There was not an empty seat at the monthly Ryan Town Council meeting held this past Tuesday evening at Ryan City Hall.
Of all the items discussed, perhaps the one that caused the most excitement was the possibility of Fiber Optic Internet coming to homes and businesses in Ryan.
Dick Segress, the owner of Terral Telephone addressed the council seeking cooperation in beginning the process of laying fiber optic cable within the city limits.
Terral Telephone has already surveyed Ryan and is willing to share their engineering details with the city to ensure that the cable laid will not interfere with existing infrastructure.
Photo by Curtis Plant
The council will consider the matter more fully at the next meeting but the prospect looks positive.
After his address, we asked if he was interested in bringing high speed internet to Waurika and he said, “most definitely!”
The usual business of approving the minutes of previous meetings and the paying of bills were approved.
The treasurers report was approved.
Members of the Ryan School Board and Superintendent of Schools, Marcus Chapman, were present.
They asked the council if the town would consider serving as the authority having jurisdiction for the purpose of outsourcing fire and building permit inspections.
A representative of the construction company working on the school was present to explain the process of applying for jurisdiction and the benefits of doing so.
The state does allow third party inspections.
The state Fire Marshall will come in and complete his own inspection once fifty-percent of the construction is completed.
Allowing the town of Ryan to conduct the inspections will save time and money. It sometimes takes up to four months for a state Fire Marshall to come and inspect a building. If a third party completes the inspection, it can be done in a couple of weeks.
It was explained that the town can apply for the authority to conduct these inspections through a qualified third party.
This is a process that many communities across Oklahoma are adopting to speed up the construction process.
The construction company representative assured the council that they would cover all the town’s expenses in applying and acquiring the proper paperwork to assume jurisdiction.
A question the council members had, of course, was liability. Their concern was if an issue were to arise after the construction was complete, who assumes liability?
Photo by Curtis Plant
The construction representative assured the council that the third party inspector is not relaxing the state codes in any way. They would just be speeding up the inspection process.
It was decided that the council would investigate the issue and get back to the school as soon as possible. It was stated they could even have a special meeting if necessary.
The company is wanting to begin work on the school foundation in ten days.
Next, Dylan Sheffield representing the Ryan Community Regeneration asked for permission to use the Ryan Public Park on October 13th.
On that date they will hold the first annual Fall Festival.
The Ryan FFA will be serving hot dogs at the festival as a fundraiser. There will be live music and games. It will be a time of getting together and celebrating the fall season creating a sense of community.
Dylan is also the newest member of the New Jefferson County Development Authority.
Ater that, Resolution 2018-07 was passed that forbids any changes to city owned property without first obtaining permission.
During the Ryan Public Utility Authority meeting the council members passed resolution 2018-08 to establish guidelines and fines for manipulation, tampering, disconnection, etc., of town property and facilities, including utility meters by an unauthorized individual.
According to the resolution anyone tampering with an electric or water meter if they are not authorized to do so will be fined up to $50 per day of occurrence.
This brought many questions from the audience.
One such question concerned what to do if a residence had a water leak? The council members suggested installing a water shut off valve on the residence side of the pipe leading from the meter to the building.
If one is not installed, city hall will need to be notified during a water leak and they will come and shut off the water.
The same would be true if an electrical meter needed to be shut off. Only city employees can fix or adjust meters.
Mayor Grantham advised that this measure was being taken because in the past meters have been broken by home owners who then expected the city to pay for damage.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
