A new traffic-enforcement division by the Durant Police Department was approved by city council during a meeting last week.
According to a city memo, the goal of the traffic unit is to educate the public and enforce traffic laws to increase public safety within the city Public safety director Brian Heverly spoke to the council and he said the department is taking two officers off normal patrol routine and placing them in a traffic-enforcement division. Heverly said the department is not taking the officers off the shift, but only having them focus on traffic enforcement.
The officers are working 10-hour shifts Monday-Saturday and they are focused on times of high traffic in the city.
Heverly cited growth of the city and an increase in calls as the reasons.
“We are full, getting there with the patrol division, and we’re treading water with the call volume increases we’ve had over the past decade,” Heverly said.
Council member Lauran Fuller expressed concern that the officers are being removed from normal routine and placed in a new unit. Heverly said they are not actually being taken off a shift and that traffic enforcement is a patrol task.
Heverly said the department wants to stay away from guaranteeing revenue and that quotas are illegal.
“If we do our jobs correctly, that revenue should actually go down because we’re changing behavior and people are driving more safely and more in line with the laws and ordinances in the city and the state,” he said.
Interim city manager Rick Rumsey said most police departments the size of Durant’s have a traffic division and interim police chief Joe Clark said the traffic officers are working side by side with patrol.
“I don’t think it will put a particular strain on patrol,” Clark said. “They are going to be there in the event patrol is getting swamped. They can divert and answer those calls.”
Fuller asked if there are issues with accidents and Heverly replied there have been more complaints from citizens and city workers about unsafe driving.
“We’re trying to get ahead of it,” Heverly said. “We’ve seen an uptick in motor vehicle accidents.”
Fuller said she would rather hire two more officers to expand the workforce rather than pull two officers away from what the department is already short staffed on. The department has 42 officers.
Also approved was placing the evidence technician under the criminal investigation division to take some of the workload off of administration. Both policies are a part of the collective bargaining agreement with the Fraternal Order of Police. Mayor Martin Tucker, Vice Mayor Mike Simulescu and council members Danny Sherrer and Humphrey Miller voted yes. Fuller voted no.
An-Chen Lai, city finance director/treasurer, presented a 10-year tax history report and she said there has been a 2.62 percent increase from the prior 12 months.
“Our sales taxes are really steady and slowly increasing,” she said.
The purchase of a Chevrolet 1500 truck at a cost of $43,402 by the parks and recreation department was approved by the council. Parks and recreation manager Ryan Brewer said it is being funded by revenue received from tourism.
Brewer said this will give the department a reliable vehicle.
Also approved was a resolution for a $5 daily boat fee and an adult recreational fee for $20 at Lake Durant. These were two fees Brewer said were missed in hindsight.
Employee service awards were presented for the fourth quarter of 2023 and the following employees received awards:
Five years
Christine Berlin, dispatch Mark Idell, police department John Puana, police
10 years
Tony Baeza, street department Brian Baldwin, landfill Jennifer Simpkins, library
15 years
Wesley Crank, police department
20 years
Collin Gordon, fire department Brock Jones, police department The council also voted on the following agenda items: - Appointed Northwest Heights Principal Taylor Downs to fill the position of education advisory trustee on the Durant Industrial Authority Board. This appointment is for the remainder of the existing term which expires July 1, 2024. The position was vacated by Dr. Thomas Newsom when he was designated by First Texoma National Bank as their voting member. The position of Education Advisory Trustee is a non-voting position.
- Adopted a 2024 Citizen Participation Plan as required for all Community Development Block Grant applications.
- Allowed a residence at 17 Engles Drive to extend sewer to the city’s sewer system.
- Allowed developer Derick Brewer to connect to city water and sewer off McLean Road.
- Approved a maintenance agreement between the city and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for traffic signals at the Highway 69/75 Frontage Road and Choctaw Road intersection.
-Approved a maintenance agreement between the city and ODOT for the installation of highway illumination along Highway 69/75 from Rose Hill Bridge to Highway 70.
- Approved a preliminary plat request for Goad Construction and Dale Goad Construction contingent upon the applicant granting easement to the city as a route of secondary ingress and egress for public safety with the easement being located from Dale Goad’s property up through lot 11 to the cul-de-sac.
The council also met in executive session to discuss Clarola Rose’s OkMRF retirement benefits and the possible hiring of a city manager. After the session, council members approved a lump sum payout of Rose’s retirement benefits in the amount of $3,286.75. No action was taken on hiring a city manager.