Concerns about the impact of the Sentinel missile upgrade project were a top subject during a question and answer session as Governor Pillen held a town hall in Kimball Monday afternoon.
After his opening remarks, Pillen was asked about where the money will come from for infrastructure related to the project after he vetoed $10 million in funding approved by the Legislature earlier this year.
One audience member asked Pillen if he would reconsider the funding, as the Air Force recently made clear the impact will be more than just the federal “Hub housing” for workers directly building the new missile system, “And this is straight from Northrop Grumman, we’re going to be growing this town by another 2,000 people coming in to the support trades. That’s over and above, that is in excess, of what this (missile upgrade) workforce is going to have on site. So, we’re basically looking at those people, plus their families potentially, plus their kids in school, plus services.”
Pillen responded that it will be a trillion-dollar project spanning many counties, and the federal government needs to be held responsible for the impact. “When you think about the infrastructure that takes place, we have to work day and night with them to make sure they hold their end of the bill up,” said Pillen. “All of our communications so far has been ‘that’s the way it’s going to be’, and the entire workforce will be camp-based (at the housing hub), and they’ll be working ‘x’ days on, and when they’re off, they fly back home.”
A Kimball High School civics class was on hand, with one senior expressed concerns about sustaining the anticipated boom in the community, saying “As a school, we’ve seen it with the wind tech, and the oil tech. They bring all their families in, but they’re not here for a set amount of time. So, we plan on all these things, we plan on opening all these businesses and doing all this, but how do we support those businesses, how do we support the housing, when these people are inevitably going to leave?”
Pillen replied no one wants more government to solve the issue, but rather it should be left up to the free market.
“All of our communication is that it’s going to be focused on the camp, and it’s not going to tax the infrastructure of Kimball,” said Pillen. “Now, if that changes, we’re going to have to figure that out. So, the last thing any of us want to do, whether it’s the City of Kimball or State of Nebraska, is to spend money (on infrastructure) that’s going to be boarded up in five years.”
Pillen said his office is on the team and will roll up their sleeves if and when those assurances change.
Other topics discussed included the potential for a ‘racino’ in the Panhandle, as well as the benefits from the Opportunity Scholarship Act.
