The City of Lawton intends to finance initial design costs of the Elmer Thomas Park Boardwalk and Amphitheater projects with General Fund revenues that will be reimbursed with proceeds from the sale of bonds.
The Lawton Industrial Development Authority will issue up to $60 million in revenue bonds “to cover the Elmer Thomas Park boardwalk and amphitheater projects and several other projects,” Deputy City Manager Dewayne Burk said. The city “will utilize existing General Fund revenue to move forward with funding the initial design costs” of the two park projects,” he said.
Thus, a resolution the City Council approved unanimously Feb. 11 “allows us to reimburse the city’s General Fund with Capital Improvements Program (CIP) funding” derived from sales tax receipts.
Approximately $2.75 million is available in the General Fund now, “but we can’t move forward until the scope of those projects is finalized,” Burk told LIDA. “That’s why we need to sell those bonds.”
The Lawton Youth Sports Complex was initially included, too, but that was postponed.
The Lawton Youth Sports Authority plans to expand the scope of that project from an indoor sports facility to an entire sports complex, complete with outdoor multipurpose fields, “which will come with a much higher price tag,” Burk said.
Because LYSA’s plans have not been officially approved by the City Council, “the scope of the project remains uncertain,” he said. “Therefore, it would be premature to move forward with the funding until the project has been blessed” by the City Council.
“Our intent is to bring the youth sports complex project back at a later date,” Burk told the council.
A related project – construction of a 42,200 square-foot, $19 million aquatic center in Elmer Thomas Park – is underway, financed with unbudgeted revenue from PROPEL 2019. City officials hope the aquatic center is finished in time for the Freedom Festival this summer.
Besides the boardwalk and amphitheater, the bonds sold by LIDA are to finance several other projects that were listed in the PROPEL 2040 extension voters approved on Aug. 27, 2024.
Those included repairs to the Great Plains Museum, repairs to the public library’s roof, Police Department technology upgrades, a Fire Department alert system, structural repairs to the dome on City Hall, additional park improvements, plus animal shelter and dog parks construction, remodeling, acquisition, and/or improvements.
PROPEL 2040 is a six-year extension of PROPEL 2019.
It designates a penny of the 2.125% CIP sales tax for three specific areas: one-half cent for water and sewer infrastructure, one-quarter cent for parks, and a quarter-cent for streets and bridges.
That penny excise tax would be “permanent for an indefinite period” unless Lawton voters repeal it.
PROPEL 2019 was a 15year levy that Lawton voters approved on Feb. 11, 2020, and was due to expire on New Year’s Eve 2034. PROPEL 2040 extended the expiration date to Dec. 31, 2040.
City officials anticipate the sales tax will generate $34 million annually – $204 million during the six-year term of the levy plus a projected 3% yearly increase.