The city has spent more than $35,000 in legal fees in its attempt to prevent Wal-Mart from building at Sixth and Wakarusa, City Hall disclosed Wednesday.

Officials revealed the figure a day after Bill Newsome, a co-owner of the property, warned the Lawrence City Commission that legal bills in the case were creating “an enormous black hole for the taxpayers of Lawrence.”

6Wak Land Investments LLC, which includes Newsome as a partner, and Wal-Mart have both sued the city for its refusal to issue building permits for the store.

The city’s attorney fees include payments to two firms: Lawrence-based Gilliland and Hayes, and Lathrop and Gage of Overland Park.

For more on this story, tune in at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s Channel 6 and pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.