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VDA update: Cooper says state revolving fund will provide $5 million toward Eisenhower School match; DOD approvals remain
Summary
Cooper, providing the quarterly VDA update, said the state bill passed this session will provide $5,000,000 into a revolving fund to help the city meet a 20% local match for the Eisenhower School project.
Cooper, providing the quarterly VDA update, said the state bill passed this session will provide $5,000,000 into a revolving fund to help the city meet a 20% local match for the Eisenhower School project. "So we will receive 5,000,000, to assist with the 20% match," Cooper said.
Cooper said the 20% match for the school would be roughly $6,000,000 based on a $30,000,000 project estimate, and that the city has already accrued $750,000 from the Military Planning Commission and used $200,000 to purchase land southeast of the runway. "So now, it'll be 800,000 that we have," he said, describing how those funds will be combined with the $5 million state deposit.
Cooper described the fund as a revolving mechanism administered through the Oklahoma Military Department and said the Corps of Engineers has received approximately $8.9 million to begin engineering design on a military construction (MILCON) project. He said Henson Construction is the contractor selected for the school design and that final design and DOD approvals will determine the project schedule. "Once it goes back to DOD, they approve all the design and all of that, then they'll fund it," Cooper said.
He also summarized recent legislative work, including discussion of Senate Bill 893 related to restricting foreign adversary land purchases near military operating areas. Cooper said the final version narrowed the geographic scope to military operating areas rather than a statewide restriction and that some industry groups opposed broader material- and procurement-related restrictions.
Cooper said the squad operations facility is the top MILCON priority, with a replacement fire station also under consideration, and that some engineering design timelines have shifted into late 2026 as the Corps and base refine mission requirements. He said he and local leaders will continue to press for accelerated design timelines with the Corps and the congressional delegation.
No formal action was taken during the update; Cooper concluded by noting upcoming conferences he and the mayor will attend and by reporting continued coordination between local, state and federal partners.
