It's Time to Party Again Tonight At City Hall in a RED Shirt
Write an email, sign up to speak and encourage the council members to VOTE NO on Item #37 (Turnpike Partnership Resolution) and Vote YES on Item #38 (Moratorium on Permits for Mega-Projects)
Have you written an email? Have you signed up to speak at tonight’s council meeting? Have you found your RED shirt? Have you told ten of your friends?
WE NEED YOU!!!!
Keep reading if you want more information about what to say.
If you can’t make it, Livestream it here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CityOfNormanOK
There are three items on the non-consent docket tonight and we only care about TWO of them; Item #37: BIG FAT NO and Item #38: BIG FAT YES.
I wrote about Item #37 and why we should not allow this to pass in a previous post. I encourage you to read it in preparation for tonight, but I’ll summarize here.
Vote NO on the Turnpike Partnership Resolution Item #37
We CANNOT allow this resolution to pass because it gives the OTA permissions to come into the City of Norman and construct their turnpikes. Some of the “Big 12” Consulting firms like POE, TEIM, MacArthur, MKEC, Garver, CEC, EST, etc., that work for the OTA have been calling and emailing the City Council and City Staff to try and get them to sign this resolution.
THEY DON’T EVEN LIVE HERE.
Why would these NON-RESIDENTS care about a dinky resolution that the City of Norman writes?
Why? BECAUSE THE OTA IS STATUTORILY REQUIRED TO GET THIS “PARTNERSHIP RESOLUTION” with Municipalities or they CAN NOT BUILD.
Statute 69, Section 1716(b) Requires OTA to “Partner” with Cities before Project can Start
Statute 69, Section 1716 (b), tells you everything you need to know about WHY the OTA is attempting to force the City to sign a resolution.
It tells you why, at the 60% design mark, the OTA rushes in under some arbitrary deadline and scares the municipality into signing a “Partnership” resolution “OR ELSE.” They ask the Counties/Cities to sign one because their own law says they have to or they cannot build.
And then they do nothing they say they will in the resolution because all they care about is that the Counties/Cities say that they will “partner” with the OTA.
That’s what their law says they have to have to continue with the project.
This alone should be why the City Council rejects the OTA’s demands. Full stop.
“(b) All counties, municipalities and other political subdivisions and all public agencies and commissions of the State of Oklahoma, notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, are hereby authorized and empowered to lease, lend, grant or convey to the Authority at its request upon such terms and conditions as the proper authorities of such counties, municipalities, other political subdivisions or public agencies and commissions of the state may deem reasonable and fair and without the necessity for any advertisement, order of court or other action or formality, other than the regular and formal action of the authorities concerned, any real property which may be necessary or convenient to the effectuation of the authorized purposes of the Authority, including public roads and other real property already devoted to public use.”
No other municipality has ever said NO to the OTA. Let’s be the first, shall we?
Aside: Did you know that the City of Norman Staff knew about the full design and right-of-way needs back in Fall 2022? They were sent the GOOGLE EARTH KMZ files in an email by the OTA consultants. So if they already knew two years ago that the OTA was planning on building the service roads (on both sides of the east-west connector) and planning on building the interchanges (at all the points they told Norman to ask for) and planning on acquiring all that right of way, why would the City of Norman have to ASK for them in a resolution “OR ELSE?” They were planning on it anyway because they NEED all those access points to coerce local families to use their tollroad to generate revenue.
Do you see what I’m saying? This demand of “SIGN THE RESOLUTION OR ELSE” is ALL a RUSE. ALL the OTA wants is that little “partnership” nugget.
Ponder that for a while and tell your council members!
Vote YES on the Moratorium on the Issuance of Permits for Large Projects until July 1, 2025, Item #38
This would be a great boon to our cause because it would slow the OTA’s roll down and let the City of Norman have time to revisit our Flood Plain and Stormwater Ordinances.
I love this one. The developers are going to be out in FORCE tonight to oppose it, so let’s give it some love and send notes to your council members that you want them to vote YES for this!
Can’t stop, won’t stop! Let’s GO!!!
City Contacts
Mayor - Larry Heikkila; mayor@normanok.gov or 405-876-9216
Ward 1 - Austin Ball; ward1@normanok.gov or 405-876-9170
Ward 2 - Matthew Peacock; ward2@normanok.gov or 405-876-9196
Ward 3 - Bree Montoya; ward3@normanok.gov or 405-876-3143
Ward 4 - Helen Grant; ward4@normanok.gov or 405-876-9237
Ward 5 - Michael Nash; ward5@normanok.gov or 405-876-9239
Ward 6 - Joshua A. Hinkle; ward6@normanok.gov or 405-876-9262
Ward 7 - Stephen Tyler Holman; ward7@normanok.gov or 405-876-9263
Ward 8 - Scott Dixon - ward8@normanok.gov or 405-876-9166
All City Council Members: city_council_members@normanok.gov