OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Norman Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting - May 7, 2026

Public Meetings & Live-Streams — Thursday, May 7, 2026
BodyNorman, Oklahoma
SessionPublic Meetings & Live-Streams
DateThursday, May 7, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:15

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

For the regular year.

0:28

Try again.

0:29

Um like to call to order the city of Norman Board of Park Commissioners meeting for Thursday, May 7th, uh 2026.

0:38

Roll call.

0:39

Billy Davison.

0:41

Here.

0:41

Todd Fagan.

0:43

Christy Isaacson.

0:45

Here.

0:46

Mark Nanny.

0:47

Here.

0:47

Cheryl Sheriff here.

0:48

Tori Ted or Laughlin.

0:50

Here.

0:50

Alan Usry here.

0:52

Christy Wright?

0:53

Here.

0:53

Christina Wykoff.

0:54

Here.

0:55

All right.

0:57

First item is the consideration of approval, acceptance, rejection, amendment, and or postponement of the minutes as follows.

1:03

The Board of Park Commissioners regular meeting minutes of March 5th, 2026.

1:10

I mean two approved.

1:11

Thank you, Christina.

1:13

And do I have a second?

1:14

I'll second.

1:15

Thank you, Christy.

1:15

All in favor?

1:16

Aye.

1:18

Okay.

1:19

Any opposed?

1:21

No.

1:22

Uh that motion passes.

1:25

Um item three.

1:28

Do we want to do four before three?

1:33

Oh, item two.

1:36

Okay, two consideration of acceptance, rejection, amendment, and or postponement of previously approved city council items.

1:43

Okay, this one really rather short lists uh that happened this month.

1:48

So on April 14th, that we had a contract with uh Norman Regional Hospital Authority to basically take over the turf field at the uh back of the WIFAC when that was built, that was born built with uh Norman regional um funds.

2:04

It was on our property.

2:05

This is kind of cleans up uh who's responsible for it if it if there's some kind of uh incident that happens on it and uh liability for any injuries or anything that are associated with that.

2:18

Uh now we set the hours and are able to take rental funds from it, so uh overall ends up good for us.

2:26

Uh then on the 28th, uh we have donations from the Cavens Group and How Smith Restaurants uh for the employees record uh recognition program that was held at the WIFAC.

2:38

Uh then we had a a transfer for 130,000 from the WIFAC balance to uh the concession stand expenses and bidden year.

2:47

We took over uh the concession stand at the WIFAC, so we needed an appropriation uh to finish out this year.

2:54

Um that means we're actually making money, which is good because we needed more money to spend.

2:59

Uh that's one of those items that uh the uh if we're spending money, we're making money.

3:04

And then we also had an appropriation from the normal forward balance of about $3,600 for a land appraisal that goes along with the Canadian River Park and Trails project.

3:15

It is a Norman Ford project.

3:16

So love to take any questions about any of those.

3:28

Okay, all right.

3:32

Um item three discussion regarding proposed updates to the parks and recreations department's policy and rule manual and consideration of approval, rejection, amendment, and or postponement of such updated policy and rules manual.

3:48

So I've uh we can take some questions on this, but uh for the most part we have handed to you, and we can also email out to you if you all want to make uh uh notes on a word document.

4:00

But the the uh we have been working on this for about a year now, but this is a an update to our norm parks and recreation uh rules and policies uh uh th manual, which hasn't been updated since 2021.

4:15

Uh we've added a whole lot of facilities since then, uh just also modernizing uh a lot of the rules and and things uh that uh wasn't even taken into consideration in 2021, also uh clarifying some other issues with uh special use parks and so on and so on.

4:34

If you look through this, it has uh explanations from everything from uh park hours to uh the uh much needed definitions that go along with some of the rules uh to uh special exemptions that go along with uh special use parks and so on and so on.

4:55

I think the the biggest thing that that we need to update and uh get on to the schedule is our general park rules.

5:03

If you uh if you look underneath 2.2, it goes A through all the way.

5:09

Uh man, uh O might go longer than that.

5:13

These are the everything that is in caps will be on a park sign at every single uh park.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Youth Programs████████████17%
Historic Preservation███████10%
Transportation Safety██3%
Personnel Matters██3%
Floodplain Management█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Norman Board of Park Commissioners Regular Meeting - May 7, 2026

The Norman Board of Park Commissioners held a regular meeting on May 7, 2026. The meeting covered updates to the department's policy manual, approval of the Norman Optimus Club annual report, progress on Norman Forward projects, and departmental updates including the demolition of the Andrews Pavilion and upcoming recreational events. All votes were unanimous.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the March 5, 2026 regular meeting.
  • Acceptance of City Council Items: The board accepted a list of previously approved city council items, including a contract with Norman Regional Hospital Authority for the turf field at the Young Family Athletic Center (YFAC), donations from Cavens Group and How Smith Restaurants for employee recognition, a transfer of $130,000 from YFAC balance to concession stand expenses, and an appropriation of $3,600 from Norman Forward funds for a land appraisal for the Canadian River Park and Trails project.

Discussion Items

  • Park Policy and Rules Manual Update: Staff presented proposed updates to the Parks and Recreation Department's Policy and Rule Manual, which has not been updated since 2021. The new manual includes modernized rules, definitions, and clarifications for special use parks. The board was asked to review the manual and return with comments at the next meeting. A special meeting was suggested for June 16, 2026, to adopt the rules; however, Commissioner Alan Usry indicated he would be unavailable, so staff offered to adjust the date. Final adoption is targeted before July 1, 2026.
  • Norman Optimus Club Annual Report: Stephen Massey (Executive Director) and Manny Young (Co-Executive Director) presented the club's 2025 annual report. The club operates youth baseball and softball leagues year-round (spring, summer, fall). They reported spring 2026 registration declined compared to spring 2025 due to staffing changes. Registration fees range from $80 to $115 per player, with scholarships available. Tournament fees vary by age and duration. The board unanimously voted to accept the report and forward it to the City Council.
  • Norman Forward Update: James Briggs reported that playground replacements at Northeast Lions, Sutton Place, and Eagle Cliff are over halfway complete, with dedication ceremonies expected in 4-6 weeks. Blue Sem Park is projected for fall 2026 completion. Saxon Park: bid documents are being prepared; public works is completing road infrastructure, saving costs. The Canadian River Trail project received a land appraisal. Regarding the five-year neighborhood park replacement plan, Brookhaven Park is scheduled within 2-3 years.
  • Division Update (Parks Maintenance): Jason (Department Director) reported on the demolition of the Andrews Pavilion at City Park, which required about 35 truckloads of debris. The building was confirmed not historically contributing and was located in the floodway. Stone saved for future use. Other projects: Royal Oaks pavilion remodel, Northeast Lions sidewalk repairs, Eastwood Park bridge repair, and purchase of three new robot mowers for Westwood Golf Course. James Briggs added: Bishop Creek Eco Park near completion (fence installation), Westwood Park tennis courts resurfaced, and an RFQ issued for a Sooner Theater Master Plan (responses due May 29, 2026). Reeves Park pond work completed; controlled burn conducted at Saxon Park. Commissioner Christy Wright recognized Jason and Megan for receiving the Helping Hands Award and Rising Star Award, respectively, at the city's first employee awards ceremony.
  • Recreation Update: Mitchell Richardson announced numerous upcoming events: Dunder Run 5K (May 10), Outdoor Movie (Shrek, May 15), Bike to Work Day (May 15), Kids to Parks Day (May 16), Summer Camp starting May 26, and Westwood Family Aquatic Center opening May 23 (season pass holder preview May 22). The Fourth of July will feature Norman FourFest with America's 250th celebration. Commissioner Christy Wright suggested selling commemorative t-shirts; staff indicated they would explore the idea.
  • CAPRA Update: Mitchell Richardson reported that staff have made progress on Chapter 4 of the CAPRA accreditation process, including developing an online onboarding procedure for new employees.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: Minutes of March 5, 2026 (unanimous).
  • Approved: Previously approved city council items (unanimous).
  • Approved: Norman Optimus Club annual report, to be forwarded to City Council (unanimous).
  • Deferred: Policy and Rules Manual update; board members to review and provide feedback at the next regular meeting. A special meeting will be scheduled in June or at another date to adopt the manual.
  • Directives: Staff to distribute the five-year neighborhood park replacement timeline to board members. Staff to consider designing and selling a Norman 250 t-shirt.
  • Noted: Upcoming recreational events and Norman Forward progress.

Meeting Transcript

For the regular year. Try again. Um like to call to order the city of Norman Board of Park Commissioners meeting for Thursday, May 7th, uh 2026. Roll call. Billy Davison. Here. Todd Fagan. Christy Isaacson. Here. Mark Nanny. Here. Cheryl Sheriff here. Tori Ted or Laughlin. Here. Alan Usry here. Christy Wright? Here. Christina Wykoff. Here. All right. First item is the consideration of approval, acceptance, rejection, amendment, and or postponement of the minutes as follows. The Board of Park Commissioners regular meeting minutes of March 5th, 2026. I mean two approved. Thank you, Christina. And do I have a second? I'll second. Thank you, Christy. All in favor? Aye. Okay. Any opposed? No. Uh that motion passes. Um item three. Do we want to do four before three? Oh, item two. Okay, two consideration of acceptance, rejection, amendment, and or postponement of previously approved city council items. Okay, this one really rather short lists uh that happened this month. So on April 14th, that we had a contract with uh Norman Regional Hospital Authority to basically take over the turf field at the uh back of the WIFAC when that was built, that was born built with uh Norman regional um funds. It was on our property. This is kind of cleans up uh who's responsible for it if it if there's some kind of uh incident that happens on it and uh liability for any injuries or anything that are associated with that. Uh now we set the hours and are able to take rental funds from it, so uh overall ends up good for us. Uh then on the 28th, uh we have donations from the Cavens Group and How Smith Restaurants uh for the employees record uh recognition program that was held at the WIFAC. Uh then we had a a transfer for 130,000 from the WIFAC balance to uh the concession stand expenses and bidden year. We took over uh the concession stand at the WIFAC, so we needed an appropriation uh to finish out this year. Um that means we're actually making money, which is good because we needed more money to spend. Uh that's one of those items that uh the uh if we're spending money, we're making money. And then we also had an appropriation from the normal forward balance of about $3,600 for a land appraisal that goes along with the Canadian River Park and Trails project. It is a Norman Ford project. So love to take any questions about any of those.

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