By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Residents will soon decide if they want more than three elected trustees deciding the town’s business.
It could soon be five trustees in the future with voter approval in a special election Sept. 12.
Two new town trustees would help add diverse opinions, and more dialogue on local issues. Residents want more decision-makers on town decisions, says Town Trustee Jason Kroener.
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, Okarche voters will vote to add two trustees to town hall government.
Kroener ran for the trustee Ward One in April and was elected over challenger Jeremy Miller. Former trustee Matt Blackwood decided not to seek re-election, and Kroener joined Mayor Jeff Sadler and trustee for Ward Three Jeff Brueggen as the current three voices for Okarche’s town of about 1,410 people, according to the U.S. Census.
The town population has not changed that much in recent years, Kroener said. But when he ran for the trustee position, he said many residents told him they thought the board of trustees should be more than just three.
With only three trustees, if two trustees ever meet in public, they can’t talk city business because it would be considered a quorum, or a formal meeting. That is one example of why two more positions are needed, Kroener said.
Okarche is expecting future growth with the heavy development in Oklahoma City limits moving westward and toward Okarche, or the Oklahoma City encroachment, Kroener said.
The town must make major decisions soon about such issues as the water source and the nitrate levels.
“When I ran for this office I kept getting feedback about whether it was time to go to a five-member board. I think there are a lot of benefits having more people participate in decisions of the town,” Kroener said.
The town faces aging infrastructure issues. A water treatment plant is needed due to high levels of the nitrates reported for two decades.
Managing future development is a future focus, he said.
“We’re primed for substantial growth,” Kroener said.
The town trustees passed a resolution that was unanimously approved, 3-0, to let the voters decide Sept. 12 if they want more trustees, Kroener said.
Kroener said he is voting yes. If approved, trustees would decide later whether to split the town that covers just 2 square miles into five wards with a trustee assigned to each or have five at-large trustees.
People can vote 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 408 W. Colorado if they live in Canadian County or at the high school, 632 W. Oklahoma Ave. if they reside in Kingfisher County.
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