INOLA, Okla. — Unlike on June 29, the July 13 Inola town council meeting did not last until midnight but still included plenty of disagreements between town trustees and community members.
- Previous coverage>>> Inola City Council approves 60-day moratorium for aluminum smelter
When discussing adding a fifth person to the resident-led Inola Community Accountability Review and Engagement (ICARE) committee -- made in response to the discourse around a controversial planned aluminum smelter -- town trustee Mark Redden took issue with no members or the person applying to the fifth spot living inside the town limits. The council, including Redden, approved the extra member anyway after a heated discussion.
WATCH: Community disagreements with Inola town council continue in latest meeting
A current member of the ICARE also presented a report to the council, asking for the body to approve a $50,000 expense for its engineering firm, Holloway Updike & Bellen, Inc. (HUB) to conduct an environmental survey.
"Neither (Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality) nor the EPA will have any kind of sensors at the plant, no sampling at the plant, none. Zero. That is all done by the Emiratis," the member stated, reporting from Emirates Global Aluminum's air permit application filed with ODEQ.
The council later surprisingly voted 3-2 not to fire the recently-hired, part-time town planner James Shaffer, who's also a local realtor and on the town's planning and zoning commission, despite claims from many in the crowd and council of conflicts of interest.
However, Shaffer took matters into his own hands by resigning from both just after the vote.
"I will make it easier for you," Shaffer told the council at the public comment podium during the meeting. "So, effective tonight, I will submit my resignation. And thank you all for the opportunity."
The council also voted to fire police officer TJ Nichols. 2 News Oklahoma will submit an Open Records Request with Town of Inola for records related to the termination.
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