The Miami City Council voted Aug. 19 to approve proceeding with an application and initial-phase cooperative agreement with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma to pursue funding for the replacement of Bridge 11929 on West Veterans Boulevard between Main Street and G Street Northwest. The council approved moving forward with design, environmental review and utility-location work required to apply for the project’s funding.
The council’s action covers only the application and early design phase, not construction or any exchange of money. A staff speaker said the project “is about a 2 and a half million dollar bridge” and described the current vote as the first phase that would allow the tribe and the city to submit a grant application. The speaker also said the city would design the bridge, perform environmental work and pay to locate or relocate utilities as part of that first phase.
A city staff member cautioned that any later disagreement over contract terms with the tribe would be handled through the contract’s dispute processes and could require mediation, arbitration or, in some circumstances, federal court. The staff member said no funding had been received and that the council was only approving the phase to pursue funding.
Councilmembers voted to move the project forward on the application phase. The motion passed with recorded “aye” votes by Jones, Dennis, Parker, Barnes and Easton; no “nay” votes were recorded in the meeting transcript portion addressing the item.
If the application is approved, the council was told it will return with additional agreements to decide which party would manage the project, manage funds and finalize construction contracts. The city cited prior experience managing a similar project with Ottawa (the Ottawa tribe) as precedent for how management and financial responsibilities might be structured.
The bridge is located adjacent to Westco warehouse property and, if funded, would replace the existing structure at Bridge 11929. The council did not set a construction contract, timeline or funding commitment at the Aug. 19 meeting.