Monday night, City of Alva Business Manager Joe Don Dunham introduced two new department supervisors to the city council. Melvin Evans is the new supervisor for the street department, and Ronnie Hoskins is the new sanitation supervisor.

When Bennie Perks retired from his position as street and sanitation supervisor, the city decided to split the responsibilities into two divisions. The men were already employed by the city, and their promotions were announced to their respective departments Monday morning.

Dunham also regretfully announced the resignation of Economic Development Director Alex Mantz. Her last day with the city will be Nov. 25. She is taking a position with OG&E as their Enid area community representative. Mantz has been working half time for the city and half time as the Alva Chamber of Commerce director.

The city personnel committee will be meeting Dec. 11. Dunham said he'll discuss with them whether the city will seek to fill the economic development position as it is now configured or if they wish to change it in some way.

The city continues to be short-handed, especially in the EMS department. Dunham said 67 of 79 full time positions are filled while only 50 of the 85 part-time jobs are filled. The numbers are skewed somewhat because of seasonal positions like the swimming pool personnel. A listing of job openings is posted on the city's website at alvaok.org.

Dunham told the council about attending an informative international conference for five days. Over 5,000 people attended. He said it was an opportunity to hear how people from other states and other countries deal with problems similar to those in Alva.

Mold remediation is nearly finished in the Professional Building. The city-owned building had a leaky roof which caused the mold issue. Once the building roof was replaced, the city brought in a contractor to clear the mold that had formed.

Dunham said he is delaying the rental of empty suites in the building to take care of a few other problems. One office still needs to the tested for mold because a water heater malfunctioned and flooded the office. He said that carpet will probably need to be replaced.

Marione Martin

City Business Manager Joe Don Dunham (right) presents the October Employee Recognition Award to Ronnie Hoskins Monday.

Another office needs to have the air conditioner replaced. Dunham said after replacement of the roof-mounted a/c unit, he'll have the contractor who replaced the roof come in to make sure the opening around the a/c is sealed tight against leaks.

During the middle of last week, Dunham met with USDA Rural Development regarding the grant the city has received. This is a nationwide grant, and Alva was one only 84 awarded. The grant will help Alva determine strengths for economic development. They will be doing surveys and studies to see what people are buying out of town and online, what Alva needs and is missing. The next meeting will be in the latter part of December.