At the December 14th Board of County Commissioners meeting, Creek County District 2 Commissioner Leon Warner was unanimously selected to act as the trustee for the proposed Creek County 911 Trust Authority, a public trust consisting of nine members from various county organizations and one County Commissioner.
Warner explained that Creek County has five separate 911 dispatch locations and that the purpose of the Trust is to consolidate these into one 911 County headquarters. This is imperative in making sure there are less call transfers. “Seconds count with 911,” he said.
He said he has been working to establish this trust for over a year and a half and that once created, it will “look ahead maybe 5 years or so” to evaluate next-generation technology that can locate a caller in distress based on their cell phone location if they are unable to provide that information to the 911 operator. “It’s not available to us now, but we want to be ready for it when it does come.” He elaborated that this is a costly and advanced technology but that it is inevitably coming. The trust will make decisions on where the dispatch center should be located in the county and how to implement the expected changes. “It will evolve over the next year or so,” he said. He concluded that the Trust will be a time-consuming endeavor and that he would like to continue to see it through.
District 1 Commissioner Newt Stephens will continue to serve on the INCOG Board of Directors and the INCOG General Assembly for 2021 and 2022. Warner said that Stephens has served on this Board for years and does a great job and has agreed to serve again. This was unanimously approved.
It was approved for Mark Whinnery to be reappointed as Creek County’s INCOG Towns Representative. Warner reported that Whinnery is from Drumright and has done a great job in representing the County.
The monthly Allocation of Beverage Tax was agreed to be distributed as follows: Bristow $3,742.92, Depew $422.74, Drumright $2,581.99, Kellyville $1,021.09, Kiefer $1,495.87, Lawrence Creek $133.33, Mannford $2,731.58, Mounds $1,037.35, Oilton $900.77, Sapulpa $18,243.06, Shamrock $91.05, and Slick $117.07.
In a split 2-1 vote with First Deputy Rick Selsor (sitting in for Newt Stephens) voting no, the Emergency Resolution due to the pandemic was extended for at least one more week.
Emergency Management Director Covey Murray gave the Board an updated report on known COVID-19 cases in Creek County. He said that as of last Tuesday the 8th there are 364 active cases, including 7 county employees who have recently tested positive. The death toll is at 54.
Wendy Murray, County Planner, discussed concerns over the number of people that are expected to attend the Board of Adjustment meeting on Tuesday, December 15, both for and against an application being heard. She said that citizens planning to attend have asked how the Board of County Commissioners is treating COVID-19 as a county. There was discussion of whether or not the Collins Ballroom can safely hold 100 people or more. Murray said that her office is not comfortable with that number under the current circumstances, but that she has been told that they cannot refuse people from attending. Warner said that people “must use their own judgment about whether or not to come” and should wear masks and use proper social distancing protocols.
He also suggested rescheduling the meeting and moving it to a bigger venue because although social distancing can be encouraged, there will be no way to enforce it. Murray said she and her staff will recommend and provide masks.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Goforth said he has been working with the District judges on how to manage the potentially-unwieldy court dockets involving backlogged cases when the Courthouse reopens on January 11. He said they hope to have as many completed online on the Bluejeans system as possible. Goforth reported that Judge Serner was to have another outdoor traffic court that day, but the snow impeded those plans.
Ultimately, Warner stated, “I see no reason to change [the resolution] at this point.” Whitehouse agreed and the motion passed.
Brandi Coffey will no longer serve as the Receiving Officer for Creek County Purchasing Office accounts and Excise Board accounts as she has taken a job outside of the County.
