Meeting Recap: January 19, 2012

(Stillwater, Okla. / Posted Jan. 20, 2012) — The Stillwater City Council met Thursday, Jan. 19, for a regular meeting.  Download the evening’s agendas.

Minutes for the meeting held Jan. 5 was approved by all present. Councilor Cody Scott was absent.

Consent Docket.

• Items B-D were approved, while Items A & E were pulled for discussion.
• Councilor Joe Weaver pulled Item A. He said he was pleased that see the public-private agreement for the Multi Arts Center was reached. The contract with Friends of Multi Arts Center is for 6 months; if all goes well, a one-year or multi-year contact will be discussed.
• City Manager Dan Galloway provided an update on the Council Chamber audio-visual upgrades. He said the audio-visual equipment used in the room for meetings and broadcast should take place with in the next two months. The funds come from the original bond used for city hall. Those funds are restricted to maintaining the building.
  
  

Public Hearings.

• Planner Tom Coots made a presentation for a map amendment for the property at 1312 S. Sanger Road, Meridian Technology Center. The request was for the lot west of campus to change zoning from RSS (Residential Single Family) to (P) Public. It was approved by all present.
• Special Planner Patty Evans made a presentation for a Preliminary Planned Unit Development (PUD) for property located at 823 S. Range Road. Developers propose building a senior living facility, called Primrose, with independent and assisted living services. Evans began by reporting that there was protest petition, but it didn’t have enough signatures to stop the development of the complex. The developers proposed a two-story complex with 76 units, four duplexes a chapel, bistro, pub, theater, etc. Neighbors raised concerns about construction times, water pressure, traffic, and invasive lighting.
  
  Councilor Weaver said that while he liked the idea of the development, he was unsure of the location. Council voted to send it back to Planning Commission for further discussion and clarification.
• Councilor Joe Bartley called back to the table the request for a Map Amendment for the property at 619 W. 12^th Ave. The request was to change the zoning from (P) Public to (O) Office hit a snag because the privately owned property on the location was Stillwater’s historical African American elementary school. The developer and the Washington Alumni Association met and were able to work out an agreement. The developer will allow for a 6 foot X 6 foot plaque/monument honoring the site of the school. They’ll donate $2,000 and allow an additional $3,000 for the organization to use for fund raising. Councilor Bartley appreciated that all parties were able to work together. Councilor Weaver echoed Bartley’s words. Council voted for the rezoning.

General Orders.

• Development Services Director Paula Dennison asked that council correct Ordinance 3132, so that it would comply with state regulations. (See Ordinances below.)
• Chief Financial Officer Marcy Alexander presented the “Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Single Audit of Grant Programs, and Auditor Letter of Communication for fiscal year ended June 30, 2011. Council Weaver and Vice Mayor Chuck Hopkins complimented her staff on their outstanding work and the “clean letter” from the auditors.
• Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Lisa Navrkal made a presentation about the Economic Development agreement.

Ordinances (Click here to read resolutions in full.)

• All ordinances on the agenda were passed by all councilors present.

Reports from Officers & Boards

• Mayor Nathan Bates said he wanted to see Stillwater have a facility like Primrose and hopes to see it Stillwater.
• Councilor Weaver asked if there was progress on the Friends of Lake McMurtry partnership. Galloway said that it was progressing, but it was more complicated than the Multi Arts one.

Council recessed for the SUA Meeting.  

Stillwater Utilities Authority Meeting Jan. 19

The meeting began with the approval of minutes for Dec. 5. Approved by all present. Trustee Scott was absent.

General Orders

• Waste Management and Fleet Director David Higgins made a report on the request for proposals (RFP) for solid waste management. He spoke about how the staff was looking at curbside recycling. The next step is a meeting for Jan. 24 with Republic Services, Cedar Creek Farms and the Recycling Task Force. He will be reporting back the SUA in the near future.

SUA meeting recessed for the Use Tax Oversight Committee Meeting.  

Use Tax Oversight Committee Meeting Jan. 19

The meeting began with the approval of minutes for Oct. 17, 2011. Approved by all present. Scott was absent

Review and discuss Use Tax Revenues

• Alexander referred council to the submitted report. There were no questions.

Use Tax Oversight Committee recessed for the City Council Meeting, which then recessed.

END

Recap by Sherry Fletcher, Marketing and Public Relations.  

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Next City Council Meeting: Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at 5:30 p.m. is the Council Room.  Click here for agendas. 

Watch the City Council Meetings:  Videos of Stillwater City Council meetings are made available on the City of Stillwater's YouTube.com channel within five days of the meeting. Note: if meetings are longer than two hours, the video may be available on Stillwater’s Vimeo channel only.

Meeting Recap: January 5, 2012

(Stillwater, Okla. / Posted Jan. 6, 2012) — The Stillwater City Council met Thursday, Jan. 5, for a regular meeting. 

Minutes for the meetings held Dec. 12 were approved by all.

Consent Docket.

• All items on the Consent Docket were passed by all, except for item E, which was pulled off for discussion by Councilor Chuck Hopkings. Item E concerned language in the Ciyt’s Master Defined Contribution Joinder Agreement. In short, it reads that if someone retires from the City of Stillwater, he or she may continue to receive retirement benefits even if rehired as a part-time staff member. City Manager Dan Galloway explained that people often hold part-time jobs upon retirement and working for the city is no different. He explained that these people in these positions don’t receive employment benefits.
  
  

Public Hearings.

• All were postponed to later dates, except for the one concerning parking. Special Planner Patty Evans asked council to consider removing the part of city code that prohibits boarding/rooming houses in the following zones [RSS (single family, small lots); RSL (single family, large lots); RT (two-family)] from parking in front yards. Evans said that until the upcoming parking consultant report is completed, it would be best amend that section of city code. Council agreed.

Ordinances (Click here to read resolutions in full.)

• Ordinance No. 3156 (First Reading). An ordinance amending Chapter 2, Administration of Stillwater City Code, concerning advisory boards and removing term limits and oaths of office. The Council clarified that advisory board members are not officers and, therefore, are not required to take the State’s oath of office. (Note: The Council voted to table the ordinance until the Jan. 5 meeting.) At the Jan. 5 meeting, Mayor Nathan Bates asked that council consider changing the proposed ordinance to require 4 of 5 councilors to approve a board member’s third term. This didn’t receive a second. The council then voted 4 to 1 to approve the ordinance as originally written. Scott voted nay.

Reports from Officers & Boards

• City Attorney requested an executive session.
• City Manager Dan Galloway had three items to report:
• The Code Enforcement Pilot Project in the Westwood Neighborhood was successful, so the City will expand it citywide. The city has redesigned how we do code enforcement and now three code enforcement offices (similar to parking enforcement) will be under the umbrella of the Stillwater Police Department. This will be effective by the end of the month.
• The insurance standard organization, which insurance companies use, has started rating building codes. What this means is if a city is slow to adopt new codes, to lag in code enforcement, or to stay up-to-date with training, it could affect everyone’s insurance rates. The City of Stillwater has been working to improve it rating, which is now Class 4. Class 4 is very good, but he wants to see the Stillwater continue to improve to a Class 3, all the way to a Class 1 He complimented Development Services hard work in achieving a Class 4 rating.
• The City will be introducing Blackboard Connect in Feburary. This allows citizens to opt into a service that allows them to receive phone messages from the city. It’s similar to CodeRed, but sophisticated enough to allow for a wide variety of useful and specialized messaging techniques.
• Councilor John Bartley recalled the rezoning of the Washington School property for the Jan. 19 meeting.

Council recessed for the SUA Meeting.  

Stillwater Utilities Authority Meeting Jan. 5

The meeting began with the approval of minutes for Dec. 12. Approved by all members of the authority.

Consent Docket

• Three items were approved by all.

General Orders

• SUA Director Dan Blankenship made a presentation concerning electric rate and purchase cost. Below is the PowerPoint Presentation. The trustees voted to accept the recommendation.

Wholesale electric purchase costs & retail rates 1 12 a

View more presentations from City of Stillwater

Council recessed for the SUA Meeting.  

Stillwater Industrial & Redevelopment Authority Meeting Jan. 5

The meeting began with the approval of minutes for Dec. 5. Approved by all members of the authority.

Consent Docket

• Four items were approved by all. City Manager Dan Galloway pointed out that Bed Mart was the latest example of the successful Downtown Stillwater incentive program.

SIRA recessed for the City Council Meeting, which then recessed to an executive session.

END

Recap by Sherry Fletcher, Marketing and Public Relations.  

*****

Next City Council Meeting: Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, at 5:30 p.m. is the Council Room.  Click here for agendas. 

Watch the City Council Meetings:  Videos of Stillwater City Council meetings are made available on the City of Stillwater's YouTube.com channel within five days of the meeting. Note: if meetings are longer than two hours, the video may be available on Stillwater’s Vimeo channel only.