https://youtu.be/JRTeTbv9QJo?si=clWSEHTEOedMIxDT
This is the official recording of a special Topeka City Council work session (City of Topeka channel) focused on data center issues, particularly a proposed Compass Datacenters campus in unincorporated Shawnee County. No public comment was taken. The session included roll call, a lengthy presentation and Q&A with Compass, a short intermission, a presentation from Evergy Kansas Central, and further discussion before adjournment.
Compass Datacenters Presentation (Brett Collard, SVP of Land Development, and colleagues)
Compass (founded 2011; backed by Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and KKR) develops, owns, and operates long-term “Class A community-first” hyperscale data center campuses. They stressed they do not flip land or build purely on speculation and design for multi-decade (“100-year”) operation with externally accessible mechanical/electrical systems for upgrades.
Proposed project details (SW 85th Street / Wakarusa area, also fronting SW 77th Street and adjacent to US-75, within the 2012 South Topeka Economic Growth Corridor near the Walmart distribution center and Mars plant):
- Up to 10 single-story, low-profile buildings built in phases.
- ~$4.5 billion total investment; ~400 MW IT capacity.
- Construction targeted 2028–2031; full operations beginning ~2031.
- 54.5 acres of floodplain left undeveloped.
- Pre-filing independent studies (environmental, wildlife, stormwater, traffic, air quality, and 11 days of on-site sound measurement) already submitted as public records; additional details requested by county staff, with a supplement planned for August 28.
Claimed benefits (from an FTI Consulting economic study for the first full year of operations):
- Roughly $55 million in property taxes to Shawnee County alone in year one (about half of the county’s total 2023 collections from all properties), continuing annually thereafter; school district share projected to more than double Auburn-Washburn USD 437 local revenues.
- 700+ permanent jobs across the metro area (~300 on-site), supporting >$85 million in annual GDP.
- ~1,700 construction jobs per year across Kansas (2028–2031), generating >$500 million in labor income; typically ~75% local hires.
- ~$810 million spent in Kansas during construction (labor/materials, equipment, and ~$69 million in professional services).
- Operations wages 30–50% above average; construction at or above prevailing wage.
- Discussions underway with Washburn Tech on a data-center training/pathway program (no prior experience/degree required, with scholarships).
- Voluntary community investments (roads, schools, parks, workforce programs) modeled on ~$277 million spent across prior campuses; willingness to work with local leaders on specific needs and to write benefits into agreements. They stated these are not contingent on incentives.
Responses to common concerns:
- Water: Zero municipal water for cooling since founding (closed-loop systems filled once and recycled). Campus domestic use roughly equivalent to 20 homes per year. They have asked the county to make water commitments enforceable permit conditions.
- Power/rates: Direct connection to high-voltage transmission; Compass fully funds substations and related upgrades so costs are not socialized onto other ratepayers. Demand-response capability to shed load during grid stress events.
- Noise: Modeled <50 dB at the property line (quieter than normal conversation; below EPA residential guidelines), based on independent acoustics work after on-site measurements. They described past responsive fixes at other sites.
- Environment/sustainability: UNESCO sustainable development partner; multiple independent certifications (construction quality, sustainability, water neutrality); generators on clean-burning HVO biofuel. Independent studies already completed.
- Differentiated themselves from speculative developers who acquire land/power rights without building or who exit quickly.
Short third-party videos (including commentary from a former municipal water utility director/Erin Brockovich Foundation co-founder and a local association chair near an existing Compass site) reinforced the water and community-engagement points. Council members then asked extensive questions over a substantial portion of the multi-hour session.
Evergy Presentation
Evergy Kansas Central addressed utility/infrastructure impacts of large data-center loads. Company representatives emphasized that data-center customers are required to cover the costs of necessary new generation, transmission, and related infrastructure so that existing residential and commercial ratepayers are not subsidizing them.
Context and Outcomes Noted in Coverage
The proposed site is outside Topeka city limits, so Shawnee County holds primary land-use/zoning authority (the city’s one-year data-center moratorium and related utility-connection restrictions apply inside city limits). The meeting was framed as an early information-gathering session; a new Committee of the Whole on data centers was referenced, with more discussions expected. Mayor Spencer Duncan later characterized the Q&A as productive, with many good questions asked and most (but not all) answers provided in satisfactory depth.
The recording runs through the presentations, questions, and adjournment. Local reporting the following day highlighted the economic projections, infrastructure-cost-shifting assurances from Evergy, and ongoing council scrutiny of transparency and impacts.