Airport Authority Goes Into A Stall

When an airplane's rate of climb is too steep and airspeed drops below limits, a "stall" can occur. The airplane may then flip over backwards, go into a tailspin, and crash.

When the Grove City Council voted 3-2 Dec.19 to request transfer of all real property from the Grove Municipal Airport Authority to the city, they may have thought the matter was finally over. The City Manager had previously requested in writing that the transfer be made but the trust authority voted to "take no action" on it.

The council transfer request was not on this week's airport trust meeting Agenda and had to be brought up under New Business by member Dave Adzigian.
"We still have this major issue floating out there regarding the transfer of land to the City; the authority is not taking action on it," said Adzigian.

Board member Max Schuermann said the trust board "took action by voting to take no action" at a previous meeting when a transfer request came from City Manager Bill Galletly.
"We've not received any written request from the Council on this," he said.

Galletly, sitting quietly in the audience, said "you were all here at the Council Meeting when they gave you your direction, how many times do they have to bring this up? I am an employee of the Council and they voted in public to request that you transfer the property to the City. If you want another letter then you need to talk with Council as I am not the middle man here," he said.

"I sent you a written request and you didn't like it and then you went to Council and they voted to request the transfer and now you want a letter from them?" he asked.

Adzigian suggested someone on the board make "a simple phone call" to Mayor Nuckolls to request a letter be sent that could be acted upon at a future meeting.
After some delay, board member Max Schuermann volunteered to telephone the Mayor and Adzigian offered the correct phone number to call.
However, by Thursday evening, 3 days later, that telephone call had not been made. Schuermann said by telephone that he had not called Ms. Nuckolls but instead was trying to reach Gary Trippensee, board chairman who is out of town, to see "what action we can take." "We're still working on it," Schuermann said.

In an email to The Grove Observer, Paul Staten, Manager of the Grand Lake Regional Airport said:

"The Grove airport property should and MUST be titled in the name of the City of Grove. What has happened on Monkey Island proves that. The FAA and OAC both have stated that the rules are being changed within the State and nationally and they will require title to real property be held by the county or city before the airport could receive a grant. I have fought a six year battle to save Grand Lake Regional Airport from closing and being turned over to developers. Public property must not be held at risk from greed and personal agendas. Property titled to the city does not put an Airport Authority with less ability. It will decrease the danger from hostile takeover. It protects the public lands. From one who has lived the nightmare, I applaud the city of Grove for taking this action. All assets held by Public Trust should be titled to the County or City."

Also discussed at the airport board meeting was the subject of lengthening the current 5250 foot runway which can handle Gulfstream III aircraft and below. Members agreed to put the item on their "wish list" for future consideration and a new Airport Layout Plan for the FAA, agreeing that a 7,800 foot runway with 1,000 feet at each end would be ideal for future growth.
Airport Manager Terri Abercrombie stated that she had asked for clarification on the joint application to the FAA for purchase of 60 acres west of the airport for future use, from both the FAA and OAC and both had recommended a joint application.
At its last meeting City Council voted to have the application signed only by City Manager Bill Galletly. The grant application has now been signed and forwarded to the FAA.

P&Z Board Ignores Fire Hydrant Issue

A request to deny re-platting for a Grove Subdivision without any fire hydrants fell on deaf ears at this week's Planning and Zoning meeting. Don VanHooser of Lighthouse Springs Subdivision amended a plat for lots 1-13 to 1-8. A Grove resident, Jim Mills, spoke against the request citing the fact that the entire subdivision had no fire hydrants, in violation of current Grove fire codes. But the board approved it 4-0 anyway.
It wasn't clear why the re-platting was necessary since year-old plot plans from the original developer show only eight lots, not 13.

The Board voted to set workshop dates for new zoning Ordinances requested by Staff beginning on Monday nights; a citizens committee met for six months on a weekly basis and the document needs to be approved or changed, especially regarding new sign ordinances.

The Board also discussed the difference between a Preliminary and Final Site Plan and agreed that from this point on, the specs must be in the Building Inspectors office by 4:30 p.m., a week prior to the actual P&Z meeting. Some board members said they did not have enough time to study the requests included in their packets.

In other action the board:
--Approved a Preliminary Plat to replat lots 3-11 of the Teel Addition requested by Jim Dill, for the new Walgreen's store.
--Tabled a site plan approval for a greenhouse building for Hollytree Landscaping but agreed to meet in special session to speed up the process in time for spring plants arrival. The site plan had been turned into the City office but was missing at presentation time.
--Tabled sign approval for Arvest Bank as the applicant failed to appear.
--Disapproved a site plan for a new building to be located at 1116 Woodcrest Way for applicant Jack Roberts; Roberts wanted to build a building to house his car collection and other auto antiquities. The location was deemed too close to a residential neighborhood at Harbor Rd & Leisure Lane. The actual property was zoned C-3 Commercial but there are homes across the street.
--Approved a site plan for a new building to be located at the corner of 36th and Highway 59 North for Kyle Krause, by a 3-1 vote. The building is to house small shops for plumbers, electricians, small engine repair, called an Office Warehouse, and will be located behind the car wash at Kum & Go. Much discussion occurred on this request, on the difference between preliminary and final site plans.
"I just don't have enough information here to make a decision," said board member Norma Halterman. "It is not fair to come in and ask for immediate approval without all the information," another member added.
After intervention by member Bob Brogdon, Realtor Chuck Perry, and City Manager Bill Galletly, a previous motion to table was removed and approval was given on the preliminary plan on a 3-1 vote with Judith Read opposed, with final plan to be brought back at the next meeting.
--Property at 1024 S. Grand, lots 7-10 of the Southside Addition, was re-zoned from R-1 Single Family Residential to R-3 Multiple-Family Residential, for construction of the Stonepost Apartments. These units will cater to senior citizens and be owned by Henri Van Dam.

Was it FERC, FUBAR, or a LIE?

(Editors Note: There's enough blame to share all around in the Grand Lake drawdown incident. Having attempted to get through to a FERC official for the past two weeks, we know that this government organization has communications problems; we also realize that GRDA wants to get some hydro generation back on line; and Senator Inhofe's comment that GRDA is lying is simply pandering to the voters. We know personally most of the GRDA management mentioned in these articles and we seriously doubt they would deliberately lie about anything as serious as the lake level. Having said that, we present below for your listening and dancing pleasure, some of the news on this subject. However, we remain convinced that it was a matter of communication between the engineers and GRDA)

It wasn't FERC, after all, just a consulting engineer's recommendation to GRDA that Grand Lake be drawn down to elevation 738 to fill Lake Hudson and the W.R. Holway Reservoir.
How this FUBAR happened has not yet been explained, but GRDA is working on a plan to avoid this kind of incident in the future, Justin Alberty, GRDA Media spokesperson, said this week.
(Note: FUBAR means "fouled up beyond all recognition" or similar.)

"The drawdown plan we announced early last week was the result of a misunderstanding that we were required to follow the engineer’s recommendations to protect the structural integrity of the reservoir’s earthen dam," said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley, "and GRDA regrets any hardship this might have caused Grand Lake property owners."
However, with the misunderstanding surrounding the refill timetable now clarified, Easley said GRDA has made the decision to submit a refill plan that takes spring rains into consideration.
When GRDA first announced the drawdown and said it was to avoid damage to the earthen dam, The Observer contacted Bill Holway, who worked on the project in the 1960's, and is the son of W.R. Holway, the lake's namesake. He said he doubted that anything would happen to the dam…"that old dirt is tough."
Our attempts to get a statement out of FERC were a waste of time, as emails were tersely answered with one sentence…"we have forwarded your email to the proper person." (whoever that is)
"FERC informed us an immediate refill of the reservoir is not necessary," said Easley, "and I am relieved to report we can postpone this until lake levels return to normal. Then, when we do begin, it will be based on a joint schedule with FERC."
Easley added that a recent reorganization of certain responsibilities at GRDA will help prevent similar miscommunications with FERC in the future.
This week, US Senator Jim Inhofe sent a letter to Grand Lake stakeholders, as follows:
"Recently, a serious situation has presented itself involving management of the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that demands clarification for the benefit of all stakeholders. I am sorry that I have to be involved in this matter, but I can no longer stand by and allow GRDA to misrepresent the facts with regard to the federal government’s (i.e. FERC’s) role in these issues.In a recent press release GRDA referenced a supposed FERC mandate ordering the GRDA to refill the W.R. Holway Reservoir. Within this press release the management of GRDA explained that such refilling of the reservoir would be necessary in the interests of dam safety, insinuating that the refilling was a requirement mandated by a FERC regulation. Soon after the publication of this news my office was flooded with calls from irate constituents concerned with the effect this “mandated” refilling would have on lake levels and more specifically the status of their docks. The truth is, FERC never mandated the filling of the reservoir but moreover, GRDA must seek FERC’s permission to take such an action. Originally, FERC requested that repairs be made on some pumps located within the reservoir system. However, the management of the GRDA chose to misrepresent this request in an effort to gain public approval to fill the reservoir, ultimately resulting in GRDA profit and inflicting great damage on Grand Lake. Put simply, GRDA has attempted to utilize the federal government and the FERC as a scapegoat for lining their own pockets at the expense of Grand Lake residents and businesses. Again, it is with great sadness that I take up this issue and be forced to pen this letter, but it is my feeling that the Grand Lake Stakeholders have been deliberately mislead by the GRDA management. While that is the bad news, there is some good at the GRDA. He is forthright, honest, and responsive to stakeholders, his name is Bob Sullivan. I want to thank Mr. Sullivan for his honesty in this matter and I look forward to working with him on similar issues in the future." Sincerely, Jim Inhofe (U.S.S.)

An Editorial...Important Decisions Needed on Civic Center

Last year the Grove Civic Center generated rental income of $14,500.
But the electric bill alone was $28,887.14. Hello?

In 2005 the 137,000 square foot Civic Center was host to 22 events; seven of those used only half the building, according to city records. Records also show the center was booked for a total of 86 days, with 38 days for setup/teardown at no charge.
Records show 29 days were paid at $500 per day; another 19 days were entirely free to hospital, emergency medical, educational or city use.

A total of $101,811 is budgeted for '05-'06 for salaries and benefits for one and a half employees; telephone, utilities, sanitation and contract services; janitor supplies and building and grounds maintenance, for the Civic Center.

So the building is costing taxpayers about $86,000 a year to operate, not counting repairs for the roof or nonfunctioning air conditioning equipment. An estimated $500,000 in repairs has been suggested as a figure to fix the building, an old WalMart which cost the city about $650,000 some 10 years ago. The city has put about $1.4 million into it, according to a GIDA board member. It has served the public well, most agree.
Estimated worth of the building and land is currently about $3.5 million.

Major multi-day paid users of the facility in 2005 were the Home and Garden Show; Boat Show, Northeast Kennel Club; Tri-State Kennel Club; American Heritage Festival; Fiddle Group, Pelican Fest, and Sheep Shed Ministries, a total of only eight multi-day events at a revenue of $500 per day, but only for the main event days. Setup-teardown days were given free, as many as seven in one case.

We have to ask, is this any way to run a business?

Some important decisions need to be made.

Should the city hire an employee to promote and market the Center?
Arguments can be made that there is more business out there, just for the asking. Where there are fish, there are more fish. If we are spending $100,000 a year to keep up the building certainly some funds can be found to employee a person to promote and take bookings and formulate a marketing plan. The Grove Chamber and Grand Lake Association received $27,000 and $6,000, respectively, last year from the city. Lisa Friden, Chamber Manager, said they do not promote the Civic Center and leave that to the Grove Economic Development people.
We find this disturbing.
Deb Wolek, Executive Director of the Grand Lake Association, said they do aggressively promote the Civic Center and refer the bookings to City Hall. "We mention it to all prospective groups," she said.
If the Chamber is not going to promote the Center to potential visitors, perhaps the city should use this money for a promotional person for the Center, and perhaps within the Parks and Recreation Department rather than Economic Development. Overnight visitors who come to Grove to use the Civic Center also spend money on accommodations and food, generating sales tax revenue for the city and income for the local businesses.

The matter of rent. A charge of $500 a day for 137,000 square feet is ludicrous. And free rent for setup/teardown days needs to change as well. We should be charging at least half rental for setup days. And why do we need to give free space to local for- profit businesses?

Improvements and Modifications. Should we spend money to make the building more attractive with structural changes such as breakout rooms for smaller groups, or use of colorful banners, or refacing the entry?

Repairs. What should we do about the major repairs facing the building for roof leaks and AC units?

Do Nothing. Some argue that it is used by walkers almost every day as an indoor health club; it is a service of the city and it is OK to lose money as it was never intended to produce a profit, much like a city park or library. In today's world, we do not see this as an option.

Put up the For Sale Sign. If the city can get $3.5 or $4 million for the building and land, why not sell it and use the money to build a new state of the art facility that would accommodate a multitude of different events, from city meetings to concerts, and small trade shows. The current City Hall building suffers from lack of space and is grim in appearance. In fact, its facilities could be built as part of a new multi-purpose center and the present City Hall building could be sold or used as a new police station, sheriff's substation, auto tag office, or other use.

What does the public think? A simple market research questionnaire could be mailed out to the GMSA customer list to determine their wishes.

There are some on the City Council who advocate a go-slow plan for a new events center.
We would say that at $86,000 a year cost to taxpayers, we'd rather have this issue put on a faster track.

GMSA Approves ODOT Contracts

Members of the Grove Municipal Services Authority board have approved contracts with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation regarding estimated construction costs and re-imbursements amounts for gas, sewer and water relocations for the Highway 59 widening project.
The special meeting was held Tuesday with all board members present except Carolyn Nuckolls.
The estimate for start of construction on utility work is now late May, according to City Manager Bill Galletly, who briefed GMSA members on the financing and engineering work.
The total utility relocation is now estimated at $4.9 million and $235,000 has been paid to date for engineering, leaving about $4.6 million. A loan of $4 million plus ODOT reimbursement for engineering of $116,000 means that the city will put up $575,000, although the city has $775,000 available.
Additional projects to complete the facility upgrades for support of the Highway 59 improvements total $2.3 million.
ODOT will reimburse the city in the amount of $2.7 million, or about 60% of the total cost.
Bidding cannot be accomplished until all right of way is acquired. ODOT has stated that Jan. 20 is their deadline for right of way purchases, with April 20 the deadline for condemnation work.
The issue of Billboards is still ongoing, said Galletly, in that there are 21 boards owned by Magic Media that once taken down, cannot be put back up under current city codes. Magic Media holds the boards as permanent revenue streams over a 5 year period which comes to over a million dollars that ODOT has to pay.
Galletly said that "we should remain very concerned until the bid for the utility relocation is in; only then will we know what we have to deal with" in terms of cost increases. "If these numbers hold it will relieve the General Fund from the heavy transfers and allow some additional City projects," he said in a memo to GMSA board members.

GRDA Approves Rate Increase

The GRDA Board of Directors approved a rate change proposal, which increases the base energy charge to 2.1 cents per kwh, effective April 1, at its Wednesday Board meeting in Vinita. The rate increase will average 4-7%. The last increase was two years ago.
"All across Oklahoma utilities are raising rates just to keep up with production costs," said GRDA Chief Executive Officer Kevin Easley, "and some of them are also adjusting the energy usage component as well. But we’re pleased GRDA’s rates will still be Oklahoma’s lowest, even after the increase."
However, GRDA has not always been the low-cost provider. Two decades ago, at a time when many municipal customers were signing new electric supply contracts, the utility’s rates were closer to the competition, including investor-owned utilities like Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma (AEP-PSO). Still, decision-makers in those communities, armed with the knowledge of GRDA’s cost-of-service rates and beneficial mixture of coal and hydroelectric generation resources, signed with GRDA. Today, 20 years later, the choice has proven to be the right one for those Oklahoma communities.
"Over the last 20 years, our competitors’ rates have risen much faster than ours," said GRDA Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Dougherty. "While our customers’ total bills including both base rates and fuel have gone up by about 66 percent since the mid-1980s, other utilities have gone up as much as 240 percent."
GRDA’s increase is just a reflection of the rising costs of doing business, said Dougherty, adding that, unlike investor-owned utilities, "no portion of GRDA rates have to be earmarked for profit." Still, with GRDA’s newest generation facility — Unit 2 at the GRDA Coal Fired Complex (Chouteau, Oklahoma) — already in service for 20 years, maintenance and operating costs are just higher than they used to be. So the new rate increase is designed to help GRDA continue to operate efficiently and reinvest in its resources.
One large expenditure on the slate for GRDA includes the mitigation costs associated with relicensing efforts for the Robert S. Kerr Dam (Locust Grove, Oklahoma). That project is already well underway. The estimated cost for this for Kerr Dam alone is $10 million over the life of the license, it was revealed at this week's meeting. This was described by Mike Cantrell, Board Member, as "mind boggling."
"We are in extensive negotiations with federal and state resource agencies to acquire our new license to operate Kerr Dam," said Anthony Due, GRDA’s assistant general manager of operations and hydroelectric generation, "and mitigation efforts there could be millions of dollars."
Mitigation assumes that by putting a dam in a river, fish are damaged, disolved oxygen levels are not what they should be, wetlands are damaged "and a laundry list of items that grows every time we meet with FERC," said Easley.
Part of GRDA’s mixture of coal and hydroelectric generation resources, Kerr Dam will also be the site of a major rehabilitation project in the near future. GRDA will upgrade the four, 40-year old hydroelectric units with new components that are not only more "fish friendly" but also more efficient, with greater generating capacity.
"The Kerr upgrade project will likely cost $50 million," said Due, "but we will see an increase in production and efficiency."
In a typical year, GRDA’s hydroelectric resources help the utility set the standard for low-cost generation in Oklahoma. However, anyone who can read a rain gauge understands 2005 has been anything but typical. According to the National Weather Service Forecast Office, 2005 was the third driest year in Oklahoma since 1921. According to Due, that kept things pretty quiet around the Kerr and Pensacola Dam powerhouses most of the year.
"The drought conditions we’ve had definitely affected our ability to utilize our hydroelectric resources," said Due. "However, when we do have water available, our production costs are very beneficial to our customers. The upgrade work at Kerr will only expand on that production cost advantage."
"GRDA is really Oklahoma’s public power success story; those customers who signed with us 20 years ago can attest to that. But now is the time to reinvest in these resources and prepare for the future."

Grass Fire Hits Patricia Island

This home at Patricia Island Estates was completely surrounded by a grass fire in the middle of the night Saturday, burning right up to the front and back doors. The fire also burned a portion of #15 Fairway on the golf course and jumped the street heading for a wooded area to the north.

Three pumper trucks were sent to the scene. The nearest fire hydrant is a third of a mile away.

The Canine Corner...by Missy MacTavish

I saw this TV weatherman on Fox, based in Pennsylvania, late in December who said that between Jan. 10 and Jan. 20 the weather patterns in Oklahoma would be changing and that we would get rain and snow.

So on Jan. 10 it rained and snowed! Isn't that fantastic?

This nice man should be promoted and maybe he should come to Oklahoma where most of our weather people give the forecast as "I don't know." Weather is important to me as I need to know whether or not to grow more hair for my winter coat.

My Dad had a birthday last week but he won't say which one. It's a big number though. I gave him a dozen new golf balls to lose. He always says that they are not lost, just missing because someone will find them eventually. Mom comes in with a dozen old balls every time she goes out of the house. We have a neighbor down the street at my friend Sailor's house that has over 4,000 old balls in his garage but he still looks for his lost ball anyway. His house is about to fall down from the weight.

Old balls never die, they just get dimples.

My doggie friends down the street have an electric fence in the backyard and last Saturday night the high winds blew down the fence and started a big grass fire in the neighborhood that burned completely around one house and part of the golf course. The dogs said they were not to blame.

Good thing the wind was going the other direction or I might not be here to write this column.

Please send me questions for "Ask the Dog" as featured in last week's paper. I did get an email from my friend Champ Miller who is in Florida getting a tan. I appreciate letters from doggie friends. As always, Miss Missy...

Around the Lake...from the Editor

The Joplin TV stations are fierce in protecting their alleged markets in Oklahoma, to the point of forcing some cable systems to delete Tulsa stations in favor of Joplin. Channel 12 in Joplin also refuses to grant distant signal waivers for HD satellite TV signals, on a routine basis.
CableOne in Miami was recently forced to delete KOTV in Tulsa in favor of KOAM in Joplin, both CBS stations; CableOne also dropped Channel 2 in Tulsa. Locally, Cox Cable dropped the Joplin stations a year ago in favor of the Tulsa stations. Frankly, we would rather hear the tornado warnings before the funnels go over our house... City Manager Bill Galletly and his attorney from Claremore, Jack Gordon, showed up for the Jan. 6 hearing on charges of bid splitting in Judge Alecia Littlefield's courtroom, only to be told they would have to see Judge Haney since he is hearing the case. A few telephone calls later the hearing date was set for March 13, a six person jury trial...Jan. 19 is the hearing date on a lawsuit by Peter Boylan, owner of Shangri-La Resort, who is suing Breakers LLC owned by Hal Thompkins and Glen Tucker. Boylan filed an injunction to halt construction on luxury lakefront homes and alleges that Breakers LLC failed to provide him with plans and specifications in advance of the construction start...It appears that the First United Methodist Church was successful in raising the funds to purchase 22 acres of land north of the present church, for expansion...GRDA is about ready to open a satellite office Feb. 1 in Bricktown in OKC to be closer to the legislature or offer space to meet with consultants or attorneys. It will have three small offices and a conference room and will be "an excellent source for promoting Grand Lake by keeping a supply of maps, brochures, chamber publications," said Justin Alberty, GRDA Media spokesperson. Lease costs are $4,029 a month or about $15.24 per square foot over a 3-year period, Alberty said. The lease is for one year. No staff has been selected as yet, Alberty said this week, but it will probably be more of a part time person than full time. The location is just above the Hooters Restaurant so locals have already dubbed it the "Hooters Office."...Charges had not yet been filed this week by the District Attorney's office in the Moose Lodge Raid case, where agents seized nearly $10,000 in cash from illegal slot machines on Dec. 23. An investigation is still underway by the D.A., his office said...Our Dec. 23 issue featured the "Eyesore of the Month", a building at the corner of Third and Grand owned by Grove Sun Daily Publisher Pete Crow. We received an anonymous "nastygram" on this one and you can read it by clicking on the Dec. 23 issue at the left and the "comments" under the article. Not all articles need to be either editorials or straight news. We also do feature stories, interpretive journalism, news analysis, and bylined articles, where our opinions frequently are included. Our mission is to present more of a magazine-like weekly news publication rather than just the bare bones basics...A word about comments: We would prefer you send Letters to the Editor at groveobserver@yahoo.com rather than hide behind anonymous comments posted on the blog.
Newspapers never print letters without a bonafide name and neither will we.

18th Street Project Moving Along

The 18th Street Project is moving along nicely and the portion between Sumac and Shundi is about 70% completed, according to Butch Gaines of APAC Construction in Vinita, the general contractor.
Work on Shundi from the intersection with 18th up to 13th street is about 40% complete; work is waiting on utility relocations from 13th street to 9th street, he said.
"We now are waiting for warm weather so that we can pour concrete curbs and gutters, and asphalt the roadway, so from now on everything depends on the weather," Gaines said.
Due to increases in materials, the road cost is about 20% above engineering estimates, City Manager Bill Galletly said Wednesday. Projected cost is about $2 million.

Library to Host Authors

Patrick and Sharolyn Mccoy of Miami, co-authors of Elkhorn Tavern, 1860: The Pea Ridge Community, will talk about their book at the Third Thursday program at the Grove Public Library on Jan. 19, at 12 noon.
This first book for the couple took first place and grand prize for new authors at the Tulsa Genealogical Society’s annual competition. The book also has won praise from one of Arkansas’ notable publishers, Desmond Walls Allen. She is quoted as saying, “. . .Genealogists will rejoice over this bock, and historians will be delighted at the wealth of information made available. The authors have compiled a picture of the families who lived in the vicinity of Elkhorn Tavern on the eve of the Civil War. When the Civil War came to Benton County in March 1862, these families experienced war closeup. Anyone interested in Civil War history, especially in our own neighborhood, will want to find out more about this book. The McCoys will have books for sale and to autograph.
Third Thursday is a lunch program. Bring a brown bag. Drink and dessert will be provided by Friends of the Grove Public Library, co-sponsor of the program.
…from Correspondent Rose Stauber