GEARY — Geary city councilmembers agreed last week to seek applications for the council seat vacated in November by Cody Wright, who moved away that month.
Geary’s Ward Four councilmember must live in the southeastern section of town. The ward includes streets like Ringleman, Crain, South, Winnview and DeWade on both sides of Broadway, as well as Rock Island Avenue and Choctaw Street in Canadian County.
Applications for the seat are available at Geary City Hall.
The vacant seat was discussed during the council’s first meeting of 2022 on Thursday, Jan. 6. The three remaining councilmembers — Tabbitha Kiener, Cozetta Johnson and Mary Hays — were all present, as was Mayor Bobby Allen, Clerk Paula Reding and attorney Ray Vincent.
Police Chief Cecil Harrall and fire Chief Jeff Choate were also present to give their monthly reports to the council.
During his report, Harrall told councilmembers that the Oct. 13 shooting involving Geary officers has been ruled justified. The shooting was looked at by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, which turned over its findings to the district attorney whose office ultimately determined it was justified.
During the meeting, the councilmembers also:
• Accepted a financial report from Linda Bourn, CPA
• Transferred $1,000 to cover an invoice for the new dog pound in northeast Geary
• Approved payments for CompSource, a workers’ compensation insurance company
Councilmembers also reached an agreement with Makala and Kalep Mooney during the meeting to rent the old city hall space on Braodway. Makala Mooney wants to use the space for a hair salon, which will open as soon as they can make necessary changes and upgrades to the space.
She announced on Facebook Monday that the salon will be called “Shear Bliss Hair Salon” and anticipates that it will open in early February. The salon is located next to the Odds and Ends boutique and across the street from the Family Dollar.
The council convened as the Geary Utilities Authority after the main council agenda. It considered authorizing an increase in electrical pricing, so that the price would always be 8 cents higher than the city’s cost; however, Kiener postponed that discussion for another month, saying she wants to see how such a move would impact residents’ utility bills before moving forward.
Geary residents are already paying about 8 cents over cost, but the city is not currently authorized to up the price if the cost goes up. Current pricing is 12 cents per kilowatt hour for residents and 13 cents commercially.