Lawton City Council considering idea of trust authority for city lakes

City Council members want specifics before they decide whether to create a trust authority to operate city lakes.

The original proposal from the Lakes and Land Commission asked the council to direct creation of a trust indenture for a lakes trust authority, created to manage the assets of lakes Ellsworth and Lawtonka. The lakes are two of Lawton’s three raw water sources, but they also are popular recreation areas, and Lakes and Land Commission members want to continue building on that. The commission is a citizens group appointed by the council and mayor to make recommendations on issues associated with lakes.

By contrast, a trust authority would manage the assets of those two lakes, to include receiving and designating expenditures of revenues received through lakes-related fees. Lakes and Land Commission Chairman Mark Scott said that fact was a primary factor in making the recommendation for a trust authority.

Scott said commissioners — who are willing to serve as that trust authority — want to direct onsite activities and manage the lakes while also creating an avenue to ensure revenue generated by the lakes is “reinvested in the lakes.” It’s been a point commissioners have made numerous times: they and the public support expansion of activities offered at Lawtonka and Ellsworth, and they want to use the money generated from lakes fees to make that happen.

There could be a lot of money to be re-directed to lakes-related amenities, if the July 4 activity was any indication. The lakes were buzzing with activity that day, with a hot, sunny afternoon prompting many residents — local and from other towns in the region — to go to the lakes to cool off by swimming, boating, picnicking or just sitting in the shade of a covering enjoying the breeze from the water.

Brooke Longoria, who made the trip to Lawtonka’s Day Use Area from Chickasha, sat on the water’s edge with Emmerie, 4, and Adilynn, 11, stacking rocks and moving sand to build structures that were filling with water from the waves lapping at their feet. Longoria said it was the family’s first trip to Lawtonka and she likes what she sees.

“We’re having fun,” she said, explaining the family pitched a tent to provide shade on the breezy shore, but also was enjoying playing in the water as clouds skittering across the sky caused the sun to flicker in and out of view, providing some relief from the heat.

Longoria said she likes what Lawtonka already offers, but she sees a definite need for things such as more picnic shelters, adding that discussions about adding a playground also will bring parents and children to the area — but only if shade is provided.

Obed Puerto, a Texan working locally on a wind farm project, said he, his wife Wendy and family were enjoying the day at the beach, taking advantage of what Lawtonka’s Day Use Area already offers.

“I like the place,” he said, noting the variety of amenities on the shoreline, and agreeing more could be better. “I love it. My kids like it.”

City officials say they want to keep the momentum going and continue drawing local and regional residents to city lakes.

Scott said commissioners are willing to work with the city manager and city attorney to put the trust indenture terms into writing, so it can come back to the council and the project move forward.

Mayor Stan Booker said there already is precedent for a new trust authority to handle city recreational activities and facilities. The Lawton Youth Sports Trust Authority was created last year to assume control of youth-relates sports and facilities that had been managed by the Parks and Recreation Department. The authority, in turn hired Eastern Sports Management to handle those activities and facilities on a daily basis.

“The sports authority is a good model,” Booker said, adding the next step for a lakes authority is having city staff craft a template to illustrate how the process will work.