The city council has been dealing with the need to recodify – basically rewrite – its code book not only because it is five years old, but also because there has been a change in the form of government since then. It took up the matter Tuesday night at the regular monthly meeting.
Two businesses, American Legal Publishing and CivicPlus, had issued quotes on the work.
ALP came in at $13,315 and estimated a 9-14 month turnaround, while Civic Plus was significantly higher at $23,949. Its turnaround time is estimated at one year.
However, City Attorney Jared Harrison pointed out the difference in the work may be worth the difference in the cost. ALP, he said, would run a ‘find and replace’ on the code, simply changing words associated with the old form of government with those used for the new, manager-council format. It also included the option for the company to outsource the work to another firm without the city’s approval. Also, the document provided would require a good deal of inhouse work from city staff and the city attorney. The payroll hours for that work would be met by the city, driving up the associated costs.
Civic Plus, he said, uses staff members who will modify the existing code and develop a document that is ready to use. Additionally, that company hosts the code on the city’s website now.
“I know it’s a big price difference,” Harrison told the council, “But I believe you will still be better off with them.”
Council agreed, approving the bid with Civic Plus.
In other business, the council once again wrangled with the empty Ward #2 council seat. No one filed to run for the office. The council now has a duty to appoint a council member to fill the seat for one year until the next election cycle in April 2027.
Robert Sawyer, who ran unsuccessfully for the seat at the last election, gave the council his letter of interest for the seat.
Mayor Ryan Bruner, though, said he was not comfortable appointing someone right then, although he thanked Sawyer for stepping up. Council member Neal Riley agreed to open the seat to others who might be interested and the council set a March 10 deadline for letters of interest. Riley said he was not leaning toward waiting any longer than the March meeting.
“Nobody wants to do it. I think we’re just spinning our wheels,” Riley said.
Council member Howard Hursh agreed with the cutoff date.
“We need to get somebody in here as soon as we can,” he said.
The council also held a detailed discussion with the engineer for the wastewater treatment plant project. The contractor has asked for an extension of 126 days, which the engineer supported. That would push the substantial completion date to Apri 12 and a final payment date of June 12.
The extension was necessary, explained public works director Justin Woldridge, in large part because the site the city had selected for the tanks, was backfilled years ago with tires and other debris.
“We stared digging and had to remove that stuff. Then we had to have the soil people come back and approve it,” Woldridge said. The project then needed redesign, placing it on pillars rather than on the flat.
“Some of it is on us,” he said. “We put them in a bad spot.”
Riley said he thought he recalled playing on a stack of tires near the location as a child when his family went to the dump.
The additional cost of the delay is $49,370 to cover the on site daily presence by the inspectors.
Riley had a short back and forth with the engineer and asked if the company could meet the city halfway on the cost. “Want to split it with us?” he teased.
City Manager Leroy Alsup said the money can come from the remainder of the contingency – about $12,000 – and the rest from reserves gained by the city when it placed the loan proceeds from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, some $13 million, in a savings vehicle. That money made interest before payments on the work were started and that interest is now being tapped to pay the additional $37,000 on the project extension.
Alsup gently guided Riley back from the weeds, explaining that the city did not want to delay the project and it definitely did not want to gain a no-pay reputation among contractors.
The council also approved the design grant for the Watonga Airport terminal. That money, $255,600 is coming from the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. Airport Manager Jena Ohman said the contractor Parkhill had taken her to see other terminals the same size in Weatherford and Elk City. The exterior of Elk City was preferred, while the interior of the Weatherford terminal was more appealing to Ohman.
The entire project cost is being underwritten by ODAA, some $3 million. The only cost to the city will be developing a road from the side street, Airport Road, to the terminal, which will be sited slightly north and east of the old golf course buildings.