Last Updated on July 5, 2022, 7:46 PM | Published: July 5, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) – The City Council of Oklahoma City met Tuesday for their first meeting of the new fiscal year beginning July 1.
In a 3.5-hour meeting, the Council voted to declare a moratorium on the annual increase of impact fees for new developments as a study is prepared to determine how equitable Oklahoma City’s schedule of fees is.
The Planning Department provided a presentation to Council about a soon-to-come piece of public art in Scissortail Park. The Council approved the Arts Council’s recommendation to dedicate the new artwork to the memory of recently departed and beloved public servant and Patron of the Arts Robbie Kienzle.
Marty Peercy reports Local government
The Council went on to approve a plan for distribution of the latest round of HUD (federal Housing and Urban Development Department) grant funds that will benefit Sisu Youth among other programs.
And a burned-out, unsecured, unfenced church building in Ward 2 in the Edgemere neighborhood finally was moved toward amelioration.
Blighted property
An important step for clean-up of a dangerous eyesore in Ward 2 was taken Tuesday.
A contract with Midwest Wrecking Company for $75,920 was approved. Midwest will be providing demolition and debris removal services at 408 NW 30th Street. That is the location of an unused church building burned out one year ago on July 5, 2021.
The shell of most of the building stayed standing.
Since the fire, neighbors in the area have complained about the dangerous conditions of the open, crumbling structure on a property never fenced by the owners. Vandalism and rock music video shoots have happened in the unsecured and dilapidated structure since the days immediately following the fire.
Impact fees
Oklahoma City, as most cities, charges certain fees associated with new construction and development. Some of those fees are referred to as “impact fees.” The use of impact fees in Oklahoma City is for traffic capacity-building near new developments. This includes signage and traffic signals, as well as additional turn lanes and other infrastructure associated with increased traffic.
Those fees increase annually.
Suburban Councilors Bradley Carter (Ward 1), Todd Stone (Ward 4), and Mark Stonecipher (Ward 8) co-authored an ordinance to declare a moratorium on the planned annual increase of those fees until January 31, 2023.
Stone explained that with construction costs increasing, more developers have been complaining of the price of impact fees. Some developers, Stone said, claim that those fees are significantly higher in Oklahoma City than other peer municipalities.
The City has commissioned a study on impact fees to be assessed and compared to other municipalities, as well as what our City’s use of those fees looks like in aggregate.
The three councilors recommended stopping the increase for long enough to have the study completed, and to assess the data presented to determine the future of impact fees.
The Council unanimously passed the moratorium, and voted for an emergency clause to make the moratorium effective immediately.
Kienzle memorial
After the recent death of long-time Oklahoma City Arts Advocate Robbie Kienzle, members of the arts community have mourned, but also have found a way to memorialize Kienzle’s impact in Oklahoma City.
Kienzle started work for the City 24 years ago, and has been the main voice for the arts in the Planning Department of the City for many years.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Geoff Butler, director of Planning, and Randy Marks, Public Art Project Manager, gave a brief presentation on a coming public art piece that will be dedicated to Kienzle.
The piece is titled “Taking Flight: Light as a Feather,” and will be located at the northeast corner of Scissortail Park. The artwork is a sculpture that represents a giant feather.
In addition to an artist’s description being displayed by the sculpture, a plaque honoring Kienzle’s service to the Arts and Oklahoma City will be on display.
HUD Grants
The Council approved the Third Year Action Plan concerning allocation of annual HUD grant funds through the City.
These grants include Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Emergency Service Grants (ESG). These funds are divided among a number of agencies and organizations, including Urban Renewal and Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS/HIV (HOPWA).
This year, approximately $1 million of CDBG funds will go to Sisu Youth, a local organization serving the needs of Transition Age Youth (15-24yo) experiencing housing insecurity.
Sisu is currently in the process of a dramatic expansion of services, which includes relocation to a new building with a larger capacity for emergency shelter for young people, and other wrap-around services located in one place together.
Here is some background on Sisu:
A representative of Sisu was present at Tuesday’s meeting to advocate for the spending.
The matter was passed unanimously.
The City Council will meet again on July 19 at 8:30 a.m.
Columnist covering local government in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County from May 2019 through June 2023.
