City Council approves funding agreement to proceed with adding to multi-use trail
The Poteau City Council approved the funding agreement between the City of Poteau and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to proceed with constructing the multi-use trail during Tuesday night’s meeting at Poteau City Hall.
In 2009, late former Poteau Mayor Jeff Shockley helped get a grant through ODOT’s Rails-to-Trails Program that overall for the project that at that time cost greater than $1 million, which helped get the Old Frisco Trail going from Cavanal Expressway to Wister. About four years ago, the City of Poteau paid out around $18,000 to $20,000 toward the project. Tuesday night’s approval is for $100,000 which will help fund the work to be done on the portion of the trail that will connect Carl Albert State College from near the Deanna Reed Building to the Donald W. Reynolds Community Center and close to downtown Poteau. Poteau Chamber of
Commerce Chief Executive Officer Karen Wages said that once the project is done, then the Patrick Lynch Public Library and Wister Public Library will be able to proceed with patrons checking out bicycles to ride from one library to the other, with most of that riding taking place on the Old Frisco Trail.
In other action, the City Council approved purchasing a $20,000 surveillance system from Apprentice for the Poteau Police Department.
Upon a recommendation by Poteau Police Department Chief Billy Hooper, the City Council approved having a street/security light installed at the corner of Pleasant Valley Road and Eagle Crest Street. Hooper said the intersection has darkness issues once dusk has come. Poteau Mayor Scotty White said he would turn in the request to Oklahoma Gas and Electric, but he said it could be a long, drawn-out process before the request gets honored.
While not in attendance at Tuesday night’s meeting, White was slated to present a 15-year service pin to City of Poteau Oakland Cemetery staff worker Johnny Shepherd inside his office later this week.
The Poteau City Council approved the payment of purchase orders as signed and approved by the City of Poteau Finance Committee, the acceptance of department reports and the budget transfers for December.
In the first meeting of Tuesday evening’s tripleheader, Wages told the Poteau Industrial Authority that the Chamber of looking for Nancy Billings’ successor after Billings retired just before Christmas.
Wages also said 2022 was successful for both the
Chamber and the Donald W. Reynolds Community Center as both were continuously busy.
Wages said the Cameron Schools’ archery program will have its own archery tournament on Saturday at the Reynolds Center in which there will be greater than 750 students participating.
Wages said that the Chamber is already getting RSVPs for the Reynolds Center by schools for their proms this spring. She also said there will be an MMX Cage Fight event on March 11, and she is hoping to be able to book gospel singer Big Daddy Weave sometime in February.
Wages also said the 2023 Leadership LeFlore County will start up in March.
The board also approved the payment of purchase orders as signed and approved by the City of Poteau Finance Committee, the acceptance of department reports and the budget transfers for December.
The second meeting of the evening was the Poteau Public Works Authority meeting for January, in which the board approved the payment of purchase orders as signed and approved by the City of Poteau Finance Committee, the acceptance of department reports and the budget transfers for December.
Correction
In Tuesday’s physical and e-edition, the incorrect two offices involved in Tuesday’s election were listed.
Tuesday’s election will let the general public decide if it wants the general public to vote for upcoming Poteau Police Department chiefs and the City of Poteau Street Commissioners. Currently, both offices are filled by City Council appointment.
However, the error has been corrected on the online preview story of Tuesday evening’s meeting at www.poteaudailynews. com.
The Poteau Daily News regrets the error.
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The January 2023 Town of Wister Board of Trustees meeting will not take place until 6:30 p.m. this Monday. It originally had been listed as taking place this past Monday night.