Online Petition Drive Underway To Save Okemah Water Towers

An online petition drive to save Okemah’s hot and cold water tower is gaining traction. 

The two towers are almost 100 years old. 

City leaders say engineers have told them the towers have become a safety hazard. 

However, an online petition drive to save the towers from demolition has garnered several hundred signatures. 

City Councilman Lloyd Raimer — who also sits on the city’s utility board signed off on a deal last Thursday with a Texas contractor to demolish the two towers in the next three months, at a cost of $80,000 to the city.   

However, he said he supports any cost-effective effort to save the towers. He’s just not sure there’s a viable option.

“We’ve got to get something done, because every day we sit here, as they are not getting any better, and we’re coming up on tornado season pretty soon, whatever, anything can happen,” he said. 

Raimer said he plans to meet with the city manager Tuesday to discuss possibilities.