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Fremont officials outline long-term plan, funding stack for 1,500-acre inland port site
Summary
Fremont Municipal Inland Port Authority and the Greater Fremont Development Council updated the city on a long-term master plan for a 1,500-acre mega-site, noting $2 million in state engineering funds for Morningside Road, a $3 million federal earmark for paving and a state match program that requires local investment to unlock up to $30 million in funding.
Dave Hman, chair of the Fremont Municipal Inland Port Authority, and Megan Styles, executive director of the Greater Fremont Development Council, told the City Council the Port Authority’s 1,500-acre site east of Highway 275 is a long-term economic development project that could take a decade or more to fully develop.
The presentation said the Port Authority has obtained $2 million in state funds for engineering work on Morningside Road and cited a $3 million federal allocation earmarked to help pave that road. Styles described a state match program that can multiply local spending (spend $7.5 million locally to unlock $30 million in state match), and said the Port Authority has acquired several parcels adjacent to the Union Pacific rail line to position the site for future industrial users.
Hman and Styles highlighted completion of a Burns & McDonnell master plan that lays out capital-improvement recommendations across utilities, stormwater and road access. Styles said the Port Authority plans to issue an RFP in Q2 for rail developers who could bring private capital and operate rail spurs to serve future site users. “We’re hoping to have an RFP issued early in Q2 and see what kind of interest we get,” she said.
Council members pressed presenters about the cost and funding for rail spurs and long-term power supply. Styles said rail spur construction typically requires a user at the end of the line and that private partnerships and federal funding will likely be needed. Jeff Shanahan, Fremont’s utility general manager, and presenters agreed that electric capacity is one of the project’s principal constraints: the western portion of the site can be served more quickly by Fremont utilities, while larger users (25–50 MW) would likely require Omaha Public Power District cooperation.
The presentation emphasized the multi-decade nature of the project and the Port Authority’s role in coordinating city, county and utility planning. Council received the update unanimously and scheduled a related Broad Street traffic study session for March 10.
