Editor's note: This article was updated on Aug. 19 at 1:47 p.m. to reflect the City of Norman plans on filing a legal challenge to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority's application for bond validation.
The City of Norman hired an outside law firm to take legal action against the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, according to an official memo from the city attorney.
In a memo obtained by the Norman Transcript, the potential legal action stems from feedback from the city council regarding the ACCESS Oklahoma Project — three proposed turnpike routes that would directly impact much of Cleveland County.
The Transcript reported they obtained the email memo from Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello which was authored by City Attorney Kathryn Walker and sent to all city council members dated Aug. 11. The memo stated the city hired a law firm in June, but it did not state the name.
In the email, Walker wrote the city hired outside counsel to evaluate the possibility of legal action in July, the Transcript reported.
“Given the filing at the Supreme Court this week, we met with them today to discuss strategy. I anticipate a filing on the city’s behalf early next week in the Supreme Court case,” Walker wrote in the email.
The city has not yet filed, according to the state court network website.
Walker told The Transcript the city intends to challenge OTA’s application for bond validation.
Walker declined to disclose the specific legal filing, but said it had to do with “procedural issues,” according to The Transcript.
The city hired Spencer Fane law firm and has not yet received a bill, Walker said to The Transcript.
In a city council meeting a day before the memo, Pike Off OTA members urged the council to take action against the turnpike plans, including Amy Cerato, a member of Pike Off OTA’s board of directors.
During the meeting, Cerato asked why the city isn’t “pushing back harder” against the OTA’s proposal, and urged a lawsuit from the city against the OTA, citing the potential ecological, environmental and geological damage.
If filed, the city’s legal action would follow two lawsuits, including the litigation filed by Pike Off OTA which alleges that three proposed turnpike routes part of the ACCESS Oklahoma Project — the Tri-City Connector, the East-West Connector and the South Extension — are not authorized within state statute.
The second lawsuit has over 150 plaintiffs and claims the OTA violated the Open Meeting Act, arguing that OTA did not properly notify the public of meetings and agenda items.
