Pictured above from left to right, Kansas City Transportation Group CEO Bill George, Westport Mogul Bill Nigro and KCTG Regional Vice President Terry O'Toole.
A couple of weeks ago I took two meetings with the two Bills behind The Kansas City Strip.
Longtime readers of TKC will remember that we've been hating on the local weekend trolley system that garnered a $200K INTEREST FREE LOAN from City Hall since the thing started a couple of years ago.
Don't get it twisted, this isn't a promo piece and I haven't changed my mind.
However . . . I don't ever turn down the opportunity to learn something new and talking to the 'Two Bills' offered an EXCLUSIVE opportunity to discuss this local transportation system. These interviews are even more important now that Kansas City is looking to mimic this trolley system at the cost of more than $100 million for a downtown streetcar/toy train.
To wit . . .
CHECK OUT THE TOP 5 TKC QUESTIONS FOR THE CREATORS OF THE KANSAS CITY STRIP!!!
TKC: Why am I always seeing the trolleys empty whenever I venture outside my (mom's) basement on a weekend night?
Bill Nigro takes this question seriously and admits that Friday nights for the KC Strip haven't lived up to expectations. Still, he offers a simple explanation.
"Tony, you're not seeing anybody in the trolleys because they're inside the entertainment venues on our route."
It's a good point but I don't completely buy it.
Bill Nigro continues: "Ask the proprietors at any one of our stops and they'll have to admit that we bring in at least 50 people on a Saturday night. That's business they wouldn't have had without the service we provide."
This leads us to my next question that's really more of a stab at Groupon and other trendy Internet giveaways that are sinking local biz . . .
TKC: Why the constant discounting? If the trolley is so great, why give it away?
Bill George speaks to this point and also addresses problems with Friday night traffic on the trolley, "We didn't know what to expect when we were first developing the estimates. Nothing like this had ever been attempted in Kansas City."
Bill George continues: "What we've learned is that Kansas City residents are more apt to go out on Saturday night and Friday nights have seen cutbacks that are most likely related to the economy."
On this point, I sort of agree . . . The economy is the certainly a major factor in the lameness of local nightlife. I don't think that's ever going to change but the 'Two Bills' are much more optimistic.
Bill Nigro CONSTANTLY touts the fact that smart consumers using the trolley would quickly earn back the cost by taking advantage of the restaurant and bar specials.
Personally, I don't like to do math or use coupons when I'm trying to impress chubby, blonde broads in my company. But I digress . . .
TKC: We've heard about problems with the trolleys as far as maintenance . . . What should we know about the condition of the trolleys?
On this topic both Bills admit that maintenance for the fleet of trolleys has been a real issue and accounts for a great deal of financial setbacks for the project.
They both blame it on an old mechanic and claim a new mechanic they just hired has solved the problem. TKC sources have confirm the new mechanic but say that vehicle maintenance is a far more serious matter that might lead to scuttling of the endeavor. Bill George denies this notion and on a tour of the KC Transportation Group Facility I did notice a massive vehicle maintenance facility that seemed well equipped to deal with any breakdown issues.
Bill George reminds us: "The KC Strip comprises only 5 vehicles in our fleet of 555."
Touring the facility that hosts a recent investment of more than 1 million bucks in technology which requires hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of maintenance in a year gave me an appreciation for the scale of the KC Transportation Group.
TKC Aside . . . I was exceptionally impressed with Yellow Cab incorporating the Taxi Magic App in their services. I might even be able to figure out the service whenever my mom decides to put me back on her phone plan.
TKC: Does this thing help Kansas City or is it just a dud using taxpayer cash?
Again, Bill Nigro is vehement defender of the KC Strip and claims that the service has been a boon to biz in Westport and The Plaza. He notes that the project is modeled after The Cancer Crawl and believes that The KC Strip has the same potential for growth.
STILL . . . THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE FISCAL IMPACT OR ALLEGED REVENUE INCREASE RELATED TO THE KANSAS CITY STRIP!!!
And this is where the "Two Bills" and I part company . . . So often, Kansas City taxpayer cash is given away on nothing more than political connections, power point presentations and a smile. This is a BIG part of why the City Hall budget is so bloated AND our infrastructure needs are always last on the list of things for local politicos to do.
And this leads us to our last question for right now . . .
TKC: Why was there a need to borrow $200k in an INTEREST FREE loan from City Hall?
Bill George first addresses the loan that TKC has been harping on for two years.
"Of course the city will get all of the $200k back, over the years we've developed a great working relationship with the City of Kansas City, Missouri and we wouldn't risk that on this project or anything else."
More to the point . . .
Bill George contends: "At the end of the day, we're only debating over the interest that KCMO might have earned from the loan they provided The KC Strip. Unequivocally, I'll say that's best money Kansas City has ever spent in order to encourage tourism and small business."
Maybe . . . I guess $200k wouldn't fix a lot of sewer problems anyhoo.
As for the partnership with the city . . . A rather entertaining explanation I took to heart contends that the loan fostered a relationship wherein The KC Strip could get their calls taken by City Hall insiders in order to provide a better service to consumers.
I won't reveal who gave these following examples but they were the best part of the interview . . .
Cordish didn't want the KC Strip trolleys parking in front of their place . . . Calls to a City Councilman and a few other City Hall insiders changed that policy.
Westport police and security weren't allowing the trolleys inside police crowd control barricades . . . Another call to a City Hall politico eliminated this speed bump.
Like it or not, this how is business works in Kansas City and it's part of the deal our Council folks voted to approve.
At the end of the day the creators of the KC Strip say that their service isn't going anywhere and hope that increased ridership trends continue.
I'm not as enthusiastic about anything related to Kansas City but it was nice to learn a bit more about the system we've been hating on for so long given that The KC Strip is basically a model for the upcoming Downtown Toy Train. In the final analysis, I'm not sure if this town can afford an ambiguous accounting of a return on an investment of more than $100 million but the adventures of The KC Strip offer a real world preview of the challenges faced by any transit system hoping to increase local revenue and tourism.
DEVELOPING . . .
I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteNice job Tony.
ReplyDeleteI like Nigro too, facing his PR problems with one of his biggest critics.
Really interesting piece.
Nice job.
Yes, a good piece, Tee. You could do more of that kinda stuff, I think, but your page allows me to skip watching local TV reports and video of police tape and cop cars at ghetto murder scenes.
ReplyDeleteThat saves me a lot of time since ghetto shootings/police reports are so common, they're no longer news except to the urban viewers willing to stare at easily-gathered voiceovers. After all, if you don't live in the ghetto, and don't ever go there, the shootings might as well be in Detroit or East St Louis or Damascus.
Anyway, good piece. Hope this 'loan' on a money-losing project won't cost taxpayers when Nigro gives it up.
Maybe he can sell those trolleys to San Antonio, where they have the weather to support them above the riverwalk. KC, with short springs and falls, just isn't a good environment. Do they extend down to the plaza too?
Now go to Ajamu Webster, Gwen Grant, and Clinton Adams and see if you can get some answers about where all the money government and corporations get shaken down for really goes.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT would be a real public service!
Wow Tony, that almost passes as journalism. I could give a damn about $200K spent helping a potential start up that promotes safe partying and gets people back and forth without using their cars. How about more on the downtown disasters? Now that is money we will never see again.
ReplyDeleteKudos on some real reporting, and kudos to the Trolley folk for meeting with you.
ReplyDeleteThe $200,000 is a small investment compared to the streetcar that's coming, but has the same problem: it doesn't get you where you're going.
I'm one of the folks who bought downtown before KC started taxpayer subsidized housing to destroy the market. Now, like all the others who bought downtown, I'm getting screwed by the same government that destroyed downtown before Cordish and other investors brought it back to life.
For the 4,500 square feet of home and workspace, the new streetcar will cost me $1,200.00 in new taxes.
If I want to go to the Sprint Center, I can walk 8 blocks to wait for the streetcar and then ride 6 blocks before walking another 2 blocks to Sprint.
Or I can just walk 8 blocks to Sprint. The stupid streetcar will cost me $1,200 per year in NEW TAXES!!!
What sticks out, to me, is Nigro saying the business was based on the model of The Cancer Crawl.
ReplyDeleteThe Cancer Crawl is a money-grab pretending to be a charitable endeavor.
Is Nigro's Freudian slip showing?????
A "money grab"? You are an idiot...
DeleteKeith M
So, the big question is whether or not the bus routes cover the same area already? Or, is it that drunks wouldn't be allowed to ride on a bus and behave the way we've seen these riders behave in videos? I agree with Tony that the statement that they are empty because everyone rding is inside doesn't quite pass the smell test. Same applies to empty busses.
ReplyDeleteorphan of the road is an idiot. crawl for cancer dontates all their profits to cancer research and other non profits who work directly with families affected by cancer.
ReplyDeletehttp://crawlforcancer.org/why.php
10.14, you had better do some research.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.enewsbuilder.net/stlouisbbbnews/e_article001445658.cfm?x=bk5gCKW,bbgBbmhc,w
http://newsok.com/crawl-for-cancer-declines-to-release-financial-records-on-charity-fundraisers/article/3461238
Last I heard they refused to release their records on how the money is distributed.
I'll stand by my statement it is an odd model. Not when you compare the opaqueness of of what The Cancer Crawl does (and which I believe Nigro is very involved in) and what the KC Strip does.
Both mine the good intentions of people but really are just cash cows for the owners. The crumbs which fall to the agencies which help cancer victims and their families and the drunks who dodge a DUI (at least until they get back to their car to drive back to suburbia).
If you support The Cancer Crawl, you are worse than a fool, you are a tool.
This is from a cancer survivor who is involved in raising money for charities which are more than glorified PR BS.
Nigro needs to turn that fucking sound system outside the Beaumont down so everyone within a two mile radius doesn't have put up with noise being blasted out into the environment. Hire some sound men who know what they are doing, know how to get a big sound without volume, that might help.
ReplyDeleteA lousy "model." The Cancer Pub Crawl may make some bucks for the bottomless pit of cancer research, but in Westport it's worse than St. Pats. Drive Drunk For Cancer Research!
ReplyDelete"Westport Mogul Nigro"
Maybe for a few months, years ago.
I don't know specifics of the Cancer Crawl, but even an event that donates 100% of its profit to charity can be a scam.
ReplyDeleteThe key is to know how much the organizers of the event paid themselves for the services they rendered to put on the event and whether the fees and profits they earned are reasonable for what they did.
Any organization that won't release that information is suspect in my book.
For that combination of businessmen, 200K shouldn't be a big deal. If they were/are so confident in the trolley, why did they want to use MY tax dollars rather than their own money?
ReplyDeleteorphan on the road, you are a duche bag.
ReplyDeleteyour sources our outdated and from an old article. that articles date gets updated every year but the information in it and the quotes from it are from years ago.
Plus they are not a non profit and can not be since they are providing a service. Since they are not a non profit they dont need to release anything. But what the do release is how much is given each crawl in each city. its a shit ton of money giving to great charities who help people. " oh my god that is so baaaaaaad" its more money than others are giving and raising. and its helping people. presidents of non profits get paid a responsible salary for their work, why wouldn't these people? so get your head out of your ass, enjoy the fruits of their labor and stop being a dick.
i blame obama
ReplyDeleteGood point. I like this story as a model for what is going to happen to the street car. If the city was smart they would just expand the strip. Better to give the Bills another 200 grand than hand over hundreds of millions to Burns and McDonald.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the concept, it's the insider aspect of the City Council handing 100's of thousands of dollars - interest free - to so called "moguls" representing a huge French owned business. Veolia should have financed the deal not the taxpayers of Kansas City.
ReplyDeleteBill George and KCTG are thug mafia monopolists. Yellow Cab is the only cab company in town. Try to get a license from KCMO to operate a cab in Kansas City. Can't get one.
ReplyDeleteJust another example of KCMO fail.
TKC I admire you for sitting down to talk anywhere near Bill George. I hope you de-loused and fumigated after the conversation.
ReplyDeleteThis interview would be easier to believe if Bill "Almost a Frenchman" George hadn't been getting special deals and gigs for years. If there is an opportunity to milk the City or put his nose in the City trough, Bill is at the front of the line.
Don't know Nigro so can't speak to his motives, but George is paid a very hefty salary to wield influence at City Hall for his French bosses. His big bucks depend on keeping that influence. You'll have to pry his fingers from the doorway of City Hall to be rid of that scum.
Wow - a real first here on TKC. Tony actually goes out and gets some facts instead of just making up a story based on his fleeting fancy of the moment. Good job Tony you might become a cub reporter yet!
ReplyDelete