Airlines’ silence on KCI project raises questions about Burns & McDonnell’s intentions

The Kansas City airport project remains troubled more than a year after voters agreed to build a new terminal.

Costs are growing. The airlines’ long public silence about the project is deeply disturbing. Incredibly, some City Council members say the bitter dispute over picking a developer remains unsettled, injecting politics into the discussion again.

The city and developer Edgemoor have worked to write a final agreement for the terminal, which will be debated for the first time on Thursday. It’s increasingly clear, though, that the project lacks visible, accountable leadership, which is leaving critical questions unaddressed.

Who’s running the show at KCI? The mayor? The council? The city manager? Edgemoor? The airlines? The city’s Aviation Department? All have a piece of the project, yet it isn’t clear where the buck stops.

That’s a problem. And that will be obvious Thursday, when the city’s Aviation Committee meets to discuss the final deal.

The airlines were supposed to send representatives to the session. As of Wednesday, they were off the schedule.

Crucially, the contract with the airlines to pay for the terminal — the so-called “use agreement term sheet” — remains under negotiation. No final deal can be approved without it.

Some council members believe the airlines are arguing with each other over how to divide the cost of the terminal. Others think there’s a more fundamental problem: The airlines are upset with the ballooning price tag and are withholding approval until costs are cut.

The airlines must clear this up immediately and in public. Here’s why: Their silence has allowed political maneuvering around the project to return.

At least some City Council members believe Burns & McDonnell, the local company that lost the bid for the terminal, remains interested in being involved in the project. Some think the company and its employees will financially back mayoral candidates who prove friendly to the company’s airport interests.

In an email, a Burns & McDonnell spokesperson said the company does not intend to to reengage in the KCI process “under the current model.”

But the same statement includes sharp criticism of Edgemoor’s spending for the project. Burns & McDonnell now claims it could build the terminal for $2.7 billion, including construction and interest, over 30 years — far less than Edgemoor’s estimated $4.38 billion over 35 years.

There is no way to test Burns & McDonnell’s claim since the firm’s understanding of Edgemoor’s design is limited. But Burns & McDonnell can keep making the statement over and over, muddying the water, injecting the dispute into the mayor’s race and delaying progress.

Starting over is out of the question. It would delay the new terminal by years.

The company says it has updated its cost figures based on the airlines’ request. Why are the airlines talking with Burns & McDonnell?

If the carriers are worried about the cost, they must say so. They must explain how much they’re willing to pay for the project. Edgemoor and the city can adjust accordingly.

Otherwise, the new agreement with Edgemoor should be signed, the money should be borrowed, and the work should begin.

Accomplishing those goals requires clear ownership of the airport terminal, which remains a problem. Clarity and visible progress are needed before the end of the year, or public faith in this critical project will be irredeemably lost.