Edmond holds midyear strategic-plan update; staff reports progress on major capital projects

Edmond City Council held a midyear strategic-plan update workshop on May 20, where city staff reviewed the council-adopted priorities and reported progress on capital projects, funding requests and scheduling for a fall planning session.

City management services Director Casey Moore led the presentation and told council the strategic plan, drafted by the prior sitting council in November, contains 41 goals ranked with a four-tier prioritization system. Moore said staff classified each goal as complete, in progress, ongoing or on hold and will return in November for the formal update and any reprioritization.

Moore said the City Center complex is nearing completion and staff will begin occupying the buildings in the coming weeks. He reported the municipal water-treatment plant expansion is under construction: phase 2 is progressing and is scheduled for completion in February 2027; phase 3 design should finish by the end of this year and be put to bid in early 2026. Moore reported an estimated figure of $192,000,000 for the next phase but said final costs will be known only after bid results.

Other capital projects highlighted included the second library and YMCA, with structural work underway and an early-2026 completion target; Caplinger ball-field reconstruction and landfill removal (Moore said the contract work and bid packages total a little over $18,000,000 and were on track to finish winter 2025'026); reconstruction at Pelican Bay (schematic designs complete and bidding recently closed); and the Route 66 Veil Connector, now in Army Corps and ODOT final review and expected to be bid by ODOT in September.

Moore said Arcadia Lake implementation has two consecutive CIP allocations of $250,000 (totaling $500,000 over the next two years) to begin prioritized work, and staff is finishing a trash-collection and filtration feasibility study. He characterized that amount as modest relative to the lake master plan's scope.

On transportation, staff reported Danforth and Kelly intersection bids closed June 19 with ODOT managing construction; interim improvements at Danforth and Sooner will add span-wire signals where feasible; improvements tied to I-35 reconfiguration are in multi-year work with bridge completions under way; and an updated pavement-management plan will be the subject of a forthcoming council workshop to discuss funding.

Moore said the city continues coordination with regional transit partners on long-term funding and routing for CityLink and is working with Embark on a long-range study. He said staff has federal requests pending with elected officials including $5,000,000 for additional water funding and $4,000,000 for an electric substation; Moore also noted ODOT recently awarded $2,600,000 for work at Coltrane and Second Street.

Moore and other staff described ongoing partnerships and studies: a new master plan and district work with the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO), relocation of a radio tower used for public safety off campus, and an active public'private inquiry for an indoor sports complex. He said wayfinding signs in the first phase are fabricated and fully funded by outside dollars, though utility locates and permitting have delayed installation.

Councilmembers and staff used the session to clarify next steps and request more concrete implementation metrics. Several councilmembers said they want the November work session to shift from a project list toward a more strategic document with short- and long-term goals, measurable metrics and an explicit link to the budget process.

Moore closed by asking council for dates; members agreed to block Nov. 12'13 for a two-day strategic planning workshop to allow time for detailed discussion of implementation steps and budget implications.

The presentation covered many items in the adopted strategic plan but did not include any formal council actions or votes during the workshop.