City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay. So, what's the over and under? Yeah.

Okay. It's 6:30. So, I'll call to order the March 2nd, 2026 city council meeting. Would you call the role, please? Kathy Griffith, here. Sid Porter here. Melissa Hunt here. Louis Williams here. Adam Wed. Rob Clark here. Mark Ham here. Would you please stand for 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. Item two is our consent docket. Make a motion we approve the consent docket items A through E. Second. Second. [clears throat] Had a motion and a second. Would you call the vote? Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. Consent docket passes. Item three is considered adoption of resolution number 13226 approve approving the incurrence of indebtedness by the more public works authority and the aggregated principal amount not to exceed 24,290,000 to be evidenced by the authorities's clean water SRF promisary note to the Oklahoma water resources board approving actions taken by the authority in connection there within approving and authorizing ing the execution of a sales tax agreement.

Mayor and council, these are the loan documents for the OWRB loan for the work that's being done at the wastewater treatment plant. The sales tax agreement is just a standard agreement that we've done on these uh types of loans in the past. Uh these are just the documents to be approved. Terry Hawkins, our council, and Chris Gander, financial adviser, are here to answer any questions, recommend approval.

Can you just give us a brief rundown of what we're doing up there? Uh we're replacing the roofs on a couple of the buildings and uh perhaps uh one of the uh ponds. Uh the we had corrosion problem with the roofs and so they were the they need to be replaced because we're not sure of the stability and then uh also some additional odor control also. Okay. And this is not just the roof panel, it's the full roof structure and everything. Yes. Right. We did see some photos of that and it's to a point where it uh it could collapse. So, we need to fix that. When was the last time it was done? It was new 2012, I think. Something like that.

Okay. There any other questions? Make a motion to approve. Second. We've had motion. Second. Would you call the vote? Sid Porter? Yes. Melissa Hunt? Yes. Louie Williams? Yes. Rob Clark? Yes. Kathy Griffith? Yes, Mark Cam.

Yes. Item carries. Item four is considered approval of a final plat for the Minum Holdings of Red Bud Moore located in the southwest quarter of section 28, Township 10 North, range 2 west being north of Southeast 34 Street and east of Sunna Road. Application by Redbud uh Dermatology, Chris Milm. Uh, mayor and council, this property is located north of Southeast 34th Street and east of Sun Sooner Road. Is currently zoned C1 as a planned unit development. This uh the applicant is proposing to utilize this property as a specialty veterary clinic uh with [snorts] no boarding or daycare services. To prepare for this site for development, a final plat is required. Uh public water is available to serve this site and public sewer is uh currently not available at this location and there are no plans to provide sewer to this location in the future. A private septic system is required. There is no flood plane located on the property. Uh and on-site detention will be required. Access is provided by Sooner Road. Uh that is an ODOT highway and all curb cuts must be approved by ODOT. Uh the approved PUD for the site includes the following amenities. Um the development is limited to one veterary clinic. No overnight boarding or daycare services are allowed. The site is limited to one building not exceeding 3,400 square ft in size and one story in height. All signs um should be limited to a maximum height of six feet and not to exceed 40 square feet in area and designed to match the architecture of the building and an additional eight evergreen trees um will be provided in the rear landscape buffer. The envision more 2040 plan calls for this location to be neighborhood commercial. Neighborhood commercial land uses are characterized by retail, office

and service uses. They are also typically at um intersection of two arterial roads or [clears throat] and collectors. This application was reviewed as to its intent uh with the plan and because this plan is designated as neighborhood commercial and the PUD's amenities the PUD amenities um approved with the property zoning does meet all the goals and policies of the comprehensive plan. Um, there is no amendment to the plan that is necessary. And staff recommends approval of the final plot. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Make a motion to approve. Second. Would you call the vote, please? Melissa Hunt, yes. Louisie Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes.

Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. Item [cough] passes. Thank you. Item five, receive a presentation from Dennis Bothwell, public works director, regarding the animal shelter updates. [snorts] Mayor and Council members, um I was asked to provide some information on our 2026 initiatives moving forward. These are some things that we've imple implemented in the last couple of months. Um number one up here, we updated our operating hours. Uh those were modified to enhance public access to the facility. um hours were increased from uh 35 hours in the past to 43 hours. That gives us more hours in the evening and uh pretty much all day on Saturday, every day. Uh staffing animal shelter uh superintendent. Um we're we're actively seeking applications and interviewing candidates for the animal shelter superintendent position. Uh we have four interviews uh first round interviews scheduled uh 5th of March. Um we hired an a new animal control officer just last week. Um we've added an administrative specialist position and that has been filled. Um that position aids in the upkeep of records, maintains medical stock inventory and control, answers incoming calls and direct uh patrons to the appropriate staff and greet clients as they enter the facility and give direction as needed. Uh we also added two part-time uh kennel

technicians and those positions positions have been filled. one in the AM, one in the PM, and that gives us flexibility to uh to the full-time staff. So, if we have staff a absent or sick, uh we got somebody to help fill in. Um and um I wanted to cover some of the veterinary services that we've gotten here lately. um County Line Veterinary Services is a new um animal uh veterinarian, Dr. Abraham Avilis. He is coming in twice a week uh and going through and going through rounds and checking with the animals uh actually helping instruct staff on what to do. Uh he's started in the past couple of months. He's a great great guy. He's a great asset for us. Um and his practice is actually in Blanchard, but he comes through to drop off his kids at our school, so he stops in and takes care of anything we need. Uh Silverleaf Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Floyd and staff are are a valuable resource since 2016 for us and they're always always helping us. That's our main go-to vet actually. uh Silverleaf um um I mean Scrogggins Animal Hospital. Dr. Scrogggins has provided uh the more shelter services for over 20 years. Um Capstone Veterinary Care. Dr. Wright serves on the vet board and owns a few veterinary clinics in the area. Dr. Wright and his staff have supplemented vet care and appointments. when our appointments get too backed up or if we need specialty orthopedic vet and services and advice.

With that said, we do have accounts established with all the more vets. If we absolutely have to, we can move on and find more uh volunteer programs that we are working on. Uh, More Possibilities is a local 501c3 nonprofit. Um, they provide funds for shelter needs. They're just amazing with what they do and how they fund um for animal care and surgeries and it's just amazing what they do for us and they have supported the more animal shelter for years. um foster programs uh foster program contract has been rewritten to facilitate a more robust program. So, we're working to uh to get more animals out into foster care when we need their help to facilitate the health of animals. Um, shelter swap program is a new program we've started. Uh, and that's one of the new programs we've implemented is a shelter swap initiative. The program focuses specifically on long-term resident dogs who have been in our care for an extended period of time without adoption interest. Uh through the shelter swap program, we partner with other municipal or reputable nonprofit shelters to exchange select uh to exchange select long-term resident dogs. Uh these are animals who are who are uh behaviorally and medically appropriate for transfer. The goal is not to move a problem. It is to provide a change in environment, audience, and visibility. So we can move them down to other places like Paul's Valley. They get some more exposure down

there because they've been here so long. It's for whatever reason we couldn't do that. So it's a good program we just started. Um rescue rescue programs. We have approximately 30 rescue organizations on our list of contacts, but some are speedreed specific. And what I mean by that, some of them will only take beagles. And if we don't have vehicles, veagles, we can't use them or they won't pull from us. Um, so of those 30, 12 of those rescues have pulled from our shelter in the past year. Uh, logistics is hard and needs to be automated as much as possible. And that's a program I'm working on to get more visibility out to people so they can see what we have. available. Uh and that rescues are really hard in the fact we got to call each and every one and do you have room? Uh some don't, some may have, but it's if I can get it online and I'm working with a new program to try to get those online for us and I think it can we can do a lot with that program. Uh we did add a staff member uh to the network with Oklahoma um rescues network and and her sole job is to get a hold of uh some of these rescues and stuff and and see what we can do to get these animals out to rescues when we can't get them adopted. um training some training issues uh which is very near and dear to my heart. We got we need some uh software training. Uh there's no doubt we were lacking with

that. Um the shelter pro staff training um using all aspects of the shelter pro program. Uh for the most part we were using part of it but not the whole program. and staff was not um fully trained on how to input the data correctly. Uh so we've made errors in that program and I'm sure you've heard a lot of those uh timestamp issues. Some are not editable and sometimes the records must be updated later as time goes on. If the system's down, we can't get into it. It's on a server. Uh we have to go back and make entries. those entries are it won't allow you to move on until you make a date entry but you can't backdate it so you have to move forward and make adjustments for there um so um I actually issued iPads to each of the kennel staff and that ties it directly into the shelter pro program and and they make real time on the on the spot notes on every animal that they come in contact. So, it's getting more and more up to-date as time goes on. Um, and it allows for real time animal intake processing. And that the system uh the new uh admin specialist that we hired her one of her first things she does every day is make sure that all those records have been entered correctly and it's in the system. Um, we did obtain additional Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics certifications. Uh, two of our ACOs applied and got um that uh that makes sure that we have redundancies. In the past, we only had one. So, if something ever happened to that one person, we lost the capability

to to do the drugs and all that stuff. So, we got that taken care of. uh continuing education through online courses such as the Colorado State University and those are some examples of some of those classes. Uh one of the big ones they love is the Mattis fund. It does a there's a lot of great training in that and and we are um encouraging and making some of those classes mandatory to update our staff. Um um the Oklahoma Animal Control Association examples also not all inclusive. There's a lot of different training at these different sites. Uh the Oklahoma Animal Control is mainly for our ACOs. Um uh planning in-person training for 2026. Um, I'm asking to send two people to Salt Lake City, uh, to the Best Friends Conference in April. And what I've been told, there's another one in May that we need to probably look at sending some folks with. So, I'm asking to do that. I'm sure we're not going to have any issues getting that taken care of. Um, SOP review and updates. Our SOP was outdated. It hadn't been updated since 2016. and I took and we went through it and updated to current ordinances, best practices, and current policies and procedures. Um, that's scheduled for for release in March of this year. That's this month. Uh, there were a lot of changes put in there and new additional stuff. So, we've covered all the new uh approaches to animal control officers. Uh we also took the more animal welfare and adoption center manual of standard

operating procedures. I've updated that with the current ordinances best practices and current policies and procedures. I did plagiarize a lot of different city's um SOPs to help us build this and make it uh fit our our system here. Uh it is currently at legal for review and and our own little internal uh committee, animal control committee are looking over it and we we will have those meetings to update any questions or things that need to be done there and it's scheduled for release in April of 2026. So that brings me to the software and technology. Uh Shelter Pro 2 software. We're we're in the process. When I come here, I I stopped all manual entries. And I went I said, "We're doing everything digital. We got to get up into the 21st century." So we threw away all the slates and chisels and uh we're moving from an analog records into the digital software. And that is why we've made some mistakes in uh shelter pro. It's there's a learning curve there. Um but we're working on that and sta uh staff training is ongoing and there's a lot to the program because it car covers everything medical, behavioral, everything is in there. So we're working on that to to get more accurate in our records keeping. Uh, Air Table is an online support program. I've recently uh just gone online uh purchased the software. Uh, it's relatively inexpensive for what it can do for us. Uh, Norman uh Shelter, their folks are helping me put together

the database so we can get it out to people. So, we're working a lot of new software techniques, but this stuff takes time to set up. I can't. It's just [clears throat] one of those things that I've got to get done and we are working towards that. Um, so we're going to do online volunteer program registration, online rescue active list onboarding, and online foster care applications that they've already developed and proven they're going to help me and let me have their database uh structure so we can do this. Uh, the city website uh is www. cityofmore.com. We found there was an issue whenever you went on to the main website. If you didn't know where to go to find the animal shelter and look up what animals we had, it was like six steps and and I'm I'm a computer programmer. I had trouble getting to it. Uh so I got uh with Dedra's folks there at uh public affairs and we got it moved to the front page where it's only a couple of clicks to get to it now. So, we updated the homepage with links to the stray and found and available for adopt adoption databases. We've updated that system and as things change in shelter pro, it updates this. So, it's real time. As animals are adopted, once they're marked adopted, it'll take it off the system or as they're brought into the shelter straight and found, it automatically puts it on there. um animous shelter uh social media really for us this is new stuff so you got to bear with me while I work through this but uh city website is maintained

by public affairs. Uh we have two animal shelter staff added to assist in keeping it up and current. Uh we knew we have one new photographer that has volunteered to come in and take pictures for posting on the site which will give us a more our picture taking is not actually the best in the world but we're trying and we're researching other social media avenues for advertising. And with that that's all I have for you. Um I have to mention that we are in the budget process. Uh, I have asked for quite a bit of upgrades in equipment. Uh, I'm trying to get the tools that the vets need. Uh, I'm trying to, uh, add a little more money for more vet care and some things like that and the city manager has looked over some of that and he's really been a force in helping me try to obtain that in the next year's budget process. So, with that, I'll entertain any questions you might have.

I have a couple of questions. Um, on the shelter pro stuff, um, I noticed up until recently, at least when you euthanize an animal, there's no reason given. It's just euthanasia. I've had four or five different reasons why we euthanize. Now, in the past, it was euthanized and no explanation.

So, that'll be tracked. Yes, sir. And then my other thing is I'm looking at um obviously for those in the audience, we know we've had numbers in the past um that have been less than desirable to say the least. Um but I'm as we've been working to make these changes, I'm looking at the January, February numbers. We brought in 194 dogs and 15 194 animals, dogs and cats and eight um sorry 15 were were euthanized. And so that's a 7.7% um euthanasia rate which I think the group can agree is a a huge improvement and within the realms and I I mean I some some of those were directed by court and some other didn't [clears throat] have a choice

right but I mean but what I'm saying is it's not 34% it's% and so um I appreciate changes that are being made and I hope we continue um down this path and I appreciate all your work to do that. Sir Dennis I just have just a couple of questions on the training. Uh so when an animal is brought in I assume that it's assigned a case number. Yes sir. And now part of the intake it automatically assigns assigns a case ID. So if they need to make notes on that animal through its stay everything will be under that case number for that animal any a new entry was made on this date and a different entry was made on this date.

Yes sir. and notes are kept very strictly now. I I can't go back and fix what what would happened before, but I promise you we're making really good notes now. That's good. Could I I would like to get a copy maybe we could forward something to the council before we go live with them. The standing operating procedure, the updates for our shelter. I'd like to look through those. We'll do that. Okay. And um on the uh volunteers and the um program registration and so forth, are we going to any current volunteers that we have? Are we going to just are they going to need to go through this new procedure, this process, or are they going to be grandfathered?

No, we're going to grandfather them in because they've already been proven to do all those great things that we need them to do. Um our goal is to get more volunteers in there to help us. Yes. Um, that's the big goal. Um, I think I want to say we got like 17 right now, but I'm going off. I'm getting old. I don't remember all that stuff. Well, I I would just echo some of the things that Melissa had said and you know, we obviously there have been some issues and we work for the residents of Moore, the council. Yes, sir.

And on our flowchart, it's the the community, it's the city council, it's our city manager, and then all the way through all of our city employees. So, we're we are hearing what our community is saying and we are take and through our city manager taking active measures to make significant improvements uh within our animal shelter. Everybody up here. I I've had pets all my life and uh when I was at the sheriff's department for uh I was for four or five years I was the uh canine handler for Pyro, my police dog, and I loved him loved him to death. He was an amazing dog and served uh the county well. So, we care about our animals and we care about the care that they receive while they're there. And then the goal is to find them a home. And uh I I applaud a lot of these uh changes and updates that uh you are implementing and the the thing that we'll be watching is for the uh continuation of this throughout the uh uh life of our shelter and that this won't just be a oh we got to do something. know this will be the new way that we operate just at the level of professionalism that our community is is expecting. So, thank you for looking at that, Brooks. Thank you for addressing these things and there's some more things to come that I'm not ready to discuss right now and need to visit more with our city council as a whole, but there are some more changes coming down the road.

Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you. That's my questions. I had a question in regards to the training. Uh, did you mean that you need a training on how to use the uh the hardware or the software or the software? Okay. Hardware it is good. Uh, is that what you're training? I'm doing the training internally to the people. I I sit down and learn the program personally. I've been working out on on nights and weekends learning every aspect of it and I'm rolling it out to each staff member and we've already had classes. Uh, there's still a lot to learn though. It's a very robust program. So that's

Is that something also that you could reach out to um maybe the animal shelters in one of the other uh cities? Yes, sir. Uh yes, sir. If they're using it. Some of them use other programs and of course uh um but yes. And that that um the one you're talking about was the uh chunk of protein. Yeah, they do. They have customer um

Yes. And we have a in fact we just updated our uh subscription. We can call anytime and they will answer questions and it has a very good online uh help for each different area. Um but we hadn't used all of that and that's that's my fault I didn't teach it soon. We're working on it. Well, it looks like we're working good from from this point on. Yes, sir. And I appreciate you. [clears throat] Thank you.

One one more thing on the foster um group thing. I know um Oklahoma City has what they call a transfer portal and when they have dogs that are either unadoptable or or need medical attention that is beyond what the shelter can do, they have this transfer site that they put them out there and then the approved rescues can go in and tag it and say, "Hey, we'll come take care of that and we'll come take." Yes, sir. And that's part of that air table that I'm working on. And that's uh Norman is helping me with great that Kelly over there at Norman has been a a godsent to me. Great. Great. I'm glad glad you're working with her. Great. Anybody else? Well, this is a presentation item only. Doesn't require a vote. So, thank you very much, Mr. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it, Dennis.

Thank you.

You just said it there. Yeah. Okay. We do have some uh people that are signed up to speak. So, u the Stephanie Adam Adams Hawkins and then next will be Becca Bean. And if you'll just state your name and address and you'll have five minutes. Hi there. My name is Stephanie Adams Hawkins. I live at 603 Gan Marie Drive down in Norman. Uh so first of all, thank you for letting me have an opportunity to speak with all of you. Um I think so I'm speaking to the animal welfare more animal welfare issue. Uh so I come from animal welfare and full disclosure I did apply for that superintendent position. Uh, I feel comfortable being able to speak about it now because I didn't get an interview. I feel like there's no con conflict of interest. Uh, so it's something I know well. I used to work at Norman Animal Welfare and I do not stand here as a representative for them in any way. These are my own personal um thoughts and and perspectives. Uh, I've been a zookeeper in zoos and sanctuaries at the Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary. I now do behavior and training. So, I know a lot about animal welfare and animal care. I've seen a lot on the forums people have concern why are people coming up here and talking when they're from Norman where they're from Lexington when they're from wherever the cities are right we're coming from all over because what more is a critical cog in our animal welfare system in Oklahoma across the board is suffering through an animal um overpopulation crisis and it's going to take all of these communities working together I was super excited to listen to that presentation it's really encouraging encouraging to see the

embracing uh finding corrective measures. How can we change best practices? How can we make these changes that we're all asking for here anyway? So, that's so encouraging. The reason why it matters to folks like me down in Norman is most for those who don't know most multip you know municipal shelters you can only serve those residents in your city who find animals in your city. So what happens when a shelter is not functioning fully and functionally? Those animal those people are desperate. They picked up an animal. They wanted to do the right thing. Their heart is in the right place and they come and we're not taking animals or we're full or whatever the answer is. Those people then bounce out to other communities because they're just seeking a solution. So then they pop down to Norman. They go down to Paul's Valley or Lexington. They either dump the animals out of desperation. And so now we have an animal at large with no care. Or they come to those shelters and those shelter workers have to then say, "I am so sorry. You know, if you are not a Norman resident, I can't help you. If you're not a Lexington resident, I can't help you." Then you have to decide, are these people telling the truth? Because they are desperate. They are not bad folks. They are desperate for resources. So now there's not a now they're lying. And we have to decide in that moment when you're facing them, is this the truth or a lie? If I taken this animal, the other animals of Norman and the residents of Norman were full now. So now we're making decisions on euthanasia for animals that are not ours to do. So it trickles down from Oklahoma City to Moore to Norman to Blanchard to Newcastle. We all have to work together. And so when you see people coming from out of area, it's not to come and pick on more. It's to ask that you pick up the slack in these areas, which it totally looks like is happening. And that's really exciting. But when we can all work together and have leadership in place that can kind of take those lumps.

That's part of leadership, right? Whoever that that next person is going to be as a superintendent has to be able to take their lumps. They have to be able to sit there and go that hurt. Like that feedback that stung a little bit. I love my hometown of Moore if that's where you're from. Or I love the city that I'm serving. And it stings to go we haven't gotten that right, but we're going to get it right now. Uh so I just ask that you really consider that you get a right the the person in there who can take the redirection who can uh move forward with the changes that are already happening collaborate with the mentioned Kelly and in Norman. She's the best of the best in Oklahoma. Uh I'm biased. I know her and I've been mentored by her. So I I appreciate her personally. Uh but there are so many other rescues people in animal welfare that I I ask that you thoroughly vet get that right person in there who's going to make those changes and make more one of the pinnacle animal welfare societies here in Oklahoma. I think you guys have a unique opportunity to really be leaders in this to go from criticism to leaders in Oklahoma and I'm excited to watch that process unfold and we'll certainly help wherever I can with any of the resources that I have in whatever capacity that I can.

All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. So, uh, Miss Becca Bean and then it'll be David Biles. Again, just your your address. And thank you so much. Um, Vanessa, I'm starting my timer.

All right. My name is Becca Bean, 1116 Cadell Lane in Norman. Um, thank you for your time, council members and city leaders and the mayor. Um, before I begin, I'd like to ask a quick question of everyone here. Raise your hand if you have a pet at home. Wow. Wow. Um, thank you. You can put your hands down. Now, if you're here tonight because you care about the animal shelter, whether you're wearing a red shirt or not, will you please raise your hand or stand up? That'll work. Perfect. Obviously, this is an incredible turnout because people care about what's happening at More Animal Welfare for the reasons that Stephanie just mentioned. Um, and if you ever need a great hire for any position, highly recommend. She was a real joy to work at when I was on the um animal shelter oversight committee in Norman and she was uh there as our um adoption coordinator. Um we're grateful for the positive changes. [clears throat] It's really clear that Mr. is incredibly hard to make improvements. And I would call these improvements corrections um rather than improvements because increased hours in vet care, um you know, working with fosters and rescue networks, uh training, um better recordkeeping, all of these things are fundamental. And really, it brings up a question, why weren't these things already being done? They really are corrections to the most basic standard practices in modern animal sheltering. Um, and when we talk about things like euthanasia rates, it's wonderful that the rates of euthanasia are going down. It's also really important to ask how long is the stay in the shelter for these animals? Um, because simply warehousing animals in order to keep them alive without a plan for them is not humane. It's not a plan.

It's just public management of, you know, the numbers and it's unsustainable. So, when we have shelters that aren't taking animals, the trickle down effect, just like Stephanie mentioned, is very real and better recordkeeping um isn't going to save the lives of the litter of puppies that was born in September in the Moore shelter who were euthanized for ringworm. We've got to get someone in this position who is qualified, who doesn't wait for outside pressure for life-saving programs. This knowledge should exist already. That experience should already be proven. If these systems are only now being put into place as a result of public pressure um and by the director of public works, this tells us something really important and that is that either the expertise or the willingness was not already there. This decision of who to hire for the next superintendent is too important to treat as a routine um decision, too important to look at as just a promotion. This is not about criticizing individuals. Every employee has value. But the reality is that a qualified shelter leader does not need to be told to implement things. They already know how to reduce youth in Asia through proven strategies, how to partner with rescues and transports, how to use fosters to manage capacity, how to run a shelter that's both humane and effective. Now, the important question is how do you do this costs? Well, the good news is shelters across Oklahoma and the United States are already getting better outcomes with many fewer resources. More shelter has strong funding and a large staff. The missing piece is a leader who knows how to reduce the length of stay, increase live outcomes, utilize volunteers

effectively, avoid costly inefficiencies, and bring in support rather than drain city funds. Better management doesn't cost more money. Choosing the right superintendent is not just a a moral decision, it's a financial decision. This person will shape outcomes for the animals. They will influence staff culture. They will uh work with volunteer engagement. They will rebuild public trust and they will attend to the long-term costs of the city. You all have a lot of things that need your attention and some of those even include mitigating the future loss of human lives. And in order to do that, um, it's really important that in response to the pressure and the goodwill of the people that you're seeing here, that we humbly ask that the most qualified person of all of the applicants be the person that you put forth. I really appreciate um the idea that we can all work together to make improvements. I really believe that. I'm here as a resource. I know I'm probably seen as an outside agitator, but my heart is that um all communities would have the kind of support that I know that you all want for your shelter. So, thank you for your time.

Thank you. David Biles, are you here? Come on up. And then after David will be Heather Boss. and again five minutes and your address, please.

Thank you, council members. Um, I'm really here to speak uh about the medical managements uh of your shelter. Uh, I have had experience with shelters. I was on the board with back at the Norman Animal Shelter on their committees. So, I kind of have an idea. Um, and and I'm I took an oath when I was in vet school when I graduated that I'm there for the animals above above else do no harm. And I understand the problems that a lot of shelters have with overcrowding, with scared animals, dogs that are just in the corner shaking and not wanting to be social at all. But you got to remember where they came from and where they are, okay? And a lot of these animals are adoptable and we should not be giving up on them. Okay? My wife and I have well actually she did rescued three animals uh two German shepherds uh and a mixed dog and they were scared to death. One of them was somewhat aggressive and the others were just they just wanted love. They just wanted to be with somebody. They wanted a good home. And we took them in and they're turned out to be the best dogs in the world. Okay. So do not give up on these animals. just don't do it. Um, I applaud the uh euthanasia statistics getting better. Keep on trucking. Okay. Another thing is the Oklahoma State Board of Veterary Medicine does not like poor rec recordeping. They do not like it. And believe me, uh, when I see that

there's been veterinarians in this state, private practitioners, uh, even people that work at the universities get themselves [clears throat] in a little hot water because they don't keep good records. Okay? Animal shelters are just as uh, suspect about that as anyone. So, you guys have got to keep good records. And I understand that. Um, digital recordkeeping is still somewhat difficult to manage. I don't know much about the program that you guys have. Uh, but there's got to be some help that you maybe you can use for the software developers that made this program. They may have online training courses. They may have all kinds of things that you can do. You need to look into that because if you don't keep good records, uh, then that's going to be a problem. And coming from a private practice, I own my own practice in Norman. Uh the records sometimes that I get from shelters and other veterinarians are awful. They just are. And it makes my job harder. It really does. So keep good records. Um from the talk that the gentleman had earlier, it looks like you're kind of going that way. So keep on. Uh I think that's a great thing. uh keep records of controlled substances. Um you got to by law you have to you can get the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs out to your shelter doing a audit and you don't want that to happen. Okay? So keep good records there too. uh you have multiple veterinarians coming to your shelter to provide the medical care, that's fine. I I'm all for that. But we've got to have a system

that they all can use, they all can understand and add to when they're doing their exams and their rounds and whatnot taking care of these animals. Okay? So, you need to devise some kind of training program, some kind of plan that these other veterans can come in and do that. And it makes their time more valuable and you get your records done in a more of a timely manner and more accurate. Uh, it's just a better system to do. Uh, and I understand that you guys are kind of out there as far as veteran care. That's a lot of shelters have multiple veterinarians working for them. It's just it's it's the nature of the beast. So, just be be cognizant of that and understand that we're all here for the animals and we want to make sure to provide them a good place, provide them the proper care, and get them adopted. Social media is a great way to get animals adopted. Um, foster programs are awesome if they're run right, okay? Because a lot of these animals are scared and nervous and may be a little nippy when they're in the shelter in that cage. They, you know, they may get out twice a day to do their business and get fed twice a day and and not get very much uh human attention. Well, if you put them in a foster environment, they get the attention, they get more one-on-one, they get some training, they become a better, more adoptable animal. Okay, so that's really all I had. Uh, I appreciate you listening to me and taking the time to listen to me.

Yes, sir. If you could just give us your address for our record. It's 111 North Mercedes in Norman. That's my office. And my home is 24430 End of Trail Avenue in Purcell. All right. Thank you very much for your comments. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, other boss. And then it will be uh Chris Ward.

Hello, council mayor. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Heather Boss. I live at 3400 Elmo Way here in Moore, Ward 3. Um over the course of this evening, we've heard some really good uh extensive updates regarding improvements at the more animal welfare and adoption center, ext expanded operating hours, etc. Uh and increased community partnerships. That was really great to hear. Progress should be recognized when it's being made. So, thank you for making that progress and thank you for listening to the citizens. Our residents want this shelter to succeed. They didn't vote to build it to see it fail. They want staff supported. They want animals cared for responsibly. And they want more to lead well. So since I was here last time, I have continued hearing from the citizens across this community from volunteers, foster families, taxpayers, and longtime residents who deeply care about both the animal welfare and the responsible local government. So last time I stood here and I shared the story of my dog, Moses. So someone needed to surrender him, but they were afraid to take him to the shelter because he would likely be have been euthanized. So we fostered him and eventually we did end up adopting him. So Moses is alive today because I stepped up personally and intervened. But municipal municipal systems should not depend on individual intervention or fortunate circumstances. They should, as you know, and seem to be willing to do, operate with transparency, with consistency, and public confidence. So, tonight we have heard about meaningful operational improvements and all of these EP efforts represent real work. They represent the modernization of this uh and they represent investment and investment of time, effort, taxpayer dollars. And this is precisely why the

decision before you now carries such importance because the programs they don't just sustain themselves and technology doesn't just sustain itself. Policies are written on paper and they cannot sustain themselves. Leadership sustains the progress. Many of the reforms discussed tonight are still in the implementation phase scheduled for rollout soon over the next coming months. But that means that the superintendent selected in the coming days will ultimately determine whether these improvements become permanent institutional standards or just temporary responses to public concern. So residents are not here standing asking for conflict. They're asking for confidence. They want to understand what qualifications uh are guiding these candidate selections. How many applicants are being fully evaluated which I think we had heard the number five uh was how many were received or being interviewed soon. What measurable leadership experiences are being prioritized and how the public can be assured that the best qualified candidate is chosen through an open and competitive process not the most familiar. So the most capable uh of sustaining reform. So importantly, citizens are not bringing complaints only. They are offering solutions that are consistent with modern municipal governance, public available intake and outcome reporting, clear written euthanasia protocols, veterinarian and oversight and support ethical decisionmaking, robust foster and rescue partnerships, independent professional assessment aligned with national standards. And these are not extreme requests. These are just basic needs and and they should be honored which I it sounds like they are as we move forward. There are reasonable expectations for a publicly funded institution supported by more taxpayers. This conversation ultimately extends beyond one shelter or

one hiring decision. It speaks to public trust. More residents fund this facility and they volunteer here. They donate through nonprofit partners and many are simultaneously being asked to trust local government with future tax rate increases affecting the city come April. Trust is strengthened when processes are visible. Trust grows when decisions are transparent. And trust endures when citizens believe their voices are welcomed rather than required only during moments of controversy. Tonight is about protecting that progress. The city of Moore has clearly begun invest investing in modernization, training, staffing, and improving systems. And so now is the time, the moment to ensure that the leadership selection reflects the same commitment to transparency and long-term success because systems can be written and softwares can be updated and programs can be launched, but without good leadership that that will determine whether this reform lasts, we have nothing. Moses received a second chance because I stepped up for him. Tonight, your citizens are doing the same, respectively, constructively, and with hope for their community. The people of Moore simply want reassurance that the progress underway today will still exist years from now because taxpayer trust is not automatically given. It is earned when citizens can clearly see that their government listens openly, evaluates fairly, and leads with transparency worthy of public confidence. Thank you for your time.

And I think it's a is it Caris Ward? Caris. Yes. Yes. I'm sorry. Caris.

Oh, I'm going to be the leaders. Hi, my name is Carara Ward. Uh, I reside at 1206 Belelfford Avenue in Nichols Hills. I think I put my office, so sorry about that. I'm an attorney and I just wanted to read um something to you and then give you a few statistics as well if I may. So, this is from 1870 in a case called Old Drum. Um, it starts off gentlemen of the jury. I'm going to start off with gentlemen and women of council. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground when wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely. If only he can be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that no food to offer. And he will lick the wounds and soarses that come encounter on the ground of roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his popper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he as constant in his love as the sun is in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth and outcast into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of an accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes and the death takes his master to its embrace and his body is laid in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursu uh pursue their way, there by his graveside will be the noble dog found. His head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert and watchfulness, faithful and true even until death. I say this coming on the heels of a few years ago, I think it was 2024, the AVMA said over 66% of American households own a pet. Um, if there's 64,000 people in the city of Moore, that's going to be

about 43,000 pe uh animals within your city limits. That's if there's only one per household. I also note that according to Forbes magazine, over $137 billion was spent last year on pet products and vet care. So where I normally start off my talks is where you have passion and where you have money, you have litigation. Animal law is currently taught in over 168 law schools right now. Last two months ago, a small city out of Missouri reached a had a huge judgment entered against it for over half a million dollars on a constitutional court court claim constitutional tort claim section 198 1983 under title 42. I mention all this just to say oh and one other thing that we heard about a pet overpopulation. There was an interim study done at the capital just this past year on September 11th at 9:00 a.m. at the Oklahoma capital on that very topic. You can listen to the recording anytime and I speak on this just to say that it sounds like a lot of improvements here are being made and the city council is being very mindful of its stewardship and responsibilities. Um, I just want to echo the sentiments of everyone that has come before me to say that getting the right person in this role is crucial for the residents continued faith and belief in its government, which is so essential in our current times. Um, I would add just one other thing too for the city to take into consideration with all that I mentioned that Oklahoma also is one of the top three leading states for domestic violence and lethality with domestic violence. And there is a strong correlation there between um injuries to animals and injuries to humans. And I cannot imagine some of the toll that might be placed on some of your employees and some of the roles that they have within the city as well. So um with that I will yield uh any other time that I have. I just wanted to say that I

am happy to be a resource if there's ever one needed. Um and I will add one other thing. I will just note a little off topic but related to the city. There is a bill currently pending in front of the legislature, House Bill 4335. It is a preeemption bill that would take away some municipal uh rules and effectiveness with regards to animals. So, I encourage you to research that. What is it? House Bill 4335. It's a preeemption bill that has a carveout in it, but that carveout has never happened in the history of the state of Oklahoma regarding um being able municipalities be able to keep some of their powers. So, thank you.

Thank you. Thank you for your comments. That's all that [clears throat] I have signed up. Did anybody else want to say anything about the presentation? And I would just want to just add just a couple of quick things. I know the majority of our animals that come into the shelter are strays and that means that they were owned by somebody. So part of the responsibility of having a pet is being a responsible pet owner and taking when you accept that responsibility to bring that animal into your family that you can care for it uh for for its life. And then there are other instances where people have to surrender a pet and so forth. But somebody else's problem then becomes the city's problem or issue. And we do want to be as responsive to that and care for those animals as well as as we can. and and try to find them a home. And then I do want to say to our uh animal shelter staff, they've been here the past few meetings and I know it can see it seem overwhelming and there have been a lot of changes that have taken place and they are doing a good job of trying to implement these changes and take uh good care of the animals that are there. So I do want to recognize their efforts and appreciate uh what they are doing. Thank you for all of the comments uh that were uh made tonight and uh we're happy to have emails, texts, and phone calls. So, um please continue to ask your questions. Remember, just because you see something on social media doesn't necessarily mean it's true. So, if you see something there that concerns you, please reach out to one of us or to our city manager or to Dennis and we can get some clarification on uh what it is that you might be reading. So with that anybody else council any other

along with that responsibility spay and neuter your pets. [applause] Thank you Barker. [laughter] All right we will move to our next item is item six. Consider adoption of resolution number 12926 providing for a 25 cent landfill collection fee in the water bill and adding a bond for interfering with first responders to the schedule of fees for court and police effective upon approval and remaining in the in effect until modified amended or appeared and repealing prior inconsistent fees. I'm a little self-conscious now. I got up and everybody laughed. Let's get ready to say [laughter]

I don't I guess I'm not as important as that. Uh mayor and council, this is an update to our fee schedule. Um a couple of months ago, you may recall that uh we added added an ordinance prohibiting interfering with a first responder. So, one of the changes here is we've added uh in the bond schedule uh the bond for interfering for a first responder. So, that's the first change. The other change really is not an addition. It is a fee that we have currently been charging. I've looked it up. It's been for at least 10 years. I've gone back 10 years. Uh it is a 25 cent uh landfill fee um that we have been charging on the water bill like I said for at least 10 11 years or so. Um and I think that it needed to fee schedule because it is itemized in the water bill and it needs to be in the in the fee schedule.

So it's something that's already there. We just need to put it on That is correct. Yes. And it came to my attention from working with Dedra. It was on the the water bill and we said, "Yes, this needs to be in the fee schedule." And I asked how long it's been on the fee. It's been at least 10 years. Could I went and looked at my water bill and I said, "Are they going to charge me another 25 cents?" No, this is the same 25 cents. I had several questions. So, thank you. You answered them. Okay. All right. Make a motion we approve. Second. We've had a motion and a second. Would you call the vote? Louie Williams? Yes. Rob Clark? Yes. Kathy Griffith? Yes. Sid Porter. Yes. Melissa Hunt. Yes. Mark Ham.

Yes. Item passes. Item seven is consider resolution number 1326 adopting the schedule of fees and [clears throat] uh charges effective upon approval and remaining in effect until modified, amended, repealed and repealing any prior inconsistent fees. Mayor and council, this is simply approving the new fee schedule. The last item approved the changes. This now incorporates the entire new fee schedule. Make a motion to approve. Second. Would you call the vote? Rob Clark, yes. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, Mark Ham,

yes. It passes. Item eight is consider ordinance number 107626 amending part 8 chapter 6 8-603 by removing the requirement of a permit to operate a mobile temporary food service and providing conditions for food truck operations providing for severability providing for a repealer. Mayor and council this is a change to our food truck ordinance in November of 2025 there was a change to state law so I'm a little bit behind on getting this updated that should have been updated back in November December. Um the change to state law provided that the fire and life safety inspections for food trucks were now going to be handled by the Oklahoma State Fire Marshall and other state agencies. It took it out of the our the city's hands. Um so what this change the ordinance does, it removes that and it provides though that the city is able to enforce that the decals that are issued by the state agencies are properly placed on the food trucks. uh we are still able uh to enforce our zoning, land use and special event permits. Um and also we would report any unsafe uh conditions to the state fire marshall office. So this really is a complete revamp of ordinance to make it compatible with state law.

Make a motion to approve. Second. We've had the motion and second. You can call a vote. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sydney Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Smart Cam.

Yes. Item passes. Thank you. Item nine is consider modifying the personnel policy and procedures manual by providing a tuition reimbursement program for firefighters participating in the department's paramedic program and add clarifying language as to how paid administrative level is to be calculated in a standard work week in the event of a city or department closing due to inclement weather or other unforeseen conditions. Mayor and council, there are two changes to our policy procedures manual that we're recommending this evening. Uh the first change is uh we needed some clarification language as to how an employee is going to be submitting their time uh when a department or uh the city hall for example or a department closes because of inclement weather. Um there were issues how you would put that time in if you later worked later in the week an extra shift how that would work on the total time worked for the week. So, we had to add that. It seems like every time we have a closing, there's an issue that we have never foreseen and it comes up. So, I think that I've corrected it this time, but we'll see.

It's typically a weather related closing. This is Yes, it is. City city hall closes, but fires still working and and all that stuff. Correct. I think the last one was when the sanitation trucks could not run their routes, right? So just that just those individuals were unable to to work on that Monday I believe it was and they had to come in on their Wednesday which is their day off. So and that was of course something I did not foresee before it was usually I thought of city hall closing so it needed to be corrected that way.

Uh the other change that we have is a tuition reimbursement program and I've been working with Chief Marlor and if there's any questions he was be the person to answer these questions. um he is implementing a new uh tuition reimbursement uh provision uh to reimburse firemen for pursuing a paramedic program. We believe that it'd be necessary to have it in the policy procedures manual because that is where the tuition reimbursement is discussed for all the employees. Uh so that's why it is located here um in the policy procedures manual. It is going to be a partial reimbursement while they are attending and when [clears throat] they complete the program and become uh I would say certified become registered then at that time um I believe that I worded that in a way that would work with what your intent was and if there is any questions he would be able to answer those questions about the actual program itself

and we currently don't give any reimbursement now is that correct that's that's yeah we function off the 50 to 60% reimbursement kind of dependent on the grade. Okay. Um but we desire to have paramedics riding engines and we would like to reimburse that tuition in order to get those on our rigs. Okay. So there's something already in the policy towards [clears throat] what's in the policy right now is really focused at university college. Okay. There's this is accomplishable through technology schools across the metro community college OSU OKC kind of opens that branch up to be able to fund technology schools as well. which is why I also use the term program rather than degree type. That's why I use that term. Y okay.

All right. Sounds good to me. So, it's not new new, but we're handling it a little bit differently and hopefully to fully That is correct. And it's new that it'll be 100% allow the full reimbursement upon Okay. certification. Yeah. There's a couple of criteria. There's a a dollar range currently for the university thing. the paramedics would exceed that dollar range in a given semester. So, we kind of had to make an adjustment in its own separate program. Okay, that's a great idea. This would also open it up so that they can go anywhere to get it.

Right. If we have somebody that lives out east, they could go to Gordon Cooper. If we have somebody down south, they could go in a multitude of different places. There's hybrid, there's traditional, there's 15 month, there's 12 months. It's just like what works best for the firefighter, their schedule, [clears throat] their family. It was really hard to write that in the format that for like a regular semester. That didn't work in this area. So, I just had to rewrite the whole portion. They all received the same certification. Yes. Nationally certified. Very good. Okay. Excellent. Thank you. All right. Make a motion to approve. Second. We have had the motion and second. Would you call the vote? Sid Porter? Yes. Melissa Hunt? Yes. Louie Williams? Yes. Rob Clark? Yes.

Kathy Griffith. Yes. Mark Cam. Yes. Item passes. Item 10 is consider approval of a contract with SNS staffing doing doing business as hirego to provide staffing for parks and cemetery maintenance. Mayor and council. This contract is for the annual budgeted use of temporary staffing during [clears throat] the spring and summer months for our park crew. Recommend approval. Make a motion to approve. Second. All right. Would you call the vote, please? Sorry about that. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louisie Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. So, one question or one statement, Chief Marlor, uh, in the process of you having candidates go to these schools to get this paramedic, can we get that into the budget so that we can plan for that? Will that work? Yeah, I have a tuition reimbursement line item in my budget. Okay. And so you these guys can plan far enough ahead that we can do that. Yeah, we'll we'll plan and budget accordingly and try to project how many we think will may go per semester. Just want it in the budget so that we can approve it one time. So sounds good. Sorry.

No problem. Item 11, consider approval of a new job description for parks and cemetery crew chief in the parks and cemetery division of the parks and recreation department and assign it to the pay pay grade of 110 of the salary table approved by city council June 20th, 2016. This position was not budgeted for the 2526. However, the department does have sufficient payroll savings to fill it for the remainder of the fiscal year. Mayor and council, the parks and recck department does request approval of the submitted draft of a new job description for parks and cemetery crew chief in the parks and cemetery division. The new job descriptor will more accurately reflect the organization of the division and the duties to be performed. As Sue Wood, department director, described in her presentation to council last year, this position will play a vital role in maintaining the overall appearance, safety, and functionality of city-owned outdoor spaces while supporting maintenance crews, thereby protecting citizens investments in our park. This position should be assigned to grade 110 of the pay scale for the most accurate placement based on the duties, responsibilities, and accountabilities assigned. Staff recommends approval. We'll be glad to answer any questions if you have them.

Any questions? No. I'll make a motion we approve. Second. Would you call the vote? Louis Williams? Yes. Rob Clark? Yes. Kathy Griffith? Yes. Sid Porter? Yes. Melissa Hunt? Yes. Mark Cam? Yes. Item is approved. Item 12 is considered declaring one fire apparatus more particularly described in exhibit A as surplus and authorized sell by auction. Uh, mayor and council, this is about a 18-year-old engine with about 130,000 hard miles on it. Um, for years, it's served as a reserve apparatus to us. However, it needs a costly repair to remain in service. So, we recommend the uh engine be sold at auction rather than repair.

Make a motion to approve. Second. So, do we have another reserve unit? Uh, we have four reserves including that apparatus. That put us at three apparatus reserve. We have a new one coming this summer and that'll replace the fourth one. Very good. Thank you. Would you call the vote? Rob Clark, yes. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. Item passes. Item 13 is consider authorizing the budgeted purchase of self-contained breathing apparatus equipment for the fire department including 65 uh SCB8 units, 145 cylinders, 95 face pieces and associated accessories from Casco Industries, Inc. in the amount of $657,546 and the lowest responsible responsive quote plus fittings, adapters, and spare parts at $21,900 for a total of $679,446. Uh, mayor and council, our current self-contained breathing apparatus are no longer manufactured or supported, making this replacement necessary. At present, there are three main SCBA manufacturers on the market. There's Drager, MSA, and Scott. Over the course of several weeks, we brought each of those units in, had all of our uh crews wear trial those, came up with quantitative data, and based on those performance um those wear trials and performance comfort usability. Uh the MSA system came in as top rated by our personnel. Uh through the competitive RFP process, the MSA system also came in as the lowest overall cost. And uh as part of the RFP process, we actually beat state contract pricing by $113,594. So we respectfully uh request approval for this purchase. And I'd be happy to answer any questions.

How soon can they be delivered? They'll they'll be delivered uh soon, the backpack and and the main components. What's going to take about 3 months is every cylinder will be specifically wrapped um embedded in the wrapping R logo. Okay. Our department and then we uh numerically number all the cylinders so we can keep up with them. So that manufacturer process and wrapping will take about 3 months. Okay, that's not too bad. Is this something that they service? Say it again. Is this something that they service? Um yes, they will and do service. However, our current air packs have been maintained in house by technicians. Uh this process will educate several more members to maintain those in-house as well. Again, very good.

Very good. Make a motion to approve. Second without the motion and second. Would you call the vote, please? Rob Clark, yes. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. Item passes. Thank you. Number 14 is consider authorizing the budget purchase purchase of eight sets of Morning Pride structural firefighting bunker gear from Municipal Emergency Services in the amount of $33,400 utilizing Sourcewell account number 91515 contract number 010424-me and council. This represents a planned and scheduled replacement of our member structural firefighting gear. uh which was defined under [clears throat] the service life conditions of they have to come out of service at a 10-year life on this gear. We recommend approval. Motion to go ahead.

Make a motion to approve. Second. We've had the motion and second. You can call the vote. Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Mark Ham, yes. And just a little side note, back in I think it was the 40s, one of our first fire trucks was $4,500, a long time ago, and will never happen again. At this time, we're going to recess the city council meeting and convene the more public works authority meeting. Item 15 is the consent docket. Make an a motion to approve consent docket items A and B. Second. Would you call the vote, please? Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louie Williams,

yes. Rob Clark, yes. Kathy Griffith, yes. Mark Ham,

yes. Item passes. Item 16 is considered adoption resolution of number 27326 authorizing a loan from the Oklahoma Water Resource Board and the aggregate principal amount not to exceed 24,290,000 approving the issuance of a clean water SRF promisary note and set principal amount to be secured by pledge of utility and sales tax revenues and leasehold interest of the authority and utility system and properties designating a local trustee approving the authorizing Execution of a supplemental note, insurance, loan agreement, sales tax agreement, and related loan documents, certificates and agreements, approving various uh covenants and representations approving and authorizing payment fees and expenses and containing other provisions related there too.

Mayor and council, this is just a companion item to agenda item number three. Recommend approval. Motion to approve. Second. Would you call the vote, please? Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louie Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Mark Ham, yes. Item passes. Item 17 is consider resolution number 27226 adopting the schedule of fees and uh charges effective upon approval and remaining in effect until modified, amended, or repealed and repealing any prior inconsistent fees. Mayor, council, this is a companion item to number seven. This just uh adopts the fee schedule that was previously adopted earlier this evening. Make a motion to approve. Second.

The motion and second's been made. Would you call the vote? Sid Porter? Yes. Melissa Hunt? Yes. Louie Williams? Yes. Rob Clark? Yes. Kathy Griffith? Yes. Mark Cam? Yes. We will recess the more public works authority meeting and convene the more risk management meeting. Item 18 is the consent docket. Make a motion to approve consent docket items A, me. Second. Would you call the vote, please? Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louisie Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Mark Ham, yes.

Consent dockets approved. We're going to recess the more risk management meeting and reconvene the city council meeting. All members that were present are still present. Item 19 is new business. Is there uh I'd have no other citizens that signed up to speak. Item B is item from city council trustees. Anything from any of you?

I'd like to thank the more police department for um hosting the taco. Let's talk about it at Takaloia. Uh last week we had a couple of um residents that came in and had asked some questions that I didn't have any answers to. So, I reached out to to Brooks and a couple of different departments and they would like to um check into some volunteering. They said um it takes a village to raise a village and they want to be a part of what we do. And so I had uh asked Brooks and we talked about a couple of different departments. So if you are interested in something like that, you can reach out to any of us. You can reach out to the police department. They have a volunteer program. The library does as well. And of course also the animal um shelter. So if you have any of those uh interests in mind, please reach out to those departments. Reach out to one of us and we will definitely point you in the right direction and thank you for your involvement.

Great. Yes, sir.

Um I just wanted to add one more thing. I have to listing a lot of stuff with the the animal well shelter and um I wanted to thank Dennis and and our city manager and the staff down down at animal welfare building down there for your hard work working on a lot of updates and everything. And I I just want to let the citizens know in my opinion after hearing a lot of this that whoever becomes in the next position, the director over there, all these policies and all these regulations and everything they're working on, the staff down there and the staff at city hall and everything, this new person I would guess is going to be handed this is this is what we're going to do, not take this and throw out what you don't want. So, I will be very shocked if uh heard a lot of good comments and stuff from everybody and the citizens p input, but you know, the the employees down there, like the mayor said, you know, they're stuck in the middle on a lot of this stuff because they still have a job to do. No matter what the email says or if it's mean or positive or neutral, whatever, they still got to go down there and do their job. And so, um, you know, I have confidence and everybody here that we're on the right track and, um, we will it'll it'll all work out. And thank you, Dennis, and all your big cheers.

Thank you, guys. Okay, you ready? Uh, items from the city trust manager. All right, this is going to be a regular thing, guys. I know. [laughter] I think Brooks likes being at the podium.

Stand up and move around when I'm up here. [laughter] Uh, mayor and council, I did meet last uh last Friday with uh June with more possibilities and Shelley and had very good discussions. I appreciate their input and their concern for the shelter and their uh willingness to continue to work and and we had very positive discussions. So, I just wanted to uh mention that to you. In our sales tax proposition, we've talked about some of the projects had some design funding for and then other projects were talked about that uh we really we didn't have any design money or anything and it so it was going to be a future project. And so the purpose tonight is just to uh show the council, you know, what what we're talking about in the future and what kind of dollars and how much could be paid for by the sales tax if passed versus how much we would be going back to the voters at some point in time for geo bonds. So as you can see uh list of projects up there and uh had a slight issue I guess. So in the in the projected costs and so um so from all the all the projects that were there on the first page uh they total $193 million $193.4 million. We've talked about the two drainage projects uh Northeast 20th in Lincoln and and Ramblin Oaks and the the cost of those two projects are approximately 20 $20 million. uh public safety facility. So, you know, really uh with what we've talked about and and these other projects here within the next 10-12 years, uh it's conceivable that we would

be coming back to the council uh for permission to put on the ballot roughly $250 million of infrastructure projects. And so, point being once again is this is what this sales tax is designed to pay for. There's concern about the the mill rate and and property taxes. And so this is looking I've I've said short-term benefits. Well, that's that's the drainage projects. Northeast 20th and Lincoln, Rambling Oaks. Uh this is this is the long game right here. This is these are projects that would be coming back to the council, you know, 10 to 12 years from now. And uh you know, $250 million roughly. Uh, this doesn't include a potential park project that might come out of the Buck Thomas study that's happening right now. We don't know what that is. Something might happen uh that uh uh council wants to pursue. And then and then other projects and and other projects mainly are uh things [clears throat] that happen uh that are unforeseen due to weather events. I've I've talked about the streets and golden acres uh numerous times and so other things like that that could fit into this sales tax. So I just wanted to take a minute and give the council just kind of an uh a broad picture of of what this looks like and what uh what this one sales tax could do. be happy to answer any questions. And again, we have our our uh city's web pages up to date and we have all of the information there. So, if residents have questions, please go there and look or contact myself, the council, our city manager, or either one of our assistant city managers. We want to make sure the accurate information is out there to the voters. And so if this were to pass,

Brooks, what I'm hearing you say is you don't see us having to issue any geo bonds for the foreseeable future. So the city's portion of Avalor taxes should or will decrease because we'll begin to pay off that debt and no more geo bonds. The funding will be through that sales tax. Yes, sir. Okay.

It was one of the questions that I received is when they read the thing, how do how do I know that the city won't pass this um sales tax increase and then five years down the road when some of us are gone, then they come back and say, well, never mind. We're going to go ahead and pass the geo bond. And I said, you're right. It is a little bit of trust, but just like we have said for as long as I've been on the council for 10 years that we're not going to have the millage rate go above 16.5 mills. We've kept that promise. And I have faith that those that take our place and those that the citizens elect will continue um to keep that promise and to keep that um we've passed this and this is where our funding is going to come from. Um and and if and you know you elect those folks and those are questions that you can ask in the future. But I know this council is committed to that.

Yes. And any any future geo bond measure has to go before the voters. So, I mean, the the council at the time can't just arbitrarily say, "Well, okay, forget the sales tax. We're going to go back and do a geo bond." No, it has to go in front of the voters. Y So, well, and we've been we've been below the 16 and a half. Um, you know, since I been on the council and uh it looks like we're going,

you know, we're going down. So we're going in the right direction and u I don't see anything you know in the future that uh could change that other than u you know like I said the people that want to know you know are we are we can they trust us you know our track record does show that and uh we've talked about this before but I'll mention it again uh we did try and get the uh reduced property taxes language in the proposition But because of the electioneering statute, we were unable to do that. So I mean we did try and appreciate the comments from the council in the various meetings regarding that.

And I would also just as a reminder that currently when a geo bond project is passed, that burden, that debt is carried by uh property owners within our city. If a sales tax were to pass, that's uh going to be spread out over people that don't even live here. So about 30% of our sales tax revenue comes from people outside of Moore. So now that tax burden will be spread over more people, not just property owners within our city limits. So there there's another good thing for that. And if you look at those future projects, things that we're going to have to do there, there's nothing up there fancy. Uh I don't know if that's good or bad, but these are some of the basic things that we need to do to operate and to uh properly uh continue to to prepare for the growth that's coming. We have about two and a half% growth every year in our city. It's going to continue to grow. More people are continue to move here and we're trying to keep up with that growth. And so we're doing a lot of infrastructure uh that we need to do.

I don't know, mayor, when when we complete Eastern to 12th and um 27th, I'm going to feel pretty fancy. Yes, I agree. The [clears throat] Thank you. I think one of the other things too is that um as we do grow and more businesses come in there's more sales tax you know and um you know as we grow um this this um funding this funding will grow with it and and to me that that I like that that's right

again any questions that you uh the audience has or if you watch this later uh via YouTube, please reach out to us. Uh a lot of what you see on social media is just not accurate. So go to our city's website or give us a call and we'll be glad to answer your questions. Thank you. Thank you, Brooks. And with that, item 20 is adjournment. So move. Second. Second. Would you call the vote, please? Kathy Griffith, yes. Sid Porter, yes. Melissa Hunt, yes. Louis Williams, yes. Rob Clark, yes. Yes. We are journed and thanks everybody for being here tonight.