The Elk City Commissioners met for their regular mid-month meeting, Tues., Jan 17th, at 2 p.m., in City Hall. All commissioners were present except Rocky Andresen. Mayor Cory Spieker gave the invocation, while Rick Shelton led the flag salute. They approved the minutes from the Jan. 2nd meeting, then went straight into item one on the agenda.
Item 1, that was approved, was Resolution 2024-1: Resolution between the City of Elk City and County Commissioners of Beckham County to approve labor to maintain the traffic light at Hwy 6 and Merritt Road. City Manager Tom Ivester said that this is an annual approval to maintain the light at the Hutches westside light, because the county does not have the manpower to maintain it.
The next item on the agenda was discussion about a pending class action litigation against 3M Company and E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Company and other defendants involving Per- and Polyfluoralkyl Substances (PFAS) contamination in Re: Aqueous Film Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation. Ivester said that test results are not back yet as to whether there is positive or negative contamination. The commissioners will be able to discuss options once those tests are returned; therefore, no discussion or action was taken.
Next on the agenda was the approval of the bid received to construct the terminal building and construct a 100’x150’ box hangar at the airport. A representative from the engineering group was present and recommended the lowest bid from an Elk City firm called WP Construction. The next step will be taking it to the FAA for approval on Tuesday. The City portion of the cost is 46 percent out of pocket with state funds through the Oklahoma Dept. of Aerospace and Aeronautics, and FAA funds. The timing of the project will depend on when funds are released.
The commissioners approved Orr Construction, Inc.’s, bid for Municipal Airport improvements. The bid includes two items that are part of the downtown project.
Bill Weatherly and Basil Weatherly were approved as Mayor Spieker’s reappointments to the MOIF Board. They also approved a purchase of 110 acres in the amount of $200,000 from Terry and Beverly A. Poff, co-trustees of the Poff family trust. The land is water and surface rights. Johnny Brown was present to speak about the purchase, especially as it relates to water rights. He said there is no well on the property yet, and water rights are difficult to lease or purchase without the surface rights.
The commissioners approved the Purchase Orders FY 23-24 and recurring invoices for Jan. 17, 2024. Then they heard Cliff Jackson’s report about a violation of DEQ. This concerns the cattle at the waste plant. He said that this is the first step to try to get rid of them, which is causing the DEQ violation. Johnny Brown returned to talk about how he keeps water running during cold weather.
The City Manager’s Report was reflected in the bids for the Airport improvements. Ivester did not speak about anything else. He was followed by Meredith Meachum Wilson, who presented the commissioners with a financial update. She commended City Treasurer Jennifer Rainey on the interest that was accrued over the month of Dec. It came to over $50,000, which she said it was amazing that a city treasurer brought in that much in one month. She added that all of the margins are good. Additionally, she said that the Arrowhead Center is good, and the café is making a profit.
In the treasurer’s report, Rainey said that there is an upward trend in the sales tax and use tax, but downturn in the cigarette tax. With no other business, Spieker asked for public comments with a limit of three minutes.
One person made a public comment about a property on 7th Street. He said that he is not a commercial grower. He has asked to get water to his property. He said that he has met with Ivester on several occasions, although he was not complimentary about his interactions with Ivester. He said that he hopes this can get resolved, but he would like to get it done and move on.
With no other public comments, the commission meeting was over at 2:44 p.m., and the next meeting will take place on the first Monday of the month a 7 p.m.
