The Absentee Shawnee Tribe is planning an expansive new health center in the Little Axe area to address health care needs of tribal members and other Native Americans in the area.

Tribal representatives presented their plans to the Norman Planning Commission at Thursday’s meeting for the 67,000-square-foot, single-story facility at American Legion Road and SH 9, close to 156th Avenue NE and Little Axe Drive. The site is immediately north of the tribe’s Thunderbird Casino.

Planning commissioners voted unanimously to recommend the 80-acre site for the health center to the Norman City Council for rezoning to a planned unit development from tourist commercial and residential estate dwelling district. The health center would use 25 acres of the site.

The preliminary plat and amendment of the Norman 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plan from country residential and commercial designations to institutional designation also was recommended.

“This is a pretty comprehensive facility,” said Jason Cotton, project manager with Cardinal Engineering, who said he grew up in the Little Axe area. “This facility will offer tribal members service they haven’t had access to.”

The facility is being designed by the 100 percent Indian-owned architectural firm of James R. Childers of Fort Smith, Ark., in a style similar to the Koweta Indian Health Facility designed by the firm and built by the Creek Nation on SH 51 in Coweta.

It will be of natural stone and rock, brick and glass on previously undeveloped land, Cotton said. Native grasses and trees will be retained as much as possible according to the plan, particularly in perimeter areas, and there will be several water features.

The first phase is planned to be completed by 2010, with the second phase that could enlarge the center if needed to about 98,000 square feet by about 2013. The third phase of the development to expand to the entire 80-acre site could include assisted living and a senior center.

Absentee Shawnee Gov. Scott Miller said it makes sense to have the tribe’s elders close to the new health center. He said the health center will be open to all Native Americans.

Planning commissioners asked about the sanitation system, which will be permitted and inspected by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality or ODEQ.

Cotton said they believe the best sewer solution is to use lagoons on the east side of the property as far from Lake Thunderbird as possible.

A request from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to be informed on progress on the project was made part of the planning commissioners’ recommendation. BOR deals with the quality of the water in Lake Thunderbird.

Traffic concerns also were discussed. A traffic analysis is under way on the area.

Miller said the tribe would be working on getting funds from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to partner with the state and city to create turn lanes on SH 9 and signalize the area.

Michael Ridgeway, president of the Little Axe Chamber of Commerce and a nearby café owner, said he fully supports the project.

But Ridgeway said the area urgently needs signalization and he had witnessed several accidents in the area.

“These kinds of things have got to happen to make this work,” he said. “It’s kind of a blind corner.”

The health center proposal will be considered by the Norman City Council for final approval at a future meeting.

“It is the hope that this property will set a standard for some high quality development in eastern Norman,” Cotton said.

Carol Cole-Frowe366-3538ccole@normantranscript.com