To close out a month that has seen Edmond become yet another front in the wider American culture war — lambasted by one state official as a place that “penalized” patriotism and derided “God and country” for asking high school students to remove flags from their vehicles — the Edmond City Council began its Monday meeting with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to that same banner, as it always does.
Mere hours before city leaders bowed their heads and covered their hearts to begin their public gathering of self-governance, the Republican runoff candidates for State Senate District 47 were making their final pitches to voters.
The district, which spans northwest Oklahoma City and southwest Edmond, faces one of the closest legislative races of the year — a tight GOP runoff Tuesday between Kelly Hines and Jenny Schmitt, the winner of which will face Democrat Erin Brewer in November. When Gov. Kevin Stitt appeared in SD 47 on Monday to endorse Schmitt, he acknowledged that, unlike much of Oklahoma, the seat was not certain for Republican victory.
Amid outcry over where, when and how to display Old Glory, the heart of what it represents — free elections, democracy, a marketplace of ideas — beat on Monday in a community that has become an Oklahoma microcosm of national tension.
Embattled brewery gets green light
By the time the Edmond City Council adjourned Monday night, the civic wheels of local government had advanced a revised version of a controversial downtown development, approved $22 million in project loans for Edmond Electric, and discussed lingering concerns about a key municipal employee during a private executive session that the employee did not attend.
For Prairie Artisan Ales and Lap 7 Development, a building company that has long sought to establish a brewery in Edmond’s downtown Festival Market Place, Monday’s progress marked a step forward on a slow climb.
Efforts to get the brewery off the ground stretch back to February 2023, and the process the city used to bring Lap 7’s proposal forward was publicly criticized by one downtown business owner as a non-competitive “backdoor deal.” The city issued a notice of default after the project failed to start construction by an earlier Jan. 1, 2024, deadline. A solution and agreement renewal was negotiated after the fact.
But while a site plan for the brewery was finally granted Monday night, approval was not unanimous for the project, which involves continued city ownership of the property and a long-term development lease.
Ward 2 Councilman Barry Moore cast the sole “No” vote on the plan, citing concerns about trees in the area that would need to be removed and relocated with the current site proposal.
“You’re going to get through this without me, and this thing’s going to work over there, and I’m going to find some way to support it at some point, but I’m not doing it tonight,” Moore told Lap 7 owner Brandon Lodge. “I just want you to know it’s not personal. I just don’t like you moving those trees.”
The site plan calls for a two-story, 8,300 square foot building. The first floor, according to the plan, will house the Prairie North Artisan Brewery and Tap Room. The second floor will feature several golf simulation rooms with a small bar.
The builder must still receive building permits from the city, but Assistant City Manager Randy Entz said he does not expect “any hang-ups” on that final step.
City manager discussed in executive session
Although Edmond City Manager Scot Rigby was absent from Monday’s meeting, the City Council entered executive session toward the end of its meeting to “discuss the employment of the city manager.”
While the council typically conducts periodic, standard performance reviews, Mayor Darrell Davis said he was unsure if Monday’s executive session item constituted a regularly scheduled review of Rigby’s employment.
Ward 1 Councilman Tom Robins — as of now, Edmond’s lone declared 2025 mayoral candidate — also said he was uncertain whether the agenda item was a scheduled review of the city manager’s employment.
No action was taken following the executive session, and after the meeting Moore declined to comment about the review of Rigby, who was hired in March 2022 to succeed retiring City Manager Larry Stevens.
Rumors of councilmember frustrations with Rigby have percolated for months. During the long struggle to reach an agreement on the Uncommon Ground Sculpture Park, former Edmond mayors Patrice Douglas, Dan O’Neil, Elizabeth Waner and Saundra Naifeh issued a public letter asking for leadership change at the city.
“For many of us, sacrifice means giving up our egos to keep Edmond a great place to grow,” the letter read. “If the city’s current top management cannot do this, it is the mayor and council’s responsibility to find individuals who can.”
Edmond Electric debt approved without rate increase
In a presentation before the City Council, Edmond Electric director Glenn Fisher said the company is looking to take on $22 million in debt to fund projects over the next five years.
This is the first time Edmond Electric — the city’s municipally owned electric utility — will issue debt to cover upcoming projects, Fisher said, as the company has historically used cash reserves to fund improvements.
Despite taking on the debt, Fisher emphasized there would be no rate increase for Edmond Electric customers and that the issuance “fits easily within” the company budget.
The new projects funded with the $22 million bond include mainline electricity feeders in downtown Edmond, expanding the Garber substation, and a new substation at Coffee Creek.
