The Chandler City Council approved the FY2025Audit Report, a reorganization of the Community Development Trust Authority and acknowledged the fire department for receiving a $350,000 grant from the Oklahoma Rural Health Transformation Program at its regular meeting on Oct. 13.
Laura Morgan with the CBEW Professional Group, LLC., presented the audit report, saying that the City of Chandler had a total income of $1.7 million for 2025. Expenses, including general government, public safety, streets, airport, culture and recreation, cemetery, and maintenance and operations, came to $3.7 million. The City also added $1.6 million in assets. The audit received a clean opinion on internal controls for the City.
There were four items on the agenda related to the Chandler Community Development Trust Authority, including accepting the irrevocable resignations of Austin Cory, Brian Bendele, Chuck Shardt, Hoyt Ritchie and Tony Jarvis and potentially dissolving the Trust. There were also items on possible action on a list of candidates submitted by the Trust Authority to fill three open seats and modifications to the Trust Indenture to include terms of office for trustees.
CityAttorneyLarryLenorasaidbeforediscussionbegan that if the Council accepts the resignations, they cannot dissolve the Trust as there would be no Trustees to vote on it. Dissolving it requires a majority of the trustees.
Shardt and Jarvis were present at the meeting, with Shardt explaining that they never said the resignations were to be irrevocable and that its the Trust Authority that approves them. He added that the trustees do not want to dissolve the Trust.
“Our goal is to put new members on the Trust because there’s been conflict. So to get rid of that conflict, we’re wanting to supply you with a list of candidates, which is what the Trust states,” he said, adding that the reason he is stepping down is so that he can be appointed as a Trustee the correct way.
The Trust Authority had yet to accept any of the resignations as of the Council meeting, but was expected to accept them at a meeting the following night.
The Council tabled any action on the resignations and dissolving theTrust.They then approved the appointment of Dina Frazier, Jack Vaughn and Tara Gates to the Trust Authority, contingent on the Trust accepting the resignations of Corey, Bendele and Ritchie. Schardt and Jarvis agreed to stay on until November.
Schardt said that the Trust would bring more names to fill two more positions at the November Council meeting and changes to Trust’s Indenture to the meeting after that.
The Chandler Fire Department was awarded a grant that will help to purchase a new ambulance. The department maxxed out on the grant at $350,000 and will be contributing about $67,445.72 to purchase the ambulance totalling around $417,445.72.They took three quotes, with thewinningbidcomingfromMedix.GrandAdministrator Leslie Wilbourn said there were about 500 applications with about 100 of them awarded.
Fire Chief Bobby Buchanan said this will replace an older, 2017 model ambulance with a little over 220,000 miles that has been remounted before.
“This will add two pretty new ambulances to our fleet. And then we’re looking to remount an ambulance this year as well. And so that’ll give us three really good ambulances to be able to push out to the community,” he said.
The fire department is currently waiting to see if it’s been awarded another grant that would help bring more full-time firefighters to the department.
The City Council voted to deny an application to rezone two parcels on 1st Street from unzoned to Rural Estate, saying that they didn’t meet the criteria for such a designation according to city ordinances.