By James Tyree
The Oklahoman

Norman Mayor-elect Cindy Rosenthal can summarize her idea of the city's future with three key words.

Green. Little. Community.

Rosenthal recently outlined her three general goals for Norman, and specific ideas for reaching them, while speaking to a Sierra Club chapter at the Santa Fe Depot. Rosenthal is the Ward 4 city councilwoman who will succeed Mayor Harold Haralson on July 3.

She said her areas of emphasis as mayor will be:

Working toward a greener Norman.

Emphasizing little things that make big impressions.

Encouraging different groups to work together as a community.

For a greener or more environmentally friendly Norman, Rosenthal said the city should invest in places such as parks, trails and greenbelts. She also wants to start a "green team" of municipal staff members from various departments who will develop ideas on how city government can be more ecological and energy-efficient.

But Norman's biggest environmental concern, she said, is water. Rosenthal said the city must come up with a sound storm water master plan because it is a federal mandate, it will help Lake Thunderbird and it will preserve greenways.

"We must think of the possibilities and not take a minimalist approach," Rosenthal said of devising the storm water plan.

Similarly, Norman must preserve its water quality and supply at Lake Thunderbird. She said an important question in upcoming years will be, "Can we bring more water to it in a responsible, cost-effective way?"

Regarding the "little" things that make a difference, Rosenthal said the city needs to pay more attention to the city's appearance. She hopes to do that by working with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation on attractive designs for bridges coming into the city, having consistent street sign design that people will come to associate with Norman, and planting more trees.

Rosenthal believes civic and school groups, along with a possible new ordinance that requires at least one tree for every new residential lot, will help the city forester's efforts in going from 600 new trees per year to 1,000.

In coming together as a community, Rosenthal said residents already have proven they can do it. Citing grassroots efforts to protect Sutton Wilderness and the recently passed curbside recycling ordinance, the mayor-elect said true leadership comes from the community.

"If you want to call it vision, fine," Rosenthal said of her goals. "But the impetus must come from the community."

Rosenthal said partnerships between different interests will be vital for getting things done, but so is making sure Norman is inclusive for all individuals. She said cities with people of many racial, religious and economic backgrounds are those that thrive, "so it's really important for Norman to be a welcoming community."

Copyright 2007, The Oklahoma Publishing Company