Live tweeting today’s Omaha City Council meeting for @oma_documenters. The major item on the agenda: a consultant agreement to create the city’s climate action plan
02:00 PM Mar 7, 2023 CST
But first is liquor. License for Sinful Burger at 14544 W Center Road is laid over until next week bc the applicant isnt present today
Licenses approved for four Jimmy’s Egg locations throughout the city
License approved for Bottles and Brews at 10745 Mockingbird Drive
Onto planning items, prelim plat for Aerie at Blue Sage, located SW of 204th st and Blue Sage Parkway. Lawyer Larry Jobeun said this will be zoned for residential use across from Elkhorn South
Next is a prelim plat for Cherry Creek for a housing development at 103rd St and Blair High Road. A representative for the project said they’re planning both single and multi family housing
Final plat for Tonack Farms Number 2 at Pawnee and Blair High Road approved
Next is an amendment to the TIF agreement for an industrial building at 5902 N 9th St to increase it from $3.2 million to $3.8 million. Don Seten from city planning said the project now plans a larger building, increasing costs.
Jay Lund from the project said they increased the size of the building by 26% but only increased their TIF request by 17%. Approved 7-0
Next is an amendment to the Uptown District TIF plan to eliminate phases 3 and 4 of the plan and reduce the allocation from $5 million to $3 million. Seten said those will come back as separate TIF projects.
Seten said this item is mostly just “housekeeping.” The developers are donating two parcels to inCommon
On the consent agenda is a purchase order for 100 new BCycle e-bikes. Benny Foltz from Heartland Bike Share said 95% of trips by riders were on the e-bikes, even tho they only make up half of the fleet
Proponent Luis Jimenez said he uses the bike sharing services to commute to work. He added that the city should put more stations in North and South Omaha
Resolution consent agenda approved, including multiple appointments to the Municipal Land Bank
The City Council voted to reconsider an earlier item, a liquor license for Sinful Burger. The applicant wasnt present at the time
Next is a res to add a list of guidelines for advertising in city parks to the city code.
Parks Director Matt Kalcevich said they want a clearer process and the opportunity for partnerships with local organizations, especially youth sports programs
The item would also create an advertising review committee made up of parks and rec staff as well as a city planning representative and someone from the Mayor’s office
Proponent Jeff LeDent said the revenue opportunities will help revitalize city parks
CM Juanita Johnson said Kalcevich has delivered on finding revenue streams for the parks
CM Aimee Melton said she appreciated Kalcevich’s hardwork. She said she was glad to see the guidelines detailing kinds of advertising that won’t be allowed
Next is the agreement with paleBLUEdot to create the city’s Climate Action Plan
Marco Floreani from the Mayor’s office said the city staff and advisory group are in support
Representatives from both paleBLUEdot and HDR, who will partner in creating the plan, are here for questions
Scott Dobbe from Omaha By Design said they support the creation of the plan. He said the plan will help the city grow and provide an equitable quality of life
David Corbon from Nebraska Sierra Club said “action” is the key element to the plan.
Proponent Sara Kohen said Omaha is already seeing the effects of climate change, so the city needs to be proactive and listen to experts, which the plan will allow them to do
CM Brinker Harding made a motion to lay the agreement over to April 4. He said he wants to make sure the City Council has the time to look at all the information
He chose April 4 since some councilmembers will be absent from the next two meetings
Floreani said the range discussed for the plan was originally from $250,000 to $400,000. This agreement is $376,000
Harding wanted to know the amounts for the other applicants. Floreani said firms gave a range near $300,000 to $350,000
Harding said he felt that the application was a little “mailed-in” for the price. It looks there were some sentences cut off in the attached letter of interest
Ted Redmond from paleBLUEdot apologized for any editorial errors.
Harding asked about their work with communities similar to Omaha. Redmond said there are similar considerations but individual needs in different communities
He said creating the most collaborative approach as possible is often the most successful
Harding clarified that he wanted to know if the cost is comparable to other cities.
Redmond said they dont have a set fee, rather its determined for each city and the scope of work expected
Redmond clarified that paleBLUEdot has not made any recommendations yet
He said the community should think of the plan as a “living document” since it deals with long-term issues
Harding said he doesnt necessarily oppose the group, but he wants more time to ask questions
CM Danny Begley asked if any of the firms they interviewed were local. Floreani said they had local teams and there was one local vendor
Begley said its good that paleBLUEdot is partnering with the local HDR
Floreani said there is federal money available to pay for the plan, and approval of the resolution will help them secure that money
Jim Theiler from public works said there are “actionable items” that they are working on now, and a climate action plan will help them with those
CM Don Rowe said a one-month delay isn’t out of line. He said they’ve heard feedback from constituents that they rush important issues, so it makes sense to take more time on this
CM Melton said she doesn’t think the briefing, public hearing and vote should happen all in one day.
She said she didn’t see the costs associated with other cities paleBLUEdot has consulted with
CM Vinny Palermo said he got less time on the streetcar and the Mutual of Omaha tower than he did on this agreement. He said he believes in the city staff’s ability to pick the right consultant
CM Johnson said since there is federal funding available, the cost isnt a concern for her. She said there isn’t much reason to delay voting on the agreement
She agreed that the city has rushed some issues, but the City Council first voted to ask for the creation of a plan back in November 2021
Council President Pete Festersen said he takes some responsibility for the timeline. He said the Mayor made a decision weeks ago but it was a matter of getting the paperwork ready
He thought the vote would be uncontroversial since the City Council has already voted to support the creation of the plan
Festersen said no other item has had more positive engagement during his time on the Council, especially from young people
He said he’s interested in what the city can do practically in the short term as well as long term goals.
Harding asked about the approval process for the federal funds. City Attorney Matt Kuhse said it would likely be similar to a grant acceptance, which would come to a Council vote