Topeka plans monthly Yard of the Month program and community cleanups to boost neighborhood pride

City communications and community engagement staff presented plans Feb. 26 for two outreach programs aimed at encouraging property upkeep and neighborly engagement.

Dan Garrett, director of communications, described a yearlong social media schedule to promote reporting of code violations and seasonal topics. "This packet is an outline of a social media campaign for the rest of the year," Garrett said, noting the first post has already been shared and staff plan posts roughly every other week to keep the initiative visible.

Monique Gladde, director of community engagement, outlined a Yard of the Month program and a community cleanup model. The yard program would recognize monthly winners with a sign for at least 30 days, a certificate and small prize; judges would score entries on appearance, creativity and sustainability. The cleanup program would run monthly or quarterly events of about three to four hours, with rotating focus areas, school engagement and partner sponsorships.

Why it matters: The city framed these efforts as low‑cost ways to encourage small neighborhood improvements, promote safe and healthy property use, and create touchpoints between residents and city staff.

Program details and schedule Gladde said nominations for Yard of the Month would be open to all city resident properties, with winners announced on a monthly schedule; staff proposed launching publicity in March with a first selection in April or May. She said judges could be city staff, neighborhood representatives and business sponsors, and that staff will present a scoring sheet and suggested judging panel before the next committee meeting.

Garrett said posts will explain common code categories such as sanitation and weeds, and noted staff plan visual examples and video content to make enforcement terms clearer to residents. Committee members requested language emphasizing the initiative’s goal of preventing write‑ups when possible and highlighting available resources, such as Shawnee County refuse pickup (one large item per week) and local assistance programs.

Community cleanup specifics Gladde said cleanups will include a check‑in, safety briefing, two to three hours of work and a wrap‑up celebration. The team is pursuing school challenges, business sponsorships and a possible city‑employee cleanup day; staff said inspectors have already signed up for at least one neighborhood cleanup.

Next steps Staff will provide the committee with a proposed judging panel and scoring sheet before the next meeting and will begin publicity in March. Committee members were asked to share feedback from neighborhood groups and NIAs to refine nomination, judging and outreach plans.