Blue Ribbon Committee Seeks Pool Revisions

The consultant retained by the city's Blue Ribbon Committee to come up with ideas for a new city swimming pool will return for a March 14 meeting with revised, down-scaled plans fitting a $3.5 million pool, which the committee says is "tops" for such a facility.
The committee voted to see revisions in Option 2, a fairly simple outdoor pool, and option 4, an L shaped pool, adding a zero-depth entry area.

An indoor pool would cost another $1 million and could possibly be included as part of a new events center if built, but the cost to operate it is substantial. Most of the committee felt that it was just not feasible at this time, especially without support from the new hospital facility when it is built.

Five of the seven committee members attended the meeting, with a half-dozen Grove citizens in the audience.

Committee chairman Connie Brewer told the audience "we are getting a bad name and have taken a beating. We just want to put a proposal together to forward to City Council and if they wish, to get it on the ballot for the people to vote on. We will come to a solution and make our best recommendation, based on what we feel is best and affordable. We are not going to do something outrageous," she said.

"All we have done to date is listen; we have not made any decisions on either the pool or the new events center, or selling the current Civic Center," she added.
The group then went into Executive Session for about 17 minutes to review two previous proposals on purchasing the current Civic Center, and took no action. Local real estate broker Jack Forrest did not answer or appear at the meeting regarding what he has said is a $3.5 million offer for the current center.

It was explained that the city can sell the current Center without a vote of the people but that the Council had stipulated that a vote be required and it would happen at a special election.

Mayor Carolyn Nuckolls, in attendance, told the group "whether it is the present Council or a new one in April, believe me they are going to have Executive Sessions or you are not going to have growth in Grove."

"You have a right to go into Executive Session to listen to Economic Development proposals, then excuse the person making the proposal and discuss it among yourselves.
You cannot negotiate," City Manager Bill Galletly told the group.

The committee said the new events center cannot exceed $4 million in order to be built without any new taxes. Land cost is anticipated to be $1 million unless an offer of free land is accepted.

Clinton's Frisco Conference Center Doing Well

Clinton's Frisco Conference Center in Clinton, OK. is doing quite well and boasts a 25% increase in usage each year since it opened in September, 2003, according to City Manager Grayson Bonham.

The project was begun in 2001 under the former city manager, Bill Galletly, and was financed with a sales tax increase of just over one-half cents. Total costs including furnishings were about $4.0 million, according to Bonham, with just under $1 million in debt now remaining.

The Conference Center name was deliberate, to avoid the name Civic Center which implies "free usage," says Bonham. It has about 20,000 square feet with a center portion and two "wings" which each contain up to three meeting rooms with folding walls, and a large room that can seat up to 450 for sit down dinners. "The meeting rooms stay busy every day of the week and are wired with the latest audio-visual equipment one can buy, plus a nice catering kitchen. The entry hall is great for other events," Bonham said.

"We very much needed this facility; we had no school auditorium, and we used churches to hold banquets. It was politically controversial at the time but everyone now agrees it is a great asset to the city," Bonham said.

A city hotel-motel tax continues to finance the daily operational costs while the sales tax continues to pay down the debt. The referendum to build the facility passed 58% to 42%, Bonham said. Clinton's total sales tax is now at 9.25% including local and state.

The facility took two years to build.

Editorial...Who Pays for Water Theft?

What happens when the city shuts off a water valve, removes the meter, and then someone else turns the water back on each summer for five years, to water the grass in a common area.

No bill is sent because the city thinks the valve is turned off, and no meter is present. The watering goes on for 63 months to the tune of $10,424.83, estimated by the city. A bill is sent to the Homeowners Association and if they don't pay up by March 5 they will be sued. They also get a bill for $5,008 for the tap fee and water deposit.

What would you do? In this case, the Cedar Oaks LLC Homeowners Association has officers and our hunt would go first to them, demanding to know who authorized the turn on each summer without a meter. Who was hired to turn on the water? Ignorance is no excuse, but on the other hand, the homeowners themselves didn't exactly steal the water. They paid their individual portions for their homes, one would assume. There is room for wiggling on both sides. We would go hat in hand to the next GMSA meeting and ask for some kind of settlement…pay part of the bill over a certain period, from increases passed on to the homeowners, and hopefully get a portion waived by GMSA. (Of course they might get a lecture from Councilman Larry Parham about what a great person the developer is, as Parham did at the last Council meeting).

But then there is another theft, this one much more serious. Sometime in 1990 a six inch water line was connected to a two inch line, without a meter or a record of a tap, to water another common area in the same development. This involves a theft of about $40,000 in water, says the city, resulting in a bill being sent to the original developer, Frank Hallacy, who now lives in Arizona. We understand that tapping into a six inch line is not something an ordinary plumber could do. And why would he risk his license.

So who did it? The developer's contractor? GMSA employees working on private developer deals, working after hours, something that went on for more than 12 years? This amounts to outright theft and the city should do everything possible to recover the funds involved, including lawsuits and an investigation by the District Attorney. (this isn't likely)

The city is losing 32-37% of its water right now, and not being paid. There may be additional cases where people are taking water from the Grove system, without paying for it. These should be tracked down and bills should be sent. The city should periodically check every meter or valve in existence, turned off or not, and have the cheaters arrested. Good government demands it.
Then, all of us can expect a reduction in water rates.

Letters to the Editor...

To the Editor:

Thank you for providing this forum so that we can all express our opinions, no matter how different they may be, on the various topics surrounding this wonderful community. I know at times it must seem like a very tiring and thankless job. I have quietly listened to the criticism about the Blue Ribbon Committee over the last months and felt it was finally time to respond. I would like to begin by saying that this committee is working very hard and we honestly want only what is best for the greatest number of citizens of Grove.

We have looked at numerous plans for various types and sizes of swimming facilities. Ideally, we want something that has a zero-depth entry for toddlers, a slide or an amusement of that type for pre-teens, and a large concrete sunbathing area which can be a gathering place for teens. The other component we are desperately trying to include is a small covered pool for adult swimming and water exercising. It’s not easy to include all of these things that will benefit all of the age groups in a budget that the people of Grove can afford. It has been rumored that we are considering $8-12 million pools and this offends me. We would NEVER propose such a hardship be imposed on the citizens of Grove. I realize that I’m a newcomer to Grove and maybe it’s felt that I can’t be trusted, but I would think the people of Grove would realized that the others on my committee can and should be trusted to do the right thing. We are meeting today and hopefully can report to the City Council what we have learned very soon.

I also want to shed some light on the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act. I spoke with Debra Schwartz, the Assistant Attorney General, and she referred me to a publication that she wrote found at http://www.oag.state.ok.us/oagweb.nsf/60481ab7872c67a186256c0900
56d097502cbb5dd498868d86256c0900570943$FILE/Open Meeting .pdf.

WHEN THE ACT IS TRIGGERED: PUBLIC BODIES AND MEETINGS

As a general rule, the Open Meeting Act applies to public bodies holding meetings. Both the term “public body” and the term “meeting” are specifically defined in the Act, and an analysis of these definitions is essential to determining when the Act is triggered.

A. PUBLIC BODIES
Under Section 304(1) of the Act, the following constitute public bodies to
which the requirements of the Act apply:
1. Governing bodies of all municipalities;
2. Boards of county commissioners;
3. Boards of public and higher education;
Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act 3

4. All boards, bureaus, commissions, agencies, trusteeships, authorities,
councils, committees, public trusts or any entity created by a public
trust, task forces or study groups that are:
a. supported in whole or in part by public funds;
b. entrusted with the expending of public funds; or
c. administering public property;

I don’t believe my committee is supported by public funds, can spend public funds, or can administer public property.

Assistant Attorney General Schwartz further adds:

For instance, although Section 304 specifically states that the Act applies to committees and subcommittees, case law has established that such committees and subcommittees will be considered public bodies only if they exercise actual or de facto decision-making authority on behalf of the public body itself. Andrews v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 29, 737 P.2d 929 (Okla. 1987); Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters v. Thorpe, 632 P.2d 408 (Okla. 1981); Sanders v. Benton, 579 P.2d 815 (1978). If the committee or subcommittee does not exercise such authority but, instead, is “purely fact finding, informational, recommendatory, or advisory,” then the committee or subcommittee does not constitute a public body and is not required to comply with the requirements of the Act. Andrews, 737 P.2d at 931. This “decision-making” test for committees and subcommittees has been applied by courts and the Attorney General in several contexts. A committee established by a school board to prepare guidelines for participation in extracurricular activities has been held not to exercise decision-making authority since it only presented recommendations that the school
board remained free to accept or reject. Andrews, 737 P.2d at 931. For the same
reason, a citizens’ advisory committee recommending a site for a community
treatment center to the Board of Corrections has been held not to exercise decision-
making authority and thus to be exempt from the Act’s requirements. Sanders,
579 P.2d at 819-21.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I agree with you – I don’t like Executive Sessions either. On the other hand, if I tell someone that our committee with keep their proposal confidential, then according to Ben Loring, the Assistant District Attorney who called me several weeks ago regarding the Open Meeting Act, this is how it is to be handled.

By the way, I have no personal agenda in where this aquatic center is located. It has been said that my only interest is that it be built near 13th & Shundi. A swimming pool for children has nothing to do with professional buildings. Let’s just all get together and develop something fun and entertaining for our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves. I saw a billboard the other day that read, “If our generation plants a tree, the next generation will sit in the shade”. I think this applies here as well. Please call me or come by my office if you have comments or suggestions. Thank you!

Connie Brewer
Blue Ribbon Committee

Grand Lake Water Alliance to be Formed

Who is the one person in Oklahoma that wakes up every morning and worries about the water quality of Grand Lake? No one. Despite the issue being under an umbrella of several state agencies, DEQ, Water Quality Board, no one person is in charge of worrying about the water quality in Grand Lake, John Gillette, chairman of Rural Water District #9, told Grove Rotary members Wednesday.

So a new, citizen-driven alliance is being formed by such long-time Grove residents as Carl Metcalf, Gillette, Larry Harrelson, and Jim Corbridge, to organize and work up a watershed plan. Gillette pointed out that Chesapeake Bay has had such an organization for 22 years. The organization will work with the states of Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas to get volunteer cooperation from landowners in the lake's huge watershed, and two EPA offices who supervise activities in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Some 75% of the water in Grand Lake comes from Kansas, it was pointed out.

Gillette said "both state and Federal governments have asked us to do this. We won't notice any improvement now, but our children and grandchildren will."

Grand Lake Water Watch has been in existence for 15 years and its' records will be used as a baseline for the new alliance, Harrelson said.
"We are looking for volunteers," Gillette said of the citizen-drive alliance.

GIDA in a Giving Mood

Members of the Grove Industrial Development Authority were in a giving mood at this month's meeting, recommending funding for two upcoming citywide events and waiving fees at the Civic Center for a Boy Scout event.

After listening to a presentation from Jana Jae, Kathleen Pixley, and Shirley Adams from the American Heritage Festival upcoming June 7-9, the trust authority board Monday voted 3-2 to request City Council give them $20,000 and if not, GIDA will give them $15,000 from its own contingency fund of $69,000. Fiddlers and cloggers come from 30 states with 8,000 participants last year, bringing in more than a half million dollars to the city's businesses, Adams told the group.

Deb Wolek, Executive Director of the Grand Lake Association, asked for $50,000 to help fund expenses associated with the Elite 100 Bassmasters event June 21-24, which the board also approved 4-0 with one abstention, to request of the city council. Last year Council gave $75,000 for this event, of which $28,000 was returned to the city unused.

Both the Heritage Festival and the BAssmasters events have been designated as Oklahoma Centennial Events for 2007 by state officials.

City Manager Bill Galletly pointed out that GIDA will have a revenue stream of its own when the new Verizon Tower is in operation, with about $4,500 a month potential paid by four cell carriers, and can then grant monies to organizations looking for city help. Ground will be broken on the tower around March 15.

The board also approved fee waivers for Civic Center rental for the Pinewood Derby April 7, usually held in Bartlesville by the Boy Scouts, but this year coming to Grove for the first time. About 22 Cub Packs are expected here, with 50 kids per pack plus parents. The scouts build and race model cars.

Several people, including Lisa Frieden of the Chamber of Commerce and Deb Wolek, requested that fees at the Civic Center for set-up and tear down days for a total of three days, be waived. Late last year GIDA board members approved a new rental policy for the center that stated set-up and tear down days would be billed at 50% of the standard rental. The issue was tabled and remanded to the General Manager and city staff who will report back at the next GIDA meeting. The vote was 5-0. Current policy says that any event which charges an admission fee or exhibitor fee must pay for set-up days.

Obituaries...

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies and Captain Crunch. Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough; two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The Funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

(author unknown)

A Matter of Faith...

By Carol Round

Welcome to the Crowd

“The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Luke 17:5 (NIV)

“I have faith. I just want proof to back it up.” Those words, spoken by an actor in a movie I watched recently, reminded me that many of us struggle sometimes to have faith.

Unexpected expenses cause bills to pile up on our desk. A loved one is diagnosed with an incurable disease. A job loss leaves a father wondering how he will support his family.

Life experiences can cause our faith to expand and deflate like a hot air balloon. Have you felt that way? I know I have.

Have you felt at times that your faith is shrinking instead of growing? Welcome to the crowd. Even Jesus’ disciples knew they needed more faith. They begged Him, “Increase our faith!”

When I read this passage, I realized that even those who were closest to Christ didn’t exhibit super faith or impeccable behavior. However, they knew what they needed, and they asked.

A friend, who has overcome many life disappointments, shared an encouragement which she hands to friends and strangers, along with a small rock. On the blue card is the following inspiration from Mark 11:22-23: “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”

Instructions on the card read: Please follow directions as needed to conquer your mountain! When you feel defeated, put your rock on the floor in front of you. Stand on it. Now you have conquered it.

If it stands in your way, with your rock on the floor, walk around it. There is always another way.

If it bothers you, kick your rock to the side. Then cast it away, because you will not walk in offense. Now pick it up. You have done the impossible. You have moved a mountain.

This is your mountain. God said to move it. You just thought it was bigger.

This rock was once a boulder. This boulder was once a mountain. Remember, mountains are only as large as you see them.

Some people read Mark 11: 22-23 and get frustrated because they have faith and the mountains don’t seem to be moving. We can believe and we can try but sometimes that mountain won’t budge.

When I wanted to build a flowerbed, I had to move rocks. Some were part of my plan; others were not. Sometimes the rocks were heavy and could only be moved one at a time. I felt frustrated because I seemed to be making little progress. Hours later, I stood back amazed. The mountains had been moved.

Faith still moves mountains but sometimes the greater act of faith is not seeing the mountain move instantly. We have to work with God to move it bit by bit.

What is the mountain in your life? Just ask God for more faith and watch that mountain become a pile of rocks.

A collection of Carol Round’s most popular faith-based columns is now available in book form. For more information, readers can reach her at carolaround@yahoo.com.