For Wichita real estate developer David Burk of Marketplace Properties, being on the receiving end of sweetheart lease deals with the City of Wichita is becoming a habit. According to a letter of intent approved by the city council -- and sure to become law after a public hearing at a meeting of the Wichita City Council on September 13th -- the city is planning to build about 8,500 square feet of retail space in a downtown parking garage. The garage is being built, partly, to serve a hotel Burk and partners are developing. Here are the details of the deal Burk and his partners are getting from the taxpayers of Wichita: The city plans to lease this space to Burk and $1.00 per year. Not $1.00 per square foot,…
As Wichita proceeds with the redevelopment of its downtown, one developer seems to be on the cutting edge of harvesting corporate welfare -- despite his past behavior. Last year this person, Dave Burk of Marketplace Properties, acted in a way the Wichita Eagle described as deceptive in order to reduce his property taxes. Yet, Burk remains a favored developer at city hall, and he's soon going to ask taxpayers to pay higher taxes for his benefit. These are the same taxes he himself doesn't like to pay. The following article from February 2010 explains. Today's Wichita Eagle contains a story about a well-known Wichita real estate developer that, while shocking, shouldn't really be all that unexpected. The opening sentence of the article (Developer won tax appeal on city site) tells…
Today's Wichita Eagle contains a story about a well-known Wichita real estate developer that, while shocking, shouldn't really be all that unexpected. The opening sentence of the article (Developer won tax appeal on city site) tells us most of what we need to know: "Downtown Wichita's leading developer, David Burk, represented himself as an agent of the city -- without the city's knowledge or consent -- to cut his taxes on publicly owned property he leases in the Old Town Cinema Plaza, according to court records and the city attorney." Some might say it's not surprising that Burk represented himself in the way the Eagle article reports. When a person's been on the receiving end of so much city hall largess, it's an occupational hazard. And when you've been the…
Tuesday's Wichita City Council meeting will provide an opportunity for the mayor, council members, and city hall staff to let Wichitans know if our city is governed by the rule of law and proper respect for it, or if these values will be discarded for the convenience of one person and his business partners. Here's the situation: a person wants to gain approval of a tax increment financing (TIF) district project plan. This requires a public hearing, which the city has scheduled for September 13th. But this schedule doesn't suit the applicant. He has a personal business need -- an expiring purchase option -- and wants the city to issue a letter of intent stating that the city intends to do all the things that are the subject of the…
To protect itself against self-defeating appeals of property valuation in tax increment financing districts, the City of Wichita once included a protective clause in developer agreements. But this consideration is not present in two proposed agreements. When the Wichita Eagle reported that a downtown developer represented himself as an agent of the city in order to cut his taxes on publicly owned property he leases in the Old Town Cinema Plaza, city officials were not pleased. The property in question is located in a tax increment financing district. Incremental tax revenue from the property is earmarked for paying off bonds that were issued for the property's benefit. If tax revenue is reduced from original projections -- perhaps because the tax valuation was appealed -- the tax revenue might be insufficient…
Many people make campaign contributions to candidates whose ideals and goals they share. This is an important part of our political process. But when reading campaign finance reports for members of the Wichita City Council, one sees the same names appearing over and over, often making the maximum allowed contribution to candidates. Their spouses also contribute. Looking at the candidates these people contribute to, we find that often there’s no commonality to the political goals and ideals of the candidates. Some contribute equally to liberal and conservative council members. At first glance, it's puzzling. But then, when these people appear in the news after having received money from the Wichita City Council, it snaps into place: These campaign donors are not donating to those whose ideals they agree with. They’re…
When the Wichita City Council recently received the 2012 Project Downtown Annual Report, a city council member took the opportunity to question and clarify some of the facts and figures presented in the report. In his questions, Wichita City Council Member Paul Gray (district 4, south and southwest Wichita) asked whether the amount of public investment presented did, in fact, include all public investment. In his answer, Scott Knebel, who is Downtown Revitalization Manager, said no, not all forms of public investment were included in the figures presented in the report. He told the council that an analysis is being prepared, perhaps to be available in May. Gray urged Knebel to be more forthcoming when reporting on the level of public investment in order to gain a better level of…
Yesterday's meeting of the Wichita City Council provided a lesson in how frustrating it can be for citizens to interact with city government. You might even have to endure a slight insult from our mayor. The matter in question involved real estate developer Dave Burk and the city's economic development office. Regarding this matter, I wrote Mr. Burk by email early Monday morning with a question. He didn't reply. I should have followed-up with a telephone call, but I didn't have time. Monday afternoon I called the city's economic development office with a few questions. The person I talked to was confused by the questions I asked, and suggested that I make records requests to get what I was asking for. There wasn't time for that. So I wrote by…
Yesterday's meeting of the Wichita City Council revealed a council -- except for one member -- totally captured by special interests, to the point where the council, aided by city staff, used a narrow legal interpretation in order to circumvent a statutorily required public hearing process. The issue was a downtown hotel to be developed by a team lead by David Burk of Marketplace Properties. The subsidies Burk wants, specifically tax increment financing (TIF), require a public hearing to be held. The city scheduled the hearing for September 13th. That schedule, however, didn't suit Burk. In order to provide him a certain comfort level, the council agreed to issue a letter of intent stating that the council intends to do the things that the public hearing is supposed to provide…
Actions of the Wichita City Council have shown that campaign finance reform is needed. Citizen groups are investigating how to accomplish this needed reform, since the council has not shown interest in reforming itself. Consider recent actions by the council and its members: The council voted to give a movie theater operator a no-interest and low-interest loan, after having already received the benefit of tax increment financing. A minister dabbling in real estate development made a large contribution to his council representative just before he asked the city council for tax increment financing. The council voted to give a construction company a no-bid contract for a parking garage. When later put out for competitive bid, the same company won the contract, but with a bid 21 percent less costly to…