Kingfisher city commissioners Monday heard from Hennessey High School students Addison Null-Kelly and Abigail Holsten of Youth Action for Health Leadership (YAHL), which is funded by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET).

The two were asking the commission to support their CounterAct Tobacco Program, which is designed to educate children on the dangers of smoking and vaping.

The commission voted to do so and commended the youth for their efforts.

Campaign manager for the program is Aisha Ensley, who commented that the statewide effort would take time to complete, but she was pleased with the response from the young students participating, as well as local, county and state officials and elected representatives.

The move was part of the commission’s regular July meeting at City Hall.

Mayor Geoff Covalt and commissioners Dawn Taylor, Debbie Burpo and Jeff Wittrock were present. Absent from the meeting were Commissioner Kyle Mecklenburg and City Attorney Jared Harrison.

Also present was City Manager Jim Thomas, City Clerk Brittney Hladik and Treasurer Anita James.

In other business, the commission voted to extend the lease agreement with Pioneer Telephone for space used in the old National Guard Armory building for $1,000 per month.

The commission also approved another one-year lease for the old county barn, located at the 300 block of Bowman Avenue, from Clayton’s Plumbing, LLC for $1,600 per month. The city stores overflow fire equipment in the facility, with plans to continue to do so until the new fire station is complete.

James presented a treasurer’s report, which showed the city had an approximate $303,000 loss for the fiscal year that ended June 30, with an ending balance of cash in the banks at just under $9.5 million.

Covalt commented that the loss was expected with the many improvement projects underway and he added that the city was in a “healthy financial state.”

In his report, Thomas said Richard Greene was continuing to track the number of visitors to the Vernie Snow Aquatic Center’s K-Town Kove regarding demographics and usage.

He said, so far, visitors from surrounding communities outnumber Kingfisher residents, but that usage of the facility was on the increase.

Thomas said the city was currently seeking a full-time replacement for Greene, who has been on the job for the past six months.

“Richard came here as a favor to me to take on this project and he’s done an outstanding job,” Thomas said. “He’s agreed to stay on to train the new hire for at least six weeks to ensure the transition goes smoothly.”

The city spent approximately $250,000 over the past several months to get the facility back to a high performance and functioning level.

Thomas also said target time for bids on the new fire station would be at the beginning of 2025, with expenses projected by BRW Architectural Firm at $503 per square foot, with a structure designed for two stories encompassing 16,400 square feet.

“Interest rates have not gone down, which is disappointing, but construction materials have been dropping some, so that’s of benefit,” Thomas said.

Thomas also commented that city resident Mike Sanders was advocating for $2.5 million in federal financial assistance on the project with U.S. Representatives Frank Lucas and Tom Cole, with whom he’s had working relationships with in the past.

“That would definitely be a big boost if we could get that assistance,” Thomas said.

In other business, the city approved the bid from Rother Brothers of $39,876 for a new Case IH C70 tractor for use by the city’s recreation department.

The commissioners also approved for two 1992 Electric Department trucks to be sold as surplus equipment. One is a bucket truck and the other is a digger truck.

Electric Department Supt. Mark Gambill also requested the commission purchase 50 transformers at the cost of $22,914.

Thomas said with the new housing edition being built by Mike Matthews, the transformers would be put to use in the near future.

The commission approved the purchase.

Gambill also reported that a testing of emissions at the power plant would cost $14,805. He said it was an EPA requirement.

The commission approved the expense, which was the last order of business for the evening.