Meeting Recap: August 1, 2011

Stillwater City Council holds public hearings

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / Aug. 1, 2011) — The Stillwater City Council met Monday, Aug. 1, 2011, for a regular meeting. Following the approval of minutes from July 18 and July 25, Council held three public hearings. (Official minutes will be posted here.)

Mayor Bates asked for a moment of silence to honor long-time Stillwater resident and community volunteer Elvis Pennington who passed away recently.

Public Hearings

Hearing 1: There was no public input concerning the revised City Code.

Hearing 2: The public hearing for the closure of a portion of an alley at 211 W. 11th Ave. was postponed until Aug. 15 meeting.

Hearing 3: There were two public hearings on parking in the Westwood Neighborhood Preservation Overlay District—one for on-street parking and one for off-street parking.

Development Services Director Paula Dennison provided background information for both hearings.

She explained that the city was looking at a variety of tools that could correct the crowded streets of this neighborhood.

One tool is to restrict parking to one side of the street, which was recently authorized by the city manager. Dennison said the City’s Transportation Department suggested streets with the least number of driveways (to maintain maximum number of parking spaces) to be the side with parking. One resident asked that University Avenue also be considered for on-street parking. Dennison will provide more information on University Avenue, so the council can make an informed decision.

Dennison reminded everyone that City Council would not be taking action at tonight’s meeting as this was a public hearing. Several residents spoke in favor of the decision for parking on one side of the street in the Westwood Neighborhood.

City Attorney John Dorman explained the process for creating a parking district, which is being considered for Westwood:

• Hearing (Aug. 1 meeting)
• Adoption of Resolution (Aug. 15 agenda.) with a 30-day period for public input after the resolution is adopted. Unless 51 percent of the property owners objected — the parking district would be permanent.
• After the parking district resolution is adopted, City Council would set the rules on who, when and how the parking will be allowed.

Hearing 4: The  last hearing concerned off-street parking within the Westwood Neighborhood Preservation Overlay District.

Dennison provided City Council current city codes and possible rules about parking (for residential and boarding house) that could be adopted. This included issues such as: How much of the private yard could be paved, how many parking spaces could be provided, what types of materials could be used to build, and so on. Councilor Weaver suggested that this topic be sent to the Land Development Ad Hoc Committee for further discussion and then brought back to Council.

On-Street Parking District Westwood Neighborhood

Resolutions

The resolution to participate in the Oklahoma Certified Retirement Communities Program was approved by all.

The resolution authorizing signatures for depositories was approved by all. (This refers to who can sign checks and other documents.)

Ordinances

All three ordinances were passed by all. This included Ordinance No. 3146, 3147 and 3145. (Click here to read ordinances in full.)

Appointments

The following people were appointed to the Certified Retirement Community Advisory Committee:

• Sally Harris  
• Larry Shell
• Kay Heath
• Milton Morris 
•  Esther Winterfeldt  
• Josh McKim 
•  Gladeen Allred
• Connie Stokes  

Lynda Burkes was appointed to the Library Trust Board.

  

Stillwater Utilities Authority Aug. 1, 2011 Meeting

Approval by all for the Minutes for the July 1, 2011, meeting.

Update on Rural Water Corp. #3 service area:

• Water Utilities Director Anthony Daniel provided an update on the new pump station that is being installed to serve the twin towers.
• SUA Trustees authorized City Administration to call for mandatory external water restrictions in a portion of Rural Water Corp. #3 service area served by the Twin Towers if the new pump station is not effective in resolving the low-pressure problems in the area. The extent of the restrictions, if necessary, will be determined after the new pump station has been operational for several days. For updates on this issue, visit the City of Stillwater's website.

No action was taken on the resolutions concerning the wholesale electric power supplier. The topic will be a future City Council study session.

Stillwater Industrial & Redevelopment Authority Aug. 1, 2011 Meeting

The minutes for the July 11, 2011 meeting were approved.

The SIRA Trustees approved an economic development agreement with Brooklyn’s Restaurant, LLC, which will be locating in the renovated Katz Building in Downtown Stillwater.

***** 

Next City Council Meeting: Monday, August 15, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. Council Hearing Room. Broadcast on City of Stillwater TV on Suddenlink channel 23. 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.

END

Recap by Sherry Fletcher, Marketing and Public Relations 

Meeting Recap: July 25, 2011

City Council hears update on rural water concerns

The Stillwater City Council held a work session at the Monday, July 25, 2011, meeting. Staff presented the following reports.

Annual Stormwater Programs

Stormwater Manager Cody Whittenburg provided a board overview of what is meant by stormwater programs. His report covered the program’s activities: audits, grants, staff certifications, public education, and compliance requirements. Council agreed that Stormwater Management programs should be a featured topic at an upcoming work session to discuss the new MS4 permit, future stormwater management plans, and stormwater utility fee structure. View PowerPoint at SlideShare.net.

Oklahoma Certified Retirement Community

Grants Coordinator Valerie Silvers presented the Oklahoma Certified Retirement Community program plan. She said that the Oklahoma Legislature selected Stillwater to be the pilot city for the statewide program. Council will be asked to consider a resolution to endorse the pilot program at next council meeting. The five-year program requires a commitment of $20,000, which the Chamber of Commerce has agreed to pledge. The first step of the process, if the council chooses to endorse the program, is to select an advisory committee that would help write the qualifications for Oklahoma cities to be certified as retirement communities. If the program is endorsed, Council will be asked to appoint the advisory committee at next week’s meeting.

City Council ad hoc committee assignments

• Central Oklahoma Economic Development District:  City Manager to appoint a staff member
• Stillwater Medical Center:  Mayor Bates
• Oklahoma Technology & Research Park Board:  City Manager & Chuck Thomas
• Annexation Committee:  Chuck Hopkins, Cody Scott
• Capital Improvement Committee:  Chuck Hopkins, Joe Weaver
• Land Development Committee:  Joe Weaver, John Bartley
• Property Maintenance Committee:  Mayor Bates, Chuck Hopkins
• OSU SGA Liaison:  Cody Scot, John Bartley
• Stillwater Public Schools Coordinating Committee:  Joe Weaver, John Bartley
• Personnel Policy Committee:  Mayor Bates, John Bartley

Discussion of City Code concerning “Boarding/Rooming Houses”

City Attorney John Dorman reported that a staff committee will resolve inconsistencies in the City Code regarding boarding/rooming houses.

Westwood Neighborhood Parking District

There will be a public hearing at next week’s City Council  regarding parking issues in the Westwood Neighborhood. Council discussed that there are many problems with parking and there are many possible solutions. First, the City will restrict parking to one side of the streets; the signs have been ordered. This is a safety issue and is allowed by state code; no further discussion is required. However, a parking district is needed to restrict available street parking to residents who are issued parking permits. Council agreed there are many ways to determine what form the parking district could take. Residents are encouraged to make their voices heard at next Monday’s public hearing. Agendas will be posted by Friday.

Stillwater City Code

City Attorney John Dorman presented the new Stillwater City Code and proposed adoption. He said this is the first recodification since 1984, and it includes every adopted ordinance and resolution through June 2011. It’s also in agreement with federal and state law. A public hearing on the adoption of the city code is scheduled for next Monday’s meeting. The hearing is for input about the compilation of the code, and not the individual ordinances.

Rural Water Update

Stillwater Utilities Director Dan Blankenship reported that over the past week water pressure in area served by the two 80-foot towers near 44th Ave. and Range  Road dropped below 25 psi, which is the point when DEQ can begin to issue fines for noncompliance. Staff has been capturing data and was able to report today (Monday, July 25) that the twin towers were full for the first time since the problem was reported last week. Blankenship concluded that rain “damped” the need for external watering, and the City was then able to fill the towers. In the meantime, the City is installing a new pump station and that should help with the water pressure issue. He also reported that Water Utilities will be holding a public meeting Thursday, July 28 at 5:30 p.m. at the Stillwater Public Library. Area residents are encouraged to attend. Blankenship said that staff will continue to gather data and correct the problem as they can. As a water provider, he stressed that they must meet the water needs of their current customers first. Staff will provide another update at Monday’s council meeting. Follow this link for updates concerning this topic. http://stillwater.org/content/2011/rural-water-update.php

Next Meeting: Monday, August 1, 2011, at 5:30 p.m., Council Hearing Room. Broadcast on City of Stillwater TV on Suddenlink channel 23. Click here for agendas.

Recap by Sherry Fletcher, Marketing and Public Relations