City Council Oversight Committee Meeting

CITY OF NORMAN, OK CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING Municipal Building, Executive Conference Room, 201 West Gray, Norman, OK 73069 Thursday, June 13, 2024 at 4:00 PM MINUTES The City Council Oversight Committee of the City of Norman, Cleveland County, State of Oklahoma, met in Regular Session in the Executive Conference Room on the 13th day of June 2024, at 4:00 p.m. and notice of the agenda was posted at 4:00 p.m., at the Municipal Building at 201 West Gray and the City website at least 24 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Schueler called the meeting to order at 4:08 p.m. PRESENT Councilmember Ward 2 Lauren Schueler (Chair) Councilmember Ward 7 Stephen Holman ABSENT Councilmember Ward 1 Austin Ball Councilmember Ward 3 Bree Montoya OTHERS PRESENT: Councilmember Ward 4 Helen Grant Ms. Shannon Stevenson, Assistant City Manager Ms. Beth Muckala, Assistant City Attorney Mr. Anthony Purinton, Assistant City Attorney Ms. Jane Hudson, Planning & Community Development Director Ms. Lora Hoggatt, Planning Services Manager Ms. Whitney Kline, Admin Tech III, Planning Ms. April Doshier, Food and Shelter Director Ms. Jackie Kanak, Regional Director OSDH Mr. Kyle Boston, Administrative Program Manager of Intervention at OSDH Ms. Lisa Webb, Admin Tech IV, City Clerk CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING - Thursday, June 13, 2024 Page |1 AGENDA ITEMS ITEM 1: EMERGENCY SHELTER UPDATE Ms. April Dosier, Food and Shelter Director, presented the Emergency Shelter report for May 2024. Two guests were given bus passes to return home where family support was available. Two guests were moved to permanent housing in Norman. The nightly average for May was 51, with 39 of the 90 guests reporting income, but found it insufficient to sustain housing in Norman. Ms. Dosier discussed the City Auditor Report issued May 21st by the City of Norman Auditor and addressed findings as reported in the document. The items were addressed by three specific categories as below. 1. Contract language regarding Financial Oversight 2. Changes to Contract regarding shelter operations 3. Misuse of funds Food and Shelter believes they fulfilled the terms of the contract and provided a well-run low barrier shelter in the City of Norman as contracted and stated there is no evidence the contract was violated. Ms. Dosier said she believes they have been a really good partner with the City of Norman and hopes the City will step up and help remedy the fallout from the report. Chairman Schueler addressed the contract, the report and the way the information was presented to the Committee, Council and the Community. She said, with this being a new venture for the City, it can provide information for clearer contracts and audit reports in the future. ***** ITEM 2: PRESENTATION FROM THE CLEVELAND COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT REGARDING THE HARM REDUCTION PROGRAM. Ms. Jackie Kanak, Regional Director for Oklahoma State Department of Health, provided an overview of the Harm Reduction Program. State Bill 511 was enacted in April 2021 and authorized certain entities to provide harm reduction services, including needle exchange, referrals to mental health and substance use disorder treatment, and education and testing for sexually transmitted infections, viral hepatitis and HIV. Harm Reduction Programs are community based prevention programs that provide a range of life saving health resources for people who use drugs. CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING - Thursday, June 13, 2024 Page |2 ITEM 2 CONTINUED. Harm Reduction Programs are aimed at reducing negative consequences of substance use through providing people with sterile syringes, education on how to use drugs more safely, how to recognize, respond to and reverse drug overdose. Harm Reduction Programs, once registered with the Oklahoma State Department of Health, may distribute and collect hypodermic needles, cleaning kits, test kits, and opioid antagonists, like Naloxone. Under State Bill 511, the provider of these programs can be Government Entities, Religious Institutions or Churches, Non-Government Entities partnering with a Government Agency, Nonprofit Organizations, For-Profit Companies, and Tribal Governments. These organizations may engage in activities to reduce the use of drugs, prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases and reduce morbidity among people who use injection drugs. They can offer referrals and resources to treat substance use disorders, provide education on the risks of transmission of infectious diseases, including HIV and viral hepatitis, rapid testing for HIV Hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections, referrals for Medical and Mental Health Services. Ms. Kanak provided information on community events, saying whatever is done in one Cleveland County Community is mirrored in other Cleveland County communities for uniformity across the county. The Cleveland County Health Department hosts two Drug/Sharp Take Back Events per year. In October 2023 the program collected 83 pounds of prescriptions at the Norman Health Department. In April 2024, the event took back 283 pounds of prescriptions and 326 pounds of disposed sharps, between Norman, Moore and Little Axe. The injury prevention service coordinates the training of first responders, (Fire, EMS and Police), and provides Naloxone to registered Harm Reduction organizations to use in an overdose situation. OSDH provides education on overdose prevention to various community groups, including local Medical Reserve Core, OU Higher Education Prevention Services, Parent/Teacher Associations and First Responders. Councilmember Holman thanked OSDH staff for the information they provided. He said he feels that the Harm Reduction program is making a good impact on drug addiction issues and associated infections like HIV, Hepatitis C, Syphilis and others. Councilmember Grant thanked OSDH staff for presenting the information as well. She agrees this program is enabling good outcomes for the community. Chairman Schueler agreed it is good to understand the Harm Reduction Program and what is required of those participating in the program. ***** CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING - Thursday, June 13, 2024 Page |3 ITEM 3: DISCUSSION REGARDING EXPANSION OF THE CENTRAL NORMAN ZONING OVERLAY DISTRICT. Postponed this item until the August 2024 meeting. ***** ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. CITY COUNCIL OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEETING - Thursday, June 13, 2024 Page |4