How much is the homeless camp cleanup on the Kansas River costing Topeka taxpayers?

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Working for you, 27 News has discovered how much the ongoing homeless camp cleanup efforts along the Kansas River are costing the city.

City of Topeka spokeswoman Rosie Nichols responded to a written information request from 27 News on July 9 describing how much money has been spent so far enforcing a new anti-camping ordinance on the north bank of the Kansas River. In total, the costs have reached nearly $95,000.

Nichols provided the following information on costs associated with the cleanup operations split between hours worked by Topeka Police Department (TPD) officers and Topeka Water Pollution Control (WPC) crews. These are broken down into the phases that have occurred so far for the ordinance's enforcement this year. The WPC numbers include both hours and equipment costs.

• Phase One
  • WPC - $35,414.58/106 hours
  • TPD - $10,604.72/180 hours
• Phase Two(a)
  • WPC - $11,575.97/44 hours
  • TPD - $2,035.06/37 hours
• Phase Two(b)
  • WPC - $32,479.77/117 hours
  • TPD - $2,742/74 hours

Nichols said the total labor hours costs amount to just over $30,000 with equipment costs coming to around $64,700. The WPC worked a total of 267 hours while the TPD clocked in 291 hours.

In a previous story, 27 News learned the most recent cleanup operation on the river pulled in nearly 193 tons of trash. This brings the total amount of trash picked up since the first phase in February to more than 430 tons. A third phase is also in the works but has yet to be given a start date by the City of Topeka.

Topeka's homeless population is growing as shown in the most recent Point in Time survey taken this year. This survey found the number of homeless individuals in the city has grown to 537 while 442 households are experiencing homelessness.

The City of Topeka’s new camping ordinance, found in 9.45.360 and 9.45.350 of the city’s municipal codes, places several restrictions on camping activities in city limits which are being enforced in a ‘phased approach‘ by local leadership. Restrictions include the following:

• No camping within 500 feet of the centerline of any trail.
• No camping within 50 feet of the centerline of any sidewalk inside city limits.
• No camping within a levee-critical zone.

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