FREDERICK – Goals city officials have set for 2020 include improvements to the water system, encouraging residents to participate in the federal decennial census and potential restoration of emergency medical care.
City Manager Robert Johnston said he hopes all Frederick residents will participate in the 2020 U.S. headcount, which is conducted by the Census Bureau every 10 years to determine the entire population of the nation.
“Our census numbers could affect the city’s ability to receive (federal or state) grant funding for needed projects,” he said. “We encourage everyone to participate, as we are a rural area that struggles and needs all the help we can get.”
Frederick’s population count for the 2010 Census was 3,940, a decline from the 4,637 reported in 2000 and the all-time high count of 6,153 reported in the 1980 Census.
Greg Treat, President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, said it is estimated that every person not counted in the census costs the state approximately $1,800 per year in lost federal funding.
“An undercount of just 2% could cost the state up to $1.8 billion over a decade. But census data also drives decisions of businesses looking to relocate or enter new markets,” Treat added.
WATER RESOURCES
Johnston said the city’s quality and quantity of water are rated “good” thanks to recent adequate rain. He said that Frederick recovered from the severe drought that hit the area in 2011-2015.
During that time the city had to severely restrict water usage because of critically low water levels throughout southwest Oklahoma, including Tom Steed Reservoir near Mountain Park in Kiowa County, which serves as Frederick’s primary water source. The city supplements that with raw water pumped from Lake Frederick near Manitou in Tillman County. Tom Steed also serves as a major water source for Altus and Snyder.
Johnston said the city is undertaking a project to refurbish a water tower at Frederick Regional Airport by cleaning and repainting the tower, and another water storage tank is scheduled to receive a similar facelift in the near future.
Other water system projects envisioned by the city include improvements to meet federal and state environmental regulations, and replacement of older water lines with new ones as age and longterm or heavy usage render them obsolete or inadequate.
“We went through a lot of droughts through the years, but few leaks despite their age,” Johnston said.
MEDICAL CARE
Frederick County and Tillman County lost the sole local source for emergency care with the closure in 2016 of Till- man County Memorial Hospital, which was converted into a health clinic. Today, local patients who need emergency care are sent by Tillman County EMS to either Jackson County Memorial Hospital in Altus or Comanche County Memorial Hospital in Lawton for treatment.
“We’d like to get back our emergency services, but in Oklahoma, you can’t do that without a hospital,” Johnston said.
The hospital was jointly owned by the city and county. “We want to go forward with the county and our state delegation to retain what we have,” he said. “I have made it my own business to educate myself about health care issues.”
Johnston said that if Oklahoma voted in favor of Medicaid expansion, it could result in a change of direction toward making emergency health care more available to rural areas.
OTHER CHALLENGES
Johnston said the City of Frederick could soon see some economic benefits from the legalization of recreational marijuana. If that issue is ever submitted to Oklahoma voters at a statewide election, it could result in further changes to state laws and tax revenue opportunities, the city manager said.
“We now have such businesses (dispensaries) in our community, which have proven to be a revenue enhancement for us,” he said.
Johnston said the city’s municipally owned electric provider could see an enhancement in providing services to residential and business customers as new technological advances emerge, such as electrically powered automobiles. Tillman County recently established a charging station on the southeast corner of the courthouse square that was financed from a grant.
“U.S. 183 (the north-south highway through Frederick and Tillman County) qualified for such funding, and that power will be used by motorists passing through,” Johnston said.
INFRASTRUCTURE
Johnston said that one of the city’s key goals for the present and near-term future is to maintain water and electrical resources, as well as to revitalize the downtown area. He said the city received a $45,000 Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP) grant through the Association of South Central Oklahoma Governments (ASCOG) that funded construction of a new half-block sidewalk along Grand Avenue just catercorner from city hall.
“We plan to maintain what we have and make improvements as needed over time,” he said.
JOINT PROJECTS WITH COUNTY, CHAMBER
Johnston said that a recent overlay project covering eight blocks of South 8th Street in Frederick was completed as a joint city-county project; the cost, approximately $100,000, was shared by the two governments.
South 8th Street is an important thoroughfare along the west side of the downtown area, which leads to the Frederick Fire Department, Tillman County Producers Co-Op, Cassidy Grain, the Bomber Bowl (home field of the Frederick Bombers) and the Tillman County Fairgrounds.
“That was a very tangible project,” the city manager said. “The asphalt is still black.”
Johnston said the City of Frederick consistently works with Tillman County and Frederick Chamber of Commerce officials to identify various needs of the community and to encourage census participation during the coming year.
ABOUT ROBERT JOHNSTON
A Lawton native and graduate of Eisenhower High School, Robert Johnston has served as city manager in Frederick for 27 years. During this time, Frederick and other rural communities in Oklahoma have seen steady declines in population.
He previously served as city manager in Tonkawa from 1989 to 1993, and public works director at Clinton in 1981- 89. He also served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Johnston holds a bachelor’s degree in business management/philosophy from Cameron University and completed coursework for a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Oklahoma.
“I’ve seen a lot of things happen here, including several droughts,” he said. “But through it all, we have a lot of good and friendly people. We try to do the best that we can with the finances we have despite the population decline. It’s not all blue skies, but there’s reason for encouragement.”