Lawton City Council trims costs from aquatics center project

City Council members formalized their decision to trim costs in Lawton’s new aquatics center project, voting Tuesday to change two construction components that will drop the total contract by more than $700,000.

Miller-Tippens Construction was selected this summer to build a new water recreation complex in the center of Elmer Thomas Park, near other family-friendly features such as Playground in the Park and the splash park. When awarding the contract, council members made it clear they wanted the park open to the public by July 4, 2025, meaning construction was expected to begin quickly. While some site work has been done in recent weeks, construction is waiting on various actions, including decisions on how to trim the original $19.9 million cost.

City engineers and the contractor used a process called value engineering, identifying work categories that could be changed or deleted to save money, which is how they came up with two changes calculated to save $705,049: removing much of the parking lot work and changing framing for the concessions stand to wood.

Council members actually indicated their approval of those changes at their Oct. 8 meeting, but delayed a final vote until city staff specified exactly what Miller-Tippens would do in the parking lot. The parking space will be graveled, but the work to stabilize the site, do curb and gutter and pave will be bid as a separate contract, said Interim City Engineer Mike Jones, for an estimated savings of $644,544. Scott Vaughn, project engineer, said all parking lots will be paved, just not as part of the Miller-Tippens contract.

The decision to use insulated wood stud interior walls for framing the concession stand, rather than precast masonry units, will save $60,505. The projected savings will take Miller-Tippens’ price to $19,194,951.

Two other potential savings still are being evaluated: eliminating air conditioning from the restrooms/changing rooms, and changing building pad requirements based on existing soil condition. While neither decision has been made, engineers say two borings indicated “favorable conditions” with existing soil because its potential vertical rise (how much soil can swell when exposed to water) would allow contractors to use existing soil rather than bringing in new soil. Vaughn said contractors typically excavate soil from a work site to a specific depth, then bring in select fill (a more stable soil). Boring samples indicate that may not be necessary here, he said.

We won’t know until he starts excavating,” Vaughn said.

The proposal to eliminate air conditioning, still being evaluated, has drawn mixed reviews from the council, with several saying they don’t like the idea of leaving that part of the facility without air conditioning in an Oklahoma summer. Council members said some constituents have expressed the same concerns.

The completed aquatics center will feature pools, diving boards and water slides, a lazy river, a bathhouse/restroom, concession stand and parking.