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City Manager Mike Bailey, CIty Water and Waste Water Utility Manager Terry Lauritsen and City Engineer MIcah Siemers brought us up to date on several city issues including the parking survey, street projects and an update on the Tower Center construction.

 

City Manager Bailey began the City Talk show Monday morning on KWON by answering some questions from citizens regarding tickets for not having insurance and the Pathfiner repair progress.

 

Bailey first responeded to a person's email that said they 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?

 

"This is not a City of Bartlesville program," Bailey responded. He added that 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.

 

The quick answer is it comes from an Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion (UVED) Program. UVED is a unit of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.

 

Bailey said you can find more information by contacting UVED via the website or by calling 1-855-474-UVED (8833).

 

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City Manager Bailey then tabbed City Enigeer Siemers to respond to questions regarding the Pathfinder and whether the path by the softball fields could be altered to cut a safe route for now,

 

"The Pathfinder fix coming," said Siemers.

 

Seimers said, "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. 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. 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."

 

Seimers then gave a recap on the findings of the recent downtown parking survey:

 

The vast majority of respondents said they are customers/visitors to the downtown area or that they work downtown

 

45 percent said they are satisfied with the current downtown parking system, while 20 percent said they are "not very" satisfied and 17 percent said they are "very satisfied." Eleven percent said they are not satisfied at all and 5 percent said they are "extremely satisfied."

 

65 percent go downtown three or more times per week.

 

72 percent typically park downtown during the day on weekdays, with 41 percent parking in the evenings and 44 percent on the weekends.

 

The majority of respondents said they park downtown for fewer than two hours per day.

 

More people park on Frank Phillips Boulevard (66 percent) and Johnstone Avenue (58 percent) than other downtown streets.

 

Nearly 65 percent of those who responded say they do not want metered parking, and a majority said metered parking would deter them from going downtown.

 

A majority of respondents said downtown customers should expect to walk no more than two blocks to reach their destination.

 

84 percent said they had not received any parking citations in the past 12 months.

The majority (77 percent) said the current $15 fine for parking too long in a space is appropriate.

 

Siemers said the Street and Traffic Committee will discuss the results of the survey during their Sept. 12 meeting.

 

"The committee will discuss the results in more detail and begin planning for acquiring more public input," he said. "That input will likely include a public meeting intended specifically for feedback from the community later this summer or fall."

 

As for the streets, work on the sewer on Madison Boulevard continues near Havard the city's east side. Two lanes are down for now so that the work  can get done, However, traffic on Madison still goes north and south but just in single lanes for now.

Siemer gave a rundown on theother street works:

 

16th Street & Shawnee Avenue, near the Bartlesville High School

All of the concrete has been poured and only restoration remains for this project, which is currently 98 percent complete.

 

Barlow Drive Rehab, Harned Drive to Rolling Hills

Construction is set to begin next week on this concrete panel replacement project. The project is expected to take approximately three months to complete.

 

Ohio, Madison to Park Hill; Harvard. Brookline to Madison; and Hazel, Madison to Hazel Court

These areas will receive an asphalt mill and overlay. Construction is scheduled to start in mid-September and will take approximately three months to complete.

 

Hillcrest Drive, between the Caney River and 20th Street

An engineering contract is under negotiation with a consultant, and it is anticipated a contract will be presented for City Council consideration in September. Design will take approximately 10 months to complete.

 

Bailey turned it over to City Water Utilities DirectorTerry Lauritsen to give us an update on the Tower Center at Unity Square project.

 

"Work continues on the demolition and earthwork construction phase at the Tower Center at Unity Square site. This phase of the project is expected to take another two weeks to complete and will be followed by the building, electrical and landscaping phase," according to project manager and Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen who adds, "The project is still on-track to be substantially complete by mid-December."