Meeker Town Board of Trustees this week voted to withdraw its request to increase the municipal water supply to 2,790 acre feet and instead retain the current water supply of 1,000 acre feet as part of the Meeker Lake dam rehabilitation process.
Trustees voted unanimously to make that request to the USDANRCS after they learned the additional water supply would come with increased design complexity, increased construction cost and the impact it would have on land rights and mitigation fees.
Town Administrator Jeff Wilborn informed the Trustees, “It will get done quicker and we don’t have $20 million to build a water treatment plant. It will minimize the cost as well,” he noted.
The project, known as Quapaw Creek Site 15 M, which is Meeker Lake, reportedly is aimed at meeting the high-hazard dam safety criteria to ensure the protection of life and structures downstream.
Wilborn explained, “They are going to raise the dam.”
He indicated there is still is no time frame on when construction might start.
Trustees, in other business, also voted 5-0 to appropriate $5,000 from the previous Growth and Development account for Beautification projects for the Town of Meeker. Part of it will be utilized to repair the Snowflakes and some will be used for flags and hardware.
Trustee Aaron Head made the motion seconded by Trustee Mike Melton.
In a related item, Trustees voted to put $4,000 into the Treasury Fund as that account is terminated with the residue of money to the beneficiary which is the Town of Meeker.
Following a lengthy discussion, Head made the motion and Mayor Dona Weber seconded to set up the Itinerant Vendor fee on a daily, weekly and yearly basis. The cost for a daily permit will be $10, a weekly (seven days) will be $25 and for a yearly it will cost $50.
It passed 5-0. On another item, they voted unanimously not to charge vendors a business permit for the Farm and Craft Market for 2024 as they had previously voted.
Trustees voted 5-0 to repeal the garage sale ordinance they put into place on Jan. 19, 2021.
They voted unanimously to contact ODOT for closing Carl Hubbell Boulevard for the Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 5 this year.
They agreed on closure of Meeker City Hall for the following: October 14, 2024 for Columbus Day.
November 27, 2024 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
December 24 through Dec. 26, 2024 for the Christmas Holiday.
Delanya Wolford, Library Director, informed the Trustees of some of the activities and what has taken place this year at the library.
New Adult library cards total 59, there have been 39 new cards issued to children, 226 books have been added during FY 2024, 1,791 books have been in circulation and 1,310 Ebooks have been in circulation.
Wolford pointed to the purchase of three new computers, a laptop, an Ipad, two printers and two battery backups from a $5,000 tech grant last September.
With a current $4,000 tech grant, five new computers, two book scanners, and a printer have been purchased, she said.
Trustees also agreed on setting Trick or Treat Night for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.
They voted to pay $5,348 in mowing expenses for Meeker’s New Hope Cemetery for 2024 which is the amount above what donations received for the year didn’t cover.
Carroll Harper, longtime president of the New Hope CemeteryAssociation who has collected donations throughout the years, explained to the Trustees it’s getting harder to collect the money and asked Trustees to begin budgeting for it.
Harper told Trustees he wasn’t asking them for a decision on that during Monday night’s meeting, just to consider it.
The Trustees agreed to put it on September’s meeting agenda to discuss it more.
Trustees voted not to pay an invoice of $470 to Storm Sirens, Inc.
They approved Family of Faith at 617 W. Carl Hubbell in Meeker to add a concrete basketball court behind the Meeker Youth Center.
They also approved Ashta Tipton’s request to add a concrete porch and roof covering to 823 W. Carl Hubbell in Meeker (the old Feed Store).