By John Dobberstein, Editor
The Coweta City Council on Monday voted to amend the employment contract for City Manager Julie Casteen, and the embattled top administrator will be leaving no later than October. Casteen has said she plans to retire in October.
Casteen was serving as the assistant city manager when she was appointed as city manager in 2024, taking the reins from interim city manager Lisa Taylor. Taylor was appointed in 2023 after the resignation of Roger Kolman.
The Sentinel has asked the city to provide specific details about changes to the contract and we will report this information when it’s available.
During Casteen’s tenure, the city saw some movement on the city’s daunting list of infrastructure projects, and new retail and housing developments came in, including a $100 million casino built by the Muscogee Creek Nation.
The city’s population continued to increase as well, as Wagoner County continues to be one of the fastest-growing counties in the state.
But Casteen’s tenure became very rocky when news of a proposed data center, Project Atlas, emerged last fall. Casteen and some City Council members had signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with the developer and had known about the project for more than a year before it was announced.
NDAs are not illegal and are often part of the process in negotiating development agreements, but many residents argued the NDAs undermined their trust in elected officials and city staff. The developer, Beale Infrastructure pulled out of the project earlier this year without explanation, although there was significant opposition to the project from residents.
Casteen was also in hot water in March, when the Sentinel reported she had called opponents of the project “not very smart.” Casteen issued an apology for the statements.
“I recognize that what I said in text messages to others was inappropriate and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize,” Casteen said at the time. “I take full responsibility for falling short of the standard this community deserves and am committed to better judgment and better communication moving forward.”
City councilors faced repeated demands this year to fire Casteen, and residents angrily told Casteen she should resign, but she refused.
Coweta Police Chief Michael Bell was also ordered by the City Council in May to investigate allegations of misconduct levied toward members of the City Council and city staff, including Casteen.
Bell recently released his findings, saying Coweta police, along with OSBI and the Wagoner County District Attorney’s Office, did not have enough evidence to establish violations of the Opens Records and Open Meetings Acts, misuse of public office, ethics violations or lack of transparency about economic developm
Leave a Reply