Perspectives are just some people’s conversations.
The below picture is from The MET board meeting minutes dated July 2024.
Investigative Report Update July 19, 2024: City of Wagoner’s Recycling Conundrum Unraveled
Since the publishing of this article, the City of Wagoner’s Mayor removed the $25,000 from the budget to pay for hazardous waste disposal. Mayor Self aka Shelf stated they are canceling the MET dumpster by canceling that $25,000 which we have already learned were unrelated by our brief chat with a MET representative. What seems to be the only constant is the lack of truth, transparency and common courtesy coming out of the city of Wagoner. (See above new minutes from the MET July 2024 meeting.)
In 2021, the City of Wagoner embarked on a promising pilot program with The Metropolitan Environmental Trust Authority (The M.E.T.) to establish a recycling plant within its boundaries. Former city planner Tannihill and his successor, Robin Murray, secured grant funding to purchase essential infrastructure, including a building, a hut, specialty recycling bins, and trailers. However, the whereabouts of these items remain shrouded in mystery, as they supposedly languish on city property, awaiting the acquisition of land for The M.E.T.’s full-fledged recycling facility.
Initially, the plan was to situate the plant behind AutoZone, but that proposal fell through. While the city awaits the green light for its recycling plant, The M.E.T. has been providing a recycling dumpster on SE 3rd Street.
Fast forward to June 2023, when Jessica Zwirtz, the current city planner, approached TCWEDA asking for a location for the permanent plant, specifically on the lot where a cell tower currently stands. The City of Wagoner Economic Development Authority approved this move, signaling progress.
However, during a special budget meeting on May 23, 2024, Mayor Self’s right-hand man, Dwayne Elam, dropped a bombshell: the city’s costs were increasing, exceeding $25,000. Councilwoman Wright expressed confusion, believing that the city was eliminating the dumpster and its $24,400 fee. Mayor Self countered, asserting that canceling the dumpster and the 25k deal with The M.E.T. would trigger the repayment of federal grant funds—more than double the annual budget. But what grant? And how does it relate to the recycling dumpster and the hefty fee?
The truth, according to my investigation, is straightforward: the grant has nothing to do with the dumpster or the cost to the city. Mayor Self’s claims appear unwarranted and truly false in nature, as a simple phone conversation to Gail at The Claremore M.E.T. clarified the situation. The dumpster remains free for the city, while the fee serves a different purpose altogether being strictly for hazardous waste disposal. Neither of which have anything to do with any grants received.
Adding intrigue to the saga, Jessica Zwirtz, the city planner, sits on The M.E.T.’s board. The M.E.T. was told that the TCWEDA cell tower property is no longer available, but my conversation with the TCWEDA chairman refutes this claim.
As this tangled web unravels, one question persists: Why did the Mayor stumble over the facts? Were council members privy to grant documents? It seems the Mayor’s statements were, in his own colorful words, “horseshit.” Perhaps a more straightforward approach—like a phone call and providing documentation—could have spared the city this confusion.
Stay tuned for further developments as this recycling mystery continues to unfold. 🕵️♂️🗞️ .
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