A commercial area is coming to the corner of N. Main Street and N.E. 24th Street in Newcastle. The six-acres of land is being developed but information was scarce at the February City Council meeting.
The Council approved a preliminary plat and a final plat on the five commercial lots that make up “Armstrong Corner,” being developed by Armstrong Bank. Further announcements are expected to be made as the company progresses in their plans.
The Council discussed infrastructure there, indicating there is a small 8” water line in the easement, but also said the developers want to upgrade that to a 12” line. Newcastle City Code requires a 12” line on section line roads.
In other business, the City received eight bids on drainage improvements for The Ridge Phase II. City Manager Kevin Self said he suggests approval of the low bid of $265,617 from MPZ Construction Inc. He said they’ve met all the requirements of the bid process, and would like to be able to proceed on the conditions that all contract requirements are satisfied.
Council members were hopeful that the completion of this project will be the conclusion of drainage issues in the development, that were the result of planning and design approved by previous council members.
During the meeting, the City Council approved the cost proposal from Copeland Design Collective on tennis, pickleball, and volleyball courts at Veterans Park.
Self said the cost of the project is $788,000 and the Parks Board has agreed that $200,000 would be taken from the linkage fees on the Parks fund. Self said they have about $238,000 in that fund. Another portion will come from the City’s halfcent capital improvement tax fund.
The City has been in discussions with Athletic Director Jeff Brickman and Newcastle Public Schools concerning their tennis athletes and their needs. The City intends to block out times for NPS, and Self said they were very supportive of the proposal.
A timeline for the completion of the project is the end of July or early in August.
In a related discussion, Parks & Recreation Director Kyle Marks said Newcastle’s request for a Thunder Basketball Court is a no-go at this time because the Thunder already have many requests for these courts. The new courts are being tied into the existing basketball court at Veterans Park.
As part of every Newcastle City Council meeting, there are agenda items for the City Manager’s comments and for Council member comments.
City Manager Kevin Self said his staff and department heads are preparing to start budget meetings. She said they’ll see how things look, and probably take a couple of months, then come back the next Council meeting to set a date for the annual budget workshop. He said a workshop would likely be in late May.
Council member Mike Fullerton said there have been a lot of accidents on State Highway 130 in Newcastle and he feels like the City should request a traffic study to get a project on SH-130 on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s 8-Year Plan. Council member Todd D’Amico said he has been in the area and looked at the elevation where SH-130 and Country Club road intersect. He said added to that there’s some grass that has grown up there. He was wondering if the City might be able to knock some of the elevation down in that area, adding that it creates visibility challenges for drivers.
