Now on the 10th day of August 2026, the County Commissioners in and for Washita County met in regular session with Chairman Chandler calling the meeting to order.
Chairman Chandler asked Kristen Dowell, County Clerk, for roll call. Roll call was answered by Gossen, present; Gray, present; Chandler, present.
Prayer was led by Chairman Chandler. The Board reviewed the minutes of the August 3, 2026 regular meeting. Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to approve the minutes as presented. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
The Board reviewed the minutes of the August 4, 2026 special meeting. Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to approve the minutes as presented. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to approve the blanket purchase orders as filed in the County Clerk’s Office. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to sign the OSF Form 3 for reimbursement of the Election Board salary for the month of July. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to sign the report of fees collected in the month of July for the following offices: Assessor, Election Board, County Commissioners, Treasurer, Court Clerk, Sheriff, and County Clerk. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to approve the Allocation of Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Motor Vehicle Tax Collections for the month of July to be distributed to the cities and towns. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to sign the Cash Fund Estimate of Needs and Request for Appropriations for the month of July for the Highway fund - $581,758.83, County Bridge & Road Improvements fund - $45,377.42, Cash funds - $300,393.31, and Sales Tax funds - $139,570.72. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to issue a county-wide burn ban as requested by the majority of the fire chiefs, effective immediately, due to the drought conditions in Washita County. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to sign an agreement between Comanche County and Washita County for the housing of inmates for July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to approve the request of the Sheriff’s department to apply for the FY27 PSAP One-Time Payment Grant through the Oklahoma 911 Management Authority. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the Town of Corn and Washita County for the repair of two streets in the Town of Corn which were damaged by an independent contractor. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Chandler seconded by Gray update the form used for permit requests and to increase the fee from $1,000 to $2,000 for right of way, pipeline, and floodplain permits. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Chandler seconded by Gray to sign Resolution No. 2026-36 approving 50% of the previous year sales tax collections to be included as projected revenues for the Estimate of Needs for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to sign Resolution No. 2026-37 setting the salary for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 of the Commissioners, Treasurer, Assessor, Court Clerk, and County Clerk at $59,237.40, the same as the previous year and within the range set by the state statute formula. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gossen seconded by Chandler to sign Resolution No. 2026-38 setting the salary for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 of the Sheriff at $59,237.40, the same as the previous year and within the range set by the state statute formula. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
The Board discussed the budget for Washita County with the officials and department heads. Those present included Jennifer Barnette – Election Board Secretary, Trey Shelton – Emergency Manager, Sherry Nightengale – County Treasurer, Sue Fletcher – Deputy Assessor, Kristen Dowell – County Clerk, Lynda Vermillion – Court Clerk, and Kevin Rozell – County Sheriff. A budget amount of $3,157,405.47 was confirmed and $3,808,158.47 was requested by all departments, requiring reductions in the amount of $650,753.00. The Board asked each department representative for suggestions for reducing the amount requested. Following those discussions, $320,000 in reduction options had been proposed. Chairman Chandler stated that at Tuesday’s meeting further discussions would be held and the budget figures would be finalized. No action was taken. Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to approve the purchase order claims for payment as follows: 2025-2026: General 1298, AT&T Mobility, 152.20, Internet Service; Highway 1638, Farmers Coop Bessie, 1462.54, Fuel 1639, City of Cordell, 389.46, Utilities 1640, Farmers Coop Bessie, 642.30, Fuel & Supplies 1641, CK Energy, 368.74, Utilities; SH Drug Buy 5, Sirchie Finger Print Lab., 116.58, Supplies; SR Cit-ST 136, CK Energy, 167.71, Utilities; 2026-2027: General 115, Affiliated Van Lines Of Lawton, Oklahoma D/B/A File Thirteen, 50.40, Service 116, Bookout, Rusty D., 159.60, Travel 117, Bookout, Rusty D., 238.00, Travel 118, King, Merle A., 238.00, Travel 119, Fletcher, Nita Sue, 238.00, Travel 120, Rhoades, Kristan Charlene, 238.00, Travel 121, Canon Financial Services, 135.60, Copier Lease 122, City of Cordell, 8062.62, Utilities 123, Coffee Lawson Fields PLLC, 2275.00, Legal Fees 124, Dowell, Kristen Michele, 623.11, Lodging, Mileage, & Per Diem 125, Internal Revenue Service, 814.70, Payroll; Highway 107, Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc., 714.15, Parts 108, Okla. Dept. Of Transportation, 2942.86, Lease Pmts. 109, Okla. Dept. Of Transportation, 3540.63,110, Napa Auto Parts Weatherford, 78.02, Supplies 111, Consumer Textile Corp., 286.20, Service 112, Dolese Bros. Co., 6486.02, Rock 113, United Supermarkets, 43.91, Supplies 114, Western Equipment, 5470.24, Supplies 115, C. L. Boyd Inc., 1451.37, Parts 116, Cordell Lumber Yard, 175.30, Supplies 117, CJs Southwest Tire Inc., 415.00, Tire Repair 118, Washita Co. Rural Water, 26.00, Utilities 119, Western Asphalt Plant, LLC, 8582.22, Asphalt 120, Okla. Dept. Of Transportation, 3540.63, Lease Pmts. 121, Dolese Bros. Co., 1146.86, Rock 122, Rother Brothers Inc, 92.50, Supplies 123, Trapper Tire, LLC, 100.00, Tire Repair 124, O Reilly Automotive Inc., 85.46, Parts 125, The Welding Shop, 20.00, Parts 126, Patriot Diesel Service LLC, 10698.10, Service 127, Crafco Inc., 3150.00, Equipment 128, Grand Economy Maintenance, 342.77, Supplies 129, Western Asphalt Plant, LLC, 11353.95, Asphalt 130, Consumer Textile Corp., 164.31, Supplies 131, Western Asphalt Plant, LLC, 19390.38, Asphalt 132, Weldon Parts Inc., 1366.32, Parts 133, Humphrey, Ryan L., 244.04, Travel 134, Gray, David Wayne, 330.91, Travel 135, Farmers Coop Bessie, 19591.44, Fuel & Supplies 136, Dolese Bros. Co., 15231.08, Rock 137, Okla. Dept. Of Transportation, 2628.65, Lease Pmts. 138, Okla. Dept. Of Transportation, 3540.63, Lease Pmts. 139, Town of Dill City, 114.50, Utilities 140, Farmers Coop Bessie, 9121.51, Fuel 141, Trapper Tire, LLC, 50.00, Repair Service 142, Gossen, Bart L., 584.85, Travel; SH Commissary 7, Bob Barker Company Inc., 513.60, Supplies 8, High Plains Bank - Cordell, 112.84, Supplies 9, Tiger Commissary Services, 2689.82, Supplies 10, Smith, Joe Murry, 120.00, Travel 11, Matuszewski, Kaden James, 120.00, Travel; SH Svc Fee 56, Courtyard By Marriott OKC Northwest, 928.00, Room/Food/Phone 57, Fairfield Inn & Suites, 464.00, Room/Food/Phone 58, Trapper Tire, LLC, 20.00, Tire Repair 59, OMES State Surplus, 325.00, Supplies 60, Jones, Richard Luther, 440.00, Travel 61, Bar-S Foods Co., 1012.48, Supplies 62, City of Cordell, 15280.08, Utilities 63, Ben E. Keith Co., 14542.13, Supplies 64, United Supermarkets, 944.56, Board of Prisoners 65, Culligan Of Clinton, 298.25, Supplies 66, Amazon Capital Services, Inc, 20.39, Supplies 67, Amazon Capital Services, Inc, 521.98, Supplies 68, Amazon Capital Services, Inc, 208.49, Supplies 69, Gatlins Garage LLC, 320.00, Supplies 70, US Fleet Tracking, 539.10, Travel 71, Legal And Liability Risk Management, 325.00, Class Registration Fees 72, Bob Barker Company Inc., 1022.33, Supplies 73, Rozell, Kevin Mark, 281.20, Travel 74, Evetts Drug, 742.54, Medication 75, US Fleet Tracking, 36.71, Travel 76, McKinsey Ford, 100.75, Maintenance 77, Courtyard by Marriott OKC Northwest, 188.00, Room/Food/Phone 78, Mills, James William, 120.00, Travel 79, Brown, Cherrie Lynn, 120.00, Travel; CCSI 3, Reconnect Inc., 520.00, Service; Extension-ST 8, Culligan, 17.50, Bottled Water 9, AT&T, 291.07, Internet Service; Rural Fire-ST 4, X Stream Services, 89.20, Internet Service; SR Cit-ST 5, Washita Co. Rural Water, 52.00, Utilities 6, United Supermarkets, 741.40, Food 7, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, 903.10, Utilities 8, Cordell Lumber Yard, 71.43, Rent Equipment 9, Town of Rocky, 99.00, Utilities; SH Funding Assistance Grant 7, Davison Fuels Company Inc, 229.05, Fuel Motion made by Gray seconded by Gossen to adjourn. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
GREG CHANDLER, CHAIRMAN BART GOSSEN, VICE-CHAIRMAN DAVID GRAY, MEMBER KRISTEN DOWELL, COUNTY CLERK Notice posted 08/07/26 A Special Meeting of the Washita County Commissioners was held on August 11, 2026 at the Washita County Courthouse with Chairman Chandler calling the meeting to order.
Chairman Chandler asked Kristen Dowell, County Clerk, for roll call. Roll call was answered by Gossen, present; Gray, present; Chandler, present.
Prayer was led by Chairman Chandler. The Board discussed the budget for Washita County with the officials and department heads. Those present included Jennifer Barnette – Election Board Secretary, Sherry Nightengale – County Treasurer, Rusty Bookout – County Assessor, Kristen Dowell – County Clerk, Lynda Vermillion – Court Clerk, and Kevin Rozell – County Sheriff. The Board asked each department representative for suggestions in reducing the requests by an additional $330,753, the amount needed to combine with the proposed $320,000 of reductions discussed the previous day to obtain the total reduction amount of $650,753. Following the discussions, Chairman Chandler suggested removing the Commissioners’ salaries, reducing the general government request, and using the sales tax to fund additional general government expenses including longevity, safety awards, equipment, utilities, and other general maintenance and operations. Chandler stated this option would allow for the full request of each department to be received. Motion made by Gossen seconded by Gray to approve removing the Commissioners’ salaries, reducing the general government request, and using the sales tax to fund additional general government expenses. The approved amounts will be sent to the accountant for the preparation of the Estimate of Needs for Washita County for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027 and will be approved once completed. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
Motion made by Gray seconded by Chandler to adjourn. Gossen, yes; Gray, yes; Chandler, yes.
GREG CHANDLER, CHAIRMAN BART GOSSEN, VICE-CHAIRMAN DAVID GRAY, MEMBER KRISTEN DOWELL, COUNTY CLERK Notice posted 08/07/2026