Edmond City Council Meeting – April 27, 2026
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Edmond City Council Meeting – April 27, 2026
The Edmond City Council met in regular session on April 27, 2026, and also convened the Edmond Public Works Authority (PWA). The council recognized National Travel and Tourism Week, heard citizen comments, approved most public hearing items, and took action on multiple consent items. A controversial rezoning at Covell and Bryant was effectively denied when the motion to approve failed 1–4.
Proclamation
- Mayor Mark Nash proclaimed May 3–9, 2026, as National Travel and Tourism Week in Edmond. Tourism Director Jennifer Thornton noted that tourism generated $200 million for the local economy and 20% of total spending in 2025, with 6.6 million visitors. Chris Barry, vice chair of the tourism board, spoke in support of the city's tourism efforts.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Taylor Wilson (748 Dune Circle) praised the tourism board, expressed support for an RTA fact-finding trip to study larger cities, and asked for more transparency about RTA costs and economic modeling. He also encouraged council members to view a 60 Minutes segment on local government.
Consent Calendar
- Appointments: Approved 5–0.
- City Council general consent items (15 items): Approved 5–0, except items K and M were pulled for individual consideration.
- PWA general consent items (9 items): Approved 5–0.
Public Hearings
- 5A – Grove at Coffee Creek Preliminary Plat: 16.7 acres, 15 residential lots, private street. Approved 5–0.
- 5B – Take 5 Oil Change Final Plat: 1.2 acres, two lots; variance to reduce right-of-way dedication from 90 to 70 feet plus a 20-foot utility easement. Variance approved 5–0; final plat approved 5–0.
- 5C – Danforth Road Rezoning (GA to R1): 4.3 acres at 11212 E Danforth Rd. Approved 5–0.
- 5D – Stables at Hallmark PUD: Continued to May 11, 2026, at the request of the developer. Approved 5–0.
- 5E – Covell & Bryant PUD (Hutchison Development): Motion to approve failed 1–4, denying the rezoning. Multiple residents spoke against the project, citing high density, traffic, infrastructure strain, and lack of meaningful prior outreach. The applicant and developer argued the project provided needed housing and infrastructure. Council members criticized the developer's outreach efforts.
Discussion Items
- Travel Policy: Council discussed an amended travel and expense policy but took no action; staff will revise and return it to a future agenda.
- Fire Vehicle Maintenance Building Funding: Council agreed to transfer funds from the fleet fund to the fire fund on July 1, 2026, as part of the FY26-27 budget, rather than drawing down fire reserves now.
- ISO Ratings (BCEGS/PPC): Christopher Miller of Verisk presented Edmond's Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (5 residential, 4 commercial) and Public Protection Classification (score 93.2, class 1). No action was taken.
- FY25 Audit and Performator: Auditor Andy Cromer presented the annual comprehensive financial report, noting no material weaknesses. Frank Crawford presented the city's financial health "Performator" overall score of 6.7 (down from prior years), with a financial position score of 4.4, performance score of 8.2, and capability score of 7.6. The general fund unassigned fund balance is approximately $1.9 million (2.4%). Council discussed building reserves.
- FY26-27 CIP Budgets: Brad Murray presented the proposed budgets for the 2000 and 2017 Capital Improvement sales taxes. Council approved them 5–0.
- Citywide FY26-27 Budget: Finance Director Kathy Panis presented the proposed $485.3 million budget, up 17.5% from FY26. The council discussed phasing in new finance positions and a future CityLink financial workshop. No action was taken.
Key Outcomes
- Approved all consent items and public hearing items except the Covell & Bryant PUD, which was denied (1–4).
- Approved the Cisco Security Choice renewal ($73,066 annually) with a requested confidential staff overview.
- Approved the Kicking Bird Pickleball Court structural repair change order ($28,009.65).
- Approved the Downtown ADA sidewalk/signal project change order ($121,395.51).
- Approved the Cisco Flex plan renewal with Chickasaw Telecom ($67,140.24), with Councilman Moore recused; vote was 4–0.
- Approved the PWA sole-source waiver and purchase of Landis+GWR products ($400,000), and the corresponding city council items.
- Accepted the FY25 ACFR and Single Audit.
- Approved the FY26-27 CIP budgets.
- The next budget public hearing is set for May 26, 2026, with adoption on June 9, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. We're going to start off tonight with item number two. We have one presentation, a presentation of a proclamation recognizing May 3rd through the 9th, 2026 is National Travel and Tourism Week in the City of Edmond. And I'm not seeing that video, Jennifer. Did you just want to come up? Here we go. All right. Whereas travel and tourism is Oklahoma's third largest industry and provides significant economic and entertainment benefits to citizens and residents. And whereas Edmonds 13 hotels, one bed and breakfast, and 150 vacation homes collect 6% lodging tax and welcome guests year round. And whereas visitors generated an estimated 20% of total spending in Edmund in 2025, and sales and lodging tax revenue helps make Edmund a safe and fun place to visit. And whereas Edmund welcomed an estimated 6.6 million visitors in 2025, and they contributed approximately 200 million dollars to the local economy. Therefore, I, Mark A. Nash, Mayor, do hereby proclaim May 3rd through the 6th, 2026 as National Travel and Tourism Month in the City of Edmond. Good evening. I'm Jennifer Thornton, Tourism Director, and I've got some very special people behind me today because tourism is the best way to enjoy your local community. So behind me, you'll see sports facilities and tourism directors and city council member and owner of restaurants, and so together we all get to welcome visitors year-round. You might be surprised that we have 47 miles of trails in Edmund. Of course, Arcady Lake is the best lake for all of the enjoyment year-round in Edmond. Also more than 300 public art around the whole community. That's sculptures and murals and a whole bunch of different things that our visitors get to enjoy. So I do want to introduce Chris Barry. He's our vice chair of our tourism board. Jennifer said, my name is Chris Barry. I'm the vice chair for the tourism board of the volunteer Edmund resident, and just appreciative of everything that Edmund does to help support tourism. We know as you heard in uh the introduction, tourism brings in 20% of that sales tax revenue. The incredible facilities that we have online currently, and those will be coming online in the next year. Really excited to see what that impact does and how much higher the tourism dollars are at the Impact Edmund and helps create that quality of life that we all love. I think we're done. Thank you very much. Okay, I'm taking a recommendation. I promise we'll start that over for you, Taylor. Well, I don't know, maybe we won. Moving on to item three, citizens' comments. We have one person speaking tonight, Taylor Wilson. If you please come forward, be sure to introduce yourself and your address. And I remind you to address all your comments to the mayor. You have three minutes. Three minutes. Three minutes. We'll add, okay. So if he doesn't start it over again, we'll add 15 seconds there. That sounds good. I usually don't go that long. I appreciate it. Taylor Wilson, 748 Dune Circle. It's uh it's on here. There we go. Is that better? There you go. Um just a couple things.
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