Good evening and welcome to the City Council, Norman Utilities Authority, Norman Municipal Authority, and Norman Tax Increment Finance Authority meeting of September 9th, 2025.

Madam Clerk, will you call the roll?

Councilmember Gandisbury?

Here.

Councilmember Montoya.

Present.

Councilmember Grant.

Present.

Councilmember Belogett?

Here.

Present.

Mayor Holman.

Here.

All right, please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

I entertain a motion to accept or reject the nomination from the Ward Five Candidate Selection Committee.

The motion on the floor is to accept the nomination.

Council members, you may cast your votes.

All right, item number two is administering the oath of office to and seating of council member elect Brandon No Fire, Ward 5.

And we have recognized recognize Judge Nichols, who will conduct the oath of office.

Repeat after me.

And I will support obedient Constitution of the United States.

The Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma.

And the Constitution of the State of Oklahoma.

And then I will not knowingly receive.

And that I will not know it receive, directly or indirectly.

Directly or you learned any money or other valuable thing.

Any money or other valuable things, whether performance or non-performance.

Performance or non-performance of any act or duty pertaining to my office.

Other act would you be pertaining to my office other than the compensation allowed by the law?

Other than the compensation allowed by law.

I further swear.

I further swear.

I will faithfully discharge my duties.

And I will faithfully discharge my duties.

As council member to the best of my ability.

As council member to the best of my abilities.

Thank you.

And I want to take a moment and just express my appreciation and thankfulness for the members of the Ward 5 selection committee.

I really appreciate you all accepting the challenge and being very thorough with your interviewing and consideration for the candidates.

And I just really appreciate that.

And on behalf of the City of Norman, I just want to extend that thanks to all of you.

And thank you for showing up, those of you that could here tonight to support your decision.

And so thank you very much for that.

Item number three is a resolution extending appreciation to Michael Nash for serving as Ward 5 Councilmember in Norman, Oklahoma.

I entertain a motion to adopt or reject the resolution.

Motion to adopt.

Second.

The motion on the floor is to adopt the resolution.

Council members, you may cast your votes.

Okay.

And where individuals who choose to run for municipal office do so out of a deep commitment to their community and bring with them a diverse set of values, talents, and perspectives.

And whereas those elected to office accept the important responsibility of setting public policy and confronting complex issues for the betterment of their community.

And whereas public service requires significant dedication, often in addition to personal and professional obligations, and demands a thoughtful and informed approach to governance.

And whereas Michael Nash answered the call to public service once again and served as Ward 5 Councilmember from July 11th, 2023 to August 12th, 2025.

And whereas his tenure, though brief, Councilmember Nash demonstrated a commendable commitment to his constituents, placing a strong emphasis on communication, transparency, and advocacy.

His diligence is thoroughly, his diligence in thoroughly reviewing council materials and contributing to informed decision making is worthy of recognition and appreciation.

Now therefore it be resolved by the Council of the City of Norman, Oklahoma, that the City Council on behalf of the citizens of Norman formally extend its gratitude and appreciation to Michael Nash for his service to the community as Ward 5 Councilmember and offers best wishes for continued success in all future endeavors.

Passed and adopted this ninth day, September 2025.

And I will recognize Michael Nash to accept this resolution and a plaque.

All right, be sure to stand new to your pets, Ward 5, and don't forget to flip your nameplate up.

It doesn't have any.

I've got a sharp one.

I had to wait here in on the next time.

Okay.

All right, proclamations.

Items number four and five will be voted on in one motion, unless there is an objection from council.

Item number four is a proclamation proclaiming the week of September 17th through 23rd through 23rd, 2025 as Constitution Week in the City of Norman.

I'll entertain a motion to acknowledge receipt of the proclamations.

Motion to receive proclamations.

The motion on the floor is to acknowledge receipt of the proclamations.

Council members, you may cast your vote.

I'll vote the motion passes unanimously.

Easier for you than turning this thing around.

Okay.

Constitution Week is the first one.

Okay, a proclamation of the mayor of the City of Norman, Oklahoma, proclaiming the week of September 17th to September 23rd, 2025 as Constitution Week in the City of Norman.

Whereas September 17, 2025 marks the 238th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America by delegates to the Constitutional Convention.

And whereas the United States Constitution, created in 1787 with 4,543 words, including signatures, is both the shortest and oldest written constitution in use by any major government, and is for the United States the living legal document guaranteeing fundamental rights and freedom to its people.

And whereas Constitution Week was established by President Eisenhower in 1956 at the request of National Society Daughters, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and later adopted by the United States Congress to be celebrated annually during the week of September 17th through 23rd.

And whereas the purpose of Constitution Week are to raise awareness about the Constitution and its importance in shaping American society.

Encourage citizens to participate in the democratic process and understand their rights and responsibilities, and honor the principles of liberty, justice, and equality enshrined in the Constitution.

Now, therefore, I, mayor of the city of Norman, Oklahoma, do hereby proclaim the week of September 17th through 23rd, 2025 as Constitution Week in the City of Norman, and urge all citizens to study the Constitution and reflect on the privileges of being an American.

Consider the responsibility that those pro those privileges involve, and ask our citizens to reaffirm those ideals that the framers of the United States Constitution espoused in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, remembering that lost rights may never be regained.

Passed and approved this ninth day of September, 2025.

And I would recognize Miss Jane Harris, Regent Black Beaver Chapter, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, to join me here at the podium to accept this proclamation.

Oh no.

She's not fine.

She's a region wasn't Kathy Not a lot.

Okay.

Yeah, right here if you'd like.

And one of the things that we're going to do.

Jane Harris, our regent was unable to attend tonight, but she had a uh a message, and she wanted to say that the Black Beaver chapter of the NSDAR was established here in Norman 11 uh 111 years ago and has also celebrated Constitution Week for the last 70 years.

We wanted to give special thanks to Sunnu Fashion Mall this year.

Our chapter has been able to expand our observance of Constitution Week by setting up a Constitution Week window display at the mall.

We encourage everyone to visit the display during the month of September to learn more about this important document and celebrate the freedoms it gives us.

Thank you for helping us celebrate our founding document and by recognizing the importance of our Constitution with this proclamation.

So thank thank you.

And it may be an official week, but I would absolutely encourage everybody to spend all year long being familiar with the United States Constitution and what it means.

Next, I would ask Sandy or Arreritz to join me here at the podium, multicultural officer at the Oklahoma Historical Society.

If you'd like to join me here, if you'd like a proclamation of the mayor of the City of Norman, Oklahoma, proclaiming September 15, 2025 through October 15, 2025, as Hispanic Heritage Month in the City of Norman.

Whereas Hispanic Heritage Week started in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan to cover a 30-day period from September 15th through October 15th in 1988.

And whereas Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua celebrate the anniversary of their independence on September 15th, and Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and September 18th, respectively.

And Dia de la Raza on October 12th, and whereas the 2025 Hispanic Heritage Month national theme, collective heritage, honoring the past, inspiring the future, is an opportunity to recognize and learn about the history, journeys, and achievements of Hispanic and Latin American communities while spotlighting the unique voices of those who continue to pioneer change and shape the future.

And whereas Norman is home to people whose ancestry represents hundreds of nations, including Mexico, Spain, and the Spanish-speaking countries of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

And whereas Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to celebrate the array of distinct and vibrant cultures that throughout the history of Norman, the state of Oklahoma, and our country have contributed to the to our prosperity and culture while energy energizing our diversity.

Now, therefore, I, mayor of the City of Norman, Oklahoma, do hereby proclaim September 15th through October 15th, 2025 as Hispanic Heritage Month in the City of Norman, and invite all Norman citizens to join me in celebrating Hispanic culture, traditions, and achievements in our community while continuing to work towards a more inclusive community.

Passed and approved this ninth day of September, 2025.

Ann, if you'd like to say a few words.

And here in this room alone, we have press and Hispanic community leaders from the Latinas Women in Norman, business owners, professionals, public servants, students, artists, historian, myself, and we the people of Norman.

I am glad to be here.

Thank you, and may we continue to work together for the betterment of Norman.

Thank you.

Okay, the next item on the agenda is council announcements, and we'll start at ward one.

Uh thank you.

Um just a couple of uh congratulations and thanks that I want to send out.

First and foremost, one reiterate about the committee, also about our new councilman that's been selected and everything.

Really look forward to the work that you're going to be able to do with us to be able to serve Norman better.

I also want to send a big thank you to somebody that I've worked with for many years in our community that has decided to step away and go pursue her own passion out of our state and everything, and that's April with food and shelter.

I just want April to know that the community really does appreciate all the hard work that she's tried to do and all the things that she's accomplished to help those in our community that sometimes can't help themselves.

And it's definitely been a blessing on those that she has touched and that she has served and everything.

Uh, last thank you is to Rachel Wyatt Swanson.

I've worked with her personally in the community on several different projects, and very, very glad that you're going to receive her on the Human Rights Commission.

She is a very, very hard worker, but also somebody that truly cares for our citizens and all citizens of our great city that we serve and everything.

So she's gonna make a great contact with there.

I don't usually write things down, but I have something that I wrote down that I also want to say, especially with the month and what tomorrow is and represents and everything like that.

Also, just like to say that this month is Suicide Prevention Month.

Tomorrow, especially September 10th is Suicide Prevention Day.

We need to help in the stigma for people that get help.

We need to stand together as a community to bring strength, dignity, hope, and purpose.

Together, we can change the narrative on suicide.

So anybody that's listening to this, anybody in the audience that has anybody in your life that you feel is having these thoughts, please reach out to the 988 number and the hotlines, please.

Okay.

We lose too many people to this disease that can be preventable.

Thank you.

Ward two.

Thank you.

Uh welcome to the team, Councilmember Nofire.

Ward three.

Thank you, Mayor Holman.

Well, good evening, Ward 3 in Norman, Oklahoma.

I don't have any announcements tonight, but welcome aboard, Councilmember Nofire.

Ward four.

Good evening, uh, Ward 4 and City of Norman.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month, and congratulations to Councilmember Nofire on his Ward 5 appointment.

I look forward to working on Norman's Needs Collaboratively with you.

Um here's a quick list of events happening in Ward 4 over the next two weeks.

This Friday, September 12th, 6 to 9 p.m., we have another art walk.

Um and if that wasn't enough fun, Saturday on uh September 13th from 6 to 10 p.m.

in the Miller Historic District, we will have Porch Fest.

You can go online and find the event on their Facebook and you will find where the Porter parties are.

There's 11 porches with a lineup of bands.

There will be barricades listed.

Um if you can walk into the neighborhood, if you live in First Courthouse, original town site, old silk stocking, or somewhere close by.

Consider walking and not parking.

And if you do park, four tires on the pavement, not in the grass.

Um, and if you want if you're wondering about hosting your own porch fest, this is not something exclusive to the Miller Historic District.

It's something that started nationally in Ithaca, New York in 2007.

And they actually have a website because I would love to see more Porch Fests all over Norman.

Um, Porchfest.org, want to start a porch fest that will tell you how to get one done.

On Saturday, September 20th, from 9:30 to 11, there will be another Ward 4 quarterly meeting and the development center, which is 225 North Webster.

We will go over finalized retreat priorities, development 101, which will include some info about a company called Inc.

Dev, an initiative brought to Council Retreat by Councilmember Peacock and discussed in last week's Baca.

If you're interested, I recommend watching that committee meeting.

There will be a hard stop at 10:55 a.m.

Because falling on the heels of our quarterly ward meeting is Norman's first Ink the Block party, also happening September 20th from 2 to 8 p.m.

in the parking lot behind Oscillator Press, the garage, and Opolis.

Um this event is free, it's family friendly.

Uh it's a street festival honoring creativity in all its forms.

Uncanny Art House will set up live mural painting stations throughout the parking lot with some stations available for crowd participation.

OSC Press will host Arts Market and Festival features.

The highlight of it will be large-scale wood block printing.

Imagine a big wood block, and somebody's gonna ink it up and put paper on it and then run it over with the steamroller.

And that is made possible by Silver Star Construction and Firehouse Art Center.

The Pioneer Library System will join the fun with a makerspace pop-up, including laser cutters and other interactive art fabrication activities.

Katie Duffy of the OU Art and Technology and Culture will lead their class in creating a giant art inflatable for the event as well.

So I hope to see you all out and about in the next couple weeks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ward five.

I would just like to say thank you to everybody that believed in me enough to peer pressure me into applying for this job.

And I would like to thank the committee specifically for taking the time to do all this and to for selecting me, obviously.

And then most of all, I would like to thank my wife who couldn't be here tonight due to work duties.

But I would like to thank her for not divorcing me because she learned about this from a news article.

I just want to welcome Councilmember No Fire and also say that I did not publish that news article.

So no more news.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council or Ward 7.

Uh, I just would like to also say uh welcome to uh Councilmember No Fire.

And I just wanted to say um I really appreciate everyone's grace and patience with all the construction around town.

Um and I know that affects Ward 7 residents, so I just uh I just felt like I should mention it.

Ward 8.

Uh thanks, sir.

Um also want to bring up uh congratulations to Rachel Wyatt Swanson, uh Ward 8 resident.

I nominated her to the Human Rights Commission.

Um so now there are two Ward 8 residents on the Human Rights Commission that uh we have approved.

Um and everything Councilmember Ginsbury said about her is spot on.

Um attended Crosstown Clash uh over in Ward 8 uh a few days ago.

Uh the brand new Norman North Stadium.

Uh it's beautiful.

Uh it's wonderful for the kids at North.

It's not just the football players, it's the kids in band, uh cheer and palm, um, all of that.

They all now have their own stadium.

Um, so that's wonderful, and just a big thanks to the 70% of the uh Norman voters that approve that.

And that's it for Ward 8.

Thank you.

Um just a few things.

Um Crosstown Clash.

I was also there, and just it was a really wonderful time.

It was a great way to kick off a really exciting and fun weekend, at least for me anyway, and with OU and the game on Saturday, but kicking it off Friday night with high school football and in a brand new stadium.

And um it turned out really well, and I really uh appreciate the voters of Norman for approving that school bond.

Um, but also appreciate uh MPS and the faculty and staff and uh allowing me to have a sideline pass so I could uh take turns going sideline to sideline and supporting both teams.

I wore my blue neutral MPS colors instead of uh orange and black or silver and black, even though I am in Norman High Grad, as many of you know.

Um but over the years I've become a fan of uh of both teams and a hometown, whichever team wins.

I feel really good about it, and it was a great game, and it looked like everybody had a wonderful time.

So uh there was a parking issue that we discussed that took place, but I think they'll figure that out.

Um, also want to remind everybody um that Art Walk is this Friday, I believe.

Yes, and uh downtown Norman, uh usually about six to ten, but uh the bars and the venues and stuff go on much later than that.

But uh a lot of wonderful stuff to see, a lot of new businesses, a lot of existing businesses you may not know about.

So I encourage you all to go check that out this Friday evening.

Um, and then also uh just about the uh OU Michigan game this weekend.

Um I worked on campus corner.

I got up early morning Saturday and rode my bike down to campus to try to get into get into the ESP and game day crowd and and all that, um, which was a lot of fun, and then I ended up traveling around to a bunch of different tailgates on my bike, and then um and then the game turned out really wonderful, and afterwards, campus corner was just uh full to the brim.

There were lines.

I got some video and picked lines to get into every bar all the way down the sidewalk down the street.

Um the Michigan fans and in my observation were having a very good time.

And I've received feedback uh from some Michigan fans expressing how wonderful a time they had in Norman.

And I know there might have been an incident or two in the stadium, but other than that, um, they all expressed uh how great of a time they had in Norman, how generous and nice everybody was, and how welcoming everybody was, and so I would have just encourage all of our residents to continue that uh that mentality as we have other big games coming up this season.

So was proud to welcome the Michigan fans, and I'm excited for our opportunity to visit them.

I think next season.

So wanted to mention that tomorrow is the first or inaugural meeting of the SEC mayors alliance, which um I was contacted uh a month or so ago by the mayor of Tuscaloosa, and uh he was trying to put together uh uh the the SEC mayors and get us in a group where we could have a discussion about our cities and uh how we handle game days or how we handle different situations that we're dealing with.

So I'm really looking forward to uh being a part of that tomorrow and and providing some feedback about about how that goes.

And uh and then um also wanted to mention that this week uh many of us, Councilmember Grant and myself, and City Manager Pyle and Assistant City Manager Stevenson, um assistant city attorney Puritan, um, and um Lee Wick Lee McWarter and Eric Leon Bauer from Norman Police Department have are at up at the Oklahoma Municipal League conference this week in Oklahoma City.

Uh we were there all day today at a at the whole thing today was just about homelessness.

Uh there were mayors and city council members and law enforcement officials from all over the state, from some of the smallest towns to the biggest cities, all of them dealing with this issue and having a challenge uh with how to address it from the smallest scale, like I said, in small towns to the bigger cities like us in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

And so we spent the whole day with that, and then there's two more days that are all about municipal issues.

Um looking forward to that.

And then outside of that, I just want to thank the uh committee appointments uh that were mentioned tonight for human rights and other committees.

Uh when I took office two months ago, there were only two members on the human rights commission out of nine.

Our city ordinance requires that a human rights committee exist, a commission exist, uh, but you don't have to appoint members to it when they expire, apparently.

So one of my goals was to get that committee filled as quickly as it could with qualified candidates, and we had a lot of applications on file that had been uh waiting for a while.

So we contacted everybody, confirmed that people wanted to serve, confirmed with council members in those wards that they were okay with with uh those people, and so we now have a full human rights commission, and uh we've made many appointments over the last two months to fill other uh citizen committees.

And so I would just encourage you all uh anybody that's interested in getting more involved at City Hall.

Um citizen committees, which we have nearly 40 of them, are a great way to get your foot in the door with understanding how city policy might work and how things can be how city policy can be changed and things like that.

So I encourage you all to uh get with your council member, fill out an application on the city website and consider serving on a committee.

And then lastly, just want to again welcome and uh thank Brandon No Fire for stepping up to this position and being willing to do this.

Um it's it can be not something everybody wanted to do, and so I appreciate you and your family.

Um hopefully Erica does understand.

So thank you.

And with that, we will move on to the consent docket.

This item is placed on the agenda so that the city council by unanimous consent can designate those routine agenda items that they wish to be approved and or acknowledged by one motion.

Staff recommends that item six through item 23 be placed on the consent docket.

I'll entertain a motion to place item six okay item six through twenty-three on the consent docket.

Motion second.

The motion on the floor is to place items six through twenty-six six six through twenty-three on the consent docket.

Council members, you may cast your votes.

I'll votes have been cast as unanimous unanimously.

Okay, I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent docket.

Thank you.

Are there any comments from council regarding any items on the consent docket?

Seeing none.

The motion on the floor is to approve the consent docket.

Council members, you may cast your votes.

All right.

None moving on to the non-consent docket.

Item number 24, a preliminary plat for 1508 Shady Brook Drive, a replat of lots five, six, and seven, block two, Indian Point Estates, generally located one east of 12th Avenue, Southeast, and one quarter mile north of Post Oak Road.

I'll entertain a motion to approve or reject the preliminary plat.

Motion.

Second.

Is there a representative of the applicant to make a presentation?

Okay.

Well, um, I haven't heard any objection to this proposal, but if there's nobody here to present or be here for it, I don't know if it would be proper for us to vote on it.

Okay.

Okay.

Is uh there any city staff that would is prepared to speak about this.

Good evening.

Scott Sturtz, Director of Public Works.

Um, we're prepared for the a large presentation on this on behalf of their behalf.

However, this is a simple replat.

It's taking two lots in the Sheddy Brook or in the Indian Springs State's area, taking two lots in some area that was not usable, making it three lots, creating one more lot that's usable.

It will have no real impact, just adding this one lot.

They'll be on private water well.

It will also be utilizing a septic system.

Uh so very little impact, very simple.

Uh like I said, just creating one more lot that could be developed for a home in this area.

I could try to answer any questions that you might have on this one.

Um, Councilmember Peacock.

It was gonna be if we had a planning commission presentation that we could see.

Um, but I think this works.

Uh the question I guess I have are is I see there's two existing drives for the two existing lots, but to create another drive to access this kind of weird-shaped flag lot that's right.

If you look at that, it's it's kind of hard to tell on here, but it's there's a lot of contours, a lot of a lot of uh problems with the the the topography there along the street to the north.

So it's actually been proposed to take access on into Cobblestone Creek onto the that roadway, and then that will uh be the way they'll access that.

There is already one of the properties in the Indian uh Springs estates that does actually access through that same roadway.

That's what would be this Pebble Beach Road.

Yeah, I couldn't remember the name of the road.

I apologize.

That's fine.

Um trying to look at a sideways plaid here.

So uh okay, I think that's all I really had.

Thank you.

I know the uh that connection to Cobblestone has been a point of controversy for um with the cobblestone neighborhood.

Um I don't know, is there's so there's no applicant here to represent this project.

I mean and to my knowledge there will have been no protest, there's been no negative comments.

This uh I don't believe anybody uh appeared at the planning commission meeting.

It is an 8-0 vote of planning commission on consent docket also.

So it's been very quiet.

Uh not not a lot that's been uh brought up about it.

Again, it is just this one lot, and it will not have connection through to Indian Springs uh in that area.

It'll just be this one lot that will have that access.

Okay, thank you, Scott.

Thank you.

Um, um if there is no objection to moving forward, um strange to me that the there's nobody here to represent the project, but yeah.

I don't think it's his problem.

That's what I thought he was here for.

Okay, um, I see no objection to that.

Um let's see.

This is an opportunity for members of the public to make comments regarding this item.

Remarks should be directed to council only.

Madam Clerk, are there any speakers registered for this item?

We do have a couple, Stephen Ellis.

Steve Ellis Ward 4.

Yeah, I had a question because I kind of glanced over this today, and uh it I didn't really understand that it was the division of uh what's currently two plates into three, so now that helps make some sense.

But just looking at the map, it looked really hard to see how they were gonna generate another place for a home out of that, given the the topographic map.

So maybe somebody, I don't know who would put the map up, and you could look and see like what's the house supposed to go on that property.

Uh so this is mostly just curiosity.

I have no idea who wanted to do this or why they wanted to do it, but uh I mean it would be interesting to see since they had to ask permission.

Maybe they should ask.

Uh thanks.

Thank you.

Evan Dunn.

Okay.

Okay.

Are there any final comments or any other comments from the audience about this item?

Seeing none.

Okay.

Are there any final comments from council, Councilmember Peacock?

I was just gonna see if staff can confirm there was no protests or anything for this.

No, the planning commission uh minutes did not indicate that there were any audio responded on that.

Just wanted to ask.

Thank you very much.

Okay.

Okay.

The motion on the floor is to approve the preliminary plat.

Council members, you may cast your vote.

Passes unanimously.

All right, miscellaneous comments.

This is an opportunity for citizens to address city council due to the open meetings act regulations.

Council is not able to participate in discussion during miscellaneous comments.

Remarks should be directed to the council as a whole and limited to four minutes or less.

And do we have anybody signed up to speak for this?

Yes, we'll start with Diana Hetzel.

Good evening, Diana Hudzel Ward 5.

So I'm gonna hope you won't mind if I break that rule about not addressing a specific council person.

Um I know we're not supposed to do that, but as one of the finalists who interviewed for the ward five appointment, I hope you'll allow me to take this time to sincerely congratulate Brandon on his appointment in the role.

Um I genuinely wish you the best as you step into this role.

Um residents were in ward five are really depending upon you, and I look forward to going to your first meeting that you host for your community.

Um I also want to take a moment to thank your family.

I know your wife's not able to be here tonight and your young children, but um, I just appreciate the time that they're willing to give up to allow you to do this because it's it's a lot of it's a big commitment.

Um anyone with family understands that lost time lost to work commitments is time that you never get back with spending with family.

So when I say that from years of experience.

Public service is never a solo act, it asks a great deal, not just of those who serve, but of the families who support them, often quietly and without recognition.

And that sacrifice isn't just personal, the work itself is substantial.

As you're aware, all of you that are on council, serving on council isn't just about showing up to meetings, it requires real preparation.

The packets published ahead of each meeting can be hundreds of pages long.

Often 500 or more earlier this summer in June, one was more than 2600 pages.

That's multiple days with snacks and a support group.

That's a lot of pages.

None are quick reads, all are dense, technical, and detailed.

Tonight's meeting is actually a reprieve, only 298 pages long.

For those of us in the community who stay engaged, reading the packets, watching and attending meetings.

We notice when preparation shows and when it does not.

Preparation matters, and when it's lacking, your constituents notice, both in the questions you ask and just as often in the ones that you do not.

It means engaging with staff and residents in advance.

It means keeping constituents informed so they have a chance to weigh in, and then carrying their voices into the room when it comes time to vote.

Meetings may be scheduled for as little as half at least a little as an hour, but many of us know that they've stretched late into the night and some as uh early, early into the morning.

It takes real time, real focus, and real dedication on your part.

Um, you serve on multiple committees, attend events, respond to messages, and are expected to be consistently accessible, not just online but in person.

People want to know their concerns are heard, their messages answered, and the representative is present.

All of that takes work and time.

So thank you all for that.

And I think we can agree that none of you are doing this for the hundred dollars that you earn a month, pretty sure.

That's it across the board.

Because the working council is so important and some of the issues so complex, I'd like to respectfully offer two practical steps to improve accessibility and transparency for the residents of Norman and your constituents.

First, help people identify what matters to them.

If an agenda item relates to a specific ward, add the ward information to the beginning of the agenda item.

Something as simple as ward five in parentheses, if possible.

That small step would save residents from searching through hundreds of pages of the packet just to find a ward-specific item that might apply to them or that they may find of interest.

Second, uh I'd like to see the uh City Council handbook posted on the City Council page of the city website.

I know that's a lot of cities.

Um it's a helpful plain language source outlining your responsibilities, procedures, and protocols.

Residents deserve access to that information.

It helps set expectations and it builds trust.

Thank you for all the time, energy, and focus you bring to this work.

The easier we make it for residents to participate in the process, the more engaged and stronger our community as a whole becomes.

And better prepared future council members will be able to serve.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Um next we have Stephen Ellis.

Still Steve Ellis, still word for.

Uh so I want to start tonight by saying congratulations to Councilmember No Fire.

Um, I I think we all recognize that filling a vacancy on the council is is it's kind of a tough deal and that there's no really good process.

Ideally, you'd like to have an election which allows the members of that ward to really represent themselves fully, but of course we have short terms and it takes a long time and it's expensive to put up an election, so it doesn't seem like that's something we should do for just a year.

I think doing the election on the off cycle makes good sense.

Uh, and you know, there can sometimes be controversy about that, as there have been in the past.

Uh, but I hope and believe that everyone is going to be satisfied with this election tonight.

This is one of those cases where it seems like it really worked out for everybody.

Um, you know, I think that uh councilmember Nofire is uh you know well trusted by people across the spectrum, and uh I'm really looking forward to sort of seeing uh his work.

So congratulations.

This is my one place where I'll violate the rules.

Congratulations, I'll direct you address Lee.

Um second point I wanted to make tonight uh was actually that uh Norman needs to get ready uh to oppose the expansion of Governor Stitt's operations safe regarding unhoused people.

Um it's it's gonna expand to our area, I'm almost certain.

Uh and it's something that I think everyone, even the people who are often here complaining about the unhoused, uh, can get behind.

Because having state troopers round up unhoused folks uh and drop them off in Norman service area, which is mostly downtown and just a little bit east, uh, only for them to be told that, hey, there's there's no more here for you, right?

That there's no room at the inn and there are no further services for you uh to have doesn't serve anyone's interest in this community uh, you know, whatever your view on the larger issue of how we should take care of our unhoused neighbors.

But it does have really, really deleterious effect on our unhoused neighbors because all of their stuff gets destroyed.

Uh I I've seen it happen at several encampment clearances, and all the stuff that you collect to get by as an unhoused person basically gets treated like trash.

So all of the things that you have assembled to make your life as easy as possible goes down the drain, and if they just drop you off a mile away, or wherever they send you, you know, object permanents, right?

People don't disappear just because the police haul them off.

Uh it turns out that your life is a lot worse.

You got to spend a lot more time getting your stuff together.

So I hope that Norman says no, refuses to cooperate with this, and opposes uh the governor if uh there's an attempt to move the sort of operations type stuff here.

It's stuff we don't want, and I think it's really incumbent upon the people who are our you know, governor Stitts supporters, including who who hold, you know, cognate views, if you will, on the unhoused issue.

Uh let him know that this is not a good context for his approach, even if he thinks it will work in Tulsa.

So I hope we can present a united front on this one, people.

Uh thanks a lot.

Have a good night.

Thank you.

Next we'll have Cindy Rogers.

It says four minutes.

Cindy Rogers uh Ward 4.

I'm gonna start with a a plug for this wonderful book written by an OU professor.

His name is Daniel Maines.

Just came out.

It's called Nourishing Growth and Suffocating Life, Water Politics and Infrastructure in Urban Oklahoma.

And if you want to understand where we are today with our water infrastructure, with our politics, with our divisions about how to grow, anti-growth, pro-growth, pro-environment.

This is a book for you.

And in fact, I've read it, now I have read it twice now.

And I'm gonna invite anybody interested in joining me for a reading group, and I'll ask Professor Maines if he'll join us too, but haven't asked him yet, so I can't volunteer him.

This is a wonderful book.

So I'll post that up on my Facebook.

Um in a recent Norman transcript article, I hope you guys all saw, um, there was a really astounding statement from the county commissioner's spokesperson, and that was that the county commissioners thought that there should be a vote on the arena TIF.

So this is surprising that months after the referendum, they signed a contract, the development agreement, that sort of got us all in this pickle about deadlines and things.

So before they signed that agreement, there were no deadlines they had to meet.

But somehow they're there they came out with this idea that oh, there are deadlines in the agreement we have to meet, so we should sign the agreement.

I don't know, it's very confusing.

But what that puts us today is that that seems like two of the parties of the three parties in the development agreement think there should be a vote.

And my question is have any of the parties, I guess you can only speak for yourselves, have you reached out to the third party, OU Foundation, and ask them if they would agree to just put things on pause and not worry about the deadlines until we find out about the vote.

If not, why not?

Or please do so.

If so, and I would think a formal sort of letter so that you get a formal response or no response.

I think that's part of being a community that people come together.

And when two of the three parties say, hey, we should have a vote, convince a third party that that's a civic thing to do.

Uh good luck with that, but I would like to see that happen.

Um it's gonna raise the third thing I want to talk about, and I put together a little thing.

Sadly, I didn't get quite enough copies passed off, but it's called it's called TIF It Good.

You can think of a song for that.

Um as we think about the TIFF master plan and future TIFFs going forward.

Um I have some concerns, well, suggestions about our due diligence and what we need to do to make sure that we're following best practices, best practices in the financial world, best practices in the economic analysis and projection world.

So that's what this handout is.

Um the number one thing that hasn't been done is considering alternative scenarios.

You were presented with the original UMP TIFF, the arena TIFF, with one construction, full build out, it works perfectly scenario.

Folks, I'm not in the business world, but I know that's not what they do in the business world.

So, number one, you can't just have one scenario estimated out.

Um I'm gonna be out of time, so I'll give this to you guys later.

And uh, you know, if you have questions, let me know.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I think I'm in that book too.

Or I think I was interviewed by a professor Maines for that book.

Um last speaker tonight is Evan Dunn.

Evan Dunn, 1400 Garfield Avenue.

I like to associate myself with everything that Diana and Cynthia and Steve said.

Congratulations to Mr.

Nofire.

Oftentimes I'll say I have no comment.

I really have too many comments.

And I'll yield back.

Thank you.

Okay.

Are there any final comment from anybody else in the audience?

Seeing none.

Is there any final comment from counsel about this meeting?

Okay.

I would uh just say a few things real briefly.

Um the city of Norman has been breaking up encampments for years.

And I can tell you firsthand, it has done nothing to reduce homelessness in Norman at all.

If anything, it's caused populations to congregate in areas like downtown where they have when they get kicked out of the encampment, that's where they go.

They don't go to another city, they don't leave the state, they stay here, they just find another place here to hang out until they get kicked out of that spot.

And it's just a continual circle that never ends.

The county jail in Norman, the Cleveland County Jail, is full.

It's especially full now that we're accepting uh inmates from Oklahoma City Police Department that are arrested in Cleveland County.

Griffin Hospital, full.

When we visited there a few weeks ago, the staff told us it's full.

We have people here from all 77 counties, and we're full.

It's full.

And just to remind them that if the options for people in Norman are, if they do come to Norman, are go to jail, go to treatment, or go to shelter, all of those three options in Norman are full.

So I hope there is a more coordinated plan.

I would encourage that the state to coordinate with our shelters and nonprofits and faith-based organizations in Norman if they do decide to conduct activities in our city.

Um make sure that we are prepared to handle that type of thing.

If you're breaking up encampments, those people have to have a place to go, and our nonprofits and shelters and services need to be prepared for that.

So I would just say again, we've been dealing with this in Norman for years, and that approach has not worked here.

And I'll leave it at that for now.

All right.

Thank you all.

This meeting is adjourned.