A special meeting today of the City Council will allow that body to formally launch a new round of street repair projects while also providing input into a long-range plan that controls development in the community.
The meeting, which will begin at 2 p.m. in the auditorium of Lawton City Hall, will let the council put a formal end to the first “Ten Wins” mill and overlay street work, then approve the formal contract for a new set of streets.
The final change order with Ellsworth Construction of Oklahoma City ends a contract that is cited by council members as an illustration of a successful plan to upgrade city streets through a process that grinds off the top layer of asphalt, then replaces it with new asphalt. The result is at least five more years of life for that street, which city engineers say will allow a greater number of streets to be upgraded for far less than the cost of a complete rebuild.
Ellsworth was selected as the contractor for the first 10 streets, and that firm completed its $1.55 million contract 18 days ahead of schedule, Public Works Director Larry Wolcott said. Council action today includes approval of a final change order that reduces the original contract price by $34,826.14.
Following that action, the council is set to formally award a construction contract for the next set of streets to T&G Construction, Lawton, a $5.102 million contract members decided on in March. The new 120-day contract will focus on mill and overlay, street striping and some structural patching, just as Ellsworth did with its set.
Council members also will participate in a process that members of the City Planning Commission tackled on Wednesday: creation of the 2050 Land Use Plan. The document outlines development and zoning plans for all property within the city limits through the year 2050. While city charter specifies an update of the plan every five years, that hasn’t been done since the 2030 plan was crafted in 2008, because of staffing issues.
Today’s meeting will allow city planning staff and consulting engineers Garver LLC to review the scope of the work and project goals, Community Services Director Charlotte Brown said in her agenda commentary. They also expect to collect feedback on community issues “that should be addressed through the plan.”
The Land Use Plan touches on a variety of issues that influence or will be influenced by development, to include housing, infrastructure (water, sewer, solid waste collection, transportation, open space and recreation), environment, areas of special treatment, land use supply and demand, and patterns for compatible land uses.
State law specifies the plan must address specific goals, to include: lessening congestion on streets, prevent overcrowding of land and undue concentration of population, promote historical preservation, and facilitate adequate provisions for transportation, water, sewer, schools and parks.