Kingfisher County commissioners opened and approved 29 bids for road materials and hauling at their weekly meeting.

The bids were preserved for tabulation, lowest to highest, for use during the first six months of the 2023 calendar year.

Commissioners approved three right-of-way permits for pipeline road crossings – one in each district as follow:

• K&J Construction – a 12-inch and three inch line in District 1 located nine miles east and one mile south of the U.S. 81/Dover-Crescent Road intersection.

• BCE-Mach III Midstream Holdings – 10-inch poly line located four miles east of Dover, District 2.

• Devon Energy Production Co. – three-inch poly line located four miles south of Omega, District 3.

Commissioners approved a declaration of surplus for a 2015 John Deere excavator with hydraulic thumb for District 1, approved state reimbursement forms for the county election board and district attorney offices, monthly reports from the election board, court clerk’s office and court clerk’s preservation fund.

Deputy Emergency Management Director Ryan Deatherage discussed proposed improvements to the county’s radio network to improve service to all agencies.

Chairman Heath Dobrovolny thanked Deatherage for his work in do once they’re fixed,” Redwine said, referring to the background music that is played during special downtown events.

“But we’re expecting more out of those speakers than they are capable of for the Christmas parade and fireworks,” he added.

The event routinely attracts crowds of several thousand, all armed with cell phones, which is likely creating too much interference for the wireless system to operate correctly.

In discussions with Bolt, the chamber board has decided to rent a different system for next year’s Christmas event, consisting of 10 15-inch speakers that are fully wired and placed on stands along the west side of Main Street.

“We’re going to rent them for the Fourth of July parade so we can give the system a trial run,” he said.

Redwine said local businesses describe the Christmas parade night as the “best revenue and sale date of the year,” with visitors doing plenty of shopping and dining while they’re here.

Commissioners commended the chamber, police, fire and street department workers and all the volunteers who make the event spectacular.

They also indicated that the city will help with the cost of the rented speaker system, estimated at about $2,000.