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Surrounding communities weigh in on new KCI terminal

Posted at 2:15 PM, Aug 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-30 19:51:52-04

GLADSTONE, Mo. — All eyes may remain fixed on a selection committee meeting in Kansas City, but metropolitan residents aren't the only ones who would feel the impact of a new KCI terminal.

In fact, more than 80 percent of KCI's revenue comes from people who don't live in Kansas City, yet they won't have the opportunity to vote on the single terminal this November.

"It's often frustrating that the geopolitical arrangement of this metropolitan area is such a challenge," Gladstone Councilwoman Carol Suter said.

Suter told 41 Action News that Gladstone didn't want to sit totally on the sidelines, so the council passed a resolution supporting a new terminal for KCI.

"It matters to us. It matters to Gladstone and the economic vitality of this community," she explained.

Across the state lane, you'll also find support. Johnson County is actually the biggest user of KCI, according to data from the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Neither Leawood nor Prairie Village has passed a resolution, but both cities said their councils like the idea of an improved terminal.

Back in Missouri, Suter hopes the voters of KCMO will feel the same way.

"We understand how important it is to the future of the economy of this metropolitan area, and just because we use it more doesn't mean that we understand any better the need for a new airport," she said.