Feds Say Civil Rights Compliance Deficient on MCI Construction Project, Needs Fixing

Feb. 10—Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version. Kansas City officials say federal funding for the project is not at stake.

The Federal Aviation Administration has given Kansas City officials 30 days to comply with minority business participation requirements on the $1.5 billion airport project.

Or, the FAA said, the city can provide a schedule for when those corrective actions will be completed.

The FAA's office of civil rights informed Aviation Director Patrick Klein of its position in a letter on Wednesday.

After an evaluation, the agency said it found that the KCI project "has significant compliance deficiencies" when it comes to requirements for the participation of what the government calls disadvantaged business enterprises. Those are businesses owned by women and minorities.

The review comes after two construction companies that were the low bidders for concrete work on the project were subsequently pushed aside. They alleged that the city council steered the $75 million contract to another company, instead, due to lobbying from local trade unions and an influential contractors association.

The FAA letter references those complaints from ESCO Construction Co. of Colorado and G2 Construction, a woman-owned firm that would have allowed ESCO to meet its minority and women participation goals by partnering with G2.

It's not clear what effect the FAA order might have on the airport project, which began in 2019 and is scheduled for completion next year.

But the city said in a statement that the Aviation Department was voluntarily working with the FAA and the city's Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department "recently joined this effort and will assist in the city's review of the FAA's letter in full and work to implement the necessary changes."

"Complaints and investigations of this nature are not uncommon and we are continuously working to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal rules and regulations," the statement continued. " The Aviation Department understands its grant assurance responsibilities and continues to work closely with the FAA to uphold our commitments.

"We do not expect there to be any effect on the budget or schedule of the new terminal project, which remains on time and on budget."

The owner of Kansas City-based G2, Lisa Garney, said she felt "vindicated" as the ruling affirmed the position she took two years ago in calling the selection process unfair.

"One of the largest contracts ever awarded to a woman-owned business in KC was wrongfully taken from G2 as a result of discrimination," Garney said in a prepared statement. "The city's lack of controls, accountability, and transparency, cited by the FAA, allowed this to happen.

"It's particularly disappointing because our team has vast experience in concrete work and we won the bid because we had the qualifications, lowest price, and highest minority and women participation."

Among the issues raised in the FAA letter is the city's failure to inform the agency whether it conducted a full and impartial investigation of the allegations about why the council awarded the concrete contract to Ideker Inc. over ESCO and G2.

Other deficiencies raised include failures to follow various record-keeping rules and to ensure appropriate handling of all civil rights complaints.

The agency also required training for city council members on their obligations under Title VI of the 1964 civil rights act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal assistance.

This story was originally published February 10, 2022 3:50 PM.

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