OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Topeka City Council Governing Body Meeting - March 3, 2026

Governing Body — Tuesday, March 3, 2026
BodyTopeka, Kansas
SessionGoverning Body
DateTuesday, March 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:10:00

Transcript — Verbatim
1:11

So I have to turn my microphone on if anyone wants to actually hear me.

1:14

So again, welcome to the uh March 3rd, 2026 governing by the agenda or governed body meeting, which I will now call to order.

1:21

Um just for everybody's reference, the city manager is out sick this evening, so deputy city manager will be filling in for him.

1:27

Uh with that, I will ask everyone to turn their attention to council member Brett Kell, who has to this evening's invocation.

1:33

Please rise if you are able.

1:39

Let's take the time to be thankful for what we have, find the positive force to push us through the negative situations, and the ability to find joy in our life.

1:50

Thank you.

1:54

Sure, I pledge allegiance to July States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and with liberty and justice.

2:19

Mayor Duncan.

2:20

Here.

2:21

Councilmember Hiller.

2:22

Here.

2:23

Valdivia Aqua.

2:25

Ortice.

2:27

Banks.

2:28

Here.

2:29

Kel.

2:30

Here.

2:31

Miller.

2:31

Here.

2:32

Bradbury.

2:33

Here.

2:34

McGee.

2:35

Here.

2:35

And Hofer.

2:36

Here.

2:38

All right.

2:38

We have eight present with council members of Aldivia Aqua and Ortiz absent.

2:44

All right.

2:45

We will move on to presentations.

2:47

We have one this evening, City Clerk.

2:50

Uh we have an update from the Metropolitan Teka Airport Authority.

3:08

The uh MTAA start leading off with their president will make a presentation to us this evening.

3:12

Thank you.

3:13

Great.

3:13

Thank you.

3:14

Come on up.

3:22

All right.

3:25

Thank you for bringing us here tonight to provide you with our annual update of the MTAA.

3:31

My name is Sam Sutton.

3:33

I am the current 2026 uh chairman of the airport board.

3:38

And I'm joined here today by the president.

3:42

Um president of the MTAA, uh Mr.

3:46

Eric Johnson, and our director of economic development, Mr.

3:51

Curtis Sneaton.

3:54

The uh MTA was created in 1974 as co sort of uh an entity that could help transition the air airport over from a military-controlled entity to a civilian operated airport.

4:08

Um in 1978, the airport was consolidated with four the airport authority was consolidated with uh Billard Airport.

4:18

And uh the city and county voted to combine those two assets under one roof.

4:25

For the purpose of acquiring, owning, maintaining, operating, and improving and disposing of good evening.

4:34

Umson, President Director of Airports uh for the MTA.

4:38

Just want to give you a rundown of how the airport is or the staffing is structured.

4:43

Um we have approximately 50 to 55 employees, full-time employees that cover everything from police and fire, airport operations, our maintenance staff, we're that main thing.

4:54

Um things like that.

4:55

Um it's our job to optimize um the greatest return on the dollar that we can for the taxpayer.

5:03

And always working towards self-sustainability.

5:07

And we have a number of properties, and what it shows here is we have properties available for all types of aeronautical activities, but also a great percentage of that is non-aeronautical, which supports the aeronautical side of the house.

5:22

Commercial service, and that's the one that always gets us.

5:31

So we've been like that per passenger implant for the airlines to pay, up to over $16.

5:38

So the airlines have cut back.

5:40

They've they've taken out uh about $1,500 seats daily.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████41%
Economic Development███████████████████████████████████████39%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Housing And Development█████5%
Public Records Management█████5%
Affordable Housing███3%
Workforce Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Topeka City Council Governing Body Meeting - March 3, 2026

The Topeka City Council held its regular governing body meeting on March 3, 2026, at 6:00 PM (approximate) in the City Council Chambers. Eight council members were present; Councilmembers Valdivia Aqua and Ortiz were absent. The meeting included a presentation from the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA), approval of the consent agenda, two action items, public comments, and announcements. The meeting recessed into executive session for personnel matters.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes of February 17, 2026: Approved unanimously (9-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Henry McClure: Spoke during Action Item 4A and during general public comment. He expressed support for the resolution but raised concerns about the duality of serving on both JEDO and Go Topeka, arguing that Go Topeka is no longer an NGO and that the city manager's role becomes political. He also mentioned his company's efforts to build apartments in Topeka, seeking a railhead and free land, and criticized the lack of response from the city.
  • Lazone Grays: Urged the council to direct city negotiators to ask developers specific questions about using local workforce, registered apprenticeships, subcontracting with local businesses, and partnerships with training providers. He argued that without asking, the council lacks information to make good decisions on large development projects.
  • Matthew Shreve: Raised five issues: (1) the AMI water meter program's performance and fee; (2) data security and cloud networks for municipal and school data; (3) the Hotel Topeka sale for $1 million cash despite a $12 million investment and projected $1.75 million operating loss; (4) AI monitoring in schools and potential data harvesting; (5) oversight of Foreign Trade Zone #161. He requested answers in the minutes.

Discussion Items

  • Action Item 4A – JEDO Voting Member Selection Procedure: Resolution to move the election of two JEDO voting board members to the first meeting in January and allow voice votes. An amendment to permit voice vote was approved. Councilmember Hiller made a motion to approve as amended; seconded. Passed 9-0.
  • Action Item 4B – MTPO Policy Board Appointment Procedure: Resolution to move the election of three MTPO voting members to the first meeting in January and allow voice votes. An amendment to permit voice vote was approved. Motion to approve as amended by Councilmember Kell, seconded. Passed 9-0.

Presentations

  • Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA) Annual Update: Presenters: Sam Sutton (chairman), Eric Johnson (president), Curtis Sneaton (director of economic development). Highlights:
    • Staffing: 50-55 full-time employees covering police, fire, operations, maintenance.
    • Commercial service: Airlines have cut about 1,500 seats daily; per-passenger cost for airlines is over $16, but MTAA offers incentives to keep costs under $1. A revenue guarantee is in place to attract new airlines.
    • Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangar: Lease signed in January 2026 for a spec-built hangar at Forbes Field, expected operational by end of 2027, creating several hundred high-paying jobs.
    • Federal appropriation of $6 million from Senator Moran to rehabilitate the dilapidated North Apron.
    • Billard Airport: Flight academy building completed; road resurfacing and new access roads planned; perimeter fence project ongoing.
    • Land available: 170-200 acres in the industrial park (shovel-ready), plus 300 acres on the south end of Forbes (suitable for cargo operations).
    • Councilmember Hiller clarified that the previous United Air Service failure was due to the airline, not lack of community support, and that 1,300 people from Topeka go to Kansas City daily, indicating demand.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved consent agenda minutes (9-0).
  • Approved resolution 4A as amended (9-0).
  • Approved resolution 4B as amended (9-0).
  • The council recessed into executive session for 30 minutes to discuss personnel matters (KSA 75-4319(b)(1)), with the deputy city manager, human resources director, and city attorney present. The meeting reconvened with no action taken, but a second executive session was requested.

Announcements

  • March 10, 2026 agenda: Presentation from Topeka Housing Authority; action items including a real estate lien with Kansas National Guard, zoning change at SW Eurish Road and 21st Street, Urish Center Reinvestment Housing Incentive District, public hearings for Capital City Town Homes TIF District, AIM strategies easement vacations, and Hotel Topeka Community Improvement District.
  • Deputy Mayor Hofer: Announced an open house at Fire Station #6 (Friday, March 7, 4-7 PM) and an informational meeting on the Pole Quincy Viaduct (Thursday, March 5, 5-7 PM at the Holiday Building) covering California Avenue Bridge demolition, Topeka Boulevard reopening, and I-70 closures.
  • Mayor: Noted that Heartland Park is reopening with its first event in October 2026, and the city received a $200,000 grant from KDHE for accessibility and energy efficiency improvements.
  • Councilmember Banks: Mentioned attending an economic summit on Black efforts in Kansas with Councilmember Miller.

Meeting Transcript

So I have to turn my microphone on if anyone wants to actually hear me. So again, welcome to the uh March 3rd, 2026 governing by the agenda or governed body meeting, which I will now call to order. Um just for everybody's reference, the city manager is out sick this evening, so deputy city manager will be filling in for him. Uh with that, I will ask everyone to turn their attention to council member Brett Kell, who has to this evening's invocation. Please rise if you are able. Let's take the time to be thankful for what we have, find the positive force to push us through the negative situations, and the ability to find joy in our life. Thank you. Sure, I pledge allegiance to July States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and with liberty and justice. Mayor Duncan. Here. Councilmember Hiller. Here. Valdivia Aqua. Ortice. Banks. Here. Kel. Here. Miller. Here. Bradbury. Here. McGee. Here. And Hofer. Here. All right. We have eight present with council members of Aldivia Aqua and Ortiz absent. All right. We will move on to presentations. We have one this evening, City Clerk. Uh we have an update from the Metropolitan Teka Airport Authority. The uh MTAA start leading off with their president will make a presentation to us this evening. Thank you. Great. Thank you. Come on up. All right. Thank you for bringing us here tonight to provide you with our annual update of the MTAA. My name is Sam Sutton. I am the current 2026 uh chairman of the airport board. And I'm joined here today by the president. Um president of the MTAA, uh Mr. Eric Johnson, and our director of economic development, Mr. Curtis Sneaton. The uh MTA was created in 1974 as co sort of uh an entity that could help transition the air airport over from a military-controlled entity to a civilian operated airport. Um in 1978, the airport was consolidated with four the airport authority was consolidated with uh Billard Airport. And uh the city and county voted to combine those two assets under one roof. For the purpose of acquiring, owning, maintaining, operating, and improving and disposing of good evening. Umson, President Director of Airports uh for the MTA.

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