Omaha City Council

[Coyote]

5 finalists interview Thursday to replace Vinny Palermo on Omaha City Council



Interviews wrapped up Thursday morning to see who will take Vinny Palermo's spot on the Omaha City Council.

[JDJase]

The City Council has selected MCC board member Ron Hug to replace Vinny Palermo.

[Coyote]

The City Council has selected MCC board member Ron Hug to replace Vinny Palermo.

Omaha City Council votes to elect Ron Hug as the new council member, replacing Vinny Palermo

The Omaha City Council voted Tuesday to elect Ron Hug as the new council member. Hug will represent District 4, replacing former city councilman Vinny Palermo, who is in jail. Councilmembers were not able to reach a majority on their first two votes before electing Hug. Hug is currently a member of the Metropolitan Community College Board of Governors and has served on the board since 1999. "It's where my parents grew up. It's where I live today. It's who I am. I mean, I am South Omaha. It's as much a part of me as anything else," Hug said during his interview on Sept. 7. A retired machinist, he was the first person to receive a GED from Metropolitan Community College — when it was Metropolitan Technical Community College in 1974. Hug is expected to be sworn in during Sept. 26's city council meeting.

[Garrett]

Interesting. I was almost expecting them to appoint a caretaker a la Gernandt until the next election.

[Renovator2559]

This works well, we need someone that has experience and needs to get up to speed quickly for the remaining of the term.

[Coyote]

Ron Hug to take District 4 spot on Omaha City Council



The Omaha City Council voted on the replacement for the vacant District Four seat on Tuesday afternoon. The council decided on Ron Hug after three rounds of votes.

[nativeomahan]

They had some quality people apply. Their choice sounds like one of them. He sounded quite humbled in a TV interview he gave post election. That’s a good sign.

[Coyote]

South Omaha activists pushing for Latino representation on city council



Latino activists are disappointed in the Omaha City Council's selection for the District 4 seat, which covers south Omaha.

[Coyote]

Omaha City Council swears in Ron Hug

[Renovator2559]

Qualifications and competency (meritocracy) is not a bad metric to go by. Whether brown, black, white; as long as the candidate offers the qualifications to the position, that is mainly what matters. The 3 republican city council members even voted for Terri Blackburn, a black woman because she worked with Jean Stotthert's office; though eventually Ron Hug got the majority, as he offered more than Eric Servellon.
Maybe the Latinos will be more active next time and be more vocal on the rolls next time, if they want to be better represented.

[nativeomahan]

Ron Hug will have a year and a half to demonstrate how well he legislates and represents the citizens of District 4 and the city as a whole. If he does a good job, and presuming he runs for election in 2025, he will probably still face opposition from others within District 4. That’s how it is supposed to work.
I understand the frustration within the Latino community. But the bottom line is whether their new councilman will listen to all elements of his district, and represent their interests with fairness and understanding. The color of his skin or whether he is bilingual is really of secondary importance.

[Coyote]

City councilmembers to vote on pay raises for themselves and mayor, following city charter



Omaha city councilmembers are set to vote on salary increases for future officials and mayor, drawing mixed reactions in a public hearing this week. The Omaha city charter puts council members in charge of setting their own position's salaries, along with the mayor, for future officials elected by Omaha. Former city council candidate Sara Kohen took to social media Friday, who said the money should be spent elsewhere this time around.

[Brad]

Omaha mayor excuses staff from meetings with Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, citing hostile behavior

https://www.wowt.com/2024/02/13/omaha-m ... a-johnson/

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The last few Omaha City Council meetings have been odd, to say the least.

Mayor Jean Stothert says Councilwoman Juanita Johnson has raised the level of hostility to city staff. Stothert writes that she needs to protect them from the councilwoman’s abusive treatment.

[Louie]

Omaha mayor excuses staff from meetings with Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, citing hostile behavior

https://www.wowt.com/2024/02/13/omaha-m ... a-johnson/

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The last few Omaha City Council meetings have been odd, to say the least.

Mayor Jean Stothert says Councilwoman Juanita Johnson has raised the level of hostility to city staff. Stothert writes that she needs to protect them from the councilwoman’s abusive treatment.

Having no other evidence but the video between Fanslau and Johnson...Johnson looked like she was being unnecessarily harsh for a city council meeting.

[Coyote]

Omaha mayor excuses staff from meetings with Councilwoman Juanita Johnson, citing hostile behavior

'I'm baffled': Omaha councilmember called out by mayor for hostility at city hall

[nebport5]

City Council expected to consider proposal Tuesday that would allow hotels to use tax revenue for upfront costs

City officials are proposing a new program they say would help Omaha compete with other cities and attract more upper-scale hotels to the metro area.

The Hotel Occupation Tax Reinvestment Program would allow hotels to use their own hotel-tax revenue to pay for upfront costs such as buying land, building parking or extending utilities to build or renovate other hotels.

[Garrett]

Iiiiiinteresting given all of the potential downtown hotel projects

[Louie]

Iiiiiinteresting given all of the potential downtown hotel projects

Kind of odd that the upfront costs they listed don't include building the friggin hotel.

[Garrett]

More info from Grow Omaha

City of Omaha Considers Incentive to Attract Upscale Hotel

According to the ordinance, a qualifying hotel project must meet several parameters. Foremost, the hotel must be new to market and be considered an upper-upscale hotel. The City defines “upper-upscale” as a hotel that meets a Four Diamond rating or better under the AAA hotel rating scale.

The hotel must also be located within half a mile of a city-owned cultural or entertainment facility, including museums, sports facilities, conventions center or other publicly owned assets that directly impact local tourism. Additionally, such a hotel project must provide a substantial benefit to a city-owned tourism attraction through redevelopment, activation or improvements of said attraction.

For reference, in the 2025 AAA list of Four Diamond hotels, Nebraska has two, both in Omaha: the Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel in the Blackstone District and The Farnam Autograph Collection at 14th & Farnam downtown.

[almighty_tuna]

Wasn't the Hilton once a four diamond hotel when it was built? Would hate to have another turd of a hotel design.

[skinzfan23]

Wasn't the Hilton once a four diamond hotel when it was built? Would hate to have another turd of a hotel design.

I thought the Hilton was 4 diamond too.

[Garrett]

Wasn't the Hilton once a four diamond hotel when it was built? Would hate to have another turd of a hotel design.

This is what a person on reddit said about 4 Diamond certification:

Hotel GM here with 25+ years in the industry, including luxury brands/resorts/urban hotels in multiple cities across the country. The general public should stop thinking AAA ratings mean much. They use ZERO customer service in their calculations, based entirely on amenities….i’ve completed those AAA walks yearly for 12-13 years now…a significant number do it to be listed on their site only. Local example, the Hilton had a better rating than Capitol District next door…Capitol District was new and won Marriott’s Hotel of the year for 2019 (based on financials, customer service, et all) while the Hilton hadn’t had a renovation in a decade. Nearly worthless rating system, you’re better off using TripAdvisor, it’ll be much closer to your experience when you arrive.

CD, Farnam, and Cottonwood are the best IMO in the state. If you head to Lincoln, my experience is the CY/RI Haymarket has the best location/customer service. Avoid the Scarlett, worst location, customer service, et all I’ve experienced in the city.

[almighty_tuna]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was getting at, Garrett. The Hilton was rated 4 diamond and it's....lackluster, shall we say. Would hate to see the city rely on the same benchmark that got us the amazing wall of north downtown.

[ita]

Yeah, that's kinda what I was getting at, Garrett. The Hilton was rated 4 diamond and it's....lackluster, shall we say. Would hate to see the city rely on the same benchmark that got us the amazing wall of north downtown.

I think the leadership we have will avoid something like that again. I don't think a skyscraper or anything is guaranteed, but I am hoping between the City, the urban design board, and developers, something like the wrong-way Hilton will not be repeated.