LAWTON – The Lawton Youth Sports Authority has a new deadline for closing on the sale of property for the city’s indoor youth sports complex.
The authority voted 6-0 Sept. 12 to move the deadline from Sept. 30 to Oct. 11, the day after the authority’s next regularly scheduled meeting. The deadline had already been extended three times so the board could clean up title issues associated with the two properties involved in the transaction.
Chairman Brian Henry requested the extension, which will give the authority additional time to finalize the documents needed for a clear title to the property. He added that the authority also needs to finish obtaining permission from the owners’ heirs for the sale.
“There was some hesitation from one of the beneficiaries, apparently,” Henry said. “According to the attorneys, they’ve gotten past that.”
Henry said the owners’ relatives, who need to sign those documents, are scattered across the country. He said he has heard that one of the heirs was physically taking the documents to the next relative for their signature.
Finalizing the contract for one of the properties was complicated by the recent death of Dr. Mickey Cooper, the husband of property owner Donna Richards Cooper. However, Donna Cooper retains clear title to that land, and that issue should be resolved once Mickey Cooper’s death certificate is issued.
“My understanding is once they receive a death certificate, his signature is not required,” Henry said.
In March, the authority voted to buy nearly 85 acres of land on the southwest corner of East Gore Boulevard and Southeast 45th Street for the youth sports complex. The Frank L. Richards 1992 Revocable Living Trust owns 47.4 acres of the property.
Richards’ widow, Donna Cooper, and her late husband, Dr. Mickey Cooper, own the remaining 37.59 acres.
The authority has one purchase contract for the Richards Trust property and a second contract for the Coopers’ property. The board agreed to pay $495,000 for the Richards Trust property and $505,000 for the Coopers’ land, for a total of $1 million.