Not only is the cost of the renovation of the Kansas Statehouse now projected to be $285 million — more than twice its original estimate — the cost is up $100 million from an estimate made earlier this year. Forget budget creep; that’s budget explosion.
The Statehouse needed renovation. And much of the cost increase has been caused by the rising price of materials — the same reason for the increased cost of Wichita’s downtown arena. There also have been some unforeseen complications in the massive project.
But part of the cost increase stems from lawmakers’ decisions to add an underground parking garage and a visitors’ center and to expand office space. And while lawmakers have been approving the cost increases, they’ve been telling some social service agencies to get by with little or no funding increases.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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13 Comments
Since when have Republicans scoffed at a project that cost more than expected? Remember, the Iraq occupation was just supposed to cost $3 billion dollars. Ever since Reagan the Republican party has been the party of tax, spend, borrow more and spend a lot more. But there might be some gay Mexicans crossing the border to work at a liberal university so we must focus on that and ignore economic issues.
Hey phillip, why don’t you analyze public school spending?
So what? Our statehouse represents our entire state. I think people who live in glass houses – shouldn’t throw stones.
Just looky at what the little village of Wichita is fixing on spending on corporate welfare, that does NOT even serve all the citizens of Wichita.
There are a large number of new spending proposals pending at city hall too including $24.5 million for the county’s arena project and $290 million to remodel Century II in a few years.
http://wichitaliberty.org/
I know where there is an extra 300 million in cash laying about.
Legislators could call up Sedgwick County and then rename the Topeka Capitol to the Topeka Arena.
Start a campaign to build and move the Capitol to Wichita. Turn the old capitol into a museum / tourist attraction or condos. Might as well build a new one —- only Topekans have a strong emotional tie to the capitol being there —- maybe it can be done cheaper / better here half a billion should be a good start for a simple design
….. has the legislature figured out how to pay for the 750 million in infrastructure repairs in the university system, that was a hot topic about a year ago … add it up Kansans, democrat or republican we will see more taxes / fees eventually for all these needed repairs
Phillip to be more accurate the spending increase for the capitol is being done while the legislature is out of session.
This dicision has been made by the senate and house leaders only.
So you need to call on the Republican and Democrate leaders. Everyone of them voted for the increased spending.
The contractors have not met one deadline or price. Even the new projections earlier this year have been blown out the window.
So why don’t you challenge allof the leaders and then print their responses?
Jeez, if the quality of the building reflected the quality of their work, they’d be working in an old barn in a field somewhere.
We keep electing them.
I hope the Eagle does some “watch-dog” work on all the Board of Regents construction that is going on.
I doubt that they will.
The universities are still building. So they must have extra money.
Phil: You must have written the lead-in paragraphs in this blog thread with an embarrassed blush on your face. Surely you knew full-well the comparison would be made to the rediculous $300,000,000.13 UNWANTED, UNNEEDED WHITE ELEPHANT DOWNTOWN SPORTS ARENA.
As we all know, many of the out-of-town arena supporters are now gone or leaving soon. The remaining persons involved in the project usually call themselves “hired guns” … that is they claim they are only performing “as directed.”
Meanwhile, Wichita and Sedgwick County taxpayers will take a 1/2 billion dollar hit from this massive 20% increase in sales taxes for the albatross arena … money that could have been used for real and important needs.
Both the downtown arena and the massive rebuild of the Topeka capital building are Kansas’ dual answers to the infamous “Bridge to nowhere” in Alaska … a 1/2 billion dollar tax-funded bridge to an island with a handful of people.
Meanwhile, in Kansas, a long list of needed new and deferred maintenance projects are ignored by our elected politicians because they are not as much fun and don’t offer the opportunity for names to be preserved on brass plaques.
So county commissioners Dave Unruh, Tim Norton and Tom Winters, listen up … I hope you know, no law exists to preserve those plaques on failed projects.
$285 million to remodel the Statehouse, a governmaent office building that at least two-thirds of Kansans have never seen and 99.9% have never set foot in? You could build the Taj Mahal from the ground up for half that!
The next time a republican decries “tax and spend democrats” I’ll refer him or her to this story.