Жители Омахи требуют сохранить парк и фонтан при сносе резервуаров на холме Вальнат

Walnut Hill residents seek voice in reservoir site redevelopment OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The Metropolitan Utilities District plans to demolish reservoir tanks at Walnut Hill that have been out of service since 2009. Neighborhood groups want to make sure the park and the fountain stay in place. MUD board members want to make sure the development process is transparent. “We want to be good stewards with this. We want the use of the property to fit with the neighborhood. At the same time, we have a duty to the ratepayers to get the best deal, but we want to combine that with the best use of the property for the neighborhood,” said Timothy Cavanaugh, MUD board member. Resident circulates petition for park Mary Minturn lives in the area. She has been circulating petitions to make sure half of the Walnut Hill development includes the fountain and a park. “MUD has been telling us all along — I mean for several years — they would keep us included in the plan, informed about their activities concerning the reservoir property, and they’ve stuck to it,” Minturn said. “It gives us hope that at least we have a fair chance of getting a parks development. That’s what we’ve been working for, to get a parks development up there,” Minturn said. Support for keeping pump station Minturn and other neighbors are also hoping that any development will include keeping the Walnut Hill pump station. Members of the board feel the same. “Is there any reason that couldn’t be exempt from the sale and we continue ownership of that? That’s a part of MUD’s history,” said Gwen Howard, MUD board chairperson. “I was kind of hoping they’d go that way, because then for sure it would be preserved,” Minturn said. Minturn and others who support a park in Walnut Hill are grateful to be included in the discussion, but there is uncertainty about what will be built when the reservoir tanks are demolished. MUD will take requests for proposals to develop the site beginning Oct. 1. “I hope they can come to a decision that they feel good about, that will benefit the neighborhoods, that the neighborhoods can embrace and support,” Minturn said. Neighborhood alliance backs park plan Minturn said there is support from the Neighborhood Alliance and the Police Athletics for Community Engagement, or PACE, to develop a park at Walnut Hill. Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.