A Special Thank You to Councilperson Aimee Melton

The Rambleridge Property Owners Association would like to extend our sincere thanks to Councilperson Aimee Melton for recommending a $40,000 revision to the 2027 City Budget to fund a feasibility assessment of the Ramble Ridge Ponds. Her recommendation was approved unanimously, 7–0, by the Omaha City Council on August 25, 2026, as part of the Mayor’s 2027 budget.

Item #11 – Resolution to approve a revision to the 2027 budget to increase the general fund
in community service programs by 10,000 for NE Lawyers Foundation Douglas County Self
Help legal center and in Parks by $40,000 for Ramble Ridge subdivision feasibility study
“I just wanted to be clear, a lot of times people see studies and then they go; are we going to
be wasting our time on another study. What I wanted to let everyone know, there are two
ponds in the Ramble Ridge park common area and at this point in time, they are decades
old and they are not refilling on their own. They used to fill on their own, because there is a
natural spring that ran underneath them. That has stopped and has caused significant
algae problems. All the solutions that they have attempted to solve the algae problems
have not worked so what we need to do right now is the study.

This is not just a study – it’s special engineers that are going to go in and let Parks know
whether or not these ponds can be dredged and if they are dredged, is the natural spring
underneath just clogged or has it dried up. Because if the natural springs basically has
dried up, then it may be that we have no choice we are just going to have to fill the pond and
make it green space. If we find out that it is actually just clogged, then we can dredge the
pond.

Now, dredging the pond could be close to $1,000,000. So, what we’d like to do if it’s going
to be possible, is go out and maybe try to find donors. Well, I can’t ask a donor to spend a
million dollars to dredge ponds, if we don’t know it’s going to be refilled. So, this study is
something that has been on the books for Parks and all I’m doing is making sure it happens
in 2027 so we can get that data. Basically that we need to determine what to do with these
two ponds in this neighborhood.

And by the way if we have to fill the pond, there comes other issues - because then it’s how
do we save the turtles, because there are lots of awesome turtles and other wildlife in there,

so if we go to fill these ponds, we could be sacrificing some wildlife too, so I’m hoping this
study will help us determine what can be done with the ponds and hopefully we will be able
to save the turtles.” – Aimee Melton, Councilperson

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