A retirement ceremony of sorts was held Tuesday night during the October Henryetta city council meeting.
Malo, the K-9 officer, is retiring after nine years of service that according to police chief Steve Norman, has been successful. “He (Malo) was involved in the onetime largest seizure of 40 kilos of meth. That was the largest in the county.” He went on to say that several thousands of dollars in cash seizures can be credited to Malo. “He has more than paid for himself.”
Malo is a Belgian Malinois that came to the department as a year-year-old. “He was older than most dogs we would normally get,” Norman said. He pointed out the dog is, “still high energy,” but suffers from health issues that older large dogs face including hip dysphasia. “He has a well deserved retirement.”
Council members presented a plaque honoring Malo then, after declaring him surplus property, agreed to let K-9 handler Theran Richards adopt the dog.
Norman said he has a replacement dog cost in the budget at an estimated $17,000 cost. “We are looking for bids and we have a $2,500 grant from Walmart.” There is also $23,000 in the police equipment fund that can be used to get a new k-9 officer.
Approval was given to purchase a new dog at a cost not to exceed the $17,000 total.
Norman also asked the council for approval to purchase a new police vehicle. He said the preference is for a Tahoe due to the extra storage space for officer equipment as well as it being a four-wheel drive.
He went on to say the vehicle would not be delivered anytime in the coming months. “It could be six to nine months before we would get it.”
Recent water issues for residents on the hill above town were behind approval of a memorandum of agreement with the Muskogee (Creek) Nation Health Services. That would have the Health Services to provide $317,000 toward construction of another water tower. “We have been trying to get grants because there needs to be another tower there,” mayor Jennifer Munholland said.
Later in the meeting with the Henryetta Municipal Authority, council members approved a bid for water main replacement work from Corporation Street to Nelson Avenue.
“It is important we get water where it needs to be,” Munholland said. “We are trying to get issues on the hill corrected and this is a start.”
The next step toward residents using credit cards to pay for city services was approved with a resolution adopting an ordinance along the city to receive the card payments. Those payments can be for utility bills as well as court finds and fees.
Discussion over the fee to card users indicated the city would not place a charge on that usage but rather the company processing the charge would add it to each use.
Also gaining approval from the council was appointment of Lori Enis to the library board. She will be filling the unexpired term of Nora Donathan that expires in March, 2026.
Katie Thompson was give approval to use the parking lot at the corner of Fifth and Trudgeon Streets Nov. 12 for a food drive to fill baskets for Thanksgiving.
The Henryetta Historical Society was given permission to use the civic center for the annual Founder’s Day dinner to be held Nov. 12.
Councilor Jana Dugan pointed out that is the same time as the annual Methodist Church bean dinner but would be a conflict since the bean dinner is held during the day and the Founder’s Day dinner would be that evening.
The rusting and worn-out roof at the beach house at Nichols Park will see some work courtesy of union members. Council members approved a maximum cost of $15,000 for materials with union members doing the labor. Joshua Craig, the driving force behind the effort, said a $8,579.36 bid on metal roofing material as well as columns and beams associated with his has been obtained. “”We can approve up to $15,000 that would not stop them (union workers0 in case other things have to be done,” Munholland said. She was referring to any wood replacement that was not viewed in the original inspection.
Money for the project would come from the hotel and motel tax fund.
Four easements in land surrounding QuikTrip that have been in place for decades were vacated by the council.