The Kiwanis speaker for their July 7 luncheon was City of Altus Public Information Officer Matt Coppock. Barbara Burleson was Kiwanian for the Day, so she selected Coppock because "He always knows what's going on." Born in Texas and raised in Altus, Matt and his wife, Lisa, and son, Evan all moved back to Altus for the small town, family friendly atmosphere. The Coppock's own Petal Pushers.

Matt began his message by saying that the move to the Municipal Complex is still on for late August, through early October at the latest. It will take a while to move 96 people, including the Mayor's office, City Administrator, City Attorney, Public Works, Engineering, Utilities, City Clerk, Treasurer, meter readers, the Police Department, and the Municipal Court, which will share facilities with the City Council.

It will be a hi-tech building, with its own cable channel to eventually broadcast meetings. There will be several conference and training rooms, which will really help expedite meetings for the City.

The Police Department will house the new Assistant Chief, Mike Turner. The APD is trying to be proactive instead of reactive, preventing crimes before they start.

There are new elections coming up. The filing period ends in February 2011. The election takes place in April and winners will occupy their new places the first Monday following the election. Police Chief Mike Patterson hasn't said whether he will run for office again, so that will be open. Street Commissioner Holmes Willis and Mayor T.L. Gramling's offices will be open. There will be openings for all four wards on the City Council.

Things are changing around town. The Taco Bell has been remodeled and is open again, along with the new Papa John's Pizza. Sears will be sharing the old Goody's space with rue21, a clothing store. Thai Nakorn, the Thai restaurant, is moving to the former Broadway Braums' building. Allen's Home Furnishings is now on the downtown square. There is a new counseling business in the old Sharon building. The Family Life Church moved from their temporary location at Goody's to the former Lutheran facility on Falcon. They're still planning their big move north on Hwy. 283. Cafe Richard's is open by the Falcon Inn. The Bridges rehabilitation center will open soon on North Park Lane.

There is still home building going on in Altus. Matt is glad to see the in-fill development done by Candace Willingham. She's sprinkling new homes throughout existing neighborhoods.

The Navajoe Gateway project is working on sidewalks and curbing, moving eatward. Street intersections are being reconstructed in some neighborhoods. Each one costs $40,000, replacing aging asphalt with concrete. Curb repairs are being done in Birdland. These curbs have been damaged by water, and aging.

The Senior Citizen Committee will be reporting their results to the City Council soon.

The ice storm cost the City $2.5 million. They've applied for $1.3 million in reimbursement from FEMA and the State of Oklahoma, and still have to apply for another $1.2 million. These reimbursed funds will be put back into the reserves. Sales tax revenues are down four percent, but they comprise only eight percent of total revenue brought into the City coffers. Most revenue comes from providing services like power, water and sewer capabilities. The Altus AFB housing is powered by the City. The Base is not. The City had power back on to Base housing after the ice storm long before the Base itself had power. Next year the housing will be individually metered.

The Electric Department is still working on getting all the street lights back on. The Blackboard Citizen Notification System was discussed. So many were grateful for Matt's information during the ice storm.

A question was raised regarding the Economic Development Commission (EDC) and getting retailers into Altus. Barbara Burleson has been working with David Braddock, chair of the EDC. She said that July 20 and 21, there will be a site selection coordinators' meeting here to acquaint them with SW Oklahoma, and specifically, Altus.

Another question was asked regarding the buildings that will be vacated after the City has moved offices into the Municipal Complex. Most will be bulldozed down. The old hospital, currently the site of City Hill will be razed, creating some pull-through space for the Fire Department. The Police Department and Planning Department buildings will also be leveled, allowing more parking for the City Auditorium.

The Planning Department sent out letters to residents in the Lakeside area to see if they want to have the proposed Dog Park in the northern portion of the land by the City Reservoir. Barbara Burleson said the response has been "No, dogs are too noisy." People may like the idea of the dog park, but it's the old NIMBY idea, "Not in my backyard."

Kiwanis Members were also briefed on the Altus Kiwanis Club Flag Project by SrA Jesse Alford of the 97th Operations Support Squadron at Altus Air Force Base.  The Kiwanis Club partners with the OSS to place flags at local businesses on eight national holidays, and SrA Alford has chaired this project for the past two years.