The Wichita city council has again delayed a final decision on a proposal to build a new hotel at Eisenhower National Airport.

City staff has negotiated a lease agreement with a developer to build a hotel on property north of the Hampton Inn and Suites.   The DoubleTree by Hilton had right of first refusal on the property, and city staff said no proposal was made, so talks went ahead with the developer.    A DoubleTree official told the council that he has been unable to work out a meeting with the city’s legal staff to talk about the property.

Mayor Jeff Longwell said mistakes have been made in the negotiations and in the process of bringing the proposal to the city council.  He said the proposal was placed on a consent agenda, normally approved without discussion, without any prior knowledge by the council members.  Longwell said he could not support a staff recommendation Tuesday to approve the lease agreement.    He said the city now has to be overly cautious in its approach going forward.   He moved to give DoubleTree a 30-day notice for right of first refusal to give DoubleTree operators a chance to match the offer from the developer.   That motion was approved unanimously by the council.