Proposed First Christian Church donation rejected in 3-2 vote
During a special meeting Tuesday, the City Council voted unanimously to approve a contract for the construction of a pipeline and pump station to facilitate the ongoing water reuse project.
A second agenda item, the proposed lease/donation of the First Christian Church property, was voted down pending possible inclusions to the Memorandum of Understanding, a document outlining the terms of the agreement between the City and FCC.
Water reuse pipeline project
The council voted 5-0 to award a construction contract for the Effluent Reuse Pipeline and Outfall Cascade — part of the multi-phased Water Reuse Project — to Paragon/KSL for $4,035,505, well below the $6 million budget for this portion of the project.
The reuse system involves the construction/installation of infrastructure that will consist of a pump station at the wastewater treatment plant and an underground pipeline transporting the water to the Caney River just south of the County Road West 1500 bridge. This will allow the City to utilize treated wastewater to augment the yield of the Caney River during periods of drought, which serves as one of the City’s main water sources.
For Bartlesville and the surrounding communities that rely on the City’s water resources, the water reuse project means expanding the area’s potable water supply decades into the future by extending the resources of Hulah Lake, one of the City’s primary water sources, by approximately 25 years and providing approximately 35-70 percent of current water supply needs.
The system is expected to cost around $8.2 million, which will be funded partially through grant funding but primarily with Water Capital Investment Fees. The pipeline construction is expected to take about 15 months to complete. It is anticipated the Water Reuse Project will be online by June 2023.
Proposed FCC lease/donation
In other business, a proposal to approve a Memorandum of Understanding between the City and First Christian Church for the lease and eventual donation of the church property located at 520 S. Osage Ave. was voted down in a 3-2 vote.
Councilors Paul Stuart of Ward 2, Billie Roane of Ward 4 and Mayor Dale Copeland, who represents Ward 1 on the council, voted “No” to the item after a motion was made and seconded by Trevor Dorsey of Ward 5 and Vice Mayor Jim Curd of Ward 3, respectively.
The council was set to consider the agenda item during the regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 6 but took no action on the matter after Curd announced there was still work to be done in drafting the MOU to satisfy both parties.
In presenting the item Tuesday, Curd said the necessary changes had been made. If approved, the City would have agreed to lease the property, which is north of the Bartlesville Community Center and east of the Price Tower and the taxpayer-funded Unity Square Park, for $1 per year plus operation and maintenance costs, with final acceptance of the donation contingent upon securing financing to renovate the facility before July 1, 2023.
Stuart and Roane stated they were voting “No” on the item pending the inclusion of language addressing insurance issues pertaining to the property and the naming of a second and possibly third Power of Attorney, in addition to current POA local attorney Drew Ihrig. Had the motion passed, Ihrig would have been authorized to convey the property to the City (or another entity, should the provisions of the MOU not be met), on behalf of FCC upon the City obtaining financing to renovate the structure. Copeland, whose vote broke the tie, said he was voting No “out of an abundance of caution.”
During the Dec. 6 meeting, the council authorized City staff to issue a Request for Proposals for a consultant to complete a conference center feasibility study, which will include the church as a possible location for the center, if the study indicates one is needed. City staff is in the process of drafting a Request For Proposal for the study. For more information about this project, see City Beat, Dec. 8.