Durant Council approves bids and purchases, seeks bidders for nearly 794 acres of oil and gas rights

Durant — The Durant City Council approved a package of routine and project-specific actions at its February meeting, including a notice to solicit bids for leasing roughly 793.74 acres of city-owned oil and gas interests, a street-rehabilitation contract, a police technology purchase to meet federal criminal-justice IT rules, and a resolution to seek Choctaw Nation development funds to host a rapid DNA machine.

The council voted to publish public notice seeking bids to lease approximately 793.74 acres of city and associated-entity land. Council discussion described prior industry interest and called out an expected upfront bonus payment in the discussion (discussed in the meeting as “over $400,000” depending on acreage offered). Staff and council members noted lease language could include depth limits and that, if the city did not solicit leases, forced pooling could be used by third parties in some circumstances. The motion to send the notice passed on a roll call with Council Member Miller, Council Member Scheer and Vice Mayor Mike Simolesco voting yes.

On infrastructure, staff recommended and the council approved awarding the University Boulevard rehabilitation project to Overland Corporation, the low bidder at $396,560. Public works staff described work to fully reconstruct the 7th and 12th Street intersections and to mill and overlay pavement from 6th Street to Bridal Drive, with striping and curve corrections. Staff said the project is funded in part by a 50/50 match grant; the awarded bid was below the city’s $450,000 estimate. The council approved both the bid award and the contract by roll call.

Police leadership asked the council to approve an equipment and software purchase totaling $80,200 to meet Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) compliance and reduce cyber risk. Chief Petty told the council that many in-service computers run Windows 10, which is at end of life for security updates, and that some existing machines (manufactured in 2014) do not meet Windows 11 hardware requirements such as TPM 2. The requested purchase covers 25 units and necessary peripherals; the council approved the procurement by roll call.

The council also approved a resolution authorizing application for Choctaw Nation Development Funds. Durant Police said the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) selected Durant as a potential southeastern hub for a rapid DNA system that can return matches in roughly 90 minutes. Staff estimated recurring maintenance and service costs of about $24,000 per year and said the city is seeking a community partner to split the annual expense; the council authorized the city to apply for the Choctaw funding. Staff indicated a separate memorandum of understanding and a future council request would follow if the application proceeds.

Other items: the council presented certificates of appreciation to local businesses and a contractor for community donations and public-works assistance, and proclaimed a United Acts of Kindness Day. A brief utilities-authority session and a short airport-authority meeting each approved minutes from Jan. 13, 2026 and adjourned.

Votes at a glance: - Consent items (minutes of 01/13/2026) — Approved by roll call (Council Member Miller: yes; Council Member Scheer: yes; Vice Mayor Mike Simolesco: yes). (Provenance: minutes approval: SEG 052-083; SEG 168-176) - Notice to request bids to lease ~793.74 acres (Administrative A) — Motion to approve public notice: Approved (Miller: yes; Scheer: yes; Simolesco: yes). (Provenance: SEG 263-366) - Award: University Boulevard rehabilitation to Overland Corporation — Award and contract approval for $396,560: Approved (Miller: yes; Scheer: yes; Simolesco: yes). (Provenance: SEG 367-445; SEG 446-463) - Rename access road to Lake Durant as Little Blue Lane — Approved. (Provenance: SEG 466-498) - Purchase of police CJIS-compliant hardware/software ($80,200) — Approved. (Provenance: SEG 501-631) - Resolution to apply for Choctaw Nation Development Funds for OSBI Rapid DNA hosting — Approved. (Provenance: SEG 632-771)

What happens next: staff will publish the bid notice for the oil-and-gas lease and return to council with bid results and a recommendation at a future meeting. If the Choctaw application is approved, staff said they will return with an MOU and any agreements needed to formalize hosting the rapid DNA unit.

Quotes from the record: - “We sent out 8 bid packets … we got 2 back. It’s either Overland Corporation, which came in at 396,000 … and they come in at 396,000. And we’ve had Overland in the city. They have done work for us.” — Mister Hightower, public works (presentation of bids and recommendation). - “This is a compliance request … So the computers in which we operate now are operating off Windows 10, which are at end of life with security updates.” — Chief Petty (police chief) on CJIS-compliance purchase. - “We will host a train the trainer … and that will train our folks … it turns a DNA sample around in a 90 minute turnaround to help identify or eliminate suspects.” — Chief Petty (description of the rapid DNA system).

Reporting note: direct quotes and attributions in this article are limited to speakers explicitly identified in the transcript. The transcript contains multiple inconsistent spellings for some names and vendor references; this account uses the spellings that appear most clearly in the meeting record.