OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Topeka City Council Governing Body Meeting - July 8, 2026

Governing Body — Wednesday, July 8, 2026
BodyTopeka, Kansas
SessionGoverning Body
DateWednesday, July 8, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:34:21

Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

Good evening.

0:13

Welcome to the governing body meeting of July 7th, 2026.

0:17

Thank you for being here.

0:19

Um this evening, Deputy Mayor Hofer has this evening's invocation.

0:23

So with that, please rise if you are able and turn your attention to the Deputy Mayor.

0:33

Okay.

0:40

That's better.

0:41

Okay, dear Father, thank you for bringing us together today.

0:45

Thank you for our many and abundant blessings.

0:49

Let us fully listen to each other, our staff, and our citizens with an open mind.

0:54

Give the governing body, city leaders, and all of our civil service servants wisdom so that we may solve problems, serve our city well, and bring growth and prosperity to the community.

1:07

Also, please keep our police, firefighters, public work staff and utility staff safe.

1:14

Amen.

1:41

Okay.

1:42

All right.

1:43

With that, the clerk would take the roll.

1:45

Mayor Duncan.

1:46

Here.

1:47

Council members Hiller.

1:50

Here.

1:50

Paul Divia Aquala.

1:52

Here.

1:52

Ortiz.

1:53

Here.

1:54

Banks.

1:56

Here.

1:56

Kel.

1:57

Here.

1:58

Miller.

2:00

Bradbury.

2:01

Here.

2:02

McGee.

2:03

Here.

2:03

And Hofer.

2:04

Here.

2:05

All right.

2:05

We have 10 present.

2:07

All right.

2:07

Before we move on with the agenda, unless there's an objection, and it's okay if there is, we can talk about it.

2:13

But we have a number of people signed up for public comment this evening, and the majority of them are here are related to one of our presentations, which is our last presentation of the evening.

2:23

So it would be my request to move public comment up to be proceed immediately after our presentations since there's a natural connection there.

2:31

Anyone who's signed up to speak will still get to speak, even if it's not directly related to that issue, but we'll just move all of public comment to that time.

2:38

So I can do that unless there's an objection.

2:41

So is there an objection or concern with that?

2:44

Councilmember Ortiz.

2:46

If that person isn't here, can we keep their name to the end?

2:49

Yes, if I pass somebody, then at the end of the evening, I will go back and circle back in case they showed up to the meeting later.

2:54

They're used to it being at the end of the day.

2:55

I'll circle their name and call it later in the meeting.

2:58

Okay, well, with that, then we will move uh public comment up to immediately after presentations.

3:05

With that, we'll move on to our next item.

3:23

Okay.

3:24

All right.

3:26

All right, Kelly, you out there, Bridget, whoever you've got, whoever wants to come up.

3:30

Whatever the crew is.

3:36

So we have lots of very hard working people and departments in this city.

3:41

None these days, though, seems to be as hardworking as our legal department, particularly our prosecution division.

3:47

And through their work, they've actually earned a recognition that we want to recognize tonight.

3:53

On June 12, 2026, the Family Peace Initiative honored the City of Topeka legal department with its community impact award in recognition of the department's sustained commitment to reducing domestic violence and promoting safer outcomes for individuals and families throughout the Topeka community.

4:10

This recognition was awarded for the exceptional work of the city's prosecution division, which has developed and implemented domestic violence initiatives focused on accountability, behavior change, and reducing recidivism among offenders.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Data Center Regulation█████████████████████████████29%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Public Safety████████8%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Community Engagement██████6%
Racial Equity████4%
Water And Wastewater Management████4%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Topeka City Council Governing Body Meeting - July 8, 2026

The governing body met on July 8, 2026, to discuss a range of topics including recognition of the legal department's community impact award, three presentations (Human Relations Commission annual report, General Fund financial summary, and data centers overview), public comments largely focused on opposition to data center development, consent agenda approvals, and non-action discussions on revenue neutral rates for the city and Topeka Metro Transit. The meeting included an executive session and adjourned at 10:04 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved board appointments: Adam Davy to Board of Electrical Appeals (term ending July 7, 2028), David Lemon and Drew Stevens to Board of Mechanical Examiners Appeals (term ending July 7, 2028), John Salbach to Board of Plumbing Examiners (unexpired term ending December 31, 2026). Motion carried 10-0.
  • Approved consent agenda as amended, removing item 6H (development agreement with Weibel Property Development LLC) due to unresolved property tax issues. Remaining items approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Michael McDowell: Urged compassionate response to homelessness, opposed bulldozing camps. Suggested providing trash service and inward-facing cameras for safety in outreach.
  • Brian Pete: New resident and Air Force veteran, offered services to community.
  • Joseph Ledbetter: Raised concerns about utility rate increases, city debt, and lack of transparency in water district contracts; urged annual utility budget reviews.
  • Danae Hayes (via Zoom): Montara subdivision resident opposed to data center due to high water costs and lack of transparency; noted 40% of poll respondents pay $200-250/month for water.
  • Blair Helgeson: Healthcare provider and pregnant resident living near potential data center site; cited health risks from air and noise pollution; requested moratorium and independent health studies.
  • Melody Byrd (Topeka Jump): Supported Affordable Housing Trust Fund recommendations; urged one-tenth of one penny sales tax for affordable housing and homelessness, with half to trust fund.
  • Amy Gillette: District 3 resident; opposed data center near her home; compared to landfill; noted water issues in county; requested moratorium.
  • Joe Helgeson: Presented evidence of pre-infrastructure planning by Evergy and Microsoft soil boring; argued CUP insufficient; formally requested emergency moratorium on data centers and high-density industrial load interconnections.
  • Tim Zarowski: Listed concerns: electricity increases, air pollution, water usage, noise, grid strain; noted 65% of Americans oppose data centers per a poll.
  • Shamika King Sims: Asked community to reflect on complicity in AI use; urged preparation.
  • Megan Ryan: First-time attendee; called for moratorium and establishment of expert committee; criticized lack of transparency.
  • Marshall Barber: Joked about haircut; requested action on crime and fireworks enforcement; supported affordable housing trust fund.
  • Danielle Twemlows: Stressed city's control over water; argued moratorium needed to collect data; noted water scarcity, grid strain, and minimal tax revenue from data centers.

Discussion Items

  • Recognition of Legal Department: City presented Community Impact Award to prosecution division for domestic violence work with Family Peace Initiative. Dorothy Stuckey Holly reported 536 individuals who cause harm and 401 victim contacts served in first half of 2026.
  • Human Relations Commission Annual Report: Vice Chair Zach Sarrett highlighted AARP age-friendly survey (500+ responses), outreach efforts, and need for new members. Councilmember Hiller commended self-directed commission work.
  • General Fund Financial Summary: Deputy Director Josh McEnarney presented Q2 2026 revenue and expenditure projections. Revenue expected at $126M; expenses under budget but expected to spend $4M cash reserves, leaving 22% fund balance. Sales tax flat, franchise fees down. Council questioned fuel fund and franchise fee trends.
  • Data Centers Overview: Director Leah Bowling provided informational presentation. No current applications in city limits. Staff identified zoning gap – data centers not defined in code – and plan to require conditional use permit (CUP) via text amendment. Timeline: July planning commission discussion, August public hearing, September council vote. Councilmembers expressed concerns: Valdiviacala criticized lack of transparency; Kell stated "hard no" citing unknown effects; Bradbury opposed rushing without impact analysis; Hiller suggested wider public notification; Valdiviacala noted grid strain and water concerns. Councilmember McGee supported getting ahead of issue. Public comments overwhelmingly opposed.
  • TMTA Revenue Neutral Rate: Chair Candice Stiles and CFO Richard Applehan presented budget. Requested restoration of mill levy from 3.999 to 4.2 mills to avoid service cuts. Councilmember Kell discussed advertising revenue opportunities; agreement to contact advertising company.
  • City Revenue Neutral Rate: Josh McEnarney explained process to exceed RNR to capture $2.4M from increased property values. Proposed high-water mark of 37.126 mills. Public hearing set for August 25. Council discussion on mill value.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved (item 6H removed) – 10-0.
  • Board appointments approved – 10-0.
  • Staff to pursue zoning text amendment for data centers requiring CUP.
  • Council to consider moratorium on data centers; Councilmember Valdiviacala requested presentation and legal memo on moratorium options.
  • TMTA and city to proceed with revenue neutral rate public hearings: city August 25, TMTA September 1.
  • Executive session held (90 minutes) on personnel performance evaluation; no action taken.
  • Meeting adjourned at 10:04 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. Welcome to the governing body meeting of July 7th, 2026. Thank you for being here. Um this evening, Deputy Mayor Hofer has this evening's invocation. So with that, please rise if you are able and turn your attention to the Deputy Mayor. Okay. That's better. Okay, dear Father, thank you for bringing us together today. Thank you for our many and abundant blessings. Let us fully listen to each other, our staff, and our citizens with an open mind. Give the governing body, city leaders, and all of our civil service servants wisdom so that we may solve problems, serve our city well, and bring growth and prosperity to the community. Also, please keep our police, firefighters, public work staff and utility staff safe. Amen. Okay. All right. With that, the clerk would take the roll. Mayor Duncan. Here. Council members Hiller. Here. Paul Divia Aquala. Here. Ortiz. Here. Banks. Here. Kel. Here. Miller. Bradbury. Here. McGee. Here. And Hofer. Here. All right. We have 10 present. All right. Before we move on with the agenda, unless there's an objection, and it's okay if there is, we can talk about it. But we have a number of people signed up for public comment this evening, and the majority of them are here are related to one of our presentations, which is our last presentation of the evening. So it would be my request to move public comment up to be proceed immediately after our presentations since there's a natural connection there. Anyone who's signed up to speak will still get to speak, even if it's not directly related to that issue, but we'll just move all of public comment to that time. So I can do that unless there's an objection. So is there an objection or concern with that? Councilmember Ortiz. If that person isn't here, can we keep their name to the end? Yes, if I pass somebody, then at the end of the evening, I will go back and circle back in case they showed up to the meeting later. They're used to it being at the end of the day. I'll circle their name and call it later in the meeting. Okay, well, with that, then we will move uh public comment up to immediately after presentations.

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