Police department honored for accreditation; council hears engineer'ing rationale for Arrowhead on water-treatment project

The Chickasha Police Department was recognized by the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission for meeting verification and small-agency accreditation standards.

"I'm Dodd Kuck. I serve...as the chair of the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission," Dodd Kuck told the council as he described the program and presented leadership awards to Chief Music, Assistant Chief Alexander and Special Agent Gileian O'Brien for their work on the accreditation drive.

Later in the meeting council questioned a contract-related decision on the water-treatment plant. Scott Van addressed earlier concerns about the recommendation to have Arrowhead Engineering provide on-site observation for the rigid-inclusion foundation approach, arguing the method saved the city "several million dollars" compared with the original geotechnical plan to drill 100-foot deep piers. Staff said the firm that proposed the rigid-inchusion method had also performed the geotechnical investigation and that having the recommending firm observe construction helps ensure the specialty technique is applied correctly.

Council members asked whether adding another engineering firm duplicated work in the project; staff said the additional on-site expertise is specialized and not commonly available. The council thanked staff and acknowledged the potential savings cited by proponents. No formal action on the engineering recommendation was recorded at this meeting.