Jason Blackwell for Mayor, Wahoo NE

10/21/2026

Welcome to your town. 🪄 P**f! You just woke up wearing the official Mayor-for-a-Day sash (it's a little sparkly, don't ask). 👑 Wahoo's yours till midnight. 🌙 You get ONE big move before the clock strikes twelve. What is it? Drop it in the comments 👇

I'm reading every one. ⏰

10/16/2026

Sharing here in the event my original response doesn't get approved by a moderator on the Saunders County Community Board. This version includes a few minor tweaks. Those that know me will tell you that I have a tendency to mull over things if given time. Well I revisited my earlier draft while waiting on moderator approval and voila! These modifications do not change the intent of the original response.

Well, alrighty then. Since I was tagged, figured it might help to lay out the published numbers, what’s still missing, and where the community ultimately has the final say on this topic.

The city has released a preliminary cost of $27.4 million for the new recreation center. The ½-cent sales tax generates about $504,000 a year, roughly $5 million over ten years, covering only a portion of the project. The rest is planned to come primarily from general obligation bonds repaid by a mix of that sales tax and property tax. A separate bond vote is scheduled for spring 2027, when the actual bond amount, term, interest cost, and property-tax impact should be available. Until then, claims of a $70 million total are speculation. Keep in mind the ballot proposition in 2027 would include a principal value ceiling/not-to-exceed amount.

Important questions to ask your elected officials, or for the city to proactively address might include:
- Walk through how the $27.4 million preliminary estimate for the recreation center was developed? What scope of work is included in that figure? Who prepared the estimate? What level of design it is based on, and does it include contingency, inflation, or soft costs?

For those that haven’t seen it and are interested, city pages on the project:
https://www.wahoo.ne.us/vnews/display.v/ART/691353c84582f
https://www.wahoo.ne.us/vnews/display.v/ART/6acd62c05e467

The interlocal agreement with the county is public. It creates an advisory committee and was approved in open session. Sales-tax revenue stays with the city. The August 25, 2026 minutes covering that approval are here:
https://meeting.sparqdata.com/Documents/FileViewerOrPublic/citywahoo?file=14380885

While I was digging into the interlocal agreement, a few basic questions popped up that the published materials don’t answer yet. The committee setup is standard under the state statute for this kind of sales-tax measure, but the agreement doesn’t really say what happens to the committee if the spring bond vote fails and no bonds get issued. It also doesn’t name the actual members (beyond one city seat being the mayor), list the specific design and construction benchmarks, or explain how often they’ll meet or whether those meetings will be open. Those details would go a long way toward clarifying what the committee’s day-to-day role looks like once the votes are cast.

At the October 7th Building Wahoo’s Future Open House presentation on this subject, updates to the existing Civic Center were discussed. My takeaway was a repurpose of the current site to consolidate the senior center, city hall space, and related uses, not necessarily new facilities or expansion. No cost estimates for that phase have been released. Until I have visibility into those details, I will not conjecture on the plan.

I do believe our community should have solid, well-maintained, modernized, and accessible public facilities. They are a reflection of who we are and what our community strives to be. At the same time, the scale is large enough that residents deserve the full numbers before committing. The community has two clear opportunities to have its say and your voice counted: the November sales-tax vote, and then the spring 2027 bond vote. Those are the points where the real decision gets made, not just discussed.

In the end, remember, the power rests with you, the VOTER. Get informed, ask questions, hug your loved ones, and don't forget to touch grass.

10/08/2026

Talk to your friends and family. Even if it's not for me, the most important thing you can do this November is get out and vote.

10/07/2026

I received so many questions about TIF as I was out talking to folks that my research led to the creation of https://tifne.org

Thought it might be useful for other communities to have a simplified/consolidated view into their communities TIF projects. 🤷

The city of York does an amazing job of explaining and reporting on their website. City of Wahoo has best in-class reporting by a mile.

Unofficial statewide directory of Nebraska city Tax Increment Financing (TIF) trackers. Links to Wahoo, Ogallala, Beatrice, York, and more.

10/07/2026

Folks want to know 'Where I Stand'. Here are the top three, near and dear to my heart.

Leadership & Service at City Hall
• A team with one mission. City Hall should run like a team that serves residents, with shared goals and results you can actually see.
• Better tools, not just more staff. I've spent my career in IT. Good systems let a growing town keep up without adding staff for every new rooftop, and they help residents find answers on their own.
• A real example. The city's Board of Adjustment page still lists meetings only through July 2020, plus board terms that ran out in 2025. Newer agendas are on a separate meetings site, and you have to know to look there. That's an easy fix.
• Keep good people. I'd take a fresh look at PTO, sick leave, and retirement so it's fair to employees, simpler to run, and doesn't leave the city holding big balances for built-up vacation.

Civic Engagement
• More voices, not just the usual few. It should be easy and inviting to take part in council, school board, and other decisions that shape Wahoo.
• TIF in plain English. Lots of folks bring up TIF, but few know how it works. You can't weigh in on something nobody explains, so every project should come with a short, plain summary.
• Current information. Agendas, meeting schedules, and board openings should be up to date and easy to find, so you can show up prepared.

Community Connection
• Show up and listen. Stay visible, work alongside residents, and deliver results that matter now.
• TIF has gone big. Wahoo's active TIF deals run from about $350,000 to $2.5 million each: Omaha Steel, Sid Dillon, Bomgaars, Wahoo State Bank, JEO, Kennedy Park, Wahoo Super, and Wilmer Heights Daycare. Small ones used to happen. Shawn and Missy Abbott's Hair By Design (2004) used TIF for utility work and sidewalks, about $5,400 over nine years. The last small one was the Wahoo Locker in 2014, at about $64,000.
• Make room for the little guy. In 2023 Wahoo adopted the state's "Micro TIF" fast track for fixing up older buildings, and the city reports no one has used it. I'd put it to work. Set aside part of our TIF effort for small renovations in blighted areas (say, under $50,000 to $200,000), cap what any one project can get, and let TIF cover just the water, sewer, or sidewalk piece.
• Why it matters. About 3.74% of Wahoo's value is in TIF, under the 4.68% average for Nebraska cities that use it. Downtown is full of century-old buildings, and the people fixing them up are usually local owners, not big developers.

10/03/2026

Don’t forget to head to Wahoo Vets Club for the Navy vs AF game until 2pm

10/03/2026

Yard signs are restocked at Sassafras Galleria! Pick yours up!