JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A controversial hologram that stood at the Jacksonville International Airport for months has been removed after the agreement between the city and the airport expired on Sunday, according to Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan.
Deegan said the proto box was part of a “pilot project” to test the hologram technology, and the city had a six-month agreement with JIA to showcase it.
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In a statement sent to News4JAX, the Mayor’s Office also addressed the controversy surrounding the hologram.
“Additionally, it was unfair to the airport to be subject to constant hyper-partisan attacks,” Deegan said.
The hologram was heavily criticized not only by some council members but also by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, who called it an example of “wasteful spending.”
The hologram, which stood inside the airport terminal, was a digital display system that greeted travelers and provided information about the facility. Deegan said it was part of airport operations and not wasteful, while Ingoglia mocked it as “$75,000 of waste, fraud and abuse,” even dubbing it “Donna Deegan’s TSA — Taxes Squandered Again.”
In early January, Deegan said “it’s unfortunate” that the box had been made into a “political tool,” and defended the investment in the technology.
“I believe that hologram cost $29,000, and I know there’s some additional money to maintain the contract, but at the end of the day, we’re talking about a handful of dollars that I believe keeps us on the cutting-edge of technology,” she said. “At the end of the day, we’re talking about a $29,000 expenditure out of a $9 million budget.”
In the statement sent to News4JAX on Tuesday, the mayor also said that the proto box has been returned to the City while they explore “additional public education projects for the Public Works Department.”