Now on the 24th day of November 2025, the County Commissioners in and for Washita County met in regular session with Vice-Chairman Chandler calling the meeting to order.
Vice-Chairman Chandler asked Kristen Dowell, County Clerk, for roll call. Roll call was answered by Gossen, absent; Matt Misak, District 1 Foreman/First Deputy, present; Gray, present; Chandler, present.
The Board reviewed the minutes of the November 17, 2025 regular meeting. Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to approve the minutes as presented. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to approve the blanket purchase orders as filed in the County Clerk’s Office. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to sign an Amended Court Clerk Management and Preservation report for the month of September. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Chandler seconded by Gray to sign the Court Clerk Management and Preservation report for the month of October. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
The Board discussed the access to the land record images, belonging to the County Clerk’s office, for the Assessor and Treasurer’s office. Rusty Bookout, County Assessor, was given the floor to speak first due to him asking to be on the agenda. Bookout stated a claim had been made that land record documents were being printed and put into a drawer and that was false. He requested free access to the land record images on okcountyrecords.com. Vice-Chairman Chandler asked Kristen Dowell, County Clerk, about the access being removed. Dowell stated Title 19, Section 286 of the Oklahoma State Statutes reads that “the County Commissioners shall furnish, and the county clerk shall maintain, suitable records for storage for all instruments and the county clerk shall retain sole custody and responsibility for the records of the office”. She also stated, with no disrespect intended, that the County Commissioners are not furnishing funds in the general fund for the records, the cash fund of the County Clerk’s office is paying for all books, paper, supplies, and software. Dowell said she did speak to Sherry Nightengale, County Treasurer, and attempted to speak to Rusty Bookout, County Assessor, about removing the access to the land record images due to feeling the need to protect the distribution of the records and the cash fund of the County Clerk’s Office. On okcountyrecords.com, all data is available for free to the general public. If someone wishes to view the images, they must create an account and pay a fee to Kellpro, the software provider. Any copies made from those images costs $1.00 per page. The copy fee is sent to the County Clerk’s Office. Kellpro also places the following statements on the site: “All data provided as public record on this web site are owned and maintained by its respective county clerk and you must not violate any laws in your jurisdiction regarding the use or transfer of this data.” Dowell stated data received from Kellpro showed 6,643 copies of land record images had been made by the Assessor’s office in the last 365 days and 1,187 images had been made by the Treasurer’s office and she was concerned with what the records were being used for, who all had access to the records, who they were being distributed to, and that her office may be losing the fees that the county clerk shall charge and collect by state statute. Dowell stated the records are always available to view in the office and she felt that the data provided on okcountyrecords.com was enough for both offices. She also stated, again with no disrespect intended, that the County Commissioners do no have any control of the records or how they are distributed so Rusty could have come to speak to her instead of calling the Chairman to be on the agenda. Following the discussion, no action was taken.
The Board was notified of the Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed in the Court Clerk’s Office on November 17, 2025 as Case No. CV-2025-65: Washita County Assessor (Plaintiff) v. Washita County Excise Board and Washita County Commissioners (Defendants). Dowell stated the case had not been served yet, just filed in the Court Clerk’s office and the Board’s attorney would be present next week to meet with the Boards in executive session. No action was taken.
The Board discussed the revenue collections to the general fund for the month of November. As of the meeting, the guaranteed revenue totaled $41,484.33 for the month of November. Collections from July 1, 2025 – the meeting date total are $323,524.53, 15.6% of the projected collection amount of $2,068,996.36 for the fiscal year. No action was taken.
The Board received an update from Sherry Nightengale, County Treasurer, on the mailing of the tax statements. Nightengale stated the tax statements were mailed on November 20, 2025. The abstract of the tax rolls reflecting $14,502,701 in total taxes: $2,941,315.99 – Washita County General, $26,540.92 – EMS, and $9,364,000.38 – Schools was discussed as Dowell asked Bookout if this report reflected the revenue amounts for the tax receiving entities and why the valuations on the report would be different than the valuation certified earlier in the year. Understanding the report to be able to estimate the revenues received was the reasoning behind the questions. Bookout agreed to review the report with Dowell at a later time. Nightengale stated the tax funds received would not be apportioned until the end of December and would be distributed to the receiving entities in early January. No action was taken.
The Board discussed the approximate cash fund balance of $143,000.00 of the general fund following the completion of payroll for the month of November. The guaranteed revenue collections of $41,484.33 for the month of November would provide a balance of $184,484.33 at the end of November with payroll in the amount of approximately $162,000 to be paid in the month of December. No action was taken.
The Board discussed a Transfer of Funds from the Highway fund to the General fund for a temporary loan transfer for the expenses, including payroll, of the general fund for the month of December. Motion made by Chandler seconded by Gray to approve proceeding with the figures needed for the transfer and presenting the Transfer of Funds at the next meeting. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
The Board discussed the revocation of the issuance of the budgeted safety award incentives, previously approved but not yet issued, for eligible county employees for 2025 due to budgeted funds possibly needing to be used for attorney fees which were not budgeted for. Commissioner Gray stated he would like to table a decision on the awards because he does not feel right revoking something which was already approved and felt that all three Commissioners should be present for the discussion. Misak stated he would be in favor of tabling the decision until December. Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to table the revocation of the awards to a later date. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes. The Board discussed with the officials the annual employee recognition luncheon for all county employees for 2025. The luncheon is allowed to be held still, without awards, due to the Elected Officials and Undersheriff providing the food. The menu was reviewed along with the date and time. The Courthouse will close on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at noon for the luncheon. No action was taken.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to approve the purchase order claims for payment as follows: 2025-2026: General 560, Gatlins Garage LLC, 84.04, Supplies 561, Pitney Bowes Global Financial Services LLC, 191.28, Postage Machine Lease 562, Stericycle Inc, 98.54, Service 563, P2 Services, 195.00, Drug Testing 564, Verizon Wireless, 40.01, Internet Service 565, Canon Financial Services, 135.60, Copier Lease 566, Canon Financial Services, 147.95, Copier Lease; Highway 684, Gray, David Wayne, 317.00, Travel 685, Embassy Suites Norman, 345.00, Room/Food/Phone 686, CED Circuit 7, 630.00, Signs 687, Assn. Of Co. Comm. Of Okla., 95.00, Registration Fees 688, Okla. Dept. Of Agriculture Food & Forestry, 50.00, Pesticide License Renewal 689, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc., 13981.66, Road Oil 690, Amazon Capital Services, Inc, 19.54, Supplies 691, LKQ Mid-America Parts, 159.00, Parts; CBRI 10, City Pavement LLC, 8320.00, Supplies 11, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Inc., 72228.83, Road Oil; ML Fee 25, OSU CTP, 40.00, Registration Fees; SH Commissary 20, Legal And Liability Risk Management, 650.00, Training 21, Shelton, III, James Edward, 120.00, Travel 22, U. S. Post Office, 78.00, Supplies; SH Svc Fee 158, Sparklight, 194.39, Service 159, Cordell Memorial Hospital, 1113.12, Medical Services 160, The Pickup Toy Box, 950.00, Equipment; SR Cit-ST 46, Ben E. Keith Co., 191.29, Supplies; Jail Debt Payments 5, Washita County Public Facilities Authority, 69710.03, Jail Debt Payment; SH Funding Assistance Grant 51, Gatlins Garage LLC, 78.54, Maintenance Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to adjourn. Gossen, absent; Misak, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
BART GOSSEN, CHAIRMAN GREG CHANDLER, VICE-CHAIRMAN DAVID GRAY, MEMBER KRISTEN DOWELL, COUNTY CLERK Notice posted 11/21/25