The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority’s drive toward building a unified regional transit system will be as energized as ever as the agency transitions to a new leadership team.
That’s the message from Steve Klika, Johnson County commissioner and now chairman of the KCATA’s Board of Commissioners, and Robbie Makinen, outgoing KCATA board chairman and the KCATA’s newly appointed president and chief executive officer.
Klika and Makinen will take on new leadership roles after Joe Reardon announced last week he was stepping aside as the KCATA’s president and chief executive to lead the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Last week, the KCATA expressed support for Reardon in his new position.
“It’s full speed ahead,” Makinen said. “We will not lose a step. We are focused on the future and are aiming high. We will continue to build on our accomplishments of the last year as we strive to become an agency that truly serves the entire Kansas City region. We have made transit and paratransit more accessible, more unified and easier for the community to understand.
“Already, we have regional bus fares. A single regional transit brand. A single regional transit website. And new development opportunities. This is just a taste of what we hope is ahead,” he said.
Klika, who’s been on the KCATA Board since 2011, has been a transit advocate for many years. He served as administrator of the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority from 1981 to 1993. He later was appointed to Johnson County Transit’s Board of Directors in 2005.
Klika’s ardent support for public transit recently earned him recognition as Transit Advocate of the Year for 2015 by the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance. Klika is the Johnson County representative on the KCATA board and also serves as vice chairman on the transit committee for the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Klika was pivotal in bringing Johnson County’s transit system under the management authority of the KCATA. Johnson County’s decision to give the KCATA management oversight of the suburban transit system was a significant breakthrough in the push toward a regional public transportation network covering the entire area.
“This is an exciting time to be part of public transportation,” Klika said. “Robbie and I worked very well together in overseeing the management consolidation of the KCATA and Johnson County Transit. I look forward to working with Robbie and the rest of the KCATA team to provide an essential service that helps so many people in different parts of the Kansas City area. Great times are ahead for public transit in Kansas City.”
Makinen has served on the KCATA Board of Commissioners since 2007 and has been its chairman since 2011. Makinen has played an instrumental role in the KCATA’s emphasis on regional transit. He helped create the Regional Transit Coordinating Council, which maps out transit strategy for the region.
As Makinen becomes the KCATA’s chief executive officer, Klika will succeed him as chairman on the agency’s Board of Commissioners. Klika has been on the KCATA Board since 2011, and was appointed to the Johnson County Transportation Council in 2005.
Other officers elected at the board meeting were: Daniel Serda, representing Kansas City, Kan., will serve as vice chairman; Dennis Bixby, representing Leavenworth County, Kan., will serve as treasurer; and Gary Mallory, representing Cass County, Mo., will serve as secretary.
– Information from KCATA