Title
CONTRACT K-1718-123: A CONTRACT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA, AND HOWELL AND VANCUREN, INC., IN THE AMOUNT OF $450,000 FOR DESIGN SERVICES TO INCLUDE THE PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS, BIDDING SERVICES AND CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION FOR THE NORMAN FORWARD PHASE I RUBY GRANT PARK PROJECT.
Body
BACKGROUND: The Ruby Grant Farm is a parcel of land in northwest Norman containing approximately 148.79 acres. The land is located west of Interstate 35, south of Franklin Rd, east of 36th Ave N.W. and north of All Saints School. In 1998, Ms. Grant gave the land as part of her estate to the University of Oklahoma Foundation Inc. Although it was not a requirement of the gift, Ms. Grant had expressed a desire that the land be used as a community park.
In 1999, the City began discussions with the O.U. Foundation regarding possible ways to acquire this land for use as a community park. At that time the land had been appraised at a value of $1,700,000. A subsequent appraisal valued the land at $1,750,000. In 2001, the Board of Park Commissioners and the Planning Commission sent letters of support to the City Council recommending the purchase of this property. The 2020 and 2025 Land Use and Transportation Plans both identify this area as best suited for a community park site and also indicate that the City of Norman currently falls short of national standards for community park land acreage.
In 2004, the City Council ranked the acquisition of this property as the highest priority in the Capital Budget and sent a letter to the O.U. Foundation proposing to negotiate the purchase of the site. The appraisal in 2005 valued the property at $2,000,000. The City solidified the purchase of the property for parkland purposed in 2006 for $750,000 with a reversion clause, returning the property to the O.U. Foundation if it is not used for public park purposes. The Purchase and Sale Agreement contained three primary covenants and agreements. Those, in ...
Click here for full text