Pryor Creek council swears in new officers, approves police camera licensing, hires and land-use items; emergency plan and camping ordinance tabled

The Pryor Creek City Council on May 20 administered oaths to newly elected city officials, approved licensing for the police video management system, authorized several personnel actions and a zoning change, and tabled two items for further review.

The council swore in several recently elected or appointed city officers during the meeting’s opening ceremony. City Clerk Hannah Morris administered the oaths; those sworn included Lori Beaulieu as city treasurer and Jeremy Cantrell as police chief, and the council members for wards 1–4: Terry Lamar (Ward 1), Lori Bradshaw (Ward 2), Charles Stramel (Ward 3) and Bruce Smith (Ward 4).

Why it matters: The licensing and staffing decisions affect public safety operations and daily city services; the tabled items — the city’s updated Emergency Operations Plan and proposed camping ordinance language — were deferred so the council and staff can provide additional documents and clarify language.

Major council decisions and discussion

- Police video licensing: The council approved an expenditure of $14,003.81 to Motorola Solutions for annual licensing of the city’s video-management service supporting body‑worn and in‑car cameras. Police Chief Jeremy Cantrell described the cost as the recurring yearly license necessary for officers to access the evidence library. The motion passed on a roll-call vote.

- Staffing and hires: The council approved multiple personnel actions. Motioned and passed were: • Hiring Mariana Cappuccino as a police dispatcher (start date May 27) to fill a vacancy in the department’s dispatch roster. The hire was intended to reduce the department’s reliance on patrol officers to fill dispatch duties overnight. • Hiring of a sworn officer, Jimmy Lemons, as a patrol officer (start date May 27). The administration said the department is operating near minimum staffing and needs to begin replacements and field training to sustain street coverage. • Authorization to hire up to two temporary/seasonal workers to support parks, cemetery and related grounds work for the summer. The council approved hiring summer help with a not‑to‑exceed fully burdened rate of $15 per hour (this cap includes agency fees when hires are obtained through a staffing agency). Staff noted $10,000 is budgeted for seasonal help but that cemetery care funds might be used if necessary.

- Zoning and plats: The council approved a zoning map amendment for two lots (block 4, lots 9–10) to allow a triplex rather than a duplex on an empty lot; Planning & Zoning had recommended the change and the hearing drew neighborhood comments about parking and future development. The council also approved the final plat for a commercial portion of the West 530 Road development (the commercial “district” portion previously annexed), allowing filing of the plat with the county.

- Emergency Operations Plan (EOP): Councilors asked for a copy that clearly shows what changes were made in the updated 2025 EOP. Because several members had not received or reviewed a marked‑up copy, the council voted to table action on the EOP and requested staff circulate the edits electronically prior to the next meeting.

- Camping ordinance language: The council discussed proposed changes to Ordinance 7‑4‑4 (camping) that would explicitly allow ‘‘outdoor sleeping accommodations on private property for up to three consecutive overnight periods’’ while retaining presumptive language about tents and trailers in public areas. Several councilors asked for clearer statutory language and for the city attorney to prepare a clean, publishable draft. The item was sent back to staff for redrafting and will return to council after revisions.

Other reports and context

- Department reports covered routine operations: library circulation and new accounts; street department repairs and drainage work; parks and cemetery maintenance; Golf Course events and tournaments; storm and siren maintenance; and animal shelter intake counts. Public works and parks staff reported on a planned cemetery expansion and on ongoing drainage/rock‑wall stabilization planning; staff said cemetery expansion design work is in progress and that lots would likely be offered for sale within a couple of years.

- Grants and projects: Staff reported ongoing grant applications and community partnerships for park restroom replacement at the tennis/pickleball courts (estimated total project cost cited in discussion ~ $200,000) and work with Main Street and the Department of Commerce on film‑friendly community designation and heritage‑tour mobile app content. Emergency management staff reported the city is switching its mass‑notification vendor to HyperReach with a goal to sign up residents beginning in July after address verification.

- Audit inquiry: Councilors Charles Trammell and Tyler Brown reported they contacted the Oklahoma State Auditor’s office about concerns over the city’s financial reporting and internal controls. The auditor’s office replied that its forensic division is not accepting new forensic audits for roughly 12 months and that the city appears to be out of compliance on filing its most recent annual audit and current fiscal estimate of needs; the office recommended first catching up those filings. Trammell said he and Brown will collect council input on the scope of any audit request and will circulate recommended next steps.

What council asked staff to do next

- Circulate a marked‑up copy of the 2025 Emergency Operations Plan to council members before the next meeting. - City attorney to prepare clarified draft language for Ordinance 7‑4‑4 (camping) and proposed definitions to appear in a future ordinance packet. - Staff to supply more detailed budget/accounting figures supporting the Motorola licensing payment and the police capital outlay account as requested by councilors. - Councilors Trammell and Brown to gather and submit suggested audit scope points for review and to present recommended audit vendors/options at a future meeting.

Ending — upcoming items

The council said it will return the EOP and the camping ordinance for further consideration after staff and the city attorney prepare the requested materials. Several capital and grant items (tennis‑court restrooms, rock‑wall stabilization, cemetery expansion) will appear in budget discussions for the new fiscal year. Police staffing, SRO negotiations with Prior Public Schools, and ongoing ARPA/accounting follow‑up were identified as items the council will track in coming weeks.

Votes at a glance

- Consent agenda (all items except items g and k): motion carried (motion/second on record). - Item g — Approve 2025 Emergency Operations Plan: TABLED (council requested marked changes circulated before action). - Item k — Approve $14,003.81 to Motorola Solutions for video manager licensing (body‑worn and in‑car camera systems): APPROVED. - Item 6a — Hire up to two temporary seasonal employees for parks/cemetery: APPROVED (amended: not to exceed $15/hour fully burdened rate including staffing‑agency fees). - Item 6b — Hire Mariana Cappuccino as police dispatcher (start 05/27/2025): APPROVED. - Item 6c — Hire Jimmy Lemons as police officer (start 05/27/2025): APPROVED. - Zoning change (lots 9–10, block 4) to allow triplex: APPROVED after public hearing. - Final plat for the commercial portion of the West 530 Road district: APPROVED. - Ordinance 7‑4‑4 (camping) proposed language: SENT BACK TO STAFF / NO ACTION (city attorney to reword for council review). - Audit inquiry: COUNCILORS AUTHORIZED TO RESEARCH OPTIONS/NO FINAL ACTION — Trammell/Brown to collect scope input and return with recommendations.

(For a full roll‑call record and verbatim motions see the official meeting minutes.)