Lawton City Council to look at new mill and overlay priority list

Proposals for a new list of streets for Lawton’s new mill and overlay program and increased fines for those who transport debris in open vehicles will top the agenda when the City Council meets today.

The issue of unsecured loads comes from the Oct. 10 council meeting, where the council wanted to explore options beyond increasing what is now a $28.75 fee to $100 for residents and $200 for commercial customers who bring debris to the landfill without covering it with a tarp or other material designed to contain it. Council members attempted to resolve the issue in July 2021 by adopting an ordinance requiring all refuse to be covered and secured, to address complaints about trash littering sanitation truck routes, particularly South 11th Street. Those that arrive at the landfill with unsecured loads are charged an additional $28.75.

The fee hasn’t resolved the issue, and Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren suggested a fee increase. City staff cited several concerns with the issue, to include the fact some people already leave without entering the landfill when they are told they must pay a fee for an unsecured load.

While today’s agenda item continues to cite a higher fee — $100 for residential customers, $200 for commercial — city staff proposed other changes, including hiring a full-time environmental compliance officer to deal with vehicles with unsecured loads and debris that results from those drivers; and implementing an on-going education program that would include signs approaching the landfill. City staff and council members also have proposed applying for a grant from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to fund the compliance officer.

In other business, the council will get a look at the next “Top Ten” proposals for mill and overlay, a street repair process that grinds off the top layer of asphalt and applies a new layer to give a smoother finish while also extending the life of the street by five to eight years.

The council’s Streets and Bridges Committee met last week to craft that new priority list, which actually has 13 new suggestions when the existing Top Ten list (which already is out for bids) is done. City officials said the plan is to keep a list of priorities going, as the city addresses problem streets as promised when voters agreed to extend the Ad Valorem Streets Improvement Program for 10 years.