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Claremore reports $67 million in recent capital projects, warns of major sewer, water and electric needs
Summary
At a town hall, a City of Claremore staff member summarized roughly $67 million in capital work over the past five years and outlined additional costly needs for sanitary sewer, water treatment, substations, roads and storm drainage. No formal votes were taken; staff said a wastewater master plan will be presented to the council.
A city staff member told residents at a Claremore town-hall meeting that the city has spent about $67 million on capital improvements in the last five years and faces decades more work on water, sewer, electric and road systems.
"We've spent $67,000,000 today or right now currently on total capital improvements in the last just under 5 years," the staff member said, describing completed projects and the city’s backlog of needs.
The presentation outlined why the projects matter: ageing sanitary sewer and water collection systems, overloaded electric substations, storm-drainage problems that accelerate roadway failure and recent tornado and storm cleanup costs that exceeded FEMA reimbursements. The staff member said the city doubled treatment plant capacity in a recent project and reported improved regulatory compliance, but warned the sanitary sewer collection system remains in poor condition and will require "millions upon millions upon millions of dollars" of work over coming decades.
Key details cited by the staff member included:
- FEMA and storm recovery: cleanup work after storms required extensive debris removal and infrastructure repairs; the staff member said roughly $400,000 was spent on street signage and lights after the storm and that FEMA authorized about $56,000 of that expense.
- Water treatment and supply: the city’s recent project increased water-plant capacity from about 4,000,000 gallons per day to roughly 8,400,000 gallons per day, the staff member said. He also noted 2024 was the first year in memory that the City of Claremore’s water treatment plant and sanitary sewer treatment plant did not receive a notice of violation.
- Sanitary sewer system: the staff member called the citywide sanitary sewer collection system the city’s largest infrastructure priority, describing extensive aging clay and iron pipe and saying the city is preparing a wastewater collection and treatment master plan that is expected to recommend major, costly upgrades.
- Electric system and substations: the city has been adding SCADA controls, rebuilding transformers and working on reconductoring aging lines. The staff member said one new substation’s components are estimated at $7.5 million and cited Grand River Dam Authority engineering guidance that planning should assume about $15 million per substation replacement.
- Roads and drainage: projects include a roughly $5.2 million ODOT project on Highway 66 to address storm drainage and widen segments; the staff member emphasized that poor drainage, not traffic, is the leading cause of pavement failure and said road projects often require relocating utilities before resurfacing.
- Funding and borrowing: the staff member said the city borrowed $10 million in 2019 at about 1.29% interest and another $10 million in 2020 at about 1.45% interest, funds used for capital projects. He also described using Oklahoma Water Resources Board bond financing and a 30-year revenue note tied to utility fees to fund a roughly $28 million water treatment plant project.
- Parks and restricted sales tax: the speaker said a 2019 voter action requires a portion of a dedicated penny of sales tax to be spent only on parks; the staff member said the city will maintain parks but that parks work will not take priority over water, sewer and electric repairs.
The staff member repeatedly framed the presentation as an inventory of needs rather than final decisions. "We're gonna keep working towards that," he said about maintaining compliance and improving utilities. He also stressed transparency: "Nothing's done behind closed door. No decisions are made," and noted the city is audited annually as required by state law.
No formal motions or votes were recorded during the town-hall remarks. The staff member said the wastewater master plan will be brought to city decision-makers for review and that planning and design work is under way on other projects.
The presentation included renderings of possible park and trail improvements but characterized those concepts as low priority relative to urgent utility needs. The staff member said the city will continue to use a mix of in-house crews and outside contractors to lower costs where practical.
Looking ahead, the staff member urged residents to expect multi-decade capital needs that will require ongoing budgeting, outside grants or borrowing, and coordination with outside authorities including FEMA, ODOT, Grand River Dam Authority and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
