County-owned house lived in by former KCK police chief on ‘handshake deal’ up for lease
A Wyandotte County lake house at the center of an investigation into whether former Kansas City, Kansas Police Chief Terry Ziegler “double dipped” when he took time off to work on the house is now up for rent.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas owns the lake house and offered government employees the opportunity to rent it Friday according to Unified Government spokesman Mike Taylor.
“County Administrator Doug Bach decided it is better to have someone living in the house than letting it sit empty,” Taylor said in an email to The Star. “It is a UG taxpayer asset and renting to someone who will take care of it makes more sense than letting it deteriorate.”
The property became the topic of public scrutiny and a Kansas Bureau of Investigation probe after The Star reported that the government entered into a “handshake deal” with Ziegler that allowed him to live in the house for low rent in exchange for his work renovating the home.
A lease for the home was written and signed in August 2018 after a citizen inquired about the deal.
Ziegler agreed to pay $19,000 to rent the house for two years starting Jan. 1, 2018. However, he was credited for expenses, labor and mileage accrued while he renovated the home.
Because of the credits, Zeigler owed less than $1,300 in rent by December 2018. From Dec. 29, 2017, through July 26, he claimed more than $18,530 in expenses, including $672.53 in mileage and $5,765 in labor costs by him and others.
The KBI investigated the deal to determine whether Ziegler “double-dipped” and took vacation time to work on the house. The agency turned the case over the the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office in May.
The office has not announced whether charges will be filed in the case.
According to an email sent to government employees and shared with The Star, the Unified Government plans to lease the home to a government employee starting Jan. 1.
Rent for the 1930s era two-bedroom, one-bathroom house by Wyandotte County Lake will be $1,100 per month. Utilities will be included in the rent.
Taylor, the government spokesman, said the change will “put the house back on the tax rolls.”
The house was built in the 1930s for construction foremen to live in while overseeing the construction of the lake, Taylor said. Since then he said it has historically been used by park rangers.
Taylor said the house was empty for several years before Ziegler moved in.
The house was formerly considered part of Wyandotte County Lake Park. The government separated the property the house sits on from the lake property for tax purposes so the county can earn revenue from it, Taylor said.
“There was an opinion that if we used the house as a revenue-generating property it could make the entire Lake Park taxable,” Taylor said in an email to The Star.
Taylor didn’t not respond to questions regarding whether Ziegler still lived in the house in time for publication
Ziegler, who retired in September, posted on Twitter about the home, Saturday, saying he was glad to see it being rented out.
“It would be a shame to see it set empty and fall into disrepair again,” Ziegler said.
