City Attorney Jared Harrison reported Monday night that owners of two properties the city considers suitable sites for the new fire department had not responded to certified letters asking whether they were amenable to sell.

The two are both South Main Street properties, one adjacent to and owned by First Shamrock Nursing Center and the other located north of Holt Car Wash and owned by Glen Beebe and others.

Harrison said he based his knowledge of ownership on county tax rolls for the purpose of sending out the notification letters, but a title search would eventually be required to determine precise ownership interests.

Harrison also discussed the condemnation process as an option to force the sale of one of the properties if an agreement could not be reached with property owners.

City Manager Dave Slezickey said that the condemnation option was listed on the agenda so that Harrison could explain the process and he wasn’t advocating taking the step at this time.

“It’s a scary word and something we haven’t done for some time, but it’s a possible route we can take,” Slezickey said.

“I’m not a big fan of forcing someone to sell who doesn’t want to,” Commissioner Kyle Mecklenburg said.

Condemnation would require the city to file a petition in Kingfisher County District Court demonstrating that the land was needed to serve a public purpose.

Neutral ppraisers would be appointed by the court to set a fair value for the property with both the city and the owners having a voice in the process.

“Condemnation may be necessary for the good of the community and they are going to get a fair price,” Commissioner Geoff Covalt said. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“Can we call the owners now that we’ve sent the letters and find out why they haven’t responded?” Commissioner Wendell Prim asked.

Harrison said he would continue to try to reach out to the owners and was asking for direction from the commission as to which property was preferred.

Commissioners indicated the Beebe lot might be better suited, but agreed with Slezickey that both lots are fairly comparable.

“I’ll focus my attention that way, but I won’t give up on the other property either,” Harrison said. “For the record, I want to make this as easy as possible for the owners involved.”

Voters approved a halfcent, 10-year sales tax to fund the new fire station.

City Treasurer Anita James said that the city had received about $58,000 from the first month’s receipts on the new tax.