Behind the Scenes of Moore's City Government

Episode 3: In the May edition of Moore's Stop, Mayor Mark discusses the wide variety of opportunities available to our citizens through the City's outstanding parks system. We're also joined by Brooks Mitchell, Moore's City Manager. Brooks pulls back the curtain to give listeners a clearer picture of how city government works. Don't forget to post your questions for Mayor Mark in the comments or email him at m.hamm@cityofmoore.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:09

Hi folks, welcome to episode three of More to Stop. All things more. I'm Rob Morris here with Mark Ham coming off of an interesting April. It's now May, it's episode three.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

Thrilled to uh have episode three and all of the great things that we can come together and just talk about that are happening in Moore. Summer will be here before you know it, school will be out, and kids will be looking for things to do while mom and dad are uh at work, and the city, because of our uh parks department, will have lots of opportunities for kids to be engaged in activities.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Yeah, and some of the conversations we've had in recent days off mic um and with different people is how the city government, the council, the mayor, uh the city manager, all these folks have to take a long view to the future and have to be planning well ahead. And one of the things I really appreciate about the city of Moore is the planning that that you guys have done with our park system. We have a wonderful park system that's the envy of cities everywhere. And that's let's so let's talk about parks today.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Yeah, I would love to. And Sue Wood is our parks director, and so she is uh directly over all of the parks and staff within our city, and she does her and her team do an amazing job. Um, and a lot of what we're gonna uh talk about were things that were planned probably at the end of last summer, getting ready for now. But some of the things that people are asking and questions I hear is about you know the splash pads. And the splash pads, which which are scattered throughout the city and closer to neighborhoods and so forth, are are gonna be open May 8th through September the 13th, and they'll be open from the hours of 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., seven days a week.

SPEAKER_00 2:03

And those those are free. People can just go and enjoy those.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Right. You should know where they're at if they're in your neighborhood and they're free, and just go out there and bring a picnic and have a good time.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

City of Moore.com, go to uh the menu on the right side of the page and just click on Park, Parks, and Recreation, and you'll find a list of splash pads there.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Exactly. And for our bigger aquatic center, uh that's going to be opening on May the 23rd, and the hours of operation for that are gonna uh be uh it'll be seven days a week from noon until 8 p.m. And then there's some other things that happen, but that will all be posted on the uh uh city's webpage, or you can go to the parks and rec uh social media page and they'll be putting those events on there as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

And you'll also find, again, I keep punching the City of Moore's website, but go to the Parks and Recreations, the Aquatic Center, you'll find a place to sign up for things like swim lessons, special events. There's the daddy-daughter swim event in June. There are all sorts of things going on that aren't just go out and slide down the slides and swim in the pool and splash.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Right. They have a full-out summer camp from I'm not gonna talk too much about the hours because I don't know, but it's a a Monday through Friday uh camp for kids. Parents walk, drop them off there while mom and dad go to work, and then the kids are gonna be engaged in all kinds of activities uh throughout the day. And the nice thing about that is mom and dad pick their kids up, and then those kids go home tired, and uh everybody can get some rest.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Exactly. Well, let's talk about you know, another really, really great opportunity that folks have is the Moore's Farmers Market. That's coming up pretty quick too.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

The farmers market will be opening back up, and that's gonna start on Saturday, May the 2nd, and it'll run through Saturday, September the 19th. The hours of that are gonna be 8 a.m. to noon, and that's Saturday mornings only, but an opportunity to buy a lot of fresh produce from local uh farmers, and there's just a lot of great uh fruits and vegetables and other things up there.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

And that's every Saturday.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

All right. Now, one of my favorite events, and Moore does a great job of celebrating the 4th of July. Talk to me about celebration in the heartland.

SPEAKER_01 4:20

Well, you know, this year it's unique in that it is going to be America's 250th year of independence. And so this is a big birthday, and it's gonna be, of course, celebrated all across the country, but it's gonna be uh even better this year. So we're gonna do a lot of things to recognize America's 250th birthday. You'll see signs throughout the city, as well out as out at Buck Thomas Park. Um, and you're right, the city does do a great job, and we'll have thousands of people out there with all kinds of activities. They're gonna start at about 2 p.m. and they'll end with a fireworks display that evening around 9 45 or as soon as it's it's dark outside.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

And plenty of booths to buy crafts from. There's a great food court, there's an inflatables area, the library has a great area where kids can play, there's live music. I mean, it's just a great full day ending with a wonderful fireworks.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah, funnel cakes, corn dogs, root beer, all of the unhealthy things that you can enjoy on the fourth fly.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Yeah, but when you talk about corn dogs, you're talking my love language now. All right, well, this is going to be kind of a short first segment, but we've got a great guest coming up in our second segment. Uh, City Manager Brooks Mitchell is going to kind of help pull back the curtains a little bit and give us a look inside city government and budgeting and all of the things that are really important for citizens to know.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

They are, and it may seem a little uninteresting, but I encourage you to stay tuned because it's important for you as a resident of the city to have a basic idea and understanding how how cities operate, how they function, and how they fund themselves. And we have the city manager here with us who's going to explain all of it.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Outstanding. So we're going to take a break and we'll be right back with Brooks Mitchell. May is Building Safety Month in Moore, and the City of Moore's Community Development Department invites you to visit with city staff to get answers to your questions about construction, permitting, property maintenance, and code enforcement. There will be four different opportunities available on Friday, May 8th, Saturday, May 9th, and Wednesday, May 13th. For details on the locations and times, call 405-793-5051. Email inspections at cityofmore.com or visit the events page at cityofmore.com. Hey, we're back. Uh Mayor Mark, uh, we have a special guest with us here as usual for this segment. We are joined by City Manager Brooks Mitchell. Uh Brooks, thanks so much for taking the time and being with us. It's good to be here.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Well, and we are glad to have uh our city manager. It's probably, or not probably, but it is the most uh one of the most important positions within the uh city government, municipal government, how it functions and operates and the role that the city manager plays.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

And for folks that don't understand, Brooks, can you kind of give them like a 30,000-foot view of what your responsibilities are?

SPEAKER_02 7:28

Well, in a in a council manager form of government, the city manager uh per charter, I'm the I'm the chief executive of the city. So I'm in charge of all the daily operations, I'm in charge of all the finances, I'm in charge of all the personnel, all roads uh lead to me. And so I carry I take care of the operations and then carry out the policy initiatives uh from the mayor and council.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Would it be fair to say the butt stops with you?

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Yes. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

That's a good way to describe it.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Can you give me just uh an idea of what a typical day might be like for a city manager the size of Moore?

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Well, there's always uh emails that you get from uh vendors or citizens uh with a concern or a question about about something. Uh usually I will meet with some of my department heads each day, not necessarily all of them, uh, about various things going on in their departments, uh a police issue or a street issue or a drainage issue, something like that. Uh and then uh working on right now we're in the middle of budget season, so I'm spending a lot of time on that. And then just uh other things that other things that come along. So I attend a f I'll I'll be asked to be served on panels from time to time uh to talk about city operations or or give other presentations. So I mean it's uh it's always a full day.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Could you explain for the common person about uh the city budget and how it's made up, where the revenue comes from, who gets what, and how much of it do we actually have to run a city?

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Well, all cities are different in the fact that based on their size, based on the amount of retail that they might have, uh and and other considerations. So the City of Moore, as are all cities, are primarily funded by sales and use tax. And the state legislature has said through through statutes, uh cities get sales that can earn sales tax revenue and use tax revenue, they can have general bond money for construction projects. But they can't have general bond money, general obligation bond money for operations. We are the only state in the union that doesn't have bond revenue for operations. Uh all the other 49 states can can do that.

SPEAKER_01 9:54

And just explain operations in a sentence or two.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

Uh operations is uh payroll, supplies, uh maintenance, uh, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

And so you have uh your primary source of funding is your sales and use tax. And uh the the City of Moore uh between sales and use tax is is on pace to collect about $40 million this year in fiscal year 26. We've got a couple a couple more months to go. And so uh we have some other sources of revenue, we have some fees and and other other things, other monies that we collect. But out of that, we have to pay all of our salaries, all of our other operating costs, all of our benefits, and so it's it's expensive to run a city.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

And sales tax is kind of self-explanatory. Use tax would be an example. Can you give us one?

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Use use tax use tax is uh essentially the sales tax uh for online goods. So if you if you if you order something online and you you pay what's called a use tax, but essentially it's the sales tax.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

Okay, so you buy something through Amazon or what whatever you're paying a tax, and then Amazon submits that to it it it ultimately makes its way to more if it was purchased in the zip code.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

Yes, Amazon will remit it to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and then the tax commission sends it to the cities.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

So sales tax, use tax, there were a few other some fees and things that the city is able to generate a little bit of revenue, but it's around 40 million or so a year. For the sales and use tax, yes. And that's what we have to run and operate the city on day-to-day type functions?

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Yes, that's the that's the primary source of revenue. So it's a it's a big deal in cities when uh major retailer closes. Uh in more, we've been fortunate, we really haven't had a lot of that, but you read it, but you read it in other cities where uh a Walmart or somewhere else will close and relocate in another city. I mean, it's a for for mid-size and smaller cities, I mean, that's a huge drain on the revenue base.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Okay. And could you tell us a little bit about the checks and balances of uh municipal government, primarily looking at the uh budgeting side of it? So the city does is audited uh yearly, and and what all does that entail? Again, just kind of keeping this for the common person, but uh you know, I would sometimes get comments from people, well, the city needs to be audited, but we are audited every year, aren't we?

SPEAKER_02 12:29

Yes, uh by statute we are. So by by statute, the city has to produce a balanced budget each year. So, you know, here in the here in the next month or so, the city council will be asked to vote on our budget for the next fiscal year, and it will have to be balanced. And then once that's done, then it's uh submitted to the state auditor's office. And then uh and then also we have to have an annual audit, and so and that's that's statutory also. So uh uh more and in in every other in every other city of our size has to has to have that same thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:02

Okay, and those audits are uh presented to the city council and do we put them online?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

Yes, uh our audit and our budget are on our website, and we also have to, once they're done, uh we submit the audit to the state auditor's office, and it's also on the state auditor's website.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Okay, so if somebody's interested and wants to know, they can go to citymore.com and look for our budget and look for our audit and past audits, or just call your office or contact your city council person and we'd be happy to explain it in a little bit further detail.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

What you're saying is it's there. The information is there for anybody that wants to take the time to look for that's not hard to find. You just go to the website and you can find it.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

Yeah, it's it's there, it's not hard to find. And and just to to back up for a minute on the on the sales tax, I mean, that's what cities run on. And you know, people that drive around in drive around in Moore and they're at the intersection at 19th and telephone and they see all the traffic and they see all the stores. If if they come to the conclusion, well, you know, the the city of Moore is just rolling in revenue and they've got more money than they know what to do with, well, that's I mean, that's not true. So, for instance, in in Moore we're lucky. I mean, like I said earlier, we'll have about $40 million in sales and use tax this year. Well, 70% of that is spent on public safety. So we've got 30% to run the rest of the city on just based on the sales tax. And we're fortunate in the fact that we have that cushion. Other cities, uh, some larger than more, their public safety costs more than the sales and use tax that they generate. So uh just because you see a lot of traffic doesn't mean that uh the city has more money than uh than they can count.

SPEAKER_01 14:47

Exactly. And just like a lot of uh households, uh many of many of whom are operating on really frugal budgets and have to watch their spending, the city is the same way. We are have a limited amount of dollars, and there's always more needs than there is more money. So that again goes back to my first comment about why the city manager's position is so vital and so important, because he is charged one of his primary responsibilities is creating a budget that our city can live within and operate in, not just because we want to, but because state law says that we have to.

SPEAKER_02 15:24

Yeah, well we have to, and the thing about a city with your infrastructure needs and everything else, you're never caught up, and so you have to prioritize. And so because you have to live within your means, that means that some of these projects, some of these street projects, some of these drainage projects, other types of projects, uh they have to wait, and it can it can take two or three years and sometimes longer to get to them just because the revenue is not there. Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Well, that would lead me into the next question that I want to ask you. And we just recently, and the time that this will be broadcast, the election was April 7th, and this will be come out in uh May. May so we had a one-cent sales tax proposition that we put before our voters, and we were asking them to vote, and then that was going to be a new method or an alternative method of funding a lot of our infrastructure projects, and it it failed, it was pretty close, but it did fail. And so as you look back over that, what concerns do you have, or what what do you what are the next steps forward? What are we as a as a city council, city staff, uh how are we going to fund our projects?

SPEAKER_02 16:42

Well, just because the sales tax failed, it doesn't mean the need for the projects has gone away. So we still have to do them and we have to figure out how best to pay for them. So the election on April the 7th gave the voters the choice because historically we've done all of our capital projects through general obligation bonds, and we have sensed the fatigue of the general obligation bonds. The property taxes keep going up, and people are very frustrated with that. And so our proposal was going to do away with the property taxes over time and substitute uh a sales tax method. And I think I think really what was the big catch for a lot of people was it was a permanent sales tax, and I think at the end of the day they just were concerned that they wouldn't have the ability to have the same amount of input on the various projects like they've had in the past. And you know, we tried to assure them that the process would would remain the same, there just wouldn't be one more election. But I think uh I think at the end of the day that's that's probably what beat it more than anything else. And so now that now that that's happened, uh I'm developing proposals and having conversations with the mayor and other council members on uh on how to go forward and and what would be the best way uh what would be the the best way to do this that is best for the citizens and also makes financial sense. And so you know we will come up with uh with a couple of proposals that hopefully the uh citizens could get behind and vote for.

SPEAKER_00 18:22

Yes, go ahead, Ross. Some specific projects um, I mean, that were talked about during the the campaign for the one cent sales tax were things like the training center for police and fire. Um, and there were some other things that were tossed about, but I think one of the things I'm curious about, since voters have said no, we don't want to pay for it this way, it's still gonna have to be paid for in some way. Some of these projects, what are some of the projects that are kind of on the horizon that are necessary or important for the city of Moore?

SPEAKER_02 18:55

Well, the the projects that were that were part of that sales tax proposal, the initial projects, those are those are still the first ones on deck. Uh we have two drainage projects in the east uh part of the city on Northeast 20th and Lincoln and in the Ramblin' Oaks edition. We still have this public safety training facility that's very important. And then also we need the repayment source for the uh construction we've had to do at the wastewater treatment plant. And you know what what I heard the voters say, and and we'll have this conversation with the mayor and the council and and others, what I heard the voters say was we don't like the permanent sales tax. I did not hear the voters say we don't need these projects. I did not hear the voters say we love the property tax, and so let's just stick with general obligation bonds. Uh so I think I think there's still the same uh property tax fatigue. I think there's still the uh the public recognizes that these are still important projects that we need to do. We just need to come up with a different way to fund it so that the public is satisfied with the amount of input that they're going to have on a going forward basis, and that also makes sense financially.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

Exactly, and I agree with that, and that's a discussion that Brooks, as he said, will have with the mayor and the council. It's not gonna be any one person's decision. There is uh a whole elected council, and if you look at our flow chart, it's the citizens who are at the top of that, and it goes to the the mayor, the council, and to our city manager. So we are constantly evaluating the needs uh that are gonna be at the top of that list, and then the next thing is how do we fund it? Uh, and if it's through a geo bond, well, the council considers those things, and then it ultimately would go to the voters back for uh or for the residents of our city for back for a vote to see if they would say yes to that. And you know, more we're we're we're not looking to build anything flashy, it's just kind of unfun, but it's just a lot of things that we need.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

The urgent need that you talked about, the flooding on the east side, that's been a problem for a while, yeah, and really has to be addressed in some way, shape, or fashion.

SPEAKER_02 21:17

Well no, I mean the the the the projects the the projects that were presented, these are core infrastructure projects of a city, and it's important for uh cities to have these things. You have to take care of your drains, you have to have good streets, you have to have public safety. Uh we would we would like to do things that uh you know are are maybe more exciting, uh, but again, that comes down to funding and that comes down to a proposal. I mean, we've got some proposals out there that we're working on that we'll come forward with eventually. Uh we're just not to that point yet. And so it's just a matter of it it's a matter it's a matter of taking care of your city. I mean, Mayor Hamm on numerous occasions I've heard him say if you don't have A safe city, you don't have a city. Well, he's right. And uh I think I think that can be extended further to uh if you have streets that are impassable, you don't have much of a city. Uh if if you flood if your city floods every time it rains, you don't have much of a city. And so we're very proud of Moore. We think it's a great city, we want it to continue to be a great city, and one of the ways we do this is we take care of our infrastructure.

SPEAKER_01 22:29

Exactly. And you know, as I think that's all the questions that I have for you. If there's something I've left out or something you would like to uh ask just to kind of wrap this up of me, or just uh uh uh make a statement, please uh share with us something.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Well, we have uh we have a couple of projects going on right now. I mean the the main one being the four street underpass. And so that's projected to be uh completed uh right around the start of 2027, and we're all excited about that. Uh that project's been a long time coming. And it's just I just want people to understand that these are hard projects in the fact that the coordination it takes with other entities. So for instance, the underpass is particularly difficult because not only is it the city of War, it's the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, it is BNSF Railroad, and even though it's our city, uh we're third in that technology. But then along with that and other projects, uh, you have to acquire a right-of-way, which is kind of consuming, and you have to have utilities relocated, because when a lot of these utilities were put in the ground 50 years ago, uh it was never imagined the war would become what it is today. And so there's a lot of coordination that goes into that, and unfortunately it takes a lot of time. So just because I just hope everyone understands, just because you don't see the bulldozers out there and a lot of dirt turning doesn't mean that nothing's happening. A lot of times it is, it's just not in the into the construction part yet.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

And I would just add uh part of these uh Geobond projects, especially when you're rebuilding a road, uh, from uh just basically starting over is the utility relocation. And we can't touch other entities' utilities, we have to reach out to them, let them know we're gonna be doing this, they acknowledge that, and then they put it in their timeline when they'll come and relocate that utility, whether it's a phone line or a gas line or power lines. And often you don't see things happening because we're waiting on them, and then they have not just more to deal with, but uh the entire metro. So the resources are slim and it just takes time to get everything ready to go. But once we get that green light, then we start.

SPEAKER_02 24:54

Exactly. Yeah, we we try and move on these projects just as fast as we can.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

Well, uh I I say this about Brooks and and I mean it, and when I go to bed at night, I don't ever worry about our financial uh soundness or standing. We're in we're in good hands, and we are not gonna spend money that we don't have. We're not gonna uh hire people and crossing our fingers hoping that the money will be there later. No, we'll have a track record that will indicate that the the funds are there to fund those positions of those people that we've hired. And that just comes back to being fiscally conservative, fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. We all understand this isn't uh a public company that's just bringing in millions of dollars from advertisement. It's tax dollars, and we're very careful with how we spend it. So I want to say thank you very much, Mr. Brooks Mitchell, our city manager. And Brooks, if the citizens of our community ever have any questions, are they free to give you a call or send you an email?

SPEAKER_02 25:56

Oh, absolutely, please. I mean that that's one of the reasons I'm here is to answer any questions that citizens may have. So uh always happy to engage, and please feel free to feel free to call or send me send me an email or come by City Hall.

SPEAKER_00 26:10

Sounds great. I'll just add my thanks, Brooks. Uh, it's been fun getting to know you the years you've been here and think you do a great job. Think the city does a great job. And we're gonna wrap this segment up uh and we'll be right back after this to take uh one or two of your questions. The City of Moore's 2026 Memorial Day ceremony will be held on Monday, May 25th at Veterans Memorial Park, located at 1900 Southeast 4th Street. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. For more information, please call 405-793-5090. Hey, welcome back to our final segment of More Stop. Uh, this is where we take questions from the community, and Mayor Mark, we have a couple questions straight off of social media, hot off of Facebook. Great. I'm gonna hit you with the first one. This is from Jeremy Stevenson. He wants to know what's the best way we as community members can get plugged in and connected to really make a difference?

SPEAKER_01 27:17

That is a great question, and I'm glad that you asked that. Especially at this time of the year, we have multiple boards. So we have a uh Planning Commission, we have a parks board, we have a board of adjustment, uh, and a couple of other boards where members of our community, residents who live here and more, volunteer to serve on those committees. We also have a CDBG community, uh, community development block grant committee. And those committees are just made up of people that live here. And in July, we will post vacancies on our city's webpage. I know we're talking a lot about our city's webpage, but that's the heart, and that's where all of the information is at. So uh in June or in July, if you'll start going there and looking, there will be opportunities for you to complete an application and then it'll be submitted, and you may or may not get chosen to be a part of one of these committees that you've uh asked to be on. And those committees are vital, they are appointed positions, uh, whereas my position is elected. But the example, the planning commission is very active and busy, and generally, if there is an issue with uh an ordinance or with zoning, those things get worked out at the planning commission. Sometimes the applicant has to go back and rework some things, uh, and then it will get presented to the city council when it's time. And we know that it's been vetted, and generally, a lot of the questions have been answered by the community. So if you're looking for something active, it's that planning commission, but our parks board is vital and is important, and we value the input because it's input from uh the residents of this city.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Now, spaces are limited on some of those committees, so you may or may not make it onto a committee, but there's still plenty of ways I'm I'm guessing for folks to be involved in the community.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Definitely. You know, as I'm sitting here, I'm thinking about our animal shelter, and we're always looking for volunteers who would volunteer a few hours, an hour or maybe two hours, uh, to go down and to connect with some of the pets. You know, those pets are in kennels. Uh, they do get time out, but it's great for them to have interaction, somebody playing catch with them or just spending some time with the animal sitting on their lap and just kind of uh uh petting their ears and just that human interaction with them. Or if you want to be a foster parent uh for one of those animals, we'll temporarily you would house a dog or a cat until we're able to find it a find a home. Our police department uh has volunteers for residents to serve on uh various uh organizations within the police department that they have where you can be part of a crime watch and a community watch, and again look at the uh police department for more information about them. And then, of course, just following all of our social media. So we'll do um, you know, coming up this month, uh actually it'll be in April, so that opportunity won't be there, but it's uh burgers and badges. The police department is always looking for people to come out who want to help uh serve food. Um following following the parks, following uh the police and the fire, uh you know, the shop with a cop. Just there's just so many opportunities for citizens to connect and be involved in things that are happening in in Moore, Oklahoma. Just real quick, I think about Haunt Old Town, uh, I think about the Red Ribbon Parade, and I'll think about our Christmas parade that we have. So if you're looking to connect, if you want something a little more structured, some of our boards and commissions, if you're just wanting to volunteer a Saturday here or there, uh the Animal Shelter, or some of the other things that we mentioned.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

And again, just to reemphasize, um every department has a social media account, especially Facebook, but that's a good place to start. City of Moore, uh Parks and Recreation, Moore Police Department, Moore Fire Department, the Animal Shelter. Follow those and you'll get lots of announcements that will keep you up on volunteer opportunities. Okay, we're gonna wind down with one last question from Catherine Steno. She wants to know, Mayor Mark, what do you like best about being mayor of Moore?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

What a great question. And I'd love to be a part of the decision-making process. So as the mayor and then as the council, as we hear from the residents of this community things that they're wanting, things that their their needs are, is that we can address them. Uh often it's something as simple as the stop sign is faded or the street signs are are faded, or there's a pothole on a residential street, and we try to get those things resolved. It's nice to be able to get things done and to see it happen quickly. And again, I've grown up in this town, I've lived here for 59 years, this is my home, and it's just a real honor to get to be the mayor of my hometown and represent uh more uh not just here in Oklahoma, but when I get opportunities to travel on behalf of our city to uh we are a part of the bigger discussion and uh honored to do that. And the last thing that I would say, Jeremy Stevens will get a copy of our uh The Passing of Time at Moore, Oklahoma, uh by Clyde Troyer. He was one of our former mayors. So, Jeremy, we'll get this in the mail to you right away. And Catherine, uh, I would like to get you one, but uh, Jeremy was the first question that I chose, so we won't be able to give you one, but maybe next time.

SPEAKER_00 32:55

That's that. Okay, hey, thanks so much again for joining us on episode three of Moore's Stop. All things more. Uh Mayor Hamm, always great. Great information from Brooks Mitchell today. It seems like a good episode.

SPEAKER_01 33:09

I agree, and looking forward to episode four and have an exciting guest, and please uh come on back.