Latest / The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert / Epply Airfield and Youth Sports Complex

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Epply Airfield and Youth Sports Complex · The KFAB Comment Line with Jean Stothert

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Today, we have a special guest from the Airport Authority.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Steve McCoy is here today and he is the chief
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Strategy and Technology offer Officer. That sounds pretty important. Steve, Welcome,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: thank you, happy to be here. Well, glad you're here.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Because there's so much going on at Apley Airport right now,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: with the terminal modernization and all of the work going
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: out there, I thought it'd be a great opportunity for
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Steve to come on the show and tell us about it.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: But Steve, you've been with the airport quite a while,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: haven't you. At least twenty years, if not more.
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, about twenty five years with the Olmeierport Authority, and
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I have to tell you in that time, this is
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: the most exciting time for me, and probably the most
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: exciting time in the airport's history.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I can't imagine, you know, I moved here from Texas
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: thirty three years ago, and when I even look at
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: the changes downtown, the airport, convention Center, everything that's happened
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: in just the time I've been here. I'm sure you've
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: seen a lot too. But now, of course we've got
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: a lot going on at the airport. But I want
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: you to provide us with an update today, and I
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: have a lot of questions. But it was announced just
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: recently that the terminal expansion, which I remember I was
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: there for the whole groundbreaking, it's supposed to be completed
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: in twenty twenty eight, but was announced recently is it's
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: about half done. So I think I just want to
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: ask you what's done and what's still left, because there's
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: a lot going on there.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: Sure, it's a great question.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: The Terminal Monerization program, for those who are less familiar,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: is a complete transformation of the airport terminal out at
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: w Airfield, and it's really going to transform the travel
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: experience here in Omaha for decades to come. This is
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: not just by happenstance. This is a result of decades
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: of planning, including the more recent twenty fourteen Airport master Plan,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: and that master plan was really focused on developments that
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: were need based. We want to maintain the convenience of
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: the airport. That's one thing we always hear. It's a
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: very convenient airport's convenient to downtown. Meanwhile, we wanted to
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: enhance the travel experience, and we need to do so
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: in a cost effective and phased implementation. So folks will
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: probably remember a number of other enabling projects that we've
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: done as a result of that master plan, including the
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: new North Garage rental car facility, the terminal entrance and
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: roadway expansion, and the more recent terminal drive and canopy
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: project which just wrapped up. And those were really enabling
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: projects for this bigger terminal monetization program. And as you mentioned,
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: that groundbreaking was actually in I think February twenty twenty four,
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: and you're right, we just completed are just passed over
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: that fifty percent milestone in terms of construction, and so
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: what's been completed today includes a number of things that
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: are kind of behind the scenes, like a brand new
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: utility plant that was one of the first pieces we
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: had to get into place so that we could prepare
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: the existing terminal to split it in half.
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: You probably recall this.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: We did that terminal split a little over a year ago.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: And what that really is facilitating is the construction of
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: the centerpiece, really that central pavilion where we're gonna have
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: that centralized security checkpoint, we're gonna have the concessions, and
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: it'll connect to that unified concourse.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: Does that utility does a facility is that all your
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: electrical and your HVAC on all of those.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, that's that's really the heartbeat of the airport terminal.
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: So heating, cooling, electricity, water data all come through that.
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Utility plan and that had to be done first.
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: That needed to be.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: Done first so we could start to work on that
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: central pavilion and that central pavilion you mentioned.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: You know, the terminal program will wrap.
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: Up in twenty twenty eight, but that central pavilion is
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: going to actually open next year really the first quarter
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: of next year. All done, the central pavilion component will
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: open up. There'll be again this is a phased program,
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: so there's gonna be some phased opening, will likely open
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: some components of the concourse. We'll open that central pavilion
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: with a new checkpoint and concessions. Really that's kind of
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: our big unveiling moment. That'll be completed in early twenty.
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: Seven, and then we'll.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: Fill me let me ask you, yes, new restaurants.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: New restaurants, so that the new concessions program will kick
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: off next year as well. You've probably heard about this.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: Concessions is a big focus as part of the program.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: In our existing terminal, the concessions we're out of date.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: They were presecurity. We're moving the majority of it post security.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: We're going to have nineteen different locations in the terminal
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: with seventeen different options, and over half of those are
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: local options. So folks like Pitch Pizza, Block sixteen, The Mill,
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: Coffee and Tea, Fernando's Runza. You wouldn't believe how excited
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: people are about having runs.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: A and in imagine, I am, that'll be great. What
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: about the stores as far as there's going to be
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: more shopping.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's going to be more shopping, especially in that
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: central pavilion area. There's going to be a technology stores,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: there's going to be stores where you can buy clothing
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: and apparel.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: There will be bookstores.
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: But a big focus on the retail component of it
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: is provide a lot of local provided goods. And so
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: there's about twenty two different local providers that are contributing
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: to this. So there'll be shops in that main central
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: pavilion there, including a store called Uniquely Omaha, which is
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: going to sell a lot of Omaha made goods.
• 5:18
  Speaker 4: Oh, that'll be great.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: That'll be great for travelers too, or if you're leaving
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: and want to bring somebody a gift. You know, you
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: all have done such a great job of controlling the
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: traffic there. I know we've had some problems in the
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: past month or so with the TSA, but every time
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: I go there, it looks totally different with all the construction,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: but it's still easy to get around, and you all
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: have done such a good job at guiding people around
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: to manipulate through this all of this construction and make
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: it still easy.
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: We appreciate that feedback.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: That was a big focus of going to the project,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: especially with the terminal split. When we cut that terminal
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: and a half, we knew that was going to be
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: the most impactful moment for our travelers, and so focusing
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: on components like enhanced wayfinding and customer service and rolling
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: out a number of digital tools like an interactive map
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: where you can put where you're at and it'll take
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: you exactly where you need to go. Those have been
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: really important things to assist with that travel experience. But yeah,
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: we really wanted to minimize the disruption. What's going on
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: right now is a lot of behind the scenes construction.
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: We've rolled out a few little elements, like we've opened
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: and unveiled some new restrooms and some new entry ways,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: but that really pales in comparison to what's going to
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: come when we open that central pavilion.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: And so that it's still the time of completion is
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: still twenty twenty eight when everything will be direct. Okay,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: talk a little bit about parking, because that's always a
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: challenge there. The new North Garage has how many stalls
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: and then how many stalls altogether do we have in
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: a garage?
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Yes, so part of that master plan identified the need
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: for more close in covered parking, and folks here in
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: Nebraska really like their covered parking, especially on mornings like today,
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: and they don't want to come back in the winter
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: months and have to clear snow or slush or ice
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: off their vehicles. And so that North Garage was one
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: of the baseline projects that's part of that master plan
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: to provide an additional three thousand stalls of covered parking. Now,
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: about a thousand of those are allocated to the rental cars.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: So the first two levels are rental cars and then
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: the top four floors are parking for the public. So
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: between the North Garage and South Garage it's about six
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: thousand total stalls. And then when you add all the
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: economy lots and the canopy lot. It's about eleven thousand
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: parking stalls on the campus.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Okay, and then you still have the parking lots that
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: are further away that are uncovered. Correct, the economy lots, okay,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: the economy lot okay. Talk about now this is exciting
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: for everybody.
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: Customs.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: We've talked a lot about that there's going to be
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: We have customs now for cargo, but there will be
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: customs for international travel and for passengers. So if I
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: remember correctly, we're only adding two more gates of what
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: we currently have, but talk a little bit about what's
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: coming in the future for international travel and for customs
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: for passengers.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: Sure, So you're right.
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: Customs has been operating at PLA Airfield for many years.
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: Omaha is designated as a port of entry with US
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: Customs and Border Protection, but we've been working with them
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: on expanding those services into what we call a Federal
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: Inspection Services Facility or a FIS, and that's really what's
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: needed to be able to handle scheduled, regular scheduled airline
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: arrivals from international destinations.
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: So you're right.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: The end of this program is twenty two gates from
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: the existing twenty But I should should note that while
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: we're going a net positive of two gates, it's really
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: twenty two new gates that are coming along with it,
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: because every single gate will be new, and it's also
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: configuring the terminal to expand beyond twenty two.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Gates to add more gates in the creature.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: However, in this program, you're right, two gates are going
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: to be designated for both domestic or international arrivals that
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: own it of the program, though we'll be complete in
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty eight, So that's one of the final pieces.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: And I know this one that the traveling public is
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: really interested. Again, on a cold of February March day
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: or even a cold April day like we had this morning,
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: a lot of folks are interested in traveling, especially south
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: of the border, and so we know there's a lot
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: of existing demand to places like Cancun, Mexico. We have
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: about one hundred and fifty travelers a day leaving Omaha
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: going to Cancun every day in the first quarter, and
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: so being able to provide that in a NonStop capacity
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: as opposed to connecting, we think will be really huge
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: for the traveling public here.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: So maybe you can't confirm it, but do you think
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: probably Mexico and maybe the Caribbean would that be the possibility.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: That's where we see the existing demand is primarily what
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: we call near international. So yeah, Mexico, places like Cancun, Cabo,
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: San Lucas, and then places in the Caribbean such as.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: Dr exactly right, Okay.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: Would is it likely or unlikely that we would ever
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: have a flight out of Omaha to London?
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's tough, really tough.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Again, when you look at the existing demand, there's about
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: fifteen people a day, okay, and so even with a
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: NonStop it's gonna it takes a big plane to fly
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: from Omaha to London. So to be able to fly
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: all those fill all those seats is a little bit
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: of a challenge for the airlines. So they're looking at
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: where the best opportunities are for them that fit within
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: their network strategies, and right now that's primarily near international.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: So it's all about demand with what our customers are
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: and talk a little bit about I know we dropped
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: quite a few NonStop flights when COVID hit. Yeah, nobody
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: was flying. Well, people were flying, but very few were flying.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: A lot were dropped. How many NonStop flights do we
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: have now domestic out of applay and are we adding
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: more and have we added some back since COVID.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're actually back to the count we were at COVID.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: So there are thirty five NonStop destinations that you can
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: fly to from Omaha. Now, some of them are different,
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: some of them we didn't have before, and some that
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: we had before we don't currently have a lot of
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: that is really a factor of kind of some airline
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: strategy changes and some adjustments they've made to their network.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: But we've added some new NonStop destinations, primarily some point
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: to point destinations. For example, later this summer, we're going
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: to be starting in fact, next month, we're going to
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: be starting to non stop service to golf shores of Alabama,
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: So folks that are looking to get down to the
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: Gulf Coast, that's a new option to them.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: And you do have some NonStop flights that are seasonal,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: don't you in the summer?
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: Right?
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Actually we have some seasonal non flights that fly
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: during the summer, and then we have some seasonal non flights,
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: non stop flights.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: That operate during the winter.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: It really is based on the seasonality of demand. So
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: we're travelers from Omaha and want to go during different
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: times of the years. How the airlines try to schedule that.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Did we ever get the non stop back to San Diego?
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: I know we headline, yes.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: So we had a couple flights to San Diego before COVID.
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: That has returned with Southwest Airlines. In fact, it's going
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: to six times a week, so nearly daily. I think
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: it doesn't operate on Saturdays. It's going to be going
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: back to daily here later this year.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: I know.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: I was looking up flights the other day because I'm
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: going to go to the New Orleans Jazz Festival right
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: at the end of this month. My husband's been there
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: dozens of times, and this is the first time I've been.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: There is no easy way from Omaha to New Orleans.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: There are no non stops from I want to know,
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: I have to make a connection. In fact, it's taken
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: us all day to get down there, it seems like.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: And then my son lives in Cincinnati. No easy way
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: to get to Cincinnati.
• 12:25
  Speaker 4: They usually have to go through Midway.
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: We used to have nonstops to Cincinnati as part of
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Delta Airlines when they operated a hub there. But as
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: the airline again the airline industry evolved and they've made
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: changes to their business models. It's no longer a hub,
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: so you can't connect there or even fly not stop.
• 12:41
  Speaker 3: You have to make a connect.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: Now you could almost drive there quicker, not really, but
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: still let's talk a little bit about how this this
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: is almost a billion dollar renovation that's going on at
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: the airport. Even when I was still mayor, we would
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: get calls in the hotline saying, I don't want my
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: tax dollars going to go to that airport. How is
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: this being I want to reassure the Omah taxpayers that
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: this is not coming out of their property tax bill
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: or their tax bills.
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: Tell us how it's funded.
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: That is one hundred percent correct. It is not coming
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: out of property taxes. The Omaha Airport Authority is a
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: non taxing authority. We have no capability to levy attacks.
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: We don't want a levy attack. In fact, the FAA
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: requires us to be as self sustaining as possible, and
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: so that means programs like the terminal monorization program are
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: really based on the revenues that are generated at the airport.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: The revenues generated at.
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: The airport fund the operation and they fund the capital
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: development as well. So with this nine hundred and fifty
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: million dollars terminal modernization program, it's a combination of airport
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: revenues a program called the passenger Facility charge. So when
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: you buy a ticket, those those fund stay here in Omaha.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: To so from the airline sent from the are Okay, Okay.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: The air Oma Airport Authority has the ability to issue
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: our own revenue bonds and those are again are backed
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: by the revenue generating capability of the airport authority. There
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: is some small opponent of some federal funds in there
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: flowing through both the FAA and the TSA to fund
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: aspects like pastor boarding bridges, some of the utility plants,
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: some of the federal inspection services. And then the TSA
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: is providing some funds as part of the baggage system,
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: which is again a behind the scenes component but a
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: very important component to the overall efficiency of the airport.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: And speaking you mentioned TSA, So speaking of TSA, how
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: have we recovered from that now that TSA are getting
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: their salaries? Did we have great weights at Epley And
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: is that going smoothly.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: Again, I would I'll start by saying the on Wi
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: Airport authorities very appreciative of the efforts that the local
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Transportation Security officers, the screeners, they contributed during the partial
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: government shut down. And while there are a lot of
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: news reports across the country about long backed up TSA
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: weight lines, we didn't experience that here in Omaha. So
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: they did a fantastic job despite the challenges. We know
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: a number of folks within the community kind of stepped
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: up to help out with some contributions. We know that
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: the TSA was appreciative of that. But again, I think
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: I speak on behalf of the whole airport and probably
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: everyone that traveled during the partial government shutdown that they
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: were very glad that the TSA was there and again
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: providing that essential security service.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: And some airports so were a nightmare of what I
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: saw on the news.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: Right, so happy to say we were not one of those.
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the name. This has brought a lot
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: to me too. It is Epley Airfield. Is it still
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: going to be called Epley Airfield? And will that name
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: Epley ever.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Leave o Maha.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: So there's an interesting history on the name there. The
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: name came not long after the creation of the online
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: Airport Authority. There was a contribution from the Eugene Epley
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Foundation and as a result, the airport was named after
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Eugene Epley, and it's been Epley Airfield since nineteen sixty
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: Who was Eugene Epley. The Eugene Epley was a local
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: hotel magnate, but it was also very involved in the
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: civic scene here locally, also very involved in formulation the
• 16:00
  Speaker 2: creation of the Omayir Authority and a big promoter of
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: aviation within the community. And so you're right, the name
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: is Eppley Airfield continues to be Eppley Airfield. I can't
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: really speak to what it may be in the future,
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: but there's a number of interesting things that are happening
• 16:15
  Speaker 2: in the future, with the culmination of the terminal monization
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: program again the opening of the central next year in
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: nineteen twenty seven, also happens to be the one hundredth
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: anniversary of the airport.
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: The airport was.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: Dedicated in July tenth of nineteen twenty seven, So there's
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: a lot of good things happening.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: What the name will be in the future, we'll see.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: So there's nothing in the agreement that it had that
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: you're aware of or that you could talk about, that
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: would say it would ever stay, that would have to
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: stay uply forever.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the way I like it. Yeah.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: I mean, like if J.
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: Gene Stothar gave you a billion dollars, maybe it could
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: be the Stothard Airport. No, that's never going to happen,
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: But that's quite interesting. How many passengers do we have
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: out of Omaha in a year an average number.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: So in twenty twenty four we hit an all time high,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: fully recovered from COVID and a new high of five
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: point two million annual passers. Twenty twenty five dip down
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: a little bit. There was some reduction in air travel
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: demand across the US as a result of kind of
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: some headwinds from some policies. But we see about five
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: point two million annual pastors and that's quite a few
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: when you think about it, and we kind of break
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: it down then by also the meters and greets that
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: are coming in and out of the airport every day,
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: and it's about the equivalent of filling up the Chi
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Health Center arena every day that many people come in
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: and out of the airport.
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: So I know you talk about the number of passengers,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: but there's also the number of aircraft movements that you
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: keep track.
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: Of, So what is that.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so we average about seventy daily departures from the airlines, okay,
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: but there's a number of other activities that happened at
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: the airport between cargo operations, flight training, corporate aviation, general aviation,
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: and so we average about one hundred thousand aircraft operations.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: Every year at the airport.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: And an aircraft operation is a plane taking off and landing.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: So it's a very busy airport.
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: So what can passengers expect now, once it's done, what
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: can they expect besides a new, modern airport. It's going
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: to be pretty slick. I know, I saw lots of
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: renderings for it, and it's going to be really beautiful.
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: And I has to tell you the renderings just don't
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: do it justice. When you stand in the facility, because
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: it's getting near to the point where we'll be turning.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: It over to the public.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: It is very impressive, especially that central pavilion space. It's
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: very volume as it has high thirty three foot ceilings
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: you can fit you can fit in moraal See football
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: field inside it. You can see from one end to
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: the other, lots of glass and natural light coming in.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: It is going to really impress a lot of people
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: when they get a chance to get in there. But
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: beyond that, the number of amenities that we're introducing as
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: part of this program too, things like again central ized
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: scurity checkpoint, but introducing clear lanes to the checkpoints so
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: folks that participate in clear, Introducing a new common use
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: land so folks that want to get to the airport
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: just have a place to relax.
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: There'll be a lounge as part of that.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: Introducing a number of other real what seems like simplement
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: is maybe we take for granted, for example, just the restrooms.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: Enhancing the restrooms at the airport.
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: We're going to say that's important.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: We're going to be tripling the number of fixtures in
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: this terminal. In fact, one restroom, our largest restroom.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: The women's side, has twenty eight stalls.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: And for whatever reason, if those weren't available, the next
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: rushrooms only two hundred feet away, and they're all connected.
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: We're increasing the number of mother's rooms. We'll have a
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: total of six mother's rooms in the terminal. We'll have
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: family restrooms associated with it, so just incorporating a number
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: of things that we couldn't do with the existing space
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: because we were really constrained.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: We're excited to be able to provide that for the public.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: And I do remember with the design you said there's
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: really really high ceilings, but you've managed to warm it
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: up still because there's a lot of there's wood.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lot of wood, look combination into there.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: We've started to see some of that actually incorporated in
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: the south concourse where we're doing renovations.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: It's going to be a very nice finish. I can't wait.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: I think that the new canopy outside is wonderful. It's
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: withstood quite a few windstorms and bad weather, so it's
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: up and it's sturdy and it's going to make a
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: big difference.
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: To Steve.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for being here today. It's great to
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: ask you these questions. I know these questions do come
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: up a lot, especially when's it going to be done,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: how's it going to be paid for? The issue about
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: Eppley Airfield is a question that now that this airport
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: is going to be big, is it going to be changed?
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: So we really appreciate and I hope you'll come back
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: once everything is opened up and talk to us again
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: about it. So thanks for having us, you bet, thanks
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: for being here. Steve McCoy with the Airport Authority, Thank
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: you all the big snowstorm that we might have gotten today.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: I was listening yesterday and it was, well, we could
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: get one inch, maybe four, maybe five, maybe none maybe,
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: And you know, I remember that so many times that
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: that would happen in the past. But whatever it is,
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: And I just want to say this over and over again,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: our public Works department in the city of Omaha does
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: a fantastic job. They really do. They have one of
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: the best plans in the country for snow and ice removal.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: It won a national award in twenty nineteen. Their budget
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: is funded adequately, and boy, those men and women are
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: out there trying to keep us safe. This morning, I
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: got up extra early. I thought I'm going to have
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: to come in early so I don't slip and slide around.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: And really it was the streets were just running wet
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: this morning.
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I thought it was okay. This morning. I was prepared.
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: I always like to put my windshield wipers up so
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: they don't get stuck on my windshield. And there was
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: nothing else.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: For yeah, yeah you park outside then yeah, that makes
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: a difference. But again, Public Works always does such a
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: good job and I just can't compliment them enough for
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: the work they do. When we have weather conditions like
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: this Artemis too, I always have to bring them up again.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: That was so exciting yesterday too, because they have gone
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: the distance now and that no other human has done before.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: They are right now about two hundred and forty eight
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: thousand miles away from Earth. Amazing this or surpassed the
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: milestone of NASA's Apollo thirteen mission that was set in
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: nineteen seventy and that, I mean, they are far away
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: and I think Monday for that period of time of
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: about forty five minutes when they lost contact with Houston, Houston,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: we have no contact. I mean, that was pretty exciting too.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: Had very few glitches so far. I think there was
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: one with the toilet that everybody's still talking about. I mean,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: what do you do, like I said, you go, I'm
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: going to go on a little spacewalk here, see y' all.
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: And there was one about an odor. There was an
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: odor on the ship, which I thought was quite interesting.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe they can't use those little plugins that you can buy,
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: you know it target aze. Yes, maybe they need something
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: like that. I don't know, but I think that's something
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: with the mechanical system. But now they're on their way
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: back home. So that is very exciting I think as
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: far as that. But they certainly have set a record
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: for space travel.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: I saw somebody say, uh, they're going to set a
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: record for the longest trip from Florida to California. There
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: there you go.
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: They kind of they kind of expensive flight a different
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: route this time, got a little lost along the way.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: But everything that they are finding out, the testing that
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: they're doing, and the pictures that they're going to bring
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: back is just quite amazing.
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to it. In
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: reference to your airport interview this morning, John reached out
• 23:30
  Speaker 4: and said, great idea to interview the people from the
• 23:32
  Speaker 4: airport and he plans for our zoo folks.
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: Oh, you know, good idea because doctor Luis Padilla is
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: the director of the zoo. Do you know he came
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: from Saint Louis. No comments, leis, no comments about that, please, No.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: I've been to the Saint Louis Zoo many times. It's
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: a free zoo. Saint Louis is free and it's a
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: beautiful zoo. But doctor Padilla came from the Saint Louis
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Zoo and he has done amazing job and let's do
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: have him on. Will I will give him a contact
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: a call and see if he could come on, because
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: what's exciting not only the animals, excuse me, they're the
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: most exciting, but it's the new hospital that they have
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: there is pretty amazing. It has been built, it is
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: open now and to see a facility where you can
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: operate on a giraffe or intubated giraffe and put them
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: under anesthesia or an elephant is pretty amazing that we
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: have this here. There is so much philanthropic help that
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: has gone into our zoo in Omaha, and especially to
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: the late Walter Scott, who loved animals. He was the
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: one that was primarily responsible for bringing those elephants from
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Swaziland to Omaha, and you know when they were first here,
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: you would see Walter in those cages at night, feeding
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: them and touching them, and you know, he really had
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: a love for animals and it really show over the zoo.
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: You know, we get really really spoiled because we have
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: the greatest zoo in the world, and you know, some
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: years it reflects that on the charts and whatever. That's
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: all voting by regular people. So it is what it is.
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: But you know, I've been to the San Diego Zoo
• 25:16
  Speaker 4: and the Kansas City Zoo, really really great zoos. But man,
• 25:20
  Speaker 4: when you have the zoo that we have here, it's
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: kind of tough. It is zoo, you know, it is.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: And you know, I was there at Christmas time too.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: I took my grandsons and they have the light display
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: and it was new this year and kind of what
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: I would consider upgraded, and it was beautiful this year.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: Lights everywhere. They had these igloos all over the place
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: that you could rent, get in there, get warm, have
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: some food. They did a great job as far as
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: that goes, and that was really really fun. But what
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: a gem that we have here in Omaha, and I
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: think it only continues to get better and under doctor
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Padilla's leadership, they've really done a great job. Were very fortunate.
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: I remember the days of Marlon Perkins Mutual of Omaha
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: talking about the zoos and it was pretty it was
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: pretty amazing the legacy that we have here in this city.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: So good job to the zoo. But I will reach
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: out to doctor Padilla. That is a good idea to
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: have him on ours.
• 26:17
  Speaker 4: That is a good idea. And if anybody has any
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: questions about the zoo that we you'd want to have
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: brought up, reach out to us. We can always throw
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: those in the queue, pass them on the gene and
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: she can see how that works in with her questioning.
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: We'll get into a little bit of nitty gritty here.
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: This comes from Jeff. He's asking who is responsible for
• 26:34
  Speaker 4: little litter control on Omaha's interstate system. He said he
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: was driving through Illinois and stunned, how Cleanton the roads were.
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: You gonna talk a little bit.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: About that, Yeah, and you know, I'm glad you saw
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: that in Illinois. I'm from Illinois. I was born and
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: raised in Illinois. And you know, there are parts that
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: are good and there are parts that are not. If
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: you get up around the Chicago area, you know, we
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: get around the bigger cities. But the interstates and the
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: ramps on and off the interstate are controlled by the DOT,
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: the Department of Transportation and the state, or they sometimes
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: call themselves a Department of Roads. I would get a
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: lot of calls when I was mayor about litter on
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: the ramps, thinking that was a job of the City
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: of Omaha, but it is a job of the state.
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: But we had a really good working relationship with the state.
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: There was also an issue that there would be homeless
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: encampments on the ramps under the bridges, and that was
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: the responsibility of the state to come and clean that up,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: although they worked really really well with the City of
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Omaha's homeless service coordinator, So all that is up to
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: the state.
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I've seen that in a lot of really really
• 27:46
  Speaker 4: big cities. You know, I think about San Diego. I
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: was there this summer. You know, you get under an
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: underpasser on an on ramp and you do see a
• 27:53
  Speaker 4: lot of homeless. It's kind of like a small community there.
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: It is.
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: I mean, they're protected under there, and you know, those
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: pop up up so quickly. I would when I was
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: going down to downtown every day to City Hall, I
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: would get off on the Harney Street exit, and you know,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: there would be nothing there one day and the next
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: day there would be a whole encampment. And I would
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: always call about those things and they would be cleaned
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: up pretty quickly. But then they would come back. But
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: let me tell you, I mean, are in the United
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: States still if you compare us to any European countries,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: oh my goodness, the one. I've been to France to
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Paris once and I was amazed at the litter and
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: the trash and the graffiti in Paris, France. I mean,
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: it was unbelievable. And I even asked the mayor when
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: I was there, what I said, if I would leave
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: this graffiti in Omaha, Nebraskas, I'd be out the door.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: And they said, we get it so much. We just
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: look at it as art. We just leave it. We
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: don't even try to get rid of it.
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: That was on one of your taxpayer funded trips to
• 28:56
  Speaker 4: the sister city.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Which was not We brought that up the other day.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Sister city trips are not funded by the Omaha tax bears.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: I went to three sister city trips and they were
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: paid for excuse me, by Jean Stothard. So there's no
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: budget for sister city travel for the mayor.
• 29:13
  Speaker 4: Here wrapping up the ten o'clock hour with your host
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: of the show, Jean Stouther I'm Peyton Hilock. We got
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: some callers. Okay, good, let's jump to the lines. We
• 29:23
  Speaker 4: have Sandy. Thank you for calling News Radio eleven ten KFAB.
• 29:26
  Speaker 4: You're live with Jean Stautht. Good morning, Hey, good morning.
• 29:32
  Speaker 6: I have a question. Why has the city of Omaha
• 29:35
  Speaker 6: not focused on any type of use of sporting complexes
• 29:40
  Speaker 6: for softball and baseball. I know they're doing some work
• 29:44
  Speaker 6: with tranquility for soccer, but our surrounding cities, including even Lincoln,
• 29:50
  Speaker 6: have just some phenomenal complexes and all the tournaments are
• 29:56
  Speaker 6: outside of Omaha because we really lacked them.
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: You are so right with that, and you know you
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: did bring up tranquility because one of the main reasons
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: we wanted to redevelop and redesign tranquility is because of
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: exactly what you said. I am an old soccer mom.
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: I shouldn't say I'm an old mom. I was a
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: soccer mom in the past. My son played soccer from
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: kindergarten through college. And I remember many a weekends me
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: being over in Des Moines and Oh, I can't think
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: of the other town in Iowa. It's Ben said to
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: while that they had big soccer tournaments there, and we said,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: if we redevelop, you know, tranquility, we could have those
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: soccer tournaments in Omaha. And the benefit is is there
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: is a lot of kids in Omaha that want to
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: play soccer and want to play tournaments that can't afford
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: to go and travel with and this would be something
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: that would be so great for Omaha. But I will
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: say this is we have been working on upgrading a
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: lot of our current fields that we have in our parks.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: And you know, we have two hundred and fifty six
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: parks in Omaha, two hundred and fifty six Now. Some
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: of them are big with fields already there. Some of
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: them are very small, little pocket parks. But that's one
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: of the reasons that we had underway the Parks Director
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: and the Parks Department to develop a new Parks master
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: Plan and to prioritize which of these parks and which
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: included the baseball field, soccer fields, etc. Which ones are
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: going to be prioritized and get done really first, and
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: how we're going to budget for that. There is also
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: a new facility going up at Levi Carter in northeast Omaha,
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: and that was all grant funded. It's not funded by
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: the taxpayers, but over forty million dollars and it's an
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: indoor and outdoor facility that will include soccer fields and
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: baseball fields and basketball courts inside. So there there is
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: a lot of attention going to it, but you are right,
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: it is something that has been not prioritized I think
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: in the past, and some of those parks have gotten
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: pretty run down. But I think with the addition of
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: Levi Carter, the addition of Tranquility, which is still being
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: redesigned right now, that one got designed a lot more
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: expensive than the city had budgeted for it. And then
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: the park's master plan that's going to really prioritize which
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: parks in those fields that need work first and need
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: upgrading first. But we do have some in fact, Omaha
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: public schools use some of our public parks too. Zarinsky
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: for example, has feels in soccer fields out there too,
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: So it's just a matter of really now having a
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: new master plan in prioritizing which ones they are going
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: to address first.
• 32:40
  Speaker 4: Thank you for the call, Sandy. We appreciate you reaching
• 32:43
  Speaker 4: out to the CAFAB comment line. We're going to go
• 32:45
  Speaker 4: to Cheryl now. Cheryl, thank you for calling News Radio
• 32:47
  Speaker 4: eleven ten KFAB. You are on with Jean Stouthart. Good morning,
• 32:52
  Speaker 4: Good morning, Jean, you.
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  Speaker 5: Were talking about the zoo, and I remember when it
• 32:56
  Speaker 5: was a Riverview Park. I don't remember. I don't remember
• 33:00
  Speaker 5: where it was located, but I know there was a
• 33:02
  Speaker 5: large pond and we had to go down stone steps
• 33:07
  Speaker 5: and you could smell it before you got to the
• 33:09
  Speaker 5: bottom of the sea.
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  Speaker 1: And I remember fond memories.
• 33:14
  Speaker 5: An old shaggy polar bear that was kind of a
• 33:17
  Speaker 5: yellow color, and then they had cages with rabbits in it.
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  Speaker 5: That's all I remember, but I know it's been made
• 33:26
  Speaker 5: over several times and it's beautiful. And I want to
• 33:29
  Speaker 5: thank you for your program. You are so articulate and knowledgeable.
• 33:34
  Speaker 5: I really enjoy I try not to miss you every day.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: Well, thank you. I appreciate you saying that. Do you
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: remember when you were talking about Riverview Park with the rabbits.
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  Speaker 1: Do you remember what year that was? By any chance?
• 33:46
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm eighty now, so it's probably seventy years ago
• 33:53
  Speaker 5: or so.
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  Speaker 1: And you know the a there is a law, a
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: state law that says once a park, all a park,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and so that you can't develop. Basically, you can't build
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: an apartment building on where a park was.
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  Speaker 4: So it is.
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: Still you know the Riverview Park was a park owned
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: by the city of Omaha, So the city of Omaha
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: still owns a land that the zoo was on, and
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: I think people probably realize that, or maybe some forget
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: about it, but that still is considered a park land
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: that the zoo is built on. But again, so proud
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: of the improvements of that zoo, and every time I
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: go there it looks better. The one thing I always
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: get my grandkids for Christmas every year is the season
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: pass to the zoo, because they will go. If they'll
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: have an hour on a Saturday, they'll run down and
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: go to the zoo for an hour. And I brought
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: this up before. My son and his two little boys
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: live in Cincinnati, and I buy them passes to the
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: Cincinnati Zoo because I mean, what a great thing that
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: they could go whenever they want and visit and see
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: everything there.
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  Speaker 4: So I love going. You can't see it the whole
• 34:58
  Speaker 4: zoo in one day. You'd have to be they're from
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: open to clothes.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, I know are more or more so to.
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: Be able to just be able to get the past.
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  Speaker 4: Because I got a zoo pass as well this year.
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  Speaker 4: If I want to go on a weekend. Real quick.
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  Speaker 4: And they also have so many really cool events that
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: go on and the special programs they really do.
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  Speaker 1: And you know, the newest exhibit there is the tangs,
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: the orangutang tangs, the tangs, and they are so much
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: fun to watch. And so yeah, they've just really continue
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: to improve. And like I said, it's being led by
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: doctor Luis Padilla, and what a great job he does.
• 35:30
  Speaker 4: That would be fun to get him on the line.
• 35:32
  Speaker 4: All right, Sandy, we're back here. You're live with Jean
• 35:35
  Speaker 4: Starford again. Sandy, just wanted to ask you a little
• 35:37
  Speaker 4: bit more follow up.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: Sure, Good morning, well.
• 35:41
  Speaker 6: Good morning. You know my question was about primarily softball
• 35:45
  Speaker 6: fields and baseball fields, and then you just went down
• 35:47
  Speaker 6: the rabbit hole of soccer. Why can we focus on
• 35:52
  Speaker 6: the baseball and softball My daughters I raised them in
• 35:58
  Speaker 6: the nineties and and eighties and nineties playing local competitive softball,
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  Speaker 6: and now I have granddaughters playing. We have no new
• 36:08
  Speaker 6: fields outside of La Vista has some, Lincoln has some
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  Speaker 6: phenomenal ones. So why so I'm not going back just
• 36:17
  Speaker 6: through your time as mayor. I'm going back even years
• 36:20
  Speaker 6: before that. We've done nothing to help the softball program
• 36:24
  Speaker 6: in the city of Omaha, and none of the tournaments
• 36:27
  Speaker 6: are here. And from friends who have boys in baseball,
• 36:32
  Speaker 6: you hear the same thing. So you know, why is
• 36:36
  Speaker 6: that ignored? What is a community we can maybe do
• 36:40
  Speaker 6: to try to get the city to have more focus
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  Speaker 6: on building a complex in which the use of Omaha
• 36:49
  Speaker 6: can play locally and not have to travel to all
• 36:52
  Speaker 6: the tournaments.
• 36:53
  Speaker 3: And you're so right.
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  Speaker 1: I did go with soccer because that's what I'm more
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: familiar with, because, like I said, my son played soccer,
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: But I know there is a great need for baseball
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: and softball too, and I think it boils down to
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: a matter of prioritization. You know, right now we do
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: not have a parks director. The parks director that I
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: hired is no longer there unfortunately, and hopefully they will
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: get a new parks director soon. But what is already
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: underway is the new Park's master plan, and that master
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: plan does apply to soccer, to softball, to baseball, and
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: look at what the demands are that we have here
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: in the city of Omaha and what needs to be
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: prioritized and done. As far as what can be done now,
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: there is a lot of interest from the philanthropic community
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: to with our parks and we do have an Omaha
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: Parks Foundation too, and so that is something that I
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: think is underway and needed to be underway with that
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: master plan. But hopefully we will see more in the future,
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: not just soccer. And sorry, I just talked about soccer
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: because that's what I'm most familiar with, but I'm not
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: even you know with as far as baseball and softball.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: There's that need there too, And I agree with you.
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: So there's there was a beautiful new soccer complex, Chi
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: Multi sport health complex on like right out the interstate
• 38:15
  Speaker 4: and Giles Now was that was? Did somebody come in
• 38:19
  Speaker 4: and fund that in order to get it built?
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: That soccer complex? You know, I'm not sure. I can't
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: really answer that question.
• 38:27
  Speaker 4: Does does a developer, seeing a potential place for income
• 38:34
  Speaker 4: and revenue by hosting these events come in and say
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: this is a great spot. I know that I would
• 38:39
  Speaker 4: be able to get plenty of teams from all over
• 38:41
  Speaker 4: the Midwest to come in and play softball and baseball here.
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: Does that take I mean, is that a significant factor
• 38:48
  Speaker 4: as well into these big complexes? Oh?
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think that if if I think
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: there are many that are very involved in baseball and softball,
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: and I think that you know that that have teams
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: and want to make sure that our teams here in
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: Omaha have their proper facilities now to be able for
• 39:06
  Speaker 1: a developer to come in and say I'm going to
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: pay for this and I'm going to develop it, it
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: would just have to be a partnership that they have developed.
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: I mean, I'm going to go back to soccer, but
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: look what they're looking at now with a big new
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: soccer stadium downtown. There's a need for it, and that's
• 39:23
  Speaker 1: pretty much being a lot of it is being privately funded,
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: not all of it. So I think it boils down
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: to where the needs are.
• 39:31
  Speaker 3: You know, the high.
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: Schools they have baseball and they have softball, and they
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: have their own facilities. But how great would it be
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: if we'd have much bigger facilities that we could offer
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: tournaments due.
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: To I know that Chi Multi Sport Complex has I
• 39:46
  Speaker 4: don't even know how many, but ten to twenty fields plus.
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: I mean, just to think about how much revenue that
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: could be for the local economy, the city and also
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: the teams to be able to host a lot of
• 39:58
  Speaker 4: kids here.
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, it takes money to maintain those.
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: Two of course, absolutely.
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: I think that's something you always have to consider because
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: if the city is doing it, the taxpayers are paying.
• 40:07
  Speaker 4: For it too. This is the kfa B comment line,
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: your host of the show, Gene stoutht ending off our
• 40:13
  Speaker 4: Tuesday here, Gene, any closing.
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: Words, No, I just want to thank you all for listening,
• 40:18
  Speaker 1: thanks for being here today, Join us tomorrow and we'll
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: be back and to answer all of your questions.