Shawnee’s Airport Advisory Board has approved a lease agreement with Allegiance Communications for space in the Army Reserve Building on Airport Drive.
Rex Hennen, assistant airport manager, told me that Allegiance will lease about 7,200 square feet of the facility, which for years housed a battalion of the 95th Division Army Reserve unit. A portion of the center is serving as the new home for the driver’s license examiner’s office operated by the state Department of Public Safety.
Until earlier this year, WAVE Technologies had been leasing the entire building.
Hennen advised the lease agreement calls for a monthly rental of $2,806.50. He said it’s a five-year lease with option to renew for two more five-year terms.
Some modifications to the restrooms and roof repairs of the building will be needed before Allegiance can occupy the facility. He said estimated cost of that is around $30,000 and will take about a month or so to complete.
Woody Wood, vice president of operations for Allegiance Communications, said the space in the former reserve center is needed to accommodate the additional personnel the company is hiring.
Wood explained two new managers already have been hired, and interviews are being conducted now for a controller’s position. In addition, more accounts receivable and accounts payable personnel also are to be employed.
Four additional call center employees have been hired Wood said, and they are conducting interviews for even more call center personnel he said.
As part of the arrangement, Allegiance will pay up front for the repairs and modifications and those costs are to be amortized over a five-year period and reduced from the monthly lease payment, Hennen explained.
All of this is subject to approval by Shawnee City Commissioners during their meeting next Monday night, as any action of this nature is subject to ratification by commissioners.
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The deadline to make reservations for the annual planning session of the Greater Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce is Friday, Oct. 23. The day-long session is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 29, at Remington Park in Oklahoma City in the Eclipse Suite.
Theme for the planning retreat is “Our community must meet the challenges which lie ahead.”
Addressing quality of life issues and providing solutions requires strong leadership and that will be among the challenges the participants will be asked to begin focusing on during the planning session. This will be the third consecutive year the chamber has gone to Remington for the event, and is based on chamber members who have indicated they prefer to return there rather than travel further and spend the night away.
The day begins with registration at 8:30 a.m. Those attending should find the session informative and it will be interactive with question and answer periods, along with breakout sessions.
Shawnee City Manager Brian McDougal and some of his staff will lead a panel discussion on the status of some of the projects under way and already planned for this fiscal year, any of which are anticipated in the near future, and the critical issues facing the community.
Georgie Rosco, director of the Oklahoma City Neighborhood Alliance, will give a presentation on some of the efforts, successes and challenges faced in helping clean up portions of the state’s largest city.
Shawnee’s Community Development Director Justin Erickson will update the participants on the joint campaign of the city and the chamber regarding code enforcement, Operation Paintbrush and efforts to make the city more business friendly.
Kirk Humphreys, who served as Oklahoma City mayor from 1999-2003, was a former president of the Oklahoma City School Board and who also was involved with the Putnam City School district, will be keynote speaker. He will discuss the successes and the challenges in the metropolitan area.
Gordona Rowell, executive director of the Convention and Visitor Bureau, will talk about the proposed visitor’s center for which the land has been purchased.
And Shawnee School superintendent Marilyn Bradford will address the group, discussing the upcoming bond issue next month.
There will be break-out groups on education, led by Joe Ford and Marta Land; code enforcement headed up by Anne Maloy Coke; and water moderated by Dr. Joe Taron, recently appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
Each participant will be in two of the break-out groups and presentations by each of the moderators will precede dinner which begins at 6 p.m.
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The Salvation Army will begin taking applications for families needing Christmas assistance in Pottawatomie County the weeks beginning Monday, Oct. 26, Monday, Nov. 2, and Monday, Nov. 9. Applications will be taken through Nov. 11, (that is Veterans Day) Monday through Friday only.
Maj. Mike Barnhouse, of the local Salvation Army, said those needing assistance must appear in person at the Salvation Army office, 200 E. Ninth Street in Shawnee. Applicants will need identification for each family member and proof of income, he said.
There will be no mail notification this year, Barnhouse emphasized. Individuals applying after this time period will be helped during the Christmas season as resources become available, he said.
Also, the major extends an invitation for persons who want to participate with the annual kettle drive. Those wishing to volunteer may contact the Red Kettle Drive coordinator, Kendi Cox, 275-2243.
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Shawnee’s Economic Development Foundation trustees will be provided several updates when they gather this morning for their regular monthly meeting.
Among the updates are the proposed interchange at I-40 and North Bryan, the $32 million Tiger grant application for rail improvements between here and Oklahoma City and the line running from Shawnee northward which serves several local industries.
Also they are expected to be provided with an update on the unit drive. Figures provided by SEDF Executive Director Tim Burg show that as of Oct. 1 $47,200 has been received to date and the amount pledged for 2008/2009-2010 is $56,400. Current outstanding pledges total $5,700 and the amount pledged through 2013 is $156,600.
The meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. in the SEDF office at 131 N. Bell, is open to the public.
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Shawnee’s Trick or Treat night has been set for Saturday night, Oct. 31. Police Chief Russell Frantz says it will be from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., same as last year.
That is considered Halloween night. However, occasionally, in previous years, Trick or Treat has been set for a different evening.
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