Elizabeth McKinney resigned from her role as the AIM Norman Steering Committee chair at Wednesday's committee meeting, effective that night. Members of the Norman City Council will appoint a new chair of the committee during its meeting on Tuesday.
McKinney cited multiple delays with the committee as a reason that she resigned, adding the committee could interfere with her business endeavors.
“Regrettably, due to the multiple delays over the past year and with more anticipated, I can no longer commit an additional 18 months of my volunteer time with personal and professional expertise without affecting my business,” McKinney said during the meeting.
McKinney, and her husband Lawrence McKinney, came to Norman in 2021 to work in the Norman Economic Development Coalition, which Lawrence is the president and CEO of.
OU Daily reached out to McKinney for a comment but did not receive an answer before publication.
AIM Norman will serve as Norman’s 20-year comprehensive plan, a strategic guide for development, land use and public investment in the future. The comprehensive plan can be changed while in use and does not serve as a commitment to any action or a budget. Norman’s current plan is set to expire in 2025.
McKinney’s resignation was recorded and uploaded to YouTube by Pike Off OTA, an anti-turnpike organization formed in opposition to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s ACCESS Oklahoma infrastructure plan.
McKinney said her resignation is not a reflection on city staff or any consulting group involved with the steering committee. She said those people will carry the committee to success in writing the proposed comprehensive plan.
As time permits, McKinney said she will continue participating with committee activities as a member of the public and wished the steering committee “godspeed” during its process.
McKinney’s resignation comes two weeks after the Norman City Council postponed a resolution that would have certified the steering committee’s subcommittees at its Oct. 24 meeting. Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant pulled the resolution off the consent docket prior to the meeting.
The resolution would have added attendance requirements for steering committee members, included a parks and recreation plan to the list of things for the committee to work on and clarified the selection process of subcommittee members.
The resolution was postponed by a vote of 7-2, with Mayor Larry Heikkila and Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball voting against postponement. A vote on the resolution will be held at the upcoming council meeting on Tuesday.
The council agenda includes a copy of the resolution, but it has not been updated with a new committee chair.
McKinney spoke during the Oct. 24 meeting, saying she was concerned and questioning the postponement. The October vote marked the fourth time something concerning AIM Norman had been postponed by council.
McKinney said at the Oct. 24 meeting that some committee members had grown frustrated by the postponements.
Listen to McKinney’s speak at the Oct. 24 meeting on News Beat from OU Daily:
McKinney asked the council what they hoped to achieve by postponing the sub-committees further.
At that meeting, Grant said they were “choosing a diplomatic route” to work some things out, allowing time for “people to make some choices.”
McKinney said in response the postponements were creating a credibility issue with the steering committee and reminded council that the current comprehensive plan is set to expire in 2025.
In an interview with OU Daily, Grant said they feel the process was treated as a “cart before the horse” operation. Grant said council members were asked to find steering committee members before any contract was approved for consulting.
Grant said council had “arbitrary” deadlines that would’ve required council to select committee members by December of last year.
Though the committee has been held up for nearly a year, Grant said council’s goal isn’t to continue postponing the committee but move along with the process.
“We want it to be done with,” Grant said. “We also recognize the way that this process hasn’t rolled out quickly. Again, if we don’t do something at the front of it and let it go, we're afraid it will go off the rails.”
Grant said council will fill the chair vacancy, a Ward 7 member vacancy and solidify the subcommittee selection process on Tuesday. Grant said they aim to focus on creating more diverse subcommittees, and encouraged Norman residents to apply in order to achieve this.
“We really do need a diversity of people at the table pointing out the direction we need to move and what the realities are for people all across the spectrum,” Grant said.
This story was edited by Karoline Leonard.
