Data Center moving slowly

By Martin Hawver

If the City of Topeka makes an “island annexation” of property outside the city limits, it could receive millions of dollars of property taxes from the developer of a southern Shawnee County computer data center proposed by an experienced Texas-based firm that has built dozens of the facilities in the nation.

The Topeka and Shawnee Count governments need to approve the proposal for the nearly $1 billion plant, and there are issues, of course, that both governments are mulling over… Some Topeka city council members and even Mayor Spencer Duncan aren’t sure they want to create a city-managed “island” of Shawnee County land for the data center project. It’s called an “island” because no part of the proposed site touches the city boundary line.

But that “island” also makes the data center property taxable by the city– worth an estimated $42 million in property tax receipts. The county will have to approve the change in status as a city property, but it wouldn’t lose its ability to tax the premises, just allow Topeka to drink from the tax stream, too.

Compass Data Centers, headquartered in Dallas, would like to get the deal worked out, and while Compass doesn’t want to gripe out loud, it will quietly say that this process is being stretched out…

And that provides time and the occasional forum for the public to consider reasons they don’t want the data center here.

Topeka City Council is taking pretty predictable criticism of the data center, largely on environmental grounds that don’t seem to be a problem in Compass Data Centers’ other sites and because of the general distrust of nearly everything to do with computers from a generation when high-tech was mostly fax machines…

There were questions at a special City Council meeting this week about water use, with Compass maintaining that the center will consume water just for restrooms and employee lounges, after maybe a million or more gallons to initially prime the proposed facility’s cooling system which recycles the initial fill-up. Compass says it won’t be using public water services to keep the computers cool.

Compass and Evergy, the electric utility that would build a new power plant and an extensive distribution network to meet demands of the data center —and improve the dependability of half-century old electric lines to other business and residential properties in its nearby distribution area—appeared to have pretty well worked out their deals.

Evergy’s Chuck Caisley told the city council that Compass would pay a 20% premium over the standard industry/business rate for its power to pay off Evergy’s cost for the new construction and nearby distribution upgrades. He said it would also wind up lowering residential bills because it would allow reduction in power to the data center in emergencies so that residential customers could still receive power, reducing the need for specialized smaller generation facilities that wind up on all customers’ bills.

Two council members, Christina Valdivia-Alcala and Marcus Miller, both questioned whether the data center could prohibit its use for tracking people for surveillance. Alcala said she wants to know whether the data center could specifically prohibit military surveillance operations and coordination in the center.

The council will have to wait for a briefing on the most valuable piece of the data center issue – whether the city can create that island to make the project taxable and regulatable by the city. That meeting hasn’t been scheduled yet, but it is the key to that profitability of the center for Topeka property taxes.

The project as it is now being discussed would generate about $49 million in property taxes for area school districts--the majority for the Auburn-Washburn district—and about $50 million a year for other local governments – if Topeka creates that island zoning…

***

It’s a big-buck deal that could cut the city’s current property tax level or just give the city council more money to spend on whatever it wants. But it’s also complicated enough that like a tough piece of meat, the more you chew it, the bigger it gets…

Public skepticism about data centers’ energy/water use and futuristic AI concerns – despite the lure of a windfall in taxes for communities – is intensifying around the country.

Watch for it in Kansas elections this fall.



Celebrate at the Golden Gala

The Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging invites the community to celebrate the milestone half-century in the making.

The Golden Gala will be at 6 pm Friday, Sept. 25, in the private gardens of the Kay McFarland Japanese Garden at the Topeka Zoo, SW 6^th & Gage. The event marks 50 years of JAAA's service to older adults and caregivers across Jefferson, Shawnee and Douglas counties. 

Guests will be welcomed with the sound of live cello and a complimentary photo before the evening unfolds into fine dining, dancing and a silent auction featuring curated items and experiences from small businesses across Kansas, organizers said.

“It promises to be an elegant evening, but at its heart, the Golden Gala is a celebration of everything JAAA has built over the past five decades: a community where older adults and the people who care for them are supported, valued and never alone. It's also a chance to look ahead, as JAAA continues expanding its programs and services for the years to come,” the event press release said.



Tickets are $50 and are available on the JAAA website: https://www.jhawkaaa.org/event-list

Enjoy a small-town festival

Looking for a small-town fall festival to enjoy with your grandkids or spouse or friends?

The 17^th Annual Perry Pride Fall Festival, a free family-friendly event for all ages, will be from 9 am to 4 pm Saturday, Sept. 12. It’s just 20 miles northeast of Topeka.

Spread over multiple blocks in the downtown area near Front & Main streets, the festival features food vendors, vendors showcasing products and services, a car show and a garden tractor pull.

Festival activities include a balloon artist, cakewalk, children's inflatables, cornhole tournament, henna artists, live music, photo booth, putt-putt course, face painters, a beer garden, petting zoo and informational booths.

A large tent will offer festivalgoers a spot for shady breaks.

Parking will be available on the streets near the downtown area and in church parking lots.

It’s Your Health

…news about health-care providers

Doctor joins foot/ankle clinic

Dr. Erik Nott, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle care, has joined the Stormont Vail Health Foot and Ankle Clinic.

After more than 23 years of service in the U.S. Air Force, Nott brings extensive orthopedic experience, including advanced fellowship training in foot and ankle surgery and a distinguished career caring for service members around the world, Stormont Vail officials said.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine, completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and completed a foot and ankle fellowship at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado.

Nott says he works closely with each patient to develop treatment plans that support function and mobility, whether treatment is surgical or nonsurgical.

Nott joins Dr. Henry Goppert at the Stormont Vail Health Foot and Ankle Clinic and is accepting new patients. To schedule an appointment, call 785-272-7600.

Editor’s Journal: Seafood, apartment complex, books, biking...

By Vickie Griffith Hawver

Coming up: Yearning for amazing, fresh seafood in Kansas City? In the upcoming Hawvers’ Still Booming Newsletter, our adventurous Foodie Friends Field Trips columnists uncover the delights of a neighborhood restaurant in East Brookside; if you didn’t know what it was, you might drive right past!

Also in that September/October Newsletter, a single retiree shares the result of her search for a place to call home: a Topeka apartment complex where there is “a true mixture of young and old and a friendliness that I have never had living alone.” It’s part of our ongoing series on the many choices folks over 55 are making for their next homes.

Also coming up: Lots of books coming out this fall. I’m excited because four of my favorite authors have books ready to go: Liane Moriarty, “Big Little Truths,” Aug. 25; Jodi Picoult, “Hollow Bones,” Sept. 15; Claire Macintosh, “It’s Not What You Think,” Sept. 22, and Bonnie Garmus, “Peck and Peck,” Oct. 12.

Three of the authors have written multiple books, but this will be the second book for Garmus, after her blockbuster start with “Lessons in Chemistry” in 2022.

And coming up: Should be cooler weather for bike riding. Riding in the mornings has been good lately; Martin & I are really looking forward to even better cycling weather. See you on the Shunga, Landon & Deer Creek trails!

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