Koonce denied the residents' request Thursday. He said there's no reason to take community members along. Fears that the council won't talk to the right people, won't ask the right questions, or won't examine all sides of the issue are unjustified, the mayor said. I don't think we need anybody to be able to evaluate what we're going to see or hear. We can do that.
Some residents disagree.
What they're doing is protecting themselves politically. The council will visit the Indianapolis airport April 26 and 27 to learn more about the company causing controversy in the community. Most regional politicians and many business leaders say the company would be an asset to the economy. A recent Federal Aviation Administration report estimates 16,308 people would be working in the six counties around the airport by 2019, either for FedEx or for companies that would build in the region to be close to the shipper. Critics say the economic impact has been greatly exaggerated because most of the company's jobs will be part-time.