ROLAND, OK – Cherokee Nation leaders recently met with Roland officials to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a $500,000 project that aims to provide better water storage and capacity in the city. This is in addition to the $500,000 that Cherokee Nation also provided to the town of Gans to bolster the town’s water infrastructure needs.
“This is a project of great importance that’s about increasing water capacity and upgrading a water system that will help serve this fine community,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “The opportunity to help a community on something that I think is going to make a generational impact is something we are always looking for. In this area, we look to District 6 Councilor Daryl Legg’s leadership to bring us these kinds of opportunities, which we’re happy to help on because it’s the right thing to do.”
The project aims to construct a 500,000-gallon water tower and repair an existing one million-gallon water tower.
“Infrastructure is important and the need to improve infrastructure keeps us looking for new opportunities,” said Deputy Chief Bryan Warner. “There are a ton of opportunities here in Roland. All of these folks are hard-working individuals, and we want to make sure we take care of these families because we’re always looking ahead to the next seven generations. These are communities that we’ll never forget and we will always have their backs.”
The funds were made available under the Cherokee Nation Respond, Recover and Rebuild plan.
“When we do something like this, it’s not just for Cherokee Nation’s benefit,” said Councilor Legg. “We are good partners to the State of Oklahoma and to our local communities. So everyone around is going to benefit from this – everybody in the community. I’m just thrilled to be a part of it.”
The existing water tower in Roland is over 20 years old and was damaged in recent months by storms and flooding. A second water tower is also needed in the town in order to drain and repair the existing tower, according to Roland Town Administrator Monty Lenington.
“I’m very appreciative of the Cherokee Nation for their funding on this,” said Lenington. “They help with a lot of projects in town. They’ve helped with paving in the past, they’ve helped with water lines, they’ve assisted our emergency services and they’ve just been a really good partner. We appreciate everything they do for us.”
