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Pictured above, Guthrie Mayor Steve Gentling presents Poppy Day Proclamation to American Legion Auxiliary members Jane Price, Tillie Hartman, Kitty Kisner, and Vickie Nunez. Poppy Day is May 28. Photo by Mike Monahan
The Guthrie City Council and the Guthrie Public Works Authority (GPWA) met on May 18 for a workshop and their regularly scheduled meeting. All members were in attendance.
The workshop was to discuss and act on some grant opportunities for the city. Guthrie City Manager Leroy Alsup made the presentation on multiple projects and outlined a series of workshops this summer as they prepare the new fiscal year budget to be presented in August.
The council gave their approval to seek out a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration for projects at the industrial park and for a film sound stage with equipment in Guthrie. The Guthrie-Edmond Regional Airport terminal and industrial park was the third project to have ready. Alsup also outline numerous other items in the works with congressional community project funding and Community Development Block Grant Funding because of the 2019 flooding is still in the works. The city has also applied for a grant through T-Mobile for a community improvement grant and a video was shown that was submitted for their application that was turned in earlier in May.
The GPWA was next up after the workshop and approved a contract change on the new wastewater treatment plant decreasing the contract by $101,000. The GPWA then awarded a $33,653 contract to Knight Industrial Contracting for parts required by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality on the old plant.
The city council was next and worked through their agenda very quickly until they hit the request from the Hope House to be a sponsor on a new grant they were seeking for their operations. Alsup outlined the grant to the council and what would be required of the city. There was a lengthy discussion and several speakers in support of the grant. The grant is for $21,500 through the Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency.
Ward II Councilman Brian Bothroyd finally asked the question to Alsup if he was in favor of sponsoring the grant. Alsup told the council, “Clearly there are reasons why we do not want to be a sponsor. It is a grant we have not done, but the amount of risk is low, and I cannot see a reason why we would not do it.”
Alsup went on to say that it was up to the council. Bothroyd also made mention that they have turned other groups down from sponsorship. Ward I Councilman James Long then told the group that they were a new group, and the city has turned down other sponsorships with more experience.
Mayor Gentling then called for a vote on the sponsorship and it failed on a 3-4 vote with Gentling, Jim Case and Jeff Taylor voting for it and Tracy Williams, Don Channel, Long and Bothroyd voting against it. The council then voted on the certification of local approval that was approved on a 6-1 vote with Mayor Gentling voting no.
The council then went into executive session and took no action adjourning for the evening at 8:50 p.m.