EDMOND, OK – Edmond residents waiting to hear about City policies in the wake of a mass shooting that left one teenager dead and 22 other victims hospitalized will have to keep waiting after the first City Council meeting since the shooting saw no new updates and only one resident offering comments.
Questions regarding police patrols and public safety protocols have dogged the Edmond city government since the May 3rd shooting that threw a large, unauthorized party event at Lake Arcadia into chaos and claimed the life of 18-year-old Avianna Smith-Gray just weeks before graduation.
But while there had been a growing expectation that Edmond residents would turn out Monday evening to the first City Council meeting since the tragedy to voice concerns about things like park security, police response times, or youth gatherings, the meeting saw mostly business as usual.
Only one Edmond resident spoke during the agenda’s public comment item and Mayor Mark Nash commented briefly in the meeting’s closing minutes to direct City staff to review policies to be discussed later.
“We cannot have any dialogue about what’s going on at the lake until we get citizens’ input,” Mayor Nash said, “and we have some input from a couple of boards and commissions that are out there.”
4 residents signed up; 3 didn’t show
Following a prayer invoking Smith-Gray’s memory and a series of City proclamations to honor the Edmond Police Department, Edmond Public Works, and the city’s cycling community, and before a largely standard meeting focused on funding and City development, Nash turned the floor over to public comments.
Before calling the first resident to speak, even Nash seemed primed for discussion of the shooting, but was firm in reminding attendees that council members would not be responding to comments about topics not on the agenda, and that the evening’s agenda made little room for that subject.
“I want everyone to understand that the only item on the agenda that might even be close to what you’re talking about tonight s Item 12.D, which is titled ‘Lake Arcadia Access,’” the mayor said. “That item is not a public hearing item.”
With that, Nash announced that only four residents had signed up to speak.
But when he called their names to speak before the council, three of those that had signed up were not there, including Darryl and Kimberly Gordon, the parents of an Edmond woman that has been embroiled in a civil rights violation suit against the Edmond Police Department in recent years.
For residents that didn’t sign up to speak, but who would like to provide comments or suggestions, Nash plugged a pair of upcoming public input events – part of the recurring Edmond Matters series – including Wednesday, May 13th at noon at the Edmond Railyard and another Thursday, May 21st at City Hall.
Only 1 resident speaks, focuses on drugs
Only one of those signed up to speak, Edmond resident Rebecca Walther, approached the microphone and made brief comments focusing on what she claimed was an increase in drug use in areas near Lake Arcadia.
“The last two years, specifically,” she told the council, “the increased drug usage in that area, and the boldness of people using drugs and alcohol and participating in behaviors that do not feels safe and secure to the neighborhood and the citizens has increased.”
Walther said that she lives near the far southeastern side of Lake Arcadia.
“I think that boldness is what contributed to what happened in that tragedy across the lake from us,” Walther said. “As everyone, the council is thinking and coming up with ideas. I’m not here to give those, because I’m not sure what they’d be, besides monitoring and having accountability.”
Mayor says City needs more input
Near the end of the meeting’s agenda was an item listed as “Discussion of Lake Arcadia Access,” but there was little discussion Monday evening, as Mayor Nash said that the council would need more input from city residents before making any new considerations or policies.
“We do know that the council needs to be knowledgeable about what our current policies and procedures are for access out at the lake,” Nash said.
He then asked City Manager A.J. Krieger to compile documents showing the City’s existing policies and procedures for accessing or occupying spaces at Arcadia Lake, saying that a broader discussion can be had “at some point in the near future.”
Nash then again referenced “boards and commissions” that will also provide input, but didn’t specify what those boards and commissions are or imply that Edmond police policies or patrol procedures are being scrutinized, even as questions remain about the timeline of the police response on May 3rd.
“We put this on here so that everyone in Edmond knows that the city council is working on this,” Nash said, wrapping up, “and that it’s part of a bigger issue and it requires the input of the entire city and that we’re not just waiting until we see what happens.”
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
