FULL ARTICLE
Jeff Kaley
The Duncan Banner - Nov. 22, 2009
WAURIKA —
Bridges — those that already exist and those that are still on the
drawing board — were on the minds of the Jefferson County Commissioners.
During
a regular meeting (Nov. 13) at the Jefferson County Courthouse, the
three county chiefs huddled with engineer Clark Mitchell and Kenny Wall
from the Surface Transportation Program (STP) district office to work
on a five-year bridge plan required by the Oklahoma Department of
Transportation and other entities.
The five-year plan is updated
annually and Mitchell provided input on a variety of factors that need
to be considered in creating the bridge “wish list.”
He told the
commissioners to keep in mind that while they’re prioritizing bridge
projects to submit for their districts “you need to really sit back and
think about what you’re requesting, because it’s not just your district
that will be considered [in receiving funding], it’s all three
districts.”
Mitchell also said there were changes coming in the
matching funds program that will make it more difficult to obtain the
80/20 match the county has received in the past.
Wall, who spent
20 years as a Jefferson County Commissioner, added information from his
angle as STP District head and contributed suggestions on to effective
pursue the five-year plan.
The commissioners took no action
during the meeting and will revisit the topic when they are closer to
having the plan completed.
In other matters involving bridges
and roads, the commissioners approved an application for an STP project
that Wall will deliver to the district office. They also unanimously
approved a programming resolution on a project over Mud Creek and
Cottonwood Creek in District 2, which involves repairs on two bridges
located 7 miles west of State Highway 89.
At a previous meeting,
the commissioners approved going into a lease agreement with the
Oklahoma Department of Juvenile Affairs, which would provide a room in
the courthouse for use by the ODJA. That topic was revisited at
Friday’s meeting, because the Oklahoma Department of Human Services had
informed the commissioners it has office space in its facility on U.S.
Highway 70 that the Juvenile Affairs Department could use.
Commission Chair Billy Kidd said the commissioners would meet with DHS representatives to discuss the matter.
In
another item tied to juvenile detention, the commissioners approved
payment of $633.94 to Comanche County Regional Juvenile Detention
Center. The payment was for housing a juvenile offender from Jefferson
County, with funds coming from the County General Fund.
County
Court Clerk Carolyn Watkins noted that those funds would eventually be
reimbursed to the county through her office and the District 6 District
Attorney Office.
County Sheriff Michael Bryant has been working
on a project to make corrections and updates to the county employee
personnel policy. He presented the commissioners a final draft and they
approved re-adopting the policy, with the revised policy to be
distributed to all county employees.
Also re-adopted were the
following safety programs: Hazard assessment for protective equipment;
emergency evacuation plan, lock out/tag out program, drug and alcohol
testing, and bloodborne pathogens.
The commissioners unanimously to approve the following:
n County employee payroll for the first half of November.
n
A transfer in the Highway Fund due to a clerical error that caused a
warrant to be paid out of account T24 instead of account T1B.
n Claims and authorization of blanket purchase orders.
n County officers reports.
n Minutes from a regular meeting on Nov. 2.
The
commissioners also heard a report from Bryant, who attended the most
recent meeting of the Jefferson County Economic Development Authority
(JCEDA).
Bryant said the JCEDA trustees approved moving forward
on retaining a bank loan to provide funds for the building at 102 W. C
Street, where the group hopes to open a detention center.
Bryant also noted that Don Allen informed JCEDA trustees that he was resigning from the board.
Posted on
Tue, November 24, 2009
by Crystal Drwenski