Omaha council adopts 20-year parks and recreation master plan, flags roughly $5 million annual maintenance gap

The Omaha City Council on Sept. 30, 2025, approved a 20-year Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Master Plan that lays out priorities for maintenance, trail connectivity and expanded programming across roughly 200 parks in the city.

Dan Seder of the Parks and Recreation Department told the council the plan is “a vision for the next 20 years for our department,” and said the department will incorporate the plan into the citywide We Make Omaha comprehensive plan update. Teresa Jackson, the project manager from consulting firm Barry Dunn, presented findings from the 14-month planning process and community engagement effort.

The plan, developed by Barry Dunn with local partner Vireo LLC, compiles a park inventory, program assessment and a trail-connectivity study and sets five priority areas: build organizational capacity, secure sustainable funding, expand access to underserved areas, care for existing assets, and expand recreation participation. Jackson said the team’s…