The Wagoner County Board of County Commissioners voted on Dec. 30 to approve $34,180.60 from the commissioners’ use tax to cover the costs of a Feb. 11 special election and took a series of other budget and contracting actions tied to ARPA-funded projects.

The election funding request was presented by elections staff as necessary to cover ballot costs for a single February special election; commissioners moved and approved the appropriation by roll call. Commissioners noted that only one school district had a February election and that other costs would not be shared by other jurisdictions.

Why it matters: The county’s decision ensures the election will be funded without delaying the February date for that district, shifting the county’s discretionary tax balance and reducing the pool of remaining ARPA funds available for other projects.

In related budget business, the board rejected multiple ARPA-funded bids after staff told commissioners there was insufficient ARPA funding remaining to award several projects. The motions to reject bids covered several agenda items, including material and waterline projects and an ARPA generator purchase advertised by municipalities; each rejection was approved by roll call.

Commissioners then approved corrected contracts tied to the Rural Water 2 plant project. Staff reported the construction contract submitted for Cook Consulting had an updated total of $2,389,971 (the agenda listed an older figure); the board approved the corrected contract after staff explained the resubmitted paperwork and reconciled line-item totals. Separately, the contract for construction management services with Infrastructure Solutions Group LLC (project WAG2-24-04, phase 2) was corrected on the record from $147,000 to $169,180 and approved by the board.

What officials said: Rachel Cooper, a county staff member handling contracts and ARPA administration, told the board the Cook Consulting contract had been resubmitted with corrected terms and amounts and that the revised paperwork matched the board’s previously awarded total. County staff also told commissioners they had found an encumbrance error in ARPA accounting that they expected to reconcile before the reporting deadline.

Other actions: The board approved reallocating $65,000 in ARPA savings from a completed City of Wagoner water-tower purchase to a wastewater headworks project after staff confirmed the new use met federal competitive-bidding requirements. The board also authorized the purchase of an emergency generator for the county’s emergency management operations and approved adding up to eight ADA parking spaces at the courthouse.

Annexation election call: The board voted to call an election on Resolution 2024-133 to permit voters to decide whether additional territory will be annexed into the Oak Grove Fire District. Commissioners Hennig and Edwards voted Aye; Commissioner Kelly voted No. County staff emphasized the vote only called an election date (March instead of February) and did not itself expand district boundaries.

What’s next: Staff said they would reconcile ARPA encumbrances and proceed with contracting paperwork; the special election will move forward with county funding. The annexation question will go to voters if the election call is implemented as scheduled.

Sources: Board meeting transcript and staff remarks at the Wagoner County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Dec. 30, 2024.