Bryan Stalder
Northeast News

On Thursday, July 19, Geoff Stricker, Managing Director of Edgemoor, delivered a positive message to the KCMO Airport committee; that their firm had reached a Labor Harmony Agreement with local trade unions. Labor unions and affiliated companies have agreed to pre-apprentice training for anyone working on the site. This agreement expands the pool of local applicants who can qualify for work on the new airport, and will help reach the MBE/WBE goals that were agreed upon. 

Additionally, by allocating 5% of the man-hours to non-union firms, those companies will be better able to forecast their financial impacts. Stricker assured the committee that everything had been agreed to, and it was simply a matter of finalizing the wording of the agreement before moving forward.

Following the announcement of the Labor Harmony Agreement, a presentation was given regarding the design process, outlining plans for the operations, accessibility, and sustainability of the new airport. Geoff Stricker started off by introducing two options currently being considered for airline baggage handling systems. “To the airlines, baggage handling is the fundamentally most important system within the building so we’ve got to get that right,” he stated, before allowing Derek Moore, director of architectural firm Skidmore, Owings, and & Merrill to explain the pros and cons of an individual carrier system versus a belted conveyor system.

Next, a diagram of the new airport was shown, detailing pathway from the parking garage all the way to the boarding ramp; noting that every step of the way met ADA standards.

Finally, the sustainability plan was outlined, highlighting their plan to build a new central utility plant, which will sharply reduce the risk of power failure during construction, but also provide a backup power source to ensure resiliency and energy efficiency long term.

They also briefly discussed their plan to cycle out their diesel powered fleet vehicles with cleaner, electric vehicles. “The project is going to be providing recharging stations at every aircraft gate and selected other locations and work with the airlines for a progressive changeover to that, which would put KCI in the forefront in that very critical area of airport operations.” said Derek Moore.

Following the presentation, council members had questions regarding the feedback that Edgemoor was receiving from residents, not only in Kansas City, but the surrounding region, who also rely on KCI.

The next Airport Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 16.