Skip to content

Anderson and Mack take oath for City Council

Anderson and Mack take oath for City Council

By R. L. Thompson

The Okemah City Council met in their regular meeting on April 24 to consider a number of items regarding the business of the city of Okemah.

The first order of business was to swear in two new city council members. Ward 2 has been vacant since former Mayor Mike Fuller resigned following the hiring of present City Manager Kristy Lesley.  Jennifer Mack ran unopposed to finish the unexpired term for Ward 2. The unexpired term is will expire in 2025. 

Brandon Anderson challenged Mayor Kelly West who represented Ward 3 in the April 4 election and won by 12 votes.  Anderson won a full four year term.

Okemah Vice Mayor Wayne Bacon called the meeting to order and then requested City Clerk Relena Haddox to administer the oath of office to the two new council members.

Following the newest members being seated on the council, Vice Mayor Bacon called for nominations for a new Mayor and Vice Mayor.  The Mayor and Vice Mayor is selected by the five council members. By unanimous votes, Ron Gott was elected Mayor and Ronnie Lucas was elected Vice Mayor. 

The council took action later in the meeting to remove former Mayor Kelly West as signatory from bank signature cards at American Exchange Bank and BancFirst and authorized Mayor Ron Gott as signatory of the city.

All five members voted to approve the minutes from the last meeting as well as the purchase orders. There was no discussion nor questions on the minutes or purchase orders by the council members.

The council turned their attention to the awarding the hay bailing bid for cutting and bailing of hay from the Okemah Industrial Park and Airport. The bids were from: Bobby Dilday, $12 for 4×5 bale; Doug Dyer, $25 for 4×5.5 bale; Brad Duncan, $30 for 4×5.5 bale; Greg Scott, $28 for 4×6 bale; Randy Rutland, $11.25 for 4×5.5 bale; Clifford Kornelsen, $27 for 4×5.5 bale and Paul Walker, $30 for 4×5.5 bale. 

There was tie for $30 per bale between Brad Duncan and Paul Walker.  The tiebreaker was decided by a flip of the coin by City Manager Kristy Lesley.  Paul Walker won the toss and was awarded the bid. 

The Council approved the agreement with Crawford and Associates  for fiscal year 2023-2024 for financial services.  Vice Mayor inquired about the cost of the contract. The cost depends on the amount of time the firm is engaged and the various firm members engaged. On page four of the contract their standard hourly rates are listed as follows: Firm President, $265; Shareholders, $180; Senior Managers $160; Managers $140; Senior Professional Staff, $120; Professional Staff, $80 and Clerical Staff $50. The stipulate in the agreement since Crawford and Associates has no direct control over the type and amount of services requested by the management or the governing body during the term of the agreement, nor does Crawford and Associates have direct control over the quality of the city of Okemah accounting system or records, potential turnover of staff, staffing levels, resources or capabilities, it is impractical for us to provide an accurate amount of hours required for services requested or a not-to-exceed limit on fees and expenses charged.

Leave a Comment