Commissioner’s Meeting Minutes from March 22nd

The Ponca City Board of Commissioners met in regular session on March 22, 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 March 8, 2021 and the work session held March 15, 2021; a resolution appropriating money for payment of claims against the City of Ponca City; a resolution amending the operating budget of various funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21; and the purchase of a 2021 asphalt recycler from Crafco, Inc. in the amount of $82,685.00.

The City Commission also approved the authorization of the City Clerk to advertise for bids for sidewalk construction on Highland Avenue.  This project will construct a new five-foot wide sidewalk along the south side of Highland Avenue from Airline Drive to Waverly Street, in order to provide a safer route to school for children living in the Highland Estates Subdivision. The new sidewalk will provide a hard-surface connection from the existing sidewalk at the northeast corner of the subdivision to Waverly Street.  Additional right-of-way was acquired Highland Avenue for this project and the new sidewalk will be constructed nearly 50 feet south of the centerline of Highland Avenue.  Existing pedestrian crossing signals at Waverly Street and Highland Avenue will assist the students in getting to the east side of  Waverly Street where a sidewalk connects to both schools. Bid advertisement will begin on March 25 and bids will open on April 15. Construction should begin in early May, and there are 20 calendar days allotted for the project.

And, the City Commission approved the authorization of the City Clerk to advertise for bids for Princeton Avenue street improvements. This is a project to mill and overlay Princeton Avenue from 14th Street to approximately 670 feet west of 14th Street. The existing asphalt on Princeton Avenue has extensive cracking throughout most of the project area. A three-inch mill and overlay is planned to mitigate these failures and restore a sound driving surface. Total project area is approximately 2,001 square yards.  All asphalt millings will be retained by the City and used primarily for alley maintenance. Bid advertisement will begin no later than April 1 and bids will open no later than April 22.  Construction should begin in May and there are 20 calendar days allotted for the project.

Communications from Mayor and Commissioners

Under the Communications from the Mayor and Commissioners section of the agenda, Mayor Homer Nicholson presented City Manager Craig Stephenson with a 20-year City of Ponca City service award, for his loyalty, diligence and outstanding performance during his tenure since March 26, 2001.

City Manager’s Report

Under the reports section of the agenda, City Manager Craig Stephenson reported that Spring Cleanup will be held April 10 thru April 17 for Ponca City residents. Solid Waste crews will pick up most trash and haul it away, or residents can haul it to the landfill themselves and get rid of it for free.  Crews will pick up any extra items placed in your regular pickup area except the following: poisons, acids, and caustics; car batteries; explosives; body wastes; large bulky objects such as automobile frames; tires; items or materials containing Freon and PCB; items that could cause damage to collection equipment or personal injury to collectors; dirt, rocks, concrete and other debris resulting from construction or demolition; dead animals and animal excreta that have not been wrapped and tightly sealed in moisture proof wrapping; logs greater than 8 inches in diameter and longer than 4 feet or weighing more than 75 pounds; brush that is not bundled, longer than 4 feet in length and weighing more than 75 pounds; and containers larger than 35 gallons.

Stephenson continued his report with the following announcements.

The annual City Wide Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, April 10.  For this one day only the City will waive the regular requirements for a garage sale. The $5 permit won’t be required, and the garage sale will not be counted toward the yearly limit of two. In case of inclement weather, the event will be held on Saturday, April 17.

Cimarron Transit is providing free in-town rides to assist citizens wanting the COVID-19 vaccine.  Citizens must reside in Ponca City and have an appointment scheduled. All rides are subject to availability.  Please contact the Cimarron Transit Ride Line at 580.718.0444.

The City of Ponca City will observe Good Friday on Friday April 2. Residential Refuse will not be picked up, and the Landfill, Marland’s Grand Home, and Ponca City Senior Center will be closed on Friday, April 2. The Ponca City Library will be closed Friday, April 2 thru Sunday, April 4. The Ponca City RecPlex will be closed on Sunday, April 4.

And, Stephenson concluded his report by noting that Street, Park, and Solid Waste are to be commended for their dedication throughout the City of Ponca City’s Ice Storm Tree Debris Collection.  As of March 19, City crews have removed 28,501 cubic yards or 5,985 tons of debris from the community.

New Business

Under the New Business section of the agenda, the City Commission approved an ordinance amending Title 6, Chapter 1, Section 2 and Sections 8 through 10 of the City Code of Ponca City, entitled “Public Health and Safety”.  This change will allow the property inspection team to issue citations via “Certificate of Mailing” in lieu of face to face confrontations.  A Certificate of Mailing is similar to Certified mail, but is substantially less expensive.  The reasoning for the change in the notice process is threefold:  1) the Certificate of Mailing meets the legal standard for proper notice, 2) the inspector is no longer placed in a dangerous situation with individuals, and 3) the work output per inspector is much greater.  The citation form normally used by the property inspection team will be amended to more closely mirror the citation form utilized by Police Officers. The Municipal Judge will work with the property inspection team to determine the fine schedule for those individuals who wish to plead “no contest” and simply pay a fine rather than adjudicate the matter in Municipal Court.

The City Commission also approved a resolution setting certain rates, fees, and charges for the Lew Wentz Golf Course. The resolution provides for an adjustment of the daily cart fees and unlimited annual cart fees, resulting in the following:  a 9-hole daily cart fee of $9.75; an 18-hole daily cart fee of $13.75; an unlimited single cart annual cart fee of $983.25; an unlimited senior single annual cart fee of $884.93; an unlimited single plus one annual cart fee of $1,420.25; and an unlimited single plus one senior annual cart fee of $1,278.23.  The City has not increased fees since 2015. These changes will be effective May 1 and include sales tax.

PONCA CITY UTILITY AUTHORITY

Under PCUA (Ponca City Utility Authority), the trustees voted to approve the consent agenda which included the minutes of the regular session held March 8, 2021; a resolution appropriating money for the payment of claims against PCUA, and authorization of the chairman to submit the monthly operating statement to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.