The cesspool isn’t new — it’s just been rebranded as “talent initiatives.” Time to drain it.

 Why Topeka Taxpayers Should Stop Funding Forge Young Talent — A Taxpayer-Subsidized Social Club and Leadership Pipeline

Back in September 2003, I signed a letter as “Henry McClure, Developer” alongside Mayor Harry Felker III, Shawnee County Chairman Vic Miller, and leaders from the Greater Topeka Chamber and Go Topeka. We asked KDOT for the interchange study to make the 600-acre Commerce Park (now Central Crossing) shovel-ready. I helped pitch the original quarter-cent (later half-cent) sales tax to Kiwanis and Rotary clubs so we could get land developed and jobs created.

Twenty-two years and $125+ million in taxpayer dollars later, some of that same ground is still vacant or marketed as “shovel-ready.” And part of your sales-tax money is now funding Forge Young Talent — a young professionals networking group complete with galas, committees, events, and its latest initiative: Forge on Boards.

The Money Trail

The countywide half-cent sales tax (renewed through 2031) feeds JEDO, which sends roughly $5 million a year (sometimes more) to Go Topeka / Greater Topeka Partnership for “economic development.”

In the 2024 GO Topeka Business Plan & Budget, Talent Initiatives — which houses Forge — was budgeted at $212,630. Forge’s executive director, staff, events, galas, advocacy, and now Forge on Boards all operate under this umbrella. Historically, 60-70%+ of Go Topeka’s operating budget comes straight from the JEDO sales-tax grant. That’s your grocery, gas, and retail sales tax dollars at work.

What Forge Actually Is

Go to gotopeka.com/forge-young-talent/. It’s a “dynamic group of young people ages 18-40” that offers free/flexible membership, committees (Events, Marketing, Membership, Advocacy, IDEAS), networking events, galas, YP Day at the Capitol, Hire Local with Washburn, and leadership placement. They rebranded from Fast Forward (1999) to Forge in 2016.

In August 2024 they launched Forge on Boards — a program that collects interest forms from young professionals who want board seats and from businesses/nonprofits that want “fresh perspectives.” It hosts panels, makes connections, and aims to get more YPs onto local boards. Rhett Flood (Executive Director) and Matt Pivarnik (CEO of the Partnership) praised it as empowering young talent to “shape the future of our community.”

Sounds nice — until you realize taxpayers are subsidizing a matchmaking service for board seats in the same organizations that influence policy, incentives, and spending.

The Results After 25+ Years

• Topeka’s population still stuck between 122k–127k since 2000.
• Shawnee County growth is minimal.
• Central Crossing has big distribution wins (many already in motion in 2003), but large tracts remain undeveloped or perpetually “shovel-ready.”
• Young talent keeps leaving for cities with real job growth.

Forge hasn’t fixed the talent pipeline. It’s just another program in the rebranded Chamber/Partnership machine that keeps cashing the checks while the big-picture numbers stay flat.

The Rigged Loop

This is the same closed system I’ve watched for decades:

• Big deals and “talent issues” get referred to the Partnership.
• They get the sales-tax grant to “solve” it.
• They spin up programs like Forge → Forge on Boards → Choose Topeka incentives → galas → awards.
• Connected insiders and young pros get the fast track.
• Repeat. Rebrand. Ask for more funding.

You don’t need a taxpayer-funded social club and board-placement service to grow a city. You need jobs, development, lower costs, and accountability.

The Fix

Pull the $5+ million annual economic-development slice back in-house at the city and county. Make every single deal and initiative come through them on the public record for transparent, vote-by-vote approval. If money is left at year-end, spend it on roads and infrastructure — not another Forge gala or board-matching program. Let private sponsors, membership dues, or corporate tables pay for networking groups. Taxpayers have funded enough feel-good programs with zero transformation.

I didn’t wake up one day and invent this critique to run for mayor. I was in the room in 2003 signing the letter. I helped sell the tax as a developer and broker. I’ve cleaned out the office files and watched the same players rebrand the Chamber → Go Topeka → Greater Topeka Partnership for 22 years while some pads at Central Crossing still sit empty.

Forge might be fun for 18- to 40-year-olds. Fine. Fund it privately.

Not one more dime of Shawnee County sales-tax money.

The cesspool isn’t new — it’s just been rebranded as “talent initiatives.” Time to drain it.

— Henry McClure Topeka developer, taxpayer, and the guy who was there when they sold you the dream