City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to the August 3rd, 2026 meeting of the Stillwater City Council. At this time, I will call the meeting to order and I'll ask that you all stand and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

First up tonight, under proclamations and presentations, we have a proclamation recognizing spinal muscular atrophy awareness month here in Stillwater. And I want to go ahead and read this. And then we have a guest with us who will say a couple of words when we're done. Whereas spinal muscular atrophy, SMA, is a rare genetic neuromuscular disease that weakens muscles and affects a person's ability to walk, eat, and breathe, with approximately one in 50 people being genetic carriers. And whereas SMA was once the leading genetic cause of infant death, and while many individuals still face significant physical challenges, advances in treatment have greatly improved outcomes. And whereas continued research is essential to developing new treatments that improve strength, mobility, respiratory function, independence, and overall quality of life for individuals living with SMA, And Whereas, individuals with SMA and their families benefit from accessible healthcare, supportive services, and public policies that promote independence and community inclusion. And Whereas, CURE SMA is a national organization that addresses the needs of individuals and families with SMA by funding new research, promoting healthcare best practices, and supporting educational events and advocacy for accessibility and disability rights. Now therefore, I William Joyce, Mayor of the City of Stillwater, do hereby proclaim August 2026 as Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month in Stillwater and encourage all residents to learn more about SMA and support individuals and families affected by this disease.

We have Allie Williams here with us.

Hi, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to make SMA more visible to our community. I absolutely love Stillwater and have chosen it as my place of forever. And just really want to thank you and let you know that representation really does matter. And thank you for allowing me to represent the SMA community.

We thank you so much for being here. Thank you for helping us with that cost. Thank you.

Picture time.

All right. Councillors, that takes us to the consent docket. I think we have staff has one item that we need to pull from consent.

Yes. I recommend to pull item P from the consent docket to consider action on it with a recommendation to amend it.

OK. So we'll pull item P. Councillors, any further questions, comments, or action on the consent docket?

Motion to approve the consent docket minus item P. Second.

We have a motion and a second to approve consent minus item P. Please vote. It sends approval with a vote of five to zero. Do we need to discuss item P?

Yes. So item P, the first parcel listed, 14A, there's a typo. We're going to bring that particular permanent easement back at a future agenda, so recommend considering approval of the remaining parcel 36A, parcel 39A, and parcel 45A.

All right. Counselors, do we have a motion on staff's recommendation?

I move approval of the second, third, and fourth bullet items on item 4P. Second.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. We have a vote of five to zero. The second, third, and fourth items of P are approved. And item one, parcel 14A, we'll bring back at a further meeting. Item seven, resolutions. 7A is resolution CC-2026-16, a resolution notifying the public of the compiling and publishing of code supplement number 12 to the Stillwater City Code.

So this is a routine administrative resolution. All ordinances that have been passed through April 6th, 2026 are now codified into the city code.

That's great to hear. Very excited about that for you. Item, is there a question, comment, or action on that resolution?

Motion to adopt resolution number CC-2026-16. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote.

We'll go to five to zero resolution number CC-26, 2026-16 is approved.

Item B is resolution number CC-2026-27, a resolution of necessity. Resolution declaring the necessity for acquiring A resolution, there's a little bit of a typo there, but just doubling the same phrase. A resolution declaring the necessity for acquiring certain real property, more particularly here and after described, all within Payne County, state of Oklahoma, for the purpose of establishing, constructing, maintaining, and operating the airport water line.

This resolution of necessity is recommended by outside counsel. As to this parcel, staff has not been able to reach an agreement with the property owner, and the parcel is needed for the airport water line.

Thank you. Counselors, questions, comments, or action on the resolution?

I move adoption of Resolution CC-2026-27. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. With a vote of 5-0, that resolution is also adopted. Item 8A, Ordinances on First Read, Ordinance 3620, an ordinance amending Storer City Code by amending Chapter 16, Crimes, Miscellaneous Offenses and Provisions, by amending Article 4, Offenses Involving Public Peace and Order, Section 16-83, Loud Music Prohibited, repealing all ordinances to the contrary and providing for severability and declaring an emergency.

This ordinance proposes changes to the noise ordinance and Deputy City Manager Christy Driscoll is going to provide some background.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. A couple of things to point out this evening. This does just pertain to loud music only. It doesn't impact the general noises prohibited, which is in a different ordinance. So just a synopsis. If you look at the current change, the current contents of section 1683 you'll find that currently schools churches and city events are exempt for loud music outside of the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. the updated language would also provide exemption for issued permits until 11 p.m. or midnight depending on the day of the week This process allows for up to eight permits to be issued for a maximum of 12 days total in a year. This way, the business can choose the length of each permit. They can mix and match. So for example, if somebody wanted to take three permits of four days of duration, they could do so, whereas another business could say, I want to take one or two days for each of the home football games plus an additional. So we tried to build it in there so that the businesses can choose which best option suits them. So our goal is to provide clarity to businesses, support economic events, and provide consideration for the actual noise ordinance and expectation of our community. Under the previous permit application, that was actually being administered from a different section. So they would apply for an undue hardship for loud music. Well, undue hardship under that other section was basically that no other consideration could be given they couldn't alter start or end times easily, or there wasn't another opportunity. That's a very hard case to make as an undue hardship for a loud music event that could just easily end its hours. So when staff reviewed this, we wanted to find a way that we could provide that clarity and really move forward. So as we look at this, We want to begin putting this ordinance forward. And we did that earlier this year, and we pulled it. The reason we did so is because it just extended the hours that they could have noise to 11 PM or midnight. And we felt that we wanted to do some more consideration to that because it wasn't truly addressing some of the concerns that had been raised. Concerns that had been raised were actually we want a permit process so that we can see where loud crowds may gather or we can expect noise complaints. We wanted to be able to administer something so that our community residents could have the expectation and businesses could plan for actual application. The other part of it was there was some subjectivity How long should a music event go toward? How long after the normal ordinance hour should we extend it to? And so all of those were causing confusion for both community and Parks and Rec staff to issue permits as well as PD in administering the use. One of the concerns we also were encountering was that not all businesses were complying with not only an issued noise permit or asking for a noise permit. So we had events that would be given an end time outside of the ordinance under the permit, and they would still have their event extend beyond that. So it just put us in that situation of how do we enforce this, how do we control this, and how do we have good parameters for everyone. So you'll see the ordinance in front of you this evening addresses those. When staff looked at it, we actually looked at a big 12 campuses across to see the different varieties. There's a variety of different applications possible. So we also looked here in state. This one is actually modeled after quite a few of Norman's components. I know. But they had a good policy. So we looked at that. And it's also the consideration they have x number of days and so many permits to allow. It's the same hours coverage that we're not doing an open ended till 1 AM or anything like that. So for true entertainment purposes, which this ordinance addresses, we felt that 11 PM and 12 PM, so an hour past current ordinance, and two hours passed on Friday and Saturday nights would be a good advantage for our permitting process, for the businesses to schedule their events, and also just overall compliance with what's known as the community quiet hours. The new ordinance changes also allows us to have an action should they not comply. with the terms of their permit application so they could not be issued another permit and ours is a little bit broader it's not only if they violate the noise it's also just if they are a problem and violate any city ordinance during that time of that pyramid i'm happy to answer any questions pd and community resources have reviewed this and appreciate the changes moving forward i was trying not to sneeze that entire time so i'm sorry

Did you get any input from some of the businesses or folks that have applied for these in the past?

Throughout the permit process, we were previously approving them, and then we started denying them because of the undue hardship permit. And a lot of the conversations with Stephanie Kinder, our one who administers this program, were that businesses just wanted a template and some understanding of when they could apply, when they shouldn't apply, what was going to be granted, so that they could go into the process knowing the parameters.

Counselors, further questions?

I presume this does not affect the OSU campus.

Correct.

Because they're their own governmental body.

They're a school, so they have the different policies.

I did have one citizen question. This doesn't apply to barking dogs or neighborhood noise problems, right?

Correct. Those apply under the different section of this chapter, and that's why this pertains to loud music only. So no exemptions for our puppies. nothing on our industrial sites correct it doesn't change anything the actual other one is noises prohibited generally and it covers yelling shouting public loudspeakers construction power lawnmowers and others counselors for the questions comments or action on the ordinance I have a question for the city attorney where there's an emergency clause attached do we just do it that both times you're just a second reading

We will take a separate vote on the second read to pass the emergency clause. But we are proposing that just from a timeliness perspective for this to be in effect prior to home football games.

Okay. Then I move to advance ordinance 3620 to second reading.

Second.

We have a motion and a second to advance the ordinance. Please vote. The motion is the ordinance is advanced to second reading with a vote of five to zero. And we'll deal with the emergency clause on second reading. Thank you, Christy, for your work on that and for the presentation. Item, where are we? 8A, second read. We need to number these differently. I always get confused. On second read, we have also subsection A, ordinance number 3617, an ordinance rezoning attractive land located at 524 West 10th Avenue from two-family multifamily to small lot single family. Councilors?

Motion to adopt ordinance number 3617. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. We vote a 5-0. Ordinance 3617 is adopted. Ordinance 3618 is an ordinance rezoning attractive land located at 799 East Mercury Avenue from commercial shopping and neighborhood transition zone to two-family residential. I move to adopt ordinance 3618. Second. We have a motion and a second. Please vote. ORDINANCE 3618 IS ADOPTED WITH A VOTE OF 5-0. AND ITEM C IS ORDINANCE 3619, AN ORDINANCE ANNEXING INTO THE CITY OF STILLWATER TERRITORY GENERALLY LOCATED ONE QUARTER MILE SOUTH OF 19TH AVENUE AND ONE QUARTER MILE EAST OF RANGE ROAD THAT CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY 33.64 ACRES UPON PETITION PURSUANT TO TITLE 11, OKLAHOMA STATUTE SECTION 21-105 DESIGNATED THE LAND USE ZONING DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION FOR PROPERTIES LOCATED WITHIN THE TERRITORY ANNEXED BY THIS ORDINANCE. Providing that the effective date of the annexation shall be September 17, 2026, and providing for severability. Counselors.

Motion to adopt ordinance 3619.

Second.

Motion to second. Please vote. The vote of five to zero, ordinance 3619 is adopted. Reports from the officers on the board. Ms. Carling?

Nothing to report.

Mr. Moore?

Yes, we're continuing to invest in our parks and our recreational facilities to keep them safe, attractive, and enjoyable for everyone. You may have noticed recent improvements at Strickland Park that include new turf that's coming soon and upgrading the concession stands and ball fields. While we also have crews enhancing Block 34, the lawn. You may have noticed the sand. I actually made for some really cool videos, aerial videos. I saw some beach balls bouncing around, giving it kind of a beach vibe. That's to improve the lawn. It's the time of year to top dress the lawn. But the movie night in Mark 34 will continue to... happen on the block, which is great. Safety remains our top priority as well as staff received a report about some loose screws on the Strickland Park half pipe. We identified those and kind of closed it off, put some safety fencing up to make sure it's repaired in a safe manner before we reopen it for our citizens to enjoy. Just a reminder, if residents ever see things in the parks and things that need attention, please reach out to us. We have a really responsive staff that goes and checks out these things right away and usually already is taking care of them before they hit my inbox, which is great, which happened last week. So I appreciate everyone's work on that.

I had more than one person think that the sand overhead video was an AI.

Oh, never know anymore.

I know.

Vice Mayor Jaloski.

Yes, please save the date and join us on Wednesday, August 19th at 10 a.m. as we celebrate the grand opening of the new Stillwater Regional Airport Terminal. Come experience the new terminal, explore its modern amenities, and help us celebrate this exciting investment in Stillwater's future. While you're there remember that the best way to support our local airport is to use it whether you're traveling for business or vacation Choosing Stillwater Regional Airport by entering SWO when booking or your flight at a.com Every passenger helps strengthen air service for our community and region for event updates and Airport news Be sure to follow Stillwater Regional Airport on social media very exciting time absolutely counselor Hawkins

Get involved with your local government by serving on one of our citizen committees. These committees play a key role in shaping growth, development, and infrastructure right here in Stillwater. We are currently looking for passionate residents to join committees including the Board of Drainage Appeals, Building Trades Board, Rural Water Advisory Board, and Audit Committee. Learn more and apply today at stillwaterok.gov forward slash citizen boards. And I am always so appreciative that we have so many citizens that are willing to serve in this capacity. So thank you to all of those who do serve.

Thank you. Councilor Clark. Many city services are available 24 hours a day at StillwaterOK.gov. Whether you need to start or stop utility service, apply for a job, check your waste collection schedule, report a utility outage, view public meeting agendas and minutes, explore upcoming events at Block 34, or check the progress of major city projects, our website is your one-stop resource. We encourage residents to bookmark StillwaterOK.gov and take advantage of the many convenient online services available anytime, anywhere. also feel free to contact our communications department anytime for more information and to share suggestions by emailing news at stowaterok.gov thank you councillor harden save the date and join us at the 2026 payne county free fair august 26th through the 29th

Throughout the course of the fair, we'll have staff from emergency management, fire, police, library, engineering, public works, waste management, communications, and more in the expo hall. Please stop by and let us know how we can help you and our community. We look forward to seeing you there.

The fair is always a good time. And in conjunction with the fair, it's also back to school here in Stillwater. Meridian Technology Center starts on August 11th. Stillwater Public Schools start August 14th. And OSU and Northern Oklahoma College both start on August 18th. There will be an increase of traffic. Pedestrians near campuses, bus stops, and crosswalks. Please be mindful when driving around town. Always, always stop at crosswalks and let pedestrians pass. Obey school zone speed limits. Do not pass other vehicles in a school zone. Be an attentive driver. Put away your cell phone. And always remember that you've got to stop at least 20 feet before reaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing. And that applies whether you're going in the same direction as the school bus or coming in the opposite direction from the school bus. Together, we can ensure our students and other pedestrians arrive at their destinations safely. And good luck to all those students starting school back up here in a couple of weeks. I got to welcome some of the new teachers to Stillwater Public Schools this morning. A big group of new folks to Stillwater. Really excited to see them and excited for the new school year. Nothing further on this agenda. Is there a motion to adjourn? So moved.

Second.

We have a motion and a second to adjourn. City Council, please vote. With a vote of 5-0, the Storer City Council is now adjourned. And at this time, I'll call to order the Storer Utilities Authority meeting for August 3, 2026. Trustees, there is one item on the consent docket.

Motion to approve consent docket. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. With a vote of 5-0, the consent docket is approved. It takes us to general orders, where we'll discuss approving a Boomer Lake Station demolition project with Mr. Lawrence Smith.

Good evening, trustees. Loren Smith, Electric Utility Director. Let me get this fired up.

There it is.

OK. Boomer Lake Station was constructed in the 1950s and was decommissioned in June of 2016. The building and associated structures have begun to degrade and need to be demolished to reclaim the land at the site. Demolishing a power plant is complex due to the various large pieces of equipment in and around the building and infrastructure under the site. Therefore, the services of an experienced engineering firm to write the necessary bid specifications and provide project oversight are required. Staff completed many hours of research to determine the best path forward. We were fortunate that OSU had recently completed the demolition of their power plant. We had several calls with them to discuss lessons learned. Staff followed established purchasing policy and after releasing an RFQ chose the engineering firm Black & Veatch. Staff has negotiated an agreement and defined the scope for the project. We looked at several options from removal of all of the above and below grade infrastructure down to only the above grade infrastructure. Cost estimates range from $4.4 million to $1.6 million. With environmental stewardship in mind, staff is proposing to return the land to the city ready for future economic development while remaining economically feasible. After internal discussions, staff is proposing a project scope that includes the removal of all the above and below grade infrastructure while leaving the water intake structure in the lake and associated underground piping. Black & Veatch quoted a price of $512,500 to provide the necessary engineering and supervisory services. Their estimated price to complete the entire project is approximately $3.5 million. I have a motion, but I will pause here to answer any questions.

Thank you, Lauren. Trustees?

Lauren, how long do we think the engineering side and then moving on to demolition will take?

Yeah, great question. We think probably the demolition after the contracts are let, probably six months to complete the demolition. uh there's probably six months of working out uh getting contracts let and bids and and all that so yeah black and beach is very eager to get started they have is there any salvageable material in there absolutely yeah so so one of the lessons that we learned from and and we thought this all along because we'd heard it in the past is that You know, there's scrappers that will come in here and demo these type of facilities, and if they do it right, you know, that reduces the cost to them to do the demo. And so OSU found that out. They received bids, and one of the bids was horrible. You know, it was way less than all the rest. And so they called and said, what's this all about? Well, it wasn't just that. It was a scrapper that gave them, you know, a cost benefit to – the value of all the metals and the steel and the copper and everything that goes into one of these plants. So we are hopeful to do the same. As a matter of fact, that person has reached out to us, and we told them we can't talk to anybody yet until we release bids, but we're hopeful that we can take advantage of that same.

Good.

Excellent. I don't have another question for Lauren, but from a staff perspective, I know you mentioned returning it for economic development use. Do we have kind of a sense of what that will look like from a city perspective?

You know, we learned a lot from the last RFP process that we went through as a city with the project, the Lakeview landing project. Great project concept is really exciting, but the cost to rehabilitate the structure in the surrounding structures became unfeasible. And so I think as we go through this project with the kind of guiding principle being doing it right, getting the land ready for future economic development. We will at the appropriate time. I discussed this City Council and make a decision to move forward with maybe another RFP because in addition to this beautiful property that will it will be pretty right there next to the lake. We also have those two lots that were in consideration with the Lakeview landing project that face Boomer Lake. So it's a great opportunity for new economic development on such a gateway entrance into our community. So We'll make sure it's done right and bring it back here for a discussion on when it's the right time.

You mentioned those other two lots. Are there concrete pads there that need to come out too as part of this, or should we be looking at that? I don't remember if there's old.

You're talking about the properties to the west? Yes, sir. We did not look at that as part of this. This was more of the plant stuff. We could address that at a different time. I think this focus was to get the building down and stuff.

Well, that's the utility authorities piece right there. Maybe we want to look at, if we're talking about having a whole piece of property available for developers to start looking at when this is down, we'll want to look and see if we can get those prepped too. I do think it will be an attractive piece, and I hope. that we will be able to move forward pretty quickly. Once we've got this opened up, we want to put this back out on the market and sort of see what people are willing to do for the community.

Lauren, in the bid right now, is it to take down the structure, remove the below-ground structures or portions of the structure, and then put it back to seeded or grass, sod?

Absolutely. What we're going to engineer for now is the demo of the above grade, all the below grade, and then bring in field dirt and not completely level it because it sets down in kind of a bowl, but to trim it up, clean it up, and put it back to grass or whatever anybody wants to do. I'm sure it'll be grass for a while until some. For erosion reasons, yes.

I was just thinking for the next to the lake, we'll want that erosion control.

Oh, no, absolutely. Yeah, for sure.

Trustees, anything further? Lauren, what's your recommendation for us?

Motion to approve the Boomer Lake Station demolition project, authorize the general manager to execute a contract with Black & Veatch for engineering and construction support services in the amount of $512,500, authorize expenditures from the electric rate stabilization fund to $563,750, and approve associated budget amendment. Trustees?

Motion to accept staff's recommendation. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. That recommendation is approved five to zero.

Thank you very much.

Item six is resolution SUA-2026-5, a resolution adopting a renewal energy certificate program rate and authorizing the general manager to execute the agreements for purchase of renewable energy certificates.

This is a resolution adopting a renewable energy certificate program rate and authorizing the general manager to execute agreements. Lauren Smith is here if you have any questions about the program.

A brief overview of what a renewable energy certificate.

Very quickly. Good evening again, trustees. Lauren Smith, electric utility director. Some customers at SUA desire to claim the benefits of renewable energy certificates, or RECs, to achieve their renewable energy goals. A REC is a non-physical intangible instrument that represents the environmental, social, and other non-electrical benefits of one megawatt hour of renewable energy generation. Staff work with GRDA to design a REC program Rex will be retired by GRDA on behalf of the SUA, and SUA will pass any costs associated to the purchase directly to the end-use customer with an administration fee. The program includes a rate tariff and agreement that defines how the rate will be administered and documents customer information. Both have been included in this report and are subject to approval by the SUA trustees.

Are these mostly industry customers that this would apply to?

Yes. The interest is really coming from our industrial customers who want to claim green benefits. And so this is a certificate that says this megawatt hour was made out here, and the idea is that we would totalize their consumption over a six-month period. GRDA would retire those on our behalf, and we would transfer to them that benefit so they could claim it for their benefits.

What's the rec rate in comparison to a non-rec rate?

Yeah, so it varies. It's a commodity out there. It's very minimal. It's mills in cost.

In additional cost?

I mean, I assume it costs more to get the... Yeah, it's at a premium. Yeah.

Trustees, any questions?

Yeah. So help me understand the benefit to the user of this.

So I'm an industry.

Say I'm somebody up on Perkins Road and I want to do this. Why do I want to do this?

Yeah, so a lot of these big industries, they have renewable energy goals. And a lot of these companies are worldwide, right? So they seek these. And, you know, it's interesting because when you hear large manufacturers or, say, the campus in Edmond or a large campus says, hey, we're 100%. renewable. Well, this is how they're achieving that goal. They're buying RECs on the market that say somewhere in the world or somewhere in the system there was a megawatt hour produced. by solar, wind, hydro. And so it counts towards those green initiatives. And they do pay a premium for that.

Regardless of how the energy they used was really generated, regardless of the credits.

The likelihood of one green electron, I'm putting quotes around that, ever reaches that.

Thank you.

Well, yeah. You mean the wind electrons and the coal electrons are not?

They don't segregate them in the line? Our meters just differentiate. I'm totally kidding. No, they do not.

It makes sense in the sense that you're saying they're paying a little bit extra to be able to make sure that the generation is coming from a mix of renewables and non-renewables. And they're paying premiums so they can say, we're helping support.

the renewable piece of this and that you know yeah it's being generated out there and that's the those are the ones we're using absolutely and and we have a new industry partner here in stillwater that's starting production and they're excited about putting that sticker on each of their products which really does matter and it's so they're going out and buying those credits and and they've been you know pushing for this and this will be a great way to offer these type of renewable opportunities here in stillwater and other than the administrative piece of this it really doesn't make any difference to us in terms of our system

Correct. It's just a pass-through. And they're paying the administrative costs. They're paying our cost to do it. Heck of a deal. Win-win.

And GRDA has enough of these wrecks available to sell?

Absolutely. Okay. Yeah, go buy them. I'll just say lots and lots and lots.

Lots and lots. Yeah, yeah. Okay.

We're actually the first community to take advantage of this program. We're first. We get them all. We all like to be number one. Thank you, Larry.

Thank you. Trustees, any additional questions or comments or action on the resolution? I move adoption of resolution SUA 2026-5. Second. We have a motion and a second. Please vote. With a vote of 5-0, resolution SUA 2026-5 is adopted. And there's nothing else on this agenda. Is there a motion to adjourn?

Motion to adjourn. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Please vote. With a vote of 5-0, the SUA meeting is now adjourned. We don't have a seated meeting tonight, so that concludes our meetings.