City of Ponca City

PROJECT PURPOSE

Phase II Lake Ponca Trails project includes construction of 2400 linear feet of new 10 foot wide concrete walking trails with a 12 foot wide, 270 feet long custom designed pedestrian bridge, trail head, asphalt parking lot, a pre-cast concrete restroom facility, bike racks, drinking fountail with spray mister, dog bowls and benches. This project will create healthy recreation and transportation opportunities providing our citizens, of all ages, attractive, safe, accessible and no cost places to cycle, walk, hike, jog or skate. Trails help people of all ages incorporate exercise into their daily routines. Our community will see a significant effect on public health and wellness by successfully completing this project. The trails system also helps our community conserve our green space. As tools for ecology and conservation, this trail project will help preserve important natural landscapes, as well as air and water quality. The economic benefit to the community will be achieved through tourism, events, urban redevelopment, community improvement, property values, health care savings, jobs and investment as well as general consumer spending. And last, but certainly not least is our community?s identity. This project can be source of community pride and highlights our beautiful Lake Ponca area which is a hub for all outdoor recreational activities, including boating, swimming, fishing, hiking and adds value to our overall quality of life.

EVIDENCE

The City of Ponca City Engineering Department will be responsible for the oversight of this project and will serve to provide necessary guidance, inspections, and other project validation goals. The Engineering Dept. goal will be to deliver a project that satisfies the City's desired outcomes and will be delivered within the desired scope of work, schedule and budget.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The City of Ponca City is a rural community located in North Central, Oklahoma. According to an Income Survey completed by the City of Ponca City in 2018 approximately 55% of the City's residents are low/moderate income according to HUD Income Guidelines for Kay County, Oklahoma. According to the Final Rule issued by US Treasury, any rural community that has a high concentration of poverty is considered to be "disproportionately impacted" by COVID-19 and thus eligible for additional considerations as to use of the ARPA funding. These negative economic impacts include significant impacts to children, low-income and minority students and the elderly in our community. Additionally, the pandemic's disproportionate economic impacts seen in Tribal communities (which Kay and Osage Counties have three tribal communities within its population) are at a significant risk. In April, 2020 Ponca City's unemployment rate was as high as 13.5%. Our community had 6 business closures that we are aware of and 285 persons laid, which is just a snapshot of what was happening in our community at a specific point in time. Many businesses have not fully recovered economically and the final impact of the pandemic is still unknown at this time.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The success of this project will be measured through 1. Schedule: insuring that the project is completed in a timely fashion; 2. Quality: is the project meeting all plan specifications, codes and construction quality standards; 3. Cost: is the project being completed within the budgeted amounts; 4. Stakeholder Satisfaction: Is the project being completed pursuant to the programmatic requirements set forth by the State; and 5. Benefits: Is the project being implemented and used by the community as projected. All these measurements will be completed during the implementation and completion of the project by the City of Ponca City professional staff.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

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