KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Tuesday, members of City Council met in closed session to discuss the progress of negotiations with Edgemoor on a memorandum of understanding to build KCI.
Although members cannot discuss what is said in closed session, Edgemoor's Geoff Stricker said they're on track to reach an agreement by the end of the month.
This comes after negotiations nearly fell apart last month when council members raised concerns about the MOU.
In response to those concerns, Stricker's team is working to add specifics to their community benefits agreement. Edgemoor also plans to add an internship program for high school and college students, but on Tuesday he couldn't tell us how much money will be invested there.
"Not at this point because we're still negotiating," he explained.
Another area of contention for some council members surrounds the $30 million the city would have to give Edgemoor if the deal falls through.
"Those dollars all cover third-party costs. There's no Edgemoor costs in that number, so there's no windfall for us. All the dollars are completely just straight pass-throughs of the invoices," Stricker said.
Stricker confirmed on Tuesday that payment is still on the table. Councilman Quinton Lucas said he's still concerned and would like to see more progress on that aspect of the MOU.
Other concerns will come to light at Thursday's 1 p.m. meeting about KCI.
In the meantime, the Edgemoor team is moving forward on design work and hopes to stick to its plan of starting construction this fall.
