Opponents of a city subsidy for a hotel in downtown Wichita, Kan., have apparently amassed enough petition signatures to force a citywide vote on the proposed project.
Election commissioner Tabitha Lehman said last week that organizers obtained 2,719 signatures of registered voters. The necessary threshold for a referendum is 2,527 signatures.
The City Council will consider the petitions this week.
The opponents seek to revoke a decision by the council to allocate a portion of Wichita’s hotel tax to a $22.5 million, 117-room hotel in a former bank building.
The council agreed to rebate 75% of the hotel tax generated at the facility for 15 years and to build a parking garage.
The total subsidy from the rebate is estimated at $2.3 million.
