NORMAN — Norman Police and Fire will soon be able to communicate better with one another as well as with outside database systems. The Norman City Council unanimously approved a $1.9 million contract for a new computer aided dispatch, records management and mobile data network project.

“Currently, we have four major components employed and in excess of 20 databases,” Maj. J.D. Younger said.

The city is contracting with New World Systems Inc. for $1,821,745. In addition, the city is paying $154,341 for “necessary related third-party software and hardware products,” according to the council agenda item.

New World was selected after a lengthy procedure.

“That scoring is very quantitative,” Younger said. “In our particular case, we ended up with two vendors that matched all the requirements.”

Those vendors were brought on site and interviewed and New World was selected.

“This system being proposed will replace all those disparate databases,” Younger said. “It’s not just software we’re buying. We’re establishing a long-term relationship with this company.”

A portion of the cost will be paid up front by the general fund but later reimbursed with surplus Public Safety Sales Tax funds after the completion of Fire Station No. 9.

The city council also unanimously approved an engineering design contract for the Lindsey Street project, which is part of the bond package passed by voters earlier this year.

“This is the first of many engineering contracts you will see as we embark on designing those bond projects,” Public Works Director Shawn O’Leary said.

The contract is with SAIC Energy Environment and Infrastructure Inc. for $1,997,875 for the design of Lindsey Street from 24th Avenue Southwest to east of Berry Road. The Lindsey project is the largest of the eight projects included in the bond package, both in terms of dollar amount and in the number of components to the work.

“It’s very important that the Lindsey Street project landed in 2016,” O’Leary said.

The Lindsey project is being coordinated to occur during the same time that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is working on the Lindsey Street and Interstate 35 bridge. By coordinating the Lindsey Street improvements with the I-35/ Lindsey interchange, merchants and other stakeholders along Lindsey only will be disrupted once.

“We can’t close Lindsey Street ever,” O’Leary said. “We have to have access to those businesses.”

In other city business, council members approved a resolution adopting a revised Norman Bike Route Map as recommended by the Bicycle Advisory Committee.

In 2010, the City of Norman applied for recognition and was designated as a Bicycle Friendly Community (bronze level) by the League of American Cyclists. Since that update, the city and the Bicycle Advisory Committee have continued to work on Bicycle Friendly Community goals as prescribed by the League of American Bicyclists.

Those goals include meeting a national standard for bike lanes any place the street width will accommodate them. Lane striping had been added to collector and arterial streets.

“Many of these new areas were determined to be along some of the arterial roadway segments that were approved for reconstruction in the August 2012 bond election,” according to city staff reports.

Those include 36th Avenue Northwest between north of Tecumseh Road and Indian Hills Road, Lindsey Street between 24th Avenue Southwest and Pickard Avenue, and 24th Avenue East between Lindsey Street and Robinson Street.

Those sections are designated as a bike route in the current plan and are labeled as routes recommended for advanced skill riders because of the sub-standard condition of the roadway.

“Reconstruction and widening of these facilities offer a unique opportunity to meet national bike transportation standards, which will allow for the redesignation of these segments as biking facilities suitable for riders of all skill levels. The inclusion of bike lanes was part of the project proposal prior to the election, and the cost was included in the project budgeting,” according to staff reports.

Council members also approved monetary settlement in three claims against the city. Those claims include:

· $5,151 to David White for damage in an accident Oct. 23, when a Norman police vehicle made a U-turn in response to a call from dispatch and struck White’s vehicle near the intersection of Classen Boulevard and Chickasha Street.

· $125,000 to Brett Hollandsworth for his injuries and damages to his motorcycle in an accident Aug. 20 when a city of Norman IN police vehicle pulled out in front of him at 12th Avenue Southeast and Alameda Street.

· $28,006 to Dalton Betz for personal injury and property damage from an incident Aug. 23, when Betz’ vehicle was struck by a city sanitation truck.

Joy Hampton366-3539jhampton@normantranscript.com

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