Omaha City Council approves Inland Port Authority as residents voice concerns
Panel will oversee development of Airport Business Park in North Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A new board approved by the City Council will oversee a major development in North Omaha near the airport.
But the move wasn’t without controversy.
“Today’s meeting was a success and in a way not a success for us,” said Joe Fox Jr. with the East Omaha Neighborhood Association.
Some residents like Fox, who lives in Carter Lake, are being asked to possibly sell their land. Many have not been pleased with the process, including Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, who represents the district.
“We should have had our say with what was going on,” Johnson said Tuesday.
To move forward, the City Council was asked to approve an Inland Port Authority consisting of a nine-person board appointed by the mayor. The added oversight stems from a desire to better involve the community.
“We put in community input on purpose to make sure there were some checks and balances if the board did get out of wack,” State Sen. Terrell McKinney said.
McKinney, who represents the district, is one of the nine people now on the board. He joins Michael Helgerson and Jacob Hoppe.
“People will be dealt fairly and they will receive benefits beyond what the value of the house is because you have to reflect on what is the replacement cost going to be,” Helgerson said.
“One of the first things that I’m identifying from the commentary today is that we have work to do on the process that we’re going to set up,” Hoppe said.
Now that the board has been approved a community council will be formed.
“That committee needs to be an exact reflection of this community,” Fox said.
That’s something he hopes will give residents and business owners a better seat at the table.
INLAND PORT AUTHORITY MEMBERS
The City Council approved each member to their two-year terms individually during its Tuesday meeting:
- Brook Aken
- Michael Helgerson
- Jacob Hoppe
- Terrell McKinney
- Davielle Phillips
- Michael Riedmann
- Carmen Tapio
- Thomas H. Warren Sr.
- Ernest White
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Digital Director Gina Dvorak contributed to this report.
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