City council approves spending over $217k on new air-conditioning chiller for Hotel Topeka

The Topeka City Council will spend more than $217,000 on a new chiller for Hotel Topeka.

After a split vote, the governing body on Tuesday night approved spending $217,254 from the unassigned revenue fund on a new chiller, which is a piece of HVAC machinery that cools the air in a building.

The vote was split 6-3. Deputy Mayor Christina Valdivia-Alcala, and council members Sylvia Ortiz and David Banks voted no.

Added air-conditioning needed at hotel as summer approaches

According to city documents, the hotel should have two chillers but currently only has one, and it is 26 years old.

The Policy and Finance Committee recommended the initial request on April 24.

City Councilman Spencer Duncan, who chairs the the committee, said he was in favor of the purchase.

"Despite some emails we get, to the contrary, people are staying at Hotel Topeka, people are using Hotel Topeka and things are being booked at Hotel Topeka and they'd like air-conditioning this summer," Duncan said.

Why the city of Topeka owns Hotel Topeka

Hotel Topeka is owned by the city after it was purchased in the summer of 2023 for $7.6 million. It was transferred in mid-October to the Topeka Development Corporation, which is a single-purpose entity created by the city for the hotel's title and to authorize the spending of public money to operate and maintain it.

The city bought the hotel to protect a community asset by proactively ensuring it receives the improvements it needs and gets an owner and operator who will take care of it, city officials have said. In February, the city had "largely exhausted" the $500,000 it set aside for the hotel in October 2023.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka City Council approves $217k for more Hotel Topeka renovations