HENNESSEY DISPATCH MOVED TO KINGFISHER 911
At last week’s meeting, The Hennessey Board of Trustees discussed moving all of the Hennessey Police and Fire dispatch to the Kingfisher County 911 center. This is the second time this year this has landed on the agenda. The first-time trustee Harold Shaw spoke about closing the police station during the night and moving dispatch to Kingfisher. This time Mayor Bert Gritz brought it up, saying, “This will be significant cost savings. It cost us about $150,000 now, and it could be about $30,000.” This is after Town Trustees voted to give town employees raises based on a time of service chart, which started in July, saying the money for the raises was there, and building a jail that will no longer be used. (could add that)
Trustees also discussed our officers’ safety and whether the radio systems will work together and possibly keep the police station open during business hours to have someone there to handle administrative items. But all dispatching and phone calls would go to the 911 center. The item was tabled until they could gather more details.
MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Mayor and Fire Chief Bert Gritz started this topic with two of our firefighters, Randy Bohnstedt and Levi Copeland, who have been working on their EMT Basic certification. It was stated that we now need a medical director.
This service is provided by Heartland Medical and will cost $500 annually, which is pretty cheap for the many perks it includes such as cost savings for training. Jay Ruiz, the owner of the new Howdy Truck Stop, was in the audience and said, “I will pay for that!”
Watch the entire Hennessey Board of Trustees Meeting here.
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