Following an executive session, the Guthrie city council voted unanimously to submit a settlement proposal to Logan County Rural Water District No. 1.
The City of Guthrie and the water district have been battling back-and-forth in both state and federal courts for several years now.
The city prevailed in the state case brought forth by the water district in which the water district sought to compel the City of Guthrie to sell them water.
The federal case is still pending and deals with encroachment.
Last February, Guthrie City Manager Matt Mueller stated, “I am still optimistic that we have some very good discussions occurring with the (water) district right now and we may be able to put aside past differences and form a mutually beneficial partnership,” Mueller said.
Judge Phillip C. Corley awarded the city’s insurance company a little more than $286,000 in legal fees that was spent defending the city in the state case versus the water district.
City looks for judgement on Excel Jet:
The Special Guthrie Industrial Development Authority (SGIDA) came out of executive session and authorize City Attorney Randel Shadid to hire an attorney in Colorado to pursue collection of judgement against Excel Jet on contingency fee basis of 25 to 33 percent with the GIDA paying for court cost and other cost involved.
Last September, the SGIDA voted to file a suit in District Court against Excel-Jet for a breach of contract.
The city secured a $375,000 loan in December 2005 as part of a deal to relocate the company to the airport. The company delayed their move after its prototype plane crashed in a test flight in June 2006.
In January, Excel-Jet officials said they planned on repaying their $375,000 loan to the City of Guthrie but doubted the company would ever relocate to the Guthrie-Edmond Regional Airport.
The Monument, Colorado based company and the City of Guthrie have seen the relationship strained when the $4,849.37 monthly payments were not being made.
Other council business:
– approved the renewing the building tenancy agreement with CIL Investments LLC for rental of commercial space at 1923 Ruhl Drive. This facility houses the operation of the departments of the Guthrie Public Works Facility which was heavily damaged by the May 24, 2011 Tornado.
The Ruhl Building has been the temporary home of the Guthrie Public Works since June 21, 2011, after the May 24, 2011 tornado destroyed most of our facility. The building has accommodated our Fleet Maintenance Department and since October 2011. It will be at least 3 more months before our facility will be rebuilt. The owner of the Ruhl Building is willing to renew the lease of the building for an additional three-month period. The cost will continue at $3,500 per month plus utilities.
– approved the denial of Tort Claim #32005-BD involving damage to a grave marker as recommended by the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group. The tort claim was filed alleging that the city had moved the grave stone and damaged it. With further examination, the Parks employees discovered the date the gravestone marker was mounted and installed was not the same date as when parks employees had any equipment in that area. The damages were too high on the grave stone, and could have only happened when it was mounted and installed.
– approved the Change Order No. 2 for CMOM, Repair and Replacement of Sewer Mains and Manholes, which addresses three (3) additional sewer lines to be repaired with the contingency funds of the CWSRF No. ORF-10-0008-CW Loan, other reconciliation items relating to the base bid items, and an increase of 90 days.
In keeping with the policy of having as few change orders as possible to any given project, Change Order No. 2 deals with the reconciliation of base bid items as associated with the repair and replacement of the sewer mains and manholes of the CMOM Project, Bid #2011-2. It covers the newly added lines which is an increase in the amount of the total contract price. This increases the total contract price from $3,406,380.52 to $3,618,508.18, a difference of $212,127.66 with an additional 90 days to complete. The extra cost for the construction, engineering and other fees is $263,685.27. All documents attached are the same information presented to the Council at the workshop of May 15, 2012.
– approved the lease between Mr. Billy Dale Guthrie and Mrs. Twila Jones Guthrie and the City of Guthrie for property at Guthrie-Edmond Regional Airport (Space #7) to Mr. Stanley Young.
Mr. and Mrs. Guthrie wish to sell their hangar at the airport to Mr. Young. Under the terms of the property lease any assignment of this lease needs to have written consent from the lessor and signed by the Mayor of Guthrie. The present lease was entered into on the 21st day of January 1997 and ends on the 31st day of December 2026. Additionally, Lessee shall have the right to renew the term of this lease for one (1) term of ten (10) years. This property is leased at a rate of $.0809 per square foot annually with a consumer price index (CPI) adjustment every five (5) years preceding the anniversary date of the lease.
– approved the amendment to the State of Oklahoma Purchasing Card Program Linking Authorization agreement with the Bank of America. In March 2011, City Council approved a Linking Authorization Agreement with the State of Oklahoma (State) and Bank of America (BOA) for the participation in the statewide commercial purchasing card program. The City of Guthrie implemented the program on October 1, 2011. Since that time, the City has a total net card spend of $791,138.11. The purchasing card provides a rebate based on the volume of use. The larger spend; the greater the rebate percentage is back to the participants. We can anticipate a 1% to 1.5% rebate based on our volume of use and promptness of payment.
For administering the program, the State collects a Contract Administration Fee of 5% of the rebate amount from all participants. The first two years, the State agreed to waive the 5% fee. The City of Guthrie joined the program during the second year of this agreement, which ends June 30, 2012.
The amendment allows BOA to withhold the 5% Contract Administration Fee from our rebate total and submit it directly to the State on our behalf.
– approved to award Bid No. 2012-02, Demolition Services and Debris Removal, to the low bid of $6,293 to K & M Wrecking, Oklahoma City for the demolition and removal of 618 E. Perkins and 915 W. Washington, and authorize staff to execute a contract.
On January 17, 2012, the City Council authorized staff to solicit bids for the demolition and removal of ten (10) dilapidated structures declared to be a nuisance by City Council. The properties include:
618 E. Perkins 518 S. 1st Street (awarded to K&M Wrecking)
623 S. Capital * 514 S. 1st Street (awarded to K&M Wrecking)
624 S. Capital (demo permit) 905 W. Mansur *
402 N. Division (pending 6/19/12) 915 W. Washington
212 E. Grant (awarded to Midwest Wrecking) 1223 W. College (demo permit)
Two properties were demolished by the property owners prior to soliciting bids. *
A bid notice was published in the Guthrie News Leader on January 19 and 26, 2012, six (6) bid packets were mailed to interested parties, and published on the City’s website. Seven (7) bid proposals were received. The solicitation for bids allowed for an award to be based on the cost
of a per lot basis or on a lump sum basis, whichever method is deemed to be in the best interest of the City.
K & M Wrecking is the apparent low bidder for the demolition and removal of 618 E. Perkins for $2,655 and 915 W. Washington for $3,638 for a total amount of $6,293.
– approved Budget Amendment No. 8 increasing the budget for the General Fund. The amendment is moving $1,378 from Library State Aid to Library Department to cover a part-time position for eight weeks and increasing in the amount of $1,100 for funds received from an insurance company for a traffic light that was damaged.
– approved Pegasus Properties, LLC. to build a 55 foot by 110 foot hangar on their leased property (space #9) pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Pegasus Properties, LLC. wish to build a 55 foot by 110 foot hangar on their leased property located at the Guthrie-Edmond Regional Airport, Space #9. The building plans have been submitted and approved by the City of Guthrie Planning and Zoning. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAA Form 7460-1; Title: Notice of Proposed Construction or Alteration has been submitted to the FAA Regional Office and is pending approval. An initial FAA Form-7460-1 was submitted in 2006 and approved. The FAA approval is only valid for 18 months, and due to delayed construction is void. Pegasus Properties, LLC has resubmitted their documentation and is currently awaiting FAA approval. It is requested that the Council approve the construction of the hangar on Space #9 pending FAA approval of the Form7460-1, allowing for construction to begin upon receipt of FAA approval.
– approved to accept Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security grant for VHF radio equipment. On May 16, 2012, Guthrie Fire-EMS received notification of a grant award from the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security’s (OKOHS) Urban Area Security Initiatives program in the amount of $2,617.02. This grant is part of an Oklahoma City Metro-wide project involving fire departments upgrading their VHF communications equipment for interoperability on large fires or other emergency incidents. The project will allow all departments to ensure their radio equipment meets the OKOHS Interoperability Subscriber Equipment Standards put in place in 2011. This project is fully funded by the OKOHS at no cost to the city. The funds will be distributed to the City and the City will then purchase and install the equipment. Having up to date and functioning radio equipment is important for, ‘on the go’ jobs, constant communication brings better results. This is not just needed in Oklahoma, this will be needed all over the states in places such as New York, they’ll need to find a NYC located Motorola authorized dealer for things like two-way radio equipment that can be of huge benefit for their work.
– approved a grant in the amount of $948.69 from the Oklahoma Humanities Council for the purpose of conducting a “Let’s Talk About It, Oklahoma!” program at the Guthrie Public Library and authorizing the staff to sign the related agreement.
This grant from the Oklahoma Humanities Council is available to public libraries in Oklahoma to present a reading and discussion program. Through the grant, the Oklahoma Humanities Council will provide multiple copies of the books for participants to borrow and will pay a stipend to each of the five scholars who are scheduled to lead the book discussions. The theme chosen for this series is “Journey Stories,” which will run one Monday per month from August through December.
The City Council authorized staff to apply for this grant at their regular meeting on April 17, 2012.
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