Starla Cosper- Fuksa’s administrator report Thursday night to the Hennessey Board of Trustees was proof that she’d hit the ground running during her first five days on the job.

“My short-term goal is to improve relationships between town hall and our citizens,” she told the board at its Aug. 10 meeting. “Effective Monday, Aug. 14, Town Hall will be open during the lunch hour.”

All Trustees were present for the meeting: Mayor Clif Vogt, Vice Mayor Harold Shaw, Bert Gritz, David Jones and Randy Bohnstedt.

Cosper-Fuska’s report also included:

Staffing

Cosper-Fuksa said the police department has loaned Braden Peck, their records clerk, to work at town hall half a day and she added he caught on right away to the job.

Peck has worked for the town for nine years and is handling accounts payable “and we’re happy to have him,” Cosper-Fuksa said.

( Editor’s note: The town has had problems filling that accounts payment/ payroll clerk job. Georgia Tillman was hired in late June and quit last month. Tillman replaced Roni Decker who’d resigned after a couple of months on the job. Katy Walters held that position for years, but resigned earlier this year to take another job that paid more. Walters is now helping train other town hall staff and is deputy clerk.)

Also hired was Mercedes Perez. She will clean Town Hall on a monthly basis and started work Aug. 12.

Building Security

“There is not a list of who has keys to the building,” she said.

All the lights were on at Town Hall last weekend, she relayed. Although the doors were locked, Cosper- Fuksa had someone go with her to make sure everything was OK and that’s why she’s getting estimates on keyless entry systems.

The back door also needs to be replaced and the front doors will also need to be rekeyed, she said.

Gritz said some of those systems can be “pricey” and he’d like to have those estimates brought before the board before they’re purchased.

She agreed.

Missing Debit Card

“I have concerns about a missing debit card,” she told the board. “I was told that one existed, but no one knows where it is.”

She asked Vogt, who is also the deputy treasurer, if he’d contact Interbank to cancel the card since she is not on the bank’s signature account.

Supplier Problems

There have also been problems with suppliers who say they won’t accept orders because they weren’t paid in the past “and I’m checking on that.”

Supplies are being organized so staff knows where everything is and that will help keep from reordering supplies they don’t need, Cosper-Fuksa said.

She said instead of going to Enid for supplies, it’s easier to have them delivered.

Phone Contract

The cell phone contract was moved from Pioneer/ Verizon to AT&T and all phones have been switched over.

A replacement phone had to be purchased because of an old phone, she said.

Trustee David Jones told her he understood she was having to use her own money to pay for some supplies, including a phone, and needs to be reimbursed.

“She just needs to fill out a purchase order for that,” said Gritz.

Records

“We needed space for new records…After disposing of the older files we have in the filing room in the safe” there should be enough room, she said.

Bank statements are only required to be kept for seven years and three years on time cards and payroll stubs, she told the board.

She has also started putting together personnel files on all employees.

Swimming Pool

Pool managers will now make daily/nightly bank deposits instead of dropping them off at Town Hall.

She asked managers for a list of items needed, or repairs, for next year’s budget.

“I was disappointed to find out they’d been without umbrellas this summer… That’s inexcusable,” she said.

They also had problems with “unprofessional treatment by town management. Those issues are being attended to now.”

Water Department

Alyssa Kubat, water department supervisor, gave the administrator a tour of the water shed and provided an inventory of all vehicles and machinery in her department.

Kubat told Cosper-Fuksa the motor went out in pump #2 and was replaced by a spare at the station. She also said she thought the motor should be under warranty so Kubat is checking on that.

Water Turned Off Notification

During comment from the audience, Cosper-Fuksa was asked by the Times & Free Press reporter, then Gritz, why there were no notifications by phone/ texts about the water being turned off the night before from 10 p.m. to midnight.

The new administrator said she hadn’t been told that was possible.

“I found out real quick that night there is,” she said, “and I’m working on it.”

The water was off due to reconnecting lines.

They’d wanted to do it that morning, or afternoon, and Cosper-Fuksa said she knew they couldn’t because of the restaurants.

Other Admin Items

Six employees and two board members will be attending the Oklahoma Municipal League Conference in Oklahoma City September 19-21.

A new toilet was been installed in the ladies restroom at Town Hall.

Five Solar/Other Building Permits

July building permits were issued to the following for solar installations: 4-T’s; 508 N. Meramac; 603 E. Third St.; 523 S. Cheyenne, and 220 S. Cheyenne.

Other permits: 212 N. Cimarron and 412 Osborn, fences; Roughneck Street, home; Hennessey Public Schools, certificate of occupancy.

Board Actions/Discussions

On action items the board of trustees and utilities authority unanimously approved payments to NODA of $10,560 on a CDBG grant; a payment to Krapff Reynolds for $34,081.25 on a CDBG grant, and Marsau Enterprises for $130,671.45 on a REAP grant.

NODA representative Jennifer Firgard was at the meeting, and the mayor signed needed documents.

Before the board’s consent agenda was approved, Jones said they’d asked the treasurer (Shelley Burch) to check on CD interest rates and (in the absence of the treasurer) asked Cosper-Fuksa if she knew it had been done.

“Not to my knowledge,” she said.

The meeting was about to end when firefighters and others came into the board room. They were there to honor recently-retired fire chief Gritz for his years of service.

After the ceremony, the board adjourned.

Staff at the Meeting

In addition to the administrator, also in attendance were Deputy Town Clerk Kati Walters in the absence of Town Clerk Kelley Vaverka, and Denise Meloy, accounts receivable clerk.