It was a quick hit Feb. 18 when the Watonga City Council met in regular session. It had to be, with the anticipation of a rare snowstorm moving in, just as predicted.
Although there was a council present, the usual gallery of 15 or 20 residents was at home curled up by the fire, with only four or five brave souls, three of them city council candidates, in attendance Following the passage of the consent agenda, the financial report was reviewed and approved. The representative from RS Meacham, the city’s accountant, was unable to attend, so the review as quite brief. It showed a balance of $5.4 million in unrestricted cash – that not earmarked by management principles for specific uses – and another $14.14 million in restricted funds, specified for items such as water and sewer projects now underway. The numbers showed the city on solid financial footing.
But of course, once the money was in hand, some of it had to be doled out. The council agreed to purchase previously budgeted gear for five firefighters at a cost of $15,969. City manager Karrie Little noted that the costs wound up being about $10,000 less than the original quotes. The gear includes three sets of bunker gear for firefighters and two sets of wildland gear.
The parks department had previously requested and been budgeted to receive a new mower at a cost of $13,349. The purchase was made from Jacky’s Lawn and Lube. Mayor Kayla Ragsdale wondered out loud whether other vendors had been considered but learned that the nearest other vendors were in Weatherford or Oklahoma City and could not provide service and parts after the sale or do warranty work that far away from their sales floors. Statute requires the best quote be accepted but allows leeway to give preference to local vendors when costs are close or equal.
The council also approved payment to BRB, the contractor working on the water and sewer projects. This is the sixth payment, for $742,957, and was approved by Garver, the project engineering firm.
Once the bills were paid, the council sped through the Public Works and Watonga Economic Development Authority meetings, with only a single action item between them, the approval of the water and sewer payment, and the meeting adjourned by 6:15, allowing the attendees, city officials and council members to head home while the streets were still relatively clear of falling snow.