By Traci Chapman

Crews are busy on concrete and steel work as they look to a December completion date for Mustang’s St. Anthony Healthplex.

Darin Miller with Miller Neff Development said Tuesday the 80,000-square-foot building was on track. With a target completing date of Dec. 15, officials hoped to open the complex in early 2015, Miller said.

Located at state Highway 152 and Sara Road, the healthplex will include a full-service emergency room, diagnostic imaging, breast center and suites for medical procedures. A second floor will house primary care and specialist physicians with St. Anthony Physicians Group, and additional space will be available for commercial lease, officials said.

Mustang’s complex will look similar to projects built by Miller Neff in east and south Oklahoma City, Miller said. His firm has worked with St. Anthony’s for several years but just became involved with the firm’s healthplex construction about five years ago, he said.

The healthplex design differs from traditional medical and hospital accommodations, Miller said.

“It gives a feeling more of a hotel than a clinical setting,” he said. “It really is a very updated kind of design, compared to an ordinary medical office or emergency room.”

The healthplex will be operated by SSM Health Care Oklahoma, which administers all of St. Anthony’s operations. The project was the culmination of several months of discussion and negotiation between SSM and Mustang city officials, they said.

“We have enjoyed working in collaboration with the visionary city officials in Mustang to develop a medical campus model that will provide accessible health care with attention to high levels of customer service to the community,” SSM regional president Joe Hodges said last year.

For their part, Mustang officials said they were excited about the services the healthplex would offer and appreciated the smooth progress of construction.

“A facility of this nature will have a significant impact on the quality of life and Mustang’s economy,” Mayor Jay Adams said. “It’s a very positive development for all of us.”

Miller and his partner, David Neff, worked from design stage to development on the project, and Jason Givens has worked as project manager for Miller Architects on the healthplex. Once concrete and steel work is complete, crews will turn next to the building’s plumbing and electrical components.

“For us it’s a project moving through its phases, but for the people in Mustang, the important thing to know is everything is going as planned,” Miller said.

 

By Traci Chapman

Mustang residents who have suffered the loss of their home will now have the opportunity to stay on their property while repairs are completed.

The city ordinance change goes into immediate effect, thanks to a unanimous vote by city council Feb. 18. The new ordinance allows a resident who has suffered significant damage – such as fire, storm or other issues – to stay in temporary housing on their property while repairs or replacement of the original home are completed.

Ordinance No.1100 allows residents to permit a travel trailer for a limited amount of time, which would allow them to stay on their property – something that could help residents both financially and emotionally, City Manager Tim Rooney said.

The ordinance came about after Ward 6 Councilman Donal Mount was approached by Dale and Kim Duncan, whose house was damaged in a January fire. The couple attempted to stay in a travel trailer on their property, then learned it was against Mustang ordinances.

“These people are hurting and need some help,” Mount said. “I see a real need for something like this.”

Rooney said his staff and City Attorney Jonathan Miller looked at ordinances in Piedmont and El Reno. Robert Coleman, Mustang community development director, said El Reno passed a similar ordinance after a structure fire.

In the past, Mustang residents had to go through the city Board of Adjustment to put a travel trailer on their property.

“That can take a lot of time,” Rooney said.

Temporary occupancy permits are valid for up to a year, and city officials may extend the permit another six months, if needed. City council must approve any extension beyond that time, to a maximum of two years. Residents must fill out an application and provide site plans, photos of the travel trailer and a statement stating residents intend to rebuild a permanent home on the site, Miller said.

While the ordinance includes RVs, travel trailers – such as fifth-wheels and pop-up campers – it does not include mobile homes, the city attorney said.

The ordinance, which was passed with an emergency clause allowing it to go into effect immediately, would help people who need help after a disaster.

“This is a good thing, it’s a way for people to remain with their home and oversee the rebuilding effort, as well as defraying the expense of having to stay somewhere else,” Mayor Jay Adams said last week. “It’s difficult enough to deal with a situation like this – whether it’s a tornado, a fire or anything else like that.

“It’s good that we can help give our citizens some relief,” he said.

By Traci Chapman

Work is going on behind the scenes to find an independent water source in Canadian County.

That was the word last week, when members of Central Oklahoma Water Resources Authority met to discuss the status of the organization’s Phase II – negotiating with landowners for test well sites, officials said.

Seeking to help member cities – Mustang, Yukon, El Reno, Okarche and Calumet – become water independent, COWRA officials said a $425,000 plan to locate sites for testing was on track. All of those municipalities, as well as Canadian County, take part in the water-hunting effort.

Phase II is a nine-step plan, which organizers hope will culminate in locating the well with the smallest level of salt in local water. Members have been studying the feasibility of treating the brackish water, rather than continue the dependence of many members on Oklahoma City for water. A source of water about 800 feet deep contains enough water to supply Canadian County for 100 years, some have said.

The first necessary step was to determine the test well location and then which of those wells was the most promising, Karl Stickley with Oklahoma City-based Guernsey said. The engineering and architectural firm was hired by COWRA and has worked with the organization’s consultant, Shawn Lepard, to move the project forward.

“This is the first step, and it’s an important one,” Stickley said. “Everything we do from here depends on this.”

Test wells have been proposed along SW 29^th Street on the eastern border of the county, as well as a fourth well just west of U.S. Highway 81 between Union City and El Reno, Lepard said.

Being at Oklahoma City’s “mercy” for water gives local officials an uncomfortable feeling.

“What happens to us and the other towns if Oklahoma City decides it needs all its water,” El Reno City Manager Tony Rivera said recently.

“This is our effort to do something today that will help the county for years to come,” Yukon City Manager Grayson Bottom said.

Should the plan proceed to its conclusion, officials estimated the brackish water treatment plant could run between $60 million to $100 million to construct. An updated report concerning well site negotiations was expected at COWRA’s next regular meeting, scheduled for March 21.