OMAHA — Mayor John Ewing Jr. sees only public good coming from a proposed arrangement to put a major North Omaha city park under the management of a local philanthropic group that already has invested in Miller Park.

Former State Sen. Justin Wayne, however, took to social media to characterize the move as a “quid pro quo” that would be bad for North Omahans.

“So we’re really doing this? A $40 million check gets you your own ‘public park’ in a private trust?” wrote Wayne, a lawyer who is also running for Douglas County District Court clerk.

He continued, “Before Omaha starts auctioning off the commons, let’s talk about what actually happens when cities privatize parks — because the track record is trash.”

The back and forth sets the stage for a proposed arrangement, yet to be approved by the Omaha City Council, between the City of Omaha and Miller Park Trust. Behind the trust is the Lozier Foundation, which has been identified as the buyer of $40 million in housing bonds from the city to accelerate affordable housing development.

Ewing said he had not talked directly to Wayne as of Friday afternoon, but he pushed back on any notion that residents or taxpayers would lose. He said the city would maintain ownership of the 80-acre park and landmark three-story pavilion.

‘No Strings Attached’

He expects access and community engagement to improve under the nonprofit trust, which would pay for maintenance and programming and allow a stretched city parks department to tend to other duties.

Officials said the City of Omaha under the proposal still would manage the golf course and swimming pool.

“There are no strings attached,” Ewing told the Nebraska Examiner. “They want to be a partner with the city and help us be able to maintain our parks. It will still be a public park available for people to use. It’s not turned over to Lozier or anybody else.”

The trust arrangement, he said, is part of city efforts to improve public spaces and to retain families in the state’s most populous city.

While he wants Miller Park to be the first of more such trust arrangements under his watch, Ewing noted that a similar situation has existed for about five or so years at Lake Cunningham park, led by the Walter Scott Foundation.

The Lozier Foundation is the family foundation of Allan and Dianne Lozier, which operates independently of the longtime North Omaha-based Lozier manufacturing corporation. Allan was a graduate of Omaha Technical High School and helped grow the Lozier company.

Tre Brashear, chief operating officer, said the trust would be an extension of foundation efforts in North Omaha, which include development of tuition-free Nelson Mandela Elementary and a neighboring early childhood learning center.

Brashear said Lozier Foundation likely would hire experts from the Cunningham trust to provide initial guidance and transition to a free-standing organization with a staff.

“They get to be good partners with the City of Omaha and help us as we look at being a great city for the people of Omaha — that simple,” said Ewing, a North Omaha native.

Park Purpose Rewritten?

Wayne, known in the Legislature as a watchdog for his district, said he sees a different scenario brewing. He contended that “the same ugly pattern” turns up where such a model has been tried.

“Public access disappears. The park may still look public, but suddenly the rules change. Hours change. People get nudged out — especially the people who used it the most,” he wrote.

He told Facebook followers that maintenance drops overtime in such stewardship arrangements.

“The purpose of the park gets rewritten. It stops serving the community and starts serving development interests, investors or political branding. The neighborhood loses a civic space and gets a marketing asset instead,” he wrote.

Wayne expects “wealthy donors” to gain influence and, eventually, families to be displaced.

Jacqueline Morrison, Omaha’s senior director of economic development, expects the trust to respond more efficiently to community concerns including park lighting, bathroom and other maintenance.

She said the trust would be responsible for mowing, snow removal, picking up trash and activating the pavilion and park by organizing concerts, youth programming, yoga or other events.

Morrison characterized feedback at a “stakeholder” meeting Thursday for park users as positive. Another is scheduled for 10 a.m. Dec. 13 at Nelson Mandela Elementary, 6313 N. 30th St. Park users are asked to provide feedback via a community survey.

Morrison pointed to the The Riverfront park system as a successful public-private partnership, as well as the Cunningham Lake park, which the mayor said has seen millions of dollars in improvements under its trust arrangement.

‘Crown Jewel’

Wayne, in a follow-up interview, said Lozier has been a “great partner” for the community, but he sees the trust arrangement as putting too much control in a private entity.

He believed Lozier could provide additional funds to improve maintenance and programming without “taking over the park.”

Brashear said the trust’s separate staff, schedule and pay scale would allow it to provide intense focus on Miller Park.

He said the Lozier Foundation, in partnership with the City Parks Department and other donors, has previously helped update Miller Park with amenities such as a new fountain, splash pad, soccer wall and rebuilt pavilion.

“It is a wonderful crown jewel park … and we wanted it to be reflective of that,” he said.

Brashear sees “no economic return” to the foundation and called the trust a well-intended move to ensure park vibrancy and “more robust” programming. “We’re not getting anything back from this.”

He said that the foundation purchased bonds from the city to help boost affordable housing efforts. The bonds pay the foundation 1% interest, Brasher said, “so we didn’t do it because it was a moneymaker.”

The trust contract would be 10 years, with an option to renew, Brashear said.

“We’re doing this because it’s good for the community and neighborhood,” he said. “We’re getting the satisfaction of trying to make the place we live better.”

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/12/06/omaha-mayor-sees-public-benefit-...