By KEN MILAM
POTEAU – Electricians, plumbers, roofer and HVAC contractors will have to pay a bit more to do business in Poteau after Monday night’s City Council meeting.
Council members raised the city registration fees from $25 a year to $75. Contractors also must provide a $500,000 liability insurance policy.
The council also approved a resolution accepting a grant offer regarding a 1,000-foot extension of the municipal airport runway. Mayor Scotty White said the Federal Aviation Administration grant would provide an environmental st8udy that would apply to the runway extension as well as other future projects. If done now, the study would cost the city about $7,000. If delayed, it would cost up to $60,000 in the future.
Council members re-elected Clay Bennett as council president and Tommy Robertson as vice-president.
A rezoning request from Brian Roberts was approved from industrial to commercial on a piece of property in the Dale Place Addition near Pinnacle Health.
Joshua Crase was approved for full-time benefits with the Sewer Department.
Resident Peggy Self voiced her dissatisfaction with the city’s water deposit policy. New customers are charged a $200 deposit. Self said all or part of the money should be refunded after a certain time of good payment history.
In place of the usual Boys and Girls Club report, club member Darah Thompson, a sixth-grader, told the council how the club had benefited her and helped her grow as a person.
The council approved clean-up of several properties – Block 196 Lots 4 and 5, 811 S. Harper, 206 Park and 408 North Ave.
