TOPEKA (KSNT) – Commissioner Kevin Cook joined the 27 News Morning Show on Friday Sept. 12 where he discussed Hotel Topeka, the Maner Conference Center, the new mental health facility and an upcoming event.
27 News asked Cook about renovation discussions regarding the Maner Conference Center. Cook said that Hotel Topeka and the conference center are two-in-one. He said that in the past the management of the conference center was under the management of the hotel. He said that when the Stormont Vail Events Center was renovated in 2021 for $48 million, the conference center wasn’t renovated because the hotel was under receivership.
“Receivership is similar to bankruptcy,” Cook said. “The future of the hotel ownership was unknown at that time. One of the things the county has been waiting on, and it has been very frustrating, is the length of the time it’s taken to determine who the new management is.”
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Cook said that all hotel chains have different standards for colors, design and more. He said that’s part of the reason why the county has been holding off on the renovations despite budgeting and planning for it.
“Rather than us come in, spend taxpayer dollars preparing the Maner Conference Center, having a new hotel chain come in, say it doesn’t meet their standards, ripping it all out at taxpayer dollars, putting it all back in at taxpayer dollars; that’s not going to make you happy,” Cook said.
Cook said the sooner the county hears who the new hotel management company is, the sooner the county can move forward.
Cook also talked about the budget process and how the county manages resources. He gave an example of a recent dog attack and what it’d take to have more enforcement around the local trails.
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“What is that going to cost?” Cook asked. “So for example, a recent neighborhood came to us and said we would like you to build a new park in our neighborhood and we would like you to buy this little parcel of land. Well we don’t look at just what the cost of the parcel of land is. We look at, what is the cost of the land, what is the cost of the improvement, what’s your future cost, what things are you going to plan for the park. So it might not be a small price it might wound up to be a big price.”
Cook said that the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office and the Shawnee County Department of Corrections had all asked for budget increases this year.
27 News continued the talk with Commissioner Cook about mental health.
“So when you look at mental health,” Cook said. “In my own personal opinion, mental health is something you’re either going to pay for on the front end or the back end. If a person is having mental health problems. They’re either going to get help or more likely than not, a crime will occur. They’re going to wind up in jail and then we’re paying for it as the taxpayers.”
Cook continued his explanation by providing an example of the necessity for mental health options.
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27 News also discussed an upcoming event; the Tunes and Blues Fall Festival.
“One of the things that you can really enjoy with your tax dollars is the Ted Ensley Gardens. So coming up on September 27th, we’re going to have tunes and blooms,” Cook said. “So we’re going to have food trucks, we’re going to have music, we’re going to have events for the kids. Again, it doesn’t cost you anything to come in and enjoy it. This is your tax dollars at work and we hope you really take advantage of it. Come out and see us at tunes and balloons.”
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