A petition has begun circulating with the goal of removing four members of the Kingfisher City Commission.

The petition, started by a group that includes local developer Mike Matthews, seeks to remove Mayor Geoff Covalt and commissioners Dawn Taylor, Jeff Wittrock and Kyle Mecklenburg from their respective seats.

If successful, it also demands an election for their successors.

Each person would be eligible to run again for their current posts, according to the city charter.

The city charter also states a petition is required to be signed by at least 30 percent of the total number of all the votes cast in the most previous general municipal election.

Those signing it must be registered voters within Kingfisher city limits.

The election being used as reference was held April 2, 2024, in which two city commission seats were filled, but only one was for a full term.

That vote saw Mecklenburg win his seat by a 136-103 margin over Dyamonique McCarty, which is a total of 239 votes.

Also on the ballot was the election to fill an unexpired term. Jeff Wittrock defeated Kaci Farrar 133-108, which is 241 votes. Since that was only for an unexpired term, the full-term vote is being used as reference, according to City Attorney Jared Harrison.

Using 239 votes, a successful petition would need 72 signatures.

Matthews said the required amount of signatures had been attained by Thursday night, but petitioners would continue to collect more over the weekend before turning them in Monday.

The petition lists four grounds for removal:

• Obstruction of lawful development and abuse of authority;

• Failure to promote economic growth and public benefit;

• Neglect of duty by the board of commissioners; and,

• Breach of public trust and failure to uphold ethical standards.

Matthews has been at odds with the city on two current projects.

One is regarding the rezoning of the property at 1000 S. Main St. that is owned by Matthews. He’s seeking to have it rezoned from residential to C-4 commercial in order to construct a shopping center.

That request was denied by a 2-2 vote of the city commission on Sept. 8 despite earlier being approved by the planning and zoning board.

Earlier this month, Matthews filed a petition in Kingfisher County District Court against the City of Kingfisher and the commissioners seeking to have that vote vacated and granting Matthews a new hearing before the commission.

Also currently stalled is a 74-plot addition being developed by Matthews on the city’s south end.

Hanna’s Place sits west of 13th Street and south of Will Rogers Drive.

The preliminary plat for the addition was approved unanimously by the city commission in March 2023.

Matthews handled much of the infrastructure of the addition himself, but balked when presented a bill by the city for electric infrastructure being installed.

He was presented a bill for approximately $223,000 for which he said he was never made aware of before the fact.

“It was never mentioned in any meeting or board meeting, text, email, nothing,” Matthews said. “I changed from asphalt (for the roads in the addition) and dropped hundreds of thousands on concrete.

“I wouldn’t have done that if I had been told (about the electric expense).”

The city contends that charging for the infrastructure has been part of city code for several years.

“I have advised him that ignorance of the law is no defense,” City Manager Jim Thomas said. “You can tell a police officer, ‘I didn’t know the speed limit was 55 miles an hour.’

“Well, it’s 55 miles an hour and here’s your ticket. We have repeatedly had one-on-one conversations with him and I’ve said, ‘Mike, give me something to take back to the board to resolve this issue’ and his response has been ‘I don’t want to pay anything.’” Thomas said he told Matthews that wasn’t a viable option to take to the commissioners. He also told the KT&FP that the city commission is the only group of people who can wave such a fee.

Matthews has stated the city will earn back its money - and much more through electricity sales in the new addition.

He’s also said he’s asked multiple times to be placed on a city commission agenda, but has been denied, which is one of the “charges” on the petition: “Mayor Geoff Covalt has obstructed a local developer’s residential project by denying the developer the opportunity to appear before the city commission to present the project and seek resolution of disputes. Such obstruction has deprived the citizen of the right to petition the government and has hindered lawful economic growth within the City of Kingfisher.”

“I know he’s said his First Amendment right of freedom of speech has been violated,” Thomas said. “If he wants to go stand out there on the street corner and speak to anybody that comes by, he’s more than welcome to do that. I have told Mr. Matthews that items get on the agenda for the reason to vote them up or vote them down.”

The petition also states: “Mayor Covalt has also voted against a proposed commercial development project - a local strip mall - that would have created new employment opportunities and generated sales tax revenue for the city. These actions have delayed economic development and deprived Kingfisher residents of potential business and employment opportunities.”

That fell under the “failure to promote economic growth” charge.

Under the “neglect of duty charge” the petition states: “Commissioners Dawn Taylor, Jeff Wittrock and Kyle Mecklenburg have failed to take appropriate or timely action to bring the affected development projects before the commission for consideration, despite knowing that such matters have been wrongfully obstructed. Their inaction constitutes neglect of duty and has contributed to prolonged delays in projects beneficial to the public.”

Matthews said on top of “$3.8 million in lots sitting in Kingfisher,” there is a lot of lost revenue as the project stalls, including for local companies.

“It’s holding up jobs like plumbing, “Matthews said. “Walter Building Center selling rebar and lumber for slab packages. We use local plumbing most of the time and the local concrete company.”

Matthews provided the KT&FP with a copy of a letter that was sent to Jared Harrison, the city’s attorney, outlining a pair of resolution options.

One was for Matthews to pay the $223,000, but ownership of all the infrastructure must be transferred to Mike Matthews Properties LLC.

The second option was for the city to retain ownership, no money would exchange hands and Matthews would “proceed independently under new arrangements.”

“What will not occur is payment for infrastructure that the city both owns and controls,” said the letter, which was signed by Matthews’ attorney, R. Charles Wilkin. “That position is legally untenable, inequitable and unsupported by any enforceable authority.”

Matthews said the response he received was that the city could not sell him the infrastructure.

“Once again, the board could have made that decision as they vote on the laws,” Matthews said. “I was denied the chance to ask them.”

The fourth charge “breach of public trust” - more specifically states: “The above-described conduct has eroded public confidence in the integrity and fairness of Kingfisher’s local government. The mayor and commissioners have failed to uphold the ethical standards, transparency and impartiality required of public officeholders and have acted contrary to the interests of the citizens they serve.”

Said Matthews: “This project has been sitting for eight months. The citizens don’t want another lawsuit. They want new business.”

The only current commissioner not named in the petition is Tammy Sammons, who was appointed by commissioners to fill an unexpired term at that Sept. 8 meeting. She abstained from the vote regarding the rezoning of Matthews’ property on Main Street.

The 2-2 vote - Mecklenburg and Wittrock voted in favor of the rezoning application while Taylor and Covalt voted against it - meant the motion failed. The KT&FP reached out to the four named commissioners via their City of Kingfisher emails.

None of those who responded wished to comment, though Taylor did add: “As always, I’m in prayer that what is beneficial for Kingfisher in God’s eyes will come to fruition.”

Thomas backed the city commission: “Mayor Covalt has worked very hard with me to promote economic development, to be very transparent with the public,” he said. “I cannot comment on the transparency of previous administrations, but I can tell you we have been very open. candid, and forthright. I can tell you in over 30 years of public service, I’ve not seen this commission do anything illegal, unethical or immoral.”

Once the signatures are collected by the petitioners, they must be turned into the city clerk, who is Brittney Hladik.

The clerk then has 10 days to determine if the signatures are valid.

If the petition is sufficient, the commission must vote to set an election “allowing at least 60 days’ notice to the Kingfisher County Election Board,” according to city charter.