I just got a letter in the mail saying my vehicle doesn’t have insurance and that I could be cited if I fail to obtain it. Why is the City doing this?
First things first: This is not a City of Bartlesville program. City staff have received numerous complaints in recent days about letters that were apparently mailed to citizens after license plate scanning technology detected vehicles possibly in violation of a state law which requires Oklahoma motorists to carry insurance.
A google search turned up a Tulsa World story about it here, which indicates this is an Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion (UVED) Program. UVED is a unit of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.
For more information, contact UVED via the website or by calling 1-855-474-UVED (8833).
Pathfinder fix coming
Can the City open up the path by the softball fields? If you could at least cut in a safe alternative route until you can address the washout permanently, it would help.
The portion of the path in question, located just south of the Tuxedo Bridge, has been closed since flooding that occurred earlier this year caused part of the path to wash away due to ongoing erosion. According to Director of Engineering Micah Siemers, plans are underway to re-route the trail further up the bank until the completion of a larger bank stabilization to reconstruct part of the river bank and add riprap can be made. (Note: Riprap is engineer speak for “loose stone used to form a foundation for a breakwater or other structure,” according to a random online dictionary.)
Plans for the trail should be complete this week, after which a contractor will be selected for the work. The larger project will likely take place this winter, Siemers said.
Police stats: 2 new, 63 & 82
Are we adding police officers or replacing officers? How many do we have, and what is recommended for a city our size?
The Bartlesville City Council voted unanimously to pass the 2019-20 Fiscal Year budget, which contained funding for two additional police officer positions for traffic enforcement at the Bartlesville Police Department.
“This will put more police officers in our neighborhoods and will result not only in less speeding and increased safety for citizens and motorists, but it will also allow more time for officers to focus on crime reduction and prevention throughout the city,” Police Chief Tracy Roles told the council at the time.
In total, 63 police officer positions were included in the current fiscal year’s budget.
According to statistics maintained by citydata.com, there are 1.66 officers (based on 61 officers, as this calculation was made prior to the addition of the two traffic officers and I am terrible at math) per 1,000 residents in Bartlesville. The average for the state is 2.23, or 82 officers for Bartlesville.
In the trenches
What is the “trench” for at the community center — I’m assuming it’s for utilities for the Green?
There are several areas of work underway currently at the Tower Center at Unity Square project site and Bartlesville Community Center parking lot, including construction of the green space and storm water drainage improvements. It is believed the trench in question is likely for the restoration of pavement that was previously removed for the storm water drainage project.
According to Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen, all of the underground work has been completed on the sewer line replacement project and City staff have poured the concrete base for the west trench.
“Staff will get the east trench backfilled and poured with concrete this week, and asphalt will be installed next week, which will complete the work within this phase of the project,” Lauritsen said.
The next phase, which will continue storm drainage improvements between Fourth and Fifth streets as well as install additional improvements across Adams Boulevard, will be bid for construction in mid-September. Work is anticipated to begin on this phase in early December.
More bandwidth, please
Is it possible to put cameras up at the dog park?
At this time it is not possible, primarily because the City does not currently have enough bandwidth to do so. According to IT Director Matt McCollough, the City uses cameras to monitor several City-owned properties and to add another camera before increasing bandwidth would add too much stress to the already over-taxed system.
It is possible that funding for increased bandwidth — as well additional cameras — could be presented to voters in a future General Obligation Bond Election, though, at which time the installation of cameras at Cooper Dog Park could certainly be considered.