OMAHA- Concerns about proposed costs led the Douglas County Board to postpone a vote on Tuesday which would allow the city to take a major step toward building new mental health facilities near the Douglas County Jail, which resided in downtown Omaha. The Board was just minutes away from moving the resolution forward before being postponement. The new facilities are expected to cost a combined $60 million.

The resolution, which was put forward by Board Chair Mary Ann Borgeson, called for the launching of capital improvement projects that would lead to two new downtown structures. Much of the construction cost would come from federal pandemic recovery and relief funding, as well as around $8 million from the CARES Act. After a debate and public hearing on the proposal, the Board seemed poised to approve the resolution, but Board Member P.J. Morgan moved to table it.

In the end, the Board voted 4-3 on the resolution, with Jim Cavanaugh, Mike Friend, and Maureen Boyle joining Morgan in voting to postpone the resolution. "I really want to be careful about the expenses," said Morgan of his vote. Morgan stated that he was also concerned that the community mental health portion of the project would be too expensive. Similarly, Morgan recommended that the Board wait to see how state legislation might affect opportunities to collaborate with the state for funding.

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