By Andrew Knittle
The Norman City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Tuesday during its regular meeting at City Hall.
The plan, which has been several months in the making, could cost up to $73.5 million to implement, is far-reaching and is to serve more as a guide than a hard-and-fast set of rules, a consultant hired by the city said.
According to the master plan, the city needs to "take care of what it has" by renovating existing parks, including Andrews, Reaves and Griffin parks. Work on existing parks is the top priority listed in the master plan.
Councilman Doug Cubberley expressed concerns about funding the projects in the master plan, saying the current economy isn't going to make the work easy.
"While I'm going to support this, we're going to have to work on a strategy to bring these projects to fruition," Cubberley said, adding that Norman's parks are run down because the budget doesn't allow city personnel to maintain and renovate them at the level they want to.
James Carrillo, a consultant hired by the city to work on the master plan, said a citizen survey shows that most residents would support a sales tax of a half-cent or less, although support fell dramatically beyond that. Mayor Cindy Rosenthal quickly pointed out that council's adoption of the master plan doesn't tie them to a particular funding strategy.
The indoor aquatics center, or the lack thereof, also was discussed at length by council members and residents who showed up to lobby for its construction.
Council members said they were sensitive to the need for an indoor pool, but seemed apprehensive about the ongoing operational costs associated with it. Supporters said the pool would bring in money by giving the city a site to host tournaments and other programs that will generate cash for area businesses, as well as the city.
Additionally, supporters said the indoor pool would give seniors not using the YMCA a place to get a low-impact workout.
Documents provided by the city show an indoor pool would cost between $8 million and $12 million to build.
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
