OKEECHOBEE — During their Feb. 17 meeting, the city council discussed upkeep and maintenance of Cattleman’s Square Park. City Administrator Gary Ritter said he has been trying to come up with an estimate for this.

He said they have had some problems with trash, weeds and ants. Also, the kiosk, sidewalks and benches will need to be cleaned regularly. These are all things that need to be taken care of regularly. He estimated $10,000-$15,000 a year for Cattleman’s Square. He said it is important to stay on top of the maintenance, because the public has made a major investment there and will soon be making another in Veterans’ Park. They also talked about the cost of upkeep on the sculptures, but no decisions were made.

Also on the agenda was the proposed Okeechobee County impact fee and interlocal agreement. The city has been asked to assist the county in collecting this proposed fee. In return, the county will cut the city in on a portion of the administration fee to compensate for the time and effort it will take to collect the fee. Most likely, this would be done through an interlocal agreement.

Jacalyn Schooley, Tourism and Event Center Manager, and Alex Tijerina, OCEDC Director of Existing Industry, gave a presentation regarding Christmas in Okeechobee. Tijerina explained last year’s Christmas in Okeechobee was made possible through a collaboration of multiple groups and individuals. Full-season traffic to Main Street from Nov. 13-Jan. 5 was 101,900; City Hall Park was 3.600. Park Street businesses had 5,000 visits and total downtown visits were 110,000.

The Christmas festival and parade drew a total of 15,800 visitors. Parade attendees were 12,500. Only visitors who spent at least 10 minutes were counted. For more information about Christmas in Okeechobee, visit the website at www.christmasinokeechobee.com.

In other business, the mayor proclaimed the week of Feb. 22-28, 2026, to be Engineers’ Week.

The council voted to approve an increase in the base annual fee to $24,005 for ICS Computers, Inc.

The city will be piggybacking on an agreement with the city of Oakland Park for the services of RMPK funding for grant management services.

Tammy Parker is a welcome addition to the city family as the new general services director, replacing Patty Burnette, who recently retired.

City administrator Gary Ritter announced they will soon be starting on a new roof for City Hall. They will probably block off some of the parking spaces in the parking lot out back, and it will probably take about a week to complete.

The public is invited and encouraged to attend council meetings on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. at City Hall on the second floor, 55 SE Third Avenue.