- Delaying Governor Jim Pillen's State of the State address, Sen. Justin Wayne and Sen. Terrell McKinney spoke out about the Airport Business Park development coming to North Omaha.
- Both senators say the development is moving forward without community input.
- The video shows both senators in Lincoln and the press conference on January 10, when Gov. Pillen announced funding for the project.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Fed up and frustrated, Sen. Justin Wayne did what he could Thursday to make his voice heard for the North Omaha community.
"When you look at projects going into rural Nebraska and even western Omaha, there is community engagement, there is community input, there is community feedback, none of that is happened in east Omaha. We are doing to the community not with the community," said Sen. Justin Wayne, District 13.
It comes about a week after Governor Jim Pillen announced a $124 million dollar investment in the airport business park and a multipurpose community center in North Omaha.
"At the end of the day we have, we are investing over $120 million around the airport park and there is no coordinated or cohesive plan and the community has been left out," Wayne said.
Senators Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney say they were excluded from this press conference… and the process.
"I don't think they personally care about our community, to do what is right, we expressed out displeasure, months ago, about how they were doing the operations and how they were doing the program and they ignored it," said Sen. Terrell McKinney, District 11.
I reached out to the leaders behind the project, hoping to learn what community engagement has looked like up to this point -- and what it will look like going forward.
But they haven't responded.
Both senators support the Inland Port Authority proposed and passed by the city.
"It provides more coordination, and all their meetings are public, so it has public input," Wayne said.
This likely won't be the last time you hear from these two on this topic.
Sen. McKinney says they'll continue to express displeasure throughout the process.
It's a story we will continue to follow.
