Lawton voters to decide ad valorem proposal; Wards 7 and 8 to choose council members

Lawton voters will decide Tuesday whether they want to extend the existing Ad Valorem Streets Improvement Program for another 10 years.

And residents in south and west Lawton will decide who will represent them as the Ward 7 and Ward 8 City Council members.

Council members and Mayor Stan Booker have been discussing the need to expand City of Lawton efforts to repair or replace its deteriorating roads, and they say the $60 million expected to be generated by the ad valorem program extension will let them to do that. As written, the ballot proposition limits that revenue to roads, bridges, and the right of way and city infrastructure adjacent to or under those roads and bridges. A ballot resolution already approved by the council designates $37 million to roads, to include five specific projects; and $23 million to 13 bridge projects.

While city staff still is analyzing the five identified road projects to help decide which would be the top priority, Booker said the council and city staff already know what Priority One is for the bridge funding. Those two sets of bridges — on South 11th Street between the city landfill and Interstate 44, and Cache Road between Oak Avenue and Northwest 44th Street — are among the strongest reasons to vote yes, city officials said.

“We have to address our critical bridges,” Booker said. “We are already having to divert heavy traffic because of the issues. Additional bridges will be addressed on a less urgent schedule, but first and foremost, we need to repair the South 11th Street bridges south of I-44 and the Cache Road bridges west of 38th Street.”

City officials say both sets of bridges have been weight-restricted because of severe deterioration. That has forced the city to reroute trash trucks taking debris in the city landfill and find new ways to get fire trucks into areas adjacent to the Cache Road bridges. Booker said it’s important residents support the new plan.

“If voters don’t support the idea, I foresee a discussion from City Council and it could possibly be sent back to the citizens at the next available municipal election date,” Booker said.

As with the original ad valorem program passed by voters in 2017, the extension would keep the City of Lawton’s annual portion of ad valorem taxes at 10.5 mills, meaning there would be no increase in property taxes. City officials would determine how much ad valorem revenue they need each year to cover debt service; the difference between what is needed and what property taxes generate will be dedicated to the street and bridge program, as it is now.

City Engineer Joseph Painter and Streets Superintendent Cliff Haggenmiller have said it is likely priorities will change over the years, as streets and bridges are analyzed to determine the effects of weather and the area’s clay soil. The ballot proposition gives the city’s governing body (the council) the right to prioritize projects “from time to time. …”

While the ad valorem extension is open to all registered voters in Lawton, only residents in Wards 7 and 8 may participate in the elections to select council representatives for a new three-year term. Incumbent Ward 7 Councilwoman Onreka Johnson and incumbent Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren are seeking re-election.

Johnson has three challengers: Cindy Edgar, Christal Thompkins and Sherene L. Williams. Warren has two challengers: Carolyn Marie Shyne and Malden Smith.

Candidates must win 50 percent plus one of the votes cast in the primary to win outright. Otherwise, the top two candidates, in terms of votes received, will proceed to a Nov. 14 runoff election. The winners of the Wards 7 and 8 races will be sworn into office Jan. 8, along with Ward 6 Councilman Robert Weger. Weger had one opponent after filings were completed in July, but the Comanche County Election Board ruled Jacobi Crowley was ineligible to run for office because he had not been a registered voter at his address in Ward 6 for the six-month period specified in city charter.