Skip to main content
You are the owner of this article.
Edit Article Add New Article
You have permission to edit this article.
Edit

LATEST

ALERT

Weather Alert

...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TO 7 PM CDT SATURDAY...

* WHAT...Heat index values up to 109 expected.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, northern, northwest,
southeast, southern, and southwest Oklahoma and northern Texas.

* WHEN...From noon to 7 PM CDT Saturday.

* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of
the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

&&

City of Norman opens new Development Center, aims to increase communication between departments

Attendees

Attendees of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the City of Norman's new development center on Jan. 27.

 Bob Nguyen/OU Daily

Norman City staff unveiled a new development center during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.

The City of Norman Development Center located on 225 N. Webster Ave. will house the city’s utilities, parks and recreation, finance, public works and planning and community development departments. City Manager Darrel Pyle said the close proximity between local government offices would greatly benefit efficiency.

“It's opportunities to bump into people you might not have ever bumped into before and just exchange information,” Pyle said. “You may have a problem that's a problem for you, but it's not a problem for the other side of the building.”

Pyle said by collecting various government offices into one location, they will be able to increase communication between departments. This will allow customers to handle a variety of city-related business in one location.

“When you pay your permit fee, you can just walk through that door to the finance department and never have to leave the building,” Pyle said.

Key features of the facility include increased storage for all Norman departments, a public meeting room with audio and visual equipment and a drive-thru for payments, according to the city’s website. Pyle specifically spoke about a new automated kiosk that allows customers to type in addresses and manage permits digitally.

“Right now we've still got a large contingency of customers and cash is how they conduct business, and we’ll support them forever,” Pyle said. “So we’ll always have the finance department with a face-to-face utility representative.”

This story was edited by Alexia Aston, Karoline Leonard and Jazz Wolfe. Ansley Chambers and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.

PHOTOS: City of Norman opens new Development Center

OU Daily standards

See an error? Earning trust is our duty. We correct errors atop stories. Identify an error, request a takedown or get in touch.

Independent and free since 1916: OU is committed to our editorial independence. You can help ensure our reporting remains strong and accessible to all invested in OU and Norman.

Want to comment? We value dialogue on issues we cover. On our social media accounts, we moderate disparagements, arguments and attacks, including those directed at our staff — and ban those repeatedly failing civility. The editor considers guest column submissions.