Mayor Pulls the Plug on the KCI AIRPORT Project

A render of a single terminal for KCI

Kansas City Mayor Sly James says he went through a couple of stages of grief when he saw the poll numbers of KCI airport.
Those numbers show only 40% of voters in the poll support rebuilding KCI with a single terminal. “It made me says, ‘mmm’. Maybe we’re not ready to move forward,” said James.
Not only do voters not like the single terminal plan, according to a source close to the project, they don’t care for the renovation plan. Voters prefer the status quo at KCI. The loudest critics on the City Council was Teresa Loar.
She says she talked to many Northlanders who oppose the single terminal plan.
“I think the radical change of tearing the terminal down was a little too much,” she said.
Another. Group critical of the plan was the Citizens for Responsible Government.
” 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,” said Dan Coffey a leader of the group.
The survey said Kansas City ought to work on other items, like improving the infrastructure of the city, reducing crime, and improving the schools.
The apparent defeat of the airport project is the biggest setback of Sly James’ 2-terms as mayor.
James came to office after a shaky four-year term of Mayor Mark Funkhouser. A period where city council meetings were sometimes fueled by personal rivalries and inside arguments.
James repeatedly talked about the need to have the city unified if there was going to be progress.
“It’s most important that we continue to work together,” James said, “in order to accomplish some of the other priorities that we have to accomplish”.
Another option to renovate KCI was estimated to cost over $1 billion dollars. The single terminal plan was estimated to cost $964 million.
Earlier, the city’s aviation department estimated that it would cost $500 million to make the needed repairs at KCI.