Lawton City Council to receive update on public access policy

City Council members will receive an update today on its new Lawton City Hall public access policy, including action early Monday to drop a requirement that all visitors must show photo identification.

City officials announced the new photo identification mandate last week, saying it was part of efforts to make city government’s primary facility safer for staff after recent incidents of disruptive behavior by visitors. While the city has required visitors to go through security screening for some time, officials added a requirement in July that visitors must sign a log with their names, the time they enter the building and their destination.

But Interim City Manager John Ratliff said some visitors were signing fake names, the reason city officials decided last week to start requiring visitors to show valid photo identification. The mandate drew immediate fire from residents. Early Monday, city officials said they were dropping the mandate, as well as the requirement to sign the log.

Other aspects of the security procedure remain in place, including the requirement to go through screening in the building’s lobby while submitting bags and other carried-in materials to visual inspections. The policy also continues to specify that visitors may be escorted to their destinations; that appointments are preferred for visits with some city personnel, including administrators and elected officials; and that in-person meetings may be denied in favor of email or phone discussions. Visitors who don’t follow the rules may be escorted from the building or prohibited entry except to attend public meetings.

Council members also was slated to be one of three entities meeting on an agreement with Westwin Elements, which announced plans late last year to build a cobalt/nickel refinery in southwest Lawton south of the west industrial park. The agreement was approved in February to set the terms of a $10 million incentive package the City of Lawton agreed to as the community’s effort to bring the entity to Lawton (the agreement also specified $7.5 million in public utility improvements). Council members had been slated to discuss amendment to the agreement, but Mayor Stan Booker said Monday that the item wouldn’t be on the agenda.

In addition, the Lawton Economic Development Corporation also struck the item from its agenda on Monday, while the Lawton Economic Development Authority (LEDA) cancelled plans to hold a meeting on the issue.

The agreement specified things Westwin had to do to win that funding and improvements, including creation of 2,335 new jobs. It also set a timeline for movement in the development, to include that within 180 days of full execution of the agreement, the redeveloper must provide proof of $126 million in financing from third-party sources for the $150 million Phase I. Construction on Phase I must begin on or before Dec. 31, 2023, and be put into service no later than 18 months from the commencement date or Dec. 31, 2024, whichever is later.

The council agenda commentary notes that “certain terms and conditions of the agreement have not been fulfilled as anticipated” and that has created the need to amend the existing term sheet. A revised set of terms and conditions has been proposed, but those details were not included in today’s council agenda packet.