NORMAN -- Residents opposed to the city building a new lift station on the north side said they now will oppose passage of a half-cent sales tax to shore up city finances.
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"You've lost my support. I think you're nuts," Glen Brown, a Norman resident, told council members Tuesday night.
Brown said the council acted irresponsibly when it rejected a plan to rehabilitate an old lift station and chose a more expensive option to build a new one.
"I don't doubt you have some (money) problems, but I'm the kind of guy who believes in rewarding excellence. You didn't do the right thing tonight so I'm against the half-cent sales tax, and I will campaign against it," Brown said.
Brown's remarks came toward the end of a long council meeting that centered on budget problems, but also included a vote on a northside sewer solution.
Resident Ben Alpers said the two issues are linked.
"The council flat-out wasted $2 million dollars of our money tonight," he said.
He was referring to the council's rejection of a plan to rebuild a lift station near Franklin Road and 12th Avenue NE at an estimated cost of $6.9 million.
In a 5-4 vote, the council chose to build a new lift station farther north on land the city bought for construction of a northside wastewater treatment plant. Cost of the new construction is estimated at $8.9 million.
City officials have said the old lift station has reached its capacity. They have warned that the station must be upgraded or a new one built soon to ensure sewer service to the north side is maintained.
Council members approving a new lift station were Mandy Haws, Doug Cubberley, Mayor Harold Haralson, David Hopper and Richard Stawicki.
Stawicki said he favored that option because the new lift station will serve as the headworks for a plant that voters in 2003 approved for construction on that site. In that vote, $8.1 million in sales tax money was earmarked for plant construction.
The $8.1 million cannot be used to rebuild another lift station, Stawicki said.
To rehabilitate the old lift station would mean the city would have to buy additional land for an equalization basin, Cubberley said. The land acquisition would increase the price and could delay the project's completion for years.
Councilwoman Cindy Rosenthal said she was disappointed at the sewer option chosen because of environmental concerns about having to lay sewer pipe across Little River, which feeds Lake Thunderbird, the city's water supply. Building on the other side of Little River also opens the land to development, which is against the 2025 land-use plan.
"I understand the frustration of those who opposed the new lift station, but I strongly support a new half-cent sales tax to fund city operations," Rosenthal said. "I would hope residents would support it also."
The city's population is increasing, but the general operating fund is decreasing and basic city services are suffering, Rosenthal said.
The proposed tax would generate about $6 million a year and could fund additional police, firefighters and other essential city staff positions, Rosenthal said.
Rosenthal also proposed the money be used to establish an emergency reserve fund and an economic development incentives package.
"You (the council) are not showing any realistic idea of how to spend money," resident Sylvia Martin said.
Economic development incentives "are not even close to basic services," Martin said.
"You are giving away our tax money to special interests," Alpers said. "I say, 'Enough is enough.'"
