Letters to the Editor

Open letter to the residents of Grove OK.

Recently a memo was distributed signed by Jack Smith (a.k.a. the mouthpiece of E.S.). The opening paragraph sarcastically suggested we “get off Bill Galletlys back”. It then launched into accusations about some past history of negative proceedings allegedly caused by the city manager.

This letter should be considered “the other side of the story”.

Since arriving in Grove less than three years ago, many things have occurred that were positive for the city. Here is a review of those items. You then decide if the decision made by past City Councils were indeed correct in the hiring of our present city manager. These are listed in no particular order.

1 Established a public participation plan to encourage and obtain citizen input on important actions.
2 Established an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Policy for all city employees.
3 Established an employee Internet Policy.
4 Installed new phone system in city hall and the police department.
5 Centralized the Accounting System, obtained New contemporary accounting software. Set generally accepted accounting standards for the accounting system. Purchased new computer equipment and established in-house network.
6 Developed standards for retaining professional audit firms.
7 Developed competitive evaluations for the selection of Engineering and consulting firms.
8 Completed first draft of up-to-date personnel manual.
9 Created job descriptions for all positions.
10 Created a fair and equitable pay scale and salary package treating all employees equally and fairly.
11 Developed a project filing system to allow for better control of construction projects.
12 Improved rotation program on police cars to 3-year vs the old 7 year.
13 Improved the city vehicle fleet rotation program to 5 years vs the old 15 years.
14 Established ongoing program to keep the city owned construction and maintenance equipment up-graded.
15 Installed sidewalks on several streets around the Middle School to keep students out of the street while walking to school.
16 Created a system for employee participation in the budget process.
17 Rectified construction deficiencies in the library project.
18 Developed a long range city wide plan which includes: Organizational Development A capital improvement program. Creation of new zoning and development standards for future growth.
19 Upgrade traffic signals to video control – state of the art.
20 Started a storm water management program.
21 Expanded the city street overlay program.
22 Expanded the city street-striping program.
23 Established a uniform color program for painting the city’s recreational facilities.
24 Installation of traffic light at Shundi and Highway 10.
25 Installed boat ramps on 16th Street and on Patricia Island.
26 Paved parking lot at the sports complex and constructed new restroom facilities.
27 Paved all sidewalks at sports complex.
28 Installed new backstops at sports complex.
29 Paved Rotary playground parking lot at sports complex.
30 Expanded city’s fireworks display and July 4th event.
31 Started the downtown revitalization program. Rebuilt parking lot between 3rd street and O’Daniels street. Installed new retaining walls on the parking lot. Completed grant application for revitalization program, which resulted in nearly $300,000 of state funds to finance the initial program.
32 Complete plans for new city hall parking lot.
33 Completed plans on the 18th street and Shundi street roads, out to bid.
34 Developed plans for the expansion of State Park road from Main to Broadway.
35 Resolved the misunderstanding of the financial responsibility of installing the traffic light at State Park Road and Main, in the cities favor.
36 Completed the Honey Creek Bridge project resolving many misunderstanding disputes between the city, ODOT and the contractor.
37 Worked closely with economic developments projects that will provide long term benefits to the city, including: All State Tank (currently 35 employees) Eagle Pitcher (project future employment of 124 employees) Rocket Gaming (110 employees moved to Grove with future expansion of 80 -100 more)
38 Through GMSA improve the utility infrastructure with the installation of sewer and gas lines east of the city along highway 10. GMSA can now provide all utilities to commercial entities along this road. All provide future revenues to GMSA.
39 Retained consultant for a civic center study.
40 Retained full time litter control officer to keep main thoroughfares clean.
41 Worked with ODOT to extend the Honey Creek road project north from the original termination at 18th street to 13th street.
42 Worked with ODOT to extend the N59 project, from Sailboat bridge south to the original termination at 16th street, south to include the Leisure Road intersection and traffic signals.
43 Developed a concept of a city park on Grand Lake at 98th street.
44 Has had significant input into the reconstruction of the utilities on Hwy 59 prior to the road improvements.
45 Brought the new sewer plant construction to completion.
46 Re-paved many side street intersections with Highway 59 to improve safety at these points.
47 Has developed a plan for the reconstruction of the alley between PSO and the Grove Sun to improve the access to those businesses and parking lots and replace the old utility infrastructure in the area.
48 He has made the difficult decisions regarding the employment situations in city government to provide a professional demeanor to the organization.
49 All business that has transpired has been done in public, with full disclosure and City Council approval.

Now, ask yourself, are we better off today in the City of Grove than we were less than three years ago? Galletly has brought professional management to the city. He has knowledge and vision when it comes to making long term recommendations for improvement. He is not part of the “Old Boy Network”. Let’s get off his back and let him get to work. Think of how much more could have been accomplished had he not been hassled from the day he arrived in Grove.

William A. Miller8-15-05