Proposals to require all pets in Lawton to be microchipped and to resolve traffic flow problems on Gore Boulevard will top the agenda when City Council meets today.
The pet bill, initiated by Police Chief James Smith, asks the council to discuss establishing an ordinance requiring all dogs and cats within Lawton to be microchipped as a way to help return them to their owners when pets are lost. City code already requires all pets to be registered with the City of Lawton.
This proposal would follow the same line, with both intended to help control animals that run free. The city’s animal control division says its officers (who work under the auspices of the Lawton Police Department) frequently come into contact with unidentified animals, meaning the animal welfare division has no way of locating their owners.
According to city staff, a study by the American Veterinary Medical Association shows that a higher percentage of stray animals with microchips are returned to their owners. Requiring Lawton homeowners to do the same would ensure that more of those who were picked up return home. National statistics show that the cost of microchipping pets ranges from $25 to $60. According to the american kennel clubb, The microchip is inserted under the loose skin between the pet’s shoulder blades, a procedure they say is no more invasive than a vaccination. The code on that chip is registered to the owner and when the pet is scanned, the registered owner’s information is available.
Council members will also discuss a study they conducted earlier this year to help resolve traffic congestion on Gore Boulevard between Northwest/Southwest 2nd Street and Lawrie Tatum Road.
The issue is actually one that city officials, particularly those associated with East Lawton, have discussed for years. The council’s discussion in February and March focused on whether there is a need for a traffic light at the intersection of East Gore Boulevard and Lawrie Tatum Road (north) and the Comanche Casino/Best Western driveway (south). That’s not a new problem either. Council members said the light, placed in 2006 as a cooperative venture between the city of Lawton and the Comanche Nation, would be temporary, with the Comanche Nation to install new signs 700 feet east of the current location.
City officials have said a series of lights between Northwest/Southwest 2nd Street on the west and Lawrie Tatum Road on the east (which also includes two that control traffic on the Interstate 44 overpass) have hampered flow. of eastbound traffic from Lawton, particularly at rush hour. . Traffic Engineering Consultants Inc.’s presentation will include recommendations for improving traffic flow.
In other business, the council will consider a new agreement with Garver LLC, to draw up design plans for water lines to serve the Westwin Elements complex in southwest Lawton. That complex is expected to be a $450 million cobalt-nickel refinery located on 480 acres south of West Lee Boulevard and west of Goodyear Boulevard.
Under a local funding agreement signed by the council earlier this year, the city has agreed to provide infrastructure for the site, to include water lines. This $328,500 agreement with longtime contract designer Garver specifies initial designs for Phase I, 7,500 feet of 12- to 20-inch water main from Lee Boulevard south along Southwest 97th Street to Bishop Road , then west 1/2 mile to the southeast corner of the Westwin lot. Phase II will have 18,000 feet of main from that point on Bishop Road west to Southwest 112th Street, then north to Lee Boulevard to return to Southwest 97th Street.
Design plans would begin after Westwin Elements “has signed a binding commitment or as directed by the City Council,” according to the agenda comment. City officials said the main extension for that industrial stretch would be needed “even if this project doesn’t go through.”
Council members will also decide on a rezoning that proved unpopular with adjacent residents when it went before the City’s Planning Commission in March.
The application is a permitted use under review that would allow an autism and behavioral services medical center to be located in a residential structure at 502 Fort Sill Boulevard, in a stable residential neighborhood. Residents who opposed the proposal say the house is located along a busy artery that could pose a hazard to young people using the facilities if they go outside, and that there is not enough parking to accommodate the use. Sixteen homeowners within 300 feet of the home have signed a petition in opposition.
Supporters said the facility would provide a home-style treatment site for children with autism. Parking only needs to be enough for staff because parents would stay just long enough to drop off their children and then pick them up when their session is over, according to supporters.
City planners said the parking identified in the site plan is insufficient; City code requires 11 parking spaces, when only one and one driveway are shown.