KC Star: Kinder and his staff facilitated the Chiefs' switcheroo

Jason Noble at The Star has more details on the Chiefs deal switcheroo:

Legal documents and confidential correspondence obtained by The Kansas City Star indicate that the football team exaggerated its commitment to St. Joseph in public statements to the board that approved the tax credit...

“There’s a difference between a statement on the record and a legal document,” [Chiefs Spokesman Bob] Moore said. “Just because it was mentioned at a meeting doesn’t mean it’s the final word.”

Read the whole article. It's some slimy stuff. The Chiefs were saying one thing and then doing another. Promises were made in public to inform the MDFB's December vote, and then a completely different agreement was crafted in private. And the whole deal ran right through the Lieutenant Governor's office.

Apparently, all those public statements and promises from the Chiefs were just a bunch of junk:

Chiefs Senior Vice President Bill Newman told members approval of the credits would keep the training camp in Missouri “for a minimum of ten years,” according to meeting minutes.

An economic impact study prepared for the Chiefs a month before the meeting also describes a “commitment” by the team to hold camp at Missouri Western for 10 years, and bases its findings on those terms.

But legal documents prepared before and shortly after the meeting ratchet those requirements downward.

We didn't misunderstand the promises about the ten-year stay.  They just didn't mean anything:

Chiefs Spokesman Bob Moore said the team has always intended to commit to five years in St. Joseph, followed by the five one-year options.

When team officials referred to a 10-year commitment at the finance board meeting, they were referencing the five-year deal followed by the one-year options, he said.

That's quite the interpretation of what was said in December.  The MDFB's minutes are very clear on the matter: "The Chiefs are pledging $10 million for Missouri Western State University and to bring the training camp back to Missouri for a minimum of ten years with an anticipated starting date of 2010."  I guess by "minimum," they meant "not minimum." 

Oh, and the $10 million commitment was bogus too:

[The Chief's SVP] offered a $10 million “pledge” from the Chiefs for construction, but subsequent documents indicate the team wants to deduct from its share about $2 million in fees levied by the finance board for processing the tax credits.

Did Kinder stand up for taxpayers when faced with all of this dishonesty?  Heck no. He played right along, and facilitated the dishonest agreement.

MDFB lawyer David Queen says Kinder's actions were all perfectly appropriate: "At the time these compromises were reached I concluded that they were within the authority of the Chair given the materials presented on December 16." Queen also says that the new agreements were created and signed "with the knowledge of the board and with help from Kinder’s office."

What a bunch of junk.