The Okmulgee County Board of Commissioners convened for a regular meeting Monday morning, Jan. 26, at the Okmulgee County Courthouse, approving routine business items, employee matters and a right-of-way acquisition before adjourning less than 10 minutes later.
Chairman Michael Wallace called the meeting to order at 9 a.m. with Vice-Chairman Steve Ward and Commissioner Ernie Ferreira present. County Clerk Tonya Day was also in attendance to record the proceedings.
Commissioners unanimously approved the minutes from the Jan. 20 meeting, followed by approval of the December 2025 officers’ report for the Okmulgee County Election Board.
As part of routine purchasing, the board approved a blanket purchase order with Comdata in the amount of $1,000 for fuel expenses.
Several employee-related items were also approved, including acknowledgments for Kayla Meyer, who was listed as full-time with the 911 department, and Conner McCall, approved as permanent part-time in District 1. In addition, commissioners approved a donation of sick and annual leave from John Newport to Crystal Horn, consisting of 20 hours of sick leave and 20 hours of annual leave.
A key infrastructure item on the agenda involved approval of a right-of-way acquisition for the Creager Road project, working with Guy Engineering. Commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with the acquisition.
The board also approved payroll, travel, and accounts payable claims across multiple county funds. Payroll totals included expenditures for general government, highway, sheriff operations, court clerk, E-911, mental health services and other departments. Accounts payable approvals included payments from the general fund, highway fund, road and bridge fund, rural fire fund, health fund and other designated accounts.
Emergency Management Director Jeff Moore provided a brief report, noting that weather conditions were the primary focus during the past week. Moore also reported that two structure fires had occurred in the county.
During new business, officials discussed an issue with the heating system at the jail annex. It was reported that the heat was currently out, but repairs were underway. With doors left open, temperatures inside the facility were holding at approximately 65 degrees while work continued.
No executive session was requested or required. With no further business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 9:08 a.m. following a unanimous vote by the board.
