Broadcast transcript:
East Omaha neighborhood reporter Molly Hudson has been talking to neighbors for months who have similar questions.
“I wonder if something is going to happen here, if this is going to happen a year from now,” said Melissa Youngblood, vice president of Home Trailer Park of Northeast Omaha.
They want to know whether the new Inland Port Authority and those elected to its board will decide whether to eventually pave the way for a business park to be built here.
State Sen. Terrell McKinney is a member of the committee, and he hopes it will give local residents some oversight over what decisions are being made for their neighborhoods.
“The community should have a say and there should be transparency about what was going on,” McKinney said.
The board approved it June 4, but Hudson has been working for several days to find out when the board will take that first step.
Thomas Warren, chief of staff to Mayor Jean Stothert and one of the new Inland Port Authority board members, told Hudson that the first meeting is scheduled to take place in 50 days, on Aug. 1.
Senator McKinney didn't know that, but he wasn't surprised.
“The board needs to meet and when they do they'll discuss how we're going to operate going forward, what the application process for a community advisory board is going to be,” McKinney said.
The Community Advisory Board will be made up of nine members.
- At least two homeowners
- At least two business owners
- City council members whose districts are within the inland port
- Member of parliament whose constituency covers an inland port
- Youth Representative
McKinney said he doesn't want to see the homes demolished to make way for the business park, and he thinks the new buildings should go south of the homes, on a parcel that isn't currently being developed.
“Finding ways to work with everybody while prioritizing people's voices, prioritizing people's needs and wants, and working to change our community for the better. I'm a migrant again, so I'm just going to do phase one,” McKinney said.
But the latest plans for the area would see new buildings built where there are existing homes, and McKinney said he was not involved in the plans.
“When the grantees were meeting, I wasn't really part of the conversation. I was in Lincoln trying to pass legislation to hold grantees accountable,” McKinney said.
McKinney said he continues to answer questions from a growing number of neighbors.
Thomas Warren said if she were to join the committee, it would likely be an online application, similar to other city of Omaha boards and commissions.
