TKC BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE NEWS!!! BURNS & MAC MAKE ANOTHER BIG SPLASH THIS WEEK WITH $12.9-MILLION KANSAS CITY NO-BID EPIC SEWER CONTRACT!!!



Take another look at a corporate juggernaut surfing toward EPIC profits with the help of Kansas City local government as City Hall sinks further into debt.

To wit . . .

KICK-ASS TKC TIPSTERS ASK US TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS "ACCELERATED" ORDINANCE HANDING OVER EVEN MORE CASH TO BURNS & MAC AS THIS CORPORATION ATTEMPTS TO RUN ALL FACETS OF CIVIC LIFE!!!

Here's proof that's UNREPORTED any other place in Kansas City and filed quietly in the afternoon so none of the other local newsies would notice . . .

#170375 - Authorizing a $12,962,000.00 Design Professional Services Contract with Burns _ McDonnell Engineering Company, Inc., for the Smart Sewer Program Management Project; authorizing a maximum expenditure of $48,000,000.00; authorizing three successive renewal options without further City Council approval; and recognizing this ordinance as having an accelerated effective date.

Now, this power move should provide a bit of perspective on political alliances in this town and how this corporation really serves to manage our politicos in a manner that has pretty much corrupted local Democracy.

Also . . . Anybody who likes how water/sewer issues are handled in Kansas City now can expect Burns & Mac to apply the same skill set to the airport . . . Along with possibly the same steadily rising rates.



To be fair, Burns & Mac has been an integral part of the KCMO water department for years and their influence is widely noted among insiders. Only a few years ago there was push back from locals and media regarding this kind of corporate oligarchy . . . Now, corporate media is too broke and social media is far too distracted by the cutest pug photos in the world to pay attention as local Democracy plunges headlong into oblivion.

Developing . . .

Comments

  1. OF COURSE Burns & McDonnell have an interest in water and the airport. The only thing I can agree with is that a spike in prices is inevitable. That's what happens with a smaller airport dealing with increasingly larger number of travelers. That's also what they want.

    Is it in the best interest of travelers or voters? It doesn't matter. That's what's going to happen and that's why our water is also going the way of Flint.

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    1. So does this mean that Spirit airlines will stop charging me for water? that seems kinda stingy and if I'm paying for it anyway in KCMo. Let's really work on consolidation here instead of trying to fight the tide.

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    2. 12 million is not even a drop in the bucket when we talk about our epa mandated sewer repair costs that start at 5 BILLION.

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  2. The mayor from burns & mac?

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  3. Uh, how fitting. The once great Kansas City is not that anymore. It has become a Sewer Full of Rats and bow tie wearing turds.

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  4. Shades of Boss Tom Pendergast. City Hall is being run by outsiders. Who needs a City Council, anyway??

    After I left working for Charlie Wheeler and co-authored the Doubleday book about Kansas City, "Right Here in River City", 1976, Walt Bodine and I wrote about how it was the big law firms that controlled all the seats on the council. They'd send one lawyer to "serve the city"--give them time off, basically, from producing billable hours, and like the kings in Europe, serve the people, ala noblesse oblige. The obligation of noble men.

    Well, those days ended, and the local KC law firms stopped running candidates.

    But now we have Burns&McDonnell running the City. With no-bid contracts.

    Big questions for the day: Is this illegal? Is it corrupt? Is it time for the Missouri Legislature to step in and take over the City Council, just like they took over our Police Department?

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    1. Tracy, let's not forget that Burns and Mac also hosts the "orientation" for city council candidates and doors so in two groups -- those they wish to be elected and those whom they prefer would not serve.

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  5. I like where you are going with this Tracy.

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  6. Just what we need, more corruption from our city council. Who wrote this emergency ordinance and how did the council vote on it? When are the public hearings going to be held? Will it matter anyway if the citizens attend these public meetings and tell the council not to go along with this? How did Burns & Mac get such a sweet deal to the pockets of KCMO?

    Of course the water/sewer rates will go up, someone has to pay for this upgrade. How much money is our council going to make off Burns & Mac from the no-bid contracts on everything in the city they are tied to?


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  7. Mayor James, Troy Schulte, and some on the Council (Wagner, Taylor, Justus, Fowler, etc.) spend most of their efforts representing the best interests of KCMO non-residents.

    If Sly James pushes through an accelerated MOU between the City and Burns McDonnell for a new no-bid airport terminal, he's going to see KCMO embroiled in multiple lawsuits, while he himself will face racketeering charges from the feds.

    The MOU gives Burns McDonnell exclusive rights to the terminal project AND ALL OTHER CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS at KCI for the life of the agreement (30-35 years or longer)!!
    All other design/build/consult companies get completely excluded or have to beg Burns McDonnell for scraps.

    Mayor James will make a nice fat target for an indictment based upon RICO and Hobbs violations. I don't think he has enough money to defend against that, and his cronies will drop him like a hot potato once it goes public (bad PR).

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  8. Good points, guys! How about inventing at least a nom de plume for yourself, rather than Anonymous? So at least we can credit your point of view? It takes the same amount of time to jump thru the Captcha hoops, and would lend more credence to what you share.

    RICO, yes. Requires 4 players to qualify for that game. Not familiar with Hobbs--except for the artist building in the West Bottoms. Please share more.

    Sly James is to KCMO what Oscar Goodman was to Las Vegas. Mob Mayor.

    The ironic thing is, when the city does no-bid contracts, they save money--faster. Our town's bureaucrats and engineers, (sorry), and certainly the City Council are NOT SMART ENOUGH or trained enough to write the specs for complicated building projects!!!!

    I don't blame Burns and Mac for seeking a no-bid contract. Hell, they wrote the specs, because they are the only game in town for sewers.

    Bidding it out to out of towners would undoubtedly raise the costs. UNLESS the bid is padded.

    I suppose once it's done, the City could pay for an independent analysis of the bid after the fact. They could put that kind of clause into the specs. And if it comes back with a negative review from ASCE, (my very first client, thanks to Walt Bodine) the American Society of Civil Engineers, then Burns and Mac could pay an equivalent PENALTY OR FEE.

    You can't have it both ways--whine about bad sewers, and then whine when the City tries to fix them. But one CAN mitigate padded bidding processes.

    So sign your work--and tell me your thoughts...

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  9. How's this?

    I think you should take off your Tootsie outfit and show us what you look like as a man.

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  10. I would love to get on Tracy Thomas.

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  11. i'm not sure about some of the points above, but they are why anybody spending a billion dollars in good faith has an outside financial advisor to review and opine.

    the outside law firms, even beholden to the mayor, will surely mandate a third-party expert to review the "uniqueness" of the financing, which seems quirky, uncertain, and potentially inefficient versus alternatives.

    the jam-through approach on this is likely leading straight to problems, imho.

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  12. A $12 million no-bid is a lot different from a billion-plus, but it's probably where they got the idea.

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  13. Tracy Thomas, publisher KCMOPost.com5/23/17, 10:43 AM

    Whenever the barn door is open, all the horsies and cattle run out to the trough! The pigs are always outside--no need to run. They never left.

    It's clear that Burns and Mac is like a toddler--seizing every toy and piece of candy and opportunity--until someone in control exerts leadership. Now we know for sure it will not be Sly James. And hopefully this will be the end of Jolie Justus' dreams of being the next mayor.

    Others on the council are sitting back, quietly watching. You notice few are wanting to step out of the shadows and be quoted.

    It's also abundantly obvious that the Kansas City STAR is moribund. They're no Washington Post! Or New York Times. Do they possibly think that failure to report will buy them some full page ads for ribbon cutting ceremonies?

    So much for Colleen Nelson and her honeymoon period running the Editorial Board. What.A.Joke.

    Thank you, Tony and the Tipsters--without you we would know nothing.

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  14. I guess the $240 Million renovation of KCI in 2004 was meant to only last 10 years.

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  15. Thank you Tracy for always insightful analysis.

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  16. Burns and Mac is making money even voters vote down the new airport!

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  17. Smart Sewers?

    LMAO

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  18. You mean the one where some gal on the council personally rejected the first class re-design on the crumbling parquet floors, because she thought using a weather map with arrows inlaid into the floor would send visitors in circles?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    What a joke. The KCMO clown council knows nothing about design or contracts or specs. Which is exactly why Burns and Mac is "stealing the flag" and running with their no-bid contracts to claim ALL the money for 35 to 50 years!

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  19. Public hearing for Burns & McDonnell’s KCI proposal is Tuesday evening

    LMAO nice the public got so much advance notice huh?

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  20. Trojan Horse politics.

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  21. Having served on a City Council for five years, in Shawnee, including as council president, my personal experience is--public hearings are mostly a waste of time.

    The Council LOOKS AT ITS SHOES the entire time. Waiting for the droning to end, so they can then advance the measure to their next meeting.

    Now if some real citizens show up tonight, that would be a miracle. Do not expect Micheal Mahoney to be there with a camera from KMBC, or any other TV media. Unless violence is occuring, this will not be covered by the media.

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  22. the local newspaper seemed to have a notion that the crony deal wasn't right but they don't seem to be doing any investigative journalism.

    for example, on the financing, they seem to be reporting the pr release and asking a question and not digging.

    another example, they haven't reported much on who the people are, the engineers, the outside lawyers, the aviation team at BM.

    just kind of a once-over approach. yet, they have a team byline.

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  23. So with the sLIE James International Airport and the water no bid contracts that pushes the total earnings for Burned and Mcmanaged to over 3 billion dollars? Jesus man sign me up!

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  24. What's the point in even trying to stop all this? The dummocrats and libtards just love taking it up the azz, hell theyre so stupid they think this is how it's supposed to be, completely mindless and have to depend on everyone else to make they're decisions for them

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  25. Look, we all recognize that poor people are a drain on the city. All you have to do is drive through Historic Northeast and you will be confronted by scenes straight out of a B-grade horror movie. Brain-dead flakka zombies wandering the streets looking for some weak person to turn into yet another victim; burned-out house infested with hopeless vagabonds blight the city while trash blows down the street. An endless cycle of fail.

    A new airport is not the goal, any more than a new train is the goal. The goal, my friends, is to make KCMO unaffordable for poor people. And we are well on our way to success! Hell, by the time the James administration is done with its Final Solution even middle class people will be too poor to reside here!

    And that is when those of us who are successful can finally come out of hiding, buy up the properties around us and turn the entire East side into large pastoral estates. The city will likely go bankrupt and be forced to eliminate all of its unfunded pension liabilities. And of course we will feel sad while we watch the familes move away. I can hear the garden party conversations now, "It was sad watching my neighbors move away, but since they could no longer afford water they had no choice!" "i always knew survival of the fittest outcomes could be predicted by credit scores, haha." You know the routine.

    Ahh, this has been a glorious revolution to watch unfold. My neighbors were abusing each other yesterday (in front of their kids) because they could not afford the water bill and they got a shutoff notice. I just watch (from a safe distance) and wait for them to go bankrupt or get arrested for failing to pay their bills.

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  26. @Tracy, B&M the only game in town on sewers? What? Design: B&V, Larkin (or their current iteration with Lampen Rearden), and a number of smaller firms more than capable of performing sewer design; several that specialize in municipal sewer. I won't name them, because its not my place to put them in a public forum where they may rather not be. As far as installation, any number of the large multi-state GC's around the KC metro could easily do the installation. There is no money saved by proffering that lump o' gold to a single Design/Construction firm.

    Make no mistake, I don't dislike B&M. I have several friends that work there; all live in JoCo. That said, there are PLENTY of local, regional, national firms that would be able to bid on design services.

    As far as putting my name out into a public forum? Nadda chance. Politics are the religion of the left, they can and will justify any intimidation, threat, or attack on you or your family for simply not liking your opinion. I'm thinking you thrive on that level of attention, I do not. My posts will remain as anonymous as possible.

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  27. The Star is courageously leading from the rear on this.

    Blogs, with all their imperfections, are on the front line.

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  28. Mcclatchy is paying for reporting and only a few people read the paper the sports section may be the best read very little entertainment and travel sections and I the advertiser will soon pull out when retailers go out of business they don't advertise.

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  29. Good-government newspapers used to be a keystone of the success of democracy.

    Now, they're pretty absent from the scene, and democracy is suffering.

    This is a case in point.

    Sad.

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  30. Fucking negroes. Kill 'em all. Every last one.

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