The Kingfisher County Courthouse offices will have telephone service provided over the internet soon.

Kent Weems, Pioneer Telephone sales engineer and project coordinator, who appeared at the commission’s meeting Monday, reported that work on the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services can begin within the next week.

Weems said the system is next generation quality service and will provide upgraded internet phone service to all county offices and will allow removal of several large equipment boxes in the courthouse basement that were needed to operate the land lines now in use.

Exceptions include the court clerk and district attorney offices, which are connected to the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN), a statewide system connecting all state courts.

The new system will provide software, hardware, media, printed materials and “online” or electronic documentation to each county office.

The new system will entail a $10,362.01 installation fee and a monthly service charge of $1,674.60.

Commissioners approved hiring E. Edd Pritchett Jr. of the law firm of Durbin, Larimore and Bialick, P.C., of Oklahoma City to engage in condemnation of property on the East Robberts Avenue bridge at the east side of Kingfisher.

Commissioners approved payment of a $4,400 claim from Pinnacle Consulting Management Group for work on the Robberts bridge rightof- way.

The Pritchett contract calls for a fee of $200 per hour for Pritchett and a fee of $75 per hour for paralegal, secretary or intern work.

Commissioners approved participation in an opioids settlement with Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart Opioids Implementation Administrator in order to receive a portion of the settlement payment.

A public access drive installation for Louis H. Schupbach Trust located .4 mile north of West 840 Road from the 840-2860 roads intersection received approval as did the following requests for right-ofway permits for pipeline crossings of county roads:

• Estack, LLC – 10-inch x 2 lay flat fresh water line located seven miles east and five miles south of Kingfisher, District 1;

• BCE Mach III Midstream Holdings – a 12inch and 10-inch poly line located six miles south and four miles east of Hennessey, a 12-inch and a 10-inch poly line located six miles south and one mile east of Hennessey and a 12-inch and 10-inch line located eight miles east of Dover, all in District 2.

• Ovintiv – 12-inch lay flat line located three miles east and three miles south of Kingfisher, District 1, and a 12-inch line located two miles west and one mile north of Okarche, District 3.

Commissioners announced the courthouse would be closed Friday for Good Friday.

Present for the meeting in addition to Commissioners Jeff Moss, District 1, Ray Alan Shimanek, District 2, and Heath Dobrovolny, District 3, were County Clerk Jeannie Boevers as official minute clerk, County Engineer Nik Smith, Weems, and Grant Kirby of Hennessey.