City commissioners on Monday approved the purchase of an incinerator for the disposal of animals at the city’s animal shelter.

The cost was $17,900 to replace the existing one that had been donated several years ago.

That incinerator no longer worked and could not be repaired.

Voting were Mayor Geoff Covalt, Vice Mayor Jeff Wittrock and Commissioners Dawn Taylor and Kyle Mecklenburg, though not without some discussion about the purchase.

Commissioner Debbie Burpo was unable to attend.

City Manager Jim Thomas commented that Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality rules state the equipment must be replaced and he was able to save approximately 33 percent by ordering the equipment through Burnz-Well, Inc., as the company was replacing another incinerator in the state.

By replacing the one in Kingfisher on the same trip, funds could be saved, Thomas noted.

Mecklenburg said he understood why the decision was made, but he cautioned Thomas that he should seek approval from the commissioners before making such purchases.

Thomas said he understood the caution, but under the circumstances, he felt it was best to order the equipment and save the money.

Wittrock added that it was unusual to approve a purchase after the purchase was made and reinforced the position of the commission that the members be contacted before such a purchase was made in the future.

Both commissioners agreed that it was an unusual situation and they understood why the decision was made.

Police officer Quinton Cline was in attendance and reported that the incinerator was now up and running.

He said the police department tries its best to find homes for dogs collected at the animal control center through social media methods, but if they are not able to do so within 72 hours, they are taken to the veterinarian to be put down.

He said the carcasses are then frozen and incinerated on a regular schedule.

In other business the commissioners approved the payment of $20,000 to Tivoli Homes, LLC to go toward the construction of a water drainage holding pond in the Montevino housing addition on the west side of 13th Street in Kingfisher.

Former Mayor Jack Stuteville was present at the meeting and commented that when the small-lot housing addition was first developed, water flow issues were never fully considered.

Stuteville owns a home bordering the Montevino addition and said he put in culverts at his own expense to try to help with the water flow drainage, but it was still a serious issue for neighboring homeowners down stream of the addition.

Lance Windel of Tivoli Homes was also present at the meeting.

His firm recently purchased the Montevino addition and he said a pond on the facility to hold the drainage was the only option and he requested that the city help with expenses in the pond’s construction.

Mecklenburg said he felt that the total expense should be on the owners of the addition and he voted no, while the other board members approved the expenditure by a vote of 3-1.

In other business, the board unanimously approved road paving repairs by Atlas Paving of $11,604.76 for Robin Lane and $40,657.20 to Meadow Lane in Meeker Addition on the south edge of Kingfisher.

In her report, City Treasurer Anita James said the city operated at a loss of $197,875 for the month of November, but was on budget for the fiscal year, with over $10 million of unencumbered cash in the banks.

Thomas commented that he was “cautiously optimistic” that the budget would remain on track for the rest of the fiscal year.

In his report, Thomas said the city was not renewing its contract with the Cowan Engineer Group and he and Covalt were in the process of contacting and interviewing representatives from 14 other firms that specialize in consulting for city services.

Thomas said he would report back at the next meeting on their findings.

Also present at the meeting were City Attorney Jared Harrison and City Clerk Brittney Hladik.

The next meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13.