Published: June 12, 2009 10:36 am      

Konawa Council discusses ordinance, dump

Konawa — Konawa City Council found itself in an odd predicament during Thursday evening's monthly meeting.

At the last council meeting, council passed an ordinance preventing residents from establishing a home on the first level of downtown buildings.

Little did they know a resident has been planning on doing so since 1999. Both City Manager Rita LoPresto and Mayor Bob Rounsaville said they had no idea the resident was planning on living in a building just north of the former Konawa Leader building, which he has purchased also.

Councilwoman LaDawna Bryce felt that setting aside the recently passed ordinance in this case would lead to a trend in the future.

“If we set the ordinance aside we are in essence going backward, not going forward,” Bryce said. “You set the ordinance aside, you cannot stop it.”

Rounsaville moved to table the item for further discussion and until further information was available. Council passed the motion.

During the meeting, council approved a measure that will help bring in more residences. A developer is planning to build 18-unit single-family dwellings subdivision called Stonebrook Estate, and a 20-unit multi-family area named Stonebrook Villas.

The company will have invested $4 million in the project and is asking the city of Konawa to do the piping for sewer work.

In other business, council moved ahead with plans to repair the roof of the Jobri Sewing Center at 101 E. First Street before discussing the dump.

If all goes according to plan, Konawa residents will again have a place to dump brush, leaves and limbs. The current dump was closed due to abuse of the area. In order to reopen, LoPresto introduced a measure to better maintain the area north of the park.

“We move the bleachers and put up a rope saying, ‘By Permit Only, See City Hall,’” LoPresto said. She said the rope should be replaced with a chain and locked and that a trench should be dug around the drive to keep people from driving around the chain.

The charge to dump brush and limbs will be $5 per day. Konawa Fire Department will maintain the dump by using it for training when they burn it. This will be in accordance with the Department of Environmental Quality. Only brush will be allowed to be dumped there, no tires or metal of any kind.

“If they need to dump after hours, I’ll make arrangements,” LoPresto said. However, persons wishing to dump must go by city hall during business hours to make the arrangements and obtain a permit. Violators will be cited by Konawa Police Department.

During city manager’s report, LoPresto said the Konawa Beautification committee has collected money and wants to share with the city. LoPresto told them to keep the money until a use for it could be found, perhaps with a match grant, she said.

LoPresto said a water pressure issue is arising, most likely from people filling pools. She asks residents to fill pools at night between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. She said a timer of sorts is available at city hall.

City of Konawa has been the only city in Seminole County to respond to an Oklahoma State University program called “Turning the Tide of Poverty.” LoPresto said only four states were chosen for the study and only two counties in Oklahoma were chosen, including Seminole County. The program is to study the poverty situation and to address it.

Konawa City Council meets the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Konawa City Hall.