The City of Stillwater (Okla.) operates under a council-manager system. In this form of government, an elected city council is responsible for making policy, passing ordinances and approving the city’s budget. The council appoints a city manager who implements the policies adopted by the council. Citizens are encouraged to be an active participant in local government. Meeting recaps will be posted the week of the meeting.
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / Feb. 18, 2015) —
The Stillwater Utilities Authority met for a special meeting Monday, Feb. 9,
2015 (View
agenda here.)
General
Orders
a.Raftelis
presentation of the proposed water and wastewater rate alternatives from the
Water and Wastewater Cost of Service Study
Raftelis Senior Manager Tom
Beckley was back to present the final findings of the Water and Wastewater Cost
of Service Study.
Note:
Details presented during this meeting are for a smooth rate increase with an
inclining block (tiered) rate for water rates and a “just in time” rate for the
wastewater rates, which represent the best price for the customers.
A water alternative presented
sets base charges and tiers. Base charges for ¾” meters will not increase, but
all other meters will increase based on cost of service. Customers will pay a
volumetric rate that corresponds to what tier their consumption falls into. Some
customers might experience initial bill decease under year 1 of the alternative
before seeing an increase in year 2.
Vice Chairman Joe Weaver said he
was concerned about rates decreasing one year and then increasing again, which
was represented instability.
Industrial customers would not be
on the tier rates.
Beckley said there isn’t a lot of
flexibility with rate design on the wastewater side, and all customers would
see an increase.
Trustee Gina Noble asked if the
rates were comparable with other cities. Beckley said he believed Muskogee was also
doing a rate study.
Utilities Authority Director Dan
Blankenship said tier prices are the same regardless of meter size, but the
gallon allowance per tier changes, per chart:
Meter Size
Tier Design (in 1,000 gallons)
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
3/4”
4
12
>12
1”
11
33
>33
1.5”
40
120
>120
2”
70
210
>210
3”
120
360
>360
4”
240
720
>720
6”
350
1050
>1050
Volumetric Rate
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Inside City
$6.31
$8.20
$10.72
Outside City
$9.46
$12.30
$16.08
Blankenship said these increases
were necessary to prevent more costly increases in the future.
On water rates, Noble said she’d
like to see the plan start out with the increase instead of the decrease.
Beckley said an option would be no increase in the first year and then a
smaller (percentage) increase each year thereafter.
SUA
is adjourned.
-END-
Written by Zachary
Kinder, Marketing and Public Relations
Note:
Items of discussion in this recap include links indexed to that portion of the
City Council meeting replay. Click on the bold headers that are linked to view
that portion of the video.
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / Feb. 3, 2015) —
The City of Stillwater City Council met for its regular meeting Monday, Feb. 3,
2015. (View
agenda here.)
Mayor John Bartley declared and
invited the community to be involved and participate in events and honor the
anniversary of the Sister Cities Partnership.
Bartley also honored the Boy
Scouts, and proclaimed the week of Feb. 8-14, 2015 as Boy Scout week.
a.Resolution
No. CC-2015-3: Resolution amending terms and conditions of service for municipal
utilities, policy manual for utility accounts, billing and collections and
deposit schedule
Council approved 5-0.
b.Resolution
No. CC-2015-4: Resolution amending installation and reconnection fees and
miscellaneous fees and charges for utility services pursuant to the terms and
conditions of service for municipal utilities
Request for an
executive session for the purpose of confidential communication regarding the
purchase or appraisal of real property
Request for
executive session pursuant of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act for the purpose of
confidential communication regarding the employment, appointment, promotion,
demotion, disciplining or resignation of City Manager Dan Galloway
Request for executive
session pursuant of the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act for the purpose of
confidential communication regarding the employment, appointment, promotion,
demotion, disciplining or resignation of City Attorney John Dorman
b.Miscellaneous
items from the City Manager
Nothing to report.
c.Miscellaneous
items from the City Council
Vice Mayor Joe Weaver said he would
like to work out a way for him to attend meetings that don’t fall on Thursdays
after holidays.
Councilor Miguel Najera wanted to
express his gratefulness toward the participants of the fire and police
basketball game.
a.Resolution
No. CC-2015-3: Resolution amending terms and conditions of service for municipal
utilities, policy manual for utility accounts, billing and collections and
deposit schedule
Trustees approved 5-0.
b.Resolution
No. CC-2015-4: Resolution amending installation and reconnection fees and
miscellaneous fees and charges for utility services pursuant to the terms and
conditions of service for municipal utilities
Trustees approved 5-0.
SUA
adjourned; Stillwater Economic Development Authority called to order
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / Jan. 29, 2015) —
The City of Stillwater City Council met for its regular meeting Monday, Jan.
26, 2015 (View agenda here.)
General Orders
a.Council
discussion on methods to encourage/improve public involvement and input
Councilor Pat Darlington said
there are two parts to public involvement. One is getting input from the public
and the other is imparting information and educating the public. She said the
Council needs to be creative about how it gets information to people.
Mayor John Bartley asked how we
gauge the success of a campaign to get knowledge to the public. He said
resident response is the best way to gauge that, but that a lot of times
residents hear it but don’t respond to it, which makes gauging success
difficult. Darlington also said regular resident input is a way to measure
success.
Darlington said it’s the
Council’s responsibility to get information to residents and remind them it’s
important to them.
Councilor Gina Nobile said we
have to understand how to reach the public where they want us to reach them at.
Any city is made up of many different segments, and you have to be able to
communicate with them in different ways. Noble said she would like to see us
try something different.
Darlington said we shouldn’t make
assumptions about what people want to hear, and do our best to reach everyone.
City manager Dan Galloway
suggested the City Council members meet with residents in public places, such
as coffee shops, periodically to build relationships and get input. Darlington
also said she wants to put an emphasis on creating relationships.
b.Council
discussion on the proposed Quality of Life Committee recommendations
Darlington said the committee
would like a resolution puts quality of life and relationship with the citizens
in writing and mentioned a commitment to a vision/planning process. Darlington
also said she would like more than one meeting to discuss it.
Bartley said discussions have
taken place to schedule a strategic planning session.
Vice Mayor Joe Weaver pointed out
that quality of life is defined differently by different members of the public,
but was in favor of the proposed resolution.
Note:
Items of discussion in this recap include links indexed to that portion of the
City Council meeting replay. Click on the bold headers that are linked to view
that portion of the video.
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / Jan. 27, 2015) —
The City of Stillwater City Council met for its regular meeting Thursday, Jan.
22, 2015 (View agenda here.)
a.Consider
entering into an inter-local agreement with Payne Country for a structural
overlay on Lakeview Road (Country Club Road to city limits west of Western
Road)
Transportation Manager Jason Peek
presented the request.
City Manager Dan Galloway
commented that it was a good relationship to help resurface the roads.
Council approved 4-0.
b.Presentation
by City Attorney regarding possible oil and gas ordinance changes
a.Resolution No. CC-2015-2: A resolution adopting an
amended and restated trust indenture for Stillwater Medical Center Authority as
reflected in Exhibit A attached to this resolution, which amended and restated
trust indenture (i) amends Article VI to increase size of the board trustees
and change the manner of selection of trustees; (ii) amends Article VII
regarding the issuance of indebtedness and obligations and limitations thereto;
and (iii) makes certain other non-material changes
Mayor John Bartley said the first
change adds a trustee to the board and a requirement for a medical official on
the board who’s a nonvoting member. The second change creates a nominating
committee created of equal number of people from the Council and hospital.
Another change gives City Council access to financial records, but not medical
or other records. The final change affects the hospital’s ability to borrow.
Councilor Gina Noble clarified it
would not remove any of the Council’s authority.
Councilor Pat Darlington received
comments on the resolution, and said she appreciated public input.
a.Receive
public comment regarding a Text Amendment to the Land Development Code, Section
23-170 Agriculture District (Report
pending Jan. 20, 2015 meeting of Land Development Committee)
Development Services Director
Paula Dennison resented the amendment that would eliminate surface mining from
Agriculture Districts inside city limits, but does not change nonsurface rights
or other Agriculture District uses.
Councilor Miguel Najera asked how
it affected those who already have mining. Dennison said it becomes a legally
nonconforming use of the land, and can continue under certain criteria.
Bartley asked if it addressed
types of mineral extraction. Dennison said it only affects surface-level mining
activity
Six people spoke in favor of the
amendment and two spoke against.
Noble asked for clarification for
current wells in Agriculture Districts.
Najera said there was already a
barrier in place to prevent mining without this amendment.
Bartley said he felt the
amendment was too broad and wanted something more specific to protect
residents.
City Attorney John Dorman
recommended buffering, nuisance and security ordinances in regard to this
amendment.
Ordinances
First reading
a.Ordinance No. 3294: An ordinance amending the Stillwater
City Code, by amending Chapter 23, Land Development Code, Article VI, Land Use
Classifications, Division 6, Agriculture District, Public District and
University District, by amending Section 23-170, A Agriculture District, and
declaring and emergency
Council voted 2-2, with Bartley and Najera voting
against. Bartley explained the ordinance was too broad.
a.*Discussion
of process and calendar for review of Downtown Mixed Use Project proposals
Galloway presented information
about the three proposals for the project. He proposed having a couple members
of SEDA review the proposals and plan the next step. Bartley recommended Najera
and Vice Mayor Joe Weaver for the committee.
SEDA
adjourned
-END-
Written by Zachary
Kinder, Marketing and Public Relations
(STILLWATER,
OKLA. / Jan. 27, 2015) —
The Stillwater Utilities Authority met for a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 22,
2015 (View agenda here.)
General
Orders
a.Trustees
roundtable discussion with Raftelis regarding the Water and Wastewater Cost of
Service Study
Utilities Authority Director Dan
Blankenship presented the goal of the study, which was to determine the cost of
providing these services to the community and establish a rate structure that
would reasonably ensure sustainable systems to meet the needs of current and
future customers.
Raftelis Senior Manager Tom
Beckley presented the report. Raftelis developed three different scenarios:
Scenario 1 – No rate increases
Scenario 2 – Just in time rate
increases
Scenario 3 – Smoothed rate
increases
Beckley presented how each of
these scenarios would affect both water and wastewater rates and how it would
affect revenue goals. He said using scenario 3 for water and scenario 2 for
wastewater would produce the lowest rate increases for customers while still
meeting city revenue goals.
Beckley then presented six volume
rate structures
Uniform volume rate – Same rate
year-round
Seasonal volume rate – Rate
varies depending on season
Declining block volume rate –
Declining rate as larger volume is used
Inclining block volume rate –
Inclining rate as larger volume is used (helpful for conservation)
Individualized volume rate –
Based on average winter consumption on a block basis
Water budget – More complicated
format based on weather patterns
Existing structure – Any changes
to revenue recovery will be implemented through an across the board increase of
all current fees and rates
Alternative 1: Increasing block
rates – Volumetric rate will increase for residential customers and consumption
increases through the defined blocks
Alternative 2: Increasing block
rates based on avg. winter consumption – First usage block will be based on
customer’s average winter consumption (AWC), and additional usage tiers will be
based on a factor of AWC.
Existing structure – Any changes
to revenue recovery will be implemented through an across the board increase of
all current fees and rates
Alternative 1: Base charges by
meter size – All customer will be required to pay a minimum charge based on the
size of their water meter, similar to the current water rate structure; charge
increases as meter size increases (uniform volumetric rate)
Alternative 2: Uniform rates by
class – Some (or all) non-residential customers will be placed in a class whole
uniform rate reflects the higher strength loadings of their effluent (Ex.
restaurants, automobile service facilities, laundromats)
-End-
Written by Zachary Kinder, Marketing and Public Relations
