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New jobs on the way?

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BY DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star

Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006 - 12:28:34 am CST

Here’s what we know: A major announcement may be coming soon about an employer bringing hundreds of jobs to town. Good jobs. Off the record, people say it’s the biggest thing to hit Lincoln in years.

Here’s what we don’t know: Who it is.

Those in the know aren’t saying.

Story Photo
Chamber President Wendy Birdsall (left), Councilman Ken Svoboda and Councilwoman Robin Eschliman.

Chamber President Wendy Birdsall said disclosing information about a company that’s considering Lincoln could jeopardize the whole deal.

She said the chamber has about 100 projects in the works, and she’d love to tell the public everything she knows, but she can’t because that would reveal competitive information.

“We sign all sorts of confidentiality agreements,” she said.

Spilling the beans on one project also jeopardizes other deals, she said, because once site selectors see they can’t check out a community confidentially, “They’ll write us off.”

Pella Corp. pulled out of Seward, she said, after their interest became  public.

“It happens all the time,” she said.

The mayor’s economic development coordinator, Darl Naumann, hinted a few weeks ago that a major development was in the offing, telling the City Council, “You’ll see in the next few weeks that we are very competitive.” He declined to elaborate.

Not long after, Bruce Bohrer, a senior vice president at the chamber, sent an e-mail to City Council and County Board members to schedule small-group briefings.

“We have a jobs project that is rolling along nicely and we wanted to make sure elected officials have information and a chance to ask questions,” he wrote. “That’s about all I can say at this point ...” adding that everything was “strictly confidential.”

But the briefings were abruptly canceled after word of them leaked and the Journal Star began asking questions.

Such briefings are unusual.

“They’ve never done this before,” Councilman Ken Svoboda said at the time, before the briefings were canceled. “Even with Tractor Supply (and its plans to build a distribution center), we weren’t given updates like this.”

Svoboda has heard the employer is in the “call-in service industry,” maybe technology-driven, and would need educated workers. He’s heard it could bring anywhere from 450 to 750 jobs.

Earlier this spring Svoboda heard Lincoln was a finalist for several prospects, including an insurance company, looking at Lincoln.

But, he cautioned, “I don’t really know anything.

“We’re really kept in the dark.”

The Journal Star filed an open records request about the project with the mayor’s office, but was denied based on a state statute that allows the material to be withheld because it contains “proprietary or commercial information” and/or “appraisal or appraisal information and negotiating records concerning the purchase or sale by a public body.”

Naumann was cited as the city employee who made the decision to deny the materials.

“The material is contained in numerous e-mails and in an approximately half-inch stack of papers,” the mayor’s chief of staff, Mark Bowen, wrote in his denial letter.

Councilwoman Robin Eschliman works in commercial real estate, but she’s not sure what’s up either.

“They’re very secretive; they won’t tell us anything,” she said of those in the know.

The Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development — which tries to recruit companies to Lincoln and is subsidized by the city and county — recently gave Eschliman a status report, since they received a half million dollars from the city this year.

In its report to the council, LPED said Lincoln is a finalist for three projects — one manufacturing and two “technology/customer support” — with the potential to bring 1,200 jobs and a $70 million investment to town.

Some suspect one of the city’s recently approved blighted areas is a potential site. However, city planning employees referred questions to Naumann, and he’s not saying.

Svoboda said he met with the mayor earlier this fall, and even she claimed she didn’t know what company it was.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.


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Okay......... wrote on November 1, 2006 12:42 am:
" The first words of this story were, "Here’s what we know: A major announcement may be coming soon," That translates to, "We don't know jack squat, but we're reporting it". "
Jeff wrote on November 1, 2006 12:46 am:
" Call me crazy but does it make since the Lincoln Journal Star filed an open records request about the project with the mayor’s office when they know the information jeopardizes future jobs coming to Lincoln? Hmmm, talk about brain drain, etc. "
Amazed wrote on November 1, 2006 12:55 am:
" Amazing, we here of all these potential jobs for Lincoln, then nothing, then more nothing, then silence, and then well another one got away. Why, go figure, you read the news like everyone else, you get the bills for your business like everyone else, you get the bills for your household like everyone else, whats left. nothing. Get my point. "
Kurt wrote on November 1, 2006 3:36 am:
" So if this could be such a great thing for Lincoln, why is the Journal Star trying so hard to screw it up? "
clint wrote on November 1, 2006 5:21 am:
" city officals will find a way to mess it up as usual. "
hal wrote on November 1, 2006 6:56 am:
" The mayor says she didnt know what a suprise "
JMK wrote on November 1, 2006 7:24 am:
" sounds like wishful thinking. 'may be coming', this is an election ploy. those running for local offices want this on your mind when you go vote. it's probably all fluff. don't fall for it, and vote them out of office anyway. "
JF wrote on November 1, 2006 7:25 am:
" Ditto the previous comments, stop trying to ruin in LJS! Yeah, it's good to know that a company is THINKING about coming to Lincoln, but I could have lived without this news until there was something concrete to actually report on! Now thanks to your "sleuthing," there may never be a full story. "
Ken wrote on November 1, 2006 7:32 am:
" Maybe it's Gallup. They may be moving a bunch of interviewing positions into Lincoln. HA! Anyway, how about we wait until we have some real substance before reporting, eh? "
Cindy wrote on November 1, 2006 7:47 am:
" I felt a similiar twinge when reading this: stop reporting it if it could cause things to fall through! However...it's the newspaper's job to report things they hear. If the City didn't want people to know and questions to start, they should have kept more quiet, such as not doing this: The mayor’s economic development coordinator, Darl Naumann, hinted a few weeks ago that a major development was in the offing, telling the City Council, “You’ll see in the next few weeks that we are very competitive.” He declined to elaborate. Our press needs to be free to report. Those in charge of information shouldn't put it out there if they want to keep things quiet. "
Hattie wrote on November 1, 2006 7:47 am:
" Sometimes things need to be "secret", just look at the clients that settled in Lincoln and the ones that didn't. Less is More. I never get excited about minimum wage jobs anyway. Who wants them. Even the illegal workers get paid more. "
SECRETS ARE GOOD MY COMRADE wrote on November 1, 2006 8:36 am:
" Actually, it's better when city officials do things in secret while providing as little information and having as few people in-the-know as possible. A case in point is how well the whole fire truck purchase went. Wait a minute... "
Marv wrote on November 1, 2006 8:51 am:
" Our planning dept and people for rural life will not allow any commercial growth in and around Lincoln. Our city officials and planning dept are sending a message out to all developers and investors that we can NOT develop in Nebraska, it will create to much noise, traffic, use up rural ground etc. Look at the message they are sending with the denial of a major tourist attraction to Lincoln with NHRA Championship Drag racing trying to build a facility in Nebraska. "
Dlm wrote on November 1, 2006 8:55 am:
" Who ever leaked this information should be fired, confidential information being leaked is a serious matter. Now that the cats out of the bag it won't be long before the press get more confidential info to spread because we know they can't help themselves to police what they print. This deal will be mute before it gets started. "
re wrote on November 1, 2006 9:12 am:
" there is nothing in this article that says "The mayor says she didnt know". "
comprehension? wrote on November 1, 2006 9:47 am:
" Actually, this (the last sentence of the article) pretty much says "the mayor says she didn't know" - "Svoboda said he met with the mayor earlier this fall, and even she claimed she didn’t know what company it was." "
Jon wrote on November 1, 2006 11:02 am:
" "Svoboda said he met with the mayor earlier this fall, and even she claimed she didn’t know what company it was." What a suprise, as I have observed various official functions and duties of the mayor I have been continually dissappointed. This is just one more to add to the list. One would hope the mayor would be involved with dealings that could have major economical impact on our city. I think this beckons the question: Do the Chamber and other prominent business people wish to keep the mayor out of major dealings? "
KW wrote on November 1, 2006 11:17 am:
" Oh goodie, we get to have our property taxes raised to pay for the new corporations and their CEO's million dollar salaries and bonuses. Can't wait!!! I'm not going to hold my breath!!!! Newspapers always keep the pot stired and report everything that they know nothing about and make everybodys' life misserable. And Lincoln is the worse gosip paper in the U.S. "
KellyJo wrote on November 1, 2006 11:31 am:
" LJS should have waited until there was something to report before reporting. And, those "in the know" should have kept their mouths shut until there was something to report. Some way, somehow, those "in the know" in Lincoln always seem to find a way to screw things up. There's no doubt in my mind as to why the City Council is kept in the dark. Each of them would go running and screaming with the info to anyone who would listen AND who would print in the paper or show it on tv. "
JC wrote on November 1, 2006 11:51 am:
" That's great... Darl Naumann, the mayor's economic development coordinator (hey, bang up job so far, dude) someone who SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to publicly mention any aspect of this in public, pulls a "I know something you don't know..." to the City Council. Birdsall is right... confidentiality is EVERYTHING in this type of dealing. Naumann should be fired and since he is on the mayor's staff, Seng should also take responsibility for his ineptness. The Chamber must be livid over this leak, I have no doubt they are leading this recruitment effort and loose-lipped Darl was only aware of it because he's on the mayor's staff. These things can take YEARS to bring to fruition, and this guy can't keep his mouth shut for two or three more weeks. I would imagine this "major employer" is reading this article and wondering if the City and Chamber can be trusted. "
uh wrote on November 1, 2006 12:15 pm:
" Thats one reason we want new business here. To shoulder tax burden. Lets just hope it not the kind of business Walmart brings so the taxpayers have to make up for benefits Walmart does not pay, like health care. And low wages would not be of much help. "
whatever wrote on November 1, 2006 12:24 pm:
" This article is meaningless gossip. Why even print it? "
Dave wrote on November 1, 2006 12:27 pm:
" If all of this is true about this city being the finalist for three companies, two technology/customer support, and one manufacturing, it would be a certain disappointment if all the jobs that are created were petty eight, nine, and ten dollar an hour jobs. Beacause thats all there is in this city, an no one, not even a single unmarried person can make a decent living on a wage like that. Its 2006, and it unbelievable that employers are still offering eight dollar an hour jobs. "
Bah wrote on November 1, 2006 1:25 pm:
" The dragstrip wouldn't be an issue if people had done their homework - hired consultants OUTSIDE of their organization - did some business studies/impact studies - before purchasing the property. People are not against the dragstrip - you just have to put it in the right location. Find the location! There are industrialized areas suited to this... "
what? wrote on November 1, 2006 2:40 pm:
" Appearently LJS is now a gossip column. Maybe your reporters could get the facts straight before an article goes to print? A little body would be good also. The article was full of nothing!! Was it fiction or nonfiction? Does anyone really know? "
Matt Poulsen wrote on November 1, 2006 2:49 pm:
" First of all, why does being "unmarried" have anything to do with the type of wage you can make? Granted, Lincoln is not silicon valley, but there are plenty of jobs in Lincoln and Omaha that pay much more than $8 an hour. Here is some advice...instead of relying on the government to produce a good job for you why don't you try and do it yourself. For the life of me I can not understand why people think they're entitled to jobs that pay $80,000/year. "
big spender wrote on November 1, 2006 3:15 pm:
" I'm hoping for a few more walmart's so my kids can have nice places to work when they grow up. "
Joy wrote on November 1, 2006 4:06 pm:
" what's so bad about $8-$10 jobs? That's $16,000 a year or twice the poverty level. My parents put each of me and my 3 siblings through 12 years of Catholic school on a combined income of less than $25,000 a year, and we turned out fine. Of course, that was in the mid to late 80's, but inflation has gone up _that_ much. "
Gary B wrote on November 1, 2006 4:20 pm:
" Dave, you're kidding me, right? I mean...you have to be! First of all, 'single' and 'unmarried' are pretty much the same thing. Secondly, $8-$10/hour may not be a huge wage, but it beats the heck out of minimum wage, and a single person can most assuredly live on such a wage if they budget their money correctly. If that person wants to make more money, they should look at pursuing continuing education and then they can justify making $30k a year or more. This "gimme, gimme, gimme" attitude is a BIG part of the problem with our society. "
Lincolnite wrote on November 1, 2006 4:21 pm:
" This is how the article should read: Here is what we know: Nothing. We tried to get information, but no one gave us anything. Apparently the Lincoln Journal Star is the friend you don't tell about the surprise party because they'll ruin the surprise by telling everyone. The end. "
joe wrote on November 1, 2006 5:14 pm:
" keep your eyes on george bush, he 's not going to let it happen. He want's all our jobs to go to Mexico, that's why there is so many american's out of work. cheap labor,, cheap products. "
good moneyand paid wrote on November 1, 2006 5:20 pm:
" of the company is not paid at lease $52.000.00 a year thin it not a good jod.and good work place. "
Rick wrote on November 1, 2006 5:22 pm:
" This may or may not be outstanding news for Lincoln! I won't tell you which one though because it's a secret. "
Nettie wrote on November 1, 2006 5:28 pm:
" I agree with the LJS should keep the story to themselves until the name or names of the corporations are revealed. All they have to do is read this article and these comments and another good paying corporation is gone. I also agree with the comment of Mr Poulsen. Whatever happened to working for a living and working your way up the ladder instead of starting at the top and then whinning about everything and everyone. I hope this article being printed at this time is not a political stunt. Lincoln's mayor does not want to know that way she is never to blam for the errors. Lincoln Chamber of commerce is killing this town, you cannot survive on colleges and discount stores forever. "
Sheila wrote on November 1, 2006 5:40 pm:
" Let me get this straight: a big company could be coming with lots of great jobs, unless this information gets leaked out. And you're trying your darndest to leak it out, and stop the company from coming? If you hate progress so badly, move elsewhere and take your high poverty levels with you. There are some things in life that need left unsaid, and this is one of those things. Keep your mouth shut. "
Bryan wrote on November 1, 2006 6:07 pm:
" Good job reporting on the issue that no one is suppose to discuss. Send more jobs to Oklahoma. Thank you "
Expected story wrote on November 1, 2006 6:21 pm:
" What a surprise, the LJS knows someone in city gov't will blow this deal so they want to preempt that move by exposing the deal AND take credit for the act and the exclusive stories to document it. How stupid. "
Ann Richards wrote on November 1, 2006 8:08 pm:
" The posts on this board shows why Nebraska has difficulty attracting high paying, professional positions.Ignorant remarks ranging from "Keep your mouth shut" to "$30k is good money" reflects a rural, isolated state. "
ready wrote on November 1, 2006 8:11 pm:
" I'm so excited I think I'll quit my job and wait for this great corperation to come here. That way I can be first in line!!! "
Marie wrote on November 1, 2006 8:19 pm:
" Let me see, "good jobs", according to who's standard of living? The journal star is willing to blow it wide open and loose it for all of us who scrape by on wages barely over the minimum and we have councilmen like Svoboda who thinks the minimum wage shouldn't be increased. Well, way to go, some more jobs that would have made life a little easier in this stinking town, but due to a reckless reporter and a tidbit of info this could all just be a dream. It is time for elections, after all. "
VOTE DEMOCRAT wrote on November 1, 2006 8:44 pm:
" Good job LJS, trying to get rid of another offer to lincoln. can't the media just keep there mouth shut for a little while?? But I do think that if this development goes through, it's another great think that coleen seng acomplished, and give credit to the democrat leadership. I agree to the person that said Bush wants to give jobs to Mexico, but i think that's true of any republican!! "
Matt Poulsen wrote on November 1, 2006 9:54 pm:
" What does giving jobs to Mexico have to do with this article? First of all, the U.S. taking part in the global economy is a good thing. It produces cheaper products for U.S. consumer, provides cheaper labor for U.S. companies which in turn provide a larger salary pool for the more skilled U.S. worker, and it bolsters the economy of the poorer countries that are "stealing" our jobs who in turn can buy more of our goods. The point is you have to keep up! You can't sit around and have the lowest skilled position and expect to get paid handsomely for it. Its not about being republican or democrat!! Its about getting off your butt and going and bettering yourself. Yes, some U.S. jobs will be lost but the point is that the economic windfall that is realized because of the outsourcing of U.S. labor makes the U.S. economy run more efficiently. This then creates more highly skilled and higher paying job opportunities. There have never in the history of man been so many opportunities!! When I hear people saying they can't make a living I simply want to puke! "
Supporter of the truth wrote on November 1, 2006 11:10 pm:
" I am a supporter of the LJS and the ethics of the associated press... but printing this story was retarfed. It offers nothing but false hopes and speculation; NO FACTS. I heard they have a new publisher, I hope this isn't a sign of the times to come. "

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