Updates and outcomes from MARC's December Board meetings

Dec 22, 2025
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News
Doug Norsby, MARC air quality senior planner, speaks to the MARC Board about the 2025 ozone season.

Thanks to everyone who joined the MARC Board of Directors and Budget and Personnel Committee meetings on Dec. 16. We’re sharing selected highlights from the meetings for your awareness and use in regional conversations.


Board of Directors meeting

Board Service

Board Chair Janeé Hanzlick, Johnson County commissioner, thanked and recognized four outgoing Board members for their service to the region: 

  • Marge Vogt, mayor pro tem, Olathe. MARC is highly grateful for the leadership and impact of Mayor Pro Tem Vogt in regional affairs. In addition to serving on the MARC Board for 19 years, she served as MARC Board chair, co-chair of the MARC Total Transportation Policy Committee and president of the National Association of Regional Councils, comprised of regional organizations across the country.
  • Tyrone Garner, mayor/CEO, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
  • Tom Burroughs, commissioner, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
  • Mike Kane, commissioner, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

Budget overview

Board members approved the MARC 2026 Budget and Work Plan, which will advance MARC’s programs and initiatives across the region. MARC’s 2026 budgeted revenues are projected at $113,110,834 — with 70% being passed on to partners in the region.

View slides

Federal policy agenda

Each year, the Board adopts a federal policy agenda, reflecting issues of importance to the Kansas City region. The issues come forward from MARC-convened working committees, member local governments and community partners. The draft 2026 agenda includes a focus on continuing key federal laws and programs, supporting housing initiatives and securing resources to support the region as a World Cup host city.

View the draft federal policy agenda View slides

Transportation Committee Structure

MARC, as the MPO for Kansas City, oversees comprehensive transportation planning through various programs and committee engagement. A recent review found MARC uses more committees than peer organizations, prompting staff to propose streamlining the structure to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency. Staff presented this restructuring recommendation, including a new dispute-resolution process recommendation. 

View slides

Ozone season recap

There was one ozone alert during the 2025 ozone season, which runs from March 1 to Oct. 31 each year. However, ozone concentrations exceeded the federal limit on five days. Of these five days, one exceedance at the Rocky Creek monitoring station in western Clay County reached 89 ppb in mid-July, which falls within the unhealthy category on the air quality index. Particulate matter levels in the region remained within federal guidelines.

View slides

Climate Action Technical Report

MARC received a $1 million EPA grant to develop a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the Kansas City region, with key milestones including the Priority Climate Action Plan and updated technical analyses. The technical report found that, in 2023, the region emitted 27.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents, with on-road transportation and residential buildings accounting for 60% of emissions, while extreme heat and flooding remain major concerns. MARC will work with local partners to turn technical findings into actionable steps through mini playbooks, videos, and ongoing support for implementation and collaboration.

View the technical report View slides

Search Committee

Following the November announcement by MARC Executive Director David Warm that he will be retiring in 2026, MARC Chair Hanzlick has appointed a committee made up of Board members to lead a national search for a replacement, with support from a professional recruitment firm. She reported that the search committee will work to bring a recruitment firm recommendation to the MARC Board in January. The search process will start immediately after the firm is selected.

Budget and Personnel Committee meeting

At the MARC Budget and Personnel Committee meeting on Dec. 16, attendees took the following actions:

Regional 911 System

The regional 911 system increasingly relies on advanced digital communication tools and requires new technology to help call-takers efficiently handle growing call volumes, various languages and multimedia. The regional 911 system plans to deploy RapidSOS UNITE, an AI-enabled platform that provides real-time language translation, voice-to-text transcription, video intelligence, and AI call summarization to simplify workflows and reduce telecommunicator workload. The committee approved a three-year agreement for $1,042,800. Funding will come from the regional 911 program budget and be shared among participating jurisdictions.

Health Programming

The Missouri Department of Health and Human Services manages a Diabetes Self Management Program Network to assist Missouri residents with diabetes or pre-diabetes. To support this effort, committee members authorized MARC to conduct around 10 diabetes workshops, perform health screenings, facilitate referrals, recruit clinics for the KC Fresh Rx food-as-medicine program, and establish cross-referrals between the diabetes program and KC Fresh Rx. In the program’s second year, $30,000 will be allocated to Diabetes Self Management Program activities and approximately $70,000 to the KC Fresh Rx program.

 

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