KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In just days, voters will head to the polls to vote on one of the biggest projects the Kansas City metropolitan area has seen in decades, a new, single-terminal airport, a project strongly supported by Kansas City Mayor Sly James.
The billion dollar proposal has drawn considerable criticism and praise from throughout the area. Those in favor of the project say it’ll push the metro into a new, futuristic era, bringing the airport in line with others around the country. Those against the project say they’re concerned the new terminal would mean giving up the ease and convenience they’ve grown to love.
“Convenience has to be measured by the convenience of all, not just by some who get out of a car and walk in through a door,” Kansas City Mayor Sly James said. “That's not the only convenience factor to be measured."
Extended coverage:
Timeline: How we got to the KCI vote
Downtown airport offers perspective for KCI
As the vote draws even closer, 41 Action News Anchor Mike Marusarz sat down with Kansas City Mayor Sly James to get his thoughts on the project.
Q: What are you and some of the other supporters of a 'yes' vote doing to get people to the vote next week?
A: "We're making sure that they know there is a vote next week. That's always important. But today, my good friend Robbie Makinen who runs the KCATA, came over and announced that he is going to make rides to the polls free for anybody who wants to ride a bus to the polls. It shows me the commitment of KCATA and shows me how important the vote is to them and to others."
Q: As people are analyzing this vote next week again the critics of a new airport point to convenience. We've talked about it before; convenience is a relative term, an objective term in many ways. How would you classify the current KCI airport?
A: "If you find a very nice house when you have no children and then all of a sudden you have a family of four, that house no longer fits your needs and you have to move on. This airport was built in 1972 when airplanes had 82 seats, half of them were empty and you could still smoke and get free food. Now airlines have 140 seats, 145 seats on a plane and they're always overbooked. The holding areas alone are not good so it's not convenient there."
Q: Some supporters of a KCI airport are critical of the way the council selected a developer. How concerned are you that that may taint the vote next week? Even people who like the idea of a new airport, but didn't like the idea of how the developer was chosen?
A: "I'm not concerned about that because at the end of the day the first question is 'do we build a new airport?' The second question is who builds the new airport. So let's get through the first one and then we can deal with the second. The process was one that the council wanted to be engaged in. They made some alterations to our normal process and that's what came out of it. It's over, said and done with. We've selected Edgemoor and their team. They're going to do a good job for us. We loved Burns and Mac and their team and all the people in it, it just didn't work out that way. Nonetheless, I'm more concerned about doing what's right for this city in terms of building an airport for the next 40 years than I am about who specifically builds it.”
Q: You got some support last week from Southwest Airlines. What will happen to Kansas City, in your view if voters vote down and airport proposal next week?
A: "I think Gary Kelly, the CEO of Southwest Airlines, said it best. Kansas City is a first-class city, it deserves a first-class airport. He does not consider KCI to be a first-class airport. He said very specifically that they don't bring transfer flights into the airport because of the poor passenger experience. He also said that with a new airport we'll have a very good chance of getting new and more flights and that's what it's all about. Rather than for us to concentrate on what happens if we don't, let's look forward to all the good things that will happen when we do.”
Watch the video above for more from 41 Action News Achor Mike Marusarz's interview with James.
