LAWTON – Voters will be asked to approve an extension of a special sales tax later this month to foot the bill for a slew of capital improvements and quality of life projects.
Titled “PROPEL 2040,” the capital improvements plan will include improvements to streets and bridges, water and sewer lines, building renovations, public safety investments and a proposed facility for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs, among numerous other projects.
Voters will decide on Aug. 27 if the city will continue the tax past its expiration date in 2034 to 2040. As previously reported by Southwest Ledger, the extension would make one cent of the 2.125% CIP tax permanent in three categories: one-half cent for water and sewer, one-quarter cent for parks, and one-quarter cent for streets and bridges.
Mayor Stan Booker said despite the fact that the tax does not expire for another 10 years, now is the time to secure funding for additional needed projects.
“Things are costing a lot more than they did in 2019 when construction costs went crazy,” he said. “Prices don’t come down as fast as they go up.”
Booker said rising interest rates and inflation have aggravated construction costs. However, if interest rates fall, the city will be quick to refinance at lower rates and save money. He also said typically, the city’s sales tax income has been higher than forecasted but the plan will include a $17 million contingency if the forecast doesn’t ring true.
Since inflation began to balloon during the COVID-19, federal officials have considered lowering interest rates. Meanwhile economic experts’ quarterly forecast that the rate would fall have not materialized. Construction costs have steadily risen over the last four years, but a recent 0.9% drop in May is the first downtrend this year, according to Construction Drive. The drop has done little to chip away at the 2.1% higher prices from a year ago, the industry publication reported in June.
Come what may, Booker said the city constantly watches the rate and its bottom line.
“When we borrow money at higher rates, it’s typical for us to put it on a note that can be refinanced with the anticipation of a lower rate,” he said. “We watch and study the interest rates just like any good businessperson does. We make those decisions on good money management.”
The mayor also said “the community doesn’t want to wait.”
Polls show community support for the proposed capital improvement plan has swelled as high as 64%.
According to the city’s poll, conducted by national polling firm Victory Enterprises, 45% of Lawtonians ranked streets and traffic improvements as their top priority and 22% ranked high-wage jobs as the second.
No letters of protest nor a petition to overturn the council’s plan has been filed with the city clerk, Southwest Ledger learned Friday.
Community leaders also expressed support for the project, including Mike Brown, local business owner and civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army.
Brown said capital improvement plans are vital to help a community set goals for progress and prosperity.
“You take communities like Oklahoma City where they’ve had MAPS and all of these successes that Oklahoma City has enjoyed because people had vision and bought into it,” he said. “They understood that investment in the community spurs growth.”
Brown said he is excited that youth sports and infrastructure are priorities in the plan “to fix up our town” and the extension “will help with that greatly.”
Part of the plan’s extension will include other incomplete projects such as a $25 million new sports complex. Under the existing plan, the city has spent at least $64 million on water line replacement and rehabilitation projects with another $40 million under design.
The city also completed more than $2.8 million in street projects with more than $1.3 million in progress.
Krista Ratliff, president and CEO of FISTA Innovation Park, is particularly pleased with the plan’s efforts to include the proposed Discovery Lab, a $15 million interactive STEM facility for children and youth.
“With the investment in STEM education that the CIP is [proposed] to do, and investing in our youth, we hope that helps our youth to take advantage of that opportunity for education and STEM advancement and (they) can then find great-paying jobs here in Lawton,” Ratliff said.
She also said such amenities, and others provided in the plan, can go a long way to recruit and retain skilled technical engineers to increase economic development in the community.
Other large investments in the plan include $10 million earmarked for crime prevention via camera installation through the city and $4 million for the Victim Resource Center. The funds will help the center with annual operations, possibly construction of a headquarters or to assist in obtaining grants.
For new automated traffic control equipment, $10 million will be set aside in the plan. Another $7 million will remove condemned property and $25 million to establish a residential redevelopment fund. Demolition and new construction projects around both Lake Ellsworth and Lake Lawtonka are budgeted for $400,000, Southwest Ledger previously reported.
Historic building repairs and renovations at Amory Community Theatre, Carnegie Library and the McMahon Auditorium are expected to cost $13 million.
More than $5 million will be set aside for juvenile programs including art camps and outreach programs for at-risk youth.
The Lawton Area Transportation System will get a $3 million cash boost for equipment and capital needs. Sidewalk improvements will total $4 million and include $1 million for compliance to the American with Disabilities Act.
For all other improvements, and a list of outstanding projects that will continue from the 2019 plan, visit https:// www.lawtonok.gov/residents/ propel-cip.