CHICAGO - The Kansas City, Mo. city council approved a measure to require voter approval for any plan that calls for the demolition and reconstruction of terminals at city-owned airports.
The measure would also ban the city's use of public resources to influence the ballot outcome.
The vote comes as a task force is exploring the future of Kansas City International Airport and whether to embark a major overhaul of the airport by renovating terminals or building a new one. The mayoral task force is expected to issue recommendations in April.
The proposal carries a $1.2 billion price tag.
The council last week also unanimously approved a new two-year lease that calls for a collaborative effort between the city's aviation department and the airport's eight airlines on terminal decisions.
The city last year refunded about $200 million in a deal that streamlined Kansas City International Airport's debt portfolio in a new master bond ordinance to achieve savings and smooth the path for future issuance.
Standard & Poor's assigned an A-plus rating to the refunding bonds and affirmed the A-plus rating on existing senior lien general airport revenue bonds. It also affirmed the A rating assigned to subordinate general airport revenue bonds and stand-alone passenger facility charge bonds. It revised its outlook to stable from negative.
Moody's Investors Service assigned an A2 rating to the refunding bonds and affirmed the same rating for existing senior lien bonds and the A3 rating on subordinate and PFC bonds. The outlook is stable.
Fitch Ratings recently affirmed its A rating on senior lien bonds and its A-minus rating on subordinate bonds. The outlook is stable.
Some local travelers are resistant to the consolidated terminal proposal and critics oppose it for the cost, but supporters believe it's needed to improve the airport's efficiency by saving money on operations and centralizing security. If the city eventually opted to build the new single terminal, any debt issuance would go to a public vote.
