Council ready to bid Southwest 38th Street upgrade

City officials are ready to move into a repair project for a major north/south Lawton arterial.

The City Council will consider a recommendation from its Streets and Bridges Committee today to let bids on a mill and overlay project for Southwest 38th Street, between West Gore and West Lee boulevards. The project is one city administrators and council members have been eying for several years, in large part because of the severe deterioration in the road surface around Cameron University and the railroad tracks just south of Dr. Elsie Hamm Drive.

The road between West Gore Boulevard and Bishop Road had actually been set for a complete rebuild under the 2017 Ad Valorem Road program, but city engineers re-evaluated the north mile and determined rehabilitation of the road between West Gore and West Lee boulevards is an “effective measure at the best cost for citizens.”

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, who heads the Streets and Bridges Committee, said Southwest 38th Street is suitable for mill and overlay — with some rebuild of more deteriorated pavement — and is a project that could be done in six months for less than $6 million. Rebuilding the street could take up to three years and cost $30 million, he said.

In another infrastructure project, city administrators are ready to move forward with repair work on three dams: Lake Ellsworth, Lake Lawtonka and Gondola Lake.

Action proposed for the council in its capacity as the Lawton Water Authority would authorize application for a $39 million water systems improvement loan from the Oklahoma Water Resources Board’s (OWRB) revolving loan fund. The action also would authorize the sale of $39 million in bond notes, which would make the money available immediately.

The most extensive project is the Lake Ellsworth spillway, which was badly damaged by flooding in May and June 2015. Design plans for the work are done, and the project has been permitted by OWRB for construction. That would be done in two phases, under bids received in December: $26,481,500 for Phase I and $19,928,500 for Phase II. The project must be awarded by April 9 to receive those prices, city administrators said.

Lawton already has some funding committed to the project: a $925,251 grant from FEMA, a $1 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant and $10 million designed by the State of Oklahoma from its ARPA funds.

A state-designated ARPA grant also is providing $2 million to the Gondola dam overflow spillway. Although located in Medicine Park, the damaged structure belongs to the City of Lawton. Estimated cost of repairs is $3 million.

City officials also want to repair some damaged concrete on the Lake Lawtonka dam, work estimated at $1.2 million.

In other business, the council is expected to make a final decision on whether they will continue to hold their twice-a-month regular meetings at 6 p.m., or return to the 2 p.m. time they had used for four years, before returning to evening sessions in August 2024.

Gill, who set the item for the agenda, said the council decision in early 2024 was to set a six-month trial period for 6 p.m. sessions, beginning in August 2024, then evaluate the results to determine if members wanted to stay with evening meetings. Mayor Stan Booker had said he wanted to return to evening meetings to encourage residential participation in meetings, and to make it easier for residents who might run for public office, but would be stymied by mid-afternoon meetings.

Council members also will look at an efficiency study from Emergency Services Consulting and decide whether the document fulfills the requirements they set.

The item was set for agenda by Booker and Ward 8 Councilman/Vice Mayor Randy Warren, who say the study fails to meet the council’s directive. The motion was to thoroughly exam operational efficiencies, identify potential cost savings and develop a comprehensive long-term plan that would enable Lawton to provide its firefighters with competitive wages and benefits, “without placing an undue tax burden on Lawton citizens.” Fire administrators have said they have problems retaining firefighters, in large part of better salaries elsewhere.

Warren and Booker said the study doesn’t provide the in-depth analysis the council needs to decide on key issues, including compensation, staffing needs and the feasibility of an ambulance service.