Grove residents struggle to maintain their sleepy town despite growth

By Penny Cockerell
The Oklahoman


Tom and Janey Gray have lived in the Grove community all of their lives. With 60 acres of open space, an orchard with peaches and nectarines, a woodshop and a horse or two, it all added up to a country life that could have lasted forever.

That is, until city officials persuaded them to sell nearly five acres of their northeastern Oklahoma land to build a road on the outskirts of town to help the booming business community. The road will pass within 20 feet of their back door. It will eliminate the orchard that Tom Gray planted all those years ago.

"We're tired of fighting," said Tom Gray, whose wife is battling breast cancer. "My wife is taking chemo and all these other things and we're both just drained of energy and we just decided to do it."

They struck a deal to move the woodshop, agreed on a fair price and made a decision to leave when they can. The Grays will get $140,000 for 4.8 acres. If their land is annexed into commercial property, its value will quadruple. But none of that matters. The quiet lake community they planned to retire in has swelled into a boom town.

"Now we've got the hospital at our back door and Lowe's across the road and Wal-Mart," Tom Gray said. "Our country living lifestyle is done for this location. We're gonna load up our old horse and move."

Too much good thing
Some might say that Grove has a set of good problems. Folks are moving to the area in droves. Last year alone, more than 500 Californians tested for an Oklahoma license in Grove.

Kansans and Yankees also have discovered Grove and Grand Lake because the land is cheap, the views are breathtaking and the rules aren't too stringent.

Mayor Carolyn Nuckolls says Grand Lake is one of the only communities nationwide where homes can be built close to the shoreline. The shore line around Grand Lake is privately owned.

Retirees also have flocked to Grove
"I've lived here all my life and the growth rate is unbelievable and continues to be so," Nuckolls said. "It basically was just a little farm town."

Nuckolls sees Grove as the hub for Grand Lake, which surrounds the town on three sides.

Businesses have taken notice, too. National chain restaurants and stores are vying for land and don't blink at the price.

At the same time, Grove area residents are learning fast what it means to be a boom town. Dilemmas crop up at every city council meeting, from road building and sewer plants, building a new civic center, to revising sign and landscape codes.

Push comes to shove
Delaware County has 25,000 to 30,000 residents, with about 6,000 in the Grove city limits. During the summer months, up to 300,000 tourists surround the lake.

The city also recently built an $8.5 million sewage plant to keep up with demand. A new high school was built in 2000 and it was too small before it opened.

Landowners are offered money so that roads can be built. All but one owner has agreed to sell.

"We will use the power of condemnation. That's what cities do," said Bill Galletly, Grove's city manager. "Of course, we try to avoid that."

Another resident who lives on the edge of town will lose 100 feet of her 150-foot lawn for a road.

"She wants to die in that house, and she comes to every (city council) meeting," Galletly said. "We're gonna do everything we can with her, but we've got to have that road."

And therein lies the struggle. The town had been growing steadily, and Rand McNally named it one of the nation's top five places to live in the 1990s.

Then, growth really took off, leaving some happy and others packing to leave.

"You go from a sleepy little town to a major growth area with a high income, it's a whole different set of values and it's painful sometimes," Galletly said. "The older people here, their town is going away; this is not the town they grew up in."

Folks are building $1 million luxury homes on the lake, which are worth more than some entire city blocks within Grove city limits. And that's cheap, considering that in California, a modest home might sell for $700,000.

"It's all word of mouth," he said. "We don't want it to grow any faster than it is. We want to be able to stay up with it."

While the growth continues, so does the push to maintain a historical downtown. And to ensure that sidewalks, bike and walking paths are added with the new developments.

It's the lake Lake-related discussions center on how to acquire property for more boat ramps and to maintain the "relaxed atmosphere" of large trees and a natural, yet man-made beach.

Contention among some locals is strong, especially between Grove real estate agent Jack Forrest and Galletly. Forrest says he's looking out for Grove's best interest and believes the city's behavior borders more on madness than corruption. Galletly and others say Forrest attempts to sabotage their expansion efforts and has his own motives at heart.

Grove is not the first -- nor the last -- small town to become so desirable. The trick, all agree, is to maintain the small-town charm while accommodating big-spender demands. Like others, Forrest just has to look around to see what all the fuss is about.

"As Bill Clinton said, 'It's the lake, Stupid.'"