City HallTuesday, October 27
Mayor Ewing's first town hall of the year sparks a debate over small businesses and big employers
The Morning Omaha team
Mayor John Ewing Jr. held his first town hall of the year Monday night at The Venue at Highlander Accelerator, with the police and fire chiefs on hand. KETV reports that keeping young people in Omaha after graduation came up again and again. Ewing pointed to Union Pacific, HDR, and Kiewit Construction as job creators.
Seavers, who owns Black Power Redevelopers, said bringing in outside companies is "a smack in the face" to local businesses. WOWT reports that Ewing described a city program: if three qualified small businesses bid on a contract between $10,000 and $50,000, one of them wins it. Seavers said the range should be $200,000 to $500,000.
Seavers wants small-business contracts to start at $200,000
| City program | Measure | Seavers' proposal |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | Smallest contract | $200K |
| $50,000 | Largest contract | $500K |
Source: WOWT
“The city can do more than one thing at a time.”
- Next town hall: Tue., Oct. 27, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Where: Subby Anzaldo Columbus Park Community Center
- Also raised: senior services, code enforcement, and keeping young professionals
Ewing spent more than an hour updating residents on a new police and fire headquarters, affordable housing, and a planned soccer stadium in north Omaha. Monday's meeting was the first of four.
4town halls in the mayor's series, starting Monday
KETV says a link in its story has more information and future town hall places and times.
Source: KETV