Despite a low voter turnout, Oklahoma Natural Gas will provide services to the Guthrie area for 25 years.
A city-wide election was held Tuesday for registered voters to decide on a franchise partnership agreement between the gas company and the City.
The agreement gives ONG the right to sell, transmit, and distribute natural gas within the city and to sell natural gas therein for all purposes for which it may be used. In addition, ONG will have the ability to construct, maintain, and operate a system of distribution and other facilities and equipment in, upon, across, under, and over the streets, alleys, public grounds, and other places in the city.
“Residents will continue to benefit from reliable natural gas service as they have for over 100 years,” Martie Oyler with ONG said. “Because most of our infrastructure is underground, we have a 99% reliability rate, keeping customers warm in the coldest of temperatures.”
The current agreement between the two comes from a 1981 gross receipts ordinance which gives the City a 2% fee from what ONG collects on bills. In the last 12 months, the fee has created $88,756 for the City.
Of the 106 total votes, 84 voters (79.25%) checked the yes column while 22 voted (20.75%) against the measure.
Election day saw 79 voters go to the polls, while 15 voted by absentee mail and another 12 by early voting.
“The City of Guthrie would like to thank the voters for their approval of the franchise agreement with Oklahoma Natural Gas (ONG),” City Manager Eddie Faulkner said. “The purpose of the franchise agreement is to outline the terms of ONG’s access to public rights-of-way. ONG has served the residents of Guthrie for over 100 years, and we look forward to a continued partnership between the City of Guthrie and Oklahoma Natural Gas.”
ONG has served Guthrie since 1907 and was one of the first cities to have the service in the state along with Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Shawnee.
Currently, there are 7,000 customers in Guthrie and 10,600 in Logan County.
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