Tulsa City Council Public Works Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
Tulsa City Council Public Works Committee Meeting - June 3, 2026
The Tulsa City Council Public Works Committee met on June 3, 2026, to consider several items including alley closures, contract change orders, license agreements, rate changes for solid waste and stormwater, right-of-way occupancy fees, and a discussion on data transparency. The meeting was chaired by an unnamed presiding officer and included council members Bellis, Bingle, Gilbert, and others.
Consent Calendar
- Item 2: Ordinance closing a public way at 702 South Main Street for development of an ONG parking garage. An easement for a sanitary sewer and PSO aerial lines was maintained. Approved.
- Item 3: Change order number three to contract with Tri-Star Construction for a concrete parking lot and sidewalk at Turkey Mountain Rockyards in the amount of $50,993 and 185 additional calendar days. Approved.
- Item 4: License agreement with Jennifer and Fronter House Larson Trust for a flagstone walkway within the right-of-way at 3456 South Gary Place. Approved.
Discussion Items
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Item 5 – Solid Waste Rate Changes: Ordinance amending Title 11B to increase monthly user fees for residential collection services effective October 1, 2026. Staff (Cheryl Black and Philip) presented the changes, including discontinuation of twice-weekly service and new camera systems on collection vehicles to monitor placement and contamination. Councilors discussed cart placement issues (Bingle), recycling cart swaps and costs (Gilbert), and privacy and data retention for cameras (Bellis). Staff noted that the camera footage is retained for 30 days and is only used for investigating complaints; data is held by the contractor with read-only access for the city. The recycling contamination rate is at a historic low. The ordinance will be recommended to the full council.
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Item 6 – Stormwater Service Charge Increase: Ordinance amending Title 11A to increase the monthly stormwater service charge by 7% from $13.69 to $14.65 effective October 1, 2026. Staff referenced a previous presentation on April 29, 2026. Councilor Bingle inquired about GIS mapping of public vs. private drainage responsibilities, which is still in progress. The item will be recommended to the full council.
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Item 7 – Right-of-Way Occupancy Fees: Ordinance amending Title 11 to increase occupancy fees for permit holders by one to three cents per linear foot, resulting in an annual revenue increase of approximately $4,500, effective July 1, 2026. Brief discussion; will be recommended to the full council.
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Item 8 – Data Transparency and Public Access: Discussion with City Auditor Nathan (designee) regarding a proposed plan to implement the recently passed ordinance on data transparency. The auditor outlined a timeline: in fiscal year 2026, identify city data sets and data from public trusts/authorities, prioritize them, and return to council in December with a prioritization report and budget options. The goal is to hire a team and build an office of data transparency in the next fiscal year. Councilors Bellis, Bingle, and Gilbert asked about coordination with the Department of Performance and Accountability, data governance, data retention policies for vendor data, and making data usable for residents. No formal action was taken; the discussion was for informational purposes.
Key Outcomes
- The committee approved items 2-4 as part of the consent calendar.
- Items 5-7 were discussed and will be forwarded to the full city council for a vote.
- Item 8 was a discussion only; the auditor will return in December with a prioritization plan and budget options.
- No roll call votes were recorded in the transcript; all actions appeared to be by consensus.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. And welcome to the Tulsa City Council Public Works Committee meeting. I call this meeting to order. Item number two. Ordinance closing a public way requested by Jamie Skipper, Wallace Design Collective PC, the requested closing of a certain portion of an alleyway as a public way of the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, located at 702 South Main Street. Lots one through eight, block 174 of the Tulsa Original Town Edition for the development of a parking garage. Project number 5-3-25-68 and City Council District 4. Who do we have? Hi, Paul. That's who we have. This is for the ONG garage, new garage. Uh that's going to be constructed. With this project, we do have a sanitary sewer that runs in that alley, and PSO also has an area, and it's described in the document. We're going to maintain an easement for the sanitary sewer. There are discussions about them relocating that. But then PSO is going to be holding an area at 17 feet high and 20 feet wide and below, so that their current aerial lines can still be there. Okay, thank you, Paul. Uh have any questions? Alrighty. Moving on to item number three. Change order number three to contract number 13758 between the city of Tulsa and Tri-Star Construction LLP for project number 2159 FRO. 315 in the amount of 50,993. And adding 185 calendar days for the addition of a new concrete parking lot and sidewalk, Turkey Mountain Rockyards, CD District 2. Yes, ma'am. Under the contract, we've got two, we have an ARPA for the city, and then also we have an ARPA money from the Tulsa County. If you've been up on the west parking lot, and then also the one right at the bend of Elwood and 61st Street as it begins the transition. Those have been wrapped up. We've got some tie-in work to do. But the new area, the rock yard, with the existing pay items that we had. And new pay items for the rockyard uh parking lot. And we're doing that with River Parks Authority at the Turkey Mountain, and we're excited to be able to help contribute to get that rockyard area developed, so it's gonna really be nice. But I think everybody's been pleased with not driving driving on gravel parking lots up there at the top of Turkey Mountain. Um it's nice concrete, and there are a couple of good locations for uh pedestrians to cross and get into that other area over there around the water tank and stuff. So it's gonna it's gonna be nice. It's it's it's really neat. So that's nice. Last weekend walking around. So did you with that we'd ask for your approval of this change order? Did you have a comment? It was great. Okay, all righty. Moving on to item number four. One more for you, Paul. Yes, ma'am. License agreement between the city of Tulsa and Jennifer. Jennifer and Fronter House, Larson Trust, dated July 19, 2023 for property located at 3456 South Gary Place, French Acres edition to install, use and maintain Flagstone Walkway within the street right-of-way city Council District 9. Yes, ma'am. Um we received a request. Um they have a walk, a driveway uh that is just a normal driveway off one side. This neighborhood does not have sidewalks, uh, continuous through the area.
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