Kingfisher Mayor Geoff Covalt covered a wide range of topics as the guest speaker of the Kingfisher Rotary Club last Tuesday.

He said Kingfisher was beginning a “long overdue” capital improvement plan, which includes upgrades to electric utilities, water, water storage, waste water, flood water management and roads.

Covalt said Kingfisher’s utility rates were among the lowest of not only neighboring communities, but also were lowest among Oklahoma cities of comparable size.

“The improvements are long overdue and imperative,” Covalt said. “There has been a lot of deferred maintenance over the years and now we’re at that critical phase where improvements must be made.”

More than $36 million in upgrades must be addressed over the next several years, Covalt told Rotarians.

“It’s a large task and we must start by biting off chunks at a time as we can afford to do so,” he said.

Covalt brought Kingfisher Fire Chief Ryan Gibson and Police Chief Travis Gray to the meeting. Kingfisher Rotarian and City Manager Jim Thomas was also in attendance.

The new fire station will be being put to bid soon, Covalt told the group, after several delays due to revisions to the plans.

“That’s a half-cent sales tax,” Covalt said. “It will wind up taking an estimated $14 million to complete that project, and at the same time, we continue to have a half-cent sales tax that goes through 2031 for the hospital, although we think that may be paid off a little earlier.”

He said the electric power plant would also need generator upgrades or replacements.

Covalt said the city employs 70 people, and he, Thomas and the other commissioners were very pleased with department heads and staff, who all worked well together.

He concluded by stating that he en- couraged the citizens of Kingfisher to be involved and stay informed on the city’s business.

Covalt noted that Debbie Burpo had resigned her commissioner seat at last Monday’s meeting as she recently moved out of the city limits.

The city commissioners will vote on her replacement for the unexpired term from a pool of interested candidates.

He encouraged all Kingfi sher citizens to write a letter of interest to fill the vacant seat.

Letters will be accepted though Aug. 7 and from those received, the commissioners will select a replacement to fill the seat until it comes up for re-election in April 2026.