Council to consider assigning Adult Wellness and Education Center operator to Norman-based entity

Jay Solson, Norman parks and recreation director, told the council at the conference meeting that staff will present Resolution R-25-26-38 to reassign the operator contract for the Adult Wellness and Education Center from Healthy Living Norman LLC to Healthy Living Center Incorporated.

Solson said the reassignment concerns who holds the contract rather than changes to how the center is run. “Nothing's changing, except for our board members,” Solson said. He described the move as shifting oversight from primarily Oklahoma City board members to local Norman residents.

The city’s summary and Solson’s remarks said the operator contract establishes an initial five-year term with an option to extend for three additional five-year terms. Solson described a city utility-assistance tier for new operators: “It's a 100%, utility assistant that first year, and then it goes down by 40%, each year until it gets to basically 0 in that fourth year.” He also said the city will pay janitorial services and pool maintenance as part of early-year support, and that the contract requires the operator to “operate, manage, and maintain the property.”

Catherine Leedy, identified as the organization’s executive director, described how the new Healthy Living Center Norman Inc. board is being formed. “Our Healthy Living Center Norman Inc. Board, really is a transfer from our LLC, our local advisory board group that has been with us since before we opened with Lynn as the chair,” Leedy said. She said the board is selecting and nominating new members, that terms are three years and staggered, and that board members must be Norman residents or work in Norman.

Solson said the contract-assignment resolution would release future liability from the Oklahoma City entity and that the city supports the reassignment. He said the resolution appears as item 21 on the consent agenda for the council’s regular meeting later the same evening.

The transcript does not record a council vote on Resolution R-25-26-38. The item is presented to the council as an assignment of an existing contract; staff said program operations, membership pricing and staffing would continue unchanged after the reassignment.

Background details provided in the presentation show the project began as an RFP issued in November 2020, an MOU in April 2021 with Healthy Living and Fitness, Incorporated, and a facility opening in November 2023. Solson said the local advisory board and other Norman community members, including a former mayor and representatives from Norman Regional and the University of Oklahoma, are involved in the new board structure.

Staff said an ex officio city representative — currently the department head or the city manager’s designee — will continue to participate on the operator board.