Claremore council approves Main Street contract, amends nuisance ordinance, closes grant and OKs city manager pay package

The Claremore City Council on a unanimous vote approved an annual $35,000 contract with Claremore Main Street, adopted ordinance changes transferring certain dilapidated-property hearing responsibilities, accepted a grant closeout resolution and approved continued employment and compensation terms for the city manager, including an increase and a severance provision.

The council voted to authorize the fiscal-year 2025–26 contract with Claremore Main Street for $35,000, a recurring annual agreement the city uses to support downtown events, data collection and façade and occupancy monitoring. Councilmembers voted in favor after staff noted the agency’s work on events such as Food Truck Thursdays, Dickens on the Boulevard and Taste of Claremore.

Council then approved Ordinance 2025-10 amending Section 98.07 of the municipal code to align the city’s abatement hearing process with current practice: code enforcement officers and the city manager are now listed among the officials who may initiate or hear dilapidated-property abatement matters, and decisions by the city manager may be appealed to the city council.

The council also approved Resolution 2025-8, a closeout action related to a state-administered federal grant. Staff described this as the final closeout step after prior submissions and back-and-forth with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and federal requirements.

After a closed executive session on the city manager’s performance and employment, the council returned and approved a motion concerning the city manager’s continued employment and compensation. The motion included a $10,000 increase to the manager’s salary (with direction to the finance committee to identify a budget adjustment) and a 12-month severance provision; councilmembers voted to approve the package.

Votes at a glance - Claremore Main Street annual contract, FY 2025–26, $35,000 — Outcome: approved. Vote (recorded in roll call): Erwin (yes), Olby (yes), McSpadden (yes), Cottom (yes), Feldman (yes), Michael (yes), Callender (yes), Brockerhoff (yes). (Motion and second recorded; mover/second not specified.)

- Ordinance 2025-10 (amending Section 98.07, dilapidated property/abatement hearings) — Outcome: adopted. Vote (recorded): Michael (yes), Erwin (yes), Cottom (yes), Feldman (yes), Callender (yes), Brockerhoff (yes), Bowlby (yes), others recorded as present/yes.

- Resolution 2025-8 (grant closeout) — Outcome: approved. Vote (recorded): Michael (yes), Erwin (yes), Cottom (yes), Feldman (yes), Callender (yes), Brockerhoff (yes), Olby (yes), McSpadden (yes).

- City manager employment and compensation (salary increase of $10,000; direction to finance committee for budget amendment; 12-month severance provision) — Outcome: approved. Vote (recorded): Michael (yes), Erwin (yes), Cottom (yes), Feldman (yes), Callender (yes), Bowlby (yes), McSpadden (yes), Parker Huff (yes), others present voted yes.

Why it matters The Main Street contract funds downtown programming and data collection aimed at supporting local businesses and increasing pedestrian activity. The ordinance change clarifies and formalizes who may initiate hearings and which official issues final abatement decisions before an appeal to council. The grant closeout ends a multi-step administrative process with state and federal partners. The city manager compensation vote affects the municipal budget and sets terms for severance in the event of future separation.

Context and next steps Staff said the Main Street organization will continue event programming and building/tenant monitoring under the contract. The ordinance change updates the code to reflect current administrative processes; appeals from city manager decisions remain possible to the council. The finance committee was directed to identify budget adjustments to fund the approved $10,000 salary increase for the city manager. No additional action items or timelines for implementation were specified during the meeting.

Quotes “We’ve had an annual contract at that level with Claremore Main Street for many, many years,” a staff presenter said while describing the downtown work the group performs.

“The closeout resolution should finally end the madness associated with this grant,” a staff member said when presenting Resolution 2025-8.

Ending Councilmembers voted on the items during the regular meeting; record roll-call votes were read aloud for each motion. No dissenting votes were recorded on the items summarized above.