One Douglas County Commissioner is giving the public a chance to offer up their thoughts on a proposed juvenile justice center in downtown Omaha.
Commissioner Jim Cavanaugh will chair the Administrative Services Committee of the Douglas County Board on Tuesday. The focus of the meeting will be about hos the new justice center will affect public safety, property taxes and what is best for the juveniles the center would serve.
Cavanaugh says Douglas County residents deserve to have their voices heard on the topic. "We need public comment about the $120 million plus Juvenile Justice Center and attached juvenile detention center proposed for downtown Omaha that would cause a significant property tax increase. It is essential that we have an open public discussion about the need, size, shape and financing of the most expensive construction proposal in Douglas County history."
The proposed location for the new justice center has caused a rift among the commissioners and the public when it was decided by the board that a historic building would be taken by eminent domain in order to build the center. Cavanaugh was the lone dissenter in the commission's eminent domain decision earlier this month.
The public hearing will be held at 1:00 Tuesday afternoon in the Jesse Lowe Conference Room on the 3rd floor of the Omaha-Douglas Civic Center located at 1819 Farnam Street.