The Elk City Commissioners met for their regular meeting Mon., Feb. 5th, at 7 p.m. in City Hall. Mayor Cory Spieker opened the meeting with the invocation, and he was followed by Jeff Waters leading the flag salute. Prior to beginning the meeting agenda, the commissioners held a public hearing concerning two dilapidated buildings.
The first building that City Inspector, Jackie Addington spoke to the commissioners about was one located at 416 W. 6th. He said it was recently sold to renovate, but he recommended removing the structure. Both owners were present and spoke on behalf of saving the house. The other structure was located at 1309 Railroad, Lincoln Park. Addington said he has been unable to reach the owner, and no one was there to speak about the property.
Spieker closed the public hearing, and the commissioners then approved the minutes from the Jan. 17th meeting. The first item on the agenda was to vote on declaring the structure at 416 to be dilapidated and removed. They approved the motion; therefore, the structure will be removed. The next item was the approval of removing the structure at 1309 Railroad.
The commissioners approved a quote from Hugg and Hail Equipment Co, for the repairs to the Rock Yard shuttle wagon in the amount of $89,223.30. There was discussion about the cost of purchasing a new one compared to fixing this one. They voted to repair this one.
The next two items on the agenda concerned the payment of Lochner invoices. The commissioners approved both of them. One was $25,600 and the other one was $11,900. These invoices are the start of the airport remodel and renovations.
The commissioners turned their attention to the property located at 943 W. 2nd, which had been tabled from Sept. 20, and Dec. 4th. Addington told the commissioners that the owners had turned the property around with the renovations they had completed so far. It is not finished, but he recommended another extension. They tabled the property until the April 1st meeting.
Then they talked about the property at 1016 W. 8th. The owner was present, but Addington told the commissioners that nothing had been done since it was tabled at the Nov. 6th meeting. The property has been on the agenda since May 2022. The commissioners questioned the owner and told him this would be the last extension. It was tabled until the April 1st meeting with a vote of four to one.
City Manager, Tom Ivester, went over the purchase orders FY 23-24 and recurring invoices for Feb. 5th that were over $10,000. The commissioners approved all the purchase orders. He then proceeded to give the City Manager’s Report.
The first report was given by the city attorney, Ryan Meacham. He talked about working with the DEQ in regard to permit reviews at the septic lagoons where cattle have been grazing. There have been contracts or feed licenses for them to be on the property, but there are two tracts that DEQ will not permit because of the cattle. Meacham sent letters to two owners of the cattle informing them of the situation. He said that he heard back from one of the owners, but there is a question about the LLC that owns the cattle on the other tract of land. He said he will keep the commissioners informed about the situation, and he hopes they do not have to go into litigation concerning the issue.
Ivester reported that it is a slow time at the museum with 84 visitors last week, but from Jan 27th to Feb. 5th there were a little over 4000 people going to the Arrowhead Center. He commended the staff for the way they have been able to handle the crowds, which included maintenance and cleaning of the facility. He continued to note that the park crew sprayed 1380 gallons of mix for weeds in the parks and right of ways. The city averaged over 1.3 million gallons of daily gray water into the wastewater plant in the past two weeks, but the pumps have been able to handle the volume.
The city’s drinking water was tested for E coli, but it came back clear. The landfill was permitted for the emergency burn of the accumulated wood. Additionally, Ivester said that they are preparing the old city hall for the police department’s move as the current station is being remodeled. The construction date has not been set yet. The 911 operation will be moved into the old Buck’s Lodge.
Ivester then updated the commissioners about the man who talked during the three-minute comments at the last meeting. He explained that he had talked to the man about the property that is located out of the city limits, but he is putting in a dispensary. The property is located just east of Keith’s Butcher’s Shop on 7th Street. Ivester said that the city tried to work with him, but the documentation on the medical marijuana dispensary was not in his name. The owner would not provide proof of ownership or other required documents. Since cooperation was not forthcoming, Ivester pulled permits and said he has no rights to water, sewage, or other city services.
Ivester also reported on the Oklahoma Aeronautics and Aviation Commission meeting that he attended. They approved three items on their agenda concerning the Elk City terminal, box hangar, and the water sewer project. The total project expenses will be $5.4 million, with 60 percent of that paid for by the federal and state authorities.
The Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved an industrial access project on B.J. Hughes Access Road for an expansion of the road in front of Thru Tubing. The paperwork and contract will be up for approval at the next commission meeting.
Another point of interest that Ivester told the commissioners about was that the Department of Transportation Commission disapproved the Main Street project. The DOT estimate was $9 million for the four-block project. The bid came in at $5.5 million over that estimate, which was why the project was not approved. Ivester said that the bids were high because they put a time limit on completion of the project, which included penalties for going over the deadlines. This was why the bids were so high.
DOT engineer, Will Snipes was in the meeting and suggested that the project start at 7th Street and move toward 5th Street, instead of starting at 3rd Street because the timing of construction. They are going to shoot for letting the bids again for the project in April. This would mean that construction could start in Sept. and run through Jan. or Feb. Ivester wants to maintain a 300-day cap on the construction time.
The commissioners discussed how the changes would affect the downtown businesses, which was paramount to missing the Christmas season. They want 3rd Street to 5th Street completed by Thanksgiving, so it would not interfere with the vital shopping season. Ivester said that the positive part of the situation is that the city has funds set back to complete the sidewalk portion of the project, which is $1.7 million. David Dyson is on the Dept. of Transportation Commission, and he has been instrumental in advocating for the project. Ivester concluded with the reminder that businesses can apply for a grant to help with providing customers with a back entrance while the project disrupts their front entrance.
There was nothing for city treasurer to report at this time of the month, therefore, Spieker went on to ask for public comments. There were none, and the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. The next meeting will take place on Feb. 21st, at 2 p.m., in city hall.
