Douglas County Board could vote Tuesday on plans for $60M mental health facilities in downtown Omaha
A resolution scheduled for a vote Tuesday would move Douglas County much closer to building two new mental health treatment facilities, for an estimated $60 million, in downtown Omaha.
The proposal on the County Board agenda calls for erecting two new structures near the Douglas County Jail. One new building, to be constructed at 1601 Jackson St., would become the new home of the Douglas County Community Mental Health Center, which is currently housed inside the county’s long-term care center at 4102 Woolworth Ave. The county also would build a mental health unit that would be connected to the jail. The proposal also calls for a parking garage.
The county would use $58 million in federal pandemic recovery and relief funds to pay for the project. That consists of $50 million from the county’s 2022 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allotment, and $8 million in CARES Act funding, according to the resolution. The remaining cost would come from the county’s general fund.
People are also reading…
More County Board action would need to be taken before construction would begin. But if the board approves the resolution Tuesday, it would commit the county to pursuing the two-building project as its preferred option for addressing mental health facility needs that the board identified in 2022 as a major priority for the ARPA money.
The resolution would direct county staff “to take the necessary steps to initiate the mental health community improvement projects . . . ,” the agenda reads.
“This is the final vote to basically say this is what we’re moving forward with,” County Board Chair Mary Ann Borgeson said. “And then we’ll work the details of that project with those two facilities located on the same campus.”
The board meeting Tuesday is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the legislative chambers of the City-County Building, 1819 Farnam St.
The County Board has been discussing for months how to address two sets of needs: addressing the increasing numbers of people in jail with mental illnesses, and moving the Community Mental Health Center out of the county’s nursing home.
A consultant has suggested other options, including a joint facility near the jail that would house treatment for people in jail and the general public. The one on the agenda Tuesday is essentially a concept that the county’s consultant on the effort, Carlson West Povondra Architects, presented at a meeting of the board April 4.
There has been substantial debate on the topic, and that is likely to continue Tuesday. Board member Jim Cavanaugh has pressed the board to consider an alternative plan involving renovations of the Douglas County Health Center building, and in the jail. He said it would be less expensive.
Locating community mental health near the jail would stigmatize the treatment, Cavanaugh said. His proposal calls for using a consortium including the county, University of Nebraska Medical Center and the VA Medical Center.
Board member Roger Garcia, who declined to comment Monday on which way he’s leaning, said the vote is unlikely to be unanimous. Garcia, whose district includes the area in question, said the board had talked about five options during its multiple meetings on the topic.
“This is basically the resolution and the vote to give the staff direction on which way the board will actually go, at least for a majority vote, so that we don’t just do spinning wheels on five options, but we actually lock down one of these options,” Garcia said.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of April 2023
Riley McCauley visits the Genoa Indian Industrial School Museum in Genoa, Neb., with his class from Omaha Nation High School, in Macy, Neb., visit , on Tuesday. Most of the students have family members who attended the federal boarding school for Native children, which closed in 1934.
Students from Omaha Nation High School, in Macy, Neb., look at a model of the campus while visiting the Genoa Indian Industrial School Museum in Genoa, Neb., on Tuesday. Most of the students have family members who attended the federal boarding school for Native children, which closed in 1934.
Millard West’s Korey Cozad tags out Millard South’s Cam Kozeal at home to end the top half of the fifth inning during the Metro conference final on Wednesday.
Millard South’s Cam Kozeal fields a high throw as Millard West’s Ben Sterbens steals second base in the fourth inning during the Metro conference final on Wednesday.
The sun rises over Heartland of America Park, still under construction, on the RiverFront in downtown Omaha on Thursday.
A truck and a bald eagle head away from a wildfire near N.P. Dodge Park on Thursday.
Flames can be seen at a wildfire near the marina at N.P. Dodge Park on Thursday.
A National Guard Blackhawk helicopter drops water on a wildfire south of Lake Waconda, near Union, Nebraska on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.
Cullen Ritz, 7, watches a National Guard helicopter scoops up water from Lake Waconda to fight a wildfire near Union, Nebraska on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.
Ashland firefighter Adam Peterson throws a smoldering chunk of wood onto a pile while performing “mop-up duty” just south of Lake Waconda on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.
Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule answers a question for the media on Tuesday.
Nebraska’s Joshua Fleeks talks to the media after practice on Tuesday.
A cyclist crosses north across Dodge Street on the Dodge Street pedestrian bridge early on Friday.
The Great Hall of the Durham Museum is full of scaffolding as workers work to restore the ceiling on Thursday.
The Great Hall of the Durham Museum is full of scaffolding as workers work to restore the ceiling on Thursday.
One of the sculptures in the Durham Museum is covered with plastic during renovations on Thursday. Many of them had already been moved to accommodate work in the Great Hall.
Sunlight filters through storm clouds onto a wind turbine south of Stuart, Iowa, as severe weather rolls through the midwest on Tuesday, April 04, 2023.
Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda (82) catches the ball in a Nebraska football spring practice in Lincoln on Tuesday.
Cam Do–a-Mu–oz, a freshman, and hundreds of other students walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on Friday. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively. “Equality before the law” is the Nebraska state motto.
You May Also Like
Mindfulness is Dhamma | Daily News
Cognitive Impact of Exercise and Mindfulness in Older Adults: A Comprehensive Study