Kingston held their monthly meeting on July 12, 2022. While the main highlight of the meeting was Kingston Police Sergeant Kasey Cox getting promoted to police chief, there were other noteworthy events for Kingston citizens. Some of the agenda items included new additions that might excite Kingston residents.
Kingston resident Marcia McPeters said she wanted to bring back the Senior Citizen’s group that met pre-COVID-19 pandemic. McPeters presented this issue to the council and it was found with success. The Senior Citizen group will host these meetings in the Kingston Community Center (KYCC). McPeters said she has a plan to garner interest in it, again.
“ I am willing to bring refreshments to start these meetings and help build interest for this,” McPeters told the council.
The meetings are believed to begin during the week of July 18. At this time, there is not a designated first meeting time.
The Kingston Fire Department will also switch its current insurance company. They will switch from State Risk Management to Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG). The new insurance will cost around 1000 dollars more per year, but the deductible will go down to 500 dollars. State Risk Management had a current deductible of 5000 dollars for the Kingston Fire Department.
A new animal control truck will be purchased as soon as possible for Kingston. The current truck is a blue late 90s Dodge that is unreliable and has no air conditioning. Newly appointed Police Chief Cox, who brought this issue to the board, said the truck is not only old, it’s unreliable and a danger.
“I probably wouldn’t trust it to drive to Madill,” Cox said.
Cox also expressed his interest in buying anywhere from a 2012 to a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado to replace the current truck. The council agreed to purchase a new truck for animal control. However, it’s uncertain if it will be a Colorado or a different type of truck. The board voted to try and buy a brand new truck. In the meantime, Kingston will borrow a truck from the maintenance crew.
New ordinances were addressed to the council that included resident address identification numbers, trees and shrubbery to be trimmed, unlicensed motor vehicles, and utility easements. These ordinances were tabled due to the wording that was used during the meeting. These ordinances may appear in the next council meeting.
The last thing to be addressed was the rate of pay for new Police Chief Cox and all associates of the Kingston Police Department. Cox was awarded a pay rate of 20 dollars an hour for his first 90 days. After those 90 days, he will receive a one-dollar increase. All other employees of the Kingston Police Department will receive a two-dollar and fifty-cent hourly raise.
These new changes will look to benefit all of Kingston and its citizens.