Norman City Council discussed the Sooner Mall sales tax rebate agreement and updates to city ordinances during its study session Tuesday.
Sooner Mall sales tax rebate agreement
The news: Council discussed the Sooner Mall sales tax rebate agreement after postponing the vote during its June 9 meeting.
Sooner Mall has requested a 100% sales tax rebate of non-dedicated city sales tax generated at the mall in excess of the average annual non-dedicated tax collected from 2022-24, up to $300,000 per year, according to a staff report. The contract would allow Sooner Mall to receive a partial refund on certain property costs made by the mall using tax revenue.
Council was scheduled to vote on the contract at the June 9 meeting, but postponed the vote in order to further discuss the rebate. Council will vote again during its regular meeting on June 23.
Ward 3 Councilmember Robert Bruce, Ward 6 Councilmember Josuha Hinkle and Ward 8 Councilmember Scott Dixon will be hosting a town hall over the Sooner Mall Tax Rebate, June 22 at city hall.
What they’re saying: Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman shared his concerns about the mall having “multiple years of slightly negative downtrend” and how that might affect sales tax revenue.
“Right now we bring in almost $2 million a year in sales tax revenue from the mall property. If the mall were to continue to decline, that's a guarantee we’ll potentially lose $2 million a year in sales tax revenue because there's no guarantee that revenue will go back into the rest of Norman,” Holman said.
City park, camping ordinances
The news: Council discussed proposed amendments to public park ordinances, continuing its discussion from its June 9 meeting.
City attorney Rick Knighton presented the amendments, which include changing language in the Sutton Urban Wilderness Ordinance, to make activities prohibited there also Norman public parks.
Proposed amendments include removing the term “camping” from the ordinance to allow for the creation of a camping specific ordinance, and adding additional language to keep watercrafts out of park ponds.
Knighton also proposed a new ordinance to address camping and obstruction of public property, replacing the use of “camping” in the original ordinance.
The new ordinance would prohibit camping on public property except in connection with a city-sponsored or a special event, storing personal property on public property and camping on a public access point like a sidewalk or trail. The ordinance would also include requirements to notify owners of personal property to retrieve property before it is removed.
The discussion follows the clearing of a homeless encampment at Frances Cate Park in May by the Norman Police Department, which raised concerns about the city’s ordinances regarding camping at public parks.
What they’re saying: Holman said he wants to prioritize giving residents a notice and opportunity to voluntarily remove personal property as part of the ordinance.
Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant asked how long the Norman Police department holds onto personal property, to which Knighton said 30 days, depending on what the property is.
Ward 5 Councilmember Trey Kirby raised concerns that city staff and NPD’s could have potential to be exposed to drugs while clearing personal property.
Jason Olsen, director of parks and recreation said their staff tries not to touch most of the property and they have a method of removing property without their hands having to touch the property.
This story was edited by Reagan Rozzi.
