FYE 14 Budget prelim - City of Norman

On August 28, 2012 the voters of Norman approved the largest General Obligation bondissue in the City’s history: a $42,575,000 authorization of bonds to pay for streetwidening, bridge replacement and stormwater drainage projects throughout the City. TheCity’s General Obligation bond funds will be matched by an estimated $47,500,000 infederal transportation funds to pay for almost $90 million in street improvements. TheCity has sold $20,050,000 of these authorized bonds and the FYE 2014 allocates fundingto move the projects forward on the aggressive schedule approved by the voters.Legacy Park and University North Park DevelopmentAs noted in the retail discussion above, significant growth is happening in the UniversityNorth Park development (the Planned Unit Development area bordered by I-35, RobinsonStreet, OU-Westheimer Airport and Tecumseh Road). In addition to the retail storeslisted above, several smaller stores and restaurants have opened or are under constructionand several others are in final planning stages. Plans for two additional hotels in thedevelopment are being finalized, and the City of Norman and the Norman Tax IncrementFinance Authority has awarded a construction bid for Legacy Park.Legacy Park is described on the cover of this year’s Budget documents as an 8-acre Citypark which will serve as the centerpiece of the University North Park development.Legacy Park will feature a scenic water feature, an amphitheater which has the potentialto be a regional performance venue, walking and jogging trails and promenades whichwill enhance the lodging and residential development in the area.The developers of University North Park have exciting plans which will be spurred by theconstruction of Legacy Park, and which have the promise of making Norman the retaildestination envisioned when the University North Park Tax Increment Finance Districtwas approved in 2006.UTILITY ENTERPRISE FUNDSNorman Water Enterprise UtilityThe City of Norman operates three utility enterprises: Sanitation, Water, and WaterReclamation (Wastewater). Enterprise funds are established to account for the operationsof the City that endeavor to operate like private businesses, in that their services areprovided to a discrete base of customers, as opposed to the citizenry as a whole, and userfees are charged to those customers at a level that seeks to recover the full costs ofproviding the services. The budgetary status of the Water and Wastewater Utilities aredriven in large part by major capital projects and the FYE 2014 utility enterprise budgetsare driven by decisions related to capital projects at the Water Treatment and WaterReclamation Facilities.The Water Enterprise Utility has completed the first phase of a major two-phaseexpansion and improvement to the Water Treatment facility. The first phase included theinstallation of a large backup power generator, electrical improvements, the replacementxi