Whether city officials like it or not, Kansas City's light rail system will likely pass through North Kansas City.

As for North Kansas City Mayor Gene Bruns, well, let's just say he declined to participate any longer in the transit discussion at the Sept. 18 council meeting.

North Kansas City officials received a brief report from Dick Jarrold, project manager for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, on the status of the light rail plan last week. But before he began his spiel, Bruns let rip with his disdain for the multiple groups jockeying for influence over the light rail plan and said he was done with light rail altogether.

“This light rail has just worn me out,” Bruns said. “I don't care where it goes … I don't care when it gets built because I'll be dead.”

Bruns said he would not attend another meeting about light rail and voiced disappointment in the “nine or so wacko groups involved” for a lack of continuity, which he said slowed the planning process.

Jarrold reminded the North Kansas City Council the city was a key player in bringing light rail north of the river.

“North Kansas City is critically important to light rail,” he said.

After the meeting, Jarrold said North Kansas City was important because it was the likely entry point of a rail line from south of the Missouri River. The Heart of America Bridge crosses the river onto Burlington Street in North Kansas City.

“There are not a whole lot of options to run a line across the river but through North Kansas City,” he said.

Most of Jarrold's presentation consisted of a rundown of widely known facts about light rail: The November approved rail line funded by a 3/8-cent sales tax currently used by the bus system was underfunded by half a billion dollars, a petition garnered enough signatures to place the measure back on a spring ballot for repealing and an alternative analysis will be completed early next year that, among other things, will better show the possibility of receiving federal funding.

Jarrold said multiple public meetings in recent weeks — one was in North Kansas City — to discuss possible alternatives to what is called “Chastain's plan” found common interests among attendees.

“People said they weren't wedded to Chastain's plan, and we had a number of people say the first line should go north of the river,” he said.

The ATA is working on a number of different starter lines for light rail, and Jarrold said a 10- to 12-mile starter line with 50 percent federal funding would be feasible. Voters would first need to repeal Chastain's plan and then approve any new plan.

Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.

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