Speaker 1: I think good morning, Welcome, welcome, welcome. It's time now
Speaker 1: for city matters are part of our community connections right
Speaker 1: here on K one, the one we trusted. We've got
Speaker 1: Larry East from Ward two City councilor here in Bartlesville.
Speaker 1: What now for you, Larry?
Speaker 2: Yes, definitely, you know, I do appreciate that our reservoirs
Speaker 2: are staying full right now, so we're not having so
Speaker 2: much issue with water supply as much as just trying
Speaker 2: to get it dispersed a little bit.
Speaker 3: So I wouldn't mind a little break.
Speaker 1: Oh, I think we're getting it. I think we're going
Speaker 1: to go right from you know, monsoon to.
Speaker 2: Ninety Yes, I think it's it looks like it's on
Speaker 2: its way here.
Speaker 3: We'll turning that corner towards summer.
Speaker 1: Welcome to Oklahoma. As I tell everybody that you get,
Speaker 1: you can get all four seasons to one day. We've
Speaker 1: got a lot of new ordinances that came about here
Speaker 1: in the last couple of city council meetings. The one,
Speaker 1: uh that I think a lot of people were familiar
Speaker 1: with is the new one on homelessness, And can you
Speaker 1: tell us a little bit about how that went? Because
Speaker 1: you heard from a lot of people.
Speaker 3: Yes, yes, we definitely did.
Speaker 2: I'm grateful just to be able to come and sit
Speaker 2: in on the meetings that they have a couple times
Speaker 2: a month, and actually that it's gonna revert to only
Speaker 2: once a month as we kind of extended the term
Speaker 2: of the the committee. It was supposed to only be
Speaker 2: a six month committee, but it's gonna extend for at
Speaker 2: least another six months.
Speaker 3: But we'll just.
Speaker 2: Probably go to once a month meetings and we're going
Speaker 2: to try to also communicate about these ordinances, which actually
Speaker 2: won't take effect until January first. So and you know,
Speaker 2: really I don't have much to say that hasn't already
Speaker 2: been said, but I just kind of wanted to reiterate
Speaker 2: some things because I know people still have questions, still.
Speaker 3: Rumors going around.
Speaker 2: Had had a gentleman just this week asking me about
Speaker 2: it again and about the five hundred dollars fine thing,
Speaker 2: and so I just wanted to touch on that again.
Speaker 2: I mean, as far as the well, we'll go straight
Speaker 2: to that five hundred dollars fine dell uh.
Speaker 3: And And also, this ordinances is not specific to homelessness.
Speaker 2: Although it's a lot of activities that are often associated
Speaker 2: with homelessness. Uh it's really just about acts prohibited in
Speaker 2: public spaces and also aggressive solicitation. Uh so those were
Speaker 2: a couple of items specifically addressed.
Speaker 1: I'm glad I've lived in the cities where they allowed
Speaker 1: aggressive panhandling in my gosh, fear for your life half the.
Speaker 2: Time, Yes, it doesn't doesn't feel safe for for citizens
Speaker 2: at that time, and and so, uh so it it
Speaker 2: defines some more around that, just really tries to clarify
Speaker 2: some things and make sure that we don't have uh well,
Speaker 2: specifically you know, camping out in in the public parks
Speaker 2: or public bathrooms. There's been yeah, well there's been a
Speaker 2: lot of you know, vandalism of of all of our
Speaker 2: public park bathrooms and that sort of thing. So they've,
Speaker 2: in fact, recently even I think, put out a reward
Speaker 2: that would lead to you know, catching people who are
Speaker 2: actually doing the vandalism because they've had so many thousand
Speaker 2: dollars worth of damage, thousands of dollars worth of damage
Speaker 2: to our public bathrooms. And so this really just clarifies,
Speaker 2: codifies everything that as far as the penalties or potential
Speaker 2: penalties around that, and really the intent is to work
Speaker 2: with the individuals who might be doing that.
Speaker 3: Maybe they didn't know they.
Speaker 2: Weren't supposed to camp right there or whatever. So you know,
Speaker 2: giving them if it's not specifically in a public bathroom
Speaker 2: or other space that would make it unsafe for others,
Speaker 2: they're going to post something there that gives them at
Speaker 2: least forty eight hours.
Speaker 3: To get things cleaned up.
Speaker 2: And so this is really hopeful to encourage voluntary compliance
Speaker 2: and uh and also that will help too. I know
Speaker 2: people who've had you know, local businesses or otherwise in
Speaker 2: this area that you know, they come out and somebody's
Speaker 2: been camping out there, and you know, they might report
Speaker 2: it and and the police would come and say, hey,
Speaker 2: you can't camp here. Well then they would just leave
Speaker 2: everything there and a huge mess for the business owner
Speaker 2: to clean up.
Speaker 3: And so that's right.
Speaker 2: So so they clean up all that, and then uh,
Speaker 2: you know, they come back on Monday and there it
Speaker 2: is again. Uh, and so it's uh, it's really been
Speaker 2: a hassle. There're so we're hoping to help encourage that
Speaker 2: voluntary compliance and and them.
Speaker 3: Just cleaning up.
Speaker 2: Really just holding people accountable, as we would expect to
Speaker 2: do with any of our neighbors, right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, indeed, the law has to be equally applied to all.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's all this is saying, and it's bringing
Speaker 1: special attention to things that have maybe going through the cracks.
Speaker 1: So yes, I think it's a good spotlight to kind
Speaker 1: of let everyone know that we all have to live here.
Speaker 2: That's right, we do. And again, as far as that
Speaker 2: five hundred dollars fine, that's never an intent to ever
Speaker 2: get to that point really levying fines at all if
Speaker 2: we can avoid it. And Judge Gentis says he serves
Speaker 2: on this committee with us, and he's talked about that.
Speaker 2: I mean he wants to work with him to help
Speaker 2: them and and really that's that's the idea, is to
Speaker 2: try to give people more of a hand up and
Speaker 2: not a handout so much and so.
Speaker 1: Kind of carrot and stick right there.
Speaker 3: You know, it is a little bit I understand.
Speaker 1: He said, don't give me a minimum because then we'd
Speaker 1: have to give me a maximum so that we can
Speaker 1: work toward compliance.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 2: And the five hundred dollars helps keep it here in
Speaker 2: municipal court with him and not going over that misdemeanor.
Speaker 1: So no, yeah, you keep it local and we'll take
Speaker 1: care of our own. Pretty darn good. Pretty darn good.
Speaker 1: Sounds like a lot of work.
Speaker 3: Yes, it's been. I've really been very impressed with the committee.
Speaker 2: Uh. Just a great team of people, you know. I
Speaker 2: I'm only on there. I'm not even a voting member
Speaker 2: on the committee. Mister Kirkpatrick, who is heading that up
Speaker 2: is but and he's just he's done.
Speaker 3: A great job. Everybody on there is doing a great job.
Speaker 2: And they're all from uh these various charitable organizations around
Speaker 2: town that work with these people every day, as well
Speaker 2: as uh, you know, representation from our police department. Uh
Speaker 2: and of course judge gentists.
Speaker 3: Uh and uh. I won't get all the names.
Speaker 2: I shouldn't even start naming names because I won't get
Speaker 2: them all out there.
Speaker 1: But but there's a ton of folks, a ton of.
Speaker 2: Folks, great team working together, lots of experience and just
Speaker 2: been really is this whole city council gig has been
Speaker 2: a very educational every day.
Speaker 1: No, we've had some storms right now we're just getting
Speaker 1: with calls of passing shower. But we had that one
Speaker 1: that just knocked the limbs off trees and everything else.
Speaker 1: About three saturdays to go through four saturdays ago. How's
Speaker 1: the storm clean up coming along?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's coming along real well.
Speaker 2: And I just wanted to give a shout out to
Speaker 2: the city for the crews that have been out there
Speaker 2: working and taking care of all of that, and and
Speaker 2: especially also just asking people to be understanding when we
Speaker 2: have these kinds of storms come through.
Speaker 3: I know a lot of people will say, well.
Speaker 2: Man, they you know, they cleared this road or they
Speaker 2: cleared this path, but they left all the brush land
Speaker 2: at the side of the road. Well, you know, they're
Speaker 2: just trying to take care of the urgent needs immediate,
Speaker 2: like let's let's get these paths and roads cleared and
Speaker 2: get stuff off the power line. Well, actually the power
Speaker 2: line stuff would be would fall to that's right, They're
Speaker 2: going to be taking care of that stuff as well.
Speaker 2: And that's the other thing I think sometimes there's a
Speaker 2: little confusion around some of that and who's responsible for what.
Speaker 2: And generally, as far as taking care of tree damage,
Speaker 2: if you have a tree that's that falls, that's on
Speaker 2: your property, even in the right of way that would
Speaker 2: be on your property up to the curb, that's really
Speaker 2: your responsibility. A lot of times the city will come through,
Speaker 2: they'll at least, you know, clear that path off the road.
Speaker 2: But there if there is anything that is their responsibility
Speaker 2: to clean up, they're probably going to come back later
Speaker 2: after they've gotten all these urgent matters taken care of
Speaker 2: and whenever they can fit that into their schedule.
Speaker 1: So work big and then go down to the small.
Speaker 3: That's right.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I understand that you're always looking for people to
Speaker 1: work on committees and in boards because we got a
Speaker 1: lot of them, because we love citizen input.
Speaker 3: That's right, we do. Uh, there's a lot of them
Speaker 3: out there.
Speaker 2: There's enough really that you know, each of the five
Speaker 2: council members serves on four or five or more of
Speaker 2: those boards and committees, whether it be voting or just
Speaker 2: advisory capacity. But but we're out there, so you know,
Speaker 2: that would put us at having what you know, at
Speaker 2: least twenty five or so boards of committees, and you
Speaker 2: can see all those on our city website out there,
Speaker 2: and right now there's there's a few openings we've got.
Speaker 2: We've got one on the Street and Traffic Committee. Now
Speaker 2: you know, you hear the names of some of these
Speaker 2: and you might say, well, that's you know, going to
Speaker 2: be obvious what that's about, right, you know, Okay, streets
Speaker 2: and traffic and but you.
Speaker 3: Know, what do they really do?
Speaker 2: I mean, they're generally most of these are advisory boards
Speaker 2: that are going to be oftentimes giving advice either to
Speaker 2: the organization they're representing or in this case like street
Speaker 2: and traffic, it's going to be coming back to the
Speaker 2: City Council eventually if there's any significant movement or or.
Speaker 1: I get the feeling there is there is always going
Speaker 1: to be.
Speaker 3: That could be. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So so you know, they're they're going to recommend to
Speaker 2: the city Council plans and programs from improving the streets
Speaker 2: and traffic issues that are faced out there. Uh, there's
Speaker 2: a there's a couple of openings on the White Rose
Speaker 2: Cemetery Board and they're an advisory capacity to the city
Speaker 2: in connection with the preservation, beautification and everything of the
Speaker 2: cemetery out there and making sure that it's taken care of.
Speaker 2: There's there's one opening on the Bartlesville History Museum Trust Authority. Now,
Speaker 2: you know, I would always hear these before, these these
Speaker 2: trust authorities, and I would think, well, what is that really?
Speaker 2: You know, well, they're generally having to do with a
Speaker 2: trust a fund that's been set up at some point
Speaker 2: to help, Yes, and they're going to help oversee plan, finance,
Speaker 2: develop and maintain in this case, the Bartlesville Area History Museum. Uh.
Speaker 2: And there's also one opening on the Bartlesville Library Trust Authority,
Speaker 2: which is there's a library endowment fund. I didn't realize
Speaker 2: that existed until I found out I was on that
Speaker 2: board as well, and so it's kind of neat to
Speaker 2: see them trying to manage that. And some might also say, well, wow,
Speaker 2: if they have this fund out there, this trust or whatever,
Speaker 2: why do they need city funds?
Speaker 3: Right?
Speaker 2: Well, they the city funds that are provided aren't enough
Speaker 2: to fund everything that.
Speaker 3: Needs to be done operationally, that's right.
Speaker 2: And so uh, these are trusts that that people have
Speaker 2: set up in the past and those have to be
Speaker 2: managed invested in everything.
Speaker 1: Well, so yeah, we can find out about that at
Speaker 1: the city at Bartlesfield dot org.
Speaker 3: Right, that's right.
Speaker 2: And you can read about each one of those boards
Speaker 2: and committees if there's a little link there just to
Speaker 2: click on each one of them and you can drill
Speaker 2: in and find out the details about each one.
Speaker 1: So very east, thank you for being with us today,
Speaker 1: and thank you for all your information,