Raise your voice: Wear Red, Speak Up and Take Action!
Let's go bury this ZOMBIE resolution so far underground it can't dig it's way out.
City Manager (Czar of Norman) Darrel Pyle resurrected the ZOMBIE partnership resolution for discussion in a study session last week.
If you haven’t watched the recording, you should because it is disgusting.
Now, this ZOMBIE resolution is up for FINAL DISCUSSION and VOTE Tuesday, October 22. We need you to write emails, sign up to speak at the upcoming meeting and show up wearing red. If you can’t make it, please watch it live. The agenda packet is located here. Please keep supporting our fight.
Almighty Overload Darrel Pyle Proclaimeth “It shall be so”
When asked about why one of the proposed interchanges and service road connections was out on 48th east instead of 24th East or 36th east, The Almightly Overlord Darrel Pyle responded nonchalantly, “I received a phone call from the property owner up on Sooner Road at Indian Hills, who owns both sides, who said I’ve got development proposals for a medical clinic and they are requesting the access via a frontage road to make that development work. So that’s simply at the request of property owners that far out.” (Watch the video at 41:30 to experience the question and answer).
WOW!!!
Why did no one in the room just catch what Darrel Pyle just pulled.
Sooner Road = 12th Ave NE. Home Creations owns on both sides of Sooner Road. The Sooner Road Interchange will be there regardless of whether or not Norman signs a resolution because it is owned by ODOT.
Looky here at all those developers chomping at the bit to have SERVICE roads placed along the turnpike so they can put high-density, poorly built housing in and make a boatload.
Please tell me our City Manager isn’t STUPID. Well, actually, I’d feel better if I thought he was stupid. The worse scenario is that he’s corrupt, and I’m afraid that’s what we are dealing with.
This PROPERTY OWNER, who happens to be HOME CREATIONS, will get his damn interchange ANYWAY on Sooner Road without a City of Norman Resolution.
The City of Norman doesn’t OWN SOONER ROAD/INDIAN HILLS.
ODOT DOES.
Now why is Darrel Pyle STILL talking about 48th Ave NE Interchange? Who owns out there? Why would a property owner at 12th Ave NE (Sooner Road) be vying for an interchange THREE MILES EAST?
This is the 1-mile section surrounding the Indian Hills and 48th NE Intersection. The land highlighed in GREEN is SD (School District) 16 land. This is Section 36, Township 10, Range 2W (36-10-2W). Is the City planning on selling this land for development or did they already and just not tell anyone about it?
The word on the street was that this land allegedly went up for auction in early 2022 and was bought by a group of 7 investors to build out 5-acre plots of homes. One investor was supposedly Governor Stitt, but this was before the southern extension was on hold.
We cannot find any record of this land sale. There has been no deed filed in the Cleveland County Clerk’s office. They don’t have to pay property tax until they file the paperwork. We have seen this scheme before with ODOT delaying filing along Indian Hills/I35 and developer’s along the Kickapoo holding their deeds for years prior to filing.
The SE Corner is a 500 acre parcel and is owned by LR Ranch Operating Company, LP and valued at $433,596. This is Section 1, Township 9, Range 2W (1-9-2W)
The NW and SW sections are held in smaller parcels as private property.
But do you know what’s interesting. Guess who owns the mineral rights under the NW corner of this intersection?
As of March 2024, the University of Oklahoma Foundation.
They own mineral rights in the NW Corner (35-10-2W). I’m not sure if this is a coincidence or what.
The University of Oklahoma Foundation now owns a BOATLOAD of mineral rights in Cleveland County. This is a rabbit hole for another day.
We have to STOP THE RESOLUTION ON TUESDAY!!!
Double Standard Representative Democracy
It’s that simple?
ONE PROPERTY OWNER wanting to build a medical clinic can dictate what the ENTIRE CITY OF NORMAN should do on an infrastructure project that is going to wipe 10,000 long-time Norman citizens off the map and destroy our water supply?
So what’s going on?
This sounds like when the FIVE council members voted to bootstrap the City of Norman with a $600 Million Dollar TIF and then the citizens had to go out and get 11,600 signatures to put it to a vote. The citizens only needed 6,098 and we almost doubled it to send a message. It is obvious we want a voice.
Talking about a voice, what about those 400 + residents dressed in RED that came to the City Council Meeting a mere 8 weeks ago and demanded that the City reject the resolution? The City Council listened to us then. What isn’t simple about listening to the MAJORITY of the City, instead of ONE GUY with money wanting to MAKE MORE MONEY on the backs of his fellow citizens who are losing EVERYTHING?
And why are DEVELOPERS contacting our City Manager? And why is the City Manager strong arming the City Council at every turn? Why aren’t the DEVELOPERS contacting their City Council Members and going through the correct channels? Why can’t the CITIZENS go straight to Darrel Pyle? Why are WE relegated to working through our Council Members who, in some cases, can’t critically think through the entire scenario and see how they are being manipulated?
Who the hell does Darrel Pyle think he is? Obviously his $190,000 annual salary and access to all the Golden Parachutes in the private sector makes his development-at-all-cost, Supreme-Ruler-of-Norman behavior to wiping thousands of tax-paying proletariat off the map justifiable in his mind.
Development at all costs right? Slash and burn suburban sprawl brings WEALTH right?
(Reality: Most American Suburbs collect only a fraction of the tax revenue required to finance their sprawling infrastructure. It is clear that car dependent suburbs are not financially sustainable. The amount of tax revenue collected by the suburbs does not cover the replacement cost of its infrastructure and so suburban cities become addicted to growth - any kind of growth - just to bring in enough tax revenue to cover their maintenance obligations).
I got me a couple more questions. Are you ready?
One developer (Home Creations = Shaz) wants the ENTIRE CITY to have to PAY for service roads, interchanges and infrastructure improvements along a turnpike that only he and his rich developer friends want because it will smash our development zoning codes so he can build a medical center and high - density housing and horde even more money.
How much is that going to cost the city? I mean, how much is that going to cost US - the TAXPAYERS - you know, us proletariat. The people that actually pay for things around here with our blood, sweat and tears…. and a huge chunk of our earnings every year.
How much is this scheme going to cost US? Ask the question. Supreme Overlord Darrel Pyle couldn’t answer the question at the table last Tuesday and yet continues to push this resolution based on HOME CREATIONS’ bidding.
And some of the Council Members bought his lies.
Why can’t the Council Members understand that We The People have already spoken? NO MEANS NO.
If the Council Members truly believe that we should continue to fight the OTA in the legislature, then they have to support us by voting NO on the resolution.
If not, they are talking out both sides of their mouths.
Obviously.
The City Attorney - Because No Law Firm Would Take Him
Oh… and by the way. The information the city attorney is espousing is just his opinion. Attorneys and judges disagree on the interpretation of the law all the time. By the City Attorney convincing the Council that the statutes requiring consent do not apply to the OTA, he is swaying their opinion to dismiss the citizens and not giving the citizens a chance to take that point of law to court.
The City Attorney has no idea what he’s talking about.
The City Attorney told PIKE OFF OTA that if the City doesn’t pass the resolution and grant Indian Hills Road, then the turnpike will just go south of there.
Per Deputy Dumb Dumb (Joe Echelle) at the March 29, 2022 City Council Study Session (Minute 32) makes it VERY CLEAR that the OTA doesn’t want to put the turnpike SOUTH of Indian Hills because they would be in the Little River wetland corridor the entire time. Therefore, they wanted to move it back up to the Indian Hills existing roadbed to make it easier. The OTA doesn’t intend to cross over Indian Hills at Belmar, for example. The OTA said they would stop the frontage roads at 48th east (Douglas) unless the City wanted them to extend further east.
Call to Action
Michael Nash Ward 5 Council Member, said it correctly… “I feel like a broken record.” (52:51 in the Study Session Video above)
Yeah, brother. Me too.
NO MEANS NO! How hard is that to understand?
It’s time to remind our council members that we’ve already voted this down once, and it deserves to be rejected again. This so-called "partnership resolution" is absurd. A sample letter was provided in a previous post.
Sign up to Speak
Please sign up to speak at the upcoming meeting. Please wear red. If you can’t make it, please watch it live. The agenda packet is located here. Please keep supporting our fight.
City Council Members
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
City Manager
Darrel Pyle - darrel.pyle@normanok.gov or 405-366-5402
It’s Scott Dixon council member for Ward 8. He took $2500 from Home Creations in the race this year