Watonga City Council met Nov. 27 in special session. The regular meeting scheduled for Nov. 21 was canceled because of lack of a quorum, or enough council member to do business.
And there were a few significant items on the agenda. One was to authorize the city manager to purchase a new dump truck, one that does not require a commercial driver’s license to operate. The caveat was that it cost less than $50,000.
A used 2013 model was located close enough to be purchased and delivered quickly. That was important, City Manager Karrie Little said, so the city could continue its work on collecting tree limbs and brush piles on an everyother- month schedule. The old truck, she said, was a 1984 model that was basically shot.
The majority of the funds for the truck came from an added fee on city power bills. It has been tagged as a green fee or Earth Day fee of about $2 per billing cycle. Over the years more than $30,000 had accumulated and that money was utilized for the truck purchase.
“We felt it was an appropriate use of that money,” Little said. She went on to say that the citizens had been told the money would go toward cleanup of the town, and the dump truck is for that purpose. “So,” she said, “We felt that it was a good use for it.”
The council also acted on a recommendation from the planning and zoning committee to allow the placement of a mobile home at 700 N. Montgomery Ave. When an application is made for use outside of the zoning plan for an area, the applicant must meet the requirements for the exception such as placing a mobile home on a permanent foundation or meeting the specifications for underpinnings on the home.
The council also signed an agreement with Pioneer Cellular for access to a communications tower. The tower is part of a grant application process that will allow the city to improve its emergency communications system as outlined in the capital improvement plan approved by the council earlier this year.
The city also transferred its property at 319 N. Weigle to the Watonga Economic Development Authority, or WEDA. That is the location of the home built in conjunction with Zona Verde and WarCon Builders. The collaboration required the city keep the house available for tours to prospective clients for 60 days after completion. That time has elapsed and the transfer will allow the city to market the home through a local realtor. Plans for a second home build are still in the works, and the company that constructed the home is searching for an Oklahoma location for its first stateside manufacturing facility. The Watonga City Council will meet again at 6 p.m. on Dec. 19 in City Hall, 410 E. Main.