Good morning. We're going to get started this morning with an invocation led by Father Aaron Foshay of St. Joseph Old Cathedral, and that'll be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Adeline Yu of Girl Scouts Troop 177. Uh, please stand as you are able. Good morning. I invite all here present to join me in prayer as they are willing and able. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty and gracious God, from whom every good gift comes, we give you thanks for the year now drawing to a close, and for the many blessings you have bestowed upon the people of this great city. You have made us for community, and you call us to seek justice and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with one another. As those entrusted with leadership and service, grant wisdom to discern what is right, courage to do what is just, and humility to place the good of others before ourselves. We acknowledge your love revealed to us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through whom you invite all people into hope, reconciliation, and peace. Confirm us in the desire to walk together across differences of belief and background, so that our work may reflect the dignity of every person and promote the flourishing of the whole community. Send your spirit upon this council and upon all who serve the people of this great city. May what has been begun through sincere effort and goodwill be brought to completion by your guiding hand. Bless our deliberations this morning and direct all that we do toward peace, unity, and good the common good. We ask this with gratitude and trust. To you be glory and honor now and forever. Amen. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Father Foshee, and thank you, Adalynn. All right. I call this meeting of the City Council to order. A special greeting to Brett Dickerson, who is covering his final City Council meeting as a member of the media. First up, we have item three, Office of the Mayor, and I need to go to the front to make a presentation to our employee of the month. All right, Jason, where are you? Come on up. All right, Jason, we'd love to learn a little bit more about you, and so I would ask the clerk to read this resolution. Whereas, Jason Redman has been a city employee for 1 and 1/2 years and serves as talent development coordinator in human resources. And whereas, Jason fosters a collaborative and respectful work environment through his pragmatic approach and positive outgoing demeanor, earning the trust and appreciation of his colleagues. And whereas, Jason designs and delivers high-impact training programs in leadership, onboarding, and technical skills that strengthen employee development and support organizational success. And whereas, Jason organizes engaging, results-driven training sessions by translating complex topics into accessible learning experiences that boost employee engagement, build confidence, and improve performance. And whereas, Jason ensures new hires feel welcomed and prepared from day one and promotes a culture of belonging and forward-thinking values. And whereas, Jason exemplifies the city's core values by driving a culture of continuous improvement across the organization. Now, therefore, be it resolved by the mayor and council of the city of Oklahoma City that they do hereby thank and commend Jason Redman, December 2025 South Oklahoma City Kiwanis Club Employee of the Month. Well, we know we have oftentimes we have people standing here who've been here for decades, but you are certainly an example that you do not have to be here for 40 years to make an impact. So, congratulations on this honor, just a year and a half into your tenure here. But, we hope you will stay for decades, Jason. This is a resolution, so we need to get a motion in a second, see if we can make it official. We have a motion and a second. Please cast your votes. I wish to vote I. >> [clears throat] >> Councilman Stonecipher, have you voted? I had to look at the materials first. All right, there we go. >> [laughter] >> Passes unanimously. Well, Jason, we're very proud of your work, very grateful for your service to the people of Oklahoma City, and honored to serve with you. We would love to hear a few words from you. The floor is yours. Sure. Uh thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to just genuinely say thank you to you, City Council, the the South Oklahoma City Kiwanis Club for this honor. I was totally floored when I got the email about this. Uh I love what I do. I love being able to make an impact with leadership here in the city through programs like Leadership Q and and whatnot, and through our training development department. Uh I couldn't do it without leadership with Amy and Debbie Boyer and all my coworkers, so it's it's not just me. It's the whole department, so thank you for that. Absolutely. Well, let's hear it for Jason, everybody. >> [applause] >> All right, that concludes Office of the Mayor. Now, we're at item four, items from council. And we'll start with a resolution, item 4A. This is declaring an extension to the penalty reduction program. This comes to us from the Judiciary Committee, so I'll call on the chair of that committee, Councilman Stonecipher. You know, as I as I look at this, um it's amazing next July we'll have this program for uh 7 years. And when we first thought about it and first discussed it, we thought it'd last about three or four months and we'd collect 50, 60,000 dollars and it would be done with. And so, I think at this point it's good to have LaShawn come up and kind of explain about what we've accomplished with this program. It's gone beyond our wildest beliefs and dreams, and so with that I'll turn it over to you, LaShawn. Thank you. Thank you, uh Councilman Stonecipher. Good morning, Mayor and Council. LaShawn Thompson, Assistant City Manager. Um like Councilman Stonecipher said, this program has been in existence since 2019, July of 2019. Um Councilman Stonecipher, I was the court administrator at that time. Uh he came to uh myself, Judge James, and um the Deputy Municipal Counselor Cindy Richard at that time. And he had uh been out at uh at the city of Sacramento, and they had an amnesty program. And so, he charged municipal courts with uh to go out and research and to bring back a program that we could do in Oklahoma City. And so, what we did was we implemented the uh penalty reduction program uh at the approval of Mayor and Council. So, this program is been extended seven times. If approved by council, it will be its eighth extension. Um it's for class A misdemeanor offenses, so these are your lower-level offenses, traffic citations, and your lower-level uh criminal citation. What it does, it gives the it gives the individual who has a case that is in a warrant status to come in and address the warrant at a reduced rate. And so, technically, if I received a speeding ticket and I didn't pay my ticket, the ticket has accelerated to the maximum amount, uh and then also there is a failure to appear associated with that citation. So, roughly in the neighborhood about 613 dollars is what that ticket is sitting at. When if I would have paid it on time, the ticket would have been 167 dollars. So, through this program, it allows individuals to come into court, they don't have to come into municipal court, they don't have to appear before a judge, and if they are prepared to pay the 155 dollars, the ticket is reduced and the failure to appear is dismissed. So, that is the the program's um uh highlights. To date, we have uh addressed 10,997 cases through this program. We have dismissed 3,616 failures to appears with a program collection amount of 1.7 million dollars. And so, a caveat of this program, the warrant had to occur before December the 31st of 2022. So, we're already getting ready to be in 2026. These individuals have not paid. Uh so, this is considered uh they have gone through our collection department so this is these are warrants that are sitting that are uncollectible. So, it it has been great for people to come in and address those cases at a reduced amount at a reduced cost. And if they're not able to pay the reduced cost, we still have in place indigency hearings and mechanisms in place to address when someone doesn't have the inability to pay. And I would be happy to take any questions if you have any. I think the most important thing about the program, the money's great. A million seven collected is wonderful. But the more important thing is every time someone gets pulled over and they have warrants, the our police officer has to take them to jail and it takes our police officer off the street for two or three hours to book that person. And so this lets our police force keep policing and that's the great thing about the program. >> Absolutely. I don't have any questions. I just wanted to say thank you for what you you've done in your department and everything else. But you also stated that we had dismissed how many warrants was it over 3,000? It was 10,997 cases that were in a warrant status. The 3,000 councilman is the failure to appears that were associated with those 10,000 cases. >> 11,000 individuals that we've also kept out of our county jail. Absolutely. Okay. I just wanted to say thank you very much. >> Thank you. The other thing I forgot to mention beginning January 1st, we're going to do a big push to re-publicize this and Councilman Holloway is going to be doing some interviews. You may not know about all of them, but he's getting ready to do some interviews to remind people that this is available. You will not be put in jail if you come down to pay the fine. That's the most important thing we try to explain to people. Come and see us, we'll take care of your problem. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. So at this time I'd make a motion for the resolution. All right. So this is a motion to adopt the resolution found at 4A. Do it electronically. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Now item 4B, this is a resolution authored by Councilman Stonecipher, Carter, Stone and Hinkle. And I think we'll start maybe with up to them I suppose, but I think maybe Councilman Stonecipher. I [clears throat] think the one thing that I'd like to say is when this came up, several of us asked for some briefings on Classen Boulevard which have now occurred and as a result of that, many people spent a lot of time meeting with experts, looking at traffic counts, looking at different ideas and I think one thing that we really need to focus on, we really need to remember that BikeWalkOKC, which we adopted several years ago, number one at page four, the number one goal, safety for residents who walk and bicycle in our community is the highest priority goal of this plan. We reach this goal by ensuring that infrastructure exists that is sufficient to provide actual safety during interactions with automobiles. This is about safety. It is about safety when you have interaction with automobiles. We are all for biking. We are all for mobility and walking around the street streets of Oklahoma City. It's a it's a good health thing. It's a good environment thing. It's just it's good for the city. And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Craig. We've been looking at some new ideas to deal with the issues about Classen Boulevard. We're going to talk a little bit I think about that today. So at this time I'll turn it over to Craig Freeman, our city manager. Thank you, Councilman. Just want to give a little bit of background on this that this project is moving forward. It's the bike lanes on Classen. Several years ago several council members had called out the fact, I think it's about the time that we had put bike lanes on we'd taken out a lane of traffic and put bike bike lanes on Walker. Councilman Stonecipher and Stone especially had said to me, "Hey, if we take out lanes of traffic for a bike lane, I want to know about that ahead of time." Not to say they're against everyone, but wanted to be aware of that. This project on Classen is actually a combined project. It's partnership with ODOT and ACOG. And in that project, it doesn't come back to the city council for a contract where we're approving a contract. It's a partnership and ODOT carries out the work in the contract. And so we didn't really have a way that this comes back to council. There's several places where it's come before council previously and we didn't call it out. And that's that was on me that I didn't call that out and make the point that this is what we're doing. And so when I realized this project was moving forward, I think construction was set to start maybe in February that I said, "Okay, staff, let's pause the project, take a look at Well, first what I did was I talked with the council members that had asked to be made aware of these projects. Let them know. They clearly wanted to not go forward with this project. Well, because we already had things in motion, I didn't have a way to make any adjustment to this. So I asked Jeff to make a presentation, Jeff Butler, our planning director, make a presentation to council on bike lanes generally where we were including the Classen bike lane. Council members did ask to have further briefing on options and alternatives that we could have. And so we've started doing that process and looking at what we could do, but I asked Jeff and Debbie Miller, our public works director, to get with ACOG and ODOT to look at what other options we could have to where we could accommodate aligning with existing infrastructure that we have to the east on Chartel and to the west on Western as well as connecting that infrastructure or that connecting those bike lanes with the rest of the bike infrastructure that we have downtown. And so we started that process to take a look at this. It's all kind of culminated this direction. Council members finally asked for a place where they wanted a resolution to say do not do the bike lanes as you planned to take lanes of traffic out, don't continue in that process, but look at other options to enhance bike lanes and bike traffic in other areas. So that sets the stage for kind of where we are today with this resolution and we want to talk a little bit about the plans of what we could do moving forward if this resolution passes and we don't go forward with taking out lanes of traffic from 10th Street to Sheridan in order to put bike lanes on Classen. And so Debbie Miller, our public works director, is just going to walk through a couple of slides talking about some of the existing infrastructure we have and then how we can make connections to that infrastructure and maybe make some even more improvements to that. I want to note too that this project that's an ACOG and ODOT project, a combination partnership project, was for street enhancements along Classen and so it's not just bike lanes, there was other improvements to be made with crosswalks as well as sidewalks. So I'm going to let Debbie talk about that because we're doing what we can to make sure that if this is approved that we can move forward with that project. Thank you, Mr. Freeman. Debbie Miller, public works director. I'm here to Mr. Freeman had asked me to look at options if we did not move forward with the bike lanes on Classen. So I have some information here that I can share with you. We're going to look at examples of intersection striping for bike lanes. We met with ACOG and discussed options that we could make modifications to the plans. We could provide the striping across the intersections at 10th Street, 6th Street, 4th Street, Main Street and Sheridan to make sure that the bicyclists would know to cross that direction to get over to Western or come back over to Chartel. The next one. So here's some examples of what we can do. This is the 23rd Street Kelly Crossing where we have a cycle track. And here is at 36th and Chartel where you can see where we have the skips that go across. One of the things when we did meet with ACOG, we did discuss the markings across the intersections. They also requested that we look at putting a trail behind the curb from 10th Street down to 6th Street and that would connect 6th Street up to 10th Street to the Classen bike lanes that are existing going north up to 16th. So what we did is we looked at the bicycle network that we have downtown. You can see over to the left we have Western and over to the far right we have Walker. The red are the dedicated bike lanes. We've got proposed bike lanes that we're currently working on on 6th Street and those are to be parking protected. It's a trial for that. If you notice the green, those are the areas that we are missing the connection at 4th Street and at 10th Street. So at 4th Street is currently striped to where we can go in and we could put in the bike boxes and actually make a tier two bike lane. At 10th Street, there's no way to reduce the lanes and there are roundabouts. So we would have to do sharrows and we are looking at the possibility of changing our standard from a black with the sharrow sign to the green box with a sharrow sign to kind of make it pop a little bit more to kind of give the bicyclists a little more comfort, but also to notify the cyclist that you you've got to watch out or not cyclist, the motorist. That's that's who we're really concerned about. But make sure they realize that there are bicyclists in area and they need to be aware. So here's a picture looking Northwest 4th looking back west. You can see it'd be very simple to extend those bike lanes over across to Western. And then here's the roundabout at 10th Street where we'd end up having to do sharrows, but we really feel with that green background that it would really make it pop and really bring the eyes to the motorists as they drive. And here is at 9th Street, it would be the same treatment as Shartel. So, I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have. Thanks, Debbie. Thank you. Maybe I have a question. So so we have I've would not have otherwise if not for this whole discussion had the cause myself personally to go down Shartel and Western, but I have in the last in the last few days. So we have these really I in from my layperson's perspective really nice bike lanes on Shartel and Western which seem to complete the connection to downtown if you were commuting that way. Why again, just as a layperson, why were we ever cuz cuz these these streets are 200 ft away from Classen. Why were we ever also putting one on Classen? What was the point of doing it on all three streets that are so close to each other? I'll let Mr. Butler answer that question. Uh good morning. Uh Jeff Butler, planning director. Um the originally these Classen bike lanes were not included in the the original BikeWalkOKC plan. Um Western and Shartel uh were supposed to be kind of the main north-south connectors. Um at some point a few years ago there was a lot of discussion uh among council members and in the community about putting the bike lanes on Classen. Um and it's um it could be appropriate because the level of traffic on Classen um doesn't necessarily need six lanes. So uh the decision was made to put them in to uh in in part um to connect Walker. You have to have some kind of bike facility on Classen to connect um Western, excuse me. Um to Western to Western. So at the point where it goes from west of Classen to east of Classen there has to be some kind of connection there. So you need a few uh blocks of of bike facility to connect. And so with that, you know, bike lanes were were deemed kind of necessary to make that connection and they extended a little bit further to the south. There have been even though it wasn't in BikeWalkOKC initially, there have been discussions for many years going back to a Better Classen about well is it appropriate, should we put bike lanes on Classen? Um and traffic counts have actually decreased a little bit and so uh it was felt like that was an appropriate thing to do and we went forward with the design. So um I kind of that's kind of a brief summary. I'm happy to go into more detail. Well, I just you know, as you well know, we're 620 square miles we have struggled to have bike infrastructure. We're trying to come in with it and I think that's very worthy. Um I can't think of any other place in the city where you have where you would conceivably have so many bike lanes almost stacked upon each other then and then in other parts of the city you go obviously miles and miles and miles without one. So it almost seems like just a concentration of resources that just from a layperson's perspective feels a bit much, you know, when you have such nice lanes on Shartel and Western. But I think I wasn't I should have maybe been more engaged, I guess, when this was being discussed a few years ago. May I ask a question? >> thing that needs to be >> Yeah, may I? I'm sorry, excuse me. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Director, um Can Did I interrupt you, Mayor? I'm so sorry if I did. Do what? Did I interrupt you? No, I don't think so. I think I'm okay. Yeah. Thanks. Uh just going back to your remarks, Director. You mentioned initially plans didn't exist for bike infrastructure on Classen. Uh then you mentioned that there were community uh meetings and outreach. Would you mind reminding us what the event was that led to the I sorry. Would you mind reminding us what the event was that led to community advocacy for bike safety and an all of the above approach to uh transit on Classen? I think there was literally one event. I think you know what it was. Uh yes, I mean there there was a uh an individual was was was killed uh crossing Classen. So that was um and I I forget the year. You may know, Council Member. Um that led to a lot of um um discussion about what should happen on Classen for bike lanes and and um you know, just safety for cyclists generally and in the downtown area uh and its environs. So um that that certainly was um a big factor in leading to just greater discussion and and um led to the implementation of some bike lanes that exist on Classen already. Um but again, it the discussion on whether or not to do bike lanes on Classen and what to do with Classen has been going on for many years um with the with the A Better Classen planning process that oh, that must have been 20 thir- about 10 years ago, I want to say. Yeah. Uh that So there were a couple moments. So I for Thank you for adding the other one. So of course there was the sous chef who was biking from Vast where he worked um to get home. Right? Because the bike wasn't for recreation for him as you'll recall, it was a mode of transportation. And so that that was important. But thank you for noting the other one which was before Councilwoman Hamon represented Ward 6, Mick Cornett was there. And with members of the community like John Dotson, etc. uh Shane Hampton through my time on council, they got together and did a study with students at the University of Oklahoma to talk about what would make Classen Boulevard a livable street for housing, people who live on Classen. Uh and pedestrian and bike safety were part of that conversation as well. And then like you, Mayor, and I'll just conclude here, like you, I have also, you know, I regularly bike either Shartel or uh Western as someone who lives in the Paseo to come down here. And so recently, because of this conversation, I've also gone back and almost done like an audit in my head. And I will note that biking from OCU during finals week once the sun went down, so from about 25th and Blackwelder sir down to Film Row, you can do the neighborhoods for a while, you can avoid Classen, right? But once one arrives at about 10th and Western, and then you're forced to be on Western to go the rest of the way. Yes, bike infrastructure exists and thank you. Thank you to staff. Seriously, it's very important to say. And thank you to the council and the voters for helping us get there. Um it's dark. There is no lighting. There is no lighting. And that helps me understand how someone is in danger uh even when there's a delineator there. That helps me understand how someone's in danger not just of another vehicle, but of the debris which collects in that space. Um so I would say and I I take very seriously the idea that both Western and Shartel can and must exist as connectivity routes. But improvements are necessary, I would say. Safety improvements and lighting's one of them. More regular maintenance. Right now volunteers go out and do some of the cleaning. Um we know that staff has a once a month kind of moment, but if it's dark and there is as there was when I was there part of a car, like literally like a fender, in the bike lane, that's that's dangerous and you can't see it. Right? So I would say there are enhancements that need to happen. There are two things about this is if one were to bike as I did off of uh Classen at 10th and head west to the 7-Eleven, steep hill. Steep hill to make that connection. Then if one is to bike, and Dotson brought this to our attention back in 19, if one's biking north on Shartel, once you get to and Councilwoman might know this better than me, I want to say it's about nine seventh, sixth, the steep incline that would face the child who bikes. And I will have a photo later of a child in a bike lane cuz this is not uh made up. Um but if a child or a senior is biking up Shartel all the way up to the roundabout, that is a steep ask on a steep incline. And so yeah, I think there are some things we need to be thinking about and enhancements for both of those two corridors. But the question has haunted me ever since this debate began a few weeks ago. Why did Chad bike on Classen? Why didn't he, even when there wasn't bike infrastructure, take Western or Shartel? And it's because the shortest distance between point A and B will always be a straight line. If we do not put any bike infrastructure on Classen Boulevard, people will still bike there and they will be in danger. That that that I I'm not trying to be hyperbolic. I am just saying they will bike it because it connects a lot. That's But isn't it I mean, the closest I mean, the fastest way to get from my house to here is to plow through 100 houses. I mean, but I don't do that. I drive on the roads. I mean, shouldn't people use the in- Don't can't we expect people to use infrastructure where we have placed it as long as it is relatively close to to that straight line? Uh I would suggest that I think you're on to something there, right? Um rather than plowing through houses, we have built streets and roads and that is where people go and that's where people on bikes go. That that's just that's the streets are for an all and you know this very well. I'm not going to lecture you sir because you once upon a time reminded me that before I was on COTPA, the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority, you as Mayor Cornett's chief of staff served on COTPA. So too did City Manager Freeman. So, you know that the best boulevards and the best streets are an all of the above approach to trans- to transit whether it's someone on a bike, whether it's someone in a vehicle, whether it's someone on a bus, sometimes streetcars and trains. And so, people who are biking understand that almost intuitively and I mean I've been biking on these streets literally since I moved here from Stillwater in 2010 and 2011 when there was not even the hint of a bike lane. So, you know, and weaving in between not houses but neighborhoods and the arterials. So, that's what I would say. All right. Now the Councilman I forgot to say I remember To answer your question about Shartel and Western or to expand on it, I think some of us asked Craig and staff to start looking at making improvements to Shartel and Western because the number one goal goal is safety. We are always supposed to focus on safety and if you look at the traffic counts on Shartel and Western, they are dramatically lower than Classen and so that's the number one thing when you look at studies across the United States when you get on streets that are more crowded and on streets that are going over 30 miles an hour, you have a lot more problems with accidents and people getting injured. And so, Shartel and Western, the traffic counts are dramatically lower and that's what led us to start focusing on those two streets and trying to improve those streets with in fact better lighting and other amenities. Okay. Um are there By the way, there's a lot of people who want to sign up to speak but I I don't know if the council members have different kind of presentations that they might have prepared. Maybe best to do that before people speak. Can I ask a few questions before we actually hear from the public? >> [clears throat] >> First question and this is for Debbie or Jeff, whichever one would like to. Could we go back to the slide that has the map of the infrastructure? Okay. Can we go down Let's assume Let's assume that this resolution this resolution passes. You share Debbie that there was a discussion about a potential trail. Is is that trail funded? Would we then work to implement that trail as an alternative if this resolution passed? Yes. The orange stripe that you can see over there on the west side of Classen would be included in the project that we have currently. We talked with both ACOG and ODOT. ACOG requested that we go ahead and put a trail down to make that connection and we're working with ODOT to get that implemented in the in the project. Excellent. So, that's regardless of So, we can just go ahead and do that. So, that's great. So, that at least helps with a certain section of the area that we're talking about. >> out that hill then, right? If you did the trail then that one hill >> address the hill? Well, it addresses one of the hills. The hills you the hill that by the 7-Eleven >> hill. Sorry. Excuse me, sir. I thought you meant the Shartel hill. Is that? Yes. Okay. So, then the the next question I have is is has there been any meeting with those who are cyclists to discuss ways that we can make Classen or Shartel and Western safer for them as well as good for the cars? We have not had those discussions yet but Mr. Butler and I have discussed those and once we get a solution to this, we're going to talk to them about what we could do to improve. And I've already asked staff to look at Western and Ochini to do some lighting. So. So, I would I would ask and maybe we can get the support of the whole council for this. I would ask that we have before there is any final decision about implementation of of these lanes that we actually have a community meeting where cyclists are given a chance to give input, where we take that input as well as the input of council members and business owners and others who are concerned and then come back and share with the council what the plan is because I think that part of this discussion I won't buy the narrative that either we choose we have to close lanes in order to make it safe or we have to push all the bike traffic away from Classen. I think that this all still ultimately comes down to effective design. And so, if we have input from all the parties, we have an opportunity for us to evaluate that design, I think we can reach a conclusion that that everyone can be satisfied with. Is everyone going to get what they want? Of course not. This is government. But maybe we can get closer to a solution that meets both needs. So, I think a community meeting and coming back and having the opportunity for all of us to hear the results of that input would be helpful. Okay. Thank you. You know, Councilman Penington, to your point it's like the main goal here is to have a safe and convenient connection by bicycle to downtown. And it really doesn't matter what street it's on to me anyways. I mean when there's a street every 200 feet, >> [laughter] >> there's a lot of options. So, I mean I think your point is well taken that whatever the case, wherever this lane lands, this connection and and which is mostly already in place but if we can make it safer and more convenient and kind of a nice thoroughfare, I don't I don't think from my perspective that it matters like which block it's on, you know. But but I mean I I understand we'll hear maybe counterpoints to that today and I'll certainly keep an open mind but Um Mayor seems to me like that's the main goal here is to have that nice connection to downtown. Yeah, I just want to add two things. One, thank you for the earlier back and forth. That was very respectful. So, you know, we're not always in that world people aren't. So, I appreciate that. Um and I'll just say that I will have some remarks after I hear from everyone. I want to hear folk. Um but I to Councilman Penington's well taken point, in my mind if we're going to do a multi-use trail that would connect from 10th down to Sheridan and connect people into downtown. If we're going to enhance Western and Shartel then I don't understand the purpose of this resolution. Like I understand the work that has just been articulated. I don't understand this resolution's purpose if the maximalist position is to take away the bike lanes or sorry, take away the Well, to take away the bike lanes or to take away the lanes to traffic for the bike lanes. A compromise now exist and to bring the community in to help them shape further that compromise makes sense. So, I'm a bit at a loss. I'm a genuinely at a loss because I'm moving from a maximalist position of removing a lane to go Sure, okay, multi-use trail. That sounds safe. Less Chad passing away. That makes sense to me. A resolution doesn't and I mean that with all due respect. Like I hear a compromise happening and I just I support it. Like I'm ready for that. That makes sense to me. So, I just wanted to say that to you. Thank you. Well, with all due respect to Councilman Penington's suggestion, I'm we've had a lot of that discussion. We've had a lot of those groups come together. That's where the whole bike lane infrastructure started. This conversation has been had. We We added Classen to it. We've seen the incidences and the the issues that they're posing now and we're re-looking at it. We have alternative answers. We have everything that needs to be done in that sense. So, to then go back to another set of meetings and getting everyone's opinions and everybody riled up again seems more controversial and convoluted than it does just moving forward and getting things taken care of. Since we put in the bike lanes on Classen our accidents when it comes to vehicular have gone up almost 100%. Those are That data is coming from our police department. Do they have it to present today? I just got the number sent to me. 100%? Almost 100%. Okay. I'd love to see those numbers. Maybe we can defer this to look at those concerns. >> everybody here in the audience has a chance to speak. There's these yellow slips outside. If people yell out, I will ask you to be removed. That's how this works. You all get your 3 minutes. Everybody in this room gets to speak. So, there will be no further outburst from the audience. Thank you. Go ahead. Sorry, Councilman. No worries. Go back to that 58 accidents in a year to 101. So, almost 50% or almost 100%. We have the BRT that now goes alongside that bike lane that when it stops, it shuts one of the lanes down or shuts it down to one lane. We have a number of different incidences that happen along this and we're learning from it and that's why we're not wanting to continue to bottleneck anything or make anything further going south. We've created alternative options that we're we're learning now really do work. So, I don't dis- I don't agree with the the pausing this and going forward with more meetings and more issues. I think all that does is just pause what we're trying to do and doesn't get us any answers any closer. Yeah, I think I think um we need to hear from everybody that came here today, number one. Number two, I think it's our job to make sure that safety is not delayed and we should do it sooner rather than later, especially since we're seeing accidents on the increase on Classen Boulevard. And so, Mayor, I'd love to hear from everybody and get all the different perspectives that are here today. Okay. Um all right, so there are a lot of folks signed up to speak. So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to call a name and then I'm going to say also the person who's after that in hopes that that second person will make their way um towards the microphone. Uh you know, you can stand if you're not seated close by and you want to kind of stand at the edges while the person before you speaks, whatever the case, but that eliminates the 30-second gap of people making their way to the front. Um I remind everybody you have 3 minutes um when there's 30 seconds left in your 3 minutes, the clerk will um tell you that. Um there's no reason that you have to take the full 3 minutes, they're yours if you want them, but uh if somebody has already said what you wanted to say and you just kind of want to reiterate it, that's fine, but just understand that repeating the same thing over and over again does not necessarily uh it becomes a a point of diminishing returns. Um state your name and address when you uh arrive at the microphone and then proceed. All right, so we're going to start with Tony Tyler followed by Larry Nichols. Tony Tyler, 5101 South Shields Boulevard. I want to thank the council and the city staff for recognizing the need to protect both bicycle and motor vehicle traffic from a safety perspective perspective and a traffic flow perspective. This appears to be a fair solution while acknowledging the need for the continued intermodal transportation solutions. Thank you. Thank you. Larry Nichols, who will be followed by Ryan Fogel. [clears throat] Thank you. Uh each of you should have received a letter yesterday from the Oklahoma City Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce supporting a resolution to not increase the bike lanes on Classen. Uh that is our position. It's been taken for uh after numerous meetings of our various members. That does not mean that we're against bike lanes. I would remind everyone that most of these bike lanes were built by funds coming from MAPS programs and from geo bond issues. The city does not have the legal power to run campaigns supporting those issues. Over the decades, that job has fallen upon the chamber. And we have raised literally millions of dollars of our members who have contributed uh to those campaigns that persuaded to the voters um why they should vote for uh various MAPS and geo bonds issues. Those had places in them uh for bike lanes. Uh our members knew that and supported that. So, [snorts] we support the over 1,000 miles of bike lanes that we've built. We put our money where our mouth is in doing that. Uh talk is cheap, but money says where your heart really is and we have put our money doing that, supporting those bike lanes. We do not support them on major thoroughfares. For obvious reasons. There are two reasons we oppose this. One is traffic congestion. We have looked at Austin, which historically the last 10 or 15 years has been held up to us as the shining star where you want to have economic development. We spent a lot of time trying to persuade other companies to move their jobs, to move their businesses here. And Austin was the place to go to. We never won anything from Austin. The last several years that has changed. Austin no longer is the shining jewel that it once was and it's changed for two reasons, homelessness and traffic congestion. You talk to anyone who's been to Austin in the last several years, their traffic congestion is out of control. This city did an excellent job of moving forward early, getting the Oklahoma City Boulevard built, getting I-235 built, building other roads that are necessary to move people in and out of downtown and doing that before development made those roads possible. You can look at the city now and say with almost certainty that major thoroughfares we have 20 and 30 years from now to get people in and out of downtown are the same thoroughfares that we have now. 30 seconds remaining. >> We will not be able to move to add any more to that. Which is why we need to preserve those few major thoroughfares for car traffic. And Classen is one of those. You can look at the narrows where traffic gets congested. That's not a good thing to move people in and out of downtown for all the various purposes that that use, going to Thunder games, going to Mary Gardens, uh Hawaii, going to their jobs. And second, of course, is safety. And I think bikers recognize that, too, which is why you see so few bikers on Classen. Um Classen is not a pleasant place to drive. Rather drive around Lake Hefner, along by the river. There's lots of cars there, buses there, trucks there. Those cones that are there get knocked down all the time. People choose other places to go. So, let's move the bike lanes someplace besides the few thoroughfares that we have, Classen being one of them. Thank you. Thank you. Ryan Fogel, followed by Scott Minton. Good morning, council members. My name is Ryan Fogel. I live at 824 Northwest 16th Street, one block from Classen Boulevard. Um thank you for your time and for bringing this up. Um here to express my support for the Classen bike lane as originally planned between Main Street and Northwest 10th. Uh this matters to me for three reasons, safety, responsibility, and alignment to the city's own goals. Uh first, safety. Right now, the existing bike lane on Classen ends by forcing people directly into three lanes of moving traffic. No warning, no transition. Uh predictable street design makes things safer for everyone, drivers included. Sudden merges are dangerous for all road users, not just people on bikes. The proposed project simply finishes the connection to existing infrastructure on Main Street. Leaving this gap in place is not neutral, it's dangerous. Second, responsibility. When a sitting city knowingly leaves a documented safety gap in place, it also assumes liability for the outcomes. >> [snorts] >> This project has been studied, funded, and planned. Removing critical safety elements doesn't reduce risk, it increases it. And third, alignment. The project directly aligns with city's adopted goals and safety vision zero and multimodal transportation outlined in the BikeWalkOKC plan, which was adopted in 2018 and again with updates in 2024. Moving forward as planned isn't a new direction, it's honoring existing commitment. And finally, this matters to me personally. I live one block from where Chad Epley was struck while riding his bike home from work on Classen and 16th. Uh I pass his ghost bike memorial almost daily with my kids. Uh when we choose not to fix a known hazard, we're making a decision about whose safety matters. Uh please ensure this project moves forward as planned with transparency and safety as the priority. And finish the job on Classen. Thank you. Scott Minton, followed by Daniel Smith. Good morning, I'm Scott Minton. I live at 1613 Gray Fox Run in Oklahoma City. I also work for OnCue. We've got a store there at 13th and Classen. Um and we are def- this doesn't really impact OnCue all that much because we already have bike lanes in front of us, but this is going to go further south of us. We are not opposed to bike lanes at all. We are opposed to removing lanes of traffic. Um like was said, when you remove traffic, you create bottlenecks. What we observe at OnCue is when that bottleneck occurs, cars start pulling off of the main thorough- thoroughfare into the neighborhoods, decreasing safety for children and other people inside the lower traffic neighborhoods. Um we also find uh comments about traffic flow were discussed. Uh a 24-hour traffic flow, you're right, probably doesn't require six lanes. It's the traffic flow in 3 to 4 hours of the day that matters. Um same thing at OnCue, we put a lot of gas pumps out there to make sure that as many cars as possible can get through in those three high thro- high throughput traffic times. Um we want our roads to remain that way as well. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Daniel Smith, followed by Anthony Carfang. Thank you all. I'm 7023 North Classen. I'm north of this. Um I'm more of a cautionary tale. You guys installed those two bike lanes on both sides of North Classen in between Wilshire and 63rd. Since you've installed those, I've seen two bikers since the installment. And not only that, it's also increased our crime. I've had a lot of homeless come around our building. They've defecated in between buildings and brought in drug paraphernalia. Again, I'm just telling you guys this as a cautionary tale. I don't I'm not against bikers and not really sure exactly what's going on downtown. I'm just a little upset with the installation in between Wilshire and 63rd. Thank you all. Thank you. Anthony Carfang, who will be followed by Shawn Wright. Good morning, City Council, Mayor Holt, and City Manager Freeman. I'm Tony Carfang, I live at 2324 Northwest 26th Street. Former Formerly, I was Ward 2 representative on the Better Streets, Safer City Advisory Board. I'm also a flight software engineer for our Air Force, a career where safety is non-negotiable. Every design decision must be backed by data and engineering analysis, uh not gut feelings. I'm gravely concerned about this uh resolution that is so averse to revising lanes on Classen, replacing engineering analysis with anecdote, increasing both resident risk and city liability. For 11 years, I have uh biked from Plaza District to work at Tinker, and last several years include stops at daycare downtown, school downtown, and my daughter's dance classes at 5th and Classen. We are intimately familiar with Classen. So, I ask you, uh how do you tell your daughter that a man your age biking home from work along the same street we take daily was struck by a driver, dragged for a mile, and killed? How do you tell her that your family won't suddenly be torn apart, that we are safe, when just a few months after that, another person was struck at 18th and Classen? This resolution makes me unsure how to answer. I used to tell her that I've seen how our city planners and engineers understand the data and solutions and are implementing them as fast as budget allows. I pointed to the removed slip lane on Classen, the added bike lanes, and this year to the Vision Zero Plan that you unanimously adopted that I thought meant that we prioritize life over car convenience. We know driver behavior is dictated by the built environment. We've seen it work on Northwest 39th, where despite a speed limit of 35 mph, drivers had seen four lanes and went 47, 12 mph over the speed limit. After the redesign, drivers saw two lanes and go 30, despite the speed limit being 35. The built environment reflects driver behavior. I'm not necessarily asking for bike lanes along Classen. Chad Epley was killed crossing Classen. The person at 18th going to Classen SAS was hit crossing Classen. So many parents are jealous of my commitment to biking my daughter to school, but they are fearful of crossing Classen. The data is undeniable. Traffic counts since 1997 show Classen has operated only 40% of its lane capacity despite 34% population growth since 1997. I've emailed you data supporting this. 30 seconds. Uh so, when the street is overbuilt, we know it induces a highway mentality, increased speeds, decreased attentiveness. This isn't just about bike lanes, it's about lane count, lane width, crossing distance, and protected left turns that make the street more intuitive, clearer, and safer for drivers. We're doing the same thing on Automobile Alley. By passing this resolution, you're hampering our engineers' ability to fix a corridor the city has already formally identified as high injury. To acknowledge a hazard in your own safety plan and then legislatively block the cure is the definition of negligence. You are creating a paper trail with this resolution for future liability that our taxpayers will ultimately fund. Please, don't let a feeling about traffic override the data that saves lives. Reject this resolution and let our engineers do their jobs. Thank you. Thank you. Shawn Wright, followed by Aaron McGowan. Good morning. Shawn Wright, 333 Northwest 5th. Um I am a transportation cyclist. I also serve on the MAPS Committee for Connectivity. Um >> [clears throat] >> I use the Classen bike lane uh every day. Uh two things drove me to being a transportation cyclist uh just 6 years ago. Uh I got an e-bike, and I I started to see what I thought was a commitment from my city uh to to build a an actually useful bicycle network. Network is the important word when people ask about why so many streets. There's a reason we have a traffic grid, a road grid. The second one or pardon me, um this this is a screenshot of the Council Priorities website. This is the City Council Priorities website, okay? This is the number two priority, a transportation network for all, and you'll note there's a bike that's probably hard to see, but you can go to this website. There's there's a bike lane, and there's a little kid on the bike lane, and you know, I I wonder what this kid will do when he gets to 10th Street. Um people ask why don't we go over to Sartell, why don't we go over to Western? Uh Councilwoman Cooper was very excellent in pointing out the hills. Yeah, my point is if you haven't tried it, please don't knock it. Um I I live downtown and I and I work in far Northwest Oklahoma City. So, I take the Classen bike lane every day. It's the most logical thing to do. It's a former rail trail. Rail trails aren't flat, okay? There's a reason or pardon me, it's a former rail line, and there's a reason why we have rail trails is because those those rails were formally flat. They were flattened by folks building rail lines, right? So, um so, you're in a valley. Classen's like this, and and then the other streets go like this. So, when you when you get to 10th and you go to make a left, you know, the only thing I'm thinking as I'm going up that hill, cuz as I hear the cars coming from behind me on 10th Street, is please see me, please don't hit me. Okay so it's it's important to note from an actual person that does this every single day, okay? I take the bike I would much rather I live on 5th Street. I would much rather continue on Classen and then hang a left on 6th Street, the future bike lane that's coming, where it's much flatter and and just generally much much safer for somebody actually using it every day. >> [clears throat] [cough] >> 30 seconds. Um yeah, I covered all that. Anyway, please uh don't get me killed. Please continue the bike lane. And uh I'll note that uh the cycling community is prepared to have a long, drawn-out fight because this could well be a fight for our very lives. Thank you. Aaron McGowan, followed by Graham Harris. Good afternoon. I'm a resident in Del City, the closest suburb to OKC. I live at 3329 Greenbrier Terrace. I use the bike lanes in OKC and multi-purpose paths every day to get from my house to my job as a children's art teacher in downtown OKC. I love using the bike paths near Southeast Grand Boulevard and Walker. It really makes my morning special when I get to meet my OKC neighbors and say good morning to the people I meet on it. Shame on any speakers today who spoke about unhoused OKC residents as though they are inherently a criminal class. The state of housing in OKC reflects poorly on our institutions. Blaming individuals shows a poor understanding of systemic causes of homelessness. People are here today to speak about what housing in Oklahoma provides, and it's inhumane. Solidarity with their cause. These bike lanes are critical in critical infrastructure to me, even though I'm not technically an OKC resident. These bike lanes give me free and easy access to get around the city in a way that helps me truly appreciate OKC. Real cities have strong pedestrian infrastructure. Real cities have buses and bike lanes. I needed the Walker bike lanes. I'm glad they happened. People who travel along Classen need lanes, too, for their safety. I believe putting more biking and walking infrastructure will make traffic risks go down. People using this infrastructure does not go unnoticed by drivers. Drivers, when directed to by good infrastructure, slow when people are around. This infrastructure is a sign of life, and it can make people safer by letting them be seen and connected in transit. The public must have a say on any changes to this important new bike lane. It's deeply concerning to me that street improvements for Classen Boulevard are set to be canceled without any input from OKC. This is a worrying attempt to interfere with planned infrastructure without any input from the public. Deeply [snorts] disappointed in David Mayor Holt and Craig Freeman for making cycling in OKC unsafe with this possible decision. I like having pride in OKC as the city I chose to live in. When my family visits, I show them the bike lanes and multi-use lanes I use to get to work and assure my very worried parents that it is very doable and safe to bike around OKC. Please don't make me a liar. Graham Harris, followed by Rick Gibbons. Mr. Council, um Graham Harris, 2640 Northwest 55th Place. I'm the vice president of Oklahoma Bicycle Society appearing before you with members of my organization. Um I greatly appreciate the consideration and discussion of this item. Um the citizens in our community and my my friends and our other members in in the community all voted in support of these actions. I think that the removal of bike lanes or the planning of removal of bike lanes is is ill ill thought out. There was lots of consideration done when those plans were made, and even when those plans were expanded and changed. The construction of those lanes, as others have mentioned, should be done in a manner that slows traffic and considers everyone's usage. The city has expanded and grown. I'm a lifelong resident of this city, and the city has grown and changed. It is a big league city, as our wonderful mayor would point out, but also it needs big league infrastructure. And that infrastructure includes bike lanes. I would encourage everyone to support that and the expansion of that and that bi- bicycle infrastructure. Thank you. Thank you. Rick Gibbons, followed by Phillip Mauls. Good morning. My name is Rick Gibbons and I live at 5424 North Dewey Avenue. I'd like to thank the city for their support for projects promoting safer connectivity and improved mobility of its citizens as options to an exclusively automobile centric infrastructure. Just since I relocated back to Oklahoma City within the last 3 years, the city's new trails and protected bike lanes have made it safer for me to walk or bike from my neighborhood to an increasing number of important destinations across Oklahoma City. As a representative of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Oklahoma, the growing cycling cycling community to which we belong has been present to celebrate 2025 ribbon cuttings for a new Deep Fork Trail segment and a new pedestrian bridge crossing at the east end of the boathouse district. And we want to continue cheering you on in 2026. Historically, Classen Boulevard has always been an essential artery in our city's vascular system and not an artery ever to remain dominated by one form of transportation, whether a horse and buggy, street court car, automobile, or bicycle. We believe that pausing the bike lane construction project at this point specific to Classen Boulevard will create a confusing message and precedent about city's commitment to better and safer transportation for its citizens. Essen- especially since the planning and approval process has already followed steps and opportunities for public input and options. We strongly request rejection of this proposed resolution, asking that you vote no, and further request more data including traffic stats, community input, and planning options. Thank you for your continued efforts to promote better and safer connectivity options for citizens and visitors to Oklahoma City. Thank you, Philip Mall, followed by Chris Dahlgren. Phil Mall, 100 Park Avenue, Ward 6. I speak this morning from my professional experience as a transportation planner and as a former teacher of Oklahoma history. Most of us in this room know the story of the first MAPS program. United Airlines was between Indianapolis and Oklahoma City uh to select the site for a repair hub. They chose Indianapolis over us because they said our quality of life in Oklahoma City was so bad that they cannot ask their employees to move to OKC. So, I ask, what's made this quality of life so bad in the first place? We were a walkable and bikeable city until General Motors and Standard Oil bought and dismantled our streetcar system in the 1940s. Oklahoma City was again bikeable and walkable nearly everywhere and you can get wherever you wanted on the streetcar. After our streetcar was killed and when I.M. Pei, the architect, convinced us to bulldoze our downtown, there was no reason to visit downtown anymore and people left for the suburbs. Our downtown rotted for 30 years. From the '60s through the '90s, we then treated our downtown and its streets as a place to leave at 5:00 p.m. and we treated Classen as a highway to get suburban commuters home instead of as a street where people live. MAPS 1 responded to this hollowing out of our downtown by creating reasons to spend time here after 5:00 p.m. The canal, the ballpark, and stadium led to the Hornets and then the Thunder, so the story goes. But we often forget one crucial chapter in our renaissance story and that chapter is titled Project 180. We had we had another wake-up call in 2009 when a magazine voted us the least walkable city in the United States. We responded by hiring the most admired urban planner in the country, Jeff Speck, to do a walkability study. The results of Project 180 was a 50-block overhaul of our downtown. It turned four-lane one-ways into safe and productive streets with 3 miles of bike lanes, two lanes two travel lanes for cars instead of four and plenty of sidewalks. The kicker, these bike lanes, lane reductions, and sidewalks were funded by Devon Energy through the TIF district that was created. >> The $140 million TIF district transformed our downtown and has likely spurred spurred billions in economic development construction since its inception. What's truly confusing to me is a few of you want to treat Classen as a highway rather than seeing it as a massive economic development potential. Less than a year ago, you all voted for the Classen TIF district and just last year we received a planning grant for a million dollars for transit-oriented development on Classen. A bike lane ban is an obvious detriment to any of this revitalization. I've got just 10 more seconds. This this ban forgets what made us a big league city in the first place, creating healthy and productive streets rather than treating our streets and districts like highways to pass through. So, if you are successful in this ban, it will only be temporary. Our renaissance story is bigger than a few council members who have forgotten our recipe for success. >> Thank you, Mr. Mall. Thank you. Chris Dahlgren, followed by Joel Dixon. I'm Chris Dahlgren. I live at 2115 Northwest 20th Street. Um so, I ride a bike and I've been living in Oklahoma City without a car for 9 years. When I first came back here 9 years ago, I did not hardly see anyone else riding a bike. But today, every time I ride my bike, I always see other cyclists. And I think that there is a real cyclist community here now as a direct result of the infrastructure that the city has put in place. And over the last 6 years since the death of Chad Athlete uh Chad Athlete, um the cyclist community has been calling for a bike lane specifically on Classen. Um and I think that So sorry. Um I think that James is right that whether or not there is a bike lane on Classen, people are going to use Classen. So, putting a bike lane on Classen is the only way to keep people safe. I think that our city is transitioning into a destination and I do not think that this is a time to limit progress. Thank you. Thank you, Joel Dixon, followed by Mark Beffert. Good morning. My name is Joel Dixon. I live at 1020 Northwest 34th Street. I'm a licensed professional engineer and a regional and city planner. To get around our city, I drive, but I also ride my bicycle and I walk. Professionally, I have seen how bicycle lanes and sidewalks improve transportation choice and mobility for our residents. Personally, I have also seen firsthand how when we provide facilities that are safe, useful, and that treat users with dignity and respect, the residents of our city will come out and use them. I live along Northwestern Avenue between Northwest 23rd and Northwest 34th and over the past 4 years, the city has installed both bike lanes and sidewalks along that corridor. I have witnessed firsthand how when we build these facilities, people will use them. I see it every day through the windows of my living room. While this resolution seems to acknowledge the benefits of transportation choice, it makes the specious claim that Classen Boulevard lacks the capacity to accommodate any users other than motorists. This claim is easily refuted by data that has already been presented to this body by the city's professional staff. At the last City Council meeting, Planning Director Butler reported that current traffic along the six lanes of Classen Boulevard between Northwest 10th and Sheridan is only 40% of the street's capacity. This report is easily corroborated by reviewing the traffic count data that's available on the Association of Central Oklahoma's uh government's website. You can access it right now. By averaging the annual average daily traffic counts that have been collected between Northwest 10th and Sheridan, it yields a current utilization of only 30% of Classen Boulevard's current capacity. Reducing the number of lanes along Classen Boulevard to accommodate these bicycle facilities will still provide an excess traffic capacity of 40 to 55% based on current traffic counts. And as Mayor Holt has noted, there are arterial streets only 200 ft away that motorists can use to help hand handle any lane conversion. Clearly, the concerns about congestion are unfounded and that's notwithstanding any reduction in vehicle miles traveled as a result of mode shift as residents would now have the option to travel via means other than automobile along this corridor. 30 seconds. This body, in previously approving and funding these separated, delineated bicycle facilities along Classen Boulevard, has made a commitment to the residents of Oklahoma City. It is my sincere hope that you will not renege on this commitment, that you will reject this resolution, and that you will follow through with the bicycle lanes along Classen Boulevard that will provide the transportation mobility options so desperately needed by the residents of our city. Thank you. Thank you. Mark Bafford followed by Michael Grassi. Mark Bafford, 6415 Hillcrest. I agree 100% with Scott Minton and Larry Nichols. I am a avid cyclist. I when I'm in training for a triathlons, I will ride on our city streets uh 2 to 300 miles a week. And uh Classen Boulevard is not a place for bicycles. When I lived downtown, I thought one day I will uh I want to ride around the lake. So, I thought I would take my bike from downtown, ride up Classen Boulevard, go around the lake, come back. I thought I'd get extra 25 miles in. I will never do that again. And if if if a individual has a tough time going up a hill, they have no business being on Classen Boulevard. There's a lot of different ways to ride bikes. People clip in or people ride with just regular pedals. They ride with different shoes. How many times have you seen a person fall off a bike? I have fallen off a bike going 1 or 2 mph. And if you're doing that on Classen Boulevard with cars going right next to you at 30 to 40 mph, you have no business being on that street. Classen Boulevard is not a place for cyclists. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you. Michael Grassi followed by Joe Chronister. Uh my name is Michael T. Grassi. I live at 412 Northwest 29th Street. I'm a resident of Ward 2. Um previously, when I was a student here in from 2015 to 2019, I enjoyed biking uh to school when I was a member of Ward 7. And then uh since I moved back on the day of game seven of the NBA finals, which was a great celebration for this city, um I've been so pleased and pleasantly surprised by the improvements that we've had in our bike infrastructure here uh in this city uh including to where I uh use the bike lanes um to bike here at a brisk uh ride this morning, but also to uh my place of employment, which is Oklahoma Children's, where I am a pediatric critical care physician. And I want to make it clear that I don't speak for my employer. I only speak for myself. I don't speak for my colleagues. Um since my time here, you know, I take care of a lot of children who have unfortunately gone through injuries that they should never have. I have a lot of conversations with parents that have things happen to their children uh that should never happen and conversations I never want to have such as Mr. Cooper, I'm so sorry, but based on what we see from your daughter, um I'm not ever sure that she's going to be able to walk again, talk again, eat on her own again, meaning for a meaningfully interact with the environment. Uh I've had to have conversations such as I'm so sorry, Mr. Stonecipher, um the results of the brain death exam that I just performed were consistent with brain death, and so your son is dead. These are conversations I have every day or almost every day uh or that I have to think about. And I really never want to have these conversations ever, and I think about these conversations especially this time of the year when I think about the empty chairs um that those children should have filled at the dinner table, that those presents they should have opened, um and you know, this is those funerals that I've gone to of the children who have passed away when I tell their parents that their children have passed away and they fall on the ground and they crumple. There are about 100,000 uh cyclist deaths every year in this country, so doing the math, two to three per day. The biggest population of those uh accidents that happen in this country uh on cycles are adolescents ages 10 to 14. 30 seconds. We can talk ad nauseam today as to why we don't take Walker, why we don't take Western. Adolescents 10 to 14 years of age are not thinking about doing that mental calculus in their head. They're thinking about what meme they just saw on TikTok. They're just thinking about any other things, not wearing a helmet. So, the way that we can make this city safer is to make bike lanes wherever is possible for all of its citizens. And I hope uh that one day I don't have to come back here and tell you that a child has passed away on a street where there should have been a bike lane. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Joe Chronister followed by Hamid Peseschkian. Uh Joe Chronister, 914 Northwest 84th. Um I live north of Wilshire off of Classen. Been there all my life. Western used to be a viable street from Britton Road to 63rd. Now Western is pothole city. You cannot go down Western with either northbound or southbound lane without hitting potholes or anything else. But so, I go down Classen. Well, now we can't go down Classen because they've installed curbs, what they call armadillos, that's going to tear your car up. Plus, there's potholes in our driving lane. There's nowhere to drive. We have potholes everywhere. People hardly ever ride bikes in my neighborhood. Only people you see on bicycles are usually crackheads that are stealing bicycles. So, I'm here just to let everybody know comes once winter gets here, there's going to be a lot of wrecks on Classen. It's a hilly road. It's a curvy road. So, if you drive on ice, you will hit those armadillos or curbs is what I call them. They're going to tear up people's cars, and who will to pay for the damage? The city put them out there, so who are we going to fight? The city? We can't fight the city. So, far as installing anything else on Classen, I'd say no. I've already tried to come to one of these meetings before, not successful. But we need to take out the curbs and let people ride bikes like they should. Like I rode a bike as a kid. I made it. Other people can, too. Thank you. Thank you. Hamid Peseschkian followed by Connor Currier. Thank you, council and the members of the um board here. My name is Hamid Peseschkian, and I'm not a crackhead. I am a cyclist. Um and uh I actually I'll just kind of give a background story. I had a written letter, but I'm going to just talk to you guys today to you guys today. Um I left Oklahoma City in my early 20s after finishing I undergrad at the University of Oklahoma, and the idea of coming back to Oklahoma City was the least exciting thing for me at the time in 2010. Well, after traveling and being in um upstate New York, uh New York Manhattan, Los Angeles, Orange County, and then traveling different parts of the world, I came back during COVID thankfully to my mother who's a professor at OU to get to experience Oklahoma City again and be safe with the family. And what I realized in that time was that Oklahoma City has come a long way in those years, and it really actually made me think, I think I should come back here. And I came back here and I built a uh incubator space called Starline Dock, which became first uh certified as the first market style incubator in the city of in the state of Oklahoma. And the site selection for this property was actually main mainly because it was bikeable and walkable as a primary reason. Um some of the you know, some of the most amazing cities I've I've visited in my life, whether it was Barcelona, Guadalajara, bikeability was a key aspect. I would walk on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, or I remember on a Sunday in Guadalajara, the streets were shut down for bikers to get out. There was markets, artists, artisans selling stuff. So, bikers, it's it's it's an important part of a modern city, and that's what we've been saying for years. We are the modern frontier. How can we say we are the modern frontier when we are taking out an already planned existing infrastructure that's been studied years over years, which is to connect that last piece of Classen from 10th Street to downtown in our urban core in our crown jewel of our city? How can we ever say we are a modern city if we're taking these sections out and saying, "No, let's just have that be a highway."? So, if the plan is for, you know, Classen Avenue Classen Boulevard from that section of 10th Street down to Sheridan from now on to be associated as a motorist highway, then proceed with the plan of canceling the bike lanes. But if we actually want a walkable, bikeable, and a diverse city that allows for all types of modes of transportation, actually celebrates its modernity, then we really ought to rethink this and not cancel the bike lanes and have it be a centerpiece of our city's arterial corridors on Classen such that 30 seconds. folks who are going up and down on this easily trans um uh traveled road because it is connected like James Cooper said, it's the most easily traveled road. Let's never ever come back to this and say, "Wow, that decision that we made on the 30th at city council caused these many deaths." And so, thank you for your time and your and considerations on this. That's it. Thank you. Connor Currier followed by uh Ben Illaraza. Good morning, council. Uh my name is Connor Currier. I live in Military Park, and I'm here because I don't support uh the the pause on the bike lanes on Classen. Um I ride my bike both recreationally and as transportation almost every day, and most of those rides I am taking are alternative uh bike lanes, Shartel and Western. If there was a longer bike lane along Classen, I would be using it pretty much every day. Um as many people have said already, there are many issues with these two existing bike lanes. They're both for the most part unprotected. Um obviously on Shartel, that hill is very steep. You have to be in peak shape going uphill, but also when you're going downhill, it's very dangerous cuz you're going fast and when you interact with cars on the cross streets, there's less reaction time for both you and the cars. >> [snorts] >> Um Western, yes, it's very dark. There's poor lighting. After heavy rainfalls, it floods. Various sections of the bike lane are not usable for multiple days after rain. >> [snorts] >> Um there's also been lots of construction on that road, which closes the bike lane for days and weeks at a time. Um I know someone talked about the on-Q, the new on-Q where it meets up with 13th and Classen. That's also a dangerous intersection if you're trying to continue up Western and along the bike lane on Classen. >> [snorts] >> Um I also wanted to talk about the benefits economically for um a possible bike lane along Classen. If you look at other comparable cities in the US, they are doing things um >> [clears throat] >> that I would love to see happen here. Atlanta has the BeltLine and they're projected to have $10 billion in private investment along that trail and that's going to connect to their future BRT. Indianapolis and DC also have a trail oriented development plan. And then in Minneapolis, they did an impact study on their Midtown Greenway. It's almost 6 miles long. It has spurred development of over 4,000 housing units and thousands of jobs and increased property values by 1.8 billion. Their annual property tax along the Greenway increased by 138 million per year. So these trails trail oriented development helps the city budget and economic growth. So please uh consider continuing building these bike lanes. Thank you. Thank you, Ben Elorriaga, followed by Lou Estornsen. Good morning. My name is Benjamin Elorriaga and I'm representing the Wheels Project. We have submitted a letter of support for the bike lane project on Classen and against any ban on new bike lanes to this council and to local media. I will read the names of the more than 40 businesses who have signed this letter to announce their presence in this chamber here with us today, even though many of their owners or management could not be here in person. They are Dunlap Codding, Infinity Investments, The Pulse Apartments, Pivot Real Estate Development, Stonecloud Brewing, Sunnyside Diner, Beer City Music Hall, Dayclub Modern Workspaces, Sailor and The Dock, Elemental Coffee, Lampstand Story Company, Core4 Brewing, Native Plants Nursery, Cookies on Western, OK Runner, McKenzie Printing, Caboose Coffee, Bookish, Elemental Coffee, The Floating Bookshop, Dig It Vintage, Ma Der Lao Kitchen, Bar S Inn, 30th Street Market, Holy Rollers, Red Rooster, Community Axe Throwing, Flora Bodega, Mercer Company, Hunsucker Legal Group, Winch Holdings, The Study, DNA Galleries, Twin House, Magoo's Attic, The Refillery, Bad Granny's, Aurora Coffee, OK Cider, George's Liquor, Around The Table, No Regrets Tattoo and Prairie Flower Company. The overwhelming response we have been met with over the last couple of weeks while canvassing our community and neighborhoods on and around Classen is confusion, shock and frustration that these new lanes could be cancelled. In speaking with our neighbors and local businesses about this ban, our organization has done the work that this council should have been doing months ago if it was even considering such a reckless act. By proposing this ban, you are ignoring the clear will of the central OKC community as well as its business community. You would also be going against the recommendations of the city's own planning department that has carefully designed these lanes based on evidence-based practice and the best traffic studies and counts that are available to us. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Excuse me, we would like to take this opportunity >> [snorts] >> um uh to thank the planning department for their hard work on these and other lanes, trails and improvements around the city. Our planning department does the brunt of the work in improving the quality of life in OKC and their street improvements have kept me and my loved ones safe as we navigate this city by bike. We feel the need to push back on the insinuations that have been heard in this chamber over the last several weeks that our dedicated planning staff would design bike lanes that are dangerous, bad for business or that increase congestion. These claims are verifiably false and the businesses that have signed our letter are a testament to that. We also worry about the precedent of this council unilaterally canceling funded, voter-approved, popular street projects based only on what we see as speculation, anecdote and unverified claims. If this council will not listen to voters, studies, data, the OKC business community or its planning department, then what is guiding its decisions? Um thank you. I have emailed that letter to all of you. I can also provide physical copies if if there's somebody available to take them. Thank you. Lou Estornsen followed by William Feinberg. Uh my name is Lou Estornsen. I live at 2257 Northwest 36th Street. Um as a data analyst, I'm tempted to remind you that more lanes doesn't decrease traffic, that bus and cycling infrastructure do, that improvements in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure improve safety not just for cyclists and pedestrians, but also for drivers. But as city government officials, you already know that. So this tells me this is not a data-driven decision. So what I'm going to do instead is make a personal, emotional appeal to you. Um last meeting, I told you about how the planned infrastructure that was not followed through on personally harmed me, about how the sharrows that I am entitled to use as a cyclist are more dangerous than taking the city streets, which I am also entitled to use as a cyclist. Um but really what I want to say is thank you. Recently, I've been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. For me, this means I have hypervigilance, nightmares flashbacks intrusive thoughts, difficulty making and maintaining relationships. Um because of this, I do not currently feel comfortable driving a car. Um and so uh instead, I can walk, I can ride the bus and I can ride my bicycle. Um I attend therapy on the Northwest Expressway. I can ride my bike on MAPS trails. I can take the eight if it's early enough. If it's late, I can take the rapid transit back and take a sidewalk most of the way back to my house. Um critically, this access is improving my PTSD symptoms and soon, I'm confident I will no longer clinically qualify for PTSD. And so your choices have impacted my life in an extremely positive way. Um I I use the infrastructure to go to walk to Bookish, to ride my bike to the Paseo, to the Plaza, to ride my bike downtown, to go to the Floating Bookshop, to go to Second Story Books, to go to breweries. This has allowed me to build relationships, maintain relationships that have supported me in my healing journey and this is all possible through decisions you have made. I am still in danger every time I ride or cross Classen. I cannot get downtown without crossing Classen. Cars do not stop at the crosswalks so I can safely cross whether I hop off my bike and try to walk or I'm just walking. Um you say that I can just take a bike lane. Over there are It's It's really not pleasant and it's not safe and I've been yelled at and cars can do that. Cars can take the highway and I can't. A couple years ago, I rode my bike to Palomar. These decisions that you make, they change our lives and you get to decide if that is for the better or for worse. So thank you so much and please, please, please continue this commitment. You are protecting vulnerable residents. You are helping us live our best lives and I really don't want to see us go backwards. Like please continue to go forward. We need you to help us live our best lives. Um thank you so much. Thank you, William Feinberg, followed by Xenophon Warrior. Cool. Uh good morning, Mayor Holt, City Manager Freeman and City Council members. Uh my name is Bill Feinberg. I am the owner of Community Axe Throwing. I moved to Oklahoma City in 2020 from Austin, Texas. I moved because Austin had become unaffordable and I wasn't able to afford a house in the city, so I had to move out to the edge of the city. I was closer to downtown Lockhart than I was to downtown Austin. I wasn't able to ride my bicycle anywhere. Uh moving to Oklahoma City, I was able to afford a house in the city, biking distance from many of the great districts here. I currently live uh near uh 1615 Northwest 31st Street, uh which is Ward 2. I own a business in Ward 6 near Second and Klein. Um I bike here this morning, right? I bike down Classen this morning. I counted the cars from 10th to Maine. I counted 12 cars from that stretch. I don't think we need three lanes for 12 cars. And this was at 7:45 this morning during rush hour. Um So I bike I bike to the championship parade up and down Classen, right? And on that day, biking was the most efficient form of transportation. Parking, right? When my when the parking lot at my business fills up, I lose customers. I will bike if there's a bit a busy concert at Beer City Music Hall, so there isn't extra parking space for another customer. Um let's see. Uh let's see here. Where I live, right? And I live near Military Park. For me to get to Western, right? I would have to cross Classen once at 31st and Classen, right? And then I would have to cross Classen again at 16th, right? So I have to now where it's crossing Classen two times, right? I would rather roll my dice riding with traffic down Classen to get to the existing protected bike lane. Um When it comes to utilization and underutilization is a reason for not completing it, right? It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we don't if it's not complete, if the infrastructure doesn't exist or is incomplete, of course nobody's going to use it or it's not going to be under or it's going to be underutilized. Um Let's see here. What we got? A minute left. Um You wouldn't abandon a planned park to tell somebody else to go to an alternative park. You wouldn't abandon a planned arena to tell somebody to go to an alternative arena. Please don't abandon the planned bike lanes to tell somebody to go to an alternative bike lane. Thank you. Zinaphon Warrior followed by Michael Washington. Yes, uh good afternoon. Uh Zinaphon Warrior, I reside at 5712 North Laddie Avenue. You know, I I've come to this chambers uh quite a few times over the last close to the last decade for various meetings with City Council Planning Commission uh various types of subcommittees uh citizens advisory and so forth. And years I always walk by right outside this this window right here is a statue of Stanley Draper that's out there. And he has big set of plans. And during this difficult time, he had an idea of expanding this this Oklahoma City to where we have now over 620 acres of 620 mi square miles of of land of this area. I also have have come to find out there was a master plan concerning the development of this particular area within the city within the central core of the city so far as such as bike lanes and as a walking walkabilities, sidewalks, that type of thing has been discussed as time for that. So there's a there was a a plan that was in place that was talking about exactly what would be the good ways in which we could involve community, find some some funds and support for these various types of projects that have been occurring throughout with this. So I was shocked that I when I found out just kind of haphazardly that this resolution was coming down the pipe. Uh with that without any type of indication of discussion within the City Council meetings or anything, just kind of popped up. People started talking about it during the City Council meeting last time. It wasn't even on the agenda. And then it was a shock that the this particular project Classen project is in the is in Ward 6. However, this resolution has been authored by Ward 1, 8, 4 and 5 of people signed up to take part and they uh don't have any constituents in this particular area that we're talking with this. I haven't heard anyone from from Ward 6 any resident contacted the Ward Ward 6 representative having some concerns about this particular project. So it's kind of befuddled to me with that. I did respond to email to everyone concerning this. I also responded once to the city manager also, which I normally use it don't do with that. When I found out that he has went ahead and contacted public works, contacted the GeoBond office to hey, stop this particular project with this. I thought we were at a point in this Oklahoma City area with this the central central core there that we have multiple forms of transportation, >> 30 seconds. >> not just automobiles. At some point in time that's where it was just automobiles but the main thing traveling 46 years ago. Since that time we've done a lot of different types of projects, I've been a lot of different ribbon cutting ceremonies of these various projects that I've ridden my bike on because that was the most feasible time to get there. I've been taking a I've been for that. The last time I rode my bike to a particular event was the Clara Luper Center Plaza the first November. Rode my bike down there because I knew it was going to be difficult finding parking for that area. I'm speaking not just for myself as a cyclist but I'm talking to the people who have an opportunity, no matter what their age or their abilities, to be able to get out and get on their bike and ride with this. We have a large group of a community output that's been going with this that's been occurring with the Huffy Go Bike. It meets at a park in Ward 6 and every evening during the daylight saving time we go out there and just find where there are some safe routes that have been designated by the Planning Commission. So I would hope that we be able to look for some other types of ways which we could address this issue concerning the lower part of Classen and to meet with that concerns because there are various types of protected bike lanes that can be either tier one or tier two or tier three that we could be consideration. >> Thank you for your time. >> Michael Washington followed by Mark Harris. This wonderful wonderful occasion today. I see a lot of people concerned about what's going on around here. Michael Washington 100 [snorts] with that magical park place attached to it. Midwest City with the Y on it. Now then, you this illustrious GROUP HERE HAVE VOTED FOR THESE BIKE TRAILS THAT we see today. NOW SOMEONE WANTS TO MEND ALL OF THAT AND SAY, OH, [screaming] WAIT A MINUTE. LET'S NOT expand this now. Why? Because as a wealthy group here in Oklahoma CITY DOWNTOWN AS MR. NICHOLS SPOKE ABOUT, CYRUS, I MUST tell you because you initiated it all. OH, WE THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ALL HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS NOW. WHY? Because we see it interferes with our economic plans. No more than that. This was spurred by an incident in 2019 which YOU PEOPLE SO IMPORTANTLY THOUGHT THAT THE PEOPLE AND CITIZENS WERE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO SAY, OH, YES. WE'RE GOING TO CREATE A A 2023 bike trail so that people can have a safety and and believe that they can be safe in riding their as cyclists down these narrow lanes. Do you know that I watch this all the time on Classen? Well, I do work on that part by the way, at Cyrus, the worst street in Oklahoma City. And I see the cyclists just having fun, laughing and joking sometimes in droves and sometimes one or two individuals. It doesn't make a difference but the point is that they feel safe because they're using some cones or something separating them from the actual traffic itself. And guess what? It was a three-lane street there in in Classen that they're talking about been reduced to two lanes. And guess what? That you do people do not need to disrupt what's going on. If it isn't fixed if it isn't broke, don't fix it. It's a wonderful thing. You need to expand this thing because people's lives have been increased. Many people I love that they can go and ride these bicycles. They don't even want to get off of it. They don't have to worry about it. They get out in the middle of that traffic lane. They're not going to be run over anything. Oh, come on. Come on, people. The lifestyles OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS DO NOT RULE OVER WHAT THESE PEOPLE THINK. YOU SHOULD NOT PUT MONEY OVER THE LIVES OF PEOPLE. NOW YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE MONEY. Oh Lord, don't let me go there. Oh Lord, have mercy. I just don't have time to get loose like I need to, y'all. It's just >> 30 seconds. But let me say, y'all should table this resolution, this proposed resolution, and listen to the people who put you in office today BECAUSE YOU MUST REALIZE THAT THERE'S a vote coming up soon. I don't know which area you live in, EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T maybe live in northwest side of town in 10 seconds. The your all's constituents might say, hey, why don't you follow the lead in what those others thought about? This is important to me. I might ride my children to school. Amy, thank y'all so much. Mark Harris followed by Javier Enedina. Yeah, Mark Harris. And uh I was a rider for a long time. I used to ride 75 mi a day. I uh um And this is back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Y'all probably don't know there was a guy named we always called Uncle Lance because of Lance Armstrong. He was a great rider and we all used to ride everywhere downtown and around, but you know, I'm a steel erector and you always think of safety first. And uh so the thing about that is is you got to think about safety when you're riding a bike. And especially when if you're a real rider, okay? Because you want to pick up the people that don't know what they're doing and there's a lot that don't. Now, most people should know and I assume everybody here knows what a peloton is. But a peloton in the Tour de France averages 26 to 28 mi an hour. Well, 35 mph and you want to get on that road, you don't know what you're doing. Because these are professional riders. And a peloton, if you understand how it works, when you get into it, it pulls you and what you have to watch is that they keep moving. The riders keep moving because they're protecting each other else, but they're also it pulls them down the road. That's how they get to 26-28 mph. If you think there's anybody here that's going to ride that fast, not even close, which puts them in danger and the cars, okay? Now, I used to ride all over the city and it was great when they put in the the the lake trail and that's great, but now we got a problem with that because of the people that walk and the people that are runners. You're going to have to change where you have those bikes on it where those bikes are running on really on the side of the road. You really need to take a look at the safety side of bicycling, okay? Um it'd be great to go down go down Classen and we used to go to the donut baker Brown's Bakery and we used to call it the donut ride. We'd ride out to uh Overholser and then we'd ride back downtown. But we always picked roads that were that were safe and there wasn't a lot of traffic. For instance, Military. If you're going to change a road, Military has hardly any stop signs going north to south. And I don't know why people have to ride down a road that's 35 mph. That's insane. It's not safe. >> [snorts] >> And so you really just need to find a different path. It's not about taking away the trail, it's just putting it in a different location so that everybody is safe. And uh So anyway, also I work at 2nd Classen and uh if I don't know if you all are by there in the afternoons, but from 3:00 to to 5:00 or so, it's backed up past Robert S. Kerr from Reno all the way back. It's it turns from three lanes to two lanes, used to be three. It used to have and you used to have access to Western, which we don't. So I would just back up. It's it's not difficult. Look at the Look at the safety roads. Look at how that how they don't have to stop every every block and fix it. But this is the Classen is not the place to be riding. Like I said, you know, you got professional riders can't that shouldn't even be on there. Thank you. So Thank you. Okay, Javier Heredia. Good morning, Javier Heredia. 2725 Southwest 29th Street. Uh I'm an avid cyclist. You might not believe it by my size, but I uh I do ride bike a lot and I want to thank the city for all of the trails that have been built. I was just at at the Lake Hefner trail this weekend with my daughter. Um and I know that when I visited Minneapolis-Saint Paul, there's an excellent bike trail between the two cities that does not have a single stop sign or stop light. They've separated the traffic vehicular traffic from the cyclist traffic. There are a number of instances where they do come into contact, but they're very safe. I know our goal here is to make it a more cycle-friendly community and I think we're doing a great job, but I do want to emphasize that down on Southwest 29th Street, we looked at doing a bicycle lane. The community came out against it, very much so because they ride bikes. They know to take the back streets. It's a lot safer if you are not near a vehicle in any way or at any time. And they've seen what happened on Southwest 25th Walker, excuse me, between downtown and 25th. Traffic has almost died and very few people ride those bicycles. So it just is is I think we need to be safe, keep safety as the first priority, separate the vehicles from the cyclist and keep our city growing. Thank you very much. Thank you. That concludes our residents who've signed up to speak on this item. Comments from council. Um yes, I do have I just wanted to I think there's a lot I could say um but I think I'd really like to focus on this idea of traffic congestion um not just on Classen, but on any any street. And to that end, um Amy, are you able to pull up that that item that I asked and um our I was wondering if our planning director Jeff Butler could expound a little bit more. I think he referenced the daily traffic counts for vehicle traffic um [snorts] on Classen on this particular stretch of Classen um and kind of what our standards are for deciding when it is allowable to remove um a lane of traffic because I think um what I'm hearing a lot about, you know, Classen's not a place for cyclists um you know, we kind of we build we get what we build for um and so Classen you know, you as I think was referenced today and in previous lots of previous conversations um used to have a streetcar on it and people took a streetcar on Classen then we turned it into a six-lane highway and so that really was the only um uh or the option what that people sort of clamored to is is to drive a vehicle on it um and so this idea that that we have congestion on Classen um even according to and I would say and I expressed this both the city manager and I think to Jeff Butler in a meeting um you know the standards we have are probably not even as far as I'd like us to go about like when we take away a lane of traffic. Um they're still very I think generous from what I understand um to increasing or maintaining throughput for vehicles, maybe not at peak times um that there obviously are always going to be areas of congestion um that can be managed on a case-by-case basis in design and other things, but that the broad um the broad narrative about that Classen is congested and needs to stay six lanes um is not um bearing out in the data. So Jeff, I was just wondering if you could kind of speak to this um this map that you you showed us um that you presented um and and kind of what our our process is for determining when um when we might take away a lane of car traffic um to do other sorts of infrastructure, whether it's bike or increasing a trail or something like that. Okay. Yeah, [snorts] happy to. Um this [clears throat] is this is produced as specific specific to Classen. Uh and the the council saw some of the the material in the top right here uh previously when I presented in November. Uh but it just basically lays out kind of a a standard. Um this is this is from ACOG and um what it does is you see the recommended uh average annual daily traffic range in the column on the left there. Uh kind of a midpoint, um some general operating speeds, but uh the red box there is showing uh if if we were to um to reduce it to four lanes, that's the amount of traffic it could accommodate, 26,000 and 34,000. Um >> [clears throat] >> and on the left and I don't know Amy if you have the ability to scroll down on this but this this uh map goes from uh north of 36th all the way down to where the project uh is from 10th Street down to um Sheridan. And so that red box you see is kind of the project boundaries and those are the the traffic counts uh that range from that they probably average about 16,000. So north of that on Classen where the existing bike lanes are, it's between 16 and 20,000 and so on. Um and that's the reason why it was deemed like this this may be appropriate to put bike lanes here um when in Bike Walk OKC, it talks about the the various speeds and and um when and when it may be appropriate to install a bike lane on a facility or on a on an on a street. Um and so we we look at those from a planning from an a planning perspective, when might it be appropriate? Uh Classen fell into that range where if you were to reduce it, you'd still have four lanes and that falls within, as we saw up above, the the range that's appropriate for a four-lane arterial. So that's that's what this map and and data is is showing. And can you speak to that you included these items about other four-lane streets that had similar traffic counts um that are within the city limits? >> [snorts] >> Yeah, so on the bottom right there, we give a few examples. >> [clears throat and cough] >> Excuse me, and there are many others that that accommodate that level of traffic are four-lane arterials. Thank you. And I think the the kind of to to all of this is that especially in this area where we are talking about the plans >> [snorts] >> um specific to south of 10th is you can see that the traffic counts there are significantly lower than even north farther north on Classen and I think in general, you know, my sort of um learning from planners over the years and from um traffic engineers, you know, this idea of induced demand that we think if we build more lanes of car traffic, we'll reduce congestion, which is just not borne out um in in city planning history that or traffic planning history, I should say even because it's the same issue on freeways when you build another lane, you might get a little bit of relief early on, um, but people see it as now, uh, oh, traffic should be lighter there. And so, everyone goes to that area. Um, and so, what planners and traffic engineers have, um, started to recognize is that you don't reduce congestion by adding more lanes for the same type of travel. You actually increase the opportunities and the options to people. So, you know, every person getting on the Northwest Best Rapid Transit line, 1,200 plus people a day, that's reducing near 1,200, you know, vehicle trips on that that corridor. Um, the more people the more options you have where you can bike safely, walk safely, it doesn't feel like a six-lane highway in the middle of our city, um, actually is the thing that reduces congestion cuz you have fewer people. The people that came up and spoke today, um that may mainly use bikes as their mode of transportation, that's one less car on the road in your way, um, as somebody who drives. And so, I think really like honing in on this data is really important. Thank you, Jeff, um, in this conversation. Um, [snorts] you know, I'm I I love community input and I I really appreciate Councilman Pennington's, [clears throat] um, recommendation of of putting a pause on this resolution to, um, to meet with community because as, um, Councilman Cooper mentioned, you know, it sounds like there might be an interesting compromise. And so, why we need sort of a sweeping, um, declaration about a stretch of street, um, made at the council level, um, that does not follow best practices, does not follow, um, the even our our city's own data and, um, guidelines, um, for street design, um, seems a little, uh, out of out of step maybe with with, um, what a real solution could be. And so, with that, I would like to make a motion to defer this item, um, for 2 weeks so we have the opportunity to further have those conversations with community members. All right. So, go ahead, Councilman Penington. Oh, I thought you were going to say something. Was that you? I may >> come from the speakers sometimes. It's hard to [clears throat] Surround sound. Uh, You're commenting on the motion to defer? Cuz that's what's on the table right now. When you know, you just tell me when it makes sense for me to give my remarks and I'll do it, sir. Um, well, I would say if the item got deferred and you were really talking about the substance of the yes or no vote, maybe you would want to defer that for 2 weeks. So, you want to take this vote or at least debate this motion first? Okay. Do you just You just want to vote on this right >> Yeah, I I think probably. >> Okay. Does anyone have any debate on the motion to defer? Okay. Then let's see if there's, uh, second. Uh, we'll do this electronically, of course. There's a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Fails three to six. All right, we're back. Not deferred. If you'd like to comment [clears throat] now, Councilman Cooper, it seems appropriate. Thank you, honorable mayor. Uh, I am going to try something I rarely do, and I have a timer, and I'm going to do this in under 4 minutes. Can I share my screen please? Back in television, we called the sweeps week when it was like something different. So, 4 minutes. Uh, I'd like to show 1 minute about why there's all this brouhaha. This is from Maps 4 first public meeting 20, um, 19. Does sound work when we share? Okay. And I'm going to start my 4 minutes. Boom, go. I just want to clarify this 4 minutes is self-imposed. I welcome it, but I will not be enforcing your 4 minutes. That's, uh, Hi, my name is Chelsea. Um, I am the, uh, the little uh, big sister of Chad Ogle, the young man killed, um, on Classen, uh, recently in a biking accident, um, >> [clears throat] >> living in the Plaza and, um, working just actually across the way in Devon Tower. Um, he was one of the 79 deaths that were in the past 3 years in our state. I know that on the agenda in the next coming weeks are parks, Freedom Center, sidewalks, transit, animal shelters, and youth centers, beautification for our city, wellness centers, the State Fair Coliseum, and PA enhancements, homelessness and the amazing Walmart Foundation. All these projects are so vital to our city's success, and I don't envy any of the hard decisions that you have to make. Having safe and protected bike lanes inter connecting our downtown communities secures the safety of getting to and from these places of well-being entertainment that you are so working so hard to build to elevate our great city. Thank you. >> [applause] >> All this brouhaha over bike lanes on Classen today, and the reason why I am so adamant in support of them is because of Chelsea. I believe it's one battle after another. That's what 6 years serving in this seat has taught me, and I suspect we will, unfortunately, friends who spoke in a majority today, I think we will lose this battle. We will not lose the war. Because when I, uh, look at the Tennessean, and I'll quote from it, "Small-town living was once the norm, but as cities grew larger, as families fled to the suburbs, residents who were once connected to their communities became isolated from their basic needs and activities, including work and school and shopping eating out and more. These days heavy traffic and long commutes are the norm, but mixed-use developments are changing all that. And the best mixed-use developments are large enough to incorporate many uses like residential office retail civic and other functions, but small enough to be engaging and walkable. So, in a mixed-use community, you can leave work in the evening and walk wide sidewalks to the daycare center to pick up your children with a quick stop at the grocery store for fresh vegetables and a hot loaf of bread for dinner. You begin your walk home. You pass friends and neighbors along the way, stopping to chat while your friends pet their dog. And after dinner, you can enjoy a glass of water or wine on your front porch on a perfect fall evening." When I look at Business Insider, I see that for years businesses might complain about bike lanes going in, but 40 years worth of data tells us that ain't true. In fact, if you scroll down here, you will see that it actually quadrupled sales for businesses. Now, whether cause and causality, who's to say, but it did not decrease business. And that's what's important. You can, uh, see the ghost bike here from Chad, and you can see these cool bike infrastructure safety mechanisms that Atlanta, which you heard reference, put in place. With 20 seconds, all I'll say is this, it might be one battle after another, but we must always be on the side of safety. We must always be on the side of accessibility. We must always be on the side of increasing sales tax for this city so that we can better fund fire, police, you name it. That's what our job is. And that's what Plaza is and Paseo is and Uptown is and the Asian District is and Britton District and Windsor District and 39th Street LGBT District and Stockyards District. These are our small towns all across Oklahoma City that we are bringing back to life. And the work continues. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments from council on the resolution? Yeah, could I ask just a couple questions again? Um, one, if the resolution were to pass, um, and maybe this is for the city manager staff, if the resolution passes, and at some point people want to advocate for the closure of any lane to add bike lanes, what happens? Does that mean that they that the council then has to pass another resolution to undo this one? What's the process? If we wanted to go forward, you're saying, with a bike lane on Classen? >> Like if if at some point in the future it is the the will of this council that that it be allowed to add to eliminate some car lane for the sake of a bike lane, does that mean a new resolution has to come before the council? I I would think, I mean, logically, Kenny can answer this from a legal perspective, that that the resolution gives the intent of the council. It doesn't carry the same weight of like an ordinance. So, there's question on that. Logically, I think it would make sense to yes, we would come back and re-evaluate that and say, "Hey, we think we've come to a place where it makes more sense at this [music] time, we would probably come back and ask for a resolution to rescind that or override that to to direct to move forward with project. So, it can be done? Yes. Okay. Yes, for for the city manager to then do what you want to do in the future, to do bike lanes, he would have to receive some other direction from the council. So, yeah, a resolution would be the appropriate means. That makes sense. There is also um in the resolution, it says that the city manager shall report back to the council within 60 days on the feasibility, design, and implementation timeline for the proposed bicycle crossings. City manager, will you commit to a meeting with the cyclist community >> Yes. regarding Thank you. But, to discuss not only the design of the cycle crossings, but also the alternatives and all the issues that that may face a cyclist who wants to traverse this area. >> We will definitely coordinate that, yes. >> And you you I'm assuming that will be included in the report that you'd bring back with the feedback. Um what [clears throat] I'll also say, and I appreciate all the comments, I I do think that um in response to to some of the things that Councilman Carter has Cooper has said um I think there is a battle that is has been won. The battle that's been won is that the city is committed to having great bicycle infrastructure, to having great pedestrian infrastructure, and making it a place that people can safely drive. I do think we've done that. This resolution is specifically about a specific corridor, not all the corridors. I I'd also say that um in Ward 7, um we have traffic counts are important for us to make an assessment about where bike lane infrastructure makes sense, but I've also said had unfortunately some instances where better community input with some of the implementation of some of these bike lanes would have led to a better outcome. So, if you talk to my neighbors who live on Lottie Avenue between 23rd Street and 13th Street, they tell you they're outraged by the way that the bike lanes took out some of the the car lanes of traffic. If you talk to some of my neighbors near where I live on Kelley and 23rd Street, the bike the protected bike lane has led to car accidents. And so, people are upset about that. But, at the same time, we've heard the feedback of neighbors who are directly affected by the Class II bike lane and understand that they feel that their safety is endangered if we don't implement this bike lane. So, again, I I just think it's important for us to remember that all of these um factors matter. We want to be a safe place for cyclists. We want to be a safe place for drivers. And we can do both by having real conversations and better design in the implementation of of the bike lanes. So, again, I just press the city manager and and all of our team to just take the input of all of our neighbors. Let's reach a conclusion that's reasonable that respects all of those all of those issues that matter. City manager, when you all meet, um I stepped away early briefly. I I hope I was not being rude when I did uh because I wanted to get this data that Councilman Carter referenced. Will you all dig into um I got it printed off. It says collisions on North Classen from Main to 10th Street. So, not where the new bike infrastructure exists. That is where you saw the increase from 58 to 101. It was not in the area of concern. So, if you all could dig into those, that'd be really great. So, we're going to gather the information. >> we get information more detailed information on that, I'll be sure to with all the council. Thank you. Mhm. Your Honor, at this time I'd move for approval of the resolution found at item number 4B. All right. I have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes 7 to 2. All right, we're moving on now to item five, city manager reports. Uh Mr. City Manager. Yes, we have a couple of items that are on today. One of them on the capital improvement plan, we started last week with an introduction of the capital improvement plan. We're going to have a couple of presentations on that this morning. The first one will be the uh MAPS program, and then we'll hear from Melinda McMillan Miller on the parks programs, just what we have in the capital improvements plan. And as a reminder, that will come back to the council on January 13th for approval of the plan. First up, uh David Todd, our MAPS director, will present the MAPS program projects that are included in the five-year capital plan. Good morning. David Todd, MAPS program manager. Um >> [clears throat] >> I have with me today two of the 20 very important people. I want to introduce Kerry Lee is running the presentations, and Todd Woodward is the assistant program manager. I don't know what I would do without them. Uh so, >> [clears throat] >> uh we're here to talk about the capital improvement plan for the MAPS office for the next five years. >> [clears throat] >> This is a mission statement that was developed by those 20 people within the office delivering high-quality legacy projects with transparency and integrity through thoughtful collaboration, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. And then these are the the core values that the office also came up with that we have posted and we try to live by as we execute the MAPS program. So, in the next five years, the MAPS office will um execute 1.6 billion dollars worth of capital expenditures. And [clears throat] then you can see the various um funds that that the MAPS office will use. So, we still have a little bit of MAPS 3 funds that are out there. Um that is excess collections and interest that is um I I'll cover it more later, but it it's for the the Union Station and Scissortail Park. Then we have the MAPS 4 funds. Then there were some TIF identified, and we'll go over all these, but there was some TIF money identified, 30.5 million. Then the arena sales tax that the MAPS office is doing, and then uh a piece of the 2025 general obligation bond. And then as you go through the different years, you can see the um how the different funds are spent. Mostly you can see that MAPS 4 is going to be very heavy next year, and then it will start to to wind down through the years. And then in '27 and '28, it is predominantly the arena funding. Um uh major projects, as I said, MAPS 3 has some uh excess funds and and interest left over, and that has been allocated to Union Station, and we are presently working on that. It's been a bit of a struggle to get everything that the foundation needs, that everything that the foundation wants with the budget that we have, but we are uh working and and hope to bring you something this summer as a finished product. >> [clears throat] >> Then MAPS 4 highlights the the planned projects. You can see, as I said, that '26 is a very busy year, and then winds down all the way to 2030. Uh um these are some of the bigger projects within MAPS 4. So, we have the Foster Center at 14.2. Uh I hope to be bringing you final plans this summer. Parks is several packages, about 10 packages of various parks projects, but in these five years, we will complete all of those renovations of 107 neighborhood parks. Restoration Center, you'll see um a a prelim Well, you just saw the preliminary report, and you'll see final plans this summer, so we can get started on that Restoration Center. Multi-purpose stadium, you will see a preliminary report in a few weeks and final plans also this year, and we'll begin construction on that. Youth centers, you've seen uh some of that work. We have two that are currently underway right now, but uh we will finish all five of or all four of those in the next five years. And then also the Crisis Center, you've seen uh plans on that. As far as the [clears throat] arena sales tax, uh this one ramps up a lot quicker and and and goes faster, but but um we have a presentation here in a minute to talk about the different kind of project delivery we have on this, but we have design activities going through uh second quarter of of '27. And then we have bidding and construction activities all the way through the second quarter of '29. Yes, we will finish this in '28. Remember that it's a June-July division there. And [clears throat] then also part of the the GO bond that we have, we have um 50 million split into 20 million in in FY '26 and 30 million in FY '27 for the multi-purpose stadium. We have money going to youth centers in '27 and '28. And then we have the the uh bond money that's going to the arena project in '26 and '27. TIF funding, the um major part of that is with the multi-purpose stadium. It [clears throat] um was awarded 30 million dollars in TIF funding to help with that project. And then the Clara Luper Civil Rights Center uh received 500,000, and that will be in FY '27. That is the conclusion of my uh presentation. If anybody has any questions, I'll try to answer. Thanks David. Now, Melinda McMillan Miller will present the five-year [music] uh capital plan for our parks department. Good morning, Council. Thank you for having me today. Melinda McMillan Miller, Parks and Recreation Department Director. Um in our next 5-year forecast for our capital improvement plan, it's going to be really exciting to see some new facilities come online as well as some improvements to existing facilities. Within any of our parks master plan, of course, is our guiding document that helps us um Go ahead and Oh, do I have the clicker? Thank you, Carrie. >> [laughter] >> Um that master plan is, of course, our guiding document for us to in our planning for all of our master um large capital projects and keeps us on our North Star. So, we understand as we're entering into different discussions with the public and and understanding their interests and the evolving needs of our community, um we always refer back to the master plan to make sure that we keep this as up-to-date as possible. Within our next 5 years, we're expecting to spend um just a little bit over 300 300 million dollars in different um capital projects. You can kind of see how the next 5 years are those awards are split out. Um you'll see that it's a very heavy in at the 29 30 timeline as we're getting um some other capital projects, just like with uh Director Todd was discussing about the youth centers and other MAPS facilities that have um parks geo bonds in those and those those improvements are moving very quickly in order to help us prepare for the Olympic Games as well as um getting some our youth centers for the MAPS facilities up and running. See how they are the facilities um funds are split out by type. Uh you'll see that it most of those funds are going just towards overall park and facility improvements. And just as a reminder, this the presentation does not include our MAPS funds. Um our MAPS partners um are going to help us get those projects moving forward and this just represents the park specific funds for bonds, grants, and other funding. You can see how those grants are those bonds are split apart. We have general obligation bond, of course, is the predominant um source of funding for our capital improvements. And then from there our trails and impact fees all the way down from grants to um the Better Streets Safer City, we're still spending some of the funding out of the um 2017 Better Streets Safer City project. Our park project locations are really scattered across the city. Um you'll see them by green dots, but then also the yellow um for the trails that are getting some of various improvements. A lot of the trail improvements those around Lake Stanley Draper or um the Will Rogers Trail, Lake Hefner, the Wilshire connection over to Overholser, a lot of those are trail amenities. Um you'll see that we'll have increased in lighting, water fountains, sign um we're changing some trail signage. So, we'll have some different um availability there for the trails to be improved as well as the green dots, which highlight the park properties. So, some of our most recent successes was getting um Dewey Park opened up to the public. That's a project that we're all very excited about. Um this neighborhood did not have any park um really within not even just a 10-minute walk, but really it was very um blocked by I-235. And so, just getting the public to have a open green space, repurposing the former um Dewey Elementary School site into a green space has gone overwhelmingly been very popular with the neighborhood. And we're very um excited about the Dewey project, which was a blend of ARPA funds, grant funds, as well as general obligation bond. Wiley Post Park is under construction now. So, if you um take a drive down Robinson or Walker and and glance over um to Wiley Post on the north side of the river, it is fully under construction ahead of schedule, which is always great to hear. Um Wiley Post will also the north shore will also be home to the USS Oklahoma City submarine memorial, um which will come later after the park improvements are completed. And Wiley Post Park is another grant funded um uh improvement with ARPA funds. The Deep Fork Greenway is, of course, we have three sections that are complete, two sections that are going to be under construction in calendar year of 2026. Um that's also from general obligation bond 17 and 25. We're really looks looking forward to getting this one complete. Looking ahead then for the general obligation bond in 25, we have uh Will Rogers Family Aquatic Center will be completely replaced. So, we're really excited to get this um facility that is very much loved by the neighborhood and the residents and just historically, but actually have the family aquatic center upgraded to be more of a match to the Earlywine Family Aquatic Center with modern amenities, as well as um just features that are expected now in our big uh aquatic centers. The Copper Sports Complex um this is also one that has evolved from is a good um testament to how our neighborhoods evolve, areas evolve. So, we have the complex, which was a eight field softball complex. Now, we have new neighborhoods that have been built just are being under construction now just to the south of the complex. And so, the evolving needs of the neighborhoods have changed around it. They need served by um park amenities as well as sports amenities. So, as the North Pinwheel has been revamped and the fields are beautiful, we're putting in new concession restroom facility there. The South Pinwheel will be rethought and we're talking with the neighborhoods about how we can better engage them in this process to understand what other park facilities do they need that they don't currently have in that area so that we stay on track with our master plan goals. At Earlywine Golf Course, the At the Turn Grill is under construction, finally. Um we have that's part of the 2017 geo bond as well. Um once the At the Turn Grill is is finished, then it will complete all of the Earlywine Golf Course improvements um for the next several years. Um we have some erosion issues we're going to work on in the next 5 years with the geo bond. Um but this will at least complete the the um vertical improvements there at Earlywine Golf Course. Please check it out when it's done. They have a really great dining room, by the way. Um Lona Park and um Councilman Stonecipher is anxious to get this one off the ground as well. Uh this is another big focus of ours for um the fiscal year of 2026, um mostly funded with impact fees and of course donations um from the neighborhood. We're excited to get this one moving so we can get these neighborhoods connected from 164th to 150th Street. Last but not least, the our newest regional park being Swisher Park, getting um phase one and two out the door here in 20 26 will be so exciting and getting that trail network starting to push southwest into our city so we can finally connect the um West River Trail across the river into Swisher Park and get that Mustang Trail initiated and get moving towards that direction. That is the highlights of the next 5 years for our CIP and I'm absolutely happy to answer any questions if you have them. Thank you, Melinda. Could I just ask because I get a lot of um constituents that ask me, so I'm just going to make sure that we we talk about it for those that besides my wife that might be watching on YouTube. Um the uh Deep Fork Trail, the portion that's incomplete Yes. in northeast Oklahoma City, could you just share again what the next steps are for its completion? Absolutely. Thank you for asking, Councilman. Um the next steps is as you all have approved, I believe one council meeting before, um an extension to the Halff and Associates contract for them to work on getting the um alignment um through between Kelly I I've been on vacation for a few days, so I'm trying to remember everything again. Between Kelly and Lincoln, as we get that connection um surveyed, that will give us the best answer on the alignment options that will make the most buildable um and also the most cost-effective. There are some real riparian areas there along the Deep Fork River that we want to make sure we protect, but also um get the best path possible um to get that little remaining um piece that we haven't built yet. And then once that alignment is determined based on the survey and the cost estimates, we'll be able [clears throat] to move forward, bring that back for the council's review and the public's review, um and then hopefully get it under design and get going with that. Um and then once that truly that alignment actually dictates how we complete the portion um west of Lincoln. So, then we'll get it done. And so, the estimated timeline again for getting the >> have everything back to you and and recommendations and everything in March. Thank you. That's the goal I've given them so. I want to say thanks for all the work you've done at Earlywine Golf Course. It's a spectacular place and in case you're listening out there, they have done a fine dining option for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, which is top of the line. It is really really Yeah, I've been really impressed. So, thank Thanks, Melinda. And just as a reminder again, we'll vote on the capital improvement plan plan on January 13th. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um two other items that we have on. One is just the claims and payroll um that is on okc.gov, but we also have the sales tax report. We continue our journey of um oddities. If you look at this, you know, we've had this up and down with sales tax and we saw sales tax now for this month [music] was down 4.6%. So, still giving an inconsistent message on sales tax, we're at about 3% growth for the year on sales tax. Use tax, on the other hand, had 46% growth. And so, it was way out of the ordinary. That was a correction that we received. We believe it's all from this fiscal year. Is that correct? And um it was a few remitters that were remitting to the wrong ACH number, like where they remit electronically. It got the way that it got recorded, it didn't show up for the city. And so, we were that was being pulled out. Uh wasn't being included and starting in July going up until December, they identified the problem, addressed it, and we received that one check. So, we weren't aware of this leading up to this time. We're made aware when this check came that we would have this correction. And so, that now puts us where if you look at it combined, we're about $2.5 million over target for sales and use tax combined. Sales tax goes up to a 6% growth, which is a little bit above what we had projected. Where before it was trailing at about like 2 and 1/2 or 3% decline. So, it really helps to reset that. We've also worked on worked that into resetting our projections going into the rest of this year and into next year. And so, we'll get it more information as we have have additional information on that as we look to the at the budget for next year. But, it's good news for us on this with use tax. While sales tax is still giving the inconsistent message, use tax is helpful to at least in this part of the year be a little bit ahead of target. Um so, we'll continue to update you as we have that information. And that's all that I have, Mayor. Thank you. I just wanted to comment kind of back on the capital improvement plan. That presentation in 1965 would have taken 30 seconds. You know, like Yeah. It is I I I just never want people to take for granted that we are 15 and 0 over the last 30 years to the tune of nearly $10 million not even adjusted for inflation in commitments to capital infrastructure in the city of all kinds from core infrastructure to quality of life infrastructure. As you know, but maybe people lose sight of this. You know, the city has no ongoing funding stream for any capital projects really to speak of. Every all of our ongoing funding streams that are permanent of a permanent nature fund our operations. We would never be really be able to repair anything and certainly much less invest in our future if not for the approval of the voters, which we have received now 15 straight times over three decades, which allows for you to spend. And you could have made that presentation 6 hours long. I mean, they have hundreds of projects. So, it's just it's just a great thing. And I just don't want to, you know, miss the chance to to brag both on our voters and on this city government for the trust they have uh established with them through the years. Okay, anything else on city manager? >> It's all. All right. Uh next up is journal of council proceedings, item six. We have items A and B we can take with one motion. Got a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes uh 7 to 2. Uh and then we're item we're at item seven, request for uncontested continuances. Already on the agenda is item 11 B, which would be withdrawn. Uh is there anything else, Mr. City Manager? Yes, beginning on page 18, item 11 R1, unsecured structures. All these items are stricken from the agenda. Item C, 836 East Drive, the owner is secured. Item I, 3201 Northwest 14th Street, the owner is secured. Item L, 2235 Southwest 31st Street, the owner is secured. And item O, 821 Southeast 51st Street, the owner has secured. Continuing on page 19, item 11 S1, abandoned buildings. Um these are all stricken for the same reasons as the previous items on unsecured structures. Item H, 3201 Northwest 14th Street. Item M, 2235 Southwest 31st Street. And item O, 821 Southeast 51st Street. And that's all the items that I have. All right, thank you. Item A, revocable permits and events, there are none. And then to accommodate a council member's schedule, I'm going to pull up an item before we recess for MFA. And that item is 11 P. Um and I think it'll be a fairly swift um deliberation as I believe the council member wishes to defer it. So, uh item 11 P, this is an ordinance on final hearing and recommended for denial, rezoning 1422 Northwest 17th from R1 and UC to SPD 1765 and UC. This was deferred three times previously. Councilwoman Ham. Yes, um I heard from the applicant that late last week um they and the um protesters in the neighborhood came to a an agreement on some some changes they'd like to make. They didn't do that in time for it to get included in the agenda, which so they'd like to do that. Um [snorts] and so, I'd like to request a deferral to January 13th to our next meeting. Okay. Now, we've got a motion and a second for the motion to defer item P to January 13th. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, thank you for your indulgence on that. We'll return now to uh the regular order, which means we will recess the council and convene as the Oklahoma City Municipal Facilities Authority on page two of your printed agenda. And uh I don't believe we have any presentations. Uh I would point out that staff is not requesting an executive session on item L2. And we do have a resident who's signed up to speak um regarding item A, and that is Steve Hunt. Um it was B that I was going to speak on. Oh, okay. Whatever, that's fine. So, go ahead. Sure. Yes, please. >> Okay. Steve Hunt, 2825 Northwest 57th. Let me preface uh my comments on the contract to Premise Health by saying that 2 weeks ago I came up here and spoke uh regarding a private equity inspired broadcasting company Main Street Sports, aka FanDuel Sports, the revived corpse of Diamond Sports Group's uh Bally Sports, and why people have to pay so much money to watch the Thunder. Um strangely, a couple hours after my presentation, Lauren Thomas of the Wall Street Journal reported that Main Street Sports Group is going to be shutting down in a couple weeks as they missed their payment to the St. Louis Cardinals and pending sell to uh Great Britain Saudi funded uh DAZN, uh otherwise the Thunder will have no one to show their games. So, this uh was what I was going to speak about only today. And when I printed up the agenda, I noticed that there are uh 10 different private equity adjacent or private equity companies on the agenda today. And initially, I was going to speak about all of them, but I didn't think that, you know, with the bike guys and everything, it'd be fun to be here till 6:00. So, um Premise Health uh and all the other private equity firms operate on a 2820 model. The 2% is the total amount of a contract the guys at the private equity firm get that money. So, in the instance of Inframark, they get $440,000 on the contract that we're giving them. That $440,000 is guaranteed whether they perform correctly or not. And so, I think that we need to start thinking about all these contracts that we're handing over to these equity firms. Specifically uh with Premise Health, uh they represent a financialized employee health care model, not a community driven health care solution. The company is private equity backed and historically owned by private equity and strategic finance partners, including OMERS Private Equity, the investment arm of a massive Canadian pension fund that acquired them in 2018. So, we're a we're a company that's based in Canada that we're giving our health care, you know, Canada health care is great, but I don't know if this is the best thing. Um Premise specializes in onsite and virtual clinics for large employers, >> 30 seconds. government entities framing them as efficiency uh while transforming health care into a predictable revenue stream optimized for investors. Um this is not about doctors and nurses driving better health care outcomes. It is about outsourcing employee health care to a profit driven corporate structure designed to extract value, standardize care, and shift real costs out of sight. What is being proposed is not health care reform, but the insertion of private equity logic into the city's health system, >> Okay. >> where cost control and investor returns take precedence over long-term public health outcomes. All right, thank you. We can now take uh the items under the MFA agenda, items A through M with one motion. Have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. >> [clears throat] >> Passes unanimously. All right, now we'll adjourn OC MFA and convene as the Oklahoma City Public Property Authority. Um we have a resident who's signed up to speak on item A, Steve Hunt. Uh item A, you signed up to speak. A, which one? On PPA. >> On PPA, page four. >> [clears throat] >> I thought it was going to be a little bit later. Let me find this one. Oh, the PPA is the firms uh involved. Platinum Equity Private Equity is the club Car and then Omnia Partners private equity is the one that negotiated the deal. So, we've got two large equity firms extracting from taxpayers on this particular contract and the deal with Club Car the purchase is being made through Omnia Partners which is a national cooperative procurement intermediary intermediary we are using instead of issuing our own competitive bids. Omnia Partners is privately held organization backed by significant investment from Capital G the growth fund of Alphabet you know Google and other private investment funds not a municipal procurement body. Just a second here sorry. So, the situation with Club Car is interesting you know it's it's we're trading in a number of golf carts. I guess this is for the municipal owned golf carts. And we're getting 200,000 and then I think the cost of the new ones is 1.2 million. So, we're presented with 995,000 being spent but what wasn't mentioned was that you know they get the carts back from us and if some of them are like not functionable you know they'll they'll have to charge us for those. Um Also, let's see another thing with Omnia Partners doing the negotiation. I really don't understand why we're hiring a private equity firm to do the price negotiations on this when there's plenty of smart people here in the city. Let's see give me just a second here. That's really about it. I just you know like I said there were 10 different ones of these in the >> [sighs] >> Club Car premise and Inframark is the other one that I'll talk about here in a little bit. Thank you. Thank you. All right, we have a presentation on item C. Yes, David Todd our MAPS program manager will present this project. We briefed Council regarding our construction manager at risk subcontractor bids and just way this process will work differently than what we normally do hard bid. I'll let David introduce our speaker introduce this project. >> [clears throat] >> David Todd MAPS program manager. So, this is essentially for two items on here items B and C and then the companion items that are in the consent agendas BV and BW. So, it's all the the same thing. And [clears throat] as city manager said we have a different delivery method on this project and in order to explain that we have our consultant here Dan Viant from CAA Icon is here but also our partner with the construction part of this Josh Patterson is also here from the joint venture of Flintco Mortenson team if there were any questions because that is item C but I'd like to turn it over to Dan Viant here and he can go over this this contract with you. Yes, and I should have mentioned it's on the agenda but it's for the new arena. It's the construction manager contract for the new arena. Thank you David. My name is Dan Viant. I'm with CAA Icon. We are the project managers supporting David and Todd and the rest of the MAPS group on the oversight of the design and construction of the new arena. As David mentioned we're using a construction management process called construction management at risk or CMAR. It's it's a process that's used throughout the country on large complex projects but it's I think a little bit new to the city of Oklahoma City. So, just want to talk a little bit about the process itself and what you can expect to see over the course of the next couple of years. I'm just going to load this all up here. This this graphic here is just meant to represent in general how this process works. We are currently at the middle of the graphic where it says design development and uh actually I can look right here. 50% CDs have been issued and we do have a preliminary cost report on the project. We've already awarded the AE contract our our architects and engineers are Manica and TVS are heading that up and they're well into design. And we've awarded the CMAR contract for pre-construction services that went to Flintco Mortenson. They have been supporting the process all along with cost estimating and then also analyzing the construction documents for constructability all throughout. We're at a point now where we've issued 50% DDs and we want to begin construction in April of 2026. What's a bit unusual about this is that you can see is that the design is not complete. We are in the middle of the design but we are at a point where we can issue construction documents for bid for things like earthwork underground utilities foundations and the process allows us to overlap design with construction. We need to do that because we want to open the building up in 2028 and we still have about 8 months worth of design to do. So, we're overlapping design with construction but we're issuing bid packages to the public in accordance with title 61 the the bid will the bids will all go out publicly and the reports will come back to Council for approval. So, all of that will seem the same but you'll see at many instances of bid amendments come coming back to you over the course of the next year and a half. So, in general what I want to show is here's what to expect in 2026. Today what you have in front of you on the consent docket is the award of the construction manager at risk master agreement. That's an agreement between Flintco Mortenson and and the city of Oklahoma City to oversee the construction of the new arena. It is a it sets the contractual terms but it's a zero dollar contract today. What happens is as we award amendments to that contract over the course of the next year and a half the value of their contract will increase in accordance with the actual value of those bids. You're also going to see bid packages come across the consent docket. Today you're going to see a bid package that's going to go out in January for underground utilities deep foundations and some other early works that are going to help us begin construction in April. So, that's going to that's on the consent docket today. It's the first bid package that will be issued. Um So, throughout the course of next year you'll see several of these bid packages each each of them will increase the value of the the CMARs agreement. We will also have an amendment coming out in mid-January that will establish the professional staffing that the construction manager will put in place to oversee the project and also the what we call their general conditions. That's their temporary trailers their temporary utilities everything that they need in order to manage the construction of the project. So, you'll see that in January as well. is scheduled to start in April. And then as we go through all of this bidding over the course of next year and a half it will build up to the total value of the CMARs contract and that will that that will mean that the the project itself has been bought out and that at that point in time we will get a GMP from the contractor which stands for a guaranteed maximum price to oversee and and manage the construction of the project through August of 2028. So, this next slide just describes all of the different bidding events that are going to happen. Those are the that's the current plan is that we have our enabling works and general conditions in the month of January and then throughout next year we have nine different bid packages all going through January of 2027. Um And each one of these will come to you twice. You'll see the initial bid package documents. You'll get to review and approve those. They'll go out on the street. The construction manager will evaluate the bids. They'll come back to us with a recommendation of award and we'll bring that back to Council for approval. And then finally I just wanted to say like this process may be a little bit new to the city of Oklahoma City but it's been used on virtually every large arena project and stadium project that our company has overseen. It's a very open and transparent process. It allows everybody to bid on the project and it allows you to see exactly how the funds are being used. And it's it's a great process for from a management standpoint for us to be able to control the design take enough time with the design to get the design to a place that everybody is comfortable with it yet still allow construction to start. So, we've used this it successfully on I just have four project examples here but we've done 30 arena stadium projects over the course of the last 20 years and they've all virtually all used this construction management at risk process. So, I guess with that I just open it to any questions that you might have. Thanks Dan. All right, thank you very much. Okay, and a resident has signed up to speak on this item Michael Washington. Not here. Okay. So, we can take a vote on items A through E with one motion. Have motion in a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, now we're going to adjourn OCPA and reconvene as the council. We are on item nine, the consent docket. There are no scheduled presentations. Is there any item that a council member wishes to pull out for separate vote, comment question? G [clears throat] and AJ. G and AJ. So, uh, for What does it matter? Okay, I'll just call on you when we get there. Perfect. Okay, anything else? Hearing none, we'll start with G. Councilwoman Neighbors. Yes, sir. I would like to make a motion to move it to the February 10th meeting. I will be out [clears throat] on the 27th and this is, um, one tied to a major comp plan amendment and I do expect protests, so I'd like to be present for that, um presentation. So, you know, I'll I'll I'll go ahead and say it respectfully. So, ordinance, you know, zoning applications really should be introduced. I I I was happy to vote for one deferral, but we can we can defer the consideration of it in perpetuity, but, uh, I mean, within reason obviously but but but you know, we have never deferred an ordinance introduction that I can recall until we did 2 weeks ago. I I I can't support it, but that has nothing to do with the substance of the item or your or anything else. It's just really that's that's not, in my view, appropriate, especially if the applicant disagrees and the applicant is standing here, right? So, maybe we I might be able to clarify this. I don't think she wants to move the introduction. I think she's good with the introduction. I think she is asking that the final hearing be on Oh, okay. February the 10th. Yes. I totally misunderstood that. Yes. I'm fine with that. Yeah. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> [laughter] >> But we cannot continue to defer the introduction here. Okay. >> Okay. Okay, yeah, okay. So, so, Kenny, do we need to, um, amend this first? >> I I think you need I think we should just defer it when it's on the agenda. The problem is she's not going to be here on that day. Right. >> still defer it. Can it not just be set for final hearing by motion of the council on I think the February 10th meeting do that? Because the only other because that also triggers some notices and things, right? >> Can I just defer it for No, she's not going to be here. >> do it that way, then we'll have notices, right? And people might come and they don't know that it's about to be deferred and all that. And I won't be here to respond to them and I mean, we we could set it. I could My staff is undoubtedly listening in my office. I can submit a letter, uh, today asking that it be deferred from January 27th to February 10th. Yeah, but but just for everybody's knowledge, wouldn't it be better to just, if we can, set the date today, so people may Can we do that, Kenny? With with the agreement of the applicant, I think you could set the date today. We're fine with that. I'm fine with February Everyone has I believe we [snorts] have we have notice of this meeting, right? Is there an A notice that went out on this meeting? >> Notice that went out on this >> think notice gets sent. And that's the problem with the introduction. Notices don't get sent on introduction. Okay, so I think what you're going to have to do is just have an agreement with the applicant today that when it comes up on February 12th, he agrees that it will be deferred. >> No, no. So, it's proposed on the agenda to be heard on January 27th. Okay, so basically your your problem is >> is can we amend the the set final hearing >> have to republish notice is what we'll have to do. >> We noticed introduction? No, we didn't. Could we ask Sarah Sarah Welch is here. Could we hear from Sarah about what the how this would impact the notice? >> Please. We just won't send them out tomorrow. Can we The question on the table is can we amend this item today to declare that the hearing will be [music] February 10th, right? Yeah, February 10th. >> Sarah Welch, planning department. With our clerk's approval, we will update the notice to state >> Yes. February 10th. Move Move to amend the note a move to a your motion is we move to introduce it with the final hearing on February 10th. >> just for security, should we do a separate vote to amend the item and then vote on the item? >> Yes. >> Okay, let's do that. All right. Thank you all. We are in the weeds of legality at this point. And my apologies for misinterpreting your original suggestion. Hey, I'm fully aware that I may use the wrong words, but that I talked with Kenny beforehand, like, here's my problem, so help me make help me say it right. So, thank you. Okay, so why don't we real quick, why don't we take your motion to amend item G um, to set a final hearing of February 10th. Perfect. Thank you. Okay, this is a motion to amend item G. We have motion and a second, cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Now, the item does not need to do a separate vote. It it will just now be adopted with the rest of the consent docket, so we can move on from it. Perfect. Okay. Uh, it is now amended. All right, so the next up was item AJ. Back to you, Councilwoman Neighbors. I apologize for doing things in the a little bit off-nominal way, um, but they come with good intent. So, this one I understand the planning commission has already passed the comp plan amendment and, um, this is really kind of a a check the box for the council. However, it does require, um, consent, uh, uh, under the agenda and, um, I do not want to have my name listed as consenting to it, um, because it was not led by planning commission staff, it was not led by my Ward 3 planning commissioner. It was recommended for denial by our staff and knowing the city's infrastructure development plans for the next 20 years, I cannot vote in agreement or concurrence with this, although I understand that doesn't really matter today. It's just putting it on record. Does that make sense, David? Separate votes is what I'm hearing. >> Sure. David Box, 525 Northwest 11. So, this is ceremonial at best. Um, the the oddity in our state laws is that the planning commission is the sole body in charge of the comprehensive plan. They took a vote in October. 30 days since that has passed, so that that vote to change the comp plan is final and done. So, yes, I think you stated it correctly. >> And I guess the keyword here on this item is receiving. All you're doing is receiving. >> [laughter] >> Which is, yeah, not a not a very strong action verb, so I understand what you're saying. So, essentially, what what you're asking for then is a separate vote, so that you on this particular item. >> Yeah. Okay. All right, we can, we can do that. Let's, why don't we go ahead and take a motion then on item 9AJ. We have a motion and a second, cast your votes. Passes 5 to 1. Okay. Uh, then what we're left with on the consent docket are some items that residents have signed up to address. Uh, item BK and BL, Michael Washington. Not here. Item BK and BL, Steve Hunt. Okay, this will be real quick. Um, I was kind of grossed out when the city decided to give 85.4 million dollars to the Omni. The owner, Robert Rowling, is worth 9 billion dollars. Um, but here we are today and there's something that I just want to try to understand. Uh, City Manager Freeman, uh, I just had a quick question. If you could explain the, uh, how granting Omni a 90-day float affects the city repayment obligation that comes with that comes due at the start of the same 90-day period. Specifically, does the city front the money during that window? And if so, what is the cost and the risk to taxpayers of carrying that float? I I just want to I'll just step in. The citizens to be heard is an opportunity to state your opinion and is not a Q&A, but staff, I'm sure, would be helpful and would be happy to meet anyone out in the lobby to address his questions or we can correspond by email, but Okay, thanks. Thank you. Um, all right, next up is item 9BM. We have a resident signed up to speak, Anthony Carfang. Good morning, Anthony Carfang, 2324 Northwest 26th Street. Uh, good morning, Manager Freeman and Kenny and Mayor and Council. Um, I do want to talk about BM explicitly, but naturally my context somewhat relates to the Classen Corridor discussion we had earlier this morning. Uh, I mentioned that my work at Tinker involves a rigorous safe systems approach. Designs go through rigorous analysis review prototyping testing and eventually sell off by technical independent testers, witnessed and approved by quality assurance and auditors. Data and artifacts follow every step of the way. Quote, go fast, and quote, just pick the cheap option, has no place in the process. Quote, choose the option that will ruffles the least feathers, has no place in my work's process. Uh, our line of work always chooses safety over speed and convenience. I'll say it one more time, there is no room for compromise when it comes to safety. So, and Mayor, I appreciate your your notice that this is more statement of opinion as opposed to a dialogue, but so I guess hypothetically, I'm kind of curious uh when it comes to uh navigating your duty uh Manager Freeman to follow the desires of City Council uh particularly if their desires conflict with your engineer's safety assessments. Earlier I mentioned Classen Boulevard isn't in my opinion necessarily about adding a bike lane to the boulevard, but traffic calming to reduce the crashes that we heard have doubled between May uh Main and uh 10th that I appreciate the the staff and planners to look into with OKCPD. A crash analysis studio is totally important and relevant to identify the causes and the solutions to them. It just so happens that transportation planners are aware of crash modification factors and crash reduction indices. And it just so happens that adding bike lanes to underutilized traffic corridors is one of the better approaches to traffic calming. So, again, it wasn't necessarily about adding a bike lane, but inherently the it's important based on the data for uh engineers to want to reconfigure the number of lanes, the lane width to make the corridor more intuitive for drivers, to reduce lane change conflicts, to reduce unprotected left turn conflicts, to narrow crossing distances. So, if the City Council's uh desire and resolution is to maintain six lanes of traffic across the entire corridor against best engineering practices, I'm curious how you rectify that. And I look forward to the um public discussion that we're going to have with City Planning sometime in the near future. Thank you. Thank you. All right, that uh concludes residents who've signed to speak. Now we can adopt uh the consent docket uh other than the item that was previously approved, and I remind you one item was amended. >> [cough] >> Excuse me, sorry. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Uh all right, now we're on item 10, the concurrence docket. Uh we can take items A through T with one motion. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, now we're on items for individual consideration, item 11. Item 11A is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval uh rezoning 9350 Northwest 122nd from double A to R1. Uh did anyone I talked I talked to Bradley. Yeah. >> Are there any any protests? >> No, I I should say no one has signed up to speak on any zoning case. Then I'd move for approval of item 11A, please. I can't get a second. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item B was previously withdrawn, which brings us to item C. Uh item C2 is an ordinance on final hearing recommended for approval rezoning 8617 South Santa Fe Avenue from R1 to PUD 2102. Uh item C1 is an amend is a related item, an amendment to the master design statement. And um Councilman Kinkle, no one has signed up to speak. I will move approval. All right. Approving the amendment. Oh, yeah. I will take that as a motion for C1, the amendment to the master design statement. So, we've got a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Now, Councilman Kinkle, we're on item C2. I'll move approval on that as well. All right. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, 11D is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 3925 Northwest 178th from PUD 1895 to PUD 2112. Councilman Stonecipher. I'll move for approval, please. Got a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Councilman Cooper. Passes unanimously. All right, uh item E is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 1800 Northwest 115th from PUD 1767 to PUD 2113. Councilman Pennington. Thank you, Mayor. I move approval. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item F is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 13200 Northwest Boulevard from RA to PUD 2115. Back to you, Councilman Pennington. Thank you, Mayor. Um I will note that um they have withdrawn the protests. I did receive a letter from their attorney, Kelly Work, verifying that they are withdrawing protests and are in support. So, I will move approval of item F. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item G is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 7900 North Oklahoma from PUD 1965 to PUD 2116. Staying with you, Councilman Pennington. Thank you, Mayor. I move approval. Motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item H is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 7300 South Sunny Lane from I2 to PUD 2118. Councilman Stone. Thank you, Mayor. I'll go ahead and move for its approval as well. Motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item I is an ordinance on final hearing that was recommended for approval rezoning 2701 North Portland from O2 to SPUD 1778. Councilman Cooper. Yes, uh thank you, Mayor. While I recognize no one has signed up to speak, I do believe the applicant is present. I'd love for you to tell us a bit about your project, please. Absolutely. Uh Braden Shafer at 300 Point Parkway Boulevard. Uh this project is taking an existing site uh that used to be an old office building uh redeveloping it into multi-family. Um there's what we're planning to do. It'll be a kind of a duplex style on the north side of the property and kind of a quadplex on the south side of the property. Um really trying to focus on walkability, connection to uh sidewalks that we're going to install along Portland. Um really trying to make this a uh integral part of the community. Happy to answer any questions. All right. Well, I appreciate you taking time to walk us through what you're up to. And uh as I mentioned to you in private, and I'll say in public, something that also excites me about you and your client having this interest in west of I-44, uh that's wonderful. Like we've it's for too long we've not seen the sort of infill development and the sort of vision that you're talking about. So, I'm really excited to see that from the private sector. I can just remind everybody from the public sector from Northwest 23rd to 36th, we're actually about to see work begin on a streetscape uh that's going to happen. And this means a whole lot to me because this was where the woman in the wheelchair was hit by three different vehicles a few a couple years ago. And so, um trying to cross Portland. So, I think building the sort of development like you're doing and with the vision you have, it really aligns with the vision that um the city has as well for there. So, I'm really excited. Will Rogers Park right down the road, so we have things to connect people to. So, I'd move for approval. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Okay. Wait, where are we? Item J, ordinance on final hearing recommended for approval rezoning 16207 North Penn from PUD 940 to SPUD 1783. Councilman Stonecipher. Move for approval please. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item K is an ordinance on final hearing. It was recommended for approval rezoning 1821 Northwest 22nd from O-1 to SPUD 1784. Councilman Pennington. Thank you, Mayor. I move approval unless there's comment. Um I just wanted to tell you a little bit more about what we're doing. We know there's a staff technical evaluation and we plan to comply [clears throat] with that. We have a reciprocal access easement agreement that's subject to approval by the seller of the property. I'm representing the buyer of the property here. Excellent. Thank you. Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right. Item L is an ordinance on final hearing. It was recommended for approval rezoning 13327 North Rockwell from PUD 907 to SPUD 1788. Councilman Stonecipher. Move for approval, please. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item M is an ordinance on final hearing. It was recommended for approval rezoning 1220 North Gardner from PUD 1131 to SPUD 1789. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item N is an ordinance on final hearing. It was recommended for approval establishing a special permit permit to operate use unit 8300.33 drinking establishments in the C-4 UD and TT districts at 2120 Northwest 23rd. Did Councilwoman Hamon talk to anybody about this? No, Mayor, but I can reach out to her and maybe we can >> did talk to me. Sorry. She did. She assured me of her support and asked that I make the motion to approve. So, I I will make that motion. Sorry. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item O is an ordinance on final hearing where it was recommended for approval closing east-west right-of-way for Northwest 31st Street between Walker and Hudson. Councilman Cooper. Uh I would move for approval, please. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item P was previously deferred, which brings us to item Q. Uh Amy, has anyone signed up to speak under Q-1, the public hearing? No, they haven't. They have not. So, we'll advance to the resolution found at Q-2 declaring that these structures are dilapidated. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Item 11 R-1 is a public hearing regarding the unsecured structures here listed except for those previously struck. Amy, has anyone signed up to speak in the public hearing? No, they haven't. They have not. So, we'll advance to the resolution found at R-2 declaring structures are unsecured. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. S-1 is a public hearing regarding the abandoned buildings here listed. Amy, has anyone signed up to speak? No, they haven't. >> They have not. So, we'll advance to the resolution at S-2 declaring the buildings are abandoned. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Okay. Item T um is the second of two meetings on this proposed amendment to the fiscal year 2026 budget. Amy, has anyone signed up to speak under the public hearing? No, they haven't. They have not. So, we can advance to the resolution found at T-2 adopting said amendment if the council so desires. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Okay. Item U is a joint resolution with the Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust certifying that the Filmmakers Table LLC's proposed scripted television series project is an eligible project under our film incentive program and approving an allocation not to exceed $69,385. And I believe we have a presentation. Yes, Jill Simpson with the >> Good morning, Council members. >> Uh we do have an application for 22 half-hour episodes of a TV series that will shoot at Filmmakers Ranch. Um the series is basically a table conversation of people that work in the film and in entertainment industry from various perspectives talking about the work they do. Um filming takes place beginning in January. Um Filmmakers Table LLC is the company. 100% will be filmed here at at Filmmakers Ranch. 84% of the crew is Oklahoma City based. Anticipated Oklahoma City expenditures totaling 693852. Uh this project ticks all the boxes to be considered for the 10% second tier of the rebate as a TV uh episodic show in that they will uh spend a minimum of a half million dollars and they're spending well over that, close to 700,000. Um they uh have 50% of crew, which basically they're using 84%. More than 75% of filming days in Oklahoma City, 100% of those will be here. More than 50% of contracts will be with Oklahoma City vendors and they intend that that will be 100%. They're doing post-production at Apex Post here in Oklahoma City and they're pre-qualified for the state film incentive program. They're going to be hiring 53 local technicians and 120 days of shooting equals 6,360 man days of production. Uh qualifying labor is $330,250. And we can go on to the next. Um and then an overview is 100% filming days, 84% of crew is local, 100% of vendors with an eye toward diverse minority companies. Um a lot of the vendors are the the key vendor, I should say, is female-owned. Um after running this through our economic impact modeler, we came out with a total economic impact of 1.48 million. Jobs supported direct and indirect are 71. And the labor in income is $574,252. Um the qual total qualified expenditures were $693,852. And that breaks down, as you see, taxable expenditures of $363,602. Below the line salary, which is the crew and per diem, is $159,815. And [snorts] above the line salary, which is directors, writers, cast, we cap at 25% of the total spend and that's at $170,435. Do I have any questions? Okay. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Jill. Um if there's no questions or comment, we can take a motion. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. Um all right. Next step is item V-1 and I guess I believe executive session is requested. Yes. So, what we'll do here is vote on V-2, the executive session, and then return to potentially vote on V1, the resolution. So, let's take a motion on going into executive session V2. Have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. >> [snorts] >> Passes unanimously. Okay, we'll handle the executive session and the resolution at the conclusion of our other business. Item 11 W2 is also asked for relating to item 11 W1, and so again, we'll vote on the executive session, and then return from that for potential consideration of the resolution. The motion and a second on W2. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, 11 X1 is a joint resolution with the Oklahoma City Municipal Facilities Authority approving settlement of the workers compensation subrogation claim related uh to bills uh to payment of medical bills paid regarding uh Emily Guthrie. Executive session is not requested here. So, we can vote on X1 if that's the council's wish. We have a motion and a second. Cast your votes. Passes unanimously. All right, next up, item 12, comments from Council Ward 2. Thank you, Mayor. Uh two [clears throat] comments. Uh I know my mother is watching, and um I woke up this morning, did my stretches, had my coffee, water, and then I opened Facebook, and I saw the passing of a woman named Cheryl, um whom my mother knew quite well because when I came out at 19, um living in Midwest City, my first boyfriend lived in small-town southeast Kansas, and for a while, because he had not come out to anybody yet, um our relationship was in secret. And eventually, his parents, uh Alan and Cheryl, found out because we told them. Um this was after the sister had came to us and befriended us and supported us. And uh Cheryl and Alan became a support system to my mother. And when I opened Facebook this morning, I saw Cheryl had passed away. And it was really hard to come to council this morning, if I'm being honest, um because of that news. And but I wanted to share it in public because I think too often a narrative exists that in our small towns is where one might find bigotry when it comes to LGBT folk. And that might be true, but Cheryl wasn't Cheryl wasn't Cheryl wasn't. And her son has gone on to do wonderful things, though we're not together anymore. Wonderful things. He's a great human. And >> [snorts] >> I think that's the result of Alan and Cheryl's um parenting. And I want Cheryl's memory to serve as guidance So Godspeed Cheryl. Item two, um I'm troubled, unfortunately because uh people were sending me news stories over the weekend about residents in um Andrew Square um having no water for a couple days. Um I don't know the credibility of some of these claims additionally where I'm reading where some residents um were experiencing bed bugs. And so, these things trouble me greatly. Um In my mind, housing is a human right, and um for someone to live in such conditions, uh particularly when the public sector is involved, should trouble all of us anytime of the year, but especially during the holidays. Um and though it's not my ward, it is my heart. And so, um I would love to learn more. I I'm like I said, it was over the holidays, so I'm just learning this new city manager. So, forgive me for if it seems like I'm blindsiding you. I I just learned this, and I we have not had a chance to talk yet, but I would love love to learn more, uh even if it's not on this horseshoe, if we don't have that information yet. I just think that council would probably benefit from learning a little bit more about the conditions, not just as it relates to water, but some of the things that are even if they're not true, though they very well could be, are out there on social media right now. And so, we need to address we need to address that. And if they are true, then we absolutely need to address uh conditions um the best that we can as the city. So, thank you, city manager. Thank you, Ward 3. Ward 4? Ward 5? Ward 7? Ward 8? Okay. Then we'll move to item 13, citizens to be heard, and we have uh Thomas Wade, who will be followed by Alyssa Howell. And um similar to earlier, in case you weren't here, please state your name and address. Uh keep your remarks to 3 minutes or less. You'll be warned when there's 30 seconds left. I'm Thomas Wade. I live at 2101 South Harvey Avenue, Andrew Square Apartments. And uh this last week we had um some bad conditions, people going to the hospital. Nothing really being done until the news came. And then stuff happened. We always have like drug addicts and people coming in the building. It's just not It's not very safe. It's not It's not It's not The The building condition is terrible. So. Um yeah, it's just bad. My wife's pregnant, and I just want to change for everybody. I like I know most of y'all have kids and families. I know y'all wouldn't want that for y'all. Thank you. Thank you. Alyssa Howell, followed by Chris Showheart. Alyssa Howell, Organizing Okies, 6208 Northwest 36th Street. I'm here today because of Andrew Square, because this board, in particular, this council, for 2 years ignored every plea I made and the residents made to your emails, to your phone calls. Nothing was done. Nothing has been done. What happened Friday at 1:00 a.m. in the morning? Have Christmas, go to bed, and wake up to standing water in your apartment. Water in the hallways, first floor electricity cut off because the water was so high. There is people left no heat, no air from Friday 1:00 a.m. until Sunday. No recourse. One person was put in the hotel because he was interviewed by the news on Friday. The rest of them left to rot. Four injuries on Friday alone because of this. Hospital requiring hospital visits for these tenants. All of this, the bed bugs, the mold, the the drug addicts, everything has been told to you because I did it myself for 2 years living under these conditions. Retaliatory police and security brutality like you would not believe. Five of them beating up a human being they already had handcuffed. That gentleman with the um public housings security guard, one of them got promoted because that that is rewarded. Telling residents that he gets paid good money to have kink with handcuffs. That's the kind of police brutality that these people face. OKCPE being told that they shouldn't show up because it's a federal property. It's not. This board, this council right here is responsible for appointing the OSHA board. That's on you guys. Status quo cannot stay any longer. All of those board members need to be removed and replaced, as does the executive director and the housing director. >> 30 seconds. They have been nothing but pass the buck and pass the buck and shuffle managers while doing nothing to address these long-standing issues. Oh, and lest you forget, go to HUD's website where you can see how many failed inspections, year after year after year, while this board, this council still pays them millions of dollars and still appoints the same people. No more. I want to see it on the agenda to replace remove and replace every one of those board members. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Chris Showbert followed by Mary Cates. Chris Showbert, 2101 South Harvey Avenue, apartment 102. I was I live on the first floor in the north wing. The pipes exploded at 1:30 in the morning. >> [snorts] >> I got up to go to the bathroom, walk into my living room, and water standing. This is not the first time it's happened. I've had apartment above me flood and come down into my walls. >> [sighs] >> And the quarter rounds, they're at the at the base of the the wall, when it separated from the wall. There's holes in the wall. Not only bedbugs now, we have mice. >> [sighs] >> And with the mice coming into the holes in the walls with the water we had the other night, the mold is even worse. I asked for a black mold inspection. Oh, we don't do that. I was denied that. I've been accused, falsely accused by security on some things. If you want to see the conditions of the doors, I was out of town when and seeing a friend one night, Mary, when she before she lived there. My refrigerator went out. They bashed in my door to see if I guess if I was dead, I don't know. Everything had spoiled in there because of of the outages. I lost quite a bit of food. >> [snorts] >> And now I started putting things on a metal rack so I wouldn't lose stuff if it happened again. But see you when my bed was on the floor, >> [sighs] >> I have seizures. Uh Grand I had there's five types of seizures. I have four of them. My doctor advised me to put my mattress on the floor so if I had a seizure, I didn't have so far to fall fall. Well, I don't know how I'm going to replace my bedding. It got soaked and wet. 30 seconds. Uh >> [sighs] >> I'd like to see some changes around there. Uh It's just no words to describe it. You just have to live through it. Thank you. Thank you. Mary Cates followed by Chris Elder. Uh-huh. My name is Mary Cates. I have been in and out of Angie's Square since 2009. Things has gotten really really really bad. I have been on Chris Showbert's lease since August of last year. They keep letting homeless people come in from the streets. Oh, they got vouchers. They've been from the homeless alliance. I'm still waiting on my apartment since August of last year. I told Mr. Chris Showbert I would move in with him because we both have seizures. But I did not say I wanted to stay permanent. I want my own apartment. Now, since Christmas, this place has flooded. Our our bed is gone. We have hardly any clothes. Um I'm surprised we have food, thank God. Um This is like I said, this second time this place has flooded. And they did not even give us motel rooms. They gave the other side from us motel rooms. They didn't give us anything. They said, "We'll look at it in a week." Well, what's a week when you lost everything? Would you like to lose something? Would you like to live like we do? People say, "We'll talk to you in a week. You're not going to get your apartment until next year." But this isn't fair to my friend Chris Showbert because he's asked to move so they can fix up this whole apartment with that rats [clears throat] is coming in our walls. We got mold. We both have seizures. I have doctor's papers where I broke my foot during the cleaning, the 6-7 inches of water [clears throat] me and Chris Showbert was in. Here's my badge. Chris Showbert hurt his back during the 6-7 inches of water because we have a vacuum cleaner to get it out. But still, it's this thing of it. The other side >> 30 seconds. said, "Let's go get motel rooms. Angie's Square pay for it." They denied us. And they said, "We can't move Mr. Showbert to another apartment. He's going to have to live like that." I [snorts] don't think so. What do y'all think? Chris is also a diabetic, heart problems, and everything else. Thank you, Ms. Cates. You're over time. Thank you. Well, thank you. Uh Chris Elder followed by Mark Gillette. Hi, my name is Elizabeth Deaver with Organizing OKC. I am Chris's advocate. And so, we're going to let him um share what he has. Um also, Andrew Square may not have done a uh mold test, but we did. So, and um Representative Cooper, I want to um let you know as a mental health professional in the state of Oklahoma, everything that you just said is fact, and I personally have seen it. And this has been years. So, those for the haves and those for the have-nots. Um go ahead, Chris. Introduce yourself. Go ahead. >> Yeah, my name is Chris Elder. I live at 2101 South Harvey Avenue. And I have the facts where I had my apartment tested with a black mold, and they told me that I did not need to be living there, and the apartment knows I don't need to be living there. And they And my doctor wrote me a order tell me I need to be transferred out of that apartment cuz it's going to make me sick and it's making me have psychosis and making me like mentally unstable and stuff. Um Also, with um I personally have helped Chris with some of his mental health issues because this is a lot on them. Nobody Nobody should have to live the way our marginalized communities live. Absolutely not. No heat or food, and then you ordered pizza? What, 10 [clears throat] pizzas, 80 slices of pizza for 200 people that haven't eaten for 4 days? Haven't had water and and food, right? Us, the community, have taken care of Andrew Square. Us, the community, have rallied. The community. This is a state and federal issue. This is public housing for people that cannot afford housing and that don't have family or anywhere else to go, right? I'm Chris's family. They're not even knowing that we're cuz he doesn't have anybody else. Right? So, now we're going to take the people that have nothing >> [clears throat] >> and just make it worse. It's very expensive to be poor. It's very expensive to be poor. I personally have trouble buying my own food, and I help Chris. And I help some of the other residents at Andrew Square. They shouldn't have to do their own mold test. They're living with black mold, and you can see it on the walls. You can see the bedbugs and the smears on walls and and sheets. 30 seconds. >> This is not okay. This has been going for years. Years. And it should never have come to this. It should never, ever have come to this. Housing is not a privilege, it is a right. Food is not a privilege, it is a right. It's basic necessities that they're not living with right now. Think of a shower for 4 days. Really? You got 80 slices of pizza for 200 people. So, you know who didn't get pizza? The people that live on the top. Right? Cuz everybody's hungry and they'll flock. We see it in Gaza every day. And here we are in Oklahoma City. This is not okay. This is not okay. Thank you. >> [applause] >> Mark Gillette, followed by Celeste Warden. Good morning, members of council, mayor. Any of us who have experienced I am Mark Gillette, but I'm the executive director of the Oklahoma City Housing Authority. Business address 1700 Northeast 4th Street. Any of us who have experienced a burst pipe, a backed-up toilet, or any other plumbing issue understand that being without running water for 2 and 1/2 days can cause stress, worry, and frustration. Andrew Square 21st and South Harvey, Ward 6, is an independent living site for seniors and disabled adults in our community. It is one of 10 senior and disabled developments that the Oklahoma City Housing Authority owns because we recognize the need for affordable housing. The day after Christmas, we were frustrated at 1:30 a.m. that the first floor of Andrew Square flooded. The fire department arrived on scene and the water was shut off. OSHA staff arrived at 2:00 a.m. with supervisors arriving around 3:00 a.m. and we began wet vac-ing the property and OSHA licensed plumbers arrived soon after that. They determined the work required to outside contractors to address the situation and so Co Plumbing arrived before noon on Friday. At that time, in addition to our previous staff members I mentioned, the regional property manager, the maintenance coordinator, and the director of technical services were also on site. Soon after noon, OSHA began delivering water and ensured that the residents were all personally contacted. Challenges in detecting the cause of the leak delayed turning the water back on, but the well-being of our residents was always top of the mind for me and the other Housing Authority staff. There were numerous texts from staff, emails, calls, and updates that I received all weekend long dedicated to making sure the issue that were being reported by residents were addressed and and taken care of. With the weekend's weather around 75°, we determined the best course of action was to provide support to the residents at Andrew Square with more than 1,000 gallons of bottled water distributed. Early Sunday, the plumbers found a large hole that was bigger than a fist in the main water line and perhaps you saw those pictures on TV. They immediately began replacing and repairing that line. Mid-afternoon, the line was repaired and the water was turned back on. We then contracted with Onsite First, a remediation company, to begin remediation. Dehumidifiers were installed in the residents in the affected apartments on the first floor only were offered the opportunity to temporarily transition to a hotel. >> Gillette, how much longer do you have? We are limited to 3 minutes. You demanded to hear from the leadership, but he's giving you a statement. So, I mean, I understand that you're correct, he's in his 3 minutes, but I mean, you don't want it to hear his explanation. I find that bizarre. But, Mr. Gillette, how much time do you think you need? Are we another >> 30 more seconds. >> All right, go ahead. So, we contracted with a remediation company. We transitioned folk to a hotel and the remediation company is preparing to address the situation, remove the sheetrock, dry it out, and replace the sheetrock. We are very happy to meet with residents as they'd like. The man property manager, regional manager, director of housing, and myself included. Bed bugs do occur at all of our properties. It's something that just happens in the United States of America, probably around the world. We treat all of our properties quarterly and in addition to that, if a resident wants pest control other than quarterly, they can request it from their manager and we'll do it at that time. Thank you. Thank you. Celeste Warden, followed by Steve Hunt. My name is Celeste Warden and I live at 300 Northwest 12th. I'm fortunate enough to live right off the streetcar line. I use it regularly. Um I live in a building of 80 to 85 units, all of which are disabled or seniors. Very few. We have maybe 25 parking spaces. And they're not always full. So, you've got 80 over 80 people living in a building that regularly utilize the streetcar. Right across the street, we have two other Polidoro 1 and 2 are right across the street where people also a lot of them they're all disabled and many don't own transportation. We're all supposed to go to this wonderful event that's downtown Oklahoma City for New Year's Eve, but the streetcar stops running at midnight. So, all five of Oklahoma City's parking garages, all of their on-street parking, and their five parking lots are not going to be accessible to the people that drove down there and parked and rode public transportation to the this event to the city's event. It's just it's really obnoxious or annoying to me that we do so much and then I called EMBARK. EMBARK says, "Sorry, take an Uber." But, with the with the the amount of traffic that there's going to be on New Year's Eve, "It's scissor tail park, take an Uber" is what I get for an answer. That's after that's the second time that I called EMBARK. In between there, I also emailed the City Action Center who told me to call EMBARK. So, EMBARK is going to stop running at midnight as the ball drops and nobody's going to be able to get anywhere. I can't afford surge pricing. I live on disability. I don't know about how y'all y'all's finances or anyone else's finances are, but to take an Uber at New Year's Eve at 12:00 a.m. is not cheap, even if I'm only going a mile. So, I just I would really like to see some planning at events like this so that people that don't have the means to take an Uber everywhere can participate. Thank you. Thank you. Steve Hunt, followed by Anthony Carfang. Steve Hunt, once again, 2825 Northwest 57th Ward, James. Um All right. Uh I don't know if you all noticed, but the Thunder broadcaster is about to go insolvent within the next couple weeks. Are Are you any of you all aware of that? So, like I said earlier, uh the Wall Street Journal reported shortly after my presentation that this is happening. Um there's a real good article, sources Main Street Sports misses cardinal payment will shutter if it cannot sell to DAZN. DAZN is a company that might be buying uh Fanduel Sports from Main Street Sports Group, who I said was a company that just started out of a $8 billion loan. And um that's a company based in Great Britain with about 20% funding from Saudi Arabia and I don't know if we really want a company in Great Britain funded by Saudi to be airing the Thunder broadcast. One reason is that people right now are having to pay a lot of money to watch them, which is disgusting cuz we've given billions to Clay and his buddies and that they have to pay to watch the Thunder is is pathetic. And if it sells to DAZN, the prices are going to double because they're they're going to obviously spend a lot more to purchase the rights to the Thunder broadcast. And then, they also have about 35 other teams that they show. It's the regional sports network that was purchased from Disney when they bought Fox. So, I just wanted to when I gave my presentation last time, for some reason, it went viral and there were 9,561 likes, 745 comments, 100,000 views. And I want to read a few of those comments from people of Oklahoma City. LJ321 says, "Literally hate seeing my elderly father-in-law trying to juggle and pay different app every week so he can watch his beloved team." Sarah Baker says, "It makes me upset for my grandparents and senior citizens. They do not have the sources to go through all these apps to find which game is playing where. It makes me so sad for them. The last game was on Amazon and my grandparents listened to the game on the radio. Um, there are a couple uh Linda Rosa 4054, my dad is 80, asks me every time what channel the Thunder game is on. I hate telling him he can't watch it because he doesn't have a subscription for it. Sorry. Lost my mother and it's hard to talk talking about these elderly folks that love the Thunder and can't watch them cuz they don't have the resources or the capability to figure out streaming. Um, Madame Shazam says, "I've been wondering for years about this, why we have to pay to watch the Thunder. Thank you for digging into it and trying to get some answers and for speaking up." Fiber Glass Dan says, "You would think that the taxpayers are paying for a new arena that the city would find a way for the people of Oklahoma to watch the game for free." Um So, we have Just give me another couple seconds. We have an opportunity in the next month to demand that Channel 9 gets the broadcast rights for the Thunder and people can watch over the air because Main Street Sports is going to dissolve and if they are not bailed out by DAZN, that will be the case. And so, I want to ask everyone that's watching this on YouTube and out in Channel 20 land to contact your reps about getting Channel 9 to air the Thunder cuz everyone should be able to watch them. I mean, I work at a senior living facility and they love watching them. Like I said, a nurse paid 100 bucks for Fubo so that they can watch and I don't think anyone can debate this. So, thanks so much. Happy New Year, everybody. >> followed by Ronnie Kirk. Good afternoon, Tony Carfang, 2324 Northwest 26th Street. Like I mentioned this morning, I bike my daughter to school downtown. I bike to work at the south side of Tinker Air Force Base. I bike to Homeland on Classen for groceries. I bike to the Paycom Center for Thunder games and Cirque du Soleil. Um, I I hear regularly from my coworkers on the south side of Tinker how they would love to bike to work. They worry for my safety. I don't have much of an option, but they would love to. And uh Councilman Stone, I appreciate our conversation yesterday where the bike lane from Eastern to Sooner has been great, but it stops a mile short of Tinker and the air depot connection. So, I'm really glad to hear that more is in the work for a dedicated off-street trail to to make that connection. My coworkers will be extremely excited for that. My employer will be excited for the extra health benefits that come with that. The traffic congestion that hasn't materialized will also be happy for that. Uh, similarly, we mentioned the peak hours on Classen around 3:00 in the afternoon, 3:00 to 5:00 is a peak hour of {quote} congestion. I hear daily from my daughter's school at John Rex on how they fear for my daughter. They fear for me. They're proud of us for still biking to school and avoiding the drop-off line. School pickup times at 3:00 contribute to that uh congestion that we see on Classen. Um, it the the connected fully connected bike network is the key, uh Councilman Henkel, to seeing more bikers out in the bike lanes. A patchwork of connectivity does not induce the safety for bikers to want or for people to get their bikes out of their garage and use the infrastructure. While I served on the Better Streets Safer City Committee, uh BR0004 came before us for a two-way cycle track on the east side of E.K. Gaylord, far away from the Santa Fe parking garage. It was scheduled to start uh construction in 2022 and complete by fall of 2023. However, my committee dissolved before ground ever broke. In January of 2022, uh the item came before City Council regarding acquiring uh resources through ODOT for financing and construction. Uh, a council member at that meeting deferred that motion that that motion for funding for the project citing a quote, "Uh, I want to talk to Heather Scott at Continental, David Harlow at BankFirst, and possibly Mr. Reinbold and Mr. Hamm." And 30 seconds, please. at City Council 2 weeks later and ever since, the project on E.K. Gaylord seems to have disappeared entirely. We now have Alley's End being developed at 3rd and E.K. Gaylord with more than 200 units of affordable housing for people who will want their kids to bike the short distance to John Rex, to walk the even shorter distance to the new stadium, the soccer stadium, the basketball stadium, to uh the movie theater. Um, really just curious, what is the status of that project and how will it fit in uh with the pedestrian bridge that is going to now connect from Santa Fe to the BankFirst parking garage on the other other side of the tracks. From what I've read, it seems to conflict. And if you don't know any anything, I'll happily reach out to Jeff Butler and and Debbie for that. Yeah, we can get you the answers, I'm sure. Ronnie Kirk. >> [clears throat] >> My name My name Ronnie Kirk. My address is 2328 North McArthur. We can't change the past. But we can make the future better. Let me tell y'all from my history. I'm from a small town McAlester Oklahoma. Went to L'Ouverture grade school, elementary school. I never finished high school. Furthest I've got was the sixth grade. Most of y'all weren't even born yet. Some of y'all were just in your 17, 18 years old. I started Juneteenth in Oklahoma many years ago. I plan to open up a restaurant. Matter of fact, it'll be March. Feed kids 13 and free every two every week until September. It's not just a thought. It's some already in motion. Keys in my pocket right now. The future's for the city is good. It keep going forward. Changes for everybody is needed to make things better. Mr. Mayor, council members, I want to say thank y'all. With y'all, the help of y'all, the city can go forward for everybody. Thank you. Thank you. >> One more time. McAlester, L'Ouverture elementary, high school, I plan to meet with the mayor in the near future to get that Oklahoma that McAlester high school restored and a community center put in McAlester, Oklahoma. Thank you. Thank you. That concludes our residents who signed up to speak. I did want to wish we had known off the top of our head, but earlier a statement was made that transit shuts down at midnight on New Year's Eve. That is not true. We figured it wasn't, but we needed to check. Um, Rapid and the streetcar will operate till 2:00 a.m. I just wanted to correct that uh misstatement that was made by a resident. With that, we will go into executive session uh for two previous items approved and then we will come back and possibly vote on the related resolutions. Thank you. >> Good morning, sir. >> V1 V1 Okay. Uh we're going to return now following executive session to item V1. Uh do I need to read it again? Okay. Yeah, the resolution authorizing the municipal counselor to confess judgment without admitting liability in the case of Stephen Baker versus the city of Oklahoma City at all. Um and I would entertain a motion to approve. I'll voice vote. Yes, please. Or whenever if there's I I I can't see my screen. Yes, please. Yes. Yes. Yes. Do you get Pennington? Oh yes. Okay. And it will will Looks like the motion passed, though I can't see with Passed. >> [laughter] >> All right. Okay. Thank you. Um we will now move to item W1. And that is a resolution authorizing the municipal counselor to confess judgment without admitting liability in the case of Clois Knight versus the city of Oklahoma City at all. And I would entertain a motion. I see a move in a second. Cast your votes. I will voice vote I, please. >> [snorts] >> And that motion passes unanimously. And with that, we move to, unless someone tells me otherwise, item uh 14. Adjournment and we are adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.