By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
EL RENO – A Canadian County landfill and solid waste company is updating its fleet.
Canadian County Commissioners on Sept. 5 approved a resolution confirming their previous action to allow the Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority (OEMA) to incur debt for the lease purchase of four new vehicles.
“This is a ratification and resolution that will be included into the lease document of the financing that the commissioners have already approved for our indebtedness,” OEMA General Manager David Griesel said.
Commissioners, at their July 31st meeting, approved OEMA’s proposal to finance the purchase of two roll-off trucks, one side-load residential truck, and one front-load commercial truck.
The OEMA’s Board of Trustees approved the action four day earlier.
Commissioners’ approval was required because Canadian County is beneficiary of the public trust.
OEMA provides waste and recycling services for municipalities and rural communities in Canadian and surrounding counties.
The authority operates a solid waste landfill on S.W. 29th in Union City and a recycling center on S Rock Island in El Reno.
OEMA paid off previous bond debt in July.
“That payment was close to $50,000 monthly,” Griesel told county commissioners. “This payment (for the four recently purchased trucks) is going to be approximately $17,000 per month.
“So, we still had enough cash flow there to handle this payment.”
All four trucks are compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles.
“The roll-off trucks will ‘phase out’ two diesels,” Griesel pointed out. “Part of the reason we want to phase those out is we continually have high repair expenses on those diesels. The CNGs are lighter on the expense ratio.”
A diesel truck has about 138 emission components while a CNG truck has around 13.
“The CNG is closer to your car emission system,” Griesel noted.
OEMA has a CNG fueling station in El Reno that’s open to the public.
THIS AND THAT …
Among other items approved at the Sept. 5th Canadian County Commissioners’ meeting were:
- Authorizing Commissioner Tom Manske or his representative to electronically sign a service agreement between District 1 and NextLink Internet service.
- Acknowledging designation of Dean Walker and Kim Kaes as requisitioning officers and Krishanda O’Dell and Kim Baustert as receiving officers for District 3.
- Acknowledging designation of Tommy Humphries and Austin Murrey as requisitioning officers and Alicia Benson and Emmy Burdick as receiving officers for the District Attorney’s Office.
- Sale of a 2018 Chevrolet Tahoe by the City of Mustang Police Department to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office. Price is $25,000 for the fully equipped sport utility vehicle.
- Resolutions to dispose of county equipment for the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office – Two Dodge vehicles, Ford pickup and Fordson tractor sold at public auction.
Canadian County Undersheriff Kevin Ward on Sept. 5 presented the weekly county jail report showing an inmate population totaling 227, with 187 prisoners at the El Reno detention center and 40 others housed in contracted counties.
The total count is up five from last week as 56 prisoners await transfer to state Department of Corrections’ custody.
Meanwhile, Kim Baustert was introduced as the county commissioners’ new office administrator.
