City Council meets to hear year-end reports

The Blackwell City Council heard year-end reports from the directors of several city departments in its regular meeting held Thursday night. The Council also approved the city's application for a community development block grant, and approved the purchase of new equipment for the fire department.

The meeting began with a report from Blackwell Chief of Police Dewayne Wood. Wood first informed the Council that the U.S. Marshal's Service had captured Luis Frias earlier that day in Mexico. Frias was wanted in connection with the 2013 murder of Janett Reyna, a former Blackwell police officer. Wood then presented the department's year end statistics. More information will be available in the next edition of the Journal-Tribune.

Wood also provided Council members with updated information about a murder that occurred at The Best Way Inn in June of 2018. Wood said that the murder has been a “difficult situation to disclose information on” because both the victim and the suspect are dead. Wood noted that a recent report from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's ballistics division revealed that the same .38-caliber revolver Penny Shoebridge had in her possession matched the fatal wound of the victim, Deepkumar Bhakta, the manager of the motel. Shoebridge had been at the hotel the day Bhakta was killed.

City Code Enforcement Officer Jerry Wieland then presented his department's year-end report to the Council.

“We wrote 1,666 notices for code violation,” Wieland said. “We had 78 dilapidated properties, 138 hanging violations, and issued 247 verbal warnings with 34 citations. I'm happy to report that we had 1,523 compliances, which we've marked as a 94 percent compliance rate. It's an everyday battle.”

Wieland also told the Council that four licenses for growing medical marijuana have been granted in the 74631 ZIP code, with a grow site on South Main Street recently passing its commercial inspection.

Blackwell Public Power Department Manager Greg Sixkiller also spoke to the Council. Sixkiller said he was “enormously proud” of the work the electric department had done in the previous year. He also introduced council members to Dale Moulton, who had just completed an apprenticeship program in order to become a member of the city's electrical department. Moulton scored a 94 percent on his certification test, Sixkiller said.

Cindy Oard from the Blackwell Tourism organization then addressed the City Council about the success of the Barn Quilt Trail. She also mentioned that Discover Oklahoma and TravelOK, the state's tourism agency, had recently visited Blackwell. She said TravelOK was interested in using the Barn Quilt Trail for public tours, and that Discover Oklahoma was interested in featuring the trail in an episode for an online TV show.

After the reports were given, City Manager Janet Smith praised the work and dedication of the men and women working with the city of Blackwell.

“These reports you've just heard have so much heart and passion,” Smith said. “There's no way that we can tell everything that we do in just a single day in these reports. Every day, we do something to help not only ourselves, but also the city of Blackwell.”

After Smith spoke, the Council approved the city's application for a community development block grant to help fund improvements to the city's water and wastewater infrastructure. The grants are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and they are used to fund activities like anti-poverty programs and infrastructure improvements. They are used at the discretion of municipal governments.

The Council then voted to solicit bids for five sets of bunker gear for the Blackwell Fire Department.

The City Council also voted to renew the city's contract with Nixel, an alert system used by the police department to alert residents about weather conditions and other community functions. The police department says the service has over 3,300 subscribers. Mayor T.J. Greenfield said he was “more than happy” to recommend the renewal of the contract, stating that Nixel was “very beneficial” to the Blackwell community.

The Blackwell Chamber of Commerce and the City of Blackwell also agreed to split the $10,000 payment to Hance Pyrotechnics for the city's Fourth of July fireworks. This is an annual procedure.

A contract with Sooner Heating and Air for maintenance of the city's heating and air conditioning equipment was approved for the 2019 fiscal year.

Council members also approved a measure to allow the Blackwell Fire Department to purchase a $2,295 infrared camera to be mounted on the department's brush-fire truck. The camera will allow firefighters to see things like people or livestock in low-visibility conditions. The department was also allowed to buy four new digitally-compatible handheld radios for communication purposes.