North Tulsa residents tell council easement closings exclude community; public commenters criticize opioid‑related spending

Speakers during the public comment period told the Tulsa City Council that proposed easement closings and associated development plans affecting Lansing and North Tulsa did not include community members and failed to address decades‑long infrastructure needs.

James Alexander, a resident who registered to speak on agenda items 7I and 7J, said he did not see neighborhood residents included in the planning for a utility easement closing and an overland drainage easement and raised concerns about long‑standing infrastructure problems in the area. “I don't see anything in there to say the people that live in that area. So that's a problem,” Alexander said during his remarks.

Bernice Alexander, who also spoke on items 7I and 7J, said the council’s actions disregarded a federally designated entitlement community and urged the city to follow the appropriate complaint and participation processes. “It's troubling because when you're making decisions such as the ones my husband was just talking about, you're not including the committee, the community,” she said, noting ongoing efforts dating to the 1990s to address raw sewage, groundwater and road repair in the neighborhood.

Cody Elkins, speaking on item 7G (grant appropriations to the Department of City Experience as listed on the agenda), criticized the city’s choice to give funds to arts or outreach projects rather than what he characterized as more direct interventions for opioid addiction. Elkins said the city “should give [money] to the families of every person in this city that has died of an opioid overdose” and questioned harm‑reduction approaches that distribute clean needles or provide signage, describing them as ineffective.

Council response and outcome

Council Chair Phil Lakin noted for the record that Morton Healthcare Center sits on top of one of the utility easements under discussion in items 7I and 7J. Despite the public comments on those items and the broader concerns raised by speakers about community inclusion and longstanding neighborhood infrastructure needs, the council voted to approve the 7A–7K block of second‑reading ordinances except for 7H, and adopted an emergency clause for item 7K, as recorded in the meeting minutes.

Why it matters: Residents and neighborhood advocates said the city’s easement closings and development decisions affect North Tulsa communities historically subject to underinvestment and that the planning process should include affected residents. The comments also illustrate disagreements over how the city should direct certain grant funds, particularly those tied to public health and harm‑reduction strategies.

Ending: Speakers indicated they will continue to pursue complaint processes and community engagement. The official ordinance texts and recorded vote tallies provide the formal record of the council’s final actions.