KANSAS CITY, Missouri (June 13, 2017) — A new poll of Kansas City, Missouri residents shows a majority would support Burns & McDonnell’s plan to privately build and finance a new single-terminal KCI airport. The survey of more than 1,000 Kansas City registered voters conducted June 10 and 11 showed that a majority of voters were opposed to a new airport until learning the details of a privately financed, single-terminal concept submitted by Burns & McDonnell in May to Kansas City officials.
First, respondents were asked if they support or oppose a new, single terminal airport at KCI. According to the survey, support is at 38 percent with 40 percent opposing; 22 percent of voters are unsure. After respondents learned additional details like private, local financing, and plans to preserve the existing convenience, support for a new single-terminal airport increased from 38 percent to 56 percent with 25 percent opposed and 19 percent unsure.
“We’re seeing confirmation of what we believed all along,” says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO, Burns & McDonnell. “Public support is there for a privately financed airport, built by Kansas City talent. The publicly financed option was, and still is, a non-starter with voters. It’s the reason we haven’t moved forward with a new terminal at KCI over the past few years. This is exactly why we proposed an innovative solution that we think represents a major step forward for the region. This is the most encouraging data we’ve seen and we’re hopeful the momentum will build toward ultimate success at the ballot box.”
“Voters are smart. There is quite a bit of education left to be done on the merits of our proposal, but we believe there is a pathway forward,” Kowalik says. “Burns & McDonnell has supported the Kansas City community for 119 years. This is Kansas City’s next great project and we are confident it will be a winner in November.”
About Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is a Kansas City-based firm that’s been committed to the people and growth of our hometown since we were founded in 1898. The 3,000 employee-owners based in Kansas City actively volunteer within the community and have donated millions of dollars to causes that support our great city from United Way to Science City. We are made up of more than 5,700 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be No. 16 on Fortune’s 2017 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.