TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! EXPLAINING DOWNTOWN KANSAS CITY TRANSIT CORRUPTION!!! TOY TRAIN ADVOCATES NOW WORK FOR COMPANIES SEEKING STREETCAR CONTRACTS!!!



This blog and more than a few BRILLIANT critics of the corrupt process establishing the toy train streetcar district have claimed from the beginning that the process is corrupt.

There are many ways the establishment of the TDD and this crooked deal represents the worst of Kansas City politics, development and entrepreneurship disguised as advocacy . . .

So much to consider tonight but here's the most important cowtown fact of life . . .

THE TOY TRAIN STREETCAR CHEERLEADERS WHO DISGUISED THEMSELVES AS TRANSIT ADVOCATES ARE NOW LOOKING TO GET PAID BY THEIR OWN ADMISSION!!!

This statement speaks for itself but I've highlighted the most important passages . . .

Our Commitment To The Streetcar - Graphic Machine

As part of our commitment to KC, and as business owners downtown, we’re not shy about the fact that we’re fans of the streetcar. When Matt Staub joined as a partner, our team added one of the early organizers of the streetcar effort, and all of the partners continue to be involved in various ways.

Matt continues his role as a member of the Streetcar Authority, the volunteer group of advocates and property owners responsible for operating the streetcar and advocating for the interests of the ratepayers in the district.

When the Streetcar Authority established a Marketing Committee, a talented group of economic development, creative, and marketing professionals tasked with developing plans to build and promote the streetcar brand, Matt was appointed in his role as a member of the Streetcar Authority and because of his experience as a professional marketer. As professional marketers and business owners in the streetcar district, Patience and Brian were appointed to the committee by the chair. When Matt left H&R Block to join Graphicmachine, Brian resigned from his position on the committee to maintain the representative balance of the committee.

Everything we’ve done for the streetcar has been on a volunteer basis -- a labor of love in the truest sense. For Matt, this volunteer effort spans the last few years, starting with the advocacy work of Streetcar Neighbors.

As the streetcar gets closer to reality, there will be contract opportunities for agencies. Does Graphicmachine plan to bid on these opportunities? Absolutely, as we know others that have been involved will as well. We’re passionate about the streetcar, and we’d love the opportunity to work on it further.

All contract qualification and selection processes will be handled by a selection sub-committee of the Marketing Committee, and none of the firms in the group that expressed an interest in bidding, including us, are part of that sub-committee. We’re very conscious of and committed to a fair process, and we’re excited to throw our hat into the ring.

Regardless of who performs the critical work of developing branding and marketing strategy for the streetcar, we’ll continue to be involved as volunteers. Our belief in the streetcar isn’t conditional, and as a proud member of the community, we’re happy to discuss it anytime.
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To wit . . .

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT STREETCAR ADVOCATES NOW IN THE HUNT TO GET PAID HANDSOMELY FROM THEIR PET PROJECT?!?!? IS THIS CORRUPTION OR BUSINESS AS USUAL IN KANSAS CITY I.E. ACCEPTABLE CORRUPTION?!?!

The strange thing here is that Kansas City's Toy Train Streetcar was intended to draw residents and tourists to the urban core but this hipster cash maneuvering really seems like just another reason to avoid KC Proper.

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. It's probably business as usual but that doesn't make it right.

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  2. Might as well withdraw my submission to do the work. Obviously the fix is in.

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  3. Of course, the fix is in. Ever since Sly James took office, the fix has been in. The best thing is to steer clear until election season. His fat ass is history.

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  4. How do I get one of those contracts for that new mobile KC gun court on wheels?

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  5. You guys have it all wrong. Streetcar brought GraphicMachine to Kansas City. It's a success story. You can question the correlation, but can't deny the momentum!

    Congratulations, Matthew Staub, on you're new, lucrative venture. I hope you make lots of money and adopt a bunch of foster children and raise them all to be police officers and teachers and make Kansas City a better place for everyone.

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  6. KC is full of nothng but grifters. plain and simple.

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  7. Same thing with East Patrol. Miles has gotten Reed and Curls to endorse 1.5 million dollars in CDBG dollars committed. 1/2 will likely go to Miles is pocket and the other 1/2 to a building.

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  8. Over the past 50 years, light rail supports in the US have fallen into two camps: idealists unfamiliar with ridership trends and profiles in cities where existing systems operate; and those in on the con. 'Glad to see the curtains pulled back on some of these folks.

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  9. As long as Sly's smiling, we're all happy.

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  10. Those in control call themselves "creative". it's really "conniving".

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  11. Sly James learns well from Obi wan Obama. Corruption, strong arm tactics, etc.

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  12. Gee, Tony - you act like you just discovered how crooked people in KC "Community Advocacy" are!

    Is this how you would report your realization that John Rizzo is a liar and a con? Or that Alanzo is just another East Side scammer?

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  13. KC is full of people pretending to be activists when they're really just consultants.

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  14. What a shame we can't do better in this city.

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  15. If you're not a nigger, you ain't getting any kind of job or contract in KC. Simple as that!

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  16. Staubio did what his handlers told him to do and as his reward for playing along nicely, received his payoff.

    What's the big deal?

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  17. Staubio will now be kicked to the curb by the Mayor et.al. and GraphicMachine will absolutely NOT be awarded any contracts for the toy train, although the powers that be may back channel a nice parting gift to them to make them go away quietly.

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  18. As long as what passes for city government in KCMO is nothing more than an ATM machine full of taxpayer cash and bonds, the lines of grifters, insiders, attorneys, and other snake oil salesmen on the 22nd and 29th floors of city hall will just continue to get longer.
    So you can join the line and elbow, push, and shove your way to the trough, watch fiascos like this unfold, or move out of the city so at least you won't be paying for this crap in the future.
    And the same kinds of folks get elected time after time.
    KCMO is a world class joke.

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  19. I want to run the betting pool for when Staubio tenders his resignation from the Streetcar Authority "to pursue opportunities". And I hope GraphicMachine's book of business and backlog can support a dude who's used to living the big corporate lifestyle.

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  20. The KC Streetcar Authority is NOT just some volunteer advocacy group as GraphicMachine tries to portray.

    They are the fucking OPERATOR of the streetcar system whose primary revenue source is PUBLIC funds- and a tax enabled by State legislation, no less.

    I wonder how the State is going to view this type of activity occurring in entities funded through tax schemes enabled by their jurisdiction?

    I doubt they'll be quite as dismissive as Jones and Staub. GraphicMachine really screwed the pooch with this hiring.

    The Kansas City Streetcar Authority, Inc. (KCSA) will operate the streetcar once construction is complete. The KCSA is a nonprofit corporation established in 2012 to oversee operations and maintenance of the entire system, as well as ensure stakeholder and neighborhood involvement.

    Funding

    More than 75 percent of the KC Streetcar’s cost will be funded with local public and private funding. The primary funding source will be a Missouri Transportation Development District (TDD). A TDD is a special benefit district that operates as a separate entity and is a political subdivision of the State, governed by a Board of Directors. The formation of the TDD, and also the implementation of a TDD tax to help fund the KC Streetcar project, were approved by registered voters residing within the boundary of the TDD.

    The TDD will generate revenue primarily from a new and dedicated one-cent sales tax charged only within the TDD, and special assessments on real property only within the TDD. This revenue will also cover 100 percent of the proposed project’s net operating and maintenance (O&M) costs after passenger fare revenues, advertising and concessions. All of the TDD revenue will be applied to pay the capital costs and O&M costs of the KC Streetcar.

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  21. Jones and Staub were played to get them out of the running for any future contracts.

    Just wait and see how this unfolds. It will blow up.

    Stupid fucking idiots. Don't they know they're playing with the big boys, professional grifters who know exactly how to park rank amateurs on the bench?

    Again, stupid fucking idiots.

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  22. I'm shocked. SHOCKED!

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  23. Why is there a need for a marketing firm to get people to ride the streetcar? Who cares if it drives around empty or not since it's free to ride and no revenue will be produced from it. Wasn't the whole reason for building it to bring "economic development" to downtown and not to move people around? Isn't that what Dave Johnson said?

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  24. Has anyone poked around to see what Dave Johson is getting out of this? He and his buddy Staubio were the self proclaimed "crusaders" behind this whole harebrained scheme. How is Davey-boy's pocket going to be lined?

    Is there an ethics board we can all file complaints to? Anyone know how to contact it?

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  25. If you want to bitch about this topic, go here.

    http://forum.kcrag.com/viewforum.php?f=9

    Most of the usual suspects are longtime members of this board. You can read the posts, but if you don't create an account, you can't post to the board.

    Btw, while you're bitching about the downtown streetcar, they're already planning on a south line, a north one and where to put the midtown one, 31st Street or Linwood.

    Let the hilarity ensue.

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  26. Did I read this correctly?

    They have two people on the marketing committee, which is tasked with appointing a sub-committee to award the contracts. Yet, they want us to believe there is no corruption in this process?

    Also please name the other companies they know are members of the committee and are also bidding on this project??

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