Topeka governing body to consider establishing utilities department.
Topeka’s governing body tentatively plans this month to consider establishing a new “utilities department.” The city government on Thursday afternoon released the preliminary agenda for the Topeka City Council’s July 18 meeting.
It indicated the governing body — consisting of the nine council members and Mayor Larry Wolgast — plans to consider a 19-page ordinance that would create the department.
City utility operations, already identified on the city website as being the “utilities department,” are currently under the direction of the public works department.
“In recent years the water distribution, stormwater and water pollution control divisions have been operating under the umbrella of a utilities department model,” said a document that’s part of the preliminary agenda packet for the July 18 meeting.
“Satisfied with the efficiencies of that model, this ordinance formally creates said department.” The proposal would arrange for the city manager to appoint the utilities department director.
City utilities operations are currently overseen by interim utilities director Bob Sample.
Governing body members are tentatively set July 18 to then consider a 144-page ordinance that would include establishing that the utilities director “is responsible for all operations related to the water, wastewater and storm water divisions,” said a separate document in the meeting’s agenda packet.
The latter measure’s approval would also change industrial pretreatment requirements to comply with revisions requested by the Environmental Protection Agency, prevent obstructions to fire hydrants that prevent proper preventive maintenance and delete some obsolete provisions in utility billing, the document said.
Reporter Tim Hrenchir can be reached at (785) 295-1184 or @timhrenchir on Twitter.