TOPEKA (KSNT) – Topeka city leaders will put $291,086 into Hotel Topeka, but not everyone on the governing body was on board with the investment.
Councilmembers Christina Valdivia-Alcala, Sylvia Ortiz and David Banks voted against this resolution.
The city has now invested more than $10 million into the hotel, since buying it almost two years ago for around $7.6 million. The latest investment in the hotel is due to the city’s need to cover operational deficits, but Banks was against it.
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“I voted no because my constituents feel that it was an unnecessary purchase and have asked that if we’re going to consider the fact that we have to keep it, we do not have to make improvements, we don’t have to,” Banks said. “It’s important to keep it up if we ever want to get rid of it, but constituents’ requests is what I do.”
Banks told 27 News that he believes the amount of money the city has put into the hotel is a lot more than it should, and that while they’ve had interest in the hotel, they don’t have a buyer at this time.
A city spokesman told 27 News back in January that the city had seven offers, but Banks said they don’t have a timeline on when the hotel will be sold.
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So far, the city has authorized the following resolutions to be used on Hotel Topeka, not including the original purchase price, a $25,000 General Fund transfer and the most recent $291,086 resolution:
- Resolution 9478
- $500,000
- Resolution 9491
- $500,000
- Resolution 9516
- $500,000
- Resolution 9532 (capital expense-chiller)
- $217,254.24
- Resolution 9549
- $125,662
- Resolution 9550
- $59,589.19 for actuators and $125,662 for ADA improvements
- Resolution 9589
- $201,000
- Resolution 9605
- $72,343
- Resolution 9610
- $32,191
- Resolution 9615
- $71,449
- Resolution 9652
- $168,297
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