The Lawton City Council voted recently to settle a negligence lawsuit that was filed almost three years ago, and hopes to renegotiate a settlement agreement that resolved a lawsuit the federal government filed against the city 42 years ago over some tribal land.
After a closed-door executive session Feb. 11, the council authorized City Attorney John Andrew to pay $45,000 to resolve a personal injury lawsuit that Donna L. Raite filed in Comanche County District Court on April 19, 2022, against the City of Lawton and its Public Works Administration.
In executive session the council also discussed the City of Lawton’s seven foreclosure actions pending in Comanche County District Court against the now defunct Great Plains Improvement Foundation. Afterward the council took no action.
During a review it was discovered that properties restricted by City of Lawton liens, including those tied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Program, were sold to an investor without the city’s knowledge or consent. This transaction violated program requirements and has triggered compliance issues with HUD.
Efforts are underway to ensure accountability, recover funds, and minimize the potential impact on Lawton’s affordable housing initiatives, City Manager John Ratliff said.
After emerging from a closed-door executive session Jan. 28, the City Council instructed Ratliff to direct the city’s Finance Department to transfer $484,423 from the General Fund to the appropriate Housing Fund and to notify HUD that the funds would be transferred “within the next 60 days.”
The Great Plains Improvement Foundation closed its doors July 15, 2024, and dissolved soon after.
In a related matter, the council took no action after discussing a pending investigation into Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds.
Another issue the council members discussed in executive session was a settlement agreement negotiated approximately 40 years ago to resolve a lawsuit the United States filed against the City of Lawton over some tribal land that now lies beneath the waters of Lake Lawtonka.
The federal government – acting on behalf of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribes – sued the City of Lawton in 1982 to recover a tract of land inundated for more than 70 years. The land in question is believed to be approximately 10 acres, City Attorney John Andrew told Southwest Ledger.
Lawtonka, one of three reservoirs that comprise Lawton’s municipal water supply system, was built in 1905 and is the oldest manmade lake in Oklahoma.
The federal government claimed the city had illegally trespassed on the land since 1952, when Lawton “raised the height of the dam behind which the waters of Lake Lawtonka are stored.” The disputed property subsequently flooded, which constituted an illegal trespass, government attorneys alleged in the lawsuit.
The land was part of the “articles of agreement” entered into by the federal government and the tribes in 1892. As part of that agreement, the tribes ceded the disputed land to the government; in turn, the government restored the property to tribal ownership in 1966.
The City of Lawton has made several payments to the tribes as compensation for the flooded property. “Our last check cleared in 2008 but the federal government sent us a refund check in 2010,” Andrew said. However, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs “claims that the KCA hasn’t been paid since 2001.”
The City of Lawton is “trying to negotiate a new lease under the settlement agreement,” Andrew said.