Omaha City Council reviews $376K proposal to develop climate action plan - KETV Omaha

Omaha City Council reviews proposal to develop climate plan

Omaha City Council reviews $376K proposal to develop climate action plan

On Tuesday, Omaha City Council will review a proposal made by PaleBLUEdot, and its local partner HDR, to help develop a Climate Action and Resilience Plan. Environmental Groups ask to be included.

The city of Omaha now has a price tag for the creation of a Climate Action and Resilience Plan. At over $376,000, the city hopes its path to a cleaner, greener future will be paid for with a grant from the department of energy if approved.

The proposal comes from a Minnesota-based company, PaleBLUEdot and its Omaha partner HDR. A review committee recommended them to the city council to be the consultants on the project.

Council President Pete Festersen said after not seeing much movement on the creation of a plan over the last couple of years, this is a great step forward.

"It's taken much longer than I would've liked to see but I'm glad it's finally here," Festersen said. "I'm looking forward to getting a measurable and actionable plan we can implement in the short term here."

David Corbin with the Nebraska Chapter of the Sierra Club said while he's glad to see the city move forward, there are things the city could be doing now to address climate.

"The key word is action," he said. "Plans exist all over the place, but if there's no action, then that's the problem."

The proposal states research would be done to look at gas emissions, and energy usage in buildings and public transit.

Corbin says he'd like to see environmental groups consulted in the planning process moving forward.

"It makes sense that the groups already looking into issues like this, that they would be included," he said.

The group of stakeholders that recommended PaleBLUEdot and HDR did not include environmental groups, but the city said it does want to hear from them.

Deputy Chief of Staff for the Economic Development and Development Services Marco Floreani said the community will be very closely involved in the process and that includes environmental groups.

"This plan will be coauthored by the community — that's coauthored by multiple people," he said.

In a press release from the city, Mayor Jean Stothert said the contract supports the city's plan for the future.

Councilmember Don Rowe from District 5 said he looks forward to seeing it Tuesday, and he hopes the future plan includes preparation for climate disasters.

"Are we gonna be prepared for that next 500-year rain that we had a year or two ago?" Rowe asked. "It caused so much problems downtown. What can we do to mitigate those losses? Because it's expensive to react to them."

Community member Kathleen Turner said she hopes the plan includes plans for more cardboard recycling available and increasing public transit from West Omaha to downtown.

"I think that could cut down on people driving from West Omaha to downtown for work," Turner said.

If the consultant is approved, a kickstart to planning that includes community and stakeholder input will take place in May. The timeline proposed by the consultants says the final climate plan would be done around June 2024.

A public hearing will be held at Tuesday's council meeting if you'd like to voice your thoughts.