WATONGA — The Watonga City Council met for the final time in 2021 on Tuesday, Dec. 21, discussing a range of agenda items and looking ahead to the new year.
All city councilmembers were present for the meeting, including Mayor Bill Seitter, Travis Bradt, Lindsey Doyel, Tina Willis and Allen Cowan. City Manager Karrie Beth Little, city attorney Jared Harrison, and airport manager Jenna Ohman were also present, as was Jeanna King of RS Meacham.
Officer Douglas Jackson gave the invocation as the meeting began.
After approving monthly reports from the various city departments and accepting the claims against the city for November 2021, King walked the council through a financial report that covered the fiscal year through November. King said the city's oil and gas revenues and sales tax revenues are up over this time last year, helping the city stay more or less in line with its projected budget and expenses for the year.
Watonga's Light & Water revenues are also up considerably over FY 2021, King revealed, as new businesses like the hotel and casino have used more energy.
Later, Little told the council that its holiday schedule for 2022 would have to be amended because Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. City employees will have the day off on June 20 — one day after Juneteenth, which happens to fall on a Sunday in 2022. The city considered having employees work on Good Friday instead, as Watonga is not required by law to give employees an off day before Easter, but ultimately opted to simply add the additional holiday and not take any away, at least for this year.
The issue of taking police vehicles home reappeared on Tuesday's agenda, as the council had previously deliberated what the city's policy should be but took no concrete action earlier this year.
The council decided to prohibit city vehicles from being driven home if the officer lives outside city limits. Officers inside Watonga can drive their police cars home with Little's approval, the council determined.
The new policy will affect several officers who currently live outside city limits but drive their patrol vehicles home, Little said. The rule is designed to limit the city's liability concerns and expenses like fuel.
Finally, councilmembers approved a one-year contract for municipal court software and accepted a Rural Economic Action Plan grant, commonly abbreviated as a REAP grant, in the amount of $105,000.
The REAP grant will help pay for drying beds at the city's wastewater treatment plant. Watonga is also kicking in $131,000 for that project, Little said.
After the city council meeting adjourned, councilmembers reconvened briefly as the Watonga Public Works Authority and approved a five-year plan for the Watonga Regional Airport that will include work on its west- and south-side taxiways, as well as taxiway lighting
Ȧ major extension and reconstruction of the airport's runway is already in motion and set to begin shortly, Ohman said.
Before attendees departed, Little told the council that the city will be starting a recycling program — at no cost to the city — and rolling it out sometime in early 2022. More information will be available at the next council meeting, Little said.