City of Lawton negotiations may open School House Slough store by summer

Boaters may be able to buy soft drinks and pizza at Lake Lawtonka’s largest recreation area this summer.

City Council members directed city staff Tuesday to negotiate with one of two entities that submitted proposals to reopen the School House Slough convenience store and the slough’s lakeside fueling system. Those amenities haven’t been operational since the City of Lawton assumed control of the Lake Lawtonka concession area on Jan. 1, 2023, after long-time concessionaire Kent Waller ended his final lease.

While city staff has been weighing the possibility of handling some parts of the concession area, council members specified they wanted someone with experience to operate the convenience store. A request for proposals brought responses from two entities to tackle that task: School House Slough Convenience Store LLC (operated by Juan J. Rodriguez) and J&N LLC (Natalie Smith and James Janis). Both specified what they want to do and the duties they expect the City of Lawton to handle, and it was Rodriguez’s proposal that drew council attention.

Rodriguez’s proposal specified he would pay $1,000 a month to the city, beginning with the first month he opened the convenience store. J&N’s proposal was 5 percent of gross revenues generated by the store, but only after they had operated the store for three years. J&N wants those first three years to recover their costs of bringing the store and related area back to life, while Rodriguez specified he would take the cost of repairs he needed to make out of his $1,000 monthly payment.

His proposal also said the city would receive sales tax on the items he sold in the store (a point city attorneys said may need to be verified) and he wanted a trailer for his use and the city to guarantee it would not issue any licenses to any food vendor who wanted to sell food around the Lake Lawtonka area because it would interfere with his sales.

J&N made a similar food vendor request, with the proposal specifying they didn’t want the city to issue any food vendor permits during its peak and off-peak times (essentially, March through September). J&N also wants a seven-year lease and would pay 5 percent of gross sales, beginning in year four. The City of Lawton would be responsible for HVAC, plumbing and electrical work before J&N took over operations, and also would provide a camping space for the management use.

Council members said they liked the ideas contained with Rodriguez’s proposal and directed Deputy City Manager Dewayne Burk to proceed with negotiations, bringing a contract back to the council for final approval.

There will be some special points of negotiation. Acting City Attorney Tim Wilson said the city must clarify whether it can accept sales tax from items sold in the convenience store without violating the terms of a tax-exempt note the city issued to generate the money it needed to pay Waller for $2.875 million of improvements he made to the concession during his years of operation. Burk also indicated the request to ban other food vendors would have to be negotiated, in light of plans the City of Lawton is making for concession areas in general at city lakes.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill asked whether the city needed to narrow its School House Slough contract to three years because of plans city officials are exploring for all lake concession operations, adding that in five years “it will be a different situation out there.” But, Burk said he isn’t certain the city can find a qualified convenience store operator if they didn’t have time to recoup their investment.

“My recommendation is five years,” Burk said.

Ward 5 Councilman Randy Warren said that whatever the decision, the new contract will ensure a concession operator walks away without the city owing any money. Warren said Rodriguez’s proposal specifies he will take repair costs out of his monthly payment to the city, so unless a major expense occurs near the end of his lease, he won’t be owed any money.

The lease agreement Kent Waller held specified he was to be paid fair market value for the improvements he made at School House Slough during his years of operation, which boat docks, storage space and other amenities.