Lawton City Council to consider new seating policy, approving changes to redevelopment guidelines

Proposals to reserve seating during council meetings while also restricting where cameras and recording devices can be placed will top the agenda when the City Council meets today.

The council also is expected to put the finishing touches on the project plan that specifies how revenue created in Tax Increment Financing Districts can be spent, and give its approval to a plan to build an animal shelter facility at a new location.

Council members will be considering a plan to amend their Rules of Procedures, adding a section to establish reserved seating and designate areas within the auditorium for recording devices and associated equipment. The rules are included in the council’s directives on how their meetings are to be conducted, and the body has amended those regulations several times in recent months.

Here, the amendment is being done “for the safety, efficiency, and minimal distraction during City Council meetings,” according to the agenda commentary.

For seating, the amended provision specifies the front row of chairs in the auditorium are reserved for the optional use of city staff, credentialed members of the media, and guests invited by the city staff for council presentations. While those individuals may sit somewhere else, the reserved row is designated for the convenient access of those who may need to participate in council proceedings, according to the policy.

Cameras, cell phones and associated recording equipment are being designated to specific areas for safety and compliance with fire codes, under the policy. The policy specifies citizens and members of the media are not allowed to set up equipment-supported recording devices in any aisle of the auditorium or immediate proximity of the dais “to maintain a clear, safe pathway for all attendees.” The devices and equipment also are prohibited on the stairs in the back of the auditorium and the balcony. They are allowed at the back of the auditorium, and the east and west sides at the back, locations calculated to allow recordings to be made without obstructing views or walkways for others, the policy states.

In other business, the council will hold its second public hearing on a plan to amend the city’s STEDI (Skills Training, Education, Development and Investment) Project Plan, which guides Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. TIFs are development districts where investments in underused or deteriorating areas create revenue that can be used to pay for the infrastructure that allowed development to occur.

Amending the document means two public hearings for residential input, and today is the second of those public hearings. City officials said the process will include a presentation and answers to questions the public may have, before the council puts the amended plan in place.

Major changes include two new project categories where TIF funding may be used: workforce training, and homebuyer assistance for those who are brought to Lawton or hired locally to work for entities that open in TIF districts. The plan also will increase new funding allocated to schools to 50 percent of the net financial benefit (it now is 35 percent) and will expand the budget for public infrastructure up to $248 million, to help create shovel-ready sites for non-retail business development.

The plan also identifies specific TIF districts that may be activated, including one in the airport industrial park for the Fisher59 warehouse complex and a 40-acre tract in southwest Lawton where Westwin Elements will operate cobalt-nickel refinery pilot plant.

Council members also will receive an update on the animal shelter project, a plan to create a new facility at the south Lawton shelter so animals ready for adoption are held separately from new intakes. While the idea had been to expand the existing facility on Southwest 6th Street, administrators now suggest the city use the old fire station at 1701 W. Lee Blvd.

City officials said they are concerned about the cost of bringing the current animal shelter up to standards and increasing the work area to its required size while remaining within the $5 million cap set by council. City staff said the former fire station is structurally sound and still owned by the City of Lawton. “Our engineering and design teams have already researched the site and feel that it will better accommodate the needs of the facility as well as provide space for future growth,” officials said in their agenda commentary

Council members also will look at the issue of homelessness in the community via presentations by two entities already working with that population.

The C. Carter Crane shelter, located at 1203 SW Texas, now is operated by Embrace Hope, created by Brenda Spencer-Ragland when she assumed control in July. That remodeled facility will house up to 28 people, and today’s discussion is expected to center on the status of the shelter, bed availability and criteria to receive services.

MIGHT Community Development and Resource Center is expected to discuss its day center and beds provided to youth at its south Lawton facility. MIGHT’s programs include programs to help clients work toward stability and self-sufficiency, city officials said.