Mayor Stan Booker wants Lawton voters to extend the PROPEL CIP program for six more years and earmark some of the tax revenue for specific programs, such as street maintenance, water/sewer system repairs, economic/industrial development incentives, and a modern traffic signals system.
The Capital Improvement Program intended to “Propel Lawton to the Future” was launched four years ago. Lawton voters endorsed the proposal and it went into effect on April 1, 2020. The 2.125% sales tax has generated millions of dollars in revenue since then for myriad public projects.
“We’ve seen notable improvements in vital areas” such as water and sewer infrastructure, streets, the water park in Elmer Thomas Park and plans for the covered amphitheater and boardwalk in that park, the mayor said.
Investments “have poured into enhancing our parks, engaging youth through programs such as summer STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] camps and Arts for All Camp.”
The PROPEL CIP has been used “to attract industrial development” such as the FISTA Innovation Park downtown, “which is now paying dividends to the local economy in greater proportion than the costs and has brought $30 million to the community in state and federal investments.”
Booker contends that extending the initiative is “imperative”. PROPEL “has been the foundation of getting the community headed toward success, but more is needed,” he asserted.
The PROPEL CIP is slated to expire Dec. 31, 2034. The mayor wants to push it out for six more years, through 2040, and designate portions of the levy to specific projects.
Booker suggested that the City Council reach its decision on his proposal by May 28 and adopt a resolution by June 12 that would schedule a citywide election on extending the PROPEL CIP for Aug. 27.
“It’s crucial to address ongoing challenges, including the lack of capital funding for essential institutions” such as a new “animal welfare” building, the Museum of the Great Plains, converting the armory building on Cache Road into a community theater, remodeling the Central Fire Station, and perhaps utilizing the old Carnegie Library as a youth arts center. “These areas require attention, underscoring the need for continued planning and investment,” Booker said.
The armory and the Carnegie Library building, which was constructed in 1922 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are “treasures” that ought to be preserved, the mayor said.
A Guernsey representative delivered an analysis to the City Council on Feb. 12 in which the engineering, architectural and consulting company analyzed the Museum of the Great Plains and estimated it needs approximately $6 million in repairs. Extending the CIP “is the only way we can afford that project,” Booker told Southwest Ledger.
As an illustration, Phase 1 of the addition and renovation of the McMahon Auditorium will cost an estimated $8 million, and that project will be financed from a $30 million sales tax revenue note the City Council approved on March 12. The Lawton Industrial Development Authority will incur the debt and the city will earmark sales tax revenue to make the payments. The loan is scheduled to be retired on June 30, 2036, according to Caitlin Gatlin, the city’s communications manager.
Extending the PROPEL CIP could “provide funding for redevelopment projects aimed at rejuvenating neighborhoods,” and could “support efforts to enhance park amenities,” Booker said. “We need to invest in our parks,” he said, pointing out that “Altus has built a water park but we haven’t.”
Similarly, a key feature of the capital improvements plan voters approved in 2020 was a sports complex. That project was endorsed by a 2-to-1 margin, Booker recalled. However, the budget for that project was limited to $8 million and inflation has driven up material prices. “We need to correct that so the project can finally become a reality.”
More money for streets, D&D, sidewalks, golf course Extension of the CIP would “enable us to continue the ongoing task of street improvements vital for enhancing transportation efficiency and neighborhood appeal” Booker said. Broken Arrow has a quarter-cent sales tax earmarked for streets, he said. Lawton needs the same to “address streets we’re decades behind on.” He proposes an “indefinite” quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to street construction and maintenance.
The City Council has indicated it wants to accelerate the program to condemn and demolish dilapidated and dangerous structures throughout the city, and add dilapidated commercial buildings to what is now strictly a residential program. Costs in the D&D program “have risen,” Booker pointed out.
“We need to continue our sidewalk construction program, deferred maintenance issues need to be addressed, and the municipal golf course hasn’t received any major funding in several years.”
Booker proposed a facility in Lawton similar to the Science Museum in Oklahoma City and the Discovery Lab in Tulsa, which is described as “a place where kids and their families can make, learn, explore, and design things using real stuff in new and different ways.”
Lawton ought to have a sexual assault and domestic violence resource center similar to the Palomar family justice center in Oklahoma City, the mayor believes.
The City of Lawton needs to devote funds to “crime fighting technology that would enable our limited number of officers to do everything they can to solve and prevent crimes.” The LPD is authorized 176 sworn officers but has 161 “on paper,” Public Information Officer Christopher Blessing told Southwest Ledger last week. Six of those recruits are attending the state’s law enforcement training academy, he said.
Lawton/Fort Sill Regional Airport needs a foam fire truck, and Lawton should have funds available for incentives to promote job growth and industrial development, such as FISTA, Booker said.
Councilman Randy Warren suggested recently that Lawton also needs “a modern storm siren system citywide that can be heard in your home.”
Modernize Lawton’s traffic signals system And in a related matter, “We need to get our stop lights beyond the 19th century,” Booker quipped.
“Twenty years ago, the traffic lights were set at 36 miles per hour and you could travel all the way through town without stopping,” he recalled. “Now we have all this technology – yet we have trouble getting through three lights without having to stop.”
Modernizing traffic control equipment at intersections throughout town would command a price tag of approximately $34 million, a consultant informed the City Council earlier this year.
B.J. Hawkins, a principal in Traffic Engineering Consultants based in Oklahoma City, presented an informational report on a pilot project TEC performed that focused on the five intersections along Gore between Second Street and Lawrie Tatum Road.
The signals at Second and at Railroad streets “are not operating as efficiently as needed,” Hawkins said. The signals for the eastbound and westbound ramps to Interstate 44 are “outdated,” he said; new signals and a modern signal cabinet are needed there.
And what were intended to be “temporary” traffic signals at Lawrie Tatum Road were installed approximately two decades ago, Hawkins related. Consequently, they cause “poor traffic operation” and ought to be replaced with new equipment, he recommended.
TEC counted 86 signalized intersections in Lawton, and they are operated with 10 different models of controllers and seven different vehicle detection types, he said. Some traffic signals use arrows to direct motorists, while others employ colored balls.
“It’s less costly to maintain when you use just one system,” Councilman Randy Warren noted.
Most of the traffic signal equipment in Lawton is “out of date,” Hawkins reported. However, “You don’t need to replace the poles everywhere.”
During TEC’s research, “We looked at Rogers Lane, Gore Boulevard, Cache Road and Lee Boulevard,” he said. Cache and Gore have 15 signalized intersections each; Lee Boulevard, 14; and Rogers Lane, seven. Replacing the traffic control equipment at those 51 intersections would cost about $20 million, TEC estimated.