Park Board Meeting, 11/5/26

The City of Norman Board of Park Commissioners met on November 5, 2026. The board approved updated Norman Forward master-plan concepts for Reeves, Griffin, and Ruby Grant parks; the multisports park; the Young Family Athletic Center; and the Adult Wellness Center. These were long-range planning concepts, not construction approvals or contract awards. Staff described roughly $70,000 previously set aside for the updates and estimated about $11 million in excess funding from Norman Forward I. Illustrative project estimates included about $45.3 million for Griffin Park, $22.5 million for Reeves Park, and $13 million for the Adult Wellness Center expansion. Staff said it plans to issue an RFP for Canadian River Park design after acquiring the land. The board also agreed by consensus to invite Public Works staff to explain the process for developing historical markers; no marker funding or procurement was approved.

The board voted to designate the Lindsay Street water tower site as a special-use park and name it Water Tower Park. Staff noted a previously approved 2026 partnership with Dr Pepper Seven Up involving the tower’s branding and reported a $50,000 hotel-motel-tax capital appropriation for a park at the tower. In its update on prior City Council items, staff also cited a contract with Industrial Coatings for the Lindsay Street water tower project, a contract with OU’s Gibbs College of Architecture for the Reeves Park pavilion, and a $205,000 capital-fund appropriation for shelter improvements. These were reports on prior council actions, not new awards by the Park Board.