Sheri Mueller joins Guthrie city council

The 61st Guthrie City Council voted unanimously on Mayor Chuck Burtcher’s nomination of Sheri Mueller to become the newest council member.

In their regular scheduled city council meeting, council members voted 5-0 to appoint Mueller to fill in the ward III vacancy after Ellen Gomes resigned her post on September 8th. The Ward III seat is set to expire in May 2015.

Council member Patty Hazelwood, who helps represent ward II, excused herself from the vote. Sheri Mueller’s husband is a distant relative of Hazelwood.

Mueller, who is not related to Guthrie City Manager Matt Mueller, is a local attorney and was appointed as the City’s Special Judge back in July of 2011.

Burtcher said he had several great candidates and talked to a lot of great applicants.

In other council news:

– Council nominated council member John Wood to apply for the vacant position on the Board of Directors in District 8 for the Oklahoma Municipal League.

– Declared the parking lot located on the Southeast corner of Oklahoma and Ash as surplus property and authorize the City to sell the property by auction. The parcel is legally described as Lots 10 through 12, Block Fifty-three (53), in East Guthrie within the City of Guthrie, Logan County, Oklahoma.

– Approved to extend the contract with Emergency Management Inc. (EMI) for the emergency response service agreement between their company and the City of Guthrie for a four-year term.  This contract was entered into between EMI and the City of Guthrie in 2007, and was set for a term of four years.  The contract was extended for four years.  The City of Guthrie will only be charged for services provided by EMI if an incident were to occur that required their assistance, or if materials and/or labor are solicited from EMI in performing any job related duties that require their assistance. 

– Approved an agreement between City of Guthrie and Retail Attractions for Retail Economic Development Services. The City of Guthrie had an agreement with Retail Attractions that expired October 1. This agreement is very similar to the previous agreement but it takes out the monthly fee and compensation is based on a performance incentive equal to one (1) penny of the average first three months of sales tax generated by a business that is recruited to town by Retail Attractions. 

– Accepted the Library Board recommendation to institute a Laptop Borrowing Agreement and Guidelines, a Laptop Lending Policy, and a Revised Library Computer Policy. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, also known as OKConnect, provides laptops for public in-library use. The Laptop Lending Policy, Laptop Borrowing Agreement and Guidelines, and revised Library Computer Policy, instituted in 2004, will help ensure the proper care and use of these laptops.