City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the 5 p.m. Tulsa City Council meeting of November 20th, 2024. Assisting the council tonight, Jack Blair, city attorney, Lori Doering, secretary of the council, and Catherine Ang, council staff. If you wish to speak on an agenda item, please see Catherine to complete the request to speak card prior to the item being read. You will not be allowed to speak on any item that has already been read. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, and then we ask Ms. Adams to come up for the invocation.

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.

Ms. Adams, would you like to come?

As a priestess of the goddess, I invoke the Gorgonea. Champions of equality and sacred rage, I call to Medusa, monstrous hero of the oppressed and abused. I open the eye of Medusa, the stare that petrifies injustice. I call upon the serpent that rises from this land to face the stars, the movement of wisdom unbound. May these leaders find within themselves the embodied divine, the sacred essence of the spark of the universe and the breath of the Awen. Place in the hands of these leaders the sacred work of protecting the sovereignty and autonomy of all our people. Gorgon Goddess, make them ready and willing to be champions for all in this city, not just those in power. Shine a light for them that they may walk the path of justice, protected and prepared, illuminating the darkness. Endow them with the fire of courage, the waters of compassion, the air of truth, and the strength of the earth itself. As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul. May there be peace among you all. And so it is.

Thank you very much. We have some years of service proclamations. Phil and I are going down, and Phil's going to read for us.

You can go, too.

Okay, so good evening. The city of Tulsa has an incredible team of 3,500 public servants dedicated to making all aspects of our city government run smoothly. Each month, the city council is pleased to recognize some of these exceptional public servants who have committed decades of their lives in their career with the city. So the proclamation that Councilor Q is holding here says, whereas these employees have dedicated years of service to the city of Tulsa, its officials, and its citizens, and therefore we, Mayor G.T. Bynum, and the Tulsa City Council, do hereby express our sincerest appreciation for these employees' years of hard work, dedication, and continued service to the city of Tulsa and its citizens, and in witness thereof, then we sign it on this 20th day of November 2024. So I think we just have one person here tonight. And you've been here for 25 years. Oh, yeah, I will. But you have to help me with your first name. I want to say it correctly. Burhani? And it's Andu? Andu. See, I knew it. Burhani Andu. Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, so... 25 years is a mighty long time. Thank you for your service to the city and our citizens. So thanks again, Burhani, for everything that you've done in public works. We also have three employees that were not able to join us today. So 35 years of service, Brandon Cummings with Water and Sewer, 30 years of service, Marcy Rose with Parks and Rec, and then 20 years of service, Donna Rutherford. So thank you to those employees as well. You're very valued, and we couldn't do this job without you all. So thank you very much. We'll start at the back, go toward the front. I'm going to do it this way so I have both hands helpful, just in case. So, Councilor, this is a lot of nice words that are written about you here.

I think it might be a record.

So I'm going to read all these words into the record because it is a record. So what this plaque says, Councilor, Jamie, in sincere appreciation, the Tulsa City Council honors Jamie Fowler for his service as Tulsa City Councilor for the citizens of District 9 in the city of Tulsa. During his four years on the council, Jamie Fowler developed thoughtful and creative ideas to help serve the people of his district. Councillor Fowler served on many committees, including co-chairing the Urban and Economic Development Committee and the Public Works Committee. He also served on the Tribal Nations Relations Committee, and his efforts on the Fines and Fees Working Group culminated in a $6.5 million program to address the underlying causes of municipal offenses and ensure every person has an equitable path to achieving compliance regardless of their financial status. And I know that one was personally very important for you, and he shared your stories many times with us. When it came to the needs of his residents, Councilor Fowler worked diligently to make sure issues were addressed and questions were answered. He held town halls to provide neighbors with needed information and to gather community input on important projects. Using a collaborative approach, Councilor Fowler worked with our senior community and local nonprofit organizations to pass a significant resolution designating Tulsa as a retirement destination city. This designation will boost Tulsa's visibility as a place where people of all ages can make a long-term home by supporting age-friendly services and initiatives that promote health, wellness, and sustained economic growth. Councilor Fowler was a tireless advocate and champion for neighborhoods, especially the Riverwood neighborhood in the 61st and Peoria area. Councilor Fowler advocated for increased funding for improvements to Johnson Park as he would always remind us, his peers about the importance of parks in community revitalization to this end he spearheaded a 550 000 district 9 community priority project that will renovate and add amenities at manion park including asphalt walking trails led lighting and dog friendly water fountains those dogs i mean they're never going to know the difference but they're going to be very appreciative. And Councilor Fowler's pioneering work with businesses and residents to create the Perryman Ditch drainage-sensitive area ensures commercial properties and homes can be developed and improved in a safe manner. With his friendly nature, Councillor Fowler served with passion, consideration, and a bright smile. The City of Tulsa, Tulsa City Council, Council staff, and the citizens of Tulsa are grateful to Jamie Fowler for his leadership and commitment to his fellow Tulsans. Job well done, Jamie Fowler. Thank you. Yeah, we should. Oh, here we go.

Come on, Jamie. Oh, here we go. All right.

With your counsel. Yeah, I know. Thank you very much. One, two, three.

I won't yank that out too far. I don't know if I can get it. Maybe lean it over here a little bit more and I'll kind of lean in. Oh, here we go. Great. All right. Well, counselors and ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you all. And these people that come down here every Wednesday, wonderful people. Every last one of them. Love you all very, very much. You're very special people. This is hard work. I don't have to tell each and every one of you all that. You all know, ladies and gentlemen, the work the passion that they have for our community, it's very, very special. And probably one of the neat things is this, is these people come from all walks of life. They have all different kinds of perspectives. And we all come together, and we set our differences aside, and we work for the greater the good of our community and our society. And it's very special. Mayor Bynum, thank you for your leadership for the last eight years. It's been wonderful. I was coming back, I was running errands over lunchtime, and I was driving down I-44 and coming back into downtown, and I was kind of reflecting over the last, say, four years, and probably one of many funny moments was I think it was the week after the Father's Day storm. It was a committee meeting, and I think Councilor Q leaned in to everyone and looked at Mayor Bynum and said, you know, you haven't had much luck. But, yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And you know what, Mayor Bynum, a tip of the cap for your great leadership for the last eight years. And it's been a wonderful ride. And I have to tell you, you've made lemonade out of lemons over and over and over again. I think that's what we do here at the council is that, you know, each and every Wednesday night – We look for a way to win. So God bless you all. Thank you. And I will end with this, is that Tulsa's best chapters have yet to be written. So we march on and we move on. God bless you all and thank you very much. Thank you.

You're next. Are you going to hang out up there?

Yeah, come on.

You can do it. I've done it. All right, ma'am.

Okay. You've got a lot of words as well. All right.

Okay, so this says, in sincerest appreciation, the Tulsa City Council honors Grant Miller for a service as the Tulsa City, no, it just says as the City Councilor, for the citizens of District 5 and the City of Tulsa. During his time as City Councilor, Grant Miller was a proponent for expanding neighborhood and stakeholder voices in City Hall decisions. To better facilitate customer service between the City and its residents, Councilor Miller made connections with the neighborhood leadership and utilized social media, as a means to elevate their needs and issues. One of the fruits of his labor was his work to see that the Skelly Bypass Trail, which had fallen into disrepair after decades of neglect, was improved. His efforts resulted in repair of lights along the trail, removal of dead trees, as well as the installation of pedestrian safety markers where the trail crosses Darlington Avenue. Councillor Miller's advocacy for the Skelly Trail also resulted in a reprioritization of capital funds that will see the entirety of the trail resurfaced and repaired, making it safe for residents and special events. Councillor Miller's other work included co-chairing the Council's Urban and Economic Development Committee and drafting and sponsoring a resolution urging USPS to keep mail processing operations from being moved to Oklahoma City. See how powerful you are? I mean, it didn't even move. The resolution, which passed unanimously, encouraged continuing dialogue between postal workers and the Postal Service in an effort to keep mail processing local, preventing delays in service for those who rely on the mail to receive benefits and lifesaving medications. The Postal Service ultimately decided not to move mail sorting to Oklahoma City and to keep all operations in Tulsa. Councilor Miller was also an advocate of transparency in all aspects of government and highlighted and uplifted community input at council meetings to reinforce open lines of communication between the city of Tulsa and its citizens because he believed their voices, regardless of perspective, had a place at the table. The city of Tulsa, Tulsa City Council, council staff, and the citizens of Tulsa thank Grant Miller for his service to Tulsa.

Thank you.

One, two, three. Oh, good.

You want to say anything?

Does Vanessa want to read this one? Does Vanessa want to read this? Vanessa, would you like to read?

Needed a little bit larger. Absolutely, absolutely. So it's certainly my honor to share this information with everyone, but it's been also a pleasure to work with you. The Tulsa City Council honors Krista Patrick for her service as a city councilor for the citizens of District 3 and the city of Tulsa. During her six years of service, Councilor Patrick led thoughtfully and compassionately while bringing a fresh perspective, frequently bridging the gap between disparate points of view. Most notably, she served as the 2023 Council Chair and 2022 Council Vice Chair. She also proudly carried on the legacy of her late father, Councilor David Patrick, by serving on the Terra Board and on Route 66 Commission with diligence and dedication. Councilor Patrick tirelessly advocated for neighborhood quality of life and successfully passed legislation to that end, including the Light Nuisance Ordinance. She also spearheaded initiatives such as the Free Paint Program, to cover graffiti and successfully spay and neuter clinics for animals. Using a collaborative approach, she worked with community groups to direct Improve Our Tulsa District funds to Bazaar, a sustainable micro grocery store, to help provide much-needed, low-cost fresh food access to her district. Councilor Patrick took seriously her position as a steward of public funds while serving on the American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, working group, as well as taking part in two capital packages. She secured capital funding for the Dawson Streetscape Project, as well as ARPA dollars to add pedestrian islands to the Admiral Streetscape Design for improved safety along that corridor. And there were several people that lost their lives there, so she literally is saving lives with that work. Councilor Patrick served on the Housing, Homelessness, and Mental Health Task Force and went above and beyond to address the housing crises by creating the Dawson Neighborhood Enfield Overlay to allow for more affordable housing types within her district. And through her work on the Equality Indicators Working Group, she was part of a multi-department collaborative effort to achieve $6.5 million in court reform measures. She also fought zealously for the arts, mental health, and the LGBTQIA plus community working on the arts ordinance, as well as serving on the Vision Arts Review Committee. In discussion, Councilor Patrick was always quick to remind her fellow councilors of the importance of the arts to the tourism, innovation, and unique culture of our city. With her trademark theatrical flair for fashion, as you can see today, Councilor Patrick served with passion, thoughtfulness, and kindness. The City of Tulsa, Tulsa City Council, Council staff, and the citizens of Tulsa are grateful to Crystal Patrick for her leadership and commitment to her fellow Tulsans. Thank you for your service.

Two, three.

there we go I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you it's been my honor to feel the shoes of my family not only my dad but my uncle to be a mouthpiece for those that don't feel like they can have a voice to feel like they can be heard and to Prove that you can do it if you want, that you can be a part of government regardless of who you are, how you worship, who you love, how you dress. That's been my proudest honor, to be able to be that representation, to let people know that you too belong here. that this is truly our town and our lives so it's been my pleasure but i would be nothing and i would not have been able to do all of those wonderful things that they mentioned before without the serious support of the staff here in this building uh without mayor mayo boyer who was my first aid and beth tinkered who is my right hand um lori doring simone that answers the phone calls and keeps us all in line Sarah Davis, who guides us with a steady hand. Megan, who makes us all look good. And all of the other support staff in the office and all of the departments, from planning to two streets and storm water to trash and water and sewer, those people make everything work they are the heart and soul of this and i was proud to be able to work with them and for them um and thank you for letting me do this job so

Let's just go on with meeting and not do this part. I know. We're really glad that we talked slowly enough so that the Q family could attend tonight. I think they got some bad information from Mama. Yeah. That's how it works. So this is going to be hard for me. It's hard for me.

Thank you. Teach me working together.

same here i know you think that you're the longest serving counselor because your last name starts with a c and all but okay so in sincere appreciation the tulsa city council honors jeannie q for her service as a city councilor for the citizens of district 2 and the city of tulsa What a challenge it is to capture all Councilor Q has accomplished during her 13 years of service, except to say she has represented her district with passion and determination. There's hardly a committee, task force, or working group she didn't serve on, and her contributions will shape our city for years to come. Councilor Q presided as the council chair in both 2016 and 2024, and took part in three capital packages, In development of the vision package, she served on the Economic Development Task Force to invest $1 billion in public improvements, the River Infrastructure Task Force to put water in the river, and the Public Safety Task Force to equip our city with more police, fire, and 911 operators than ever before. Councilor Q helped steer our community through unprecedented difficulties by serving on the COVID-19 Working Group and the ARPA Working Group where she co-created the Saving Our Homes Initiative to help keep people from losing their homes. Her efforts on the Housing, Homelessness, and Mental Health Task Force aim to create solutions to these most serious of community needs. And no one in need ever went unnoticed on her watch as she championed the rights of seniors, veterans, animals, and the disadvantaged. Councilor Cue's list of economic development achievements is long from serving as a member of the Tulsa Authority for Economic Opportunity to grow our city and improve quality of life to securing funding for Main Street programs. She worked with nonprofit partners to finance the South Tulsa Community House, providing crucial health care and resources to Riverwood neighborhood residents. She fought to recruit a grocery store to the Crystal City Shopping Center, sparking the revitalization of the entire strip. And Councilor Q helped form the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, cementing her legacy as, it says, an advocate, but I'm going to say the advocate for the Mother Road. Her passion for Route 66 was best expressed through her tireless efforts to establish the historic Route 66 village as a tourism anchor and elite event venue. Councilor Q is regularly referred to as the Mayor of West Tulsa. due to her unmatched advocacy for her residents and their neighborhoods. Whether residents wanted to live the agricultural lifestyle, preserve neighborhood character, or have the safe multifamily housing, Councilor Q had their back. She was quick to recognize citizens for volunteering and good work, whether in a speech, a proclamation, or creating the Star-Tulsa Award. She was always a tell-me-something-bad-about-Tulsa ringtone away. Laughter And no employee or commission appointee ever left the council committee table without a thank you from Councilor Q for their hard work and service. Now it's our turn to thank her. The city of Tulsa, Tulsa City Council, council staff, and the citizens of Tulsa are grateful to Jeannie Q for her leadership and commitment to her fellow Tulsans. We also want to thank you for being our chair.

Hello. First and foremost, I want to thank my family for being here and supporting me for 13 years hearing me. cry over concerns I have for our city and working with me to figure out ways to solve them. And I want to secondly thank the next greatest group that has helped me. It's our city employees. I see Kimberly and Jack and Susan knows how I feel about her. The Paul Zacharies of the world. Blake, you always finally calm me down if I had an issue, and you brought it. Thank you, honey. Terry Ball, Michael Skates had to listen to my efforts. Eric Lee, all the great people. Without our employees, our city wouldn't be the same. So please always thank them when you see them on the street and respect them. And GT has been such a great teacher for me. I came on and really... didn't know anything and he has ran this city and he likes to joke that I said it's the worst time of our city that he's held it with grace and effectiveness we were in the black and being someone that was on the finance committee it meant wonders and Phil we started with Blake and GT and Karen's coming back so you never know what's going to happen and Vanessa You have been a dear friend. You've accomplished so much. And this council working together, really, when times that we couldn't stand what someone else was doing, but we worked together and showed that we respected and the love for our city was more important than... any disagreements we had so i want to thank everyone on this council chris and i have been together chris lori uh grant and jamie down there at the end we fought at 61st but i want to thank all the we fought together though for 61st i want to clarify that uh maybe fought at times against each other but uh we can handle it but and thank you for everyone that attends these meetings The Alexanders, I love you, and you'll always have a place in my heart. And John Huffine, thank you for everything you do. I still want to thank our citizens and the people that work here, the employees of the city of Tulsa are the backbone. And I can't go without thanking our staff. Sarah, thank you for answering all my foolish questions. Jack Blair has been with me through it all. Lori Doering. We are so lucky to have her. And Brandon has put up with whatever I could dish out. And it was sometimes six meetings in a day. And I know Chris and Elizabeth has been here. with me all these years. Megan, she knows I love her. And I want to thank all our staff. My baby's back there on the last row that have kept me going straight. So thank you guys so much for everything and all the joy you've brought me. I'm so blessed to have these memories. Thank you.

I've got something else for you. Come over here. She's not done yet. She just thought she was. So I think it's so typical what you just heard, how Jeannie went through all the members on our team and thanking them and the team that we have at the city that's the best in the whole world for the work that they do. And I thought the proclamation, the honor... It was so correct. I've never been in the council committee room and seen somebody come to that table and leave without you thanking them. And so it's important. The other key thing about you, Jeannie, there's probably nobody I think we would all attest. Has anybody here ever met somebody more devoted to customer service than Jeannie Q.? And so we're talking and we want to do two things. One, we want to establish an annual recognition of a city employee who does outstanding customer service and delivers the kind of top tier service that citizens should expect. So I think that is something that Jeannie has always done such a great job on, but we want that to go on in perpetuity. So, first of all, moving forward, we will have an annual award that will be the Genie Q Customer Service Award for our city employees. But also, you can't name an award after somebody and not have them be the first recipient, right? And so we want to present the first annual Genie Q Tulsa Customer Service Award to Counselor Genie Q. We love you, Genie.

Mayor, you have made this council last eight years so wonderful, and we've worked so close together, and I don't think people know how important it is to keep us in the black with all the tragedy, and I give you that credit, and it's been an honor.

I'm projecting credit on other people on that.

Well, I have to continue because it's kind of a joke that I said we had the worst eight years. We had the worst eight years with weather and traumas and things that came in our shooting of our officer. And the mayor's had to handle that with grace and compassion like you have. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Thank you. Mayor, so enough of us have been into your office, and you already know what this is probably, but you don't know what the other side is, which is great. So the mayor has been written up in the Tulsa world a few times. Probably every day that you've been mayor has been a day that your name has been in the paper. And there used to be a guy named Bruce Plant. He was the editorial cartoonist. And so I called Bruce and I said, Bruce, we have to work. And I had some co-conspirators who may be in this room on my right and my left who helped me come up with ideas for this product that he has created here and what we wanted to do was have it represent what you have done over the last eight years now we were not able to get everything in here and it's it's um very clever as you know bruce plant to be so i'm going to show you and everybody else at the same time So what we have here is Mayor Bynum in a kayak out in the Arkansas River, as you might expect, in a green boat in his green tie. He's oaring. One side of the oar says stay. The other side says gold. On the kayak are stickers of Shields, Amazon, USA BMX, American Airlines, Improver Tulsa, The PGA, Costco, and we could have just added sticker after sticker after sticker. And we have a buoy over here pointing to some of the projects that he's been involved with from Greenwood Rising, Gilcrease, Tulsa Animal Services, PAC renovations. And then out floating in the river, we have Cyber Pirates. who have stolen data from the city of Tulsa. We have the COVID-19 virus, the polar vortex iceberg, and then a windstorm, just a sapling or a log from a tree. And we've got some tornadoes in the background, and then the convergence of two Air Force Ones, one for Joe and one for the Donald, coming in for a final path in Tulsa. But we wanted to have you have something that represented what you did during your time as mayor, and we hope you'll hang this someplace where people can see it and not in a corner. Yeah, thank you. Okay, so I got one. I have just three pages to say to Mayor Bynum, though. no no so and i'm going to have to read this man i'm not going to try to my eye contact but you deserve more than just a caricature so like bruce i'm going to try to shove all you did over 16 years into a single piece and it's an impossible assignment bruce's work is about what you did what it doesn't and can't show is how you worked the things that are part of you and every decision you made for our city Many years from now, most of us will remember some of the things you did while you were mayor. Our memories will get fuzzier the longer time goes by. Eventually, we'll take what you did for granted. We'll send a mailer to probable voters taking credit for the project ourselves or attribute its success to Kathy, Dewey, or Monroe. None of us will ever know the depth and reach of the things that you did as none of us will live longer than Tulsa. And many of your initiatives will impact Tulsa for decades or centuries to come. What is will be and we're forever grateful as we in this room know what you did and how you did it. It's the how then that I want us to focus in on because I think it's the key trait of yours that won't be forgotten. It was the key trait of your grandfather's too that will stay with him forever. From the very beginning, my gut says that voters cared more about how you were going to make decisions versus what projects or plans you had for your district. They put their trust in you as a person, knowing that your decisions would always be grounded and in the best interest of Tulsa and Tulsans. That's why they kept voting for you. Your foundation is strong, and the core of who you are is what they believed in. It's what we know and what we believe in as well. We see your faith and your deep love for Tulsa in every decision you make. As our mayor, you had the head seat at every table, yet you were always among us as one who is doing the work and serving alongside us at the same time. You put others before yourself and treated everyone with kindness and respect. You hired the very best and the brightest to help you shape your decisions. You verified that they love Tulsa just as much as you and had attitudes about its future that were similar to yours. Even stole some of these people from the council in the chamber. But we knew they would be in good hands and encouraged to use their values and talents to continue to serve our community. You were the first to defend your staff and always had their backs. And you shared the credit with or pushed the credit to them every single time, even on stage at your final State of the City address. It was never just you. It was always we. You and your staff used data to drive your decisions, which were straightforward, apolitical, and objective. If the data said we had a problem, you and we work toward better outcomes to positively shift that data because behind the data were real outcomes for real people who you and we represent. When a project was finished, you and your team quickly moved to pick up another one regardless of its weight. Topics and issues that are decades and even centuries old were never off limits. You chose them because they deserve to be resolved and addressed. You always, always, always said the council and I, sharing credit for all the projects that were collectively conceived and funded. You worked with us on projects too numerous to count and integrated our plans into yours or adopted our ideas wholesale. were always part of the process because you made sure we were you supported us and in kind we supported you that's why you and only you have succeeded in receiving unanimous support for every one of the budgets you presented for council approval you made sure they weren't your budgets but that they were our budgets you led through cooperation and collaboration you did what you said you would do every single time When you took out your green pen and wrote down a note, we quickly learned that there would be follow-up on and execution of the idea every single time. Nothing ever set. You made things move. You walked into City Hall every day knowing what was on the agenda and what you had to do. You never asked staff, what do you all need me to do today? You always led saying, this is what we get to do for our city today. Let's get it done. Your personal how reflected your attitude, commitment, and character. In what you were doing, we saw a reflection of your attention to detail, reliability, professionalism, faith, and deep devotion to Tulsa. Your how helped us trust and believe in you. And our respect for you because of who you are and how you work with others will never fade. Thank you for giving Tulsa your very best. your grit and your heart every day. This place and our people are so much better off having had you serve as mayor. One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Schweitzer. I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve. May you be really happy knowing of the appreciation we all have for how you served Tulsa. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Yes.

Well, I want to thank, one, for those very kind words. And thinking back to the origin of my administration, I want to thank Councilor Lakin for not running for mayor in 2016. But that means more to me than just about anything that I'll hear from anybody in the next 12 days, because I've loved this institution. I loved serving on the council. I was thinking today about the very first, when I was sworn in 16 years ago, 16 years and eight months ago, and that, one, how terrified I was at that first meeting. Like, I just wanted to show up and not screw up. That was the only point in that first meeting. But I remember the people that I served with in that first council that I was on. Jack Henderson and Rick Westcott and David Patrick and Eric Gomez and Bill Martinson and Dennis Troyer and John Eagleton and Bill Christensen and I learned so much from not just the eight of them, but everybody that I served with in the time that I was on the council. You all have heard me say this before, but I'll say it again. The thing I love about the council is that you take nine people from different parts of town with totally different life experiences and viewpoints on what's best for the community, and you put them up here on a stage on live TV, and every week they have to make decisions about what's best for our city. What I've loved about, especially the council during the eight years that I've been the mayor, is how collegial and respectful the council, the work between the mayor's office and the council has been. That wasn't a fluke or a mistake. It came out of coming from the council, being the only mayor that we've ever had to leave the council and become the mayor directly and stealing some of those people like Mr. Blair here and Blake. Kimberly. Kimberly. All people who shared my reverence for this institution. And that informed everything that we've done for the last eight years and the way that we've gone about it. I remember when I was running for mayor, my big worry was losing and not getting to work with the council anymore. And I've just been so grateful that I've had these eight years with this group and the folks in the six years before you to work together on the great challenges that face our city. And I want to repeat, you caught me by surprise at the time, Your tribute to my granddad meant more to me than anything. And every time I'm in this room, we don't have a lot of history anymore in this building because it all got stripped out as we moved from one city hall to the next. We have two basic things that I'm aware of other than our ordinance books. We have a conference table that is in the mayor's office that is was the city commission meeting table in 1964 at which the city commission voted to desegregate public facilities. And in 13 days, the first black mayor in the history of our city will sit at that table and govern our city. And the other is that. The seal of our city. that sat over the dais in the city commission room that my granddad served under, that Mayor Savage and Mayor Randall, so many of my heroes in this job have served under that seal. I'm so thankful that the council saved it and kept it in this room. It's a part of the continuation of what this government does for our community. We owe so much, as I said last week, to those who came before us and made this the kind of city that we want it to be. And the way that we pay that back is with this work and doing the best that we can to leave it better than we found it. And I'm just so grateful for the chance to work with this council and with your staff and with our team here at the city over the last 16 years. Thank you very much.

Well, Mayor, we love you, and we know you're going to succeed in anything you do. So thank you for all your service. Announcements. People wishing to speak on an agenda item are limited to five minutes total for meeting. We're using electronic timing system in front of the speaker. Green means you have time, yellow means you have 30 seconds, and red means your time is over. We ask that you stay within your time limits so everyone wishing to speak on an agenda item have equal time. Please keep the podiums, area railings, and aisles free from recording devices and tripods. must be said in the media area. As posted on the agenda tonight, certain items are subject to consideration, possible approval, adoption, denial, amendment, or revision. I call this meeting to order. Lori, will you please call the roll?

Here. Here. Here. Here. Here.

Here.

Item 1, receipt and filing of minutes. Minutes of regular meeting held at 4 p.m. on October 30th, 2024. Meeting of regular minutes held at 5 p.m. on October 30th, 2024. Do we have any speakers? No, we do not.

Please call the council discussion.

Move to approve items 1A and B.

Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll? Councilor Miller?

Yes.

Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Decker-Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin? Yes. Councilor Fowler? Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Kueh? Yes. Councilor Patrick? Yes. Councilor Bellis? Yes.

Item 1A and 1D are approved. Appointments. Item A, Desiree Edwards' appointments to the Human Rights Commission. B. Oh, I'm sorry. Counselor Bingle, are you? Councillor Bingle is on this list, so we've asked him to recuse himself. B, Christina Bagsgall, appointment to the Municipal Employees Retirement Board. C, Kristen Bingle, appointment to the Tulsa Authority for the Economic Opportunities. D, Margaret Love, reappointment to the Greater Afro-American Council. Commission, C, Anthony Williams, reappointment to the Greater Afro-American Commission, F, James Wagner, reappointment to the Municipal Employees Retirement Board. Do we have any speakers?

We have one speaker, Mr. John Huffines, for items 2A through F. It's a special night.

Thank you to our honorable Madam Chair, Jeannie Kuehl.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And all our honorable council leadership, the great council staff, our appreciated council secretary and city attorney, our honorable Mayor, G.T. Bynum. First Lady Susan Bynum and our excellent security as well. We are thankful to the citizens of this great city of love, Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a joy to be with you on this 20th day of November in the year of our loving Lord, Jesus Christ, 2024. Yes. Appointments and reappointments. Desiree Edwards, Christina Basco, Christine Christian Bingo, Margaret M. Love, and Margaret's attendance at the meetings, perfect. Anthony Williams' attendance at the meetings, perfect. James Wagner, reappointment to the Municipal Employee Retirement Board. Thank you, counselors, for continuing to honor and respect our employees and volunteers. Thank you, family.

Thank you, Mr. Huffon.

Council discussion. Move to approve items 2A through 2F.

Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Items to a through F have been approved. And if we have any commissioners here that would like to speak, I don't see anyone right now, but I want to thank them for taking on this job and volunteering as the most important job at city hall outside of our city employees. So thank you so much. Public hearings, we have none. Mayor's items, the mayor was here earlier, and we want to thank him so much for all his service. Of the years he served on the council and the years he was mayor. And we can never thank him enough for loving our city. The remaining items, 4B through Q, will not be read aloud. However, public comment will be received. Do we have any? Speakers.

We have one speaker, Mr. John Huffines, on items 4A, M through O, and Q.

Yes, thank you, councillors. Yes, yes, yes. Mayor's Item M, a special event application, BOK Center December events scheduled for December. The Trans-Siberian Orchestra on the 6th of December will likely repeat the sounding joy of this season and are likely to do a powerful rendition of Joy to the World. This will be an extraordinary performance at the BOK. Okay. And also at the BOK, we are scheduled to have Pentatonix with us on December 19th. They have done songs expressing the lordship of Jesus Christ and reminding us of his virgin birth. Item N, a special event application annual toy run 2024 scheduled for December 1st to promote Christmas. Starting at the Gathering Place and ending at the Tulsa Dream Center, this is the kickoff event for the Tulsa Dream Center December Tori Giveaway. Mayor's Item O, Special Event Application, Shine on Greenwood. Shine on Greenwood is the holiday lighting ceremony for Historic Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. featuring a spectacular mix of live holiday music inclusive of gospel, praise and worship, jazz, and others. They will also have a toy giveaway. Mayor's Item Q, a special event application, Tulsa Route 66 Marathon 5K, scheduled for November 23, 2024, starting at the Guthrie Green 111 East Reconciliation Way. We are grateful for members of the Jewish community and their generous donation of this beautiful Bethany Green. Also grateful for their original homeland, the great nation of Israel, the home of Tiberius, Tulsa's sister city. And to the Tulsa Route 66 Marathon, yes. Thank you, counselors.

Thank you, Mr. Huffine. Do we have any other speakers?

No, we do not.

Council discussion?

Move to approve items 4B through Q with the emergency clause on items 4B through 4D. Second.

Lori, will you please call the roll? Councilor Miller? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dexter? Yes. Councilor Lakin? Yes. Councilor Fowler? Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Q? Yes. Councilor Patrick? Yes. Councilor Bellis? Yes.

Items 4B through 4Q are approved with the emergency clause on 4B through 4D. Five, authorities, boards, and commissions. We have no items tonight. Item 6, first reading. The following items in this section of the agenda will not be read aloud. And without objection, items 6A through N will be forward to the next council meeting. Item 7, second readings. A, ordinance rezoning ordinance C7775 from RS2 to RS4 with the optional development plan for multi-lots located southeast corner of North Denver and North Elwood. B, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2024-25 budget to transfer unencumbered and unexpended appropriation balances of $200,000 $41,000 between projects within the TMUA sewer capital project sub fund. Ordinance C, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2024-25 budget to make supplemental appropriations of $500,000 recognized from inappropriate fund balances within the 2020 sales tax fund. D, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2024-25 budget to make supplemental appropriations of $1 million recognized from revenues to be received from the River Parks Authority within the Public Works non-federal grant sub-fund. E, ordinance amending Tulsa revised ordinance title 28, title Municipal Employees Retirement Section 1 plan section 2. 1,000, titled Board of Trustees, deleting one of two board positions held by classified city employees, providing that one member of the board will be an active member participant in the plan employed by an agency other than the city of Tulsa. Deleting provisions related to straggling terms. F, ordinance amending the fiscal year 2024 budget to make supplemental appropriations of $400,000 from grants revenues to be received from the Oklahoma Attorney General within the SAFE Oklahoma grant sub fund. Do we have any speakers?

We have two speakers. The first speaker is Mr. John Huffines for items 7D.

We have three speakers?

Two speakers. Two speakers, okay.

Yes, 7D. It appears $1 million might be going toward improving the parking lots at Turkey Mountain. A little FYI here. For around 10 years, folks have been meeting at the trailhead of our beautiful Turkey Mountain twice a month on Saturday mornings and walking for about 20 minutes up to what has been referred to as Vista Point, looking out over the Arkansas River. While there, we pray and speak blessings over our city and over our residents. Y'all are welcome to join us. Entire walk or hike usually takes only a little over an hour. On more than a couple of occasions, we have had opportunities to rise above parking situations. So yes, please to agenda item 7D. Thank you, family. And thank you to each counselor.

Thank you, Mr. Hepburn. Next speaker, please.

The next speaker is Mr. James Alexander for item 7A.

Good evening, counselors. I'm speaking on 7A. This is very interesting to me and all the people that are starting to come to us and wanting to build and just do all kind of nice things for North Tulsa. Now, North Tulsa has been receiving money, as I have been talking for since 1993, since 1969. And all of a sudden, people want to come over there and build and make it beautiful. But the number one thing on my mind, and what I have been seeing in North Tulsa, and with this project, is that who these people are that are receiving these homes. Now, I have talked to several realtors, and they all have come to the conclusion, and it was not all at the same time, that black people applying for these homes were denied by the banks and different other entities. They were denied because of credit scores. And in this area, it was set up for low to moderate income people, black people. And if you read the whole CDBG report, workings and who put it together, Robert C. Weaver under Lyndon Bain Johnson, president. And he didn't stipulate that there would be ways that people cannot be turned down for housing. He did not do that. President Johnson and President Ford found ways to help black people get in these homes. But Well, it's happened since the late 70s, mid to late 70s. We have had less black ownership than any other time or period in this time period. That's a problem because there's money there. And I heard on the news today that this group was coming in to help build low to moderate income housing. Nobody sees a problem with that. The problem I have is when you bring other people here to your business that are not looking out for you, the people there are going to have a problem. Now, we have been through this all along. When Tulsa has the worst water problem, almost as bad as in Michigan. And we fought through that. And that was one reason our first home was taken, because my wife wrote it up. So we have been through the war with Tulsa. And I just don't know what else to say. When you know how things are supposed to work, and they're not working that way, and you sit and don't do anything about it, who has the problem? Are there any questions?

Thank you, Mr. Alexander.

One more thing. One more thing. Now, when President Ford came in, his thing was to, they had a lot of complaints about how the city was handling money. So one of the things in the 1974 citizen law was that The city no longer took over how the CDBG money was used. It came from the people at the bottom and went to the top. And as you can tell in Tulsa, it's still at the top coming down. We don't want any more trickling anything. When the money comes in, we want to be able to tell where that money goes and how it's to be spent, not the city. Your job is to approve what is said by the citizens of Tulsa, and that's a fact, and I can show you where it came from. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Ramirez.

Council discussion. Move to approve item 7A through 7F. Second. Second.

Please call the roll. Councilor Miller? Yes. Councilor Bengel? Yes. Councilor Dr. Wright? Yes. Councilor Lakin? Yes. Councilor Fowler? Yes. Councilor Hall-Harper? Yes. Councilor Kuhn? Yes. Councilor Patrick? Yes. Councilor Beller?

Yes. 7A through 7F have been approved. Eight. Council items. Council announcements, reports, and current community events, activities, efforts, and concerns. Other than announcements and reports, no discussion. Councilor Patrick? Yes.

I just want to wish my fellow colleague and good friend a very merry birthday this year. So this weekend, Lori, Dr. Wright has a happy return. So I'm grateful that you were born. Well, thank you.

Do we have any other comments? And since I have the speaker, I have one last thing to say. Thank you, citizens of Tulsa. It's you that makes this city great with our city employees. We just want you to volunteer. Give back. Let us know if there's problems and concerns. And I know this new council is going to do wonders. And thank everyone that supports our city. Well, you know I'm not singing. That's my gift to her. But would you two and Christa sing?

Yes, I would love that.

Yeah, you start us out. Are we doing normal happy birthday or Stevie Wonder happy birthday? Okay. Okay, you all have to join in. If you leave me hanging, we're not doing this again.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday dear Lori.

Happy birthday to you.

Five stars for all of you.

Thank you.

Item 9, new business. We have none.

Item 10, hearing of appeals. We have none. Item 11, hearing of public comments. We have none. Item 12, we are adjourned. Thank you, everyone.

1,000 stray animals. Residents can really help reduce this problem by getting their animals spayed and neutered.

Medical-wise, for intact male dogs, you're going to immediately prevent any kind of testicular cancer. For your female dogs, you're going to prevent a deadly situation called pyometra, which is an infected uterus. And that is a very common problem in the general veterinary practice. The male cats, there's probably reduced spraying in the house when they're neutered.

It actually improves the health outcomes of your pet, but also sometimes pets can make it outside of the house and there's nothing stopping them from interacting with a stray animal that's already out there and causing more unwanted pets on the streets or getting lost and not being able to get back home.