Griffin obtains ARPA cash for new hospital in Norman

Mindy Ragan Wood, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
·3 min read

Sep. 1—OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers on Wednesday approved the construction of two new mental health hospitals — one in Norman — along with funding to help communities pay for water infrastructure improvements.

In all, the joint legislative committee earmarked another $322 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding for a variety of one-time expenditures aimed at improving mental health access for Oklahomans, first responders and National Guard personnel along with various infrastructure improvements.

As of Wednesday, the Legislature had allocated about $572 million of the state's total $1.8 billion share of the coronavirus funding.

The Norman City Council had planned to lease a building from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to operate a homeless shelter, but the agency announced in April that it would sell off most of its campus to build a new mental health hospital.

City Manager Darrel Pyle said Tuesday that the city has applied for numerous ARPA grants, available through state coffers, including $5 million to construct a homeless shelter center. To date, the city has not been apprised of any approved application.

Projects approved Wednesday include spending:

— $26 million on technology that will allow the Oklahoma State Department of Health to transition from a paper system to electronic records and stop using fax machines to exchange data.

— Another $50 million to help smaller communities with water infrastructure needs and $12 million to match with tribal funding.

— $87 million to construct a new Griffin Memorial Hospital facility in Norman that will have 100 new beds and serve an additional 1,200 Oklahomans each year.

— $38 million to construct the Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health in downtown Tulsa.

— $22.2 million to construct a holistic health and fitness center for the National Guard where personnel can receive mental health services.

— $2.52 million on mobile response units for the Department of Public Safety. The trailers will be sent to tragic incidents across the state to provide support and assistance to first responders.

— $35 million to Oklahoma City to help fund the relocation of a water line that runs through a secure area of Tinker Air Force Base. The water line serves tens of thousands of residents and is difficult to service because it's located in a secure area of the base.

While the committee granted its approval for those projects, Wednesday's expenditures still require full legislative approval.

Lawmakers said they planned to approve hundreds of millions of dollars in additional projects in September before reconvening in special session in late September or early October.

Legislators have said they've received $17.8 billion in ARPA project requests, but only have a fraction of that available to appropriate.

"I would love to see the lion's share of ARPA be expended and done with in our special session," said state Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow.

He said inflation is increasing costs, so projects need to get rolling quickly, even though the Legislature technically has until 2026 to expend all the funds.

Hilbert also said the entire vetting process is a lot of work.

"If we still have it hanging over our heads when we come into regular session, it's going to impede, I believe, some of the work that we need to do just in our regular legislative process," Hilbert said.

State Sen. Chuck Hall, R-Perry, said the public can expect to see additional committee meetings where projects will be vetted. Votes will then take place "very, very quickly" in the coming weeks.

Hall said his goal is also to see that the lion's share of the dollars that need to be deployed on behalf of Oklahomans is done so quickly.

"We are doing our part," he said. "We have worked (and) will continue to work to advance these ARPA dollars for the best interest of the citizens of Oklahoma."

Mindy Ragan Wood contributed to this report

Mindy Wood covers City Hall news and notable court cases for The Transcript. Reach her at mwood@normantranscript.com or 405-416-4420.