May 11, 2008 01:11 am
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By Carol Cole-Frowe
Transcript Staff Writer
More police officers and firefighters, a new library, larger municipal court and senior citizens center will go before voters at Tuesday’s special municipal election.
A runoff vote for the Ward 2 seat being vacated by vice mayor Richard Stawicki and a countywide vote on a proposed millage increase for the Pioneer Library System also are on the ballot.
Voters will take another shot at passing a seven-year, half-cent sales tax earmarked for public safety that is estimated to raise $49.2 million in sales tax. There would be 41 police officers and 30 firefighters added over the seven-year period, along with equipment and training and building of two new fire stations in the northwest and southeast parts of town.
A 2006 vote was defeated by a two-to-one margin, largely because of lack of specific ballot language. It drew organized opposition from the Citizens for Financial Responsibility.
A report was later generated by CFR, primarily authored by Don Holyfield, retired Norman police chief and current acting Cleveland County sheriff.
It detailed the low ratio of officers and firefighters to cover Norman’s large land mass of 197 square miles, which is about twice as large as the largest of 16 benchmark cities Norman is typically compared to.
“The most alarming problem Norman has is the number of viable cases that were not assigned due to a lack of manpower to follow up,” the report notes.
The public safety measure has drawn some criticism because it is a temporary tax, which would have to be re-voted in seven years if sales tax had not grown sufficiently to support the additional personnel.
Mayor Cindy Rosenthal said because it is a temporary tax, it gives citizens the opportunity to see that the city does what it has committed to do before they renew the tax. She points out that the City of Edmond has a similar temporary tax it has renewed repeatedly for about 30 years running.
A citizens oversight committee would be established with the vote.
Voters will consider whether to build a new $31 million library and $5.8 million parking garage with 360 spaces. With contingencies, inflation and site acquisition, the bond package is planned for $49.5 million.
Proponents note the current 53,000-square-foot library is old and undersized, built in 1966 without a growing population in mind. They cite a lack of adequate parking and no way to expand the building.
The new library is planned for 118,000-square-feet with areas specifically developed for children, teens and adults, along with genealogy, increased meeting space and a coffee bar. It would be planned as a “green” structure, potentially certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED.
No site has been determined, although several have been contemplated.
A citizens committee determined over several years of study that a new main library downtown would best serve the population and continue the revitalization of downtown, providing an “economic bloom” as it has in several other cities.
More information is available at www.newnormanlibrary.com.
A second $11.2 million bond project would renovate and reconstruct the current library to house the Norman Senior Citizens Center, doubling its size and putting it all on one level. It would house some city offices.
Rick McKinney of The McKinney Partnership developed the space plan that would renovate the Municipal Complex at 201 W. Gray St. in phases.
The measure also would renovate Building A to enlarge the municipal court, currently undersized at 4,000-square-feet in Building B it shares with the Norman Police Department. It is estimated to need about 15,000-square-feet for its current case load, which has no space for pre-arraignment meetings or mediation and limited record keeping space.
Proponents have said if the public safety sales tax passes, the municipal court would be increasingly burdened and short on space. There are security concerns that would be addressed with the court in a separate building.
Presentations available for download are at the City of Norman’s Web site at www.NormanOK.gov.
A countywide vote on an increase in the Pioneer Library’s System’s millage of two mills for a total of six mills would double the size of the Norman Public Library’s collection and triple the number of Internet-ready computers. It would increase weekend family hours and establish book stations on the east and west sides of Norman. The vote also is being taken in Pottawatomie and McClain counties.
There also is a Ward 2 council runoff between Chebon Marshall and Tom Kovach for the seat being vacated by vice mayor Richard Stawicki.
Kovach is a 46-year-old customer service manager for the Norman-based Astronomics, an optics manufacturer. It is his second time to compete for the seat, having run against Stawicki in 2006. More information about Kovach is available on his Web site at www.tomfor2.com.
Marshall is a 34-year-old political consultant and was chief of staff for former-Congressman Brad Carson. More information about Marshall is available on his Web site at www.marshallfornorman.com.
The most recent endorsements in the race are listed in Sunday Politics in The Norman Transcript.
Carol Cole-Frowe
366-3538
ccole@normantranscript.com
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