A public concern about possible conflict of interest surfaced during the Salina City Commission’s discussion of land acquisition tied to the Smoky Hill River Renewal Project, after a resident questioned whether title and closing work should be split with a company connected to Mayor Mike Hoppock.

The discussion came as commissioners considered additional real property acquisition work for the river project, including an amendment with HDR Engineering and related resolutions authorizing the city to acquire property interests along the old Smoky Hill River channel.

According to the meeting discussion, the city is acquiring real property interests needed for construction and maintenance of the project. The original HDR agreement covered acquisition services for 40 parcels, with that work scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. City staff said the new amendment would add work for up to 10 remaining property owners, allowing the city to purchase necessary property from the centerline of the river to the high bank where acknowledgments have not yet been obtained.

The amendment added $63,120 to HDR’s previous agreement of $200,340, bringing the amended amount not to exceed $263,460. Staff also reported the estimated property acquisition cost to date for the overall RAISE grant project at $1,414,845, including HDR work, surveys, appraisals and closing costs.

During public comment, resident Ben Winn Hill said he believed the title and closing work for the project should not be split with Land Title, which he said is owned by Mayor and Commissioner Mike Hoppock.

“It is my opinion and the opinion of many people in this town that when it comes to acquiring these 32 properties, that in the end, the paperwork and the closing costs and everything should not have half of them go to Land Title who is owned by the mayor Commissioner Mike Hoppock,” Hill said.

Hill argued the work should instead go entirely to Midwest Title and called the arrangement “about the biggest conflict of interest I have ever seen.” He also said Hoppock “should have bowed out from the beginning.”

Mayor Hoppock was not present for that portion of the meeting, according to the public comment made during the discussion.

After public comment closed, commissioners asked city administration and the city attorney to explain how the city handles contracts or services when a sitting commissioner may be connected to a company involved in city-related work.

City Manager Jacob Wood said the city made the decision “years ago” to split the title work between the two title companies in the community.

“Typically, with any kind of work that we have done with the city commissioner or with anybody we bid that work out,” Wood said. “The decision was made on the very front of this that we would split that between the two title companies that are in the community.”

The city attorney said his understanding was that the city’s approach was consistent with guidance related to this type of situation. He said that for services that are bid out, there is no prohibition as he understood it.

The discussion also included an explanation that title insurance is generally treated as a commodity service, with fees based on a schedule rather than negotiated differently from contract to contract.

“Title insurance is very much a commodity,” the city attorney said. “It’s based on a fee schedule. And so there is not an ability to change the price per contract.”

That explanation was offered to address whether one title company would financially benefit through a higher negotiated rate. The city’s position, as stated during the meeting, was that the cost to the city would be the same regardless of which local title company handled a given transaction.

The commission then voted to approve the HDR amendment. The motion passed 3-1.

A separate agenda item also dealt with land acquisition for the project. Staff presented two resolutions related to acquisition and public use of property for the Smoky Hill River Renewal Project. One resolution set the city’s policy for acquiring real estate interests connected to the RAISE grant project and established just compensation of $1,021,760 or less for the aggregate acquisition of up to 43 parcels.

The resolution also authorized the city manager to sign purchase contracts based on appraisals, negotiate purchase prices above the city’s initial offer when appropriate, and periodically report acquisition status back to the governing body.

The broader issue raised during the meeting was not whether the commission approved land acquisition for the river project. It did. The unresolved public concern is whether splitting title work between local companies is enough to avoid the appearance of a conflict when one of those companies is publicly alleged to be tied to the mayor.

City officials said the arrangement was established in advance, involved both local title companies, and involved fee-scheduled services rather than negotiated pricing. Public commenters argued that even if the process is legally allowable, the arrangement still creates a perception problem for a major taxpayer-supported project involving dozens of property transactions.

Mayor Mike Hoppock recused himself from the river renewal land-acquisition vote following conflict-of-interest concerns tied to title work connected to the project.

The remaining commissioners voted 3-1 to approve the HDR amendment. Commissioners Trent Davis, Greg Lenkiewicz and Jerry Ivey voted in favor. Commissioner Doug Rempp voted against it.

The amendment added $63,120 to HDR’s real property acquisition agreement, bringing the amended total to not to exceed $263,460.