Editor’s note: This story was updated at 2:36 p.m. on March 7 to include additional information about the commissioners present at the meeting.
The Cleveland County Board of Commissioners’ recreational and entertainment facilities authority unanimously approved an economic development agreement for the University North Park entertainment district at a special meeting Friday.
The discussion and consideration of the economic agreement was the only item of business on the agenda. The meeting lasted about three minutes.
Jacob McHughes, Cleveland County commissioner for District 2, served as chair of the meeting and Rod Cleveland, Cleveland County commissioner for District 1, will served as vice chair. Members of the authority present included Cleveland County District 3 Commissioner Rusty Grissom, OU executive deputy athletic director Larry Naifeh and Steve McDaniels.
The commissioners did not speak about the entertainment district during the approval and left the meeting without taking questions.
Suite 200 of the Cleveland County Courthouse was filled, which included Ward 8 Councilmember Scott Dixon and Norman Chamber of Commerce President Scott Martin. Members of the Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development were present, including Rob Norman, attorney for Cheek and Falcone; Pamela Post, one of three respondents listed in the protest to ORED’s petition; Cynthia Rogers, OU economics professor; and Russell Rice, co-owner of Care-A-Vans.
According to Storme Jones, Cleveland County director of communications, the board had to sign the agreement before March 15 to meet one of the phasing plan deadlines outlined in the original agreement approved by Norman City Council in September.
“The agreement that they voted on today lays out a schedule and kinds of deadlines that have to be met,” Jones said. “The commissioners take serious their responsibility to grow the tax base, improve quality of life for folks here, and that’s definitely what they view this entertainment district as.”
Jones said legal obstacles would stop the agreement from advancing.
“Following Judge Virgin’s ruling, this agreement from the city is still intact, and those deadlines are still outlined in this agreement,” Jones said. “If down the road, something were to stop that, we would obviously put a hold on any agreement or any action. Right now, there is no court order, there’s no injunction, there’s nothing stopping this, which means we still have to abide by the deadlines in the contract.”
On Feb. 25, Cleveland County Judge Jeff Virgin ruled that the gist of the petition to turn the entertainment district to a public vote was insufficient and ordered it struck from a public ballot. Members of ORED, the nonprofit that organized the petition movement, said they are planning to appeal the decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
Paul Arcaroli, a founding member of ORED, said ORED is currently filing a brief and asking for it to be seen by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“You really want more experienced eyes,” Arcaroli said. “The Supreme Court sees the issues a lot more frequently than an individual judge in Norman.”
Arcaroli called the board’s decision a “rubber stamp” and said the agreement reflected his disapproval of three-person committees. He said the board’s lack of public comments and acknowledgment of the 11,602 petition signatures gathered was unfortunate, adding the board could have waited on the appeals process to conclude.
“When you have a commission or a panel with one particular perspective, you’re going to get that result,” Arcaroli said. “This is inherently anti-democratic and they proved it today. … It’s time for change. Two of those guys are up for reelection in 2026, who knows?”
Background
Around 1 a.m. on Sept. 18, Norman City Council approved the University North Park entertainment district 5-4. During the meeting, over 70 residents voiced support and opposition to the district and its tax increment financing, or TIF, model.
On Sept. 20, three Norman residents filed a petition to turn the district to a public vote. Petitioners collected 11,602 signatures over 30 days, exceeding the 6,098 required by law. Of the 11,602 submitted, 10,698 signatures were certified by City Clerk Brenda Hall.
On Nov. 19, David Nimmo, former president and CEO of Chickasaw Nation Industries; Kyle Allison, director of Allison’s FUN Inc.; Vernon McKown, CEO and co-founder of Ideal Homes & Neighborhoods; and Dan Quinn, former Ward 8 council member and a real estate agent for Dillard Cies, filed the challenge opposing the petition.
According to the 119-page notice, the protest challenged the gist of the petition and argued it did not comply with an Oklahoma Statute that requires a referendum petition to summarize the nature of the proposed referendum vote in a manner that can be understood by those who do not practice law.
“Rather than attempt to distill the legal effects of the Ordinance in a manner that the common person might understand, the language of Proponents’ gist, set forth below, instead attempts to track the highly technical and often complicated terms of the Ordinance itself,” the notice reads.
On Feb. 25, Virgin found the referendum petition to be invalid and ruled it must be stricken from the ballot of a public vote.
Arcaroli, one of the three residents who filed the petition on behalf of ORED, said the petitioners planned on appealing the decision.
“It’s necessary to appeal because that’s the judicial means to get our day in court, so to speak. The initial hearing is just one part of the process, but the right to appeal is just as important,” Arcaroli said. “I still think that we did the right thing, and I think that we will have a good chance at appealing.”
The public vote was originally planned for the Feb. 11 municipal election, but was delayed due to the legal notice.
This story was edited by Ismael Lele, Ana Barboza and Anusha Fathepure.