Norman council approves two OTAA contracts amid wide public protest

The Norman City Council on March 24 approved two contracts with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority that city staff say accelerate planned upgrades and avoid duplicative construction — but which residents said effectively sell the city’s leverage to the turnpike authority.

Assistant City Attorney Beth Muckla told council K-2526-139 would require OTAA to design and pay 100% of the construction costs for city right-of-way impacts and to fund relocation of four water wells; city staff said the OTAA agreed to $8.95 million for well relocation while the city’s net waterline obligation would be about $1.964 million. “They are also going to be responsible to cover 100% of design costs … and will pay 100% of the relocation cost of the water wells,” Muckla said during her presentation.

Why it matters: city staff argued the deals save money and reduce future disruption by combining the city’s 36th Avenue Northwest project with OTAA’s East–West Connector construction, using OTAA’s earlier schedule and avoiding separate excavations. Opponents said the OTAA has not completed environmental or drainage studies, that the agreements could undercut a pending legal challenge, and that large OTAA payments resemble a bribe to obtain cooperation.

What the contracts do: K-2526-139 covers waterline relocations, betterments and four wells the city says are 70–75 years old and partly inactive. Utilities staff estimated the city’s immediate outlay at about $1.964 million for waterline betterments while the OTAA would pay the wells’ relocation estimate of $8.95 million. K-2526-156 would align construction and drainage work on modified Phase 2 of 36th Avenue Northwest with OTAA’s drainage routing and provide a $2.2 million city contribution after crediting prior right-of-way and utility work.

Public pushback: more than two dozen people spoke against the agreements, repeatedly urging delay until the OTAA produces environmental and hydrological studies and until pending litigation is resolved. Trey Kirby, who lives in Ward 5, told council, “You’re going to flood out Ward 5 … We already struggle keeping that water out of our hay fields and off of our roads.” Rob Norman, a longtime critic of the OTAA, said residents fear the contracts “give them something they can wave in front of a judge or the legislature” and called the OTAA offer “a bribe.”

City response and technical details: Utilities Director Nathan Madden said abandonment of inactive wells must comply with Oklahoma Water Resources Board rules and that the city would control how OTAA’s money is spent for the water fund. Public Works Director Scott Cers said the city has conducted drainage analyses for its 36th Avenue project and that integrating OTAA work could avoid future private acquisitions and duplicative construction, but acknowledged remaining uncertainties about the exact box size for drainage identified in OTAA’s updated modeling.

Council votes and next steps: after extended questioning and hours of public comment council members approved both contracts by identical 7–2 margins. Council Members Blahett and Noire voted against both agreements, and the minutes record a mix of support and reservation from other members. Staff said the contracts include standard remedies if OTAA cannot perform, and that OTAA would make payments within 45 days if the agreements are executed. The city also said it would pursue contractual remedies or other equitable remedies if the OTAA failed to perform.

Context: the 36th Avenue project has been a voter-approved priority since a 2012 bond package, but changes in federal scoring delayed its construction. City staff said federal grants and the OTAA coordination reduce the city’s remaining funding gap for Phase 2, but opponents urged the council not to trade long-term policy leverage for near-term capital savings.

What’s next: staff said a NEPA public meeting on 36th Avenue’s environmental review is forthcoming and that the contracts will be implemented under inspection and final-acceptance processes. Several residents said they will continue to press the city for stricter public-engagement requirements and for clearer environmental and drainage analysis before OTAA begins major construction.