Kingfisher city commissioners continued to discuss possible sites for the new fire station at their regular August meeting Monday night.

In the brief, 21-minute meeting, Mayor Roxie Al exander, Vice Mayor Wendell Prim and Commissioner Bill Tucker discussed an email from city engineer Michael Taylor of Cowan Engineering Group.

Fire Chief Tony Stewart also was present for the discussion.

Commissioners Kyle Mecklenburg and Richard Reynolds were absent.

In response to a request from City Manager Dave Slezickey, Taylor preliminarily assessed potential locations and affirmed an earlier consensus among commissioners to build at a new site rather than renovating or rebuilding at the current Main Street location.

“Unknowns on rehabilitation are hard to contend with on costing a project while new construction is much more consistent and predictable,” Taylor wrote in his email.

At a previous meeting, commissioners had expressed concerns about the feasibility and expense of relocating utilities in the alley between the existing fire station and the city-owned lot to the east in order to incorporate all or portions of the current structure into an expanded facility.

Taylor’s email confirmed those disadvantages, even factoring in the cost and time involved in acquiring a new site.

Choosing a new site “would lessen the unknowns as you would be building an entirely new structure on an unburdened site for alleys and utilities…[and] would also open the possibility for different use of the existing fire house or possibly selling the property.”

Voters approved a 10-year, half-cent designated sales tax in May to replace the existing nearly 50-yearold fire station, as well as fund street repairs and other capital improvements.

Alternative sites which Slezickey had presented for Taylor’s consideration included about 2.4 acres north of First Shamrock Care Center and about three acres north of Holt Car Wash.

City commissioners had previously expressed an interest in keeping the fire station on Main Street and north of Will Rogers Drive, while Fire Chief Tony Stewart had requested that it remain on the east side of the highway.

Taylor said either proposed site “would most likely provide more availability for growth in the future if needed, depending on how the new fire house and parking was laid out.”

“Overall, I believe the best option would be to develop on one of the proposed new sites due to flexibility and proximity as the city grows,” he concluded. “I believe availability and price will govern which best suits the city.”

Slezickey said the city’s next step would be contacting the landowners of both properties to open negotiations on a possible purchase.

Planning and Zoning Appointments

Commissioners voted to confirm a new appointment and re-appointment to the planning and zoning board.

Tim Abercrombie was appointed by Mayor Roxanne Alexander to the P&Z Board to replace retiring member Ray Roman and Judy Whipple was reappointed at her request to a new three-year term on the board.

Both appointments were confirmed by commissioners.

Newfield Park Phase II

Commissioners approved an agreement with CLS & Associates landscape architects for design work on the second phase of Newfield Community Park.

The design cost is included in the grant awarded for construction of the second phase of the park and festival grounds, located on reclaimed floodplain property just west of downtown.

Work in the second phase will include an expansive playground with a climbing wall, pendulum swing, trees mounted horizontally for play, a plaza, shade structures, walkways and signage.

Other features of Phase II include a dog park, picnic pavilions, additional trails, improvements to the existing log cabin, a concrete fishing dock and ramp at Boecher Lake and transplanted native trees.

City Code Amended

Commissioners also approved an ordinance amending the city code to identify the former dump/ transfer station on the north side of town as a “Citizen Collection Station,” in compliance with state law and Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality regulations.

The collection station is a designated location “equipped with waste receptacles for exclusive, non-commercial use by individual residents to deposit their own household waste for collection and transportation to a permitted disposal site.”

The ordinance also explicitly states the site “is not a dump, landfill, or transfer station as the same are defined by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.”

Chief Status Change

At the request of Police Chief David Catron, commissioners reappointed him, but as a retired police officer.

The status change will allow him to continue to serve as chief of police, but neither he nor the city will continue contributing to the state law enforcement pension fund on his behalf.

“Chief Catron has reached the point where continued contributions to the police pension system will not increase his benefits received,” Slezickey said.

Catron’s predecessor Dennis Baker served his final three years in retirement status for the same reason, Slezickey said.

Catron, who was present at the meeting, said he’d like to serve at least five additional years as police chief before full retirement.

Electric Line Purchase

Acting as the Kingfisher Public Works Authority, commissioners approved the purchase of three 2,500- foot spools of electrical wire encased in a conduit for $10,667 per roll from Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. of Springfield, Mo.

The wire will replace buried line that failed Aug. 1, causing a temporary power outage at the wastewater treatment plant.

Because the wire is already encased in a conduit, the added steps of buying and installing PVC pipe to protect the buried line are eliminated, saving money in labor and materials, Slezickey said.