Letters: Readers discuss Loews hotel tax breaks, JoCo politics and keeping Mahomes
Hotel’s cost
Now we learn that Kansas City will be forced to pay some $4.4 million to support the new Loews Kansas City Convention Center Hotel. (Feb. 14, 1A, “KC mayor’s budget focuses on police, buses, hotel”)
No doubt we all remember the deception practiced when the Power & Light District was promoted — assurances that the revenue from taxes it generated would cover the bond payments. But the city is now paying around $14 million annually to make up the shortfall there.
Why were the bonds issued with a city guarantee instead of revenue bonds? Because city officials knew the bond market would not accept the inaccurate projections, and therefore the bonds would require a city guarantee to be salable.
Think what an additional $18 million in the city budget could pay for: pothole repair, road resurfacing and increased support for public health.
- Charles Frisbie, Kansas City
Climate action
As a mother deeply concerned about the climate crisis and its impact on my children’s future, I find Evergy’s Jan. 30 announcement that it would keep burning coal until the end of all but one of its plants’ useful lives deeply disappointing.
It is clear that to achieve the greenhouse gas reductions we need, our city leaders will need to step up and demand it. Evergy’s coal plants account for nearly half of Kansas City’s emissions, according to the city’s 2017 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, but Evergy refuses to retire its coal plants until between 2040 and 2050.
At a time when experts are begging leaders to ditch fossil fuels over the next decade to avoid worsening air pollution and environmental catastrophe, this is immoral and unacceptable.
Kansas City wants to be a leader in addressing the climate crisis and building healthier communities. This can happen only if the city works with the public to make a strong emission reduction plan. We have no time to lose.
The city’s Climate Protection Plan Steering Committee will meet Feb. 21 at City Hall. I urge every parent or caregiver to attend and demand a plan that moves us beyond dirty fossil fuels before it is too late.
- Robin Ganahl, Kansas City
Blocked out
The Star’s Feb. 14 editorial “Overland Park tax incentive fight poisons well, spooks business” (8A) provided an accurate view of the political maneuvers that create a toxic environment for Overland Park city officials, city staff, residents and businesses. As it said: “Citizens would be wise to take notice,” indeed.
Councilmen Faris Farassati and Scott Hamblin tarnished the reputation of a good company, claimed city staff members were incompetent at evaluating these proposals and suggested the City Council had some nefarious motive.
This was aggravated by their political grandstanding masquerading as news that led up to the council meeting.
I do not support this approach to governance.
I contacted them privately and publicly via social media and highlighted the benefits this investment would bring. Neither Hamblin nor Farassati addressed the facts in my comments; they simply removed them and blocked me from commenting further. I used no insults or profanity — just facts.
When I said that this censorship was a violation of my First Amendment rights to participate in Overland Park governance, they responded that the social media accounts were private and do not represent the city of Overland Park.
This is not what made Overland Park the great place it is. This is not what the residents want.
- Mike Korgie, Overland Park
Keep ’em here?
How can the Chiefs keep both defensive tackle Chris Jones and quarterback Patrick Mahomes? I have an idea.
Since almost all the Chiefs players make more in a year or two than the average person does in a lifetime, maybe a few of them would be willing to accept a little lower salary in order to keep their valuable teammates and, I hope, friends, in Kansas City.
For example, I keep hearing $40 million a year thrown around as a figure for Mahomes. No doubt he’s worth that much, but with his NFL earnings and all the commercials he makes, I don’t think he and his agent are in danger of starving.
So the Chiefs offer Mahomes $40 million. He says, “I’m worth that much, but I’ll take $35 million so you have more to spend on the other guys.” And I know Kansas City fans would love him even more than they do now if he made this magnanimous gesture.
Mahomes is just an example. But maybe if he and a few other guys kicked in, we’d still have all our super Super Bowl players.
- Suzanne B. Conaway, Kansas City