Pathfinder: Storm clean-up
Pathfinder trails in areas hit hard by the May 6 tornado will remain closed until damaged trees can be removed and the path made safe again, Parks Superintendent Bobby Robinson said this week.
Several areas of the City-owned trail system were heavily damaged by a tornado that wreaked havoc in Bartlesville in early May. Several homes and structures sustained damage and many streets were blocked by tree debris. City and volunteer crews worked for weeks to help clear the debris in streets and parks, and City staff conducted a curbside collection for residents and manned a disposal site located just west of Bartlesville.
Now that streets are passable and residents have received the assistance they needed, all hands are on-deck for parks clean-up. That includes Pathfinder Parkway, a series of walking/jogging trails that connect major City-owned parks and many neighborhoods.
Several areas have been barricaded and will not be accessible to the public until further notice, Robinson said.
“We’re asking everyone to avoid the path in the areas of the Shawnee trailhead, the Quapaw trailhead back to Polaris Park and U.S. Highway 75 trailhead back to Lee Lake,” he said. “We are working hard to clear the path, but we have hangers and trees to the sides that need to be addressed before these areas can be reopened.”
Robinson is asking path users to avoid the areas and leave barricades in place.
“We have barricaded these areas, but some path users are moving them to the side,” he said. “It is extremely important that the barricades be left in place and that these areas be avoided. We will let everyone know when we can safely reopen.”
Pathfinder: Reconstruction project
The Bartlesville City Council awarded an $879,220 bid to KSL Dirtworks LLC for improvements to various portions of Pathfinder Parkway, a series of paved trails that wind through city neighborhoods and connect the city’s major parks.
The Pathfinder improvement project is a priority project approved by voters in the 2018 and 2020 General Obligation Bond Elections.
The project consists of trail reconstruction at the following locations:
- Silver Lake and Polaris trail head
- Robinwood Park, through the bird sanctuary
- North of Adams Boulevard (near the RV park)
- Washed-out area (aka the frog pond) southeast of Shawnee Avenue behind Bartlesville High School
- Near Adams Boulevard and Quapaw Avenue
- Between Johnstone Park and Tuxedo Bridge at Caney River
- Path around Douglass Park, located at 509 S.W. Bucy Ave.
“We’re waiting to get contracts and bonds back from the contractor, which we expect to have in the next couple of weeks. Then we’ll have a pre-construction meeting and get a schedule for the project,” Director of Engineering Micah Siemers said. “We anticipate construction starting in August.”
Pickleball courts complex
The fastest growing sport in America is about to make its way to Bartlesville with construction of the City’s six-court pickleball court complex nearing completion.
Approved by voters in the 2020 General Obligation Bond Election, the pickleball project is currently under construction by contractor MultiSports LLC of Park City, Kan.
Siemers said Monday that rains this spring set construction back a bit, but contract crews are making progress this week.
“The courts have actually been done for a while, but we’ve been waiting for the lighting to come together and have had some weather delays as well,” he said. “But they are standing lights this week and moving forward with installation of the components required to provide electrical service at the site.”
The complex is located just north of the tennis courts in Sooner Park, 420 S.E. Madison Blvd.
“Once the lighting is ready to go, we’ll have to do a little clean-up work and a final walk-through with the contractor to make sure everything is in order,” Siemers said. “We should be ready to open the courts for use in the next couple of weeks.”
Adams Golf Course update
Interim director
The City-owned Adams Golf Course is undergoing multiple changes, with the upcoming retirement of Golf Professional Jerry Benedict and the long-awaited greens rebuild project.
If approved by the City Council on Monday, Class A PGA Professional Jason Dochney, who currently serves as the teaching professional at the course, will be tapped to serve as interim director.
“Jason has been a great asset to Adams Golf Course since he began serving as the teaching professional earlier this year,” Sanders said. “This appointment, which is pending approval by the council, will allow for a seamless transition and maintain continuity in golf course operations following Jerry’s retirement.”
Business purchase
Benedict owns the business that operates the Pro Shop and oversees purchases and equipment rentals, including golf carts. (The City is responsible for maintenance of the course and the equipment used to maintain it.) The City is contractually required to purchase the business from Benedict upon his retirement.
“We have been aware of Jerry’s plans to retire this year so the cost of purchasing his business is included in the 2024-25 Fiscal Year budget, which goes into effect on July 1,” Sanders said. “We anticipate the purchase will be final at the time of Jerry’s retirement, currently set for Aug. 16. At that time, the City will begin oversight of all aspects of Adams Golf Course.”
Greens rebuild
The course will also be undergoing a major greens rebuild project later this year or early next year. The $2.2 million project will replace all 18 greens on the course.
“We are working to finalize plans for the rebuild project and hope to have that wrapped up soon,” Siemers said. “We met with the consultant last month and they are making some revisions based on our discussion during that meeting.”
Siemers said the target date for completion of the project is mid-2025. He said construction could start earlier, but tentative plans, based on contractor availability, are to close the course and begin construction in January 2025.
“Nov. 1 is the earliest we would be able to start, but depending on contractor availability and weather, January 2025 may be more realistic,” he said. “We will update the public as we have more information available.”
Work has been ongoing at the golf course to help prepare for the project, resulting in hundreds of trees being removed from the property in an effort to control erosion and promote grass growth.
This project is being funded through the 2018, 2020 and 2023 General Obligation Bond Elections, along with private donations.
Veterans Park Memorial
The Veterans Park Memorial project is moving along and should be complete once signs recognizing U.S. veterans are ready to install next week.
The project consists of the installation of seven flag poles with landscaping, a reflection bench, signage, and sidewalk to access the improvements at the City-owned Veterans Park, located at 312 S.W. Virginia Ave.
“The flag poles have been installed, the concrete work and landscaping are finished, and a walk-through with the contractor yesterday went very well,” Siemers said. “City crews installed large sandstone boulders that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation salvaged for us from the 123 Cherokee Bridge project. We’ve repurposed those so they serve as the back-plate for the signs that will be installed to recognize U.S. veterans.”
Siemers said design on the project had to be reworked a bit after one of the large sandstone slabs broke.
“We had to switch gears a bit and use two taller stones in the middle with smaller stones that kind of lean on the outside edge,” he said. “It really came together nicely, though.”
With some help from the Elk’s Club, a bench will also be installed at the site honoring the late City Councilor Billie Roane, who helped spearhead the project.
“Billie was really instrumental in getting this project off the ground,” Siemers said. “I think she would be happy with the way it turned out.”
Siemers said the project should be finished once the signs are ready and installed.
A separate sign will also be installed by the contractor hired by the corporate donor on the project, though that one will take a little longer.
“The donor sign is an estimated eight to ten weeks out for delivery, and I believe a ceremony to officially dedicate the project will likely take place this fall,” he said. “But the memorial itself is nearly complete, and the City’s portion of the work is essentially finished.”
The project was funded by corporate donor funds and unallocated sales tax revenue.
Water reuse pilot study
The pilot study currently underway at the Chickasaw Waste Water Treatment Plant for the City’s water reuse system will conclude this week — though the ability to actually use water produced by the system is still years away, Water Utilities Director Terry Lauritsen said Monday.
“This is a study that is being conducted solely within the Waste Water Treatment Plant,” Lauritsen said. “Reused water is not being distributed outside the plant. That is several years from occurring and would only happen in an emergency situation and with prior notice to the public.”
The water reuse system — designed to be used in emergency situations such as Stage 4 drought conditions — involves pumping treated waste water upstream into the Caney River, allowing it to blend with river water and then recapturing it for additional treatment before being distributed to customers.
“This is taking a portion of our treated wastewater, treating that portion to a higher standard, and reusing that to use as a potential raw water source,” Lauritsen said. “Once the system has cleared regulatory hurdles and is ready to use, which will not be for several years, this treated water will be used as an emergency source to supplement the water within the river in the event of a water crisis.”
The study, which has been underway since February, involves several facets of the process.
“We are running through various scenarios, looking at different chemicals and filter configurations,” he said. “We’re taking a lot of tests to validate or to see how those perform, not only with the standard treatment parameters or chemical constituents that you monitor, but we’re also testing for the trace elements that are not regulated, or the so-called ‘constituents of emerging concern.’
“The testing concludes this week, and we have gotten a lot of good data out of it,” he said. “We had some surprising results in some perspectives. With this pilot unit, we’re testing different filters in different media thicknesses — that’s the components within the filters — as well as testing granulated activated carbon just to see how those work in conjunction with each other and with some different configurations. We found that adding chemical prior to the filters, which is a common treatment step within the water industry, really doesn’t help the performance of those filters at all. In fact, it diminishes it. But then we also found that a thinner filter configuration performed just as well as a thicker one, meaning there’s less media within the filter.
“Now we’re testing different configurations of granulated activated carbon, and that’s really to target the constituents of emerging concerns, or the trace chemicals that are unregulated, just to see how that performs, how much it removes. We’ll take our final tests this week on that performance.”
Lauritsen said results should be back from the lab in about a month.
“We have another couple weeks to put all the data together and analyze all the results, so we’re probably looking at, best case, to present our findings before the Sanitary Sewer Oversight Committee and the City Council in August. But more than likely it will be September.”
Lauritsen said City and Tetra Tech, the consultant assisting with the testing, staff met with representatives from state regulatory bodies in late May to present the interim findings.
“It was a very encouraging meeting,” he said. “They concurred with some of our conclusions as far as the configurations and different units and processes for the reuse concept. The purpose of the pilot test was to demonstrate what we anticipated and to provide data that would justify that position.
“With the reuse concept, there’s just not an abundance of data out there from other states and other entities that have done that, so we’re having to generate the data that supports what we think is the most prudent way to treat the water, not only to keep it safe but also to keep the process affordable. This data will allow us to make informed decisions and feel comfortable with how we proceed.”
Lauritsen said once the State has approved the City’s findings, City and consultant staff will start working on a detailed design of the system.
“We’re scheduled to have that design completed by October of 2025, and then construction starting on the plant expansion, which will include the reuse system, by June 2026,” he said.
Endeavor 2045: Comp plan
Halff Associate Planner Jordan Evans talks with citizens during a public meeting held recently on the City’s comprehensive plan update, Endeavor 2045.
A series of public meetings wrapped up last week to offer citizens and stakeholders a chance to share their views on the community’s current conditions and its future. The meetings were part of the City’s ongoing comprehensive plan process, Endeavor 2045.
The public was asked to weigh in on two specific areas in Bartlesville, including an area on the west side of Bartlesville near Adams Boulevard and Virginia Avenue, and another area on the east side near Madison Boulevard from Adams Boulevard to Frank Phillips Boulevard.
“We had a lot of engagement and public input,” said Community Development Director Larry Curtis. “We learned a lot from our citizens about both of those areas.”
Curtis said a draft of the Endeavor 2045 comprehensive plan should be available in the coming months, with the final draft anticipated by the end of October.
The Endeavor 2045 website and survey are still available to inform and engage the public.
Endeavor 2045 will replace Bartlesville’s current comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 1999. The new comprehensive plan will address topics such as land use, transportation, housing, economic development, infrastructure, parks and recreation, natural resources, environmental sustainability and more, with a focus on managing growth and enhancing quality of life.
For more information, see www.cityofbartlesville.org, or contact Greg Collins, Special Projects manager, at 918.338.4241 or gscollins@cityofbartlesville.org.