The Elk City Commissioners met Wed., June 21st, at 2 p.m. in City Hall to conduct their regular monthly business. Mayor Cory Speiker gave the invocation while Rick Shelton led the flag salute. Before they opened the meeting for business, the commissioners held a public hearing for annexation as advertised.
Petitioner Bobby Drinnon requested 7.05 acres at 2021 E. Highway 66 to be annexed into the City of Elk City. The proposed zoning will be A-1, Agricultural District. Planning and Zoning Chair, Tom Johnson spoke to the issue, saying that they voted unanimously to approve the proposal. No one else spoke about the annexation.
The commissioners then voted to approve the minutes of the June 5th meeting. They went on to approve Ordinance NO. 1253: An Ordinance changing the zoning classification of a tract of land situated in City Tracts 2-1021, Beckham County, Elk City, Oklahoma from I-1, Light Industrial District to C-2, Highway Commercial and Commercial Recreation District. City Manager Tom Ivester said that this is where the tornado took down the buildings south of town, and that they will be putting up storage buildings.
The next item on the agenda was the Introduction of NO. 1254: An Ordinance of the City of Elk City annexing a 7.05 acres tract of property. This is the same property petitioned in the public hearing. No vote was taken because it was an introduction.
The commissioners approved Resolution No. 2023-11: A Resolution approving the City of Elk City Budget for the Fiscal Year 20232024. Ivester told the commissioners that they had two small changes since the budget public hearing, one for the ambulance budget and a small change to an amortization.
“The overall budget is $31.8 million, and it is 3.75 percent larger than our current fiscal year, which is slightly less than the rate of inflation. This includes the 5 percent pay raise” Ivester explained.
Resolution No 2023-12: Resolution of the Elk City Public Works Authority, Elk City for the annual increase in Water, Sewer, Sanitation, and Landfill utility rates was approved. Ivester said that they have a rate schedule that includes an annual increase to keep up with inflation. He believes it to be around 5 percent increase.
The commissioners approved Resolution No. 2023-13: A Resolution of the City of Elk City supporting the Grant Application to MODA for Esports equipment at the Arrowhead Center. This is an approval to apply for the grant, which is a 50/50 matching grant that would be about $39,000.
The purchase of secure vehicle storage boxes for 25 patrol cars from Dana Safety Supply Co. in the amount of $43,875.75 was approved. They also approved the payment to Spaces Incorporated for the remaining balance of the furniture for the Elk City Aquatic Center in the amount of $151,830.55. This is the second half of the bill.
Budget Amendment #2 for FY 2022-2023 was approved. City financial advisor Russ Meacham spoke about the adjustment to the commissioners, saying it was to increase the general fund balance of the city, as well as reallocation of funds within the budget.
Commissioners then turned to dilapidated buildings that had previously been tabled. The first one was located at 300 N. Van Buren, which they approved it to be dilapidated and torn down. The next one was tabled until Aug. 16th to give the owners more time to remove it themselves. The property was located at 702 W. 8th.
The last property in the list of dilapidated buildings was located at 1402/1406 S. Simpson. City inspector Jackie Addington told the commissioners that the owner had sent an appeal to the approval that the property was deemed to be dilapidated. The owner did not come to the meeting; therefore, the commissioners approved the motion.
They also approved the Purchase Orders FY 20222023and recurring invoices for June 21st. The next item on the agenda was the City Manager’s Report.
Ivester gave the commissioners an update on the Aquatic Center. He said that it opened last week, but the pool is not completely finished. He said that there have been 376 people on the first day, then 645,735, 564,724, and 482 in attendance at the pool. He also said that he is looking for food vendors. There are 42 boys’ basketball teams in town for a basketball camp.
“The staff is doing a great job at the Aquatic Center,” Ivester said.
City treasurer, Jennifer Rainey, then gave her report. The sales tax was up by 4 percent over last June, and at the year-end it was 6.35 percent over last year. Meacham spoke to the commissioners about the end of the year outlook. He said that the City of Elk City is in good shape and better than the surrounding towns.
The mayor then asked for guests, which Steve Berry from SWODA and the Western Oklahoma Opioid Prevention Consortium took three minutes to talk about the funds from the opioid litigation. He gave them suggestions for spending the funds that they will be getting from the settlement. The next speaker was Associate District Judge Michelle Roper, who also talked about the needs of Beckham County in terms of funding. She suggested that there is a need for evaluation of substance abuse, need for help with treatment courts, and need for a detox center.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:57 p.m. The next meeting will take place July 3rd, at 7 p.m., in City Hall.
