City Council - Regular Meeting

That's huge. Good job. And you'll see the changes that we have in this department are supported by the EMS collections that Chief Lawson, Chief Braden and the team are going out and making sure that come through. So currently staffed at 11 per shift, five part-time paramedics and the deputy chief and of course the chief. Collective bargaining agreements ongoing. There is an increase in staffing requested. Just like with the police department, anything that we bring you is going to have a corresponding revenue or it's not going to be brought to you, okay? So if it is brought to you, that will be funded by EMS collections. Taking a look at this suppression, administration, EMS, and operations, total year-over-year My goodness, that didn't copy. I'm sorry. We've gone from $4.6 million to $5.2 million. So, again, that's a testament to Chief Lawson, his EMS billables, those 522 districts, turning those revenues around and literally carrying the fire department. Go straight into GPWA. Again, another large driver is that property and auto insurance premium, which we have estimated to increase by $50,000. Electricity. So the new wastewater treatment plant has a new system in comparison to the old one. The electricity to run the new wastewater treatment plant is running about $85,000 a year more than what we were previously experiencing. That's a huge driver. Postage. You'll see At some point, we've got some policy recommendations as the cost of mailing utility bills, second notices, et cetera, as the cost of that continues to grow, our cost for postage continues to grow. So not only is it postage, but it's also the stationary. It's also the staff time. At some point, we'll be bringing you a policy recommendation tying back to your priority and being conservative in our budgeting and expenditure efforts, of an option to opt out of a mailed statement. Or if you would like a mailed statement, there's a monthly service fee that directly offsets the cost. We can't continue to absorb that cost. We've also got a future policy recommendation for credit card fees. We're going to spend $80,000 in credit card fees next year that we're absorbing. The credit card convenience fee is something that almost every utility company passes on to the consumer. Even in the community, there are several places, businesses that pass that charge on. If you'll look on your receipt, there are several restaurants, I paid close attention to that, that will pass on that percentage to you. $80,000 in credit card fees goes a long ways. So that's, again, maybe a portion of that or all of it. We will be bringing you some sort of policy to take a look at that. Waste Connections contract, that contract continues to grow as the number of residents grow and the folks who are using that service grows. Luckily, we have that expenditure tied to a revenue chart that increases each year for the next year, and then we'll be renegotiating that contract. Sludge removal contracts, again, another gift from the new wastewater treatment plant, excuse me, is a sludge that has to be removed. We're estimating that next year we'll spend $150,000. Myself, Tenny, Kim, and Superintendent Chris Nielsen, we're proposing the purchase of a bell press, which is a $280,000 capital expenditure, but it will eliminate the need for that sludge removal contract year over year. What does it do? I could go into...

Just kidding. I said, what does it do? It makes something with it.

Yeah, so it takes that sludge and disperses it. I'm not an expert in the wastewater treatment plant process. I won't even begin to even act like it, but that belt press will eliminate the need for those containers that we're paying waste connections to come into it. Let's see. Convenience center, again, here's another policy item. We've got folks who... come out to the convenience center with a dump trailer loaded, blown full, and dump it into our containers, and we're a low-cost option for getting rid of your disposal. Well, at some point, it's very clear that that is not a residential use. The whole purpose of the convenience center is so that citizen number A can come out and get rid of some bulk items or some trash that they no longer need, not so that Jack who remodels houses can show up with his utility bill because he happens to live here and he's got a dump trailer full and he says, well, hey, this is from my house. I've got a utility bill. Well, kind of taking advantage of the system. And in that, you know, we're paying by the ton. We're seeing those costs continue to increase. Also, we've got I-35, State Highway 33 utility relocation that is a 100% ODOT reimbursement. In that fund balance number, there's a $500,000 deduct, but it's a wash. Once we spend the money, we'll have that reimbursed back to the city. And then lastly, we've got this BNNSF water line. You may recall when we had the water line that was crossing the cottonwood that had to be repaired, the railroad's contingency on approving our permit, our fast track permit, which took 90 days, fast track. Yeah. Their contingency approval was that we would relocate that water line. So. Tinny and I are working on some creative funding opportunities. Again, that is in the budget that I've presented to you, and that fund balance number is reflective of that project. However, we're still going to see what we can do about seeking some additional grant dollars to make that project happen. Capital projects, ongoing, just to keep them top of mind for you. Of course, own field. Second, fire and EMS station. We opened the bids on that last week. That'll be coming to you across all that my city manager report. That'll be coming to you probably your first meeting in September if we don't have an additional workshop meeting. Police and fire training facility. The 911 Center, Logan County Rehabilitation for the radios, the pool. We do have some funds designated for the ADA upgrades to Highland Hall. We've just not had a staff capacity to get that project done. When you look at over $20 million in capital projects that we're managing, in addition to all of the other daily operations that are occurring at the city, we're really at capacity on what we can handle right now. And I want to ensure that we're delivering the best quality to you and to the community. So for now, we're going to keep that project on hold until we get some of these others off our plate. Of course, the Chuck Hall and Colin Duell funded OWRB water line replacement project, College Street Bridge, and then the water and sewer relocation. Just to name a few We're not lacking for anything to do. Just in summary and in recap, this budget is one of our largest budget proposals in history, and that's because we're doing more than we've ever done. This council has set some pretty aggressive goals for myself and your team, and I applaud it. They work day in and day out, not only to meet those goals and complete those projects, but also to find funding opportunities where the city's not on the hook for implementing those projects. And that's not something that happens everywhere, folks. That is special to this community and your leadership. Fiscal year 27 grant match requirements make up a large portion of the fund balance, as you saw. Insurance premiums continue to rise. We're already working on that. Postage credit card processing fees just becoming unsustainable. Convenience center, we've got to evaluate that. I'm sure we're not operating at a loss. And then lastly, our operating costs, fuel, electricity, gas, utility, et cetera, all of those continue to be a cost strike. When you think about all of the diesel trucks that we're running and the amount of diesel that we buy, not even talking about unleaded fuel, with that cost per gallon, knock it on $5, it's not... like we're saving any money on operating costs. This budget, lastly, it's a living, breathing document. It's our financial plan for fiscal year 27. You set those priorities, it's our job to implement them. I call that the rudder. You know what the rudder is? It keeps the ship straight. That's what your priorities do for your staff. We can do anything, but we can't do everything. The many needs of our community simply exceed the resources. And there's going to be things that come up mid-year. And we have to be diligent stewards of your dollars, of our dollars, and say, that's not a council priority. They gave us their priorities in May. If it doesn't tie back to this priority, we can't meet it because the priorities are what's in the budget. So then those projects, unless they're an emergency, right? Then those projects come back to you and we look at those for future fiscal years. because that's sustainable. That's the way we plan. That's the way we implement the budget conservatively and be good stewards of your dollars. Appreciate both the council and staff as we work diligently together to prepare and present this budget. Give a shout out to Kim Biggs, City Clerk Treasurer, who put most of my PowerPoint together for me last week while I was gone. Thank you for that, Kim. She's also been working very diligently on the budget. Myself, Justin, Courtney, Jesse, Brian, and Kim, we spent many hours around the third floor conference room table and had a lot of hard conversations. And I need you to know that we take this process very serious because it's one of the most important things that we do. It's our rudder. It's our guiding document. With that, Mayor and Council, that's all I've got for you.

Good job, Eddie.

Thank you for preparing this. It's not just the presentation, but all the time that you guys put in day in and day out throughout the entire year to get here. So thank you very much, staff. Eddie, like you said, we don't have time for questions. Okay. Here's what we'll do to gather more public comments, which I know we have more outside, and to let people flow in and flow out. Let's just do a five-minute break. So I will adjourn this. See everybody in five minutes. Please rise to join Councilman Lothroy to pledge the flag. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for our prayer.

Thank you. Holy God. We give you thanks for this meeting and for your presence with us tonight. Guide our conversations and decisions and guard the hearts and minds of each person here as they seek to do your work in the community. We ask for your protection over our citizens and all who must work, travel, or spend time outdoors during this season of extreme heat. Grant them safety, strength, and refreshment and watch over those who are especially vulnerable to these high temperatures. As another school year begins, open our eyes to those who are using crosswalks and fill our hearts with compassion and encouragement for students, teachers, staff, and families as they navigate this season of transition. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

All right, you may be seated. The call opener, Guthrie Regular City Council meeting, again, Tuesday, August 4th, 2026. It is 7.02 p.m. right here in the City Hall Council Chambers. Item number two is public comments, community announcements and recognition. We have a few, but some of them deal with an item on the agenda, so we'll wait for those. And we will call up Mr. William Murphy. Please come to the podium. Just state your name and whether or not you're a resident, please, sir. And just to remind everybody in the gallery and watching at home, it's state law that we are not allowed to respond to public comments. So we will be silent when he speaks. And you will have five minutes, sir.

Good evening, Mr. Mayor. First thing I'd like to say is, Ms. Biggs, from the many people on Facebook that did not appreciate the post today that was made about you and being the wronged person. That man over there should put his face up about any policy changes to City Hall. He should be followed by that man there. From my heart, I apologize for everyone for all the comments that's been made. Now on to Owen Field. Over the last week, I've sat in my shop doing work, supporting myself, paying taxes. I have made not less than five calls, one every morning. to our chief's department, telling them that we have slow moving trucks. It's actually been over the last two weeks, slow moving trucks. I just told Councilman Williams, go out there and count the skid marks. That is one bad thing to have happen. From the beginning of Owen Field and where they're talking about building it, I have done nothing but complain to this council, the chief of police, And our city manager over here about getting it fixed, doing something right, signage. There was never an orange sign or nothing to warn any of them people that were west but eastbound. They're slamming on the brakes for a truck moving five miles an hour. And what's going to happen when we get 50 families up in that ball field? Huh? What are we going to do here? Do you have a plan, Chief? Really, I've given you seven years of complaining about it. I'm not going to complain about the other deal they've got going on because that's just ignorance on their part. But they wouldn't send patrol out there. This man's managing our money, our steward. I want to know how we had to have 12,000 tons of

of dirt moved off that field this time.

How come they had to move 12,000 tons of dirt? That's what the contractor claimed on his post. I thought we leveled them fields two years ago when we screwed up building the driveway. And that brings us to the last truck of the deal, the water truck. We have a water truck up there spraying the ground down. It's right. It's what they're supposed to be doing. Where's the water line that goes into the park? You forgot to get it. It should have been put in first. They call that infrastructure, Mr. Faulkner. Everything on that ball field's been mishandled. I've watched it. This is the problem we have. There's a lot of mismanagement. This man's been our city manager, what, how many years now, Mr. Faulkner? Have you ever given us a plan to fix the water lines? That's your job. We're never going to attract anybody into this city until we fix that very problem. Hence the joke where I was on Facebook selling the damn lake. This is the problem we have. This city's never going to grow until you fix that water problem. I've seen that lake flip over 10 times since I've been back here, since I've moved back here. Still stinks. We need water lines. Somebody needs to stand up and tell them we need to have this much money set in a bond. Hire the people to do it and get it done. All of our builders are doing a fine job building this community. they expect you to get up and do your job and get us water to drink that's your job chief smaller cars less gas less money more officers all right thank you mr murphy we have no more uh public comments like i said um

The other people that signed up to speak is for an agenda item. So we'll move on to agenda item number three, which is the consent agenda, items A through H. Motion to approve as written. Okay. Motion. Can I get a second? Second. Okay. We have a motion and a second. Further comments or questions, please cast your votes.

All votes are in.

All right. Unanimous approval from all those present for the consent agenda items A through H. Item number four were items removed from the consent agenda. There were none. Item number five is Guthrie Housing Authority Board appointments, discussions, consideration, possible action to confirm the mayor's appointment of Breonna Gilder and reappointment of Robert Bob Kinworthy to the Guthrie Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, each for a three-year term expiring in August of 2029. I spoke with the Guthrie Housing Authority director for about an hour on the phone about both of these individuals, and they come both highly recommended. So I will. So moved. There we are. Motion and a second.

Any questions, comments from anyone? If there are none, please cast your votes.

All votes are in.

Unanimous approval for the reappointment of Robert Bob Kinworthy and the appointment of Brianna Gilder to the Guthrie Housing Authority Board of Commissioners. Item number six is workers' compensation renewal premium credit. Mr. Faulkner.

Yes, Mayor and Council. When we received our 2627 workers' comp insurance renewal, we do have an escrow credit in the amount of $59,690.53. Staff is recommending that this Council approve utilizing that escrow credit towards the premium. Happy to answer any questions.

So moved. Second.

Second.

Motion and second. No questions, comments from Mr. Faulkner? If there are none, please cast your votes.

All votes are in.

Okay. Unanimous approval for the Workers' Compensation Renewal Premium Credit. Item number seven is Resolution Number 2026-20, Revised City GPWA Organization Chart. Mr. Faulkner.

Yes, Mayor and Council. As we discussed during the budget and as is authorized in Section 3.12 of the Charter of the City of Guthrie, which allows the city manager to appoint and, when necessary, at the time for the good of the service, remove, demote, lay off, or suspend all heads or administrative departments and or administrative officers of the city. We present to you this organization chart as we have discussed. Staff recommends approval, and I am happy to answer any questions.

Any questions for our city manager? So moved. Second. Motion and a tie for second. Leave it to Maneca. All right. Motion to second. No further comments or questions. Please cast your votes.

All votes are in.

All right. Unanimous approval for resolution number 2026-20, revised city GPWA organization chart. Item number eight is resolution number 2026-19, fiscal year 2027, non-bargaining employee pay plan. Boy, that's a tongue twister. Mr. Faulkner again.

Yes, Mayor and Council. As you'll recall, the Policy manual requires me annually to review and present a pay plan on behalf of non-union, non-bargaining employees. As we discussed during the budget process, all of those changes are presented to you inside this pay plan. Staff would recommend approval. Be happy to answer any questions.

Salute. No questions? Second. Second. Okay. Further comments or questions for Mr. Faulkner, please cast your votes.

I'll vote for him.

Unanimous approval for the fiscal year 2027 school resource officer agreement. Item number... My tab came down. I'm sorry about that. Unanimous approval for resolution number 2026-19 fiscal year 2027 non-bargaining employee pay plan. There we are. Now, agenda number... Nine, fiscal year 2027 school resource officer agreement. Mr. Faulkner.

Yes, Mayor and Council, this agreement directly mirrors what we have in place and have had in place for a number of years between the City of Guthrie and Guthrie Public Schools, which essentially in exchange for two school resource officers, we receive a reserve officer, which is employed by the school for the summer, vacations, winter breaks, etc., The total cost of this agreement is $8,484 and no change. Staff recommends approval. Happy to answer any questions, or Chief Swigert can answer any questions.

So moved. Second. Motion to second. Are there any questions for Mr. Faulkner or the Chief?

Wasn't last year, didn't the grant pay for this?

So the only thing we're paying for in this SRO agreement is the offset of this employee's health insurance. So previously, we had three employees that were all there. And this has been prior to me, even, that this current format has been in place. Prior to me, on the old version of the agreement, we had three SROs and the school paid the city a portion of their salary based on the nine months of the school year that they would be working at the school, and then the city paid the remainder of their salary and benefits.

Thank you. Any more questions, comments? There are none. We have a motion and a second. Please cast your votes.

I'll vote to write.

Unanimous approval for the fiscal year 2027 school resource officer agreement. Item number 10, award of bid number 2026-06, Airport Terminal Building Construction. Caden Young, Airport Director.

Yes, Mayor and Council. We published a public notice in the Guthrie News Leader on June 17th and the 24th to solicit bids for this project. We received nine sealed bids on July 8th, and Landmark Construction Group was the lowest apparent bidder. Our engineer, Park Hill, is recommending this, and staff is recommending as well.

So moved.

Second. Any questions for our airport director? Okay. There are none. Please cast your votes. The unanimous approval from all those present, the award of bid number 2026-06, Airport Terminal Building Construction. Item number 11 is award of bid number 2026-07, Airport Terminal Apron Construction. Mr. Young.

These bids were posted and opened at the same time. This is for the terminal apron. Contech Broken Arrow was the lowest apparent bidder and recommended by our engineer as well. You may recall that Contech did the taxiway project that was recently completed, both under budget and on time. So staff is definitely recommending them as well.

So moved.

Second.

Motion to second. No further comments or questions. Let's cast our votes.

Our votes are ahead.

unanimous approval for the award of bid number 2026-07, Airport Terminal and Apron Construction. Item number 12, Amendment number 3 to Task Order number 153, Boeing Field Improvements. Mr. Maker.

Yes, Mayor and Council. Amendment number 3 provides additional compensation to Myers Engineering for the Expanded construction, administration, the coordination, the federal compliance services associated with the Owens Field Softball Complex Improvement Phase 1A project. The additional services include review of the contractor submittals, shop drawings, review of the response to requests for information, review of contractor payment applications, participation in construction coordination meetings, contract closeout assistance, Review of the certified payroll and Davis-Bacon compliance documentation. Coordination with the construction manager, contractors, suppliers, funding agencies, and the city and other construction administration services responsible required for the project. Compensation will be based on an hourly, on an actual hours worked using Myers Engineering current hourly rate schedule. with a not to exceed amount of $37,908 based on an estimated 253 hours. The amendment also removes $2,604 that was previously authorized for testing services resulting in a net increase of $35,304. Is that it? Yes. Okay.

It felt like we had an ending there.

Staff recommends approval. That's usually the landing.

Okay, so this is a one-time fee during construction or what they've accrued to now? That's what I have.

This is moving forward, isn't it? This is an additional fee to the existing task order, if that's what you're asking.

I mean, because there's already an engineering during construction of the $75,250. So this is an additional fee to the end? Are they going to come back with another amendment by the time we get to the end of this is what I mean.

We hope not. We hope not. We hope that the project goes smoothly and there's no additional fees needed.

And part of what drove this amendment is, again, we talk about how great the grants are in the federal dollars. What we don't see on the back end is the regulation that comes with that. So one of the key things that Myers will be doing as a part of this amendment and their engineering during construction is the Davis Bacon wage act, which requires a prevailing wage be paid to the contractors and all of their subs. So the federal requirements that go along with that require somebody on our team to go out and interview after we've received certified payroll, actually to go out and interview employees, ask them what their title is, what their hourly wage is, cross-check that to their certified payroll, and then we've already had an instance where a contractor was underpaying. They weren't paying the prevailing wage. Well, we've got about 20 subcontracts, 22 subcontracts on that job. And Meijer's project manager has substantial experience not just in that, but in also handling the federal paperwork that must be submitted along with it. So that's not something that staff really has an expertise in. We have done a very small amount of it in the past. I say we, Tenney's team, has had to do some of that in the past, but it wasn't 22 subcontractors with all of their employees on top of that. So how many hours are we looking at? 250?

Yes, 253, I believe it was.

Between now and completion, right?

Yes, between now and completion.

And how many people are making up those 237,000? One?

No, there's approximately, Bill has a few hours included in there of his hourly rate. Kirby, He has some. He attends most of all of our progress meetings, which are weekly as of right or biweekly right now. Jennifer is reviewing all of the Davis Bacon and paperwork and documents on that side, making sure all the Davis Bacon wage rates is all met on all the pay apps. I'm really not sure at this point who is. There's a slew of them that is reviewing all of the submittals. meaning all of your pipe, all of your bolts, all of your products that's coming into this project to make sure they reach the right submittal level.

So the $149 an hour is dispersed between

Approximately, probably, I would say five, safely five employees.

And that's an average based on the not to exceed amount. So to Councilwoman Gibbs's question, Myers had this amendment slated for earlier. And I said, wait, let's get through, see where we need to be. There should not be another amendment to my knowledge. I see no reason for it. uh but had we not been in a position with the baba compliance and the davis bacon wage act i i don't know that we would be in the same spot today but it is i mean it's his drawings and it's his project to manage so this should take us all the way through i i feel confident it'll take us through completion so me too this wasn't something that they included in their original bid Well, if you'll recall, Amendment No. 2 actually removed $88,000 that was included in the original bid because we took away the resident project representative, which would have been doing these services. So we saved approximately $50,000.

So essentially this is just a replacement for that.

At a lesser cost. Yes, ma'am.

Any more questions, Veneka?

No. We're good.

All right, we have a motion to approve. Motion to second. Any more questions for either the city manager or the public works director? If there are none, please cast your votes.

I'll vote for it.

Okay, unanimous approval for amendment number three, task order number 153, Owen Field improvements. Item number 13, College Avenue Railroad Crossing Improvement Agreement. Mr. Makert.

The proposed agreement that you all have in front of you is basically a cooperative agreement. If you recall, we brought back an agreement to you a while back. It was just ODOT and the city. This includes BNSF in that basically same agreement process. provides the improvements to the BNSF railroad crossing at College Avenue where we'll be putting in the College Bridge. The project includes removing the existing 32-foot crossing on the west main track and the east siding track and installing new 40-foot concrete crossings. The east track will also be raised approximately 6 to 12 inches to match the roadway elevation. Two new railroad signal pedestals with gate arms will also be installed. BNSF will perform all railroad signal and crossing surfaces work at an estimate reimbursable cost of $633,394. The project will be funded through the federal and state project funds together with BNSF required participation. Upon completion, BNSF will continue to maintain the railroad facilities while the city will own and be responsible for maintaining the roadway approaches, grading drainage, and signage associated with the crossing. What basically this will do is where currently we have a very rough crossing there. You've got three different elevations. We started the engineer, started design plans. We're at about 65% right now. Based off of the floodplain, that bridge will need to be elevated and bringing the elevation of the bridge up, leveling out the two crossings, widening the crossings to match, to tie into the bridge with the new standards set by the state requires us to go all the way to the outside of BNSF easement, which is incorporating the whole intersection. It's enlarged the size of the project substantially.

What are we going to store on the bridge?

Right now, they're at about 65% design. So moved. Second. All right.

Motion or second? This is very much needed over there.

Yes. What's that?

It's very much needed over there.

Oh, yeah. Looking bad. Any more questions for Mr. Maker? Okay. We have a motion and a second. If there are no more questions or comments. Thank you, Danny. Any votes? All those for aye. Okay. And it's approval from all those present of College Avenue Railroad Crossing Improvement Agreement. Thank you, Mr. Maker. Item number 14, a special use permit medical facility at 1911 East Rutgers Avenue. Mr. Kasich.

Thank you Mr. Mayor, City Council. As indicated, this is a special use permit within our zoning code. It allows a medical facility in any of the residential areas through a special use permit. Obviously, that's to ensure that it's properly located. This request is the Hope House, the just next door to it off of Rutgers, the other side of their property. They have a building there. It was last used as a daycare, and they want to utilize it as a medical facility for a lot of the residents. So with that, we're going through the special use permit. The Planning Commission had recommended 5.0 of the special use permit be approved as submitted. So with that, if the Council has any questions.

Any questions for Mr. Case? Was there any objections?

Not on this one, no. No. And at the meeting, there wasn't anybody that showed up as well. Yeah.

I didn't see anyone at the meeting.

Yeah. Yeah. It's actually a perfect property for what they want to do. Yeah.

So moved.

Second.

Motion is second. If there's no further comments or questions, please cast your votes.

Oh, that's random.

Unanimous approval for the special use permit medical facility at 1911 East Rutgers Avenue. Item number 15, special use permit, accessory building location standards exemption. Mr. Kasich.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor, City Council. Again, another special use permit. This has come up a couple times before. We have a provision in the zoning code now that allows exceptions to size, location, that pertaining to accessory structures by code. The accessory structure has to be on the side or the rear. Otherwise, it's through a special use permit. The particular permit here is to allow it in the front. The planning commission had recommended for one approval as submitted there was two letters of objection that were part of your packet they were also at the planning commission meeting and i believe there's probably some that are here to speak tonight but with that i'll give it back to the council if you have any questions of me dan yes quick question yes this building put in before yes Why? The owner had stated he didn't realize he was within the city limits. It came to our attention when they were looking to have OG&E hook up the power. At that point, we obviously found out that, excuse me, there was a building there and that there was not a building permit, nor obviously an electrical permit. So that's when the conversations had started and they had talked to us or we had talked to them about possibly moving it to the side or rear. They said that really wasn't feasible. So obviously there is the ability to go through this process. So here we are.

I'm not here to argue with you, but I think it's wrong. I think you should check before you do any kind of building anywhere. That's not your fault.

How big is this property?

It's about 0.86, a little under an acre, almost an acre, about 0.86 acres. As you can see, it was at one time parceled out of the larger parcel. Most everything around there is large agricultural acreage. On that side, this is the smallest parcel.

Do you know how long the resident has lived here?

I do not. They are here. You could speak with them, but I do not offhand.

I have any more questions for Dan. He can pop back and forth, but I do have two questions. comments on this item. Do you want to ask Dan some more stuff or do you want to have them speak?

No, not yet. Okay.

We'll take them in order of the way we received them. I have a Tom, I don't really know how to pronounce his name. Seabird. Seabird. There it is.

Where's the subject property on this?

Right here. Please just state your name and whether or not you're a resident.

Tom Seabird. And we are not residents. We're absentee landowners of the property around this property that's requesting the special use permit. I'll go ahead and read this so I don't ramble. Thank you. I'm Tom Siebert. My wife and I live 22 miles away in Oklahoma City. The property is an eastern red cedar infested tick haven that provides enough exercise to keep me out of the pool. I pick up trash, mow the right away along Sooner Road. Not one of my favorite tasks. We work hard cutting, chipping cedar trees, mowing weeds, trying to be good stewards of the land and good neighbors. Prior to the time that Mr. Morgan moved into the neighborhood, interested people driving by would ask is your property for sale my reply was no it is not but thank you for asking now the only offers come at least every other month from chinese-backed property investment companies that get their information from the assessor's office which does not include the neighborhood vista the quality of that ex Sis, these offers run from $2,000 to $4,000 an acre. Three or four years ago, relatives of ours sold 40 acres for over $15,000 an acre within a mile of this property or our property. Not within city limit, not a frontal to a paved road or access to public use. access to a public lake. Our property, total property, is 45 acres, located one mile from Interstate 35, Sooner Road on the front, and a no-wake lake, city lake on the west. With an $11,000, I'm going into a little math here, with an $11,000 difference in the acre value plus access to Logan County rural water, I have a potential incentive of over $450,000 to extend maximum effort to protect our family's investment. Ideally, my wife and I will stay the course to keep the property to be hers. I was advised that my wife and I need to carry absentee Liability insurance. We as owners are responsible for what happens on our property. For instance, if we lease pasture or allow hunting, we can be held at fault by court if something happens. The expected premium for this type of insurance annually is about $4,000. Thank you for the consideration of our objections to this special use commitment.

Where's your property located? Is it around that?

Yes, we're totally in circle.

You're both sides of it. You're actually all the way around it. It's in the corner of your property right there. Well, it's not your property, but I see it.

It fronts sooner right there. We do own the property completely around it.

Thank you, Mr. Seaver. We also have Jennifer Morgan.

So can I ask? Well, I wanted to ask Dan a question real quick. How do we go for a special use permit on a building that's already constructed? I mean, that kind of defeats the purpose of a special use permit.

Yes and no. I mean, it's obviously an avenue that is available. And, you know, that's probably the best answer I could give. Ultimately, if it's not approved, then it's got to be moved. That's why all permitting or allowance of it stopped until we went through this process.

Is this an actual residence there? Or is it like just an outbuilding?

Yeah, it's going to be an accessory building, basically like a storage shed type.

So there's no restroom, none of that, and they're just...

Right, right. It's not going to be like an accessory dwelling.

So it got moved there on a truck, it looks like, right?

Yep, yep. Yeah, and as I indicated before, we were not aware of it until they needed power, and that's when we found out all the issues that we're dealing with.

That was my question. Okay.

Thank you. Okay. Now Jennifer Morgan.

Good evening Mayor and Council. Um, I am Jennifer Morgan. I'm a resident of Guthrie. I reside at the property in question. Um, we're requesting a special use permit. Um, the building's purpose is to be a recreational room. It'll has a pool table and some workout equipment. My husband runs a veteran nonprofit and, um, the he. He basically teaches veterans how to build wooden flags with their branch of service on it. We have veterans in the home. So this is an extension of that building. It will allow us to move the pool table out of the shop building and into this accessory building. And it will be an extension of his workshop and it will also provide recreation for our family. The property itself is zoned A1, and that is one of the reasons why we weren't really thinking that we would need a permit. And our apologies for not thinking, it should have no matter. But we did not realize there was a permit required just due to the, it's not zoned R1, it's not zoned R2, it's zoned A1. And when we took possession of the building, initially it was expected to be put in the back, Um, but when we, we didn't realize they weren't going to build it on site, it was a prefab building. Um, normally what they do with these buildings is they, they bring it in and pieces and just put it together. So we thought we would be able to get it behind the gate. The gates are only 12 feet wide. The building is 16 feet wide, so it will not fit. The electrical, we went ahead and had it placed in front, not realizing that the, being that the property size was under an acre, we didn't have the same, I guess we don't go by the same rules as normal agricultural properties. So it was kind of, we didn't realize that the zoning didn't apply to us because of the property size. The electrical was already completed when we realized that we need the permit. So when we went to go get the permit, We were told that we needed to file for a special use permit. It couldn't be there. Originally, like the building color is different. So what we plan on doing is painting the building to match the house. So it will still be aesthetically pleasing. We're building a deck between our existing deck and the property. So that again, we'll kind of like have it flow better. So it won't be an eyesore. And yeah, one of the reasons why we didn't we couldn't really roll fully uh put together building somehow to the back of the yard we would have had to drop mr siebert's fence for one so that wasn't um that wasn't an option But their septic is in the back of the house. So we, the truck, I mean, just if the building, if it had been, if the gate had been wide enough to allow the building through in its built form, it would have been too heavy to go across the septic and into the back where it needed to be placed. So those are the reasons why we made the mistake that we did. And we're just asking for your grace and approval of the accessory building. Do you have any other questions about this? Yes.

During the planning commission meeting, Mr. Morgan stated that he had dealt with this company before and that he fully expected this to be built on site. Correct. So you had a site picked out in your backyard for this building. Correct. And then they just suddenly showed up with it.

Right. We didn't ask enough questions. We just made assumptions that we absolutely should not have made.

But you wrote a check for it.

We did write a check for it. Correct.

But you didn't ask questions whether it was going to be built on site.

I was not in charge. That's correct.

That wasn't decided beforehand.

No, sir.

I'd like to state that in April of 24, a senior couple came to the planning commission and then counseled. two-tenths of a mile north of there on Lakewood and Schooner, and requested that two double whites be put on that property, which their daughter already lived on. On the corner? Yes. Very nice renderings. The crowd that showed up and opposed it stated that it would be an eyesore to the gateway to our city and stated that it would bring down property values in the area. It was denied. And I could not in good conscience approve this, having denied that. Plus, back to Mr. Siebert's fence, he has graciously offered to let them take down his fence and move that building behind their house. So there's a solution.

Is there a reason why you can't move it to the back or you don't want to?

Well, we have already... we made a mistake and we already, we've spent money for the electrical. We spent money for the delivery and placement of the building. It would be cost prohibitive for us to do that at this point. It would cost a couple thousand dollars, most likely to have, I haven't investigated it. So I don't want to speak out of turn. I'm not exactly sure what it costs to build or move a building, but to have a professionally moved to the back of the property would be costly. And we've, You know, we've got the concrete set. We've got the electrical done. And I mean, obviously, if you do not approve the special use permit, that would be something we would have to consider.

There's concrete under this.

No. No, but we we went ahead like where the electrical is being placed, where the where the boxes we had those those boxes. whatever they are, the things that hold it, we had them concreted and so that they wouldn't move so that electrical wouldn't pull away from the building or anything like that if there was wind. The electrical lines will be buried also.

Did you want to, Mr. Morgan? Regarding the delivery date when they arrived, they pretty much had Sooner Road shut down and I panicked. I called 911. I said non-emergency and Could we get some law enforcement out here to direct traffic while we figure out how to get this in there? They sent me to the city. The city said, no, you're in the county. So they sent me over to county. And then the county's like, no, you're in the city. So long story short, I went through four phone calls to get to who needed to be there. City of Guthrie showed up. They were there on site. When they arrived, I called Mr. Siebert to try to ask, is there any way we can drop your fence or anything regarding that? He would not answer his call or my call. So I attempted to do that. The reason now he's saying that we can...

graciously move the fence because he knows where my septic is and he lost the vote previously four to one let me ask you on the septic can this be moved without hurting the lateral lines i think in order right i think in in order to move it um to avoid the lateral lines it's going to have to go all the way around the house and but it can be placed without I think so. It's going to be a little precarious because it's got to go between the shop. And I don't think there's enough room over there on that side. I guess if we drop the fence, we could swing it around wide. I'm not exactly sure what they do when they do those things. I don't know.

So how did the electrical get done without a permit? Looking at this, I don't think the electrical's done. You just have junction boxes.

No, we had the junction box put in and we had it concreted.

So there's no electrical in there?

No, it's wired. It has not been connected. We need a permit for that.

So how did it get wired with no permit?

Well, it came that way.

Oh, the box.

It came right in there, but the electrician who drew a permit found out that it was in the city limits.

Okay. And OGME came out and gave me the specifics of... what box needs to be there, how far it needs to be dug. So we did all that for OG&E's thing, and then all of a sudden we found out that we needed a permit through OG&E. How long have you guys lived here?

Mr. Morgan bought the house in September of last year. He lived there as a renter in a rent-to-own situation for five years prior.

So, Dan, how big of a building can they put on 0.87 of an acre?

It's based on 52. It's still the 50% rule where it's 50% of the livable area. The size of it is allowable because I think, how big is the livable area?

I think it's like 16 by 32. And then we're in a double-wide main thing.

Yeah, so the size isn't the issue. It's the location because they're within the size limit they're allowed.

So a double-wide was already approved on the site at one point, or was that just put there?

It's been there for a long time, yeah. I was going to say that predates me and probably way before that, yeah.

30 years. Yeah.

Yeah.

How many outbuildings are there out there now?

Per the current code, if it's under one and a half acres, you get two. If it's one and a half acres or greater, you get three.

And how many acres?

And it's not even an acre?

No, so they would be allowed two.

Per the code. This is a third.

This would be a third.

That's on there. So if I'm reading this correctly from the plan, it says the subject property is the smallest property in the area, 0.88 acres, with one other 2.57-acre property to the north. All other properties are well over five acres in size. So any property five acres or larger is exempt from the accessory structure standard.

Correct. Meaning size and location and that. So, yeah, if you're at five acres, you know, you could have a standalone barn. Yeah, the number of outbuildings is still maintained. It's the location and size. So if you have a 1,200-square-foot house on 10 acres and you want to put a 1,500-square-foot building, you can. And then the same thing, if you have a house that's maybe in the back of the acreage and you want to put an accessory structure towards the front, you can. Those limitations go away at five acres or more.

So who put the mobile home in? Elliot's? Marvin Elliott, the owner of the property who put the, who owned the property that put the Marvin Elliott and his daughter lived in it.

And you all leased it, Morgans, you leased it from the Elliott's?

No.

No. No, the property went up for auction when Ms. Elliott passed away. It was left to her grandchildren. They sold it in auction to a buddy of mine that came. He wanted to turn it into a used car lot. And, of course, you all denied it, thankfully, because now I live in it. But... Since y'all denied it, he reached out to me and said, I can't put my car lot here. Do you want to lease to own it? And I said, absolutely. And when I got it, it was extremely rundown. It hadn't been lived in for approximately four years. And we just gutted it. I remodeled everything on the inside and then moved into it. And he said, you have five years to purchase the property on your own. And I waited until just before the five-year mark. And September, we just purchased it.

So question for Mr. Sieber, when you've owned this property for generational property here?

It has been in the family forever.

Okay. So when the mobile home came in, was there an issue with that?

The mobile home came in when...

I mean, did you have an issue with the mobile home?

Come up to the microphone. Yeah, Mr. Sieber. Thank you.

That's the question I have is when the mobile home was moved in, was there issues with the mobile home being put in there?

The mobile home came in with the big barn and Uncle Marvin sold land, moved to this parcel that was willed to him. He had 29.7 acres and things came about. He passed away. His daughter and grandkids lived there until she passed away. We purchased it. We purchased the rest of the 17 acres at the time. 12 acres had already been sold. That left 17. And the lady that lived there, the cousin that lived there was needing money. and i offered we offered to purchase the land where the mobile home was no no we left we left for 0.88 acres out the buildings out because at that time she was still living there in the in the mobile home that's what i'm trying to find out was there an issue with the mobile home being put in there No, no, no, not at the time. Nobody had an issue with the mobile home being put in there? Because there was 27 acres.

Okay. On all the property.

Yeah. And the shop was built at the same time.

So if there was not an issue with the mobile home being put in there, why, and this is increasing the value of that property, obviously. I'm trying to get my arms around why there's an issue now.

An issue now from?

With this other structure in there.

Oh, from my standpoint? Yes, sir. Well, that was my whole spiel.

No, I understand your spiel, but there was never an issue with the mobile home to start with is what I was saying, which the mobile home already deterred the value of the property at that point when it was put in 30 years ago.

Well, yeah, I guess. But it really, at the point, it was a brand new double-wide. And Uncle Marvin, he left his other place that he sold, moved over to the property he inherited of 27 acres. It had rural water. He was able to get rural water and moved in there until he's dead.

I have a question for Dan again, if we could, please. Just to clarify what Vice Mayor and Councilwoman Denning was talking about just a few minutes ago. Does this even allow on this property to have three structures?

Well, I'm glad you brought that up. Thank you, Mayor. I was going to clarify. What we're looking at is working with the property owner to take care of that issue if this were approved, because we've had conversations about that in the number. And so it was kind of like taking one thing at a time. If this doesn't get approved and then they decide they don't want it, the issue kind of takes care of itself. If it does get approved, then that's something we're going to have to address. I've had...

Sorry, can you clarify? Oh, the number. Yeah, the number.

Yeah, the number of allowable accessory structures. I've had this come up before with other properties where they're looking to put a new structure on there. And then once they got that done, they took another structure off to be co-compliant in that. So that's something that we're going to have to work with them on now. And again, it's kind of taken one step at a time here.

So how many structures on it? I'm sorry. This is the same thing. Yeah, so there's two already. Right. That's what I'm trying to see. What's the one in the back?

This looks like an 18 by 10. I can't read it.

That one in the back is a 10 by 18, but what's the one right behind it?

There's like approximately a 10 by 12 in the very back. That holds my lawnmower, my riding lawnmower, all my... gear for outside. Then there's a little eight by 10 that's directly behind my shop that holds my wood for the nonprofit.

So, but then there's a shop, right?

And then there's the big shop.

So, so there's what we're doing with the new building buildings.

No, there's three.

Well, you got the new one.

Storage buildings are three.

Okay. Well, so there's one all the way in the back, 18 by 10. Then there's a 10 by eight. Then there's a 20-by-something shop, so that's three. And then there's the new one over here, which is four. And then the house is five structures on the property. And you're only allowed to have two? You're only allowed to have two.

Our plan with the new building, it's going to alleviate a lot of those things that are in the actual metal building and building. then I can get rid of that one building directly behind my shop where we're storing the wood. I can bring that wood in and store it in the building.

But here's the dilemma in that. And, you know, I'm sorry this all happened with you guys. But so if we approve that, then we're approving a special use permit on that building. I want to be real clear, just the new building, which does not mandate you do anything else with removing structures on that property. It doesn't. So you're going to have to go through another whole scenario there.

No, I mean, the code itself mandates the number in that.

Yeah, but how long have the buildings been in play? How long have they been there? Are you going to come back and change the code and you're going to make a code go back and tear out 20-year-old buildings?

Not yet. No, in general, no. Yeah, no, in general, no. This is different because they're looking to add or improve.

I know that. And what I'm saying is if we approve this building, then what happens is we have no control over taking those other buildings out whatsoever because they've been there for how long?

No, again, basically the new building takes away their legal nonconforming.

Yeah.

If they don't put this building in and this building is there, you're right. Those buildings can stay for as long as they want. But when you start to make improvements, those legal nonconforming go away. It's just like any other property.

So where is it in the documentation here on what I have that if we approve this building, everything else goes away?

That's not part of it. That's not part of it. That's not part of it. No, right.

The point exactly is that that's not part of it. Right, we just kind of uncovered that. Right, so that's the point I'm trying to make, is that if we approve this, then there's no lever to go back in and remove these other buildings.

Well, with the other buildings, those other buildings have been there, attached or detached or whatever, however it looks back there. I drove out there. To me, I'm just going to make a statement here. It's a very nice, well-manicured property. I didn't realize that was city limits either. I don't walk around a map of the city, but I kept driving down Sudom Road, and I was like, good Lord, am I still in the city? And yes, you are. But it doesn't feel like that. And the properties around it are very nice, are beautiful. concession then would be okay have people remove nice well-painted outbuildings and then you have all this crap that was maybe in the outbuilding just setting all over in the front yard like some properties out that direction well that's not what i'm saying what i'm saying is this when you allow five structures on a property that's supposed to have two and then deanna duning comes to council because she wants to do the same thing how do you turn her down

Because we've already allowed it over here. Correct me if I'm wrong. What this is akin to is when we have ADA. So we're a historic town. Certain sidewalks are not ADA. You can't go in and say, these are not ADA. We've got to redo them. But when we do construction and we break ground, we tear it open, now everything in that section has to be ADA compliant, which we are now. That's what this is similar to. You don't go around and start – looking at just random houses that have been grandfathered in, and we're going to take these structures down because there's over five. It's when they decide to do construction or when they decide to get more permits, that's what opens it up, that now you have to be up to code with the structure minimum. Am I correct, Dan?

Yes.

Thank you.

Well, but there has to be – there should be a certain amount of grace as well in somebody that – in something like this because – Well, go ahead.

No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt, Councilman.

Because the building's already there. It's not run down, like Deanna mentioned. And that's not what, I never implied it was. I actually drove out there. I live out near there. Right. And so, but, and that's why I'm trying to find out if there was issues ever with the mobile home going in.

Right.

Because now there's issues with this building, but there wasn't issues with the double wide going in. On 27 acres. Well, it was on .80. 20 years ago.

I believe at the time that this went in, all of that was owned by the city.

Here's the thing I want to ask. Okay. Hang on a second, guys. What happens if we approve this? What about the people that rode there that we told them, no, you can't have it? They're going to come back and sue the city. No, they could.

They might come back and request. That's right. And they're going to say, wait, you just approved them.

And that's their prerogative. But that was different. That's different in that that was mobile homes being put in. And we're not approving a mobile home here. It's already here. It's already there.

I understand that.

Yeah, this is another one. True. So, Dan, I think we've gotten pretty far from the agenda. Let's just kind of circle back for a moment. Yeah. Just a moment. Okay, I'm sorry. It sounds like we've got maybe two requests. or there needs to be a provision added here that something needs to be removed. Am I am I understanding that?

Yeah, because this is this will hopefully answer Councilman Bothroids. In some cases we have because there's legal nonconforming where we do a one for one. You bring in one new one. You take one away. We leave the rest of it alone type of thing. We can go that route because there are, as we discussed, some legal nonconforming. If you want to. I don't hate to say rights, but but that is. And so in a lot of cases, we can make it to where it's not making it worse in that. But as Eddie stated, you can make that a condition that one of them has to go away or they all have to be compliant or the property has to be compliant with the code and the number of structures, that type of thing, because that's an additional way to ensure that it gets taken care of.

So, but as of now, though, that's a separate issue. That's that is correct. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's been talked about.

Okay. Yeah. So, I mean, another quick question, and I'm done with my questions for Mr. Morgan, right? So, who did you call in the city out here when all this was happening? And who came out? You said the city came out finally.

uh guthrie pd so i called 911 on emergency and it sent me to county county said no you're you're in city limit so i need to transfer you over so they transferred me over to the city department the city police department and then the police department and guthrie said no you're county and i said no no ma'am i'm not and she went and disconnected me and sent me to county and then county we We have a family member that works for the county. And I reached out to him and he said, this is a mess. You're not county. You're city limits. And I was like, well, I thought I was city limits, but county was saying I was city. And so that's how I learned.

That's after the building was already there.

It was sitting in Sooner Road.

I'm talking about the buildings in Sooner Road. I want to know who from Guthrie came out there. Guthrie Police Department. The police department.

Yes.

To direct traffic.

To direct traffic to get that into the yard.

The city found out about it because an electrician turned in a permit. And our inspector, Bill, went out and saw it and said, you cannot do this.

Yeah.

Period. That's how we're.

I had an electrician come out and dig the lines per OG&E's request. When he got done doing that, he said, well, I need to go pull the permit. And I was like, okay, well, I didn't know you needed a permit. And he came up to pull the permit and they, this is where this all transpired when he came to Dan.

Okay. So looking at the diagram of your property, it shows that you have a large asphalt drive and it kicks out towards that fence. That's right in front of what Mr. Siebert called the barn. Is that correct?

Yes.

Okay. So. whether or not you meant for the building to go directly behind the mobile home or off to the side the issue with even putting it on the asphalt drive was that you couldn't or couldn't get a hold of Mr. Sievert to remove the fence correct okay because it it does cut off the whole like whole inside of the front of your home but so putting it in the back does it's one because it goes again sooner as well well you don't see the one in the back you don't see the ones in the back Sooner is right here.

Okay, that's funny.

So, no, all the way around it is pasture.

Yeah.

So, from there, you're blocking the entire front of your home with this out structure, which if you were looking at it from the road, it just looks like you did an add-on because nobody can tell the small path between the two, right? Yes, ma'am. So, from the road, it looks like you have a really ugly add-on. Essentially. Have you been out there to look at it? Yes. It's a nice building. I'm not saying that the building itself is that nice, but the front of it is not windows like the front of his home is. You know what I mean? It looks like you would have made an add-on to your home, but it doesn't look like the front of a home. It looks like... That's not against study code. I mean, you can't... That's not what I'm getting at. That's not what I'm getting at. The point is, aesthetically, Aesthetically, it is not pleasing other than it being an out structure, right? And you have a multitude of them. So have you first, you already said you haven't looked into moving it and what that cost would be. Is it feasible to move it onto your asphalt drive that is larger? It's too close to the fences.

It's my understanding, if I'm wrong, Dan, let me know. But doesn't it have to be five feet from the fence? And putting it on that side of the asphalt drive will put it too close to the fence line.

Okay.

Because it's 16 feet wide.

What is it? I don't have. I know how big the building is. But how large is that asphalt? 12 feet. Because it's larger. It's 12 feet. It shows that it is larger than your driveway. Yeah. In the rendering.

I'm not sure about that because it's not we have a we park cars in front of the like in front of the barn building, the shop building. Yes, that's a driveway for car parking. And then there's like a little there's a turnaround area that's also asphalt kind of like adjacent to the porch in front of the house. And then that that area just to the. left of the carport is only that piece of asphalt's only 12 feet like it's only it we would have to put it on the side and if we put it on the side then that's like i don't think we have enough clearance there we could dan you're holding it yes yes are you talking on the south part there all the concrete yeah about this area here

Because this is the south part. She's talking about this area here. Yeah. That would be on the side of the house.

That would be able to get into the garage. We wouldn't be able to get into, like, parking cars under the carport.

So that is a covered carport. That is.

I mean, it shows open on the rendering, but it's covered carport.

Okay. So, Dan, I just want to clarify. So this was before planning, obviously, before it came here. Okay. probably the same discussion I've watched three-fourths of the Planning Commission meetings a lot of the same discussion went on there so planning approved it four to one correct and I guess we've covered most of the positives and negatives that was also covered yes the planning meeting yes anybody

There's no further questions or comments. Does somebody like to make a motion? I'll make a motion to deny. Second. A motion to deny and a second.

Well, hold on one second before we go there. Is there any way that you're going to agree to move this to the back of the house?

I can with Tom's help. Yes. Financially, it's going to take us some time to do it. Because I have to buy, I have to have a company come out and move it. And if Tom gives me the okay, we will, yes. If he gives us the okay, we can, but I'm not sure when we can do that, financially-wise.

Mr. Siebert, is that something that you would okay, taking the fence down so they can move it to the back of the house?

I sent him the email last week telling him that he bought the defense chief on it.

Move it to the back of the house.

So I did. So I would sit down.

Well, hold on. There's a motion and a second already. So the question I had a question. Okay, go ahead.

So I understand that there is.

Yeah. But, um,

You all haven't done the research to find out financially how much it's going to cost you to move it.

We have not.

Okay.

We have not.

I would actually like for you to look into that.

Absolutely.

Make a decision.

Okay. And I do want to reiterate that our plan is to paint it to match the house. We're even willing to attach it to the house.

Here's what's getting ready to happen. Regardless of what we want, it's getting ready to be denied. Because there's already a motion and a second. and that's what's gonna happen here. And my position was to eliminate the, pull the motion in the second and make a motion based on this thing, nothing more happening, no electrical, no nothing, and this thing being moved within a certain amount of timeframe, whether it's 30 days, 60 days or 90 days, whatever it is, and move to the back of the house. I don't even know that that would approve here, but that's the only way I'm willing to do it.

But I thought Ms. Morgan just said, They can't get in their garage if it's moved to the back of the house. Is that what I heard?

No, we could get it to the back of the house, but we would have to drop his fence, drive it around, and then we're going to have to go around our garden and then into the west side of the property.

But he already said you could do that.

We could do that, but I've got to find a company. Financially, I mean, I already spent $3,700 on the electrical, concreted. in the front. So I'm going to be out that cost and the moving cost. Well, and it is what it is. I mean, if that's what y'all want me to do, absolutely. I'll do it.

I don't even know that this council would approve that. All I'm saying is if it gets denied at this council, you got to tear it out of there. So that's how that works.

If you all would approve it, I will have it moved in 60 days to the back of the property. If you'll give me 60 days. Financially, we can do that.

Well, we can't even make a motion on that unless they're willing to retract their motion.

So you're saying he'll move it now? If he's going to allow me to do so, and if it's going to be denied, absolutely. Because... We've already bought the $16,000 unit.

That's what I was just going to say. We've already paid cash for this building. It's not being financed. It was $16,000. So it's not one of those ones where, oh, they can take it back and repo it or whatever. We paid cash for this. So we are out now.

We are out. I don't know the difference between if this is denied, they're in the situation where they move it. Why does it need to be changed to an approval under the guise that they have to move it? I mean, it depends. It's the same outcome either way.

We can amend or approving it with conditions if we amend it and approve it with a condition.

We approve it a condition for 60 days to be moved to the back of the house. Or it's denied and asking to move to the back of the house. Now if it's denied then it goes away because there's too many accessory buildings on the property.

That's the thing I'm asking is how many accessory buildings are you going to get rid of? You have five buildings out there now. That's the sticking issue right now with me, more than anything else. And the building in the front.

Well, again, there's some legal non-conforming there. At the very least, we would ensure there's not going to be more than there currently is. And so if they did move it to the back, we would probably work with them to remove one of the other ones. So we stay... with what's there because there are some legal non-conforming now also if it is denied given what the council has just stated and which is typical with a lot of code enforcement cases we would work with the property owner you know whether it's 30 days 60 days 90 days to get it taken care of that's kind of standard of what we do normally they can move it to the back Yeah. Kind of like with the dilapidated structures when people are wanting to fix them up. As long as they're communicating and working with us, we work with them. Sometimes it could take eight, nine months. This won't take that long, but it's not something that we haven't already done for others.

So this is denied. They'll be able to move it to the back. His office will work with them on exceptional timeline to have that done.

Absolutely.

And that's the motion on the table is to deny the special use permit. We have a motion and a second.

For where it sits.

Okay. We're denying the permit, and we're agreeing to move it to the back of the house.

We're not agreeing to that.

He's going to be able to do that.

Right.

That's what we have been told.

Right. It would be to a co-compliant location.

Okay. I don't have a problem with that. Right. I don't either. So we wouldn't even have to come back if we just eliminated your motion in second. We just made a new one. and are done with it. They don't have to come back, can you? Will it be done? You can't do that.

It's not being torn down.

No, not torn down.

I said moved, not torn down. So even moved, once it's moved, it does not require the special use permit.

That is the only reason we are here today because of the location. If they originally had put it on the side or in the rear, we would just be going through the regular permitting process.

So we can still deny the special use and give you... That is correct. It just turns normal after that.

That is correct.

Yes.

No, yeah, yeah.

yes council councilman Williams yes again with a lot of other cases we will work yes yes yes and we will work with them okay motion in a second to deny while we have we have clarified that this will go through the normal process where they can have it moved to the back in a timely manner okay So motion to second, this is to deny the special use permit. Cast your votes, please.

I'm not sure what. I'm not sure what.

It's approval to deny the special use permit. Yes.

Thank you, Dan.

I don't think I've ever seen you get up and down so much.

All right. Item number 16.

Deductive Change Orders and Contract Cancellation, Bid Number 2026-05, Demolition Services. Mr. Faulkner.

Yes, Mayor and Council, and Dan, don't go too far. You're probably going to be back at the podium. This item occurred last week while I was out of town. If you'll recall, every year in March, April timeframe, we have a Dilapidated Structures Program. We put properties on the Dilapidated Structures List. Sometime between July 7th, the council awarding the demo contracts and actual demolition last week, there were a couple of properties that were removed from the demo list, which have resulted in a deduct change order for K&M Dirt Services. as well as a deduct from Dewey Martin Construction and then resulting in a cancellation of the contract with Harris Services. Dan would be happy to provide any more information given that it is his department and one of his staff members. Any questions for us on this?

Thank you, Councilman. Just to go back, when we go to the council, we usually take the entire bid package. That way we have that on record. However, we do have a number of homes that we have agreements with verbally or have permits that have been submitted that we don't actually execute the actual demo process. agreements. In this case, there was an oversight in which all of it was sent to Jesse and there was contracts that were signed that should not have been due to the fact that we had agreements for them to fix up the homes as well as permits already pulled. We were fortunate that we were able to get ahead of it. Nobody's home was torn down. And so, yeah, thank goodness. And so That's what's in front of you is the ones that we're basically pulling back. There could be a later date if the property owners do not follow through on their part. But right now, we need to have those canceled in that so there's no further action taken on the demo side.

So there were existing permits?

On one of them, yes.

On one of them?

Yes. The rest we've had.

There's a time limit, right?

Yep, 45 days. Yes. Right. And these were the ones that we had either a permit or an actual agreement with the property owner on, you know, a time frame in that. And like I said, they were unfortunately put forward when they should not happen due to those previous agreements. Thank you.

So moved. Second. Motion is second. Any comments or questions? Please cast your votes.

Oh, that's right.

Okay, Deanna's approval for the deductive change orders and contract cancellation, bid number 2026-05, demolition services. So Deanna's going to take over the mowing. That's what I've understood. That's a motion. I heard all of it, the big hat and everything. Item number, well, I have to say it first.

Yes.

Item number 17, award of RFP number 2026-08, mowing and grounds maintenance services. Mr. Maker.

Yes, Mayor, Council. Public notice was published in the Guthrie News Leader on July 8th and the 15th for mowing and ground services for eight locations in the city of Guthrie. This contract will last until September 30th, 2026. The bid pricing is not to exceed the amount of the work required to have been performed before payment is approved. The bid packet was also shared with the vendor list and posted on our website. Pre-bid meeting was held July 21st, 2 p.m. in the council chambers. We had three vendors in attendance. Seal bids were opened and read aloud in the council chambers at 10 a.m. on the 29th. Two eligible bids were received. The eight locations were Banner Park, Guthrie Lake, Highland Park, including the trails. Highway 33 medians number two, Mineral Wells Park, Mitchell Park, Rittsop Park, and South Highway median number one. The two eligible bids were sharp cuts, Highland Park, including the trails for $13,600, and complete ground cares for the remaining properties. Funding for these contracts are included in our FY2026 budget. Under the parks, mowing and grounds maintenance account, staff would request approval for the sharps cut for $13,600 for Highland Park and the remaining item or remaining properties to be awarded to complete ground care.

Question.

Yes.

Maybe I didn't pay attention. I may not have. Who's going to mow the cemetery?

Our remaining, our staff. Our parks department, our maintenance, etc.

And then same thing on Highway 77 or South Division. You guys going to still do that or not?

Yeah, we would still have, let's see, we'd have the cemetery, we'd have the armory, the Blue House, the West Highway, the North Highway. Okay. We'd still have all those grounds.

Yeah, the intent, Mayor and Council, was that we would get the parks and the two main entrances into the city, folks coming from I-35 or Highway 33, either direction. A couple things I want to point out. One, this comes as a direction from the Council to explore alternative options. Unfortunately, our guys just cannot keep up when it rains for five inches in one day overnight, and then we have a holiday in there where we're working out at the cemetery. We just can't keep up. Two, This is kind of a good trial run for us for two reasons. One, this contract will take us through September 30th. So it's the end of the fiscal year. Okay. Two, this is a not to exceed amount. So it's hot and dry out there right now. The grass is not growing. If they're not mowing, they're not getting paid. And that's a contingent piece of the contract where we're not just carte blanche. Here's the city checkbook. It's services will be rendered before any payment is offered. Okay. This gives us an opportunity, Tinney and JB, and the Parks Department to see how it goes when grass is not necessarily completely out of control. We get a hold on the management of it, see how it works in the season, reevaluate it for next season, whether that's something we're going to continue to try to do, or if we really hit the streets hard and try to go grow that staff and get additional staff members, which is truly the issue. We don't have enough staff members. We've got vacancies, and that's the issue.

Are you going to manage the said companies and say, okay, you've got to mow, or why are you out here mowing when the grass is burned up and there's nothing there?

Yes, we intend to manage the companies and stay on top of that. I mean, if the grass stays in dormant like we're seeing right now, I mean, we've got a pretty good handle on everything right now if it stays that way. No mowing will be needed. We get a two inch rain and grass gets a good drink, it's going to jump on us.

So we're talking about a two and a half month contract here. Nine weeks. And these amounts I see here are, every time it's mowed, this amount applies, for instance, $1,600 for banner bark. Is that

That fulfills the contract. No, that's the contract.

That's the contract.

That's the full amount for the contract.

And that's a maximum because if they're not mowing, they're not getting any of it. Yes. Correct. So I make a motion to approve. Second. It's worth it.

I will unfortunately have to abstain on this vote. Are you kidding? I have to say that. I've hired one of the lawn care services before, so I have to abstain from it. So if there was a motion in a second, no further comments or questions, go ahead and cast your votes.

All votes ran.

Unanimous approval from all those who got to vote. Thanks, Danny. Five up. Thanks, Danny. All right. Where are we? Item number 18, city manager's report. What do we got going on, Eddie?

No report, Mayor. I shared that via email yesterday. No, I won't read the email I sent you. I think you've heard enough from me today. I'm happy to answer any questions that you'd like.

Is this an hour city-long?

Yes.

City manager. Yeah.

Thank you for the email.

We'll count that. All right. Item number 19 is request comments from members of city council. Councilman Williams.

No, let's roll. Rock and roll. Councilwoman Denning. But I do thank everybody on the staff. I'm going to beat Jeff. You guys really did a lot of work, good work. Good presentation. Sure.

Yes, I will just ditto that. Numbers are not my forte, and I will tell you the last 48 hours trying to thumb through all of this stuff and Eddie's presentation, I was getting cross-eyed by the end, but it was wonderful. Thank you, staff, for all of your input and hard work on this, because I know the last couple of months have not been very fun for anybody. So thank you, Eddie, for the presentation. It was very... obviously black and white and numberish. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Welcome back. Thank you. I'm glad you got to get away from here for a few days. Kim, thank you. I know you guys have been working, both of you guys have been working real hard on this. Staff, I appreciate all y'all have done because I know you guys had to put everything together and kind of push it to those guys so they can figure out what needs to be done. So I really appreciate it. That's it.

Chief, appreciate everything you're doing and congratulations to Shonda and Justin and hopefully that's going to be good for everybody.

I'm just going to ditto all of their comments because really everybody does a great job and they got it all out and I'm at the end so I appreciate everybody in here always so thank you very much for the good job.

As for myself, I will also – I'm going to say copy and paste what they said. Sounds cooler than ditto. Take what they said, copy and paste. Thank you, staff. Gosh, it's got to be really stressful putting all those numbers together, but it's necessary and needed, and we very much appreciate it. And that's all that I have as well. And will somebody like to make a motion? I'll make a motion to go into executive session.

Second.

I'm going to abstain. No.

I've done that before. I'm not going back.

Motion and a second for executive session. No further comments or questions cast against. Unanimous approval for executive session. I've got to go rescue my dogs, so. Okay, all right, item number 21 is vote to come out of the executive session. So moved.

Second.

Okay, motion and a second. Questions, cast your votes, please.

Oh, that's right.

Okay. Unanimous approval from all those present. Return to council chambers. Item number 22 is the Fraternal Order of Police, FOP Lodge, number 105, fiscal year 2026 to 2027, collective bargaining agreement. Mr. Faulkner.

Okay.

No action on item 22 or 23. Mayor. Okay.

All right. And then item number 23, same thing, International Associations of Firefighters, IAFA. We didn't come back in.

Yeah, we did. Did we?

Yes, we do.

Sorry. You need to go home, bud. You need to go tonight.

Local number 21, 25, 2026-2027 collective bargaining agreement. Again, Mr. Ball.

I'll do it.

No action tonight, Mayor. No action tonight. You vote. Number 24, as we are adjourned.

Can I vote for that? Yes.

Hold on. We've got another meeting.

Now do I call to order the Guthrie Public Works Regular Authority Meeting?

Again, Tuesday, August 4th, 2026.

So moved.

I don't remember. I haven't done the item yet. Item number two. Consent agenda items number A through D. Now I can get a second.

Okay.

Can I get a second? Second. Everybody seconded that one. All right. We have a motion and a second. Consent agenda. If there's no further comments or questions, please cast your votes.

All votes are in.

Okay, notice approval, consent agenda items A through D. Item number three were items from the consent agenda that were removed. There were none. Item number four is we are adjourned. Good.

Thank you.

Hallelujah.