Monday morning’s commissioner meeting was much more eventful than those in the recent past as the three commissioners listened to a couple of sales pitches from two separate companies. The first was from two lawyers looking to obtain a contract for a legal service agreement in regards to litigation on the opioid epidemic. The lawyers, representing the Fulmer Sill and McAfee & Taft law firms, explained how opioid abuse is plaguing small towns not just in Oklahoma but all over the United States. The issue is so pressing that the Centers for Disease Control is working on plans to decrease opioid abuse by enacting strict guidelines for opioid prescriptions as well as improving the agency’s ability to track opioid data quickly.
The aforementioned law firms have drawn up legal service agreements with the commissions in Yukon, Oklahoma City and Dewey County so far and are working on securing contracts with officials in northwest Oklahoma. Yukon’s city council has stated in its city council agenda from July that it believes it has a cause of action against certain opioid manufacturers, distributors and potential other third parties.
The law firms, hoping to get all local governments to join together in the fight, work on a contingency fee basis. Alfalfa County commissioners voted to take no action at the present time in order to research the matter further. The other sales pitch heard by commissioners was via conference call. A representative with The Public Group gave information on how his company works with government entities to sell public surplus items. No action was taken by the commissioners, as the three agreed to read more on the subject.
In regular business, maintenance and operation warrants for payment, blanket purchase orders, and monthly officer reports were accepted and approved along with six road crossing permits. District 1 carried three of those permits for a total of $1,375 while District 2 had two and a half for $4,062. 50. District 3 shared the other half for $812.50, making the sum total $6,250.
A transfer from T-7 District 3 ETR Fund for $584,522.00 to repay ETR loan was next on the agenda and the trio approved it, as well as the Hazard Mitigation Assistance state and local agreement between the state of Oklahoma, Government’s Authorized Representative (GAR), and Albert Ashwood, the director of Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Alfalfa County. Also approved was the NODA contract with Alfalfa County for the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan update.
The commissioners opened bids for a wildland brush hog needed for Goltry Rescue, but tabled the agenda item in order to study the proposals more closely. There was no new business to be discussed and the meeting was adjourned.
Reader Comments(0)