City Council to decide on LATS operations building, wastewater plant proposal

City Council members will face decisions today on proposals to keep LATS operational facilities in south Lawton and the city manager’s plan to seek proposal for operating the wastewater treatment plant.

Operations for Lawton’s mass transit system were outlined in October by General Manager Ryan Landers, who said LATS had the option to lease another building to provide badly-needed space for its operations complex. And, that ties into an issue city officials are trying to settle: cutting the cost of the new LATS complex on Railroad Street by building it in two phases. That would mean building Lawton’s first indoor transfer center as Phase I, then wait until Phase II to build a new maintenance, storage and operations complex.

That would be possible with a proposal offered by Terry K. Bell II, leasing a now-vacant commercial building east of LATS’ office and maintenance buildings. Bell and LATS officials negotiated a monthly lease of $1,300 for the building on the corner of Bishop Road and Southwest 6th Street, meaning a cost of $9,100 for the remainder of the fiscal year (through June 30, 2025). Planning Director Christine James said 80 percent of that cost ($8,280) would come from federal funding, with the remainder to come from local sources.

James said the lease would be a temporary measure while LATS “explores alternative funding opportunities and strategies for securing more permanent solution to its space requirements.”

Landers estimated start-up costs of $11,500 for the building, to include $4,000 in security, $4,000 in office equipment, and $3,500 in furniture and supplies. That would bring annual costs to $31,000 to use that building for some operations functions.

Landers said while the building is a short-term solution, it could be part of a long-term solution that involves another nearby vacant structure: a 25,000-square-foot warehouse north of the LATS complex. Landers said in October that while the proposal still was being analyzed, the warehouse was large enough to be used maintenance and storage. Both buildings would relieve severe overcrowding in the south Lawton complex, lessening the need to move those functions to the Railroad Street site.

That, in turn, would cut the cost of the LATS complex because initial construction could be focused on an indoor transfer center intended to provide room for mass transit riders, bus drivers and related LATS staff. That smaller facility has been estimated at $3 million to $4 million, a more reasonable cost that would be easier to fund, Ward 4 Councilman George Gill has said.

Council members also will look at ratifying a decision already made by City Manager John Ratliff: issuing a Request for Proposals for operation of the city’s wastewater treatment plant in southeast Lawton.

The agenda commentary doesn’t specify why the decision was made, but city officials have had trouble with the aging plant for years. That includes multiple Notice of Violations issued by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, citing treatment issues that city administrators have said they are correcting through a series modernization projects.

The most recent notice was issued Nov. 14, stemming from a January complaint regarding conditions in Nine Mile Creek, which receives treated effluent from the plant. The most recent notice cited Lawton for inoperable grit removal basins, aeration system failures and excessive sludge accumulation in primary clarifiers, issues already being addressed, city administrators said, adding the plant has been in full compliance since July 26. City officials said Phase I renovations are on track for completion by Summer 2025, while Phase II upgrades should be ready to advertise for bids by July 2025.

In other business, the council will act on a recommendation from city staff to issue a $1,917,525 contract to Southwest Water Works for construction of the Phase II industrial water main project.

That project is part of a series of infrastructure upgrades planned by Lawton to support development of the Westwin Elements cobalt-nickel refinery pilot plant project at Bishop Road and Southwest 112th Street. Phase I of the water main project (a new main along Southwest 97th Street and Bishop Road) is installed. Phase II will be installation of a 12-inch loop along Southwest 112th Street from Bishop Road to West Lee Boulevard, then east to Southwest 97th Street.

Eight contractors bid on what engineers estimated would be a $3.168 million project, with bids ranging from $3.7 million to $1.92 million. Southwest Water Works also installed Phase I.