Moore City Council approves ward redistricting, bond projects advance

MOORE, OKLAHOMA (Free Press) — The March 7th Moore City Council meeting was short and missing Mayor Glenn Lewis, but it still accomplished several important developments for the City of Moore. 

The proposed Ward map boundary changes were accepted, and more headway was made to progress the City’s Bond obligations.

Ward boundaries

The new Ward boundaries are consistent with those proposed in the February 7th meeting. 

Since there were no inputs from the public or questions related to the new map, the changes were quickly accepted.

Each Ward has been balanced at about 21,000 residents, with each of the three wards having a portion of Old Town. 

ward map
The proposed new ward map was accepted in the March 7, 2022 Moore City Council.

Bond issues

The Council made progress on the Animal Shelter bond project. 

Crossland Construction has been awarded a construction management at risk contract, which means that the pre-construction phase of the project will be started soon. 

One Council member noticed that the estimated cost for the project could go over the amount accepted in the bond, which would mean that the City would have to pay the remainder through the General Fund. 

The Bond the residents of Moore voted for covers $8,210,000, but the $280,000 construction management fee and the estimated 8 million dollar project could exceed that.   

Assistant City Manager Jerry Ihler said that these estimates are very preliminary, and if things do trend towards going over the bond issue, the City can reduce costs if needed.

The Council unanimously agreed to accept the proposed contract. 

Hazard mitigation assistance grant

There have been serious flooding issues near the Oakridge addition, particularly near Oak Drive and Oakridge Elementary.

To address this issue, the City of Moore applied for a Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant last December, hoping to fund infrastructure improvements to reduce flooding.

Moore recently received the Grant, in the amount of $112,500.

With this, the City plans to move forward with the Southmoore High Detention pond and storm sewer project.

Although this project would cost $150,000, the Grant does stipulate a 25% match on the City’s part, so this plan would use the money as effectively as possible. 

The next Moore City Council Meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 21st at 6:30 P.M.


Author Profile

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.