Tulsa City Council Regular Meeting – July 29, 2026

The Tulsa City Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The council considered a broad range of items including appointments, condemnations, special events, budget transfers, zoning changes, tax increment district dissolutions, and a resolution urging additional early voting locations in North Tulsa. Several members of the public spoke on various agenda items, expressing both support and opposition.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes of the July 15, 2026 regular meetings (Items 1A-B) unanimously.
• Approved reappointments: Hieu Le to the Asian Affairs Commission, Christian Bengel to the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity, and Phil Lakin, Jr. to the Emergency Medical Services Authority (Items 2A-C) unanimously.
• Approved a resolution authorizing condemnation of property at 10520 Riverside Pkwy for the Tulsa-Jenks Multi-Modal Safety Raise Project (Item 4B).
• Approved two license agreements with CoxCom, LLC for fiber optic cable installation under raw water flowlines in Rogers County (Items 4C-D).
• Approved travel donations totaling $10,384.34 for various city employees to attend conferences and training (Items 4E-I).
• Approved special event applications: Rock the Block (Aug 30), Audacity: Osage County 2026 (Aug 1), and Sip N Slide (Aug 1) (Items 4J-L).
• Approved final plat for Tulsa Classical Academy on 14.83 acres (Item 5A) and rezoning Z-7867 from RS-3 to IM for property near W. 37th Pl. and S. Galveston Ave. (Item 5B) – both unanimously.
• Approved second reading of four rezoning ordinances and budget-related ordinances, including dissolution of Increment District No. 7 and Tax Increment District No. 10 (Items 7A-G) unanimously.
• Approved waiver of $17,213.25 in Tulsa Police Department labor costs for the 2026 Folds of Honor Freedom Fest event and accepted a $1,100.93 donation from HF Sinclair for Movie in the Park (Items 8C-D).

Public Comments & Testimony

• Cody Elkin opposed the Sip N Slide special event (Item 4L), arguing it promotes alcohol abuse and public debauchery. He called for banning all alcohol in the city.
• John Huffines spoke in support of the reappointments (Items 2A-C), travel donations (4E, 4F, 4H), and the Rock the Block event (4J), offering prayers and gratitude.
• James Alexander (with Bernice) expressed concerns about rezoning (Item 7B) and the $1 million supplemental appropriation for the OK POP Museum (Item 7E), arguing that pandemic funds should not be used for a museum and that development is displacing Black residents.
• Alicia Andrews and a speaker identified as Senator Goodwin urged the council to approve a resolution for an additional early voting location in North/Northwest Tulsa (Item 8B). They cited the closure of the former 555 N. Denver location and the need for equitable voter access, noting that Cleveland County has six early voting locations while Tulsa County has only two confirmed. A petition with over 900 signatures was presented.
• Carla Roth opposed the fee waiver for police labor costs for the Freedom Fest (Item 8C), arguing officers should be paid for their work in the heat and storm.
• Bernice Alexander questioned the moving of voting locations from North Tulsa, expressing concern about disenfranchisement.

Discussion Items

• Mayor’s Report (Item 4A): Shane Stone, Director of Government Affairs, announced: (1) Recruitment for Tulsa’s new police chief is underway, with stakeholder roundtables and internal posting until August 5th. (2) Park Aerospace selected Tulsa for a $65 million composites manufacturing facility, creating over 100 jobs, expected open in 2028. (3) The Financial Empowerment Center has helped clients grow savings by $2 million and eliminated $5.4 million in non-mortgage consumer debt. (4) A “Clear Your Warrants” event will be held July 31 at Tulsa Municipal Court and Tulsa County District Court.
• Councilor Announcements: Councilor Decter Wright announced a community meeting on July 30 regarding Vesta properties, providing resources for tenants. Councilor Dutton reminded about the Neighborhood Infill Overlay (NIO) meeting and the Clear Your Warrants event.
• Early Voting Resolution (Item 8B): The council debated a resolution urging the Tulsa County Election Board to add an early voting location in North/Northwest Tulsa for the August 2026 election and future elections, promoting city facilities as potential sites. Councilor Hall Harper and others noted the resolution is a policy position, not binding, but reflects the council's support for equitable access. The resolution passed 6-2 (Councilors Bengal and Bush opposed) with an emergency clause passed similarly 6-2.

Key Outcomes

• All consent calendar items (except 8B) were approved unanimously.
• Item 8B – Resolution urging additional early voting location: Approved on a vote of 6-2 (Councilors Bengel and Bush voting no). The emergency clause also passed 6-2.
• Items 8C and 8D approved unanimously.

Note: The council also forwarded first-reading ordinances (Items 6A-E) to the next meeting without objection.