Two tenants who lost business leases to accommodate a city of Topeka drainage project urged the Kansas Supreme Court on Friday to interpret state law to require payment by the government of relocation expenses to displaced renters even when a landlord sold property without imposition of eminent domain. Tenants Charles Nauheim and Hal Richardson filed a lawsuit after the city encouraged the landlord in 2013 to complete negotiations of the sale in a manner avoiding condemnation proceedings by the Topeka City Council. The deal was closed and the tenants moved out, but the city argued it wasn’t obligated to pay relocation [...]

But as they looked at the work to be done on Villa West, which is in much better shape than White Lakes but still faces significant deferred maintenance, Ferd Niemann, director of development and acquisitions, said his company will consider an application for tax incentives for part of the redevelopment. “When a building’s in ill repair like that, it has a ton of deferred maintenance, which is not nearly as easily fixable on purely the free market without some sort of subsidy,” he said. “Then the community has to assist with it. If the community is willing to do that, it’s [...]

Local governing bodies plan this coming week to consider raising the property tax mill levy assessed to finance Topeka’s bus service and allowing the establishment of a conference center at 7711 S.W. 61st to be the site of ministry functions and fundraising events. The city’s governing body, consisting of the nine council members and Mayor Michelle De La Isla, plans to consider a charter ordinance that would raise the property tax mill levy assessed by the Topeka Metropolitan Transit Authority, which oversees the Topeka Metro mass transit service, by 1 mill, to 5.2 mills from 4.2, effective Jan. 1, 2020. The [...]