KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An airline representative told city leaders on Thursday that an agreement on costs for a new terminal at Kansas City International Airport is likely weeks away.
At an airport committee meeting, Lou Salomon said that although he’s not directly involved in negotiations, he thought the airlines were close to a final agreement. Salomon is not an airline employee but was hired as a consultant for the process.
Councilman Jermaine Reed asked Salomon if the city should pay attention to other firms that previously submitted bids for the new terminal.
Salomon said it wasn’t for him to say but that the carriers have gone through the process.
“I don’t know what someone else is going to bring to this,” he said.
Mayor Pro Tem Scott Wagner and two other council members, Lee Barnes and Teresa Loar, sent a letter last week requesting information from Edgemoor’s former competitors, Burns & McDonnell and AECOM, for financial details on their plans for the new terminal.
Edgemoor, the developer for the new terminal, has said annual payments will be about $117 million, which adds up to about $4 billion in total.
AECOM claimed that it could complete the project at an annual debt payment of $85 million to $89 million over 30 years for a total of $2.7 billion.
Barnes told 41 Action News lat week that he agreed to add his name to the letter due to frustration about a lack of information getting to council members.
“I feel like we’re just hanging out here in limbo,” Barnes said.
Mayor Sly James criticized the action by the three council members, calling it a “charade.”
