North, South Omaha Recovery Ideas Sought

A legislative committee overseeing efforts to revitalize north and south Omaha will be seeking residents’ ideas on how to spend hundreds of millions of dollars.

Earlier this year, the Legislature appropriated about $335 million to revitalize the economically disadvantaged areas of predominantly Black north Omaha and predominantly Hispanic south Omaha. This week, meetings were held with community leaders in those areas. Next month, residents will be asked for their idea.

Committee chairman Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha says $60 million has been set aside for a business park near Eppley Airfield, and another $20 million for affordable housing. But he says most of the rest -- $200 to $250 million, is still available for whatever ideas rise to the top in the planning process. The committee has hired the Olsson consulting firm to help it prioritize the ideas. Wayne says the committee will then seek approval from the rest of the Legislature for specific projects.

“We still have to go back to the Legislature and get everything allocated. So theoretically, the Legislature could say ‘We don’t like that project.’ I don’t think they will. I think they bought into the process. But theoretically they could,” Wayne said.

Olsson consultant Michael Piernicky says they’re looking for a combination of big and small projects. The committee voted Thursday to ask the Legislature’s Executive board for permission to increase its $1.5 million contract with Olsson by $216,000. The money would go to help put residents’ ideas into a form where they can be evaluated, and to evaluate environmental cleanup needs on part of the proposed business park site.