shawnee County Commissioners Kevin Cook, Aaron Mays and Bill Riphahn are also voting members of the board for JEDO, a group of city and county elected officials who oversee $5 million raised annually for economic development by a countywide sales tax.

• Elected Councilmen Marcus Miller and Brett Kell to the policy board for the Metropolitan Topeka Planning Organization.

• Heard Councilwoman Sylvia Ortiz say she'd recently seen two traffic crashes here. Ortiz asked drivers to slow down in response to the icy conditions present on many Topeka streets.

"You just can't drive fast on ice," she said.

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Bringing back Topeka emergency management coordinator's job discussed