As part of the Purcell Public Works Authority consent agenda, Purcell’s City Council hired a consulting firm concerning operational assessment, planning and recommendations for Purcell Municipal Hospital.

At its regular monthly meeting Monday night at the Community Room of the Police Service Building they entered into an agreement with Joe Kip Cummins.

Interim City Manager Bobby Elmore said the consultant is mostly for operations.

“The council is concerned the hospital isn’t making it. Jay (Tate) started working on it and somehow found this guy with the idea of having a neutral party look into the hospital and making sure SSM is doing everything they’re supposed to do.”

The consultant fee will be $2,400 per month up to $3,000, Elmore reported.

In the city manager report, Elmore told the council Dominoes expects to begin construction of their convenience center in mid to late August.

Although the project has not officially begun, the interchange project at I-35 and Grant is still rolling along, Elmore told the council.

Purcell Pastor Justin Blankenship addressed the council about kratom being for sale in Purcell.

Kratom is an unapproved, plant-derived psychoactive substance that acts as both a stimulant and an opioid, carrying serious risks of addiction, liver damage and overdose.

OBN Director Donnie Anderson told the council that kratom will become a scheduled drug August 5 and if the amount of drug is above .05 percent it is a felony to possess it.

Assistant Public Works Director Marcos Castillo told the PPWA board the city is looking into a SCADA system, which is software to enable the water department to locate problems by computer rather than having to go out into the field and track down the issue.

“They can locate the problem within six minutes,” Castillo said.

The city is looking into getting quotes.

The board passed an automated watering system for the Brent Bruehl Memorial Golf Course for $36,950 and heard quarterly reports from Renee Barber from PMH and Jackie Wadley from Wadley’s EMS.

Barber told the council PMH was up $236,000 revenue over expenses and that the hospital had 105 emergency room visits over last year. She also told the council the Oklahoma Hospital Association projects $218 million in SHOPP funding reductions for the coming year.

Barber said this is a real loss of $227,000.

The council tabled a resolution to have the hospital pay for utilities reporting they would look at the issue in October. The hospital’s monthly utilities amount to around $9,000 a month.

“I’m not ready to pass this,” vice mayor Bobby Bruehl said at the meeting. “I want to wait until the next fiscal year to allow the hospital to continue to get on better financial footing.”

The council accepted the bid of WL McNatt & Co. for construction of the Box Hangar Project for $683,722.95 to construct hangars at the Purcell airport.

With grants, the city’s share of the project is $45,468.77.

In other city business the council:

• accepted the federal grant for the hangar project
• passed the Task Order No. 2 under the master services agreement between the city and Parkhill for professional services for $151,750
• listened to land owners about the shortage of water for the Williams Trust located off US 77 at Weeden Blvd.
• appointed Graham Fishburn, Serena Melton, Derek Kessler and Savannah Pyle as trustees of the revamped airport authority, which is now the airport advisory board
•  approved cemetery by-laws submitted by the cemetery advisory board
• approved two cemetery mowers, two vehicles and a bucket truck as surplus
• approved an engineering contract for underground electric distribution with CEC for the Southbrook Phase 2 for $26,384

Closing out the meeting, councilman Adam Demorest commended the parks department for their upkeep of city property and mentioned the August 15 high school and junior high school bike competition that already has 114 riders signed up.

Elmore said he granted limited overnight camping so participants could protect their equipment.

Councilman Greg Wheat gave a shout out to all city staff for their work for the citizens of Purcell.

Members also at the meeting were Tara Phillips, Tate and Demorest.