By ANDREW W. GRIFFIN

Oklahoma Watchdog, editor

Posted: July 22, 2010

andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

OKLAHOMA CITY –After months of disagreements and disputes, the City of Piedmont is going forward with the planned Williams Grocery store.

In several reports in April, Oklahoma Watchdog reported on the issues taking place in Piedmont, particularly between Phil Boevers, a Piedmont developer who supported a Buy For Less grocery store going in the center of town and the Piedmont council members and Mayor Mike Fina who supported plans to build the Williams store on some land south of the city’s business district.

The Piedmont-Surrey Gazette reported last week that “Jeff Williams of Williams Grocery announced his company officially began seeking bids Tuesday for a general contractor to construct a 28,400 sq. ft. Williams grocery store in Piedmont.”

Williams, whose local chain is based in Tuttle,  confirmed this in an interview with this news site.

“We went out to bid on July 20th, and the bids are due back on August 3rd and award a bid and break ground by the second of week of August,” Williams said.

Williams said the news that his store would in fact be coming to Piedmont resulted in Boevers taking two full-page advertisements in the Gazette condemning the plan and saying the city is making a mistake.

Regardless, Williams said he is ready to start building the store.

“We’re excited to get process behind us,” Williams said.

But opposition remains. Hoss Cooley, the Ward 4 councilman for the City of Piedmont, spoke to Oklahoma Watchdog this week to give us an update on the issue over the proposed Williams Grocery store .

Cooley said nothing has been done on TIF district funding, which would include approximately $2 million for the nearly $4 million store. Cooley said he suspects Williams will “be on his own on this thing” and will end up filing a suit against the city when the TIF funding doesn’t come through.

“He’s taking a big gamble,” Cooley said of Williams.

“There’s not one business man in town that wants that Williams Grocery,” Cooley said. “They think Williams is too high priced. They like Buy For Less because the prices are lower than Williams.”

Cooley echoed what was said in the council meetings three months ago saying that having the store south of town won’t help draw more people from surrounding communities into the city core.

And Cooley lays a lot of blame on Mayor Fina. Cooley said Fina wants things his way and does not want to work with Boevers, a man he said who has “brought a lot of business into the town of Piedmont.”

“Mike Fina has his group that votes his way,” Cooley said. “I hate to see it happening.”

Added Cooley: “Ninety percent don’t want him back as mayor. He’s hurt the town.”

Asked for his thoughts, Phil Boevers said he agreed that Fina has “hurt the town.” But he is hoping to address the matter soon.

“There’s some stuff fixin’ to happen next week,” Boevers said. “We’ll put them on notice and we’ll sue them next week.”

He noted that in his newspaper ad the city is going to have to cough up $2.3 million more than they would have to if they had gone with his plan involving the Buy For Less.

A call was placed to Clark Williams, the Piedmont city manager, but that call was not returned.

Also, Boevers said he is baffled that the city is trying to recognize the farm field where the store is scheduled to go a “blighted area.”

Boevers said the city is trying to get the store site to be part of the “neighborhood redevelopment act.”

“Eleven conditions need to be met on a blighted area,” he said. “They don’t have one.”

Copyright 2010 Oklahoma Watchdog