JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Councilman Rory Diamond said a new feature at the Jacksonville International Airport should be grounded.
Action News Jax told you Friday about a hologram of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan that will greet visitors at the airport.
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Diamond took to social media to say it is a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“From all of us in Jacksonville, thank you for choosing our city. We look forward to welcoming you again soon,” Deegan’s hologram tells JAX airport visitors.
It’s a high-tech welcome that’s being delivered in a variety of languages.
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The 7-foot display greets travelers near baggage claim. Diamond posted a series of videos to X with the display, which he called “#HoloDonna.”
Diamond said he had been asking questions of the interactive display.
“I’ve been asking why we can’t pick up the trash and fill the potholes in Jacksonville instead of spending money on $30,000 Holodonna,” he said in one of the videos.
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What do taxpayers get for $30,000? The city said Jacksonville is one of the first major U.S. cities to use this type of hologram in a public space and it can promote tourism with a variety of messages in different languages.
“She yelled at me in Japanese,” Diamond said.
Action News Jax asked Deegan about Diamond’s critiques of the hologram at an event Monday morning.
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“Do you have any response?”
“I really don’t,” she said.
A mayor’s office spokesperson later sent Action News Jax Ben Becker a statement: “We aren’t going to comment on every partisan attack the Councilman attempts to recycle.”
The hologram will be at the airport for at least the next six months.
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