Jenks City Council: Celebrating Community, Tackling Challenges, and Looking Ahead

The latest Jenks City Council meeting was a mix of community celebration, practical city management, and forward-looking discussions. Attendees heard about a significant milestone for a local food bank, faced the realities of infrastructure challenges, and reviewed the impact of new developments. It was a chance to see how the city works to keep things running smoothly for everyone.

Celebrating Community Service

A big part of the evening was a special recognition for the Jenks Community Food Bank. This amazing organization is celebrating 30 years of service to the community. It's pretty cool to think it all started way back in 1994 as an Eagle Scout project.

The Food Bank's main goal is to help people in need who live within the Jenks public school district. They do a lot of good work:

• Each month, they give out over 400 carts of food. That adds up to more than 225,000 pounds of food every year!

• The whole operation runs on volunteers. It takes about 40 volunteers each week to pick up, sort, organize, and give out all that food.

The city council gave a special shout-out to Pam Newber and Martha Ranji. These two were original volunteers from when the food bank first started in a church closet, and they are still volunteering today, even serving as officers on the board. That's some serious dedication!

Citizen Voices and City Appointments

The meeting also had a moment for citizens to speak up. Jerry Hall, a local resident, took the opportunity to thank the council for the Main Street redesign, saying it's "lovely to drive over Main Street once again." She also read a proclamation for Constitution Week, marking the 237th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution's signing.

Later, some members of Jenks Troop 185, including Nicholas Swe, came forward. They were there for a merit badge requirement and asked if they could get a tour of the city's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). It sounds like a good way for them to learn about emergency preparedness firsthand.

In other city business, the council had to deal with a vacant seat for Ward 4. They ended up appointing Adam Abel to fill that spot. Council members spoke highly of him, noting his involvement in the community.

Infrastructure and Development Updates

The council approved an agreement for the South James Avenue Extension. This is about buying land for the Cole Creek Village Development, which will be a retail area. It helps connect James Avenue to 121st Street.

The city manager's contract was also extended for another three years, through June 2028.

One of the more interesting updates came from Barry Parsons with the Water Department. He talked about a recent late-night water line issue that caused quite a headache.

• There was a gasket blowout on an insertion valve.

• It was really tough to shut off the water because many valves weren't working right or were missing from the city's maps.

• They had to close nine emergency valves across the city just to get the water pressure down enough to fix the problem.

• Turns out, an 8-inch line that was supposed to be "dead" was actually still active, which made things even harder.

• The good news is the city is starting a new valve maintenance program to fix these issues. They've found about 50 valves that weren't on their maps, and estimate that 15-20% of the city's 3,000+ valves might be buried or not working as they should. This new program should help a lot.

Managing Growth: Mall Traffic and Public Safety

Chief Jackson from the Police Department gave an update on traffic and calls since the new mall opened on August 15th.

• Calls to the mall did go up at first, with 100 extra calls in the first two weeks. But things have settled down, with only 32 calls in the following two weeks.

• Traffic has been pretty manageable, and there haven't been many accidents.

• There have been a few complaints about extra traffic on 7th Street, but overall, the chief thinks things are flowing well.

• As for crime, there have been a couple of auto burglaries, some disturbances, and a bit of juvenile loitering. But the mall has full-time security, which helps keep things in check.

• Initial numbers from the mall showed 15,000 to 20,000 cars per day right after opening.

It seems like the new mall is doing what it was supposed to do, as local restaurants, especially on Main Street, are seeing more customers on the weekends.

Other City Business and Community Initiatives

The mayor briefly mentioned State Question 833, saying he'd keep citizens updated on his social media. He also talked about fundraising for the Jenks Veterans Advisory Council's Veterans Day event. It's a dinner at Los Cabos, and a $100 donation helps pay for a veteran and their guest to attend.

Finally, Mr. Murray shared that the Fire Station 2 will host a Safe Kids National Certified Passenger Safety Technician class next week. It's a three-day training to help people get certified in child passenger safety.

The meeting wrapped up, showing how the city council works through a variety of topics to keep Jenks a good place to live.