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| | | published Friday, September 10, 2010 | 2225 Views :: 0 Comments | |  |
Ground broken for Honeywell plant in South KC
By KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star
A billion-dollar replacement for the Honeywell nuclear weapon parts plant had its ceremonial start today, with officials touting its local economic and national strategic importance to 500 guests.
The audience of contractors, politicians, federal workers and others gathered under a big tent pitched on what was recently a 185-acre farm field near Missouri 150 and Botts Road. Big yellow graders rumbled in the background, leveling the site for what will be a 1.5 million-square-foot campus.
And a band from Grandview High School, whose district will see its tax revenues jump from $652 to $1.6 million annually as the facility shifts from government to private ownership, played the National Anthem.
The new plant, being developed CenterPoint Zimmer LLC, will replace the 60-year-old facility at Bannister Federal Complex.
The facility produces 85 percent of the parts in a typical nuclear weapon and is operated by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies on a contract for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
“It’s truly a remarkable day,” said Thomas P. D’Agostino, the top executive at the NNSA. “We’re delivering products and capabilities to keep our nation safe and the world safe.”
More than 60 peace activists waving signs protesting the project were kept a half-mile away from the ceremony site, although their message was carried overhead by an airplane pulling a banner “No Nuke Bomb Plant.” Six protesters were arrested quietly, police said, when they tried to block buses going to the event.
“We’re here for peace,” said Jane Stoever of Kansas City Peace Planters. “This nuclear weapons production plant marks the first major new facility in our nuclear weapons arsenal in 32 years.”
Mayor Mark Funkhouser pointed out the economic importance of keeping the Honeywell operation in Kansas City. The facility will retain 2,100 well-paid jobs in the city, and generate 1,500 construction jobs during the two-year construction period.
The mayor estimated the 1 percent earnings tax paid by the Honeywell employees at $1.7 million. The plant also will generate $5.2 million annually in property taxes, half being diverted to pay for infrastructure improvements over 25 years.
“This is a huge economic development deal
for us,” the mayor said.
Referring to protesters, Funkhouser added, “It will be built somewhere and it ought to be built in Kansas City.”
Sen. Kit Bond noted the economic importance as well as the role of nuclear weapons in the U.S. defense strategy.
“Nuclear weapons remain a critical part of our nation’s defense,” he said. “Also, our fight to protect workers’ jobs has finally paid off…This is a very, very important investment in the region.”
Congressman Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, cited how the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II. One of the warheads maintained at the Honeywell plant, the W76, is seven times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb.
“No one likes to talk about nuclear warfare,” he said, “but Harry Truman made a decision that helped end a savage war in the Pacific in 1945 and since then our nuclear efforts have been a strong deterrent that works.”
There was some humor.
Jason Klumb, who recently became administrator of the General Services Administration Heartland Region, a political job, quipped, “I was sworn in about six months ago and very happy to take credit for this project.”
He then credited Brad Scott, his Republican predecessor, for his leadership in the four years required to bring the Honeywell project to fruition.
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