City council praises Chamber for July 4 celebration

City officials praised the Comanche Area Chamber of Commerce for their work on the Independence Day Fest held at Comanche Lake on July 6.

The Comanche City Council voted to give the organization a total of $6,183.51 ($3,000 city donation plus an additonal $3,183.51 from an account holding donations made by the community for firework purchasing, at its July meeting on Tuesday.

“The Chamber of Commerce did such a good work, it was excellent,” Mayor Smokey Dobbins said of the event.

Approximately 500 people attended the festival during the afternoon and approximately 1,000 people watched the fireworks show over the lake after nightfall.

In another agenda item, the council voted to apply for a REAP grant. The grant would be worth $45,000 and would go toward roadwork in the city. The mayor and/or city manager were authorized as signatories for the grant.

The fire department also had a grant application authorized for a 80/20 grant for fire gear. The 20 percent match would come from the rural fire fund.

The council went into executive session to discuss the city manager position opening. They took no action after returning to open session.

In other agenda matters, the city accepted the resignation of Ward 3 council member Sharon Rounds and entered into agreements with an audit consultant and auditors for the 2023-24 audit.

Both Rounds’ resignation as a trustee and the audit consultant and auditor agreements were also on the Public Works Authority agenda and were passed.

June marked the end of the fiscal year for the city. The city’s general fund ended the year more than $14,000 in the positive and the PWA account ended the year more than $102,000 in the positive.