SW Oklahoma ARPA Regional Alliance - City of Lawton

PROJECT PURPOSE

Elmer Thomas is a 180 acre Regional Park located just north Lawton's downtown. Already home to Lake Helen, the Museum of the Great Plains, the McMahon Auditorium and the Comanche Nation Museum, Elmer Thomas Park is well known as an important place for regional and state educational, recreational, and tourism activities. This project seeks to expand and improve tourism and livability within the region with the construction of a Youth Sports Complex which will include youth indoor soccer, basketball, volleyball, etc.; construction of an Amphitheater with Seating to host outdoor concerts and performances; the dredging of Lake Helen to improved biosphere and allow for water activities; the provision of improved Park Signage; establishment of a Memorial Area with Pads for future memorials and tributes; improvements to the interior Roadway, Bicycle/Pedestrian Paths and Restrooms; the construction of a Skate-park, Basketball Court and Accessible Playground to provide recreational activities for youth, teens, and disabled; improvements to the water, sewer, electrical, and broadband infrastructure within the park; important renovations to the McMahon Auditorium, including accessibility improvements that promote tourism through performing arts, concerts, graduations, etc.; renovation and repurposing of the historic National Guard Armory building to create a new home for the Lawton Community Theater, promoting tourism though performing arts; renovations to the Museum of The Great Plains, a museum of nationally recognized importance, promoting tourism and education; construction of Entry Arches at the three main points of access for the park; and resurfacing and restriping the existing parking areas within the park. These projects would have the affect of advancing Elmer Thomas Regional Park to a place for all aspects of education, recreation, artistic appreciation, and sport, making it a regional draw and supporting Fort Sill, and the economic development efforts of Lawton and our regional partners.

EVIDENCE

The economic impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic are still being felt in every community. Beyond the lost revenue and impact to tourism, our workforce has suffered and our costs to provide critical municipal services continues to increase. With this project, the scope of the services and recreations opportunities within Elmer Thomas Regional Park will touch every age group and demographic, every member of our community, and provide a safe location, with room to enjoy our community while respecting social distancing/personal space.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

While SWOK continues to work very hard to improve conditions for our citizens, we continue to struggle with poverty and decline. With 18.5% of our population in poverty and only 45% of our households in owner occupied homes. Our median household income of just less than $48,000 is more than 10% below the state. Lawton is a diverse, inclusive, and progressive community, but we lack the resources to create the kind of community improvement projects that can move us economically to the next level. SWOK has felt impact of the pandemic through stagnant municipal revenues and significantly increasing costs due to supply delays and labor shortage. Somewhat isolated from the region?s larger metropolitan communities, Lawton has seen our labor force slowly eroded through relocation to the larger cities that can provide more quality-of-life amenities. This project puts Lawton on equal footing with Bricktown in OKC and the Gathering Place in Tulsa. Quality of life should be for all communities.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The number of visitors to Elmer Thomas Park can be measured directly using traffic counters. In addition, many of the facilities within the park track usage and survey customers regarding their experience. The Chamber of Commerce routinely survey hotel patrons to measure their reasons for visiting our community and the places and services they incur.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma