04.09.26 Update: Federal Movement, Parking Pivots, and Building Our Board
Alliance Members,
The last two weeks have been a gauntlet. While we are still facing a brick wall from City officials regarding direct funding, we have made a few advances on the federal and legislative levels. Here are updates from the last 2 weeks.
Construction Text Alerts
The city has launched a system to push neighborhood specific construction updates through text. The weekly office hours and emails often hold a large amount of information, only some of which is pertinent to your part of town. With the text alerts, you can select what part of town you want updates for to help avoid information fatigue. To sign up, go to:
https://omahastreetcar.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e220...
One Call to Handle it All
I came up with that wording so don’t blame anyone else. Wendy Thompson is still in charge of public outreach and is still the best number to call if you have any questions or concerns about the streetcar. Parking meters bagged when they shouldn’t be? Someone put a port-a-potty in front of your door? Dangerous conditions around a work zone? She is connected to all tentacles of the streetcar octopus.
Wendy Thompson: 402-300-3180
The Hard Reset & Logistics
City Launch Event April 28: The City is officially kicking off its Hard Reset campaign on April 28 at 2:00 PM at a Midtown location (TBD). The SIA will be in attendance. We aren’t just going to watch the ribbon-cutting; we’re going to ensure the reset actually translates to the results they promised us in private.
$1 Parking Update: The City is beginning to launch its registration system. To get your employees registered for these $1 spots, please email parking@cityofomaha.com immediately. If you don't register, staff won't have access when this goes live in two weeks.
GPS & Signage: Apple Maps and Waze are finally showing real-time updates, but Google Maps is still lost. The City claims technical issues, but we are keeping the pressure on. Customers shouldn't need a sextant and mystical map to find your front door. Furthermore, we are still waiting on the signage menu promised by the City. We’ve made it clear: professional, clear navigation is a right, not a luxury.
Neighborhood Block Parties: Reclaiming Our Streets
The City has agreed to facilitate a series of Neighborhood Block Parties, a direct result of our demand to turn dead construction zones back into destinations. Katie Mock is spearheading the vision to transform these fenced-off blocks into vibrant fundraiser hubs. Instead of looking at dirt and jackhammers, we are envisioning vendor markets, live local entertainment, and pop-up stalls for the businesses currently hidden behind barricades. All of this was designed to give Omahans a reason to come visit these neighborhoods again.
We are currently pushing the City to provide firm, unmovable dates for these events. This isn't just about scheduling; it’s about survival logistics. To make these hubs a success, our vendors need 3–4 weeks of lead time for inventory management, staffing, and coordinated marketing.
Facilitation means more than just a permit. We are requesting the city provide the barricades, security, and trash services as part of their Hard Reset commitment.
A Meeting with the EDA
Yesterday, I met with Mark Werthmann of the Economic Development Administration (EDA). For the first time, a government official spoke our language. Mr. Werthermann likened our situation,100 businesses and 1,000+ jobs at risk, to a major factory in a small town closing and leaving half the population unemployed. Even though this is a unique economic disaster, he confirmed that this is within the scale of crisis the EDA handles. He is taking our case to his leadership to look for creative solutions and potentially assign a specific agency lead to spearhead our recovery. Attention at the Federal level is a massive shift in visibility.
The SIA Board & Our Fundraising Plan
To handle federal funds and large-scale donations, the Streetcar Impact Alliance is officially moving to form a formal Board of Directors. We have secured a fiscal sponsor (a respected local 501(c)(3) focused on community health and civic involvement) to provide the legal umbrella we need.
Our donation strategy is now three-pronged:
Sponsored block parties to drive immediate foot traffic and neighborhood-level fundraising.
Seeking funds from major foundations and corporate donors to create a stabilization fund that the SIA could administer.
We are also exploring bridge loans through The Omaha 100, and we will be calling on corporate giants like Mutual of Omaha to backstop these loans which would hopefully open the door for lower interest rates and delayed repayment of these loans until the streetcar project is finished. If these companies believe the streetcar is the future, they should be willing to put their money where their mouth is.
Political Movement
It has been a while, but Senator Guerica has finally responded and we have a meeting on the books in Lincoln. We are finally getting the ear of the Unicameral.
Call to Action: Board Nominations & Applications
We need to build our Board ASAP. We are looking for members who can help us draft the formal proposals for the EDA and private donors.
We need Skills: Finance, Legal, Grant Writing, and Communications.
We need Voices: People who are willing to stand firm in these weekly City meetings.
If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else, please reply to this email by 04.15. We will be vetting a mix of applications (for specific skills) and nominations (for community leaders) to ensure the board represents our entire corridor.
Katie and I will continue to have our standing Wednesday meetings with the mayoral team again. Next week we will be looking for firm dates for block parties, updates on Google Maps, and more information about The Omaha 100.
Stay the course. We are no longer just asking for a seat at the table, we are building our own.
Respectfully,
Clark Ross
Chairperson, Streetcar Impact Alliance
