Higher fees for School House Slough rentals among upgrades being discussed by Lawton City Council

Higher rents for those who lease space year-round are among the plans the City of Lawton is making for Lake Lawtonka’s largest concession area.

City Council members will look at those proposals today, actions that also include rejecting the lone bid to operate School House Slough in favor of separate proposals to operate the convenience store/fueling area and add wi-fi. Those provisions would include raising payments made for annual leases by 25 percent effective, Jan. 1, 2024, as part of a three-year plan to bring those lease payments to fair market value.

The action is part of a continuing discussion on School House Slough, which has been operated by the City of Lawton since the area’s long-time concessionaire ended his lease Dec. 31, 2022. The idea has been exploring ways to expand recreational opportunities at the lakes while also generating more revenue to pay for them.

Consultant Halff Associates made one proposal as it analyzed all recreational areas on both lakes, when analysis showed those who rent space for campers, trailers, boathouses, and dry and wet stalls were paying far less than fair market value. Its recommendation was to increase the fees paid by those who lease space for fulltime occupancy, and what the council will look at today is the first of that multi-year increase, or 25 percent more. The revenue generated there would be earmarked for use at city lakes, improving and maintaining lake recreation areas, under the staff’s proposal.

In a related proposal, city staff wants to look at a two-tier system that would differentiate between Lawton residents and non-residents, charging non-residents more. A recent analysis by city staff at School House Slough (where the majority of year-round occupancy occurs) found that only 40 percent of those occupants (127 out of 313) live within the Lawton city limits

There have been some questions about the proposals. Members of the Lakes and Land Commission, meeting last week, declined to support the increase unless there was a guarantee the revenue generated would be reinvested in the lakes. Commissioners also continue to support a plan to create a lake authority to oversee management and operation of lake concession areas, something they said could better address lake user concerns.

In separate lake-related items, the council is being asked to to seek proposals from firms interested in installing wi-fi at School House Slough and those who could repair and upgrade Lawtonka’s waterline infrastructure.

Acting as the Lawton Water Authority, council members will consider a staff recommendation to reject the lone bid offered by a Lawton businessman interested in assuming operations at the School House Slough. Scott James presented his offer earlier this summer, outlining a five-year plan to systematically upgrade the concession area while managing it. City staff has said they would rather break concession operations into separate actions, starting with the convenience store and lakeside fuel area. Those areas have not operated since 2022.

In other business, the council will consider a proposal from Mayor Stan Booker and Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren to craft a two-stage plan to upgrade city parks.

Phase 1 would designate $1 million worth of upgrades, to include playground equipment. A second stage would identify upgrades and repairs needed beyond that initial $1 million. Initial analysis already has identified $1.53 million in upgrades, most centered on new playground equipment and restrooms. City staff has outlined a priority list totaling $950,500 for those parks, to include Wayne Gilley, Panther, Mattie Beal, Gray Warr, George M. Lee and McMahon parks.