MINUTES

LAWTON CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING

FEBRUARY 9, 1999 - 6:00 P.M.

WAYNE GILLEY CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBER

Mayor Cecil E. Powell,        Also Present:

Presiding            Bill Baker, City Manager

            John Vincent, City Attorney

            Brenda Smith, City Clerk

            Lt. Col. Jeff Ewing, Fort Sill Liaison

The meeting was called to order at 6:18 p.m. by Mayor Powell. Notice of meeting and agenda were posted on the City Hall notice board as required by State Law. Mayor Powell welcomed Lt. Col. Ewing as the Fort Sill Liaison to the City of Lawton, which may be the first time that such a relationship has been formed.

ROLL CALL

PRESENT:    G. Wayne Smith, Ward One

        Richard Williams, Ward Two

        Jeff Sadler, Ward Three

        John Purcell, Ward Four

        Robert Shanklin, Ward Five

        Charles Beller, Ward Six

        Stanley Haywood, Ward Seven

        Randy Warren, Ward Eight

ABSENT:        None.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF LAWTON CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 26, 1999.

MOVED by Williams, SECOND by Haywood, to approve the minutes. AYE: Beller, Haywood,  Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Mayor Powell asked that Item 9 be heard first and Item 4 be heard second. There was no objection.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION:

1) Jean Matthews, 5579 NW Eisenhower Drive, said she would like to see an outdoor skate park and would like to know what she would need to do to get it started. She said she would also like to know what could be done to change a certain part of the dog laws. Baker said the new Parks & Recreation Director will be looking at an outdoor skate park. He asked that Ms. Matthews provide her phone number to the Public Works/Engineering Director so he could have the appropriate persons contact her with regard to the animal issues.

2) Douglas Lynch, 4605 SE Ellsworth, said nothing has been done on the east side of town as far as parks or activities for children, although the City has the land and the money. He asked what was holding up the progress. Baker said this is another item for the new Parks & Recreation Director, and he asked Mr. Lynch which park he was referring to. Lynch said he was talking about the land by MacArthur High School and the park by Park Lane School which has no play equipment. Baker said funding to develop the park is needed and it may be competing with other projects for funding in future capital improvement projects. Lynch said he thought the other capital improvement projects should be dropped because they had been waiting for these improvements for many years and all other parts of town have parks. Baker said he would ask the new director to contact Mr. Lynch, and that he would begin work March 1.

Lynch asked what improvements would be made on the east side of town. Baker asked if he was referring to parks. Lynch said anything on the east side of town, and that the road was being improved to the prison and there is a need for another water tower because the water pressure will drop this summer. Baker said staff has been looking at many projects and some are on the east side of town.

3) Alan Williams, 412 N 3rd Street, said he was a member of the Lawton Independent Taxi Drivers' Association and that they had been coming at the City Council for 17 months and one meeting was held. As a result of that meeting, one of the associates for the taxi drivers got a letter from the City Attorney and that letter was sent to some of her people at work and her people on welfare where she was going to school. Williams said he was not aware of any requirements for coming to open meetings or even being comfortable at open meetings. He said these letters from the City Attorney reinforced her welfare problem and reinforced her work problem at Mike Corrales' office, and everyone is totally behind her now and totally supportive of her because they expected that kind of behavior. Williams said he is going to keep coming to the meetings and keep being in their face and would not stop.

Williams said he had been going directly to different people and had been in Mr. Vincent's Office, and most of the rest of the people, to include the hot dog parties in the park, and he had seen Mr. Beller over and over again, and it does not work that way, but only gets pushed aside and shoved underneath. He said the only person who had showed any real concern was Mr. Beller. Williams said they had come to expect this kind of behavior, and after all this time, it reinforced their beliefs.

4) Ramona Carraway said the Feed the Hungry Program at Town Hall was previously paying $5 per hour and it will be jacked up to $20 per hour for them to feed the hungry on the weekend. She said they do not benefit from the program and they are only trying to help the hungry and the homeless. Carraway said they had asked for help from the City and were given none. Mayor Powell asked that the statement be clarified. Vincent said Ms. Carraway was referred to Frank Pondrom, who was trying to work with Meals on Wheels and other agencies to provide assistance to this program but they have not been able to get it started yet. Mayor Powell said a memo came across his desk showing that staff was working to help the organization get in touch with those who could help, and that the group had been given two different contacts. Carraway said one group did not have facilities to be able to keep the food warm and that is necessary in order to be able to serve the meal. Williams asked if there is a business or some other organization that could help the group. Carraway said it must be in the downtown area and the location that was offered did not have a stove or refrigerator, but there is a stove at Town Hall. Mayor Powell said he appreciated the efforts and that they would continue to work with the group.

BUSINESS ITEMS:

9.    Adopt a resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the Elmer Thomas Park Enhancement Project. Exhibits: Location Map; Agreement; Resolution No. 99-16.

Jerry Ihler, Public Works/Engineering Director, said the resolution is for the bike path project, which originally included a path through Elmer Thomas Park, to the City Hall area, to Mattie Beal Park, and to Cameron University. During review of the original project with ODOT, there were concerns about the safety of the route due to use of public streets. The Lawton Parkway Task Force is funding the local share and agreed to construction of the bike trail in Elmer Thomas Park. Ihler said there are two concerns relating to the proposed agreement with ODOT, one which indicates if there is any neglect with regard to safeguarding the work or if there is any use of unacceptable materials that the City will hold harmless the Department of Transportation. He said this is an ODOT project that is to be administered and inspected by ODOT. The second concern in the agreement is the clause that any failure of the City to fulfill its responsibilities on this project could disqualify the City from future federal aid participation on any federal project, which may tie in with CDBG projects that are federally funded. Ihler said those clauses are concerns but this is a standard type agreement that ODOT enters into with many municipalities and the City Attorney's office has met with ODOT attorneys and feel this is not a "show stopper" for the project, and staff recommendation is to proceed with the project.

Williams asked if the language in the agreement with ODOT is the same as has been used in past contracts or if it is something new. Ihler said he did not recall seeing these items in previous agreements. Vincent said the only other agreement he looked at was for 82nd Street and it is not in that agreement; however, Purcell told him that he had been advised that it was in at least four other ISTEA agreements, although he had not reviewed those agreements. Vincent said the City Attorney's office concurs in going ahead with the agreement but felt Council should be aware of the provisions.

Williams said the project has been out there for five years plus, and the bicycle group has raised their part for the private funding. He recommended it be approved.

Beller asked if there were any other options than to accept the agreement as proposed. Vincent said discussions were held with ODOT and the City Attorney's office proposed six changes and ODOT agreed to four of the six items. Vincent said it was his understanding that if the agreement is not signed as it is written that the project will be dead as far as ODOT is concerned. Beller asked for Vincent's recommendation. Vincent said his recommendation was the same as Ihler's, that it is not significant enough to be a "show stopper", but it is significant enough to be a Council decision and not one from staff. Beller asked Vincent's recommendation and response was to sign the agreement.

Purcell said he agreed it should be approved. He suggested the City Attorney or Mayor send a letter to both Dr. Gibson and someone else at ODOT explaining what is contained in the paragraph. Purcell said the language is that anything the sponsor violates, and every paragraph has provisions on what the sponsor will do, that the sponsor will be disqualified, and that should be changed in future documents. Vincent said his suggestion was to change the word "shall" to "may" to allow for argument, but ODOT did not want to change it. Purcell said this item should be approved but it should be brought out for the future. Williams asked if this was requested by Bob Rose. Ihler said it is an enhancement project that is done by the Oklahoma City office, but Bob Rose is District Engineer for this area so he is familiar with it.

MOVED by Williams, SECOND by Smith, to approve Resolution No. 99-16. AYE: Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

(Title only)        Resolution No. 99-16

A resolution whereby the City Council of Lawton, Oklahoma, authorizes the execution of an agreement between the City of Lawton, Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for an ODOT Federal Aid Project under plans and specifications for Project No. STPY - 16E(300)EH, State Job No. 13907(04) in accordance with the terms and tenor of 69 O.S. 1991, Sections 1205, 1206, 1401 and 1403.

4.    Discuss the proposed solid waste collection changes and take appropriate action.

Shanklin said he requested the item due to the confusion between the City and the patrons that would be involved in this process. He said a report was given last month on the RFP from the private sector on what could be done with the landfill with composting and co-composting, and it would cost $3.4 million new dollars per year. Shanklin said separating the grass from the other waste will prolong the life of the landfill for only a year or a year and a half, so to bag the grass separately and pick it up separately would be an exercise in futility. He said the Code allows each household 60 gallons of household waste, and yard waste and tree limbs. Shanklin said he called 40 individuals and some of them wanted to be able to put some of their yard waste in those trash cans but staff did not see it that way at that time, so he requested the item be considered further. He said Lawton has the best solid waste collection pick up crew in the country.

MOVED by Shanklin, SECOND by Purcell, to keep the system as it is and forego bagging any individual grass clippings.

Purcell said the City ordered the bags based on the last meeting and understood that a hold had been put on that order. He asked if the City was committed to spend the $60,000. Ihler said the order was placed for 250,000 bags and the vendor was called last week and told to stop production of the bags; the vendor had not started making the bags but had started making the plate with the City seal, and staff will contact them tomorrow with direction as a result of tonight's Council action. Purcell asked if there was going to be little to no cost by rescinding the previous action and doing away with the bags. Ihler said it would probably not be a large cost as to what they have done to date.

Williams said a task force studied this subject previously with a goal of trying to move toward a composting program at a future time and to provide equity regarding yard waste because some have one bag of waste and others have 40. He asked if the idea was being discarded completely due to a dozen phone calls from citizens who do not want to see any changes made. Williams said he was not sure the bags were the best way but felt the City should be looking at some type of composting and recycling, and the Mayor has a committee working on that now.

Warren said he would echo Williams' comments, and his concern was if Council voted to scrap this idea tonight, it would dodge a big bullet as far as cost. He said he appreciated the input and involvement of the citizens but hoped in the future that some involvement could be done prior to the Council making the decisions because it was going to cost a lot of money.

Shanklin said he got quite a few calls from those who put out only one or two sacks but when they could not put grass clippings in those two or three bags, they balked at that. He said another reason to bag the grass and yard waste and to influence individuals to mulch and compost reduces the waste stream. Shanklin said people mow their yards and water them, which costs money, plus additional for sewer, so it can be looked at in a different way than he had looked at it previously, so the residents are probably paying for the additional bags that they put out.

Warren said he saw no reason the credit could still not be given to someone who brings in a receipt for a mulching mower. He asked if that was part of the ordinance and if the ordinance would have to be rescinded. Baker said an ordinance was never passed, and Council took minute action to approve the plan. Baker said if Council wanted to retain that portion, it could be done. Mayor Powell said he heard the City Attorney's comment that the funding could come from the bag sales.

Mayor Powell said he had received more telephone calls on this one issue than on all the other issues combined since he had been Mayor. He said he appreciated the involvement and agreed with Warren that the involvement could have come prior to the program. Mayor Powell said there is a very active composting and recycling committee and Dr. Lynn Musselwhite from Cameron University is the chairman, and they have done an excellent job. He said Norman's staff came down, as well as Fort Sill, and Norman emphasized that you should not get into the bag business.

Sadler said he felt it was important to pursue composting or some type of recycling of grass clippings. He said he did not agree with putting the citizens to the trouble of buying a fifty cent bag for the gain that would be  made. Sadler said the City should encourage the separation of yard waste and taking it to the dump. He said he had spoken with 40 people on this subject and had asked them if they would prefer once a week household waste and once a week yard waste at the same rate, and 39 of the 40 agreed to the once a week pick up of each category. Sadler said it does not solve the equity issue, but it would not require a third route and the grass could be separated and composted or used for cover material. He said he would like to leave that on the table for future discussions of the composting.

Purcell said he serves on the Recycling Committee, and the group from Norman pointed out that the cost of recycling will never be recovered and it is a very expensive program. He said there are other reasons to recycle, such as the landfill or for the sake of recycling, but it will be costly.

Warren asked if Shanklin would amend the motion to include retaining the credit for the mulching mowers.

AMENDMENT TO MOTION by Shanklin, SECOND by Purcell, to leave the credit for those who buy a mulching mower.

Sadler said if the Code allows for 60 gallons of waste, perhaps a system could be devised to charge for waste in excess of that amount. Shanklin said the Code allows for 60 gallons and yard waste and tree limbs, and there is not a limit on yard waste.

Mayor Powell said persons are in attendance with regard to this item and Council agreed to receive comment.

Dave Davis, 7632 NW Baldwin, said he represented a group of concerned citizens that oppose the change in collection of yard waste. His remarks are summarized as follows: Reasons for the opposition were that they were not convinced that $9.7 million increase to the citizens of Lawton is worth the marginal increase in the life of the landfill; they want to keep the collection of yard waste as affordable as possible for all citizens. If a household has two bags of yard waste per week, they would be paying an additional 25-50% over the current monthly fee. Also, the City of Lawton has an excellent solid waste department that provides excellent service. The change to collecting waste three times a week and inspecting that yard waste would have a negative impact on the hard working city employees. We want to keep the collection of yard waste as convenient to the citizens as possible. We do not want to give anyone a reason to dispose of yard waste improperly. We want to keep Lawton and the surrounding rural areas free from unwanted waste. Tonight, we hope the Lawton City Council will reconsider and not change our existing two times per week residential household and yard waste collection.

VOTE ON MOTION AS AMENDED: AYE: Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

1.    Hold a public hearing and consider an ordinance amending the 2020 Land Use Plan from Public/Quasi-Public to Commercial and Office and changing the zoning from P-F (Public Facilities District) to C-5 (General Commercial District) zoning classification located at the northeast corner of Sheridan Road and Lee Boulevard. Exhibits: Ordinance No. 99-6; Location Map; Applications; Draft LMAPC Minutes.

Bob Bigham, City Planner, said the applicant is Lowe's Home Center and Lawton Public Schools. The request is for a 28.23 acre tract. The location was pointed out on a view graph map. He said Lowe's had submitted plans for a building materials sales yard at this location. On January 13, LMAPC held a public hearing on the amendment to the Land Use Plan and the rezoning. During the public hearing, two persons spoke in favor of the request and one person spoke in opposition to the request. The LMAPC by a 7-0 vote recommended approval of the amendment to the Land Use Plan and the rezoning. He said Lowe's is no longer interested in pursuing development and the Use Permitted on Review that was approved by the LMAPC had been withdrawn by Chuck Wade. Bigham said proper notice of this public hearing has been served.

PUBLIC HEARING OPENED.

Chuck Wade said he is the attorney for the Lawton Public Schools and that he was previously the attorney for Lowe's until their executive committee decided not to pursue this particular site at this time. Wade said he provided a letter requesting the applicant be changed to the Lawton Public Schools and the Board of Education would like to complete the rezoning because the logical, long term objective for the site is for the property to be sold and used.

Shanklin asked if Wade knew why Lowe's left. Wade said the real estate people felt the traffic counts on Lee and Sheridan were sufficient to justify the location, and the traffic count on Lee is greater than it is on Sheridan, but when they looked at the aerials and the other pictures of the site at the executive committee level, which is the president, CEO and other top officials, the blight in the area and the Buy For Less building being vacant and the general area was what caused them to not pursue the site. Smith said he would like to see the newspaper print that.

Douglas Lynch suggested the School Board use that land for construction of a school rather than purchasing land on the other side of Shoemaker Center.

Wade said the School Board has acquired the land by Shoemaker Center through a land swap with the City of Lawton and a school will be built when funding is acquired.

Lynch said a high school and junior high are needed for the south part of town. Mayor Powell said that is a matter for the School Board to discuss. Lynch said a high school and junior high are needed for the south part of town and that he hauled kids from one side of town to the other and he would tell it like it is, and it is not right to haul the kids that far.

PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED

MOVED by Williams, SECOND by Smith, to approve Ordinance No. 99-6, waive reading of the ordinance, reading only the title.

Sadler said it is unfortunate that blight was the reason given by Lowe's because if they would have built in the area, other businesses would have been attracted to the area. Mayor Powell said he wrote a letter on behalf of the City to the CEO of Lowe's requesting that they reconsider Lawton, and a response has not yet been received.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-6

An ordinance amending the 2020 Land Use Plan from Public/Quasi-Public to Commercial and Office and changing the zoning classification from the existing classification of P-F (Public Facilities District) to C-5 (General Commercial District) zoning classification on the tract of land which is hereinafter more particularly described in Section Two (2) hereof; authorizing changes to be made in the 2020 Land Use Plan and upon the Official Zoning Map in accordance with this ordinance.

VOTE ON MOTION: AYE: Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Warren. NAY: None. ABSTAIN: Haywood. MOTION CARRIED.

2.    Hold a public hearing and consider six ordinances amending Section 15-117, Chapter 15; Section 18-404.2, Chapter 18; Section 19A-110H, Chapter 19A; and Sections 21-207, 21-503, 21-506I, and Article 7, Chapter 21, Lawton City Code, 1995, pertaining to drainage easements and allowing private detention facilities on secondary channels, and declaring an emergency. Exhibits: Ordinance No. 99-7 (Section 15-117); Ordinance No. 99-8 (Section 18-404.2); Ordinance No. 99-9 (Section 19A-110H); Ordinance No. 99-10 (Section 21-207); Ordinance No. 99-11 (Section 21-503 and 21-506I); Ordinance No. 99-12 (Article 7, Chapter 21); Draft LMAPC Minutes.

Purcell announced that he had a conflict of interest and will not participate in the discussion or vote. Purcell left the room at this time.

Bigham said there are six ordinances before the Council that are related. The ordinances were initiated by developers who requested that the Code provide for privately owned detention structures. He reviewed a slide showing a summary of the ordinances as follows:

Section 15-117    Requires owners of private detention facilities to properly maintain the facility and keep the facility accessible at all times for inspection and maintenance. If the owners do not, the City has the right to declare it a public nuisance.

Section 18-404.2    Liberalizes the Code to allow certain drainage encroachments, i.e. underground stormwater facilities, on drainage easements if approved by the code official and reinforces the current regulations that the City does not want encroachments on drainage easements.

Section 19A-110H    Requires private detention facilities constructed as part of a subdivision to be identified as a lot and labeled as such on the record plat and in the restrictive covenants. Requires offsite private detention facilities to be created by deed restriction which shall be filed of record in the County Clerk's Office after acceptance by the City, and the book and page numbers shown on the record plat. Reinforces the requirement that the owner maintain the detention facility to the standards established in the Code.

Section 21-107    Adds definitions for detention facility, reverse frontage lot, nonaccess easement, private detention facility, and wet detention facility.

Section 21-503    Requires double frontage and reverse frontage lots abutting arterials to

Section 21-506I    have a nonaccess easement with 6-foot opaque fencing along the arterial and the nonaccess easement may be granted upon a utility easement.

Article 7    Article 7 contains the drainage standards of the subdivision regulations.

Chapter 21    The amendments allow for private detention facilities on secondary channels.

Bigham said LMAPC on January 13 reviewed these ordinances and recommended approval by a 7-0 vote to the City Council.

Beller said Page 19 of the agenda states that none of the amendments establish higher design standards than the current detention and subdivision regulations. He asked if more strict conditions are being placed on the property owners by this ordinance. Bigham said no, if a developer elects to have a private detention facility, the ordinance provides for parameters and restrictions on that type of facility that are not in the current Code, but the concept to allow for private detention facilities is a relaxation of the Code. Beller asked if the developers agreed with the proposals. Bigham said the ordinance was reviewed by the consulting engineer who submitted changes. Vincent said Landmark Engineering made some changes. Vincent said you cannot currently have a private detention facility or a private lake serving as a detention facility in Lawton, so the Code is being relaxed to allow that to occur, but there must be ways to maintain the facility, such as being accessed and dredged out by whoever the developer hires to do that, so the developer is required to provide an access right to get into the facility.

Beller said Felton Dean was required to have a detention area immediately adjacent to a channel and he asked how common sense would tell you that was necessary. Bigham said Chapter 19A establishes detention requirements for building permits or subdivisions, for anything over two acres. He said the concept is that any time an impervious surface is put down, you increase the runoff from storms, which impacts the drainage systems in the community. The point of the stormwater detention ordinance is to build the facilities to keep the runoff the same and not make the runoff downstream increase as it goes through the neighborhoods. Each development is to build their detention facility to retain their water to be discharged in a natural condition.

Shanklin asked if Eckerd's would have done something different with their parking lot if this would have been changed already. Bigham said normally we would have accepted a drainage easement in the relocation of the stormwater pipe to serve Eckerd's but we accepted it as a utility easement; if the drainage easement would have been in place for that development, they would not have been able to build their parking lot so it would have had a detrimental impact. Shanklin asked if you still could not build a parking lot over drainage. Bigham said a drainage easement, but that was a utility easement, and that was what caused this provision to be added to the code. Shanklin asked if staff did that on its own and Bigham said yes.

Sadler said anyone south of Felton Dean's property in Meadowbrook would have had to watch that creek rise that much faster without the detention. He said it allows the water to come down more slowly. Warren said no one liked what had to be done to comply with pre equals post but it is necessary and it is done all over Oklahoma City.

PUBLIC HEARING OPENED. No one appeared to speak. PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED.

MOVED by Warren, SECOND by Smith, to approve Ordinance Nos. 99-7 through 99-12, waive reading of the ordinances, reading the titles only, and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-7

An ordinance related to nuisances adding Section 15-117, Chapter 15, Lawton City Code, 1995, making the failure to properly maintain a private detention facility unlawful; providing for renumbering, codification, and severability, and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-8

An ordinance related to zoning amending Section 18-4-1-404.2, Chapter 18, Lawton City Code, 1995, revising regulations related to drainage easements; providing for severability; and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-9

An ordinance related to stormwater detention amending Section 19A-1-1-110H, Chapter 19A, Lawton City Code, 1995, adding private detention facilities on secondary channels; providing for severability; and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-10

An ordinance related to land subdivision amending Section 21-1-107, Chapter 21, Lawton City Code, 1995, as amended by Ordinance No. 96-43, adding certain definitions, providing for renumbering and severability; and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-11

An ordinance related to land subdivision amending Section 21-5-503, as amended by Ordinance No. 97-15, and Section 21-5-506I, Chapter 21, Lawton City Code, 1995, revising regulations to easements; providing for severability; and declaring an emergency.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-12

An ordinance related to land subdivision amending Article 7, Drainage, Chapter 21, Lawton City  Code, 1995, as amended by Ordinance No. 95-57, allowing private detention facilities on secondary channels; providing for severability; and declaring an emergency.

VOTE ON MOTION: AYE: Williams, Sadler, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith. NAY: None. OUT: Purcell. MOTION CARRIED.

Purcell returned to the meeting at this point.

3.    Hold a public hearing and consider an ordinance amending Sections 18-106, 18-802 and 18-806, Chapter 18, Lawton City Code, 1995, establishing revised off-street parking requirements for the downtown area, and declaring an emergency. Exhibits: Ordinance No. 99-13; LMAPC Minutes.

Warren announced that he had a possible conflict of interest and excused himself from discussion and voting. He left the room at this time.

Bigham said Councilman Shanklin initiated the ordinance, which is based on situations in the downtown area and which relaxes the Code. Summary of changes was given as follows: 1) Defines downtown area as an area bounded by Gore Boulevard, SW F Avenue, Railroad Street, and SW 11th Street; 2) Applies to all new buildings, proposed enlarged buildings, and buildings that increase the intensity of use in the downtown area; 3) Where sufficient off-street parking requirement cannot be met, on-street parking within 400 feet of the lot may be used to fulfill the parking requirement; 4) Any public off-street parking lot within 400 feet may be counted as 25% of the required parking; 5) All required off-street parking spaces must be within 400 feet of the lot; 6) The 60%/40% rule does not apply to the downtown area; 7) Allows the use of alley rights-of-way for maneuvering provided the parking spaces are not located in the right-of-way and allows those parking spaces to be counted toward the parking requirement.

Purcell asked for an explanation of Item L on Page 3 of the ordinance. Bigham said currently, as an example, a business may be required to have ten off-street parking spaces, or have 40% within 300 feet; Item L allows a business to count the on-street parking, which is traditional in the downtown area, that on-street parking can be counted within 400 feet of the property to meet the parking requirement. Purcell said if two businesses are side by side, both stores would theoretically count the same spaces. Bigham agreed.

Shanklin said the boundary for SW F Street goes to the north curb currently, instead of the south curb, and the area around 7th or 8th Street back to11th Street on the south side should be included in the Central Business District area. He asked why the brick yard area at Railroad Street should not also be included. Bigham said Railroad Street was used as a dividing line because one side is zoned as Central Business District and the other is zoned C-5 commercial; another area is zoned industrial, light manufacturing and warehousing and was not a part of the retail, downtown service area.

Shanklin said he appreciated the Planning Department and Commission efforts on this ordinance, which will hopefully allow for some development in this part of town. Bigham said the Planning Commission recommended approval of the ordinance by a 7-0 vote.

PUBLIC HEARING OPENED.

Joe Warner, 1608 NW 33rd Street, presented the following statement:

1.    I would like to thank the City Council members, the Mayor, and the LMAPC for recognizing the parking problems in the downtown area and stepping up to correct them, and City staff for preparing the amendments to Section 18-642 - parking requirements.

2.    There has been a need to redevelop the areas around the Central Mall since it was built. By relaxing the current parking requirements, new or existing businesses will be attracted to the area utilizing the existing vacant buildings which in turn will raise the ad valorem tax base.

3.    The existing 80' x 120' street easements should be used for on street parking.

4.    The downtown utility infrastructure is in place and operating at approximately 25% of its capacity. We should make use of it and generate utility fees and taxes.

5.    By amending the current codes and ordinances, the city and county owned properties will have the capability to expand or build new public buildings that will meet the revised codes.

6.    We have vehicles being parked illegally on unimproved right-of-ways at the current time in the total area. By relaxing codes and ordinances as the new businesses come to the area, they will have to pave and improve the right-of-ways, thereby creating legal parking, sidewalks, and landscaping.

7.    It is totally unreasonable to require a new business to buy additional land that is not available and pave a parking lot that will not be full for over 2 or 3 times a year. When a new business starts up in Lawton, we need to do any and everything we can to lower the startup investment, promote expansion, and keep the business in the downtown area.

8.    The Chamber of Commerce is spending thousands of dollars promoting Economic Development on a daily basis all over the country.

9.    Cameron University has created the Center for Excellence with private businesses at a great expense.

10.    The City of Lawton has the ability to create an Economic Redevelopment Project in its downtown area by simply changing codes and ordinances at no cost to the City of Lawton or its citizens.

11.    And, council members, you have the opportunity to save what is left of downtown Lawton at no cost by approving the following changes:

1.    Extend area boundaries to the new downtown areas to the south and east to the Burlington Northern Railroad tracks.

"Downtown area" means a defined area bounded by the center line of Gore Boulevard on the north, 25' north of the center line of the existing Burlington Northern Railroad tracks on the south, 25' west of the center line of the existing Burlington Northern Railroad tracks on the east, and the east right-of-way line of SW 11th Street on the west.

2.    Where sufficient off-street parking requirements cannot be met, on street parking within 600 feet of any lot may be used to fulfill the parking requirement.

3.    Any public off-street parking lot within 600 feet may be counted as 50% of the required parking.

4.    All required off-street parking spaces must be within 600 feet of the lot.

5.    The landscape requirements reduced to 2% and the right-of-ways must be used to fulfill the landscape requirement.

6.    Reduce the total number of parking spaces required by city codes and ordinances by 50% to provide flexibility in the downtown area.

If the proposed changes are not acceptable, please table this issue and send it back to LMAPC with a request to place property owners, developers, and designers on the committee to help resolve the issues and have city staff available to assist upon request.

I have contacted the following property and business owners in the area that approve of the above mentioned changes and every person talked with has agreed that changes are definitely necessary. (end of statement)

The document read by Mr. Warner, which is included above, was signed by 25 persons.

Haywood asked Mr. Warner how much he had invested in the property by the railroad tracks. Warner said it was over half a million in the Fairmont property alone, and it will be good for other development.

Shanklin asked Vincent if Council had the authority to make the changes requested by Mr. Warner. Vincent said Council could act on Items 1-4, but not 5-6 without going back to LMAPC because the LMAPC had not considered those items. Beller asked if Council could override a decision of LMAPC. Vincent said LMAPC must consider any change to a zoning ordinance and make a recommendation, but whether Council accepts the recommendation or not is up to Council, but State law requires that LMAPC consider the change.

Charley Wright, 702 SW 52nd Street, said he had the Design Associates business. He said he had worked for many businesses in the downtown area and for some to the east of that area also. Wright said he had clients come in to look at buildings downtown, but then they would look at the codes and find out that it was almost an impossibility to build in the downtown area. He said the Planning Department had provided help in showing them which way to go, such as variances or a Use Permitted on Review, but many times an out-of-town client may be here for only a short period of time and when they find out they have to go through a revocable permit or other appeals, the staff has their hands tied by the codes. Wright said changing the code will help many of the older buildings and interest may be shown in them.

Wright said those who grew up here may remember having to go around the block three or four times to get a parking space, but they could find one and it was not a problem to walk a couple of blocks. He said the 400 feet was a good start and it was approximately one block. Wright said extending that length requirement would also be good. He asked if a business comes in and has a requirement for 20 parking spaces, if they want to use all of their lot, they can do that or get the 20 spaces on street or some place else. Bigham said if it is within 400 feet.

Wright said the Fairmont building was mentioned, but there are other buildings in that area. He said a civic organization had an interest in one of the buildings a couple of years ago to do a really nice project, and one of the reasons that project stopped was because there was no way to meet the parking requirements, although the functions they would have held would have primarily been at night, they would have still had to meet the parking requirements, and there was no way the civic organization could have met those parking requirements. Wright said he agreed with Items 1-4. He said if it could be extended to the east side, there have been commercial businesses there and if the parking requirements were lifted, there could be more development because there are some nice, old buildings, and some of the few old buildings that are left, that allow an opportunity to revitalize.

Purcell asked for an example of a public off-street parking lot in downtown Lawton. Bigham said the parking lots both south and north of the Library, and the lot near City Hall. Purcell said those lots would not help many due to the distance involved. Wright said it could possibly help those on two block of C Avenue, and perhaps some in the industrial district because the blocks are a different size.

PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED.

Beller said Page 51 of the agenda folder, Item P, alludes to a landscaping plan and the ordinance came from LMAPC. He asked if LMAPC would not have reviewed that portion of the ordinance. Vincent said that was not advertised for the LMAPC hearing, and the concern was the parking but not the landscaping.

MOVED by Beller, SECOND by Haywood, to approve Ordinance No. 99-13, waive reading of the ordinance, reading the title only, and include in the ordinance the proposed changes as prepared by the initiators, to include Items One through Four in the handout, and declare an emergency.

Shanklin asked if that includes the south side of F Street. Beller said yes. Vincent said it includes the legal description proposed in the handout.

(Title read by Clerk)        Ordinance No. 99-13

An ordinance related to zoning amending Section 18-1-1-106, as amended by Ordinance Nos. 95-52 and 96-14, adding the definition of downtown area; amending Section 18-8-1-806, Chapter 18, Lawton City Code, 1995, establishing revised off-street parking requirements for the downtown area; providing for renumbering and severability; and declaring an emergency.

VOTE ON MOTION: AYE: Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Smith, Williams. NAY: None. OUT: Warren. MOTION CARRIED.

Beller asked that Items 5 and 6 be referred to the LMAPC for their consideration.

5.    Consider adopting a resolution establishing the City of Lawton Recycle Fund. Exhibits: Resolution No. 99-_____.

Mayor Powell asked that Item 5 be stricken from the agenda, due to Council's earlier actions tonight.

6.    Receive a briefing and consider approving, in concept, and authorizing staff to assist in the development of a Weed and Seed Program. Exhibits: Letter from Pat Paige dated 1/29/99; Brief Program Description.    

Haywood said each member had been given information that was provided by Patricia Jackson. He said three persons are present to speak on this program, which is designed to eliminate the negative element in the community as well as the negative image.

Pat Paige, 1504 NW 49th Street, said Weed and Seed is an anti-crime strategy for reclaiming neighborhoods and making them safe for families. The program is to weed out crime and to seed the community with positive resources. It requires building partnerships between community residents and police, prosecutors, government officials, local businesses, social service providers and the private sector.

Brenda Jarrett, Director of the Weed and Seed Program in Wichita Falls, said this program is an initiative of the U.S. Justice Department. The program is designed to weed out the criminal elements in a target neighborhood and the seeding efforts come from housing stock, economic development and community empowerment. Wichita Falls was recognized by the U.S. Justice Department in 1997 as an official site of Weed and  Seed. This allowed for initial funding of $125,000, and training. There are four elements of Weed and  Seed and the Justice Department focused on training to adhere to the four elements. One of the elements is law enforcement, and in Wichita Falls, the relationship of the police department with the community residents is something they are trying to change. The second element is community policing which is used as a bridge between the law enforcement element and the residents. Wichita Falls received eight bicycles from the Justice  Department to implement a bike patrol, and the purpose of that is to allow police to be more visual to the residents so they can talk to the police officers, and for the officers to be able to assess some of the problems they probably would not have the opportunity to see if they were in cars. The third element is prevention, intervention and treatment. This is involved with drug education for young people, intervention programs at some of the social services in the target area, and treatment as far as helping people with drugs and alcohol, and possibly medical situations. Wichita Falls has an HIV/AIDS prevention program, which is one of the components of the prevention, intervention and treatment. The fourth element is neighborhood restoration. Jarrett said she preferred this part of the program.

Jarrett said in the target neighborhood of Wichita Falls East, the area where she grew up, years ago it was a thriving, self sufficient neighborhood. During the course of time, the area changed, but Weed and Seed is coming in and they are talking about building new houses. They work closely with the community  development department in Wichita Falls, and a wonderful relationship is being built with the police department.  There is a community garden and residents will be planting this weekend. A garden will get people to talk with each other about issues in the neighborhood. The point is to work collaboratively with all of the resources that are contained here already, and the program helps connect the dots. Weed and Seed has helped residents become partners with their local government, rather than enemies or two groups having misunderstandings.

Warren asked if the $125,000 start up money was in the form of a matching grant. Jarrett said no, it was a straight out grant, and it is a pass through grant going through the city government. Warren asked when it was implemented. Jarrett said in 1997. Warren asked if funding was provided for each year. Jarrett said yes, the first year was $125,000 and the second was $175,000, and the additional $50,000 was used for prevention through the arts by providing arts programs to get kids' minds off of negative activities.

Mayor Powell asked if there was a start up grant to educate police personnel. Jarrett said yes, the police department had more avenues of getting funding than the Weed and Seed site, and funding was provided separately and in addition to the $125,000.

Smith asked how long the process took for conception to implementation. Jarrett said after you are recognized as a site, you will be funded for three years and it is up to each city to convince them to continue the funding.

Williams asked if this grant reduced the CDBG allocation for Wichita Falls. Jarrett said no, and CDBG funding will be used for restoration purposes in the target neighborhood and will not offset the CDBG funds to be received.

Beller asked if funds are appropriated from CDBG for restoration. Jarrett said no, Weed and Seed teaches them that in order to restore a target neighborhood, which is usually low and moderate income individuals and CDBG funding is to be used for those areas, so they encourage them to encourage the municipal department to pass some of the CDBG funding on down to the target neighborhood. Beller said it would then come from CDBG funds. Jarrett said CDBG funds are used separately from the Weed and Seed funds, and it is not the same funding.

Mayor Powell said he attended a seminar presented by those in Oklahoma City who have used this program for quite some time. He said their program has been very successful and Lawton has a successful COPs program, which is similar.

Haywood said Wichita Falls has a van that is a community outreach police station, and only a few cities have such equipment. He said he had spoken with the Police Chief, who would serve on the steering committee. Haywood introduced Patricia Jackson who had spoken with the Mayor about this program a couple of years ago.

Patricia Jackson, 2403 Jefferson, said she had spoken with the Mayor, City Manager, Police Chief, District Attorney, and Sheriff's Department. She said a few years ago she had letters from some of the officials saying they would back the program, and she attended monthly meetings in Oklahoma City. Jackson said she attended a conference in Missouri and brought back information on the program. She said she felt the program would be helpful to Lawton, and the money would come through the city to support the program.

Haywood said the Lawton View Association met last night and approved of these efforts. Shanklin asked what needed to be done to start the program and Haywood said a grant application is needed. Jackson said this is not intended to be a project solely for Lawton, and that at some point, Fort Sill could be involved in it.

Baker said the action tonight is to approve the concept and authorize staff to serve on the steering committee. He said this is similar to the MBOC Program where the City would act as the funnel for the funds, make the application, and the City would not be doing the work itself. Baker recommended pursuing the program, and that some of the current community policing efforts would lend themselves to this program. He said the Police Chief had some concerns about overextending his personnel and getting involved in a program that might take officers from one area where they may needed to another.

Bill Adamson, Police Chief, said he was not opposed to the program and felt it would be good for the community. He said we have to be careful with our goals in any program. It is a no match grant but there is a cost to the City in that it will cost manpower from the police department to give to the community, whatever the select area would be to fulfill the law enforcement function. If the grant provided for manpower, after it expires, that burden would then fall to the Council to pay for or to separate those employees from the police department. Adamson said the COP program was started in two, different areas of the City in the last few months, and six employees are working full time in those areas. The program has been successful, and is cause for encouragement with the Weed and Seed Program. He said any new program requires manpower, and that manpower is money.

Adamson said the police department must respond to the reality of crime and not the perception of crime. He said the Lawton View area, as well as many others, have serious problems and they are trying to address them from a law enforcement point of view. The question then becomes, at least from a management point of view, should manpower be invested in an area of the City that has a lower crime rate, and ignore the fact that another area in the City has double the crime rate. He said purely on the law enforcement portion of this effort, the police department must stay focused on the actual crime and not minimize the problems in any particular area. The long range effect of the program on the employees and equipment is also a concern. Adamson said he did want to be on the steering committee if Council felt that was appropriate and that he would support the program and its philosophy which would be good for the community.

Shanklin asked if there had to be certain officers with Weed and Seed that could not be used in other areas where there may be crime. Adamson said it was his understanding that the first element of the program was with law enforcement which was to weed out the criminal element, which he obviously favored, but it is manpower intensive, and it has some of the same elements as the COP program. Patricia Jackson said the manner in which the grant is written determines whether funding is provided for additional police personnel. Adamson said that was the case with the COP grant and they eventually received funding for four officers.

Warren said he thought it was a wonderful program and that everyone should be aware that the program must be successful for three years and the City would not have the funds to continue otherwise after that time.

Paige said there are many things that need to be worked out, to include the role of the police department. She said the target site does not have to remain in the same area and the Housing Authority has been doing things that would help with this also.

Purcell said the City Manager mentioned the MBOC Program, and the funding for that program may be discontinued, so it will be important to be sure the grants are available. Smith said those involved in the program should devote themselves to being sure the grants continue. Haywood said it is important for the entire community to be involved. Baker said if the program is done for two or three years and the grants do not come forth, the thought it that the community would be in a position to keep the program going on and the community would take it over.

MOVED by Haywood, SECOND by Smith, to approve the concept and authorize the staff to assist in the development of the Weed and Seed Program.

Discussion was held on appointment of the steering committee, and the group is in place to serve as the steering committee, but approval of the concept allows for the Police Chief and Assistant City Manager to serve on the steering committee.

VOTE ON MOTION: AYE: Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

7.    Receive briefing from the Airport Authority and discuss airport operations.

Williams said he requested the item and had talked with the Airport Authority Chairman and the Airport Manager. He said they are working on preparation of a briefing for the Council.

MOVED by Williams, SECOND by Smith, to table the item until the Airport personnel are ready to present the report. AYE: Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

8.    Discuss annexation policies and procedures and provide guidance to staff.

Williams said an election is being held today concerning incorporation of the Hulen community, which is in fairly close proximity to the Lawton corporate limits. He suggested it would be appropriate for Council to provide direction to staff regarding annexation to a designated point, possibly the ridge line.

Bob Bigham, City Planner, presented a view graph map showing Lawton's corporate limits, the ridge line, various subdivisions in the county, and the Hulen proposal which contains 24-1/2 square miles, to include three sections in Cotton County. He reviewed a slide which is summarized as follows:

"Annexation  Advantages. 1) Ability to regulate land uses, i.e. zoning, subdivision, building codes, licensing, flood management; 2) Broadening of the tax base; 3) Citizens have a voice in city government by representation of a councilman; 4) Increased population; 5) Increase in city sales tax; 6) Protection of encroachment by other towns in the area within the drainage basin; 7) Municipal services to residents; 8) Protection of property values; 9) Application of the same subdivision improvement standards to urban fringe subdivisions as in the City limits.

Annexation Disadvantages: 1) Cost involved in providing municipal emergency services, i.e., police and fire protection; 2) Cost involved in maintenance of existing infrastructure, i.e., roads, bridges; 3) Capital improvement programming for infrastructure, i.e., roads, bridges, water, sewer; 4) Loss of revenue of water sales to individuals and associations; 5) Annexation is a controversial issue."

Bigham said under the State Statutes, the City has the ability to annex under certain conditions. Beller asked if those involved are to vote on whether or not to be annexed. Bigham said annexation can be undertaken without the consent of the property owners under certain conditions, but in that case, the City must have a service plan for municipal services; the three methods of annexation are: 1) with consent of the owners; 2) without consent of the owners, and 3) annexation by petition.

Purcell asked that the area being discussed be pointed out on the view graph map. Bigham said one thought was to consider the land within the ridge line, and it would support a population of 400,000 to 500,000 persons. Bigham said some type of annexation barrier would be desirable to prevent other municipalities from coming in. Bigham said the Statutes restrict a town from annexing within three miles of another city and Hulen's original annexation petition contained an area within Lawton's ridge line and they had to adjust it due to the restriction in the Statutes. Bigham said if Hulen becomes incorporated, it could begin annexing from its corporate boundary. Vincent said once a town is incorporated, the three mile restriction is removed. Warren said the point may be that if this is not done now, it cannot be done, or that Hulen would have the same abilities as Lawton.

Vincent said his office felt a legal challenge to Hulen's incorporation could be presented if it is approved today. We have 60 days to take action to challenge it; however, the most expedient way to prevent Hulen from encroaching would be to form a 300 foot wide barrier of annexation starting with the Silk property south of the landfill and extending east and north. He said several years ago there was a 17 foot barrier and the State law must now be a minimum of 200 feet wide; the 17 foot barrier can be done but it would not prevent another city from encroaching into your sphere of influence. Only the strip would be annexed. Purcell asked if the services would have to be provided within that strip. Bigham said if the property owners do not give their consent, the city would have to provide the service plan in the ordinance and would have to provide fire and police protection at a minimum.

Williams asked if you would have to provide the plan but not actually provide the service at the time of annexation. Bigham said you must state in the plan when you will provide the service. Williams asked if it is up to Council to decide when it would be provided and Bigham said yes. Vincent said the police and fire would have to respond to the area of the 200 or 300 foot strip.

Shanklin said the City has grown 15,000 population in 30 years and the ridge line could support 400,000 people. He said he did not know that Lawton was ready to take on such a responsibility and that it could not take care of the infrastructure it had currently.

Bigham said the service plan requires a public hearing process before adopting the annexation ordinance, as well as publishing the proposed ordinance and mailing the notice to each property owner that would be affected, and have the service plan prepared and explained at the public hearing. The service plan can be negotiated between the property owners and the Council but it must be included in the ordinance.

Sadler said a legal opinion provides that a city must be a community of people residing in a compact form and that it would not seem the residents of the Hulen area meet that definition of being a community in a compact form. Bigham said there has been opposition to the incorporation question.

Warren said he did not think this would benefit those who are here now and that it would not likely become an important item in our life times, but it would be something that could be done for the future.

Williams said action may not be needed but that he wanted to bring it to the Council's attention. He said the Council should be looking to the future and decide where it wanted Lawton to be in 20 or 30 years.

ADDENDUM ITEM:

1.    Consider entering into a letter of agreement with Great Plains Area Vocational Technical School (GPAVT) for the specific purpose of conducting fire service training. Exhibits: Letter of Agreement.

Don Barrington, Fire Chief, recommended approval of the agreement to provide for fire service training.

MOVED by Purcell, SECOND by Williams, to authorize the Mayor to execute a letter of agreement with Great Plains Area Vo Tech for the specific purpose of conducting fire service training and sharing in the use and maintenance of facilities. AYE: Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

ADDENDUM ITEM: 1. Consider awarding contract for PVC Sewer Pipe. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation.

Steve Livingston, Finance Director, said this is a routine bid award that would have been on the consent agenda if the paperwork would have been prepared sooner.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Haywood, to award the contract to Midstate Utility Supply. AYE: Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

CONSENT AGENDA:

ITEM 10 WAS CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AS SHOWN BELOW.

11.    Consider the following damage claims recommended for approval: Ella Faries; David and Kari Torres; and Charlotte Thomas. Exhibits: Legal Opinions/ Recommendations. Action: Approval of claims: Faries $52.50; Torres $65.00; Thomas $13.88.

12.    Consider a resolution authorizing the installation of traffic control devices at specified locations. Exhibits: Resolution No. 99-17; 1/21/99 Traffic Commission Minutes Excerpt.

(Title only)        Resolution No. 99-17

A resolution authorizing the installation and/or removal of traffic control devices at certain designated locations within the City of Lawton, Oklahoma. Locations: To install "Blind Child Area" signs along the 1600 block of SE Clover Lane; To install a "Stop" sign at the tee intersection of SW 13th and Georgia Avenue (stopping southbound SW 13th  Street).

13.    Consider denying requests for installation of traffic control devices at specified locations. Exhibits: 1/21/99 Traffic Commission Minutes Excerpt. Action: Denial of requests for stop signs at intersection of SW 12th and Garfield Avenue and at SW 13th and Garfield Avenue.

14.    Consider extending a lease agreement between the City of Lawton and Lawton-Fort Sill Amateur Radio Club to use a radio repeater system on City property. Exhibits: Letter of Request; Insurance Policy. (Lease agreement on file in City Clerk's Office) Action: Approve the lease agreement extension for a period of five (5) years pursuant to Section 3 of the current lease agreement.

15.    Consider transferring $25,000 from Council Contingency to fund the City of Lawton's 100th Birthday Celebration. Exhibits: None. Action: Approval of item.

16.    Consider approving Change Order No. 1 for the East City Hall portion of the General Facilities Project 97-13 Phase I with Robust Construction, L.L.C. Exhibits: None.  Action: Approval of Change Order. Cost increase is $5,185.63 and adds ten days to complete this work.

17.    Consider acknowledging completion of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Project for the Cache Road Beautification from Fort Sill Boulevard to NW 47th Street along the Cache Road median. Exhibits: None. Action: Approval of item.

18.    Consider acknowledging completion of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation Project for the Gore Boulevard Enhancement from Railroad Street west to 2nd Street along the Gore median. Exhibits: None. Action: Approval of item.

19.    Consider acknowledging receipt of permits for the construction of waterlines and sanitary sewer lines from the Oklahoma State Department of Environmental Quality to serve Skyline East Commercial Addition, City of Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma. Exhibits: None. (Permits on file in City Clerk's office) Action: Acknowledge receipt of permits. Permit No. WL000016981162 is for 710 lf of 8" water line; SL000016981147 is for 976 lf of 8" sewer.

ITEM 20 WAS CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AS SHOWN BELOW.

21.    Consider awarding contract for Laboratory Services of Toxic Pollutants. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contract to Accurate Labs of Stillwater, OK.

ITEM 22 WAS CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AS SHOWN BELOW.

23.    Consider awarding contract for 750 CFM Class Portable Air Compressor. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contract to Kirby Smith Machinery of Oklahoma City, OK, for Items 1, 2 and 5, and reject Items 3 and 4.

24.    Consider awarding contract for T-Shirts and Tank Tops. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contracts to Sportswear and More (Items 1 and 4a); Uniforms Mfg. Inc. (Items 1a, 2 and 3); and Sexton Sports Center (Item 4b).

25.    Consider awarding contract for 20' Box Trailer. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contract to Lawton Trailers, Inc.

26.    Consider awarding contract for Manhole Rings and Covers. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contract to Pioneer Supply, Moore, OK.

27.    Consider awarding contract for Precast Concrete Manholes. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Award contract to Twin Rivers Precast, North Miami, OK.

28.    Consider extending contract for Tire Recapping. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Extend contract with Joe Esco Tire Company to 3/31/2000.

29.    Consider extending contract for Video Print Kits. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Extend contract with Digital Descriptor Systems, Inc. to 2/29/2000.

30.    Consider extending contract for Rock Hauling. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Extend contract with Lawton Transit Mix, Inc. to 4/30/2000.

31.    Consider rejecting bid for Fifth Wheel Trailer. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Action: Reject bids.

32.    Consider approving contract change order of Pest Control Services with Environmental Pest Control to remove Equipment Maintenance from the list of divisions who receive pest control services. Exhibits: Contract Change Order and Department Memorandum. Action: Approval of item.

ITEM 33 WAS CONSIDERED SEPARATELY AS SHOWN BELOW.

34.    Consider approval of payroll for the period of February 8 through 21, 1999. Exhibits: None.

Mayor Powell asked for separate consideration of Items 22 and 33. Williams asked for separate consideration of Item 10. Purcell asked for separate consideration of Item 20.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Sadler, for approval of the Consent Agenda items as recommended with the exception of Items 10, 20, 22 and 33. AYE: Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

10.    Consider the following damage claims recommended for denial: Alvis Hobbs; Donald and Sarah Keiser; and James and LuAnn Powers. Exhibits: Legal Opinions/Recommendations.

MOVED by Williams, SECOND by Haywood, to table the Powers damage claim until the first meeting in April. AYE: Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Mr. Hobbs asked to speak regarding his claim and the Council agreed to receive input.

Al Hobbs, 4704 SW K Avenue, explained his disagreement with the City Attorney's opinion concerning the statute of limitations as it applied to his claim which dealt with a space at Highland Cemetery. Vincent said the claim was submitted in November and indicated Hobbs was aware he was beyond the one year limitation and knew of the situation in February 1997. He said there was encroachment where Hobbs' mother was to be buried and the City rectified the problem as soon as it become aware of it. Vincent said he had no authority to recommend approval and the City did not have the ability to waive the statute of limitations. He said that Hobbs would have recourse in District Court and that the amount claimed appeared exorbitant.

Sadler agreed with Vincent's statement concerning the claim in the amount of $100,000 being exorbitant.

MOVED by Sadler, SECOND by Smith, for denial of the Hobbs claim. AYE: Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

20.    Consider authorizing purchase of vehicles from state contract. Exhibits: Bid Tabulation.  Recommended Council Action: Authorize purchase of vehicles from Lynn Hickey Dodge; Fred Jones Ford; Boyd Chevrolet; Hudiburg Chevrolet; and H.D. Copeland International.

Purcell asked about cameras being included in police cars when they were ordered. Livingston said cameras are not included in the bid for the police cars. Doug Wells, Information Services Director, said cameras are being ordered through grant funds and that dealers no longer offer cars with cameras installed. Warren said there was a contract for it but the State dropped it because there was a problem

MOVED by Purcell, SECOND by Haywood, to approve the item as recommended. AYE: Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

22.    Consider awarding contract for Pneumatic Pipe Bursting Equipment. Exhibits: Vendor's Mailing List; Bid Tabulation; Recommendation. Recommended Council Action: Award contract to Vermeer Sales of Oklahoma City, OK.

Council agreed to receive comment. Dave Holcomb, T T Technologies, spoke in favor of awarding the bid to his firm, which was the second low bidder, and offered to demonstrate the equipment and give the other vendor a chance to do the same. He listed attributes which he felt would make his equipment the better purchase in this case. Billy Yenter, Vermeer Sales, said his company submitted the low bid and they had service available in a close proximity to Lawton. He listed attributes of equipment sold by his firm. Council discussed the options and the points made by the company representatives. Ihler recommended award to the low bidder.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Warren, to approve the low bidder for Item 22 and award to Vermeer Sales. AYE: Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.  (Note: Shanklin left the meeting at this point.)

33.    Consider approval of appointments to boards and commissions. Exhibits: Memo.

Recommended appointments are listed as follows:

Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport Authority: Hossein Moini, Chamber of Commerce Rep., Term: 2/9/99 to 2/9/2000; Keith Bridges, Term: 2/13/99 to 2/13/2002; Dorice Shanklin, Term: 2/9/99 to 2/9/2002. Museum of the Great Plains Trust Authority: Betty Graybill, McMahon Foundation Rep., Term: 1/27/99 to 1/27/2002; Dr. Burt Montague, Institute of Great Plains Rep., Term: 1/27/99 to 1/27/2002. Human Rights & Relations Commission: Portland Douglas, Native American Rep., Term: 2/9/99 to 9/30/99. Board of Adjustment: Johnny Owens, Term: 2/12/99 to 2/12/2002

Mayor Powell said the Council is the recognized governing body for the City and he asked that Council accept from him, as a matter of record, a letter from the Airport Authority. He distributed copies of the letter, which is included for the record as follows:

"Dear Mayor Powell:

The Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport Authority was created by a Trust Indenture dated October 27, 1969. Under Article VII of the Trust Indenture, the City of Lawton as beneficiary of the Trust does not have "the right to control or direct the actions of the trustees". The Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport  Authority was formed as a non-political body to control and manage the city's airport. One of the reasons for its formation was to remove the airport from "city politics".

We, the undersigned, are most concerned about a situation which seems to undermine the independence of the Authority. It is our understanding that you as Mayor intend to appoint Dorice Shanklin to the Authority Board. While none of the undersigned have anything against Mrs. Shanklin, nor for that matter her husband, Councilman Shanklin, her appointment is viewed by us as an overreaching by the City of Lawton. As Trustees we have agreed that we will not allow a conflict of interest nor even the appearance of a conflict of interest to occur. We believe that a spouse of a city councilperson has an inherent conflict which objectively may not affect his or her judgment but will without any doubt cast a cloud over any actions he or she takes.

We consider the aforementioned situation to be so serious that it causes us to question how we can continue to effectively serve on the Airport Authority if the situation is not addressed. Mr. Mayor, we urge you to consider the advice and input of the Authority in your appointment. The complex nature of the airport operations requires capable and diligent members who can best judge and reason together in the matters concerning the operation, development and future of the Lawton-Ft. Sill Regional Airport.

Sincerely yours,

s/Ken Kleypas, LMAAA Chairman

s/Mike Dixon, LMAAA Vice Chairman

s/Keith Bridges, LMAAA Secretary

s/Dan Mullins, LMAAA Assistant Secretary

s/Mike Mayhall, LMAAA Past Chairman

s/Bill Joyner, LMAAA Past Chairman

s/Wayne Harrison, LMAAA Member"

Sadler asked if this was a violation of the Open Meeting Law. Beller said he thought that would have to be determined by some legal authority, and the City Attorney had been asked his position but was not sure he would disclose it. Beller said the letter is signed by seven present members of the Authority and they had been told they could not poll members of an authority or members of the Council, and they not only polled the members, but they all signed an instrument that would indicate that there was a clandestine meeting in violation of the Open Meeting Law, and it should be pursued in whatever manner is available to the Council.

Vincent said he had been asked to make a determination on the letter but the prosecutor for violation of the Open Meeting Act is either the District Attorney or the Attorney General, and it would be presumptuous on his part to tell them whether it is a violation they need to prosecute or not. He said his office was responsible for enforcement of municipal codes, and this might be considered by some as a violation of State Statute, therefore, if Council desires, it should be referred to either the Attorney General or District Attorney for their consideration.

Beller said he was disappointed in the City Attorney and when Council asks for an opinion on something like this, which is City business and the City is the beneficiary of the Trust, and if the City Attorney cannot give an answer, we should seek outside counsel for an opinion or do something. He asked Vincent if he considered this City business. Vincent said he did not consider whether it was a violation of the Open Meeting Act or not to be City business. Beller asked how Vincent would guide the Council as to whether or not they had violated the Act or brought in a signed letter with seven members signing it. Vincent said on a similar document, he would say it was a violation.

MOVED by  Beller, on Item 33 to approve all of the appointments except the existing member of the Authority, Keith Bridges, and that all the other appointments be approved, and table Mr. Bridges until we can determine whether in fact there was a violation of the Open Meeting Laws.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION by Warren, to hold Mr. Bridges in abeyance, table that, approve the other two and the Council, by vote, to direct the City Manager to provide a copy of the letter and any supporting documents to the District Attorney's office for his perusal.

Beller asked if the District Attorney could provide that opinion. Vincent said the District Attorney can do that, but that part is not on the agenda so he would recommend that not be included in the motion, and that it be brought back at the next Council meeting for a proper motion.

Warren said he would withdraw the substitute motion and offer a second to Beller's motion.

Beller asked that the letter be included on the agenda for consideration at the next Council meeting.

SUBSTITUTE MOTION by Williams, SECOND by Smith, to approve all of the appointments.

Williams said everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty, if that is what we are trying to do. Smith said he felt personalities should be removed from this action.

Beller said this is not a personality conflict and it is serious business when a group of men get together and meet in a clandestine manner for this purpose. He said the word "politics" was used and if there are politics out there, they were generated by those who are trying to force this action. Beller said the letter says "they will not permit" this to happen and that is absurd because the Council has to approve the members as the Mayor appoints them, and Bridges will remain as a member until his successor is confirmed, but he should not be confirmed tonight for a three year term until this Open Meeting Law violation is resolved, if there is one.

Purcell asked if we know for sure that the letter was not generated from a meeting. Beller said we know nothing, and that is why we should look into it.

Mayor Powell said the letter was hand carried to his store and delivered to his wife. He said he had no knowledge of whether there was a meeting or not. Mayor Powell said he considered it to be City business and felt it should be in the hands of the City.

Warren said any official meeting would have to be posted and he asked if a meeting was held on February 5 that Beller may not have attended that was posted and if it could have been done on February 5 without Beller's knowledge. Beller said it could have been done on February 5 without his knowledge because they met on February 5 in the morning to discuss in executive session certain things that the Airport Authority had under consideration, and this could have been a meeting after the meeting, and we should look into it and see what happened and if there are violations, it should be pursued to the fullest extent of the law.

Warren said he did not feel there was a personality conflict and from a quick read of the letter he would have to agree that "we are not going to permit this" is ludicrous because the Mayor was elected by the people of this City that nominates those people and the Council votes to approve those and they do not have a say. He said no one asked that board who they wanted or what they wanted and that sits with the Mayor, and if there are personalities, today he received a letter from an employee at the Airport that was typed on American Airlines letterhead basically asking him to be sure that Mr. Bridges was reappointed. He said he was not sure that American Airlines would appreciate the fact that their letterhead was used in a political manner. Warren said it had gotten out of hand.

Mayor Powell asked for a vote on the substitute motion.

VOTE ON SUBSTITUTE MOTION: AYE: Smith, Williams. NAY: Beller, Warren, Sadler, Purcell. ABSTAIN: Haywood. OUT: Shanklin. SUBSTITUTE MOTION FAILED.

Mayor Powell restated the original motion and asked for discussion.

Williams said he would differ with those who felt there were no personalities or conflicts involved and that was why he had asked for the item, which was tabled earlier, to hear a report from the Airport Chairman and Airport Manager. He said he had never really heard a report or had anything come before the Council, other than the fuel tanks, and Council was correct in funding the fuel tank replacement. Williams said it appeared when you had seven out of nine people saying something was not quite right, there would seem to be a problem. Beller said what was not right was that they were saying they did not want certain people appointed to the Authority. Williams said they appeared to have concerns with a particular appointment, and knowing the past actions that Mr. Shanklin, when he was either a previous council member or the mayor, he tried to identify how to disband that trust, so if he sat on that body, he might have the same concerns. Williams said he had no problem with Mrs. Shanklin's appointment and had no idea of whether there was an improper meeting, but he saw a document signed by seven people and whether they conspired on that would be something else, but there might be something more happening at the airport than meets the eye. He said Beller had asked Council members to attend a committee meeting about the overlay of the runway and he felt the authority was in place to get the Council out of running the airport and it seemed the more that Council tried to stay out of it, the more they got drawn into it.

Purcell said the airport briefing was tabled earlier and there are members sitting on the authority now that will continue until the appointments are made. He asked if the appointments should be tabled until the next meeting or whenever the briefing can be given, rather than voting on this tonight where you have one group that does not want one person and another group that does not want another person. Purcell said he was seeking a solution and that it was not a substitute motion.

Warren said Beller's motion accomplishes the same thing except for appointing everyone else on the list. He said it does not say we are not going to appoint Mr. Bridges, but that we may possibly appoint Mr. Bridges after the investigation, and it is not removing him from consideration.

Beller said Williams may not take things that are unlawful as serious as he did. He said this was a serious breach of the responsibilities of the Authority in his opinion, and that he felt Vincent could provide that same opinion tonight if he wanted to, that this is a breach of the Open Meeting Act. Beller spoke in favor of the motion on the floor and said if no violation is found, he would vote to reappoint Bridges.

Mayor Powell said he would not get involved in the personalities and that he had proven that he was a man about this thing and was not a politician. He said if he were, he would have removed Mr. Bridges himself because he had that privilege and did not chose to do so. Powell said he had not talked to one Council person at the table and asked them to bring this forward tonight. He asked Council's permission to allow roll call on the original motion. Purcell asked that the original motion be re-stated. Mayor Powell said the original motion made by Beller is that all appointees will be accepted as recommended with the exception of Mr. Bridges and his will be tabled until the next meeting after this has been cleared.

VOTE ON ORIGINAL MOTION: AYE: Haywood, Warren, Smith, Sadler, Purcell, Beller. NAY: Williams. OUT: Shanklin. MOTION CARRIED.

BUSINESS ITEMS:

35.    Pursuant to Section 307B4, Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes, consider convening in executive session to consider a settlement offer received in the pending civil suit styled Linda Tyer vs. The City of Lawton and Joe Henson, Case No. CJ-98-1221A, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and, if appropriate, take action in open session. Exhibits: None.

36.    Pursuant to Section 307B4, Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes, consider convening in executive session to discuss a lawsuit styled United States of America vs. William E.W. Armstrong, et al., Case No. CIV-99-00114A, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and take appropriate action in open session. Exhibits: None.

37.    Pursuant to Section 307B4, Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes, consider convening in executive session to discuss a lawsuit styled United States of America vs. Casey W. Lemieuux, et al., Case No. CIV-99-00112T, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, and take appropriate action in open session.  Exhibits: None.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Warren, to convene in executive session as shown on the agenda and recommended by the legal staff. AYE: Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Beller, Haywood. NAY: None. OUT: Shanklin. MOTION CARRIED.

The Mayor and Council convened in executive session at 9:25 p.m. and reconvened in regular, open session at 9:43 p.m. with roll call vote reflecting all members being present.

Vincent reported the Mayor and Council met in executive session. On Item 35, Linda Tyer vs. The City of Lawton and Joe Henson, Case No. CJ-98-1221A, Vincent recommended a motion approving settlement and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to sign a resolution settling the case in the amount of $5,350.

MOVED by Smith, SECOND by Warren, to approve settlement and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign a resolution settling the case in the amount of $5,350. AYE: Williams, Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

(Title only)        Resolution No. 99-18

A resolution authorizing the City Attorney to enter into an economic settlement agreement for the sum of Five Thousand Three Hundred Fifty and no/100 dollars ($5,350.00) in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma as settlement of the lawsuit styled: Linda Tyer vs. The City of Lawton and Joe Henson, Case No. CJ-98-1221-A, and directing the City Attorney to prepare and file a journal entry incorporating said resolution and settlement agreement for the court's approval.

On Item 36, United States of America vs. William E.W. Armstrong, et al., Case No. CIV-99-00114A, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Vincent recommended a motion authorizing the City Attorney to file the appropriate documents to say the City has no interest in this case.

MOVED by Haywood, SECOND by Smith, to authorize the City Attorney to file the appropriate documents to say the City has no interest in the case shown in Item 36. AYE: Sadler, Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

On Item 37, United States of America vs. Casey W. Lemieuux, et al., Case No. CIV-99-00112T, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Vincent recommended a motion authorizing the City Attorney to file the appropriate documents to say the City has no interest in this case.

MOVED by Purcell, SECOND by Sadler, to authorize the City Attorney to file the appropriate documents to say the City has no interest in the case shown in Item 37. AYE: Purcell, Shanklin, Beller, Haywood, Warren, Smith, Williams, Sadler. NAY: None. MOTION CARRIED.

Vincent said that would conclude the City Attorney's report of the items discussed in executive session.

 

REPORTS: MAYOR/CITY COUNCIL/CITY MANAGER.

Purcell complimented the Police Department for the good work during the month of January, noting the crimes are down in all categories.

Warren asked if an agenda item is needed to amend a council policy. Vincent said it must be on the agenda.

Beller asked how the water breaks were coming and noted there are still leaks all over town. Baker said he would get the numbers and they have slowed down. The biggest problem now is yard restoration and concrete repair, and the leaks are also a big problem that will need to be addressed through the budget or in the capital improvements proposal. Mayor Powell said he was at a water break over the weekend and the employees said they have about the same number of staff persons they had a number of years ago, even though there have been many more houses built, and they are behind and need some relief.

Sadler said recycling of grass was discussed earlier and suggested that thought be given to sending out an empty packer to those locations that have the most grass clippings, without an additional charge. He said the clippings could be used as cover material.

Haywood said that February is Black History Month and it is to pay tribute to the contributions that Blacks have made in the past. He said it is American History and much of it was omitted for many years.

Smith asked if we had offered to bring dirt and let the citizens spread it themselves if they so desired. Baker said that offer is being made and he did not know how many accepted.

Smith said there was a newspaper editorial about the Lowe's project and it was extremely uncalled for, as was clarified by Mr. Wade's responses tonight.

Baker said there will be a briefing from ASCOG regarding air quality on February 26 from 10 to 12.

Baker said he had offered the job of Assistant City Manager to one of the applicants. He said the person has 17 plus years of experience as either a city manager or assistant city manager, and is currently a city manager of a suburb of Austin, Texas. Baker said he did not want to release his name tonight because the person needed a chance to tell his employer that he was leaving, but he would send out a memorandum on this tomorrow. He will start work on March 31, which allows him to give proper notice.

Mayor Powell said he had been on the phone several times with Rep. Kirby and Senator Helton, and it appeared at one time that the water issue was not going to be heard at all. He said he spoke with the committee chairperson last week pleading that it be heard and it will be heard a week from tomorrow in Oklahoma City. Powell said the representatives are working together and the Speaker of the House has become involved as well. Shanklin said he understood it would be a resolution and not a bill, although that may not be the most current information. Mayor Powell said he planned to attend the session.

There was no further business to consider and the meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. upon motion, second and roll call vote.