By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Yukon motorists who travel one of the city’s arterial streets will be getting some welcome relief thanks to a federal COVID-relief grant.
The City of Yukon has entered into an agreement with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) to resurface Garth Brooks Boulevard from Vandament Avenue to State Highway 66 (Main Street).
This $921,380 project will be funded by the 2023 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). The grant is provided through the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments.
At the recommendation of Assistant City Manager Mitchell Hort, the Yukon City Council on March 21 approved a project maintenance, financing and right-of-way agreement with ODOT.
The CRRSAA grant will cover the construction cost and inspection fees, according to a memo from Hort.
“Engineering fees will be required to be paid by the City of Yukon under a separate approval with TEIM Design,” Hort told council members.
In a related item, the city council at its March 21 meeting approved a separate agreement with TEIM Design for a field survey and construction documents for the grant-funded Garth Brooks Boulevard overlay project from Vandament to SH-66.
The city’s engineering firm will be paid $89,600 for these services.
The CRRSAA of 2021 – signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020 by President Donald Trump – included $14 million in federal funding allocations to support the country’s public transportation systems during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
“We know that many of our nation’s public transportation systems continue to face challenges due to COVID-19, and these supplemental funds will help ensure that safe transit services remain available for riders traveling to jobs, health care and other essential services in communities across America,” said K. Jane Williams, deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration.
CITY ENGINEER’S CONTRACT AMENDED
TEIM Design’s contract to provide engineering and architectural services to the City of Yukon and its trust has been amended.
The city council on March 21 approved deleting parts of the Dec. 15, 2020, contract that referred to a proposed project to “increase the rated capacity” of Yukon’s wastewater treatment plant “from 3 million gallons per day to 5 MGD.”
This was done because Yukon city leaders may use part of the city’s $4.9 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal stimulus award for the treatment plant improvements.
“If we are to use any of our ARPA funds for that project, we have to interview various engineers in order to do that,” City Manager Tammy Kretchmar explained. “We can’t just give it to our city engineer.”
CAPITAL PROJECT UPDATE
Also at the March 21st city council meeting, Kretchmar provided updates on two current capital projects:
- Construction is underway on a new drainage box at Sara and Wagner roads and should be completed “in a couple of weeks.”
- The new disc golf course at Welch Park will be finished soon after recent delays due to rain.
