{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-16/bert-nash-rockledge-funding-clawback","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-16/bert-nash-rockledge-funding-clawback.md","title":"Bert Nash Faces $558,000 Clawback as Rockledge Project Ends","headline":"Lawrence Commission to Vote on Clawing Back $558,000 From Bert Nash After Rockledge Abandonment","description":"Lawrence City Commission will consider recouping $558,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Fund money from Bert Nash after the Rockledge project was abandoned.","section":"Regulation & Approvals","published_at":"2026-10-16T18:36:31+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-16T18:36:31+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["The Lawrence City Commission will consider clawing back $558,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Fund money from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center.","Bert Nash CEO Kirsten Watkins confirmed the center will not move forward with the roughly two-dozen-unit Rockledge supportive housing project.","The commission will also consider joining a Kansas Abandoned Housing Act pilot program, with 3,200 vacant residential properties identified in the city."],"companies":[{"name":"Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center","is_primary":true,"profile_url":null,"website":"https://bertnash.org"},{"name":"Neighborhood Legal Services","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000q1s1/neighborhood-legal-services","website":"https://nls.org"}],"source":{"publisher":"EIN Presswire","title":"Abandoned housing pilot program, data center rules, funding clawback for Bert Nash project on City Commission’s agenda","url":"https://www.einnews.com/article/950194018/live"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Regulation & Approvals","Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center","Neighborhood Legal Services"],"body_markdown":"The Lawrence City Commission will consider clawing back $558,000 in Affordable Housing Trust Fund money from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center after the provider confirmed it will not build the Rockledge supportive housing project, [EIN Presswire](https://www.einnews.com/article/950194018/live) reported. Bert Nash is a Lawrence, Kansas, mental health center that had been awarded the funds for the roughly two-dozen-unit project near the intersection of Sixth Street and Rockledge Road.\n\n## Bert Nash Confirms Rockledge Will Not Proceed\n\nA staff memo to commissioners says Bert Nash CEO Kirsten Watkins reported earlier this month that the center will not move forward with the project and is looking to sell the property. Bert Nash had explored other options, including partnering with the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, but determined none were feasible, according to the memo. Part of the reason was an issue with a sewer line that would have to be relocated for development to occur on the site.\n\n\"Because Bert Nash will not proceed with the project, the project will not fulfill the purpose for which the AHTF funds were awarded, invoking the clawback provision of the funding agreements,\" the memo reads. The commission deferred its decision on recouping the funding for six months in April after the project missed its construction deadlines. The item was listed on the commission's consent agenda, a group of items normally considered routine that can be voted on and approved in a single motion.\n\n## Earlier Union Votes at Bert Nash\n\nIn June 2026, workers at the Bert Nash Center in Lawrence voted to organize with Teamsters Local 696, overcoming a union-busting campaign from management, according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Earlier that month, employees at the center were scheduled to vote on June 25 regarding representation by Teamsters Local 696, following the withdrawal of their previous union by IBEW Local 304, Lawrencekstimes reported.\n\n## Abandoned Housing Pilot and Data Center Rules\n\nThe commission will also be asked to approve the city's participation in the Kansas Abandoned Housing Act project. The city applied earlier this year, and in August the Kansas City-based organization Neighborhood Legal Support selected Lawrence to take part. Planning staff identified 3,200 vacant residential properties and 35 that are both vacant and blighted. [Neighborhood Legal Services](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/000q1s1/neighborhood-legal-services) will handle litigation to acquire properties, while Lawrence Habitat for Humanity and Tenants to Homeowners will rehabilitate them. The commission will also consider a text amendment requiring new data center projects to obtain a special use permit, which the Planning Commission recommended last month.\n\nThe commission meets at 5:45 p.m. At City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. It will also consider calling a special meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2, for a budget retreat, with no binding action to be taken.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}