City manager recommends terminating boathouse lease after tenant cites inability to fund critical repairs
September 05, 2026 | Wichita City, Sedgwick County, Kansas
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The Wichita City Manager recommended the council accept a request to terminate the lease for the boathouse along the Arkansas River after the tenant said it lacked funds to perform required maintenance.
"We did total over 400,000 identified when you look at, some roof needs, rot, paint, different needs, but we have over 400,000 identified," City Manager (speaker 2) said, citing initial facility assessments and noting a critical subset of roughly $200,000 depending on roof work.
Staff told the council the tenant named in the packet as American Cubed or American 3 Foundation asked to end the lease because it cannot meet maintenance obligations going forward. A subtenant, the Kansas Hall of Fame, has also informed staff it plans to vacate the building by Oct. 30 because it cannot sustain operating costs tied to the sublease.
Council members pressed staff for a written history of the 2009 lease, documentation of notices of underperformance sent to the tenant, and a detailed list of the identified repairs before the council acts. "Can we have a list of what that maintenance is?" a council member asked (speaker 3).
Staff said the 2009 agreement lacks clawback provisions that would allow the city to recover funds and that current standardized lease language has been updated to include such financial remedies; staff committed to pulling the old and new contract language and the communication record for the Tuesday meeting.
Council was presented with options: accept the termination so the site reverts to the city; have the city invest in repairs (staff cited roughly $303,000 as the estimated critical deferred maintenance and up to about $400,000 for all identified needs); or draft an RFP to solicit a new operator or developer to repurpose and invest in the property. The City Manager said potential repair funding could come from the Public Works facilities budget, portions of the '26 budget and the city manager's contingency fund, but that staff might need to combine multiple funds.
No formal motion or vote was recorded in the transcript. Staff committed to providing the maintenance list, a timeline of notices sent to the tenant, and a roster of other city lease agreements similar to the boathouse for council review at the next meeting.
Next steps: the termination and follow-up materials are scheduled for discussion at the upcoming Tuesday council meeting; the council did not record a final decision during this session.
"We did total over 400,000 identified when you look at, some roof needs, rot, paint, different needs, but we have over 400,000 identified," City Manager (speaker 2) said, citing initial facility assessments and noting a critical subset of roughly $200,000 depending on roof work.
Staff told the council the tenant named in the packet as American Cubed or American 3 Foundation asked to end the lease because it cannot meet maintenance obligations going forward. A subtenant, the Kansas Hall of Fame, has also informed staff it plans to vacate the building by Oct. 30 because it cannot sustain operating costs tied to the sublease.
Council members pressed staff for a written history of the 2009 lease, documentation of notices of underperformance sent to the tenant, and a detailed list of the identified repairs before the council acts. "Can we have a list of what that maintenance is?" a council member asked (speaker 3).
Staff said the 2009 agreement lacks clawback provisions that would allow the city to recover funds and that current standardized lease language has been updated to include such financial remedies; staff committed to pulling the old and new contract language and the communication record for the Tuesday meeting.
Council was presented with options: accept the termination so the site reverts to the city; have the city invest in repairs (staff cited roughly $303,000 as the estimated critical deferred maintenance and up to about $400,000 for all identified needs); or draft an RFP to solicit a new operator or developer to repurpose and invest in the property. The City Manager said potential repair funding could come from the Public Works facilities budget, portions of the '26 budget and the city manager's contingency fund, but that staff might need to combine multiple funds.
No formal motion or vote was recorded in the transcript. Staff committed to providing the maintenance list, a timeline of notices sent to the tenant, and a roster of other city lease agreements similar to the boathouse for council review at the next meeting.
Next steps: the termination and follow-up materials are scheduled for discussion at the upcoming Tuesday council meeting; the council did not record a final decision during this session.
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