Grove City Manager Appears in Court

Grove City Manager Bill Galletly voluntarily surrendered himself to law enforcement officers at the County Courthouse in Jay Friday morning when he learned of a pending arrest warrant on two counts of Splitting of Contracts, a misdemeanor.
He appeared before Special District Judge Alicia Littlefield who set a court date of Sept. 12 at 9:30 a.m. and was released on an Own Recognizance Bond, approved by Judge Robert Haney. Galletly was then fingerprinted and booked at the Sheriff's office.
The action surprised Sheriff Blackfox who said earlier he knew nothing about the arrest and had not seen any paperwork on it. The Probable Cause Affidavit was signed at 9 a.m. Friday by Judge Haney, just 30 minutes before Galletly appeared. Sources said Galletly learned of the pending arrest late Thursday afternoon.
At least a dozen Grove residents were in the courtroom, including Mayor Carolyn Nuckolls, two city councilmen, and Larry Hestand, owner of KGVE Radio.
The Information document filed in the case alleges that Galletly did "willfully and knowingly commit the crimes of Splitting of Contracts."
Count One alleges that the defendant split the public construction contract commonly referred to as the "White Building Project" into multiple partial contracts for the purpose of avoiding the requirements of the Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act of 1974.
Count Two alleges that the defendant split the Public Construction Contract commonly referred to as the "Grove City Hall Remodel Project" into multiple partial contracts for the purpose of avoiding the same requirements.
Both crimes are punishable by a fine of $1000 and one year in the county jail.
The probable causes affidavit states that Randy Mathia of the Delaware County District Attorney's office interviewed Robert L. Jackson, a former GMSA employee regarding the White Building Project.
The Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act requires all public construction projects in excess of $25,000 to be formally bid and Section 131 of that act prohibits splitting contracts into smaller amounts so as to avoid the requirements of the Act.
The alleged offenses took place between Nov. 29, 2004 and July 12, 2005, in the case of the White Building Project, and between Feb. 23 and June 20, 2005, for the city hall project, according to the Information filed. Total purchase orders for the White Building Project were $114,493.74, and $41,526.25 for the city hall project, according to the Affidavit.
"This is nothing more than another attempt to get rid of Bill Galletly, by the side that opposed his hiring from Day One," said one observer. According to reports, the original complaint was filed by Earl Barnes of Grove, on the White Building investigation. The White Building is the site of Rocket Gaming east of Grove.

Galletly Wins Twilight Doubleheader 3-2, 3-2

City Manager Bill Galletly won a twilight doubleheader Tuesday night when minorities on both the GMSA and Grove City Council were defeated in their efforts to call Executive Sessions of both groups, to possibly fire Galletly. The venue was standing room only with both sides passing out literature on their own behalf.
But at the end, councilmen Gary Bishop and Larry Parham lost, while Terry Ryan, Dave Helms and Carolyn Nuckolls voted "not to go into executive session." Earlier, Doyle Seawright and Craig Criger also lost to Helms, Nuckolls and Pete Churchwell, on a similar motion for GMSA.
One councilman said "Galletly would have been fired tonight had the city council election last April turned out differently."
Later, Parham said he wanted a review of Galletly, as the city manager should be reviewed once a year as most employees.
In other action the council:
--Approved partial closing of 18th street for NEOREC's "Rec Day" event Sept 17 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
--Approved the Grand Lake Association's Pelician Festival parade route for Sept. 24 and heard Debra Wolek, executive director, say this year's event would be more "family friendly."
--Tabled discussion or action regarding the financing plan for utility relocations for the Highway 59 project until a special meeting with GMSA at 4 p.m., Aug. 25.
--Tabled action to replat three lots into five at Patricia Island Estates, Phase III, since no representatives were present from the Planning and Zoning Board or the developer.
--Accepted the low bid to purchase four new vehicles for the city from the State of Oklahoma. Bid was $77,372. These include three Chevrolet trucks with snow plow prep kits and a half-ton extended cab truck. Other bids were submitted by Lundgren Chevrolet and Danny Beck Chevrolet.
--Tabled action on an appointment to the Planning & Zoning Board due to no applicants, with re-advertising set later.
--Authorized purchase of 15 new self-contained breathing apparatus paid for through the County Fire Tax Fund.
--Tabled action to amend Animal Ordinance 354 (see separate story).
--Agreed to meet at 4 p.m. Monday, Aug 22 to hear details on the 18th street project.

Highway 59 Project on Track

The Highway 59 widening project from Leisure Lane to Sailboat Bridge is on track, with approximately 50% of the right of way purchases having been completed, according to Paul Green, Acting District Engineer for ODOT, District 8.
Green said in an interview this week that the state was now in the process of buying right of way; then would come utility relocation, with actual construction to begin in the Fall of 2006. The project will take an estimated 18 months to complete, putting the opening in Spring 2008.
The Leisure Lane intersection is included in the project and will include new traffic signals and intersection modifications, but does not go any further into Grove. The widening cost is an estimated $20.5 million, with right of way and utilities at $10.5 million and the five-lane project construction at $10 million.

Is Grove a One-Horse Town?

Just over a block north of the main highway into Grove sits a small house with a horse. The lot is 9480 square feet and is owned by Paul Ruckman. His neighbors are unhappy.
Dixie Wolfe has appeared before the Planning & Zoning Board and the City Council seeking relief and a change in the zoning laws for large animals. She is concerned about property values, the stench, flies, rodents and the horse itself which feeds out of a haybale in the carport. The horse moved in last May.
The horse's byproduct is put into black trash bags and placed in the street for pickup by city crews. Ms. Wolfe says the orange animal fence is on city property next to the street.
At this week's city council meeting the agenda item to amend Animal Ordinance 354 to add site restriction for large animals was tabled. Current zoning allows for all but swine inside the city limits.
Sandra Brown, a neighbor to the north whose driveway adjoins the fence around the horse's lot, said she canot even enjoy a meal due to the stench. She is facing huge medical bills and fears she cannot sell her home due to the problem next door.
Ruckman says he cleans the area twice a day and the fence is on the property line and that no one has ever talked to him about the problem. Now, lawyers are involved, he says.
Councilman Gary Bishop said the city is not ignoring the problem; City Manager Bill Galletly said he would have the city attorney look into what can be done.
Meanwhile, Ms. Wolfe says her patience is about gone and she is ready to call Fox News if the issue can't be resolved. Stay Tuned: News at 9.

The Canine Corner...by Missy MacTavish

Hello folks. Welcome to my first column, where I give a dog's eye view of what's going on around the lake. Note that my mode of transportation does not use gasoline, as I cannot afford it anymore!
First, my overall observations: Since moving to this area a couple of years ago I have noticed that people here fight like the Hatfield's and McCoy's.
People are always fighting over little things, or people. Personally, I enjoy the area not having to deal with big trucks and lots of traffic and noise.
One would think that we could all get along, like I do my animal pals like sweet Sailor.
Up in the pasture there is this huge black bull, who has adopted a small brown calf. The calf told me that it had lost its' mother but the big bull was taking good care of her. Across the road is another pasture where my two horse friends live, Buck and Shasta. They are such good friends you never see them apart. I take them apples and some sugar cubes and they really like that. They are brother and sister I think.
In still another pasture my friend Bo lives. Bo is a donkey or mule, I can't figure which.
But he really likes apples and carrots and comes running across the pasture for his nightly treat. We talk a lot, about Grove and its problems but he doesn't seem to care much.
So if the animals can live without getting all stressed, why can't the two leggers?
I leave you with this thought: Why do they have fleamarkets on the roads, when I get can all the fleas I want for free? Until next time, Missy MacTavish.

Easley Speaks to Grove Rotary

Kevin Easley, CEO of the Grand River Dam Authority, said this week "there will be no more fish kills on my watch," saying that a GRDA employee from the Pryor office had been brought over to work full time on fishing tournaments and safeguards for the fish.
He outlined several items of interest to the Rotary group Wednesday, including:
--Some 40 old sinking boat docks had been hauled off in the past six months and the sinking dock at Ballerina Point near Sailboat Bridge will see activity "real soon."
--There can be no more trees chopped down on the shoreline, an issue with multiple government agencies such as DEQ, the Corps, and Dept. of Interior. Any tree removal or dredging operation will need to have mitigation in order to be approved.
--The seeding of 20,000 pounds of millet for fowl needs an alternative, to avoid dropping the lake level every August to 741.
--A Shoreline Management Plan is 10 years overdue and will be put together this year by an outside consulting firm (Kleinscmidt) which will be seeking stakeholder input on issues. Wildlife areas will be outlined and carrying capacity studies (counting boats) will be done. The study will take 18-24 months to complete and there will be winners and losers, but it must be done to comply with FERC.
--GRDA has $60 million in cash reserves, up from $27 last year.
--GRDA is doing a lot more partnerships, with such groups as the Power Squadron, Waterwatch, etc. and is ready and willing to do more.
--Regarding the Miami lawsuits, GRDA is working on a solution with flowage easements included and is ongoing.

GMSA Meeting is Routine

The Grove Municipal Services Authority disposed of several matters at its regular meeting Tuesday.
Approved was the purchase of three new vehicles from the Danny Beck Chevrolet for $48,298 which was the low bid of three, although a bid of $48,949 was submitted by local dealer Jeff Lungren Chevrolet. It was explained that local preference is not allowed, the purchase must be from the low bidder by state law.
The board tabled a request from Tim Langley regarding a possible error in his water bill for #5 W Third Street, a building which he and his wife have purchased for a bookstore. The question was raised as to how the meter could go from 234, the last cutoff, to 792, with no one in the building. GMSA is to inspect the problem for possible leaks.
Kao Xiong appeared to request help on a $60,000 gas deposit for his Simmons Farm #45 and 46 near Fairland. Pending city attorney approval, the board agreed to accept a CD for half, payable to the city in case of default, with letter of credit. It was pointed out that Simmons Farms was not required to put up a deposit 20 years ago when their application was made.
A resolution was passed regarding a new anti-drug program for employees and the board okayed the transfer of Baycrest Village Subdivision water line project to the Delaware County Rural Water District #9.
They agreed to hold a special meeting for Thursday Aug 25 at 4 p.m. regarding financial details of the Highway 59 widening project as it relates to utility relocations. It was pointed out that work must start by mid-October at the latest. This will be a joint meeting with City Council.

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

Editorial--Vote Yes on SQ 723

In spite of record high gasoline prices Oklahoma motorists have no choice but to vote Yes on State Question 723 on September 13. Oklahoma leads the nation in obsolete bridges, built to last 50 years. Some 660 of them were built before the Model A car. Many won't hold today's school busses or ambulances. Some are just falling down, in pieces. We still have 135 bridges built before 1920 including 190 built out of wood. We have 162 bridges over 80 years old.
Consider this: Of our 6700 bridges, 1600 are functionally obsolete and structurally deficient, too narrow for today's traffic and never designed for today's loads.
Every eight days, 14 people die on our highways, including at least one child, due to inadequate roads and highways, roads without paved shoulders, recovery areas, passing opportunities, median barriers, or multi-lanes where needed.
The proposed tax will be phased in over three years; the first year gasoline would cost two cents more; the second year another two cents and the third year, a penny more, for a total of five cents. It will raise another $150 million for highway improvements, put in a "lockbox" to be used only for roads and bridges. A Trust Fund an oversight board will see to it. The new tax would bring us up to our neighboring states' level.
People go into Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas and note that their roads are better than ours.
There's a reason...they pay more in taxes than we do.
Nobody likes more taxes, but in this case, we must do it, bite the bullet. The alternative is that in 10 years many of our roads and bridges will be unusable. The two most important items in the growth of a state are education and transportation.
Vote Yes on Sept. 13.

News Around the Lake...

The Taste of Grand Fundraiser to benefit the Grove General Hospital Foundation will be held Sept 17 beginning at 6 p.m. at Patricia Island Golf Club and will offer samples of fine food from more than 17 restaurants around the Lake. Wines to sample will also be available, as well as beer, and entertainment will be offered by Superfreak from Oklahoma City featuring 70's disco type music. Tickets: $60 each now, Kristi Middleton at 787-3855...The Lake's last fireworks display of the year will be on Duck Creek Sunday Sept 4 to raise funds for a proposed airport improvement at the Ketchum Airport. Brent Howard, the restorer of fine old boats, is chairman for the South Grand Lake Municipal Airport Authority. He wants to pave a runway 5,000 feet in length to make a positive economic impact for the South end of the lake. Cost is estimated at $300,000 since contractors are donating the equipment, and $225,000 has already been pledged. Currently a 3,000 foot grass strip is in place. Howard said this is a Title 60 Public Trust and donations are eligible for tax deductions. The Master Plan calls for a credit card fueling station, FBO and rental hangers. More details are at www.southgrandlakeairport.com.
Auditions will be held in the Grove Community Center, Saturday, August 27 at 1:00 p.m for “The Little Prince,” the Playmaker’s youth theatre production scheduled for November 11-20.
The secret of what is really important in life is the basis for this classic story by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. The Little Prince learns this secret, finally, from a fox in a visit to the Earth from his small asteroid.
The play will be directed by Linda Fracek. Cast requirements include: the Aviator and the Rose (high school students); the Little Prince, King, and a desert flower (mid-school, upper-elementary); a conceited person, business person, lamplighter, geographer, snake, and fox (any gender or age over 5 who can read & learn lines); and six to twelve actors to act as an ensemble (any gender or age over 5—no lines). Participants will read from the play-script so prepared audition pieces are necessary for young children only who have limited reading skills.
Leave a message with any questions about the auditions and a confirmation of your attendance with The Playmakers, 918-786-8950. Please include your school level on the message. Rehearsal for some characters will begin after Labor Day...
The Playmakers, Grove’s Community Theatre, has been awarded an Annual Project Support grant from the Oklahoma Arts Council. These funds have already begun to assist in funding the five productions scheduled for the 10th anniversary year, 2005-2006.
The grant requires that The Playmakers match the Arts Council’s funds with local resources in order to receive the award. “This is the first time we have been eligible for this specific grant,” said Linda DuBois, Board Finance Chair. “With the many other arts organizations and community theatres in Oklahoma applying for these monies, we are very fortunate to get a piece of the pie,” she added. “They will cover about one third of the Playmakers annual production budget of approximately $30,000. For example, the recent successful show, “Le Grande Follies,” which kicked off our anniversary year, was given $3000 towards the approximately $8000 expended on mounting such a large production. We can keep our ticket prices low for a while longer because of grants like these,” she explained, “but we still have to cover the overhead through other means.”
Through state appropriations and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts,
the Oklahoma Arts Council funds over 1,200 events annually with an estimated total
attendance of over 3.5 million. Projects funded by the Oklahoma Arts Council
generally account for over $20 million in grants and matching funds distributed
throughout Oklahoma’s rural and urban communities.

Council OK's Downtown Pedestrian Changes

Some changes in pedestrian crossings and increased speed limit enforcement are coming to downtown Grove. Recommendations from Police Chief Mark Wall were adopted at Tuesday's City Council meeting, except for decreasing the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph.
Improvements will be made at 3rd & Hazel, 3rd and Main, 3rd and Grand, and 3rd and Broadway, regarding signage and crosswalk painting. All of downtown needs repainting, he said his report, including curbing, crosswalks and parking spaces.
Marked patrol units will be inceasingly visible working speed enforcements and crosswalk safety. Times and locations will vary, Wall said in his report.