Tuesday, September 14th
(09-14-21). In order to vote in the upcoming election you ll have to be registered to vote by the
Friday, August 20th
(08-20-21) deadline or you ll have to sit this one out. Make sure you re registered to vote and know which polling station you need to report to. But, what if you re wanting to run for office? Well the City of Lawton just posted a video that answers a lot of the questions you may have about becoming an elected public official and the steps you ll need to take to get there.
Here s your chance if you ve ever considered running for a city office. Over the past year or so there s been a lot of complaints and at times complements for our current Mayor and City Council members. From how the COVID-19 pandemic was handled to the city s spending habits with the CIP
What New Stores Would You Like to See at the Central Mall?
Capitol Improvement Program) funds. The ideal behind it was to use empty space in the mall to house the FISTA
(FIRES Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator) project. Both the old Sears and Dillard s locations in the Central Mall are currently empty. They will be remodeled and repurposed for military contractors that will be a part of the FISTA project. The remaining space will be used for retailers.
Last week the Lawton City Council met to discuss the current situation at the Central Mall. They talked over marketing and ways the city could encourage new businesses to move to Lawton and open up in the mall. One idea the council is considering is to hire a marketing company out of Moore, OK. called Freestyle Creative to help re-brand the mall and assist in attracting new businesses. It s still being considered, but the council wants more details as the price tag to hire Freestyle creative is
Once a Week Trash Pick Up in Lawton Starts April 5th
Monday, April 5th
(04-05-21). The City of Lawton and City Council made the decision to go to once a week residential trash pick up awhile back at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic due to expected budget shortfalls, but delayed action until now. Originally it was suppose to happen back in October of 2020 or at least that was the target date. However, the city had to prepare for this change and ensure solid waste collection was prepared as well.
As you can imagine this decision isn t a popular one and most citizens are very upset at Lawton going from twice a week, to once a week residential trash collection. It may have been an easier pill to swallow if the city hadn t just blown 14.6 million dollars on the Central Mall purchase. That s not even counting the millions more to fix it up and renovate it for their pet FISTA project. Another unpopular decision made by the council.
City of Lawton Has Purchased The Central Mall
(FIRES Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator) project. The Lawton City Council met last Friday (12-18-20) in a special session to finalize the purchase of the mall at a price tag of
14.6 MILLION! They ll be closing on it
(01-05-21).
A few months ago it was announced that the FISTA program would be located in the old Sears space in the Central Mall, click here for all the details. The LEDC
(Lawton Economic Development Corporation) switched locations. Originally FISTA was to be housed at the old Fairmont Creamery building. After the deal fell through they focused on moving the project to the Central Mall. It would definitely be easier to remodel than the Creamery, however the price tag went from around 2.5 million all the way up to 14.6 million.