Cl ient Spo tl ight C I T Y O F K A N S A S C I T Y, M I S S O U R I By Mekita Rivas, Communications The City of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO), has a lot to be proud of – more than 200 water fountains, a collection of boulevards that rivals Paris, and a dual citizenship of sorts by existing in two states at once. Now the Midwestern city can add another point of pride to its impressive list of credentials. This year, KCMO will celebrate its tenth anniversary as one of Olsson’s top clients in the public sector. In 2001, Olsson kicked off this client relationship with a wastewater extension project to make way for a new sewer district that included 42 existing homes in the northeast region of the city. The project design was permitted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. “KCMO has a history of spreading work around, especially to firms with offices within the city limits,” said Bob Bromberg, client services specialist in the KC Northland office. Ten years ago, the only Olsson office in the area was located in KCMO, so the city employed the services of one of the newest and smallest firms in town. “The city was satisfied with Olsson’s performance and has awarded various projects to us yearly,” Bob said. To date, Olsson has finished approximately 70 projects for KCMO. The city aims to collaborate with firms that have a diverse portfolio and that offer an array of consulting services. “KCMO approached Olsson because the city has every kind of engineering need imaginable,” Bob said. “It prefers to use firms that can provide a full range of services, and, even though Olsson is a medium-sized firm, we nevertheless fit that description.” Olsson has completed projects for various departments within the city, including Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and Water Services. “Each of these departments is a unique, individual client,” Bob said. “The sheer volume of potential work at KCMO means that it is a client Olsson must continue to please.”
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Recently, the designing and setting up of KCMO’s Traffic Operations Center has been and continues to be a huge project for the firm. One particular group that has garnered a strong rapport among city officials is the Olsson Traffic team. The effort put forth by individuals on this team has resonated in a manner that keeps KCMO invested in Olsson as its go-to consultant. “The reputation that Olsson’s Traffic team has with the city is unmatched,” Bob said. “The city engineer, Greg Rokos, says that they are the very best in town, and he wants them to continue to do a majority of signal work in the city.” Tom Fulton, senior engineer with the KC Southland Traffic team, has worked with the city engineer on multiple projects and said that KCMO chooses Olsson because of the firm’s dependability and punctuality. “Greg boasts that if he wants to get a time-sensitive traffic project addressed, he will call Olsson every time as he knows it will get done even when the schedule is undoable,” Tom said. “They want a consultant that follows through with what they say they will do and brings solutions to the table when design issues arise.” Olsson’s hands-on approach to timing signals has proved to be an area of expertise that the client strongly appreciates and values. “They believe that Olsson is the best traffic signal timing expert in the city,” Tom said. “We do more than what we say we will do — on time and under budget.”
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