City Council wants cost reduced, funding locked in before awarding aquatics center contract

City Council members want some time to lock in the funding sources and lower the project cost before committing to a contract to build an aquatics center in Elmer Thomas Park.

The council decided decided Tuesday it is willing to delay action to award the construction contract to Miller-Tippens Construction Company by up to two weeks, even if that means changing what is now projected to be a mid-May 2025 completion date for the new Elmer Thomas Park amenity. Members have been clear that they want the new aquatics center operational by Summer 2025, and engineers say the only way to meet that goal is to award a construction contract early enough in July that construction can begin Aug. 1 of this year. A review by city engineers, designers and the contractor said that timeline would have been contingent upon awarding the contract at Tuesday’s meeting.

But, some city officials are concerned that the $14.6 million base bid for a pool, slide, diving boards, building and parking lot, and $5.3 million alternate bid for a lazy river exceed engineering estimates by more than $2 million. And, several want city administrators to clearly delineate the funding source to cover the entire project. City officials have said the 2019 Capital Improvements Program has $5 million for the project, but City Manager John Ratlliff said other funding – to include a loan — has been identified to cover the entire project cost. Council members did not say whether they plan to award only the base bid, or the base with the alternate.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, a contractor and engineer, said while the center is an important project for the community, costs set by the lone construction firm that submitted a construction bid exceed estimates.

“We have a budget,” Gill said, adding he wants city, designer and contractor officials to evaluate the project and find savings.

That’s something the evaluation team already is planning, said J.D. Clark, senior architect with design firm Guernsey, and project manager Scott Vaughn. The men said their plan is “value engineering,” an evaluation process that works through the contract to see if some work can be changed or eliminated to lessen costs.

Vaughn said the team can complete that value engineering review by July 23, the date of the council’s next regular meeting. But, Mayor Stan Booker, citing the importance of the project, said he is willing to call a special meeting before then if the details can be completed, to keep the project as close to a May 2025 completion date as possible.

That completion date is the reason that city staff and contractors were willing to recommend the one contractor who submitted a bid, rather than rebid the project to draw for bidders, Vaughn said. Officials said rebidding the project would delay completion far beyond May 2025.

“We would not be able to meet that (date),” Clark said, adding there also is no guarantee rebidding would result in more bids or a lower price.

While five contractors indicated an interest in the project at a pre-bid conference, only one followed through with a bid. Clark said there were a variety of reasons, ranging from the city’s reluctance to use a construction manager format on this project to the fact that many firms are simply “too busy.”

Linda Neal, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission who said she was speaking as a citizen, urged the council to proceed with the project. Neal said Lawtonians have heard comments that the quality of life of life in Lawton isn’t “what it should be” and this type of project would make a difference. She also said 1,400 people a week already are enjoying the two splash pads and three wading pools the city is operating this summer, and an aquatics center could greatly increase that number while drawing visitors from outside Lawton.