The use of Flock-style Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR) systems was on the Council agenda again on Monday.
Ward 1 Councilor Tim Sherrick proposed options for further restricting access to the Police Department’s Flock Safety System information or eliminating it altogether (with the exception of parking enforcement).
Sherrick, Ward 2 Councilor Larry East and Ward 4 Councilor Aaron Kirkpatrick have expressed privacy concerns about the Flock system since their election to the Council in December 2024. A majority 3-2 vote last year placed additional restrictions on the Police Department’s use of the system, allowing access to Flock information only to limited Police Department staff.
On Monday, Sherrick proposed placing further restrictions by requiring command staff to seek judicial authorization to access the department’s Flock information except in cases of imminent threat to life, Amber/Silver alerts or a fleeing suspect. City Attorney Jess Kane, when asked by Kirkpatrick, said he did not believe the City would need to seek judicial authorization (a warrant) to access its own information.
Deputy Police Chief Andrew Ward presented information to the Council about the Flock system during the discussion, saying 1,244 inquiries have been made over the past year. He said the system has assisted local police in recovering stolen vehicles, assisting in solving hit and run and violent crime cases, locating missing and vulnerable people, and in working in conjunction with other jurisdictions to solve crimes committed locally and elsewhere.
Ward pointed to several success stories thanks to use of the department’s Flock system, including one person with intentions to harm themself who was located by police using the Flock Safety System and provided mental health resources.
Another case involved the apprehension of an adult male who had impregnated a juvenile family member and attempted to take her to Mexico. The man was arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border after the vehicle he was driving was located by ALPR technology and the girl was returned home safely.
And finally, Ward said Flock was also instrumental in locating a homicide suspect after a local teen was shot and killed on Highway 123 in November 2023. The suspect’s vehicle was identified using the Flock system, and the suspect was apprehended in Coffeyville, Kan., thanks to Flock data.
Bartlesville has 10 cameras that, as required by restrictions imposed by a majority of the Council last year, are positioned only at the ingress and egress of the city limits.
No action was taken on the item after Kirkpatrick suggested that he and Sherrick work together to explore other ALPR vendors before eliminating the system, to which Sherrick agreed. The Council is expected to revisit the item again in July.
More information:
Flock Safety Camera System FAQ
Bartlesville Police Department Flock presentation
City Council meeting video May 4, 2026
Other business
In other business, the Council took the following actions during the meeting Monday:
Wastewater improvements
A new consent order issued by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality will amend the schedule for planned improvements to the City’s wastewater system. The improvements are required to meet State regulations and are expected to cost more than $130 million. Plans for the expansion of the Chickasaw Wastewater Treatment Plant are now due in September, with construction set to start next summer. For more information, see Council OKs ODEQ order for wastewater system improvements.
Blue Whale fire
City Manager Mike Bailey updated the Council on the status of a fire that occurred April 14 at Blue Whale Materials, a sustainable battery recycling company located in the Bartlesville Industrial Park.
“There’s not much for us to discuss at this time, but I wanted to bring the Council up to date,” Bailey said. “We are having discussions with Blue Whale Materials, and we plan to have a report to the Council but wanted to make sure we have information that we can share. Right now there are still investigations ongoing.”
Bailey said meetings between the City’s fire marshal and Blue Whale Materials safety team are currently underway to review the incident response and to identify “the things that we can do better and the things that we would like them to do that will make any future responses better and perhaps prevent any other incidences.”
He said the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has been on-site at the company.
“The last thing is probably the thing that people are most interested in, but it’s probably the thing that, frankly, we have the least knowledge of, and that is contamination or anything of that nature. That’s ODEQ,” he said. “(We know) ODEQ has been on-site and they have been in communication with Blue Whale Materials. Anything they share with us that can be shared with the public, we will, but that is completely out of our jurisdiction.”
Watch City Beat for updates to this story.
Water line repair service
A contract with B-Town Construction for on-demand services for water line replacement was approved by the Council. The contract allows for water line work as needed, with a cap of $100,000 or a duration of six months, whichever occurs first. Contract services are needed due to increasing incidences of line breaks coupled with ongoing staffing issues. See City job openings at www.cityofbartlesville.org.
The City’s water distribution system consists of approximately 312 miles of water line. Of this total, 90 miles are more than 50 years old. Given that the typical service life of water pipe ranges from 50 to 100 years, roughly one-third of the City’s water system is now in the latter portion of its useful life, Director of Water Utilities Terry Lauritsen said. Funding for these improvements will be provided through the Water Distribution Capital Fund.
Motorcycles & angled parking
The Council voted to amend Bartlesville Ordinance Chapter 19, Article 10, Section 350 to allow motorcycles to back in to angled parking spaces. The change applies to motorcycles, motor-driven cycles and motorized tricycles only. Police say this will improve safety by allowing forward movement into traffic.