{"id":2368067,"date":"2026-04-11T02:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2368067"},"modified":"2026-04-11T02:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:41:16","slug":"council-to-seek-judgment-on-authority-for-public-tif-vote-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/council-to-seek-judgment-on-authority-for-public-tif-vote-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Council to seek judgment on authority for public TIF vote | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

Norman City Council will consider an agenda item Tuesday that could help determine if the city has authority to hold a public vote on the Rock Creek Entertainment District tax increment financing districts, according to the meeting agenda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

City Attorney Rick Knighton told OU Daily in March approving the item would authorize the city attorney\u2019s office to enter litigation that would clarify if the city has the power to send a TIF district ordinance to a public vote.<\/p>\n

The agenda item follows a March 6 letter sent to the city of Norman by Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development<\/a> stating the organization\u2019s intent to sue the city and Cleveland County.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The letter) just puts everybody on notice,\u201d Paul Arcaroli, ORED member, told OU Daily Friday. \u201c…What the letter says is we will sue for Open Meetings (Act) violation if you don\u2019t put this to a public vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

ORED\u2019s letter claims the city of Norman and Cleveland County willfully violated the Open Meetings Act in connection with the adoption of and attempt to move forward with the Rock Creek Entertainment District project plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n

The letter claims the city\u2019s adoption of the project plan is invalid because it was approved during meetings that were allegedly in violation of the Open Meetings Act.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n


\n Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development’s letter of intent to sue sent to city officials.
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n Provided<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Council consideration of TIF district ordinance<\/h2>\n

Council was originally set to consider the agenda item in a March 31 special meeting, but the meeting was canceled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Knighton said there is an outstanding legal question of if council has the authority to bring the TIF to public vote outside of a regular initiative or referendum petition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legal department’s advice to council has been, \u2018Maybe you should try to get an answer to that question first, before you even consider whether you think repeal is appropriate or not,\u2019\u201d Knighton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first question that needs to be answered: \u2018Can you even send it for an election?\u2019 Because if you can’t, then there would be no basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, Knighton told council he estimated the city could face a minimum liability of $230 million<\/a> if council sought to repeal the TIF ordinance because the city entered an economic development agreement. During that meeting, he also said he did not believe the city had the authority to repeal council\u2019s September 2024 vote which approved the entertainment district project plan.<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"City\n <\/div><\/div>
\n

<\/p>\n

Norman mayor Stephen Tyler Holman during city hall on Sept. 9.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\n Sutton Spinner\/OU Daily<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In a Friday phone call, Norman Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman told OU Daily council’s consideration of the ordinance will address ORED\u2019s letter and public opinion surrounding the TIF district.<\/p>\n

Holman said council is not trying to directly repeal the ordinance, but is working to get a judgment on whether it can legally be appealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to get a judgment on \u2026 can we let the voters of Norman weigh in on the decision the city council made in September 2024? \u2026\u201d Holman said. \u201cSo, asking if a district judge can make that determination, if we can send it to a vote of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holman said he believes the current council is working to find a way to bring the ordinance to a public vote, which he said Tuesday\u2019s meeting will address.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of most of the people on council has been finding a way to let the voters of Norman decide this public financing piece of this proposal,\u201d Holman said. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve been trying to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 20, Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett released a social media post saying she, along with Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery and Ward 5 Councilmember Brandon Nofire, added an ordinance repeal to the council\u2019s March 24 meeting agenda<\/a> through the \u201crule of 3.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Holman, the \u201crule of 3\u201d discussed by Blodgett<\/a> was never submitted. He said Blodgett, Gandesbery and Nofire discussed the repeal with the city attorney and city manager.<\/p>\n

Holman said, even though they did not submit the request, Blodgett, Gandesbery and Nofire\u2019s actions triggered discussions about sending the ordinance to a public vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy understanding is that the three of them had talked to the city attorney and city manager about wanting to get something on the agenda, but the three of them didn\u2019t actually submit a request or what exactly they wanted to see on the agenda,\u201d Holman said. \u201cBut that got the discussion going about next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice of intent to sue city, county<\/h2>\n

ORED\u2019s letter references city council\u2019s Sept. 3, 2024 meeting, where students were offered payment<\/a> to fill council chambers. The letter also references the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners\u2019 March 2 meeting<\/a>, where the board unanimously approved an up-to $50 million bond anticipation note for the entertainment district.<\/p>\n

During its Sept. 3, 2024 meeting, council conducted its first meeting where public comment about the TIF was allowed. The letter claims in 2024, it was typical for public comment to be limited to three minutes per person, but during this meeting, attendees were limited to two minutes of public comment per person. It also claims former Mayor Larry Heikkila \u201cannounced and insisted\u201d that comments be in the form of questions only.<\/p>\n

The letter claims the presence of the students who were offered payment to attend the Sept. 2024 meeting was in violation of the Open Meetings Act, stating the meeting was \u201cnot truly open to the public\u201d as required under the act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis secret, undisclosed, paid attendee scheme rendered the second meeting anything but transparent, fair, open, and in compliance with the OMA,\u201d the letter states. \u201cThe City\u2019s enactment of the Ordinance, the adoption of the Project Plan, and approval of the Economic Development Agreement were thus all invalid acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter also claims the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners did not provide ORED Attorney Rob Norman, who authored the letter, an agenda for its March 2 meeting<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that the County and (Cleveland County Recreational and Entertainment Facilities Authority) are racing to set the Project in stone, are speaking of lawsuits against the City, and are otherwise doing whatever it takes to keep the City from giving the people of Norman a voice in whether the Arena TIF Project happens. This is unacceptable,\u201d the letter reads.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Ward 8 Councilmember Scott Dixon told the Daily the city received ORED\u2019s letter at a Cleveland County Commissioners meeting. He said the city\u2019s position is that state law does not allow a repeal of the TIF district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been over a month and they just keep, kind of online, saying \u2018Yeah, we\u2019re gonna sue you.\u2019 I\u2019m like, well, just do it,\u201d Dixon said. \u201cThey want the public to vote on a TIF, essentially, and it\u2019s the city attorney and right now the city\u2019s position (that) the state law doesn\u2019t allow that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dixon echoed Knighton\u2019s opinion, stating if the city rescinds the ordinance that created the TIF district, it could face lawsuits from companies who have started developing the land.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the council votes to undo, rescind the ordinance that created the TIFs, then that’s us breaching the contract, and then we would get sued by people who have spent millions of dollars and have planned on developing that land,\u201d Dixon said.<\/p>\n

\n

\n
\n <\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Cynthia\n <\/div><\/div>
\n

<\/p>\n

Cynthia Rogers during the Norman city council meeting on Aug. 27.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\n Sutton Spinner\/OU Daily<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/p>\n


\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Cynthia Rogers, OU economics professor and ORED co-founder, told the Daily Friday afternoon ORED has been disappointed by council\u2019s actions regarding the entertainment district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cORED and all the people that signed the petition had hoped that Mayor Holman, (who) sort of ran on opposing this, would have kind of taken more of a leadership role, to not just read the tea leaves of council, but to actually lead council in a definitive forward motion to bring this to a vote,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Rogers said she\u2019s been disappointed to hear council members making negative comments about ORED members, specifically naming Dixon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard council members make unkind or derisive comments about ORED \u2026 which I think is unfortunate because ORED is a nonprofit. It\u2019s grassroots because people wanted to vote on this thing, \u2026\u201d Rogers said. \u201cParticularly councilmember Dixon, he’s just made, I would say, very unkind, not very polite, comments, particularly about Rob Norman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about the Rock Creek Entertainment District:<\/strong><\/p>\n

This story was edited by Macey Thaxton, Audrey McClour and Keaton Shaffer.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Commenting policy: <\/b>We value civility and do not tolerate the spreading of misinformation or degrading posts on topics like race, religion or culture. We monitor our comment sections and will delete such when necessary.<\/p>\n

Guest columns: <\/b>Focus on issues, not personalities, in fewer than 500 words. Submissions are published by the editor based on timeliness, relevance and civility after editing for accuracy and style. To submit,
\n visit our form.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.oudaily.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Norman City Council will consider an agenda item Tuesday that could help determine if the city has authority to hold a public vote on the Rock Creek Entertainment District tax increment financing districts, according to the meeting agenda. City Attorney Rick Knighton told OU Daily in March approving the item would authorize the city attorney\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2368068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[21738,317415,21848],"class_list":["post-2368067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-news","tag-norman","tag-sports"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Council-to-seek-judgment-on-authority-for-public-TIF-vote.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368067"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2368069,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368067\/revisions\/2368069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2368068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}