The City of Sapulpa is making progress on several projects around the area, with several GO Bond projects steadily approaching completion. Fire Station No. 3 has had the steel erected, and is reported to be ahead of schedule by about thirty days. The projected completion date for the fire station was mid-October, but right now the estimated date is around September 9th or 10th. The project lost about three days due to the inclement weather, along with some anchor bolt issues, but the bolts were worked out by engineering. There’s now an on-site crane to put up tresses and stairwells. There will also be a fire pole in the fire station, with plenty of safety standards meaning it’s not just a hole in the ground. There will be a platform that responds to pressure, and a switch that once flipped will drop the floor out to allow the user to then slide down the pole. Currently, the project is under budget through the use of value engineering, but generator costs are steadily rising. Despite having already bought a natural gas generator for the facility, the final price might continue to rise as generators are a hot commodity and behind on manufacturing causing a delay.
On the urban development side, presented by Nikki Howard the Urban Development Director, the Rosewood Edition located on Mancove in Sapulpa, has seven of the seventeen residential lots under construction. Northwest of E Thompson are the Mayfield Estates, of which seven houses out of the eleven or twelve have already been constructed. The Timbers Apartments on 117 by the Sapulpa Walmart are constructing a new building with 48 units, bringing their grand total to 204. It is reported the apartments are at capacity and have a lengthy waitlist, the hope is this new building will ease the wait. The new apartments on Highway 66 and Creek Turnpike have had their designs approved, and is projected to have 462 units. These apartments are owned by the same developer as the Timer Apartments, but some members of the city council are concerned about traffic along Highway 66 once the units are built.
Crossroads Cookery at 117 E Dewey is projected to open around the “1st of April-ish” according to the owners, and will have a coffee and ice cream bar as well as a restaurant gathering space, with plans to open up to the alley for additional seating. The TeePee Drive-In is also planning a possible soft opening in April for movies only. The restaurant is not expected to be completed until next year, but they plan to have food trucks and a temporary ‘fancy trailer’ of porta-potties for movie-goers.
Parks Director Carson Lynch provided updates on the Boyd Liberty Bathrooms, once again cursing the weather for causing delays. The ice and sleet maintenance has taken away from building the bathrooms. The city is responsible for putting down the foundational pad, which Lynch says is a huge cost saver by using local equipment rather than hiring in contractors that bring in big equipment. About 100 days from when the pad is built they can begin constructing the bathrooms. Rock Creek Trail’s budget numbers are reported to be ‘way out of line’ by Lynch, so they’ve turned in a new scope of the project and are one number away from having the new budget so the grant can be approved. Lynch says Oklahoma understands as this is a common issue across the state. The budget had to come down, but Lynch assures “it’s still a really good trail.” The trail will be 8 feet wide including bridges. Finally, the Lake Bathrooms, a bane to Lynch for about three months now. Lynch says he finally found bathrooms he believes would work best at the location: the same bathrooms Oklahoma is building in all state parks that were specially designed by an Oklahoma City-based company. “Truly, I think after looking at them at Lake Keystone, I think that’s best we can do for the price,” Lynch said. The bathrooms would have two handicapped-accessible bathrooms including a handicap shower and a non-handicap shower. “If you’ve got campers, that would serve all the needs,” Lynch concluded.
Joan Riley, Sapulpa city manager, spoke on the Ozark Trail connection off 117 and Highway 66 as well. Once the trail connection is approved, it would go for bid in March and be awarded by April. The project has a six-month construction timeframe. There have been negotiations between the city and the landowner concerning the one acre of property that is being cut off by the new road. The land is set to be purchased at fair market value of $100,000, and the city agreed to provide a new roadway to the owners’ remaining tracts once the access point is completed. The closing for the land is set for March 4th. The TeePee Drive-In, adjacent to the new planned Ozark Trail connection, will not have access on the Ozark Trail road. There is a temporary easement for access across the parking lot to eliminate the need to use the Rock Creek bridge. The Drive-in is reported to have the parking paved in such a way that the car will be at an incline, allowing a better view of the screen and not the car in front. Along 49th W Ave where they plan to put in a stoplight to ease the traffic accidents in the area, the city will have a legal meeting with the landowner for the right of way.
