By BOB GIBBINS
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS — Tahlequah’s Industrial Authority will seek the aid of the city council to help honor a commitment to Dollar Thrifty.
TIA Chairman Jeff Reasor will formally request the city transfer $20,000 to the authority to help pay for carpet for Dollar.
Assistant City Administrator Kevin Smith said the council could approve the transfer at its special meeting Monday night. TIA Trustee Pam Williams said she will attend the meeting to answer possible questions.
The funds transfer is not the only point of concern for the carpet purchase. The authority plans to buy the carpet from Grigsby’s, and the cost will be rolled into Dollar Thrifty’s lease.
City Attorney Park Medearis questioned whether the price Grigsby’s wants for the carpet would require sealed bids to be sought. Grigsby’s proposal is for $37,500.
“We’ll make sure we’re not violating any bid laws,” Smith said. “I spoke to a local vendor who said they could do it for around 30 [thousand dollars], but they weren’t interested.”
Williams said that perhaps Grigsby’s could be considered a sole source, since it is the only one who could perform the job as needed.
Danny Bryant, of Dollar Thrifty, said modular carpet in 18-by-18 squares will have to be put down in such a way that computers and wiring remain intact.
“It’s very labor-intensive,” he told the authority.
Reasor said former TIA Trustee Roy Cartwright had earlier indicated the carpet could be purchased for $18,750, but the manner in which the job has to be performed and other issues caused the increase.
Bryant said Dollar Thrifty recently became a 24-hour facility and is nearing a critical time.
“We need to have it [carpet] done by mid-May,” he said. “Our volume’s going to skyrocket then.”
The authority will receive an update at the next meeting on its Web site. Williams is addressing this issue and asked for the assistance of new Trustee David Moore, who is also executive director of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce.
Moore was at his first meeting since being appointed to the TIA last week. Williams said it would be good to get him involved because she will be leaving the board, and Moore has knowledge of Web sites.
Another agenda item called for discussion and action on a group showing interest in a small tract in the Industrial Park. Medearis said the item should specify what group and what tract. “If it’s something that needs to remain confidential, we can discuss it in an executive session [at a future meeting],” he said.
Smith said he was supposed to follow up on the item from the last meeting and didn’t get new information. He said an engineering firm with 10-12 employees had expressed interest in a tract on the southwest corner of the park. An update will be provided at the next meeting.
