TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! KANSAS CITY SCUTTLED SINGLE-TERMINAL SCORECARD: CELEBRATE AIRPORT SLAP FIGHT WINNERS & LOSERS!!!
Tonight Kansas City considers the future of City Hall's development agenda that's now hitting some serious turbulence when confronted with public skepticism.
To wit . . .
LET'S CELEBRATE THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE KANSAS CITY SINGLE-TERMINAL DEBATE NOW THAT THE FIGHT HAS BEEN SETTLED FOR THE MOMENT!!!
Like it or not, this list provides a glimpse of the future of local political power on the rise and taking a fall. Checkit . . .
CELEBRATE KANSAS CITY SINGLE-TERMINAL AIRPORT WINNERS!!!
Serious Questions From Council Lady Teresa Loar Helped Fuel Debate On The Single-Terminal Scheme
High-Flying Northland Lady: This council veteran stood up to the Mayor and wasn't afraid to talk about alternatives and transparency amid hype about a billion dollar project that could've easily turned into a boondoggle.
Show-Me Institute Research Provided Ammunition Against Single-Terminal
Here's what this town's fiscal conservatives had to say about the plan . . .
"This decision not to pursue a $1.25 billion new terminal is a win for everyone in Kansas City and the region.
"Over the past few years, the Show-Me Institute has followed this issue closely and tried to educate the public and policymakers on the risks of building a new terminal. Too many other cities have invested heavily in new terminals only to be saddled with large amounts of debt and with fewer options for passengers.
"Kansas Citians were right to be skeptical, especially since the airport we have now is seen as very convenient and has been attracting new flights and airlines. In the end, City officials and airlines could not provide enough justification to take on this risk. We commend city leadership for recognizing this and moving on to issues that require their undivided attention this year."
While it's easy for Rex Sinquefield and Crosby Kemper to play the bad guy . . . In this instance, they may have saved locals a bit of cash on ticket prices.
Citizens For Responsible Government Petitions Trumped New Airport Plans
We talked to Mr. Coffey previously . . . Here's a snippet of a statement from his group:
CFRG: "We do not consider this a game; it’s serious business for the voters of Kansas City. The voters should realize this decision shows just how much power they; the voters have. Anytime you get 300 - 400 emails and phone calls going into city hall on one issue, the city council listens. The fact 70% of the voting public doesn’t want a new single terminal also became evident to the mayor. We have been aware of this resistance to the new single terminal plan for some time . . .
What's important here is to remember that THE KCMO CITIZEN INITIATIVE PETITION PROCESS WORKS and it's one of the last remnants of direct local Democracy.
CELEBRATE AIRPORT CONSULTANTS WHO ALREADY CASHED IN!!!
Let's not forget that Kansas City has PAID OUT MILLIONS FOR SINGLE-TERMINAL CONSULTANTS who never had to do any real work!!! This tragic expenditure will never be recovered and, despite this setback, the KCMO consulting game remains the best racket going in this wicked little town.
Save KCI Stays Winning!!!
Let's not forget FIRST CAUSE effort of a very dedicated and smart Northland resident who simply didn't want his flights screwed up and started the online resistance to this effort.
And now . . .
MEET THE KANSAS CITY SINGLE-TERMINAL LOSERS!!!
Just a quick peek at all the people on the wrong side of this debate . . .
Mayor Sly's Influence Nose Dives With Sordid Single-Terminal FAIL
Mayor Sly calls this "pause" a delay and not a defeat but the fact is . . . This episode might signal his LAME DUCK tenure in office is arriving ahead of schedule.
Kansas City Streetcar Extension Prospects Could Now Be Thrown Off Track
Secretive transit projects touted by nothing but hype are now a target for Kansas City voters and the streetcar simply hasn't proven its worth whilst supporters want to extend the line despite previous voter rejection.
Airlines Look Silly In Retrospect Spouting Scripted Single-Terminal Hype
Southwest read the Mayor's script advocating a single-terminal and nothing else, now they look stupid in retrospect and because they listened to a politico who was in over his head. These corporate titans are making cash hand over fist but clearly they don't know much about Kansas City politics — Where people are regularly misled and hung out to dry if they aren't a bit skeptical about what they see and hear.
Lament The Tragic Former Aviation Dude Lost His Job Over Single-Terminal Hot Mess
Kansas City workers should take notice about the career fate of anyone who drinks the political Kool-aid on ANY given topic. This town's top airport dude sacrificed his job for this plan that's now on the scrapheap of cowtown bad ideas.
Dead Tree Media Cheerleading For The New Airport Reveals Tragic Decline In Their Influence Over Public Opinion
Not so long ago, Yael wrote this: Turn KCI from a functional dump into a modern, convenient airport
Sadly, his screed wasn't able to move the needle or any crowds to action and instead reminds us that the discourse in Kansas City is changing . . . At least in this instance, Kansas City didn't buy the hype from so-called power brokers playing pie-in-the-sky development games which, thankfully, crash landed in Kansas City today.
Links:
Fox4KC: Mayor James says plans to pursue single terminal at KCI put on hold
KMBC: Decision to shelve KCI changes for now draws mixed reaction
KCUR: Kansas City Abandons New Airport Plans
Northeast News: Mayor announces indefinite delay of airport vote
KC Biz Journal: Kansas City Mayor Sly James “hit pause” on efforts to build a new terminal
You decide . . .
Take a breath.
ReplyDeleteStop your touchdown dancing and chest thumping.
At least you didn't write: Told you so or somesuch nonsense.
Good riddance to the single-terminal idea.
Nice seeing the Honorable Mayor taking a swift kick to the nuts.
ReplyDeleteSaying NO to Sly is always the right move!
ReplyDeleteThat is a thigh gap I well vote for.
ReplyDelete$9 Million for consultants who can't explain what they did!!! Van Loh should be gone, and so should Shulte!!! Someone please try and explain where all that money went!!!
ReplyDeleteFantastic, now fire Schulte and Klein.
ReplyDelete"Kansas City Streetcar Extension Prospects Could Now Be Thrown Off Track"
ReplyDeleteRight, nigger. Right.
A tragic loss for J.E. Dunn.
ReplyDeleteYou only think its over keep your eyes open on all ordinances passed to see if they slip something in to pass it without a vote. That is how Circo ended up being the chairwoman of the TIF commission. Things are getting more and more dishonest as we go along.
ReplyDeleteYES, lets hire "leaders" who put their fingers up in the air to see which way the wind is blowing before they take a stand on anything.
ReplyDeleteAnd you have the balls to complain about city hall administration.
Well done Tony.
well done Tony being a cheerleader for the niggers
ReplyDeleteFire Pat Klein, NOW! He's not needed nor qualified for the job!
ReplyDeleteYael wishes he had a cheerleader's body.
ReplyDeleteA black led city is always the best run city. History proves this to be true.
ReplyDeleteThe losers are the citizens of KCMO who were led like sheep by electeds and others spouting, for their own reasons, anti-new KCI rhetoric without a grain of reason or sense. Now we can be saddled with our outdated 1970s style model with inefficiencies and no room for expansion. For those of us who actually travel, KCI in its current configuration is dated and needs to be changed. For those who are uninformed sheep who listen to others, the ones who are looking for ways to gain off any deal that's made whether or not it's good for the City, you've got the government you deserve.
ReplyDeleteBitter much? Used to travel for the job and saw every major airport in the country. KCI is just fine. How you hate democracy. ;)
Delete1:49
ReplyDeleteNo one, NO ONE goes to a city because the airport is so cool.
No one goes up to St. Joe for dinner, from KC, especially to the air port.
YOU spend the fuckin money.
How about those water bills and sewers?
STFU
Something is very fishy here, normally Lyin Sly doesn't care what the so-called polls or surveys say. There's a backroom deal going on & this is going to reemerge in way where people are going to be shocked.
ReplyDeleteHey libs someone has to pay for this shit hey let's cut the police dep.then put a train in put 30 mil into 18th and the place you die at spend more money in the ghettos and all while kc is closing schools and can't fix the sewage system and murder has increased 30 percent WHOES RUNNING THIS DUMP ONCE OUR HOUSE SELLS WE ARE MOVING OUR BUSINESS AND HOME TO. KANSAS SUCK IT SLY
ReplyDelete1:49 you say there's no room for expansion. They closed one of the three terminals because it was not needed. Why do we need expansion when the current airport is contracting.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that after the translation research tax and the E tax renewal the so called civic leaders are a little tapped out when it comes to funding campaigns. They were not ready to put more money into a losing election.
ReplyDeleteIt's ignorant people like 6:30 that killed this needed project, if there's no new airport terminal, how much money does that free up to lower water bills and build sewers? NONE. Retard.
ReplyDelete7:21 - Explain to me how room in Terminal A can make the gate areas in Terminal B and Terminal C bigger? The problem is the terminals are just too small, there is not enough room in them. The only option that would fix that would be to take out 1/3 of the gates from each terminal and reopen A, that would provide more space in the gate areas which is the biggest issue with the current terminals ... but then you'd have an even more grossly inefficient design.
Those dang voters and wary citizens. If they would only agree to every horribly expensive enthusiasm!!
DeleteI do not have enough information to know whether to vote for or against the airport plan, and worse, I do not know where to get it. One would hope the print media would be a good source for objective info, but the Star left objectivity behind long ago, and now is just a cheerleader for the city administration. Delaying the vote is not going to help. It just gives moneyed interests another chance to pay for more spin.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, Kauffman Stadium, built in the 70s, rehabbed in the 00s, just named best stadium in baseball! Arrowhead Stadium, built in the 70s, rehabbed in the 00s, always in top 5 football stadiums, if not number one!
ReplyDeleteSure Sly, keep telling us how we need to tear down these 70s facilities!!
I agree with 6:57. Something's up. They will be back soon with a done deal.
ReplyDeleteBob (8:25) - How often do you fly out of KCI? The single biggest piece of misinformation I see is that "Kansas City voters" are the ones paying for the terminal. That is not at all accurate, while they are a subset of who would pay, they are in fact a small portion of who would pay. The airport terminal would be paid for by its users, the airlines, concession operators (including hotels, taxis, off-airport parking that pay fees to the airport to operate there), and passengers (directly and indirectly). Is it only Kansas City voters that use the airport? Kansas City makes up about 1/4 the population of the metro area (and that's being generous). Approximately 1/2 of the people flying in and out of the airport don't live here, so that's 1/8th approximately, and honestly that's generous to the extent that the socioeconomic makeup of Kansas City relative to the metro area would mean that Kansas City residents likely do not make up a proportional share of the passengers at KCI.
ReplyDeleteSo, now that the airport is delayed, how much money does that free up for the police, streets, sewers, or schools? None.
8:27 - I too am proud of The K and Arrowhead and am glad the renovations were so successful, but I don't think that means that renovation is a better alternative for any facility of similar vintage. Football and baseball stadiums have changed, but not as fundamentally as airport design has changed compared to how the existing KCI terminal was designed.
New airport design has failed, just like those multipurpose stadiums of the late 70s!!
ReplyDeleteWinners - Kansas City Citizens. Losers - Troy Schulte and Pat Klein. FIRE BOTH OF THEM.
ReplyDeleteAll S'lie cares about is his legacy. 10 years from now he wants to point to the streetcar, the downtown hotel and the airport and tell the world, "See! I did what they said couldn't be done. I did all of that".
ReplyDeleteThat's it. He wants Sylvester James International Airport.
Beware of the bait switch. Queen Kay told us all that tax payers wouldn't have to pay a dime for the P&L. Well...that worked out well didn't it? Sure they say tax payers won't have to pay for the airport now. But the city and their consultants are basing that claim that airport traffic will increase if it's built. And that traffic will generate enough money, combined with what little the airlines pitch in, to cover the costs. But what happens when their projections don't come to fruition?
Do we need a new airport? Maybe. But we don't need it at the risk of spending MORE tax payer money.
1:07 - You're yet another person who does not understand how the airport operates financially. Try reading this document:
ReplyDeletehttp://emma.msrb.org/ER686816-ER532431-ER934828.pdf
It's a big document, but is probably the single best source for understanding how the airport operates from a financial perspective. But I can sum up the answer to your question from the beginning of the document, under "Security and Sources of Payment" for this bond issue:
"The Series 2013B Bonds will be special limited obligations of the City payable solely from the Net Revenues of the Airport System, from amounts in the Reserve Fund, and from any other moneys made available for such payment."
Past revenue bonds have had the same language, and future ones will too ... in other words, the City is not obligating anything but revenues from the airport to pay the bonds (they use similar bonds for other activities that generate their own revenues, most notably the water and sewer utility).
In case that's not clear enough for you they add a second sentence right after that:
"The taxing power of the City is not pledged to the payment of the Series 2013B Bonds or the interest thereon."
How is this possible? Well, when an airline signs a lease with an airport they are not committing to just paying $x dollars for y amount of space, they are committing to lease y amount of space for for x/z% of their allocated costs, where z is the total of all the x's from other airlines leasing space. So, even if traffic declines, that means their prices will go up and the airport still gets enough money. What happens if KC gets too expensive? Well, the reality is that KC is not a hub for airline, and the new terminal is not big enough for someone to have a hub, so there really is not much the airlines can cut unless they want to pull out of KC. However, KC is a big enough city that no airline is pulling out other than a minor player (e.g., Alaska, Spirit, or Allegiant).
There is no risk of 'tax payer money' needing to be spent, the airport stands on its own.
For now the airport will have to start looking at half-ass solutions that don't solve the fundamental problem that security is terribly inefficient (nine checkpoints) and the gate areas are undersized for the passengers being handled (the Delta gate areas are zoos at peak times, especially late afternoon, early evening when you have a peak of both arrivals and departures).
None of these people had anything to do with the outcome. KCI has been popular with 80% of citizens for years, basically unchanged by all the antics of pro and anti airport/change carnival barkers. And regardless, it will be torn down and replaced with a modern, more functional airport like every other. It's just a matter of time.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance to this plan. We should talk about renovation now.
ReplyDelete