Published: September 26, 2008 09:22 pm      

Neighborhood campaigns against safety center location

EDMOND — Stephanie Mundell, 15, said she wouldn’t mind Edmond getting a new Public Safety Center. She just doesn’t want one in her own neighborhood.

When the Edmond North High School sophomore was 3 years old she was hit by a car and suffered a C-2 spinal cord injury, which left her without movement of her arms and legs and unable to breathe without a respirator.

Mundell lives in the vicinity of Kelly and Main, the proposed site for a new $31.5 million safety center. She said the facility would bring more traffic to her neighborhood and increase the chance that another child might be injured in a car accident.

Aaron Heeg, pastor of Christ Covenant Community, 119 S. Walnut St., said within the past decade about a half-dozen children have been hurt in auto-pedestrian accidents on Main Street.

That knowledge increased his concern for area children, Heeg said. The safety center will bring many employees and their cars into the area, he said.

Heeg is mobilizing the Chitwood Neighborhood Alliance, a group forming to voice its opposition to the safety center. Like Mundell, Heeg said the city may need a new facility, just not in their area.

“I think it’s good what’s going on, trying to decrease the risk of another person being hurt in a car accident,” Mundell said of the alliance.

Wednesday night, during a presentation at the church, Heeg said when city leaders formulate public policy, they should consider the rights of lower-income residents, an often overlooked citizenry.

“I believe this is an issue about justice in our society, and what I’m asking you for as community members is to rise up for justice in our neighborhood,” Heeg told listeners both inside and outside via speaker.

“Don’t let the city have their way with our neighborhood. Let’s raise a voice now and let’s say, ‘We are somebody. We are somebody.’”

On Aug. 25, the City Council approved a resolution to place a proposition for the new center on the Nov. 4 ballot. City Council member Charles Lamb said the proposed 6-acre site would be in close proximity to downtown on land already owned by the city, preventing additional costs.

Lamb said planned traffic upgrades to Kelly Avenue would help alleviate some needs and the location would not necessarily increase the amount of traffic through area neighborhoods.

Lamb said the city has added many acres of parks during recent years, and officals have not abandoned parks either.

City officials have said current Police Department facilities are outdated, too small to fit the needs of a growing community. Co-locating the Emergency Management/9-1-1 Call Center, both of which lack room for needed growth, with the police would allow them to deliver better services to the public.

Heeg said he has discussed the neighborhood’s concerns with city officials. No city representatives spoke Wednesday night.

Heeg said he is not against public safety.

“We are just as much advocates for public safety as we are for the safety center not being in our community,” Heeg said.

Mundell said if she had a chance to talk to the mayor one on one, she would say children in the area need a field on which they can play. She doesn’t want to have criminals and the increased traffic, which could put others at risk of being hurt.

Heeg said the church will host two public forums, one on Tuesday with speaker Barry Rice and another on Oct. 28 with Randel Shadid. Both men are local attorneys and former City Council members and both are opposed to the location of the proposed center. The theme of Thursday’s forum is “Save our children and our parks.”

Mundell said she would be doing her part to spread the word about the public forums. So did her mother, Debra Mundell. Others seemed equally motivated.

Chitwood Neighborhood Alliance co-chairman Bob Helie said compared to the city at large, the area may have a small voice, but if community members band together they can have an impact.

Helie said safety for neighborhood children, many of whom fellowship at the church on a regular basis, is the main issue. Helie said the safety center belongs somewhere in the downtown area.

Members of the audience voiced their agreement of that message through applause.

The Details: What you need to know

Edmond residents will be asked to consider a $31.5 million ballot proposition Nov. 4 to fund a new Public Safety Center at Kelly and Main streets. Voters are being asked to consider if they want to fund the proposal with an ad valorem tax increase. An Edmond homeowner is expected to pay an average of $3.66 per month based on a $100,000 home valuation during a 10-year period if the proposition passes.