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IT IS OFFICIAL.
KANSAS CITY WILL HAVE A MODERN DOWNTOWN STREETCAR
LINE THAT ITS BACKERS BELIEVE WILL BE A GAME
CHANGER FOR THE CITY. RESULTS OF AN UNUSUAL MAIL-IN ELECTION ARE TALLIED UP THIS
WEEK AND VOTERS APPROVE A 1 CENT SALES TAX HIKE THAT GREEN LIGHTS THE TWO MILE STREETCAR.
IN A SEPARATE VOTE, THEY APPROVE PROPERTY TAX
INCREASES THAT WILL HELP FUND THE 100 MILLION-DOLLAR
TRANSIT PROJECT. WELL, THE FIRST LEG WILL CERTAINLY HAVE AN IMPACT ON
DOWNTOWN. BUT THE OBJECT ISN'T JUST TO HELP DOWNTOWN.
THE OBJECT IS TO BE ABLE TO ULTIMATELY CONNECT UP THROUGH VARYING AND ALTERING ROUTES THIS
ENTIRE CITY SO THAT PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE CARS
ON THE EAST SIDE CAN GET TO PLACES WHERE THERE
ARE JOB, SO THAT PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE CARS OUT SOUTH CAN GET TO PLACES WHERE THERE ARE
JOBS. THAT VIDEO FROM NBC ACTION NEWS.
WHAT DO THESE NUMBERS ACTUALLY MEAN? DO WE LEARN ANYTHING FROM THESE
NUMBERS? NOBODY WAS THINKING IN ANY WAY THAT IT WOULD FAIL, WERE THEY?
NO. IT WAS PRETTY MUCH A FOREGONE CONCLUSION.
A VERY SMALL ELECTORATE, JUST PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE DOWNTOWN TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT WERE
ALLOWED TO VOTE. THEY HAD TO REQUEST A BALLOT, AN INVOLVED PROCESS.
THEY HAD GONE THROUGH THIS EARLIER IN THE SUMMER AND APPROVED THE TAXING DISTRICT.
SO THIS APPROVED THE SIGNIFICANT TAXES, AND THERE
ARE SIGNIFICANT TAX INCREASES FOR THAT DISTRICT.
MANY OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO WILL BE PAYING THE TAXES DO NOT LIVE IN THE DISTRICT.
THEY'RE NOT ALL THAT HAPPY ABOUT IT, BUT THE CITY FELT THIS WAS THE WAY TO GO.
THE STREETCARS, THEY SAY, WILL DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE
DOWNTOWN, INCREASE THE DENSITY AND VIBE --
VIBRANTSY AND MAKE KANSAS CITY MORE COMPETITIVE. THERE WERE SOME HINTS THAT
BECAUSE SOME OF THE PROPERTY OWNERS WHO DIDN'T LIVE IN THE DISTRICT, DIDN'T HAVE AN
OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE, THERE MAY BE SOME LAWSUITS COMING AS REGARDS TO THIS.
ANYTHING MORE ON THAT? WE DON'T KNOW SPECIFICS. NOTHING HAS BEEN FILED YET.
I DO THINK THERE ARE PEOPLE TALKING TO LAWYERS AND EXPLORING WHETHER THIS WAS A
CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE OR WHETHER THERE IS A WAY TO MAKE A CHALLENGE.
THE CITY DID GO TO COURT AND GOT A JUDGE'S RULING AUTHORIZING THE ELECTION.
SO I THINK THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE ON SOLID LEGAL GROUND. THEY PLAN TO START CONSTRUCTION
NEXT YEAR AND TO HAVE THE TRAINS RUNNING BY 2015. SO WE COULD BE ON THESE
REETCARS BY 2015, BILL? I THINK THAT'S A LITTLE OPTIMISTIC, THAT JUNE 2015.
ONE OF THE REASONS I SAY, THAT KANSAS CITY HAS A CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS TO BE DONE IS TO DEAL WITH THAT DOWN MAIN STREET WHERE YOU'VE
GOT PIPES THAT ARE A CENTURY OLD. SO IF THEY GET THE DESIGN PLANS
FINALIZED IN THE SPRING, WHICH IS THE GOAL. COUNCIL, AS A MATTER OF FACT,
VOTED FOR THE CONTRACT TO GET THAT DONE YESTERDAY. BUT AGAIN, THIS CRUMBLING
INFRASTRUCTURE HAS CAUSED PROBLEMS BEFORE. THERE IS NO REASON TO THINK IT
WON'T CAUSE PROBLEMS AGAIN. I DO THINK THEY PLAN TO REPLACE A BIG WATER MAIN DOWN
MAIN STREET, AND THAT'S PROBABLY A GOOD THING, BECAUSE IT LEAKS ALL THE TIME ANYWAY.
I THINK THIS IS REALLY A MOMENT IN KANSAS CITY, THE PASSAGE OF THIS THING.
THIS WAS REALLY A SIGN, A VERY AGGRESSIVE MOVE BY CITY LEADERS WHO SORT OF ELBOWED THEIR WAY
THROUGH THE CROWD HERE AND SHOVED THIS IDEA ONTO THE CITY BY DESIGNATING THIS VERY SMALL
ELECTORATE THAT THEY KNEW WOULD PROBABLY PASS THIS THING. YOU DON'T SEE CITY LEADERS BEING
THIS AGGRESSIVE TYPICALLY IN THIS TOWN. WE'VE TURNED THE PAGE NOW ON AN
ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN *** THIS CITY FOR DECADES. HOW ARE WE GOING TO IMPROVE AND
EXPAND MASS TRANSIT IN THE COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY DO WE SEE IT NOW FOR THIS COMING TWO OR THREE
YEARS, THIS SHORT LEG, BUT AS THE MAYOR JUST SAID,
WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING THIS ISSUE NOW FOR
YEARS AND YEARS TO COME AS ATTEMPTS ARE MADE TO EXPAND THIS SYSTEM GOING FORWARD.
IT'S A HECK OF A GAMBLE. AS BILL JUST POINTED OUT, LOTS OF NEEDS IN THIS CITY.
WE'RE JUST ADDING ANOTHER ONE. A 2 MILLION-DOLLAR A YEAR SUBSIDY TO KEEP THIS THING
GOING. I THINK FOR SLY JAMES' SAKE, THIS THING BETTER WORK, AND IT
MAY VERY WELL WORK, BUT IT'S JUST A VERY INTERESTING MOMENT THAT WE'VE ARRIVED AT HERE,
GETTING THIS THING TO BE MOVING FORWARD. DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE
PASSED IF IT WAS PUT ON A GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT, STEVE? WELL, WE'RE GOING TO NEVER
KNOW, NICK, BUT BASED ON RECENT HISTORY, BASED ON THE ECONOMY RIGHT NOW, BASED ON HOW SHORT
THIS FIRST LEG IS, I THINK IT'S DOUBTFUL IT WAS HAVE PASSED COMING OUT OF THE GATE.
ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS, DAVE HELLING, WAS THIS WAS JUST A TWO MILE STREETCAR LINE, JUST GOES
FROM UNION STATION TO THE RIVER MARKET, AND WE NEED TO CREATE TRANSIT OPTIONS IN THIS
COMMUNITY THAT ARE GOING TO TAKE PEOPLE TO JOBS. WE CERTAINLY HEARD THAT IN THE
MAYOR'S QUOTE. THERE IS A BIGGER PLAN LOOMING. THAT IS PLAN BY JACKSON COUNTY
EXECUTIVE MIKE SANDERS WHO HAS IDEAS IN THE UPCOMING YEAR OF PUTTING ON THE BALLOT A MASSIVE
COMMUTER RAIL PLAN USING EXISTING TRACKS THAT WOULD DO EXACTLY THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE
PEOPLE USING A ONE CENT COUNTY SALES TAX TO GET PEOPLE MOVING BY RAIL.
DOES THAT VOTE NOW SIGNAL THAT WILL GO ON THE BALLOT? WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S
GOING ON THE BALLOT, NICK. WHETHER IT WILL SUCCEED OR NOT IS A WHOLE OTHER QUESTION.
I DISAGREE A LITTLE BIT WITH BROTHER KRASKE IN TERMS OF HOW THIS MIGHT HAVE FARED CITY-WIDE.
I THINK IT WOULD HAVE PASSED IF THE TAXES HAD JUST BEEN LEVIED IN THE DISTRICT.
BUT THE PROBLEM YOU ALWAYS HAVE WITH MASS TRANSIT VOTES IS, YOU'RE ASKING THE ENTIRE
COMMUNITY TO SUBSIDIZE SPECIFIC ROUTS, WHICH MAY
OR MAY NOT COME CLOSE TO YOUR HOME, AND THAT'S
ALWAYS A TOUGH SALE. TO VOTE FOR A HUGE SALES TAX INCREASE, TO PROVIDE COMMUTER
RAIL FOR SOMETHING YOU MAY NEVER USE IS A TOUGH SALE. THAT'S WHY I THINK RUSS JOHNSON
AND OTHERS PUSHED THIS IN-DISTRICT IDEA BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE WILL BENEFIT FROM IT, AND
SO YOU COULD MAKE THE ARGUMENT THAT IT WILL ADD TO YOUR PROPERTY VALUE, BRING
DEVELOPMENT, THAT KIND OF THING. I FOE THAT MIKE MIKE -- I KNOW THAT MIKE SANDERS IS PUSHING
FORWARD WITH HIS PROPOSAL. I DO THINK FEDERAL MONEY IS GOING TO BE EXTRAORDINARILY
DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO GET. MY GUESS IS, IF IT DOES GO ON
THE BALLOT, IT WILL BE QUITE AN UPHILL BATTLE. YOU'VE BEEN REPORTING ON
THAT. HE DOES HAVE HUGE SUPPORT FROM MOST OF THE MAYORS IN JACKSON
COUNTY, DOESN'T HE? HE DOES. JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS BACK,
THEY ALL MET AT ARROWHEAD AND TALKED ABOUT THIS. ONE OF THE THINGS SANDERS HAS
BEAT THE DRUM ON, AND THE MAYOR, INTERMODAL. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO GET YOU FROM
POINT A TO POINT B, BUT IF IT CAN GET YOU TO WHERE YOU CAN TAKE A DIFFERENT MODE OF
TRANSPORTATION, IT'S GOING TO BENEFIT EVERYTHING. SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT
HERE, THE FEDERAL MONEY IS GONE HERE, BOTH FOR
MIKE SANDERS' PROPOSAL AND SLY JAMES TRYING TO
EXPAND THIS TREAT CAR PLAN GOING FORWARD, NICK. THAT MONEY IS GONE.
THE BURDEN NOW WILL BE ON KANSAS CITY AND KANSAS
CITY ALONE TO KEEP THIS THING GOING FORWARD.
THE STATE OF MISSOURI WON'T BE GIVING US ANY MONEY FOR THIS.
IT'S KANSAS CITY VERY MUCH ALONE
MOVING FORWARD. LET ME JUST THROW IN ONE OTHER THING AND MAYBE LYNN WOULD
LIKE TO CHIME IN. $100 MILLION FOR TWO MILES OF STREETCAR IS ENORMOUSLY
EXPENSIVE. IT JUST IS. A 20-MILE STREETCAR SYSTEM,
THAT'S A BILLION DOLLARS. LET ALONE THE COST TO OPERATE IT.
AND THE STREETCAR IS GOING TO BE FREE, AS I RECALL, CORRECT? TO BEGIN WITH.
SO OPERATING COSTS ARE GOING TO BE SOMEWHAT OF A CHALLENGE. SO THERE ARE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.
I KNOW THERE IS GREAT OPTIMISM FOLLOWING THIS VOTE. BUT I THINK THE WEEKS, MONTHS,
YEARS AHEAD WILL REALLY TELL THE TALE OF WHETHER THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING ELSE.
AND I DO THINK THEY ALL SAY THAT TWO MILES ALONE IS STUPID. THAT'S NOT THE GOAL.
THE GOAL AT LEAST IS TO GET OUT TO THE PLAZA, UMKC. THEN YOU'RE REALLY CONNECTING
PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN A DENSE RESIDENTIAL AREA, TWO JOBS DOWNTOWN.
I THINK THEY FEEL LIKE THAT WOULD TRULY BE THE GAME CHANGER. IT'S ALL FREE FOR RIGHT NOW,
AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO GO FROM
UNION STATION TO THE RIVER MARKET WITH MY NOOK.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.