The Ponca City Board of Commissioners met in regular session on February 22, 2021. Mayor Homer Nicholson called the meeting to order, which was followed by the pledge of allegiance.

Ceremonies and Proclamations

Under the Ceremonies and Proclamations section of the agenda, there was a presentation of service medallions to outgoing Commissioner Ryan Austin. Austin served as Commissioner since March of 2015. He had an expiring term and did not run for another term.

Judge Bill Kirkpatrick administered the Oath of Office for Commissioner Paul Taylor and Robert Bodick. Taylor ran unopposed for Commission Seat No. 2 and has served as a commissioner since 2018. Bodick won the February 9 election for Seat No. 4. Taylor and Bodick will assume office for their new terms on Monday, March 1, 2021.

Consent Agenda

Under the consent agenda, the City Commission voted to approve the minutes of the regular session held on February 8, 2021 and the work session held on February 15, 2021; a resolution amending the operation budget of various funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21; a resolution appointing members to various boards and commissions and establishing the terms of office; and a supplemental agreement No. 4 with Koss Construction Company and Subsidiary of Topeka, Kansas to rehabilitate Runway 17-35 and improve airport drainage in the add amount of $5,870.

Reports

Under the reports section of the agenda, City Manager Craig Stephenson commented on the recent severe winter storm. In the entire history of the SPP (Southwest Power Pool) since 1941, the region has never experienced an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, which requires mandatory load curtailments to sustain the electrical grid. Through the hard work of many, the power grid stayed stable in Oklahoma and gas flowed to homes for heating. However, all of this has come at a great cost. During the period from February 12 to February 18, natural gas costs in the region skyrocketed due to increased demand. Residential customers used a record amount of electricity and natural gas during this historic storm to keep their homes warm. Natural gas prices reached levels never imagined. The historic price of natural gas drove up the cost for electric power suppliers to keep running their natural gas power plants. As a result, electric power providers had to pay millions of dollars more in fuel costs just to keep the lights on during the sub-zero weather. Also, a historic winter peak load was set across the entire SPP region. It will take several weeks before the true cost of this event is known, but consumers should begin preparing for increases in electric charges to recover these extraordinary expenses. This financial damage is not only being felt by OMPA (Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority), but by power providers across the entire SPP region and the state of Oklahoma. It is OMPA’s hope to spread these costs out over a longer time period to help lessen the impact on member cities.

Stephenson provided an update on the on-going Residential Ice Storm Tree Debris Only Collection. As of February 19, city crews have removed 23,300 cubic yards of debris from the community.

Stephenson reported that the final phase of the West Highland Avenue Reconstruction Project began February 22. Traffic has been re-routed in the area to accommodate the remaining work. During this final phase, the intersection of Ash Street and Highland Avenue will be closed to traffic from all directions. East/ west bound traffic on Highland Avenue is being detoured one block north to Summit Avenue, along Lake Street and Birch Street. North/south bound traffic on Ash Street will be detoured one block east to Lake Street on Hazel Avenue and Summit Avenue. This last phase will reconstruct the intersection of Ash Street and Highland and extend to approximately 125 feet east of Ash Street. Estimated construction time for this work is 30-45 calendar days.

Stephenson concluded his report by announcing that the Ponca City Senior Center will be open and serving lunch five days a week effective March 15. Staff is excited about this change in operations for senior residents of our community.

New Business

Under New Business, the City Commissioners voted to approve an engineering contract funding agreement between the City of Ponca City and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for engineering services involving the Standing Bear Trails Phase 6 - Welcome Center Beautification Project in the amount of $68,627. The City is only acting as Sponsor on behalf of the Standing Bear Foundation and is not obligated for or to any portion of the 25% match commitment for the estimated $733,753.64 renovations project. Renovations include dredging the existing clay-lined pond and reforming the existing pond edge with reinforced shoreline wall block, as well as construction of a clay pond liner; removal of a section of worn colored asphalt trail and replacement with new Class “A” concrete trail along the east side of the Welcome Center parking lot; the addition of a prefab pavilion or shelter structure to be placed on the west side of the Welcome Center parking lot; and a new 6’ wide concrete sidewalk constructed along the west side of the North/ South parking lot, including all grading, drainage, and permanent erosion control measures. Amenities such as benches, picnic tables and litter receptacles and plantings will also be included. All pond excavation operations will be coordinated with the P66 Environmental Department due to the close proximity of monitoring wells.

PONCA CITY UTILITY AUTHORITY

Consent Under PCUA (Ponca City

Under PCUA (Ponca City Utility Authority), the trustees voted to approve the Consent Agenda, which included the minutes of the regular session held February 8, 2021; a resolution appropriating money for the payment of claims; a resolution amending the operating budget of various PCUA funds for Fiscal Year 2020-21; and the submittal of the monthly operating statement to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.

New Business

Under new business, the trustees approved a contract with Monte R. Lee and Company for the final engineering, staking, sheet, bid preparation, bid processing, construction management and testing of Phase 4 and 5 of the Ponca City Broadband Fiber to the Home Project in the amount of $820,290, as well as the purchase of fiber optic network cabling from Power and Telephone Supply Company, using Oklahoma State Purchasing Contract Rates in the amount of $512,014.60.