January 23, 2020 Vol. 20, No. 35
In This Issue FOUR SEASONS
Four Seasons, by Kevin Box, in real life is located in front of the Center for Transformative Learning on the UCO campus, but this week is hidden somewhere in our paper. Email contest@edmondpaper.com with the correct location to be entered in the weekly drawing. For more information, see page 4.
Focus on Education and 2020 Calendar of Events Inserted Today!
PHOTO PROVIDED
Mayor Dan O’Neil is back in a leadership role some 10 years after his first term.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24 Mostly Sunny High 49° Low 31°
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25 Partly Cloudy High 55° Low 38°
SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 Partly Cloudy High 58° Low 41°
By Steve Gust Edmond Mayor Dan O’Neil has many plans for the city. All of this comes some 10 years after his first term as mayor back in 2007-2009. It was almost a year ago when O’Neil won his second term as mayor, defeating Charles Lamb in April. O’Neil’s first tenure as mayor ended when Patrice Douglas topped him in a re-election bid in 2009. In O’Neil’s most recent run for mayor, incumbent Mayor Lamb died shortly after filing for the seat in December 2018. Due to state law, Lamb had his name remain on the ballot. O’Neil, a Vietnam veteran and retired federal employee, was sworn into office again last May. His term is for two years. “The first thing I had to do when I started serving was to get caught up,” he recalled. “Things had changed quite a bit in 10 years.” There have been stark developments in that time. For openers, more than 10,000 additional people decided to move to Edmond. That has translated into more home construction and work on infrastructure. That’s also led to housing developments east of Interstate 35. City officials, O’Neil explained, are going to be having a rare meeting.
“I don’t remember a time the City Council and the Planning Commission held a joint workshop, but that’s what will happen in the next few weeks,” the Mayor said. Another area of consideration is a possible central location for City Hall. As it is now, various city offices are spread out at different locations in downtown Edmond. It’s been suggested that perhaps all of those functions, such as administration and utility payments, be placed under one roof. Some have pointed to having the location of the old police building serve that purpose. The building, which hosted the former police building, has been torn down and the debris removed. O’Neil made it clear, no decisions have been made yet. “All of this is preliminary and nothing’s been decided,” he said. He also wasn’t sure different agencies couldn’t be housed in different locations. Among the officials in the buildings is city manager Larry Stevens. Stevens, O’Neil explained, has provided strong leadership for the city for more than 15 years. O’Neil said Stevens has not announced a retirement date, but it’s something the city may want to think about long term.
In terms of visible city projects, the mayor said the Covell Parkway would be built this year. It will be a four-lane road from Interstate 35 to Fairfax addition, near Coltrane. Landscaping would also be done and there will be bike lanes as well. The mayor was pleased with the jobs done by Police Chief J.D. Younger and Fire Chief Chris Goodwin. Both men assumed leadership of their respective departments, in the 10 years that O’Neil was out of office. There have been other improvements in that also. The Intelligent Transportation Systems was first introduced during O’Neil’s first term but has blossomed in recent years. “They do a good job with traffic flow,” O’Neil said. The mayor is particularly proud of a water treatment plant near Midwest Boulevard. The multimillion dollar plant has been called by some city officials as the “most sophisticated in Oklahoma,” and operates using advanced technology. It’s operated 24 hours a day and can process 12 million gallons per day. “We have a lot going on in Edmond,” O’Neil said. “One of our challenges has been getting our story out to the public.”