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Good evening and welcome to the September 1st, 2026 governing body meeting of the City of Topeka.

Welcome everyone this evening.

I will now call this meeting to order.

We open up the seating with Councilmember Baldivia Alcala, who has this evening's invocation.

Please rise if you are able.

Thank you, Mayor.

The next two Tuesdays we'll be having somebody from the public come in, but I am going to be reading a piece from a Lebanese American poet, philosopher, mystic that died in the 1930s.

His name was Khalil Gibron, widely known for his iconic book, The Prophet.

Reason and Passion.

And the priestess spoke again and said, speak to us of reason and passion.

And he answered, saying, Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield upon which your reason in your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite.

Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul?

That I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.

But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?

Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.

If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill mid-seas.

For reason alone is a force confining, and passion unattended is a flame that burns to its own destruction.

Therefore, let your soul exalt your reason to the highest to a passion that it may sing, and let it direct your passion with reason that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the Phoenix rise above its own ashes.

Surely you would not honor one guest above the other.

For he who is more mindful of one loses the love and faith of both.

Among the heels, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows, then let your heart say in silence, God rests in reason.

And when the storm comes and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, then let your heart say in awe, God moves in passion.

And since you are a breath in God's sphere and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic or which stands one nation under God.

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Here Valdivia Alcala here.

Here uh Kel?

Here Miller.

Here.

Bradbury.

Here.

McGee.

And Hofer.

Here.

Okay.

We have ten present.

We will move on to the consent agenda.

City Clerk.

Okay.

2A is the approval of a human resources contract between the City of Topeka and Kansas Personnel Services, doing business as key staffing for temporary employment services to include clerical, general, skilled labor, and professional positions.

2B is an approval of the public works design build contract between the City of Topeka and KBS Constructors, Inc.

and an amount to be determined by mutual agreement between the city and design build team during both the preliminary estate estim estimate development and guaranteed maximum price development for design build services.

2C is an approval of a professional services contract exceeding $50,000 between the City of Topeka and Kurtz and Buck LLC for continued representation of the city in a civil lawsuit matter.

2D is an ordinance introduced by city manager Robert M.

Perez allowing and approving city expenditures for the period of June 27, 2026 to July 31st, 2026, and enumerating set expenditures therein.

2E is a resolution introduced by Public Infrastructure Committee recommending approval of project number 70 10501 for the construction of a sidewalk on Lyman Road.

2F is a resolution introduced by the Public Infrastructure Committee recommending approval of project numbers 2911 4203 and 2911 6001 for the construction of a new Al Qair pump station.

G are the minutes of the regular meeting of August 18th, 2026 and the special meetings of August 19th, 2026, and August 25th, 2026.

And there are no applications.

Councilmember Ortiz.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I'd like to pull um consent to B for discussion, please.

All right.

We are going to move consent item, the request of council member 2B.

It is now going to become action item E.

And you're going to say, but Mayor, we already have an action item E.

And in a minute, I'm going to tell you why that's not accurate either.

So it is now going to be action item E.