[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6636024,"mediaKeyId","2616027-ab91d30e9214c114f327a7d692b9f5ed","parentId",2616027,"title","Claremore outlines $17 million tornado recovery tab and $387 million infrastructure backlog","audioSeconds",184,"startMs",559000,"endMs",743000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2616027-ab91d30e9214c114f327a7d692b9f5ed&start=559&end=743","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2616027-ab91d30e9214c114f327a7d692b9f5ed/thumbnail_559000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6636024/Oklahoma/Claremore-outlines-17-million-tornado-recovery-tab-and-387-million-infrastructure-backlog","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6636024-522f8ca4dae4dabd839ddbf1d7982b6a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771139143&Signature=ZkfkvAaA4ZAra8YwGke-Cs1vciMg7ws682AwFVs9bNufbeG6DuQ-knhjthgTW53MG6KV4IRwWcZcxSUFHX6kWvQ0v5mkUeMZecfGO1aCMF74D4bj~eapOlv5uVNCmYzhEnQKKtA-u1cetDotuWpu9jLWbvhS21zikSnsc893vqIEMKzdcb3UVYgJYx9CDFI9MrH8hRevjw4goUR7AAaCkQsSyXZ-ZbsZpds1wuD7QbPPhmgvN9kJjEZLdFLs5OkfHgIdmJAf1kkBPO57Z6n9RsfDGjyzGO4yyLwF-NxrlItraYqTsYeX6XUqOmJIkSuGyACFM2xFo3XRN~8I-8kqHA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Claremore","date","2025-03-14T01:09:24.977Z","article","At a state-of-the-city presentation, Claremore City Manager John Fieri provided detailed figures for tornado recovery costs and a broader inventory of capital needs, saying the city has spent millions and still faces a large unfunded backlog.

Fieri gave specific tornado-related expense categories and estimates, saying consulting, engineering, legal and building assessments totaled nearly $2 million; storm debris and storm restoration work were estimated at about $9.4 million; and other utility and restoration costs brought the city’s tornado-related spending to roughly $17 million to date. \"FEMA doesn't prepay or pay for any of this stuff. You have to do all this. You have to front that money and then you go and you fight like heck and you hope you get 75% of it,\" Fieri said, describing the reimbursement process.

He told the audience the city had recovered about $1.4 million so far from FEMA and other sources and that even with full reimbursement the city expects to cover roughly $6 million of unrecoverable costs. Fieri also listed physical losses, noting replacements of 336 poles and about 40 transformers in the electric system.

Beyond the tornado response, Fieri outlined the city’s larger, multi-year capital needs: a 5-year capital program of roughly $67 million completed or underway, and an estimated $387 million in unmet infrastructure needs when extending the planning horizon. He attributed the large unmet figure to deferred maintenance across stormwater ($40 million), streets (about $150 million), electric distribution upgrades (potentially tens of millions), and a long list of water and sanitary sewer projects.

Major capital projects under way or planned that he described include a $28 million water-treatment plant upgrade (expanded capacity and green-sand filtration), a wastewater collection and treatment system master plan (professional evaluation budgeted at about $250,000 and nearing completion), a $5.2 million 2546 pavement project with city and county cost-sharing, and a planned $8 million rebuild/widening of Frederick Road including $4 million for utility relocation next year. He said the water-treatment project should be complete by the end of 2026.

Fieri also described electrical system improvements: SCADA installation on substations (a technology upgrade he estimated at about $100,000 for the system), substation overhauls, a distribution master plan underway with projected needs that could reach $50 million, and a pilot to refeed Baker Hughes from a nearby substation to free capacity.

He warned of the sanitary sewer collection system’s age and fragility, describing it as \"in horrific shape\" with lift-station equipment and aging gravity mains in need of replacement. Fieri said repair and replacement of two recently failed pumps would cost roughly $160,000 to repair but close to $1 million to fully replace.

Fieri stressed the scale of deferred work and said the city has been using combinations of in-house crews, loan proceeds (the city borrowed $10 million in 2019 and $10 million in 2020 at low interest rates), reserve funds and restricted penny revenues to make progress. He said the proposed general-purpose penny on the April 1 ballot is intended to diversify revenue so the city can leverage borrowing for larger one-off projects and reduce pressure to shift costs onto utility rates.

The manager closed by encouraging public review of the city’s published audit and performance materials and inviting feedback at upcoming state-of-the-city sessions.

Votes at the meeting: none — presentation and Q&A only.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of Claremore Council Meeting 03-03-2025 6:00pm","oneSentenceSummary","City Manager John Fieri summarized tornado-recovery expenditures and a multiyear infrastructure needs estimate, including water-treatment, sewer collection, electric substations and major road projects.","taxTitle","Claremore, Rogers County, Oklahoma","taxId",69046,"location","Oklahoma","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6636030,"Claremore manager urges passage of 1-cent general sales tax on April 1 ballot to fund infrastructure",5383,458000,5841000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2616027-ab91d30e9214c114f327a7d692b9f5ed&start=458&end=5841","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2616027-ab91d30e9214c114f327a7d692b9f5ed/thumbnail_458000.jpg","/articles/6636030/Oklahoma/Claremore-manager-urges-passage-of-1-cent-general-sales-tax-on-April-1-ballot-to-fund-infrastructure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6636030-e8911e5f0f16f8395d0d6f71a63f3ad2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771139143&Signature=ZYBuACec9kF~b7trp6UulVwA3Xkhsjo5Vb5aXgA4hHhK0hy2bryJ-rMOtpEF-f0Vuly9W6ALpfPpqXYu8fvFUv7M7puD1BNvmTvk46HJqA1EjEz0Ma-tEtLW7rRadxOgy2Igp-ydfk7GFLRqs6k7O9ZMndZbhAdz~JZCMwxFYvnHDiUGq37P2w9fd4bD~kFjB~EmkICI6lJ34zmvrpKwf0M1iwp8wCwYjgyjnM19RTv8QcWbKCy5uBc92cKQ6faMzEEwNiIohu4uFJW-SkaUZP1s25rAyybqm6XWElRdSW39X11CR96wvss5ofygKSSIErREym80o0H7WvID~8mdJQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Claremore City Manager John Fieri urged residents at a state-of-the-city presentation to support a one-cent general sales tax on the April 1 ballot, saying the measure would provide flexible revenue the city lacks to address long-standing infrastructure needs.

Fieri said the city currently levies three restricted pennies, each tied to specific uses such as parks, sanitary sewer and capital needs, and that the proposed additional penny would be placed into the city’s general fund. \"If the April general fund allocation were to pass, that would go directly into the general fund,\" Fieri said, adding that the council and staff would then allocate those dollars through the annual budget process.

The nut of the proposal, Fieri said, is revenue flexibility. Claremore’s sales-tax rules make the city dependent on utility fees and a narrow set of taxes; the manager argued that restricted pennies prevent the city from leveraging sales-tax revenue to finance large capital projects such as wastewater, water treatment and road reconstruction. He told the audience one penny is estimated to produce roughly $5.96 million annually based on recent sales- and use-tax collections.

City officials presented numbers during the meeting to show why new, flexible revenue is needed. Fieri said utilities generate the majority of the city’s revenue and that Claremore’s three restricted pennies together yield about $17 million per year. Because the restricted pennies are dedicated, he said the city cannot pledge them for borrowing or redeploy them to cover different capital needs without voter approval.

Opponents in the audience asked how the new penny would affect individual households and businesses. Fieri offered examples: a household spending $4,000 per month on taxable goods would pay about an extra $40 per year if the penny passes; a $50 restaurant bill would increase by about $1. He said the city’s intent is to spread the burden across the higher daytime population and retail visitors that use Claremore services as well as residents.

Fieri and others at the meeting also discussed alternatives to the sales-tax proposal, including raising utility rates or issuing bonds backed by utility revenues. On that point he told listeners that raising utility rates is a council decision and that utilities already fund much of the city’s operations: \"Utilities is about 60% of our budget,\" he said. He added that, absent new revenue streams, the city could face pressure to increase utility rates to cover rising costs.

Councilors and staff at the meeting emphasized the city’s long-term capital needs — including multimillion-dollar water-treatment and sanitary-sewer projects, road overlays, and electric system upgrades — as the rationale for asking voters for a general-purpose penny. Fieri said the city has borrowed in prior years at low rates (for example, $10 million in 2019 and $10 million in 2020) and that flexible sales-tax revenue would allow the city to leverage borrowing for one-off large projects.

The meeting concluded with a reminder to voters: the ballot measure will appear on April 1. Fieri repeatedly framed the request as an option to diversify Claremore’s revenue and accelerate needed infrastructure work, while noting the council would continue to set spending priorities during the annual budgeting process.

Votes at the meeting: none — the presentation was informational and followed by public questions.","City Manager John Fieri told residents at a state-of-the-city presentation that a proposed 1-cent general sales tax on the April 1 ballot would be used to relieve infrastructure funding constraints and allow the city to leverage money for large capital projects.","actionData","errors"]

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Claremore outlines $17 million tornado recovery tab and $387 million infrastructure backlog

Claremore manager urges passage of 1-cent general sales tax on April 1 ballot to fund infrastructure