Friends – As everyone knows, Kansas Commercial makes a living in real estate leasing, sales, and management. Our team is involved with the Compass Data Center Project in South Topeka and we want to share some of our knowledge on Compass and the overall Potential Community Impact.
Consider Hyper-Scale (Large) Data Centers like the Railroad in the 1800’s.Towns that had the railroad thrived. Towns that did not struggled and many are no longer around. Data Centers are the same. The amount of tax revenue a town can receive from a large Data Center will positively separate that town from its peers for generations.
Below is a link to a website for the project that will answer questions about Compass and Data Centers.
Economic Impact – This project, when completed, will be the single largest real estate project in Shawnee County. The construction project is 3 BILLION Dollars. The assessed value of the property will be at least 3 BILLION Dollars. Compass is asking for and receiving ZERO tax benefits from Shawnee County. For comparison, we will need to construct Thirty-Five (35) Mars Plants to generate the same economic tax benefit to our community.
Below is a chart that details the estimated amount of property tax Compass will be paying PER YEAR and how much increased income our community will receive.
Perfect Timing – The City of Topeka is in financial difficulty and is operating at a large deficit. Below is a list of positions that are being eliminated by the City. Top of the list is Police – Fire – Infrastructure Maintenance. (The City Budget is attached below). The City will raise our taxes to pay for this deficit. Now refer to the income generated to the city by Compass in the chart when the project is completed. Deficit eliminated.
Kansas Commercial Real Estate Services is now thirty years old and we have had the opportunity to work on many projects. The Compass project is the only time that we can tell anyone who owns real estate in the community that your property taxes Will Go Down when the project is completed.
Call to Action –
Please email every Council Member and tell them that you want your taxes lowered and Police and Fire fully funded. Tell them to remove the moratorium and get a deal negotiated that will benefit all of our Citizens.
Please email the three County Commissioners and thank them for treating this like a business that provides services and lowers expenses. Tell them to lower your taxes and get the Compass deal negotiated and executed.
(Copy and paste the email addresses into your email software to send one email to all of the Council and then to the Commissioners).
City Council Members:
SN CO Commissioners:
Kansas Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. | 435 S Kansas Ave Suite 200 | Topeka, KS 66603 US
Thursday, August 13, 2026
Fw: Important Topeka Datacenter Info
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Fw: Back-to-School Safety & Brave Talk
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2026 1:27 PM
To: Henry McClure <mcre13@gmail.com>
Subject: Back-to-School Safety & Brave Talk
Hi Henry,
As kids head back into classrooms this month, it's a good time to reopen a conversation that matters all year long: body safety. Simple, age-appropriate talks about safe and unsafe touches, and about who counts as a safe adult, give children the tools to speak up if something feels wrong.
That's the heart of BraveTalk, our prevention education program for elementary students from PreK through 6th grade. One lesson kids come away with is learning that they are "the boss of their body," a phrase that gives even our youngest students language to set boundaries with confidence. We're excited to share that we're expanding BraveTalk's reach into private schools across Topeka and into Wabaunsee County, bringing this education to more classrooms than ever before.
If you're a school or community partner interested in bringing BraveTalk to your students, or you'd like to support the campaign that makes this growth possible, we'd love to hear from you.
Warmly,
If you'd prefer not to hear from me by email, please reply back and let me know and I'll update my records accordingly.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
At this point the only way this gets more conflicted is if the family dog starts reviewing the drainage studies.
City Manager Robert Perez has achieved peak Topeka conflict-of-interest form.
He’s on the GO Topeka board. GO Topeka holds title to the land the data center wants. His wife is the county’s planning & zoning administrator — the very office that reviews land use, zoning, and development for that same project.
So the man who runs the city sits on the economic-development board that owns the dirt, while his spouse works in the county office that will decide what can be built on that dirt… and the whole thing is the single hottest political potato in Shawnee County right now.
And we’re all supposed to believe the line will be: “I will remain neutral and continue to run the city appropriately.”
At this point the only way this gets more conflicted is if the family dog starts reviewing the drainage studies.
Transparency isn’t just requested at this point. It’s the only thing left that isn’t already in the same household.
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Fw: Tax Incentives and Evil in our Government Schools
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2026 6:05 AM
To: mcre13@gmail.com <mcre13@gmail.com>
Subject: Tax Incentives and Evil in our Government Schools
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Can we do it by November ?
Short answer: It is theoretically possible under home rule, but practically very difficult — and likely too late — to get a true advisory (non-binding) question onto the official November 3, 2026 general election ballot.
Key realities
Advisory elections have special status Kansas Attorney General opinions and the state’s Election Standards confirm that cities (constitutional home rule) and counties (statutory home rule) can call non-binding advisory elections on public issues. However, these are not official “question submitted” elections. Because of that, county election officials are generally not authorized to supervise or run them the same way they run candidate races or statutory ballot questions. Separate ballots and arrangements are typically required.
Timing is the biggest obstacle right now
- Today is August 11, 2026.
- Several Kansas county election calendars list September 1 as the deadline for questions to be placed on the general election ballot.
- UOCAVA (military/overseas) ballots must be transmitted by around September 19.
- Ballot design, proofing, printing, and voting-equipment programming take significant lead time.
Even if the full Topeka City Council or Shawnee County Commission voted tomorrow to request an advisory question, the election office would have very little time to accommodate it on the official November ballot — and may decline because advisory elections fall outside their normal authority.
What would actually be required
- Formal action by the full governing body (not one individual).
- Clear public-purpose language that does not improperly delegate legislative power.
- Cooperation from the Shawnee County Election Commissioner (who has discretion and may treat an advisory question differently from a statutory one).
- Sufficient time for ballot production — which is already compressed.
Practical alternatives if officials want public input soon
- Hold a special advisory election later (more expensive and requires its own process).
- Use existing public-hearing processes already built into the Conditional Use Permit reviews.
- Conduct surveys, town halls, or other non-ballot methods of gauging opinion.
- Aim for a later regular election if the goal is an official ballot question.
Bottom line: While home rule allows advisory questions in principle, getting one onto this November’s official ballot is highly unlikely given the non-official status of advisory elections and the tight production deadlines. The realistic window has largely closed. For a definitive answer on whether Shawnee County’s election office would even accept such a request at this late date, the governing body would need to contact the Election Commissioner directly and soon.