Starting to play nice with us here. And we have a commissioner, Mike
Dunlap in with us today. How you doing, Commissioner Tom, I'm good.
Thanks for having me in this morning. Beautiful morning, great day,
a great day. Praise God for that. That is for sure. I've
been a pretty darn good couple of years here in Washington County as far as
revenues are concerned, and the fact that we went through COVID and a lot
of other challenges, our county is standing up very very well. Yeah,
really, I'm glad you bring that up. When I started in two oh
seven, twenty h seven, a penny generated around six million dollars, and
this past year it almost generates eight million. And that's significant. I think
people need to realize that means a heck of a lot more activities going on,
and of course it's exciting force gives us an opportunity to do more things.
And then then there was also because of COVID, there was some off
of money which has allowed us to do some things I want to talk about
a little bit. We've been able to do some upgrades on the facilities with
that money. On one of the things we did over the correctional facility.
A lot of people don't realize that's twelve years old now it is, and
we could legitimately use the money to replace there's like nineteen roof top units over
there, and rather than replacing one at a time as they go bad,
we just thought, well, let's let's buy ourselves another ten or fifteen years
and let's replace all those units right now. Then on the courthouse had ten
time unit on the roof top there and we've replaced it right now. I've
got painters over there on the second floor doing you know, dressing the place
up, and we've done some work on the first floor, plan to do
some more. We've done some work in our building. So we've tried to
use, you know, do use the funds to you know, fix things
that anticipate maybe in the future that we can those funds can be used for
other projects. And I also want to mention while we're talking about our facilities,
because I just think it's so important with what we have to take care
of, what we have to maintain at that courthouse is ninety years old as
a beautiful structure, and I would like to see it the county remain functional
for the county for long term. It's just absolutely gorgeous and incredibly well built
building. So that's significant to me. The building we're in, which a
lot of people in the community referred to as the old PSO building where the
admin and the Treasure's office and the County clerk are, that's a solid building
too, and I don't want to maintain it and keep it up to date.
So we don't, you know, I don't want to get into the
expensive building new facilities. Let's take care of what we got, which takes
me up to the fairgrounds. We had some in the southeast corner. We
were concerned there was some settling going on, so we've you know, we've
hired Ramjack. We bid the Pro project out, but they were the low
and we have secured that corner of the facility where it's at. They actually
went under the fourteen Ramjack or Jacks couldn't raise the structure back up because it
is so heavy. That's a pre poor concrete building. But we have stopped
that from from where this should stop it where it's sat down and keep that
a functional building for years to come. So I just think I want the
taxpayers to know it's important to me and I really try to take care and
focus on take care of what we have and to make it last long term,
because we've been blessed with some really beautiful structures and I want to keep
it that way. We're talking with cremation Mike Dunlap. Another thing that I've
been hearing about is generators to keep the county. Appreciate, Tom, I
appreciate you bring that up. That's something we're doing with the the off of
funding too, and we have We're going put a generator in each the courthouse
and the admin building to keep those operational so we can invent something happens,
we can continue to provide services. And also maybe somebody need shelter. There's
limited facilities. We would be available for that too, just somewhere people getting
out of eat or cold, whatever the situation may be. But yeah,
I'm excited about that. I think long overdue. The jail has it,
which obviously it should have, and I think these two facilities should have it
also. Well, we saw what happened with Tulsa when they had a real
bad storm and a lot of Christie was out to a lot of different people,
and we're not that far away. I mean we've got. We don't
get hurricanes up here, thank goodness, but we do get our share of
tornadoes, straight line wins and even ice storms, and they can put us
in a bad spot. We'll hurt. We're real quick lightning. There's a
lot of variety of variables here that can create problem. Source. That's right.
You've been visiting with bridges the last couple of years. Been on a
chair based. Yeah, I appreciate you asking me that. That's been one
of my focus. I've always said, I told people, you know,
if the bridge is out, it doesn't matter how good the road is,
because you're not going to use the road anyway. And I'm within two bridges
now. I've been completely confederally compliant of all my structure of forty seven bridges
just in District three, which just amazes people. But there are that many.
Actually, the one the bridge we referred to as the old Highway north
of Ramona, it will be on the November bed letting. That project is
actually being funded by the Cherokee Nation. It's on one of the tribal right.
So after that, if we can get that completed in the next year,
I will have one left, which is just north of Vera also on
the old Highway, and we'll have all those structures taken care of. I
was, I was visiting yesterday my road foreman. We we resurfaced from thirty
nine hundred to the county line, what we call refer to as the old
Highway. It's numbered, but it was the old the original seventy five.
And I just said, you know, it would be nice, after these
two bridges are done, if we could generate or if we can get this
completely overlaid from Road three thousand to the county line, just give people an
opportunity. I think it would be fun some Sunday evening drive to or Sunday
drive to. Hey, let's go drive the old Highway how people used to
go to Tulsa. Because that's what this is. And now there's a nice
little diner in Vera, and there's one in Ramona. There's things people can
do and maybe can stimulate that is something point of interest in the future.
Someday, Hey, we take a lay, try I take the Old Highway
to Tulsa for just a fine afternoon. That's a good thought because we've got
a lot of tourists already in that that movie hasn't even come out yet,
you know, and there there are people who come to Bartlesville and they're between
here and Tulsa all the time. I think that's just play. I think
it would be it was just something to think about it because it would be
fine. Yeah, worked out pretty good at it. But also I would
like that we've been able to we were able to overlay Road thirty five hundred
for two miles between the old and new highways. Well we've done probably four
or five miles of chipping seal this summer. And then they're actually a private
individuals chipping a housing new housing edition off of Road three thousand called Ringo of
States. There was an old community down there called Ringo years and years ago,
know that. Yeah, And they're already three huge homes in that edition
that so it'll look a little bit maybe rival something like Jared Farms down there.
I mean it's at that caliber. Big lots of big homes. I
think if good chance to drive through the South End just some Sunday afternoon,
you will be amazed how many big homes are being built in the South Yeah.
Yeah, Yet Mike Dunlamp is our guest here using commissionered with Washington County.
And you know, Mike is one of the guys we call in the
wintertime. We wake him up, Hey, Mike, how are the roads?
Whenever? You actually don't wake me up because I'm driving. I'm on
the road sixty fifteen, usually headed south to let's see what's going on.
Yeah, but you know, I know who it is on the phone range.
It's like the hot light. Here we go, here we go.
But that's another thing coming up this winter. We we farmers own act they're
in the ballpark. I mean they're not. But it looks like we could
get some some good snow this this whin that'll help our drought, but it
won't help our roads. It's kind of funny you mentioned that, because I
don't remember which year it was where we had like back to back twenty inch
plus snows in a two week time here, oh my, which was incredible.
So we bought new snowploles the stick because they're still on those times.
I don't think I don't think we've used the way we have used them,
says, But we're sure haven't used the block because we just haven't had much
in the last five or six years. Yeah, if not longer. So
we're ready. We're prepared. I didn't know that we were good to go.
That's pretty cool. One of the things that we talked about earlier was,
you know, taking care of our fairgrounds up and do we what is
the status of a possible plan for this expo that we've been hearing some rumblings
about. Well, and I know there was some potential excitement about that,
but that my concern from day one has been a facility of that size you
don't have to generate a minimum of half a million dollars a year, probably
the MNOA facility, and there's just getting to be in this part of the
state. There's gonna be a lot of competition for your entertainment dollars. You've
gotten, you know, the big facilities south of Bartlesville and one west of
Bartlesville, and you've got a potential it looks like it's going to happen big
theme park just in our east to here. So oh, they're already digging
the holes. So we're just you know, I just I don't think this
is the right time. Maybe in the future someday that you know, if
there's significant growth and you know, the Bartlesville as far as on the AGG
side, the high school Lader building a new AGG facility. So we'll see,
you know, we'll just kind of see what kind of interest develops over
the next few years. But as of right now, I just don't think
we can't. I don't want to take a risk. We can't take a
risk like that. And right now, the facility of doing small rehab.
We've taken the adverstis out. We've also done we've done the air conditioning in
the main building. That's a fine place. It's a big facility, and
it serves a purpose for you know, a lot of it's it's full,
a lot used a lot for smaller events that don't need a large facility.
So yeah, take care of what we have. That's what I was talking
about earlier. I'd really want to. That's something like trying to focus on
is using our resources wisely and taking care of what's been provided for us in
the past, being careful with the taxpayers dollars and number one. But that's
something we talk about and I'm not just saying that just to say it,
but Mike and I and Mitch remind each other, Hey, this is other
people's money we're working with. It's not ours, and we need to be
responsible because we know how much we used to grow up and well we still
pay taxes too, obviously. Yeah, it's your money we're working with,
and I'm very aware of that. Hey, how does your sound doing the
one over in the Middle East? Oh, thank you for asking. Travis
and his wife Sophie are lived just outside Tel Aviv, Israel. They have
a new daughter, so I have another granddaughter, belore Us. I have
three now and thanks for asking. They're doing really well, like getting back
here, but they really like it over there. Interesting place it is.
We had. I had an opportunity to go over the last fall. My
wife's spent probably a couple of months over there now and the last year.
Yeah, it is very interesting. I can't even imagine. I mean,
I've always wanted to take a trip over there, to the Holy Land,
you know. I had a couple of wow moments. I guess people don't
I don't know if I don't think this will offend anybody. But when I
was up on Mount Carmel and walked over and you could see the Jezrael Valley
and and remember Napoleon stood over Meghito and said he so he could visualize every
army in the world functioning in this valley. And I'm looking that in the
Jezrael valley, which I apparently is not as big, and I'm like,
wow, this is amazing. It was a wild moment for me. And
then when I was in the in the Old City Jerusalem and at that point
in church we were talking about in them and we were in the am.
You know, they walked around the city seven days, and on the seventh
day they walked around seven time when the walls fell and people inside the city
were laughing at him for walking them. And I would have laughed too.
These walls, these stone walls, are absolutely incredible. I think they would
that be in a builder. That was a wild moment for me. You
know, I'm like, yeah, I saw the same thing when I was
in Cambodia, visited in Travis and we were to axur Band I believe that
was the name of the old temple there. Same thing. Massive rocks,
ten thirty ton rocks, twenty thirty feet off the ground. How did this
happen? And just stuff like those are big people around you don't have like
Sampson muscleman over there. These are just the county government people and not apologize.
But that's where we win. That's okay, that's okay. Hey,
if folks have a question or concerned about county government, especially in your district,
how do they get a hold of it? Three three seven two eight
two zero and Melody mayan men up there will address a phone call to me.
So it's worked out real well. And people then also will just drop
in by the shop and Ramona from time, so they're welcome to go in
there also, which is on three seventy one third Street, Ramona, Oklahoma.
Yeah, we're easy to find and accessible. There's no secret hand shake
it out to you know, knock three times and wait for a response.
It's a it's a pretty open it is Washington County after all. Thank God
for that. Yeah, yes, yes, sir, all right, Hey
Mike, thank you very much reading with us today. Well, thank you,
Tom. I hope this is kind of beneficial to people, but I
appreciate you giving us opportunity to do this. It's our pleasure. Oh,
thank you folks. You've been listening to our community connection right here on K one