At first a decision by the Henryetta city council to let Henryetta school use Nichols Park for cross country racing was pretty straight forward.
The school requested use of the park Sept. 10 and Oct. 22 for the cross country racing that annually draws in a number of schools. The September event is for a local meet but a regional meet in October brings in schools throughout the area as a precursor to the state competition. The regional meet has been held in Henryetta for well over a decade.
This year the October date saw a conflict with an already scheduled Donkey Day event approved by the last March.
Sandy Warshaw had been given permission to use the park for two days with several thousand spectators and contestants expected to be on hand.
She was on hand Tuesday night explaining there is a conflict of interest because the cross country track winds through the part of the park that would also be used by participants in the mule and donkey days events.

UPDATE ON THIS PART OF THE STORY:

Henryetta high school athletic director Bryan Leader said the cross country regionals will be held elsewhere. A site will have to be determined by the OSSAA.

She said she and her husband have spent over $10,000 already to put on the event and can’t change the date.
Saying she was unaware of the cross country request until shortly before the council meeting, Warshaw said she would “have been more than happy to work with you,” if she was told earlier.
She said she has been in touch with Henryetta school athletic director Bryan Leader to try and work out the issue.
Leader said the October 22 date was determined by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletics Association (OSSAA) and could not be changed.
Warshaw said she is charging $5 and $2 entry fees for her event. The OSSAA charges $7 admission for spectators to the regional event.
She pointed out there is a specialty act planned for 2:30 that afternoon that had to be scheduled “a year in advance.”
Mayor Jennifer Munholland pointed out at the March meeting the council did not vote to close the park that day.
The event is not a Henryetta Chamber of Commerce function but the rodeo committee would be providing insurance for the donkey days.
Munholland pointed out the course has been established and runs along part of the baseball fields.
Warshaw said that could be a liability with the influx of runners, spectators and donkey days participants.
“We brought this to your town,. I’ve been pushing it, trying to get television stations here,” she added.
“Let’s try to get this worked out. You’ve worked too hard on it to pull it,” Munholland said.
Council member Christy Jeffcoat urged her to get with Leader to see where the track actually will be situated.
Munholland said the city could help block off the running area to help protect the runners as well as provide parking for the school buses.
James McCullough, who has been involved in cross country racing in years past, said there could be some revisions to the course that would prevent some conflicts.
Munholland suggested getting bracelets to indicate who had paid admission to the donkey days.
“I want everything to be successful,” Warshaw said.
In other council business, the city moved a step closer to enabling residents to pay their water bills online.
The council approved an option that would pass along a transaction fee to the cardholder when hey paid their bill. That fee wold be collected by Tyler Technologies. The city would be paying $1,416 annually to cover the equipment and merchant fees.
No date was given when the credit card system would be started.
Nine derelict structures will be torn down in the coming weeks and months. The city approved a $104,727 bid from American Demolition to tear down the buildings with the costs eventually being placed as a lien that property owners would have to pay when the land is sold.
City code enforcement officer Jody Agee said American Demolition would be responsible for all testing and handling any hazardous products. “They (the properties) bring down property values and are a haven for crime,” he said.
The properties and costs to remove them include:
105 East Smith, $16,884
110 East Smith, $16,496
112 East Smith, $10,099
708 East Genevieve, $9,920
309 East Lewis $6,128
1201 West Division, $14,514
205 West Cummings, $8,653
907 West Moore, $11,372
912 West Moore, $11,661
Dealing with some more properties, council members approved vacating easements on East Main that daed back over 100 years. The easements involved East Main between US 75 and East Hill Drive and H Street and Valley Drive. Both were said to have never been used and the process would enable QuikTrip to cleanup some of its legal descriptions.
Six former police cars were declared surplus and made available for sale.
The vehicles include a 2008 Dodge Charger, two 2008 Ford Crown Victorias, 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, 2011 Dodge Charger and a 2010 Dodge Charger.
Council members approved a resolution allowing the city to apply for grants through the Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) fund.
The city is wanting to use a REAP grant to pay for replacement of a water line along the railroad tracks from Corporation to Nelson Avenue. Under the Municipal Authority portion of the meeting, the council approved a $2,199.60 payment to Myers Engineering for some of that work. The entire contract with Myers amounts to $43,992.