Building up Norman is expected on all fronts this year, including city street improvements, school and hospital additions, and construction of homes and businesses.
At the fourth annual conference of the “Sooner Centurions” last week officials laid out plans for the year and beyond with emphasis on growth and capital expansion.
The Centurions, a group of 100 Norman leaders organized by the Norman Chamber of Commerce, provides about $100,000 a year to supplement the $300,000 annual budget of the Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC).
Scott Martin, assistant to Norman City Manager Brad Gambill, said the City of Norman received more than $36.6 million for the city’s 3-cnsts sales tax lat year, an increase of $2.2 million over 2003 revenues. But Martin said the city’s fiscal position is only about 2.2 percent ahead of last year’s. “We had budget for about a 4 ˝ percent increase,” he said. (Martin was filling in for Gambill, who is recovering fro Tuesday heart surgery.)
Martin said the city hopes to use city sales tax funds for operations, turning to bond issues to finance capital projects. On Wednesday, the Norman City Council voted to put $33 million worth of capital improvements on the March 29 city election ballot.
If voters approve the city bond issue, the funds will be used for street construction and maintenance, to relocate fire station No. 3, and build sidewalks and bike paths. About $10 million of the bond funds would match federal money for construction of an underpass at the Robinson Street rail crossing.
The city projects, financed by ad valorem taxes, would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $7 a month.
In 2004, the city issued 652 building permit for single family homes and 91 multifamily permits for 768 apartment units, Martin said. That compares to last year’s 619 home permits and 30 multifamily permits totaling 187 apartments units.
John Hunter, superintendent of Moore Norman Technology Center, said construction is on schedule for the school’s new 65-acre campus at 134th St. and South Pennsylvania Ave. in northeastern Cleveland County. “We have a scheduled move-in sometime in May,” Hunter said.
The South Penn campus will include a 79,000-square-foot building for computer science and health care classes, and a 14,5000 square-foot business incubator.
The Moore Norman Vo-Tech district has a schedule of February 8 millage election for maintenance and improvements. Approval by voters will not raise millage rates. About 70 percent of Moore Norman Technology Center income is from property taxes.
The Norman Regional Hospital Board of Directors approved a master plan to expand and improve the hospital over the next 25 years.
Norman Regional built a 70, 000-square “healthplex” that opened in may on West Tecumseh Road. The hospital is buying about 95 acres southwest of I-35 and Tecumseh for adding 250 hospital beds and three other facilities for women’s and children’s healthcare, cardiac medicine and orthopedics.
The present hospital on North Porter is “aging and landlocked,” said NRH president and CEO David Whitaker. When the master plan is complete the original hospital will have 200 beds instead of the current 324, he said.
The Porter hospital campus will be renovated, and will retain a new 35,00-square-foot emergency room that opened last year, Whitaker said. “ Our plan is to duplicate that” on the west side campus, he said.
Norman Public Schools Superintendent Joe Siano said a recently passed $14 million school bond issue will fund three main projects: the addition of 14 classrooms to Roosevelt Elementary School, 10 classrooms for Washington Elementary, and 8 classrooms at Norman High School. Other funds will upgrade athletics facilities, particularly at Norman North High School, he said.
Siano said the NPS fiscal budget of $68 million puts the school system “about where we are five years ago. We have a balance budget and a fund balance [reserve] of $1.07 million, or about 7 percent,” he said.
In the future, the Norman schools’ priorities will remain “keeping competent teachers” and whittling class sizes, Siano said. “We’ll be looking at full day kindergarten classes and improving school health services.”
Plans are still on track for Albon Engineering & Manufacturing, an English engine parts manufacturer, to build a 200,00 square-foot factory in the NED Business Park.
Albon announced last June the company’s its new North American manufacturing plant and distribution center will employ 200. The building contract with Gail Armstrong Construction is expected to be finalized soon, with construction to begin within 30 days, said NEDC Executive Director Don Wood.
Immuno-Mycologics, Inc. a Lexington biomedical technology company, also has announced plans to build a 14,000-square-foot office and research center in the business park.
The lack of economic incentives to lure new employers to Norman remains a problem, Wood said. But he said the merger and sale of Norman-based companies and the loss of he prospects to Oklahoma City can be mixed news.
Dell Computers was attracted to Oklahoma City by $20 million in economic incentives, but Norman will still benefit, Wood said. “Probably 1,000 people wil live in Norman and work at Dell.”
The sale Saxon Publishers to Harcourt was “ very bad news,” he said. The operation moved out of Norman, leaving about 200 employees behind. The Saxon office building is up for sale, but the company’s book distribution warehouse is being purchased by the Tulsa group, Wood Said. The Norman Workforce Investment Board is using $283,000 grant to retrain and employ the abandoned Saxon workers.
Shaklee, the Norman-based dietary supplement manufacturer, was sold to Yamanouchi Pharma, but the Shaklee production contract remains until the end of next year, Wood said. “Yamanouchi says its Norman facilities, including the 306,000-sqaure-foot Shaklee plant, will be its No. 1 manufacturing in the U.S.”
United Design, which designed and produced animal figurines, merged with another company about a year ago. The company has closed the Noble operation and left the state. Part of the United Design plant has been purchased by Construction Technology, Inc., a Noble company that design and manufactures heavy-duty equipment that rips out trees and chews through pavement.
Parts of the Saxon and United Design facilities still vacant are assets that may convince other companies to locate here, Wood said.
On the other end of the spectrum, “sin taxes” approved in the November referendum will do much to improve the state’s economic and personal health, said State Sen. Cal Habson.
State voters passed the lottery, the State Tribal Gaming Act and another 52-cent tax on cigarettes. The new cigarette tax is expected to raise $150 million, to be matched by $350 million in federal funds. Tobacco taxes are earmarked for a cancer treatment and research center for the state, a statewide trauma care network and health insurance premium assistance for 100,000 uninsured Oklahomans.
“There is a need for a $500 million higher education bond issue paid for by the lottery revenue,” which state voters will decide in about three week, Hobson said. “OU will get $46 million of that.
“We’re the only state in the Union that’s gotten sicker since 1990,” Hobson said. “We have lower health [rates] than Guatemala.”
“There are 39 sovereign nations [Indians Tribes] in Oklahoma,” Hobson said. “Indian casinos grew from 65 last year to 82. They’re here we couldn’t stop it, so why not make money from it?”
The tribal gaming act, which passed with more than 59 percent approval, will permit tree of the state’s four parimutual horse racing tracks to offer electronics gaming. “The horse industry will finally see redemption,” Hobson said. “Purses for quarter horse races will be the highest in the nation.”
Hobson said “ We will not see a general tax rate increase in Oklahoma. That’s why we turn to the sin tax. We are a bizarre state. We go to church, but Oklahoma City is second only to Detroit as the departure point for Las Vegas.”
Hobson also took the opportunity to comment about workers compensation, a hot button for Republicans and business owners. The proposal to substitute an administrative system for the present workers compensation courts bears close examination, he said.
“Look at the administrative system in Texas, where the average cost of workers comp is $400 per year per employee,” the senator said. “In Oklahoma, the average workers comp cost per employee is $1,400.”