Last Updated on September 19, 2023, 9:31 PM | Published: September 19, 2023
MOORE, Okla — The City Council met on Monday to:
- Reverse condemnation status for a home previously declared unlivable after months of legal limbo
- Approve changes to infrastructure “standards and specifications,” hoping to cut down on repair costs and make future roadways more friendly to pedestrians.
- Authorize a 1.5 million transfer into the City’s general fund reserve.
Habitat for Humanity helps get home moved off condemnation list
The Moore City Council reversed a condemnation order of a house formerly considered unlivable, on the condition that homeowners and non-profits bring the home up to reasonable codes.
This comes after months of deliberation between the city and the homeowners to figure out how to handle the property.
Moore City staff first heard concerns about the property in May and ordered the homeowners to conduct a structural Engineer’s report. This report was deemed insufficient by city staff.
A subsequent city engineer’s report found substantial damages, and the city advised occupants to move out and made motions to condemn the property.
Community Development Director Elizabeth Whitman said in a previous meeting that the home “is uninhabitable.”
“In over 20 years of doing this, this is probably the most concerning house that I have seen where people are actually living in it.”
The property owner’s legal counsel was able to delay the condemnation as various non-profits and repair companies volunteered to help repair the home.
Triton Foundation Repair is willing to repair and replace stem walls, and Habitat for Humanity will provide all other repairs for the home.
Although the city wanted to have all repairs done by December, the council agreed to extend that deadline to February of next year. The homeowners are required to live elsewhere while the property undergoes repair.
If future assessment finds that the repairs cannot be financially feasible for the groups involved, the fate of the home will again be debated and discussed.
Standards and specifications approved
The City of Moore has gone ahead and approved the new Standards and Specifications plan which was discussed and tabled last meeting.
The new standards and specifications aim to raise the quality of infrastructural development around the city, as well as provide a better pedestrian environment for residents.
One of the main changes will be that geotechnical reports will be required for all future Moore developments.
Contractors will now have to figure out what the ground is made of before they start building.
Recycled asphalt will not be permitted to be used on road surfaces, and the right-of-way on future arterial streets will be a standard 130 feet, far greater than the current 100’.
More room on the sides of these streets means that pedestrians are farther away from traffic, and aesthetic developments or utilities have a lot more room to work with.
General fund reserve increase
The council approved a 1.5 million transfer to the city’s general fund reserve, bringing the total account to 4.5 million.
The fund was created by ordinance in 2019 to hopefully hold about 3 months’ worth of operating capital for emergency uses.
The ordinance language helps to explain its purpose;
The General Fund Reserve Fund is intended to assist in mitigating the effects of economic and financial crises, for necessary cash flow management, and to enable the City to manage unforeseen emergencies including natural disasters or catastrophic events.
The size of the transfer is based on excess revenues, and council members were happy to hear that this year’s transfer was the largest yet.
Moore’s next city council meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 2nd at 6:30 PM.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
