During its Tuesday meeting, the Norman City Council unanimously passed a resolution expressing opposition to the ACCESS Oklahoma Kickapoo Turnpike extension and an ordinance increasing water line connection charges for new connections.
Following several residents speaking out against the turnpike and the organization of the Pike Off OTA group, Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Holman presented the idea of passing a resolution similar to one in 1999 opposing a turnpike extension at the March 9 council meeting.
Each council member used a portion of their announcement time to speak against the proposal, citing potentially unknown environmental effects and the loss of homes in their remarks, and each member received applause from the audience after they finished.
Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello — who represents the ward that would be most affected by the turnpike — assured that everyone on the council supports the resistance to the turnpike and expressed his pride in his ward’s response.
“One house is one house too many, and we’re gonna fight this together,” Tortorello said. “I’m really, really proud of how Ward 5 (has) come together. The grassroots, working together, solving these issues, creating databases and presentations.”
Tortorello also asked those who are able to attend the Pike Off OTA rally at the Oklahoma State Capitol Wednesday afternoon.
“(The rally) is an important moment to tell the governor and OTA how we really feel. That we will not go down without a fight,” Tortorello said. “And this is our fight, not just Ward 5, but Norman’s.”
Ward 8 Councilmember Matthew Peacock said that the turnpike affects everyone in Norman, even though the turnpike only goes through Wards 5, 6 and 8.
“Just know you’ve got our support,” Peacock said.
Ward 6 Councilmember Elizabeth Foreman thanked OTA for “uniting norman,” adding she was glad to see the filled chambers. Foreman shared that the turnpike directly affected her mother, a 71-year-old widow.
“According to the engineers, this will take 100 years to pay off. So our great-grandchildren will still be paying on a road that will not be used … we’re not only suffering a great loss to our city, but everybody in the state will be paying for this as well,” Forman said.
Though she could not attend the rally at the Capitol, Foreman encouraged citizens to “give ‘em hell” at the event.
Mayor Breea Clark said that OTA could’ve taken the turnpike in several different directions but instead chose not to inform city staff, elected officials and Normanites of any plans to construct the toll road.
“They chose lightning traffic over Norman residents,” Clark said. “I will never stand for that, and you don’t have to agree with me on everything. But we will stand together, and I will be with you tomorrow (at the Capitol rally) because this is unacceptable.”
Clark commended Tortorello and the other council members on his “zealous” and “vigorous representation,” adding that OTA’s power affects every city in Oklahoma. She assured residents that the council would stand with them in their fight.
“We will not stop fighting, and we’re going to show the OTA and Gov. (Kevin) Stitt what happens when you pick on Norman, especially when we’re united,” Clark said.
Clark ended her comments by saying that she asked the city manager to send out a letter to every resident impacted by the turnpike requesting their stories to hear every voice.
“I want you to look into all these TV cameras and tell your story to the rest of Oklahoma. Let the rest of Oklahoma know what’s coming if we don’t stop the OTA. I want you to let Gov. Stitt know what happens when you pick farmland to develop without getting input from our residents,” Clark said. “That’s who needs to hear your stories. So, let’s continue to stand together, and I will see you at the Capitol.”
The resolution concerning the turnpike was placed on the consent docket, which is a series of measures that can be approved or denied within one vote by the council instead of several different votes. Clark affirmed that the resolution belonged on this docket because the council was in total agreement with each other.
Once the consent docket was passed, several audience members stood and applauded the council members and their unanimous decision.
Ward 3 Councilmember Kelly Lynn mentioned the upcoming April 5th election during his announcement time. This election includes races for the mayor of Norman between Clark and Larry Heikkila and Ward 4 Councilmember between Helen Grant and Gale Hobson, as well as a vote on a water rate increase.
Lynn said he would be voting for this increase and later was joined by several council members. The increase would support replacing outdated water infrastructure and metering.
Several council members will hold events to gather public opinion and answer questions from residents. Ward 1 and Ward 6 will hold a joint event Wednesday evening, Ward 2 and Ward 4 will have a joint meeting on Thursday. A joint meeting between Ward 7 and Ward 8 was held on Monday evening.
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Holman pointed out that Norman is the only city in the state to have its residents vote on utility increases, adding that Norman has only had two rate increases in 40 years, with the last increase being seven years ago.
Council voted on an ordinance that would increase new water line connection charges by 25 percent to help support water infrastructure improvements. This ordinance passed council in a vote of 6-3, with council members Lynn, Tortorello and Peacock voting against the measure.
Lynn said that while he was planning to vote for the water rate increase, he felt that council was asking residents to “double-dip” and taking more money out of people’s pockets, adding that funding for water projects didn’t have to come from water rate, but could come from American Rescue Plan Act funds or grant money.
