Mayor presents 6-part ‘Gamechanger Plan’
LAWTON- During his first State of the City address, Mayor Stan Booker highlighted the city’s accomplishments and discussed what is needed to strengthen Lawton’s infrastructure and economy.
The mayor thanked City employees, community members, and partnering organizations for their “support, dedication and benevolence,” adding, “Lawton is making tremendous progress – by way of projects and partnerships.” Among the accomplishments in infrastructure, Mayor Booker included work done at SE 45th Street, SW Bishop Road, and SW 52nd Street. Those projects totaled $11 million.
Also, by closely aligning with the city manager, crews have taken an 18-month backlog of sidewalk and street repairs and are “near zero.” Other prioritized projects undertaken by the City include overlay work in several residential areas and arterial roadways such as SW 17th and W. Gore Blvd. New actuated traffic signals have been installed at many in intersections to ease congestion, and more than 17,000 feet of sewer lines have also been replaced this year.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
As for the City’s digital transformation, Mayor Booker said it is in the works and when completed will include “all-inclusive access to digital platforms, remote desktop capabilities, the recent establishment of the iHelp Lawton online reporting system to allow City staff to provide the most effective services to citizens.”
He also discussed the importance of both community and expanded partnerships and collaboration with neighboring agencies and nonprofits throughout southwest Oklahoma. He then introduced a complex plan for FY 2020. “Our path forward is multi-faceted,” said the mayor. “But we can tackle every goal if we do it together. This requires unity, honesty, and transparency – the principles that make democracy thrive.”
‘GAMECHANGER’ PLAN
The six-part ‘gamechanger’ plan included:
• Reviewing and updating master plans to understand targets, objectives, and resources;
• Conducting an organizational assessment to gauge and comprehend the roles and responsibilities of each public servant;
• Progressing communitive tools to improve communication between city government and the citizens;
• Prioritizing emergency preparedness to deliver the best services and response in the event of a disaster – service members will undergo more frequent training in all divisions;
• Raising service standards to understand and implement best practices across the board;
• And build a new CIP program to address additional needs of the community.
Mayor Booker also reiterated that he does not want to raise taxes; the CIP program will just extend the taxes already being collected.
BEST DEFENSE COMMUNITY
While discussing the importance of the relationship between Lawton and Fort Sill regarding Lawton as the best defense community in the country, Bryson Panas, Southwest/Central Oklahoma Field Representative for U.S. Senator James M. Inhofe said, “I see the stars aligning for Fort Sill.”
With modernization at the forefront of defense, Panas mentioned the importance of establishing the Army’s Futures Command and the Long-Range Precision Fires programs at Fort Sill. “Long-Range Precision Fires is the number one priority and the spearhead of the Army’s Futures Command,” he added. Panas then reiterated Inhofe’s idea of “community support around any of our Oklahoma military installations across the state,” saying “That dynamic has existed for a long time and still does between Lawton, Fort Sill, and the surrounding communities.”
“The time to act is now,” Panas said. “Continue to look inward and identify the things you can do as a community to support the Army’s mission ... strengthen communication lines and partnerships” and “continue to support the soldiers and their families, hire or incentivize military spouses to seek employment while they’re here in Lawton and invest in education and those quality of life efforts.”
INFRASTRUCTURE
Major General Wilson A. Shoffner, Commanding General of the Fort Sill Fires Center of Excellence elaborated on the importance of developing the infrastructure, “even if its things like the sewer ... all of those directly benefit our families and service members,” he stated.
Along with the 6,000 civilian employees, Shoffner stated that 7,500 soldiers and 20,000 family members are at Fort Sill. He also added that 38,000 soldiers and officers and another 1,000 Army National Guardsmen travel to the base to receive annual training. “Because Fort Sill is one of four bases for boot camp, the Army has invested in infrastructure of Fort Sill to increase barrack space, so we have the capacity to grow should those decisions be made,” said Shoffner.
“We have the unique opportunity to grow high-tech jobs,” Mayor Booker added. “We may not see an opportunity like this again. People say that it’s risky to invest in the future. I would argue that it’s not to.”
AT A GLANCE: CITY OF LAWTON
LAWTON OKLAHOMA NATIONAL
Population 96,72 3,875,589 318,558,162
Pop.(sqmi) 1,194 55 91
Median age 30.7 36.2 37.7
The median home price for homes in Lawton is $106,800, 12% lower than the Oklahoma average.