Wagoner council delays vote on up to $1.4 million loan for hospital after staff and residents plead for support

The Wagoner City Council on Dec. 17 postponed action on a resolution that would authorize the Wagoner Hospital Authority to issue a promissory note to Blue Sky Bank with an aggregate principal not to exceed $1,400,000, including waiving competitive bidding and pledging certificate(s) of deposit as collateral.

Council members opened the meeting to public comment before discussion on the resolution. Haley, a hospital employee, described a recently launched forensic tribal mental‑health program at the hospital and said it had already restored several patients to competency in a matter of weeks, drawing referrals from across the region and from tribal partners. "This is the nation's first forensic tribal program," Haley said, noting the program's early clinical successes and potential revenue benefit to the facility.

The council heard similar pleas from long‑time staff and clinicians. Brandy Moore, chief nursing officer, said transferring patients to larger hospitals would impose long waits and costs on families and strain emergency services. "If you send services outside of this town, it's gonna hurt a lot of the people," Moore said. Jennifer Farmer, a nurse practitioner with two decades in the community, told the council the hospital accepts nearly all insurances and provides outpatient labs, imaging and some surgeries that would otherwise shift revenue and patients out of town.

City staff and councilors discussed the loan mechanics in detail. The proposed action would permit the hospital authority to deliver a promissory note and related loan and security agreements to Blue Sky Bank, using certificate(s) of deposit (CDs) as collateral. Council members were told the CD in question has been renewed periodically and that the hospital typically draws on a roughly $1,000,000 line of credit each quarter; staff reported the hospital receives Medicaid supplemental payments of about $1.7 million per quarter in recent periods to help replenish such draws. A staff member reported the CD's current yield at about 4.15 percent and said CD interest is compounded back into the deposit.

Several council members raised legal and procedural constraints before voting: one councilor (Renee Thomas) could not participate because she is an employee of the hospital, and another member (Shane North) was absent. The presiding officer said the resolution would require six affirmative votes (three‑quarters of the nine‑member governing body). Council members also said they received the draft loan documents from Blue Sky Bank the prior day at 4:00 a.m. and found provisions they wished to change; according to attendees, bank representatives agreed to remove objectionable clauses when contacted.

After extended public comment and discussion of alternatives — including proposals to return previously provided local funds and to consider smaller or time‑limited credit accommodations — the council declined to act on the resolution at the Dec. 17 meeting and directed staff to schedule a special meeting to reconsider the matter when a sufficient number of eligible council members can participate.

Votes at a glance - Adjournment (motion to adjourn): approved by roll call; recorded 'Yes' votes — Butler, Wagner, Wilson, Higginbotham, Wright and Hamilton. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.

What happens next Council members said they will try to meet next week or soon after with the goal of securing the six affirmative votes required to decide the hospital‑authority loan request. The council did not adopt any loan documents or authorize execution of the promissory note at the Dec. 17 meeting.