A contract supplement with WSB Consulting for “continued service” on Lawton’s pavement maintenance program for two more months was approved recently by the City Council.
The original task order for services provided by WSB estimated the value of their services at $834,684, Public Works Director Michael Watrous related. However, he told Southwest Ledger, “Projections show that, until the supplement passed, costs would have been at or near the $834K initially at the end of this month, leaving May and June unfunded.”
The $207,871 supplement will finance WSB’s “continued services” through Fiscal Year 2025, which ends on June 30.
If the council had not authorized the supplement, WSB would not have been funded to manage the 38th Street project.
T&G Construction of Lawton won a $4.349 million contract March 25 to rehabilitate the mile-long section of 38th Street between Gore and Lee boulevards. T&G’s bid was 22.8% lower than the engineer’s $5.635 million estimate.
That project is “ready to go,” Councilman George Gill told the Ledger on April 23. “The contract has been signed and we’ve put up detour signs” to redirect traffic through the area. However, he said, the city was awaiting a wastewater permit from the state Department of Environmental Quality for proper management of runoff water during construction.
The 38th Street job will be financed with ad valorem tax receipts, city records reflect.
Research WSB provided on the “105 in ’25” mill-andasphalt- overlay program was included in the FY 2025 funding. However, the cost for them overseeing that program “will come from next year’s funding, as that project will likely not start until then,” Watrous said.
The “105 in ’25” street repair program probably won’t start “until the July-August time frame,” said Gill, chairman of the city’s Streets and Bridges Committee. “We’re waiting for the money to be appropriated” before starting construction.
Instead of financing those projects directly with revenue from the city’s General Fund, the City Council intends to borrow the money, said Gill and City Manager John Ratliff. Borrowing will “ease the burden on our city budget,” the councilman said.
Chris Serrano, director of municipal services for WSB engineering consultants, wrote that in accordance with their contract, the company’s staff “will oversee all aspects of maintaining” Lawton’s roadways and pavement.
That includes “coordinating resources, planning and initiating projects, developing maintenance plans, estimating project costs, overseeing contractor performance, managing contract changes, and ensuring compliance with city standards and regulations.”