The Town of Freedom held its regular meeting online on April 8, when the town board approved a proclamation declaring a state of emergency for the Town of Freedom.

“In our last meeting,” Brackin said, “I'd been told by the emergency management administration that Freedom fell under the county's state of emergency and we didn't need to do anything” in terms of declaring Freedom's own state of emergency.

“But later, after pushing the issue, they said that if it got really bad and Freedom needed to apply directly for assistance, that we would need to do our own emergency declaration,” Brackin said. “So we're not trying to change anything about what we're doing (such as at the schools), it's mainly just a legal instrument to ensure we're eligible for any federal assistance and that we can apply directly and not have to go through the state or some other agency.”

Town Clerk Cindy Reed added that in the declaration, the only town facility being declared closed at this time is the town office. The town staff are still working in the office, but the office is closed to the public.

The declaration states, in part, “Now, therefore, by virtue of the authority vested in me by state law, I, Shad L. Brackin, mayor of the Town of Freedom, Oklahoma, do hereby proclaim and declare: (Section One) a state of emergency exists within the corporate limits of the Town of Freedom, Oklahoma. (Section Two) This proclamation shall become effective immediately. (Section Three) The following Town of Freedom facilities will be closed to the public: Town of Freedom Office. (Section Four) This state of emergency shall continue until terminated by further proclamation.”

Gas Meter Upgrades In Hand

Brackin noted that the gas meter upgrades have arrived and are in hand. He asked Reed what the timeline is for installing them.

“There's no timeline until it gets warmer because we have to cut the gas off to install these,” Reed said. “We're waiting until we know we're not going to have any major cold streaks. It'll be similar to the water meter installation. It might take a couple weeks to get them all installed all across town.”

Board member Randy Rhodes asked how much flexibility the contract allowed, given the COVID-19 situation. Reed said the project had to be complete by November so that the town can apply for the next grant.

After some discussion, Reed said she would get with maintenance director Stuart Page to have him develop a tentative installation date and she'd bring that date to the next meeting.

Other Board Business

After approving minutes of past meetings, the board approved the purchase orders for the general, ambulance and fire funds.

General Purchase Orders

Lawnmower Shop (starter) $276.92

Dawn Wares (reimbursement plat maps) $60

Western Equipment (install receiver hitch) $256.72

Martin Broadcasting (clean up ad) $48

Fire Purchase Orders

High Plains Tech Center (BLS cards) $100

Joann Haberman (reimburse for headgear) $292.49

MTA Purchase Orders

Harper Sanitation (March 2020) $3,679.90

Rural Water District (Mar 2020) $2,666

Blue Mark (March 2020) $1,815.73

Comp Source (work comp prem) $606.88

Share Corp (Veg Control) $282.97

Pipeline Regulatory Consultants (2020 Public Awareness) $1,175

McClure Management Consultants (2nd qtr field services) $1,875