Kingfisher County commissioners heard a report from Loyal Fire Chief Dusty Biehler Monday about the need to replace the Loyal Fire Department’s radios with digital models.

Biehler gave a detailed explanation of various makes of radios and their abilities.

He said Loyal Fire Department firefighters have sometimes been losing contact with other departments when working in the northwest part of the county or if called to a scene outside the department’s immediate service area.

“It gets lonely when you’re unable to reach other departments (if a need for assistance should arise),” he said.

He told commissioners a new set of radios meeting their needs would cost $26,000 and would take 16 weeks to arrive.

Commission Chairman Heath Dobrovolny thanked Biehler for the report, which he said would be valuable in conversations with other departments on radio matters, and encouraged him to proceed on the matter.

Loyal Fire Department has funds in its county sales tax account sufficient to pay for the radios.

Dobrovolny said the state health department reported no new cases of COVID-19 in the county this week but an increase in the number of deaths in Hennessey and Kingfisher. Hennessey is up one with 21 deaths and Kingfisher is up four with 33 deaths.

Commissioners approved the transfer of a 2018 Dodge pickup from the engineer’s office to the county assessor’s office.

Dobrovolny said the engineer office’s need for vehicles is not as great as previously and the assessor’s office was considering purchasing a vehicle for its field staff and the swap would save the county money.

Two county road work bids received approval, one for labor and materials for application of chips and oil on county roads and the second for soil recycling on multiple roads in Districts 1 and 2. Bid packets are available in the office of County Clerk Jeannie Boevers. Bids may be submitted on each project until 4 p.m. on April 22 and the bids will be opened at the commission’s April 25 meeting.

Three requests for right-of-way easements for three companies in District 1 received approval.

They include:

• K&J Construction – permit for 12-inch and four-inch water lines at a point five miles east and two miles south of Kingfisher.

• BCE Mach III Midstream Holdings – permit for 10-inch line nine miles east and three miles north of Kingfisher and permit for 12-inch line 10 miles east and two miles north of Kingfisher.

• Limitless Land Services – permit for a three-inch temporary water line 10 miles east and one mile north of Okarche.

Commissioners planned an office-holders meeting following their meeting.

All commissioners were present: Dobrovolny, District 3; Ray Alan Shimanek, District 2, and Jeff Moss, District 1, as well as Boevers as official minute clerk.