[0:14] All right.

[0:14] » All right.

[0:16] » All right. Welcome to the city council

[0:18] [snorts] conference for Tuesday,

[0:20] February 24th, 2026. We have one item on

[0:23] the agenda, which is an update regarding

[0:25] the financial status of the Norman

[0:27] Forward program. And we have Jason,

[0:30] director of parks and wreck here to talk

[0:32] about that with us.

[0:34] » I just saw Clint over in the other

[0:36] building and I said the the scariest

[0:37] thing for finance people is a parks uh

[0:40] person giving a finance report. So, uh

[0:42] let's go ahead and start but

[0:47] » Somewhat uh some good news coming on on

[0:50] this front. the uh I think uh not this

[0:53] past month but the month before we we at

[0:55] the finance committee meeting there was

[0:57] talks uh about there might be some

[1:00] remaining fund balance at Norford at the

[1:02] end and so we just wanted to go over

[1:04] those numbers and uh what it what we're

[1:07] kind of thinking or projecting at this

[1:09] point and then uh we were I think we

[1:12] were instructed to come up with a list

[1:13] of possible projects to do with uh if

[1:16] there is a remaining fund balance at the

[1:17] end but uh first just want to kind of

[1:20] remind everybody of the full norm

[1:22] forward program. Uh as you look down

[1:24] there, this is uh a list of all the

[1:28] projects that was voted on and uh the uh

[1:32] original norm for budget and you see a

[1:34] revised budget. Some of the revised

[1:36] budgets did increase depending on the

[1:38] project. Some of them decreased um there

[1:40] towards the end. Uh the good news is

[1:43] that when you start looking at this

[1:45] whole list, uh we got a heck of a lot of

[1:47] these projects uh checked, done,

[1:49] completed. Um and uh we're kind of we're

[1:52] kind of towards the end of Norm forward

[1:54] where we're at all payo projects. So all

[1:57] the um the good news is all the large

[1:59] projects are kind of done and wrapped up

[2:01] and on the way or towards the end. We

[2:03] there's a few projects we still have not

[2:05] um closed out, but we'll be working on

[2:07] getting those. Um, and then when uh

[2:10] probably should have started, let's see,

[2:12] I might have missed that one. Uh, but uh

[2:16] you start looking at the down this list.

[2:18] Uh the uh projects that we do have left

[2:22] is the Canadian River Park, which is the

[2:24] very top one right there. Uh we also

[2:27] have uh partial um projects left in our

[2:31] existing neighborhood parks renovations

[2:34] and also our new neighborhood parks.

[2:35] We're down to uh one new [snorts] or one

[2:40] new neighborhood park that or two

[2:42] » Two one we're starting and then one

[2:43] we're getting.

[2:44] » Yeah, I got Blue Stem in the future

[2:45] South Lakes uh neighborhood parks which

[2:47] we're going to get to and trail

[2:49] development.

[2:51] Uh when you start looking um into the

[2:53] future, so this is uh working with

[2:55] finance finance. This is uh a uh kind of

[2:59] a list of projections. [clears throat]

[3:01] Um and I think there's moderate growth,

[3:03] very conservative growth um factored

[3:05] into all these. But uh you kind of see

[3:08] at the very top line beginning fund um

[3:10] balance uh and that kind of connects

[3:13] when you start uh or like FYE2 you look

[3:18] at the bottom you see 10 million 10.2

[3:21] million and then you go back up there

[3:22] and it starts uh all over again. And so

[3:24] there's moderate growth uh figuring into

[3:26] that. Also our our debt service that uh

[3:29] which uh there's uh three different debt

[3:32] services uh programs that we've used uh

[3:34] thus far uh and uh has the payments that

[3:38] go along with those. And then uh when

[3:40] those do get paid off, you see this kind

[3:42] of spreads out all the way to 2032.

[3:45] Uh technically in 2032 we do not have

[3:48] any um we don't project any portion of

[3:51] norm forward to be coming in at at that

[3:53] point but we'd still have debt service.

[3:55] So we we uh did um place that on the

[3:59] calendar and to um as we get towards the

[4:02] end of this uh the the norm forward

[4:05] stops at the end of the calendar year

[4:07] 2030. So that actually rolls into part

[4:09] of the fiscal year of 2031. So you see

[4:12] six months of that projection right

[4:14] there. But uh if you start looking at

[4:16] the bottom that kind of gives you a

[4:17] general idea of what ending fund fund

[4:20] balance will be uh towards that

[4:24] uh we did add in um as I said we're down

[4:27] to about five projects uh left in the uh

[4:30] norm forward program that we haven't um

[4:33] completed or hit substantial completion

[4:35] on. Uh those uh Canadian River, Saxon

[4:39] Park, new neighborhood park development,

[4:41] neighborhood park renovations, trail

[4:42] development. Uh those bottom four, we do

[4:46] have a portion um already spent on some

[4:48] of those. Saxon Park, uh we do

[4:51] anticipating that starting sometime uh

[4:54] probably late spring, early summer. Uh

[4:58] uh so we already have design done on

[5:00] that. We're kind of we're working with

[5:01] public works and I'm making sure that

[5:03] that the road in front of Saxon gets uh

[5:05] fully built before we start on that

[5:06] because there's huge money savings for

[5:08] for the part portion of that as long as

[5:11] uh uh the you know the road gets built

[5:13] with all the utilities and we're able to

[5:15] um tie into that. And then we still have

[5:17] a lot of uh when you start talking about

[5:20] neighborhood park development or

[5:22] renovation uh still a lot of uh big

[5:25] portion of that to go. Um we've talked

[5:28] about that. In fact, we have three um

[5:30] playgrounds on the agenda tonight. Uh

[5:31] one is coming up uh with the Blueest

[5:34] Stem, which is actually a new park

[5:36] development. So, a lot of tieins to

[5:39] that. And then you see Canadian River

[5:40] Park. We're still working on um getting

[5:43] some uh property to go along with that

[5:45] either through uh we've had talks with

[5:47] the Moore family. Um we're looking at

[5:49] the possibilities of acquiring other

[5:51] property if needed. And uh when you

[5:55] start talking about the Canadian River

[5:56] Park, it uh it can start unfolding

[5:58] because the idea is originally to have a

[6:00] trail head and then trails connecting to

[6:02] to the Canadian River um park. Uh so if

[6:06] you take what we projected of having

[6:08] remaining balance and um taking minusing

[6:12] off the final number we have over here,

[6:14] which is the $22.7 million, we come up

[6:16] with uh there could be about 11

[6:19] millionish dollars left over when we get

[6:21] to the end of Norm for. So worked with

[6:24] staff uh um some other departments to

[6:27] kind of come up with a list of possible

[6:29] projects that could be used on this is

[6:32] uh when we start presenting these

[6:34] projects we'll say that a lot of our

[6:36] Norman Ford projects we especially talk

[6:38] about Reeves Griffin uh we only built to

[6:41] probably about 50% done. So the master

[6:43] plan is not fully completed on those

[6:44] parts. So when we start presenting

[6:46] portions of that to you that is uh all

[6:49] fits within within um those master

[6:52] plans. So the first one is and these are

[6:55] in no specific order. These are just um

[6:57] we wanted to present it to council to

[6:59] get some input and then we'll eventually

[7:01] talk to uh park commissioners uh and

[7:04] CFOB to also get input before uh we

[7:08] progress on any of these or make

[7:09] decisions on any of these to bring it

[7:11] back to you for final decision. So, one

[7:13] of the ideas is uh to go for a sudden uh

[7:16] wilderness land purchase. Uh currently,

[7:18] we're under a long-term lease with the

[7:20] state. Uh there is some definite

[7:23] advantages [snorts]

[7:24] in in purchasing that land. Uh last time

[7:27] we talked to to the state uh we got a a

[7:30] cost estimation around 3 million give or

[7:32] take uh a little bit. But the yellow box

[7:35] is an approximate area that we is

[7:38] stateowned. Of course, set in wilderness

[7:40] does uh we do have some area that's kind

[7:43] of in the uh this back portion right

[7:45] here that we do own. Uh but this is all

[7:47] the stateowned portion. Uh the

[7:49] advantages uh of purchasing this now

[7:52] instead of later. Uh we think that with

[7:55] Griffin, we we did show that we can get

[7:57] uh land from the state at a a good cost

[8:00] and um land is going to be no cheaper

[8:02] now than it will be in the future. Also,

[8:05] this says um add insurance um at least

[8:07] on our portion that there's uh nothing

[8:11] that could happen with that. Even though

[8:12] you have a long-term lease, there's

[8:13] always, you know, there's always a

[8:15] possibility the state could find a way

[8:16] to maybe wiggle out of that. And we

[8:18] always want to make sure that the states

[8:20] a a wilderness preserve.

[8:22] Like I said, about $3 million with that.

[8:24] Uh in a norm uh program, we did have a

[8:29] project set aside for softball in a

[8:31] football park. Uh we that was about $2.5

[8:35] million when we tried to progress on

[8:37] that. Um when it came for that that

[8:40] portion or that turn for that project to

[8:41] come up. Uh this was the the uh

[8:45] schematics that input that we got back

[8:48] from the our adult softball group and

[8:50] the Norman Optimus Club at that time. Uh

[8:53] and this uh schematic had a um cost um

[8:56] estimation of about $9.5 million. So,

[9:00] uh, when we, uh, started working on

[9:02] that, we saw that that was not

[9:04] attainable. Um, no matter how hard we

[9:06] try, we can't you can't fit a $2.5

[9:08] million budget into a $9 million

[9:11] project. So, we decided to at that time

[9:14] along with, um, council, uh, we decided

[9:16] to split that project up and make, um,

[9:18] make some developments or progressions

[9:21] at both Ree Park and at uh, Ruby Grant

[9:25] Park. The softball portion was upgraded

[9:27] at Ree Park and then um we do have some

[9:30] practice softball fields out at

[9:33] uh Ruby Grant. This is for possibly

[9:37] purchasing land. So we've uh looked at

[9:38] two different sites. One of them is the

[9:40] old north water treatment plant which is

[9:42] uh never got developed. Uh we have

[9:44] talked to um we the utilities department

[9:47] actually owns that property. So we would

[9:49] need to purchase that from them. Uh, and

[9:52] it's been a few years ago. Um, and

[9:54] [snorts] that was with a different

[9:55] director. So, I don't remember what the

[9:56] negotiated price is at that, but

[9:58] recently talking to Chris and Chris

[10:00] would love uh if we do progress on that

[10:02] area to get a a appraisal of that

[10:05] property and for us to to pay whatever

[10:07] the market price is for that because

[10:08] they are a utility enterprise fund. They

[10:10] do need to make be made whole. We're

[10:12] also looking at um another property

[10:15] maybe uh towards the center part of town

[10:19] also owned by the state. So, uh, we have

[10:21] not dived too deeply into that, but

[10:24] there's a possibility of [snorts] us

[10:25] purchasing that property along with

[10:27] maybe splitting the cost with utilities

[10:29] to buy that. And we kind of estimate

[10:31] that uh no matter where we buy, we need

[10:33] somewhere between 40 and 60 acres and

[10:35] that would be about $2.5 million to to

[10:38] uh get that property. And now this is

[10:41] just for a property purchase and this

[10:42] would be kind of held aside um for a

[10:46] future norm forward or a future bond

[10:48] election. uh we don't think that that we

[10:50] could develop it. Um that would just be

[10:52] for the the land purchase.

[10:57] Another big thing and when we start

[10:59] talking about possible projects that go

[11:01] along with this thinking of layups

[11:03] basically things that would be very very

[11:06] popular with the public. Uh there is

[11:09] nothing more popular um with the public

[11:11] than the adult wellness and education

[11:13] center. Uh, as we were building that,

[11:16] uh, we did original cost estimations. I

[11:19] think we're about $12.4 million for for

[11:22] the adult wellness and education center.

[11:24] Uh, we we ran into this wall called

[11:26] COVID. And then during CO everything,

[11:28] um, the market went crazy. So, uh, we

[11:31] ended up spending about $14 million on

[11:33] building what you look at as just a gray

[11:36] portion. Uh we wanted and hoped to build

[11:39] a multiple u multi-purpose gym along

[11:42] with that project, but we couldn't

[11:43] afford it at the time. That got cut out

[11:46] uh to add that back in. The estimated

[11:48] cost at that time was about a million

[11:50] and a half. So uh to build it if we

[11:52] would have added it to it, in hindsight,

[11:54] it probably probably would have been a

[11:55] wiser idea uh right now to uh go back

[11:57] and uh add that in. We're probably

[12:01] looking at somewhere in about $2.5

[12:02] million.

[12:05] that would be all in soft cost

[12:08] um design

[12:11] everything to go along with that.

[12:15] Another thing which we have talked about

[12:16] several times before uh is uh updates to

[12:21] re park mainly to uh replace kids space

[12:24] or and or to add in a miracle field

[12:28] which is an ADA accessible field for

[12:31] everybody all children. Uh so the uh

[12:35] estimated cost between that is 2.5. I

[12:37] think we had about a million dollar set

[12:38] aside for the kit space and uh

[12:41] approximate cost about a million and a

[12:42] half for [clears throat] the the miracle

[12:44] field.

[12:45] » Uh so couple caveats to go along with

[12:48] these as we're pointing these out. We

[12:50] did file for a T set grant um in the

[12:52] amount of about $600,000 to go along

[12:54] with kids. That was our our um

[12:57] beneficiary of that grant. We're still

[12:59] waiting to hear back. We'll hear

[13:00] something uh hear something back next

[13:03] month. Um about that is a two-year

[13:05] grant. So that would be uh getting

[13:07] $300,000 uh in the next [clears throat]

[13:10] calendar year and then following that

[13:11] another $300,000. But uh if we don't get

[13:14] that, we do need to make plans to

[13:16] replace kids space. And the playground

[13:18] alone is about $700,000, but we think

[13:20] the uh infrastructure to go around that

[13:24] uh between lights and sidewalks and

[13:27] other updates that that need to be made

[13:29] uh around a kid space that probably be

[13:31] somewhere around a million dollars. And

[13:32] then the uh miracle field which we've

[13:35] come and presented to you a few times.

[13:37] Uh this is uh kind of imagine the if

[13:41] you're out at Andrews Park or at Ruby

[13:43] Grant the playground surface that's

[13:45] there as a full baseball field of that

[13:47] same kind of poured soft surface and

[13:50] it's perfect space for uh to have uh

[13:54] have a baseball field for kids of all

[13:55] abilities and uh to have that um we

[13:59] already have the corner kind of marked

[14:00] out for that. Uh there's a field right

[14:03] there that we kept. Uh we talked about

[14:07] shrinking the the pond size to make sure

[14:09] that that always stays in. Uh so we

[14:12] think that would be about a million and

[14:13] a half dollars for that poured surface.

[14:15] Upgrade to the lights and uh going

[14:17] through there and making sure that the

[14:19] everything around there is fully

[14:21] accessible for those who who would use

[14:22] that field.

[14:24] » That's the current layout of the park,

[14:26] right?

[14:27] » Correct. Correct. So, this is currently

[14:28] out with the the park and those two

[14:30] yellow squares would be the project

[14:32] areas

[14:32] » And there's other phases of Reefs Park.

[14:35] » Yeah. And I didn't add in uh the full

[14:37] master plan. So, because no part of the

[14:40] park would be we're not saying that

[14:43] would be a good project at this time.

[14:44] It's just that to build out those

[14:46] baseball fields or other parts of those

[14:48] baseball fields. I say I think the cost

[14:50] would be too great for us to to probably

[14:52] fit in to the into a extension of or

[14:56] this extra funding from Norford without

[14:59] um taking out some other things that we

[15:01] think would probably be more vi viable.

[15:03] » The long range plan for park is to

[15:06] replace all the fields like we did.

[15:07] » Correct.

[15:08] » The first four.

[15:09] » Correct.

[15:13] » Griffin Park updates. Uh, one of the

[15:15] things that we want to get in there, and

[15:17] we've talked to council about this

[15:18] before, is, uh, and I know that we're

[15:20] hitting up, that's playgrounds,

[15:21] playgrounds, playgrounds. Um, this is

[15:23] another one that would be highly

[15:25] popular. Uh, we want to go through all

[15:28] of our our, uh, community parks and make

[15:30] sure make sure they have what we refer

[15:32] to as highly accessible playgrounds. Uh,

[15:35] uh, the playground costs uh that we, uh,

[15:38] would put out at Griffin's about

[15:40] threequarters of a million, $750,000. um

[15:42] adding a public restroom building out

[15:44] there next to the playground which would

[15:46] uh uh service the the dog park

[15:50] playground and the disc golf u would be

[15:53] about a half million dollars

[15:56] and it would go up in the that corner

[15:58] and that once again this is part of our

[15:59] master plan already planned um and

[16:03] talked to the public and went through an

[16:05] ad hoc committee.

[16:07] » That's the master plan not what it all

[16:09] currently is.

[16:10] » Correct. I kind of I kind of switched

[16:11] that one backwards. Should have put the

[16:14] other one in there now that you got me

[16:15] talking out loud, Mayor.

[16:17] » But that's where that other soccer

[16:18] field,

[16:19] » Correct?

[16:20] » Stand still.

[16:22] » Yes. And and now kind of thinking back,

[16:25] the reason I didn't put the other map in

[16:27] there like I did with Reese Park is

[16:28] because the uh the the current map we

[16:31] have now does not have a playground or a

[16:33] a restroom. It did have a restroom

[16:35] building up there that got um demolished

[16:37] with that putting in that new road area

[16:40] out there that leads back to the

[16:42] » Dogfield might not be their highest

[16:44] priority.

[16:45] » Do what?

[16:46] » The

[16:46] » Oh, the Yeah. So when you you start

[16:48] talking about that right there, the

[16:50] talking to the soccer club in uh certain

[16:54] areas of that like the indoors I think

[16:57] that is becoming more and more reality

[16:59] especially that now that we have true

[17:00] cost with the by factor of how much

[17:03] utilities cost. There's no way that any

[17:06] private Yeah. I mean you're talking

[17:08] somewhere in the neighborhood of

[17:09] $100,000 a year just for utilities. And

[17:11] I think they're mentioning improvements

[17:13] to the field surfaces was correct

[17:15] probably more more beneficial to them.

[17:20] » Uh another one that that we would want

[17:23] to offer up which we think is a a very

[17:25] valuable

[17:27] chance of uh that has a lot of valuable

[17:30] uh chance for and be very popular with

[17:32] our product or for the public is the uh

[17:35] Andrews Park updates. Uh now the master

[17:38] plan did come in after

[17:40] uh Nora Ford, but Andrews Park is listed

[17:44] as one of the uh beneficiaries of Nor

[17:46] Ford in the original ordinances. So we

[17:48] do think that that it's possible to go

[17:50] through here and um build the pond,

[17:53] which would also have a storm water um

[17:56] benefits to go along with it, not only

[17:57] recreational benefits uh and a restroom

[18:00] building. Uh so to go all the way in

[18:03] cost for everything that's surrounding

[18:04] that the the survey engineering and

[18:08] design of the pond along with uh

[18:11] pond and storm water construction and a

[18:14] public restroom building that's all

[18:15] about 2.75 million all in for all that

[18:18] area right there. Um and we think that

[18:21] we can get that fully built out as is or

[18:24] as it's shown in those yellow boxes.

[18:30] Another one that we have listed on here

[18:33] which we do think it has a little bit of

[18:35] interest uh for us uh uh is a young

[18:40] family athletic center. We have had

[18:42] conversations with with young family.

[18:45] There is some benefits both for us and

[18:48] um when we start talking about

[18:50] membership and going farther into um a

[18:53] revenue um creator for the Young Family

[18:56] Athletic Center where we're we think we

[18:58] are to the point where we could break it

[19:00] even this year for the first time u

[19:02] because now we've taken over concession

[19:05] uh operations inside the YFAC. But we do

[19:07] think there's a lot more opportunity to

[19:09] to grow revenue and make that that uh

[19:12] special revenue fund even more

[19:13] independent. And the number one thing

[19:16] that we always hear feedback is that

[19:18] y'all don't have a gym space to lift

[19:20] weights or work out in. And um we don't.

[19:23] And I think that would uh put us on par

[19:25] with some of the other or above par uh

[19:27] with uh everybody else in town that

[19:29] offers the same kind of programming. Uh

[19:31] I think that that would uh take the

[19:34] membership up where we could definitely

[19:36] be a very independent um special revenue

[19:38] fund. Uh we have had cost uh

[19:42] conversations with the young family uh

[19:44] if we are able to come up with it. The

[19:46] the wait room cost estimation is about

[19:49] $4 million. They said that they would be

[19:50] willing to split that cost with us if we

[19:53] are able to uh come up with that $2

[19:55] million. And we also have a bond that

[19:59] was taken out during the construction of

[20:01] the Young Family Athletic Center that

[20:03] was taken out against our guest tax. And

[20:06] as of right now, it has about I think

[20:08] about 2.4 $2.5 million payoff on that.

[20:12] But that would be beneficiary, very

[20:14] helpful for our guest tax, which would

[20:15] open up other areas for uh the guest

[20:18] tax, especially if that election passes

[20:21] where we can start doing capital

[20:22] [snorts] projects with that because that

[20:23] is taking up I think about $400,000 a

[20:26] year out of our our guest tax. Um so

[20:28] when you start talking we get $600,000 a

[20:31] year. $400,000 is taken out for a bond

[20:34] payment.

[20:35] you know, don't have to be a parks and

[20:37] rent guy to figure out that's not very

[20:39] good. U but the uh it would even be even

[20:42] better uh when the guest tax hopefully

[20:44] does pass and then we would have this uh

[20:47] fully available with full bonds. Like I

[20:49] said, we have 70 parts um about 150 $160

[20:54] million worth of assets. It's really

[20:56] hard to take care of on our liable or

[20:58] limited availability of capital funds.

[21:03] We do have miscellaneous other projects

[21:05] which have been uh talked about.

[21:07] Westwood uh start out with Ruby Grant

[21:09] since that's at the top of the list. Uh

[21:11] Ruby Grant trail upgrade upgrades. We

[21:13] have had uh talks with OU about uh

[21:16] upgrades to our cross country areas out

[21:19] there. Uh they do hold the SEC

[21:22] championships uh for cross country I

[21:25] think in 2029.

[21:28] Uh so they've had talks with us about

[21:30] sharing a project uh out there and

[21:32] hopefully making that their home course

[21:34] along with holding the SEC championship

[21:37] uh cross country meet uh where this

[21:39] would come beneficiary outside of just

[21:43] hosting college meets. Uh this would

[21:45] make it a primary very high desired

[21:49] uh cross country track for not only for

[21:52] you college meets but also for high

[21:54] school meets and other recreational

[21:56] features. So it would do full upgrades

[21:58] to that. I think when we start talking

[22:00] about what upgrades they need, uh it

[22:02] needs the the track has to be at least

[22:04] 10 10 meters wide all the way through.

[22:07] Uh it has to be a constant uh surface.

[22:09] So we do have uh some limited uh because

[22:13] we have concrete surfaces, we have uh

[22:15] granite surfaces, we have grass

[22:16] surfaces. Their preference would be all

[22:18] grass. So we just need to figure out a

[22:20] route through there and make sure

[22:21] everything is about 10 meters high. Once

[22:23] again, not only would we be a be able to

[22:25] host a college cross country, but we

[22:27] would also be able to do uh state

[22:29] championships and districts and so forth

[22:32] and so on. So, I think that would be a

[22:35] great ad to the to uh the the parks. Um,

[22:39] also at Westwood, we haven't uh opened

[22:42] that in 2018.

[22:44] I haven't had a new feature out there.

[22:46] the uh in a shortterm when we're talking

[22:50] about a 100 day program per year we pull

[22:53] in about a million dollars worth of

[22:54] revenue um out there it's the most

[22:57] successful highly highly public used uh

[23:02] uh municipal pool in the state uh other

[23:06] places come to us to try to figure out

[23:08] what we did we kind of got lucky uh I

[23:11] think as a combination with our

[23:12] population center only having uh one

[23:15] pull uh for the amount of population we

[23:17] have in here and we did it really really

[23:19] good. Um but brings in about a million

[23:22] dollars. We need to add a new feature to

[23:23] keep make sure that we have eventually

[23:25] add a new feature out there to make sure

[23:27] that uh we have public interest and keep

[23:29] coming out there because Oklahoma City

[23:31] starting to redo pools or or private

[23:33] always that private pool uh feature that

[23:36] you have white water or the the harbor

[23:40] [snorts] whatever the heck they're

[23:41] calling it nowadays. um that that

[23:44] they're always upgrading and making

[23:45] advancements and and uh when we talk

[23:48] about a new feature, it could be

[23:50] anything from a uh a surf type machine,

[23:54] new slide, new feature. We already have

[23:56] everything plumbed in going back to our

[23:58] pool house. We just need to figure out

[24:00] and purchase that new feature, whatever

[24:02] that would be to add to to Westwood. Uh

[24:07] also we have sign packages uh that a lot

[24:09] of our uh the parks that we have been

[24:12] working on uh especially Ruby Grant,

[24:14] Griffin and Ree. We did not progress

[24:18] with a full sign package out there

[24:19] because budgets were so tight when we

[24:21] were working on those projects. Uh we

[24:24] did uh put in a capital request for a

[24:27] sign package to come out of uh current

[24:30] norm forward um this upcoming year. um a

[24:34] sign package for all of our neighborhood

[24:35] parks along with uh upgrading our our

[24:38] community parks with this type of

[24:40] signage. And there is about $550,000.

[24:42] And like I said, we did not do any re um

[24:45] um signage at Reeves or at uh Griffin

[24:48] because those projects were I mean, we

[24:50] were down to pennies towards the end of

[24:51] those projects. So, we want to go

[24:52] through there and clean it up and get

[24:54] way finding signage at those parts along

[24:56] with uh obvious

[24:59] um placemaking signs in in front of

[25:02] those.

[25:04] » Can we uh build it west with the

[25:07] airport? How tall can we build?

[25:08] » Do what?

[25:09] » How tall with the airport being close

[25:10] by? Do we have the highest?

[25:13] » So, the um

[25:15] » Just

[25:16] » What's the tallest slide?

[25:17] » I [clears throat] think we can go up to

[25:18] about 25 ft.

[25:21] That's probably about as tall as the

[25:22] ones that are out there.

[25:23] » So, the think of if you go look at those

[25:26] lights, they're about 35 uh I think

[25:28] they're 35 ft in the air. That's I think

[25:30] that was the the top that the FFA

[25:36] would allow us so we could um mix up

[25:39] with flights and farmers. Um

[25:41] » Cool people could see.

[25:43] » Yeah. Got to go to Westwood.

[25:46] » Yep.

[25:48] But everything we looked in is about

[25:50] anywhere between um a new feature is

[25:52] about a million dollars and you start

[25:53] adding in uh design cost and insulation

[25:57] on that. We we think that'd be about an

[25:59] extra half million to to go all in. Uh

[26:02] so when we start talking about this is

[26:04] all the project summary. Of course we

[26:06] don't have $22 million uh to spend on on

[26:09] all this, but these are just some ideas

[26:11] wanted to present to you. Uh, also

[26:14] there's been um talks with the CFOB uh

[26:17] if we do have excess uh amount or C's

[26:21] financial oversight board. Shannon,

[26:24] there you go. The uh to make sure that

[26:26] that that uh if we have overages they

[26:30] wanted to possibly set some aside for

[26:32] maintenance or or

[26:36] redoing of things that kind of get worn

[26:38] out um there towards the end. So there

[26:40] there's also that hanging out there. So,

[26:42] just wanted to uh tell you the good

[26:46] news. There's a possibility that we will

[26:47] have a fund balance there towards the

[26:49] end and and um what possible projects

[26:52] that the the parks department would

[26:54] suggest going along with everything.

[26:56] » A balance of 11.08

[26:59] million left over.

[27:00] » Yes.

[27:01] » So, that's the possible projects that we

[27:04] could do left over, but there's 11

[27:06] million and you [snorts] would say maybe

[27:07] reserve some of that for maintenance

[27:09] stuff. So maybe 10 million.

[27:12] » Yeah.

[27:13] » So we might have 10 million to actually

[27:17] do some of that with. I would maybe just

[27:19] » Correct.

[27:20] » Council.

[27:21] » Oh, thank you. Um just for the record,

[27:25] » Excess funds in Norman Ford can only

[27:27] spend be spent on Norman Ford projects.

[27:30] Correct.

[27:30] » Correct. [snorts]

[27:32] » You have a windfall of savings. You

[27:34] can't spend it somewhere else.

[27:35] » It's limited on it. So it has to be

[27:36] anything that was described in the

[27:38] ordinance that set off the [snorts]

[27:39] walls.

[27:40] » So we have a limited view of what we can

[27:42] spend it on.

[27:42] » What's the proposed process for Weeden

[27:45] through these projects and kind of

[27:46] selecting the final candidates?

[27:48] » Is that going to be the decision of us

[27:52] nine or are they going to the parks

[27:54] department going to bring us

[27:54] recommendations on what they think the

[27:56] highest priorities are? final decision

[27:59] lays with right with the the council and

[28:02] I think we can go through there and

[28:04] whatever the process that we all think

[28:06] or you think that's best uh we can go

[28:08] through there with CFOB we can parks

[28:10] board we can vet vet some of this

[28:12] through them and I I think that they

[28:14] will definitely have some priorities and

[28:16] suggestions to go along with that uh you

[28:19] we definitely have some opinions and

[28:21] then we come through there and put that

[28:23] all together and present to you there

[28:25] towards the end especially the feedback

[28:26] that we get from our our public.

[28:29] » Okay. And when do you think when do you

[28:30] anticipate we be making those decisions?

[28:33] » It's a good question. So the um and we

[28:36] probably need to talk to um make sure on

[28:38] finance one is is that the schedule of

[28:41] available funds and so we don't want to

[28:43] get too far ahead of of where we need to

[28:47] be. We don't want to go out and start

[28:48] spending a whole bunch when there's not

[28:50] that amount in the bank. Uh, and one of

[28:53] the things that kind of [snorts] works

[28:55] in my mind, you start talking about the,

[28:58] uh, we have an obvious delta at Andrews

[29:01] Park. Uh, we have things, we don't have

[29:04] a public restroom out there. The the

[29:05] park's very tired. So, when you start

[29:08] looking at uh, it does have storm water

[29:11] advantages to go along with this. So,

[29:13] the when you start looking at the

[29:15] possibility of that, so when you start

[29:17] looking especially start picking out

[29:19] Canadian River Park. Yes, that is a

[29:22] project, but that has always been

[29:24] planned to be one of the last part

[29:26] projects in North Fort. So, can we bump

[29:28] up something else on this because now

[29:32] Canadian River Park, we still don't have

[29:34] land. Um, and we have to have land

[29:38] in our possession to basically start the

[29:40] project. We have to know what the park's

[29:42] going to look like. We're going to have

[29:43] to know how we connect trails to it. And

[29:45] right now, uh, we've had several

[29:48] conversations about land, but nothing

[29:50] nothing anywhere close to being a sure

[29:52] thing. So, that's still hanging out

[29:54] here. Now, if council makes it a

[29:56] priority to bump one of these suggested

[29:58] projects up ahead of that, you know,

[29:59] that could be within y'all's realm.

[30:03] » So, would you prefer us to I mean, I

[30:05] know which one's on the list that I

[30:07] would push as priorities. Is it helpful

[30:10] for us to just send you our individual

[30:11] list or how, mayor, how would you like

[30:13] for us to do this?

[30:17] » [clears throat]

[30:17] » We're in kind of uncharted territory.

[30:19] We've never had such a scenario where

[30:21] we've got

[30:23] » Available resources and you know a wish

[30:26] list kind of put together by staff, but

[30:28] there may be other park or recreational

[30:32] projects you have in mind that we didn't

[30:34] cover that we'd be happy to add to that

[30:36] list as we work our way through. Um, I I

[30:40] think if maybe we could assemble a list

[30:43] if council submitted their priorities,

[30:46] we'll make sure I mean this this

[30:47] presentation is on YouTube, but we can

[30:50] send you the list and yeah, love your

[30:53] feedback and we'll start bundling it up

[30:55] into a package that we think will fit in

[30:57] the budget. We can bring it back to a

[30:59] study session or uh an appropriate

[31:01] committee meeting as we work through a

[31:02] process.

[31:04] » Thank you. Grant

[31:07] » Um I like list being sent to us and

[31:09] maybe a line item for maybe holding some

[31:13] back for maintenance. Um, so we can rank

[31:16] it appropriately. I'm just going to say

[31:18] W4 and the fact that Andre's Park

[31:21] doesn't have a restroom and we have

[31:22] events that happen out there and we

[31:25] don't have a central library. Police

[31:27] station is somewhat of an option. So is

[31:29] municipal complex.

[31:31] I hear a lot about there not being a

[31:32] restroom out there and if it's only 500k

[31:35] I you know I would advance that before

[31:37] the other things with Andrew.

[31:39] » So to just be clear to get to the

[31:41] restroom we have to

[31:43] » Survey it and then we have to move dirt

[31:46] to make sure because we're that you're

[31:48] going to there's a order of operations.

[31:50] We can't just go put the restroom in

[31:52] there.

[31:52] » So there's no getting away from the

[31:53] 2.75. I would still agree

[31:55] » It's somewhere in it doesn't have to be

[31:57] the full amount but it's somewhere

[31:58] within there because the uh the restroom

[32:01] right now is placed where the the

[32:03] man-made ditch is and that and what we

[32:05] want to do is go back to the original

[32:06] water flow that was in the park and that

[32:08] man-made ditch is right where the

[32:10] restroom is designed or picked out to

[32:12] be. So we need to get that

[32:14] » Moved.

[32:15] » Well, obviously I feel [clears throat]

[32:17] strongly about it. So, I'm putting a one

[32:19] on it when it comes to us. And maybe

[32:22] that needs to be bundled together

[32:24] considering um what needs to happen in

[32:27] the order of operations.

[32:30] » Yeah. and the the one for that being the

[32:32] storm water part and I don't know what

[32:34] the total I can't recall what the total

[32:36] cost is that we're spending on the south

[32:39] I creek

[32:41] project that's going on right now stream

[32:43] bank stabilization and all that but the

[32:46] the uh capacity for this water to be

[32:50] held at in the Andrews Park and provide

[32:54] some relief for all the neighborhoods

[32:56] downstream of here between here and the

[32:59] Canadian

[33:00] um I think is a pretty

[33:03] good point for including that one

[33:05] because it has an impact that stretches

[33:07] through the middle of the city for a

[33:09] couple miles all the way south.

[33:11] » And and I want I want to be very clear

[33:13] this is not a full fix storm water-wise.

[33:15] This is only a small

[33:17] » Small small portion of what all the

[33:19] capacity we need to do it. It does

[33:20] expand it but it's not near enough.

[33:23] » Yeah, there's none now. That's just a

[33:25] rock channel that runs through. U but

[33:28] yeah, um I think council members

[33:31] evaluating that list, thinking about how

[33:33] much we have there. Um and letting staff

[33:36] know and then we can discuss it further

[33:38] and either a committee oversight or

[33:40] community planning, transportation or

[33:41] finance. Um I suppose maybe

[33:46] » Or study session, whichever. And then I

[33:49] I know we'll get questions about the

[33:50] library um about, you know, should we

[33:55] reserve any of this for that issue? And

[33:58] I know we're litigating it, the

[34:00] potential of getting uh the construction

[34:02] company and those involved to be held

[34:06] responsible for that cost to fixing it.

[34:08] But I know we'll get that question is

[34:10] should we save this and use it for that

[34:12] instead?

[34:13] I think that's a viable option. Uh point

[34:17] out that right now that the hopes is

[34:20] that you know that gets fixed by the

[34:22] contractors and everything gets worked

[34:24] out through mediation or litigation

[34:26] whatever it comes down to. But us

[34:29] working ahead and I know it's been

[34:31] there's been some suggestions maybe we

[34:33] use some of this to go there in there

[34:34] and fix it now. That that should not

[34:36] that's not an option because one we

[34:38] don't we have to have an architect and

[34:40] we have have a number two we have to

[34:41] have the contractor. Number three, that

[34:43] thing is evidence. It's a big box of

[34:46] evidence. So, we don't want to go in

[34:47] there and change or fix or do anything

[34:49] right now. And number two, there's no

[34:51] contractor or no architect in the world

[34:53] that it's going to touch that and take

[34:55] the responsibility of shifting all the

[34:58] liability to them if something in the

[35:00] future goes goes wrong with it.

[35:02] » We fix it, you own it.

[35:03] » Yep.

[35:06] » All right. Any other questions or

[35:07] comments from council about number four

[35:10] finds?

[35:10] » All good news. Um, yeah. I think there's

[35:13] a bunch of stuff on there. I think

[35:15] there's stuff that we had to cut out

[35:19] that we can sort of put back in. I think

[35:21] that'll help people um, you know, that

[35:25] may have felt like they voted for some

[35:26] stuff and we weren't able to get it all

[35:28] done, but we can get maybe some more of

[35:32] it done with this. So, um, okay.

[35:36] All right. Well, thank you very much,

[35:37] Jason. appreciate the update and look

[35:40] forward to the continued conversation

[35:42] on uh this list of potential uh

[35:45] projects. Okay, if that's it, then this

[35:48] meeting is adjourned.

City Council Conference, 2/24/26

Transcript