During its final meeting of the year, Beggs City Council accepted the resignation of the municipal court judge, hired a new municipal judge, approved an internet service contract, took action on a DEQ permit and changed the name of a city commission, in addition to addressing regular monthly items.

Okmulgee attorney Javier Ramirez submitted his resignation as Beggs Municipal Court Judge, which the council accepted following a brief executive session. Councilmembers then voted to hire former Beggs City Attorney Angela Bonilla as municipal court judge.

Wanting to allow the planning and zoning commission to be able to preserve historical properties in the area, the council voted to rename the commission. The new name is the Beggs Preservation, Planning and Zoning Commission. The council appointed Steve Price to the commission.

In other action, the council signed a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) permit required for phase 2 work on the city’s water distribution system upgrade to continue. Councilmembers also approved a contract between the city and Eco Services, a subsidiary of East Central Electric Cooperative, pending approval from the city attorney. In addition to internet services being provided to the area, the contract will help resolve any liability issues that might arise from either the city or ecoLink accidentally cutting into the other’s lines, and addresses the routes and depth of the underground fiber lines. Councilman Justin Jones abstained from voting since he is employed by the cooperative.

Council members voted to increase building permits and demolition fees to $200, and approved a building permit for Tyco Electric’s 40’ x 60’ warehouse facility east of town, toward Highway 75, and north of Highway 16. The council also approved ADP processing the city’s payroll, which will begin shortly after the first of the new year. It was noted the city did not previously have an established payroll system, and that ADP offers an app employees can use for clocking in and out.

Before the meeting’s conclusion, Beggs Chief of Police John Palacio gave his monthly report on the department’s activities for the previous 30 days. He shared that the department has received a grant from East Central Electric Cooperative’s Operation Round-Up program for $8,000 to help with the purchase of much-needed gear and equipment upgrades. He also noted $3,900 was raised through citation fees.

Beggs Fire Chief Matt Cooperrider was unable to attend the meeting, so the fire department’s monthly activity report was postponed until the January meeting.

Under new business, Beggs Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Janis Watkins reminded the council of the town’s Christmas celebration Saturday, December 13. All activities will be downtown, and include a parade at 10 a.m., photos with Santa, the annual chicken noodle dinner at the First United Methodist Church, live music in the Kanokie Courtyard, and vendors on hand selling unique Holiday items and treats. She shared there will be a drone taking a community photo at 2 p.m. to celebrate Beggs’ 125th Anniversary. The photo takes place at the main downtown intersection and the entire community is invited to participate.

The council then convened as the Beggs Public Works Authority. Following City Engineer Bill Smith’s monthly report, Public Works Director Taylor Hackney gave his monthly report citing water loss percentage was 24.3%, down 1.9% from the previous month.

Surrounded by employees from his department, which he referred to as “my guys,” Hackney went on to emphasize his department’s efforts to be transparent, citing his monthly council reports as one example. He stated the department’s continued challenges are due to “inherited issues,” including a lack of tools and infrastructure damage. He criticized previous operators for neglect, infrastructure damage and misappropriation which he stated he felt led directly to the department’s current problems.

“My guys out here work 50-plus hours a week, every week, on average, sometimes more. This is because we are trying to fix the problems we’ve inherited. We are constantly repairing leaks, and infrastructure damage. When I started, the guys had little to no tools that were essential to doing their jobs in a correct or efficient manner. This was due to them being denied that tool from the previous operators,” Hackney said.

He went on to say he has been reviewing 30 to 40 log books, personal journals and notebooks, composition notebooks, and file folders he believes hold pertinent information that can “link directly to negligence on the part of the previous operators” and neglect of the wastewater plant and the water plant.

He went on to say, “two computers that were used to set up the water plant have been retrieved and taken through the proper channels for investigation, and anything uncovered in my findings will also be taken through the proper channels for investigation, all pertaining to the previous operators.”

Hackney cited communication issues with Rural Water District #2, saying basically there was no communication with the district.

“They had no idea of the things that were going on and did not know how to fix them because they were never communicated with in a proper way,” he explained.

“All of my guys stand in my corner now, and we work daily to fix these issues,” he said, adding he is asking for patience from the public and in return he will start providing better communication through the municipal impact page.

“I want to set the record straight with the public that everything we are doing, we are doing to undo [what was done by..] the previous operators.”

Beggs City Council meets at 6 p.m. at Beggs City Hall the second Monday of each month.