Owasso council declares state of emergency after April 2 storm

The Owasso City Council on April 2 approved Emergency Resolution 2025-01, declaring a state of emergency after a severe storm that caused injuries and damage to public and private property across the city.

City Manager Chris Garrett told the council the resolution would allow the city to expand its recovery operations and to pursue state and federal assistance if needed. "The item for your consideration is a request to approve a resolution declaring a state of emergency due to this morning's storm event that caused significant damage to properties across the city," Garrett said.

City Attorney Julie Lombardi described the measure as a legal vehicle that clarifies staff authority during the emergency. "This is just a mechanism, a vehicle for the city to be free to assist citizens in any way that we need to going forward that would be appropriate," Lombardi said, noting the resolution authorizes expenditure of funds, emergency contracting and the temporary suspension or waiver of permitting fees to expedite repairs.

Councilors asked whether the city had sustained damage to municipal structures; Garrett said there was "a little bit of property damage out at the golf course," and otherwise the damage was to private property. A council member asked about funding sources for cleanup; staff deferred to Carly Novozinski, who said, "My understanding at this time is that the current city budgets would be sufficient to handle anything that may arise. But as [the city attorney] said, this would cover us if there was something unexpected in the next few days." The resolution notes it commences on April 2 and remains in effect "until such time as the storm's impact no longer poses a threat to the citizens of Owasso."

During the meeting the council moved and seconded approval of the resolution and recorded affirmative votes from Vice Mayor Bridal Dunn, Councilor Doug Bonebrake, Councilor Paul Loving and Councilor Preuget. The council directed staff to keep members apprised and to return to the council to ratify any emergency contracts or to present a formal end to the emergency period when appropriate.

The declaration makes immediate administrative tools available to city staff to support cleanup and repairs and preserves the city's ability to seek state or federal assistance if necessary. Staff said they expect to monitor recovery needs over the coming weeks and to bring any proposals to end the emergency back to the council for formal action.