Parking issues for certain Hennessey areas remained a hot topic at the town trustees’ meeting last week.

“Maybe it’s just an angle issue,” said Hennessey Trustee Bert Gritz said about parking problems on Main Street and Oklahoma Avenue.

Possibly reducing the parking angles by 10 degrees might help with sight lines for drivers turning onto Oklahoma Avenue, Gritz said about the parking issue that started at last month’s meeting.

“Wait until you see the aerial views,” said Town Administrator Tiffany Tillman at the town board’s Tuesday, Oct. 8, meeting.

“We’ll still have a traffic problem,” said Police Chief Aaron Pitts, who earlier told the board “the only way to fix the problem is to make Oklahoma Avenue a one-way street.”

“I’m surprised we don’t have more accidents than we’ve had,” the chief said.

He was referring to vehicles turning from Main Street onto Oklahoma Avenue from the east and the west, or northbound or southbound from alleyways onto Oklahoma Avenue.

It was discussed that some of those areas, including handicap parking spots on West Oklahoma Avenue, aren’t properly marked.

Shelia Duell, owner of The Hive on East Oklahoma Avenue had requested handicap parking in front of her business.

The town “is getting some quotes together to make that alley curb (at The Hive) handicap accessible,” Tillman wrote in her monthly board letter.

Once the quotes are in, “We will investigate proceeding with parallel parking with handicap spots,” wrote Tillman.

“No one wants all parallel parking,” said Mayor Harold Shaw.

Audit Ok’d After Questions

The Arledge and Associates audit was tabled last month after Tillman suggested someone from the auditing firm could better answer questions.

That someone was Jake Winkler, an Arledge partner.

He fielded questions from Trustee David Jones for about 15 minutes before the board unanimously accepted the 2022-23 audit.

Jones told Winkler that he didn’t disagree with the actual financials.

Or, that the firm found a $99,000 capital outlay check which had “cleared with no purchase requisitions, orders or invoices retained on file.”

Jones’ problem, he said, is with a cause attributed to the error: “… insufficient staff to develop effective internal controls.”

“In my opinion, we were not under-staffed,” Jones said. He added that others, including some board members, might disagree with him.

“We’ve had a massive amount of turnover,” Gritz said after Jones completed his questions. “Some had zero accounting experience or training and it was during her (Tillman’s) absence.”

Gritz referred to Tillman’s February 2023 resignation, and before she was rehired 3-1 in August 2023. Voting yes were Gritz, Trustee Randy Bohnstedt and then-Mayor Clif Vogt. The lone no vote was by Jones.

The then-Vice Mayor Harold Shaw left the meeting before the vote, but after a three-hour executive session about the re-hiring.

Vogt resigned June 30, 2023. The board has not agreed on a replacement, and voters will make that decision in an April election.

That ballot will also include the names of Shaw and Jones whose terms of office will run out next year, but said they will run for four-year terms.

Large Amount Caused Audit Finding

Winkler said there were several reasons for that “finding” in the report, but the main reason was the $99,000 amount.

Also, the firm never previously had that kind of “an issue” of missing documentation in Hennessey.

During the meeting, Tillman said they’d recently found all the documentation.

Most of Jones’ question dealt with financial issues by page numbers, but he also asked Winkler why the audit report was sent to the state auditor “before we ever saw it?”

“The state withholds your gas tax,” Winkler said, “so that makes sure you’d get your gas taxes as fast as possible.”

When asked, Winkler also said the town’s audit cost “is about $17,000,” and “Yes, the town is re- quired by state law to accept the audit.”

Other Board Action/Reports

Trustees voted 4-0 to approve applying for a 2025 REAP grant for $176,000.

The grant would finalize the electronic water meter system with purchase of 560 remote antenna and reader systems.

Tillman said that would eliminate employees from reading meters each month and making five to 15 field tests each week.

Trustees also agreed 4-0 to support the appointment of Tillman to the Oklahoma Municipal League Regional Council. Tillman said this will be an opportunity for “Hennessey to be heard.”

Shaw reported that Hennessey United’s Wine & Chocolate Festival went well again this year and that more than 400 attended. Shaw represents the town on the United board of directors.

From the audience, Jack Quirk reported that Tillman told him about a T-Mobile Grant that he is pursuing.

It would pay for all the concrete and sod around the pavilion located on the town’s property of the former Roy Johnson/Lee Lumber west of Main Street at First Street.

At the Meeting

All four trustees were at the meeting: Shaw, Gritz, Jones and Bohnstedt. Other officers present were Town Treasurer Shelley Burch (also Town Hall office manager) and Town Clerk Kelley Vaverka.

Staff at the meeting were Tillman, Public Works Director Alyssa Kubat, Pitts, and town attorney Jared Harrison.

Winkler and Tim Riddle were guests at the meeting.