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Votes at a glance: McAlester council adopts tourism-board ordinance, recycling-fee change, surplus/property-code updates; appointments tabled
Summary
The McAlester City Council approved a package of ordinances — creating a tourism board, changing the recycling fee law to fund operations and tie the fee to CPI, adjusting surplus-property procedures, and adopting new property-maintenance standards — and granted a 90-day extension for repairs at a condemned house.
The McAlester City Council on multiple separate votes approved ordinances to (1) establish a seven-member tourism board, (2) allow the recycling fee to be used for operations and tie the fee to the consumer price index, (3) revise surplus/obsolete property thresholds and procedures, and (4) adopt a new property-maintenance code. Council also approved two budget amendment ordinances and granted a 90-day extension for completion of repairs at a condemned house at 312 West Warner Avenue.
Tourism board: The council approved an ordinance creating a seven-member tourism board and declared the ordinance an emergency to allow immediate appointment of members. Council corrected a typographical term-length provision during the meeting (three members appointed to three-year terms) and approved the ordinance as amended. The mayor’s nominations to the tourism board (John Brown; Marcella Bell; Karen Stovall; Adeline Wisenhunt; Casey McCoy; Adam Groenbaugh and one other) were then presented but tabled to allow time to circulate biographies; council voted to postpone final individual confirmations until the next consent agenda.
Recycling fee: Council amended City Code chapter 106 section 365 to permit recycling-fee revenues to be used for operations (including staff) and to allow annual CPI-based adjustments. Staff said the city has not increased the flat recycling fee (40¢) in 10–15 years and currently subsidizes about $70,000 per year from the general fund; the ordinance passed on a recorded roll call.
Surplus property: The council updated surplus/obsolete-property thresholds and procedures in the finance code (chapter 2), raising the administrative threshold that the city manager may handle and codifying documentation requirements. Council discussed oversight and reporting but approved the ordinance; staff said all surpluses will still be reported and that disposals above the threshold will require council approval and competitive bidding where applicable.
Property maintenance: Council adopted a new property-maintenance standard (chapter 18) and associated notification procedures. The city attorney and staff made minor clarifications suggested at the previous meeting; the ordinance passed after roll-call votes.
Budget amendments: Council approved two amendments that reallocated funds among CDBG, wastewater and water treatment accounts to fund projects including the pretreatment/facility-plan work that was later contracted to Garver Engineers.
Condemned-property extension: The council granted a 90-day total extension (applicant requested 90 days) for the special remodel permit at the condemned property at 312 West Warner Avenue after the building inspector confirmed visible progress. The extension was approved by roll call.
Emergency clauses: Several ordinances were presented and approved with emergency clauses in place, permitting immediate effect pending required filings.
No votes to dissolve a TIF or to take city-initiated enforcement action on the nearby private-pond complaint were recorded; a motion to dissolve a TIF failed for lack of a second.
For convenience, vote tallies and movers/seconders for key items are listed below.
