Alva Review-Courier -

Following an executive session Monday night, the Alva City Council voted unanimously to sign a two-year employment contract with Business Manager Joe Don Dunham. At last month’s meeting, the council reported a very favorable review of Dunham’s employment.

The new contract provides for a salary of $95,275 the first year with an increase of up to three percent for the second year based on a favorable employment evaluation. He will also receive an additional week of leave time.

Brandon Sherman was the only council member not present for the meeting.

Several reports were given on earlier city-related meetings. Mayor Kelly Parker reported the previous week’s Lieutenant Governor’s Turkey Hunt was successful. City Treasurer Trent Goss and City Clerk Melody Theademan were attending training at the Oklahoma Municipal League. The part-time employee at the Alva Regional Airport turned in his resignation, so the city is looking for someone to fill that position as well as several other job openings. Dunham’s report will be covered in a separate story.

The council decided to cast their vote for Mike Bailey of Bartlesville and Craig Stephenson of Ponca City for the OMAG Trustee election.

$25,000 Grant

Police Chief Ben Orcutt applied to the Charles Morton Share Foundation for a $25,000 grant to make improvements to Hatfield Park. The funds were awarded to the city for the Kids & Cops program to add electrical outlets to the park. In addition to helping with the Kids & Cops Pack the Park event, Mayor Parker noted the outlets will be useful for 4th of July activities and other park events. The council voted to approve Resolution No. 2018-003, a budget amendment to add the grant to this year’s budget.

Landfill Contract

A representative of Red Carpet Landfill, Inc. was present to answer questions, but the council had none to ask about the amended contract up for a vote. The city’s current contract is set to expire on Aug. 17. The second amended contract lengthens the contract for another five years while holding the cost stationary for the upcoming 2018-2019 fiscal year. The current contract allows for an increase annually based on the consumer price index, but Red Carpet is waiving the increase for next year.

Dunham said the city’s current fee with Red Carpet is $20.49 per ton. It has risen to that level in the past five years from $15 per ton. He said the city spends approximately $120,000 per year to dump solid waste at the Meno landfill. “It has been a good partnership,” commented Dunham.

The council voted to approve the new contract.

ARC Board

Matt Stratton has resigned from his position on the Alva Recreation Board. Parker said he had talked with former councilmember Chad Fisher about filling the spot. Fisher resigned from his Ward 1 council seat after moving out of that area. He used to serve as the council representative on the board and was familiar with their work. The council voted to approve Fisher to fill the unexpired term ending in October 2018.

Change Order

During the Alva Utility Authority meeting, Dunham explained a change order to the Young Street Tank Farm construction project. The authority had already approved one change order to cover additional depth for the footing for the new 1.5 million gallon water tank.

With the additional depth, a revised subgrade modification is required for greater settlement. The footing must be enhanced with additional concrete and reinforcing steel which will mean more cost.

To offset this new cost, the city determined an interior tank ladder wasn’t needed which would take away $9,337.23 of the cost.

However, the discharge piping size was increased from four to six inches adding $2,354.08. The city will handle any needed painting of piping on the interior of the booster station which lower the price by $2,800.

With the changes, the net additional cost in the change order is $12,243.15. Dunham said this is still within the contract limits as the city built in a contingency amount. The board members approved the change order.

Claims Paid

The city council approved paying claims totaling $179,319.92 and payroll expenses of $20,762.41.

The Alva Utility Authority paid $105,615.11 in claims and payroll expenses of $62,035.61.

The Alva Economic Development Authority voted to pay claims of $70,247.27 and payroll expenses of $11,021.40.

A video of the meeting may be seen at http://www.AlvaReviewCourier.com.