Council study session: draft Sooner Mall sales‑tax rebate capped at $300,000 a year, agreement to appear on next council agenda

City staff presented a draft sales‑tax rebate agreement for the Sooner Mall property at the May 19 Norman City Council study session and told council members the agreement mirrors a previously approved term sheet.

The draft is structured as a rebate, not an upfront subsidy, meaning payments would come from incremental sales tax revenue generated by improvements and tenant activity at the mall. Staff said the agreement includes a $300,000 yearly cap on rebates tied to a three‑year average of sales; reaching the cap would require roughly $1,000,000 in additional gross mall sales, staff said. One councilor said initial payouts in early years could be modest (roughly $60,000 in a first year example discussed by staff), with subsequent years depending on performance and renewals.

Mall manager Derek Colwill (introduced to the council when he arrived) said leasing and redevelopment work is ongoing and that the company operates each property as a separate LLC. Colwill told council that the possible timeline for a Sears‑box tenant deal was “end of third quarter, beginning of fourth quarter,” adding negotiations were still in progress.

Council members also discussed operational details such as whether the property could host a police substation and how tenant‑group input and parking lot improvements would be managed. Staff said tenant groups would still participate in improvements and that any enhanced or branded station treatments, if desired, would be paid by the city or private parties above the base package. Staff indicated the draft agreement would be put on the coming Tuesday’s council meeting agenda unless council asked to postpone for further review.

No formal vote was taken at the study session; staff said they will provide council with meeting minutes and follow up with Derek Colwill and other stakeholders to answer outstanding questions.