The Downtown Master Plan (DMP) is moving closer to being approved and implemented. At the Community and Economic Development committee meeting on Monday evening, Urban Development Director Nikki Howard discussed also using planning consultants Ochsner Hare & Hare for the design and engineering services for the DMP West Alley Enhancement Project, which will be one of the first pieces of the plan to be executed. It “would be nice to continue working with them,” said Howard.
City Attorney David Widdoes said that he and City Manager Joan Riley “talked about going out for proposals [from other firms], but we’re so impressed and satisfied with OHH. They make the logical sense to be the ones to do it.”
Howard and Widdoes said there are a multitude of reasons why they would like to use OHH for this part of the plan. “Not every project stays on the timeline, but this one has,” said Howard. Additionally, “they’re familiar with the area, they have a Tulsa office” which houses their engineering team, and the scope they’ve provided the City includes “all the geotechnical work,” such as geology, hydrology, and stormwater studies. This “will be a good test to see if we want to work with them” for more of the project, said Widdoes.
He told the Committee that OHH has not given the City a contract or agreement yet, so the cost is yet-to-be-determined. “We’ll get the numbers before we take it to council,” said Widdoes. He hopes it will be soon, as the goal is to complete this component of the alleyway project before April of next year. The design and engineering work itself would “take until December, if they start” next week, Widdoes and Howared said.
Howard said that the Alley Enhancement Project, one of the “top priority projects” of the DMP, involves the “improvement of the alley between Water and Park Streets and Lee and Dewey Avenues.” It will be “closed to vehicle traffic, so [will be for] pedestrian use only.”
Widdoes said that current plans are “for conceptual design only” as the City, engineers, and local businesses “take into consideration a lot of factors.” City Councilor and CED Committee Member Hugo Naifeh told Sapulpa Times that “plans are still in negotiation with the consultants” and that he is “looking forward to [the plan’s implementation, as] no one else [nearby] has anything like it.”
Another exciting part of the DMP involves naming the district. Similar to Oklahoma City’s “Bricktown,” Broken Arrow’s “Rose District,” Tulsa’s “Blue Dome District,” “Pearl District,” or “Brady District,” Downtown Sapulpa will also have a special moniker.
Howard said that OHH “will do a marketing plan through social media, the DMP website, and the email list of over 300 people who have registered” on the website to determine the best possible name.
Howard said that the plan will be up for the Planning Commission’s recommendation for approval on May 25th and will go to the full City Council for its approval on June 21st.
The budget for abated properties may be increased next fiscal year. At the CED meeting, several code enforcement issues were raised and 6 abated properties were discussed. Building Inspector Mark Stephens went over the costs of abatements—the cleanup of junk, trash and debris, lawn services, property maintenance, security, demolition costs, legal costs, lien placements, and other budgetary issues.
Stephens reported that one recent demolition project cost twice the amount of the total annual abatement budget. Though the City is able to recoup some of those funds from the foreclosure process, among other ways, it still lacks the budget to manage all of them.
Naifeh said, “We have a small budget for abatements. It’s really nothing…We need to budget more money in that area and it sounds like we’re going to do that.”
Vice Mayor Carla Gunn gave updates on the Booker T. Washington Recreation Center project. She said the Steering Committee last met April 22nd, the night of the most recent Open House, and that Barker, Rinker, and Seacat, the planning consultants for the project, created three funding options from which to choose. Gunn said it appears that the Steering Committee, Open House attendees, and survey participants are “all going in the same direction,” choosing the option that includes “two gyms and an event center that would hold almost 300 people and could be used for parties, conferences, and various programs.”
Gunn reported that BRS is working on a pro forma that they will present to City Council in the next few months. Included in the pro forma numbers will be estimated AAU tournament revenue that SHS basketball Coach Rick Bruner, Jr. and Athletic Director Mike Rose are currently researching and calculating.
