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Stilwell City Council approves clean audit, ambulance pact and gun purchase; rejects abatement fee waiver
Summary
At its April 7 meeting the City of Stilwell City Council accepted a clean FY2023–24 audit, approved an ambulance service agreement with Adair County EMS and purchased 18 GLOCK 47 pistols with Redpoint sights; council rejected a resident's request to waive abatement fees and tabled a dispatching contract.
The City of Stilwell City Council on April 7 accepted a clean audit for fiscal year 2023–24, approved an ambulance-service agreement with Adair County EMS and authorized the purchase of 18 GLOCK 47 pistols with Redpoint sighting for the police department, while rejecting a request to waive abatement administrative fees.
Council action came after routine business and public notices. Auditor Michael Green reported a clean audit after a handful of minor, non-monetary issues were corrected; the council voted 5-0 to accept the FY2023–24 financial audit.
The council approved a proposed ambulance service agreement with Adair County EMS, which includes the city covering utilities for the portion of Fire Station #1 used by ACEMS. Council members said the utility detail was not a major issue; the agreement was approved by a 5-0 vote and is intended to provide one full-time 24/7 dispatcher for Stilwell once implemented.
On police equipment, the council authorized the purchase of 18 GLOCK 47 pistols with Redpoint sighting from H & H for $16,069.50. A presenter, Chad Smith, described performance figures for the sighting system, saying, “Accuracy drops on the average from 85% to 25% without the Redpoint system, but with the system, accuracy only drops from 85% to 75%.” The purchase passed 5-0.
A proposed dispatching agreement with Adair County 911 for $165,000 per year was discussed but tabled until departments can finalize a schedule and staffing plan; the motion to table passed 5-0.
Alan Starr asked the council to waive administrative abatement fees for a property matter; Starr said he could not confirm whether he received the mailed notice. City code-enforcement records showed the city followed state procedures and had documented delivery, and council members expressed concern about setting a precedent. A motion to reject the fee-waiver request passed 4-1 (Councilmember Jim Spray cast the lone no vote).
The council approved four Wheeler Electric invoices for REAP-funded lighting projects totaling $55,875 and noted $19,125 remaining from the grant would be used to upgrade the police-station courtroom according to grant conditions. Separately, a resident identified as Dale raised concerns about Maple Street deterioration and exposed piping; staff said the Maple Street REAP project is scheduled but delayed behind other projects and that the city holds a $75,000 REAP grant for the work.
The council entered executive session under provisions of Title 25 O.S. and later announced that items 9 and 10 were discussed with no other matters considered and no action taken during executive session. After returning to open session, council confirmed the hire of Jaxon Thomlinson as a part-time police officer effective March 9, 2025; that confirmation passed 4-1 (Lane Kindle voted no).
The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
What the votes mean: motions on the agenda were recorded with mover/second and roll-call results in the minutes. The council recorded final votes for each action listed above and documented dissent where present.
