The Norman City Council honored two departing council members, approved a payment for repairs at Westwood Family Aquatic Center and new appointments to the University North Park tax increment financing oversight committee during its Tuesday meeting.
The council extended appreciation to Ward 2 Councilmember Lauren Schueler and Ward 6 Councilmember Elizabeth Foreman for their dedication to serving the Norman community.
Schueler told OU Daily in 2023 that the decision to not seek reelection was in the best interest of her and her family. She said she will focus on her mental and physical health and her full-time job. During the city council meeting, Schueler announced she is pregnant with twin girls and plans to move to the East Coast.
According to the City of Norman website, Schueler has lived in Norman for over 10 years and has a bachelor’s in anthropology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s in adult and higher education from OU.
Schueler was appointed to fill the Ward 2 vacancy on May 11, 2021, and officially elected as council member on Feb. 6, 2022. She serves on the Community Planning and Transportation Committee, chairs the Oversight Committee and is the designated alternate for the Oklahoma Municipal League board of directors.
“I think that having as many women on council as we've had for the last several years has been a real benefit to Norman,” Schueler said. “We've been able to help change some of the conversations with our lived and life experience. I think it's going to be different.”
Foreman is stepping down to run for the Oklahoma State Senate District 15 seat, representing Cleveland County and Norman.
Foreman has lived in Norman for nearly 12 years. She obtained both her bachelor’s in chemistry and master’s in public administration from OU. She is pursuing a doctorate in administration and leadership from Southern Nazarene University.
During Foreman’s time as council member, she served as chair for the Historic District Commission for the City of Norman and was a member of the Norman Transcript’s editorial board. Currently, she serves on the Finance Committee and the City of Norman Retirement Board.
“Ward 6 is an engaged ward,” Foreman said. “I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the best ward that is kind, gracious, more curious than they are judgmental. They're educated on issues, and they are vocal.”
Current Ward 8 Councilmember Matthew Peacock and community banker Joshua Hinkle won the City Council election in February and are set to fill the Wards 2 and 6 seats in July. Replacing Peacock and filling the Ward 8 seat is NCS Multistage account manager Scott Dixon.
The council approved items under the consent docket, which included Mayor Larry Heikkila’s appointments for the UNP TIF oversight committee, the approval of an interim city attorney, the authorization of payments to fix a leak in the Westwood lap pool and the approval of a final plat for a University North Park addition.
Ward 1 resident Paul Wilson and Ward 3 resident Steven McDaniel will join the oversight committee and serve from June 25, 2024 to April 1, 2027.
OU Daily contacted Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman and requested additional information on Wilson and McDaniel.
According to Holman, Wilson is a local who attends council meetings and announced he was running for the Ward 1 council seat in February. As for McDaniel, he has been a planning commissioner for a couple of years now.
Wilson and McDaniel will join the committee to share their opinions on updates regarding the proposed entertainment district TIF.
On Thursday, the current TIF oversight committee voted to reject increasing taxes to fund the proposed entertainment district. The plan proposed the district should be paid for by increasing all sales taxes within the TIF district for the next 25 years.
The council also approved the appointment of an interim city attorney. Current city attorney Kathryn Walker notified the council that she is resigning, effective July 5. Rick Knighton, a senior assistant city attorney, will act as interim city attorney.
Also on the consent docket, approved by city council during the meeting, the council authorized payments to Sunbelt Pools and Crossland Construction totaling $146,052.89 to fix a severe leak in the lap pool at Westwood Family Aquatic Center.
According to the meeting agenda, during the 2023 pool season, the leak caused significant water loss, reducing the water levels. Staff had to refill the pool daily to keep up with the water loss.
Once the season ended, the Line Maintenance Division located the leak but found the damage too extensive to repair. Westwood hired Sunbelt Pools and Crossland Construction to fix the lap pool.
According to the staff report, Sunbelt found several sections of eight and 10-inch pipes that needed repair and several smaller feeder lines into the main pipes that failed.
To pay for these repairs, it was recommended to the council to appropriate funds from the Westwood Pool Maintenance Reserve, ensuring the pool's continued operation and safety.
The council approved an item on the consent docket that included the final plat for a University North Park addition, which is a Planned Unit Development or PUD, located east of 24th Avenue NW and south of Conference Drive.
According to the agenda packet, the PUD will span 8.76 acres and comprise three lots, mainly for restaurant and retail use.
The Norman Development Committee reviewed and approved the public improvements program, final site development plan and final plat for the project on June 4.
Required public improvements include installing water mains with fire hydrants, extending sanitary sewer mains and channeling stormwater to an existing off-plat detention facility with an underground system. Additionally, private streets and adjacent sidewalks will be constructed within the PUD.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Taylor Jones. Chelsea Rose and Avery Avery copy edited this story.
