Okla County Commissioners consider burn ban, bridges, and ARPA funds

Last Updated on March 7, 2022, 12:23 PM | Published: March 7, 2022

OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — The Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) held their regular meeting on Monday morning. During the meeting, the Commissioners heard from Emergency Management about extending the ongoing burn ban in Oklahoma County.

County Engineer Stacy Trumbo presented a brief report on the condition of bridges in Oklahoma County following an annual inspection reminding commissioners that bridges are “never done.”

Finally, the Board officially adopted a contract with consulting company Accenture to offer guidance through the process of receiving and using American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

At the end of the meeting, the BoCC heard from several citizens who are still calling for the resignation or termination of Jail CEO Greg Williams.

Burn Ban

Emergency Management Director David Barnes encouraged the Board to extend the ongoing burn ban in Oklahoma County for another 14 days.

The burn ban exempts appropriate outdoor cooking using proper equipment, but applies to other outdoor fires of any sort.

Barnes pointed out that while the area did receive much needed rain on Sunday, it was nowhere near enough to create natural fire suppression.

Barnes said that the area needs about four inches of rain to reach a stasis point. Of course, four inches in one rainfall would be disastrous. Barnes said that he would like to see ¾ of an inch every three days or so for the next several weeks.

Barnes also pointed out that the season is changing and as Spring comes more moisture will be expected.

Residents who want an exemption to the burn ban for private purposes need to contact their local fire department for more information about being exempted. That decision is made by the local fire chief.

Bridges

Annually, the County is required to have a contractor inspect all the County’s bridges. The report front the contractor is then submitted to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT).

County Engineer Stacy Trumbo presented the report to the Commissioners at Monday’s meeting.

Trumbo stated that all 108 Oklahoma County bridges were inspected. “The thing about bridges is that they’re never done,” Trumbo said.

He showed photographs of wear and damage on several bridges, giving examples of repairs and upgrades that were needed for each.

Trumbo didn’t bother going over all 108 bridges, but simply pointed out the type of work that would be needed in the coming year.

None of the bridges were in such bad shape as to constitute an emergency, instead most repairs needed are to ensure the longevity of most of our existing bridges.

Trumbo said that while Oklahoma has some of the worst bridges in the nation, Oklahoma County’s bridges are the best in the state.

ARPA Contract

It’s been six months since the Board settled on a consulting firm to help navigate the regulations regarding use of American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) relief money. The Commissioners chose the firm Accenture for the job.

At Monday’s meeting, the Board finally approved a contract with Accenture for their consulting services.

Two very similar contracts were presented for the Commissioners’ choice. One of the contracts included a payment for work that Accenture did while not under contract.

District 3 Commissioner Kevin Calvey said that he was comfortable approving the contract including the back pay. Calvey pointed out that Accenture is doing this work across the country, and his confidence in them is secure.

District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert said that her preference was for the second version of the contract, as the original bid specifically stated that no work should be done outside the contract.

District 2 Commissioner, and Board Chair, Brian Maughan seemed to split the difference. He called it an “act of bad faith” that Accenture did work outside the contract and sent a bill for it. At that, he said that he thought they should pay the bill.

During discussion of the contract it was revealed that the District Attorney’s office had not signed off on either contract. Speaking for the DA’s office, Gretchen Crawford said that her concerns were that the contract described a flat monthly rate with no specification about the minimum or maximum amount of work per month, and that a flat rate might not comport with federal regulations.

It was further revealed that Accenture had made changes to the language of the contract as recently as Friday evening.

The purchasing agent was asked to read the language changes to the contract, and the Commissioners had no reaction to the changes.

The Commissioners adopted the contract with back pay by a vote of 2-1, Blumert voting nay.

Citizen Comments

It has been a month since Nondoc reported on a recording of Jail CEO Greg Williams and his Communications Officer Mark Opgrande joking about COVID and claiming it as a boon to the Jail.

No illegalities were revealed about Williams or Opgrande in the recording.

All four citizens who signed up to address the BoCC spoke to that specific issue.

Sean Cummings, Mark Faulk, Christopher Johnston, and Michael Washington each took turns at the podium calling for the termination of Williams and Opgrande.

Johnston read aloud a letter signed by members of the community and community organizations including the NAACP. The letter demanded the firing of both Jail officials and listed in detail the human rights violations they allege exist in the Jail.

Faulk pointed out the tragedy of Williams’s own mother passing away due to COVID and posed the challenging question, “How does he explain [what he said] to his family?”

Cummings, in addition to excoriating the Board for having done nothing to discipline Williams and Opgrande, asked who on the Board had a personal relationship with Accenture. He posited that approving the contract without DA approval and with language changes that came in over the weekend lead him to assume something is crooked in the process.

The BoCC will meet again on March 21 at 9:00 a.m.

---