Interim City Manager’s Report – By Joye Angel
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It has been another interesting few weeks at the City. I just cannot express enough how blessed Atoka is to have such a wonderful workforce.
Everyone works together as a cohesive unit assisting wherever needed. I have learned so much being in the field and working with them.
The water meter project has begun! This is a much needed upgrade to our water system. The contractor is out and about changing residential meters.
There have been a few hiccups, but this contractor has been good to work with and communicates with the crew. The billing department is also working to get information updated in our system. If residents have changed their contact information, they are encouraged to contact City Hall so we can update their information in the billing system.
We are currently working on a grant to fund half of the cost of a Sewer Inspection Camera. This camera will be utilized in both the storm drains and sanitary sewer lines.
Having a camera will help determine the issue or problem and pinpoint the location. This will save time, man hours and equipment.
I have demonstrations scheduled with two companies to see the cameras they offer and will then obtain quotes for the cameras that are best suited to meet the needs of our departments.
We are working on the update of the City’s website. The current website is hosted by Civic Plus and we are working with our project manager and design team to give the website a fresh, new look and update our information and pages. One thing we have added are the new logos for the City, ACIDA and the Sports Complex.
The Low Cost Spay/Neuter Program gave out 35 vouchers. We appreciate all of our citizens that participated. This would not have been possible without the support of our local businesses. Thank you to the Atoka County Times, Donnie’s Paint & Body Shop, AmeriState Bank, Atoka Veterinary Clinic, Jamm Transit and FirstBank. A special thank you to the employees that worked to make this program such a success.
The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust (OCWUT) is getting ready to start the boat ramp project at Atoka Lake. The project on the dam is still ongoing, so this new contractor will enter from the north for this project.
We are so excited to have all of these upgrades happening at the Lake. Thank you to OCWUT for recognizing the importance of Lake Atoka to our community.
The Water Plant Improvement Project has been advertised for bid. This project is an upgrade to our existing plant, water tower and pump station. The bid opening for the project will be July 28th with a pre-bid meeting held on July 10th. The plant is running an average of thirteen hours per day and producing an average of 440,000 gallons of water.
The Capital Improvement Crew has been cleaning out storm drains, cutting brush and patching potholes this week. The street sweeper has been in the shop for repairs, but is back to operating daily.
This Crew also worked to repair the road leading to the Fire Department.
After digging out the material, they put in a good base and filled it back in. I would like to commend the Crew for their work on this project. It ended up being much larger than anyone anticipated.
The Water/Sewer Maintenance Crew fixed water and sewer leaks on East C Street, East Tenth Street, Ohio Street, South Dickerson, West Fourth Street, East First Street, Montana Avenue, Weston Avenue, Hickory, Ethan Allen Drive, and East Seventh Street over the past two weeks.
The Crew also completed repairs on several sewer lift stations and worked with the contractor on the water meter project. This Crew has been excellent to help out the contractor with meter locates and resolving issues as they arise in addition to keeping our community’s water and sewer service operational.
The Parks Crew has been mowing all of the city properties, right-of-ways, and medians. Chief Dodson provided traffic control on Highway 69 for the Parks Department while the center median was cleaned up and mowed south of Redbud Lane.
The Crew is also repainting the curbs and crosswalks on Court Street. They have completed the repainting of the parking spaces on Court Street and I have received several compliments from citizens about it. The Crew has been very busy with mowing and will get back to this project as times allows. We hope to be able to expand the project and repaint the first block on the side streets.
The Code Enforcement Department is currently working on dilapidated properties and addressing complaints regarding trash, weeds and tall grass. We appreciate our citizens calling in to report these issues so they can be addressed.
The Atoka Police Department general activity report for the reporting period of 06/10/2020 through 06/29/2020. The Police Department responded to 381 disturbance and “other” calls for service and related incidents/actions (this does not include traffic stops or traffic contacts).
There were 20 municipal prisoners booked into the Atoka County Jail and nine Municipal Court Arrest Warrant(s) served.
There were 49 Oklahoma State Bureau National Incident Based Reporting System Offense Reports filed in the Municipal Clerk’s Office and nine Official Collision Reports filed in the Municipal Clerk’s Office.
There were four Emergency Detention (Mental Health). After initial evaluations and eventual medical clearances at the Atoka County Medical Center, the subjects were transported to mental health facilities in Lawton, McAlester, Norman, and Wagoner.
On June 15, 2020, a technician from Shipman Communications made temporary antenna repairs to the base radio located in the Officer’s Room of the Police Department. The radio antenna was damaged during the severe storms on May 8, 2020.
On June 15, 2020 and June 16, 2020, Patrolman Singleton attended a Smith and Wesson M&P Armorers Program at the Durant Police Department. The program was a sixteen-hour CLEET CE Accredited training course.
June 25, 2020, Unit #25 (2018 Ford Interceptor PUV) was taken to Allen’s Auto Body Shop for repairs. The vehicle was damaged when it was backed into by a civilian vehicle May 24, 2020, in the Sports Center Complex parking area.
The Atoka Police Department is gearing up to have their first court appearance in a couple of months. Precautions will be taken and those attending court are encouraged to wear a face mask. They will also be limiting the number of people in the Police Department and Court Room.
The majority of the compliments I receive are regarding the conduct of the Police Department. We are so fortunate to have these Officers.
I applaud the sacrifices the Officers and their families make so that our community is a safer place to live. They and their support systems deserve our appreciation and praise.
