Norman City Council held a meeting July 14 to discuss a request to develop an on-campus hotel, implement school resource officers in Norman Public Schools and accept a $60,000 anonymous mask donation to the Norman Fire Department.
The council discussed the allocation of funds from a 2020 COPS Hiring Grant with Norman Police Department’s standards administrator John Stege.Â
Stege's proposal stated the addition of 13 police officers is required and is meant to be jointly funded by participating school systems and a public safety sales tax. The NPD has worked alongside the NPS system to provide these officers throughout academic communities.
“The purpose of the program is to ensure the safety and security of our schools and to break the cycles that marginalize youth by proactively targeting the underlying cause of social harm, which begin in childhood,” Stege said. “Instead of simply responding to behaviors, (school resource officers) have an opportunity to pool resources and to share information with local entities to redirect and refocus energy, rather than simply punish.”
Stege requested funds from the grant be used to hire the remaining four officers as an addition to the currently funded level of sworn officer positions on or after the official award start date. The total project would costs $1,011,915, including base salaries and benefits of around $80,000 per year per officer — a federal share of $500,000 and a local share of $511,915 for the next three years.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Holman was one among many councilmembers who said he understood the city was not in the position to afford to pay for the whole program. He said he recognized this as the school system’s security, and administrators should be intimately involved in running and paying for it.
City attorney Kathryn Walker shared the fears of her fellow councilmembers.
“This was put to voters as a jointly funded program,” Walker said. “And although we might not be (fulfilling) this (13 officer request) on the original timeline from 2014 ... it says jointly funded. I share the council’s concerns, especially if we are not getting a sense from Norman Public Schools that they are willing to take on their half. ... Their financial woes are our woes.”
Ward 5 Councilmember Sereta Wilson also said while participating in the 12-hour city council meeting June 16, she heard the concerns of various Norman citizens regarding the safety of the NPD’s School Resource Officer program. Wilson said she believes the voices of these concerned individuals should be considered in this process.
“I like the program, I have enjoyed the program (and) my kids thrived in that program — they love the officers and many people in the community appreciate those officers,” Wilson said. “I just want to make sure that we are doing something significant to address those concerns that were voiced to us that night in the 12-hour meeting.”
Norman Police Chief Kevin Foster said he believed Wilson heard from a minority of people who were having these issues. In Oklahoma, he said 96 percent of teachers said they are for school resource officers, based on a poll conducted by the Professional Teachers’ Association.
“We encounter those arguments,” Foster said, “(but) I think we do an outstanding job and a majority of the people in the schools like us.”
Councilmembers moved to wait until August to discuss the matter further to allow Stege time to update his proposal.
Councilmembers further discussed an anonymous donation of $60,000 for the purchase of 100,000 masks, which Norman Fire Chief and Emergency Manager Travis King said he plans on distributing throughout Norman fire stations. He said citizens can get a mask if they need one, and he hopes to have them sent out to businesses soon.
Mayor Breea Clark said she is grateful on behalf of the city for the donor’s generosity.
“We know this mask ordinance will make a difference in our battle against COVID-19,” Clark said. “We also know masks cost money, so this will help our businesses and residents as we continue to keep our residents safe.”
Finally, Sean Rieger, the attorney for the applicant and presenter of the project, said on July 10 Sooner Legends announced it will not be reopening, meaning the only hotel within a 2-mile radius of OU’s campus is Quality Inn and Suites on Classen Blvd. Rieger proposed the construction of The NOUN Hotel which would be built on 542–543 S. University Blvd.
According to Rieger's proposal on behalf of developer Scott Lambert, The NOUN Hotel would be a 92-room overnight lodging facility that is walkable to OU, downtown and Campus Corner. Lambert has also worked with First Presbyterian Church to lease a portion of their parking lot to the project.
Among various support letters, Rieger said he received one from OU’s Executive Director of Government Affairs saying he could not bring colleagues and officials to OU for conferences and meetings due to the lack of a university adjacent hotel. He asked the council to consider the multitude of support letters the project received in making their decision.
Concerns regarding the building’s height, increased traffic and the noise that would result from future construction were posed by members of the neighborhood in question in the formation of this plan. Councilmembers discussed the concerns, heard comments from the public and passed the ordinance — amending the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation plan to allow for construction of the hotel.
Members of the council stressed the importance of collaborating with affected residents in the future.
“I am in favor of this hotel, but I think that working together with the neighbors is really important,” Norman real estate agent Erin Williford said during a previous May 14 meeting on the topic. “Hearing them say that they’re concerned about height, ... the noise and the fence, I think that these are things that can be remediated and should be looked at strongly moving forward. I think there is a way for everyone to be satisfied ... and I highly encourage you to look for ways to do that.”
