The Muskogee City Council on July 28 approved Ordinance No. 42-66a to annex roughly 123.1 acres of the John T. Griffin Industrial Park and establish an I-1 light industrial zoning classification for those parcels.

City planning staff presented a service plan tied to the annexation that describes utilities and estimated costs. The plan says distribution maintenance for water would cost about $10,211 annually, water treatment roughly $691,880 annually, and sanitary sewer collection and treatment about $350,000 annually. The plan also estimates annual street maintenance at $18,906 and lists stormwater, sanitation and environmental-control cost treatments and mechanisms. Staff recommended approval. “The final service plan will be incorporated into the ordinance that is up for your approval tonight,” planning staff member Sarah Winkle said during the public hearing.

Why it matters: annexation brings the parcels under Muskogee municipal authority and municipal service delivery, and — as Mayor Patrick Kale emphasized during debate — it also subjects in-city users to city fees and permitting. Kale said the annexation advances the city’s long-term comprehensive-plan vision and that municipal utilities already in place justify folding the remaining parcels into the city. “Incorporating these areas into city limits ensures that all users benefiting from municipal infrastructure participate fairly in its cost,” Kale said.

Public commenters included a representative of an existing facility in the park, who warned about the financial effects of city franchise fees. Daniel Chipkowskis, speaking for Polaris Technologies, said his company opposes annexation unless the city negotiates a different franchise-fee arrangement for Polaris. “For Polaris, this will amount to roughly $5,000,000 more in additional costs,” Chipkowskis told the council, and he asked the city to “sit down with Polaris and try to understand how this impacts them financially.”

Chipkowskis contrasted Polaris with other projects in the park, saying those projects had negotiated different terms. Mayor Kale responded in the hearing that the city’s practice has been to extend utilities tied to development and then follow the statutory annexation process; he said the city uniformly applies the 3% electric franchise fee to properties inside city limits and argued exemptions after services have been provided would be unfair to other businesses.

Council action and related motions: Councilor Jamie Stout later brought a separate item asking the city manager and city attorney be authorized to negotiate franchise-fee agreements for businesses in the John T. Griffin Industrial Park. The item drew public comment, including remarks from Charles Crawford, who provided an overview of regulatory roles affecting electricity, and resident Michael Gregg, who asked procedural questions about city negotiations. A motion to approve the negotiation authorization was moved, but the item received no second and did not advance.

The annexation ordinance passed on roll call 8–1 (Jamie Stout voted no). The council also directed staff to include the service-plan timing language in the ordinance and confirmed that the service schedule may be negotiated during the public-hearing process, as noted in the plan presented to council.

Other actions tied to economic development: In executive session the council considered an economic-development proposal identified as project ED-2025-09. After returning to open session the council authorized the economic development director to proceed with the project as discussed in executive session and voted to appoint Shirley Hilton Flannery and Deputy Mayor Derek Reed as mediators in a separate legal matter discussed in executive session.

Votes at a glance
- Ordinance 42-66a (annex John T. Griffin Industrial Park; rezoning to I-1 light industrial): Approved 8–1; motion passed and service plan to be incorporated into ordinance. (Ordinance number: 42-66a)
- Resolution 30-41 and Ordinance 42-67a (602 N. 20th St.: future land use amendment and rezoning from R-4 to C-1 for a proposed daycare): Approved unanimously.
- Resolution 30-40 and Ordinance 42-68a (North 20 Fourth St.: future land use amendment and rezoning from R-1 to R-2): Approved unanimously.
- Item to authorize city manager/city attorney to negotiate OG&E franchise tax agreements for John T. Griffin Industrial Park businesses: Motion moved but received no second; no action taken.
- Executive-session direction to proceed with economic development project ED-2025-09: Approved.
- Executive-session appointment of mediators (Shirley Hilton Flannery and Derek Reed) for litigation matter CJ-2024-360: Approved.
- Additional routine approvals during the meeting included purchases and contract awards (ARPA Water Treatment Plant Improvements contract to Cook Consulting LLC for $1,600,000; purchases of vehicle/equipment per state/Sourcewell contracts), creation of a tourism grant advisory board, several board and commission appointments, honorary street names, and acceptance of a $5,633 donation from the Cherokee Nation to the Muskogee Police Department. Details on those votes appear in council minutes.

What the council did not decide: the separate request to let staff negotiate franchise-fee arrangements for firms in the industrial park did not receive a second and was not acted on. The council also said any exemptions or rebates to franchise fees after services have been extended would be inconsistent with the city’s stated policy of uniform treatment, as described by Mayor Kale during the hearing.

The annexation ordinance and service-plan language will be finalized in the ordinance text and entered into the city’s records; the council’s action takes the parcels into Muskogee city limits and establishes the stated service responsibilities and timing for municipal departments.