A Cuppa Kansas City Whine?

Yeah I know, this is the Internet and anybody can basically say anything, whether it's true or not.

I read the piece posted below on fellow local blogger Tony's Kansas City http://tonyskansascity.com site.
It is a response to an article Tony posted on T.I.F.'s (Tax Increment Financing) and other forms of governmental welfare for wealthy land developers and their friends.

After sleeping on the words this commenter had to say, Frank Zappa's masterpiece "It Can't Happen Here" came to mind.

The wake-up irony is that it damn well CAN happen here and maybe, just maybe, what is posted below - exactly as it was posted there - has some merit and justifies further journalistic investigation.


GKM


hip critic said...

Lets talk about Bartle Hall, Tony. The expansion project has experienced some serious, very costly mistakes. For instance, they have a minority contractor (who the city always uses) doing the HVAC system who has no idea what he's doing; concerning HVAC that is.

Example: He bids higher than hell and receives the job... EVERYTIME. In this particular case he bid the job for like 10 guys. He sent around 4, 1 whiteboy doing most of the work. When they quickly fell behind (had every other trade waiting on them, sitting by the way) the City came in saying ...SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. *holding hand over the minority contractors mouth*

The city paid another contractor to come in (out of cities pocket and not deducting money from contract of minority firm). They paid this other contracting firm (non-minority by the way) BIG money to catch this other firm up so the sheetrockers, and every other trade could get back to work, instead of sitting for a third month straight while these other guys wandered aimlesssly towards the end.

Let me break it down, we have:
(1)Bartle Hall Expansion way behind schedule.
(2)Minority HVAC contractor allowed to not fulfill contractual duty to city. Not only allowed, but is given incentive to not fulfill.
(3)City paying a "ghost" company to stand beside this company in catching up so the other trades could begin working again after 2-3 months of sitting on the sidelines.
(4)Never having made this public.

I am pissed and you should be too. Not as pissed as my "whiteboy" friend who allowed them to shine as long as they did by being the only one working though. They said he had a big mouth. I wish I could tell you more but he refuses to talk anymore about it until he sues the fuck out of the city for allowing this to transpire. Not only allowing it, but encouraging it.

The sad part: Funkhouser has yet to say anything about it and this firm will probably have future contracts and may currently be pulling the same SHIT at the Sprint Center. I told you fuckers it would get bad before the Elections. That aint shit either.

Funkhouser (as former auditor or whatever!) you have knowledge of this. Surely. If you continue to fail to point these things out you will be placed on my political suicide blog, where Chuck Eddy is getting very lonely. You could have athreesome later tonight with Weaver and Eddy.

*winks at Tony*

1/10/2007 11:42:53 AM