The Oklahoma Corporation Commission’s Jim Thorpe headquarters building opened to the general public on Tuesday but with some restrictions following the year-long closure caused by the pandemic.
Stacy Bonner, Chief of Operations stated in an announcement this week that the first floor courtrooms would continue to be open for protested oil and gas hearings but not all would be open to the general public.
“To best accommodate the spacing and courtroom demands, OCC will work to accommodate as many in person hearings as
space and safety will allow,” she stated in the announcement.
Decisions will be made based on social distancing needs and if some of the protested hearings result in crowded courtrooms, an overflow room might be necessary.
“Uncontested oil and gas hearings will continue to use the OCC’s audio and video systems until further notice,” stated Bonner.
The commission announced that all visitors should enter through the east door of the building and check-in at the security desk.
A new customer service center has been installed on the first floor to help the public and will consolidate some business applications and payments into one area, thereby eliminating the need to visit different floors to perform a single transaction.
The one-stop shop’s operating hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will not be able to start new transaction after 4 p.m., to ensure daily transactions are properly closed.