Heavener Council approves mitigation plan
By CRAIG HALL
The Heavener City Council approved taking part in the LeFlore County mitigation plan presented by LeFlore County Emergency Management director Dennis Yochum during Thursday’s meeting.
Present were Mayor Max Roberts, along with Council members Melinda Ballantine, Joey Clubb and Marvin Meredith. Jim Roll was not present.
Approval of the plan allows a city to mitigate problem areas. Yochum said LeFlore County’s main problem is flooding. He said this will allow the city to do the work that needs to be done, then get reimbursed from FEMA.
Yochum said after the flooding a few years ago in the northern part of the county, the cost to fix the damage was $1.9 million and the county did not have funds available to fix the problem. With the mitigation program, this allows the areas taking part in the mitigation problem to avoid using tax payer money to fix the problem.
Yochum said the mitigation plan is good for five years before it has to be renewed. If a county opts out of the program, the only way funds are allowed are if the governor declares the area a disaster area.
The Council also approved the fiscal year 2022-2023 blanket purchase orders and then went into executive session.
A promotion of part time patrol office Chance Higginbotham to full time at a rate o $15 was approved after the Council exited the executive session.
Under reports, Police Chief Ty Armstrong said the department would need to replace tazers that went out as soon as the warranty ended.
Ballantine reported the Runestone Park needed a new vehicle as the truck is broken down. Armstrong said the police department had a vehicle available. City Manager Cody Smith was asked to see if the vehicle could be transferred over.
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