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.