Christopher Sullivan wouldn’t be in the Topeka Fire Department’s target response time if the city were to relocate two fire stations in the Oakland and North Topeka area. He would only be a few seconds out of the response time, but he doesn’t support the decision to move them.
“It doesn’t (work) for my neighborhood,” Sullivan said. “I am sorry to be selfish . I support my neighborhood.”
Sullivan, a member of the Topeka Fire Commission, said the city should consider other options for future fire stations, which the city is doing. Not all areas of town receive equitable response times under the station’s current layout.
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The future of the Topeka Zoo is for nonprofit group Friends of the Topeka Zoo to decide as years of discussing a governance change was approved Tuesday.
The Topeka City Council voted 9-1 to approve a license and management agreement that would begin the transition of daily operations to the nonprofit Friends of the Topeka Zoo.
Councilmember Christina Valdivia-Alcala voted against the measure.
FOTZ will handle daily operations of the Topeka Zoo by April 3.
Here is what you need to know about the license and management agreement.
Who owns the Topeka Zoo animals?
The zoo animals the city owns will be transferred to FOTZ. The employees taking care of the animals likely won’t change. FOTZ is responsible for caring for the animals and remaining accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the agreement says.
Shanta Trice could have lived anywhere in Topeka, but she chose the Hi-Crest neighborhood.
“There is just a sense of belonging, being aware of who you are and being accepted,” said Trice, who is also a spokeswoman for Mothers of Murdered Sons.
The diversity of Hi-Crest, coupled with its sense of community, gives the area potential, Trice said, but she believes it is being squandered. She said some central, northern and eastern neighborhoods “definitely get slighted in city infrastructure investment.
Trice said everything from roads to business development is lacking, and that has a negative impact on schools.
“I can t tell you really where it’s broken, other than it is broke,” Trice said. “It’s a cesspool of all kinds of problems.”