CIP funding is helping City of Lawton launch new projects

Funding from the Capital Improvements Program is helping the City of Lawton launch a series of construction projects, from long-awaited upgrades to Lee West and East Side parks, to new waterlines in north and south Lawton neighborhoods.

Members of the City Council signed off on the projects Tuesday without much discussion, in some instances approving the necessary design work; in others, awarding construction contracts.

One of the design projects meant amending an existing agreement with GH2 Architects, allowing that firm to do the design development, construction documents, bidding and construction phase services for a project centered on the animal welfare facility in south Lawton.

That project, one of the key projects in the CIP Extension approved by city voters Aug. 27, will add a new intake facility to the building, then renovate the existing structure. The result will be separate facilities for animals ready to be adopted (the new complex) and to hold animals new to the shelter or still being evaluated (the existing building). GH2 already made its presentation to the City Council for conceptual designs and now will move into the design phase that will allow the project to be bid, a $483,900 total design contract.

PROPEL 2040 (the CIP Extension) has allocated $5 million for construction.

Council action also amended a second design contract held by GH2 Architects: upgrades to East Side Park on East Gore Boulevard and Lee West Park on Southwest 67th Street. The firm was designated by the council earlier this year to craft schematics. Those $45,400 plans were amended Tuesday to allow architects to design construction plans for splash pads, parking lots, restrooms and sidewalks at each park, bringing the total design contract to $147,450.

City officials have said upgrading parks is a priority, and one that will be easier with a one-quarter percent permanent sales tax included in the CIP Extension and restricted to parks and recreational amenities.

CIP funding also will help city officials repay a loan they secured from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s revolving loan fund to replace aging and deteriorating waterlines in north and south Lawton. The city already has 25 miles of waterline and sewer lines under contract, and city officials have said the goal is 25 miles more.

Southwest Water Works was awarded a $7.649 million contract to install new 6-inch, 8-inch and 12-inch waterlines in an area south of Lincoln Boulevard and north of Cache Road, North Sheridan Road to Fort Sill Boulevard. Stampede Utility Construction was awarded a $6.425 million contract to replace 8-inch and 12-inch waterlines in an area south of Gore Boulevard, between Southwest 38th and Southwest 52nd streets. Construction is expected to last roughly a year.

Council members also signed off on a federal grant that will allow Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport to begin designs for a renovation/repair project.

The $270,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration will cover all but $30,000 of the cost of a preliminary engineering report on a project centered on the deteriorating Taxiway F, as well as a concrete apron area. The City of Lawton, as the airport’s sponsoring agency, must formally accept the grant before the airport can use it.

Taxiway F connects the main runway to the airport terminal, but that short runway does not meet FAA standards, Airport Director Barbara McNally said. In addition, an area where large aircraft park is overcrowded and showing signs of wear. The preliminary engineering report will identify the best ways to resolve problems and bring facilities up to FAA standards, while also expanding or repairing the concrete apron near the terminal to better handle large aircraft. Data in that report will help with preliminary designs and analysis, McNally said.