The chairman of the Kingfisher County commissioners gave Lions Club members a glimpse of not only some immediate plans, but also future needs.

Included is a new county courthouse.

“We’re going to need to build a new courthouse at some point,” Dobrovolny told the Kingfisher civic club as guest speaker last Thursday.

The current courthouse has been in use for more than 60 years.

Construction on it was completed in 1960 (at a cost of $450,000).

Although there’s no timetable to actually build a new facility, steps are currently being taken to make room.

“We’re in the process of trying to vacate the courthouse annex right now,” he said. The annex sits southeast of the courthouse and houses the Kingfisher County Health Department as well as the Extension Office.

“The long-term goal is to clear the south end of the block to make room for the new courthouse.”

The health department already has a new home.

Through its own decades of saving, the department was able to purchase a building on Bowman Avenue that sits just west of the former Kingfisher Regional Hospital.

It is currently being completely remodeled.

“That project is on task and on budget,” Dobrovolny said. “We’re hoping to see its completion by Labor Day or just a little after.”

Also a part of clearing out the south end of the block near the courthouse is the demolition of the former jail and sheriff’s office, which is now vacant.

Commissioners called for bids for that process at their July 18 meeting.

“We’re hoping those bids are very reasonable and we can get that started,” he said. “We hope to have that down by the end of the year.”

Once cleared, that space will serve as extra parking for the courthouse.

“That’s something we need,” Dobrovolny said. “If you’ve ever tried to park at the courthouse on a day they’re having court, you know spots are at a premium.”

The commissioner added that renovations are being made to the current courthouse, including painting and stucco repair.

“We’re trying to dress it up and preserve it as long as we can,” Dobrovolny said.

Security upgrades have also been made, including the installation of new cameras.

On the inside, Dobro volny noted how crowded the hallways can be near the Election Board office, which serves as the site for early voting in elections.

“That space really isn’t conducive for that,” he noted, especially when several voters make their way in.

The solution is to move the early voting site to the Kingfisher County Fairgrounds.

“We’re in the process of getting that moved and it’s really something we should have done a while back,” he said. “We hope to have that ready for the August election.”

Dobrovolny then touched on road and bridge projects, including what the county has in the works and some of the challenges it faces.

One such challenge was having no bids submitted for chip and seal projects for this year.

The county had proposed about 30 miles of work to be done, but they’ll be left untouched this year due to the lack of bids.

Kingfisher County is one of the few counties that still bids out such work. Most counties, he said, own their own equipment and have crews designated for that work.

That’s something Dobrovolny (District 3) said he and fellow commissioners Jeff Moss (District 1) and Ray Shimanek (District 2) have at least discussed.

“It’s something we may need to look at, especially if we see another year without bids on the project,” he said.

The county is part of Circuit Engineering District (CED) 8, which consists of 13 other counties in the northwest portion of the state.

The district is working to attain grant money through President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.

It has hired a grant writing company that works with Oklahoma Department of Transportation to aid in that process.

If the district is able to secure funds, Dobrovolny said the process will then begin to determine what projects will be funded.

Even if, Dobrovolny said, none of those projects happen to be in Kingfisher County, all isn’t lost.

“If we can get these funds, it will open the door for more down the road,” he said.

Working within the CED allows the county to fund larger projects it can’t necessarily fund on its own.

“For instance, the Phillips Bridge on Lemon Road,” he said of the much-discussed bridge that’s been shut down to commuters for two years. “It would cost $5 million to build that back today, which is why it’s still closed.

“Working with the CED will allow us to handle projects like that.”

Dobrovolny answered a number of questions from Lions Club members about multiple other projects during the meeting and spoke with multiple individuals for about 15 minutes after the meeting adjourned.