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Muskogee committees and council approve multiple contracts, Highway 69 agreements and major water projects
Summary
City committees and the Muskogee City Council on April 13 approved routine service contracts and several larger infrastructure measures — including a $2.17M Cook Consulting award for water interconnects, a $1.19M Cowen Group water-system evaluation and agreements tied to the Highway 69 widening — and accepted a $1.2M Muskogee Foundation grant for a water-system study.
The Muskogee City Council and two standing committees on April 13 approved a package of procurement awards and intergovernmental agreements focused on water infrastructure and corridor improvements.
Council and staff moved forward with a $2,167,942 contract award to Cook Consulting LLC for “Package D,” a project the city described as installing approximately 12,000 linear feet of 6-inch to 12-inch PVC main, service connections and associated street repairs to eliminate stagnant areas in the system. Staff said the work is part of a larger $45 million loan package, with about $27 million allocated to water projects. Michael Taylor of Cowen Group, the project engineer, was present to answer technical questions.
Why it matters: city leaders said the interconnect work is intended to improve water circulation and service reliability across the system and to support ongoing growth and industrial needs south of town.
The council also approved a Cowen Group contract to update the city’s 2019 water model and evaluate the treatment plant, authorizing negotiation and execution of a $1,186,213 agreement to produce an updated capital-improvement plan covering five-, 10- and 20-year horizons. "We created a document for planning of water in the future in 2019," Michael Taylor said, and the update will assess treatment-plant constraints and funding options.
Staff asked the council to accept a $1.2 million out-of-cycle grant from the Muskogee Foundation to fund the water-system evaluation; the council voted to accept that grant. City staff said the foundation award will eliminate a need to use city operating funds for the engineering study.
Highway 69 agreements: Public Works staff and Oklahoma Department of Transportation representatives briefed council on multiple agreements tied to the Highway 69 widening project, including street-light transfers, signal-maintenance parameters and utility-relocation arrangements. ODOT’s district engineer, Chris Wallace, told the council the project was expected to be advertised for bid in July and construction to begin late in the year. Staff estimated utility relocations at about $5,000,000 (engineer’s estimate) and described a city reimbursement plan of $500,000 annually until the cost is repaid; the council authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute the related agreements.
Traffic signals and safety grants: the council authorized a not-to-exceed $360,000 package under the city’s maintenance agreement with TLS Group for corridor signal improvements — adding radar detectors, predetection and cabinet rehab at multiple intersections — and accepted a $304,500 FHWA planning grant (Safe Streets for All) with a $76,000 city match for Safe Routes to School and multimodal planning.
Other approvals: the council and committees approved a series of routine and recurring service contracts for FY26–27 (elevator, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, pest control, generator preventive maintenance, water-treatment chemical awards) and smaller capital purchases (a parks truck at $72,857.25). Staff explained some single-bid awards were consistent with prior estimates or limited market responses.
Procedure and next steps: several items will be incorporated into ODOT bidding for Highway 69 and additional public notices and coordination are planned before construction. For the water projects, staff said design and modeling work is expected to produce a prioritized CIP for future grant applications.
Quotes and attributions: Michael Taylor (Cowen Group) summarized the need for the updated water model: "we needed to update the water model, but we also have constraints, within the treatment plant." ODOT district engineer Chris Wallace said the Highway 69 contract is “tentatively going to be out for bid in July” and that construction is expected to begin near year-end.
Votes at a glance: Cook Consulting Package D ($2,167,942) — approved; Cowen Group evaluation ($1,186,213) — authorized for negotiation and execution; Muskogee Foundation water-system grant ($1,200,000) — accepted; TLS signal improvements (NTE $360,000) — approved; Safe Streets (SS4A) planning grant ($304,500, $76,000 city match) — accepted. Multiple routine procurement awards for FY26–27 were also approved.
