All right, good morning, good morning, good morning, Welcome, welcome,
welcome, and we got a housepool. That means it's a time for
city managers have managed to you manage to the city. And hey there,
mister Bailey, help them splash pads coming along. Good morning. That's a
lot of fine folks choosing them these days. Uh. We got got water
in the lake, we got water spraying out of the ground. It splash
pads, full, swinding pools. It's good times. It is. Notice
he shows up pool, no notice, he shows up. We been kind
of m i a for a while. There they good, we got good
news, we got good news, good news. He's here well. And
you also notice so every every TV or radio interview as we went through this,
Terry had to give. And then when it was over, Terry was
out of town and I got to give the only ones where there was good
news. So it's all about typing talking. Or maybe it's a conspiracy helps
the list could be. It could be though. Goodness. All right,
Well we've got we've got quite a few things to cover today, all of
them actually pretty good news. So but I wanted to start real quick with
a couple of announcements. So if you've not heard, there is an online
sidewalk survey and this will actually run through August eighteenth, and we're interested to
hear what the citizens of Bartlesville have to say about the sidewalks as far as
condition, whether they're sufficient, do they want more, do they want less,
do they care? Those are the sorts of things we want to know
as we begin to form our long term sidewalk policy. So Larry when he
arrived, he began to study this, ask for a moratorium on our existing
rules and is forming new ones. But this is a big part of it.
So we're hopeful that we'll get pretty good input from everybody on that.
So go out to City of Bartlesville dot org, click on the Community Development
Department link and then there will be a survey in there for you, So
hopefully everybody will participate in that. One other thing we got coming up in
at August twenty fifth, there will be a fentnal forum and this is held
by the Bartlesville Police Department. These are multi multidiscipline panels to where that we
can help to educate the public. So if you have any interest in knowing
more about this extremely dangerous and destructive drug, come out on August twenty fifth,
six to eight at the Bartlesville Community Center. These I believe this is
the second one of these that they have done. The first one was extremely
well attended and we had really great feedback from the community on that. So
I'm glad to be able to offer this service again and in pretty big news
for anybody who comes into city Hall to make their payments August fourteenth through fifteenth,
which I believe will be I think that's a Monday Monday. On a
Tuesday August fourteenth and fifteenth, our payment system will be completely offline. It
is. There is a mandatory update that has to go on to that and
so unfortunately we have to shut that down, so there will be no in
person payments that can be made that day. We won't be able to issue
permits. I say that day. Actually, if those two days August fourteenth
or fifteenth, we can't do in person payments and we can't issue any permits.
You will still be able to make your utility billing payments and court payments
online, but we will not be able to do those in person. Court
will be canceled on August fifteenth, and then one of the things we will
be able to do is if you have a if you need to get your
service transferred, or you have a new account, will still be able to
handle those. So fortunately we just won't be able to take any any payments,
so but will There'll be no late fees or anything for anyone during this
period of time. But I just wanted to make everyone aware that that that's
coming up, so hopefully you can plan around it if you plan to come
in and make your payment on one of those two days, might want to
come in a little early, or or plan to come in the day after.
And then with that I think we'd get into the good news. So
a couple of things have happened. Obviously, Terry's here and we'll get an
update from him in just a minute. But we had substantial rains that two
weekends go Terry, and our water status went from critical to full at least
as far as Hugh the Lake is concerned, essentially in about a twelve hour
span, so it was great news and we really appreciated it. As a
result, we started working on removing the restrictions and opening up some of our
recreational amenities. And so I've got Keith Enry here with me to give us
a quick update on that. We after as soon as the word came in.
I think that Monday, Keith, you started working on splash pads and
in fact I think by Monday afternoon we had two over open. We had
one the first day on Monday, we were able to get the splash pad
there to Johnstone Pavilion up and running. Uh. It went pretty well,
didn't didn't encounter a lot of problems. One thing, Unity Square is actually
a community center, but it was also opened that base. We had two
of our it was yeah, vowal and the personnel down there. It's community
center. Got it up and going. Somebody'd have those two running splash pad
out at Sooner Pool. The next day we were able to get it up
and running. I had to do some things from it being winter rise from
last season. All of those water parks, as far as the splash pads
go, our passed through system so that water is not treated. Terry treats
that water for mea to throut the water plants comes right out of the pipe,
circulates through the toys and the facilities, and then runs out. So
there's not really a treatment process on the water itself. It's just a matter
of getting vowels and heads and things back in place and flushing the system out.
So it usually goes relatively good and quick, but do you never know
what you're going to encounter. A couple of years ago, you know,
we went out to Fired Up and we discovered we had some broke lines.
So we've had some features that were shut down for a while at Sooner.
We did work on those over the winter and have those backup and working,
so all the toys are going and thanks running. The kids were excited to
get there. Shortly after we announced and put it out there. Kelly got
it out on their web page and Take Along did it. They found to
build it and they will come. They were there pretty quick, so we
were glad to be able to do that at the initially at the time which
would have been again it's a week ago. It's on Monday. When we'd
had these discussions, we did not believe that we would be able to get
the swimming pools open, and there was a couple of potential barriers. Number
one, we had some work to do as far as filling the pools,
balancing them, making any repairs, which is just a normal thing. We
have to do before a pool opens, but you can't do that till you
fill it with water. So obviously those pools had not been filled with water.
And the other obstacle, of course, is that it's pretty late in
the season to be hiring lifeguards and managers and people of that nature. And
so after discussing with Keith and with Robert of the YMCA, we decided that
it wasn't going to be possible to open the swimming pools, and that was
essentially what we told everybody Monday. At early Tuesday morning, the y and
see it reached back out to me and they believed that they could hire the
lifeguards. So they were willing to pay some premium pay to bring some of
those lifeguards who may have been working at a grocery store or something, to
bring them back to the pool just for the end of the season. And
so the great news out of that is is that we were actually able to
open Frontier and it will open officially today, right, Keith, that's correct.
Yeah. On the pools, you know, when we had our water
conservation going on early and we did do some prep work on both pools,
and I will kind of anticipating where we might be. I will admit that
we got late enough into the season that we kind of gave up thought,
okay, we're not doing this right. Absolutely, so that's kind of where
we were at. So we had done some work and as you said,
we had to go over there on the frontier pool. It is going to
open today at noon. I believe there are hours or noon to six seven
days a week. That pool holds about ninety thousand gallons of water, so
it doesn't take us a long time to fill it up. It takes about
three hours to circulate it, so it does come together pretty quick, thankfully.
Yeah, it works out well, you know, But there's lots more
pumps and motors over there because it's more of a splash pad type water features
than just a sooner pool, which is basically a swimming pool. It's the
old school swimming. So we got a lot of motors and things over there
that we had to go through and make sure you're working and the canvass put
up where the shade structures and a lot of cleaning actually fired up. You
still got to go in there and scrubbing cleaning. As you'd mentioned before,
we had to have chemicals brought in acids, chlorine things like that. So
it takes about a week really to get it all up and running where it's
usable. My guys in the building maintenance and some of them the other departments
have helped us out. We put some additional staffing over there to make it
go quicker. And again, as you mentioned, Robert just been over backwards
to try to get the help he needed and some of his staffsmen over there
getting the chemical controllers working and so we could get the water all adjusted outright
and ready to go. And I believe Robert has had his staff on site
this weekend, so they've been prepping sites with the chairs and trash and working,
so he is ready to go. I don't you would mention too.
I think that they're not going to sell concessions at the pool this year.
They are correct again with the staffing issues, so they are going to allow
the public to bring in some refreshments of sorts. So he does have some
restrictions on what those are. You could go look at them on our website.
Bottle that's not important. No alcohol, I believe in general, So
you can bring in your drinks if you need two small small coolers. They
don't want any large, huge ice chest, but just your basic common sense
things there. But I believe they're ready to go, So we're excited.
Noon should be a big opening. Lots of people I'm sure inticipate it will
be. Yeah, And so a special word of thanks to Keith and his
staff and to Robert and the YMCA. This was I don't think anybody truly
appreciates the amount of effort that goes into trying to open a swimming pool essentially
with seven days notice, and they did an incredible job. We weren't sure
that it was going to come together at all. So I'm very out of
everybody that was involved in this, very grateful to them. It was very
it was important to our community, and so I wish that it would have
been earlier in the season we could open both swimming pools. But I am
ecstatic that we were able to get Frontier open. So as of noon today,
and it is so the quick quick update on that. So it does
open at noon, it closes at six every day. There won't be They're
not going to do pool parties or anything like that. They just don't have
the staffing available. So as Keith mentioned that we will be allowing outside food
and drink this year because the concessions will not be available, so you need
to plan ahead and need to bring your own concessions. And there will be
no glass containers, no alcohol, no large coolers, and no cooking of
food on site. The last one I didn't realize we needed to say,
but it's on the list, so apparently we didn't say it. So but
and the rates will be the same as they have been previous years. Six
and hundreds two dollars. Seven and up is four dollars. And then of
course we've got discounts for senior citizens and active military, thank you and so.
But that's good news. Children under twelve also, please remember they have
to be accompanied by an adult that is eighteen and up. So that's great
news. That is, we do have any pool open. However, in
the meantime, even before this occurred, we'd been working with one of our
other partners, which was City Ride, and City Ride was going to provide
a shuttle with at no cost to the riders order the city of Bartlesville.
They were going to provide a shuttle to and from o sah Hills State Park,
which there's a swimming pool there and so we're going to go ahead and
continue with that. I realized that the older kids perverbed deck space and just
lounging around in the pools, and so o Sage Hills State Pool, we
are going to do that shuttle. It is just Tuesday and Thursday. The
rides are free. They will pick up at robin Wood Park and at Frontier
Pool. Robin Woodpark they'll pick up at eleven forty five am. Frontier Pool
they'll pick up at noon and then they will return from the pool at five
thirty. They'll drop off the Frontier at six, drop off robin Wood at
six fifteen. So if you if you have kids that would prefer to do
that, then on Tuesday and Thursday, we're happy to provide them with this
option. Against same rules as with the pool. Youth under twelve must be
accompanied by a guardian to ride, and their pool rates are the same,
so we do have two pools open. It was it was a pretty good,
pretty good effort and involve a lot of our partners, and I'm grateful
to everybody who who has been part of this. I'm also grateful to our
citizens for their patients through this and Terry's gonna laugh because not everybody was patient,
but we, the vast majority of people, completely understood this situation and
we are. We're grateful to them as we work through this together as a
community because that's what it took to get to where we are as a community.
So I'm thankful to everybody. What are folks on Facebook going to do?
If you don't have anything left complain about, they'll find something. Experience
tells me that's not going to be a problem. Up, disappointed a lot
of folks with these solutions. There was always solutions, right, Well,
a keyboard war year in in that vein Terry. Let's get it. Let's
get an update on water. Where are we today? Well, today we
are at seventy six point three percent overall. So water continues to come into
Hula Lake as we speak. It hasn't ceased coming in since a week ago
Friday. Took a while to getting started, but it's run. Yeah,
yeah, quite unusual and truthfully, getting rains that we did in July as
very rare, as was the drought that brought us to this point. So
it's an unusual year, that's an unusual month. But you know, so
Hula is actually uh in the that's flood conservation pool. So it's we'll show
it on the website as being over one hundred percent fool, but that's in
relation to the water storage within it, right, So it's actually has waters
almost a foot in the flood storage portion of it, which is fantastic.
Hudson is just under eighty percent, so it's really at levels that we normally
keep it at this time of year. Copan is still um really suffering and
that it's at fifty two and it's just how the rain work. And even
though huland Copans sit side by side, their watersheds are almost almost exactly.
Yeah, yeah, their boundaries touched as far as the watersheds, but the
rains hit were really benefit of HeLa but not much with Copan. So uh,
Copan Lake is still um well below normal really in a critical stage,
but from an overall perspective, uh, it doesn't hinder us too much from
a water supply standpoint. Um, so we are extremely thankful for that.
And uh, you know, as want to give a shout out to a
few people that have you know, been what I've called the lightning rod for
a lot of these communications that have gone out or they take the brunt of
the she'll call. But you know, Kelly Williams, she's our social media
warrior and and our keyboard combatant. I guess she's done everything she could,
yes to tell the truth over and over and over, even what people did
want to hear. Yeah, so I and I think she shared maybe about
twenty percent of some of the things that she reads with me. So she
uh, she kind of she ate most of it, you know, did.
But Elaine Bain's there in your office. She's kind of the switchboard,
but she caught a lot of it. Always she's always the face and the
voice of the city. Yeah. Yeah, and you handle a lot of
these calls. Mary Swift and Marcy cost Her out there at my office.
They they they catch the brunt and seems like they kind of punched themselves out
a little bit with them before they get to me or them ever, so
extremely appreciative, evolve them. And there's many others that that were involved with
it. But I think, to kind of echo your sentiments earlier, I
believe the majority of people really were champions in conservation, and it's it was
very encouraging to see everybody kind of pulled together and rally and do what they
can. We being at seventy six percent overall, we're still in a stage,
a drought stage, which is what we call the stage one. So
that's more of a voluntary conservation. We still will post updates to the website
weekly as far as where the water supply is at that you know, obviously
we don't want to go crazy with the last for many months of summer with
watering and water use, so we'll just want we're encouraging everybody to kind of
to do what they can. Be mindful of your water use, but for
all intensive purposes. We're really not in a critical stage. It's just more
of a monitor stage and just let we'll continue to keep everybody informed of world
rat and hopefully it won't it'll rain as normal this fall and winter, but
we'll just have to wait and see once we get there. Is there any
chance of rapid evaporation with these one hundred degree days coming up evential a year
the rest of the week, Um, I mean there will be evaporation,
it will probably be at the normal rate that uh morelos still coming in.
We're good, yeah, I think what's influence coming in? We're still good,
but um, truthfully, August September are always dry, always hot,
even at the end of July, and so these lakes, that's that's a
normal condition for it, So we won't see a rapid deterioration as far as
our war supply goes with those few months. Really the indicators will be in
the fall. We normally get some rain in the fall and then some precipitation
in the winter. So if we get more normal levels and we'll maintain if
it is like last year, which we received almost none during those that time
frame, and then in spring obviously is a time of of what of a
wet period for us too, So um, it can go into a drought
stage if those conditions are met. Fortunately that doesn't happen very often. Um,
I think looks like about every ty Yeah, I think all in history
one of the dust settles and they're able to put all the models and look
at the severity of the drought. I think really for our watershed, that's
going to be either a top two or top three drought in history. So
that was the magnitude of the drought that had occurred in those areas still are
under an extreme drought. So that rain that helped and replench their lake that
area up they're still probably about nineteen inches below normal for what they have over
a year timeframe, so they're still dealing with quite a bit of drought.
And you know, hopefully we'll continue to pray for rain up in that area
because I know, you know, the ranchers and everybody else will need it
desperately, so no doubt about it. So all right, well, thank
you, Terry. So obviously our water supply is now up above seventy percent,
so we're back into voluntary conservation and essentially a public outreach campaign. That's
our job during this phase, just keep the public educated, which will continue
to do. All the restrictions were back, the emergency rates will be rolled
back. That won't officially happen until tonight at a city council meeting, but
that will be retroacted back until a week ago Monday, essentially once the lakes
were full. So we have all of those things coming together. Additionally,
we have tonight will be discussing the Bartlesville Water Resources Committee, which is not
a new committee. This is a committee that has existed since probably early two
thousands. It was after a last significant drought, and that committee was put
together with the intent of increasing our overall water supply, and since that time
we have obtained some water at Copan and continue to attempt to obtain more water
at Copan through legislative action with the Core of Engineers. But that was really
the recommendations from the Core of Engineers and from the state was we pursue water
on Copan and on Heala, which is what we've done. Where this committee
is, it's the same committee, but it'll have some new membership and we'll
with a little bit of a renewed focus perhaps on trying to diversify the geography
of our water supply, because Copan and hu are very close, and even
though they should have sufficient water for us for the future, we've considered some
other options. So this committee will be it'll be officially seated tonight and then
they'll have they'll have some work to do. So I guess that's the what's
next. Just because the droughts over doesn't mean that we're finished with this.
We're going to continue the process that we've been on until we have a water
supply that's secure and drought resistant. Yeah, I think it's And what I
tell people is that with Oklahoma and droughts. That's a fairly common occurrence,
maybe not every year, but you know, there is an integral for it,
whether that's ten years, twenty years. But no water supply is not
going to be immune to having some sort of vulnerability and some sort of conservation
that you may need to do with an extreme droute, which is what we
are somewhat on the tail end of it hopefully. But you know, I
think the committee back in the early two thousand had a strategy for water supply
and it's uh, I think it's still a good strategy, but it doesn't
hurt to look at it again now that we know a little bit more about
some some possible options and some other avenues to maybe diversify some of that water
portfolio. But um, you know, I think that we'll have a good
mix of council provisage and I have people that were on that original committee and
then some some new faces there. So um, we're looking forward to meeting
with them and getting their input and also I think they're going to be tasks.
Was looking at the water Shortage Ordinance and some of the restrictions, we
did learn some lessons being that was the first time we actually implemented that shortage
ordinance creation almost twenty years ago. Yeah, so obviously there were some things
that worked really well, some things that maybe weren't as effective. But the
other task that they will have is to uh to view that as well and
and potentially make some adjustments or at least recommendations to adjust that that ordinance there.
So that's that's what's next in water supply. So we're certainly not done
talking about it, but we're we're glad that the crisis is at least temporarily
behind us and we can move forward with a little bit more more time and
now we don't have to worry about trying to construct something within the next eighteen
months. Now we get a little bit larger time horizons, which certainly will
make whatever we do cheaper than if we had had to try to construct it
on such a short timeline. So h Terry, I appreciate it. This
has certainly been a long I don't know how many months, frankly, to
tell you the truth, five six months I believe we've been discussing this,
and I appreciate your guidance through this because it has been it has been difficult,
and it's we're glad to be on the other side of it for now.
Absolutely absolutely, And then I'm glad that the pools are open and some
of these recreational facilities are being used again, which is is uh, I
think well deserved and sorely needed. Um. You know, Mica threw out
an option that you know, he could possibly do a shift as lifeguarding.
That's good. Back in his high school days he still got your old life
life guard Uni. I think so that was one piece back there, one
piece. Yeah, so, uh, Mica is maybe if if Robert's there
with the why we got a sub you know, if there's somebody calls in
sick, MICA's run the ready. Katie, I'm sorry I didn't do this.
You're welcome to that. This was your husband and Terry that did this.
I had nothing to do with it. Katie, I am so sorry.
That was the old cotton one. I'm sure it'll still fit. I'm
sure it's still fit. It'll be fine. So that's put up with balb
the visualization and something else. Tom is bigger. I didn't hear word did
he speak that time? I think Tom's just mutching like a car crash is
like, are they really saying that I bleach baby. He kind of kind
of closed his eyes and blacked up there for a second. Yeah, I
kind of did, all right. And with that intro our city engineer apparently
and substitute lifeguard Michael Summers. I think the entire city is checked out.
Mica. Next, Oh my gosh, all right, Mica, that run
up? So oh yeah, that's it was time to hand the mic So
Mica our city engineer, director of Engineering and many other things now model,
currently life card and currently the Savior of Siviton. So what's right? Keep
all got our cross to Barton. It was a lot higer than mine,
Sivton. So Civiton Park, so first off, before we talk about what
we're going to do to address it, exactly, Micael, what what happened?
And it's I'm not sure everybody's aware of the story of Civiton Park.
The story is Suvitan Park. Yeah, so, uh, you know,
we had constructed the park, city city did fund that project and constructed the
park itself, and then uh, shortly after really I guess they was a
need for shade at this facility. Um. And so actually the Civitans,
um, they're you know, on profit kind of like uh, kawanis or
rotary or anyone like that. And uh, and they they actually wanted to
donate a shade structure for it, so they donated that to the City of
Bartlesville had it constructed. Um. Now, I was back in twenty fourteen
and uh and then essentially towards the end of May. I think actually Keith
was one that that actually saw the saw the issues happening. He drove by
there and heard it making some noises and seemed to be swaying a little bit
too much, a little bit too much, and UH called me up.
We took a look at it, and we we agreed it is probably best
to to shut the park down. And so um, essentially there's been some
connections on that steel structure that the bolts have have sheared and missing a couple
of bolts, and there's been some separation between those connections. Uh, not
a large amount, but enough to be concerning. And uh, and again
we just both thought for the amount of moving, it wasn't a super windy
day that day. I mean, there was a breeze, but it just
seemed to be moving a little bit too much for a comfort level. And
so at that point we shut the park down, we started looking into it
to see see what was going on there, and we've subsequently just found that
there was some some installation of the structure that didn't really meet the specs and
the plans that we can big up and find and it's essentially in the foundation,
right in the foundation essentially. Yeah, you couldn't really find it without
digging it up because it was it was because beneath the ground right it was
covered in about about twelve eighteen inches of mulch. So um So, anyway,
we got all that exposed, and it turns out the the elevations of
the foundations were all off bindywhere from seven to five inches um. So usually
you'd want those of the same elevation. If they're not, you'd normally use
a you'd have enough of the uh the bolt sticking up to use some jacknuts
and level that thing up. And um that just wasn't the case. Amounted
directly to the to the top of the footings. And so what that did
is it put the whole structure in a bind, to lack the better term,
too much stress stress some connections that there shouldn't have been. So it
wasn't designed for so. So that being said, really the only solution to
that that we could come up with is it really the structure new to come
down. We're gonna make some modifications to the footings, UH send you.
Our plan is to extend those upwards and get those actually above grade. And
Uh, I think Chief we talked about that. I think his guys were
probably gonna try to do that internally. Um, if we get to look
at that and realize we need to contract it out, we still have that
option. UM, but I think we can probably handle that in house.
And so we'll take that down. They did remove the shade canopy itself,
the fabric itself, not the not the structure itself, and the structure still
standing, and we should have a crane on site Wednesday to remove that.
And so do apologize. I've been trying to get the word out and keep
the public informed and so things have been changing. Rain it's good, but
not for construction. Rain has been an issue. So they were actually gonna
remove that last Friday. Obviously it was raining last Friday, so they actually
the crane showed up. UM didn't feel comfortable with what was going on.
There was some lightning and wind and rain, so they pulled off and have
rescheduled for this coming Wednesday. UM, so we should see that thing go
down Wednesday. At that point we will suit a little bit more reevaluation of
the footings, so it'll take a little bit of time there, but we
are going to open that park up when we get the structure removed. UM.
I think the majority of the work that we can do from here on
out until it goes back up, we can. We can keep the park
open. There might be some some minor closures possibly for a day here there
when they're you know, when keys guys that are whomever. If we when
we form up the new footings, UM, you know, be some guys
working out there may be isolated. But when we pour, I can see
the park being closed potentially when we pour that day, um, things of
that nature. So there may be a couple closures on that but for the
most part, the park will be open. I don't have a timeline on
how long's the take. It kind of depends on what we final to get
the structure down to figured out right, but hopefully we can get this thing
up, you know, pretty quickly. So we've got the lead construction on
the hook they're on contract with us to remove the structure and put it back
up. So as long as it takes us to get the repairs made to
footings, they'll come back in and stand it back up and we'll go from
there. Okay, all right, appreciate that, Mica. So hopefully by
Wednesday we'll have the park reopen, but it's gonna be a while before we
get the shade back. That's correct, Okay, all right, thank you
and Tom, thank you as all well, all right, thank you very
much. You've been listening to Shady batteries. Thanks for listening to one unnamed
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