Updates from city and county meetings from July 5th – 8th, 2022.
Sapulpa City Council
Sapulpa’s City Council unanimously agreed to close the contract with Circle P. Welding, Inc. for the One Way Surge Tank for the Skiatook Raw Water Conveyance System and approved the final payment of $12,895.78—Sapulpa’s portion of the project. The final contract amount, including the final payment, is $506,089.00. The One Way Surge Tank was installed to prevent the collapse of the waterline in case of hydraulic surges which may occur.
The council agreed to an annual renewal of the initial short-term contract with Wastewater Consulting Services by J.E.G. Services, LLC. The contract period from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, is at a monthly contracted rate of $2,100.00. The contract is required to maintain proper licensing requirements with O.D.E.Q.
City Council agreed to a request from Dewey Buildings, LLC (owned by The Kante Group) to place the Teepee Drive-In ground sign in the right-of-way near the intersection of Route 66 and SH-117A for visibility. Dewey Buildings, LLC is paying $25,000 for the right to use the right-of-way. City Attorney David Widdoes said the agreement will only last as long as the Teepee Drive-In is in operation.
An annual subscription was signed for the use of Lexipol—a public safety policy and training solutions company. The subscription will give Sapulpa Police and Fire access to the annual fire policy manual and daily training bulletins, along with supplemental publications, and will assist with finding fire public safety grants. The first payment will be $28,787.35 to cover the initial set up, with the annual subscription being $9,376.35.
Discussion and approval was made to the engineering contract with S2 Engineering, PLLC for the design, bidding, and construction phase of a 750 kilowatt backup generator at the City of Sapulpa’s West Pump Station. The project was approved by the Creek County Commissioners for use of ARPA funds on May 23, 2022. The contract is for $25,500.00. Public Works Director Steve Hardt spoke more on the need for the generator: “There are six 150-horsepower pumps located at the west pump station. These pumps provide water to the main pressure plane and the southwest pressure plane. The generator will support two pumps for the main pressure plane and one for the southwest pressure plane in the event of a power outage.” These two pressure planes account for 84% of the city’s water usage.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was agreed to between the City of Tulsa on behalf of the Tulsa Police Department and the Sapulpa Police Department for processing and cataloging firearms and related materials from crime scenes. The agreement would be at no cost to the City. The MOU should help each party with combatting, linking, and solving violent crimes involving firearms. Officer Deloach explained the idea behind the agreement: “Each bullet and shell fired out of a gun has a specific fingerprint,” he said. “Those would have to be sent to Quantico and might take weeks or months to get results back.” The new “Integrated Ballistics Identification System” (IBIS) enables an operator to acquire digital images of individually marked characteristics on fired cartridge cases. These images are stored and automatically compared with other stored images to determine possible links between existing cases.
A resolution was approved to offer the next section of 2020 GO Bonds for sale. The $6,300,000.00 in funding provided by these bonds will be used for the 2020 GO Bond public improvement and development projects as follows:
$2,340,000.00 for acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, extending, enlarging, improving, and repairing streets and bridges;
$500,000.00 for purchasing, constructing, equipping, improving, extending, and beautifying public parks and park lands and recreational facilities;
$700,000.00 for constructing, equipping, replacing, and improving the Booker T. Washington Recreation Center, including road access improvements;
$2,760,000.00 for the purpose of constructing, equipping, and improving the Sapulpa Youth Sports Complex.
The series will be offered for sale at 11:30 am on August 15th.
City Council agreed to increase the cemetery rates for the City of Sapulpa, which has not increased the rates for its cemeteries since 2009. A fee study was made of regional cemeteries and Sapulpa’s rates were found to be significantly lower than most or all other cemeteries in the area. The fees charged for burials and lot sales are used for the operation and maintenance of the four city-owned cemeteries (South Heights Cemetery, North Heights Cemetery, Fairview Cemetery, and Sapulpa Cemetery). A new set of fees for lot or grave space and interment was approved and made effective immediately.
The City Council agreed to purchase two modules from Motorola Solutions that will integrate with SPD’s Spillman System; a CompStat Dashboard that will allow police to view a full array of agency statistics, including how many crimes, accidents, and traffic citations have occurred in certain areas over a period of time. The other is a Staff Productivity Dashboard, which will provide the ability to track each officer’s workload, performance, and statistics, helping to create a culture of accountability in the department. The CompStat Dashboard will cost $34,737.40. The Staff Activity Dashboard will cost $15,503.40. A one-year maintenance agreement is included, which will subsequently be $6,670.98 per year.
Board of County Commissioners of Creek County:
The Treasurer’s Investment Policy for fiscal year 2022-2023 was approved.
A utility permit for natural gas pipeline boring was approved for Oklahoma Natural Gas Company.
Other small financial items were approved, such as an $86 reimbursement of utility payments to the Creek County General Government Maintenance and Operations Fund and approval for additional funds in the amount of $1918 for PO No. 6495 W. 71st St. S. from 145th W. Ave project #10.
Sapulpa Planning Commission
Two new Medical Marijuana Dispensaries were approved, though both faced some opposition from the public. This came just over a month before Governor Stitt’s 2-year moratorium on all Medical Marijuana Licensing is to take effect (August 1, 2022).
Native Harvest, LLC, owned by Gregory and Cynthia Herweg, requested a Specific Use Permit to allow a dispensary in a commercial strip center at 10169 State Highway 66 (the former Subway). The space is just 85 feet south of B&B Movie Theatre, which was a cause of concern for both Commissioners and some members of the public.
Mr. Lou Martin, Jr., longtime City Councilor, Vice Mayor, and Planning Commissioner, spoke at the meeting to voice his misgivings about having a dispensary in such close proximity to a place frequented largely by children and teenagers (the movie theatre).
The four Commissioners in attendance (Chairman Hunter Edwards, Steven Collins, Kayla Parnell, and Elizabeth Thompson) discussed the matter, and ultimately, the application was approved 3-1, with Parnell dissenting.
TGM Farms, LLC, owned by Marcio Phillips, submitted an application for a Specific Use Permit to allow a dispensary in the old Rainbo Bakery Store at 1300 South Main Street, just south of Smith Funeral Home.
A few members of the public spoke against the application, citing its proximity to the funeral home, the residential neighborhood to the west, other dispensaries, and a Christian school.
Mr. Martin and J.E. Williams, a businessman and property owner in Sapulpa for over 60 years, who owns a rental property near the location, both expressed their issues with there being a dispensary at this location.
Phillips described the improvements he and his team will make to the parking lot and property to make it conform to the City’s recently-adopted Corridor Design Criteria, the multiple security measures they will take, and said they have also agreed to all the other conditions the City is requiring, including not adding cannabis leaves to their signage.
After some discussion, the Commission determined that the Christian school is no longer open and agreed with the City staff’s report that there was no violation of State law or City ordinance in regard to proximity of other dispensaries or schools. Ultimately, the application was approved 4-0.
Local business owner Mr. Gary Bond (Studio One Salon at 106 East Dewey) requested to allow short-term rentals at his property at 520 South Oak Street (northwest corner of Cleveland and Oak). This historic home has been renovated and will be listed on vacation rental sites such as Airbnb, providing a much-needed short-term rental property in this area, which the Downtown Master Plan named as one of its priorities.
Mr. Bond reported that he has spoken to the neighbors and that everyone is in agreement over parking. No one was in attendance in opposition to the project and the City had not received any complaints.
It was approved 4-0.
