Epply Airfield and Youth Sports Complex

Steve McCoy has been part of the Omaha Airport Authority team for over 22 years.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today, we have a special guest from the Airport Authority.
Steve McCoy is here today and he is the chief
Strategy and Technology offer Officer. That sounds pretty important. Steve, Welcome,
thank you, happy to be here. Well, glad you're here.
Because there's so much going on at Apley Airport right now,
with the terminal modernization and all of the work going

(00:21):
out there, I thought it'd be a great opportunity for
Steve to come on the show and tell us about it.
But Steve, you've been with the airport quite a while,
haven't you. At least twenty years, if not more.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, about twenty five years with the Olmeierport Authority, and
I have to tell you in that time, this is
the most exciting time for me, and probably the most
exciting time in the airport's history.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
I can't imagine, you know, I moved here from Texas
thirty three years ago, and when I even look at
the changes downtown, the airport, convention Center, everything that's happened
in just the time I've been here. I'm sure you've
seen a lot too. But now, of course we've got
a lot going on at the airport. But I want

(01:02):
you to provide us with an update today, and I
have a lot of questions. But it was announced just
recently that the terminal expansion, which I remember I was
there for the whole groundbreaking, it's supposed to be completed
in twenty twenty eight, but was announced recently is it's
about half done. So I think I just want to
ask you what's done and what's still left, because there's

(01:24):
a lot going on there.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
Sure, it's a great question.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
The Terminal Monerization program, for those who are less familiar,
is a complete transformation of the airport terminal out at
w Airfield, and it's really going to transform the travel
experience here in Omaha for decades to come. This is
not just by happenstance. This is a result of decades
of planning, including the more recent twenty fourteen Airport master Plan,

(01:48):
and that master plan was really focused on developments that
were need based. We want to maintain the convenience of
the airport. That's one thing we always hear. It's a
very convenient airport's convenient to downtown. Meanwhile, we wanted to
enhance the travel experience, and we need to do so
in a cost effective and phased implementation. So folks will
probably remember a number of other enabling projects that we've

(02:09):
done as a result of that master plan, including the
new North Garage rental car facility, the terminal entrance and
roadway expansion, and the more recent terminal drive and canopy
project which just wrapped up. And those were really enabling
projects for this bigger terminal monetization program. And as you mentioned,
that groundbreaking was actually in I think February twenty twenty four,

(02:32):
and you're right, we just completed are just passed over
that fifty percent milestone in terms of construction, and so
what's been completed today includes a number of things that
are kind of behind the scenes, like a brand new
utility plant that was one of the first pieces we
had to get into place so that we could prepare
the existing terminal to split it in half.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
You probably recall this.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
We did that terminal split a little over a year ago.
And what that really is facilitating is the construction of
the centerpiece, really that central pavilion where we're gonna have
that centralized security checkpoint, we're gonna have the concessions, and
it'll connect to that unified concourse.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Does that utility does a facility is that all your
electrical and your HVAC on all of those.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Absolutely, that's that's really the heartbeat of the airport terminal.
So heating, cooling, electricity, water data all come through that.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Utility plan and that had to be done first.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
That needed to be.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Done first so we could start to work on that
central pavilion and that central pavilion you mentioned.

Speaker 3 (03:32):
You know, the terminal program will wrap.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
Up in twenty twenty eight, but that central pavilion is
going to actually open next year really the first quarter
of next year. All done, the central pavilion component will
open up. There'll be again this is a phased program,
so there's gonna be some phased opening, will likely open
some components of the concourse. We'll open that central pavilion
with a new checkpoint and concessions. Really that's kind of

(03:56):
our big unveiling moment. That'll be completed in early twenty.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Seven, and then we'll.

Speaker 1 (04:01):
Fill me let me ask you, yes, new restaurants.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
New restaurants, so that the new concessions program will kick
off next year as well. You've probably heard about this.
Concessions is a big focus as part of the program.
In our existing terminal, the concessions we're out of date.
They were presecurity. We're moving the majority of it post security.
We're going to have nineteen different locations in the terminal
with seventeen different options, and over half of those are

(04:26):
local options. So folks like Pitch Pizza, Block sixteen, The Mill,
Coffee and Tea, Fernando's Runza. You wouldn't believe how excited
people are about having runs.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
A and in imagine, I am, that'll be great. What
about the stores as far as there's going to be
more shopping.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yeah, there's going to be more shopping, especially in that
central pavilion area. There's going to be a technology stores,
there's going to be stores where you can buy clothing
and apparel.

Speaker 3 (04:55):
There will be bookstores.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
But a big focus on the retail component of it
is provide a lot of local provided goods. And so
there's about twenty two different local providers that are contributing
to this. So there'll be shops in that main central
pavilion there, including a store called Uniquely Omaha, which is
going to sell a lot of Omaha made goods.

Speaker 4 (05:18):
Oh, that'll be great.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
That'll be great for travelers too, or if you're leaving
and want to bring somebody a gift. You know, you
all have done such a great job of controlling the
traffic there. I know we've had some problems in the
past month or so with the TSA, but every time
I go there, it looks totally different with all the construction,
but it's still easy to get around, and you all

(05:41):
have done such a good job at guiding people around
to manipulate through this all of this construction and make
it still easy.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
We appreciate that feedback.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
That was a big focus of going to the project,
especially with the terminal split. When we cut that terminal
and a half, we knew that was going to be
the most impactful moment for our travelers, and so focusing
on components like enhanced wayfinding and customer service and rolling
out a number of digital tools like an interactive map
where you can put where you're at and it'll take
you exactly where you need to go. Those have been

(06:11):
really important things to assist with that travel experience. But yeah,
we really wanted to minimize the disruption. What's going on
right now is a lot of behind the scenes construction.
We've rolled out a few little elements, like we've opened
and unveiled some new restrooms and some new entry ways,
but that really pales in comparison to what's going to
come when we open that central pavilion.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
And so that it's still the time of completion is
still twenty twenty eight when everything will be direct. Okay,
talk a little bit about parking, because that's always a
challenge there. The new North Garage has how many stalls
and then how many stalls altogether do we have in
a garage?

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yes, so part of that master plan identified the need
for more close in covered parking, and folks here in
Nebraska really like their covered parking, especially on mornings like today,
and they don't want to come back in the winter
months and have to clear snow or slush or ice
off their vehicles. And so that North Garage was one
of the baseline projects that's part of that master plan

(07:09):
to provide an additional three thousand stalls of covered parking. Now,
about a thousand of those are allocated to the rental cars.
So the first two levels are rental cars and then
the top four floors are parking for the public. So
between the North Garage and South Garage it's about six
thousand total stalls. And then when you add all the
economy lots and the canopy lot. It's about eleven thousand

(07:32):
parking stalls on the campus.

Speaker 1 (07:33):
Okay, and then you still have the parking lots that
are further away that are uncovered. Correct, the economy lots, okay,
the economy lot okay. Talk about now this is exciting
for everybody.

Speaker 4 (07:45):
Customs.

Speaker 1 (07:46):
We've talked a lot about that there's going to be
We have customs now for cargo, but there will be
customs for international travel and for passengers. So if I
remember correctly, we're only adding two more gates of what
we currently have, but talk a little bit about what's
coming in the future for international travel and for customs
for passengers.

Speaker 3 (08:06):
Sure, So you're right.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Customs has been operating at PLA Airfield for many years.
Omaha is designated as a port of entry with US
Customs and Border Protection, but we've been working with them
on expanding those services into what we call a Federal
Inspection Services Facility or a FIS, and that's really what's
needed to be able to handle scheduled, regular scheduled airline
arrivals from international destinations.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
So you're right.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
The end of this program is twenty two gates from
the existing twenty But I should should note that while
we're going a net positive of two gates, it's really
twenty two new gates that are coming along with it,
because every single gate will be new, and it's also
configuring the terminal to expand beyond twenty two.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Gates to add more gates in the creature.

Speaker 2 (08:52):
However, in this program, you're right, two gates are going
to be designated for both domestic or international arrivals that
own it of the program, though we'll be complete in
twenty twenty eight, So that's one of the final pieces.
And I know this one that the traveling public is
really interested. Again, on a cold of February March day
or even a cold April day like we had this morning,

(09:13):
a lot of folks are interested in traveling, especially south
of the border, and so we know there's a lot
of existing demand to places like Cancun, Mexico. We have
about one hundred and fifty travelers a day leaving Omaha
going to Cancun every day in the first quarter, and
so being able to provide that in a NonStop capacity
as opposed to connecting, we think will be really huge
for the traveling public here.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
So maybe you can't confirm it, but do you think
probably Mexico and maybe the Caribbean would that be the possibility.

Speaker 2 (09:39):
That's where we see the existing demand is primarily what
we call near international. So yeah, Mexico, places like Cancun, Cabo,
San Lucas, and then places in the Caribbean such as.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
Dr exactly right, Okay.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Would is it likely or unlikely that we would ever
have a flight out of Omaha to London?

Speaker 3 (09:58):
Yeah, that's tough, really tough.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Again, when you look at the existing demand, there's about
fifteen people a day, okay, and so even with a
NonStop it's gonna it takes a big plane to fly
from Omaha to London. So to be able to fly
all those fill all those seats is a little bit
of a challenge for the airlines. So they're looking at
where the best opportunities are for them that fit within
their network strategies, and right now that's primarily near international.

Speaker 1 (10:23):
So it's all about demand with what our customers are
and talk a little bit about I know we dropped
quite a few NonStop flights when COVID hit. Yeah, nobody
was flying. Well, people were flying, but very few were flying.
A lot were dropped. How many NonStop flights do we
have now domestic out of applay and are we adding
more and have we added some back since COVID.

Speaker 2 (10:45):
Yeah, we're actually back to the count we were at COVID.
So there are thirty five NonStop destinations that you can
fly to from Omaha. Now, some of them are different,
some of them we didn't have before, and some that
we had before we don't currently have a lot of
that is really a factor of kind of some airline
strategy changes and some adjustments they've made to their network.
But we've added some new NonStop destinations, primarily some point

(11:07):
to point destinations. For example, later this summer, we're going
to be starting in fact, next month, we're going to
be starting to non stop service to golf shores of Alabama,
So folks that are looking to get down to the
Gulf Coast, that's a new option to them.

Speaker 1 (11:20):
And you do have some NonStop flights that are seasonal,
don't you in the summer?

Speaker 4 (11:24):
Right?

Speaker 3 (11:25):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah, Actually we have some seasonal non flights that fly
during the summer, and then we have some seasonal non flights,
non stop flights.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
That operate during the winter.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
It really is based on the seasonality of demand. So
we're travelers from Omaha and want to go during different
times of the years. How the airlines try to schedule that.

Speaker 1 (11:40):
Did we ever get the non stop back to San Diego?
I know we headline, yes.

Speaker 2 (11:44):
So we had a couple flights to San Diego before COVID.
That has returned with Southwest Airlines. In fact, it's going
to six times a week, so nearly daily. I think
it doesn't operate on Saturdays. It's going to be going
back to daily here later this year.

Speaker 4 (12:00):
I know.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
I was looking up flights the other day because I'm
going to go to the New Orleans Jazz Festival right
at the end of this month. My husband's been there
dozens of times, and this is the first time I've been.
There is no easy way from Omaha to New Orleans.
There are no non stops from I want to know,
I have to make a connection. In fact, it's taken
us all day to get down there, it seems like.
And then my son lives in Cincinnati. No easy way

(12:23):
to get to Cincinnati.

Speaker 4 (12:25):
They usually have to go through Midway.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
We used to have nonstops to Cincinnati as part of
Delta Airlines when they operated a hub there. But as
the airline again the airline industry evolved and they've made
changes to their business models. It's no longer a hub,
so you can't connect there or even fly not stop.

Speaker 3 (12:41):
You have to make a connect.

Speaker 1 (12:43):
Now you could almost drive there quicker, not really, but
still let's talk a little bit about how this this
is almost a billion dollar renovation that's going on at
the airport. Even when I was still mayor, we would
get calls in the hotline saying, I don't want my
tax dollars going to go to that airport. How is
this being I want to reassure the Omah taxpayers that
this is not coming out of their property tax bill

(13:05):
or their tax bills.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
Tell us how it's funded.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
That is one hundred percent correct. It is not coming
out of property taxes. The Omaha Airport Authority is a
non taxing authority. We have no capability to levy attacks.
We don't want a levy attack. In fact, the FAA
requires us to be as self sustaining as possible, and
so that means programs like the terminal monorization program are
really based on the revenues that are generated at the airport.

Speaker 3 (13:28):
The revenues generated at.

Speaker 2 (13:29):
The airport fund the operation and they fund the capital
development as well. So with this nine hundred and fifty
million dollars terminal modernization program, it's a combination of airport
revenues a program called the passenger Facility charge. So when
you buy a ticket, those those fund stay here in Omaha.

Speaker 1 (13:47):
To so from the airline sent from the are Okay, Okay.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
The air Oma Airport Authority has the ability to issue
our own revenue bonds and those are again are backed
by the revenue generating capability of the airport authority. There
is some small opponent of some federal funds in there
flowing through both the FAA and the TSA to fund
aspects like pastor boarding bridges, some of the utility plants,

(14:11):
some of the federal inspection services. And then the TSA
is providing some funds as part of the baggage system,
which is again a behind the scenes component but a
very important component to the overall efficiency of the airport.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
And speaking you mentioned TSA, So speaking of TSA, how
have we recovered from that now that TSA are getting
their salaries? Did we have great weights at Epley And
is that going smoothly.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
Again, I would I'll start by saying the on Wi
Airport authorities very appreciative of the efforts that the local
Transportation Security officers, the screeners, they contributed during the partial
government shut down. And while there are a lot of
news reports across the country about long backed up TSA
weight lines, we didn't experience that here in Omaha. So

(14:54):
they did a fantastic job despite the challenges. We know
a number of folks within the community kind of stepped
up to help out with some contributions. We know that
the TSA was appreciative of that. But again, I think
I speak on behalf of the whole airport and probably
everyone that traveled during the partial government shutdown that they
were very glad that the TSA was there and again
providing that essential security service.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
And some airports so were a nightmare of what I
saw on the news.

Speaker 3 (15:17):
Right, so happy to say we were not one of those.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
Let's talk about the name. This has brought a lot
to me too. It is Epley Airfield. Is it still
going to be called Epley Airfield? And will that name
Epley ever.

Speaker 4 (15:30):
Leave o Maha.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
So there's an interesting history on the name there. The
name came not long after the creation of the online
Airport Authority. There was a contribution from the Eugene Epley
Foundation and as a result, the airport was named after
Eugene Epley, and it's been Epley Airfield since nineteen sixty
Who was Eugene Epley. The Eugene Epley was a local
hotel magnate, but it was also very involved in the

(15:55):
civic scene here locally, also very involved in formulation the
creation of the Omayir Authority and a big promoter of
aviation within the community. And so you're right, the name
is Eppley Airfield continues to be Eppley Airfield. I can't
really speak to what it may be in the future,
but there's a number of interesting things that are happening
in the future, with the culmination of the terminal monization

(16:17):
program again the opening of the central next year in
nineteen twenty seven, also happens to be the one hundredth
anniversary of the airport.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
The airport was.

Speaker 2 (16:24):
Dedicated in July tenth of nineteen twenty seven, So there's
a lot of good things happening.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
What the name will be in the future, we'll see.

Speaker 1 (16:32):
So there's nothing in the agreement that it had that
you're aware of or that you could talk about, that
would say it would ever stay, that would have to
stay uply forever.

Speaker 3 (16:40):
Yeah, that's the way I like it. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (16:42):
I mean, like if J.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
Gene Stothar gave you a billion dollars, maybe it could
be the Stothard Airport. No, that's never going to happen,
But that's quite interesting. How many passengers do we have
out of Omaha in a year an average number.

Speaker 2 (16:56):
So in twenty twenty four we hit an all time high,
fully recovered from COVID and a new high of five
point two million annual passers. Twenty twenty five dip down
a little bit. There was some reduction in air travel
demand across the US as a result of kind of
some headwinds from some policies. But we see about five

(17:18):
point two million annual pastors and that's quite a few
when you think about it, and we kind of break
it down then by also the meters and greets that
are coming in and out of the airport every day,
and it's about the equivalent of filling up the Chi
Health Center arena every day that many people come in
and out of the airport.

Speaker 1 (17:38):
So I know you talk about the number of passengers,
but there's also the number of aircraft movements that you
keep track.

Speaker 4 (17:44):
Of, So what is that.

Speaker 2 (17:46):
Yeah, so we average about seventy daily departures from the airlines, okay,
but there's a number of other activities that happened at
the airport between cargo operations, flight training, corporate aviation, general aviation,
and so we average about one hundred thousand aircraft operations.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
Every year at the airport.

Speaker 2 (18:03):
And an aircraft operation is a plane taking off and landing.

Speaker 3 (18:06):
So it's a very busy airport.

Speaker 1 (18:08):
So what can passengers expect now, once it's done, what
can they expect besides a new, modern airport. It's going
to be pretty slick. I know, I saw lots of
renderings for it, and it's going to be really beautiful.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
And I has to tell you the renderings just don't
do it justice. When you stand in the facility, because
it's getting near to the point where we'll be turning.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
It over to the public.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
It is very impressive, especially that central pavilion space. It's
very volume as it has high thirty three foot ceilings
you can fit you can fit in moraal See football
field inside it. You can see from one end to
the other, lots of glass and natural light coming in.
It is going to really impress a lot of people
when they get a chance to get in there. But
beyond that, the number of amenities that we're introducing as

(18:50):
part of this program too, things like again central ized
scurity checkpoint, but introducing clear lanes to the checkpoints so
folks that participate in clear, Introducing a new common use
land so folks that want to get to the airport
just have a place to relax.

Speaker 3 (19:03):
There'll be a lounge as part of that.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Introducing a number of other real what seems like simplement
is maybe we take for granted, for example, just the restrooms.
Enhancing the restrooms at the airport.

Speaker 3 (19:14):
We're going to say that's important.

Speaker 2 (19:15):
We're going to be tripling the number of fixtures in
this terminal. In fact, one restroom, our largest restroom.

Speaker 3 (19:22):
The women's side, has twenty eight stalls.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
And for whatever reason, if those weren't available, the next
rushrooms only two hundred feet away, and they're all connected.
We're increasing the number of mother's rooms. We'll have a
total of six mother's rooms in the terminal. We'll have
family restrooms associated with it, so just incorporating a number
of things that we couldn't do with the existing space
because we were really constrained.

Speaker 3 (19:42):
We're excited to be able to provide that for the public.

Speaker 1 (19:44):
And I do remember with the design you said there's
really really high ceilings, but you've managed to warm it
up still because there's a lot of there's wood.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, there's a lot of wood, look combination into there.
We've started to see some of that actually incorporated in
the south concourse where we're doing renovations.

Speaker 3 (19:58):
It's going to be a very nice finish. I can't wait.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
I think that the new canopy outside is wonderful. It's
withstood quite a few windstorms and bad weather, so it's
up and it's sturdy and it's going to make a
big difference.

Speaker 4 (20:13):
To Steve.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
Thanks so much for being here today. It's great to
ask you these questions. I know these questions do come
up a lot, especially when's it going to be done,
how's it going to be paid for? The issue about
Eppley Airfield is a question that now that this airport
is going to be big, is it going to be changed?
So we really appreciate and I hope you'll come back
once everything is opened up and talk to us again

(20:35):
about it. So thanks for having us, you bet, thanks
for being here. Steve McCoy with the Airport Authority, Thank
you all the big snowstorm that we might have gotten today.
I was listening yesterday and it was, well, we could
get one inch, maybe four, maybe five, maybe none maybe,
And you know, I remember that so many times that
that would happen in the past. But whatever it is,

(20:56):
And I just want to say this over and over again,
our public Works department in the city of Omaha does
a fantastic job. They really do. They have one of
the best plans in the country for snow and ice removal.
It won a national award in twenty nineteen. Their budget
is funded adequately, and boy, those men and women are
out there trying to keep us safe. This morning, I

(21:16):
got up extra early. I thought I'm going to have
to come in early so I don't slip and slide around.
And really it was the streets were just running wet
this morning.

Speaker 4 (21:24):
Yeah, I thought it was okay. This morning. I was prepared.
I always like to put my windshield wipers up so
they don't get stuck on my windshield. And there was
nothing else.

Speaker 1 (21:33):
For yeah, yeah you park outside then yeah, that makes
a difference. But again, Public Works always does such a
good job and I just can't compliment them enough for
the work they do. When we have weather conditions like
this Artemis too, I always have to bring them up again.
That was so exciting yesterday too, because they have gone
the distance now and that no other human has done before.

(21:57):
They are right now about two hundred and forty eight
thousand miles away from Earth. Amazing this or surpassed the
milestone of NASA's Apollo thirteen mission that was set in
nineteen seventy and that, I mean, they are far away
and I think Monday for that period of time of
about forty five minutes when they lost contact with Houston, Houston,

(22:21):
we have no contact. I mean, that was pretty exciting too.
Had very few glitches so far. I think there was
one with the toilet that everybody's still talking about. I mean,
what do you do, like I said, you go, I'm
going to go on a little spacewalk here, see y' all.
And there was one about an odor. There was an
odor on the ship, which I thought was quite interesting.

(22:43):
Maybe they can't use those little plugins that you can buy,
you know it target aze. Yes, maybe they need something
like that. I don't know, but I think that's something
with the mechanical system. But now they're on their way
back home. So that is very exciting I think as
far as that. But they certainly have set a record
for space travel.

Speaker 4 (23:03):
I saw somebody say, uh, they're going to set a
record for the longest trip from Florida to California. There
there you go.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
They kind of they kind of expensive flight a different
route this time, got a little lost along the way.
But everything that they are finding out, the testing that
they're doing, and the pictures that they're going to bring
back is just quite amazing.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to it. In
reference to your airport interview this morning, John reached out
and said, great idea to interview the people from the
airport and he plans for our zoo folks.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
Oh, you know, good idea because doctor Luis Padilla is
the director of the zoo. Do you know he came
from Saint Louis. No comments, leis, no comments about that, please, No.
I've been to the Saint Louis Zoo many times. It's
a free zoo. Saint Louis is free and it's a
beautiful zoo. But doctor Padilla came from the Saint Louis

(23:57):
Zoo and he has done amazing job and let's do
have him on. Will I will give him a contact
a call and see if he could come on, because
what's exciting not only the animals, excuse me, they're the
most exciting, but it's the new hospital that they have
there is pretty amazing. It has been built, it is

(24:18):
open now and to see a facility where you can
operate on a giraffe or intubated giraffe and put them
under anesthesia or an elephant is pretty amazing that we
have this here. There is so much philanthropic help that
has gone into our zoo in Omaha, and especially to

(24:38):
the late Walter Scott, who loved animals. He was the
one that was primarily responsible for bringing those elephants from
Swaziland to Omaha, and you know when they were first here,
you would see Walter in those cages at night, feeding
them and touching them, and you know, he really had

(24:58):
a love for animals and it really show over the zoo.

Speaker 4 (25:01):
You know, we get really really spoiled because we have
the greatest zoo in the world, and you know, some
years it reflects that on the charts and whatever. That's
all voting by regular people. So it is what it is.
But you know, I've been to the San Diego Zoo
and the Kansas City Zoo, really really great zoos. But man,
when you have the zoo that we have here, it's

(25:23):
kind of tough. It is zoo, you know, it is.

Speaker 1 (25:26):
And you know, I was there at Christmas time too.
I took my grandsons and they have the light display
and it was new this year and kind of what
I would consider upgraded, and it was beautiful this year.
Lights everywhere. They had these igloos all over the place
that you could rent, get in there, get warm, have
some food. They did a great job as far as

(25:47):
that goes, and that was really really fun. But what
a gem that we have here in Omaha, and I
think it only continues to get better and under doctor
Padilla's leadership, they've really done a great job. Were very fortunate.
I remember the days of Marlon Perkins Mutual of Omaha
talking about the zoos and it was pretty it was

(26:09):
pretty amazing the legacy that we have here in this city.
So good job to the zoo. But I will reach
out to doctor Padilla. That is a good idea to
have him on ours.

Speaker 4 (26:17):
That is a good idea. And if anybody has any
questions about the zoo that we you'd want to have
brought up, reach out to us. We can always throw
those in the queue, pass them on the gene and
she can see how that works in with her questioning.
We'll get into a little bit of nitty gritty here.
This comes from Jeff. He's asking who is responsible for
little litter control on Omaha's interstate system. He said he

(26:38):
was driving through Illinois and stunned, how Cleanton the roads were.
You gonna talk a little bit.

Speaker 1 (26:43):
About that, Yeah, and you know, I'm glad you saw
that in Illinois. I'm from Illinois. I was born and
raised in Illinois. And you know, there are parts that
are good and there are parts that are not. If
you get up around the Chicago area, you know, we
get around the bigger cities. But the interstates and the
ramps on and off the interstate are controlled by the DOT,

(27:06):
the Department of Transportation and the state, or they sometimes
call themselves a Department of Roads. I would get a
lot of calls when I was mayor about litter on
the ramps, thinking that was a job of the City
of Omaha, but it is a job of the state.
But we had a really good working relationship with the state.
There was also an issue that there would be homeless

(27:30):
encampments on the ramps under the bridges, and that was
the responsibility of the state to come and clean that up,
although they worked really really well with the City of
Omaha's homeless service coordinator, So all that is up to
the state.

Speaker 4 (27:44):
Yeah, I've seen that in a lot of really really
big cities. You know, I think about San Diego. I
was there this summer. You know, you get under an
underpasser on an on ramp and you do see a
lot of homeless. It's kind of like a small community there.

Speaker 5 (27:56):
It is.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
I mean, they're protected under there, and you know, those
pop up up so quickly. I would when I was
going down to downtown every day to City Hall, I
would get off on the Harney Street exit, and you know,
there would be nothing there one day and the next
day there would be a whole encampment. And I would
always call about those things and they would be cleaned

(28:17):
up pretty quickly. But then they would come back. But
let me tell you, I mean, are in the United
States still if you compare us to any European countries,
oh my goodness, the one. I've been to France to
Paris once and I was amazed at the litter and
the trash and the graffiti in Paris, France. I mean,

(28:38):
it was unbelievable. And I even asked the mayor when
I was there, what I said, if I would leave
this graffiti in Omaha, Nebraskas, I'd be out the door.
And they said, we get it so much. We just
look at it as art. We just leave it. We
don't even try to get rid of it.

Speaker 4 (28:54):
That was on one of your taxpayer funded trips to
the sister city.

Speaker 1 (28:57):
Which was not We brought that up the other day.
Sister city trips are not funded by the Omaha tax bears.
I went to three sister city trips and they were
paid for excuse me, by Jean Stothard. So there's no
budget for sister city travel for the mayor.

Speaker 4 (29:13):
Here wrapping up the ten o'clock hour with your host
of the show, Jean Stouther I'm Peyton Hilock. We got
some callers. Okay, good, let's jump to the lines. We
have Sandy. Thank you for calling News Radio eleven ten KFAB.
You're live with Jean Stautht. Good morning, Hey, good morning.

Speaker 6 (29:32):
I have a question. Why has the city of Omaha
not focused on any type of use of sporting complexes
for softball and baseball. I know they're doing some work
with tranquility for soccer, but our surrounding cities, including even Lincoln,
have just some phenomenal complexes and all the tournaments are

(29:56):
outside of Omaha because we really lacked them.

Speaker 1 (30:00):
You are so right with that, and you know you
did bring up tranquility because one of the main reasons
we wanted to redevelop and redesign tranquility is because of
exactly what you said. I am an old soccer mom.
I shouldn't say I'm an old mom. I was a
soccer mom in the past. My son played soccer from

(30:20):
kindergarten through college. And I remember many a weekends me
being over in Des Moines and Oh, I can't think
of the other town in Iowa. It's Ben said to
while that they had big soccer tournaments there, and we said,
if we redevelop, you know, tranquility, we could have those
soccer tournaments in Omaha. And the benefit is is there

(30:43):
is a lot of kids in Omaha that want to
play soccer and want to play tournaments that can't afford
to go and travel with and this would be something
that would be so great for Omaha. But I will
say this is we have been working on upgrading a
lot of our current fields that we have in our parks.

(31:03):
And you know, we have two hundred and fifty six
parks in Omaha, two hundred and fifty six Now. Some
of them are big with fields already there. Some of
them are very small, little pocket parks. But that's one
of the reasons that we had underway the Parks Director
and the Parks Department to develop a new Parks master
Plan and to prioritize which of these parks and which

(31:27):
included the baseball field, soccer fields, etc. Which ones are
going to be prioritized and get done really first, and
how we're going to budget for that. There is also
a new facility going up at Levi Carter in northeast Omaha,
and that was all grant funded. It's not funded by
the taxpayers, but over forty million dollars and it's an
indoor and outdoor facility that will include soccer fields and

(31:50):
baseball fields and basketball courts inside. So there there is
a lot of attention going to it, but you are right,
it is something that has been not prioritized I think
in the past, and some of those parks have gotten
pretty run down. But I think with the addition of
Levi Carter, the addition of Tranquility, which is still being
redesigned right now, that one got designed a lot more

(32:12):
expensive than the city had budgeted for it. And then
the park's master plan that's going to really prioritize which
parks in those fields that need work first and need
upgrading first. But we do have some in fact, Omaha
public schools use some of our public parks too. Zarinsky
for example, has feels in soccer fields out there too,

(32:34):
So it's just a matter of really now having a
new master plan in prioritizing which ones they are going
to address first.

Speaker 4 (32:40):
Thank you for the call, Sandy. We appreciate you reaching
out to the CAFAB comment line. We're going to go
to Cheryl now. Cheryl, thank you for calling News Radio
eleven ten KFAB. You are on with Jean Stouthart. Good morning,
Good morning, Jean, you.

Speaker 5 (32:53):
Were talking about the zoo, and I remember when it
was a Riverview Park. I don't remember. I don't remember
where it was located, but I know there was a
large pond and we had to go down stone steps
and you could smell it before you got to the
bottom of the sea.

Speaker 1 (33:11):
And I remember fond memories.

Speaker 5 (33:14):
An old shaggy polar bear that was kind of a
yellow color, and then they had cages with rabbits in it.
That's all I remember, but I know it's been made
over several times and it's beautiful. And I want to
thank you for your program. You are so articulate and knowledgeable.

(33:34):
I really enjoy I try not to miss you every day.

Speaker 1 (33:37):
Well, thank you. I appreciate you saying that. Do you
remember when you were talking about Riverview Park with the rabbits.
Do you remember what year that was? By any chance?

Speaker 5 (33:46):
Well, I'm eighty now, so it's probably seventy years ago
or so.

Speaker 1 (33:54):
And you know the a there is a law, a
state law that says once a park, all a park,
and so that you can't develop. Basically, you can't build
an apartment building on where a park was.

Speaker 4 (34:06):
So it is.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
Still you know the Riverview Park was a park owned
by the city of Omaha, So the city of Omaha
still owns a land that the zoo was on, and
I think people probably realize that, or maybe some forget
about it, but that still is considered a park land
that the zoo is built on. But again, so proud
of the improvements of that zoo, and every time I

(34:29):
go there it looks better. The one thing I always
get my grandkids for Christmas every year is the season
pass to the zoo, because they will go. If they'll
have an hour on a Saturday, they'll run down and
go to the zoo for an hour. And I brought
this up before. My son and his two little boys
live in Cincinnati, and I buy them passes to the

(34:49):
Cincinnati Zoo because I mean, what a great thing that
they could go whenever they want and visit and see
everything there.

Speaker 4 (34:56):
So I love going. You can't see it the whole
zoo in one day. You'd have to be they're from
open to clothes.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
Oh, I know are more or more so to.

Speaker 4 (35:03):
Be able to just be able to get the past.
Because I got a zoo pass as well this year.
If I want to go on a weekend. Real quick.
And they also have so many really cool events that
go on and the special programs they really do.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
And you know, the newest exhibit there is the tangs,
the orangutang tangs, the tangs, and they are so much
fun to watch. And so yeah, they've just really continue
to improve. And like I said, it's being led by
doctor Luis Padilla, and what a great job he does.

Speaker 4 (35:30):
That would be fun to get him on the line.
All right, Sandy, we're back here. You're live with Jean
Starford again. Sandy, just wanted to ask you a little
bit more follow up.

Speaker 1 (35:38):
Sure, Good morning, well.

Speaker 6 (35:41):
Good morning. You know my question was about primarily softball
fields and baseball fields, and then you just went down
the rabbit hole of soccer. Why can we focus on
the baseball and softball My daughters I raised them in
the nineties and and eighties and nineties playing local competitive softball,

(36:04):
and now I have granddaughters playing. We have no new
fields outside of La Vista has some, Lincoln has some
phenomenal ones. So why so I'm not going back just
through your time as mayor. I'm going back even years
before that. We've done nothing to help the softball program

(36:24):
in the city of Omaha, and none of the tournaments
are here. And from friends who have boys in baseball,
you hear the same thing. So you know, why is
that ignored? What is a community we can maybe do
to try to get the city to have more focus
on building a complex in which the use of Omaha

(36:49):
can play locally and not have to travel to all
the tournaments.

Speaker 3 (36:53):
And you're so right.

Speaker 1 (36:54):
I did go with soccer because that's what I'm more
familiar with, because, like I said, my son played soccer,
But I know there is a great need for baseball
and softball too, and I think it boils down to
a matter of prioritization. You know, right now we do
not have a parks director. The parks director that I
hired is no longer there unfortunately, and hopefully they will

(37:18):
get a new parks director soon. But what is already
underway is the new Park's master plan, and that master
plan does apply to soccer, to softball, to baseball, and
look at what the demands are that we have here
in the city of Omaha and what needs to be
prioritized and done. As far as what can be done now,
there is a lot of interest from the philanthropic community

(37:42):
to with our parks and we do have an Omaha
Parks Foundation too, and so that is something that I
think is underway and needed to be underway with that
master plan. But hopefully we will see more in the future,
not just soccer. And sorry, I just talked about soccer
because that's what I'm most familiar with, but I'm not
even you know with as far as baseball and softball.

(38:05):
There's that need there too, And I agree with you.

Speaker 4 (38:07):
So there's there was a beautiful new soccer complex, Chi
Multi sport health complex on like right out the interstate
and Giles Now was that was? Did somebody come in
and fund that in order to get it built?

Speaker 1 (38:23):
That soccer complex? You know, I'm not sure. I can't
really answer that question.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
Does does a developer, seeing a potential place for income
and revenue by hosting these events come in and say
this is a great spot. I know that I would
be able to get plenty of teams from all over
the Midwest to come in and play softball and baseball here.
Does that take I mean, is that a significant factor

(38:48):
as well into these big complexes? Oh?

Speaker 1 (38:50):
Yeah, I mean I think that if if I think
there are many that are very involved in baseball and softball,
and I think that you know that that have teams
and want to make sure that our teams here in
Omaha have their proper facilities now to be able for
a developer to come in and say I'm going to
pay for this and I'm going to develop it, it

(39:11):
would just have to be a partnership that they have developed.
I mean, I'm going to go back to soccer, but
look what they're looking at now with a big new
soccer stadium downtown. There's a need for it, and that's
pretty much being a lot of it is being privately funded,
not all of it. So I think it boils down
to where the needs are.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
You know, the high.

Speaker 1 (39:32):
Schools they have baseball and they have softball, and they
have their own facilities. But how great would it be
if we'd have much bigger facilities that we could offer
tournaments due.

Speaker 4 (39:43):
To I know that Chi Multi Sport Complex has I
don't even know how many, but ten to twenty fields plus.
I mean, just to think about how much revenue that
could be for the local economy, the city and also
the teams to be able to host a lot of
kids here.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
Absolutely, it takes money to maintain those.

Speaker 4 (40:01):
Two of course, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (40:03):
I think that's something you always have to consider because
if the city is doing it, the taxpayers are paying.

Speaker 4 (40:07):
For it too. This is the kfa B comment line,
your host of the show, Gene stoutht ending off our
Tuesday here, Gene, any closing.

Speaker 1 (40:16):
Words, No, I just want to thank you all for listening,
thanks for being here today, Join us tomorrow and we'll
be back and to answer all of your questions.