Oklahoma City Council sets legislative priorities
Reporter Michael Kimball live tweeted from the Oklahoma City Council meeting. Read about agenda items below.
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Published: November 6, 2012
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Reporter Michael Kimball live tweeted from the Oklahoma City Council meeting Tuesday morning. Read about agenda items below.
@OKC_Beat
8:31 a.m.
Good morning! It's about time for some #OKC Council live tweets. No traffic into downtown this morning thanks to Election Day! #winning
8:36 a.m.
You can see the agenda and watch live video at this link okc.gov/AgendaPub/meet… or watch on Cox channel 20.
8:39 a.m.
The meeting is just getting started. An interesting thing at the end of the agenda today is the council's legislative agenda.
8:40 a.m.
Council will talk about what things they want to lobby the state Legislature for.
8:43 a.m.
And by the way, no city council elections today. They are early next year.
8:44 a.m.
Wards 1 (Gary Marrs), 3 (Larry McAtee), 4 (Pete White) and 7 (Skip Kelly) are the seats for that election.
8:45 a.m.
No official word as far as I know that any are (or aren't) running for re-election.
8:56 a.m.
So far we've blazed through the concurrence and consent agendas. On to zoning issues now. Not a newsy meeting today til legislative stuff.
9:06 a.m.
An example today is a lady with bad fire damage to her house. Obviously, has to be fixed in some way for sake of safety and neighborhood.
9:07 a.m.
But some people are in tough spots trying to get it done. IMO, council and staff always do a good job working with people reasonably.
9:07 a.m.
Today's example, they told the lady that as long as she was working with the city to rectify the situation, they would give her more time.
9:08 a.m.
Now it's the legislative issues. Jane Abraham is the city's legislative liaison and is making a presentation.
9:08 a.m.
Abraham: City asked department heads for items they think need a legislative fix. Council legislative committee considers them, makes recs.
9:09 a.m.
Today's items are the result of those recommendations.
9:09 a.m.
Abraham: Last year, city got restoration of December election in odd years, notice from counties for special events, increased smoking...
9:09 a.m.
... distance outside entrances at the airport.
9:10 a.m.
Those were all legislative goals that were accomplished, in other words.
9:10 a.m.
Abraham: Priority issues this year are local control over local issues, transit funding and support for the American Indian Cultural Center.
9:11 a.m.
The local issues, everything from smoking to election finance disclosure rules have been discussed in the past.
9:11 a.m.
Abraham: City looking for increased investment in transit.
9:11 a.m.
Abraham: City still wants to find way to complete AICC. (Remember, city pledged $9M last year, but state didn't come up with their end.)
9:12 a.m.
Abraham: Initiative issues are to reduce tall grass/weeds restrictions to 8 inches from 1 foot, some cleaning/mowing stuff in some zones...
9:12 a.m.
... and some workers' comp code things related to limited liability.
9:13 a.m.
Abraham: Also, amending bus passenger safety act to comply with open carry law, and statutory lien program for unpaid trash/drainage svcs.
9:14 a.m.
Abraham: And clarification of where a police officer can serve misdemeanor arrest warrant.
9:15 a.m.
Abraham: City also supports efforts for retaining control of econ dev tools, water supply security, pension system support, housing issues.
9:17 a.m.
Abraham: Bunch of federal issues too. Support marketplace fairness act, transit projects, NCIC use database for background checks...
9:17 a.m.
... Tinker AFB support, AICC, airport funding, clean air act monitoring, and economic development efforts.
9:29 a.m.
Pete White, who is on the legislative committee, says he thinks some legislatures would vote differently if they had more information.
9:30 a.m.
He says it's "priceless" for council members to interact with legislators.
9:30 a.m.
By the way, Ed Shadid and David Greenwell are absent today.
9:31 a.m.
The legislative agenda passes unanimously. On to other items from council. No more action items.
9:38 a.m.
There's a presentation now on the city's bid management system. I'll let you know the highlights (if there are any).
9:41 a.m.
Basically, this will involve some standardization and automation with bids on city contracts.
9:41 a.m.
Process is a little cumbersome now.
9:46 a.m.
No citizens to be heard today. They're going into executive session. So that about wraps it up for today. Thanks for stopping by!
If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman's Opinion section, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.
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