Kellyville began a search for a new town attorney after the resignation of Clay Fees last month. At February’s meeting, on Tuesday the 9th, veteran local attorney Andrew Nestor III threw in his hat and answered several questions from Town Administrator and Police Chief Shelly Garrett and the rest of the trustees.
Nestor said that he graduated from the University of Tulsa’s Law School in 1988 and has 34 years of experience in the “ever-changing” field of Oklahoma law. He has served as the prosecutor and town attorney for both Oilton and Jennings, and is currently the prosecutor and attorney for the City of Drumright, where he runs a traditional law office in conjunction with his municipal undertakings.
Trustee Bobby McGarrah asked Nestor if he could foresee any problem acting as Kellyville’s Town Prosecutor and Attorney, and Nestor replied “No, this is on my way home,” so it would be convenient for him, and that he felt like he would do a good job for the town.
When questioned about rates, Nestor replied that he would prefer to charge the Town by the hour rather than by the month, and disclosed that he typically bills in six-minute increments. He advised the Town leaders to wait until they have several questions before calling him, so as to be frugal. He assured them, “I’ll do what I can to help you save money. I’m not in the business of ripping off cities.”
It was ultimately unanimously approved to hire Nestor, and he straightway took his position with the trustees on the far side of the platform.
Fire Chief Matt Staiger gave his usual report on the Department’s activities from the previous month, and discussed the ongoing concrete repair outside his building. He said the “main priority is to prevent water” from seeping inside.
There was a discussion over raising the firemen run rates from $5 to $10 and raising Staiger’s monthly pay from $200 to $300. It was calculated that this would amount to an additional $400-$500 per month, depending on the number of calls performed by the department. This was unanimously approved.
Garrett gave updates on the police department and reported that she has 3 officers currently taking a training course and 2 in a reserve CLEET class. “It’s a full clip for us right now,” she said.
The Town’s court costs will be raised from $25 to $30, which is “just a sign of the times,” explained Trustee Russ Howard. Garrett said that the State caps court costs at $30, and that this is the common rate in the area.
Garrett advised hiring Tulsa company Aberdeen Enterprizes II to help Kellyville collect past due accounts and municipal warrants. She said, “we have an abnormally large amount of warrants [here], over $250K the last time I checked.” She said the company will collect a 30-35% fee and the outstanding payment straight from the debtor, so the Town will receive 100% of the past-due payment. This was unanimously approved.
It was agreed to add Town Clerk Robin Tiner as a signer on the Town’s bank accounts, as it is often time-consuming to locate an employee or trustee who is in Kellyville during the day to conduct bank business.
Kellyville will now allow golf carts and utility vehicles to operate on municipal roadways, if the driver is licensed, has current insurance, and obeys all traffic laws. Garrett said that this has come up before and that several people have asked her about it. There will be an annual $50 permit fee.
