Public Works

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Working for you To make Okemah The best place to live

The Okemah Public Works Department is dedicated to maintain and improve the city’s infrastructure and parks.

RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Repair, patch and plow approx 36 miles of streets.
  • Clean and maintain approx: 42 miles of sanitary and storm sewers.
  • Operate and continuously monitor 3 sewer pump stations.
  • Maintain and upgrade over 100 acres of parks and public open space.
  • Replace and care for all the city traffic and street signs.
  • Trim tree’s and brush on city right – of – ways and parks.
  • Prepare and cleanup Okemah special events.
    Provide emergency response and preparedness for disasters.

To keep up with the workload, the city of Okemah has one supervisor with four full time employees. The department also uses part time summer help, Inmate labor, youth workers and private contractors. If there is something you think needs attention, please give the department a call @ 918-623-1050.

There are things you can do to help the city and protect the environment.

  • Please shovel your sidewalks
  • Please pick up after your dog
  • Please don’t shovel or blow snow into the streets.
  • Please don’t sweep or rake leaves, sand or grass clippings into the streets or onto public right-of-ways.
  • Please keep yard waste out of the buffer zones of ravines, wetlands and lakes.
  • Above all, please be patient and contact us with any problems.

While the maintenance and repair work is ongoing the department tries to stick to a timetable. The goals are as follows:

  • To make all streets passable.
  • To fill all major potholes.
  • To mow all parks on a weekly basis in the summer.
    To pick up trash and clean restrooms in park daily or as needed.
  • To clean and inspect sewers on a 5year cycle.
  • To respond to sewer backups in less than an hour.

During the winter months, the formation of potholes is accelerated by cold temperatures, as water expands when it freezes it puts more stress on cracked pavement. Once a pothole (also referred to as a chuckhole) forms, it grows through the continued movement and displacement of broken chunks of pavement, If a pothole fills with water the growth may be accelerated, as the water ‘washes away’ loose particles of the road surface as vehicles travel over the roadway