Commissioners confer with attorney on unpaid stormwater fees

Mar. 6—Pittsburg County commissioners and the city of McAlester are closer to a day in court.

County commissioners met Monday with attorney Scott R. Eudey, of the Oklahoma City law firm of Collins, Zorn & Wagner.

Eudey traveled to McAlester to meet with Pittsburg County commissioners in a closed executive session to discuss the case in which the city of McAlester is seeking a declaratory judgment against the commissioners regarding $31,350 in unpaid stormwater fees as of Feb. 17, 2024, at the Southeast Expo Center.

County commissioners contend the Expo Center does not utilize the city's stormwater system, so city stormwater fees should not have to be paid at the site.

Eudey met with Commission Chairman/District 3 Commissioner Ross Selman, District 2 Chief Deputy Sandra Crenshaw and District 1 Commissioner Charlie Rogers for about 40 minutes in a closed executive session Monday, allowed because commissioners were discussing a legal action with their attorney.

Afterwards, they took no action through a vote, since the session was for discussion purposes only.

Rogers said this is the first time the county commissioners have met personally with an attorney from Collins, Zorn & Wagner, who the county commissioners have retained to defend them against the city's court action against them.

Following the closed meeting, the News-Capital asked Eudey about the next step in the case.

"The lawsuit will continue," Eudey said. "The county wants to do what's right for the taxpayers."

So far court filings include the city's request for the District 18 District Court to issue a declaratory judgment on behalf of the city, along with the county's response opposing a judgment on behalf of the city of McAlester and seeking dismissal of the city's action.

More court filings in the case are expected during the coming weeks.

Eudey said he expects the discovery process to soon begin in the case, wherein attorneys on both sides are to share information they have regarding the matter.

The News-Capital also asked the county commissioners what they think will happen next in regard to the city's court action against them.

"Our lawyer will contact their lawyer," Rogers said, referring to Eudey and McAlester City Attorney John T. Hammons, who filed the court action against the county commissioners on behalf of the city of McAlester.

Rogers noted the Monday meeting was the first time county commissioners had met with their lawyers regarding the court action the city of McAlester has filed against them.

Rogers also noted that county commissioners had at one time offered to pay the disputed stormwater fees the city has assessed the county at the Southeast Expo Center — with the condition that the city then de-annex the Expo Center from McAlester city limits.

McAlester Mayor John Browne previously presented the county's proposal to the city council — but a majority of city councilors voted it down, because they wanted to keep the Expo Center within the city limits.

Attorney Chris Collins, of Oklahoma City, filed the county's response in February to the city of McAlester's court petition in which the city is asking the courts for a declaratory judgment to force Pittsburg County to pay the disputed fees at the Southeast Expo Center.

In the commissioners' response filed in Pittsburg County District Court, Collins offered a series of defenses on their behalf.

Collins also asked that the city's court action seeking a declaratory judgment against the county "be dismissed with its attorney fees and costs."

Pittsburg County commissioners have steadfastly refused to pay the stormwater fees the city of McAlester has billed the Expo Center. They contend all the stormwater from the Expo Center flows into a nearby creek and away from the city, thereby not using the city's stormwater system.

The city of McAlester maintains that's a moot point and because the Southeast Exp Center is in McAlester city limits, the county should pay the fees.

In his earlier court action on behalf of the county commissioners, Collins said "The County admits that any stormwater generated at the Expo does not enter the city's stormwater drainage system but rather into Sandy Creek, and accordingly, the county does not contribute to the city's stormwater management difficulties.

"The County further avers and alleges that there is no infrastructure associated with stormwater management on the premises owned by the County," Collins said in court documents, in reference to the Expo Center property. County commissioners pay stormwater fees on other county properties in the city, such as the Pittsburg County Courthouse, for example,

The city of McAlester began billing Pittsburg County for stormwater fees, after the county took over the Expo Center operations from the city in 2021.

County commissioners have staunchly refused to pay any of the Expo Center stormwater fees, reiterating their contention that all the stormwater from the property flows into a nearby creek and away from the city, never utilizing the city's stormwater management system.

Although the city's court action doesn't state the amount the city maintains it is owed in unpaid Expo Center stormwater fees, the News-Capital recently asked Pittsburg County Clerk Hope Trammell how much the city has billed the county since the dispute began.

It totaled $29,260 through Dec. 17, 2023, which was due Jan. 20, 2024, Trammell said after totaling the numbers. Since then, two more bills have arrived, for $1,045 each.

That would then bring the total amount of unpaid stormwater fees to $31,350 through Feb. 17, 2024.

If the two sides do not reach a settlement or agreement, the issue will ultimately be decided by a judge's decision in District Court at the Pittsburg County Courthouse.