Interim City Manager’s Report
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By Joye Angel
What an honor it is to work with such amazing individuals who truly represent what it means to be a team. I am proud to be part of this organization. Atoka is a very fortunate community.
The contractor is still working hard to change out all of the meters. By now, I am sure you have seen their vehicles around the city.
These employees are putting in the hours all to make our community better. The new billing software is already in use. Citizens will notice a change in the billing postcards mailed out this month.
The meters will not begin to communicate electronically until the towers have been installed. The meter reader is still out reading the meters.
The Water Plant experienced an electrical outage which caused one of the tranes to quit working.
There are two tranes at the Water Plant. The trane is the part of filtration system that uses sand to filter the city’s water.
It was very impressive to see the crews come together at the plant to get the other trane ready to treat water while fixing the trane that quit working.
None of the employees complained about missing lunch or having to stay late, their main concern was making sure that the plant could operate and continue to provide water to our community.
We also work with great organizations that pitched in to help make this transition. We are currently getting reports of discolored water and the crew is working to get hydrants flushed.
The Water/Sewer Maintenance Crew fixed water and sewer leaks on Liberty Road, Russell Avenue, and Fourth Street.
The Crew also assisted at the water plant and the wastewater plant this week. I really appreciate these employees for stepping up and assisting other departments.
The Wastewater Plant is working to reduce the sludge content in the plant. The plant is currently running pretty good.
The new ultra-violet bulbs have arrived and been installed. The installation requires several additional employees because the racks have to be pulled out and the bulbs replaced.
When the request went out for additional help to complete this project, we had no shortage of employees volunteering.
The Capital Improvement Crew worked on North Hills Road just past the Industrial Park. The road had to be dug up, the old tin horn removed and a new tin horn installed.
Then gravel was put back to fill in the road. After it has settled, then asphalt will be laid to complete this project.
The Crew also worked to remove trees that were blown over due to the recent storm.
One of the trees was at Johnson Park. The tree had landed on a picnic table. The picnic table also had to be removed and they brought in top soil to smooth out this area. This Crew also helped at the water plant this week.
The Parks Crew has been mowing all of the city properties, right-of-ways, and medians.
The Atoka Police Department general activity report for the reporting period of 07/30/2020 through 08/12/2020.
The Police Department responded to 261 disturbance and “other” calls for service and related incidents/actions (this does not include traffic stops or traffic contacts).
There were 14 municipal prisoners booked into the Atoka County Jail and one Municipal Court Arrest Warrant(s) served. There were 33 Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation 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 was one Emergency Detention (Mental Health). After initial evaluations and eventual medical clearances at the Atoka County Medical Center, the subject was transported to mental health facilities in Lawton.
On Wednesday, August 5th, Chief Dodson began a series of “GoToMeetings” with a policy manual expert from Lexipol.
Lexipol is a Public Safety Policy and Training Solutions consulting service that provides policy manual review, analysis and assistance to more than two million first responders.
The Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), our Police Liability Insurance provider, is paying for the service. As a member of OMAG, there will be no cost to the City of Atoka for this project. It will be a very lengthy review and analysis process regarding our existing Police Policy and Procedures Manual.
On Monday, August 10th, during the morning hours, the main telephone line (889-3250) of the Police Department malfunctioned.
The telephone essentially rang non-stop and could not be answered or silenced. Additionally, the telephone line could not be transferred or forwarded to the Atoka County Dispatch.
AT&T was contacted multiple times regarding the issue. The telephone line remained out of service and malfunctioning until approximately noon on Thursday, August 13, 2020.
