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CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE NO. O-1213-42 UPON SECOND AND FINAL READING: AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA AMENDING ARTICLE I, SECTIONS 4-101 AND 4-105; AND ADDING ARTICLE XXII, SECTIONS 4-2201 THROUGH 4-2204 OF CHAPTER 4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF NORMAN TO PROVIDE FOR THE CREATION OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY BOARD; AND PROVIDING FOR THE SEVERABILITY THEREOF.
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BACKGROUND: The creation of a public trust authority to facilitate potential economic development incentives was identified as a priority by the Business and Community Affairs Committee (“BACA”) of the Council in August 2011 and also by the full Council at its Planning Retreat in September 2011. The Norman Economic Development Coalition (NEDC) was formed as a private 501(c)(6) in 1997 and has been actively assisting existing businesses, recruiting new businesses and potential employers to Norman for over 17 years. NEDC began as a collaborative effort between the City of Norman, Chamber of Commerce, and University of Oklahoma, but was expanded to include the Moore-Norman Technology Center as an equal contributor about four years ago.
It has been recognized that recruitment of quality employers to a community has become more and more competitive between cities and even between states. Many cities are offering incentives in various forms to recruit retail businesses as well as potential employers. Although NEDC has performed and continues to perform the recruitment efforts for Norman and its members of its coalition, providing additional economic development tools to assist NEDC in its recruitment efforts was a primary focus of BACA’s efforts and recommendations.
After a series of meetings with the BACA Committee and the full Council, as well as a public forum, Council adopted Resolution No. R-1112-139 acknowledging the creation of and accepting a beneficial interest in the Norman Economic Development Authority (“NEDA”) on June 12, 2012. City Council m...
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