During the Town of Kingston monthly meeting on February 11, several agenda items were brought before the council. The first item out of the gate was brought to the council’s attention by Brian Baxter. He and his wife have been residents of Kingston since 2016, and they have noticed trash has been strewn around the town. He said he hoped this council would spring into action when he first began attending the meetings.
“In 2017, I went to six months-worth of meetings, but nothing ever got done.”
Baxter shared pictures with the council of the trash. He said that driving from Madill toward Kingston is “embarrassing.” Baxter also noted that the town’s code on how to handle trashy places is vague and left to interpretation. He suggested starting a working group to come up with a better worded code, and present it to the council for scrutinization. The council agreed that something needed to be done and tabled the item until they could put together a group.
One of the interesting agenda items was the Kingston Police Department requesting an approval to have an exhaust fan installed in the evidence room. Police Chief John Bridgeman stepped up to address the board, and present their plight.
“The smell from the evidence room is rancid,” Bridgeman noted. “I think there is weed in there from 2000.”
The agenda item was approved, and there was also discussion about figuring out a way to get rid of the old evidence.
The Kingston Fire Department requested a new ice machine, since the donation from the Chickasaw Nation had finally gone out. The cost of the machine is $5,500. The department is saving $1,000 by keeping the bin from the original machine. The council approved the purchase, and even decided to split the cost four ways between the fire, parks and cemetery, water and wastewater, and streets and alleyway departments.
Apparently, there is a new Medical Marijuana Dispensary joining the ranks in Kingston. The agenda item to authorize Kingston Fire Chief James Kuykendall to sign the Certificate of Compliance from the American Marijuana Authority passed. The council also discussed placing an advertisement to request bids for a Town Inspector.
The next agenda item was discussing the Kingston Housing Authority Pilot payments. A Pilot payment is revenue given to a government entity in lieu of property taxes. Three years ago, the council approved to waive the Pilot payment for the Kingston Housing Authority to give them extra money to make renovations.
The renovations were made, however, there is more work needed to be done to the grounds. The housing authority requested a lifetime Pilot point waiver. The council was not ready to agree to that type of lengthy contract. They approved the waiver for another three years, and will revisit it then.
The council then discussed the possibility of allowing Steps 2 (Alcoholics Anonymous) to rent out and use the back room of the Community Center. The Kingston Order of the Eastern Star moved out of the spot when they obtained the former Kingston Masonic Lodge.
The representative for Steps 2 approached the council and suggested that his organization not only keeps the entire community center clean, and the yard mowed, but also pay $200 a month for the electricity.
Vice Mayor Lillian Parrish disagreed.
“I think if you’re doing all this, keeping the center clean and mowing, then you shouldn’t have to pay,” Parrish said.
The representative informed Parrish that the organization has to be self-supporting. The organization and council found a compromise to the deal, taking care of the community center, mowing and only $100 per month. The board will revisit the organization’s contract in twelve months to see if it still satisfies both parties.
Once again, the Kingston Animal Shelter had found its way to the agenda. A few months ago, they were asking that all pets be spayed or neutered, even family pets, That suggestion did not sit well with anybody in attendance. This month, it was suggested that any pet that has been picked up and not claimed in a sufficient amount of time will be neutered before adopted out.
The council members liked that suggestion, however, there was a discrepancy on how long should the shelter give owners to reclaim their pets before getting them fixed and put up for adoption. There was also an extensive discussion on if the shelter was just a city pound or a shelter. The council tabled the agenda item until they can find out what other rural animal shelters give as time limits.