The Lincoln City Council voted unanimously Monday to advance planning for the Waterford Trail after neighbors raised concerns about the proposed route, privacy, safety and project costs. Council members also approved engineering work for Randolph Street, applications for park improvement grants and property tax rates for the city and Lincoln Airport Authority.
The Waterford vote authorizes a contract amendment for additional public engagement and design work, rather than final approval of the trail’s route. Council Chair Brodey Weber said supporting the amendment would allow conversations with residents to continue while leaving alternatives open. “I think a vote yes does not by any means preclude the city from evaluating alternative routes, from evaluating alternative corridors,” Weber said.
Residents questioned portions of the proposed trail near homes, Shoreline Drive and private docks. Several urged the city to consider a route along 98th Street, citing concerns about trespassing, children’s safety, maintenance and the cost of building through challenging terrain.
JJ Yost, assistant director of Lincoln Parks and Recreation, said the trail corridor has been identified in city plans for years, but the alignment within that corridor has changed as engineers gathered more information. Topography, wetlands and requirements involving a dam’s emergency spillway have influenced the proposed route.
The approximately 2.9-mile project is estimated to cost $3 million, with federal funding covering 80% and a local match covering the remaining 20%. Yost said the design is about 35% complete and still requires approval from the Federal Highway Administration.
Neighborhood and landowner meetings are expected to begin this month, with feedback collected over the next several months. Council members emphasized that engagement should include affected residents as well as homeowners association representatives. “We want to make sure we hear from everybody who has a concern, whether that be a positive or a negative concern,” Yost said. “We want to hear it and address it to make the project the best it can be.”
The council also voted 7-0 to approve additional preliminary engineering for the Randolph Street rehabilitation project between Capitol Parkway and 40th Street. The work includes plans to replace an existing stormwater main with a larger pipe.
Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott said the existing infrastructure does not have enough capacity to handle heavier rainfall. Replacing the pipe, rather than adding a second one, would also preserve limited space shared by utilities beneath the street. “The stormwater infrastructure that’s currently there is not a large enough capacity to manage what we’re actually seeing with the higher rainfall,” Elliott said.
The drainage improvements will be coordinated with the street rehabilitation to avoid tearing up new pavement for utility work later. Elliott said federal funding covers 80% of the project, with the city providing the remaining 20%.
Council members unanimously authorized a grant application to replace playgrounds at Highlands, Bethany, Pentzer and Tyrrell parks. The city will seek $600,000 through the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide a matching $600,000 from its capital improvement program. Yost said the work would involve complete removal and replacement of the existing playgrounds. Accepting the federal funding would require the four park sites to remain dedicated to outdoor recreation permanently.
Weber said the proposal carried personal meaning because Highlands Park was the park he walked to as a child. He said preserving that space for future recreation stood out to him. “I just have to say, as a kid, the park I grew up walking to was the Highlands Park,” Weber said. “And it’s really meaningful that by the action we’re taking today, that will be space for public outdoor recreation in perpetuity.”
A separate unanimous vote authorized an application for federal funding toward an estimated $19 million renovation of the playground and surrounding infrastructure at Antelope Park. The proposal includes replacement of the playground, roadways and parking in that area.
The city plans to request $9.5 million in federal funding, matched by $9.5 million in local funding. The local share would combine city capital improvement funds with a Lincoln Parks Foundation fundraising campaign if the grant is awarded. Yost said the application is due Nov. 1, with a decision expected around May 2027. If selected, the city would have a year after notification to finish design plans and assemble the matching funds.
Council members also held a public hearing on an ordinance authorizing up to $39.3 million in sanitary sewer revenue bonds to help complete an expansion of the Theresa Street wastewater treatment plant. The ordinance awaits a final vote. Elliott said the expansion would increase the plant’s treatment capacity from 27 million gallons a day to 44 million gallons a day. The project includes additional treatment basins and clarifiers, along with other system improvements to accommodate Lincoln’s growth. The financing was included in the utility’s budget planning and previously approved rate increases, Elliott said. She told council members the proposed bond issue would not require additional rate changes.
In separate tax votes, the council approved the city’s 2026-27 property tax levy 6-1, with Councilman Tom Duden voting against it. The rate is $0.29679 per $100 of assessed value, or about 29.68 cents, and funds the budget adopted in August.
The council unanimously approved the Lincoln Airport Authority