A controversy over a contract worth 80 MILLION bucks risks Kansas City elected officials flirting with disaster and very dangerous manipulation of New KCI airport bidding behind the scenes.
On Sunday our blog community revealed a scathing letter regarding an EPIC contract that earned the rebuke of the Heavies, Union & urban leaders.
Debate over the contract is worthwhile and there is another side to the story, with the contract winners arguing that they have better minority participation numbers and experience with similar projects. However, the technicalities of airport construction expertise & methodology aren't really the interesting part of this story . . .
Here's the new hotness . . .
INSIDERS FEAR MAYOR & COUNCIL TINKERING AIRPORT CONTRACTS ON BEHALF OF SPECIAL INTERESTS COMES DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO BID-RIGGING!!!
Union honchos seen waltzing into closed session meetings and City Hall departments hassling contractors in service of special interests is raising eyebrows around 12th & Oak . . . Insiders who know how the bidding process is supposed to work are wary of big money "power players" operating so brazenly to challenge contracting decisions whilst taking Mayor & Council along for a treacherous round-trip.
Even more interestingly . . .
Council Lady Teresa Loar is going ON THE RECORD and shares much more cautious and reasoned concerns about the contract disputes.
"We need to be careful about getting too involved in bidding issues," Council member Loar said. "We've already agreed that Edgemoor is supposed to be making these decisions. We're quickly moving toward the final stage of construction and interfering in the process that we've already approved comes with great risk that I'm not willing to entertain."
TKC translation . . .
BID-RIGGING CAN LAND POLITICOS AND POWER PLAYERS IN JAIL!!!
Don't believe TKC about the dangers of this practice and why politicos want to avoid it all cost? Just ask former Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick about how seriously the feds take bid-rigging investigations.
To be fair, special interests are allowed to press their case and make demands of elected officials . . . That's their job.
However, politicos tinkering with contracts outside of the bidding process is where things start getting sketchy . . . And dangerous.
And whilst the construction of New KCI now stands in the shadow of coronavirus there remains an important effort to keep airport construction clean and prevent elected officials from tarnishing the biggest project in this town's history.
Developing . . .
Everybody wants a cut of new kci. But nobody wants to get caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot wrong with the construction of new KCI. We were told that taxpayers wouldn't spend a dime but that hasn't been true from the start. There is at least 30 million worth of cash from the general fund going into construction with more on the way, holding council accountable for that needs to be an issue that's debated!
DeleteDefund New KCI
Delete^^^ lulz!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the back door agreements with clowncil and local democrook do nothing Union slobs got busted. No pay for no work for you crooks! Hahahahaha!
good reminder, tkc.
ReplyDeleteand yet the city has a new airport on the way and there's nothing you can do about it. Weird.
ReplyDeleteBut bid-rigging has a long tradition with KCMO city hall.
ReplyDeleteJust ask Jolie and Sly.
Move along, please, nothing to see here.
Hundreds of millions, or in this case over a billion, of unaccountable dollars always attract gangs of grifters like a pile of horse manure and a swarm of flies.
It never changes.
This new KCI is been the biggest rip-off we've ever seen. Can't believe it's so many voters were tricked into believing that we get a decent Airport. Now it looks like all we're getting is a bunch of scams.
ReplyDelete^^and yet we are getting a decent airport. Weird.
ReplyDelete^^^^
ReplyDelete@ 12:52 KC voters aren't the brightest bulbs in the bunch they continue to vote the same way even after they get screwed year after year. After all, they got tricked into thinking they were going to get new sidewalks and repaired infrastructure with a 14 dollar tax increase. Guess who got those freebies? You know the infamous Go bond. They don't know how to read fine print and they don't know how to do math.
ReplyDelete@ 1:26 ROFL Where's the decent airport? WEIRD It's not there. WEIRD.
You're on of the ones who is very limited in your vocabulary and very ignorant as to what is going on. WEIRD You must be doing lap dances at city hall. WEIRD
^^that's because it's under construction dummy! It's not there because it's not built yet you ignorant Boomer. That's why I said we re GETTING a decent airport. Are really that dumb or that old? Did you ace your cognitive test lately? Why are Boomers so dumb??
ReplyDeleteAs long as the new terminal ha the promised waterfall from the ceiling and a plaque with Sly and Jolie's names on it, who cares if it's inconvenient and is likely to get blown over by the first really good and typical mid-west thunderstorm?
ReplyDeleteIn case you haven't noticed, service to the residents and a reasonable return on taxpayers' investments are not among the priorities of the gang running KCMO.
Oh, and all the nearly bankrupt airlines are going to pay for this.
Another fiasco on the plains.
^^ and yet since the airport hasn't been built yet, none of what you said applies or is relevant in any way, shape or form. You're talking out of your fat ass and we all know it. Weird.
ReplyDelete^^^ we’ve seen the drawings dipshit and know that sLIE wants his name added out front preferably. Funny how one fat ass, you, is offended at the mere mention of slies fat ass. Is that you gopher boi? Weird.
ReplyDeleteThe only correct action is to stop construction until the financial condition of the airport and city becomes clearer. Mothball the project.
ReplyDeleteThe new kci looks awfull. And yet we will get an awfull new airport for only a couple of billion dollars. Strange!
ReplyDelete^^^ True.
ReplyDeleteand yet the airport hasn't been built yet so it can't look awful. Weird.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Council has the right and the duty to insist that any bid the City pays for -- directly or indirectly -- be "lowest AND best". Best includes compliance with both letter and spirit of the minori;ty participation requirement.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Edgemoor's decision to bring in an out-of-state company to take KC jobs and leave us their Covid in the process -- using ONE wealthy white woman as the only woman/minority participant is hard to define as "best" -- and is hardly what Edgemoor was promising to the minority community when it was seeking votes to approve a new KCI or when it was seeking approval as builder.
The New KCI. The last monument to Sly James Renaissance Pyramid Scheme.
ReplyDelete