Omaha council hears sharp opposition and staff defense of no‑bid CMAR amendment for $565M Papillion Creek expansion

The Omaha City Council spent a large portion of its Feb. 27 meeting on a public hearing and extended questioning over the Papillion Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility second‑phase expansion and a proposed amendment to the city's construction manager‑at‑risk (CMAR) contract with McCarthy Building Companies.

Public Works Division Manager Jim Tyler told the council the multi‑year project is large and urgent: the city's capital improvement plan lists about $565,000,000 for the program, including a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for construction in the range discussed with McCarthy and a separate $88,000,000 proprietary equipment procurement the council was asked to approve. Tyler said the work responds to stricter state ammonia and nutrient permit requirements, replaces infrastructure from the 1970s and is sized to meet growth through about 2050.

The hearing produced sharp criticism from taxpayers and local contractors who said the city's amendment to the CMAR agreement effectively removes a bidding safeguard in the original contract and may have allowed the contractor to avoid competitive solicitation for large portions of the work. Jim Veil of the Platt Institute told the council approving the amendment…