TKC TIPSTER: BURNS & MAC SUBURBANITES AND SKETCHY LLC STILL RINGMASTERS OF KANSAS CITY NEW AIRPORT CIRCUS!!!
While opening up bids is a good start . . .
Here's a bit of a reality check . . .
BURNS & MAC RUNS THE KANSAS CITY NEW AIRPORT BIDDING STILL SEEMS KINDA RIGGED!!!
The "open" bidding still gives this local company FIRST place in the process and a right to match any offer.
Still, the illusion of fairness is still important as this thing marches forward.
And now . . . Here's a bit of background on the process and a look into the sketchy setup that will most likely run a MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR project.
Kansas City New Airport Terminal Circus
Congratulations to the KCMO Council members who had the fortitude to stand their ground when the James/Schulte/Justus/Burns and McDonnell steamroller was aiming directly in their path. At least it's a start. We still have questions outstanding.
Please fast-forward to the 1:03:00 mark, where the presentation begins from David Frantze (Stinson Leonard Street attorney, representing Burns and McDonnell) and Mike Talboy, director of government affairs for Burns and McDonnell.
Specifically, we'll be focusing here on the opening presentation of Mike Talboy, and making a determination on whether he's speaking truthfully.
Beginning at the 1:03:52 mark, please note phrases such as:
"the city that we all love and call home"
"Kansas City is home….we are your friends and neighbors"
"we want the wages to stay right here in Kansas City as well"
We think Mr. Talboy is at best stretching the definition of Kansas City Missouri to include the entire metro on both sides of the state line, or he is deliberately misspeaking before the KCMO Council while attempting to pull the wool over their eyes. Mr. Talboy may have been taking a cue from his CEO, Ray Kowalik, who stated at the May 12 news conference announcing the Burns and McDonnell terminal proposal, that "I grew up in Kansas City." Funny, he neglected to mention that he actually grew up in Blue Springs, and lives in Lee's Summit, as detailed in this newspaper article.
Let's take a quick look at who is leading the charge, and who stands to benefit the most from hoodwinking the KCMO Council into approving a billion-dollar no-bid secretly-negotiated single-terminal airport proposal.
Michael H. Talboy, director of governmental affairs for Burns and McDonnell, lives in Shawnee Kansas.
David W. Frantze, Stinson Leonard Street attorney representing Burns and McDonnell, lives in Leawood Kansas.
Mr. Frantze leads us to believe that Terminal Developer LLC is jointly owned by separate legal affiliates of Americo Life Insurance Co. (SkyStar LLC) and Burns and McDonnell Engineering Co. (Burns and McDonnell Project Investments Inc.). Let's take a look at the leadership team behind these two companies, and see if they're indeed our Kansas City neighbors, as described by Shawnee resident Mike Talboy, addressing the KCMO Council.
BURNS AND MCDONNELL LEADERSHIP
Raymond J. Kowalik, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, lives in Lee's Summit Missouri.
Greg Graves, recently retired CEO, lives in Stilwell Kansas.
David G. Yeamans, Director and President of Aviation & Facilities Division, lives in Leawood Kansas.
John E. Nobles, Director and President of Process & Industrial Division, lives in Leawood Kansas.
Paul D. Fischer, Vice President and Director, lives in Overland Park Kansas.
John E. Olander, Vice President and Director, lives in Leawood Kansas.
Dave G. Ruf Jr., Chairman Emeritus, lives in Overland Park Kansas.
AMERICO LIFE INSURANCE CO. LEADERSHIP
Philip K. Polkinghorn, President, lives in Mission Hills Kansas.
Mark K. Fallon, Vice President, lives in Leawood Kansas.
Gary L. Muller, Director, lives in Mission Hills Kansas.
Michael A. Merriman, Director, lives in Mission Hills Kansas.
Timothy S. Sotos, Director, lives in Mission Hills Kansas.
All 13 members of the KCMO Council reside within Kansas City Missouri and have sworn to represent the best interests of some 475,000 Kansas City Missouri residents. Their focus should not be on granting exclusive deals to non-residents who feed off the KCMO largesse.
The Memorandum Of Understanding that is pending before the KCMO Council lists Terminal Developer LLC as "Developer" and Burns and McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc. as "Contractor" for this legal document. What's not understood, and hasn't been properly disclosed by the parties, is the fact that Terminal Developer LLC only came into existence on April 27, 2017, when attorney Frantze legally created it on behalf of Burns and McDonnell.
We checked with the Missouri Secretary of State's office and learned that SkyStar LLC (Charter LC001539299) was organized on 5-12-17 by an attorney of 2345 Grand Blvd, Suite 2200, KCMO 64108.
Like many LLC's with non-identifying names, the owner/members remain shielded and anonymous. Other than Mr. Frantze's disclosure that SkyStar LLC is owned by an affiliate of Americo Life Insurance Company, we have no way to verify that claim. SkyStar LLC, party to Terminal Developer LLC, is a ghost legal entity, less than a month old, seeking a billion dollar contract approval from the KCMO Council.
Why is the KCMO Council being rushed to approve a billion-dollar contract with a corporation that's barely one month old? Why isn't Burns and McDonnell Engineering (the parent, or primary holding company for all of their affiliates) acting as the developer on this project? Was Terminal Developer LLC created to legally protect Burns and McDonnell in the event of project problems, enabling them to walk away in a worse-case scenario? Where's the protection for KCMO?
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Council should get to vote on the winning bid. Not Sly and not the city manager doing so unilaterally.
ReplyDeleteBurns and Mac was always going to get the airport. Mayor slimeball was on tv yesterday saying the potential new bidders had till 6/20 ( three weeks) to turn in bids. Who's gonna be able to turn in multi billion dollar bids in three weeks? Corruption at its finest
ReplyDeleteWithout constant construction (shovel ready) of some sort KCMO would be heading to bankruptcy court.
ReplyDeleteMore chickenshit--Tony's really on the "cutting edge ". LOL !
ReplyDeletethere has been no due diligence on the financing by anybody who knows what they're talking about.
ReplyDeleteyeah, the "open" process is just as much of a rigged deal as before, but with pretend openness.
ReplyDeletethe way that the process was presented as now competitive actually proves that it's not and underscores the bad faith and deception of the people involved in the crony deal.
disgusting.
it's heads i win, tails you lose.
ReplyDeleteThey're baiting everyone, and everyone is falling for it. They've managed to change the basis of conversation without notice. Before, the fight was about "do we want a new airport?", now the fight is about "who gets to build the new airport?". The question of "if" has been assummed to have been answered, and they've conned everyone to instead fight about the "how".
ReplyDeleteWait....AECOM might have the resources to use a wedge to legitimately open things up, despite the rigging.
ReplyDeleteSee Sun Tzu.
@9:06AM, I heard that sentiment yesterday and realized: shit, they got me to do it as well. I was so huffy being pissed at the blatant corruption that I didn't notice I had changed my tune from "no airport" to "open bidding process". It was an extremely clever and shrewd move. Is there a puppet master that orchestrated that, or was it an accidental shift?
ReplyDeletestill rigged.
ReplyDeletemore lying about it than before.
The powers have switched the argument to "how" the new terminal should be done. The real argument is should anything be done at all... refurbish and save a billion.
ReplyDelete9:12 and above: the rigged deal will help defeat it on the vote.
ReplyDeletemy read is that more people are against than for a new airport.
it'll now be under a cloud of corruption.
also, the private financing aspect will be fodder for opponents. it'll be a rich mine.
Thank you, 9:06. You are exactly correct.
ReplyDeleteThe same thought occurred to me.
The old airport will be torn down before you know it and everyone will be saying, "What happened to fixing up the old airport?"
Save KCI!
ReplyDeleteSpend a few tens of millions and it'll be the most traveler-friendly, convenient airport in the USA.
The fix is in, baby. In Kansas City, the fix always is in. Elect slimeballs and you get slime.
ReplyDeleteAnyone notice how dirty the airport has become? Same thing happened with the stadiums prior to renovation. Let things get dirty, stop routine maintenance and everyone assumes the structures are falling down. There are probably seminars for bureaucrats that teach this.
ReplyDeleteOh no! a no-bid airport; that's not fair! No new airport! Oh No! they are opening the bid for a new airport! that's not fair! Oh no, we don't need a new airport! Oh no, they want to run a streetcar! no streetcar! Oh no, they want to expand the streetcar! no streetcar expansion! Oh no, they want a new downtown hotel! oh no, no downtown hotel! Oh no, they want to pass a tax for capital improvements! oh no, no new taxes for streets or capital improvements!
ReplyDeleteOh no 125+ murders each year, oh no, thousands of car thefts each year, oh no, thousands of home burglaries each year, oh no, water bills are bankrupting the poor. Meanwhile the civic leaders bribe the politicians into looting those too poor to move. Now that's not fair.
ReplyDeleteOh no crime! Oh no an increase on utilities! that's never happened before! oh no corruption and whatever else I can come up with! oh no!
ReplyDeleteShine the mayor's shoes well today, he might have to dance for his masters. And bring him more food! He hates to move unless very necessary.
ReplyDeletewhy don't the airport leaders live in kcmo?
ReplyDeleteAlso forgot to mention that Burns McDonnell's third cousin is really tight with Uncle Sam. I can only imagine the storm once the media uncovers this connection.
ReplyDelete^^^Sly James lives in KC. The council lives in KC, what do you want? Because it's a free country and the rest don't have to. Why do you ask dumb questions? Why aren't you smart? Why can't you use rational thought? Why do you ask rhetorical questions?
ReplyDeleteYes, City Hall doesn't like questions. They interrupt Mayor Bullhorn's sessions at the trough with the other swine.
Delete1:01 the mayor and several on the council are renters. These "renters" do not own any property in kc
ReplyDeleteThe 1%er cronies all seem to live outside KCMO.
ReplyDeleteI have worked for a county in a planning department before. Usually when we got in house projects from the transportation department etc, they were shoved down our throats and expected not to be reviewed with the same scrutiny as private submittals. This was usually b/c there were fed funds or something that were going to expire. Dangled carrots and funding expiration dates do not make for good projects. https://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, developers were always pullings stunts like releasing a 1000 paged redundant EIS studies the week before christmas and say comments closed Dec28. The consultants would say anything that got them paid.
ReplyDeleteI don't see what the big deal is. Burns Mac's headquarters is in KCMO. Just think of all the revenue they give kcmo via the KC earnings tax. So what if all of their officers live in Leawood and Mission Hills? I would too if I made as much as them.
ReplyDeleteThe fix is in. Whether an "open" bidding process or this latest airport bid sham, it's the same ol' back-room deal Burns & Mac is well known for. Want an example, just look at the $5B overflow control program's sham "open" bid.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Burns & Mac in tight with the pols? The firm spreads money all around town is why. Their employees are also expected to direct "personal" funds to pols making advancement contingent upon those donations...just a masked corporate donation!