Just from the way that Mr. Thompson went off on Mrs. Jones ….is he not aware that he makes himself an ass in front of everyone? It seems to me that he does this EVERY city council meeting. I saw him at the library the other day peering out the front door at the construction work and all grins and giggles and I swear I felt a wave of nausea and disgust. I really do not like the man. Mainly because of what he has shown himself to be during his time so far in office and his interactions with the public. It seems to me he is one of the biggest halts in Tecumseh’s growth there is. Who is this McCullar guy anyways too???? I seem to remember Thompson was the one who appointed him? I may be wrong but to me it seems he felt the need to make sure that he had people in the right places to insure he could run things the way he wanted. I think the countywide editors put it best…
Opinion: Let’s Fix It
By Wayne Trotter
Beyond noting that we had hoped things were settling down a bit at City Hall in Tecumseh, we don’t have much to say about the merits of the complaints David Qualls and Linda Jones brought to the City Council Monday night. We’re already on record about that proposed park in the Sleepy Hollow area and it seems self-evident that after all these years, someone who wants to develop a nice new subdivision shouldn’t have to wade through a bunch of unnecessary red tape just to get going.
But …
Just what, pray tell, is this ruling from City Attorney Ben McCullar? It says the Tecumseh Planning Commission is legally incapable of scheduling a special meeting to handle business it couldn’t take up because not enough members showed up for a regular meeting. Mr. McCullar is the attorney, not us, and from a cross-the-t’s and dot-the-i’s standpoint, he’s probably right on target. But regardless, that’s just a heck of a way to run a railroad … or a city.
Something needs to be done about that as soon as possible, even if the City Council has to schedule its own special meeting to do it. The council certainly can conduct special meetings and has done that on many occasions, including a couple of times early last year when special meetings led to hiring City Manager Jim Thompson.
Limiting the Planning Commission to only one meeting a month is not only impractical, it’s downright detrimental to the city and its development. People on the commission are volunteers who serve out of a sense of civic duty and pride. There will be times when some can’t get to City Hall for a variety of reasons. Every now and then, there won’t be a quorum. There has to be some way to handle that without bringing all pending business to a halt and unnecessarily costing would-be developers time and money. The simplest and cleanest way to do that is to hold a properly advertised and publicized special session.
Mr. McCullar’s ruling itself suggests that the City Council could cure that and even that the Planning Commission itself might be able to. This is part of what the city attorney wrote: “I am not aware of any procedures adopted by the Planning Commission that would allow a single Planning Commission member to call a special meeting due (to) the lack of quorum. The City Council may want to consider action to amend their ordinance to change the current procedure.”
For the first time in a number of years, there is a real sense of movement in Tecumseh and only part of that is being engendered by the time, money and effort the city is wisely investing in the Downtown Streetscape project. More and more progress is coming out of the private sector and in the long run, that’s the right way to do things. This is not about a single case. It’s a systemic problem with a real potential of adversely affecting the city’s future. It needs to be permanently corrected.
Get with it, council members. It’s time Tecumseh stopped raining on its own parade.
Hot Words Spice Tecumseh City Council
By Gloria Trotter
A local developer stymied in his efforts to get a $6 million subdivision underway told the Tecumseh City Council Monday night that “opportunity is knocking, but City Hall is closed.”
David Qualls, a former Tecumseh mayor himself, made a dramatic presentation to the council under public comment at the monthly meeting after his project was delayed by lack of a quorum at last month’s scheduled Planning Commission meeting. He said he had done everything required of him and there were no protests, but now he is a month behind.
“I’m begging you to give me a chance to spend my own money in my own county,” Qualls said. “I’m not asking you for a dime or to break the rules … I’ve put my money where my mouth is. If you don’t want me, stand up and tell me.”
After the aborted Planning Commission meeting, Qualls had asked to bring his plat approval request directly to the City Council, but was told no. Although the council did not discuss the situation with Qualls Monday night, included in their packets was a letter from City Attorney Ben McCullar stating that the city code does not allow for that since the Planning Commission must investigate and issue a report before council consideration.
McCullar’s letter also said that a special meeting cannot be called to consider matters not acted on because of a lack of a quorum.
Qualls said his project would be on the agenda for the Aug. 21 meeting of the Planning Commission. “You need to make sure there’s a quorum,” he said, noting that city staff did not call Planning Commission members last month to determine if they would be at the meeting.
Qualls plans to build 40 homes priced in the $150,000 range at Oak Hill West, on the west side of Tecumseh off Hwy. 9. “Tecumseh needs my 40 houses,” he said, adding that $3.6 million of the $6 million project would be spent on taxable goods, bringing the city about $70,000 in sales taxes.
His presentation followed another bit of drama related to the ongoing discussion of establishing a park in the Sleepy Hollow subdivision off Bob Crouch Drive. For several months, residents of the subdivision have told the council that they want to use property that was donated to the city for a park and volunteered to raise money to equip it.
But city officials balked, saying they couldn’t afford to maintain it and citing liability issues. They even discussed declaring it surplus and selling it to the highest bidder (the process required by law; the city cannot give away its assets).
This month, the issue came up again under public comment, when Linda Jones rose to speak. She and her husband Herman were the developers who built the subdivision and donated the park property to the city in the late 1970s. Jones handed out copies of a letter on city stationery from then-city building inspector Danny Moore, dated Sept. 13, 1985, stating that “the two thirty foot easements leading into the park area and the park on the south side of Foggy Bottom Road will be maintained by the City of Tecumseh.”
Up to that point, the Jones family had maintained the park.
Jones told the council that she met with City Manager Jim Thompson to ask him to have the area mowed, saying it is a fire and health hazard. She he told her that the city agreement to maintain the park was “made by a different council, leaving me to believe that no contracts or agreements made by different councils should be honored. I don’t believe this and neither should you.”
Jones said more than 400 children live within walking distance of the proposed park, and there are no other parks in the area. He told her the city has no money to “clean up another park and that he believed it was a private park as it would only benefit the Sleepy Hollow Addition and not the city as a whole.” She noted that city makes homeowners keep lots mowed “and if they don’t, the city will mow it for them. I stand before you and ask why did the city not mow this park before it became a fire and health issue?”
Thompson, obviously angered by Jones’ comments, interrupted her to respond, telling her that her three minutes were up. “I did not say the things she said I said,” he said. “I thought we had a wonderful discussion … We talked about parking and other things; we had a great discussion.” Thompson said he is “not going to let people falsely accuse me … I’m tired of having garbage thrown at me … I’m not going to be basically called a liar.”
Later, after Qualls spoke, Candie Swinney, who came to the meeting with Jones, rose to say she thought “this gentleman here (pointing to Thompson) owes this lady here (Jones) an apology for his loud outburst.”
Collier admonished her that “this is not the time” for such comments, and then asked the council if they wished to respond to Jones. Ward 2 Council Member Jimmy Jordan said they should look into the situation in light of the letter Jones produced and “the commitment that was made.” Ward 4 Council Member Willis Faye Motley said she agreed.
Tecumseh Firing Range On Hold One More Month
By Gloria Trotter
The Tecumseh Shooting Club will have to make major improvements in the firing range at Tecumseh Lake before it can be reopened, the City Council decided Monday night.
Despite a push from Mayor John Collier for a yes or no vote on whether they even want to pursue the issue, council members delayed the decision yet another month to allow gun club members to be sure they’re willing to make the investment in improvements.
Collier said club president Gene Wilcox provided him with a section of the National Rifle Association’s guidelines on firing ranges, which indicated that “a lot of work needs to be done.” Collier said he doesn’t want to “expend a lot of energy” on the project if the council doesn’t want “to entertain having a firing range.”
The mayor ordered the range closed several weeks ago after a complaint from a neighbor and the discovery that its very existence is in conflict with city ordinances prohibiting weapon discharges inside the city limits. Although Collier said he is neither “for or against” having a firing range, he noted that there is “no economic benefit to the city.”
City Manager Jim Thompson agreed, saying a “lot of time has been spent discussing it,” so he suggested finding out the council’s intention before proceeding.
Vice Mayor Linda Praytor said that she is “not against the gun club” and would be willing to vote to reopen it if the club “is willing to meet the criteria” in the NRA guidelines. She asked if club members had read those guidelines, and was told some of them had.
Ward 2 Council Member Jimmy Jordan said that it appeared that meeting those standards would cut down on noise, but would be costly. “Are you willing to do it?” he asked club members, who nodded yes.
“Before I could vote for it, we would have to form a group to oversee it and have an ordinance,” said Collier. That ordinance would specify the type of weapons that could be fired, set out times and other details, and the city’s lease agreement with the club would have to be revised.
Council members also asked how many people use the range. Club member Charlie Price said there are about 160 members, a third of whom are active on a monthly basis. He said he would provide a list to the city. The range, located at Tecumseh Lake, is also used by the Tecumseh Police Department for firearms training and qualification.
Praytor suggested that the NRA guidelines be distributed to all the gun club members, and the club should report back at the next council meeting on whether they were in agreement to make the changes. The council tabled the issue for the third and last time on that basis.
Public Transportation
Council members reviewed a proposal from the Central Oklahoma Community Action Agency (COCAA) for providing transportation services in the city. The service was suggested two months ago by family members of a senior citizen, who noted the service is provided in Shawnee.
A proposal prepared by Magi York of COCAA said its Central Oklahoma Transit Service could serve Tecumseh too at a cost of $23,840 for six months. Those using the service would pay $6 per trip and would be taken anywhere in the Shawnee-Tecumseh area for shopping, medical appointments, etc.
Council members were interested but concerned about how many people would use the service. “Can you do a survey to see how many are interested?” asked Praytor. The COCAA representatives said they are currently preparing to do a needs assessment and would include a Tecumseh survey in that.
“We have no idea how many would use it,” Collier said. “To commit to $50,000 a year – that’s a big chunk.” Jordan too said he wondered about the feasibility of the service.
The COCAA representatives said they get numerous calls from Tecumseh requesting service, and said they would return to the council after the survey with the results.
Campaign Signs
Another issue the council discussed but did not resolve was campaign signs. Collier and Thompson said the city has had questions about the size of signs and why the city is not enforcing the sign code, which says signs “shall not be over 30 inches high.” City Attorney Ben McCullar was asked for an opinion on that requirement and said in a letter to Thompson that the 30 inches would be from “the ground up.” But, he noted, courts have ruled that political signs “can’t be treated any differently” than other signs without violating the First Amendment, and other types of signs are allowed to be larger than 30 inches.
“You can’t pick on a political sign,” he said. “This is such a minefield. You guys have a whole lot more important things to do.”
“We probably don’t want to do anything,” said Collier.
Thompson agreed, saying the issue is “nothing but a nightmare to regulate … There are so many holes you can step in.” The council took no action.
Lake Access Road
Thompson told the council that only one bid was received on a project to resurface Benson Park Road from U.S. 177 to the lake park, possibly including roadways inside the park. Although two estimates on the job were in the $150,000 range, the single bid, from Markwell Paving, came in at $352,000, he said.
The city was awarded $151,000 in state lake access funds for the project. Thompson said he has discussed the situation with Dist. 2 County Commissioner Jerry Richards, who has agreed to use the county’s vendor on the project. That should keep it within budget, Thompson said. The council will vote to formally reject the bid at their next meeting.
Selling Water
Thompson told the council, sitting as the Tecumseh Utility Authority, that Rural Water District No. 3 has asked to buy water from the city to serve a family that lives just outside the city limits. The water district recently annexed all areas of the county outside city limits and existing water districts. Thompson said the water district would pay for the meter and the line, and the city would charge the same rate it charges other customers. “There will be no expense to us,” he said. The council voted to authorized Thompson and McCullar to draw up a contract for their consideration.
In other business, the council:
€ Authorized free garage sales during the weekend before Frontier Days, Sept. 12, 13 and 14.
€ Renewed the annual lease with Project HEART to provide meals at the senior center.
€ Repealed the ordinance creating a Traffic and Safety Commission.
