Bellevue mayor details water park, streetscape, housing and job projections; says projects won’t raise residents’ taxes

Mayor (name not specified), the city’s mayor, used a public address to summarize Bellevue’s finances, public-safety trends and a slate of capital projects and economic-development plans, saying the most prominent — the Bellevue Bay water park and surrounding entertainment district — are intended to generate revenue rather than raise resident property taxes.

The mayor said the city’s audit returned an unmodified opinion and that Bellevue holds a double A-plus credit rating. He presented a per-capita spending comparison that showed Bellevue spending about $3,062 per resident, lower than nearby cities cited in the presentation. "Please support your Bellevue Chamber," the mayor said, crediting the Bellevue Chamber and partners for organizing the event.

The address emphasized public safety and the city’s emergency services. The mayor said the full-time fire department handled 6,846 calls last year — about 18 calls per day — and that crime trends were improving after leadership changes in the police department, with the mayor citing reductions in burglary (down 47 percent), auto theft (down nearly 20 percent) and robbery (down 83 percent); he also said homicides fell from an average of five per year over a five-year span to zero in the most recent year.

The mayor reviewed several public-works and infrastructure projects. He described the 30th Street/6th Street corridor project (south of Highway 370 to Platteview Road) as an approximately $8.8 million reconstruction that widened sections of the roadway. The Mission Avenue streetscape and utilities project in Old Town was described as a roughly $12 million effort to replace century-old sewer lines, raise intersections, add diagonal parking and improve pedestrian features, with construction expected to start in June and target completion in fall 2026. The Whitted Creek improvement project near Stonecroft Park was described as a $3.5 million residential-area investment to stabilize the creek corridor and improve its appearance.

The city has contracted for automated street-scanning technology to map pavement damage, sign issues and storm-drain problems, the mayor said. The mayor also noted the Bellevue Public Library is open and that the former library building will be repurposed as a food pantry over the next three years.

On housing, the mayor said there are about 1,200 lots currently available for building. He described the Lakewood West development at 50th and Highway 370 as planned to include about 300 single-family homes, about 500 apartment units and roughly 6 acres of commercial lots. He also mentioned other residential and mixed-use projects at Cornhusker Creek and the northwest corner of 30th and Cornhusker.

Parks and recreation items cited included upgrades to Hayworth Park and new, lighted pickleball courts planned for Everett Park. The Bellevue Farmers Market was announced to start May 31 and the Bellevue Rocks festival was described as a large community event expected to draw roughly 30,000 attendees across its run.

The mayor devoted substantial time to the entertainment district and economic-development projects around the Highway 34/75 interchange. He said the Bellevue Bay water park project has had roughly $40 million committed so far and described its planned financial model: projected annual revenue of about $4.7 million against annual debt service of about $2.6 million, producing an estimated net gain of about $2.0 million per year. The mayor said sales-tax revenues, the hotel-occupancy tax and property-tax increments tied to the project are expected revenue sources; his summary included line items the presentation listed: roughly $812,000 in 1.5 percent sales-tax revenue to the city, $1.5 million to the Good Life District, $984,000 in hotel-occupancy tax and $216,000 in property-tax revenue (figures presented by the mayor were rounded as in his remarks). "That is meant to offset our residents’ property taxes, not cost our residents any more money," the mayor said.

He described additional economic concepts on the east side of Highway 34, referencing the REACH project and an area the mayor called "the farm" (Prairie Hills Farm) that is planned as a live-work-play employment center tied to national defense-related work. The mayor said one specific REACH concept building could be 150,000–200,000 square feet and that projections tied to these developments included short- and long-term job estimates: about 2,957 construction-related jobs expected in the next four years and roughly 5,000 jobs over a longer 22-year horizon. Other figures presented for construction-phase economic impacts included local receipts of about $31 million to 2029 and a broader $90 million total impact; the mayor also cited aggregate state and local sales-tax gains and local property-tax base increases as benefits in his presentation.

The mayor acknowledged dependencies and risks. He said federal funding, tariffs and pending or changing state law language had created uncertainty that could affect project timelines and costs. He pointed to the Bellevue Bay groundbreaking on March 20 and said the park’s opening target had shifted from late 2026 toward 2027 due to those uncertainties.

The address closed with community-engagement notes: the mayor highlighted recurring events (Farmers Market, Veterans Day parade) and encouraged residents to consult the city’s annual report, website (Bellevue.net) and social media for updates. He also invited residents to volunteer with city organizations and mentioned ongoing partnerships with Offutt Air Force Base and local schools.

Because the mayor’s remarks were a speech and no formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript, there were no formal council actions or ordinances arising directly from this address.