Purcell Police get big award

Graham Fishburn was sworn in for another term and Ted Cox was elected to another term as Mayor but it was the Purcell Police Department that stole the show at Monday night’s regular city council meeting.

A project that now Purcell Police Chief Bobby Elmore started back in 1998 has come to fruition.

Purcell’s Police Department now joins just 21 other police departments across the state to be an Oklahoma Law Enforcement Accredited Program.

Kevin McCullough, a Law Enforcement Specialist with the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance  Group (OMAG) presented Elmore and the department with Accreditation and Certification from OMAG.

“This is unique and special,” McCullough said. “Purcell has become one of the best in Oklahoma. We look at the policy manual. We look at procedures and compare them to the state’s and national’s best practices.

“Your department exceeded the best in Oklahoma,” McCullough continued. 

“It takes an entire agency to accomplish this,” Elmore said. 

The chief gave credit to Accreditation Manager  Cpl. Josh Van Ort for putting the finishing touches on the report and project.

Fishburn commended the department, that has 20 full time officers.

“I applaud you to have an outside agency come in and have the reassurance from experts we are doing things correctly,” Fishburn said.

Another gesture of good will from the Purcell Department came from Officer Brooke Gaines.

Danny Jacobs, who was re-elected to another term as Vice Mayor at the meeting in the Police Service Building, singled out an act that Gaines recently did.

Jacobs told a story about a senior couple from Ada who had been to a doctor’s appointment in Oklahoma City. On their way back to Ada they got hungry and pulled into McDonald’s in Purcell.

Gaines was also in line and paid for the order the couple had placed.

“And the reason I know this story is because the man taught me chemistry and he told me the story,” Jacobs said during the meeting. “Officer Gaines went above and beyond service above self.”

Captain James Bolling introduced a new officer who came from Cleveland County. Jeffery Hixon, Bolling said, will be a great addition to Purcell’s Department.

After an executive session the council approved collective bargaining agreements with the FOP and IAFF for the fiscal year 2020-2021.

City Manager Dale Bunn said the parties agreed that because of the serious unknowns, especially economic, caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, pay rates would hold at current levels.

“This matched what the City of Purcell was doing throughout all its workforce,” Bunn said.

In other actions, the council:

• amended a contract between Waldrop Construction, Inc., and the Purcell Public Works Authority d/b/a Purcell Municipal Hospital to include the City of Purcell and add Bunn as the Owner’s Designated Representative.
• authorized Bunn to sign professional services agreement with Building and Earth Engineers to provide required third party testing of earthwork, shallow footing, reinforced concrete, structural masonry, structural steel and asphalt/concrete pavement for the new PMH.
• awarded a contract for the Water Line Extension Project for the proposed new PMH.
• appointed Kevin Andrews as a trustee on the Rural Fire Board.
• heard a report from John Blue about the Rotary Playground at the Purcell City Lake.
• authorized Bunn to sign an agreement with Benny’s Paddle Sport, LLC to rent kayaks and paddle boards on the Purcell City Lake.
• voted to increase the speed limit on South 9th Street between the south boundary of SH 74 and the north boundary of the Purcell Mobile Home Park.
• tabled action concerning a water leak for Carla Hooper during the PPWA meeting and tabled action on water access to West Johnson Development.

In his report, Bunn said the attempts to level basketball courts have failed. He said the architect is making a formal claim to tear up the one court and replace it.

He said a planned employee lunch was cancelled due to the pandemic. The Purcell Lake Trails bathroom has been delivered and Sullivan Engineering is working on a storm sewer punch list. He told the board the hospital financing bond sales have been finalized and the cash was deposited in the bank.