Board of Commissioners Meet in Regular Session

The Ponca City Board of Commissioners met in regular session on June 28, 2021. Mayor Homer Nicholson called the meeting to order, which was followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Consent Agenda

Under the Consent Agenda, the City Commission:

• Approved the minutes of the regular session held on June 14, 2021
• A resolution appropriating money for the payment of claims against the City of Ponca City
• A resolution appointing members to various board and commissions and establishing the terms of office
• A resolution amending the operating budget of various funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21
• A resolution designating certain city employees as purchasing officers with authority to make purchases against city and municipal trust appropriations
• The purchase of four grasshopper mowers model 729BT from Kretchmar Distributing Inc. in the amount of $52,819.56
• A renewal agreement between the City of Ponca City and Ponca City Main Street in the amount of $35,000.00
• A renewal agreement between the City of Ponca City and the Northern Oklahoma Youth Services Center and Shelter, Inc. subject to appropriation in the amount of $15,000
• An agreement to provide funding for Santa Buck Giveaway in the amount of $5,000
• An agreement between the City of Ponca City and the Ponca City Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc. for the Chamber to operate the Ponca City Tourism Bureau for the purpose of encouraging, promoting and fostering the convention and tourism development of Ponca City
• A contract award for road construction materials to the lowest and most responsible bidder available for July 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021; and,
• The award of the audit of financial statements for Fiscal Year 2020-21 (year ending June 30, 2021) to BT&Co., P.A. Certified Public Accountants of Topeka, Kansas, and authorized the Mayor to execute all related documents.

City Manager’s Report

The City of Ponca City will observe the Independence Day holiday on Monday, July 5, 2021.

Residential Refuse will not be picked up on Monday, July 5 and will resume on Tuesday, July 6.

The Ponca City Landfill, Ponca City Library, Marland Mansion and Estate, and Ponca City Senior Center will be closed on Sunday, July 4 and reopen on Tuesday, July 6.

The Ponca City Senior Center and Marland’s Grand Home will be closed on Saturday, July 3 and will reopen on Tuesday, July 6.

Lew Wentz Golf Course will be open on Sunday, July 4, but will close at 4:00 p.m., and will be open on Monday, July 5.

And, the Ponca City RecPlex will be open on Sunday, July 4, from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. only, and will be open and resume regular hours on Monday, July 5.

The Ponca City Fire Department strongly urges the public to use extra caution during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday period. Each year thousands of serious fireworks-related injuries occur across the country. Sparklers, firecrackers, and bottle rockets are the leading cause of those injuries.

FIREWORKS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE DISCHARGED WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF PONCA CITY. 

The City of Ponca City’s free fireworks display at Lake Ponca will be held on Sunday, July 4 at 9:50 p.m.  The colorful pyrotechnic and musically choreographed fireworks show will fill the night skies over beautiful Lake Ponca to celebrate America’s Independence Day.

The fireworks will be choreographed to music and can be heard by turning to local radio stations KPNC-FM 100.7 or KLOR 99.3 FM.

A safety zone will be buoyed off on Lake Ponca beginning at approximately 7:00 p.m. on July 4. If you are in a water craft on Lake Ponca after 7:00 p.m., please stay out of the buoyed off area until the fireworks and the buoys have been removed.

As part of the safety zone, Lake Ponca Park will be closed July 1 thru 4 to allow for the setup of the display that will be located on the west dam of Lake Ponca, adjacent to the park.

PLEASE REMEMBER: PRIVATE FIREWORKS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON OR AROUND THE LAKE PONCA RECREATION AREA OR ANY OF THE ROADWAYS OR WATER AREAS AROUND LAKE PONCA.

With the Lake Ponca Trail now complete on the east side of Lake Ponca, this area will not be available for overflow parking. No parking will be allowed along the west side of LA Cann Drive between the road and the walking trail.

However, the area located east of LA Cann Drive and north of the Sailboat Marina will be designated for overflow public parking on July 4th. The Ponca City Police Department encourages everyone to be diligent and careful when driving in this area on the 4th of July, as there will be a large amount of pedestrian traffic around and crossing the roadway.

A dedication will be held on Friday, July 9 at 10:00 a.m. in the Ponca City Development Authority hangar to celebrate the completion of the Ponca City Regional Airport runway project.  Through a combination of FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) discretionary, supplemental, and CARES Act funding, the $8,073,665 project was funded by the FAA.

This is one of the biggest single-phase general aviation airport projects ever in Oklahoma. The Ponca City Regional Airport has a 10 million dollar annual economic impact to the area. Runway 17-35 at the Ponca City Regional Airport is concrete and 7,201 feet long.

The south 4,800 feet of the runway was exhibiting D-Cracking, broken slabs, shattered slabs, corner breaks, corner spall, joint spall, longitudinal and transverse cracks, and general deterioration that required the pavement to be reconstructed.

There were areas that were ponding water on the runway. Due to the distresses, the pavement was deteriorating rapidly and generating a significant amount of foreign object debris that was a hazard to aircraft. The airport also experienced flooding and drainage issues during large rain events.

This project reconstructed the south 4,800 feet of the Runway 17-35, 100 feet wide, with 14-inch concrete pavement.

Over 100,000 cubic yards of existing pavement and over 150,000 cubic yards of dirt were removed to complete the project.  The new 14-inch concrete pavement supports the large aircraft that use the airport and the improvements made by grading the airport to FAA standards alleviate flooding and drainage issues. The project also included new lighting and pavement markings, as well as sod replacement.

New Business

Under New Business, the City Commission approved to acknowledge final acceptance and final payment to Highpoint Partners for the Highland Avenue Sidewalk Construction Project, Airline Drive to Waverly Street, in the amount of $32,558.00.

An executive session was held for purposes of discussing negotiations with the International Association of Fire Fighters and the Fraternal Order of Police, and to receive and discuss confidential communications between the Commission and the City Attorney about the litigation filed against a number of pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors in the federal court as a part of an effort to recover significant governmental expenditures which were generated because of opioid use and addiction. No action was taken.

PONCA CITY UTILITY AUTHORITY

Consent Agenda

Under the PCUA (Ponca City Utility Authority) consent agenda, the PCUA Trustees approved the minutes of the PCUA regular session held June 14, 2021 and a resolution appropriating money for the payment of claims against the Ponca City Utility Authority.

New Business

Under PCUA New Business, the PCUA Trustees approved a contract with Allegiant Utility Services, Manor, TX, for the meter installation services of 7,725 new residential electric meters and authorized the Chairman And City Manager to execute the required documents in the amount of $114,043.80.