OMAHA — An Omaha entity tasked with helping revive some of the most depressed neighborhoods in Nebraska is at odds with state officials it said are refusing to release $11 million in state funds needed for programming.

The Omaha Inland Port Authority, which was authorized by state law and created by the city to promote economic development in northeast Omaha, said it may have to turn to legal action.

When Yvonne and Gregg Poole moved to a property west of Cortland over 20 years ago, they intended to give the old buildings on the land new life. They converted the chicken coop into a guest house. They transformed a grain elevator into a workshop. Once they moved on to the barn, requests started to come in to rent the space, and what started as a passion project became a small business.